As Newcastle’s coffee culture continues to grow at a phenomenal rate, our curiosity and knowledge grows, too.
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In the beginning of 2018 Weekender commissioned Newcastle food and drink writer Nathalie Craig to find out what local baristas, roasters, coffee lovers and cafe owners thought was the “perfect cup”.
Read more on the perfect cup:
The question was intentionally open-ended - Was it the best cup you ever had? The best cup you make every day? The best coffee memory of your life?
We cast a wide net, as the coffee community is a hugely diverse group of people on both sides of the counter.
The answers reflection the complexity, the knowledge and in some cases, pure emotion, of Newcastle’s coffee culture.
Among our favourites was the response of Bec Bowie, the owner of Estabar: “When I’m having a cup of coffee it’s a license to stop. It’s a moment of stillness while the rest of the world carries on”.
HUNTER VALLEY
Seb Mirovaar, owner, Coffee Cubby, Woodville. My survival is not a delicate proposition that relies on the finest beans flown in on a private humidifier and roasted over the bones of the Civet cat. I’m not that fussy. If they’re decent beans, reasonably fresh, made well, I will endure.
Alina Mackee, owner, The Cunning Culinarian, Maitland. “It’s always the one I make for myself in the pre-dawn hours, right before opening our coffee window. After setting up the machine and ensuring the grind is absolutely perfect I make a double ristretto piccolo and savour a quiet moment to myself ahead of a fun and busy day.”
Rosa Grine, owner, Happi Chicken, Kurri Kurri. “The best thing about coffee is that it brings people together. It’s a great thing to be involved in. I love how each person is addicted to their own coffee, it’s a personal experience. The way people interact with others over coffee every day.”