Happy International Coffee Day !
To celebrate this special day, I am going to summarize all of my coffee and cafe experiences all in a post. This is my journey delving into the coffee world and I will take you on a tour to relive the moments I have with coffee and with the Cinnamon cup of coffee community.
For those of you who are new to my blog, I love caffeine and by that, I mean caffeine is running through my blood in other forms as well other than coffee. So, welcome to my caffeinated world!
First of all, I am so happy to see that Cinnamon cups of coffee are getting more and more subscribers! @millycf1976 has been working hard since day 1 and she is very active in engaging and will read your post too. Her dedication to the community is outstanding and I applaud her for that. I can’t remember when I first talked to @millycf1976 on a post. Perhaps it was around early this year. But before this community existed, I have been posting about coffee and also my coffee shop experience on Have you been here or Foodies bee hive. Now with having dedicated virtual coffee shop, I can read more about people's coffee experience and learn more about the coffee world through them!
I started exploring coffee shops more when I traveled to my hometown 10 months ago. It was that defining moment where I was curious of the coffee world even more. Prior to that, I never really wrote about my coffee shop experiences though sometimes I spent hours and hours inside a coffee shop to work, to study, and just chugging loads of coffee. I failed to see that there is something intriguing in each of the coffee shops. But that 10 months ago was a defining moment where I got to appreciate more about coffee, coffee shops and the industry. I started taking notes of the exterior, interior, the menu and as I got deep into it, I got to learn about the beans and the industry.
My first post about a coffee shop was re-telling my experience at the gas station coffee shop, you’d be surprised by everything about it. If you want to read more, here’s the link to it. A Hip Coffee Roaster in a Gas Station : Rashid Craft Coffee and Roastery . Behind the story was, I just reached town and I was craving an artisan coffee. So, Ray, my cousin took me there and he said it was a good one. And he was right. From that on, I was curious if this little town has something more to offer as I only came home about once or twice every one or two years. I started to explore more and posted it all on Have you been here. However, since the Cinnamon Cup of coffee was established, I started posting there. I was ecstatic to find a place where I can meet people who love caffeine as much as I do and also meet people who are into the coffee industry, coffee world, basically, coffee lovers.
Here’s some of the post before the Cinnamon Cup of Coffee was established. This is also the part where I started geeking out about coffee. I started purchasing more coffee tools such as v60 and I remember spending a few days learning how to actually make a good v60 coffee.
- @macchiata/a-hip-coffee-roaster-in-a-gas-station-rashid-craft-coffee-and-roastery
- @macchiata/homey-remote-work-friendly-coffee-shop-dogel-coffee-shop
- @macchiata/unmissable-spot-live-music-cafe-but-remote-work-friendly-zabo-c
- @macchiata/the-perfect-cafe-for-an-old-soul-vintage-coffee-shop-review-classicco
- @macchiata/brewing-coffee-with-a-v60
- @macchiata/rasaloka-family-friendly-restaurant-review
Then, enter the Cinnamon Cup of Coffee into my life!
The first post I had there was about planning over a cup of cappuccino! Where I talk about quite a bit of Coffee preferences around the world. It was a short light read that you can find here Planning over a cup of cappucino then, after that I wrote about why your mug matters. How a Mug Affect Your Taste Perception
This article by Waka Coffee mentioned that your mug and the color of your mug affect the taste of it and your perception about the coffee. Another article mentioned how the color of your mug can change your perception. For instance, White mugs have been associated with bitterness in coffee. Interesting isn't it?
By that time, I was knee deep into the coffee world. I learned so much about things and even joined Peakd collection contest by submitting my finding about coffee. This was a collection about types of coffee business.
@macchiata/coffee-shops-review--types-of-coffee-shops
Earlier this year, I explored many coffee shops and cafes in town. From this series, I have learned to classify types of coffee establishments. First, a creative space, second a workspace, Third a mixture of the first and the second, and fourth, a regular coffee shop, at last, a fast-food(chains) coffee shop. In a nutshell, here is my definition of it.
A creative space coffee shop is where its owner regularly hosts film discussion, public discussion, workshops and art fairs.
A work space coffee shop is where people could work there conveniently supported with quiet ambience, comfortable seating, and also plenty of sockets.
A mixture of both is combining a creative space and also workspace where people could pick a designated room to work.
A regular coffee shop is a place where you could simply enjoy regular menu coffee and hangout with your friends, family, or by yourself. They don't host any workshops nor is adequate to be called a work space coffee shop.
Fast-food(chains) coffee shop is a coffee shop that offers take-away and has a franchise business model. This coffee shop rarely has chairs to sit in. It's mostly just a small shop. You can not also expect a single origin from these places.
I don’t think not that many people care about that. All we care about is probably the coffee and that’s it. But believe me, when you start delving into the coffee world, the cafe, and the industry, there’s so much you can learn or even discover the darkest part of it.
You might know about civets coffee, one of the most regarded as best and expensive coffee. However, not all civet coffee is good. There is a grim story and practice behind it. I had the chance to visit this civet captivation.
Would You Still Try Civet’s Coffee After Seeing This?
It was when I discovered the process of this so-called most expensive coffee. Think twice if you want to drink it and read about my message at the end of the post.
The cages were badly maintained. The water was put in a dirty bowl. In addition to that, they sleep on an old and fragile wooden board.
Traditionally, people collect scats from wild-civets that roam free. These civets only picked the best coffee berries to eat and the coffee produced allegedly contains less caffeine than regular coffee. But in captivity, these civets are fed certain coffee berries so these people could collect a certain coffee variety. The price made sense to me when the scats collected are from wild-civet that roams free- the chance of finding civet scats are somewhat rare. But when it is held in captivity and bred for the purpose of making the said expensive coffee, It doesn't make sense. There is no more rarity and scarcity aspect to it.
After looking around the cages and the place, I thought about how luwak should no longer be promoted as the most expensive coffee in the world. It's already commercialized and the industry behind it needs to be assessed and monitored. These civets have to roam free and if people still want to taste civet's coffee, then it has to be from a wild-free civet. Sure it's harder to find the scats but I suppose that's also a factor why it was expensive in the first place.
My coffee journey in that town had to be ended when I moved back to my apartment. These days, I rarely visit any coffee shops despite this city being bigger and has plenty more unique and interesting cafes. But that doesn’t mean my coffee journey is ending. In fact, I had some terrible time addicted to sugary starbucks. I am also finding more about the world of decaf. Then, these days I am trying to learn more about how to brew a good coffee and now that I have my own grinder, I want to explore more about foreign coffees as I have finished with all the locals coffee beans variant.
Coffee is so much more than just a liquid. It creates a huge industry behind it powering so many people’s lives. From the moment it is planted to the moment we drink the cup. Even if it is as simple as coffee, I hope one day you also get to notice and experience the fascinating world behind coffee and the coffee industry. Happy International Coffee Day!
The thumbnail picture is a part of my picture that only today get to see the light. Another version of this shot also appears on More Than Just Coffee : Bringing Traditional Indonesian Architecture To The Coffee Shop
 | Mac is a content creator that covers literature, books, technology, philosophy, nootropics, productivity, minimalist lifestyle, cybersecurity, and languages. Other than that, she is passionate about cooking and traveling. In her free time, she enjoys learning various things. If you like her content, don't hesitate to upvote, leave a comment or a feedback. A re-blog is also appreciated. |