High on Caffeine

Foodies

Why we need some coffee right now!

I truly miss going to sit at a coffee shop either chatting away with the Baristas or enjoying my coffee in silence while pondering. The moment you smell coffee in the air you either know it is time to work your butt off or let your thoughts go over the endless possibilities you have in this life.

It seems like South Africa has a plan in place to move forward from COVID-19. According to our President’s speech on 24 April 2020, it’s going to take some time but we will open up the economy gradually. It will be quite interesting to see how the world responds to the new realities of travel.

I have finally come to a place where I feel more aware of what has been going on. Yes, it took me over 20 days to come to the full realization of the effects of COVID-19 and not knowing what to work on or where to start. Now along with tour partners and agents, we have started putting our heads together over zoom chats, live Instagram video’s and email, finding new ways on how we can all work together.

There are going to be so many new ways to connect with our audience and clients. How do we in the tourism industry truly connect with our clients and leave an impression that hopefully brings them to our ‘doorstep’. We all are travelers and explorers, how will you be moving forward when planning your trips and experiences?

I am thinking out loud here. On a lighter note, or should I say higher not, I have had some amazing discussions regarding coffee. So when I say high, I was high on caffeine for a couple of days. So let me introduce you to some coffee people we highly admire.

The King of Coffee

We got to talk to King, a remarkable Barista from South Africa who now finds himself in Lisbon Portugal working at the beautiful Coffee roaster and Cafe, Simpli.

We chatted about his journey and passion for coffee along with how it got him traveling the world. He showed us the best way to make use of your V60 pour-over brew method, to perfect that cup of coffee at home.

I will be sure to upgrade my coffee equipment as soon as the lockdown is over, there is so much to be done with coffee.

We asked him what he thinks will or need to change after the lockdown in the coffee scene. His reply was remarkable and so relatable; he wishes to have a more personal window of opportunity with the coffee consumer and buyer. Space where people have more opportunities created where we have the confidence to ask and learn more about coffee.

We should never stop dreaming, as that leads us to explore and wanting more.

Thank you so much, King, for your time and efforts let’s do it again soon.

King’s details are listed below.

Instagram

@favbarista

@simplicoffee

Passion Meets Caffeine

Now, most of you know we do walking food tours and our Essentials food tour starts at Origin Coffee Roasting on Hudson street.

This is one of my favorite coffee shops, cafe, and restaurant in town. The building is super old, built between the 1800-1900s.

It was a privilege to talk to Hayley Arendse she is a qualified Barista at Origin and a wonderful instructor at their Barista school. With her, we got talking about the local coffee industry as she showed us how to master the Aeropress brew method, again I learned so much.

We talked about the importance of the coffee grind, using a scale, the right water temperature and so much more. It is always a pleasure to reconnect with those one admire and learn from every day.