Coromandel Life Spring/Holiday 2014

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A Life in Coffee...
OUR DAILY
F I X
Neville Morgan of homebaristashop brings a world of experience to
his expertise: everything about the world of coffee. World, literally! In
the 1980s, Neville and his wife Elaine hitch hiked through the coffee
mountains of Central America, gathering first hand experience of coffee
plantations and developing an interest in the industry.
On returning to NZ Neville joined the management team to establish the
Robert Harris Coffee Shops. “Back then the challenge was to convince
the café owners to start serving fresh coffee,” Neville says. “They
didn’t want to risk losing those customers loyal to Red Ribbon Roast
and Nescafé. However, in the 1990s, there was a revolution in coffee
preferences; the public got hooked on the flavours and aromas of the real
deal and the coffee house scene has never looked back.”
In the early 1990’s Neville and Elaine started a nationwide coffee
distribution business and they began importing home coffee roasters,
marketing them with green coffee bean packs. In 2004 they took four
years off. “We travelled the world in our caravan, and home schooled our
son Alan”, shares Neville, “We sought out brewing techniques and coffee
secrets everywhere: around the campfire, in hotel kitchens, Italian cafes
and even North of the Arctic Circle in Lapland.”
In 2008, they returned to Tauranga. They expanded this business to
service over 80 restaurants and cafés with equipment, beans, and training
in the Coromandel, Waikato and Bay of Plenty.
Earlier this year they sold the business and are now focusing on the
growing home barista market. After considerable research at worldwide
coffee expos, they have introduced to the NZ market a range of espresso
machines and grinders from Magister of Milan, Italy. They also import a
wide range of coffee accessories.
Besides supplying roasted coffee and green beans they also offer
barista training and workshops. Neville is loving this personal touch. He
conducts regular trips to the Coromandel to demonstrate his equipment
and provide home barista training. “The training is specifically to help you
to produce café quality coffee in your own home”, he explains. Contact
Neville on 07 576 4800 or visit discuss
equipment options, try their coffee blends or to arrange training.
The right tool for
the right job, such
as the 10 items
in this barista kit
– everything you
need to get
started.
At right is the
highly acclaimed
Magister Stella
Professional
Home Espresso
Machine.
E SPRESSO MACHINES were common in
Italy before WWII, but they did not arrive
in Wellington until the 1950s. The early
espresso machine shown is from the Cafe
L’Affare on College Street in Wellington.
For many Kiwi coffee drinkers, coffee means
espresso. It is the purest distillation of the
coffee bean, the literal essence of a bean –
and the machines to capture this essence
have been evolving since the 1800s. Louis
Bernard Rabaut used steam to force hot
water through grounds, creating the first
‘espresso’ machine in 1822.
A steam brewing machine shown at the
1896 World’s Fair held claim to brewing
3000 cups per hour. However the
temperature of direct steam is too hot for
a good brew: 90-96°C is best. And, with
the correct pressure, the water penetrates
the grounds rather than just flowing around
them. More oils! More crema!
Luigi Bezzera then came up with an
improvement, and Pavoni manufactured this
design starting in 1905. The early designs
Espresso
just for you!
A COSTLY ADDICTION
INSPIRES HOME BARISTAS
Kiwi coffee connoisseurs will go a long way to get their daily fix.
Many we talked to call daily into their favourite café, exiting with
cup in hand – which can mean spending over $1800 per year!
That makes me feel much better about the $1000 investment
recently made on a Rancilio Silvia home espresso machine. Many
coffee lovers are following suit; the ‘home barista’ is on the rise!
Actually, Greg and I have been doing home espressos for over
15 years. We have gone through all those regular coffee... burnt-
perked-drip-pressed... methods. Then we landed squarely on
espresso and have been enjoying lattes at home ever since.
Preparing a ‘good’ espresso requires the combination of an
excellent machine and the skill to operate it. Greg had been
yearning for the Rancilio for years and was pleased when, after
purchasing the machine from homebaristashop, owner Neville
Morgan himself arrived in Tairua to give Greg a personal lesson.
We were very impressed with his knowledge – he has been in
the coffee supply business for over 30 years – and he agreed to
share more with us the latest about the rise of the home barista.
Statistics of New Zealand sales of hot beverage makers from
a few years ago saw a marked decrease in tea makers and
percolators, and a double digit rise in sales of espresso makers.
The average price of these machines was then $400.
Lately on the scene are the capsule coffee machines with
their gourmet coffee pods. Handy, yes, but they are still a drip
method for the most part, and they do not reach the heights of
real pressurised espresso machines. The cost per capsule can
top $2. (We are hearing rave reviews about the Nespresso, a
pressure driven capsule machine, but coffee capsules are again
very pricey.) – Tovi Daly
Grind beans fresh. Brew it yourself,
What next? Roasting green beans
yourself! Roast in 15 minutes and
save money too with this Imex CR100
Home Coffee Roaster, recommended
by Neville Morgan. (16 stages of
various roasts shown at left.)
22 COROMANDEL LIFE LATE SPRING/HOLIDAY 2014