My personal definition of excellence when it comes to coffee, is to get the best drink with the beans and equipment you have within reach. One can totally ruin great coffee beans, even if in possession of an amazing espresso machine, for example. It’s like an equation, but not as exact as mathematics. I think it’s safe to say that the coffee you get as a final product, requires the sharpness of a mathematician and the personal touch of an artist. Don’t get me wrong, my intention it is not to make it sound complicated or unachievable. It’s much more a matter of dedication than anything else.
It’s just like flying! You study the theories, you learn the calculations but there’s that factor in the equation that can only be added with a personal touch. Well, we know the appropriate cruise speed, we calculate the descent point, we descend with a certain rate, we aim the centerline of the runway but that moment when we flare… oh, that is a mixture of technique and art, which comes with hours and hours of practice. And mistakes are necessary to give the pilot the reference to differentiate a good and a bad landing. As a flight instructor, I was always more comfortable with an apprentice who has made a couple of mistakes and learned how to fix them.
That is how it is with coffee. First you HAVE to drink bad coffee (and most of us will for years) then one day fate decides it is time for you to have the delightful experience of drinking great coffee. If you have a call to make a profession out of coffee, that is normally when you find it out. From there you can start experimenting different beans, grinding settings, water temperatures and at a point you achieve excellence. Remember the hours and hours of flying I mentioned before? Well, convert that to cups and cups of coffee. You go from flat, to unbearable sour, passing through unbelievable bitter… And eventually, aha!! You find yourself flying beautifully! One, two, three, 10 butter smooth landings and you are finally a captain!
When one achieves a point when they can repeatedly roast and brew delicious coffee, thats consistency!
Appreciation, determination and dedication pave the path when the goal is to make delicious coffee.
As pilot I really have fun finding the similarities between coffee and aviation. The checklists I created for the coffee business, the documented procedures and the final addition of my personal touch have proven to be interesting and enjoyable for me.
If you love great coffee but have neither the time nor the patience (and literally, the stomach) to dedicate to all the experimentation, the good news is that I am devoted to it! I’m constantly improving the processes and exploring techniques. I find great pleasure in talking with people and finding out how they perceive the coffee world, what they like or what they are looking for. So when you try Aviatori Coffee, please let me know what you think. Grab your mug, buckle up and come fly with me! Roasting coffee and flying have much more in common than you can imagine. Smells good, feels great and the view is always unique!