When I first heard the term 'barista', I thought it sounded so much like 'barrister', a member of one of the two classes of lawyers found in UK.
According to Wikipedia, "A barista (from the Italian for "bartender") is a person, usually a coffee-house employee, who prepares and serves espresso-based coffee drinks."
"Baristas generally operate a commercial espresso machine, and their role is preparing the shot and pulling the shot; the degree to which this is automated or done manually varies significantly, ranging from push-button operation to an involved manual process. Machines range from manual (lever), where the pressure is applied by hand, to semi-automatic, where the pressure is applied automatically but brew time is selected by the barista, to automatic, where the brew time is also preset (but preparing the grinds is still manual), to super-automatic, where the barista need only load the beans and push a button, but is otherwise completely automated. Espresso is a notoriously finicky beverage, and thus good manual espresso making is considered a skilled task. Further, preparation of other beverages, particularly milk-based drinks such as cappuccinos and lattes, but also non-espresso coffee such as drip or press pot, requires additional work and skill for effective frothing and pouring, most spectacularly, latte art..."
In case anyone got the impression I am a coffee lover, I am not, though I don't mind having a cup when in the famous white coffee shop in Ipoh. It seems odd to order an ordinary cup of tea there. Once, in UK, I ordered Expresso since it was the cheapest on the menu and it was so strong that I had to add lots of cream to overcome its bitter taste, much to the amusement of those with me. Last night, I happened to watch a discovery channel on Astro and a barista was showing the different results from slight changes to the process. Anyway, now it is trendy to have one little coffee-making machine at home for those who love coffee. Honestly, I don't need nor want to know.
According to Wikipedia, "A barista (from the Italian for "bartender") is a person, usually a coffee-house employee, who prepares and serves espresso-based coffee drinks."
"Baristas generally operate a commercial espresso machine, and their role is preparing the shot and pulling the shot; the degree to which this is automated or done manually varies significantly, ranging from push-button operation to an involved manual process. Machines range from manual (lever), where the pressure is applied by hand, to semi-automatic, where the pressure is applied automatically but brew time is selected by the barista, to automatic, where the brew time is also preset (but preparing the grinds is still manual), to super-automatic, where the barista need only load the beans and push a button, but is otherwise completely automated. Espresso is a notoriously finicky beverage, and thus good manual espresso making is considered a skilled task. Further, preparation of other beverages, particularly milk-based drinks such as cappuccinos and lattes, but also non-espresso coffee such as drip or press pot, requires additional work and skill for effective frothing and pouring, most spectacularly, latte art..."
In case anyone got the impression I am a coffee lover, I am not, though I don't mind having a cup when in the famous white coffee shop in Ipoh. It seems odd to order an ordinary cup of tea there. Once, in UK, I ordered Expresso since it was the cheapest on the menu and it was so strong that I had to add lots of cream to overcome its bitter taste, much to the amusement of those with me. Last night, I happened to watch a discovery channel on Astro and a barista was showing the different results from slight changes to the process. Anyway, now it is trendy to have one little coffee-making machine at home for those who love coffee. Honestly, I don't need nor want to know.
1 comment:
Drinking espresso is like drink whiskey neat. I would order cappuccino and add the espresso to it, to get the extra kick. However I prefer the local Hailam black coffee, freshly roasted and brewed thick through the cloth strainer. Unfortunately, freshly roasted coffee is a rarity and almost extinct. How we long for the yesteryears, for freshly roasted coffee, roasted in a big kuali under the rain tree behind the coffee shop. Taken with freshly baked bread, toasted over a charcoal fire, smothered with a thick layer of kaya, adding on a slice of frozen butter. That was one of the finer things in life, lost forever.
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