The end of an era


Dany Marquis

A customer asked a question about coffee this week and I didn't know the answer... Stung to the depths of my pride, I had to admit that I didn't know the answer. And despite the deep wound that this episode left on my omniscient caffeinated ego, I must admit that the numerous articles dealing with health and the effects of coffee, tea, broccoli and salmon on the body have always irritated me. I am a consumer of food for pleasure. I am an enjoyer of the plate, an epicurean of the cup and the idea of ​​eating or drinking something for its therapeutic, pharmaceutical properties is a masterful “turn off”. Might as well eat some pills and move on.

But more and more, we have to answer, as baristas and master roasters, questions about the effects of coffee on health.

I have always considered this sector as an integral part of tea marketing. At the BDQ, they discreetly sell a fairly simple range of tea but which allowed me to discover, with growing unease, the shift in tea drinkers' interest towards the therapeutic properties of tea and herbal teas. “Coming out” public, please don’t be disappointed; I'm a tea drinker. Every day, around 3 p.m., the call for tea is felt. I love original green teas, their complexity and their herbaceous, clear and refreshing liquor. It slows down the pace of the day and prevents me from growling like a gorilla in my luxurious office to relieve stress. (To each their own techniques) In short, I drink it because it's good. Point. As soon as we start talking about antioxidants, cancer, I pick up. I learned to recite the benefits of green tea and respond to customers. But I'll stop there. In any case, the BDQ tea offering is quite simple, no need to go further. So I accepted being asked for Pu-erh , telling me about stomach aches and rooibos for its vitamin C contribution. The shamanism surrounding tea and herbal teas is part of my daily life and I respond as much as I can answer their questions by emphasizing aromas, texture, color, etc. Questions about asthma, allergies, insomnia, libido, colic, eczema pass like bullets around Neo in The Matrix.

Ask me about tea, you'll see a jedi return the question about taste and aromas.

But when it came to coffee, I felt like the smokers in the old smoking rooms, safe, with family, accepted. We drink coffee together, we don't care about the effects and God it's good! To each his own poisons as the guy would say. And until now 100% of coffee discussions revolved around the taste and pleasure of drinking. We drink an espresso for the taste, the sensation and the habit ;-) We discuss the arrivals, roasting, we ask the barista what is in his espresso grinder but we didn't care (note the verb tense) effects on health.

But now someone has come to break the virginal bubble of our universe. Bang! And wonder if the oil on oily coffee contains cholesterol! Because cholesterol...

“Sucker punch” in the face. I wasn't ready for that.

And what's more, he asks questions about black coffee, where the oil comes from, and asks me about cholesterol.

Confused, I think of my fellow black coffee drinkers, for whom coffee is never black enough. They are the worst of the gang, the hardliners of the group, while being the most endearing. They don't care about the therapeutic properties of coffee, and above all, they don't care about the taste! The barista seems like a virgin when he talks about aromas of fruit, berries, vanilla... "Shut up, I want it to taste like smoke, fire, leather, tobacco, Italy, and worse the Harley Davidson. Do you have a mix where you want me to buy it somewhere else?” the strong coffee drinker demands, banging on the bar.

If I had been alone, I would have cried. Is this the end of a world? Will we have to drink our espresso 9m from public buildings? Anxiety invades me and I think of my family, of my business which depends on this brotherhood that I like to see at the bar day after day. For what? Why worry about health effects? I would love to remain in this childish naivety where we consume without worrying about our carcass which disintegrates with the passing of time. For what? For what?

But now I dry my tears, regain my warrior spirit and spit into my hands. The strong will remain. The strong will adapt.

I have to adapt.

This is why I asked a few friends and clients, doctors by profession, to shed some light on the subject of coffee, oils and cholesterol.

Is there cholesterol in coffee? Why do doctors say to stop drinking coffee in certain situations? What's dangerous?

To be continued in the next blog.

Give me a week to digest all this.









2 comments


  • Dany

    Merci Marc, je suis encore loin du roman!

    La Oscar est en effet une belle bête. Si ton budget est plus petit, tu peux opter pour la Rancilio Silvia : http://www.brulerieduquai.com/collections/equipements-residentiels-et-semi-pro/products/ranvilio-silvia

    Avec un moulin comme le Baratza Vario : http://www.brulerieduquai.com/collections/moulins-residentiels-et-semi-pro/products/baratza-vario

    Ça te fait un bon kit.

    Merci d’avoir pris le temps de laisser un commentaire.

    Dany


  • Marc

    Bonjour, je tombe par hasard sur votre site car j’aimerai m’offrir une oscar mais cela étant un peu trop chère pour moi car étant jeune je m’indiscipline à la regarder de loin en ésperant un jour m’offrir cette petite merveille. Mais ce n’est point pour vous faire part de mes états réveurs que je vous écris mais pour vous faire part de mon ressenti en lisant avec delectation vos quelque mots tout en buvant mon café du matin, j’ai eu l’impression en lisant vos humeurs d’aborder un livre sur un “serial-killer-barista-loveur”. Sérieusement, vos “tamper” de phrase son bien tourné, vous devriez écrire un roman. Merci pour cette lecture et bon café.


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