I can’t pick a favourite but I can remember the ‘gateway’, my progression and some notable moments. Like you I wasn’t a coffee drinker. I didn’t hate it and I do remember enjoying iced coffee as a teenager that I used to make at home in a Nescafé shaker using milk, ice, Blend 43 instant, sugar and occasionally some Milo if I felt like it. But then I just stopped drinking coffee altogether as I didn’t really like hot drinks of any kind. If I was ever somewhere cold and felt the need I just went with black tea. But a few years into my 20s I went rock climbing in the Port Hills with a friend visiting from Sydney. He wanted a coffee on the way and when I didn’t get one he basically asked me what was wrong with me. 🤣 It stuck in my brain and it just so happened that at the time I had some Robert Timms coffee bags at home that I’d received as a gift in a Christmas hamper. I was curious so I tried them and was surprised to find I liked them. I tried a few different coffees over the following weeks and quickly worked out I liked strong black coffee, usually with one or two sugars. So for the next few years it was long blacks or strong filter coffee made at work on the old filter machine with cheap, shitty coffee and always two sugars. I became a regular at a couple of cafes and got to know staff on a first name basis. At one cafe in particular I didn’t even need to order - I’d walk in, join the queue and my coffee would be ready by the time I got to the cash register. Sadly Cafe Metro was a victim of the quakes. The next stages were actually driven by family. The birth of my daughter made me think I needed an espresso machine at home (correct). Then our move to Auckland got me drinking milk coffees as the water there was worse and black coffees just not as nice. Roasts were generally darker too due to the flat white being so prominent. And once I was firmly a cappuccino drinker I started realising I didn’t really need sugar. It wasn’t until we moved back to Canterbury in 2012 that things really got out of hand and I quickly got into single origins, machine refurbishing and then filter brewing. I’ve had lots of amazing coffee over the years but one that really sticks in my mind as a turning point that got me drinking more filter coffee was a Kenyan Nyeri that I had at The Hangar the morning after the GnR concert at the Caketin in 2017 (in the middle of a cyclone). I’d been drinking filter coffee for a few years already but it was the best I’d had to the point and definitely a turning point. Other memories include being runner up in the 2015 Regional Home Barista champs at the old C4, and competing in both regional Aeropress competitions in Christchurch, making the quarter finals once. It’s been fun.
It's funny how some of those conversations and settings stick with ya.
I remember that day when GnR played in Welly. I didn't go to the gig but I remember that town was packed and the rain kept on falling. It was one of those really wet rains - where even inside felt disgustingly wet.
From memory we flew up on the Friday night and the day/evening before the concert on the Friday was the wettest. Whenever it was I reckon I got wetter than I’ve ever been in my life in casual clothes trying to get back to our hotel on Willis St after grabbing some food. We got so wet in the space of about a minute that we just gave up trying to stay dry. There was rain and a lot of wind on the way to the concert. So much so that the electronic gates at the caketin malfunctioned and most of us were locked out for an hour. It was so close to being cancelled but thankfully went ahead and was actually pretty good. It even stopped raining!
More like, i was an employee ;). I remember one day where I wanted to leave early to go kayaking so I bought in my yak and just stashed it under my desk - then I just left! Those were the days
I still remember you coming back from the US and telling us about that Starbucks coffee; you ‘got’ why we loved coffee now, which was hilarious considering my short black habit but hey, whatever it takes 😂😁
I remember you laughing at me haha - tbf if it wasn't for your love of the black coffee, and insisting that it was the way of the true coffee master, I would have continued down the Starbucks style of coffee. My taste buds, and my heart health, thank you.
I can’t pick a favourite but I can remember the ‘gateway’, my progression and some notable moments. Like you I wasn’t a coffee drinker. I didn’t hate it and I do remember enjoying iced coffee as a teenager that I used to make at home in a Nescafé shaker using milk, ice, Blend 43 instant, sugar and occasionally some Milo if I felt like it. But then I just stopped drinking coffee altogether as I didn’t really like hot drinks of any kind. If I was ever somewhere cold and felt the need I just went with black tea. But a few years into my 20s I went rock climbing in the Port Hills with a friend visiting from Sydney. He wanted a coffee on the way and when I didn’t get one he basically asked me what was wrong with me. 🤣 It stuck in my brain and it just so happened that at the time I had some Robert Timms coffee bags at home that I’d received as a gift in a Christmas hamper. I was curious so I tried them and was surprised to find I liked them. I tried a few different coffees over the following weeks and quickly worked out I liked strong black coffee, usually with one or two sugars. So for the next few years it was long blacks or strong filter coffee made at work on the old filter machine with cheap, shitty coffee and always two sugars. I became a regular at a couple of cafes and got to know staff on a first name basis. At one cafe in particular I didn’t even need to order - I’d walk in, join the queue and my coffee would be ready by the time I got to the cash register. Sadly Cafe Metro was a victim of the quakes. The next stages were actually driven by family. The birth of my daughter made me think I needed an espresso machine at home (correct). Then our move to Auckland got me drinking milk coffees as the water there was worse and black coffees just not as nice. Roasts were generally darker too due to the flat white being so prominent. And once I was firmly a cappuccino drinker I started realising I didn’t really need sugar. It wasn’t until we moved back to Canterbury in 2012 that things really got out of hand and I quickly got into single origins, machine refurbishing and then filter brewing. I’ve had lots of amazing coffee over the years but one that really sticks in my mind as a turning point that got me drinking more filter coffee was a Kenyan Nyeri that I had at The Hangar the morning after the GnR concert at the Caketin in 2017 (in the middle of a cyclone). I’d been drinking filter coffee for a few years already but it was the best I’d had to the point and definitely a turning point. Other memories include being runner up in the 2015 Regional Home Barista champs at the old C4, and competing in both regional Aeropress competitions in Christchurch, making the quarter finals once. It’s been fun.
It's funny how some of those conversations and settings stick with ya.
I remember that day when GnR played in Welly. I didn't go to the gig but I remember that town was packed and the rain kept on falling. It was one of those really wet rains - where even inside felt disgustingly wet.
From memory we flew up on the Friday night and the day/evening before the concert on the Friday was the wettest. Whenever it was I reckon I got wetter than I’ve ever been in my life in casual clothes trying to get back to our hotel on Willis St after grabbing some food. We got so wet in the space of about a minute that we just gave up trying to stay dry. There was rain and a lot of wind on the way to the concert. So much so that the electronic gates at the caketin malfunctioned and most of us were locked out for an hour. It was so close to being cancelled but thankfully went ahead and was actually pretty good. It even stopped raining!
And you were a great employee, particularly for bringing the lolz on the daily 😁
More like, i was an employee ;). I remember one day where I wanted to leave early to go kayaking so I bought in my yak and just stashed it under my desk - then I just left! Those were the days
I still remember you coming back from the US and telling us about that Starbucks coffee; you ‘got’ why we loved coffee now, which was hilarious considering my short black habit but hey, whatever it takes 😂😁
I remember you laughing at me haha - tbf if it wasn't for your love of the black coffee, and insisting that it was the way of the true coffee master, I would have continued down the Starbucks style of coffee. My taste buds, and my heart health, thank you.