You oughta know #34

In this issue of You Oughta Know: Wellington’s new barista champ is… from Dunedin; Hard times for the Wellington coffee scene; A brief history of coffee as a medicine.

Tēnā koe e hoa! Welcome back to You Oughta Know, the only place on the internets where you can get coffee news, the latest gossip and virtual meetings of the Black Caps Supporters Support Group.

The last week was a tough one for Black Caps fans, with the ‘narrow’ loss against Australia at Hagley Oval. We did it to ourselves though (as usual). As Dylan Cleaver from The Bounce Substack wrote:

“New Zealand fumbled too many key moments, and fluffed too many big decisions. This series highlighted some deficiencies in the team’s on- and off-field leadership and, as difficult as it is to acknowledge it, the ‘golden generation’ is well and truly over.”

Sad to see. But at least coffee will never let you down as badly as the Black Caps.

Coffee makes everything better.

Enough of the crying.

In this issue of You Oughta Know: Wellington’s new barista champ is… from Dunedin; Hard times for the Wellington coffee scene; A brief history of coffee as a medicine.

Wellington has a new Regional Barista Champion! From Dunedin!

The best barista in Wellington is… from Dunedin!

Jason Moore from Vanguard Specialty Coffee has taken out the Wellington Regional Barista Champs, showing those North Island chumps who is boss, and further cementing the Capital’s coffee-cred demise.

L-R Eunyoung Lee, Jason Moore, Max Yuqi Cui, and Jay Marshall-Makaea. Source: NZSCA website

There was only one Wellington based competitor in the top four - Max Yuqi Cui from Mojo Coffee.

It’s great to see the regional barista champs format back up and running, as it gives a bigger range of competitors a taste of the action. The New Zealand coffee scene is strong and we’ll be in a great position on the global stage at the worlds.

Congrats to everyone who competed, smashed their goals and got a taste of the action. I can’t wait to see the New Zealand Barista champs play out, later in 2024.

The Post: The who’s who of Wellington’s cafe scene

The Post did an article last week on the ‘cafe’ scene, and the roasters who call the capital home. It covers some of the OGs of the coffee scene, how big acquisitions have impacted the competition, and the affects of COVID.

It’s a grim read.

Times are tough for roasters, cafes, and small-business owners. Rising costs, competition, the cost of living. It’s all having a big impact on the once lauded scene in Wellington.

Jason and Cate Hall, of Petone’s Ripe Coffee, had this to say about the Wellington coffee landscape:

“Wellington coffee as we once knew it has changed ... there are too many cafes. There are a lot that are making little to no money so you can understand why the owners are looking for sharp pricing,” Jason Hall says.

“The issue is that independent cafes just don't do the coffee volumes they once did. With more franchise cafes around and the availability of an OK coffee at your local petrol station, there's only so many coffee drinkers to go around.

“The start-up cost to open a cafe, wage costs, the high rent and operating expenses means the model in Wellington will change [again].”

It’s a heck of an interesting, grim and sad read.

Go support your local.

Sprudge: A brief history of coffee as medicine

Coffee as medicine? Sprudge has the goods.

From jumping goats to late night prayers, coffee has a pretty storied history.

Turns out, coffee’s role as a medicine is just as fascinating as the journey from farm to cup.

Sprudge took a look at the history of coffee as a medicine. Across centuries and cultures, coffee has been an important tool in the treatment, and prevention, of illness.

The Oromo people from Ethiopia, used to use coffee to treat headaches, and use it when people started feeling ill.

In the 1600s, coffee was thought to cure alcoholism in England, along with preventing and curing gout and scurvy.

In the 1800s, the Chinese used it to move constrained liver qi, to cool and heat the body, a treat a range of disease.

It’s an interesting article that will encourage you to drink more coffee! Must be good then.

Coming up on The Magic Roast

• The AeroPress Flow Control Cap - is it worth it?

• One run at a time.

• April’s bean of the month: Sister Coffee.

• If it’s not Fair Trade(TM), is it fairly traded?

• A review of the Orea V3 brewer.

• Re:up: The most important coffee tool to have is…