- Culture
- 20 Mar 01
Jackie Hayden reports on the ever-more sophisticated choices available to today s coffee-lover.
In a modern development that makes the language of wine buffs sound deadly dull by comparison, there is a special lingo emerging among coffee connoisseurs that will soon merit a whole Linguaphone course to itself.
Not surprisingly, although most of the more common coffee terminology can trace its origins back to Italy, many of the more inventive words and phrases currenly in vogue have emanated from the USA. Before entering any of the chicest coffee emporia these days you would almost need to fit yourself out with a special dictionary to help you decipher what s on the menu for what they now call Javaheads . Fortunately, Ireland is not going to miss out on the fun as trends here are not far behind.
The explosion in the range of coffees available on the marketplace is part of what psychologists are denoting as a form of social coding people show off their hipness by the manner in which they articulate their coffee requirements. It s just like what wine buffs have been doing for centuries with the added advantage that its socially okay to order coffee for breakfast!
There was a time, not so long ago, when ordering coffee was a simple, if humdrum, affair. You either asked for black or white and added your own sugar to taste. No degree in thermo-nuclear energy required. But that was in the days of one size fits all, before we all became more demanding and more sophisticated consumers. The old black or white approach, alongside sipping tasteless and anonymous instant coffee, is now really only for the lower orders on the coffee hierarchy.
Today, coffee can be ordered in short or tall or grande sizes. You can order decaffeinated or recaffeinated, which means the caffeine is put back in. Or you can plump for latte, cappuccino, espresso, mocha and many other varieties with as many shots of coffee as you wish depending how strong (or, as they say in some quarters, rocket-fuelled ) you like it. There are countless flavourings that can be added to match your taste requirements, so browsing over the coffee menu is now even more complex than choosing wine, and requires, and deserves, just as much thought and deliberation.
In the US you can actually ask for a wet coffee, which has less foam, whereas a dry one (guess) has extra foam. Skinny denotes low-fat. A decaf made with skimmed milk is called harmless , while a flavoured moo is simply flavoured milk. A no-fun rocket-fuelled with wings , believe it or not, indicates either a decaf coffee with a re-added full dose of caffeine for taking away!
Some of this terminology has already livened up some Irish cafes, so it s clearly no longer a case of any coffee will do for the discerning Irish coffeehead. Drinking coffee is now a highly sophisticated activity about which we all have a lot to learn. But one thing s for sure, the learning process is going to be a lot of fun.
Bewley s Goes musical
Meanwhile, Bewley s, one of the longest-established names on the Irish coffee market, have responded to the staggering recent growth in the market by expanding into the musical entertainment business at their Grafton Street branch. With many people preferring to spend as much time in a coffee bar/restaurant as they might heretofore have spent in a pub, as and from last month you can make a real night of it in Bewley s Harry Clarke Room with full dinner and live contemporary music every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday night for a fraction under #30 per person from 7.45 onwards.
Now equipped with a fully-licensed bar, Bewley s music menu offers such fine contemporary acts as Con O Gorman, Robert Geraghty and Alan Dee, with the main floor show kicking off at 9 pm with the Causeway Dancers.
Since seating is limited to 110, advance booking is strongly advised by calling 01-6355488.
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courting success
GERRY AND Kate Brennan are two other cafe owners who must be proud of the way business is thriving. Their Courts Coffee Shop on Merchant s Quay is neatly positioned along the Liffey adjacent to the busy family law court and virtually opposite the Four Courts, scene of many a national news story.
A lot of our customers come in once or twice a day, so there s a very personal, friendly atmosphere, says Gerry. My wife, Kate, is in charge of the cooking and insists on everything being homemade. That s one of the reasons why people keep on coming back.
Kate s freshly-prepared specials include Lasagne, Pizza, Quiches, Curries, Shepherd s Pie, Chicken Vol-Au-Vent and Spare Ribs. The menu also includes an all-day breakfast and rolls freshly made to order.
We have a saying which is if it s not good enough for ourselves, it s not good enough for our customers , Gerry continues. The same applies to our coffee which is as good as any you ll taste`locally.
For those in a hurry, Courts has a phone and FAX service whereby if you ring in before 12.30pm, your order will be waiting for you when you arrive in for lunch.
Another thing we re introducing in September is a delivery service for the immediate area. A lot of our regulars are professionals who can t always get out of the office, so there s plenty of demand.
The Courts Coffee Shop premises are bright and airy with a fine view across the Liffey and the clientele ranges from labourers in their dungarees to bewigged pillars of the establishment. The cafi opens at 8am and is conveniently situated beside a newsagency where you can pick up your morning paper or copy of Hot Press before retiring to Courts to fortify yourself for the day ahead.
You can contact them at (01) 6711601 or Fax through an order at (01) 6707071. n