Every now
and then most of us in coffee trade and hospitality, get questioned about ‘that
first moment’, when coffee became a/the big/gest part of their life, be it as amateur
or (later as) professional. Often heard is THE moment someone drank ‘another’
coffee, then they were used to. Probably the time and place and mindset and (in
both senses) company intervened considerably. Let’s agree to “blame” serendipity here. (I ♥ serendipity)
For me it
was a build-up several years, being around my father, him always creating some
mythical stuff around brewing, ordering and tasting. Respectively, a pinch of salt
on the grounds and blooming first, very important! (I’m talking the 80’s now).
Ordering meant asking for the exact description of the beverage, usually
espresso, so especially on holidays in Spain it had to be a café solo
(NOT just “un café” or worse, “un expresso”). And tasting… the first sip always
seemed to decide his mood for the next hour(s). It became a habit to –
cautiously – ask him after that first sip had sunken in: “And? Is it good..?”.
Later
I inherited his Krups portafilter machine, a holy (albeit mostly plastic)
device, for only being meant to be used on special occasions. Between then and now coffee
slowly, became more and more one of the (three 😉) most important things in life for me. Continuously upgrading my soft-
and hardware, fed by more (and more, and *more*) information and all other 3rd wave’s be(a)nefits, sideways collecting logo branded espresso cups as a hobby that is getting a bit out of hand 😂. And oh yeah… switching careers 11 years
ago!
Of course I
do remember the feeling and experience my regular cortado at Dutch first specialty
shop Coffee Company gave me about 20 years ago (often made by barista Jasper Uhlenbusch,
their current green coffee buyer) – a cortado then being a sophisticated step-up
from bigger milky drinks from lesser quality beans; the moment from whom I had
my first specialty beans (Has Bean UK as a 12-months subscriber back in 2008!);
and I do know when I drank my first Geisha (in 2013 and no, not a Panamanian
but the ‘original’ first Central-American, a Costa Rican, from Coffea Diversa
via Brazuca Coffee Amsterdam).
All are great moments and memories! But was one
of these my real first sensorically subliminal momentum (“a stimulus or
mental process below the threshold of sensation or consciousness; perceived by
or affecting someone's mind without their being aware of it.”)??
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| (c) Haagsche Courant, 1975 |
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| (Denneweg 126, The Hague - year and photographer unknown) |
These
pictures represent *that* moment probably best. This is “Inproc”, an
ancient establishment (read more about them below) in The Hague, The Netherlands, where I, as a little kid at the age of 8-10
years sometimes joined my father when he was buying tea (!).
The walk up to
the doorstep always raised excitement, literally. And also a pleasantly weird aversion 😏 just narrowly overtaken by
curiousness with regards to… the aroma of roasted coffee [💥] !! Overwhelming
in all senses, together with the noises from the customers, the negotiations, … and that roaring
roaster, all of this in a weirdly darkish atmosphere, creating a mysterious
ambiance, as if sensory secrets were being produced and traded (which they were
of course 😬). This is the place where the seed
must have bean [sic] planted in me!
✏ Now.. how about your roots in coffee?!
About Inproc
(Indonesian PROducts Center):
Already in
1853 this company started selling Indonesian products in a shop in The Hague. Three
different families ran the business for 114 years until 1967 when the pictured Buys
family took over. Piet and Corrie had little experience with stores, but by
opting for quality and attention they were successful (hear, hear!). The coffee
was freshly roasted and ground by themselves and they also blended the tea in-house.
The focus more and more became on these two products, no longer selling other
(typical Indonesian) products such as “kroepoek” and “tempeh”. After Piet's
death in 1993, Corrie continued with the help of trusted employees. Unfortunately,
Corrie also passed away in the first decade of this century. The store
threatened to close four years ago, but coincidentally it was saved by a
Chinese statue in the shop window. The statue was owned by the Buys family. The
owner contacted Krista, the daughter of Piet and Corrie: she had to come and
get the statue because the store was closing. She couldn’t let that happen and decided
to… buy the store back into the family! Krista succeeded her parents with pride
and enthusiasm. To this day – 20 steps further down the same road, there are
still customers who already came to get orders from her parents at the time.
(tekst adapted
from www.ikgidsudoordenhaag.nl from
city guide Jacqueline Alders)
