Coffee please.

I think being a bartender in most establishments now days also means taking on the role of house barista. If you have never worked behind a bar that has a coffee machine then it can be a bit daunting at first but once you get to grips with all the components it can become a bit of an obsession. From espresso to latte, coffee without a doubt is a big part of my daily routine, If I'm not making it for someone I'm consuming it to get me through the day.

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to take a trip to Italian Aroma, an independent family run coffee company. Drum roasting every batch by hand using traditional Italian methods. I at first was surprised at the size of the place, it was being ran out of a small industrial building but I would soon learn how passionate the people who work/run the company are. I was immediately asked if I would like a coffee, I accepted the generous offer and asked for a latte. Now I'm no coffee expert but I know how I like my coffee, the coffee I drink at work has a kick of bitterness to it so some sugar is required but the latte I received not only looked fantastic it was the smoothest coffee I had ever tasted, it was like silk with a beautiful light roast and a rich after taste. Instant fan.

I was then introduced to what I think will be the next big thing to hit coffee shops all over Glasgow and the rest of the UK, U-Roast. U-Roast is a micro roasting machine which enables you to roast fresh coffee in 20 minutes, this could revolutionise boutique coffee businesses all over the world and it on its way to doing so. Imagine being able to offer a customer a different freshly roasted coffee every day, I personally cant wait to see this explode in Glasgow and try out the different coffee roasts that will be available. We put some fresh coffee on to roast and was then shown through to the roasting floor by Kevin the Master Roaster, this is where "the magic happens". All the beans are hand roasted to perfection by a team of highly driven professionals, It was interesting to see the whole process went down from bean to cup. A fresh batch was just about to be taken out as an apprentice was keeping a close eye on the roast, the rate of which the beans roast increases dramatically towards to the end of its roasting cycle so it can be easily burnt it not monitored carefully. Under Kevin's watchful eye it was released on to the cooling table and it was perfect. The entire process was so fascinating and I learned some really cool things about coffee I never even thought to think about. I was given a bag of the freshly roasted coffee we put on before the small tour and It tasted fantastic when I got it home. I just want to thank all the staff at Italian Aroma for showing me around their fantastic facility and letting me sample their their amazing coffee selection. I would keep an eye out for these guys.

for more information on Italian Aroma link here: https://www.italianaromacoffee.co.uk/