8) Who What and Where

Who am I?

I’m Trevor Hyam, a self-taught barista working in the UK. I’ve been working with espresso coffee since the beginning of 2004, and living in Cardiff since 2007.

I studied Fine Art at university, graduating in 2000. I continued painting for a while in my spare time, before coming to the conclusion that it wasn’t going to be a viable way of surviving in the real world, without going down more commercial, or pretentious, routes. Meanwhile, I had also been discovering a keen interest for what I was doing in the cafe where I was working, which has since developed into a passion that I now devote myself to as much as I used to with my art. 

There are many parallels that can be drawn between coffee and art, and some people say that creating great coffee is an art - although I would describe my role more as a sort of craftsman: As a barista you develop an intimate feel for the materials you work with, the process, and the end product in the cup. An extra gram or two of dose here, a few pounds more, or less, of pressure in the tamp there, a few extra seconds of extraction, if needed – All your senses become attuned to the subtleties of the espresso and the milk, in an attempt to understand their variables and create something great rather than just average (or worse!). Simply by looking at a shot - watching for the signs - you can begin to predict its success and quality without ever putting it to your lips …although looks can be misleading – the final proof is always in the tasting! 

What’s The Point?

…in terms of this site, there are several main aims:

> To convey my passion and enthusiasm for coffee and particularly espresso coffee.

> To share ideas, techniques and achievements with like minded people who sincerely care about coffee as a drink, and as craft, rather than just a commodity.

> To promote awareness, appreciation and respect for coffeeand particularly espresso as a speciality cuisine in it’s own right, which, at it’s best, can parallel the worlds of wine, or even fine food made by the best chefs in terms of complexity of taste, quality, and the skill, passion and dedication needed to perfect it.

> This site acts as a sort of coffee-journal for me too, enabling me to keep a log of my coffee experiences and opinions over time, in the hope it may aid my ongoing learning process.

>  And, to be completely honest, it’s also an arena for the sort of coffee-geekyness and coffee-minutiae that would baffle or bore most people to tears!

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I am one of a growing number of baristas (or baristi) around the world who take this cuisine and their work seriously, as a culinary art – who love to make really great coffee, and who strive to master all the techniques and variables that are necessary to achieve this (not all baristas adopt this attitude to the job though – for instance, many coffee bar chains give this term to staff who are still quite unskilled, uninterested, and unkowledgeable about coffee).

Obviously, we work within the very narrow framework of just one primary ingredient, but great coffee, like wine, can be capable of a subtle yet vast spectrum of naturally occurring flavour variations within the one basic taste of ‘coffee’. Then there are the many different methods for brewing it, it’s combination with various other ingredients (primarily milk), and the skill (regarding espresso), needed at the very final stage when a barista prepares the coffee. Hence: a cuisine.

This is a concept many people find at best surprising or quaint, and at worst comical or ludicrous: “it’s only coffee!” which can be very disheartening. I keep a balanced perspective on the matter – I accept that for many people a coffee is just a mundane, everyday drink, or a throwaway treat, and this is perfectly understandable (especially given the quality of the coffee many places serve!). But just as food can range from being a pedestrian, functional necessity, to an exquisite delicacy, so coffee (and particularly espresso coffee) also has the potential to become something truly magical and delicious – and this is what I try to convey, through what I do. I see my work as akin to that of a chef, and know that the skills and knowledge needed to unlock this potential fully can take years to acquire; even with everything I’ve learnt so far, I still have an awful lot to learn in order to really be at the top of my game, and I’m still practising and perfecting techniques, and acquiring new knowledge all the time.

Essentially, good baristas are a bit like coffee-chefs! (I know it’s a rather over-simplistic analogy, but it sometimes helps people to ‘get’ what we do)

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I think it’s worth mentioning that I don’t have anything against filter or other styles of brewing coffee. On the contrary, coffee profiled for filter methods can be even more characterful and amazing than great, expertly profiled espresso. But espresso has a special allure and magic all of its own. And I’m a barista; and it’s with espresso that all my techniques and skills really come into play. It’s where I can personally really make a difference in terms of my work, and espresso is therefore what I tend to concentrate on, and promote within this site.

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Where on Earth am I?

I can currently be found making coffee at the plan cafe, in Cardiff city center, and have been there since March 2007. The plan is a lovely little independent cafe that’s been going since about 2002. It’s situated in one of Cardiff’s attractive historic arcades, that still retain lots of original features and house many small businesses. The cafe serves simple yet lovely home-cooked food, and has lots of vegetarian and vegan options. The cafe uses good quality ingredients – many of which are organic. We serve an extensive range of traditional speciality coffees (and teas)  – from filter and cafetieres through to espresso and cappuccino (which we serve in a proper, traditional 6oz cup!).

The plan has a lovely atmosphere, great music, lots of character(s), and is altogether wonderfully unique!

I look after the coffee side of things, specifically. From a more specialist, pro-barista viewpoint, I feel it’s worth mentioning I cannot guarantee you a truly great, world-class coffee if you come to the cafe (I don’t want Schomer making a special visit, expecting to find “una bella tazza di caffe” only to be disappointed). But since my arrival the skills and knowledge used by the staff to prepare the drinks has slowly but surely been improving, as have mine, and we’re now beginning to make some really lovely coffees. The desire to produce truly great coffee is perhaps neither the original nor the main focus of the cafe – it’s more an aspiration that I’ve brought with me, and which the plan has been kind enough to entertain, adopt and support. This is perfectly understandable, given that very few people see a need for the level of specialisation with coffee that I advocate. It does mean however, that there are factors affecting the espresso operation at the cafe (which can’t easily be altered), which restrict the heights that the coffee could potentially achieve.  As quite a large, predominantly food-focussed cafe, for instance, espresso is often only produced intermittently - even during our busy periods – which would create technical problems for even the very best baristas! Also, as head barista and trainer, I do my best to train and guide all staff, but without a real sense that employees have to adopt the learning of barista techniques (or even have an interest in coffee, food, or drink generally) as a job requirement, real professionalism and technical ability when preparing the espresso can often be something of an issue, in terms of achieving the very best espresso drinks.

It’s just the nature of the game to some extent, with quite a high turnover of young, part-time staff and students, etc, most of whom are just ‘passing through’, and who have no interest in coffee, or any respect for it as a craft and skill. Even when the unique opportunity to work with and prepare some of the finest, most interesting coffees you can get is available every day, and when after months (even years) of practice only a fraction of what was initially dismissed as “easy” has actually begun to be properly mastered, the penny still often doesn’t drop (no matter how much training and support is offered, or how many beautiful rosettas are poured to try to temp the senses!); that coffee has so much subtle beauty and complexity to offer, and that to prepare espresso consistently excellently requires such a considerable level of skill and experience. The problem being that the all important dedication and genuine passion for the cuisine, and the bean, just isn’t there. And it doesn’t come along very often, quite understandably, given that it takes a long time to master the skills, yet the prospects are far too unattractive to retain most people – both financially, and in terms of how the finer points of the cuisine, and the job, are appreciated and perceived by others. By charging more for the best food, the best restaurants can make being a great chef attractive by offering high potential wages in a quite respectable and fashionable profession. But at a realistic ceiling of about £2.50 a cup even in the best cafes, the life of the barista remains sadly, but necessarily, less alluring!

But! Have no fear! I’ve implemented a wide-ranging set of simple yet crucial standards for the espresso preparation and milk texturing which are trained and constantly monitored, and which probably exceed what many other cafes have in place. Everyone grinds fresh for each shot, steams fresh for every drink, and watches and times their shots rather than relying on buttons to do the job! Some long standing members of the team have gradually made great progress in mastering sound basic barista techniques, and can pour some really good latte art too! We are continuing to use amazing, fresh, craft-roasted, traceable coffees for both the espresso, and now also for our cafetieres as well. And, the cafe has recently invested in a great state of the art espresso machine, which is helping us to get the best from the wonderful coffees we use. All of these things in combination is still pretty rare in the world of coffee. Hence, whilst it might not always be perfect, I think it’s fair to say the standard of our espresso drinks, at their best, is quite unique in Cardiff (in a good way!), and so, all in all, the cafe is a great place to have a coffee, watch the world go by …and plan!