In pursuit of the perfect cappuccino
Possessing dexterous hands and well-practiced techniques, baristas were pressed to prove there is more to the beverage than extracting beans and adding milk.
“What is the perfect cappuccino?”
A barista spends his days brewing over this question, churning out cup after cup in pursuit of its answer.
The best interpretation of this question was what Mugg & Bean sought when it put KwaZulu-Natal’s baristas to the test on January 27.
Holding monthly assessments across its branches to find the ‘cream of the crop’, Mugg & Bean selected the best-performing baristas from across the province to participate. Part of a group of over 100 participants from KZN, Mondli Maseya and Andile Gordon, local barista’s at Mugg & Bean Newcastle, were selected to attend the prestigious competition.
Possessing dexterous hands and well-practiced techniques, baristas were pressed to prove there is more to the beverage than extracting beans and adding milk.
Baristas combine a number of factors, from temperature to texture, in forming their concoctions.
Using only the freshest ingredients and equipment designed solely to deliver the richest coffee experience available, preparation begins by measuring out the exact ratio of milk to coffee for the desired cup size in a foaming jug.
The next step, foaming, requires following a precise procedure involving positioning the steam-tip within a specific ‘zone’ inside the milk. In this step, baristas lend a second sense, hearing, identifying the necessary zone by listening for a distinct ‘vortex’ sound emitted when the steam-tip is inserted just far enough into the foaming jug.
Milk heats up and rises during the foaming process, to counter this and keep the steam-tip well positioned; the barista incorporates an artful drop of the foaming jug as the milk reaches around 40 to 45 degrees Celsius.
Simple as it may sound, induce too much air into the milk and rather than getting a silky or creamy texture, you get a foaming stack of gravity defying, milky bubbles.
Now comes the swirl.
Containing heated and foamed milk, simultaneously swirling the foaming jug as the milk foams lends texture and maintains the consistency of the milk, as it will begin to separate after the heating processes. The ending temperature of the milk should be around 70 degrees Celsius; overheating will lead to a loss of both texture and flavour.
With a final tap to remove excess air bubbles, the beverage is now created. When transferring the prepared milk into their selected cup, the baristas need to have their desired design in mind from the beginning; design is created simultaneously.
All in just under a minute.
A unique canvas to unleash their creativity, Mondli and Andile take pride in the designs crowning their every coffee, most of which they come up with themselves.
Franchisee, Sue Law, congratulated her baristas for placing in the top 10 baristas within Mugg & Bean for the second time.
“We’re very proud of their achievements! They get better every year. From starting with no prior experience at all, to get to where they’re at now is quite something.”
Head barista, Mondli, took fourth place and Andile snatched fifth place from far more experienced baristas.
Mondli began his barista training shortly before the opening of Newcastle’s Mugg & Bean branch in 2012, and now holds the position of head barista.
Andile, on the other hand, has worked at the restaurant for about two years. In this short time, both baristas have gained vast experience, slowly becoming masters of their trade, as is testament in Mugg & Bean as a brand recognising them as part of the best.
