A guide for drinking coffee?

Many years ago my dad used to help out a friend in a coffee-bean roastery during the weekends. I always joined him, playing hide & seek between the huge stockpiles of fresh Costa Rica beans. My love for good coffee started right there, at the age of 7. And my senses kept evolving through the years. I'm 27 now, which makes me a 20 years coffee connoisseur.

I work in an advertising agency as a new media designer. Visiting clients and having meetings is everyday's business. And so is drinking coffee. Some companies consider it part of their culture, their brand. Others couldn't care less. A shame.
Therefore I figured it might be fun sharing my coffee experiences during those meetings and visits. Enjoy!

Aims and Objectives

In a primary stage this guide is focused on Belgian companies. I have visited all mentioned companies on a personal base. The list will grow in time as overseas meetings and trips are foreseen.

If it happens you're serving delicious coffee, and your company is not listed below, please don't hesitate to invite me: info [at] suspiciousminds.com

On a personal note: be a man and don't drink decaf. And for Christ's sake don't put sugar in your coffee!

Nosing and tasting

Whilst drinking coffee I pay attention to a lot of details. Good coffee should have a full-bodied aromatic character. Very dark, with sublime overtones. Mellow and well-balanced (bitter vs acid). Hand-roasted coffee is the best, with Columbian and Costa Rica blends as my favourites.

Downloads

 suspiciousminds' guide to quality coffee drinking (PDF, 88 Kb)

 suspiciousminds' guide to quality coffee drinking (Excel, 20 Kb)

 suspiciousminds' guide to quality coffee drinking (FlashPaper, 342 Kb)

The boiled down conclusion

Masda stands out with excellence in serving coffee. Their diversity of coffee flavours was dazzling and should inspire all other companies! Even the possibility to read magazines & gazettes in a relaxed environment was most charming.

Vedior would be your worst case scenario ever. Instant powder coagulating and floating around in what was believed to be coffee. Just horrible. I'd rather have a meeting with no coffee served (Massive, Nationale Loterij, Ernst & Young) than to poison my dearly beloved papillae with tasteless chemicals.

One last tip to sign off: when you poor out your cup of coffee: AERATE IT.
This means holding your cup very low whilst pooring. The air which gets mixed highlights the different flavours and aspects of coffee. Satisfaction guaranteed!

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