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My Coffee story is one which probably shares a lot of moments as yours. Like most people, my story starts out as a coffee drinker, and like a lot of teenage coffee drinkers, sweetness was the order of the day. I would unashamedly order my Cappuccino with two sugars, or even a cheeky caramel latte, which is why I know to never judge a person by the coffee they order. We’re all just at different stages of our coffee journey.
I started working in coffee about seven years ago, and like most I went through the whole coffee chain upbringing. Again, these businesses always take a bashing in specialty coffee, but how often do you hear about people who want to get a job as a barista, only for them to be turned down by cafe after cafe, advertising for baristas with a minimum two years’ experience. How are you supposed to get this experience if no one will give you a shot?
It was somewhere in these first few years that I decided I really loved the industry, and although I was just working in a cafe job until I decided what I wanted to do with my life, I started to discover that this was who I wanted to be.
During this time, my thirst for coffee knowledge was immense, and coming from a small country town, the number of places for me to visit to learn about coffee was limited. I went to the internet to learn as much information as I could, but as anyone who’s spent time on the internet knows, there is a lot of conflicting information, so I decided to start Britzz Venture.
At the time I was trying to learn about latte art, and I thought
I’d document my development, thinking that posting videos would be a cool way to learn and at the same time teach others who were looking to learn as well.
I decided to move to the city, to find a place to work where I could take my coffee knowledge to the next level. Penang is a heritage state where I’ve spent the last few years working and learning.
Penang has been such an important place for me to foster my coffee passion. During my time there, I started as a barista, before being given the opportunity to learn to roast coffee. Being the passionate person I am, I took the bull by the horns, learning, and developing the coffee with the team of roasters.
This has opened up a whole new side of coffee, chatting with farmers and suppliers, choosing farms for our seasonal programmes, all the while trying to juggle the Britzz Venture audience, a growing community of coffee lovers with a thirst for great coffee, and great coffee content.
Why Ethical
Coffee Matters
An increasing number of people are now familiar with coffee that has an ethical core. Fair Trade Coffee being perhaps the most widely known along with Organic Coffee. There are however, others with a more specific and even exciting persona.
Only a few years ago the term “carbon footprint” was unknown outside of academic and scientific institutions. Not any longer, individuals are planting trees in an effort called “carbon offsetting” and cities are rushing to declare themselves “carbon neutral”.
While not everyone is in a position to plant a tree or call themselves carbon neutral, they can help by, for example, drinking Carbon Neutral Coffee. Similarly, protecting the rainforest is going to have a positive influence on carbon dioxide levels, so Rainforest Alliance Coffee is increasingly becoming a natural choice.
Clearly, protecting the rainforest is going to benefit wildlife and birds in particular, but if you wish to, your coffee drinking habits can be even more targeted by purchasing Bird Friendly Coffee. Yes, all these certifications really do exist although that may not be evident from visiting your local store.
However, with a little thought, forward planning and desire to do it, these changes are within your reach. Has ethical just become exciting?
