Local barista Eddie Khumalo had the time of his life when he was invited to a coffee factory in Italy, writes Glenda Thompson
Coffee is consumed as a hot or cold beverage by about one-third of the world’s population, and its total consumption is larger than that of any other beverage, except tea. It’s no wonder, then, that coffee blenders and connoisseurs from around the globe take this little brown bean, with stimulating properties and an uncertain history (originating either in Ethiopia, the Yemen or Saudi Arabia), very seriously.
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Falling neatly into this category is Eddie Khumalo, popular barista (a trained coffee fundi) at Remo’s Restaurant, Deli and Coffee shop in Mount Edgecombe, who was recently invited by Lavazza as a guest to their coffee factory in Turin, Italy. Having never set foot on an aeroplane, he found the whole experience quite daunting.
“I was pretty nervous on the Durban-Jo’burg flight,” said Eddie, who has a natural fear of heights. “Once we headed off to Europe, I wasn’t quite so afraid and by the time we got to Turin, I was the seasoned flyer!” he told us.
Eddie, who was one of 10 South Africans invited on the trip, said the visit to the Lavazza factory was a dream come true. Two guests from Remo’s had been chosen and co-owner Renzo Scribante, who was already in Europe, met up with Eddie in Italy.
“I was blown away by the fantastic service throughout our three day trip. It was impeccable,” Eddie said. “I learnt an enormous amount from the Italian baristas who showed us, among other things, the first coffee shops in Europe. They made the most incredibly strong, but perfect coffee. Incidentally, a perfect ‘ten’ in the coffee world is a very strong espresso without a drop of milk or grain of sugar. If coffee is ground correctly, nothing needs to be added.”
Eddie is clearly passionate about coffee and happily passes on his knowledge to new staff at Remo’s. “He’s renowned for making the best cappuccino in Durban,” Kate Bryan, the sister of one of Remo’s owners, Boonie Bryan, told us. “On his days off he heads out to other Italian restaurants in and around Durban to try out their coffees.”
Eddie explained that the reason for this was that everyone uses different coffee beans and he finds it fascinating to compare blends and brands.