Coffee is part of our daily ritual. Croatia is a coffee-drinking country, where every invitation to a meeting is called "let's go for coffee". Sometimes this "coffee" does not even include this beverage originating from tropical countries, and certainly many of these coffee drinkers do not even know about the pure taste of coffee. We "cheat" it with milk, sugar and various other additives in order to mask the bitter taste of coffee, so we can rightly say that there are those who drink coffee, as well as those who are fans of macchiato, cappuccino, coffee with milk and other beverages on based on coffee. This is by no means true or false but simply is. We have long realized in our association that the best food is the one that suits everyone individually, as well as that the best wine is the one that best suits the consumer. Everything else falls into the categories of smug marketing tricks. And just as we create a certain "Taste of Adriatic taste", so we will offer a completely different coffee, the one prepared by Domagoj Trusić from a company with a very appropriate name "Hug & Punch Coffee Co." which settled in Matulji and where a training under the license Specialty Coffee Association is done.
The Specialized Coffee Association (SCA) is a trade association built on the foundations of openness, inclusiveness and the power of shared knowledge. The purpose of the SCA is to encourage global coffee communities to take action to make coffee a more sustainable, equitable and successful activity. From coffee growers to baristas and roasters, their membership spans the entire world, encompassing every element of the coffee value chain. SCA acts as a unifying force in the speciality coffee industry and works to improve coffee by raising standards worldwide through a collaborative and progressive approach. Dedicated to building an industry that is fair, sustainable and nurtures everything, SCA relies on years of insights and inspiration from the coffee speciality community.
As a representative of such an approach, Domagoj Trusić hosted us in Matulji and presented a whole range of coffees from various parts of the world. "This centre was opened as a reference centre for coffee, not only as a production centre, but above all as an educational centre. The concept is complex as an education and as a beacon for quality in this part of Europe. The closest similar centres are in Greece and Germany. Commercial companies come to education with their coffees and cups, because no special brand is developing here ", Domagoj explains how this centre was created, which was opened in 2018 by the owner Nikola Žiganto and Domagoj Trusić as an educator. Today, they have their coffee points, ie places where their coffee is best prepared in Zagreb, Rijeka, Opatija, Split, Mali Lošinj, Poreč and Šibenik.
The products are many, coming mostly from the African and Latin American continents and are incredibly diverse. Due to the strong flavours, they set out to develop blends. For example, the combination of Brazil and India has created one of the most popular combinations. Here is what Domagoj tells us about this combination: “Brazilian coffees are known for the taste of hay, which in other types of coffee is considered a mistake in making. The reason is quite a low planting, below a thousand meters, which is not favourable for this plant. If Brazilian coffee does not have such an aroma, it is difficult to combine it with the idea of such a product from Brazil. To satisfy the palates of select guests, a combination of 40 per cent coffee from Brazil and 40 per cent from India is most often served in a cup. India undeservedly does not have a well-known world brand, but the highest quality selection of Indian coffee is created through the most serious processing practice. In picking and processing centre, established techniques are consistently used, which gives a similar or almost the same product. Indian coffee is a bit "boring", but you get a creamy and slightly nutty texture. The rest of the cup from which we drink coffee tastes and smells reminiscent of chocolate pralines, which is the preference of many coffee drinkers. "
Other Latin American coffees have significant fruity notes. Coffee from Peru, for example, gives off the scent of flowers and almonds, and citrus, jasmine and light notes of honey are felt in the mouth. On the other hand, Ethiopian coffee seduces with the aroma of flowers and spices, and the taste is citrus, cinnamon, pepper, clove. All this quality coffee comes from a plantation and a change in consumer awareness is extremely important for the maintenance of these plantations: “if we do not buy quality coffee, the plantations will no longer even try to produce quality coffee. Plantation workers don’t actually drink the coffee they produce: in Ethiopia, it’s even forbidden to them! In Brazil, they cut down half of the coffee plantations last year and planted sugar cane instead because they can’t make a living from coffee production. By buying better quality coffee, consumers encourage the continuation of plantations around the world ", says Domagoj Trusić.
But it is not just because of the plantations that it is necessary to change habits. Knowing the coffee we drink is important for our own health because coffee is healthy 15 days after roasting, afterwards, it is not. Coffee should be drunk fresh, as it is a healthy product. The question is therefore how many products in stores are really fresh and really healthy. Climate change has led to the transformation of plantations and people are ceasing to grow coffee. Industrial productions, such as Vietnam, which will dominate this year as the largest industrial coffee producer, will increasingly take over markets and demand from mostly uneducated consumers. Therefore, education is extremely important and we hope for even more cafes to serve these special coffees!
Hug&Punch d.o.o.
Dalmatinskih brigada 35, 51211 Matulji, Hrvatska
+385 99 373 6320
https://www.hugandpunch.com/
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