Full of beans about the art of coffee

By SUE ALLEN
New Zealand

When Sanjay Ponnapa, founder of Wellington-based Fuel, talks about coffee the world takes on a slightly different hue.

It stops being just coffee and becomes "like a good merlot", or "a pinot noir".

Talk quickly turns to the origins of the best beans, the relative merits of Arabica and Robusta varieties, the complex flavours of different blends and the revelation that a small amount of sugar brings out the aromatics.

Mr Ponnapa is a perfectionist. He has been known to throw away a 22-kilogram drum of roasted beans because the roasting process has gone awry.

"Every time we roast, we are looking for depth, a definite nose, quality and sweetness with a good balance, and if it doesn't come up to standard we throw it away."

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