Why is it so difficult to make great coffee? The Coffee Club is a great place to meet, but sadly they typically cut so many corners in the training of the baristas that they just can’t overcome the ultra-cheap coffee beans that they use. By contrast though, right now I’m enjoying a $3.70 affogato from Zarraffa’s that is simply sensational.
It is served in a plastic cup, with a plastic spoon. Yet, the shot of espresso is magnificent, the atmosphere better and the experience is one of enjoyment, rather than just one of drinking.
Great living comes from being totally focused in the moment; great quality comes from being totally focused on each customer… it’s not rocket science, it’s just about being there.
As a side note, Belinda (the lovely girl who took my order) just came over and asked me how I’d enjoyed it… not because she had to, but because she was genuinely interested – or at least seemed to be! To me, that’s the sort of thing that says a lot of GREAT things about the sort of culture of the company… and is very difficult to produce. Great work Zarraffa’s! (and they have franchises available in Carindale and Indooroopilly apparently)
In an issue of the Weekend Australian (in the Inquirer section) there is an interesting article entitled “Elite of the right kind”. Amongst a great deal of information on Quadrant magazine is a mention of how the Prime Minister of the time understood that to “win the battle of policy, you had to win the battle of history and fundamental ideas.” What a thought… to have political leaders who actually understand how the world works rather than just engaging in endless factionalism and petty point scoring.
Should Australia have a unified school curriculum? Ideally, we would have a unified set of educational outcomes, though until we can define those outcomes in terms of cognitive competencies, to interfere too much is likely to impair the diversity of outcomes that strengthen our nation even if they make it more difficult for individual students. If we are going to put education under the control of the Federal government, we need to be able to define the outcomes that we want; we don’t yet have that technology, and until we do, the Federal government should empower the States to do things their own way… that said, anything is possible!
Daniel Smith
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