It was the post that got social media talking this week – an image of a “deconstructed coffee”.
Mamamia’s recently departed editor-in-chief Jamila Rizvi posted the image on Facebook on 31 May with the caption “sorry Melbourne but no. No no no no. Hipsterism has gone too far when your coffee comes deconstructed”.
The post sparked a social media uproar with mainstream media concerned about the concept taking coffee “too far”.
The hunt was on for the unnamed Melbourne café serving the three-part latte with espresso, water and milk served in different beakers.
Industry Beans was a prime target given it has pushed boundaries with coffee, utilising different methods and bringing an exacting, almost scientific approach to coffee.
As such, the Daily Mail linked Jamila’s post to brothers Steve and Trevor Simmons of Industry Beans.
“We somehow got thrown into the story despite us telling the media that the image wasn’t taken at our café, nor is it the way we serve our lattes,” Steve told BeanScene.
“The issue we had is that people will perceive our lattes to be served in this three-part manner, but they’re actually not.”
The closest Industry Beans comes to layering its coffees is serving its filter in a beaker with iced water on the side. But as Steve says, it’s more about “nice presentation” than a “deconstruction”.
“We are committed to making great coffee, and delivering a quality product in the best way possible for our customers. A great portion of the industry are aware of that, but there’s also another portion of the community who don’t know that, and that’s why we want to communicate the truth,” Steve said.
Jamila has since revealed on her social media that the initial ‘unmarked’ café serving the deconstructed coffee was Weylandts in Abbotsford, Victoria.
“It’s certainly been an interesting week juggling phone calls from journalists back and forth about the concept, but what’s really surprising is the response this deconstructed coffee has received,” Steve said. “At the end of the day coffee is about taste. People can have their opinion on the drink, but as long as the coffee tastes great, looks great and makes the customer happy, there’s nothing wrong with that.”
Image: A generic image from Shutterstock unlinked to any of the deconstructed coffee images in question.