Barista Of The Week… Nigel Park, barista at Corduroy, 4/14 Foster Street, Surry Hills.
The Coffee Guide (TCG): If you weren’t a barista what would you be?
Nigel: A barfly.
TCG: How do you have your coffee at home? How do you make it and how do you take it?
Nigel: Long black, made on my gaggia lever press.
TCG: What’s the best thing about your job- the one thing that you really love aside from the coffee?
Nigel: Getting up at 5am in the morning.
TCG: What is your favourite music?
Nigel: The Clash
TCG: What’s your favourite food?
Nigel: Honey roasted yams, for their sweet earthy flavour.
TCG: If you’re not drinking coffee, what is your drink of choice?
Nigel: Scotch and soda, it’s smooth and relaxing.
TCG: How many coffees would you make in the average day?
Nigel: Around 200.
TCG: What’s the largest amount of coffees you have made in a day?
Nigel: Over 2000 in 24 hours at a festival.
TCG: Who would make a better coffee, King Kong or Godzilla?’
Nigel: Godzilla.
TCG: What is the most exciting thing happening in coffee right now for you?
Nigel: The boom in roastaries.
TCG: As a barista, what’s your next big plan?
Nigel: Getting married.
TCG: Where is your favourite place to hang out in Sydney?
Nigel: Brookvale Vinnies, were all the good stuff is.
TCG: What are you reading right now?
Nigel: Homemade Soda, 200 recipes by Andrew Schloss.
TCG: What is your favourite thing to do in Summer?
Nigel: Sun, down by Manly lagoon (it’s very tropical down there).
TCG: What is your favourite movie of all time?
Nigel: Mad Max.
TCG: Where did you grow up? And what is your fondest childhood memory?
Nigel: Christchurch NZ, the soft fluffy grass.
TCG: What did you do on your last day off?
Nigel: I went into work and put up shelves.
TCG: In a good cup of coffee, how much of it is due to the barista and how much is due to the beans?
Nigel: Well, if they are shit beans then there is no chance of making a great coffee, so one is the start of the race and the other is the finish.
TCG: Is decaf a dirty word?
Nigel: No, it’s just decaf.
TCG: What is your favourite kind of tea?
Nigel: Yerba mate’.