Avedis Divin

Zilele trecute am avut placerea sa primim vizita venerabilul nostru prieten, cafegiul Gheorghe Florescu care ne-a incantat, ca de fiecare data, cu povesti despre cafea si ne-a lansat o invitatie la un eveniment ce va avea loc in curand la magazinul domniei sale din Piata Rosetti:

ENGLISH VERSION BELOW

 

– Pe data de 25 martie, odata cu sarbatoarea de Buna Vestire, care in limba armeana se numeste Avedis, am decis sa lansez pe piata un nou brand al cafelei Florescu care se va numi Avedis Divin. Este un demers pe care il fac in memoria mentorului meu domnul Carabelaian al carui prenume Avedis este serbat in aceasta zi. Povestea acestei cafele are o istorie veche care incepe de pe vremea cand lucram cu domnul Avedis, dansul mi-a spus intr-o zi “…o cafea fenomenala, divina se face dintr-un amestec din urmatoarele trei tipuri de cafea…”, ma veti ierta sper ca nu am sa dezvalui numele acestora pentru ca e ceva ce tine de secretele meseriei mele de cafegiu. Mult timp m-am gandit la aceasta cafea pana cand intr-o seara, domnul Carabelaian mi-a aparut intr-un vis si mi-a spus „Gheorghita, sa faci cafeaua care ti-ai pus in cap s-o faci !”, a fost probabil o chestiune legata de subconstientul meu si de dorinta mea de a face acest fel de cafea. Cele trei cafelele care intra in componenta acestui melanj sunt toate cafele de altitudine, adica sunt cultivate in zone de mare altitudine unde combinatia intre clima, sol si precipitatii dau nastere la niste soiuri de cafea cu calitati unice, sunt cafele rare, din topul primelor cafele din lume. Pot sa spun cu mana pe inima ca in acest moment acest melanj de cafea ce se va reuni sub numele de Avedis Divin, nu se bea in nicio tara din Europa. Pretul acestei cafele va fi de 370 RON/kg deci, 3,7 RON o ceasca cu cafea.

Recent am fost sa vizitez Viena si am testat si cafeaua ce se gasteste acolo, e calitate buna dar, nu exista segmentul cafelelor de lux, se merge pe cantitate si pe pret mic. Asta se intampla si in Bucuresti in perioada interbelica, unii cafegii se concentrau pe cafea mai ieftina pentru a putea sa vanda cantitati mari. Domnul Carabelaian nu a facut niciodata asa ceva, dansul a mers numai pe cafele de lux deoarece avea o clientela de elita, foarte selecta, comanda sorturi foarte scumpe si rare, ii placea sa aiba numai marfa de mare calitate, avea cafele pe care nici eu nu le am acum. Dupa razboi nu s-au mai gasit cafele de lux, cafele rare pentru ca unicul importator era statul si de comert se ocupau persoane fara experienta, alesi pentru ca aveau “origine sanatoasa”, se mergea pe principiul “marfa ieftina pe bani putini”.

Prin anii `50, autoritatile vremii au vrut sa faca un magazin de cafea. Domnul Avedis trecuse deja prin incercari grele, am scris pe larg despre asta in cartea mea, fusese arestat pentru ca era negustor si avea avere, pentru ca detinea aur etc., facuse si 2-3 ani de inchisoare, fusese primis si la Canal (n.a. in acele vremuri majoritatea detinutilor erau trimisi la munca fortata la Canalul Dunare – Marea Neagra) … se intorsese si avea magazin de cafea pe Calea Victoriei nr.32-35, langa Teatrul Constantin Tanase. Intr-o zi in fata magazinului opreste o masina neagra din care coboara doi barbati imbracati in negru si ii cer sa-i insoteasca. Domnul Avedis era sigur ca il vor trimite iar la Canal dar, spre surprinderea sa, s-a trezit in biroul ministrului pentru comert interior, Stefan Voitec cel care a unit in 1948 Partidul Social Democrat cu PCR, formand Partidul Muncitoresc Roman. Acesta i-ar fi spus:

Domnule Carabelaian, am fost informat ca sunteti un mare specialist in domeniul cafelei, sunteti foarte cunoscut si avem nevoie de ajutorul dumneavoastra, dorim sa facem un magazin de cafea ca in Occident.”

Domnul Carabelaian i-a raspuns:
Domnule ministru, ca sa facem un magazin ca in Occident, avem nevoie de materie prima buna. Eu am utilaje, ma pricep sa prajesc cafea dar, trebuie sa am ce sa prajesc.”  Si, se apuca sa-i insire o lista cu cafele rare, scumpe de care ar fi avut nevoie pentru acest proiect. In acel moment, Voitec s-a schimbat la fata si i-a spus ca nu sunt dispusi sa investeasca atatia bani si…magazinul respectiv nu s-a mai facut.

Ca tot vorbim de cafele scumpe, cand am fost in Canada am avut ocazia sa degust o cafea foarte rara, foarte scumpa, cafea Sfanta Elena, o cafea fabuloasa. Pentru cititorii Ararat vreau sa dau cateva detalii despre aceasta superba cafea:

Insula Sfanta Elena, este o mica insula vulcanica apartinand Marii Britanii, pozitionata la sudul Oceanului Atlantic, fiind mai cunoscuta ca locul unde a fost exilat Napoleon Bonaparte, fiind considerata in prezent cea mai izolata insula si locul cel mai putin poluat din lume.

Cultura cafelei pe aceasta insula incepe in anul 1733 cand Francis Dickinson – “Comisar de Afaceri al Natiunii Engleze la Mocha”(portul la Marea Rosie, Al Mocha din Yemen), in slujba Companiei Indiilor de Est si foarte experimentat in comertul cu cafea din Arabia, este insarcinat cu achizitionarea de seminte de cafea ce urmau a fi plantate sub protectorat britanic pe insula Sf. Elena din Atlanticul de Sud. Acesta achizitioneaza 660 de baloti cu seminte de cafea din micul orasel Bayt al-Faquit, situat la 90 de mile nord de Al Mocha cel mai important punct in comertul cu cafea din acele vremuri.

In scurt timp, vaporul Hughton al Companiei Indiilor de Est, condus de capitanul Philips, aduce in 10 februarie 1733 pe Sf. Elena transportul care va schimba istoria acestei insule. Pretioasa incarcatura consta in boabe de cafea din soiul “Bourbon cu varf verde”, o varietate foarte speciala de cafea Arabica. Ulterior, acest soi a fost interzis a se mai cultiva in alte tari, cultivarea sa limitandu-se la aceasta insula. In perioada cat Napoleon a fost exilat (1815) pe aceasta insula si cativa ani dupa moartea sa, cafeaua provenind de aici s-a bucurat de o oarecare de popularitate. Se spune ca Napoleon isi petrecea uneori timpul ajutand la munca pe plantatia de cafea si plantase chiar cateva plante de cafea in curtea sa iar, la un moment dat ar fi afirmat ca “Singurul lucru bun despre Sf. Elena este cafeaua !” .

Urmeaza peste un secol de decadere in care aceasta cafea nu mai este cunoscuta, plantatiile de cafea au fost neglijate, pana cand un englez vizionar pe nume David R.Henry, decide in anul 1990 sa readuca la viata plantele de cafea care supravietuisera timpului si sa reinvie productia de cafea pe insula. Datorita faptului ca plantatiile fusesera neglijate aproape o suta de ani, totul se transformase intr-o jungla, fiind necesara o munca infernala de indepartarea plantelor tropicale care sufocasera vechile plantatii, de revigorarea batranelor plante de cafea si de stabilizare a solului predispus la eroziune. Henry a cercetat jungla formata de-a lungul anilor in locul unde in trecut era plantat cafea si a descoperit palcuri de plante de cafea salbaticite, unele dintre aceste batrane plante ajunsesera o inaltime de pana la 10-12 metri. Au fost analizate arhivele contabile gasite pe insula si s-au gasit informatii despre soiurile de cafea cultivate in urma cu peste 250 de ani. Astfel, cu toate aceste eforturi, el a reusit incet, incet sa readuca plantatia la splendoarea din vremea de glorie a coloniilor.

Astazi, plantele de cafea Bourbon existente pe insula au ca sursa comuna de provenieta plantele originale din soiul “Bourbon cu varf verde”  adus pe Sf. Elena in urma cu 269 de ani. Plantele de cafea sunt cultivate aici la umbra arborilor tropicali care au rolul de a le feri de vanturile puternice, solul insulei este vulcanic, bogat in minerale, fertilizarea se face doar natural iar, boabele de cafea sunt procesate cu apa pura ce izvoraste din munti. Cu toate aceste avantaje, productia de cafea Sf. Elena este mica doarece terenul pe care se poate cultiva este putin si in mare parte instabil, pe insula fiind dese alunecari de teren. In ciuda tuturor dificultatilor, David R. Henry a reusit sa produca un soi superior de cafea, boabele fiind culease dupa reguli stricte potrivit carora se culeg manual cu mare atentie doar cele perfect mature, de culoarea ciresei coapte, operatiune care se efectueaza saptamanal, transformand soiul de cafea Sfanta Elena intr-un soi unic in lume din punct de vedere al controlului calitatii, incomparabil cu plantatiile intensive din alte tari. Rezultatul acestor eforturi este o cafea unica, fabuloasa, cu un gust echilibrat, cu un superb buchet cu nuante de florale si citrice, cu usor contrast intre lamaie, ciocolata si caramel, fiind una dintre cele mai rare si, implicit, cele mai scumpe cafele din lume.

Acest sort de cafea nu se poate cumpara usor, achizitionarea se face doar cu aprobare… ganditi-va cate magazine de delicatese sunt in lume, la Paris, Milano, Londra etc, cate hoteluri de lux… toti vor sa aiba aceasta cafea.  Eu am comandat in acest an 200 kg si am primit aprobare pentru 160 kg, cei opt saci de 20 kg sunt acum in drum spre Romania si vor fi aici de sarbatorarea sfintilor Constantin si Elena cand veti putea si savura aceasta cafea si aici in tara. Poate a contat si cartea pe care am scris-o (Confesiunile unui cafegiu) si, poate imaginea pe care o au oamenii despre mine si despre ceea ce fac. Pe la pravalia mea trec si multi clienti straini turisti, oameni de afaceri, ambasadori etc. poate ei au vorbit depre mine in tarile lor pentru ca in strainatate nu prea exista acest segment al cafelelor de lux. La pravalia mea, cafeaua Sf. Elena va costa 900 RON/kg adica, 9 RON o cesca cu una dintre cele mai bune cafea din lume, eu cred ca este un pret convenabil pentru aceasta calitate.

Voi mai aduce un soi foarte deosebit, Peaberry, o cafea foarte deosebita mai ales prin forma sa, fiind o boaba de cafea cu forma ovala. Acest tip de boabe sunt considerate de catre botanisiti o anomalie a naturii si pot aparea la multe soiuri de cafea. Cafeaua Peaberry este foarte rara, maxim 5% dintr-o cultura normala de cafea se poate incadra in aceasta categorie asa ca, producatorii de cafea le sorteaza si le vand separat la preturi ridicate. Boabele sunt mai mici decat cele obisnuite, aroma acestor boabe este superioara, mai puternica, mai placuta, diferita de boabele din aceeasi cultura.

Cafegii cauta foarte mult acest tip de boabe care datorita formei lor ovale care permit o prajire foarte uniforma fara riscul de a se arde.

 

Vechii cafegii armenii numeau acest tip de cafea Rolle, se vorbea despre ea dar, se gaseau greu. Domnul Carabelaian mi-a povestit prima data despre aceste cafele, am si prajit impreuna un Role, originar din India. Imi amintesc ca mi-a spus “ Gheorghita asta e o cafea foarte deosebita, daca ai vreodata ocazia, sa cumperi cat de multa ca nu te pacalesti… !” In scurt timp veti putea savura la pravalia mea si acest soi de cafea.

Revenind la cafeaua Avedis Divin pe care o voi lansa, revin cu invitatia pentru luni 25 martie, astept toti armenii sa ma viziteze pentru a savura aroma acestei minunate cafele care poarta un nume sfant armenesc.

 Paul Agopian

22.03.2013

IMG_5999 sorturi_cafea IMG_5985

ENGLISH VERSION

The past few days we had the pleasure of receiving a visit from our venerable friend, the coffee shop Gheorghe Florescu, who delighted us, as always, with stories about coffee and invited us to an event that will take place soon at his lordship’s shop from Piata Rosetti:- On March 25, together with the Annunciation, which in Armenian is called Avedis, I decided to launch a new brand of Florescu coffee on the market, which will be called Avedis Divin. It is a step I am taking in memory of my mentor, Mr. Carabelaian, whose first name Avedis is celebrated on this day. The story of this coffee has an old history that starts from the time when I was working with Mr. Avedis, the dance told me one day “…a phenomenal, divine coffee is made from a mixture of the following three types of coffee…”, I I hope you’ll forgive me that I won’t reveal their names because it’s something related to the secrets of my job as a coffee maker. I thought about this coffee for a long time until one evening, Mr. Carabelaian appeared to me in a dream and said “Gheorghita, make the coffee you set your mind to make!”, he was probably a matter related to my subconscious and my desire to make this kind of coffee. The three coffees that are part of this blend are all high-altitude coffees, that is, they are grown in high-altitude areas where the combination of climate, soil and precipitation give rise to some varieties of coffee with unique qualities, they are rare coffees, from the top coffees from the world. I can say with my hand on my heart that at this moment this coffee blend that will come together under the name of Avedis Divin, is not drunk in any country in Europe. The price of this coffee will be 370 RON/kg, so 3.7 RON a cup of coffee.

Recently I went to visit Vienna and I also tested the coffee that is served there, it is of good quality but there is no luxury coffee segment, it is based on quantity and low price. This also happened in Bucharest during the interwar period, some coffee shops focused on cheaper coffee to be able to sell large quantities. Mr. Carabelaian never did anything like that, the dance only went to luxury coffees because he had an elite, very select clientele, he ordered very expensive and rare varieties, he liked to have only high quality goods, he had coffees that neither I I don’t have them now. After the war, you could no longer find luxury coffees, rare coffees because the only importer was the state and trade was handled by inexperienced people, chosen because they had “healthy origins”, the principle was “cheap goods for little money”. During the 50s, the authorities of the time wanted to build a coffee shop. Mr. Avedis had already gone through hard trials, I wrote extensively about it in my book, he had been arrested because he was a merchant and had wealth, because he owned gold, etc., he had also served 2-3 years in prison, he had also been admitted to the Canal ( n.a. in those days most of the prisoners were sent to forced labor at the Danube Canal – Black Sea) … he had returned and had a coffee shop on Calea Victoriei no. 32-35, near the Constantin Tanase Theatre. One day, a black car stops in front of the store, from which two men dressed in black get out and ask them to accompany them. Mr. Avedis was sure that they would send him back to Canal but, to his surprise, he found himself in the office of the Minister for Internal Trade, Stefan Voitec, who in 1948 united the Social Democratic Party with the PCR, forming the Romanian Workers’ Party. He would have told him:

“Mr. Carabelaian, I was informed that you are a great specialist in the field of coffee, you are very well known and we need your help, we want to make a coffee shop like in the West.” Mr. Carabelaian answered him: “Mr. Minister, in order to make a store like in the West, we need good raw materials. I have machines, I know how to roast coffee, but I have to have something to roast.” And, he began to give him a list of rare, expensive coffees that he would need for this project. At that moment, Voitec changed its face and told him that they are not willing to invest so much money and… the store in question was never built. Speaking of expensive coffees, when I was in Canada I had the opportunity to taste a very rare, very expensive coffee, St. Elena coffee, a fabulous coffee. For Ararat readers, I want to give some details about this superb coffee: Saint Helena Island is a small volcanic island belonging to Great Britain, located in the south of the Atlantic Ocean, being better known as the place where Napoleon Bonaparte was exiled, currently considered the most isolated island and the least polluted place in the world. Coffee culture on this island begins in 1733 when Francis Dickinson – “Commissioner of the English Nation at Mocha” (port on the Red Sea, Al Mocha in Yemen), in the service of the East India Company and very experienced in the coffee trade from Arabia , is charged with the purchase of coffee seeds that were to be planted under the British protectorate on the island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic. He purchases 660 bales of coffee seeds from the small town of Bayt al-Faquit, located 90 miles north of Al Mocha, the most important point in the coffee trade of those times.

In a short time, the ship Hughton of the East India Company, led by Captain Philips, brings on February 10, 1733 to St. Helena the transport that will change the history of this island. The precious cargo consists of “Bourbon with green tip” coffee beans, a very special variety of Arabica coffee. Later, this variety was forbidden to be cultivated in other countries, its cultivation being limited to this island. During the time when Napoleon was exiled (1815) on this island and a few years after his death, the coffee coming from here enjoyed some popularity. It is said that Napoleon sometimes spent his time helping work on the coffee plantation and even planted some coffee plants in his yard and at one point he is said to have stated that “The only good thing about St. Helena is the coffee!” . There follows over a century of decline in which this coffee is no longer known, the coffee plantations were neglected, until a visionary Englishman named David R.Henry decided in 1990 to bring back to life the coffee plants that had survived time and revive coffee production on the island. Due to the fact that the plantations had been neglected for almost a hundred years, everything had turned into a jungle, requiring an infernal work to remove the tropical plants that had suffocated the old plantations, to revive the old coffee plants and to stabilize the soil prone to erosion. Henry researched the jungle formed over the years in the place where coffee was planted in the past and discovered groves of wild coffee plants, some of these old plants had reached a height of up to 10-12 meters. The accounting archives found on the island were analyzed and information was found about the varieties of coffee cultivated more than 250 years ago. Thus, with all these efforts, he slowly, slowly managed to return the plantation to the splendor of the glory days of the colonies.

Today, the existing Bourbon coffee plants on the island have as their common source the original plants of the “Bourbon with green tip” variety brought to St. Helena 269 years ago. The coffee plants are grown here in the shade of tropical trees that protect them from strong winds, the soil of the island is volcanic, rich in minerals, fertilization is done only naturally and the coffee beans are processed with pure water that springs from the mountains. Despite all these advantages, the production of St. Helena coffee is small because the land on which it can be cultivated is small and mostly unstable, there are frequent landslides on the island. Despite all the difficulties, David R. Henry managed to produce a superior variety of coffee, the beans being picked according to strict rules according to which only the perfectly mature ones, the color of ripe cherries, are picked by hand with great care, an operation that is carried out weekly, transforming the Sfanta Elena coffee variety in a unique variety in the world from the point of view of quality control, incomparable with intensive plantations in other countries. The result of these efforts is a unique, fabulous coffee, with a balanced taste, with a superb bouquet with floral and citrus nuances, with a slight contrast between lemon, chocolate and caramel, being one of the rarest and, implicitly, the most expensive coffees from the world. This kind of coffee cannot be bought easily, the purchase is made only with approval… think of how many delicatessens there are in the world, in Paris, Milan, London, etc., how many luxury hotels… everyone wants to have this coffee. This year I ordered 200 kg and received approval for 160 kg, the eight 20 kg bags are now on their way to Romania and will be here for the feast of Saints Constantine and Elena when you will be able to enjoy this coffee here in the country as well. Maybe the book that I wrote (Confessions of a Coffee Guy) also mattered, and maybe the image that people have of me and what I do. Many foreign clients, tourists, businessmen, ambassadors, etc. pass by my shop. maybe they talked about me in their countries because there is not much of this luxury coffee segment abroad. In my estimation, St. Helena coffee will cost 900 RON/kg, that is, 9 RON a cup of one of the best coffees in the world, I think it is a convenient price for this quality.

I will also bring a very special variety, Peaberry, a very special coffee especially because of its shape, being an oval-shaped coffee bean. This type of beans is considered by botanists to be an anomaly of nature and can appear in many varieties of coffee. Peaberry coffee is very rare, maximum 5% of a normal coffee crop can fit into this category, so coffee producers sort them and sell them separately at high prices. The berries are smaller than the usual ones, the aroma of these berries is superior, stronger, more pleasant, different from the berries of the same crop. Coffee makers are very much looking for this type of beans which, thanks to their oval shape, allow a very uniform roasting without the risk of burning. The old Armenian coffee makers called this type of coffee Rolle, they talked about it, but they were hard to find. Mr. Carabelaian told me about these coffees for the first time, we roasted together a Roll, originally from India. I remember that he told me “Gheorghita, this is a very special coffee, if you ever have the opportunity, buy as much as you can so that you don’t make a mistake…!” In a short time you will be able to enjoy this type of coffee at my place. Returning to the Avedis Divine coffee that I will launch, I am back with the invitation for Monday, March 25, I am waiting for all Armenians to visit me to enjoy the aroma of this wonderful coffee that bears an Armenian holy name.

Paul Agopian 22.03.2013

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