Coffee has always been the weak point of Michelin-star restaurants. While everything – from the hors d’oeuvre to the tablecloths – has usually been impeccable, many eateries admit that coffee just isn’t a priority

In 2013 Nestlé claimed that 30 percent of the around 2400 Michelin restaurants in the world used the company’s ubiquitous capsule espresso (source).

That’s not to say that Nespresso is bad coffee – it’s certainly better than the average Joe you’d encounter in everyday life. However, in a fine dining context where chefs put utmost care in procuring the right produce and cooking everything a la minute, it does seem underwhelming to serve a homogenized product that’s available in most supermarkets.

the revolution began in 2013

In 2013 the Danish restaurant Noma, back then widely considered the best restaurant in the world, launched a coffee program consisting solely of single origin coffee from roaster Tim Wendelboe brewed with the Japanese pour-over cone, Hario V60.

Back then it was considered something akin to a revolution. The transition was met with equal parts acclaim and skepticism.

Today, however, it turns out that many of the restaurants at Noma’s level have transitioned from commercial coffee towards specialty coffee.

I reached out to all the restaurants on the ‘The World’s 50 Best’ list to find out not only what kind of coffee they served but also how they brewed it.

A bit more than half of the restaurants participated in the survey, and the results were somewhat surprising.

More than 75 percent of the restaurants were relying on artisan roasters to supply their beans rather than multinational companies, and only a single restaurant used Nespresso. A handful even used brewing methods normally associated with specialty coffee.

Coffee is about connection

Geranium; a three Michelin-star restaurant in Copenhagen, is one of the places that has moved towards specialty coffee.

“We realized that pour over coffee is a better fit with our restaurant experience in general,” Søren Ledet, the restaurant manager, and co-owner explains to me.

“We use the Kalita Wave and brew the coffee tableside in front of the guests. For me, the smell and the brewing process is an integral part of coffee. We don’t want to deprive our guests of that. For us, it’s also a great way to have the final connection with the customers and get their feedback on the meal,” the Danish restaurateur says.

“Back when we just started, we used brewing methods such as the French press and had an expensive espresso machine, because that was just the way you did it back then. However, within the last five years so much has happened within specialty coffee,” Søren Ledet says.

The locavore trend is on the rise

Out of the 25 restaurants that participated in the survey all except four serve traditional espresso and espresso-based drinks (note that one of the four serves Nespresso).

It’s worth pointing out, however, that espresso isn’t an indicator of quality in itself. The beans are just as important as the brewing method.

Traditionally, espresso was regarded as somehow more ‘refined’ than other options but today most of the world’s barista elite are equally fond of pour over and other more down-to-earth ways of preparing coffee.

Maaemo from Norway is one of the restaurants that has ditched espresso altogether. Instead, the restaurant is sporting a truly patriotic line-up, relying on the local, legendary roaster Tim Wendelboe to deliver the beans and a drip coffee maker from the Norwegian brand Wilfa.

Among foodies, the so-called locavore trend, which dictates that produce should be sourced locally, has been dominant in recent years.

With coffee, this is more challenging, however, since the plant, coffea arabica, only thrives near the Equator.

However, the restaurants from coffee growing countries such as Peru and Mexico I spoke with for this article all use locally grown beans.

Quintonil from Mexico City pointed out to me that they only use coffee grown at the foothills of the Nevado de Colima volcano. The restaurant also offers a traditional Mexican preparation called ‘café de Olla’ where ground coffee, cinnamon, and unrefined cane sugar are served together in a clay pot.

Likewise, Astrid y Gaston from Peru mentioned that they only use Peruvian coffee.

Unfortunately, the restaurants from Thailand and China don’t use local beans, even though both countries have taken massive leaps in terms of coffee quality within the last five years.

FROM JANITORIAL SUPPLIES TO SPECIALTY COFFEE

Another interesting find was that a majority of the surveyed restaurants opted for smaller, local roasters instead of the multinational giants.

As mentioned before only a single restaurant used the Nespresso system. Three restaurants relied on Lavazza and two used Illy. However, the remaining 19 restaurants all worked with artisan roasters.

Being curious about whether this trend was noticeable not just in fine dining, but across all restaurants, I reached out to the coffee market adviser Andrew Hetzel, who has been working in coffee for two decades and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Specialty Coffee Association.