It started as a personal quest to find the perfect coffee and appreciating the finer things that coffee has to offer to our senses. As the journey gets deeper, I find that I’m learning something new about coffee everyday. The 2nd most consumed beverage after water is vastly underrated and unappreciated. So I decided to start a website to share what I know about coffee and to promote the appreciation of coffee as an evolving, complex and satisfying experience.
Mission Statement
To promote the appreciation of coffee
By providing information on coffee and espresso
By providing an avenue for sharing one’s coffee experience and knowledge
By inculcating a passion for the craft, artistry, culture and taste of true coffee and espresso
To continuously strive to create the perfect coffee … a journey
By focusing on quality and consistency
By sourcing the best coffee beans
Through research and development
To improve the livelihood of people around us, especially the less fortunate
Through a wide range of collaborations and engagements with associations and societies
Why the name QARR?
Choosing a name is just like choosing a wife, looking for “love at first sight” impression and the internal qualities or virtues that are compatible and lasting. It took almost a year before The QARR Coffee is born (ok, it’s faster than finding a wife), but it is the image, meaning, message and the embodiment that take time to conceptualize. Coffee is a global beverage, so I want a name that is not only representative by language (though English is a universal language) but also recognize the contribution of the international community on its discovery to the current status as the 2nd world largest consumed beverage after water.
Qahwah (قهوة in Arabic), though an Arabic word for wine, is the original name of the coffee beverage made from its infusion. This word is chosen because it reminds us the origin of the coffee. And I also want to borrow its original spelling to emphasize the true quality and beauty of this origin that we want to pursue.
Appreciation. This is the single most important word that brings about the existence of The QARR Coffee, a cornerstone in our business. We are here to share what we know about appreciating fine coffee through our information sharing, offerings and services. As an English word that is easily understood by most of us, it is chosen to take on a mass appeal.
Since its discovery until today, most coffee that we drink today is brewed by infusion and percolation. With passion, however, the Italians invented espresso, the most brewed method found in cafes around the world and the base used for making the varieties of gourmet coffee loved by the masses. It is through research and development that we are now able to savor the complex aroma and taste of the coffee in espresso. Till today, most of the research in coffee is still carried out in Europe, particularly in Italy, notably in the University of Trieste. With these spirit and passion that are also in our quest for the perfect coffee, the word, Ricerca, that means research in Italian, is chosen.
Japan is one of the world leading countries in terms of technology and quality products. Green tea, without doubt, is her national beverage and its highly regarded preparation is considered an art. But not many people know that Japan is one of the largest importers, if not second to US, of coffee beans in the world. And Japanese are often found in the panel of judges in most of the coffee auctions and competitions. However, outside of Japan, a lot of people commented that their coffee tastes sour, which in fact only reflects the ignorance of these coffee drinkers. The truth is that the Japanese prefer their coffee to contain all the distinct characteristics and subtleties of its origin, and this usually calls for a lighter roast style that is not common in other parts of the world. And it is this pursuit of Ryooshitsu (良質), or quality in Japanese, that the word is chosen.
I want a name that explains our existence, our quests and our philosophy. And I also like to attribute the name to those who have contributed to the development of coffee, and so the acronym, QARR, for Qahwah Appreciation Ricerca Ryooshitsu, is formed. Coincidentally, the words qahwah, appreciation, ricerca and ryooshitsu represent four continents in the world: Qahwah for the Africa/Middle East continent, Appreciation for the America continent, Ricerca for the Europe continent, and Ryooshitsu for the Asia continent.
