Coffee & Creatives #7: Neil McAlley

The latest Creative to talk coffee is Neil McAlley, a country musician with much experience when it comes the bean...

What inspired you to do "Black coffee"?

Black Coffee was a Lucy J Dalton song, almost a rite of passage to play if you are involved with country music. For anyone who hates country music, think about Slade and how they wreck your head every Christmas with Noddy's classic about stockings and sleighs. It's the same mind-numbing thing where you play it just to get it out of your head.

What's your best experience with coffee?

In 1986 I had a large Sambuca in an Italian restaurant that turned out to be run by a guy from Huyton with a blag accent. Anyway he set fire to the Sambuca with a disposable lighter, made me down it in one and chew a coffee bean. It was awesome. When I regain the full use of my top lip I'll let you know more about the flavours of coffee and Sambuca.   

What's the best coffee you've ever had?

My best coffee experience was in a hotel in Krakow, Poland where I had a fresh coffee for breakfast. Some say the Italians make the best but this was something else entirely... smooth not bitter, dark round strong rich and with the ability to fire me up like a v8.

What link is there for you between coffee and culture?

I know the TV series "Friends" has a lot to answer for and many people will wax lyrical about how they meet socially over "cawfee" and put the world to rights,  but I do think it's a catalyst, aside from solo flight laptop merchants in coffee houses it's an excuse to meet to chat to shoot the breeze and more.

Like the Interweb lets people email each other coffee is the non-technological means to make people smile. Whether its an iced "frappuccinodilatte" with a cinammon sprinkle or not, the idea of "coffee" is enough to get people in the zone for a mind swap.

Interview by Andrea McGuire.