How you preserve good taste
...is disclosed by textile designer Katharina Wohlgemuth.
A hacienda on the slopes of the cordillera in the Coffee Triangle. Columbia. A tropical day is dawning. The cultivated red-haired lady is sitting casually elegant on a rattan sofa. From her pastel-yellow wooden veranda she is looking down on the coffee plantation, which is just emerging lush green from beneath the wispy shroud of the early morning mist. In the midst of lush surroundings, with the aroma of the steaming coffee in her nostrils, Katharina Wohlgemuth, a textile designer from Hamburg, is languidly welcoming in the new day.
Aromas with a tale to tell
There is a decorative aluminium tube on the side table. Something special inside is staying dry and enjoying the protection of the metal shell. A cigar. The label gives the game away. It is not a well-known brand but a coveted rarity from a neighbouring area. The connoisseur takes the hand-rolled speciality out of the aluminium tube and breathes in the spicy aroma. The tube has done a good job. She relishes the smell of earth, leather and wood that recounts tales of Columbia. She takes a sip of the mildly nutty tasting highland coffee and then the tales become animated.
It is still early as she embarks on a trip around the area in a willy, as the overland jeeps are called here. There is a hearty welcome for the visitor in the small village shop in the middle of the plantation. The people know each other. The gourmet wants to cook for friends in the evening. She’s happy when she discovers a selection of dried herbs packed in aluminium containers on the shelf. “My experience with buying food in tropical countries has taught me a lesson: only aluminium packaging can guarantee that the contents are protected against the environment on the outside. So I always turn to aluminium.” The shop owner draws the lady’s attention to a new delivery of traditional indigenous materials. Expressively, the colours light up the abstract embroidered patterns on the artfully crafted woven fabrics. The designer is enraptured.
“This is my creative home,” she says, her voice exuding passion. “I’ve been practically everywhere in the world. As a designer I’m always looking for something new. For strong ideas. But I always come back here. The colours and the fragrances are enough to make me completely dizzy,” she explains on the trip back. And sure enough, Mother Nature ignites a firework display for the senses in this corner of the Earth. Orchids glow in an impressive diversity of colours and shapes. Songbirds with colourful feathers chirp in competition. All around there are infinite variations of green, captured in strangely shaped leaves. Then there is the morning sky. The colour gradation from shades of blue and rose pink through to deep orange is picturesque and seems to smoulder on the fringe of the hill’s lush vegetation.
Bringing memories back to life
“I try to channel the essence of this exotic world into my work,” she says. “While I’m here, I soak up all the sensations inside me like a sponge. Then when I’m back home in my studio I have to reawaken my memories. For example by enjoying a fresh cup of coffee. Then I feel as if I have been transported straight back here again.” She laughs. “I particularly love the full-bodied flavour of coffee from capsules. The impermeable aluminium containers completely preserve the unique nuances of the individual coffee types. The small ‘aroma safe’ stays hermetically sealed until I make a cup of coffee. And then I’m greeted by a complete treasure trove of delights and memories with every portion.”
Back at the hacienda, her gaze rests on the side of the path. “Cilantro,” she beams. “I’m going to use this herb fresh in my sauce today. But I always take a few herbs back home with me. In an aluminium capsule as a reminder,” she winks and holds the small aluminium spice container aloft. “This ensures that at home they’ll smell like this glorious day in Columbia!”
A more sustainable lifestyle with aluminium
The outstanding barrier protection of aluminium results in a whole host of knock-on benefits. The longer shelf life at room temperature of foodstuffs packaged in aluminium reduces deterioration or wastage. There is then no risk of losing the resources used to producethe foodstuffs,which are often several times greater than the resources needed to produce the packaging. Energy savings during transport and storage conserve additional resources. Well-packaged foodstuffs are not only protected against deterioration: valuable nutrients are preserved for longer,too. In many cases, aluminiums's barrier properties are an alternative to artificial preservatives. Aluminium packaging thus ensures that foodstuffs are healthier and that they are safe to eat. Aluminium's high termal conductivity also means less energy is required in the processing and preparation of food.