Coffee Pron - Centrefolds

Ah yes - the misspelling is quite deliberate as I'd hate someone's work filter to get them into trouble for looking at a Naked PF shot.

I want a macro lens!

The lens we have is OK but I want to get closer.

Dusit Thai

We took full advantage of the opportunity for a night out last night.

Kamran and Louise arranged a wonderful group for dinner and after an excellent Islay single malt of Kamran's (Laphroaig I think it was) we headed off to Dusit Thai on James Street in Northbridge.

We had such a good time with the group that came that it probably would not have mattered if the food wasn't up to par - but in fact it was excellent which added to the evening.

It was a rare treat to indulge in dinner conversation that encompassed topics other than children - so many of our social events are predominated (or preoccupied) by them (naturally enough!)

Matt and I engaged in an SLR duel across the table - (which he won and I know this without even having seen his photos yet).

Chris "Christretto" anchored one end of the table and the other was held by Justin (Fiori Coffee).

The wine flowed, the spices warmed and by the time Mrs Grendel waved frantically across the table that it was time to go and retrieve our children, three hours of indulgence had evaporated as if in a moment.

Thank you Louise and Kamran for arranging a most enjoyable evening!

And yes, I'd highly recommend Dusit Thai.


Accessibility - poor, arrangements would need to be made ahead of time as the venue is quite crowded in its layout.

Dragon Tea House

Matt (Abstract Gourmet) visited and wrote about the Dragon Tea House in Northbridge a little while ago and got me interested in a visit.

Our opportunity came yesterday when we were invited to accompany some of the members of the Perth Slow Food convivium to tea tasting in the afternoon.

Wow, what a place. Absolutely stunning teas, carefully chosen, beautifully prepared and served by our lovely hostess June, it was a wonderful tea experience.

We've been interested in the slow food movement for years ever since a Welsh friend introduced us to the concept back when we lived in the Whitsundays. Having a young family has restricted our opportunities to go out and participate so it was great to be able to make contact yesterday via Louise Gordon from Fiori Coffee.

It was also great to be able to go out with Mrs Grendel after depositing our boys with their grandparents - we have so few chances that we jumped at this one.

The Tea house is set amidst the aging shopfronts along William Street but stepping inside is really stepping into a quieter, gentler world.

The displays of tea pots, teas and utensils are eye-catching and the tasting session wonderfully planned to highlight some of what is on offer. The tea and the serving sets a very nicely priced as well and provide everything that is required for anyone from the novice tea drinker to the passionate tea aficionado.

The tea house opened in January this year and is quickly gaining a reputation as a source of fine Chinese teas - and a quiet place to relax.

The final treat of the afternoon was watching one of the flower teas bloom in the glass teapot - a tightly bound bud slowly and gracefully opening - a fitting finish to the afternoon.



Who: Dragon Tea House
What: Chinese Tea, tea serving sets, serenity
Where: 3/369 William StreetNorthbridge
When: Sampled 28 July 2007
Tea: A full range carefully selected in person at origin by the owner


Accessibility: Good

Phone: (08) 9228 3305
Website: www.dragonteahouse.com

Ristretto

It's been a little while coming, you may remember that back in April I mentioned a new cafe opening in the CBD - well it opened three weeks ago and it is a little gem.

Paragon Arcade is a link between Hay Street and St Georges Terrace and for a long time has been bereft of a decent coffee source.

Not any more, in fact it is as if the arcade has gone from owning a bicycle to a Rolls Royce.

Emanuele Muratore's "Ristretto' is the most recent of Perth's specialty coffee outlets and the presence of the Synesso and the pair of Mazzer Roburs.

The concept of a Custom 5-Senses blend may not be new, but the blend is deliberately distinct from other 5-Senses blends already well known in the CBD.

Emanuele's passion for the bean led him to take sourcing his coffee one step further and he will be hosting coffees in the second grinder from other roasters including St Ali, the always excellent Fiori Coffee and perhaps even some of the coffee from Hazel de los Reyes of Coffee Alchemy.

I tried a ristretto first - Awesome - lots of depth and certainly just the ticket for first thing in the morning. Emanuele derided his latte art skills but managed a creditable rosetta atop a richly scented flat white. The blend cuts through very well but doesn't overpower the milk and the blend he has developed with 5-Senses would suit all-day coffee drinkers.

I understand there are some great plans for light meals - very special stuff and I'll no doubt be back to sample both the food and the special guest single origins.

A terrific venue and well worth checking out - few of the small hole-in-the-wall coffee operaters would be able to match Emanuele for coffee passion and none in the CBD for quality.




Who: Ristretto
What: Espresso, cakes, and light meals
Where: Paragon Arcade - 160 St Georges Terrace
When: Sampled 26 July 2007
Coffee: 5 Senses - custom blend, Fiori, St Ali - and perhaps more!


Accessibility: Excellent, and has the added bonus of an accessible toilet next door

Brendan

I've just heard the news that it is Brendan's last day up at Epic.

I didn't get the chance to stop by Epic today so I missed the news - and missed saying goodbye to Brendan - so Goodbye mate and enjoy the new career.

We'll miss your quiet, quick humour and slick pouring technique.

Updated: the Perth Coffee Map

I've updated the Perth Coffee Map to show a great new Perth Cafe - 'Ristretto'

I'll also be adding an extra indicator to each description on the map identifying if a venue is accessible to people with disabilities. I've been thinking about adding this one for a few weeks and there are not enough considerations of accessibility on most of the commercial review sites so I'll try and cover some of that ground here.

I Highly Recommend a visit and I'll post some photos tonight.


Who: Ristretto
What: Espresso, cakes, and light meals
Where: Paragon Arcade (Between Hay Street and St Georges Tce Perth 6000 (160 St Georges Tce)
Accessibility: Excellent - and an accessible toilet is nearby.
When: Sampled 26 July 2007
Coffee: 5 Senses - custom blend, St Ali Single Origins and Fiori blends and SIngle Origins.

Yemen Ismaili

I just finished my first batch of home roasted Yemen Ismaili.

I was amazing coffee and met my expectations. I roasted it a lot slower than normally - first crack at 16 minutes and second at 19 minutes.

As I had the last ristretto I was thinking (again) about the people involved in the coffee link. Beyond that are a whole series of other links - my roasting setup, the grinder and espresso machine - the milk from down south and the special Swedish chalk pouches it comes in, and of course, the stunning Malawi Ristretto cup - so many people had a hand in that I enjoyed for just a few minutes.

Certainly made me think!

Tonight Mrs Grendel and I were enjoying a special Honduran (Barrios Estate) and I decided to add an extra graphic to coffee reviews showing the primary locations for the coffee blend or the location of the Single Origin.

I figure the very least we should know is where the country is on the map.

Facelift

Ah yes, the blog facelift - mostly because I don't have time for a holiday.

Stage one is done - a bit more work to do yet.

Blackle

Blackle is the brainchild of Australian outfit Heap Media who figured out that a black background for Google searches would diminish the power output required by the monitor to display search results.

Not sure how much power it saves (especially for LCD monitors), but I like the creative thinking!

Aroma Festival 2007

I didn't get across to Sydney for this years Aroma Festival but it looked like it was great.

I must plan ahead for next years festival - I'd love to go to one of these but the cost of travel from WA is a pain.

One of my fellow coffeesnobs got along and took some great photos: available for viewing on his Flikr site

I'm looking forward to hearing from Kamran and Louise who went over and pick their brains on what is going on over east.

Kopi Austrosaur

From our Western Queensland correspondent comes the exciting news that paleontologists have discovered the fossilized remains not only an early coffee eating dinosaur, but also further evidence that early coffee plants (Coffea Gigantus) were common across the mega-continent of Gondwanaland prior to the post-Cretaceous continental drift.

Most notably the find includes the fossilized remains of ancient coffee beans preserved in the dung of the Austrosaur, thus proving that Austrosaurus Coffeatus and Coffea Gigantus lived as contemporaries in what is now Australia during the Cretaceous Period.

This pre-dates the previous earliest known period for this type of angiosperm and is additionally exciting because scientists believe they may be able to reconstruct the DNA sequence of Coffea Gigantus allowing the production of hybrid between ancient and contemporary coffee species.

The beans of Coffea Gigantus measured up to 32cm in length and weighed approximately 1400g when green. In today's terms a single bean would yield sufficient coffee for - you guessed it - 43 cups. If propagation of Coffea Gigantus is ever successful a certain multinational might have to review their marketing strategy.

It also begs the question of how 'Kopi Austrosaur' might have tasted following the unique processing that the coffee beans endured through several hundred meters of dinosaur digestive tract.

Austrosaurus Coffeatus
Pronunciation: OSS-tro-SAWR-us- CO-f-ee-AY-tus
Translation: Southern Coffee Lizard
Order: Saurischia
Suborder: Sauropodomorpha
Infraorder: Sauropoda
Height: 9.1 meters
Length: 15.2 meters
Period: Early Cretaceous
Description: Herbivore, Quadrupedal- Notes: Known from fragmentary remains, this primitive but large sauropod was found in Australia. The habitat of Austrosaurus Coffeatus was restricted to high mountain slopes, where Coffea Gigantus, the early ancestor of the modern coffee plant grew in abundance.

Image Source: Australian Heritage Commission

7:03 am

Yes, I actually went down and waited at the front of the shopping centre to get in to get our copies of the final Harry Potter book.

I didn't leave home until 6:40, got there at about 6:45 and - was 4th in line.

Had our copies by 7:03 and was home by 7:10.

By the time I left though there were over 100 people lined up in front of the bookstore - I have no idea where they came from.

I find it bizarre that I can arrive at what I thought was 'in time', get my book and be home and reading it already and yet others who arrived a few short minutes after I did are going to be waiting there well after I have finished the fourth chapter.

Barista Vanity Plates

For all those Baristas or barista-wanna-be's out there who wanted the 'Barista' vanity number plate for WA - I know who has it!

It was parked on Murray Street early this morning a long way from where it usually lives.

Coffee Reviews

My mate Hamo, having finally returned to the world of blogging has gone on a coffee binge and reviewed a good half dozen or so cafes. Check it out.

I 'spose it would be too cheeky to review his reviews.

Black Gold

The real black gold is not found in barrels, but in beans and lubricates minds, instead of motors.



P.S. If you are wondering the 'why' I might be posting these little nuggets of caffeine induced inanity, its just that I am so frigging busy at work that by the time I get to post o'clock in the evening my brain has already retreated. . .

Democrat or Despot

Coffee can be democratic or despotic.

Which of these it will be depends on the ethics of the consumer.

The Potter Thing

Well, the latest and final instalment of the Harry Potter series is due for release on Saturday.

In wrapping up the series J.K Rowling will have to tie together the threads of an increasing dark tale and there has been a lot of speculation about what will happen – including the identities of the two central characters that die, whether Professor Dumbledore is really dead or the true nature of Professor Snape.

I won’t speculate on how the books will end, accept to note that the Author, J.K. Rowling has created characters that exhibit the full and complex range of humanity and that all characters have the capacity for good and evil. More than this she has made the characters REAL - they live, they love and on occasion they die and although of the fantasy genre the book exhibits a wonderfully solid appreciation that children can be reassured that all the life events that they themselves experience are normal - and not find that boring.

I would suggest that perhaps the biggest surprise of all will be that the characters behave not as part of a fantasy story, but as people caught up in the circumstances of their lives and their history and perhaps this means that when someone dies - they stay dead and that it might be difficult to label someone as either 'good' or 'evil'.

This is perhaps Rowling’s greatest achievement – not that she has created a work of fiction, but that she has led readers to understand that regardless of the ‘genre’ in which we find ourselves, we all have to capacity to choose to act for good or ill and that our actions bear consequences for ourselves and others.

Tonight I’ll be roasting a special “Harry Potter Blend” to get me through a rough weekend of reading. I’ve lashed out big time and ordered TWO! copies of the book – not as some might imagine because I want to read it in Stereo, but because Mrs Grendel doesn’t want to wait for me to finish it – first one to finish gets to sell their copy on Ebay.

I think the blend will have to be dark, complex and with a robust finish – much like my hopes for the book!

July Bean Bay at T5

Darjeeling Tea

Darjeeling in West Bengal is home to some of the best tea gardens in the world and Darjeeling tea is highly prized.

I love Darjeeling tea, and this month I am receiving a kilo of SFTGFOP-1 (Super Fine Tippy Golden Orange Flowery Pekoe grade 1) from CoffeeSnobs.

This is the top grade of Darjeeling teas and the tea board has a rigorous certification process to ensure that this tea – along with other top Darjeeling grades is protected from counterfeiting. Darjeeling produces around ten thousand tonnes of tea annually, but somehow forty thousand tonnes of Darjeeling tea are available on the international market. Like any product of value however, it is worth protecting.

The grading is determined by the harvesting of just the top two leaves and the small golden (‘flowery’) bud by hand. The bud is in fact immature leaves rather than a flower however. These leaves and the bud are then assessed and graded and the top graded picks are the “Super Fine Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe Grade 1” selection.

The time of year that tea is picked has a strong influence on the flavour – after the spring rains of March is apparently the time for picking the best teas – when the leaves are young and the flavour will be fragrant and not too astringent.

I bought one batch of this tea prior to Christmas last year and presented it as gifts to friends and colleagues – it had a very delicate flavour and I know I will be sharing my latest batch out around the office again – a great tea.

Darjeeling Tea Garden – photo courtesy of P K Niyogi

Breakfast Tip

Coconut Bread

I had a slice of toasted coconut bread for breakfast this morning - quite something!

At this rate Pranzo will have to change their name to "Prima Colazione".

I had mine with just a little butter and was going to eat it at my desk but the aroma led to it being consumed as I walked down the hill - really nice and crunchy outside with toasty coconut goodness and a soft rich inner slice.

This would go really well with pure maple syrup (although NOT while walking down a hill).

I love maple syrup, the real stuff that is and I am always disappointed when I am served with the corn syrup based faux maple syrup. It is really hard to get a good supply of syrup over here, particularly Vermont Maple Syrup in any quantity above one or two hundred millilitres, In North America it is routinely available in pints, quarts, half and whole gallons - sheer luxury! Over here we have to make do with small bottles, carefully rationed to the last drop.

And can anyone tell me why maple syrup brands in Australia all have queer names - "Camp", "Queen" and "Log Cabin" (as in the "Log Cabin Republicans", the gay branch of the US Republican Party) for example?

It is fortunate for syrup aficionados that the homophobic conspiracy theorists in the federal government have not latched onto this one yet and banned the sale of syrup as 'anti-family' - I for one welcome our gay maple syrup overlords, so long as they maintain a steady supply of mapley goodness they are quite welcome to live as they choose.

It's a gas!

CO2 Makes some great bubbles when the coffee is still really fresh (a bit too fresh even!) But is does make for some great looking pours.

Carbon Dioxide is released from coffee beans after roasting with the first 48 hours being the most significant time. Most roasters 'rest' their coffee for this period before shipping and allow it to off-gas. Home roasters are forced to restrain their natural impulse to try it right away - although I actually do like to try a coffee from just after roasting so that I can see the changes as the coffee matures.

When you buy a bag of fresh coffee beans it may often be puffy. Years ago I was told that this was a bad thing because it meant that the vacuum seal of the bag had been broken. Large commercial roasters do vacuum seal some coffee beans in the hope of keeping them fresh longer but the reality is that any coffee you buy from a large supermarket chain is likely to be stale - and the problem is intensified if it is pre-ground.

One of my great joys in life is to hug a big bag of fresh beans and give them a squeeze so that the aroma laden CO2 in the bag can waft around me. That smell is one of my favourites.

None of this infromation is anything new to most coffee snobs - but for those who are just getting interested in quality coffee it can be a revelation. Freshly roasted quality beans are really only the starting point - but it is the most signifcant point in the journey to good coffee because every step that follows after depends on that first one.

Rosetta on Friday

This is some of Megan's work at Epic - showing us once again how she became state Latte Art Champion.

Envy

Perhaps the ultimate object of coffee snob covetedness.

And yes, I am actually referring to the machine - not Emma.

Reminds me of that old fishing sticker - "Wanted wife with fishing boat, please send photo of boat".

I wonder if Emma's partner Chris got a photo of the Cyncra?

My fiendish mind is working overtime to determine if a 1992 Holden Apollo can be reconfigured as an espresso machine - MUST HAVE MORE STEAM!

African Beauties

I am currently awaiting the arrival of a small parcel of Yemen Ismaili green beans.

I have been waiting to acquire some of these for quite a while and in celebration I roasted some Ethiopian Sidamo coffee last night so that I can warm back up to African coffees.

I think African coffee is my favourite - I have others from around the world that I love but there is something special about the coffee from the African beans.

The Sidamo I roasted last night were small nuggety gems, quite dense and they roasted very evenly. I have about 6 African coffees in stock at the moment and have toyed with the idea of a blend but so far they have been too much fun as single origins.

I was lucky to try the Ismaili earlier this year from 5 Senses and while I will have to work hard to match the roast they did I am looking forward to the challenge.

In a week or two I am going to embark on a brewing adventure with Kamran (of Fiori Coffee Fame) and a couple of others. There are these neat little microbreweries in Perth where you can go and brew your own beer - I used to use them often but have not for years. We'll be working towards 2 brews - a medium ale and a ginger beer.

This place is pretty neat because in addition to the bottling gear they can also halp with canning your brew - a good option for many people.

I know one or two places have opened up around Australia where you can roast your own coffee - it is just a shame there are not more as I think they could be a nice offshoot to a roastery.

If the brewing works out I'll have some nice shots of an entirely different type of crema to post up.

This working life

It is turning into one of those days/weeks/months/years.

I love my job, but lately it has been like riding a brumby - totally unpredictable.

I've seen some of the wrost policy decisions ever made in the last few weeks that will see hundred of millions of dollars spent with no particular result.

I am very thankful for coffeebeans right about now.

Also I managed to do my back and spent the early hours of this morning in the agonies of back spasms.

We are still recovering from the scrapbooking day - it was huge and I still can't quite believe that we managed to raise over $5000. I am in awe of the generosity of the people in my coffee world and I wonder if it is like this in other places?

There seems to be something very special happening with coffee in Perth and I haven't quite figured out what it is yet but it is enourmously exciting to watch.

I've had another idea for a fundraiser and while I can't say too much at this stage I think it has the potential to be a smaller but elegent fundraising event. I promise to provide more detail when I have it!