ANZAC Day

Anzac, the landing 1915 by George Lambert

On 25 April 1915, Australian Troops formed part of an invasion force that landed on the Gallipoli. In the minds of many Australians we tend to emphasise our own involvement - add our neighbours in New Zealand out of courtesy, include the Brits begrudgingly (it was their fault!) and forget everybody else. And I don't mean the Turks! In fact we acknowledge them before anyone else.

ANZAC troops at Lone Pine

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, casualties at Gallipoli included:

Source: Australian Department of Veterans' Affairs

	Dead	Wounded	Total
Total Allies	44,092	96,937	141,029
- United Kingdom	21,255	52,230	73,485
- France (estimated)	10,000	17,000	27,000
- Australia	8,709	19,441	28,150
- New Zealand	2,721	4,752	7,473
- British India	1,358	3,421	4,779
- Newfoundland	49	93	142
Ottoman empire (estimated)	86,692	164,617	251,309
Total (both sides)	130,784	261,554	392,338

Wait - France?!? We didn't hear anything about French troops in Mrs Maxwell's Year 5 Social Studies class at Our Lady of Large Statues Primary School!

Sadly we do often forget that this day is also a day that other countries lost their sons as well - it is special for ANZACs because it was the first time the force had fought together and it was the start of something much more than war, it was the first growing pains of two young countries far from the rest of the world.

But yes, the French were there in force - and a small party of Newfoundlanders who really, really must have got a aboard the wrong ship. Actually the Royal Newfoundland Regiment was a notable battalion (1000 troops) who were the only contingent from North America to fight at Gallipoli landing there on 20 September 1915. The regiment fought as part of the rear guard during the evacuation and departed on the very last day of the campaign on 9 January 1916. On 1 July 1916, only a few months after the Gallipoli campaign, the Royal Newfoundland Regiment left their trenches at St. John's Road in Beaumont-Hamel on The Somme. within 20 minutes most of the Newfoundland Regiment who had started forward were dead, dying or wounded - the survivors of Gallipoli.

Royal Newfoundland Regiment at St John's Road, The Somme

I have to confess that I never really though much about the other national contingents even after I learned of their presence at Gallipoli in later studies - but it was a large contingent, and suffered a lot of casualties so they must have been operating in some pretty rough parts of the line. The French in particular would not have gone to war without coffee.

We know that the ANZACs had coffee - the Gunfire Breakfast of coffee laced with rum (or was it rum laced with coffee?) confirms that coffee was part of the daily ration. Across the ridge though I suspect that the Turks had access to better coffee - at least a little fresher than the stuff landed with the supplies.

Which begs the question - did the ANZACs or their allies ever capture Turkish coffee? And what did they do with it? I can imagine the French (which included Senegalese troops) would have had no trouble at all working up a brew, but the powder-fine turkish grind may have been a challenge for those less familiar with how to use it.

Turkish troops at Gallipoli

Troops in battle for a period of time - from any country, tend to demonstrate the adaptability that has allowed humans to survive in some pretty appalling conditions and these stories of innovation and creativity are often more interesting than the details of the fierce and bloody battles that create the need to adapt.

Fashioning a cezve from a tin can would be a simple enough task but getting used to the very different style of coffee drinking may have been a challenge. But what would the Turks do if they captured pre-ground coffee from the allies? I guess it might be possible to grind it finer but not necessarily - I have tried making turkish style coffee with coffee that is too coarse and it is just not quite the same.

Still - that is the lesser of the hardships on the battlefield I imagine.

It was a terrible campaign in many ways and a lot of Australian families lost loved ones. So did a lot of Kiwi families, British families, French families, Indian families, even more Turkish families and the lost of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment.

Lest We Forget

The Dardanelles Fleet

Perth Foodie Blog Roundup

With the ANZAC day long weekend upon us The Food Pornographer and her partner have whipped up a batch of the ANZACiest biscuits I have seen in a long time - go there for a great recipe and some photos so you too can get yours made on Sunday.

Tenina has some rather delectable looking Coconut Cardamon Kisses on offer - again with a recipe and great photos.

Perth Coffee Review - a new site, has been hard at work listing cafes and looks like it might be a valuable resource for coffee drinkers on the prowl for their drug of choice.

Slow Food Perth have discovered an article from Queensland about Living the Good Life that is well worth a read. (First link goes to Slow Food, second link goes direct to the article)

Wino Sapien has been hitting the Italian plonk - except that 'plonk' is far too dismissive for the bottle in question. I haven't yet made it to the 'Italian' aisle in my wine merchants cellar as I am still lost in Spain. However I am but a grenache section away from joining Wino Sapien in enjoying a little sip of Italy.

Ace High Wine are back online after a brief flirtation with Google's interesting virus warning notices and revealing some of the secrets of the Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon (2007).

Hold the Beef have been flirting with creative Pizza Making and the results look good - almost like pears-in-red-wine - on toast.

Finally Bowl of Honey have been celebrating Thai New Year which to me looks to be the tastiest New Year on the planet - They've also been to Lowdown tasting Monkey Picked coffee and admiring the imprints of simian teeth on coffee beans.

It happened again!

Only a day or so after bemoaning the all to soon passing of a great apricot flavour in a coffee I go out today with Alchemist (a fellow CoffeeSnob) to Elixir - and try a Yirga Cheffe that they had as a single origin and there it is again - more peach than apricot but still that sharp tangy stonefruit and utterly delicious flavour.

This time I know what the bean is however!

It is the Koke Coop Yirga Cheffe roasted by Five Senses who have coaxed out everything that is good in this bean. Jonny at Elixir poured a shot of this for me and then the power went out in the whole suburb - I thought I'd jinxed their machine but it was not I how shut down power to Nedlands today! The coffee is amazing and I know they only had a tiny amount left in their hopper so I would be surprised if there is any left but even so it was great experience trying this coffee roasted professionally and prepared by a master.

It is also a great relief to know this is not just a fluke occurrence but a quality that is cropping up in specific Ethiopian coffees - each time I have experienced this it has been distinct and enjoyable - not something I would use with milk as on tis own the character is too much fun.

Oh no!

Once before - and only once, I have tried a coffee that I love for this characteristic.

It was at Spring Espresso in Subiaco some months back when the team there had an Ethiopian single origin in the hopper and it had this magnificent apricot character. It was like sucking on a mouthful of dried apricot in fact - not just a 'hint' or a 'note' or 'reminiscent' but a great big gob full of apricots. The guys at Spring are magicians when it comes to teasing out nuances of the beans and this coffee was one of the finest I had tried there.

Today I had a shot that was almost identical (at least as well as I remember) to the one at Spring.

And it was at home.

On a Sunbeam that has been annoying me because the pressure is all over the place.

I've been using the Bialetti stovetop for my short coffees and today on a whim made a ristretto on the Sunbeam - but forgot to change the grind. The shot poured faster that I would normally like - but thick and gloopy. I whipped it out before the shot ran too far and sipped - and there it was, those apricots again.

I quickly made another shot to make sure I was not fooling myself but no - there it was again and I love it!

The worst part is - this is a pre roast blend - from odds and ends (100 grams of this and 100 grams of that - who knows!) so I can't replicate the roast at all as I was only being frugal and not wasting beans.

Worse still - there is enough left in the hopper for maybe two shots more.

I've been using this in the bialetti and in Mrs Grendel's flat whites and never a hint of apricot, but today - when I am about out of the bean it decides to show up.

HappySadHappySadHappySad? - Happy!

At least I got to taste it.

XKCD - Hell

Zekka - 2010

Has it really been two years since I first visited Zekka?

Sadly yes, time does pass that fast and it was April 3, 2008 when I first found this great little location in King Street. Zekka is still there and still pumping out some of Perth's best coffee - but the team has changed and Jackson Duxbury now resides behind the La Marzocco.

It is also still very stylish and makes me feel terribly 'rumply' when I walk in. The fact that I went there today wearing a checked shirt, jeans, hiking boots and a hiking jacket certainly did nothing for me image - fortunately though that doesn't matter when it comes to enjoying good coffee.

Jackson is well known for his artistry in preparing great coffee and over the last year at Zekka he has developed a regular clientèle of coffee lovers. With the rest of his team and using coffee from Kalamunda roaster 'Crema Gourmet Coffee Roasters' he is running a smooth and stylish cafe.

I took both Junior Grendels with me (they've been dragged out a lot these holidays) and both accorded it their greatest accolade - a desire to return. Junior Grendel Number One (the pickiest) declared his mocha to be the best ever - not bad considering the grumpy start he had gotten up to.

Jackson always seems fairly relaxed but it is when you try to take a photo of him in action that you understand how fast he actually moves - of the 14 photos I took he has one part of him in blurred motion in each photo. Next time I will have to get him to pose for a shot!

Jackson's girlfriend is a key business partner and is doing great things with food - including some fantastic smelling soup. It was a cold day today and the soup was tempting - unfortunately the restless Junior Grendels wanted to see if the Red Bull planes were daring to stick their noses out of the hangers (they were not!) and we had to leave. I will be back though - I love a place with soup!












Who: Zekka
What: Coffee and light meals (I'll be back for soup!)
Where: King Street, Perth (between Murray and Wellington
When: Thursday, 14 April 2010
Coffee: Crema Coffee
Accessibility: Excellent - Wide door off King Street and an even sloping ramp with handrails on both sides, good bench height and space to move around. Quiet environment with natural light.

Seppeltsfield Clara Blanca

A couple of posts ago when I was discussing Sherry, Michelle (of The Knockbox) mentioned an Australian wine in the Jerez style using Palamino grapes - Seppeltsfield's Clara Blanca an aged, dry amontillado.

When visiting the Re Store last week I saw it there on the shelf and bought a bottle.

I loved it.

Very different to the fino and manzanilla wines I have been drinking from Spain. Where the manzanilla and fino are straw, this is amber, where they are flint and slate, this is river stones and timber.

I love the Spanish wines and always will (tell that to my head this morning after last night's Rioja Tempranillo!) but I must confess to being very pleasantly surprised by this Australian palamino offering.

Pouring the wine is like standing in a shed of fresh cut maple timber, there is a fresh zestfulness that pretends that this is a sweet wine, and then the dry hits, crisp and sharp. Lots of fun, great with cheddar and green apple (or the new Season Gala if you want a sweet/dry contrast rather than a sour/dry contrast).

The next day I drank it in accompaniment to some classico salami - perfect.

Bouchard in the Morning

My team took me out for breakfast as a birthday treat - I'll get some photos of the presents and provide an explanation for them in a later post but first to Bouchard.

Bouchard has a good reputation as an evening fine dining establishment but we were there on the first morning in Perth where the weather had turned wintery. Also the road out front was being dug up - substantially increasing the barriers between us and poached eggs - but we persisted and pushed on through the layers of traffic control until breakfast was at hand.

I will confess to some trepidation regarding the coffee but it turned out they use Essenza coffee and their barista did a fine job of serving up several rounds of very fine coffees. I had two espresso and these were classic Mina Samios roasts and his efforts are being well represented by the staff at Bouchard.

I ordered the potato rosti with poached eggs, bacon, mushrooms and hollandaise sauce (apparently the salmon outsmarted the guys from the fishery this week).

However, the porcine substitution was fine and overall the meal was very delicious.

I loved the presentation of all of the dishes and as a fairly casual breakfast spot (given its evening reputation) it was a classy effort.

Unfortunately the age of the building restricts access and this may be a problem for anyone who uses a mobility aid - I will attempt to confirm whether there are alternate routes to the cafe but the front entrance is a definite problem.

Who: Bouchard
What: A very enjoyable breakfast
Where: 42 Mount street, Perth (access via Cliff Street)
Hours: From 7 am
Contact: Website, or (08) 9321 5013
When: 12 April 2010
Accessibility: Not good at first observation - Will investigate further however as there may be entrance off the rear car park.

Stovetop Espresso

I have never had much success with stovetop espresso although I own about 4 variations of the caffetiera - all of them in stainless steel.

A friend gave me a Bialetti for my birthday and I read up on the process of making stovetop at a number of different web sites. The advice had some common points, and and some conflicting ideas so I combined these and with a little trial and error got a great tasting espresso from my new allow friend.

I'm not saying that this is THE way to make a good stovetop - it is more a video about how I used it to make mine. All I can recommend is that if you own one and have been frustrated by it - persist, read and experiment.

Also buy a Bialetti 'cause they are cool!

Perth Foodie Blog Roundup

There are some terrific Perth Food and Coffee bloggers and I do not read them all as deeply as I should. Tonight I have made the point to go around and visit several and below I have posted the latest that they have on offer.

Poached have visited West End Deli and gave their coffee a great wrap and seemed to enjoy the eggs but avoided the adventure known as blood sausage.

Wino Sapien is navigating his way around a bottle from Côtes-du-Rhône (A Grenache Shiraz - much to my envy) and appears to be enjoying it - or at least it is leading to happy reminiscing, usually a good sign when drinking.

Ace High Wine is flagged as "Dangerous with potential malicious content" by google - not sure what is going on there but I hope he recovers soon - just in case I will leave out the link for this evening!

The Food Pornographer has been out and about and ranges from Mondo's pork sandwiches to very big bowls of noodles reminding me once again that I just can't eat noodles anymore!

Hold the Beef gave us some great Easter Blogging links and a very delicious recipe for Salmon and Scallop Ceviche.

Devan at Bowl of Honey has been out exploring the Kitsch Bar and investigating the background to their Thai delights.

Musings of a Wannabe Gourmand tantalized us all with their description of Restaurant Amusé – in east perth. I certainly wannabe trying it next!

And a Very Foodly Diary took us back home for a quiet breakfast and an amazing photo of a chocolatly eater treat.

Back here at Cafe Grendel we rediscovered coffee, visited two great new cafes and had a very quiet 40th birthday - life has been to busy to celebrate the milestone yet but perhaps I'll get around to organising something later in the year.

Bodegas Valdespino - Deliciosa Manzanilla

I enjoyed this Manzanilla Jerez this week with a very lovely Pyengana Cheddar and some freshly roasted cashews. All rockmelon as you pour it but dry sea shells as you start to drink it. Lovely mineral characteristics that would enchant a geologist and wonderful with tapas.

Lowdown Highlights

Well, I may not be the best coffee blogger to discover Lowdown, nor will I be the one to take the best photos or write the most descriptive prose, but I know one thing - I am the first coffee blogger to discover this inner city treat.

I noticed it during the fit-out as I walked through the arcade to a meeting and peered several times through the shutters to watch what was going on. One of the first things that I noticed was the presence of a very unique item in a Perth cafe - a Fetco CBS 2021, a temperature calibrated coffee brewer. In a city full of espresso machines this thing appears to be unique.

Actually it seems as though some of the frenetic pace of perth coffee has altered of late and a number of cafes have expanded beyond espresso in their coffee offerings. This is great in my opinion as it allows other aspects of coffee to be explored and will actually contribute to improving espresso through a better understanding of coffee generally.

Back to Lowdown though:

Lowdown is a new addition in Cloisters Arcade and exemplifies the broader acceptance of 'other than espresso'. Offering a house blend from Fiori and a changing single origin, Lowdown is one of the first (if not actually the first) contemporary Perth cafe to offer brewed coffee which they are serving as long black coffees, as a chilled black brew and as the base for their iced coffee.



Owned by Sarah, Claire, Mark and Adam Lowes the cafe is a family business (can you tell that Mark and Adam are brothers? Mark is married to Sarah and Adam to Claire keeping the whole arrangement very neat indeed and providing plenty of help to manage the business.

I had already eaten breakfast but the food was very tempting and almost everything there is made by Sarah including some fantastic looking Hungarian offerings such as the Hungarian cherry cake.

My coffee tally hit four with two long blacks, a ristretto, a chilled long black to which I added an extra treat from another innovation they have introduced - half and half milk. That is, half milk and half cream in a chiller jug that you can pour yourself. They also make milk available in a similar jug and it was great being able to tweak the coffee by adding the milk/cream combination little my little as I drank the coffee to alter the experience.

The coffee from the Fetco was very clean and quite reminiscent of to body obtained from a clover. It was one of the best bodied filter coffees I have had for some time and it certainly highlighted to fruit driven PNG Kimel peaberries.




The ristretto was a delight and brought out the unique characteristics of their custom Fiori blend with caramel, berry and stonefruit apparent as it cooled.

Today was their very first day trading and already they had attracted lots of passing trade who were likewise intrigued by the Fetco. From its Edison reproduction light globes to its warm timber fittings, Lowdown is a very comforting addition to the arcade.

For those wanting a full experience of the new venue, Fiori have arranged two 1 hour coffee appreciation sessions at Lowdown where participants will be tasting three specialty coffees including the Monkey picked coffee. These are this Friday (9 April - with maybe one place remaining if you are lucky) and next Friday 16 April where there are several spots still available.

All funds raised will be donated to Be Kids Australia. The cost to attend is $15 and bookings are essential. These can be made by emailing Louise at info@fioricoffee.com.


Who: Lowdown
What: Great Coffee - with the added brewer bonus and very nice food on offer
Where: Shop 16A Cloisters Arcade, 865 Hay Street Perth (access also via St Georges Terrace)
Hours: From 7 am to 5pm (yay - coffee after meetings that finish at 4pm!).
Contact: Website, Email or (08) 9226 3041
When: 7 April 2010
Accessibility: Excellent - no issues with floor levels and counters and lighting and noise levels were acceptable.

Elixir, Coffee Specialists - Claremont

Juan Ponce de Leon, a Spanish exlorer born in 1474, led the first Spanish foray into Florida in search of gold, slaves and the reputed 'Fountain of Youth'. He found swamps and alligators and no magic vitality-restoring elixir.

The fortunate sandgropers who inhabit this state don't need an imaginary fountain of youth for our elixir. We HAVE Elixir - or to be more accurate Elixir Coffee Specialists in Claremont.

Now not just anyone can credibly call themselves 'coffee specialists' in Perth these days. Or rather they can, but they risk rolled eyes and snarky comments on coffeesnobs if they are not the real McCoy.

This is a scenario not even remotely possible for Elixir in Claremont. If there was ever a team I would trust to make great coffee it is that headed up by Jonny Nease and Justin Kenny.

Their coffee is sublime and Jonny manages to find the right notes of the blend as well as the single origins with apparent unerring ease - it is obvious however that behind the effortless-seeming approach there has been a lot of work and for the first time in a long time I have had to resist the urge to lick the last drips from the eggshell blue Croatian coffee cups.

The cafe is a pleasure to visit, the coffee amazing and the food superb.

Elixir is a great addition to the growing lineup of great cafes in Perth and have pushed this style of coffee further out from the CBD.

The team have acquired a 6Kg Giesen roaster - a heavy metal presence in the rear of the store that is not yet in production, but soon will be. They do not appear to be in a rush to roast and intend to let that stage happen when it is ready. In the meantime they are making their Five Senses roasted beans sing delightfully.

Blue is the new white - when it comes to espresso!

Justin Kenny

Jonny works the Hydra magic

What a product - there is so much dimension to that flat white that it is like a bas relief

Who: Elixir, Coffee Specialists
What: Top notch coffee and a small but superb selection of food
Where: 45a/145 Stirling Hwy, Nedlands WA 6009 (entrance off Robinson St -beside Chelsea Pizza)
Hours: From 7.30am.
Contact: Website, Email , Twitter or (08) 9389 9333
When: 6 April 2010
Accessibility: Excellent - I will also check back with Elixir and ask about their toilet facilities as I did not check those for accessibility.

I'm not entirely happy

with the new header - in fact I am far from happy with it so it is a temporary placement until I can create a new one.

I took some new photos this afternoon but just as I got to the best point of the best pour of the day the battery died.

I was using a lighter roast coffee and attempting to get the pressure just right but it was taking a little extra tweaking. The tamper and the grinder alternately both came under my wrathful gaze as I blamed them for my own shortcomings (or shortpourings as was the case).

In the end I managed a delightful shot just in time for the camera to say goodnight - another thing I had not been watching!

Sherry

Sherry, or vino de Jerez is a wine best known to Australian palates in its local imitators as a sickly sweet pre-dinner tipple that can be bought by the flagon and consumed with a similar lack of panache.

Or at least that was how it seemed to me. I have never really had any exposure to the real thing until this year when we visited the Greenhouse and I ordered the sherry to go with the spiced cashews (following the very clear instruction on the menu next to the first wine "Drink First").

Thus it was that the dry, smooth and clean manzanilla produced by Hidalgo under the name of La Gitana (The Gypsy). From the town of Sanlacar de Barrameda in Andalucia, this wine was a revelation and has sparked an exploration across Jerez regions and styles. I am definitely favouring the dryer styles, appreciating for the first time just how and almost stone dry wine really compliments spice.

One, a Lustau Fino, has a description on the label of 'flinty' and it is perhaps the most accurate description of the contents of the bottle that I have ever read.

There is an aroma released when a flint is struck against a steel and this wine mirrors that aroma precisely on the palate. The fino varieties are dryer than the manzanillas but very enjoyable.

So far I have tasted examples of Fino ('fine' in Spanish), Manzanilla, Amontillado and Oloroso. These have been made with either Palomino (dryer wines) or Pedro Ximénez grapes (in the sweeter wines). I have also tasted a 'Bristol Cream' generic blend and found this to be a reminder of what I always imagined sherry to be - sweet. To be honest the Bristol Cream was pleasant, but not to my taste - I guess my palate has changed since the last time I had sherry at a Christmas dinner some decades ago.

I keep returning to the La Gitana though and I am now trying to find a coffee pairing for it. I did get a hold of a very nice new Costa Rican coffee that is very bold as a ristretto and goes well with fresh walnuts - it has potential but I have to remember not to drink the little 375ml Manzanillas the day I buy them rather then wait until I have my beans and nuts lined up with the sherry. (OK, having typed that I realise the potentially bad images that can form with that constellation of words but it amuses me to leave the sentence as it is. . .)

Vino de Jerez I am happy to recommend include:

Hidalgo 'La Gitana' Manzanilla
Lustau Fino (the 'bone-dry and flinty')
Lustau Manzanilla

I only included those wines that appealed to me - but feel free to take your own sweeter preferences to the wine shelves - it is the only way there will be enough left in stock for me!

Sherry is hard to find in Perth but the Re Store generally has a small but high quality range of the real thing and the finer versions of Australian fortified wines.

Grendel's 'States of Coffee Consciousness'

This has been rolling around my head for a few weeks and it may not be quite right - but for the laugh, here it is!



Hmmm - and just having noticed that Fusion Charts do not auto resize, here it is in a narrower format for those using smaller monitors:

April 2, Autism Awareness Day

Resolution adopted by the General Assembly

[on the report of the Third Committee (A/62/435)] 62/139.

World Autism Awareness Day

The General Assembly,

Recalling the 2005 World Summit Outcome and the United Nations Millennium Declaration, as well as the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic, social and related fields,

Recalling also the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, according to which children with disabilities should enjoy a full and decent life, in conditions which ensure dignity, promote self-reliance and facilitate the child’s active participation in the community, as well as the full enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms on an equal basis with other children,

Affirming that ensuring and promoting the full realization of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all persons with disabilities is critical to achieving internationally agreed development goals,

Aware that autism is a lifelong developmental disability that manifests itself
during the first three years of life and results from a neurological disorder that affects the functioning of the brain, mostly affecting children in many countries irrespective of gender, race or socio-economic status, and characterized by impairments in social interaction, problems with verbal and non-verbal communication and restricted, repetitive behaviour, interests and activities,

Deeply concerned by the prevalence and high rate of autism in children in all
regions of the world and the consequent development challenges to long-term health
care, education, training and intervention programmes undertaken by Governments,
non-governmental organizations and the private sector, as well as its tremendous
impact on children, their families, communities and societies,

Recalling that early diagnosis and appropriate research and interventions are
vital to the growth and development of the individual,

1. Decides to designate 2 April as World Autism Awareness Day, to be
observed every year beginning in 2008;

2. Invites all Member States, relevant organizations of the United Nations
system and other international organizations, as well as civil society, including
non-governmental organizations and the private sector, to observe World Autism
Awareness Day in an appropriate manner, in order to raise public awareness of autism;

3. Encourages Member States to take measures to raise awareness
throughout society, including at the family level, regarding children with autism;

4. Requests the Secretary-General to bring the present resolution to the
attention of all Member States and United Nations organizations.

76th plenary meeting
18 December 2007

Yes but what do you call it?

Scientists in Brazil have created a hybrid cross of Theobroma cacao and Coffea arabica. The result is a plant that produces large pods that contain beans that are not quite cocoa beans and not quite coffee beans but have the characteristics of each. Essentially coffee with a high oil content it is unlikely that these seeds could ever be used in the preperation of espresso style drinks but there is potential for them to be used in much the same way that cocoa is used - conched to extract the 'butter' and then the remaining powder used to create a beverage.

The new hybrid has been given a scientific designation Theobiba cachuatl (latin for 'drink of the gods' and then the Aztec name for cocoa 'cachautl')but has not yet been given a common name - probably a marketing decision as the sales options for the new product are explored.

Unfortunately as a hybrid the plant seeds are sterile and it can only be propogated by repeating the steps of cross fertilisation between coffee and cocoa plants. On the positive side the plant is remarkably resistant to common coffee pests as it releases small amounts of hydrogen sulphide as the bean pods ripen. While this does slightly taint the beans the 'rotten egg' odour is said to dissapate over time and be barely noticeable in the processed product.

Each tree can produce up to 150 pods a season yealding nearly 500kg of fruit per tree. Experiments are also underway to genetically engineer vanilla bean orchid (Vanilla planifolia)to grow as an epiphyte on the trunk of the coffee/cocoa hybrid (really needs a name guys!) and reduce the effect of the hydrogn sulphide and impart a mellow vanilla note to the bean pods.

We await the advances of science!