The world loves coffee far more than it hates coffee.
But we already knew that.
Click to embiggen!
Friday, February 18, 2011
Random Coffee Googlings
I play with numbers quite a bit and this morning as a warm-up exercise for some serious number play I did a comparison of various search terms including the word coffee.
The world loves coffee far more than it hates coffee.
But we already knew that.
Click to embiggen!
The world loves coffee far more than it hates coffee.
But we already knew that.
Click to embiggen!
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Original Recipe
For Coca Cola - or so it is alleged. I have my doubts.
Good luck funding the coca extract though! Unless you live in Boliva...
Good luck funding the coca extract though! Unless you live in Boliva...
- Fluid extract of coca 3 drams
- Citric acid 3oz
- Caffeine 1oz
- Sugar 30 (quantity not known)
- Water 2.5 gal
- Lime juice 2 pints 1 qrt
- Vanilla 1oz
- Caramel 1.5oz or more to colour
- Merchandise 7X flavour (use 2oz of flavour to 5 gals syrup):
- Alcohol 8oz
- Orange oil 20 drops
- Lemon oil 30 drops
- Nutmeg oil 10 drops
- Coriander oil 5 drops
- Neroli oil 10 drops
- Cinnamon oil 10 drops
Seriously Coffee
There are some mornings when you've had enough of nuance and just want the caffeine equivalent of a headbutt.
Now you could go down the patch of using robusta in the blend to boost the caffeiene level, but for those who do not like the burnt-rubber aftertaste of the lesser robustas that dominate the market then you have to find an arabica (or arabicas) with some Oooomph.
I got mine!
Visiting the happy sacks of green beans at Fiori Coffee last week I was shown a bag full of Mysore Nuggets - but peaberry nuggets and told that if I blended these with a certain Balinese bean then it would be a robust, unsubtle but enjoyable brew...
= Brief pause while I make coffee =
...and yes, it is unsubtle, but tasty to the last drop.
As a brief aside, when blogging I am never sure whether to include a moment of interruption like the above or not. As I was writing this post, a colleague came by and asked if I wanted to share in a Clever Coffee Dripper of coffee with her. We discussed the merits of the dripper as a highly functional piece of coffee equipment, we ground the blend I mention above, and made a dripper each to take back to our desks.
Coffee is enormously a social thing wherever it is made, even if that interraction is brief, The one thing (and perhaps the only thing) that Nestle have got right over the years is their understanding that the marketing of coffee should highlight the social aspect of the drink. Unfortunately their idea of marketing is rather saccerine and about on a part with the powedered beverage they sell. Fitting really.
Back to the good stuff...
This blend has an up front bitterness that screams caffeine, but an underlying sweetness that allows the coffee to flow over your tongue and retrieve your senses from their initial resistance to that first taste.
It is just what I needed to kick my brain into motion and I like it.
Now you could go down the patch of using robusta in the blend to boost the caffeiene level, but for those who do not like the burnt-rubber aftertaste of the lesser robustas that dominate the market then you have to find an arabica (or arabicas) with some Oooomph.
I got mine!
Visiting the happy sacks of green beans at Fiori Coffee last week I was shown a bag full of Mysore Nuggets - but peaberry nuggets and told that if I blended these with a certain Balinese bean then it would be a robust, unsubtle but enjoyable brew...
= Brief pause while I make coffee =
...and yes, it is unsubtle, but tasty to the last drop.
As a brief aside, when blogging I am never sure whether to include a moment of interruption like the above or not. As I was writing this post, a colleague came by and asked if I wanted to share in a Clever Coffee Dripper of coffee with her. We discussed the merits of the dripper as a highly functional piece of coffee equipment, we ground the blend I mention above, and made a dripper each to take back to our desks.
Coffee is enormously a social thing wherever it is made, even if that interraction is brief, The one thing (and perhaps the only thing) that Nestle have got right over the years is their understanding that the marketing of coffee should highlight the social aspect of the drink. Unfortunately their idea of marketing is rather saccerine and about on a part with the powedered beverage they sell. Fitting really.
Back to the good stuff...
This blend has an up front bitterness that screams caffeine, but an underlying sweetness that allows the coffee to flow over your tongue and retrieve your senses from their initial resistance to that first taste.
It is just what I needed to kick my brain into motion and I like it.
Monday, February 07, 2011
Sweet Coffee
I roasted this weekend, finishing the last of my Ethiopian Limmu, and the Ugandan Bugisu from Mt Elgon. A colleague at work loves acidic coffee so I roasted a special batch of the Bugisu just for her. I took it to first crack and then a touch more until there was an even colour to most of the beans - but still very light.
We made a pour-over this morning and I had expectations of something quite tart given the colour of the beans.
But it was sweet, smooth and silky.
As it cooled I found the balance between acid and sweet more obvious but even so the sugar was more dominant than the sour and it had a very warm spicy thing happening somewhere towards the back of the palate.
Later, while sitting in a meeting the aftertaste was still with me - burnt fig, quite distinct and as clear as if Maggie Beer herself had been char-grilling the figs.
It was not at all what I expected, but very welcome.
Ugandan coffee has been improving in recent years and we are seeing more of it - the result of better shipping than anything else in many cases but the volcanic slopes on which the coffee grows support a range of cash and food crops and are intensively farmed.
This Google Earth generatred view from the Butiriku crater towards Mt Elgon (in the distant background) shows that even on the steep slopes of the crater, cultivation covers the sides with a patchwork of produce. The floor of the crater is at 1400 metres and rises to 1800 metres (in the centre-right of the photo).
This is certainly good coffee altitude and the area all around Mt Elgon supports a large number of villages and coffee is the main cash crop for most people in the region so it is great to see an improvement in quality and quantity from so many small producers.
And it was a fascinating coffee!
We made a pour-over this morning and I had expectations of something quite tart given the colour of the beans.
But it was sweet, smooth and silky.
As it cooled I found the balance between acid and sweet more obvious but even so the sugar was more dominant than the sour and it had a very warm spicy thing happening somewhere towards the back of the palate.
Later, while sitting in a meeting the aftertaste was still with me - burnt fig, quite distinct and as clear as if Maggie Beer herself had been char-grilling the figs.
It was not at all what I expected, but very welcome.
Ugandan coffee has been improving in recent years and we are seeing more of it - the result of better shipping than anything else in many cases but the volcanic slopes on which the coffee grows support a range of cash and food crops and are intensively farmed.
This Google Earth generatred view from the Butiriku crater towards Mt Elgon (in the distant background) shows that even on the steep slopes of the crater, cultivation covers the sides with a patchwork of produce. The floor of the crater is at 1400 metres and rises to 1800 metres (in the centre-right of the photo).
This is certainly good coffee altitude and the area all around Mt Elgon supports a large number of villages and coffee is the main cash crop for most people in the region so it is great to see an improvement in quality and quantity from so many small producers.
And it was a fascinating coffee!
Tuesday, February 01, 2011
Stovetop clarity
A while ago I posted a video of making stovetop espresso. With all my earlier stovetops the end product had been muddy and burnt but with the little Bialetti that Kam from Fiori gave me I have had much more success.
I have been in the habit of lifting the Bialetti from the flame almost as soon as the coffee starts to flow up the spout - I know that the result of this is a little less coffee, but I find that first fraction of the brew to be sweeter and substantially more mellow than if I maintain the heat and allow all of the water to boil through.
There is also substantially less sediment - to the point where the coffee is almost completely clear. I don't know just why this is - if I leave it a litle longer it certainly has a lot more sediment and I wonder if that last rush of water and steam is at a higher pressure and thus carries a little more sediment through with it.
I know that from a flavour persective some people prefer the full measure and body of the more muddy brew, but I have come to prefer the early lift and the clean taste - here below is my video again so that you can see the result of the method I am using. I'd love to hear any views on why it is that the first fraction has almost no sediment.
I have been in the habit of lifting the Bialetti from the flame almost as soon as the coffee starts to flow up the spout - I know that the result of this is a little less coffee, but I find that first fraction of the brew to be sweeter and substantially more mellow than if I maintain the heat and allow all of the water to boil through.
There is also substantially less sediment - to the point where the coffee is almost completely clear. I don't know just why this is - if I leave it a litle longer it certainly has a lot more sediment and I wonder if that last rush of water and steam is at a higher pressure and thus carries a little more sediment through with it.
I know that from a flavour persective some people prefer the full measure and body of the more muddy brew, but I have come to prefer the early lift and the clean taste - here below is my video again so that you can see the result of the method I am using. I'd love to hear any views on why it is that the first fraction has almost no sediment.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Sundays are for Lab Work
I do love to play. Today, following an inspiring evening on Wednesday with the guys at European Foods at Bar 399, I decided to play with signature drinks and coffee cocktails.
Like most good science the afternoon was a series of failed combinations each of which led me towards two successes.
The cocktail success was achieved using Ethiopian Limu that I roasted myself using bean from Fiori. It was roasted only just to second crack so it is very bright and lemony. An espresso shot of this was paired with Stones Green Ginger Wine (reserve) and a dash of tabasco sauce for extra kick. Lots of fun. About 30ml of espresso to the same of green ginger wine. Stir in the tabasco and then take the whole lot into your mouth. DO NOT SWALLOW! Hold it till the heat builds then let it trickle down your throat.
The second success was born of what seemed like total failure. I was using truffle butter as the 'trick' but had trouble pairing it with other flavours. In the end what worked was warming a minute amount of truffle butter in about a tablespoon of Bannister Downs milk, pouring a shot of espresso into this and then a teaspoon of maple syrup.
Like most good science the afternoon was a series of failed combinations each of which led me towards two successes.
The cocktail success was achieved using Ethiopian Limu that I roasted myself using bean from Fiori. It was roasted only just to second crack so it is very bright and lemony. An espresso shot of this was paired with Stones Green Ginger Wine (reserve) and a dash of tabasco sauce for extra kick. Lots of fun. About 30ml of espresso to the same of green ginger wine. Stir in the tabasco and then take the whole lot into your mouth. DO NOT SWALLOW! Hold it till the heat builds then let it trickle down your throat.
The second success was born of what seemed like total failure. I was using truffle butter as the 'trick' but had trouble pairing it with other flavours. In the end what worked was warming a minute amount of truffle butter in about a tablespoon of Bannister Downs milk, pouring a shot of espresso into this and then a teaspoon of maple syrup.
Friday, August 20, 2010
I don't like coffee
As much as I like people.
That realization has been with me for some time now. I do like coffee, a lot. But the real reason I have maintained an interest in coffee, and a connection with those in the business of providing it, is that I like the human contact, the kaleidoscope of a fluid industry, the characters from the roasting floor through to the cafe and the vide of people engaged in small but much valued daily interactions.
From time to time I have felt weary about maintaining a blog just about coffee. It is neither my primary interest nor my source of income. I have blogged as an outlet, because my work cannot be blogged in any detail and because coffee was something accessible yet diverse.
I have not learned anywhere near as much as I would like to about coffee, and I know just enough to understand how what I know represents such a very small part of the whole, but the learning is fun, and the people for the most part, warm, generous and open.
There are some great coffee stories in Perth, just start talking to Kamran and Louise at Fiori, or John and Catherine at European Foods, or Dean at Five Senses, Pete at Pranzo, Garrett at Pony Expresso, Emanuele at Ristretto, Jonny and Justin at Elixir, Jackson at Zekka, Clare at Tiger Tiger - the list is almost endless and I could quite literally fill several pages with just the names interesting people I have come to value over the last four years. People with diverse values, views and opinions but all of whom are worth knowing and who enrich the lives of those around them each day.
I've often wondered if this blog needs to have a sunset clause, and end date, a best-before, use-by or termination clause. But I don't think it needs that. I do have to ease off in the frequency of posting (and already have), but I still enjoy the outlet, the contact and the capacity to share information, plus this has become a handy way to keep in touch and to stretch my mind on some coffee issues.
Work has cranked up and we shall see what the remainder of 2010 delivers in our cups, both real and metaphoric. I may not blog as often, but I do hope they will be quality posts!
Tomorrow is an important day for Australia, so arm yourselves with an early coffee and please, please vote for someone who will put the Nation's interests above their own personal convictions, no matter how similar they may be to your own.
Probably that rules out most the major parties, still, I hear the Australian Sex Party has a few candidates running this year. At least their primary policy is rooted in practicality.
Sorry, could not resist that...
That realization has been with me for some time now. I do like coffee, a lot. But the real reason I have maintained an interest in coffee, and a connection with those in the business of providing it, is that I like the human contact, the kaleidoscope of a fluid industry, the characters from the roasting floor through to the cafe and the vide of people engaged in small but much valued daily interactions.
From time to time I have felt weary about maintaining a blog just about coffee. It is neither my primary interest nor my source of income. I have blogged as an outlet, because my work cannot be blogged in any detail and because coffee was something accessible yet diverse.
I have not learned anywhere near as much as I would like to about coffee, and I know just enough to understand how what I know represents such a very small part of the whole, but the learning is fun, and the people for the most part, warm, generous and open.
There are some great coffee stories in Perth, just start talking to Kamran and Louise at Fiori, or John and Catherine at European Foods, or Dean at Five Senses, Pete at Pranzo, Garrett at Pony Expresso, Emanuele at Ristretto, Jonny and Justin at Elixir, Jackson at Zekka, Clare at Tiger Tiger - the list is almost endless and I could quite literally fill several pages with just the names interesting people I have come to value over the last four years. People with diverse values, views and opinions but all of whom are worth knowing and who enrich the lives of those around them each day.
I've often wondered if this blog needs to have a sunset clause, and end date, a best-before, use-by or termination clause. But I don't think it needs that. I do have to ease off in the frequency of posting (and already have), but I still enjoy the outlet, the contact and the capacity to share information, plus this has become a handy way to keep in touch and to stretch my mind on some coffee issues.
Work has cranked up and we shall see what the remainder of 2010 delivers in our cups, both real and metaphoric. I may not blog as often, but I do hope they will be quality posts!
Tomorrow is an important day for Australia, so arm yourselves with an early coffee and please, please vote for someone who will put the Nation's interests above their own personal convictions, no matter how similar they may be to your own.
Probably that rules out most the major parties, still, I hear the Australian Sex Party has a few candidates running this year. At least their primary policy is rooted in practicality.
Sorry, could not resist that...
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
The Hario Siphon
The team at Coffee Shrine supply a range of coffee making equipment for the home and office, and recently started stocking Hario siphons. I have never had the opportunity to play with a siphon and so I jumped at the chance to borrow one when they offered. I read up on technique in a number of places, including the recent instructable at Five Senses Coffee. Feeling well armed with knowledge and blissful lack of experience I put together the siphon and the Hario hand grinder and started to make coffee.
Actually, it took a few more tries before I got something that approximated what was described to me as a good quality cup of siphon coffee.
The final attempt though was something awesome. I was using an Ethiopian Limu that I had lightly roasted two days before and it was full of stone fruit and had an almost tea-like tannic quality. It was very refreshing and quite different even to the pour-over I had made with the same beans.
The Hario kit is a beautiful set of equipment. I love glasswear, and particularly laboratory glasswear. At teacher's college we had to learn to make our own pipets and other basic glass tools, but always I luster after the rows of beakers, conical flasks, retort stands and bulb flasks that stood in rows in the lab prep room.
The Hario gear took me right back into that world and I spent a blissful weekend trying slight alterations to the various recipes I had.
I was also very surprised by the hand grinder. My experience with manual grinders has not been good but I found that the ceramic burr Hario had grinder was effective and consistent and that the process of grinding enough coffee did not take too long. It actually added to the experience overall.
A big thanks to the guys at Coffee Shrine for letting me borrow their kit, it was great fun to play with.
The pictures below will hopefully tell the story better than my words can!
Actually, it took a few more tries before I got something that approximated what was described to me as a good quality cup of siphon coffee.
The final attempt though was something awesome. I was using an Ethiopian Limu that I had lightly roasted two days before and it was full of stone fruit and had an almost tea-like tannic quality. It was very refreshing and quite different even to the pour-over I had made with the same beans.
The Hario kit is a beautiful set of equipment. I love glasswear, and particularly laboratory glasswear. At teacher's college we had to learn to make our own pipets and other basic glass tools, but always I luster after the rows of beakers, conical flasks, retort stands and bulb flasks that stood in rows in the lab prep room.
The Hario gear took me right back into that world and I spent a blissful weekend trying slight alterations to the various recipes I had.
I was also very surprised by the hand grinder. My experience with manual grinders has not been good but I found that the ceramic burr Hario had grinder was effective and consistent and that the process of grinding enough coffee did not take too long. It actually added to the experience overall.
A big thanks to the guys at Coffee Shrine for letting me borrow their kit, it was great fun to play with.
The pictures below will hopefully tell the story better than my words can!
Monday, May 17, 2010
All About Coffee
The incomparable Ross Quail, president of the Australasian Specialty Coffee Association has posted on the AASCA site the exciting news that the William H. Ukers coffee text "All About Coffee" is now out of copyright and as such project Gutenberg have undertaken to make it available electronically - free of charge. This occurs whenever sufficient time passes after the death of an author to be sure that the author's estate has benefited as much as is reasonable from the product of that author - I think about 50 years or so.
There are a variety of formats available including ePub - which can be read on laptops, desktops iPhones and other smartphone - and naturally, iPads.
You can find the book here: http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/28500
Thanks to Ross and AASCA for spreading the news as I know there are many people who cannot afford the several hundred dollars for a paper version of the text.
There are a variety of formats available including ePub - which can be read on laptops, desktops iPhones and other smartphone - and naturally, iPads.
You can find the book here: http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/28500
Thanks to Ross and AASCA for spreading the news as I know there are many people who cannot afford the several hundred dollars for a paper version of the text.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Unstated obligations
I've been grappling with the ideas behind this post for two weeks now and find that I still cannot frame the ideas as well as I would like. I took two semesters of sociology (20 years ago) and find that this brief introduction is totally inadequate to even provide some basic guidance as to where to take this for a more structured discussion (all advice welcome!) - but here goes anyway.
It seems to me that an unstated obligation can exist between a person, or persons (entity A) who create something or advance ideas and those who benefit from that creation or idea (entity B). The obligation is not a situation of debt as such - in fact almost always explicitly not, but more likely requiring acknowledgement that the obligation exists and that an expression of thanks is appropriate.
The situation I am specifically considering is that of coffee roasting in Western Australia. It has been suggested that Perth is in a 'golden age' of coffee, which might seem like hyperbole but we have not had such choice before so in that respect I agree that 'we have never had it so good'.
A lot of this is due to the fantastic local roasters (and we have a good number now) that promote good coffee in Perth. While standing at the the deli counter of the Leederville Re store last week I was looking at the montage above the counter that showed some historical images of the Re and Ferrari families. In one photo, a shop window bore the words "Good Coffee is Fresh Coffee" and I was reminded once again that these families have been roasting coffee in Perth for nearly 80 years. I suspect that at times they may have been the ONLY local roaster in Perth.
They still continue today and I know they have kept roasting logs for decades - a wealth of knowledge and a source of learning for new generations of roasters. They also have a collection of equipment and a record of coffee purchases that would provide a wonderful track of coffee consumption in Perth's cafes.
The family remains involved in Perth's coffee scene and Catherine Natale (Winner of the Australian Cupping Championship) and her brother John Ferrari were judges at last year's WA Barista Championships and backed the effort with the resources of their company, European Foods.
In a very real sense the European Foods family have been a consistent presence in Perth coffee and have helped keep the idea and practice of local roasting alive in Perth long enough for it to diversify and gain in popularity and professionalism. In that sense I think I can acknowledge the unstated obligation that I as a coffee hobbiest have to the Ferrari and Re families and I would like to thank them for their generations of effort in making coffee available to Western Australians and to contributing to the development of Perth's coffee scene.
I know I have other 'unstated obligations' as far as coffee is concerned to a great number of people across the Perth coffee scene who have taught me a lot about coffee - most of them are roasters or baristas who I have met, but a lot are also just coffee lovers rather than coffee professionals. As I run into them over the next few months I am going to try and remember to say thank you - because sometimes obligations may be unstated, but should be acknowledged.
It seems to me that an unstated obligation can exist between a person, or persons (entity A) who create something or advance ideas and those who benefit from that creation or idea (entity B). The obligation is not a situation of debt as such - in fact almost always explicitly not, but more likely requiring acknowledgement that the obligation exists and that an expression of thanks is appropriate.
The situation I am specifically considering is that of coffee roasting in Western Australia. It has been suggested that Perth is in a 'golden age' of coffee, which might seem like hyperbole but we have not had such choice before so in that respect I agree that 'we have never had it so good'.
A lot of this is due to the fantastic local roasters (and we have a good number now) that promote good coffee in Perth. While standing at the the deli counter of the Leederville Re store last week I was looking at the montage above the counter that showed some historical images of the Re and Ferrari families. In one photo, a shop window bore the words "Good Coffee is Fresh Coffee" and I was reminded once again that these families have been roasting coffee in Perth for nearly 80 years. I suspect that at times they may have been the ONLY local roaster in Perth.
They still continue today and I know they have kept roasting logs for decades - a wealth of knowledge and a source of learning for new generations of roasters. They also have a collection of equipment and a record of coffee purchases that would provide a wonderful track of coffee consumption in Perth's cafes.
The family remains involved in Perth's coffee scene and Catherine Natale (Winner of the Australian Cupping Championship) and her brother John Ferrari were judges at last year's WA Barista Championships and backed the effort with the resources of their company, European Foods.
In a very real sense the European Foods family have been a consistent presence in Perth coffee and have helped keep the idea and practice of local roasting alive in Perth long enough for it to diversify and gain in popularity and professionalism. In that sense I think I can acknowledge the unstated obligation that I as a coffee hobbiest have to the Ferrari and Re families and I would like to thank them for their generations of effort in making coffee available to Western Australians and to contributing to the development of Perth's coffee scene.
I know I have other 'unstated obligations' as far as coffee is concerned to a great number of people across the Perth coffee scene who have taught me a lot about coffee - most of them are roasters or baristas who I have met, but a lot are also just coffee lovers rather than coffee professionals. As I run into them over the next few months I am going to try and remember to say thank you - because sometimes obligations may be unstated, but should be acknowledged.
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