The Coffee Path

Cherry poppin Bali

2011-07-12T20:36:00.012+09:30

The first trip to a coffee producing country or “origin” for someone in the coffee industry is a thing of wonder.

Recently I was lucky enough to be chosen to go on the five senses coffee annual pilgrimage to visit the farms that we work with in the Kintimani region of Bali. Landing in Denpasar airport can be slightly daunting adventure into the unknown, once you step outside the safety of thoseairport doors your senses immediately go on overdrive! With the humidity and the sweet aroma of clove from the porters kretek cigarettes spicing the air hitting you first and then the visuals kicking in with a wall of drivers from local hotels holding up the names of guests that they are waiting to whisk away to their tropical paradise resorts. After some time sifting through the names I found my hotel host Made waiting patiently for me. After meeting up with Natalie and Jed we entered the buzz of a thousand scooters that is the Indonesian traffic, which is an adventure in itself.

Arriving in Ubud we met up with the rest of our team, headed out for dinner and got some shut eye in preparation of our first day in Bali.

There’s nothing better than natures alarm clock, the rooster to wake you up at 4:00am in themorning it’s great! After some amazing rice flour and banana pancakes we headed down to Seminyak to do some cupping and light barista training with the sea circus team. Jumping behind the bar to do some training with head barista Geday, I was stunned to learn he couldprobably teach me a thing or two when he pulled out multi leaf tulips on the top of his coffees! It was a great experience to see the crowd of Indonesian staff crowding around eager to learn more about the craft of espresso coffee.

The following day we travelled into the volcanic region of Kintimani where five senses and in particular Shaughan Dunne has been working to maintain a mutually beneficial relationship with a relatively small subak abiyan or coop of coffee farmers. The day was spent out among the coffee and citrus tree picking ripe coffee cherries. I now have such a great appreciation of the amount of work and concentration that goes into picking only the ripest of cherries.

We picked cherries from three different varieties of coffee plant B1,S795 and USDA the aim was to process each variety in three different ways Natural, pulped natural and washed, once these were readywe would have them sent to our cuppers in Australia to see which one was not only the best variety but which process worked the best for which variety. My contribution was to experiment with drying the coffee cherry skins to produce a tea like drink called cascara…Really keen forthis shipment to land in oz

The morning bought more rooster crowing and another drive up the mountain to one of our other relationship farms. This time we got to see a wet mill in action and our crew carrying buckets of parchment coffee in the traditional Balinese style…on the head, luckily there was no accidents of parchment going everywhere. Once lunch was finished we got to see Shaughan in action negotiating the price of this years harvest which looked like hard work from where I was. Everyone walked away happy and smiling which great to see.

This trip was a great opportunity for me to see the amount of work it takes to maintain a sustainable relationship with a coffee farm from year to year. If you are in a position to travel to origin and experience not only where coffee comes from but the culture of the people that grow the beverage that you love to drink everyday, don’t hesitate for a second.

The Tims event

2011-04-21T07:56:00.002+09:30

With my internet back up and working I thought I would do a wrap up of the Tims event held recently at Market lane coffee.

Tim Wendelboe for those of you who don’t know is one of the most well known and respected names in the specialty coffee industry. One of the most consistent performers at the WBC coming second in 2001 and 2002 he finally took out the crown in 2004. Taking out the world cup tasting championship in 2005 before starting his own café/ wholesale roastery in 2007 aptly named Tim Wendelboe (TW).

One of the first things that Tim mentioned in his seminar was his goals for his business:

· To be the world best roastery

· To be a role model to other roasteries

· To constantly look for new ways to be the best and to never rest on laurels the company has achieved.

Last year TW roasted 23 metric tonnes of coffee. Most, if not all coffees that TW has on their roasting list Tim has personally visited the farm and worked to create an open and sustainable relationship with that farm. Many of the coffees that are used are found through the cup of excellence program. One of Tim’s processes for finding new farms is:

· Start with COE auction lots

· Visit farms he liked the coffee from

· Most of the time farmers know each other, from the first farm he arranges to go to the farms of the COE farmer’s friends

· Constantly taste coffee at each farm

· Pick the best farm that Tim can also work with to improve quality

· Maintain relationship with farm through tough farming cycles*1

· Arrange guaranteed top dollar*2

* Tim will maintain a relationship with a farm that he has worked with, even through the poor quality seasons (when trees are stressed during a season to produce a more intence flavour profile in the cup the tree will more than likely produce a less vibrant crop the following season)

*If Tim likes a coffee enough to want to buy it, he guarantees top dollar will be paid much sooner than COE can organise payment, which can be up to 4 months after the competition has ended.

At the event we cupped coffees from farms that Tim W and Varney have been working with the table line up was:

Bourbon from Los Pinineros/ Los Palmas El Salvador

Picked 2010

Picked 2011

Pacas from Naciementas Honduras

Picked January

Picked April

Bourbon/Catuai from Sitio Canaa Sao Paulo Brazil

Semi washed

Natural

Geisha from the caballero family Honduras 2011

Geisha from hacienda la Esmeralda Panama 2011

I have to say this was the best cupping table I have tasted this year

Having two geisha’s on the table was one thing but for the other coffees on the table to stand out in their own right against the geisha’s was amazing.

The only coffee I didn’t like on the table was the past crop bourbon from El Sal. Tim is adamant about not using past crop coffees in his roastery to quote Tim here “ I am fucking sick of the woody taste of a past crop coffee” and having tasted the past crop and current crop El Sal’s next to each other this really hit this home.

I think most people have tasted the Esmeralda geisha grown by the Peterson family in Panama but for those who haven’t it is one of the best tasting coffee’s in the world when done right. However this coffee was out shone by the geisha from the caballero family grown in Honduras it was BANGIN!! Unfortunately TW’s is one of two roasters in the world that will receive a shipment of this coffee due to the work that TW has done with the farm over the last few years. (proof that hard work and building a solid relationship with farms can reap extremely good dividends for both parties)

TW holds charity events to raise funds to buy new equipment for the farms that he is working with check out his latest one here http://timwendelboe.no/category/kenya/tekangu-drying-table-project/

Tim when working to improve the quality of a farms crop, will only work with the farmers to try some new ways of producing coffee. Tim stated that many times when he finds a good coffee he does not want to change the flavour of the coffee that he is tasting only to ensure it remains that way, many farms do not record the processes of farming instead it is more educated guess work Tim works with the farms he buys from to:

· Document everything that happens on the farm (rainfall, fertilizing times, etc)

· PH levels in fermentation tanks

· Water temperatures in fermentation tanks

· Drying times

I could go on and on and cover Tim’s whole seminar, but it will never be as eloquently expressed through blog form as it was on the day.

Tim is one of the barista’s that inspired me to get into coffee eight years ago. It is an absolute testament to Tim’s skills and knowledge base that he can still inspire me to keep learning more about the specialty coffee industry even after all these years.

A big thanks to Market lane coffee for holding the event

Coffee of the week

2011-01-23T21:08:00.004+10:30

The past couple of weeks have been hectic, to say the least.

The Victorian barista championships have been and gone, and were a huge success. Work colleague and all round top bloke, Caleb Podchazky taking home the gold in the main event.

Many mornings have been spent tasting, and retasting Caleb's comp blend, with great results in the cup.

Keep watching this space for Caleb's and others results from the Australian barista competition.

On to the coffee of the week!

Caleb's coffee has been the best coffee I have tasted for the last couple of weeks, however his routine is built on the judges not knowing the coffee's he has selected....sorry no big reveals here... yet!

All that aside, I did get the chance to taste something amazing with the crew from Market lane this weekend..

The coffee of the week is :

Roaster: Tim Wendelboe

Served by: Matt Perger (market lane)

Brew method: Espresso, (synesso)

But I'll leave it to those crazy Scandinavian's (and 1 Aussie) to tell you about this amazing coffee.

Here

A big thanks to Tim Wendelboe and to Market lane for sharing this amazing coffee

Design post Monk Bodhi Dharma

2011-01-03T16:42:00.010+10:30

My second design post is from probably one of the best designed cafes I have personally set eyes on. Monk Bodhi Dharma in the bustling Jewish quarter of Balaclava is a Mecca for not only the Melbourne coffee geek but also the secret vegetarian hiding in all of us.

Melbourne is full of cafe's using the exposed brick and industrial warehouse lighting theme, however Monk seems to add that little extra something to the theme. Don't ask me what that something is though.

Design comes before functionality at monk, with the use of "whale tooth" seats, that give all but the muscle bound gym junkie crowd a hard time to maneuver.

The subtle use of tile in Monk breaks up the feel of being in a carpenters shed perfectly, this is personally one of my favorite design elements in the cafe.

It's the little differences that turn a good cafe in a great cafe.

Monk Bodhi Dharma
202 Carlisle Street
Balaclava VIC 3183
(03) 9534 7250

www.monkbodhidharma.com.au

Christmas coffee (of the week)

2010-12-28T15:03:00.008+10:30

Christmas can be a scary time for the coffee lover, with most, if not all decent cafes and roasteries closing for those cheery couple of days in December. Heading back to Adelaide, I made sure to visit some of my favorite roast masters before they closed, to make sure it was a merry time for all.

So the selection of coffee's from some of my favorite roasteries are:

Monk Bodhi Dharma:

Nicaraguan COE lot # 4

Kenyan Gethumbwini

Omar and the marvellous coffee bird

Yemen Harazi

Omar black blend

Market lane

Costa Rica Las Lajas

Market lane seasonal blend

As you can see I selected a wide range of coffee's, some single origins, some blends, all from different roasteries. So to find the coffee that I enjoyed the most was pretty tough, for this weeks favorite coffee I took inspiration from the true meaning of Christmas, family, friends and sharing good times.

The coffee I enjoyed the most this week:

Market lane

Las Lajas "black pearl" microlot

Method: Espresso (synesso)

Made by: Ben (the coffee barun)

Origin: Costa Rica

masl: 1,300-1,500

Varietal: Caturra & Catuai

Processing: Natural

I loved this coffee for two reasons, one, I got to share it with some of my old barista buddies from Adelaide Ben & Jeff, both currently working at the Coffee Barun. The second reason I loved this coffee was the amount of information available. Market lane are so informative with all of the coffees that they have on offer. Somehow the traceability makes the coffee taste just that little bit better (maybe just to coffee nerds like myself).

Happy holidays everyone!!

Coffee of the week 29/11 - 3/12

2010-11-30T16:33:00.008+10:30

Over the last eight years of being a barista, roaster, and now trainer I have tried a ship load of different coffees. Some have been from the same farm but different harvests and some I have never tried before.

This is my attempt to document the coffees that I have tried in the past week, and loved!
This again is more for myself, to see the changes, in personal taste over the years.

15/11/2010 - 21/11/2010

So the first coffee on my list of favorites is:

Nicaraguan COE lot #19 La Esperanza

Served by: Jamie (3 bags full)

Brew method: Clover

Varietal: Caturra, Catuai rojo

Farmer: Esperanza del Carmen Tercero Monca

Masl: 1,600

This coffee is a good starting coffee as I know a poop load about it due to it being bought by the company I work for (don't worry their not all going to be from my employers)

The La Esperanza farm is located in the Nueva Segovia region at the very top of Nicaragua. The varietals are caturra and catuai rojo which are grown at 1600 masl. It is wet processed and then sun dried.

I will be leaving out tasting notes from these posts, as I would rather people try the coffee for themselves without any preconceived notions on what to look for in the coffees.

Would love to hear what your drinking and loving.

The Bell Jar

2010-11-26T11:58:00.015+10:30

I'm going to start taking more pics at some of my favorite Melbourne coffee haunts. These are mostly for my own interest to look back on the changing style of cafes over the years and as a comparison to cafes that I come across in my travels across the globe.

To start we have The Bell Jar in Clifton Hill, Melbourne.

(photos courtesy of Tom Beaumont)

The out door seating area has a naturally distressed rustic look, all melding with natural highlight plants.

The communal table area flows from the garden area using a minimalistic approach.
The communal table being made from an old door then framed in a lighter timber.

The main eating space connects the barista and chef with the customers using an open plan work area. Everything is essential to service and quality with nothing "gimmicky" taking up valuable space.

Finishing touches can make for a great customer experience in this case the minimalistic look of the cafe has been lifted with small clusters of nature adding to the rustic theme.

Mt. Top Estate

2010-11-16T20:27:00.016+10:30

To say that I have been slack keeping this blog up to date is a dramatic understatement, but with Christmas just around the corner (more time to blog) and so many damn good coffee's coming across my desk, it's about bloody time I wrote something again!

So to start you off I'll be taking you back to May, when I got the unique opportunity to travel to one of the few coffee farms remaining in Australia, Mt Top Estate, and as an added bonus chuck in (then) current WBC champion Gwilym Davies, who also took part in the trip.

(view from the back of the farm) (rows of coffee trees)
This was a great opportunity to not only go on my first origin trip but also to get valuable insight into the thoughts and theories of a world barista champion.

(The relaxed teaching ethos of Gwilym) (pulling shots with the champ)

As you can see Gwilym is just one of the guys, with a very relaxed way of discussing his findings on espresso. Gwilym stipulated to us very clearly that even though he is the World Barista Champion it does not mean his way of making coffee is best, it's just a different way (perhaps not different at all) and part of the reason for competing was for his own personal education. He also said that he would probably learn just as much from us as we would from him during the trip. This struck a chord with all attending, that even when you are the best in the world you can still be on your own path to greater coffee education.

(Processing plant) (Up close and personal with the harvester)

The day concluded with a tour of Mt Top Estate, with an insight into the harvesting methods and equipment being used. Mt. Top likes to experiment with the processing methods used for different batches or 'bins' of coffee. The roasted coffee can be quite wild in taste ranging from dark berry and plum to thick molasses and caramel. It was a great learning experience and I encourage all to visit Mt Top Estate if you get the chance.

I hope this is the first of many more posts to come...

Bar 9 Spro-Down

2009-09-14T19:43:00.009+09:30

For too long, roasters and baristas alike in Adelaide have been closed off with information to all but their closest comrades, and hence the coffee community in Adelaide was a non-event... Until Now.
The first official Bar 9 "Spro-Down" went off with a bang, with a good turn out of competition baristas and local roasters converging to talk all things coffee.

After a recent trip to Sydney, kindly being carted around town by our hostess with the most-ess Ms Emily Oak, it was amazing to see how far behind in coffee culture little ol' Adelaide really was.

The thing that struck me the most about the Sydney coffee community was how open the "top" roasters and cafes were with sharing ideas, brew methods and beans with one another.

Using the Square Mile coffee roasters limited edition blend juice as a draw card seemed to work wonders with a good crowd of roasters and baristas many keen to relax and exchange scores after the recent SA barista comp.

The mandatory latte art throw down coming to a head as the reigning and recently re-crowned SA latte art champ Johnny "on the spot" Pisinelli facing off against Thailands world latte art rep and recent SA barista comp champ Fiefy.

A great start to trying to get the Adelaide coffee community buzzing.

Flavour of the month head to head

2009-03-04T19:59:00.009+10:30

Aero press Vs Syphon...

Currently here in Australia the flavour of the month brewing method is the Syphon, much loved and revered in Japan. However I for one have not forgotten the plastic wonder tube that is Aero press much loved in scandanavia. So here's my first head to head brewing method comparison, Aeropress V Syphon, Enjoy...

First things first, it must be said that this comparison is using the methods that i use to brew on each instrument it most probably is not the best way but it seems to work ok for me. The coffee is the same for both methods.

Coffee:
syphon:20grams of coarse ground coffee ( close to filter grind was used) is needed.

Aeropress: 12grams of finely ground coffee(slightly courser than espresso)

Accessories:

Syphon: Burner (butane, halogen, etc.)

Aeropress: filter papers

Taste 1 minute after brewed: (1-5 low to high)

Syphon: clean, crisp unripe cherry, light-med body, med-high acidity.(3)

Aeropress: dominating cocoa, med body, med acidity, slightly astringent aftertaste.(2)

3 minutes:

Syphon: front palate sweet tart strawberry, fruit driven, light body, crisp finish(3.5)

Aeropress: red berry up front quickly over powered by dark choc(3)

Cooled:

Syphon: delicate, crisp, subtle, light, fruity. all front and middle palate (4)

Aeropress: Well rounded, heavy, choc, velvety. astringent aftertaste came back tho (2.5)

Winner...Syphon

Rolling tart strawberry into chocolate, sweet acidity, floral notes, finishing in a brown sugar/caramel after taste.

Slayer Espresso

2009-02-03T20:24:00.005+10:30

The team behind the much hyped slayer espresso machine have finally released photos of the close to finished product. I gotta say, it's a thing of beauty..

As you can see the design is a cross between the stunning angles of a kees van western and the industrial styling of a synesso, with a retro rocket ship look.

All the parts are made especially for this machine, no frankenstein machine with parts from the major espresso machine manufacturers. Even the paddle's are made of hand carved Peruvian walnut.

putting an espresso machine together and coming up with design that not only looks the goods but works would be an almighty mighty challenge but by the looks of things the slayer team in Seattle is coming up trumps. Be sure to check out the slayer espresso Blog.

IT'S...ALIVE

2009-01-14T19:51:00.004+10:30

That's right the coffee trekker is back.

After getting back from Europe and viewing my first WBC as well as tasting some of the worlds most outstanding coffees i was more than a little disillusioned with the Adelaide coffee scene, However getting a job at The Coffee Barun and having the opportunity to start roasting with the man Mark Barun has once again re kindled my love for the Australian coffee scene..

Working at The Coffee Barun has given me a unique opportunity to taste some of the best single origin coffees available in Australia. As we do an open cupping on Saturdays at 2pm and also various cuppings during the week, i have decided to blog what we are cupping and the tasting notes from the session. i hope to get a few differing opinions from readers that have also tasted these coffees as we all have differing roast styles and tastes.

I thought i'd start off with a bang..

Esmeralda

The magic man over in Melbourne Mark Dundon had his own shock and awe mission, to bring the much hyped Esmeralda down under, i have to say that that was exactly what i was in when Brother Baba Budan posted Esmeralda as their coffee of the week.

No prize for guessing which was the esmeralda in this cupping session, we just could not get enough of this unbelievable un coffee like coffee. My notes on this coffee were:

Aroma: intense lime with subtle floral notes.

In the cup: Bright lively, citrus aroma running through into the cup supported by a soft buttery note reminiscent of lemon curd. Subtle peach note almost overwhelmed by citrus notes and overall complexity.WOW!!

Truly one of the best coffees i think i will ever taste. Hats off to Mr. Dundon for what i'm sure was a tooth and nail struggle to get this amazing coffee to our shores.

Square Mile Coffee Roastery

2008-09-13T13:37:00.007+09:30

I've been extremely slack with this blog over the past month, so i decided to get off my butt and write about some cool things i saw whilst at Square mile Roastery..

Square Mile is the a collaboration between no less than three coffee world champions: Anette Moldvaer, James Hoffman and Stephen Morrisey.

This place was one of my must sees before heading back to Aus, so after catching a couple of metro trains and getting more than abit lost i finally found a little slice of heaven in the caos Londons back streets.

As you can see by their very impressive trophy cabinet these guys knew what they were doing with coffee. I walked in and was greeted by Anette and visiting Couter culture owner Cindy Chang, After having a good chat to Both Cindy and Anette and playing on the Synesso for a while showing the girls what a flat white actually was, the lads Stephen and James came back, i have to say i was a bit awe struck being in the same room as three world champs. James immediately jumped behind the machine and demonstrated his latest toy for the synesso:

A engineer friend of square mile rigged this crazy contraption to a scuba tank under the machine, the tank regulates pressure to the brew groups and is completely operator controlled, so if the barista feels his coffee needs a slow pressure ramp with a dip in pressure half way through the shot it can all be controlled through the touch of a button. Fantastic!!

The coffee here was exceptional and to boot you have three really great people running the show. I wish Anette, James, Stephen and Square mile all the very best for the future.

Edinburgh

2008-08-02T02:48:00.012+09:30

As soon as i arrived in the beautiful Scottish town i fell in love, and to boot the coffee scene is just blossoming..

The site

Just wondering around the streets i stumbled apon this wonderful cafe, so simplistic in setup, all attention was around the aestoria lever machine and the barista operating it.

The coffee had great characteristics with a sweet winey berry taste with just a hint of earthiness on the lingering aftertaste. I also bumped into the owner of the cafe who directed me to the roastery that he also owns.
Artisan coffee roaster
57 Broughton st

This was probably one of my favorite cafe's through out the whole of my journey so far. The team here were so welcoming to me i felt part of there little family after only a short visit.
Talking to the kiwi roaster Michael, i learnt a lot in the time i was there, "helping" him roast getting a quick tutorial on what's happening during roasting and how he likes to roast was great.

The espresso was really nice and served in such a cool atmosphere, check out the plunger light bulb covers, cool!!
They also have a fantastic hot chocolate made from shavings of valrona chocolate which is then mixed with different flavours, my rose and pepper one was to die for!
Wellington Cafe
Cnr George st and Hanover

Another cool little cafe which also used artisan coffee, the cafe had a cool set up with three anfim grinders and a synesso.

Using a naked portafilter the coffee was thick and syrupy with crisp fruity acidity, earthy back palate and a slight cranberry note.

I would love to re-visit Edinburgh in five years i can imagine the coffee scene here would be booming.
Thanks to the team at Artisan for a great day..

Starbuck's Woes

2008-07-31T00:56:00.006+09:30

In a recent announcement from starbucks, the multi national coffee giant will be closing 73% of it's 84 stores across Australia, with a loss of an estimated 685 employees.

The cut of Australian Starbucks will leave the company with 25 stores in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.
Starbucks in a major turn around bid are also to cut a massive 5% of their total U.S. stores equaling a staggering 616 stores across the country, with thousands left out of work.
The company has also integrated a new leadership team into this shake up with a new President taking over the company in the new financial year.

Like Rome are we once again seeing the fall of an empire?

World Barista Championships

2008-07-30T02:09:00.014+09:30

I think it's about time i did my report on the 2008 world barista championships Copenhagen..

The olympic games of professional coffee making is the World barista championship, held every year in a different city around the world this is where the world's best come to do what they do best.

Above is where all the competitors come to relax (not!!) this is where i can imagine the nerves would really be kicking in backstage, making sure everything is clean, prepared and above all there, helping out backstage was a great way of seeing how "in the zone" each competitor really is.

Helping out with some of the competitors i was able to get some close up shots like these and my favorite part tasting the amazing signature drinks.

A big congratulations to Steven Morrisey this years world barista champion, from Ireland. This routine was amazing to watch their was so much energy coming from the stage, the crowd was holding their breath as Steven pulled the lid off his ingredients tray in the finals just hoping they hadn't fallen off like in heats, they had not and Steven nailed his routine. A fantastic performance.

The event was such an inspiration to see i recommend any aspiring barista go and see how things are really done.
I must thank Emily Oak for getting Anya and I involved with both the charity machine booth and backstage. Cheers girl ;) and to all the great people i met during my stay..

London

2008-07-28T02:51:00.012+09:30

A quick post to try and keep up to date with where i am in the world. I have skipped alot of countries but i'll sort those out when i can find the photos.

Flat white
17 Berwick st Soho

This was probably my favorite espresso in london, as well as the ambiance that went with the coffee. The staff here are so friendly, I was chatting to Cam the owner and before i knew it i was chatting to all the staff at the same time it's just how friendly these guys are.

The coffee as you can see was presented with such passion, with every milk coffee that i saw go out went with a pattern on top. The espresso from a la marzocco linea had a sweet caramel aroma a very smooth mouth feel that was perfectly rounded between acidity and body with slight floral and berry notes.
Milk Bar
Bateman st Soho

Flat whites latest project is Milk bar, located a couple of streets over from Flat white. This had a very different feel to it very funky little cafe. The believe the only difference between the two cafes is the machine MB using a la marzocco FB80 instead of the linea.
The coffee was more complex from the FB80, with hard to pick out flavours what i got was a slight smokey spice flavour. I also had a really nice beetroot salad here.
Sacred
Carnaby St

Another kiwi owned cafe, just off the busy Carnaby st shopping mall.
This place had a really nice set up, with a very open seating area and the baristas station being raised up on a little stage which is what every baristas station should be like :P
The coffee was really nice, coming from a linea it had a sweet chocolate aroma, the taste was a citrus and cocoa mix with a heavy earthy after taste.
The mach that i had was still very earth but the body was a little thinner.
Monmouth
27 Monmouth St

This was the first decent cafe i went apon arriving back into London, I went during a busy spot at the cafe with as you can see a line forming out the door and and no less then three barista's behind the machine.
The espresso had wood and nut notes with a clean crisp acidity and an after taste of cocoa.

Hopefully i can keep on top of my posts from now on, but im not promising anything. Next i'm off to the home of this years WBC champion, Ireland..

France (finally)

2008-07-19T06:19:00.005+09:30

Finally i found some free time to write a new post, i have been to so many countries i hope i can remember them all when i come to write about them, here goes..

Paris France
Cafe Verlet
This place absolutely stunned me when i walked in, as i had heard alot of bad things about the coffee in France and more so Paris finding out mostly the rumours were true but this place was the exception.

Walking in i immediately spotted the La Marzocco FB 80 sitting centre stage which was absolutely stunning to me i shining beacon of hope. I went to this cafe twice as with most of the cafes i visit, the first time was ok not great the shot was fast and long but still had some nice nutty tones to it. The second time was alot better still a little longer than im used to but the crema was alot more persistent with a richer colour to it. The body was quite light but had that nice nutty tone coming through stronger which complimented the softer acidity.
French Riviera (Nice)
Le Malongo cafe
I wasn't expecting any where near a decent coffee in Nice but once again the French had a few surprises up their sleeves.

This was my personal favorite coffee in France as it was much closer to what i am used to drinking, the machine was a replica vibemme with e61 heads which is quite similar to the ECM Veneziano that i used back home. The espresso had great body which i have found hard to come buy in European countries, nice balance between body and acidity. Very friendly staff which is some times hard to come by in France.

France has so many wonderful things to offer the world, whether espresso coffee is one of them only time will tell...

Copenhagen

2008-06-25T02:56:00.004+09:30

I had an absolute ball in this city, the people that i met are some of the friendliest people i think i will ever meet, thus is why i love this industry.

Estate Coffee
Gammel Kongevej 1

Just wondering around on our first day we happened upon Estate coffee, what a fantastic place to start, the guys in here were so friendly, helping us stupid tourists with maps and more than happy to talk about everything coffee.This was also the former home of Klaus Thompsen

The coffee was great too with a sweet acidity, lingering fruit notes and spice in the after taste. From a LM gb5.

Europa

Europa holds claim to three world barista champions which is an amazing feat. I tend to think that this cafe has switched focus from coffee to food in past years as the consistency of the espresso's that i was ordering from day to day varied quite wildly. The first day was early in the morning with very few customers and i had a great experience with nice sweet acidity and soft nut tones coming from the cup. However the second was at lunch when the cafe was heaving with customers, the coffee took ages to come out and when it did it really shouldn't have. Go early in the morning i think.

The Coffee collective
Jaegersborggade

Now these guys knew what they were doing, testament to the fact is the shop is home to World barista champion Klaus Thompsen, 08 cupping world champion Casper Engel and the team has just won the SCAE young entrepreneur award for excellence in coffee 08. These guys were super friendly, Stopping to have a chat whenever we saw them during the convention of the WBC. The shop is tiny but houses a probat roaster and LM fb80 which faces the customers. The espresso blend was so smooth with sweet citric acidity subtle chocolate notes with a floral after taste. I also had a beautiful Kenya AA espresso which was so lively with fruit and berry notes, the cap being like drinking toffee. Wondrous place.

Verdens mindste kaffebar
Tullinsgade
This place was mentioned to me by the lads at Estate Coffee as being the worlds smallest cafe, they weren't lying. This was such a funky little cafe (emphasis on little) with a 1 grp elektra serving coffee collective coffee. The espresso was totally different to what was served at the collective still nice but with a deep rich body and toasted nut after taste. Definitely worth checking out,if you can find it.

I had a fantastic time in Copenhagen, the people are great, the coffee is amazing and the setting beautiful. I think Paris will be VERY different.

Edwin Martinez (Finca Vista Hermosa)

2008-06-18T06:57:00.002+09:30

I was very very privileged to one of the small group that gathered at the coffee collective for a night with Edwin Martinez from Finca vista Hermosa Guatemala.

Edwin explained so eloquently just how much work goes into producing coffee, that we as barista's often take for granted and often judge so harshly.
The presentation helped open my eyes to a whole different side of what i love so much, coffee. The evening opened up a whole different level of coffee for me, being able to hear the side of a grower and how he and his farm have been on the other end of the search for good coffee, finding someone who appreciates a good coffee and what actually goes into producing not only coffee but a good coffee.
I have so much to learn on this side of coffee and from this night i have taken away so much already and i truly thank Edwin for that.
French press Finca Vista Hermosa

This coffee was an amazing treat after hearing Edwin speak so passionately about what goes into producing it. You can just taste how much pride this farm has in producing an exceptional cup. The coffee was so delicate and clean, a subtle nut note lingered together with beautiful sweet citric notes with a beautiful berry finish.

I can not express how well presented this night was and how it has changed how i will view coffee in the future. A huge thank you to Edwin Martinez and the coffee collective for hosting such a great night.

Oslo

2008-06-17T18:39:00.010+09:30

Oslo has been one of my dream coffee destinations since the very start of my career. This week i finally got to set foot on Norwegian soil and set out on a full day of exploring this coffee mecca.
Tim Wendelboe cafe
Grunersgate 1

The first destination on my list was the home of 2004 world barista champion Tim Wendelboe.

This place was full of surprises the first was just how small this shop actually is, saying this tho the space is used really well with no seating except one table with two chairs by one of the many windows this is a specialist espresso bar in it's truest form.

The second surprise was when i ordered my espresso to be greeted by an Aussie accent, Tim whom originally hails from Melbourne pulled some great shots for me the first being The new house blend which was so well rounded with great mild mouth feel finished with sweet delicate acidity a little bit of a berry taste too. I also had an Indian single origin which was beautifully heavy in body with great earthy notes. A great start.
Stockfleth's
Lille Grensen

Stockfleth's was one of those places in the early days of my interest in coffee that seemed so far away to me but somewhere that i just had to get to. Unbeknown to me up until a day before i got to Oslo is that Stockfleth's is not just one store it's actually a chain of quite a few stores throughout the city.
This is however like no chain that i had come across before actually having fantastic coffee and was the former home of Tim Wendelboe.
The espresso was so delicate like many of the coffee's that i tasted in Oslo, with a beautiful sweet acidity quite thin body but amazing cherry after taste.
Kaffebrenneriet
Ullevalsveien

This was one of the chains in Oslo that i had a great first experience at but the second was as good. The first espresso had a huge body but finished with a very floral rose aftertaste. The second time i tried this chain was down on the mariner and the coffee was burnt and bitter, so the judgement for this cafe i'll leave to you.

Oslo definitely lived up to all my coffee hype. Another place worth a mention here is Java that was recommended by the Norwegian barista champion Chris but unfortunately it started to really bucket down and i was unable to get there.

Zurich

2008-06-15T05:27:00.005+09:30

Zürich is such an amazing city with rolling hills and forests contrasting a modern wondrous city. The coffee however left something to be desired. Unfortunately i lost all my coffee photos.

Zurich city can be such a labyrinth of side streets and back allies, one can easily get lost, this is however how i found my first decent coffee.
H.Schwarzenbach 1864
I almost walked straight past this quaint little gem situated in the back streets of Zurich.

Roasting on site on a probat roaster that sat next to an open window when roasting, this place specialized in unique coffee experiences.
First i tried their house blend which was pulled quite long bringing out more acidity a light mouth feel with thin body. The second here was a yauco selecto which besides being fast had a great spicey after taste with hints of tobacco. I also bought some Nepal mt. Everest coffee that should be very interesting to taste. The other coffee was from.
Al Leone.
This was a nice old cafe over looking the city square. nice enough long espresso, no real stand out characteristics but just nice.

Sorry about the pics i'll post some good ones from Copenhagen...

Singapore

2008-06-12T15:14:00.008+09:30

Singapore is such a beautiful melting pot of cultures, with such a westernized feeling about it. I unfortunately found it very difficult to find an espresso let alone a descent one.
The first thing i noticed about the coffee culture in Singapore was how much chain coffee their is, i could not walk into a new street without being met by a starbucks or coffee bean and tea leaf.
Coffee Club

The first place i thought i would check out was the coffee club on Orchard rd. I chose this place because out of all the chains this looked the lesser of two evils, serving single origins from around the world including JBM.
The coffee was siphon filter as many of the cafe here are. I just tried their house blend which was not a great experience the coffee was bitter and burnt with little other characteristics. Not the best of starts.
Dome

The next place i visited was Dome, i thought i might have a shot at getting a ok coffee, having an espresso machine instead of siphon. How wrong i was, i didn't think it possible to get a worse coffee than my first but sure enough it was. This was just undrinkable way to sour and bitter.
Spinelli
Having the current Singapore champ working at one of the stores and the owner being one of the judges at the ABC i was rather disappointed with this coffee basically your average chain coffee. The mach that i ordered was way too long the flavours were very mild a weak choc note was about all i got along with some bitterness.
Highlander

Finally i found a descent coffee place in the form of highlander coffee. The first thing i saw was a nice shiny 2 grp replica vibemme.

I was so relieved when the espresso i ordered actually looked like an espresso, with nice dark crema and served in an illy collection cup. The coffee was nicely balanced between the first notes of acidity and the back palate spice and nut. I had a great a chat to the owner Phil Ho who was a great friendly guy who was more than happy to show us around where they do their roasting and the diedrich ir 3 that they roast on.

That was the first stop of the Trek next up Zurich..

Cup of excellence pt. 2

2008-06-06T20:39:00.005+09:30

I was very fortunate this month, not only having cup of excellence once but twice. This time being invited by Rio master roaster Tony D'angelo for a cupping session.

The COE was cupped next to a Brazilian pea berry that came straight out of the roaster cooling tray so it was very fresh. The COE which was the same as the COE in my last post a Nicaragua was 1 or 2 days from roast.
Cupping:(COE)

The first thing i noticed when cupping the COE from Rio was how much it differed from the COE roasted by the coffee barun. This time the coffee had much more subtle fruit notes that were quickly over powered by the earthy roast taste. Slightly more rounded in complexity than the baruns but lacking the beautiful over ripe fruit acidity of the baruns. Both roasts had something that i liked.
Brazilian pea berry:

This was the favorite of the group of cuppers (Kiril Shaginov, Doug Bolzon, Tony and Anya) with notes of chocolate dominating a very subtle dry berry note with earthy notes from the roast.
COE (espresso)
Having a spare La Marzocco paired with a Compak k10 on hand we just had to try this coffee as an espresso. Having worked on a ECM veneziano for so long i almost gave up on trying to get a nice shot, after under dosing alot more than i am used to i finally got the pour right.This was alot more like what i tasted from the coffee barun, The espresso made the fruit notes come alive in intensity,a little astringent in mouth feel but over all sweet.

A BIG thank you to Tony for the invite and to Rio coffee.
Next i'll be posting from Singapore...

Cup of excellence

2008-05-30T21:29:00.010+09:30

It's a rare treat for a coffee lover to have his favorite roaster order in a coffee that was a winner of The cup of excellence..

This was the cup of excellence from Nicaragua. The green beans were so uniform and looked like a winner just looking at them.
Cupping

Being a winner of a cupping competition of coarse we had a cupping session first to see just why this coffee was rated so highly.
The aroma was so unique something that i found quite hard to place, it's a very fruity wooded scent but with more to it still.
I could instantly taste why the judges loved this coffee enough to name it the winner, the cup had such sweet acidity like over ripe pineapple very similar to the Colombian from R. Miguel however finshing with a clean subtle wooded taste.
Aeropress

This process brought out all of those fruity sweet acidic notes almost a little sour.I instantly thought of yirgacheffe with very similar characteristics being shown in the cup.

A big thank you to Mark and Kate at the coffee Barun not only for this coffee but for all the coffees i've had there and all the inspiration that they give to all the coffee geeks in Adelaide. I will miss you guys.

R Miguel Tasting Session

2008-05-19T15:57:00.010+09:30

this week i was very fortunate being invited by Ian Callahan to try the wares of R. Miguel coffee.

Ian chose the Colombian estate from R. Miguel as part of his blend for the recent Australian Barista Championship along with three other roasters from Australia. Considering this batch of coffee was supposed to arrive in time for the ABC it was very fortunate that Ian had ordered another batch before the competition for tasting sake that he could use in the comp even tho it was a little past it's prime. Having said that R. Miguel graciously sent along two 150g sample bags of Hawaiian Kaú, one a light roast and one for espresso.

Colombian (Huila) 13 days off roast

After tasting this coffee I was absolutely blown away at how different this coffee tasted from anything that i have tried before being such a delicate coffee. The first thing i noticed about this coffee was how light it had been roasted Colombian coffee's that i have tasted are usually on the darker side of the roast bringing out more chocolate over tones. Being roasted so light you would come to expect more brightness than what was present in the espresso however what you got instead was a beautiful tropical sweet acidity with soft spice notes and a light coconut body over all a very complex coffee. Cupping was quite a different story with more of a subtle berry taste combining with a delicate spice and brown sugar. Easily my favorite of the three coffee's and something that you could drink all day.

Hawaiian Kaú (light)

This was an interesting coffee having such a small batch to work with i don't think we got the full potential out of this coffee i had an inkling that the coffee could have also been a tad stale. The aroma of this coffee was beautiful instant pineapple very tropical once again. with this coffee we focused more on cupping since it was quite a light roast. This coffee was a little disappointing to me, having such a beautiful pineapple aroma i thought it would carry over into the cup but what i got was a quite earthy almost bland plain coffee taste. When the coffee was cold there was a slightly nicer gritty caramel sweetness almost like caramel fudge in taste.

Hawaiian (espresso roast)

The very last of the espresso roast batch went into making an espresso, i little unfortunately the shot ran fast. However what i got was still quite sweet quite tropical in flavour slightly sour but i could definitely see potential for a shot that was spot on.

A big thanks to Ian for the opportunity and to The coffee Barun for the use of equipment. In the end the Colombian was a beautiful coffee so unique in it's nuances but for $70us per 120z hmmm....

The importance of cupping

2008-05-16T15:23:00.006+09:30

I have been getting into cupping abit of late and have had some very interesting results from different coffee's.

This week i noticed a slight change in the colour of the roast in our cafe blend from an older batch to the newer one. I decided to see how much difference there was in taste in a cupping session.

The results were surprising as to how much difference in acidity levels there were. The darker displaying alot more roast charecteristics like deep cocoa and tobacco and almost a ash gritty body. The lighter one having more acidity a smoother body and clean finish. I just found it very interesting that the same coffee roasted slightly longer can have such an adverse difference in taste. which is probably why the spectophotometer is a greatly debated tool in the coffee roasting business. A good point about this machine is that once the coffee is roasted the agtron level (colour) of the bean can be tested and can be measured against previous batches of coffee therefore maintaining a more consistant roast level. But where's the romance in that!!

Next week i'll be catching up with SA barista Champion Ian Callahan to debrief him on his recent nationals campaign and try some R Miguel Colombian estate coffee.

ABC 08

2008-05-07T19:17:00.010+09:30

Just a quick review on the ABC 08 with some of my thoughts from the day because i think everyone in the barista world now knows that David Makin is the 08 Australian Barista Champion.

I had a great start to the day with a quick trip out to The Maling Room in canterbury with Mark Barun and Anya for some breakfast... and coffee of coarse. We had heard some great things about this place and by no means did it disappoint. The breakfast was fantastic and just look at that coffee. They use Atomica coffee combined with a snyesso and friendly staff how could you go wrong.

Ok onto the action of the ABC. Some of the stand outs from the day are in the photos above 1) Anne Cooper's table setup. 2) my barista buddy Ian Callahan nailing his routine. and 3) the wonder of makin espresso David Makin style. David nailed his routine on the day apparently getting 6's for his signature drink (cheers Klaus for score info) The drink comprised almond infused milk with a black cherry reduction.Congrats David look forward to seeing you in Copenhagen.

Every competition has it's controversies and this day being no exception. This time involving hot favorite and 05 Aus barista champion Hazel de los reyes from The coffee alchemy. Hazel being a barista/cupping champion wanted to bring filter brewed coffee cupping into the espresso dominated ABC world. This however did not work in her favour as the judges awarded her poorly taking her cupping as her espresso's. I wish her all the best in the future and hope the judges can learn from this mistake. follow the link to the Alchemy site to hear Hazel's more eloquent description.

What was left of the weekend went into travelling to Melbourne cafes including another visit to liar liar which is probably cemented in my mind as my favorite cafe in Melbourne. It's just all the little things that make it a overly great cafe like a group handle door handle and brandy glasses for clover coffee it's just cool. I was very highly caffeinated by the time i left. Thanks to Nolan for the time spent with us doing lots of tastings from the clover.

Well about a month and a half to the WBC and i for one am excited....

ABC Day One

2008-05-06T14:31:00.013+09:30

What a fantastic weekend i have just had. The Australian Barista Championships being held in Melbourne and having good mate Ian Callahan representing South Australia was a great excuse to travel to Melbourne to see the action and network with industry professionals.

The line up just for the open heats had some big names from the Aus Coffee scene, so i was expecting some very polished routines and big scores through out the weekend. The first day was no disappointment with some stand out routines from David Seng and Con Haralambopolous. Con eventually took out the day with a very practised and polished routine even tho his routine went over time by 15 seconds costing him 25 points. Congratulations Con.

The Australian latte art comp line up also had some big names including Erin Sampson, Zoe Delaney and Con once again with some fantastic creations being made by all. The day however went to relative new-comer Habib Maarbani whom pulled off four back to back Rosetta's in a single cup. Congratulations Habib.

In between all the action i headed down to Brother buba budan with Mark Barun to take part in the cupping sessions that they hold there every Saturday. It's always good to have a chat to Mark and the team at both BBB and St. Ali. The standout in the session for me was a single origin Bolivian coffee that had been roasted lighter for cupping, producing beautiful berry notes in the cup.

Being the great guys and girls that they are at St. Ali and BBB they decided to have a little barista party/latte art smack down after the action of the opens. The night was fantastic with alot of the big names entering the latte art smackdown for a bit of fun including the man above 06 latte art world champ and 07 Aus Barista champ Scottie Callaghan. The night in the end went to St. Ali's roaster Toshi.

A fantastic start to the weekend. just a quick thanks St. Ali staff for such a good party and congratulations to the winners once again. Tomorrow i'll put up the details of the ABC.

ABC Training at Rio Coffee

2008-04-28T20:14:00.009+09:30

Today i tagged along to Rio Coffee with Ian Callahan to watch one of his many training sessions for the up coming Australian Barista Championships.

Rio has a great set up for the training barista with a La Marzocco Fb70 at hand which is probably why Ian shares this space with baristas such as Douglas Bolzon and Kiril Shaginov who are both currently training at Rio for the open heats before the ABC.

Ian's espresso is beautifully balanced with notes of caramel, spice and toasted nuts. The blend is roasted by some of Australia's best roasters as well as a single origin coffee roasted by R. Miguel from USA. Ian has a very polished routine and i expect him to be amongst the front runners at the comp. Anya and i also had a great chat and quick tour from Tony Dángelo Rio's master roaster. Tony Is such a genuinely nice guy with such a great wealth of knowledge on all things coffee.

The great wall of Daterra.

As you can see above Rio has a HUGE range of some of the worlds best coffee's including a cup of excellence that has yet to be roasted and will probably only come out on a special occasion. I felt like a kid in some sort of store : P

Thanks to Ian for the invite and Tony and Rio for the friendly welcome.

Mt. Top Bin 549

2008-04-24T15:31:00.003+09:30

Having read The Espresso Quest recently i was so excited to hear Anya's parents would be bringing back some Mt. Top coffee from St. Ali in Melbourne.

In the espresso quest by Instaurator he goes in to detail on how hi tech Mt. Top Australian coffee growing farm is. With the use of laptops and probes out in the field measuring how much water each plant needs I just had to taste this heavenly sounding coffee. Over the years a few Barista champions have realised the potential in these beans and chosen to use them for their competition blend. People such as Carl Sara and Even 2006 WBC winner Tim Wendelboe used this estate.

The Bin that we had was Bin 549 which is a semi washed late harvest bean.

I was firstly shocked at how much coarser the grind had to be then our house blend for the coffee to even drip out.

But when you grind this coffee oh boy does it have a beautiful aroma so dry and yet quite fruity like berries which when extracted correctly really carry through to the cup. The taste is absolutely amazing so unique with a nice acidic wine note with just enough body to cut through the acidity, nice and light in the mouth with those beautiful dry berry notes.

I really hope i can get my hands on some other bins during my travels.

I highly recommend this coffee to any coffee drinker and especially to the ones that like African beans with those beautiful wine characteristics such as Rwanda has.

The Espresso Quest

2008-04-18T18:33:00.003+09:30

I thought i would write a quick post about the new book from Instaurator. The Espresso Quest I have just finished reading the book and am very impressed.

The book was originally going to be called god in my espresso cup but as it says in the book after four years working on the book with that name in mind it was snatched at the very last second just before the publishing. To be honest i think the espresso quest is a more fitting name as this was one mans journey or "quest" to find that sometimes elusive great coffee experience.

The book is filled with fantastic photos. Most if not all of the photo's of a shot being poured is captured in that beautiful slow motion drip style shot. I would love to get my hands on the camera equipment that catches such amazing shots.
Espresso quest strives to be different from the average instructional text book on supposedly how to make "good" coffee. This book is about Instaurator's personal quest and findings over the last 26 years for that very elusive god in his espresso cup.
There are alot of interesting points that he brings up throughout the book such as stable brew temperatures which i found very interesting because it makes you think about the subject in a different light instead of just riding the latest "fad" wave that so many of us barista's do.

This is one of those must have book's for coffee lovers a great read and all together a well presented piece of literature.

Handorf SA

2008-04-08T22:09:00.008+09:30

Nothing much has been happening of late but i thought I'd post some photos and notes of a quick trip up to Hahndorf in the Adelaide hills. I always love heading into the hills for some great food and now it seems great coffee has followed suit.

With such beautiful scenery such as this i always thought the Adelaide hills would be a great place for a coffee roaster to set up shop. And to my surprise it had one.

The Roastery

Before getting breakfast at a quaint little bakery just off the main road we needed a coffee to start the morning so we headed into this place aptly named the roastery. It's always a great first impression to a barista to walk into a cafe that has a shiny red FB70 La Marzocco sitting on the counter. The coffee in my opinion was good the milk being abit hot for my liking but the overall flavour was really nice. We had a chat to the manager who told us he served a single origin Kenya AA. I also grabbed some organic east Timor beans for later which would prove to be one of the nicest coffee's i've tasted real caramel and sweet milk chocolate tones.

Some more of the beautiful scenery (and the trees are nice too)

We also found this beautiful machine in a cheese shop called udder delights.

I've seen cheap machines of this style before but this didn't have that cheap look at all. Made in the old Italian dome style with brass and the good old eagle on top i was very surprised to see it was made by Amanti coffee.

I've used Amanti before in one of the cafes that i worked in and always had a love hate relationship with the coffee some days it was great and others quite average this time the shot was really nice very unexpected from a cheese shop and tasting very nice also, nice chocolate notes and acidity.

I also want to post a link to Ian Callaghan's blog.

Which should have some really interesting stuff coming soon with the ABC coming up.

There probably won't be too many blogs from me from now until the ABC but keep an eye out you never know..

Clover And Starbucks

2008-03-23T19:21:00.005+10:30

The latest news in coffee is that the clover coffee equipment company has been taken over by the mortal enemy of the specialty coffee world Starbucks.

The news comes as a big shock to those in the specialty coffee world whom had already fell in love with this unique brewing system. Clover joining with Starbucks means that Starbucks now has the rights to the clover patent machine the 1s therefore the clover will not be sold to any other coffee companies or private sale.
Clover has said that the customers that already have the 1s will still have the clover support with maintenance and repairs.
I know for myself i am very interested in what direction starbucks plans to take with the acquisition of clover. In a Starbucks Bulletin the company has said they want to bring back scooping and grinding fresh coffee. Starbucks had their roasters working on a new blend called the pike place roast.
It's sad to see such a potentially great coffee brewing method being sold off so quickly before people seriously into specialty coffee have had the chance to even get their hands on this machine.

I look forward to seeing the companies that make the next clover style brewing system. because i am sure there will be many.

Melbourne Coffee Tour

2008-03-05T15:08:00.014+10:30

Now for the Melbourne coffee tour. It wasn't the best weekend for coffee drinking with the temperature hovering around 30. But we man'd on (persevered) and ended up having some great experiences.

Brother Baba Budan

First up for the day was BBB. The little brother of south Melbourne's St. Ali this little cafe had a serious reputation to live up to which it has definitely done. once again combining freshly roasted coffee with the synesso espresso machine this time backed up with the option to have a clover coffee if your not in the mood for espresso. The coffee was fantastic very smooth. The staff we're super friendly having meet the owner Mark and one of his team members Bridget the day before at Celebrate the bean it was great that they remembered us, and were more than happy to chat in between serving. Loved the chairs on the ceiling too uber funky.

Quist's

Being the first coffee roasters in Melbourne you would think they would have learnt a few simple things about brewing as well. It was hugely disappointing when i walked in firstly to be asked how to make my order of a piccolo and secondly to have the girl go over to the knock off elektra bell epoque (which looked really cheap) and press the brew button for the coffee that was already sitting in the group handle. and to top it off the milk was so hot it burnt my tongue so it went straight in the bin.

I won't be getting into the habit of writing negative reviews but i was just shocked at how wrong you could get a coffee.

I really do hope they get a decent barista on board to bring a great name in the Melbourne coffee world back to where it should be. Because after all the shop is really nice very old world style.

Liar Liar

We then decided to check out liar liar. A ten minute train ride out of the city to Glenferie Rd. After getting off at Hawthorn instead of Glenferie station (god knows why) and getting totally lost for about an hour in the suburbs of Melbourne we finally found it and it was definitely worth getting lost for.

Nolan. AKA the dancing barista has a fantastic set up in an ultra funky cafe. with vinyl records playing on a vintage deck this cafe just has such a great ambiance. The coffee is supplied from five senses in WA. The house blend that Nolan uses consists of some of my favorite coffee regions: PNG, Costa Rica and Colombia. The coffee that i had was without doubt my favorite of the trip having a really sweet strawberry taste it was fantastic. We had lunch here too the food was as great as the coffee really well presented but simple and tasty.

And would you check out that Synesso Syncra totally pimped out by Nolan with a powder coat of white, a florescent tube under the hood at the back and a metal mesh that tied in with the rest of the cafe setup. The synesso was also backed up by the clover which is poured into nice brandy tumbler like glasses. I had a great chat to Nolan who is a great guy doing excellent things with coffee. I wish him and his cafe all the best for the future.

We had plans to visit more cafes in Melbourne but after getting lost we ran short on time. Fantastic trip. Next i'll be doing some tasting on the coffees that i bought back.

Melbourne (celebrate the bean)

2008-03-04T14:16:00.012+10:30

On sunday the 2nd we headed over to Melbourne for the annual coffee festival Celebrate The Bean. Meeting some great people. And great coffee along the way.

St. Ali.

12-18 yarra pl Sth Melb

Landing in Melbourne at about 8am we desperately needed a) breakfast and b) COFFEE!! We wasted no time in our decision and headed straight for one of Melbourne's best, St. Ali. Situated in south Melb in what seems like the most random side street, this is definitely one of Melbourne's hidden gems.

having a Boutique coffee roaster/cafe combined with a Synesso Syncra the coffee needless to say was fresh and amazing. I started with a latte with my girlfriend Anya having a double shot flat white. The flat white definitely had more flavours coming through, having a nice cinnamon taste to it. After a great breakfast and having a full stomach i tried their espresso, which to me had quite nice berry fruit flavours with a dark choc/cocoa finish very nice.

Celebrate The Bean.

After a great start to the day we headed over to the docklands for celebrate the bean. Run in conjunction with the Melb food and wine festival it's a great chance for some Australia's leading coffee establishments to show off what they do best.

Seen above is Mark Dundon, St. Ali and Brother Baba budan owner and roaster showing off the latest coffee innovation the clover. The clover is an interesting little machine producing a filtered coffee with barista operated temp settings and brew time. We had a single origin from Kenya through it which was so clean and crisp and producing great fruit notes.

Five senses coffee had probably the busiest stand of the day and for good reason.Coming across from Western Australia with a synesso to showcase their great product, and to also support Melb local and liar liar cafe owner Nolan. Five sences had a couple of grinders going one with their espresso blend and the other for single origins, Which changed throughout the day. The two that we tried we're a Balinese coffee which had notes of caramel, fruit with a great body, and a Ugandan which had a nice buttery mouth feel with, sounds weird but a biscuit taste very much like a single origin chocolate from Java that we have at work.

I also tried a Ethiopia sidamo roasted and brewed on the spot, in the traditional Ethiopian way which was a fantastic experience.

All in all a fantastic day. Especially for a coffee lover. Tommorow the Cafe's of Melbourne.

Sa Barista Champ Ian Callahan

2008-02-29T15:48:00.013+10:30

This week bought the opportunity to have a bit of a coffee tour with This years South Australian barista Champion Ian Callahan. having a chat along the way about his prep for the nationals, his new cafe and coffee in general.

The first stop was my work Bracegirdle's on jetty road glenelg. Here's Ian mucking around on the ECM A3 that we acquired through 2003 world Barista Champion Paul Basset. We pulled some nice shots quickly before heading into town to Simply Coffee.

Simply Coffee just a five minute walk out of the CBD on Rundle st Kent Town. Is another one of my favorite roasters for specialty coffee in Adelaide, being the roaster for Ian in the competition we had to come and pay our respects to this boutique roastery Run by husband and wife team Peter and Lucy.

As you can see the shop houses An irfra-red diedrich roaster and after burner set up. I always find Peter's coffee has that clean crisp taste that can only be found in irfra-red roasting, personally i prefer the atmospheric taste of a good drum roast but it's always nice to try both styles of roasting. While we were there we had a single origin from malawi which has been getting recommendations from green bean suppler H.A. Bennett & Sons. It had a fantastic grapefruit acidity nice and sweet with a very very subtle dark cocoa smoke taste. Really great espresso especially for a simple wega.

We then went to pay a visit to Mark and Kate at The Coffee Barun

Mark also had the Malawi coffee in but with the cafe getting busier the batch that he roasted sold out before we had the chance to try it. So we had some guatamala which both Ian and Mark made shots of and the difference between the two was amazing. Mark liking a very tight ristretto pour and Ian a Straight up espresso both great and amazingly different.

Ian is in the process of getting his first cafe up and running, with just a location to be found then it's all go. The cafe will be named Blue Chip, which i think is a fantastic name considering it will be catering for Adelaide city's white collar business crowd. The coffee will be supplied at first by simply coffee which by Ian's account will be run through a synesso syncra, if all goes to plan budget wise. The Cafe's focus will be a specialty coffee cafe in the heart of the city which in my opinion Adelaide sorely needs.

Ian then plans to have training nights and barista Jams in the cafe. Hopefully it will be the home of this young mans coffee career. Ian's son Noah.

I wish Noah, Ian and his wife Sarah all the best in their new cafe venture. I have no doubt it will be a great place for a brilliant coffee.

Cheers for the short tour Ian. Next i'll be in Melbourne the home of the cafe scene in Australia and some of the best coffee..

State Barista Competition SA

2008-02-23T20:59:00.015+10:30

The state Barista competition rolled into town on the 21st this month. As a former state title holder it's always a fantastic day for myself and for anyone interested in coffee in Adelaide. It's always great to see how much improvement there is each and every year.

The unveiling of the La Marzocco FB80 ah what a fantastic machine, with the La Marzocco dual boiler technology and the latest P.I.D. temperature control for optimal temperature stability, what better machine for some of Australia's best baristas to do their stuff.

First up for the day was Kiril Shaginov from Cibo espresso. Before the barista competition Kirril like i will be doing very soon, travelled the world looking for a great coffee experience.And started his own blog called Espresso Run.

Kiril had a great table setup with a polished routine. His signature drink consisting of egg whites, sugar, and vanilla sugar(from what i can remember) blended together then mixed with espresso.(very nice) Unfortunately for kiril his routine went over by 13 seconds costing him a massive point deduction from the judges. I really hope to see Kiril compete again because it was a very enjoyable routine to watch.

Next up was the reigning state title holder Douglas Bolzon from Cibo Espresso.

Douglas is and always has been a very technical competitor, with a very polished routine. Being time keeper for the day i could see first hand just how much time Douglas seemed to have without breaking a sweat. The signature drink was a nice twist on conventional ingredients, consisting of pineapple juice, and basil which all combined well with espresso.

Daryl from Altura Coffee.

Daryl had it a bit hard, being his first competition to come up against such polished and experienced competitors is always a nerve racking experience. Daryl held it together tho to serve some good coffees and a nice cinnamon and cream based signature drink.

Next was Mr nice guy and this years winner Ian Callahan

After finishing 2nd and 3rd in previous competitions it's great to see someone so dedicated to their craft finally getting what they deserve. Ian had abit of trouble with one of the two compak k10's that he was using, having to adjust the grinder again half way through his routine to get the perfect extraction. I think of Ian as the heston bloominthal of coffee. His signature drinks are always without question the most far out complex creations you could think of. This year using a soy lethisan fromage of garlic, chocolate, and coffee from a bodum kona filter and also a plunger(i believe) this mixed with a Parmesan cheese and water foam all added to the espresso shots. (i wish i had time to take photos of this but Ian was running very close on time)

I'll have to get Ian to confirm those ingredients i think.

Finally was Johnny Pisonelli.

Johnny is once again a very polished and accomplished barista, whom unfortunately the title has alluded. Unfortunately Johnny didn't have a mike on so i was unable to hear what was in his signature drink but it did taste great.

Next week i should hopefully be doing a coffee tour with Ian which I'll post Info on the places i visit

Once again congratulations to Ian and well done to all the people that helped to make the day possible.

Adelaide

2008-02-13T17:10:00.007+10:30

The Coffee Barun
Shop 2A 221-223 main north road Sefton Park.

"Thought i would start out with a basic post,
with pictures and notes
from one of my favorite cafe's in Adelaide
The Coffee Barun"

This boutique cafe just out of the the CBD, is definately one of my new favorites.
The shop boasts a 5kg has garanti roaster that is continuously roasting exceptional coffee. And a three group synesso which to my knowledge is a one of kind in Adelaide (at the moment) and Mazzar robur and super jolly grinders. Owner and roaster Mark "Barun" is definately one of few people in Adelaide to speak to about all aspects of specialty coffee.

Coffee barun has their house blend in the robur and the super jolly runs different single origin coffee's when they are at their best.
The house blend (seen in this pour)
has a subtle acidity and great body, with chocolate notes on the back palate.
when i tried the coffee it was only a couple of days out of roast so the chocolate notes were'nt hugely strong yet and a bit of a smokey taste was immenent but with a couple of days the smoke will clear and more fruit notes should be present.

"definately one of few places worth coming to Adelaide for"