Best the interweb
Intelligentsia is one of the leading specialty coffee roasters in the US – and this tour is well worth a look, particularly because it deals with the process from green bean to retail.
This must surely be a joke. If not, the Pomegranate NS08 is the iPhone killer. It comes with an in built coffee brewer. Based loosely on the “pod” concept this phone has an in built mechanism to suck up water and push it through a pod holding section of the device. It’s also an electric razor. Their website is worryingly well made and convincing. But it’s got to be a joke right? I’m pretty sure it is. But the site is worth a look.
The in-built harmonica is the giveaway really. And the accompanying video.
I’ve been trying really hard to drink “spro” a couple of mornings a week I’ll forego my second milk based coffee* for a short black – an unadorned shot of espresso**. This morning, we had no milk, so to stave off coffee deprivation headaches, Robyn and I both had to drink a straight shot.
If you haven’t tried it – a shot of coffee by itself can taste exceptionally bitter – it’s a taste that requires acquiring. Like beer. Or wine. Or cheese. Essentially like anything good. Coffee flavours can be just as nuanced as the aforementioned delicacies.
A good shot of espresso contains “crema”- best defined as a layer of reddish brown coffee oils that sits on top of the shot.
This crema is vital to a characteristic known as “body”- the viscosity of the shot. Coffee tastes best when it has body.
Crema tastes terrible. On it’s own it is completely bitter. But without it the coffee flavour disappears in milk.
I’ve been reading a couple of blogs offering solutions to this problem. This guy, Kiril, tried filtering the Crema with the following findings:
The conclusion that I have established indicated that the main characters of espresso (with crema) will carry out through filtration. In this instant the distinct chocolate note was very much present although the overall espresso lacked body. I personally prefer the espresso for what it is today a smooth, creamy, well balanced drink and all those aspects are tied in by ONE essential ingredient, crema. I also found that filtered espresso is good for picking out the main flavours and raw (bold) character out of the bean to more accurately describe its main taste.
He also reported on a separate experiment conducted by the “coffee collective” where the crema was removed,
A nice reddish brown crema on the espresso of course signals correct preperation but… have you ever tasted the crema itself?!? To us it seems to be kind of dry and bitter!
Try to take some crema with a spoon from the top of a good espressoshot and taste it!
After having tried this we sometimes skim the crema of the espresso right before drinking the espresso using two small spoons. This seemes to give a more clean and less bitter cup which is finishing of extremly soft. On the down side the cup also looses some body. But it is definitely a good way to drink coffee if you wan’t it to be soft and intense!
Kiril tried his own experiment pulling the shot onto a broader area.
Today I have been extracting into a shallow plate, the results are staggering. I encourage you to try this. As the coffee falls onto a shallow surface the espresso evenly mixes and slowly spreads out on a plate. As a result you get a well-balanced, clean “plate” of coffee.
This was his finding:
The way the coffee falls and mixes (especially in early stages of extraction) is absolutely vital, I will dedicate some time into exploring different surfaces for coffee to fall into and document my results.
A meet the press pot interview with barista Andy Schecter suggested stirring the shot as a solution to the bitter crema problem.
Speaking of espresso, a colleague of mine has said recently that she has a theory: “Crema is disgusting.” I wanted to hear what you think of that theory. How do you feel about crema?
“…You know, crema is part of what makes espresso espresso. It helps deliver some of the fragrance to your nasal passages, and so much of what we know of as flavor is delivered through our sense of smell. Espresso without crema is not really espresso. I am baffled as to exactly what is disgusting about it.
Well, I think she’s exaggerating to prove a point, that crema is overpowering and strong, and can be quite different from the rest of the drink’s body, that maybe it detracts from what would otherwise be a more balanced taste experience. I mean, there are people who refuse to so much as jostle their cup, let alone stir a shot, but it’s true that that first crema-full sip can be quite pungent.
I started stirring my espresso sometime last year because there was a post by Pete Licata where he talked about blending it all together. I always stir now. I find that it does bring more of a balance. But I know some people like to do one layer at a time, they like the taste to evolve in that way. Mostly I like to stir it up and get the total taste, “What is this espresso like?”
* not a “cuppocino” – cappuccino doesn’t even mean “cup of cino” it is derived from the Italian word for hood because the coffee is essentially hooded with froth. “muggacino” is equally flaed and stupid.
** definitely not “expresso”
This is a cool picture from a series of coffee art on napkins.
My inner accountant quickly convinced me to buy one of those little espresso machines (for the price of approximately 10 tall lattes). It had a steam nozzle to heat milk, which one should clean very thoroughly after each use. I didn’t have the patience to do so. Within a few uses, an unappetizing, dark brown, organic lump developed around the nozzle. A few days later it had become unremovable, and I reverted to getting my coffee outside.
That’s right people. Timely advice to clean your steam wands.
A Jefferson coffee roaster has launched the Obama Blend – a mix of Indonesian, Kenyan and Hawaiian beans. Longfellows started producing the blend recently after the owner’s son had the idea while standing in the shower. Campos Coffee in Sydney has been producing their own Obama Blend for months – at least since June.
I spent much of last night redesigning my blog – it’s still not finished, but it’s servicable. It prominently features my coffee machine – and pays adequate homage to my coffee fixation. I really struggled to find an appropriate coffee colour for my background. Coffee has so many different colours. Roasted beans vary depending on how well they’ve been roasted. Green beans, as anyone who’s watched TV lately knows thanks to Nestle’s ridiculously stupid green bean blend (green beans taste like grass), are green. Brewed coffee has different colours depending on the method – plunger coffee is different to espresso – and espresso is different depending on the heat, grind and length of shot. Also – espresso has a layer of crema (coffee oils) that’s a reddy, browny, goldy colour. So I eyedropped a colour from these beans in photo shop (having come up with various shades of purple, red, and pink) that looked about right.
Obviously if you’re here reading my blog you know this already – it’s more for the benefit of subscribers and people who read this from my Facebook profile.
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It made me think about what I want in a holiday – and why.
The following are five holidays I’d like to go on before I’m old… a lot of them are currently coffee focused.
1. I’d like to go to England to watch Premier League matches and visit the home town of awesome British bands like Radiohead and Muse.
2. I’d like to visit a coffee plantation in Africa or South America.
3. I’d like to go to Italy and drink Espresso in a little cafe in the middle of nowhere, and visit coffee machine making factories…
4. I’d like to go to Germany and drink German beer in German Beer Breweries.
5. I’d like to do a road trip around and through Australia.
Apparently I’m a “Social Fun Seeker” by market segment – the others are Active Explorers, Unwinders, Self Discoverers, Stylish Travellers, and Connectors.
I’d be interested to know how other people plan their holidays… most of our holidays now seem to be taken up with visiting family members in South East Queensland.
So, in conclusion – I’m looking for inspiration, topic requests, things people like to read about that are consistent with what I like to write about…
Well, after a two month hiatus I figure it’s high time I provide some sort of update for the google spiders – who are probably this blog’s only current readers. Today’s post will be brought to you by the prefix “ob“.
Observations
So, K-Rudd has been PM for slightly longer than my blog free period. In fact he was sworn in the day before my last post. So I blame him for my lack of inspiration. Really he’s just boring. Boring, boring, boring (coincidentally the prefix bo is the reverse of ob). Only slightly more boring is the obstreperous Mr 9% – Nelson and his hapless team. Anyone who the Courier Mail captions as Brenden Abbott – dig up a copy from the 31st of January – is in political trouble. K-Rudd’s problem is that he’s all symbolism and no substance – his response to any issue is to talk – form a committee, a war cabinet, a talkfest. His speeches are grand – and loaded with symbolic guff. His apology speech was well crafted – but not Obamaesque (I’ll get to him later). Two months in to his reign we’ve had a symbolic (some would say token) ratification of Kyoto (which expires in 2012 – hardly a long term solution) – and a token (some would say symbolic) apology to the obviously obscenely treated aboriginal people – an apology which explicitly ruled out compensation. I have mixed feelings about compensation – I think there’s probably a case for some form of compensation. Now that the government has admitted they did the wrong thing they should probably have to pay for that mistake. The proverbial can of worms has been opened.
Obsessions
Another reason I haven’t been blogging lately must be the disproportionate amount of time and resourcing I’ve been giving to my current obsession – coffee. Robyn would probably agree – although she’s enjoying the benefits.
Here’s the progression I’ve gone through in terms of my coffee “habit”
1. Discovered home roasting – through coffeesnobs.com.au – I highly recommend their starter pack. But I’ve since been ordering through Ministry Grounds. I purchased a heat gun from eBay for the purpose of roasting my beans – with the view to building a corretto when I can locate a suitable breadmaker. At the moment I’m just using the heatgun and wok.
2. I was less than happy with our existing grinder – a little bladed number sold as a “herb and coffee” grinder. It was good as an introduction to the freshness of ground coffee – but didn’t produce a particularly even grind – so I purchased an EM0480 Sunbeam grinder second hand from coffeesnobs.com.au.
3. I recently shelled out $400 (plus freight) for a commercial Rancillio machine on eBay – it’s yet to arrive, but I’ll edit this post to include some pictures when my browser will let me.
Home roasted coffee is terrific. I highly recommend my new hobby.
Obama
Barack – the man I’ve dubbed “the new black” when it comes to US Presidential candidates – Obama has just won his tenth straight contest for the Democratic nomination. I’m nominally a Democrats fan in the US thanks to the West Wing. And I picked Barack a year ago – before he was cool.
Obligatory references to real life
Married life continues to be a barrel of caffeine induced laughs (see above). It really is great fun. We’ve recently filled our fish tank with a plethora of new marine life. We’re now leading the kid’s club at church on a Friday night – putting the kibosh on our social life during school term. An unwholesome amount of our spare time is spent playing Tetris on Facebook. Robyn has posted an almost blasphemous score of 946,000 or thereabouts.
K-Rudd has been caught with his proverbial pants down on Burkegate. This is an event clearly worthy of “gate” status. More details about MPs from both sides of the fence meeting with the shady former WA premier (and convicted felon) turned lobbyist will probably come to light this week and I’m tipping more casualties following the resignation of Ian Campbell. John Howard wants to make distinctions between ministers and MPs, and leaders and followers – which is fair enough to an extent, but there’s really no need to be meeting with someone like Burke. Lobbying is an interesting kettle of fish. It’s where politicians get their lurks and perks. Doctors get their fancy meals from pharmaceutical companies eager to secure future business – politicians get theirs from representatives of industries, interest groups and professional power brokers who are likewise eager to secure something for nothing (or for a meal – politicians are expected to sing for their supper). Benny reckons lobbying is an essential part of the democratic process –
“I love lobbying. i think its how things should work. lobbying and interest
groups should demonstrate the facts, views and opinions. the members of
parliament should act as mediators and decision makers. the MPs should take in
all the information to make rational and logical decisions. lobbying is part of
this process.”
I agree to an extent but I think professional lobbying probably circumvents the political process and ties up access to politicians from the run of the mill members of their electorate – the fact that my employers work as a lobby group backed by the collective might of our members from the North Queensland business community doesn’t bother me – but when you’ve got a disproportionate amount of funding (lobbying) poured into the exercise by an unpopular lobby group (say advocates for nuclear power) might have a disproportionate impact on the political process.
The political machinations behind Burkegate are fascinating – Ian Campbell’s decision to resign – or the decision for him to resign – was a masterful manoeuvre from Howard. Finding the moral high ground in the murky realm of politics will be an important step in the upcoming elections. If it’s going to be a “morals” debate the Coalition need to have their position on issues like AWB, the Iraq conflict and Hicks firmly entrenched on the “right” side (as opposed to wrong, rather than left) – Rudd probably has the advantage in terms of positioning because it’s much easier to criticise government than to govern. This scandal could go a long way towards undermining his integrity – but it could also burn the government if it comes out that more coalition MPs have met with Burke in the past.
It’s an interesting time in politics with the battle of who cares raging in New South Wales and Debnam resorting to physical comparisons with James Bond. The US race for preselection (it’s not even the real thing yet) is heating up with candidates from both major parties vying to outdo their own colleagues (with the amount of muck they spend throwing around within the parties it’s a wonder that any new stuff comes up in the actual campaign) – my early favourite Barack Obama is polling well and catching up to the “impossible to like even though she stood by her husband in America’s largest sex scandal” Hillary Clinton. The Democrats have the opportunity to make history with their leading candidates a female and an African American male – Joe says the Republicans should kill two birds with one stone by endorsing Condoleezza Rice.
In other news – I tried the spectacular “cat poo” coffee last week, I’m not sure I’d pay $50 a cup, but it’s an amazing brew, so smooth and sweet – without the standard bitter bite of a regular cuppa.
LarkNews – a good source for “Christian News” has been updated – my favourite story for this edition is the debate on whether the word “sucks” is appropriate for church – for those of you who have trouble differentiating between fact and fiction, please note that this is parody.
Have you ever bought a coffee that was so terrible you winced as you drank it? I have. Don’t buy coffees from the ferry terminal in Townsville. They are bad. Maybe it was because I decided to be healthy and sample the “skinny cappuccino” – I won’t be doing that again. If I didn’t need the caffeine to I would probably have tipped it down the sink. I had to hold my nose to get it down. Seriously. Bad. Coffee. There are some good coffee outlets in Townsville – don’t let my experience curtail your plans to holiday here. Townsville is the tourism capital of the world. At least it will be. Maybe.
I had another strange North Queensland experience yesterday. My job is all about networking – and using this network for leverage to gain favours for other people in the network – it all balances out in the end. I exerted some leverage to obtain some video footage of the area for a conference organiser from the Burdekin (it’s in the sticks man… about 45 minutes south of Townsville). This guy has a reputation around town for being a pretty prickly character (or a bit of a …). He hassled me and hassled me on this footage – I can’t make the WIN production people do their stuff any faster, particularly when they’re doing me a favour – but I eventually produced the goods and this guy, as a demonstration of gratitude, produced the produce. He dropped a pumpkin, and some homegrown eggplants and avocados around to our office to thank me. I’m not sure what the message here is – pay peanuts you get monkeys, pay vegetables you get me? Hmm…
North Queensland people do some strange stuff… ‘ey. See I can type in their lingo. But to the MPC people going on the youth leaders training thing this weekend – be nice, and don’t tell any lies about me. I’m doing a good enough job of selling myself up here without your “help.”
There were a couple of noteworthy stories in the newspaper yesterday.
Apparently James Blunt’s song “your beautiful” (I’m not capitalising it because I don’t believe it deserves proper noun status) woke a young girl from a coma. I guess that makes the scoreboard on the damage wrought by James Blunt vs good stuff caused about 10000000000000000 – 1. That was a completely arbitrary number of 0’s you could add some more for good measure.
An employee at Australian’s money producing factory (I can’t remember what they’re called) made a mint out of his job (see how I set up that pun…poetry) – walking out of work with $600 worth of $2 coins every day for 10 months. He put the coins in his shoes and lunch box.
And finally a plug for two websites… Would a website unplugged be a blank screen? Or a letter? Interesting questions… interesting interpretation of the word interesting…
Scooter gave me an inside look into his upcoming Interesting Pigeon facts. I’d encourage all my readers to become his readers too. I imagine if a number of readers from here went there it would be a real coup/coop/coo (that’s two puns in one).
I can’t encourage you strongly enough to check out the works of those two crazilly flawed nuts at from Everybody’s second favourite segment productions – Phil and Smiley (I will refer to myself in the third person for the sake of this advertisement). Check out their all new comedic endeavours at philnsmiz.blogspot.com. At the moment you can read an exclusive interview with the cast from the highly successful, but never released, MADE IN CHINA – The Art Rock Musical. It’s highly likely that reading it will cause your sides to split – whether that’s from a skillfully inserted knife, or laughter, is yet to be determined. We’re not actively encouraging people to go developing post musical stigmata or anything… but hey.
