Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Carl Sara on June 1, 2008 at 5:05pm

Hey,

I always like to start with the coffee. Make specific note on what the flavour profiles are, then start to write a list of flavours, colours, themes and textures that might work well with them. No need to get too specific. Decide what qualities of the espresso ae dominant, an what is subtle Then build a simple spreadsheet that allows you to record in detail the way that you will build the drinks. Taking note of volume/ weight of ingredients, methods, temperatures and results including tasting points. It is important to do this because no doubt the one time that you nail a sig drink, will be th one time that you do not record everything, making it near impossible to actually replicate the flavours. A "pinch of this" and a " dash of that" do not count as measurments! Also at this point research any techniques tht you might want to use to help reach your desired results. If you do the research now, then when you encounter aproblem in development, you will often find the solution is at hanfd already. Talk to heaps of different people, make sure some of them are i coffee, and ome of thm are not as they often provide the best informatins because they have nver been "tainted" by what i expected as some coffee people can be.




That is as far as the techy side goes for me in terms of prep. Everything forward from that point in orientated entirely around sensory experiences.

When you get to that point I believe that the trick is to make all the quantities of ingredients small and then increase them slowly until you can taste them. One of th most common mistakes tht people make when building a sig drink is that they find a great flavour that ends up overpwering the subtleties of the coffee that they are using.

Remember that a sig drink is used to help develop flavours and aromas found in the coffee, rather than to simply change or mask them (also should not be used to mask a bad coffee).

The difference in terms of points comes when a barista is able to mantain all of the qualities of their great espresso and keep them in balance, even when ingredients are added. Remember tokeep that "dominant taste of espresso". When a sig drink in well explained, and what the barista says is there, really is there. When the judges can easily discern all the flavours and subtlties of the espresso, that is whn you will score well, as that can only be achieved when a barista completely understands the coffee that they are working with.

Hope thats of some help?
Cheers
Carl

Permalink Reply by Dale Harris on June 3, 2008 at 10:17pm

thanks Carl! I was discussing your last WBC performance (thanks zacharyzachary) with our rep from Victoria Arduino last week! Top stuff!!

so if the secret to great sig drinks is in understanding your coffee what's your process on tasting a new coffee/blend? determining dosage etc?

Permalink Reply by Sarah Dooley on August 12, 2008 at 7:46pm

Dale,
I have to say I have the most fun making signature drinks, whether I am inspired by a new dessert or just want to utilize some new glassware. I have applied the little i know about bartending and the flare I have learned as a barista. There was also a goal behind my signature beverages at the cafe and that was to show my customer base that not all sweet beverages have to be 16 oz to cover up the foreign tastes of espresso. After that I really just got involved with layering and substituting in flavors. Stephen Morrisey (yes, I just name dropped) who is the current world barista champ spent a few days with me over about 2 years ago and his simplicity combined with mixology really turned my thought process into high gear. He encouraged me to substitute like textures and flavors with others sort of confusing the palate with other creams and caramelization techniques. In one intense chat he mentioned "at what point does an a pepper yield sweetness. Will it go from a mostly savory tone to sweet through caramelization and then at what point does it go bitter." He may not remember this conversation but it was pretty close to thought changing when it comes to standard ingredients. Some of my buddies in the food and coffee industry along with the innovations of food tv have really altered the way I look at sugar in all it's forms.
The first step for me is really knowing the espresso blend or single origin. From there the sky's the limit. Refine carefully and be daring.
I would love to here about what the "0-2 and 5-6" means. Please add me to further discussions if you don't mind.

Permalink Reply by Dale Harris on September 21, 2008 at 12:10pm

Sarah

for the scores check the WBC rules and regs on http://www.worldbaristachampionship.com/downloads.htm - how we interpret these I'm not 100% sure!!!

I've just made a choice to ignore a stock blend I could play with and wait 6 weeks to spend some time at a fantastic new roastery in Ireland to work on a killer espresso so sig drink is gonna have to wait till I've finalised this. I'm thinking however of either working on a white choc recipie with the espresso providing the choc(?) or a neutral 'cheesecake' type drink, spiked with extracts best representing flavours from the coffee

got some pretty 50ml glasses anyway!!!

Permalink Reply by Anna Gutierrez on September 28, 2008 at 10:04pm

Oh wow...where to start?!

Are you wanting to know more specifically how to develope Signature Drinks for a competition or for daily serving in your business?

If it's for a competition, I definitely agree that you have to start with the coffee and working with what that offers so that your signature drink ingredients compliment and bring out certain characteristics the coffee needs a little probing to be able to do.

I actually teach a seminar at the Coffee Fest trade shows entitled "Signature Drinks-Power Up Your Profits" and would be more than happy to email you the powerpoint along with the corresponding packet. It covers how to create signature drinks and the best way to incorporate them into your business.

Let me know your email address and I'll send it right away.

Most importantly though, don't be afraid to think outside of the box with your creativity!

Permalink Reply by Sarah Dooley on October 2, 2008 at 2:33pm

That is a great reason to stop! Have a fantastic time and please share your experience.
Dale Harris said:

Sarah

for the scores check the WBC rules and regs on http://www.worldbaristachampionship.com/downloads.htm - how we interpret these I'm not 100% sure!!!

I've just made a choice to ignore a stock blend I could play with and wait 6 weeks to spend some time at a fantastic new roastery in Ireland to work on a killer espresso so sig drink is gonna have to wait till I've finalised this. I'm thinking however of either working on a white choc recipie with the espresso providing the choc(?) or a neutral 'cheesecake' type drink, spiked with extracts best representing flavours from the coffee

got some pretty 50ml glasses anyway!!!

Permalink Reply by Don Southworth on January 6, 2010 at 11:53am

Any one have experience mixing tea with espresso for a signature drink?

Permalink Reply by Marilyn on January 11, 2010 at 7:49am

Hi Anna,
Great to hear neat infos. Can you send me the info. on creating Signature drinks? Love to read what you have and we are starting to get ready for 2010 competition here in Canada :).

my email. is marilyn@tancoffee.com

Thanks so much,
Marilyn Eng
www.tancoffeetoronto.com

Anna Gutierrez said:

Oh wow...where to start?!

Are you wanting to know more specifically how to develope Signature Drinks for a competition or for daily serving in your business?

If it's for a competition, I definitely agree that you have to start with the coffee and working with what that offers so that your signature drink ingredients compliment and bring out certain characteristics the coffee needs a little probing to be able to do.

I actually teach a seminar at the Coffee Fest trade shows entitled "Signature Drinks-Power Up Your Profits" and would be more than happy to email you the powerpoint along with the corresponding packet. It covers how to create signature drinks and the best way to incorporate them into your business.

Let me know your email address and I'll send it right away.

Most importantly though, don't be afraid to think outside of the box with your creativity!

Permalink Reply by Bryan Arndt on May 19, 2010 at 11:35am

This is very well put, I agree completely! I just competed in the mountain region and Anaheim and found that i built my entire routine around a coffee I only knew so-so. I now working on a single origin Colombian and will learn to know it like the back of my hand. That is how you can make a good sig drink. know the main ingredient.

Carl Sara said:

Hey,

I always like to start with the coffee. Make specific note on what the flavour profiles are, then start to write a list of flavours, colours, themes and textures that might work well with them. No need to get too specific. Decide what qualities of the espresso ae dominant, an what is subtle Then build a simple spreadsheet that allows you to record in detail the way that you will build the drinks. Taking note of volume/ weight of ingredients, methods, temperatures and results including tasting points. It is important to do this because no doubt the one time that you nail a sig drink, will be th one time that you do not record everything, making it near impossible to actually replicate the flavours. A "pinch of this" and a " dash of that" do not count as measurments! Also at this point research any techniques tht you might want to use to help reach your desired results. If you do the research now, then when you encounter aproblem in development, you will often find the solution is at hanfd already. Talk to heaps of different people, make sure some of them are i coffee, and ome of thm are not as they often provide the best informatins because they have nver been "tainted" by what i expected as some coffee people can be.




That is as far as the techy side goes for me in terms of prep. Everything forward from that point in orientated entirely around sensory experiences.

When you get to that point I believe that the trick is to make all the quantities of ingredients small and then increase them slowly until you can taste them. One of th most common mistakes tht people make when building a sig drink is that they find a great flavour that ends up overpwering the subtleties of the coffee that they are using.

Remember that a sig drink is used to help develop flavours and aromas found in the coffee, rather than to simply change or mask them (also should not be used to mask a bad coffee).

The difference in terms of points comes when a barista is able to mantain all of the qualities of their great espresso and keep them in balance, even when ingredients are added. Remember tokeep that "dominant taste of espresso". When a sig drink in well explained, and what the barista says is there, really is there. When the judges can easily discern all the flavours and subtlties of the espresso, that is whn you will score well, as that can only be achieved when a barista completely understands the coffee that they are working with.

Hope thats of some help?
Cheers
Carl

Permalink Reply by Alex Pereira on January 5, 2011 at 6:31am

Hi Anna,
. Can you send me the info. on creating Signature drinks? Love to read what you have and we are starting to get ready for 2011 competition here in Brazil :).

my email. is alexpereira@biobarista.com.br

www.biobarista.com.br

Thanks so much,
Alex Pereira



Anna Gutierrez said:

Oh wow...where to start?!

Are you wanting to know more specifically how to develope Signature Drinks for a competition or for daily serving in your business?

If it's for a competition, I definitely agree that you have to start with the coffee and working with what that offers so that your signature drink ingredients compliment and bring out certain characteristics the coffee needs a little probing to be able to do.

I actually teach a seminar at the Coffee Fest trade shows entitled "Signature Drinks-Power Up Your Profits" and would be more than happy to email you the powerpoint along with the corresponding packet. It covers how to create signature drinks and the best way to incorporate them into your business.

Let me know your email address and I'll send it right away.

Most importantly though, don't be afraid to think outside of the box with your creativity!

Permalink Reply by paul vincent c. asuncion on October 18, 2013 at 1:27am

Hi Ms. Anna,

Good day!

I'm Paul Asuncion, Barista, Barista Trainer and a very passionate about coffee, also loves to compete too in a various barista competition here in our country (Philippines).

I know this is super late to request.. but at least i tried.. I am requesting to have a copy of your power point "Signature Drinks-Power Up Your Profits" that you gave to our fellow barista. If you still have it. It will really help me and all my fellow barista here in our country when we join a barista competition.

Here's my email: pv_asuncion@yahoo.com

Thank you.

Paul Asuncion

Anna Gutierrez said:

Oh wow...where to start?!

Are you wanting to know more specifically how to develope Signature Drinks for a competition or for daily serving in your business?

If it's for a competition, I definitely agree that you have to start with the coffee and working with what that offers so that your signature drink ingredients compliment and bring out certain characteristics the coffee needs a little probing to be able to do.

I actually teach a seminar at the Coffee Fest trade shows entitled "Signature Drinks-Power Up Your Profits" and would be more than happy to email you the powerpoint along with the corresponding packet. It covers how to create signature drinks and the best way to incorporate them into your business.

Let me know your email address and I'll send it right away.

Most importantly though, don't be afraid to think outside of the box with your creativity!