Blog

Well, my coffee week was very very good.   On Tuesday I continued my search for Espresso in Cincinnati.   This time my quest took me to Cafe` de Paris on Garfield Place in downtown Cincinnati.  It was a nice little lunch date for my wife and I.   We orders some food and it was great, and of course we ordered coffee as well.  Reviews of this place where pretty good, and I had read a few comments about how good the espresso was.  I ordered a double and the wife ordered a cappuccino.  The capp came out pretty fast and was really pretty good, and my double came out when I was done with lunch.   The double was actually pretty great and it came with a little brew pitcher on the side with cream (nice touch).  Not the most picture perfect espresso, but good.   Here are some pics of the espresso and the capp:  

I guess the highlight of the week was on Friday when I found an incredible deal on a Ditting KR1203 grinder. I played around with it on Friday night and had some family over for macchiatos and such.   Then on Satuday I swung back over to Windmill Coffee in Florence KY for some great coffee and conversation with the Barista/Owners.  That place is really growing on me.

I hope your week in Coffee was as good as mine.  

Oh..  And I cant stop looking at my Ditting....    Look at it, its like a castle in my kitchen.

Thanks for reading.

Well, this has been a good week for me.  I tried two establishments in the Greater Cincinnati area, Buffalo Mountain Coffee and Windmill Coffee.    Both were great! Not sure if I like one more than the other.   Buffalo Mountain was great, because I was able to enjoy my drink while sitting on a couch and reading a magazine.  A perfect lunch break, relaxing at lunch with coffee in hand, may be the best way to enjoy my lunch break.  I went to Windmill Coffee on Saturday afternoon.  They are new to the area, and I really liked them.   One great thing about them is the location.  Out away from the contested area's of town but not to far.  My family enjoyed Windmill also.   Cookies are great!   

On a bad note for the week.   I am out of espresso worthy beans.  I must make a plan to find some soon.

This month's barista interview is about what it takes to start a cafe and great advice for anyone thinking about opening their own cafe.

http://dailydemitasse.com/2011/03/barista-interview-rachel-haughey/

Please go to www.sendmetobogota.com to vote for me.  I'm only behind 1st place by 40 or so votes!  I would love your support.  I would love the chance to attend the World Barista Championships and meet many wonderful people while visiting coffee farms.

If you vote, you enter a raffle to win $1,000, not bad!  I just need your vote. 

I am sitting outside now...the sky is a light, duck egg blue. Sitting under the fig tree where so often I pass the time between the busy lunch and hectic evening rushes. We are on a hill here...the street runs up and down to the Mesjid (Surau) at the bottom. At this time of night many people are beginning to walk home from work. Many in suits and ties. Others are coming out for the evening. For us its still not busy...but for sure on a Friday night it will become busy. Bangsar is a nicely elevated suburb that used to boast dense rubber plantations. Today its the centre of expatriate and middle-upper class local lifestyle. Cafes, reatsurants, spa's all compete for the ringgit

After a bus Friday lunch I am waiting for Karl to join me so we can talk about the plan for the weekend. We have been busy today, into the end of our second week of business. The mornings have been spent roasting...sweltering conditions that make me think roasting in Indonesia was like spending a day in the snow. The humidity, the sheer searing heat of Kuala Lumpur is incredible.

At this time of evening, 7pm, the sky is turning...a silver tint, turns to gold. The wind just starting to blow gently carries on it the sweet, smoky tandoori...and the pungent, rich smell of cuban cigars being smoked in a cafe or a pub on the street. Its the perfect time of day- the long dusk...the transition from a street of coffee cafes into a rainbow collage of lights and noise- the noise of the night.

The street is filled with characters- people who have lived in this area for years. Westerners, Asians,Indians...and the newer breed of immigrant- Pakistani, Bangladeshi...the culture is a blurred mesh of style and substance. There are also beggars from mainland China- trying to get enough money to survive, working girls from Indonesia, China, Thailand- subtly plying their trade. There are hustlers, salesmen and fortune tellers. It is an interesting place to have a cold beer to take off the caffeinated edge of a days roasting, cupping and pulling shots behind the +4U.

Looking forward to seeing my local BX collegues here- but not tonight. I arrived at 6.30am...9pm is home time. A quick snooze and back into a busy roasting schedule tomorrow. I will sleep as the revellers of Jl Telawi 2 party late into the evening.

Cheers everyone

A new batch is being ordered up, and will be back in shops in the next couple of weeks. That means we already have 2000 version 1 and 2 cards out around Atlanta! Viva La Specialty Coffee!

When Karl casually told me that he reckoned it was a good idea to open Antipodean in the flash, upmarket suburb of Bangsar (KL, Malaysia), I didnt know whether to laugh or cry. Malaysia, unlike Indonesia, has a very developed level of food appreciation- from eating the variety of delicacies on offer- to critiquing them via live blogs and other web media. In all honesty Merdeka Coffee has its hands fairly full with Indonesia, the cafe in Sydney, the roastery in Auckland and some plans for something in Penang and Bangalore. Because of these various excuses, I was not 100% sure what to do with Karl's invite.

4 months later we are open and trading. The comments about the coffee, especially from the very fussy and pretty knowledgeable expatriate community, are uniformally excellent. Cracking the local oppinion of coffee- for better or for worse- is a little more difficult. Mostly good comments peppered with "its bitter", "its sour", "its bright", "its dull"..."its too Indonesian" often prickle me. After all I am the roaster and our pretty large customer base outside of Bangsar would not use any of these terms to describe the espresso blend.

The adventure in getting Antipodean open included using a contractor with a sense of humor which would have won him an Oscar (in any language), part of the roof falling in and squashing the bench, sink and undercounter chiller. A debate with some local authorities about whether the word "antipodean" in anyway was associate with "PORNOGRAPHY" (it was a difficult one to get my head around)....

Anyway we are open and once again I am enjoying working 7am till midnight...ahhhh the joys of cafe retail work....keeps us young no???

Anyway a few reviews after the first 10 days make the work worthwhile>

http://goreng.my/chill/article/a-coffee-place-with-heart

http://eatdrinkkl.blogspot.com/2011/02/antipodean.html

Enough to keep me focused on working harder to meet the expectations of this notoriously tough market!

Continuing from my ups and downs in the skill of making Micro-Foam.

I have made some really good progress.   Between this site, you-tube,  and another site I think I finally get the basics.  Now I just need to make it second nature.

I am making froth on my Silvia and I can consistently make micro foam now! I am sure that my local grocery store is happy about all the milk I have been purchasing.  I think I can still make it better though.   I need to learn how to get the right froth to milk ratio!   I currently am not really excited about my frothing pitcher either.   It does not have a good spout on it I think its a bit to large.

Head to my blog here:

http://coffeefolk.wordpress.com/

So my quest for the perfect Macchiato is so so so hard when you don't have the right equipment and skill:  

My lust for learning drives me to madness. I look at my counter and see shinny stainless steel. I smell the sent of fresh roasted coffee, and my boldness once again wells up inside of me.  The internet, with all its vast knowledge drives me to continue on my journey, But battle after battle my mind grows tired and doubtful. Oh to win the day and see that milky, painted sweet mark atop my fresh pulled nectar. Oh to find a leader to guide me through my quest and lay upon me their skill.  Until my heart picks me up again for the next attempt, I shall seek out my elixir. 

Well....  My force powers are on the increase.    After a few weeks, and a lot of milk in the drain, my quest for making micro foam is growing more productive.  No, I am not a pro at it, not even close. But it tastes a little sweeter, and feels a little better.   That is an improvement, believe me.  Sooner or later I will actually enjoy my drinks, well I enjoy them now but I will enjoy them more.

Below is last night’s Macchiato.  Still not perfect, but I am getting there.

I'll be working (alot) at Cafe Du Monde during Mardi Gras (starts this Sat, the 19th) but if you don't see my updates, it means things got a little too hectic :)

Happy Mardi Gras!

New blog post:   The La Marzocco Strada in Sweden's WBC Qualifier Barista Cup: Hit or Miss?

www.portafilth.com

Good morning Chicagooo Coffee Fest!!!

In seven days, we'll be broadcasting live from the Windy City as the  60th Coffee Fest kicks off on Navy Pier.

The Coffee Fest Live social media crew (Jeffrey Kingman of Chalkboarder and Shannon Pratuch and Laura Hedges of Scene Marketing Group) are very excited to meet all of you that are coming and would love to get quick "street" interviews with you from the Show (we'll make you a Youtube sensation!).

This past week, I launched a new Coffee Fest Blog - we're putting a lot of content up over there that might interest you. Also, if you are on Twitter, follow the hashtag #coffeefest and our Twitter accounts:

Coffee Fest - @coffeefestshow

Jeffrey - @jeffreyjkingman and @chalkboarder

Shannon - @scenemarketing

Laura - @lhedges

We also encourage you to connect with Coffee Fest in Facebook - there's two accounts there:

facebook.com/coffeefest

http://www.facebook.com/coffeefestshow

Today I was delivered my Coffee from Square Mile from the UK. I was sooo pumped to try it! I must say that the label and description is perfect! 

I'm really interested to see how this Santa Lucia compares to Madcap's Santa Lucia. 

Madcap = amazing Gr, MI coffee bar. Check it

Makes: 2 mugs

INGREDIENTS:

- 1 tsp cinnamon

- 1 vanilla pod

- 1/2 tsp ground cloves

- 1/2 tsp allspice

- 1 heaped tsp cocoa powder

- 1/4 cup aromatic rum

- 2 1/2 cups water

- 1 1/2 heaped tsp finely ground coffee

- 2 cups cold 2% (semi-skimmed) milk

- 12 ice cubes (up to 1 inch wide)

- 1 apricot cut in half for decoration for two glasses

Method - how to make Iced Mocha Coffee:

- Combine 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 vanilla pod,1/2 tsp ground cloves, 1/2 tsp allspice. Take 2 1/2 cups of water and pour into ibrik coffee pot, bring it to the boil, add all spices and slowly boil for 5 minutes.

- Take 1 heaped tsp of cocoa powder (you can also use dark chocolate syrup or melt 2 small pieces of dark chocolate).

- Dissolve cocoa powder in 3 tsp of hot water.

- Take dissolved cocoa, measure 1/4 cup of aromatic rum and pour both into boiling spiced water.

- Remove coffee pot with boiling spiced water from heat and immediately put in 1 1/2 heaped tsp of finely ground coffee. Stir quickly and leave to cool to about 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) before pouring into a mug and chilling in a fridge.

- Measure 1 cup of cold milk per serving and pour into a mug.

- Once chilled remove mocha coffee from the fridge and stir well. Pour coffee into mugs and add ice cubes (1 cup of coffee and 6 cubes per serving).

- Cut apricot halves halfway and decorate mugs. Add a long straw and enjoy your yummy iced mocha.

This iced Americano is based on one of the simplest coffee drinks recipes. No time for sophisticated coffee drinks recipes? Well, my husband had to figure out something dead easy for all of us who like drinking coffee but have no time. The basis really is easy. Americano is an espresso-based coffee which is produced by adding hot water to a single shot of espresso coffee. You need an electric coffee maker or a hand pressed coffee machine but these can now be found in almost every home anyway.

Slices of lime and yummy apricots are not just decorative elements but they are key ingredients if you want to make really refreshing iced Americano. The whole thing of using apricots was a pure coincidence. I was whining (yet again) how nobody wants to eat fruits when Milan was just sipping his cup of coffee and decided to calm me down a bit. He ate apricots with his Americano and realized how well they go together. Then he thought a few slices of lime may give an extra kick of refreshing flavors and the rest is history.

What do we need in one of the simplest Americano iced coffee drink recipes:

Makes: 2 medium glasses

INGREDIENTS:

- 4 slices from a ripe but hard apricot

- 4 lime slices

- 12 ice cubes - crushed (up to 1 inch wide)

- 2 1/2 cup of Americano coffee (chilled)

Method - how to make Americano iced coffee drink:

- Slice the lime and ripe but still hard apricot into thin 1/8 inch (3mm) slices. You will need 2 slices of each per serving.

- Crush 6 ice cubes per serving and place into a glass to secure the lime and apricot slices (12 cubes for two glasses).

- Coffee brewing: make 2 1/2 cups of Americano by first making two shots of espresso (about 1/4 cup per shot or 1/2 cup in total) and adding 2 cups of hot but not boiling water.

- Pour chilled Americano coffee over the ice, decorate with mint leaves, take a long straw and enjoy this wonderfully refreshing iced coffee.