I just ran across this article that seems to say that in these economic crunch times, people are looking to spend less and accept the lesser quality they'll get. However, my other reading tells me that people are willing to spend, but they expect to get more for their money. Thoughts?Hello Frugality, Goodbye Good LifeRead more…
Posted by Nathan Talley on January 6, 2010 at 12:02pm
So i am wondering....is there anyone out there who loves waking up in the morning, loading up the french press with JBM and popping in your favorite phish dvd as me?? (oh yeah and smoking weed in that process) Coffee is an awesome thing although not as cool as phish:) i promise im not obsesive or crazy i just know what i like and what gets me off...
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Originally posted at the new blog Leaf & BerryI’ve been drinking coffee and tea all my life, since I was about ten. It’s always had a hold on me, remaining a constant part of my daily existence.Much as I might think I could – there’s just no way I could ever stop drinking coffee and tea. I’ve finally given up the remote thought of ever quitting and as a result…have turned my life over to the god/dess of specialty coffee and tea..Please join me as I journey deeper into this brave new world of coffee and tea. My quest is part professional (with a contract to be the social media voice of Coffee Fest) and part personal growth.This blog – Leaf & Berry – is where I will detail the adventures, knowledge-immersion and stories of my coffee and tea journey. It is my hope that those in the hospitality industry, those in the coffee/tea world and regular joe/jane’s will find some amusement, some knowledge share – that I am able to at least minimally delight or intrigue you here.And with that, I lift this cuppa joe at Spring Creek Coffee House in Milwaukie Oregon in salutations to you… here we go….
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ausin texas, and it's the early 1990's; and for the third time in just as many minutes. the skinny, little, nervous. asthmatic (some say wussie*); gets kicked in the chest by the much taller and and stronger bully. The reason for the beating; mainly just bullies being bullies. So what does the kid do. He starts fantasizing about teaming up with his idol Chuck Norris and fighting for truth, justice, and the American way...Flash forward a couple of months and that same sickly kid is standing next to Chuck and being named texas Karate Champion.For our little Karate champion, it took a chance encounter where he strikes a friendship with the hero of his dreams and begins to train under Mr. Norris, becoming a skinny little kid with a fighter's spirit. I don't think chuck can help me, but Who knows. it wouldn't surprise me if Chuck Norris could ; he can do everything.For one i'm not a skinny little asthmatic kid with no balls, in fact, I am man in my mid twenties who is... I don't know robust? Yup robust, I'm going with robust. Who has no intrest in being a karate champion, but only to do my best to help represent the growing barista community of New Orleans. Myself and the other members of Society of New Orleans Baristas, will be traveling to austin texas, the place of karate dreams and chuck Norris wishes.So Anderson , Greg, Drew, and I, with our support team of Tash and Jeramy, will pack up the 'ol the minivan ( I only mention minivan because I truly appreciate the minivan , it's just so damn versatile, ie. Camping, tailgating, love machine) and drive to the South Central Barista Championship. We've done a lot in the past few weeks. Buying supplies and tweeking signature drinks. I don't think , I'm the only one who is super excited . Yup . Super excited.,We all are looking forward to meeting with some of the best in the business. And vying for a chance at espresso greatness.The road will be cold and hard, and the distance will be great. but we are of stout heart and strong spirit.With all the Help and Support of Coffee Roasters of New Orleans, D's Coffee, and Mojo's Coffee house, we are rolling pretty deep. We look forward to hot showers central heat and espreeso dreams achieved.P.S. HAPPY MARDI GRAS*Seaquest- talking dolphins and Roy Schneider with a beard
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Posted by Paul Yates on January 5, 2010 at 11:39am
Here is the third installment from my future shop's Facebook page...So what's the big deal with specialty coffee? What separates it from the coffee you find on the shelf at the supermarket? Why do some people (including me) feel it is worth the extra expense to buy fresh, roasted coffee beans that have yet to be ground?Well, let's start by talking about coffee as a plant. There are two basic kinds of coffee: robusta, and arabica. Robusta currently makes up anywhere from 70% to 90% of the world's total coffee crop production. The reasons for this are simple: Robusta coffee is, well, robust. It requires less care, and is more disease-resistant and drought resistant than its cousin, the arabica coffee plant. Robusta grows well on the plains, and produces large crops each year. It is a stable commodity in the world market. Arabica coffee plants, on the other hand, grow best at high altitudes, in areas less accessible to modern farming equipment, and are very sensitive to soil ph levels, rainfall, and disease. Arabica coffee farming is just high maintenance, and costs in production are higher.In today's American supermarkets, Arabica coffee is swiftly becoming the most popular, due to the preference the public has shown for its flavor. This was not always the case. Because robusta was so much easier to produce, large coffee roasting companies used robusta as the foundational ingredient in their coffees. Indeed, in Europe today, robusta is a staple in European espresso blends, where robusta and arabica beans are roasted, tasted, then mixed together to achieve a balanced flavor profile.In the United States, as well as in other countries around the globe, arabica coffee is considered superior to robusta, due to the considerable difference in flavor. The wonderful thing about arabica coffee is the sheer variety of flavor possibilities, due to soil acidity, altitude, rainfall, harvest and processing methods, shipping and packaging processes, and roasting processes. For instance, a specialty coffee roaster may include information on the package of fresh, roasted, beans you are holding in your hand. That information may include: country of origin, region of origin, FARM of origin, altitude at which grown, processing method, etc. (And a truly "enlightened" roaster will include the "Roasted on" date, so you will know how fresh it is.) The wonderful thing is, two separate roasters can offer coffee from exactly the same place, the same batch of processed coffee beans, and due to their roasting process, may produce different flavor profiles entirely.In most supermarkets, the most information you can find is the basic geographical region of origin, and the "sell by" date, which is often WAAAAY too long for the coffee to remain fresh. If I can find whole bean coffee, with a sell by date at least 6 months away (a year is better), I am willing to risk trying it. If it is already ground, I won't waste my time. Grinding fresh, and brewing immediately, is by far one of the most critical elements in enjoying a great cup of coffee. We will talk about grinding procedures later.I still have not explained the different ways the coffee fruit is processed to access and dry the coffee beans. This is so important to what you taste in your cup, I am going to dedicate a separate note, just for that.So until next time....
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Here is Part 2 of my continuing informational note series on my future shop's Facebook page...You've heard it before, probably countless times."I wish coffee would just taste as good as it smells!"And I can understand that, really.I have had coffee that smelled awesome. But when I tasted it....ICK. It was either too weak, too strong, too bitter, too cold....what a letdown! Some of you non-coffee drinkers, reading this because you are hoping you can understand my pathological obsession with coffee, you are nodding your heads over that letdown. Drink a nasty cup once, shame on your host; drink one twice, shame on you. Right? Never will that tainted substance cross your lips again...But wait...I have also had coffee that smelled...unimpressive. It promised nothing, at least nothing my nose could detect. Well, until the beans were ground. And then I knew that this coffee was holding nothing back, that the taste was going to be everything I could hope for. And it was. Flavors that I didn't even know could exist in coffee danced across my tongue, flirted with my tastebuds, and generally blew my mind.And those of you who have experienced that sensation are nodding YOUR heads, maybe reliving that moment, that first French press, or that first Chemex.And you can never go back. Once you have experienced great coffee, and you KNOW it is possible, it is almost impossible to go back to the same convenience store sludge without your tongue bitterly reminding you of what could have been.So what makes the difference? Why the discrepancy in flavor and experience? Isn't coffee just....coffee? Yes. And no.Stay tuned for Part 3.
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I wrote this in the note section on my Facebook page as part of a series of informative articles, intended to help my future customers understand what I was trying to accomplish.Making a great cup of coffee is no accident. It requires at least a basic understanding of coffee, and its extraction. The great thing about this is that anyone can learn it. A lot of coffee brewing is common sense, when you really think about it. But coffee brewing is not where great coffee starts.Having been pegged as the "coffee nut", I am often asked to brew coffee for this event, or that gathering, partly because people sometimes perceive what I do as some kind of mysterious alchemy, and partly because the equipment I use to brew coffee can be intimidating to the uninitiated. I know I was intimidated when I first became aware of the multiple ways one could brew a quality cup of coffee. But with the encouragement and guidance of some great "Jedi Coffee Masters", I have discovered the excitement of uncovering the nuances contained in the simple coffee bean....which does not mean it is not complex. The coffee bean is a marvel of God's creation. By varying the agricultural process, be it soil, water, altitude, or varietal (coffee plants are like rosebushes, they have different kinds), one can influence flavor qualities. Those flavor qualities can be further influenced by how the coffee berries (they look rather like cherries, in a cluster) are processed (washed, natural, or pulp natural -- there will be a separate post in the future defining these terms. Check back frequently). Next, the roaster will further affect the flavor profile of the coffee bean by how long he roasts the beans, and at what temperature. The last person to influence that cup of coffee in your hand is the barista in your favorite coffee shop. The barista is responsible for how the coffee bean is ground, the method in which it is brewed, the temperature at which it is brewed, and the time taken to brew the coffee. All of these elements culminate in what is in your cup and the possibilities are almost limitless!So coffee is simple...and yet, it is complex. And that is why I never take coffee lightly. Too many people have invested their passion, skill, and dedication....their lives, really....for me to shrug this great cup of coffee off as "no big deal".Stay tuned for the next installment in Part 2!
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Add lack of access to good coffee to the list of sacrifices required of deployed military service members..So my supervisor (MAJ B) recently ordered a Keurig for our regional trans office in Afghanistan.. At first I was excited about getting away from the $20 coffeemaker, but my hopes would soon be crushed by the lack of good coffee it produced.I don't know as much as I'd like to about quality coffee, but the bitter brew this 'revolutionary' machine kicked out was on par with the old coffee maker..I'm curious to see what happened in the next 20 years with advances in technology and how they may impact the coffee house customer bases. I don't propose to have any answers, but what if someone came up with a machine for home that would make quality coffee, espresso, and foamed milk...? I haven't seen anything that can replace a talented barista at this point, at least not affordably, but what if such a machine existed, and was priced around $4-500? Would we see more and more commuters and other demographics who put a premium on convenience opt to press a button at home instead of stopping on the way to work?Would there be a minimal impact on the customer base that enjoys the ambiance? Or would some allow the convenience to over-rule the opportunity to get out of the house?Personally, I will always enjoy the feel of a good coffee shop ambiance, coupled with a great cup of coffee. There's nothing like it.. In college, I had a NEED for a 'Third Place', to get away from my room and the campus, but the options were the overcrowded and slightly pretentious SBux, the devoid of any hint of ambiance Dunkin Donuts, and an independent shop that to me felt like an overcrowded library without a soul. I'd be more than happy to pay $5 for a great cappuccino and a seat in a coffee house with a great ambiance.With all these new products and processes that feature less work, less time, less effort, less thought, is all this 'progress' taking us away from the real treasures in life?
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With less than two weeks to go until the South Centra lBarista competition and there is still alot to do . let's start with the basics.My name is Kirk Knipmeyer and I've been a barista for the past 6 years. After Katrina I started working for Coffee Roasters of New Orleans: barista trainer, technician, and most recently sales. I'm also a member and founder of a little group called the Society of New Orleans Baristas. Now you got the backstory. So as said above still alot to do. Need to find a place to lay the head, most likely the Sheraton, but hey were open to suggestions..... Oh yeah I'm also handlin' the logistics for the rest of the S.N.O.B. krewe( Anderson, Drew, Jeramy , Greg and rumors of some Kentucky action). So being just a ragtag bunch of baristi, we're trying to keep it on the cheap. With car rentals( ooohh yeah.. CAR RENTALS) , burr changes and enough ice chests to keep milk cold for an 8 hour trip, still a bunch to do * ............... So, I'll hollaI would have rather said said beaucoup stuff , but i thought it may have been a little much
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Here we are thinking about the next step.This location proves to be a hindrance to our collective ideals about coffee and its possibilities.We hope to find ourselves in an area of appreciation for flavor and of local offerings. We have found a location that may be able to support us as individuals set in making a new wave of coffee appreciation in Indianapolis.Wish us luck in finding the funding to do this, and pray we are able to remain friends as well as business associates!
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On January the 15th SCAE SPAIN will organize a course to homologate sensorial and technical judges for the SCAE Championships of Spain.This course will take place at our facilities in Castelldefels / Barcelona free of charge and we're proud to collaborate with SCAE Spain in this important task. Without judges the championships could not take place.For any information about this course, please get in touch with secretaria@scae.es
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We're pleased to inform about the datas of the regional and national Barista Championships of Spain:10th of February 2010 - Regional Championship in Foz26th of February 2010 - Regional Championship in Murcia30th of April 2010 - Regional Championship in ZaragozaThe Spanish National Barista Championship will take place in Zaragoza on the 01st of May 2010. As you all know, the Champ will be the representative of Spain at the World Barista Championship in London.For any information about the championships you can get in touch with SCAE SPAIN - secretaria@scae.es
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Crema flowing, pa yum pum yum pumEsmeralda Gesha, pa yum pum yum pumChristmas Eve Americanos, pa yum pum yum pumSipped with Muppets Christmas Carol, pa yum pum yum pumyum pum yum pum, yum pum yum pumWe so savor them, pa yum pum yum pum,When we come.Morning beanies, pa yum pum yum pumKenya Kirinyaga, pa yum pum yum pumFew gifts in the stockings, pa yum pum yum pumYet Americano a marveling, pa yum pum yum pumyum pum yum pum, yum pum yum pumOh we savor them, pa yum pum yum pum,Together we come.Debi and Bryan sit yonder, pa yum pum yum pumGifts unwrapping, pa yum pum yum pumScarce yet loving, pa yum pum yum pumBreakfast smells cooking, pa yum pum yum pumyum pum yum pum, yum pum yum pumShall I pull for you, pa yum pum yum pum,More yum to come.Charlie Brown Christmas, pa yum pum yum pumBreakfast repast over, pa yum pum yum pumBricoletta working, pa yum pum yum pumEsmeralda straight shots! pa yum pum yum pumyum pum yum pum, yum pum yum pumThe Coffee Gods smiled at me, pa Yum pum Yum pumMe and my Yum.
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What is specialty coffee? Do you know?Specialty Coffeeby Ric RhinehartIn a 1998 article for the Specialty Coffee Chronicle Don Holly wrote the following as he grappled with the question of defining specialty coffee: “My understanding of the origin of the term ‘specialty coffee’ is that it was first coined by Erna Knutsen, of Knutsen Coffee Ltd., in a speech to the delegates of an international coffee conference in Montreuil, France, in 1978. In essence, the concept was quite simple: special geographic microclimates produce beans with unique flavor profiles, which she referred to as ‘specialty coffees.’ Underlying this idea of coffee appellations was the fundamental premise that specialty coffee beans would always be well prepared, freshly roasted, and properly brewed. This was the craft of the specialty coffee industry that had been slowly evolving during the twenty-year period preceding her speech. The Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) continues to define specialty in this context.” This reference was the basis from which we have built the case for specialty coffee over the history of our organization.On closer inspection it becomes clear that the unique chain of custody of coffee dramatically impacts the ways in which we can recognize, develop and promote the specialty product. Unlike wine, the beverage we often use as analogous to coffee, there are typically many actors involved in the control of production and delivery of the final beverage. In the wine model, a single individual or company might well be responsible for the planting, husbandry, harvesting, initial processing, further processing and packaging of the grapes and ultimately the resulting beverage. Moreover, the service of wine is dependent on nothing more complex than extracting a cork and pouring the product into a suitable glass. Coffee, on the other hand, most often arrives in the final consumers hand after a long series of baton hand offs from farmer to miller to intermediaries to roaster to brewer, and the final experience is dependent on no single actor in the chain dropping the baton. Thus, in order to truly look at what specialty coffee is, we must examine the roles that each plays and create a definition for specialty at each stage of the game.The first key concept here and through the supply chain, is potential. Until the moment that the roasted coffee is brewed and transformed into a beverage, the concept of specialty coffee is locked up as a possibility, just a potentially wonderful gustatory experience. Starting at ground level, so to speak, we must limit specialty coffee to those that are drawn from the appropriate intersection of cultivar, microclimate, soil chemistry and husbandry. Plant a great variety of coffee at the wrong altitude or in the wrong soil and no specialty product can be produced or get the right combination of cultivar and chemistry, but the wrong climate and the potential for quality is destroyed. Ultimately, plant husbandry is essential to the preservation of potential.The next key concept is preservation. A ripe coffee cherry on a healthy plant of suitable ancestry planted in the right soil, blessed with appropriate climatic conditions and cared for properly must be picked at the peak of ripeness in order to preserve the potential for greatness that it holds. Coffee buyers often tell coffee growers that the single most impactful thing that they can do for coffee quality is to harvest only ripe cherry.From the point of harvest a new round of pitfalls arises. The coffee cherry must undergo some initial processing at this point. For the majority of specialty coffee this begins with the delivery of the ripe cherry to a wet mill of some type, large or small. The time that elapses between harvest and the beginning of processing can have a dramatic impact on the final results for the coffee. Specialty coffee is dependent on a quick delivery from the tree to the mill for potential to be preserved.Whether the coffee is mechanically pulped and then fully washed or if it is processed in a demucilaging machine, the initial processing stage must be carefully managed so that the coffee is not harmed. After removal of the skin and pulp, the coffee must be dried, another critical activity. Dried too quickly or too slowly, dried unevenly, dried and then rewetted, not dried sufficiently – all of these can be disastrous to the final quality of the coffee. From here the coffee must be rested before undergoing the last stages of raw processing and preparation for shipping. At this time relative humidity, temperature and storage containers and conditions all become critical. Finally, the coffee must be hulled, separated by size and packaged for shipping. More critical points arise here, and small mistakes in screening or larger mistakes in the selection of packaging or the storage conditions prior to shipping can bleed the coffee of its potential.The coffee changes hands again and begins the next stage of transformation, from green bean to roasted coffee. Here we must grapple with the third key concept, revelation. The roaster must accurately identify the potential for the coffee, properly develop the flavors and ultimately properly package the roasted product. An unskilled roaster, equipment that is not operating properly, poor packaging materials or practices can all lead to disaster. Provided that all goes well here and the coffee’s potential remains intact, there are two remaining steps before the long chain of custody that is unique to coffee ends in the consumption of a specialty coffee beverage.After roasting and before brewing, the coffee must be ground. Grinding is best done as close in time to brewing as possible, as many delicate aromatic compounds are fully released upon grinding and the dramatic increase in surface area necessary to effect brewing also opens the coffee to rapid oxidation and staling. The size of the ground particles is also important and driven by the method of brewing to be employed. Too fine a grind for the selected brewing process and the coffee may be destroyed by over extraction. Too coarse a grind and the coffee may never develop its full flavor potential in the cup.Finally, after every step from coffee tree to the end consumer has been carefully orchestrated, the final process must take place – the coffee must be brewed. Whether the coffee is to be prepared as an espresso, as drip coffee or in a steeping method like a French press, the exacting application of standards of water quality, brewing temperature, coffee to water ratio and extraction must be applied to create a specialty coffee beverage.So how do we define specialty coffee? Well, in the broadest sense we define it is as coffee that has met all the tests of survival encountered in the long journey from the coffee tree to the coffee cup. More specifically, we measure it against standards and with methods that allow us to identify coffee that has been properly cared for. For example, while it is not possible to inspect every bean from every farm at the point of harvest, or during processing or drying or shipping, it is possible to employ the standards developed by SCAA to make a meaningful judgment on the preparation of the coffee through aspect grading and to employ a standard cupping protocol to assess the quality of the cup and to discover any defects caused by poor practices that result in a loss of potential for the coffee.The SCAA defines specialty coffee in its green stage as coffee that is free of primary defects, has no quakers, is properly sized and dried, presents in the cup free of faults and taints and has distinctive attributes. In practical terms this means that the coffee must be able to pass aspect grading and cupping tests. The development and application of these standards, also furthered through the work of the Coffee Quality Institute, has helped to define specialty coffee in its raw form, but much work remains to be done in refining these standards and adding new ones to help preserve the potential that the coffee bean embodies.From the green stage to the final beverage there are other standards either currently in place or in the process of being developed. For example, the SCAA Brewing Standard for preparation of drip coffee defines the proper ratios of water to coffee, the proper extraction, brewing temperature and holding temperature and time. There is also a standard for espresso preparation and one for steeping is under development. Roasting standards are in process, part of a monumental effort by the Roasters Guild to implement a certification for roasters that ensures they have been properly educated and trained in preserving and revealing the full potential of the specialty coffee bean. Similarly, the Barista Guild is well under way in developing a certification for the barista to ensure that the final preparer of the beverage is also an expert in the extraction of all of the coffee flavors inherent in a specialty coffee and delivering them in the cup.In the final analysis specialty coffee will be defined by the quality of the product, whether green bean, roasted bean or prepared beverage and by the quality of life that coffee can deliver to all of those involved in its cultivation, preparation and degustation. A coffee that delivers satisfaction on all counts and adds value to the lives and livelihoods of all involved is truly a specialty coffee.Article published by the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) – June 2009
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Yesterday evening after about an hour dialing in the PID's for the brew boilers pulled the first shots on our Roastery Cafe's new Linea 4AV (new as in newly rebuilt from the chasis up with dual brew PID). No brainer cuz have up to manual functionality only, Friday electronic controls and brain go back in. Somewhat surprisingly first shot was quite decent. Somewhat surprising since no dial in the grind shot on the Major, simply adjust the grinds by feel between the fingers before grinding for the shot.Bryan's been a GREAT help since arriving from Michigan last Saturday evening. Last couple of days his primary focus inbetween helping bag roasts and general keeping my in line has been cleaning a bunch of used grinders I've sourced the past months and haven't had time to deal with. Bunn G3 ready to rock-n-roll and the 2 Majors and 3 SJ's taken apart and thoroughly cleaned ready for various needed wiring mods (defeating auto-fills etc., getting rid of a couple of those stupid timer switches for on.off swithces and converting start/on/off swithces to on/off only to use with plug in shot timers), doser sweep mod and doser snozola mods. He also got 7 or so snoz plastics cut from milk jugs yesterday.Also yesterday got enough people together to finally get that 4' deli display cooler out of the trailer and then out of the cart it was bolted into. (Had been used at a farmer's market.) I got it rewired and re-tested, came right down to temp no problem. Since it had been mounted in a cart had no idea how the front bottom looked (customer side), as luck would have it pristine. What a steal for $300! Just need to pick up some rubber non-slips for the bottom before placing it today.Also got the pecan stain coat on the oak pour station yesterday we'd built the day before. Really brought out the grain beautifully. Today will get the first of multiple Marine varnish coats.The place looks like a disaster area! Took some pictures yesterday. (will post 'em later) But it's really not as bad as it looks. Just tools and parts and boxes of stuff like all kinds of porcelain everywhere. Though besides my mind I've temporarily lost all but one of the four Synesso 14g ridgeless PF baskets I got for the Roastery coffeehouse....they might still be over at Paradise Cafe....I hope....or it could be days before they get unburied from where ever they're hiding!Lots still to do but we'll make it to open by or before NY Day, no problem!
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People often ask me how many times I see a movie before reviewing it, and with rare exceptions the answer is "Just once." But a week and a half after I saw Sherlock Holmes, I found that the film had all but disappeared from my mind, and so I went back to see it a second time. I don't think it was just the usual clutter of holiday releases that caused the memory of this one to vanish like a mirage. Directed by the compulsively in-your-face Guy Ritchie (RocknRolla), Sherlock Holmes is an odd amalgam, a top-heavy light entertainment that keeps throwing things at you and doesn't seem too concerned with whether they stick.Sherlock (Robert Downey Jr.), the venerable sleuth of 1880s London, is still a master of deduction, sniffing out clues that are invisible to everyone else. But he is now, in addition, a crowd-pleasing man of action who leaps out of buildings, dodges explosions, and engages in the occasional ultraviolent bare-knuckle brawl. He and his comrade, the genial Dr. Watson (Jude Law), are still partners in crime-fighting, but they're also whimsical, nattering fops who carry on like old college roommates sharing private jokes for which you really had to be there.The film brims with "colorful" London-cobblestone backlot atmosphere — which sounds like a good thing, except that Sherlock Holmes is often as busy and crowded as a musical, so that the background frequently threatens to engulf the foreground.Oh yes, I forgot: There is also…a detective plot. It rests on some shady business about a slime named Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong), who is tried and hanged for murder — Dr. Watson is on hand to ensure that he's dead — but who then mysteriously rises from the grave so that he can launch a plan for world domination. If that sounds like an extravagant ambition for a Sherlock Holmes villain, the whole movie, in its popcorn way, is bumptiously extravagant; it's like a 19th-century National Treasure sequel crossed with an episode of the old Batman TV series. All of which would be fine if it added up to a crackerjack entertainment, but Sherlock Holmes, while a diverting enough night out, is both fun and numb, enjoyable and exhausting. It's a case of more adding up to less.The best thing in the movie is Downey. As Holmes, he's rumpled and amusingly jittery, an investigator who lives on his own plane of perception and can scarcely be bothered with anyone else's. There's an authentic Sherlockian intensity about him. Early on, the film shows us that Holmes is a creature of deduction even in the middle of a fistfight: In the space of a few super-slo-mo seconds, he literally thinks out the half-dozen punches he's about to throw. Downey, analyzing each blow (and the damage it will cause) with his puckish British inflections, transfixes us with his casual command. Each time that Holmes actually has to figure something out, Downey widens those dark saucer eyes, which are shot so they're pools of black; he's hypnotic. The movie, unfortunately, isn't really built around Holmes' deductions. They're more like brainy little hermetic games sprinkled along the way. Even his ability to deconstruct a fight is introduced only to be forgotten.Since Sherlock Holmes is the kickoff to a franchise, it might for once have been terrific if the movie had been an origin story, with Holmes discovering his lightning powers of intuition. But Sherlock Holmes, with its jaded hero, jumbly overkill, and skittery mystery plot, is more like a part-five sequel made by people who were forced to put on a big show of conviction. The whole movie is a put-on — it's a smoke-and-mirrors blockbuster. Mark Strong, as the villain, looks like Andy Garcia as a hulking Dracula, but apart from that there's not much to him, and Rachel McAdams, as a former lover of Holmes', now with murkier loyalties, is enticing in such a sweet Victorian way that it seems perverse for the movie to muffle the romantic spark between her and our hero. The real "love story," of course, is the jokey, stiff-upper-lip, entirely fraternal bromance between Holmes and Watson. Their muttery ironic joshing has a certain out-of-time talk-show cleverness, but like the movie itself it holds your attention even though there's never really anything at stake.
