Frustration

Further talks with folk about my planned sig drink for next year have hit a brick wall. Looks like it is a no go, unless someone wants to lend me a few thousand (at least) to do the development on it.

Bugger.

The most inspiring moments in coffee…..

… are probably the most frustrating ones.

Swung by Mercanta and had a brief chat to Flori Marin who had just arrived back from a whirlwind tour around the farms they buy from in Brazil, with a couple of people from Monmouth in tow. (They have monkeys at Cachoeira! This seals the deal, I must visit this farm!) She was really excited about one farm in particular that had been developing a new twist on dry pulping that was yielding incredible sweetness in the bean. Went up to the lab and had a look at the green and the prep looks really unusual. Talked to a couple of people who cupped it the day before and they were raving about it too. So, stood there with this bag of green in my hand I want to roast it and brew it for espresso that very instant – it is killing me. But I can’t. I have to go and get on with my day.

I cannot wait til the full shipment of that coffee arrives and I can get stuck into some. It doesn’t matter if it fails to fulfil my expectations of it, or if it maybe isn’t the coffee that I want it to be. More importantly it fired my mind and my passion for what I do.

Italian Espresso

Would it be fair to say that one of the biggest assets Italian coffee has is that most baristas will regularly taste not only their own coffee several times a day, but also the coffee served around him/her?

Cropping up all over the place

It is most interestjng to check the stats pages and see where people to this blog from are coming from. It is from a delightful mix of sources, though amongst the most intruiging (and pleasing) was an appearance on the newsletter for Espresso Warehouse, who are lovely people and very helpful to me in the run up to the WBC, which contains an interesting article on barista competition in the UK. They also (quite wisely I might add) suggest visiting Stephen “The Irish Beard” Morrissey’s blog which is covering his exploits as a barista in Vancouver for a couple of months. He’s a geek but tries hard to pretend otherwise. He is also a splendid barista.

The one thing about the increased traffic is that I feel I ought to post more content, and I know I promised an article about lipids and coffee (I wrote it once, and then switched off the laptop without saving the post in bloggar! Arse.) It will arrive at some point.

Honest.

I’ve been quiet of late…

on the coffee front.

Mostly because there hasn’t been much in coffee firing my imagination of late. I, like a few others no doubt, are sort of waiting for the next big thing – the next Clover, the next naked pf, the next new whatever. Something to force us to think and perhaps to taste something new.

So – good readers – what is firing your minds in the world of coffee or is it quiet in our industry right across the globe?

New logo time

With my old logo image files lost in the depths of the stolen laptop it is time for me to try and come up with a new logo.

Any thoughts, comments or ideas would be very welcome!

Steve Ford’s First Cup Series

Impressive work by Steve Ford of Ecco on taking 365 days worth of pictures of his first cup of coffee.
The set is up on Flickr – it really is worth a look, though if you need convincing Steve has cobbled together a few of his favourites on his blog.

I’ve really enjoyed these pictures over the year, and they have been a constant reminder that coffee can be many different things, really doesn’t have to be espresso or espresso based to be excellent and that its all too easy to get caught up in what you do (certainly for me) when there is a wonderful world going on outside.

That said the article on lipids and coffee oil is almost done and should be up soon and I’ve included my coffee blogroll from bloglines on the site now so the most recently updated blogs site at the top.

Bit of shopping

Was delighted to pick up all six volumes of Clarke and Macrae’s “Coffee” series for around $300 (£160!). That sounds like a lot but when I was in Foyles I saw volume 5 alone for £140 ($260)!

Vol 1 – Chemistry
Vol 2 – Technology
Vol 3 – Physiology
Vol 4 – Agronomy
Vol 5 – Related Beverages
Vol 6 – Commercial and Technico-Legal Aspects

Combined price on amazon is well over £800 ($1500+)

All that I really want now is the Sivetz and the Wintgens. Anyone got a few hundred to spare?
And the other Clarke of course….

Hmm… Maybe no more books for a while!

Mark Prince’s Barista Creed

Recently Mark Prince has been talking of what he believes the barista creed should be:

Any Coffee. Any Machine. Any Grinder.

I agree with this, whilst also am deeply opposed to this dependent on how you interpret those words.

If you take it to mean that if you put a barista in any situation then he should work with what he is given to do the very best he/she can using a skillset and understanding developed through training and practise. Knowing about burr type, age and motor speed of a grinder, coupled with the heat exchange system in the machine, and knowledge of rougly where to aim brew temp with relevance to brew temp are all good things to know about, and in situations where you are out of your depth, and out of your comfort zone these are the things you should revert to. Systematic, though also natuarl.

However, it is very easy to intrepet this to mean that it is all about the barista. And its not, its really really not. I’ve been saying for some time that I believe that a barista is only ever as good as their coffee. The best barista in the world is not a magic wand and can never exceed the potential held within the coffee. I think that a barista has two roles, one where they should be very visible, one where they should aim to be invisible. You buy your coffee from people, and a barista should be a host – gracious, polite, a pleasure to interact with first thing in the morning or when you sneak a shot in before closing time. Look me in the eye, talk to me, smile at me. Eventually maybe even remember me!
When it comes to brewing – the mechanical and chemical process of extraction – I want the barista as invisible as possible. If you, the barista, show up in the cup, then it is because something has gone wrong (bad grind, bad extraction, bad service). When everything is “perfect” it is only the coffee that is on show in the cup and to me that is the goal of the barista. Not to get in the way. Same job a roaster has, to some extent, and the same job as the farmer. To get as much of what is great about the coffee to the person paying for the sensory experience of consuming it. A barista is a part of a chain, and no more important in that chain than anyone else. Some people have the glory jobs – such as roasters and baristas – where the skill is more obvious, but the person milling, washing and drying the coffee we are lucky enough to work with has an equally important role to play.

So – I guess it comes down to: Any Machine, Any Grinder – Any Time.

Any coffee – never!

A much needed weekend

At the end of a very long week I am very much looking forward to this weekend. Of nothing.

Today I judged an in house barista competition, technical thankfully – I just couldn’t face 30 odd coffees at the moment. Lots of fun, and just about everyone took something positive out of it. It was the first time I had done any judging, and it was very interesting.

The day before had been a trade show, which was not so much fun. I was working, supporting a customer, and they stuck me on the machine, put a menu behind me and then gave away coffee. They were the only people doing coffee at the show. A little under 6 hours later, I’m 8 kilos to the good and it feels good to maintain a quality of drink when busy like this, and in ridiculously large take out cups, whilst also chatting to people, talking about coffee and all sorts of everything.

I don’t often get the chance to be a working barista these days so its pretty good for me to have a busy day once in a while!