Wednesday, July 23, 2008

etched into my psyche

doesn't surprise me really: everything else at Starbucks seems to be super-automated, so why not?

latte art machine


smoke em if ya got em...

what to do with all those left over husks from roasting!

the caffeine test

Increasingly caffeine plays a more and more important role in our lives, with ramifications not only for our own health, and that of our nearest and dearest, but our daily consumption has the ability to impact positively or otherwise on the entire planet

I strongly suggest that you take the following caffeine test to assess your level of addiction to this noxious weed, measure the carbon footprint that your consumption is having upon the world, and see how your daily consumption may impact upon the credit rating of third world countries in times to come:

The Caffeine Click Test - How Caffeinated Are You?
Created by OnePlusYou

Monday, July 7, 2008

Columbian Peaberry & other pressing business...

Well... its been awhile between roasts, which is not surprising really, since we've been 'between houses' for the last little while

Just moved from Hampton in Vic, AU to Coburg, on the other side of town - lovely little multi-cultural heart of Melbourne with a wonderful blend of middle-eastern, indian, greek, and italian sub-cultures all mingling harmoniously together

And every where you go there is coffee, coffee, coffee! Little coffee houses and cafes full of elderly men chain smoking and playing cards, just as they did when I last lived in this area (albeit briefly) some 22 yrs ago!

A walk down Sydney Road (no relation to the City of the same name) reveals a multitude of middle-eastern bakeries and cafes, all brimming with life and activity - not to mention the yummy smells that emanate from within...

Our new house is also located at about the half-way mark between Coffex and Genovese coffee houses, so on a good day, if the wind is blowing in the right direction, you can actually smell the coffee roasting from at least one of these coffee destinations

And the new Grinders roasting facility is also not too far away in Fairfield, which is a lovely little suburb located on the Yarra

Perhaps of greater interest to coffee aficionados, however, is the location of A Minor Place cafe, located just around the corner from me, on Albion St, and Small Block, on Lygon St, East Brunswick - both of which serve exceptional coffee

And just opened recently is Artisan Espresso, also located on Lygon Street (if my memory serves me well) - where Josh roasts his own out the back, and he has a Cynesso Syncra out front with guest baristi fronting the machine on the weekends

He's also open to coffee snobs bringing in their home roast to run it through the machine, which is a real boon for anyone who has not had the opportunity to work on one of these beauties...

Back to the home roasting: I just sampled my first batch of Columbian Peaberry, which at only 3 days post roast is pouring beautifully and exhibiting lovely lifted peach blossom and plum liquor aromas on the nose, which follow through on a smooth and creamy palate with bright acidity and good grippy tannins

I roasted these beans at 230C for 16.6mins - which is longer than I thought it would take to reach 2nd crack, given the small size of the beans, but the beans coloured up well, and they had only just entered 2nd crack when I pulled the roast

Well... the 2yr old is demanding attention, and the mother in law is on the phone, which means its time to go!

Cheers,

Pat