Saturday, September 3, 2011

where too from here?

Just got back from a two and a half week sojourn up North - to Byron bay (where among other things I have been consulting and conducting barista training for a cafe I helped to set up 12 months ago) - and from the Sunshine Coast - we my little family and I were mainly visiting relatives and spending valuable beach time - but we still managed to fit a trip to Brisbane in, where we visited the delightful and astounding Dandelion and Driftwood cafe! Brisbane has come a long way with regard to quality coffee in recent times - and there is IMHO no finer example than D7D - with its (when we visited at least) two espresso blends, five single origins, four coffees available for pourover / syphon etc, and cold drip filter coffee available. Plus the store, located at Shop 1, 45 Gerler Rd, Hendra, 4011 - looks abd feels great, as you would expect from Peter and Penny Wolf (ex Veneziano Coffee)

Coffee in Byron has come a long way as well, but with few exceptions I still found that most (of the eight cafes that I visited while I as there) cafes still employ 'out dated' methods of making coffee, including not wiping group handles out properly before dosing, or purging the group head prior to extraction to eliminate built up solids, both of which result in 'dirty' flavours in the cup... oh well... could prove to be a good hunting ground for our eventual move into the area in several years time (watch this space)

Had some lovely coffee on the Sunshine Coast too, most notably from The Good Bean Espresso Bar in Mooloolaba, who interestingly feature the multiple boiler version of my own coffee machine - the much lauded BFC Synchro, and Clandestino Coffee Roasters in Noosaville - who roast on site and who offer a similar array of coffees to D&D above - in terms of what they have on offer - I had a lovely flat white made from one of their blends, and a fantastic espresso made from single origin Nicaragua - yum on both counts!

Whilst at Foxy Brown we haven't exactly been resting on our laurels either - as we welcome our new head chef, Aysha (from New Zealand) on board - Aysha has only recently returned from a lengthy cheffing stint in the UK - and she brings a wealth of talent and experience with her

And of course our coffee is constantly changing based upon seasonal available ingredients - but that's the subject for another entry - so I'll leave that for another time - see ya!

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