Flavour of the month head to head

Aero press Vs Syphon...

Currently here in Australia the flavour of the month brewing method is the Syphon, much loved and revered in Japan. However I for one have not forgotten the plastic wonder tube that is Aero press much loved in scandanavia. So here's my first head to head brewing method comparison, Aeropress V Syphon, Enjoy...

First things first, it must be said that this comparison is using the methods that i use to brew on each instrument it most probably is not the best way but it seems to work ok for me. The coffee is the same for both methods.

Coffee:
syphon:42grams of coarsely ground coffee (close to what you would use for plunger) is needed.

Aeropress: 12grams of finely ground coffee(slightly courser than espresso)

Accessories:

Syphon: Burner (butane, halogen, etc.)

Aeropress: filter papers

Taste 1 minute after brewed: (1-5 low to high)

Syphon: clean, crisp unripe cherry, light-med body, med-high acidity.(3)

Aeropress: dominating cocoa, med body, med acidity, slightly astringent aftertaste.(2)

3 minutes:

Syphon: front palate sweet tart strawberry, fruit driven, light body, crisp finish(3.5)

Aeropress: red berry up front quickly over powered by dark choc(3)

Cooled:

Syphon: delicate, crisp, subtle, light, fruity. all front and middle palate (4)

Aeropress: Well rounded, heavy, choc, velvety. astringent aftertaste came back tho (2.5)

Winner...Syphon

Rolling tart strawberry into chocolate, sweet acidity, floral notes, finishing in a brown sugar/caramel after taste.

Slayer Espresso

The team behind the much hyped slayer espresso machine have finally released photos of the close to finished product. I gotta say, it's a thing of beauty..

As you can see the design is a cross between the stunning angles of a kees van western and the industrial styling of a synesso, with a retro rocket ship look.

All the parts are made especially for this machine, no frankenstein machine with parts from the major espresso machine manufacturers. Even the paddle's are made of hand carved Peruvian walnut.

putting an espresso machine together and coming up with design that not only looks the goods but works would be an almighty mighty challenge but by the looks of things the slayer team in Seattle is coming up trumps. Be sure to check out the slayer espresso Blog.

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IT'S...ALIVE

That's right the coffee trekker is back.

After getting back from Europe and viewing my first WBC as well as tasting some of the worlds most outstanding coffees i was more than a little disillusioned with the Adelaide coffee scene, However getting a job at The Coffee Barun and having the opportunity to start roasting with the man Mark Barun has once again re kindled my love for the Australian coffee scene..

Working at The Coffee Barun has given me a unique opportunity to taste some of the best single origin coffees available in Australia. As we do an open cupping on Saturdays at 2pm and also various cuppings during the week, i have decided to blog what we are cupping and the tasting notes from the session. i hope to get a few differing opinions from readers that have also tasted these coffees as we all have differing roast styles and tastes.

I thought i'd start off with a bang..

Esmeralda

The magic man over in Melbourne Mark Dundon had his own shock and awe mission, to bring the much hyped Esmeralda down under, i have to say that that was exactly what i was in when Brother Baba Budan posted Esmeralda as their coffee of the week.

No prize for guessing which was the esmeralda in this cupping session, we just could not get enough of this unbelievable un coffee like coffee. My notes on this coffee were:

Aroma: intense lime with subtle floral notes.

In the cup: Bright lively, citrus aroma running through into the cup supported by a soft buttery note reminiscent of lemon curd. Subtle peach note almost overwhelmed by citrus notes and overall complexity.WOW!!

Truly one of the best coffees i think i will ever taste. Hats off to Mr. Dundon for what i'm sure was a tooth and nail struggle to get this amazing coffee to our shores.

Square Mile Coffee Roastery

I've been extremely slack with this blog over the past month, so i decided to get off my butt and write about some cool things i saw whilst at Square mile Roastery..

Square Mile is the a collaboration between no less than three coffee world champions: Anette Moldvaer, James Hoffman and Stephen Morrisey.

This place was one of my must sees before heading back to Aus, so after catching a couple of metro trains and getting more than abit lost i finally found a little slice of heaven in the caos Londons back streets.

As you can see by their very impressive trophy cabinet these guys knew what they were doing with coffee. I walked in and was greeted by Anette and visiting Couter culture owner Cindy Chang, After having a good chat to Both Cindy and Anette and playing on the Synesso for a while showing the girls what a flat white actually was, the lads Stephen and James came back, i have to say i was a bit awe struck being in the same room as three world champs. James immediately jumped behind the machine and demonstrated his latest toy for the synesso:

A engineer friend of square mile rigged this crazy contraption to a scuba tank under the machine, the tank regulates pressure to the brew groups and is completely operator controlled, so if the barista feels his coffee needs a slow pressure ramp with a dip in pressure half way through the shot it can all be controlled through the touch of a button. Fantastic!!

The coffee here was exceptional and to boot you have three really great people running the show. I wish Anette, James, Stephen and Square mile all the very best for the future.

Edinburgh

As soon as i arrived in the beautiful Scottish town i fell in love, and to boot the coffee scene is just blossoming..

The site

Just wondering around the streets i stumbled apon this wonderful cafe, so simplistic in setup, all attention was around the aestoria lever machine and the barista operating it.

The coffee had great characteristics with a sweet winey berry taste with just a hint of earthiness on the lingering aftertaste. I also bumped into the owner of the cafe who directed me to the roastery that he also owns.
Artisan coffee roaster
57 Broughton st

This was probably one of my favorite cafe's through out the whole of my journey so far. The team here were so welcoming to me i felt part of there little family after only a short visit.
Talking to the kiwi roaster Michael, i learnt a lot in the time i was there, "helping" him roast getting a quick tutorial on what's happening during roasting and how he likes to roast was great.

The espresso was really nice and served in such a cool atmosphere, check out the plunger light bulb covers, cool!!
They also have a fantastic hot chocolate made from shavings of valrona chocolate which is then mixed with different flavours, my rose and pepper one was to die for!
Wellington Cafe
Cnr George st and Hanover

Another cool little cafe which also used artisan coffee, the cafe had a cool set up with three anfim grinders and a synesso.

Using a naked portafilter the coffee was thick and syrupy with crisp fruity acidity, earthy back palate and a slight cranberry note.

I would love to re-visit Edinburgh in five years i can imagine the coffee scene here would be booming.
Thanks to the team at Artisan for a great day..

Starbuck's Woes

In a recent announcement from starbucks, the multi national coffee giant will be closing 73% of it's 84 stores across Australia, with a loss of an estimated 685 employees.

The cut of Australian starbucks will leave the company with 25 stores in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.
Starbucks in a major turn around bid are also to cut a massive 5% of their total U.S. stores equalling a staggering 616 stores across the country, with thousands left out of work.
The company has also intergrated a new leadership team into this shake up with a new President taking over the company in the new financial year.

Like Rome are we once again seeing the fall of an empire?

World Barista Championships

I think it's about time i did my report on the 2008 world barista championships Copenhagen..

The olympic games of professional coffee making is the World barista championship, held every year in a different city around the world this is where the world's best come to do what they do best.

Above is where all the competitors come to relax (not!!) this is where i can imagine the nerves would really be kicking in backstage, making sure everything is clean, prepared and above all there, helping out backstage was a great way of seeing how "in the zone" each competitor really is.


Helping out with some of the competitors i was able to get some close up shots like these and my favorite part tasting the amazing signature drinks.


A big congratulations to Steven Morrisey this years world barista champion, from Ireland. This routine was amazing to watch their was so much energy coming from the stage, the crowd was holding their breath as Steven pulled the lid off his ingredients tray in the finals just hoping they hadn't fallen off like in heats, they had not and Steven nailed his routine. A fantastic performance.

The event was such an inspiration to see i recommend any aspiring barista go and see how things are really done.
I must thank Emily Oak for getting Anya and I involved with both the charity machine booth and backstage. Cheers girl ;) and to all the great people i met during my stay..