Velodrome at Krakow Poland

11 years Caffenation and now 4 year Specialty Coffee Roasters as well. It gave us a lot of stories and some great professional challenges as well.
And the latest is Krakow, Poland.

International our ball started to roll 6 years ago with Inspire Breda. 
After that a fist full of Dutch cities followed, but also Vienna, Paris and recently Norwich England. We shipped stuff to Barcelona, Milan, Helsinki, Barcelona, Berlin, London, Lucca and Lille, but the latest shipment was a big box of goodies into the direction of Krakow where we found our latest dealer.

When David and Agate spoke me one year ago about their ambitions, i was very hungry to help them to fulfill their dream, which was the start up of a specialized espresso bar.

Meanwhile month after month passed by and finally Velodrome Krakow is a fact.

'Bikes and Coffee' has been a winning formula a lot of times before and also David thinks this is the right fit for him and his wife, although at Velodrome it's more decoration and a show off of his passion.

The bar is located at Berka Joselewicza 12, one of the green and cosy side streets of the Kazimierz quarter, a neighborhood is full blossom.

Their La Marzocco Linea PB is the very first one in Krakow and coupled to a Mazzer Kony, Anfim Caimano and a state of the art Bunn Water Tower. Great!
They'll give you the choice between a blend, a single origin espresso or a couple of filter coffees. Also they use fresh milk and offer a while selectoin of iced coffees and teas.

Lots of luck David and Agate with this great project. You'll have a lot of work in front of you, but i am sure every one who reads this article will pass by your door the day they visit the gorgeous city of Krakow. Very much recommended!

Caffenation Bar Run 2012

Lots of new clients last year.
And while some were not specialized, others should be very attractive for the average coffee 'snob'.
Here a short list :

SUSSIES ANTWERP:
They have a vintage clothing shop next door to The Village Utrecht. Meanwhile they also became fan of our bar in Antwerp.
A first meeting made things very clean : we had to collaborate in Antwerp.
Now we are very proud about this very cosy place called Sussies. It's a cross over between Vintage clothing, furniture and top class coffee.
Our retired workhorse, a 3-group Linea is still doing a pretty good job for our Little Green Bag beans.
Official Adress : Zwaluwstraat, is perched in between Groenplaats and Oude Koornmarkt.

ZULMA MERKSEM
Merksem is in the North of Antwerp and, as far as i know, the only Specialty Coffee Bar in that part of Flanders.
Claus, who's a veteran in coffee, beer and tapa land Antwerp, opened his own dream house.
The place feels very retro cosy and their Flashy Green La Marzocco FB 80 is one of the most beautiful espresso machines i ever saw. Little Green Bag on the menu.
Bredabaan 517.

KORNEL BERCHEM ANTWERPEN
Opened up at the beginning of 2012.
The owner Liesje is a person with a plan. Although I had problems understanding this arty co-working espresso bar space kind of concept; i have to admit it's a big success.
Her bar now is home for lots of creative and young people. And Liesje a great Barista and host.
For sure a bar you need to discover in 2013. Ask for a LGB shot.
Sint-Lambertusstraat 1, coming from Albertpark, going into Boomgaardstr, 3rd street to the right!

KOLONEL KOFFIE ANTWERP
3rd wave espresso bar par excellence.
Kobe was the man who steered the La Marzocco Linea for our client in Mortsel, De Voorspoed.
I never met such a Cup and Brew Gear fanatic as him. And his urge to keep on experimenting should be one of the many reasons to go visit his bar, and witness his unique white FB 80, 3 white Anfim Super Caimano's set up!
At the corner of Grote Pieter Potstraat en Vlasmarkt.

NOMADS
This 'mobile' project of Chris and Agnieska is the one you need if you're on the look out for a cool coffee catering with Caffenation House Blend and Little Green Bag.
Their revamped Renault Van looks blistering, their Barista technique start to get really smooth and hopefully we'll meet them soon more often in the streets of Antwerp, Gent or ....

COFFEELABS ANTWERP
6th bar on the list and the 6th one with a La Marzocco engine! Their black FB70 is a cool machine and our former Caffenation Barista Fanny did a magnificent job in this Idealab project with the bar at the ground floor.
Here you can drink great coffee's in company of students and creative people. Very recommandable.
Lange Klarenstraat 19. On the Meir, take a turn at the Disney shop; smell the LGB spro.

KOKO AMSTERDAM
Yes, not very busy in The Netherlands, but this bar is really shaking the booty!
A must visit for every coffee tourist in Amsterdam. Koko girls Karlijn en Carolien are the most stylish, friendly and best trained female Barista's a man (or woman) could wish for.
La Marzocco (GB5) paired with 3 Super Caimano's and some Little Green Bag coffee do the job in this Fashion/Design/Coffee House.
Oudezijds Achterburgwal 145, nearby Damplein, Damstraat, Wallen.

REMISE WEST AMSTERDAM
While you're there to drink a cup at Koko, why not visit Amsterdam West and our friends Guy and Graham in their coffee bar, restaurant, traiteur take out. This no-nonsense place is a nice spot to find some rest in this hectic city.
They got our House Blend on the grinder and get bit by bit grip on their shiny Simonelli espresso machine. A nice project with a great future ahead.
Bellamystraat 2

CLOUDS IN MY COFFEE GENT
This part of Gent didn't have a good cup of coffee to offer till IObjectore came here to realize their ambitions. Of course their own home and working space/company, but annex a great resto coffee bar that is really worth a visit, or 2, 3, ....
Design coupled with inspiring people and great coffee. What more are we asking for?
Another La Marzocco perhaps? Well, this classic E61 machine is doing the job fine I think.
Dendermondsesteenweg 104

LE RED FOX ANTWERPEN (NOORD)
Maybe not a specialized bar. And maybe not such an ambitious project, but finally someone has the balls to offer filter coffee in stead of espresso based drinks. A girl has!
Annemie offers hand brewed filter coffee with her snacks. And a lot of friendlyness in a great interior. The place to be for you afternoon break.
Cassierstraat 38, nearby St-Jansplein, cornered with de Pretstraat.

BLACK AND BLOOM GRONINGEN
More specialized and further away from home, but what a project!
When Gerben came to visit me 2 years ago we immediately had a click. It was a long and windy road towards this specialty coffee bar in the center of Groningen, but big G got character and character goes a long way. And i guess we could say it's going all the way up, and the sky is the limit.
A Synesso Hydra (yes!) coupled with Anfim do the job. Specialty Coffee with a capital 'S'.
Oude Kijk in 't Jatstraat 32 - LGB!

BAR BAGET AARSCHOT
You can call this a snack bar or baguetterie, but for me this is a perfect example how to bring in better coffee in whatever kind of place.
The Wega and 2 grinders are set for coffee, all kind and sizes. The atmosphere is great and the clients happy. Owners Tim and Valerie show how you can boost a Sandwich bar with great coffee!
Schaluin 49

NOIR LEUVEN
For years I was dreaming to spread the Caffenation word in Leuven.
Muriel and Kris finally helped me fulfil this dream.
Their vintage looking Wega is fitting fantastic in this cosy specialty coffee bar. Not the first specialty bar in Leuven, but for sure the first 3rd Waver, with light roasts, filter coffee and a no nonsense atmosphere.
Kris is mastering the skills of welcoming young and old. This is a place to feel home and for sure lots of coffee lovers will state it like this. Only open 9 months this bar is a true hot spot, and with reason.
LGB at Naamsestraat 49

KING KONG HASSELT
Keeping the best for the last. Yes, this bar is a Rob favourite.
Why?
Cause, from all new bars in 2012, this one is approaching the closest the Caffenation original. The equipment (Linea and Anfim and more), menu, atmosphere, grungy feel, positive vibes are really Caffenation and it's ... very crowded. I'm proud Marc and Gemma had the guts to trust me and follow my ideas. And very happy they and a whole lot of people in Hasselt appreciate this day in day out. :-)
Want to feel the vibe? Go for LGB Maastrichterstraat 58.

(not forgetting we started to get the art of spro in some restaurant environments as well. In 2012 Oud Sluis, Radis Noir, Miro, Bar Hasard, Troubadour, Glorious and others show that a good meal needs a good finish and Caffenation is proud helping them - and you)
(and sometimes you get thirsty : At Hopper, Korsakov and Zeppelin Cafés they think their clients need a good cup of Joe any time of the day and so they dropped our coffee in their coffee doser last year)

Thank you all. And up for an even better 2013. Paris, Barca and many other in the pipeline!!!!

Espresso Bar Run : Koko Amsterdam

Yes, they're open.
Finally, after 2 years of planning and training.

This project was very ambitious and both Carolien and Karlijn need a full income out of this project and so it took a while to find the right spot and budget.

Oudezijds Achterburgwal 145, 1012 Amsterdam is the place to be. Yes, that's very central and along the canal.
The space is old and industrial, but of course the girls totally pimped it to their own taste.

Fashion combined with Design and Specialty Coffee is the concept. And the atmosphere is Stylish and Sexy. I don't see another place that has this kind of atmosphere.

So, very proud C&K chose our Little Green Bag as their main coffee blend.

The equipment : a shiny GB5 from La Marzocco, 3 sturdy Anfim Grinders; one is for LGb, one is for espresso of the week and one is for filter or bags, fresh tea from Van Aelst and filter coffee on your prefered brewer.
After extensive training at the Espressofabriek, The Village, Inspire and Caffenation they know how to steer the gear and this you can taste.

Good luck Carolien and Karlijn. And keep up the good work. 

Espresso Bar Run : Clouds in my Coffee (Dutch)

Dampoort Gent is een buurt die ik nog ken uit een vorig professioneel leven. Het is een grauwe buurt waar je je auto liefst zo snel mogelijk doorstuurt, richting klant of snelweg.

Zo was ik ook wel enigszins verbaasd toen Veva me vroeg om koffie te leveren voor een project in deze buurt.
Toen ik de (vroegere) burelen van Object - hun bedrijf - bezocht had ik echter al snel in de gaten dat deze mensen niet over 1 nacht ijs gaan en keek ik met veel goesting vooruit op dit leuke project.

In een oude school aan de Dendermondsesteenweg (104) werd er een woon-werkproject opgezet die een prima voorbeeld is van stadsvernieuwing. Verschillende huizen, appartementen, lofts, het Object bureel en aan de straatkant een espresso bar resto die aanverwante zielen uit de buurt richting kop en bord zou moeten krijgen.

Begin juli was het eindelijk zo ver dat de deuren open konden. En dat heeft men in Gent geweten. Vanaf dag één waren er veel geïnteresseerden in een House Blend espresso of wat ander drinken of eten.
En met reden. De Dendermondsesteenweg lijkt wel in een ander land gelegen, maar eens je de zaak indraait dan kom je ogen en oren te kort om alles op te slaan. Het interieur is echt verbluffend en de verwelkoming hartelijk. De klanten verschillend qua pluimage en de algemene sfeer kan een breed publiek bekoren.

Qua koffie dan...? De E61 Faema machine staat te blinken in het midden van de bar. Ik heb een haat-liefdeverhouding met deze klassieker. Tuurlijk is ie mooi en ook heb ik er al vele lekkere espresso's uitgekregen, maar soms haat ik ook zijn (Italiaanse) bokkesprongen en onergonomische stoompijpen. Maar de staff heeft de E61 al vrij goed getemd en de zware Faeme en blinkende Simonelli MDX molens malen de House Blend heel precies en vers.

Nu lijkt Gent, na de feesten, bij momenten een spookstad, maar straks, als iedereen terug toestroomt lijkt Clouds In My Coffee me verplichte kost. Om te kijken en te proeven. Geniet voorlopig alvast van deze foto's.

Keep an eye on .....

Espresso Bar Run : Coffee Lab, Sao Paulo

Isabela Rasposeiras is the very creative and inspiring person behind this bar/roastery/coffee company.

As a daughter of 'restaurateurs' she grew up in a world of food and drinks.
After winning Brazils first Barista Championship she became so addicted by this black drink she decided to open up this lovely place at the North side of Pineiros, Sao Paulo.


We first met via internet. As she's Brazil Aeropress distributor, we directly had a good link and a very good reason for me to visit her while I was over in Brazil last month.


The rise of Specialty coffee in Brazil is obvious and Isabela is a prime example how Specialty coffee should be traced, selected, roasted, packed and brewed.

So, for all Sao Paulo visitors who want to know more about coffee and have some quality time ; only one adress : Rua Fradique Couthino 1340.


Two great links :
Website of Isabela - veeeery nice!
Recent article at Cool Hunting.

POC Wenen/Vienna Austria

I still can't believe we started delivering outside of our language barriers.

But we do now.

Robert is very dynamic young fella who once envisited a reading I gave, and thought we had a lot of things in common when it comes to running an espresso bar.

A couple weeks ago I flew over with some samples to test equipment en talk, talk, talk, drink and eat.

It was of lot fun meeting op with Robert and his wife Petra.
And the bar looked very promising. (as did the city of Vienna)

It takes a while to get a good understanding of the full concept, but for sure, this man is a man on a mission. And the mission is showing Vienna what third wave coffee is all about.

So, dead to dark roasted robusta based blends. Stop the boiling hot cappuccino's and the hell with lungo's.

I have to admit this project is not the easiest, cause people still tend to see an espresso from a lighter roast as too acidic. This is not too acidic; people are just not used to taste some acidity in a shot of espresso.
We won't settle with the average and aim to bring full flavor coffee and the according brewing methods to get it all out.


Those interested in a shot, double ristretto or creamy cappuccino ; march on to the POC bar at Schlösselgasse 21, nearby the Floriani Park and get yourself loaded. The Caffenation House Blend, La Marzocco Linea Pid controlled machine with profile paddles and a big boy Mazzer Robur on demand handled by Barista Robert guarantee a nice experience.

See ya all in Vienna at the WBC 2012.

Espresso Bar Run : Mucho Gusto Hasselt

The current Belgian cup tasting champ is called Roel Driesen. And the bar he opened in Hasselt, Limburg is called Mucho Gusto.

At the Zuivelmarkt 44 we encounter this passionate coffee professional. Since 3 or 4 years we meet one another in bars or at cupping tables and we quickly found out that our taste buds were matching.
The same thing happened today at Mucho Gusto. The moment the coffee aroma's are touching our nostrils and tongue we go searching for tastes and have a fun time doing so.

Test results : The Los Lajones on V60 was a joy. The decision to keep extraction around the 2 minute mark seemed to be the right one for this small cup. Yes, a 15cl filter coffee is kinda small and maybe it would be wiser to enlarge this. The work load is the same, but the joy of a 25 or 30cl cup is bigger.


It was very clean and fruity and the cooling down just brilliant. Excellent job Roel.
The Sidamo (Operation Cherry Red) was good but not very good. I can't tell why but the finish was a tad to bitter for me. Not bad at all, but compared to the Panama....

Also his Barista techniques at the espresso machine (Della Corte - combed with a classic Mahlkonig K30) were good. You can see this man prepared himself really well for the job.


The interior was a bit too posh for my liking. Besides of some old brown cafés and Shanti Beans I think all Hasselt bars are too clean and shiny and not very personal. I heard you have to do it this way in Hasselt. Pffff, don't believe the hype Roel and gimme some more of this vintage Jazz and coffee house feel.

So one more excellent espresso bar (with some Caffenation beans) in Belgium to discover.

Espresso Bar Run : Café Labath Gent

My main man Thomas has his own bar : Café Labath.
Of course I'm the right person to judge cause I deliver the goodies (LGB as the main stuff), but this man is a real pro and pleasure to work with.

The location : great.
The equipment : Big La Marzocco F80 3-group with Teflon, 3 big Anfims, 1 really big Compak R120!, a Bunn ICB brewer, all slow coffee tools/brewers, ACF cups, ....


The staff : he has Valentine and Isabelle with a new gifted girl behind the bar.
The attitude : pro

Never saw a start up in Belgium with so much potential as Café Labath.
First spro, the day before opening tasted great.
Let's rock this town Thomas.
Good luck at : Oude Houtlei 1.

Shanti Beans Hasselt (Dutch)

Eindelijk kunnen we in Hasselt koffie op niveau drinken.

Oei, ik met opletten wat ik zeg, want er zijn wel heel veel horecazaken die in deze hoofdplaats van Limburg zorg besteden aan hun eten en drinken.
Maar ik bemerkte toch keer op keer dat, wat betreft koffiedrinken, in Hasselt de tijd is blijve stille staan.

En een zekere Jeroen Matthys wilde daar dringend iets aan veranderen.
Helemaal geïnspireerd door zijn reizen in 'down under' wilde hij een 'die hard espressobar' openen en vond hij in ons een goede partner.

In de Dorpsstraat, je kan er niet naastkijken, gaat vandaag of morgen zijn espressobar openen. Shanti Beans is de naam. De sfeer : no fuss, no gloss, maar gezellig, open, licht en down to earth. Beetje zoals Jeroen zelf dus. Een prima gastheer, die je vanachter zijn 3-groeps Faema E91 en Anfim molens het beste zal proberen bieden wat je uit onze House Blend kunt krijgen.

Ben benieuwd wat jullie er van denken.
Veel succes Jeroen met dit prachtig initiatief.

Espresso Bar Run : Elbgold Hamburg

I was always wondering where all the good German espresso bars would be. On my last trip to this wonderful Hamburg city I found one : Elbgold.

Located at the Lagerstrasse 34C - pffff, hard to find - they roast and brew a wholelottacoffee.

Check out the equipment :
Slayer 3 group!!
Bunn ICB Brewer
Bunn Trifecta Brewer
4 Mahlkonig K30 grinders
1 big boy Mahlkonig grinder
1 big boy Bunn boiler
15 big boy coffee silos for all their blends and singles
All slow coffee tools


And at the coupled Roastery a big boy refurbished (?) 45 K Probat. Oh my!
And a 12K Probat - as mentioned at their website, although i didn't spot this one.

I tasted a Rwanda Cup Of Excellence on Aeropress. Not the best roast (espresso roast I suppose) and maybe not the best technique (he didn't want to show me - weird) but of course still a decent cup with good body and dark berries.

I heard the German Barista CC were held here a couple of weeks ago. Excellent location. This space is big, stylish and breaths the right atmosphere for such an event.
Unfortunately the atmosphere for a single visit was not so great while I was there. Very boring lounge music, only a dozen of coffee (mostly Latte) drinkers in this huge space and a no buzz at all. With very cosy and busy streets a couple of blocks down the street they maybe should open a more lively bar overthere. They have the staff, the coffees, the experience and probably the money to do so. ....



So, even while this wow experience was coupled with a 'sleepy' atmosphere, this is a bar you should really run into when visiting Hamburg : Elbgold!

Kaffee-ine Mechelen Open (Dutch)

Olé! Mechelen heeft zijn espressobar.

Vele maanden hebben Yves en ik in Mechelen rondgelopen en samen gezeten om dit project uit te werken.
Het resultaat is Kaffee-ine, een koffiespeciaalzaak met uitgebreid menu en doorverkoop van Caffenation koffiebonen met advies.

Onze Little Green Bag blend staat op de molen voor de huisespresso en 'milk based' drinks. Daarnaast wordt er ook een wekelijks wisselende filter- en espressokoffie aangeboden.
Zowel particulier als professioneel kunnen bij Yves terecht voor koffiebonen met advies.


Adres : Onze Lieve Vrouwestraat 6 (spijtig genoeg niet veel straat te zien met de werken, maar dat komt snel weer goed)
Machine : La Marzocco 2-groeps (low base, high heels)
Molens : 1 Anfim Super Caimano, 1 Anfim Caimano en 1 Compak R80 grootmolen
Slow : Sowden, Hario, Clever, Aeropress


Go Yves! Fier om met je te mogen samenwerken.

The Village Coffee & Music Utrecht

All Caffenation lovers visiting Utrecht should hop in at The Village.

Coffee : Little Green Bag and weekly specialty's.
House number : 46 (of course)
Street name : Voorstraat
Barista's : Angelo and Lennaert
Machine : La Marzocco Linea 3-group PID controlled, Teflon pf's.
Grinders : 3 (three!) Anfim Super Caimano's on demand
Tampers : Reg Barbers (green & black) 58mm flat
Boiler : Technivorm
Pour Over station : Hario V60 drippers and kettle.
Crowd : Too cool to be true ;-)

Espresso Bar Run Crusio Bergen Op Zoom (Dutch)

Bergen Op Zoom is een stad die niet ver van Breda ligt, maar ook heel dicht bij Antwerpen.

Toen Coen en Kiona, alweer enkele jaren geleden, op zoek gingen naar een leuke koffieplek kwamen ze ook bij ons terecht.
Na veel geplan, trainingen en investeringen werd het ijssalon omgebouwd tot een ijssalon annex espressobar. Met onder andere Caffenation op de molen.

De zaak is heel sfeervol ingericht en de espresso bar line up oogt schitterend.
Een 2-groeps La Marzocco Linea, 2 zware Anfim Super Caimano's, een Mini Mazzer en een joekel van een Compak (R80).
Met deze laatste wordt de koffie voor de slow bar gemalen, alsook, indien nodig, de koffiebonen die de mensen mee naar huis nemen.
Een aparte Bravilor boiler verzekert je het juiste water om een Clever, Syphon of Chemex brew te verzorgen.


Steeds afwisseld is er een filter van de week, espresso van de week en de Caffenation topblend Little Green Bag.

Ik geef toe van niet onpartijdig te zijn geweest in dit project, maar ben er heel erg gerust in dat de Crusio ploeg elke koffieliefhebber kan verwennen met het juiste kopje. Heel pro allemaal.

Doe zo voort zou ik zeggen. De start was denderend.
En als het binnenkort wat warmer wordt dan mag je mij een lekker hoorntje met koffieijs. :-)

Espresso Bar Run : Two for Joy Amsterdam

Had to meet a couple of friends in Amsterdam.
They suggested one of the newest bars in town : Two for Joy.

A couple months ago I had the pleasure to enjoy a perfect diner with wine around the corner. That day a liked the neighbourhood, a so did I the second day of Feb.

Two for Joy at the Fredriksplein 29 is a semi chique place, with a nice clientele and very friendly Barista's.

At TFJ they roast their own beans on a 1 kg Toper.
This roaster is a typical roaster if you are looking for a cheap one to start with. This doesn't mean you can't roast well on such a device.
Unfortunately I couldn't taste this in the espresso shot I was drinking. Very Italian. Not too bad, but not third wave level I think. Too Italian. :-)

They also have a slow coffee menu. We ordered two filters.
One Barista came over with two mugs with a Hario 1 filter on it. In there freshly ground. He poured in some water with the Hario Kettle and then left everything on the table. It was a bit of a do-it-yourself-filter coffee, without advise.
I didn't want to do start pouring and tasted the coffee in the cup.
The Kenya AA was over concentrated, but even when adding water I was not half as good as it could have been.
The El Salvador Pacamara was an old bean and very boring.
Sorry guys, but this should be better next time!

Even seen the fact there's still some progress to make, either on roasting and preparation, I would recommand this bar.

Top tip for the owners : Check out the local Barista or Brew Competitions?

Espresso Bar Run : Hopper Rotterdam

Karel Rietveld is a Caffenation client and coffee afficionado since a couple of years.

When I first had him in a sunday eve coffee session and he talked about his idea's and ambitions I didn't really know what to think about him, although he showed a strong personality, good brains and serious experience.
Today it feels like our first meetings are maybe more then a couple of lines in lowlands coffee history. This new espresso bar Hopper he opened in Rotterdam is something completely new and shining.

I'm not going to talk about location or design, but coffee.
Karel took the decision to play with all kind of good coffee he finds on his path.


As you can see on the menu board he had a couple of filter roasts from James gourmet coffee. Can't believe I didn't notice this roaster before. Stunning coffees. Perfect roasts and apparentely easy paying and shipping.
I tasted the Guatemala La Laguna on reversed Aeropress Press. Very bright coffee! Delicious cup Karel.

The only minus was the coffee on his impressive Elektra grinder. The Panama Bambito from Ongebrand/Vandeputte was a bit off, but what stroke me was the fact there was no other coffee for espresso. So this single had to carry the heavy load of being the single espresso shot, but also base of all milk drinks.
To my opinion it's way better to have a specialty coffee blend for all these preps and a single on the side to give espresso lovers something extra from time to time.


The espresso machine is a 3-group Mirage idrocompresso lever machine!! And an Uber boiler helps him to make all the pour overs. These are all made with strict procedures. Everything is scaled and timed and that's very smart in a commercial environment with more then one Barista behind the bar.

So, Karel keep up the good work and I hope we can get some of our stuff on your shelf in the future.
For all people who are planning to start up a bar, just one advise : "go Hopper!"

Best Cup in Town

Maybe I'm exagerating a little bit, but the filter brew at Starmeal Wiegstraat Antwerp - opposite Pastaiolo - is a darn fine cup of coffee!!!

We installed a Vintage Wega 2-group espresso machine, a big Anfim Super Caimano for espresso, a Compak K6 for lungo's, an Anfim Super Caimano Drogheria for filter grinds and big bags and on top a super duper Bunn Infusion Coffee Brewer.
We threw our freshest Kenya Genthumbwini on the machine and it's a killer. Never expected this machine to deliver such finesse and dept!

So all you looking for a great cup : go Starmeal and order the Filter of the week. To stay or to go.
Enjoy.

Espresso Bar Run : Blue Bottle Brooklyn

Nice title for this run.
Blue Bottle is a San Francisco based coffee company, as you can read here.

Half a year ago they started a new bar and roastery at the East Coast. At 160 Berry street, Brooklyn New York, to be exact.

After visiting former Stumptown roaster and friend Derrick at Mast Brothers Chocolate Company around the corner, we strolled in for an espresso and latte.
This bar is beautiful indeed. It's like a garage-warehouse-bar kind of place. The interior designer is probably the one who did they Ice Hotel. A bit cold for me, but I was more interested in the equipment anyhow.

The 4 cold drip brewers were getting a lot of attention, although I don't see anyone drinking a Kyoto brew.


The pour over bar looks impressive and the Female Slow Bar Barista is doing one filter after the other.

With that crazy SO Indonesian from BB San Fran still in my mind, I decide to go for a straight shot from the San Marco lever.
On the menu an aged Daterra. Hm, not the best of beans for such a machine I think. The Barista agrees but does his best to get everything out of the bean. Indeed a good machine. The espresso is one of the best shots in New York.
Special techniques this Barista.
He has a 7 push tamp technique, he looses an insane amount of ground and is very sloooooooow. Actually the slow bar here is faster than the espresso bar.

The grinders are from Mazzer and the main espresso machine a Pressure Profiling La Marzocco FS80!!! I think.

Aside of the espresso they serve soda water. Not bad. And Isabel her Decaf Latte is the creamiest ever.


Most impressive was the combo with the Mast Chocolate bars. These guys are fantastic, so don't you forget to hop in there when you're in Brooklyn. Here's their adresse and website.

So, congrats Blue Bottle with this nice bar, with roastery in the back. I'll be back with some more chocolate, but please change your speakers by next time....

Espresso Bar Run : Portland

Not so fanatic as I was before, but still a decent espresso bar run in this coffee crazy city.

I think, after last post, you heard enough about Stumptown, so now time for the other :

I spotted across the Ace Hotel a little new bar : Courier Coffee Roasters on SW Oak.
Tyler and Lee(?) standing behind their Synesso, waiting for clients. Not too busy in the newest bar in town.
We went in anyhow and had a great time. With good coffee. This 3 day old Yirgacheffe was one of the better shots this holiday. Very wild and complex. I bet it would taste different after a longer degassing period, but this is the way they like it, and I can understand. Keep up guys ; nice bar.



Walking uptown we end up at Glisan, between 21st and 22nd. The smallest bar in town, but nevertheless with a roaster!!!! Can't it get any crazier?
This Sterling sales point had Eric behind a bar. And of friend of him steering a beautiful San Francisco Sample Roaster.
The El Salvador espresso had brown sugar and big mandarin taste, but unfortunately a bit bitter in the aftertaste.
Lots of espresso drinkers at this joint! That's positive.


Then Barista at the Pearl District ; 13th SW.
3 high qualified Barista's behind the counter. 3 Roburs in front of them. On each of them a different brand.
Today 3 blends.
1) Stumptown Hairbender. No thanks.
2) Intelligenstia Black Cat. Tempting, but no, I'll go for the 3rd one
Counter Culture Apollo.
I heard a lot about this new CC project and eagerly attacked the double.
Very, very smooth. Fat Body, but lacked some taste in the high compartment. Hm. Something I notice a lot here in Portland. A pity.

A last bar. Yes we missed out Ristretto roaster, although I had a bag of them (not so good unfortunately). And Heart. Sorry guys.
Heard a lot of good things about them, but I ran out of time and energy.
Public Domain on 603 SW Broadway.
They say about theirselves that their coffee is great. Also the look of the bar, logo and equipment is pretentious.
It's a Mazzer world out here with 6 big boys, paired with a Slayer and a Synesso!!!! Who's paying for all these goodies?
I'm sorry guys, but the Kona on filter (Hario VP02) was not drinkable. It felt like I was drinking the soles of my shoes. Reminded me of Star****s.
Barista's showed of nice technique and the girl making my filter was very friendly, but there it all ended.
Very typical that the bar and working area was like 40 square meters and the rest of the bar only half of this. Why don't they try to make it all a bit more cosy, with sofa's and wooden chairs .....? I know America has this 'take out culture', but in 2010 I was hoping for more.
From all of the espresso bars in the USA; Ost in New York, East Village(20th and 1st Av.) is the only really cosy espresso bar I've been into so far. Good music, good seating, nice lighting, friendly open minded staff. Yeah. And it's working! More please!