Simon Says' Gent

There's a new bar in Gent.
Since a while. I know. It just took me some time to get there.

Simon and Chris own this lovely espresso bar/bed & breakfast. The house has a very appealing look and the interior is beautiful. We couldn't have done it better.
The equipment : A 2-group Faema E61, paired with a Faema MPN Grinder. The machine I like, the grinder not.
The coffee comes from Hoorens and tastes mediocre. I'm not so found of the blend. Either with too much robusta or Java, probably both. Not too fresh and even the roast seems to be suspicious. Lovely Annie, behind the bar, and Chris worked hard to get the best possible taste out of it. It was definitely good, although it missed some freshness, detail and character.
The cappuccino was well made. Good temperature and latte art. Small bubbles appeared ; the E61 is not directly known for good milk texturing.

Best coffee in Gent for sure and totally recommended!

Next week Simon is one of the competing Barista's at the BBC in Gent. Wish you all the luck Simon.
Some more info about the Barista competition and the two Caffenation participants one of the days.

Happy Birthday Cake

Sometimes we serve a small cake with candle for people's birthdays.
It's a small nice gesture that brings a smile on peoples faces.

The other day we brought over this small lighted dish. The girl was happy, blew the candle, drank her latte, but did not touch the cake.
When she left the bar, I lighted the candle again and gave it, for fun, at a nice client at another table. "U2 a happy birthday", I said, joking.
This girl looks at me like I came from another planet. .... "How do you know?" she said.
I said : "What?".
"That today is my birthday?"
What an accidental, but fortunate coincidence. With some magic and luck I shot two for the price of one.

A story that will stay in my mind forever.
And let's see it as a big honour people come to us at their anniversary.

Vac Top Brewing

My first Vac Top brew.
I had this kit since a year. Bought it for 10 euro on Ebay, but it was stuck in a closet somewhere. Finally had it running on the stove.
It is amazing to see your coffee water going up and down again.

I followed the techniques shown by Barismo, but somewhere it looked like my coffee was boiling too intensively. Presumably that was the reason it tasted somewhat burnt, what spoiled a bit the overall experience. Besides of this very deep and well pronounced tastes came out. Certainly going to do some further brewing in the near future on this funky piece of equipment.

La Marzocco Linea 3-group

linea La Marzocco
Originally uploaded by La Marzocco Bayern

4 more weeks....

Bagersh, Ethiopian Specialty Coffee Exporter

The last day of our trip, the last hour even, Abdullah Bagersh was so friendly to welcome us at his office on Bole Road.
Before entering his office, I was already impressed by his sample roasters, warehouse, espresso machine and ..... Clover! A clover in Africa? Yes!
It's true they are real pro's and on a constant search for the perfect bean. Or more precisely ; the best way to treat the already wonderful Ethiopian coffee beans.

This coffee company is probably one of the most important in the world. No other country is so full of fantastic coffee beans as Ethiopia. And no other company in Ethiopia has so many single origins and estates as the Bagersh coffee company.
After years of testing and experimenting with different picking, drying and mostly washing (or non-washing) techniques the company got a ton load of specialty's. A 1100 meter high top class arabica? Got it. A funky bean from an exotic 'monastery' island on the Lake Tana? Got it. Bale Mountains coffee? Got it. Djimmah or Limu? Dozens of Djimmah or Limu. And the end is not yet in sight.
It's a bit too early to evaluate all the samples Abdullah gave us. More on that in a later post.

For now it was an experience to cherish. Next week our roast of the week is a Bagersh Djimmah. Other Bagersh bags are on the way. This is a company to follow.

Thank you for this warm welcome and information Abdullah, and I hope to see you sooner or later again.

Interesting link : Peter Dupont wrote a couple of nice articles about Bagersh and their coffee. Click it.

Coffee Plantation Photo's

Trip to Origin. Sidamo

Finally I've been walking with all coffee trees surrounding me. Coffee left, coffee right, coffee everywhere. I felt so good to see all these beans in different colors. It just rained, but then by miracle the sun came through and made the coffee tree look like a shiny multi colored jewel. I picked the darkest red bean at the tree and tasted the delicious fruit. The beans gulped out the berry directly. It felt weird but magical, these fresh coffee beans in my mouth.
I thought I was dreaming that day at the Aregash lodge in Yirga Lem, Sidamo.

The weather was very bad and we didn't have a lot of time. Luckily Haile Mariam gave us a quick guidance at the Aregash logde's coffee plantation.
It was an unforgettable experience and we want to thank him and the owners and staff of the Aregash logde for their warm welcome, friendship and good food. I can recommend this place to all you traveling Ethiopia.