Daniel Humphries ; an Intelligentsia man in Brooklyn is on the roll with his blog. It was 3 weeks ago I read his last post about the Guatemalan Huehuetenango beans. He is not known for a lot of internet activity, but look ; at once he's throwing in almost a post a day.
Definitily check it : click here.
Keep up the good work Daniel and hope to meet up soon.
Also a good read is Hoffmann's post about Natural Processed coffee's. People who read my blog from time to time or spoken with me about my favourite Specialty's know I'm a huge fan of these Naturals. The natural Yirgacheffe's, Sidamo's, Limu's and Harrar's I've been drinking were all very exciting and totally my cup of 'tea'.
James was talking about that certain 'barnyard' smell/taste you often encounter while drinking these coffee's. I have to admit I like that. Also for cheeses and wine I'm a big fan of those deep, sweaty, earthy tastes. Mixed with tons of fruits the naturals contain (of course because of their processing technique that keeps some 'berry flesh' covering the bean) it's my favourite type of coffee bean/processing technique.
Hope taste some more soon and have some at Caffenation one of the months.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Humphries on the Roll
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Agenda Update
Very quiet in blog land. It's been awhile I read an article online that was worth mentioning.
Meanwhile we're standing at the doors of September and a lot of activity.
Monday September 7th we go to Mechelen for some good old 'regional' Barista Championships. Roeland has to defend our colours and this is going to be a huge task I you see also Melanie, Stefaan and François are there.
In between Louis Donck. Very interested how this coffee roaster/cupping champ is going to perform in such a specialised discipline as a Barista CC.
And special attention for Isabelle Verschraegen of Or Gent. She's been training with us and that was very promising.
- Stefaan Behaege
- Melanie Nunens
- Louis Donck
- Kathleen Serdons
- Isabelle Verschraegen
- François Knopes
- Irma Sinagic
- Hanna Kaulalenco
- Fred Cristinelli
- Kenny Burssens
- Chakamol Supho
- Renoto Bogglière
- Roeland Lenaerts
- 2 or 3 Natural Barista's
And best 3 of the best perform that evening for the title.
It's going to be busy and more expensive than last year, but this way our National Rep will has some more experience for the world championships. Last year Melanie only had 15 minutes of experience and that's not enough of course.
September 15 we see Bird participating at the Semis of the Latte Art Championships. 8 minutes for 2 machiato's, 2 cappuccino and 2 creative drinks.
The best 3 Latte artists also go to the San Marco Village October 1. Exciting.
One of our Barista's at Caffenation gave birth to a baby!!
Congrats Fanny and hopefully a good recovery and soon back to pull some good old shots at Hopland. We miss you.
Today I'm going to Bodum to see their newest stuff.
Tomorrow I'm going to order my first Aeropress delivery. After a disappointing performance Friday we had some very sweet and flowery Yirgacheffe yesterday at Hopland. And as always : super duper clean!
I want to start doing home brewing classes with these beauties in October or the latest November.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
German Invasion
While Pauli is over from Germany and having her Barista training, the WEHTMMM exeb is featuring a HEIMAT production. Coincidence? Yes.
This is a serious training Pauli is having. For her school she was looking for a place to work and study. As her father is a serious coffee lover and friend of Stephen; via Jeanne they ended up at Caffenation.
And it's an honour to train this very young and gifted girl.
2013 German Barista Champion : Pauli Leffhalm. ;-)
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Friday, August 21, 2009
Pierre & Joseph : Caffé Serré
Parisians never really talk about their coffee. Its something one sips when the other is giving its latest views on socialistic politics. Coffee is just there, and according to them, the best of the world, fin de discussion.
I never really agreed with their assumption, coffee in France isn't even french, it's Italian. If you ask an espresso you will more than probably get a watery coffee in a small espresso cup. The best thing is actually to ask for a caffe serré, as this will come very close to what is know in the rest of the world as an espresso.
So when I asked around where the coffee might be better than the accompanying cookie, I was referred to Verlet in Rue St Honorée.
When entering it was clear that they were serious about their business, there was loose tea and some precious spices displayed alongside their speciality coffee house blend. There was also no bar for hanging and talking, only tables, this was a place for savouring and tasting,
All tables were full so we decided to go upstairs to the second floor. To our surprise there was another espresso machine, a grudgy looking Faema 2 groups.
The menu was pretty small, we took the espresso of the house blend. Jeff was already weary and took a sencha green tea to share, something we have been exploring lately. We were curious about the running time so we actually timed it, after 30 seconds we were looking worried. Our concern grew after another 10 seconds, turning into disbelief after another 15 seconds, than there was denial and afterwards acceptance. The espresso ran for a whopping one minute and forty two seconds, while the barista was looking at it in a very concentrated manner, all the time holding the cups firmly under the sputtering machine.
It is unnecessary at this point to make a serious review about the coffee. If something was unique in that bean it was now shattered and cooked beyond recognition. The same could be said of the green tea, witch was served on cooked water, way to warm for any serious delicate extracion.
The cookie however was, as always in Paris, vraiment impeccable.
Like thirsty men in a desert of bland blends we just cave in to our needs and went into a random café around the corner of Le Bon Marché on Rue du Bac, it was called Café les Mouettes. We had the lowest of expectations, nonetheless we ordered deux eXpress, to our amasement it wasn't all that bad. It's been years that I tasted a factory produced coffee. I have long had a theory that these mass produced brands actually adjust to the end producer of the coffee, for example the cafe's of France. They adjust their roasting procedure and select their beans specifically for/or to tolerate underextraction (wich in the case of France happens very often). It is only logical and cheaper than training every possible barkeeper. Underextraction using the beans in Caffenation would have a dramatic impact on the taste, the espresso would be very acidic. This is not the case in the bar in Paris.
Pierre & Joseph,
Antwerp Baristi à Paris
Pierre & Joseph,
Antwerp Baristi à Paris
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Tasting Champion Water Choice
You don't need the best taste buds in the world to know Water + More Bestmax Filters are the best around.
Casper (the man with the best buds) knows. And so does Caffenation.
Casper (the man with the best buds) knows. And so does Caffenation.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
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