My new (Ergonomic) Tamper

Great stuff from ESW

Crazy Combo

What is the most expensive drink at Starbucks? A New York software engineer, Billy Chasen, decided to find out when he was given a voucher for a free drink of any variety. A venti white mocha is the priciest on the menu. He asked a barista at a Manhattan branch to squeeze as many extra shots and syrups into the cup as possible. The result? A 13-shot venti soy hazelnut vanilla cinnamon white mocha with extra white mocha and caramel. The cost was $13.76 (£6.97). His verdict? "It was very sweet and I'm still shaking a bit," he reported on his blog. "I didn't attempt to drink the entire thing, since I'd like to sleep tonight."

ps : by curiosity i decided to search out who this billy chasen guy is and i was struck by his artistic sense, or how do i describe this. check out his stuff yourself.

Caffenation

Project of Jaan and crew with a nice look on etching and tamping. (dutch)

2007 Top 10

Espresso of the week : top 10 for 2007

1) Puerto Rico (on full city roast). Unfortunately i do not have more info on the bean. I know they roast it again at AKC in the third week of Jan. My order is placed.
2) Honduras Lempira SHG
3) Peet's Major Dickason's Blend
4) Caffenation X-Mas Blend
5) Caffé Del Doge Sul De Minas
6) Tim Wendelboe
7) Barbera Classica
8) Australian duet (Skyburry - Mountain Top)
9) Costa Rica Tournon Estate
10) Sweet Maria Scuro Puro

Good music is very important for us. All Caffenation Barista's are music lovers and in this list you have an idea of what's coming out of the speakers at Hopland and Oever.
Top 10 new Cd's 2007

1) Lou Rawls : Live 66 at the Capitol Studio's L.A.
2) Nara : Me-10 (Elenco 1963)
3) Blue Juice : Blue Note Compilation
4) The Definite Art Tatum : Blue Note Compilation
5) Various Artists : Broken Flowers Movie Soundtrack (Decca)
6) Walter Wanderley : Beste of Verve 66-67
7) Horace Silver : The Tokyo Blues (Blue Note 1962)
8) James Brown : The Payback Movie Soundtrack (Polydor 1973)
9) You Can Count On Me : Brown Sugar Compilation (2003)
10) Bob Dylan : Highway 61 Revisited (1965)

A Saturday at Caffenation

Since a while i was willing to write about what's all happening at a busy day in an espresso bar.

Today i was smart enough to take notes of a Saturday, that's usual pretty busy, hectic and ... fun!

With me opening the joint, Dieter and Bird popping in as young, funky and strong Barista's ; that's the team for today. Let's go.

These days there is a lot of kissing to do. New Year's wishes. Mostly a firm hand shake for the male part and 3 kisses for the girls. As none of us was shaved the girls had a rough day. But they're used. I guess a majority of Caffenation men as not shaved on a daily basis. That's 2008 in Antwerp it looks like. And that's what i said to some girls. They didn't mind my 5 day old beard.

Julia is a fine young student, some days sitting at Caffenation for hours and hours. As she did today. Bird noticed she still had a price tag hanging out at the back of her new (sales) shirt. Time for me to bring out the scissors and give her a helping hand. I couldn't help her out with her need for internet. After years of (on and off) wifi, it's seems to be 'off' for ever.

Then Andrea, fashion professional from Switserland, is another favourite. Because she thought of Bird while she was over in her home country for Christmas with buying him a delicious bar of espresso flavored Suisse Chocolate, he gave her a bouquet of flowers. Love is in the air. :-)
Those Swiss girls, hanging together drinking cappa's and smoking cigarettes, are mostly very loud, making fun all the time, which brings in great atmosphere of course. We like that, even it sometimes sounds like goats and this brings us back in time when first coffee beans in Ethiopia were found by goats who started 'dancing' thanks to the caffeine in these mokka beans. Isn't coffee the best drug?

My auntie Josefine is over 80 years old, but still fit enough to travel over 60 km to enjoy a Chai Latte every 3 or 4 months. Today again she came in with this big smile, together with another positive grand mama. They definitely wanted to be in the smoking area, to combine chai, latte, honey, nutmeg and a smoke. Yeah the youth of today.

Tino is a fine young black fellow working next doors on Saturday. Mostly he just comes in for a Soy Cappuccino for the owner of World Express Yvette. Today he wanted to try one of our famous chocolate drinks. Bird yelled at him he was already 'dark' enough, so he took a white chocolate drink. Big laughter. And so it's going on and on.

Michou, with her curly black her and ongoing smile, is another favourite client. She's studying for mid wife, which is her passion ... besides of coffee drinking of course! Today was her 3rd time in succession she asks for a free chair at a table and the person sitting at that table stands up and offers not only the spare chair, but the full table as well. What's that all about? Nice, now we got another thing to tease her with.

At 3 i see 3 girls painted and dressed for 3 kings day coming in and i ask them if they want to sing us (and the other 40 people hanging around) a 3 kings song. They agree with a big smile and wave in 7 more people, all dressed up very spectacular and weaponed with a big ghetto blaster! They start dancing around as mad girls and sing us 3 very funny songs. Of course we turn of our Hifi and enjoying this as the highlight of the day. And they made good money. Deserved!

There is this very fancy, expensively dressed, lady (tourist) ordering two Latte's to go. And she asks for a bottle of water. I tell her i can't give this, but offers a glass of (free) water in stead. She finishes it in one draft and asks a refill. No problemo. Again she asks a refill and is finishing this one the same way. Refill? Ok, and the third glass (25cl) follows the same path. Is there still some space left for that Latte? Incredible!

And i think i don't even noted half of the happenings, but i want to finish with this excellent moment were Bird, he again, asks a guy where he was celebrating his new year's eve. He's totally surprised and tells him they met one another that night. In return Bird asks him where that was. Can you believe he forgot? Big laughs of course at both sides of the bar.
I tell you we make a lot of espresso's ... and fun at the bar. Being Barista is probably the best job in the world ... for us.

Strong coffee

... and spicy.

Another Starbucks visit

Very long ago i've been visiting a Bux.
For us Belgians it's still something that links with holiday's/citytrips. As so it was this day.

While queuing i had their Christmas Blend in my hands. One month ago i ordered two very promising bags of Starbucks via the internet. Although i went trough all ordering and paypal procedures fluently i never received them. I have to admit i've never been billed either.
So, yes i was willing to take a bag along, until i saw the roasting date on the back of the bag. 24th of August! That's over 4 months old. No way José, i'm not going for stale. By the way : who's roasting their Christmas Blend in August!?
Other coffee bags in the store had no roasting dates on the package. The T-shirts of the staff had "Starbucks Coffee Roaster" printed on the chest. Marketing.

The queuing took almost ten minutes. The ordering was slow and insufficient. The working area was dirty as so was the whole café. Empty cups everywhere, paper, straws on the floor, coffee stains, etc...

The Espresso Macchiato (€1,70) was, as all the drinks, served in a paper cup and not a joy. In Cappuccino's and Macchiato's the marriage of espresso and milk should or could be something like 1+1=3, this drink was 0,5+0,5=0,5. The roast was soooo dark and burned. Way darker then what i remembered from the past. 'Charbucks' indeed. And where it should cut trough the milk well, it killed it. No bonding, no velvety, no lifting up, no nothing. A shame.

Isabel's Decaf Toffee Nut Latte (€3,60) was only worth a sip. Was this a coffee? Never tasted one with this low coffee taste. Nothing, zip. The only thing my taste buds sensed were sugar, a bit of artificial nut and the water they brewed the coffee with. Oh my!
No wonder people all day long compliment us for the quality we serve.

Ok, i'm all set for another two (no-bux) years.