I’d like to humbly begin by tipping my hat to a man that fueled my coffee obsession half a decade ago, when I had either fatefully or coincidentally stumbled into the world of coffee and found myself in a city that was starved for a quality expression of it.

There was, without exaggeration, only one cafe that knew what a real cappuccino or ristretto espresso was. This was back when ristretto was still the ‘in thing’ to say and do. Oh, the good ‘ol days. Mr. Delazzer, thanks for inspiring me then, and for continuing to do so…

For all of you who have not read Aaron’s famous Milk Frothing Guide, you should do so at some point; it is a necessary feat for anyone aspiring to a black-belt in coffee. While that article was in many ways the predecessor to this one, I will take a more elementary approach; and therefore, this article will appropriately serve as a something of a preliminary to that one. This is, after all, The Basics. Once you crave more, follow this link.

There are probably many strongly held opinions about whether making espresso or steaming milk is more difficult. I will say this, I think that milk is the hardest skill to learn, yet the easiest to master. Once you have it, you have it forever, unless you get sloppy. Conversely with espresso, the skills required to pull a shot properly are quite straightforward (even tamp, even dose…), but I don’t think one can ever master espresso. There are simply too many factors that one must be in constant evaluation of. Each day is a new day, coffee 10 days off roast is so much different than 3 days off roast. I’ve never heard a barista say, “I can’t work with this milk, it’s 9 days old and I need 6 days.” Still, milk is very tricky. There are far too many baristas satisfied with sub-par milk that lacks proper texture and sweetness. Dare I say that what truly distinguishes a quality cafe is the quality of its milk? Think about it. Although espresso is so frustrating in that we can’t perfect it, we are quite able to get a decent shot. It may not be perfect every time, but when you dilute it by a 5:1 ratio (or more) with milk, a lot of the subtleties becomes subdued. Furthermore, milk is something that almost everyone experiences when they order a bar drink. No one is contemplating whether the 30% Yirgacheffe component in the espresso is too aggressive when they order a mocha. But if that same person spends over 4 bucks for a drink and they scald their tongue, or the foam looks so light and pillow that it would float away if the front door is opened, I should hope that that customer-cafe relationship is quickly put on thin-ice. People deserve better than that, and baristas can and should produce better drinks.

So how does one achieve amazing steamed milk? I think the whole process can be broken down into three very basic but incredibly essential principles. Rule No. 1) The uppermost surface of the milk must be constantly forced downwards. Rule No. 2) When injecting air (making foam) try to do so without actually making milk bubbles. In other words, you should be introducing the air so evenly that you cannot see the bubbles, as opposed to making dish-soap like froth for a few seconds and then trying to distribute it evenly. Rule No. 3) Stop injecting air once the milk is above body temperature (i.e. feels warm at all).

Rule No. 1: It is incredibly important to have constant motion in the pitcher; but not just any agitation will suffice. Air is lighter than milk. So it wants to migrate to the top of the pitcher. The only way to get homogenous micro-foam, which is a very fickle and temporary coexistence of both steamed milk and foam, is to force its coexistence. You must prevent ‘dead spots’ from forming; these are zones on the surface of the milk that are not circulated with the entirety of the pitcher. The result is stiff, dry, foam. This is particularly noticeable with lower fat milks, especially skim milk. The surface may appear smooth, but when you attempt the pour, the milk pours out in a nasty blob. This blob is your enemy. A common habit that some baristas have when they start out is to tip the pitcher towards the machine. Though you can still get great foam this way, I think it’s the hardest way to steam. Instead, I would recommend tilting the pitcher towards yourself, and just slightly to either the right or the left. This asymmetry is very conducive to a good whirlpool effect in the pitcher. That whirlpool is what will properly circulate the milk.

Rule No. 2: This should be fairly obvious. If you don’t want big, frothy bubbles at the end of steaming, don’t put them there in the first place. Keep in mind rule No. 3, though; act quickly. You must steam the milk as forcefully as possible, without producing big bubbles. Try to allow the steam tip to just barely break the surface of the milk. Also, keep it relatively close to the center; if you keep the tip at the side of the pitcher, you lessen its effectiveness to force the milk down, and produce the proper amount of foam quickly.

Rule No. 3: Cold milk is your friend, and your time with it is short; don’t waste it. The proteins and fats are most capable of forming the super-small bonds that allow for micro-foam when the milk is cold. A good rule of thumb (or hand?) is to ensure that you inject all the air you need before the pitcher feels warm. The next 10 seconds or so are strictly about making that smooth foam even smoother. And please, don’t shove the pitcher up and cause the steam tip to be suffocated at the bottom of the pitcher. Don’t forget rule No. 1! It applies through the entirety of the process. The steam tip should always be near the surface of the milk, this is the only way to keep the whirlpool going and to draw the surface of the milk to the bottom of the pitcher.

Hope that helps. Like I said, in my opinion, this is the hardest thing to learn. While this article might help, the best way to learn is to watch someone do it properly, practice until you either have it mastered or are ready to quit, then go back and watch them again, and keep practicing until you get it.

Cheers,
Spencer

JJ Bean’s newest (and coolest).

Just in time for the olympic madness, JJ has opened up another spot.  As with all of their locations, it’s built with a completely unique design from all the others that precede it. What’s really fun about this one in particular is that it’s fully outside on the CBC plaza.

I love the design – The shape and geometry of it make me think of a grounded tree fort in a concrete jungle.  Super cool.

What does it look like at night, you ask?

740 Hamilton St. ( just off Georgia + Hamilton )

Bonus:  I think the designer may have been inspired by one of the greatest video game levels of all time.  You decide.

In the days before the Green Siren, Commercial Coffee ruled over all the earth.  Yet some rebelled.  Hope emerged in the West, and Specialty Coffee became known to but a few.

And it came to pass that Dark Roast, Scourge of Complexity and Acidity’s Bane, rose up from among them, and made his abode in the Emerald City.  And behold, Second Crack was swallowed up in a cloud of smoke, and Varietal Distinction was laid waste.

Yet all was not in ruin.  The Green Siren made Specialty Coffee famed among all the people.  Sumatra and Sulawesi were Heroes of Old, Origins of Renown.  Yet the Empire of the Siren became corrupt, and did evil in the sight of the people.  She conquered many with Vanilla and Caramel, and by the Blender were many slain who did not resist.

And behold, the Micro-Roaster rebellion rose up among a remnant of the people.  Many Origins were called, and journeyed from the ends of the earth to be roasted by the Small Ones.  Guatemala and Ethiopia slew many.  Are not their deeds told in song?  Dark Roast began to falter, and his grip was loosed from the neck of the people.  Yet there are many who serve him to this day.

And Acidity shone out of the Darkness, and Complexity made himself known!  Varietal Distinction rose to life and was hailed among the people.  And many who had fallen away into Darkness returned to the Light.

Thus the Kingdom of Specialty Coffee was established.

A heads up for anyone who doesn’t/isn’t in the know:  You can finally purchase Stumptown Coffee in Vancouver now, over at Main St.’s Hippest General Store – Mr.Lee’s.

It’s brought in fresh weekly, and is sold, not served, in the form of  3/4 pound bags; whole bean.

3 cheers for not having to carry a valid passport anymore when you feel like drinking a cup of Stumptown!

Mr.Lee’s General Store & Haberdashery
109 E Broadway Ave. (just off Quebec & Broadway)

When in Rome Portland do as the Roman’s Portlander’s do.

Barista

Stumptown Ace Hotel

The Red E

The Albina Press

The Little Red Bike Cafe

Coffee House North West

Heart

Coffee House 5

Fabrizio’s v60

Introducing: brewmethods.com

The premise is simple:  To provide anyone and everyone with access to the best coffee brewing guides in the entire universe.

Home brewing is an interesting subject in the industry.  People have all this great coffee, they have the proper equipment, but how do they learn to brew it?  If you have never worked in coffee, where can you properly learn from?  I’m often asked by friends and customers all sorts of home brewing questions and this is a way to answer them.

So with those thoughts in mind, and while I’m sure baristas and cafes will get plenty of value out of the site, we have geared it towards customers and people who are not in the industry.  The idea is to make a place where you can send a customer or friend or family member to find proper brewing guides fast and easy.

Think online cook book.

A link can be added in literally 5 seconds, so our goal is to make it the most up to date and wide source of coffee brewing guides on the net.  There are only so many guides online right now, but the hope is that, in light of this website and more people brewing at home, more bloggers and coffee shops will post brewing guides of their own.  To all the roasters/cafes/and others who already have posted videos – you’re ahead of the game, thank you!  It’s a bit embarrassing at how little resources there are online, especially for some methods in particular.

Of course the site is just being launched, so expect it to adapt and evolve with time. If you are on the site and know of other links, there is a “suggest a brew method” button on the top right where you can do just that.

If a customer learns more about coffee and how to make it, not only will this lead to a greater appreciation for the art and the industry as a whole, but they will start to take a certain pride and joy in making coffee themselves, just like all of us do.  Oh, and their coffee will taste better, which is always a good.

It may seem obvious, but the only way this site will help people is if they know about it – so check it out, spread the word, and let’s get people excited to brew coffee the right way.

behold:  brewmethods.com

What to do during a 3 hour layover at L.A. International.

15 minute cab ride to Intelligentsia Venice.  $30.
One shot of single origin Ethiopian Yirgacheffe (awesome) $2.50.
One cup of Kenya Gichathaini (I think that was the region) via the clover (awesome again). $5.
One shot of espresso for the gal I met while in the line up (her first ever).  $2.50 more.
Cab ride back to the airport. $50.

Very much worth it.

The poll has been closed, with 201 voters.

Espresso ended with 90 votes or 45%.
Drip ended with 111, or 55%.

I will let the poll speak for itself, and you can take from it whatever conclusion you like, but I will just say one thing.

Almost any coffee bar I have ever visited is not laid out in a way that represents those results.  Drip takes the back seat in virtually every single coffee shop, while the espresso machine sits up top the counter, practically beaming with a pride that borderlines vanity.

And here we have a poll of 201 coffee drinkers with a slight majority favoring drip.  Even if the results were 50/50, or 60/40 in favor for espresso, the fact is that drip doesn’t get represented fairly.

Does this mean it’s time to take the espresso machine out back Office Space style?  Of course not – and I drink/taste/make espresso almost daily and will probably continue to do so for the rest of my life – but come on, we can do better.

“And in this corner, weighing in at 2 ounces…”

I’m curious to see what’s more popular right now, so here’s a hypothetical situation for us all to run with.

If you were told that for the rest of 2010, you had to make a choice between ONE of the following, which would it be?

Only having espresso based drinks for the entire year.
(This embodies anything that can be made from an espresso machine.  Espresso/Macchiato/Capp/Latte/Americano – you name it.)

OR

Only having “drip” coffee the entire year.
(Any brew method except an espresso machine is fair game.  Press/Vac Pot/Pour Over/Clever – whichever.)

To make this fair for those who don’t live in the hippest of cities, we’ll assume that with whichever option you pick, you gain access to any coffees available.  In other words, don’t let your lack of skills or coffee options in your area deter you from making a certain choice.

Before you pick, think about all the coffees and coffee experiences you had in 2009 that are still in your mind, and then decide.

New Wallpaper. 

Winter is a time for coffee and black and white photography.  Here is a little of both.

Wide Screen
1920 x 1275
1680 x 1050
1440 x 900
1280 x 800

Full Screen
1600 x 1200
1400 x 1050
1280 x 960
1024 x 768

Bonus points if anyone knows where I took this.

VANCOUVER, CANADA – 6:41 a.m. -

Baristas around the nation are in mourning as yet another espresso has been buried alive in a paper cup by roughly 10 ounces of steaming hot milk, bringing the “uncountable death toll well into the millions for 2009″, officials said early Tuesday morning.

Eye witnesses claim the espresso was extracted directly into a paper cup (which would later become its casket) and was then swirled around aggressively for a few seconds before being ultimately suffocated by a proportion of milk far too great to possibly come through in.

No memorial was held, but as is tradition, a single white rosetta was placed on top of the espresso by the barista before a lid was brought to cover it any longer from public viewing.

The best 2 minutes and 12 seconds from our 4320 minute adventure back in August.

Blue Bottle.  66 Mint St.

Blue Bottle. Ferry Building.

Ritual Coffee Roasters. 1026 Valencia St.

Four Barrel Coffee. 375 Valencia St.

Tartine. 600 Guerrero St.

The Bus. Mission & 7th.

Donut World.

Vega. 1246 Folsom St.

Sightglass.  270 7th St.

Farm Table. 754 Post St.

Finding Godshots in unsuspecting places.

First, let me say that this is way past due.  I think I went to Solder & Sons back in June or July, and these pictures have just been hibernating on my computer for the past 5 months.

I don’t really know what made me come in here in the first place.  I just happen to notice it one night en route to dinner nearby.

Maybe it was the small town charm the place gave off from the street.  Maybe it was because the space doubled as a used book store, and even though I don’t usually get around to reading them, I do really enjoy books.

Regardless, I didn’t enter in because I thought the coffee was going to be great.  I wasn’t expecting much at all to be honest.

My giant wall of skepticism wasn’t even dented one bit when I saw the bar set up.

In the midst of silently debating with myself whether I should even order anything, I just ordered an espresso.  I could easily have just browsed through some books and avoided the whole ordeal of having to put on my poker face while sipping a poor shot, but I did otherwise.

I even had to run back down the street to my car and scrounge up every single dime and nickle I could find lying around my car as they didn’t take debit and I had no cash.  He said he’d start it in the mean time.

I returned back with the money just in time to see the barista cutting the shot.

It looked long.

I took a sip, expecting the worst.

Boom.  The curtains ripped.  Lights shone.  Trumpets sounded.

It was so impossibly good.

Here I was, in the heart of Vancouver’s Eastside, being humbled by the ever allusive Godshot.

Without a doubt one of the best espressos I have ever had, and certainly one of my most memorable coffee experiences.  Can you believe it?

A Godshot can’t be dialed in or planned – they just happen.  I don’t think you can exactly describe it, but you know when you’ve had one.  If most coffee drinkers are like me, they have a very small handful of espressos that they can always refer back to, ones that set the bar for what a shot can be.  This was one of them.

Turns out it was 49th’s epic espresso (at the time a blend of Brazil, El Salvador, and Ethiopia), and boy did it live up to it’s name that day.

I still haven’t been back since, but I will eventually.  Part of me wants to just leave it alone so as to keep it sort of sacred,  but that wouldn’t really be fair.  Either way – they have lots going on as they also serve french press coffee and have plenty of books and audio to fulfill all your leisurely desires.

If Vancouver is your hometown,  it’s located at 247 Main St. (just off the corner of Main and W. Cordova.).
If Vancouver isn’t your hometown, that’s still where it is.

Congratulations to Kyle Straw for winning the Canadian Barista Championships yesterday, and by doing so quite convincingly.  His monster score of 663 points was 36 points ahead of 2nd place.  Impressive.

A few photos from The After Party™ last night.

We said there would be good eats and yummies, and I think the picture above explains itself. Mother Giannakos delivered the K.O. with Meats, Cheeses, and tender tender tenderloin sandwiches. It was glorious.

The party also rocked a keg of a beer, wine, an obnoxious amount of poured over coffees, and at one point I even saw the Clover going. If you stuck around long enough, some delicious mini chocolate cakes courtesy of Crema made their reveal as well, delicious.

.

Chris and Brent manned the pour over station all night while Matty G made runs back and forth with hot water. The guys got totally rocked with the 80+ guests that made it out last night. Chris was saying he must have done about 75+ pour overs through the course of  yesterday, I believe it.

Every coffee you got, came with a number. We had a separate room setup with 9 sheets of paper tacked to the wall, everyone was encouraged to write or draw tasting notes.

Latte Art. We had a lot going on last night so the last thing we wanted was to have the smackdown dominate the whole party. Here’s what we came up with. When a person signs up they are given a random number that corresponds to a sheet of paper. Anybody can pour at anytime they want, they just bring their paper up, place it in the designated area, pour their drink, and photograph it themselves. After everyone had poured, judges pick the top 8 pours, and the competition is finished Smackdown style: 1 vs. 1. Last man standing wins.

Despite the fact that the camera only took about half of the competitors photos, the format was perfect. Highly recommended.

Some more photos posted at flickr. It was a killer party, thanks to everyone who came out, and helped out. See you all soon!

Don’t miss out. This Wednesday following the Canadian Barista Championships.

Who needs tickets?

The Canadian Barista Championships are taking place on October the 14th and 15th here in Vancouver.  That’s less than 10 days people.

Here’s the lowdown -

If you would like to go to watch, you will need a ticket.  The tickets come in 2 prices:  30$ or free.

How does one get the free ticket?  Ask and you shall receive.

I will say this again -  if you want to go and watch the national championships (and you obviously do) then you will need a ticket.  We have free ones that we literally have to give away.

This offer is open to anyone who needs one, from the public to competing baristas and their moms.  If you’re coming from out of town, or know someone who is and they need tickets, you just have let us know so we can get them to you.

If you currently reside in Vancouver, keep your eyes open for a yellow fixed gear bicycle ripping around town.  That is Chris, and he is going around to all the cafes and hot spots in town giving away tickets.  That being said, you may be able to get tickets from whatever cafe you frequent, but if they don’t have any then just send us an email and we will get you taken care of.

Don’t be shy!

Bringing Back the Indonesians.

Washed, ultra-clean Centrals are enjoying current acclaim in the specialty coffee industry. These are often roasted very light, to highlight the inherent clarity and brightness of these wonderful coffees. We at JJ Bean are very much a part of this clean cup movement. Our favourite offerings at the moment are La Providencia of Guatemala, and San Emilio of El Salvador.

But as autumn and winter approach, a nostalgic feeling starts to enter my soul. My thoughts turn eastward, to the exotic, spicy and pungent flavours of Indonesia. My first sips of specialty coffee were Indos. This was during the so-called “first-wave” period. In those days specialty coffee was almost defined by Sumatras and Sulawesis. They were so different than the bland, vaguely nutty commercial coffee on the supermarket shelves. They had character. They were spicy, woodsy, powerful, and earthy. Often they also had a considerable amount of roast character.

But now Indonesians, especially those that are processed using the traditional semi-washed method, are experiencing disfavour in certain coffee circles. They are considered dirty coffees, with rough edges and ferment taints. Similarly, many fruity naturals are written off as funky and fermenty.

Before returning to Indonesia, let us diverge on an even greater contrast for an illustration: the difference in character between washed and natural coffees. I liken the difference between washed Centrals and African naturals to the difference between Czech Pilsners and Belgian lambics. In a good Pilsner, the only thing the drinker should taste is clean malt and hop. Any perceivable yeast character is considered a taint. On the other hand, many Belgian beers are defined by their yeast character. Malt and hop are perceived, but the beer is characterized by the taste of fermentation itself. It would be unthinkable to apply the standards of a good lambic to a Pilsner.

In the same way, to apply the standards of a washed Guatemalan to a natural Ethiopian is equally unthinkable. How drab the coffee world would become if all coffees were washed! Like the Belgian lambics, naturals are defined by fermentation itself. If done properly, this imparts a remarkable fruity character to the coffee. Some consider this a defect; some consider it a romantic encounter.

Back to Indonesia, where the processing method lies somewhere in between washed and natural. Traditionally, semi-washed Indos are defined by their earthy “funk” somewhat like blue cheese is defined by its funk. When this funk is not too intense, it is considered very desirable to the lover of Indonesian coffees. Indonesians offer many things that centrals cannot. They often offer huge, syrupy body. They can be spicy, like cloves. They can have “forest floor” flavours. It is said that the drinker of Islay Scotch whisky actually tastes Scotland in a dram. Similarly, the Sumatra drinker tastes Indonesia. Of course, we don’t want our Guats to taste like Sumatras. But surely it is proper, and even good, that our Sumatras taste like Sumatras? This winter, bring back the funk! Drink Indos.

About the Author: Grady Buhler serves as Coffee Quality Leader at JJ Bean Coffee Roasters.  He thinks French press coffee tastes the best.  He also enjoys ale (drinking and brewing), theology, early music, and smells & bells.  Most of all, Grady loves his wife and daughter.

On the second time around, I was a little more coffee focused. Here’s some highlights.

I started off at Bach, a coffee shop in and around the Tokyo area. I had been tipped off by an employee at the hostel I was staying at, and despite my skepticism it actually turned out to be a pretty cool spot.

They offer pretty wide selection of coffee, mostly single origin. All coffee is done pour-over or “hand-drip” as the Japanese call it, and the coffee was pretty delicious.

The presentation was top notch.

Bach –like most Japanese cafe’s is a full service style cafe. You’re greeted, ushered to your table, you order from a server, and your coffee is brought to you. I found out later that Bach has been around for a really long time, and is quite well known in and around Japan.

From Tokyo, I went off to Okinawa for 5 nights.

First off, Okinawa is unbelievable beautiful, so plan a little ahead before you fly into Japan, and get the $200 round trip ticket, it’s totally worth it. When I arrived I had a bit of a problem. I had brought some great coffee from home to drink, but couldn’t brew it… no grinder. It took me a whole 28 hours to devise my master plan to get it ground.

I departed the hostel with the coffee in my black ops backpack, I then located the only Okinawan Starbucks. I picked up the lightest roasted starbucks coffee I could find: House Roast, bought it, said my arigatos and left, but before I went home, I deverted into a dark neglected corner, covered myself with my cape and broke the vacuum seal that keeps Starbucks coffee good for one whole year. With some Indiana Jones flare, I swapped my coffee into the Starbucks coffee bag, and as if nothing had happened I moved swiftly back into Starbucks. When I got to the counter, out came the most confident broken japanese that made no sense. And if it wasn’t for my charades-filled childhood, I’m not sure I would have ever got that coffee ground. But she did it, and for the first time ever my coffee made sweet love to a starbuck’s burr set. I took my ground Kenya Mtaro and guilty conscious, and that was that. Mission Success. Take note, this may happen to you one day, and where there’s water, there’s a Starbucks.

Ok, so after Okinawa, I was off to Fukuoka to meet with cleanhotdry celebrity and ex Crema / Wicked employee: Sayaka.

She was busy getting prepped for the JBC’s, so almost every shift ends with a 1 on 1 discussion about tactics and taste descriptors.

We went on a bit of a Fukuoka coffee tour, first stop: Honey Coffee.

Honey Coffee is a very well known roaster in and around Japan. The location is jam-packed with coffee merchandise, brewers, bodums, pour overs, grinders, the works. They sport a 12kg vintage Probat, roasting some beautiful single-origin coffees. Enjoyed a delicious Sidamo via Clover while I was there, and picked up a 100g of COE Rwanda. Yum. Also noted that besides Zoka in Tokyo, it’s about the only Clover I’ve seen in both visits to Japan.

Honey Coffee, and a handful of other Japanese roasters are a part of the Maruyama buying group. I’d seen the name in the COE auction results a few times and always thought they were a single roaster. Well, they’re a roaster, a buying group, and a person. Maruyama Coffee Roasters is located in Nagano in the North of Japan. The very basic concept of a buying group is, a bunch of roasters team up, combine funds, and bid on some really nice coffees. It’s a win-win for everyone, roasters get access to COE coffees at a price that’s reasonable, and in a quantity that is manageable. That’s the basic idea anyway, there are no doubt all kinds of complications in putting this kind of thing together, but Mr. Maruyama has it figured out nicely.

Next, Manu Coffee

If I lived in Fukuoka City this would probably be my regular place. Good tunes, seat yourself style, and some seriously passionate baristas.

Two of the baristas were getting prepped for the Japanese Barista Championships, I managed to have coffees from both of them, at both of Manu’s stores. At store #1 I had a great cappucinno, rich milk chocolate, caramel and nuts. It honestly reminded of a Snickers bar. At store #2 Misugi served me up his potential competition coffee, a single-origin Kenya-something and it was top notch.

Manu uses Honey Coffee as their roaster of choice, and I only have good things to say about the all the coffees I tried from them. If you’re in Japan, go here, you won’t be let down.

After Manu it was off to Adachi Coffee in Okawa. A pretty small city about an hour by train out of downtown Fukuoka.

Adachi Coffee was the place Sayaka left beautiful Canada to go an work at, so I knew it was going to be good.

The roastery has a beautiful vintage Probat, a ton of coffee merchandise and an espresso bar. The owner, Kazuhiro Adachi is really down to earth and extremely meticulous when it comes to anything coffee. Every year he takes some time to visit origin, and he’s probably the 3rd person in the last few months that has emphasized the importance of going.

The coffees were excellent, and all that I bought was nearly gone before I made it home, thanks to the hand grinder I bought at Manu. Sayaka was working the bar so the espresso was of course, fantastic.

A big thanks to Sayaka, and Adachi Coffee for the incredible hospitality while I visited there.

Next up was Green Coffee Roasters in Kobe, and while I was on my way I stumbled across this:

The setup was unlike anything I’d ever seen, hit the video below to catch a glimpse.

The pew style seating reminded me of church, and at the front of the stage, behind glass, the old school pro-bat was preaching. If you were to keep going up you’d find another area that looks more like your typical cafe, 15-20 seats in a rectangular room with a bar that lines the back wall. Point in hand, the place was irregularly huge, especially by Japan’s standards.

At Captain Terry’s you choose from a selection of green coffees, and when you order it, they roast it. After it’s roasted half of it is brewed via syphon and served to you, the other half you get to take home. The roaster is completely digital, and from ordering to cup it took about 12 minutes. The coffee was minutes off roast and hadn’t really had a chance to develop, but the whole experience was interesting nonetheless.

I found Green Coffee minutes after that, one of the coolest things about Green’s is its location.

You would think it might be annoying having a train run over the cafe every 15-20 minutes, but instead of the rickety clank you’d expect it to sound like, it’s this soft low bass note, with a quiet rumble that gives the place a really unique feel. They’re also a roaster, and also a part of the Maruyama buying group. They rock a siphon bar, full menu of single-origin coffees, and two choices on the espresso.

I had one of everything.

I won’t go into detail on how each drink tasted and looked –even though I wrote it down, you’ll just have to take my word for when I say, it was good, and worth stopping by.

Before leaving Fukuoka I went to one more place about a 45 minute bike ride from downtown. This is Manly Coffee.

Manly Coffee is small roaster owned by Sunaga. If you’re wondering where the name comes from, it’s named after Manly Beach in Australia. All the coffee Sunaga roasts is done on this bad boy:

After a few more days in Fukuoka it was back to Tokyo, then an hour train ride into Yokohama to visit Do Cafe. They use Vivace. The drinks I had we’re all prepared by Junko Hata and as I always find with Vivace, they tasted refreshingly unique. It was the 3rd time I’d been and every time I go, I learn a lot. If you’re going to Japan you’ll most likely be in Tokyo, which means you’ll be really close to Do Cafe, so Go. It’s pretty easy to get to. Another big thanks to Do Cafe for the hospitality.

A few random observations and generalizations.

Japanese cafes are almost always a full service experience. You’re greeted, sat, given a menu, you order from one of the staff cruising the floor, you’re brought your coffee, you ask for a bill, and you pay at the end. There’s a few things I like about it, it elevates the experience quite a bit, creates a feeling of formality. It might also allow them to worry a bit less when serving their coffees in really nice china. As when you’re seated your less likely to move about and a server clears your dishes for you. Basically, less chance of you breaking things. A few negatives, because you’re given a specific seat you can’t really move around freely. It makes the cafe feel a bit more solitary, harder to strike up a conversation with a stranger. In some cases I only saw the barista on my way in. Another thing, none of the cafes I visited were crazy busy so I’d be curious to see how that type of system works under volume, I can’t imagine it going over to smoothly.

Specialty coffee, however you want to define it, is expensive in Japan. Expect to pay at least 500円 which in Canadian dollars works out to roughly $5. Having said that, there were times I paid as much as $12.50 Canadian for an 10oz. cup of coffee and that wasn’t any special COE or anything, just a normal s/o coffee.

I had 3 people from different cafes ask me in their own way why the west is so into siphon. To most I replied, “I can only really only speak for myself and guess for the rest, but I think it’s mostly because it’s just new”. One of the guys I talked to basically said, it’s just a difficult brewing method, that’s tough to get consistent, requires a lot of labour, and at the end of the day tastes similar to hand-drip. But it was interesting that besides Green Coffee, most of the cafes doing Siphon were old style cafes reminiscent of the the first-wave that I never experienced. Big chains like Key Coffee and UCC come to mind.

The general presentation and attention to detail is unmatched in any cafe I’ve been to in North America. Whether it’s customer service, the porcelain, spoons, teensy creamers, trays, glasses of water, everything is top quality, and just plain nice to look at.

Every third-wave shop I went to had loads of magazines all about coffee. It isn’t very surprising considering how into magazines the Japanese are but, it is something that would be great to see in more cafes here in Vancouver.

And that’s it. If any of you are curious as to how to get to these places, send me an email and I can give you pretty clear directions to each place.

While I love learning about the minutia of all that is coffee (different steeping methods, pre-infusion, pressure profiling, ideal roast dates, roast curves, etc…) I have found it refreshing to ponder the baby steps that every barista takes when they first enter the coffee world.

Please do not consider this post to be by any means authoritative, simply a re-statement of the building blocks upon which the finer points are built. It is intended primarily for the new wave of up-and-coming coffee professionals and enthusiasts, but may spur the more experienced to do a bit of experimenting as well.

I think a lot of baristas over-evaluate the influence of the tamp. I’ve often heard remarks like “that shot is dripping, I guess I tamped to hard”, or conversely “maybe I didn’t tamp hard enough that time”. Please throw this seemingly logical convention out the door. Extraction rate is determined by dose and grind primarily, the tamp has little to do with the actual extraction speed; it is primarily an influencer of how even an extraction is. Think about it. The coarseness of espresso grinds limits the coffee’s ability to be packed. In other words, there is a natural threshold at which the espresso can be packed no more. In order to actually tamp it further, one would have to literally be grinding the coffee finer with the tamper. The espresso that you’re using has already been ground extremely fine, under intense pressure from heavy duty burrs that could take your pinky finger off. Do you really think that your smooth, flat, Reg Barber is going to do much damage? Didn’t think so.

Conclusion: Stop killing yourself with your tamp! A couple of years ago I developed an intense knot between my shoulders. Sound familiar to anyone? It was from repeated strain on my muscles cause by overexertion. I was tamping far too hard. At least 60 pounds, I imagine. Perhaps more. I always “knew” I only needed 30 pounds. That’s what I was taught. That’s what I’m sure most baristas have heard. But I think that many don’t realize how light that actually is.

On that note, how light is too light? I am reminded of an infamous experiment that many like to forget about. Dose a shot and pull it. No tamp. Loose coffee, straight into the group. It should gush out, right? Wrong. If the grind and dose have been set correctly, the shot looks remarkably decent…*tear. All this hard work and labour for nothing. Why tamp at all, then? First off, putting loose coffee into a group head will make one hell of a mess really fast. Secondly, there is very little control over how even the extraction is. Something is coming to mind….oh ya, “Extraction rate is determined by dose and grind primarily, the tamp has little to do with the actual extraction speed; it is primarily an influencer of how even an extraction is.” I knew I said that already.

Look at the videos from the WBC of the last two years. Watch how light they tamp. Finger strength. Beautiful. This brings me to my final point. There is far less control over how even the tamp is when you’re trying to pound the portafilter into the counter. Ease up, and may I suggest using your fingers to feel how even your tamp is? Every time! Too many baristas learn the basics, learn how to steam rich creamy microfoam and pour 8 leaf tulips, and then they begin to ignore these “minor” points. I’ve seen veterans, whom I respect a great deal, tamp very unevenly. Don’t get sloppy. Check every time. Try seeing how light you can tamp while still obtaining a good extraction. I’m curious to hear about what you find.

Competitor list and link for the live feed/twitter.

Competition starts at 10.15 am and is to resume at 1:30pm after the lunch break.  These times are of course subject to change.

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/2009-western-regional-canadian-barista-championship-victoria-august-29-30

For all you twitterers, follow WRCBC09 to get the updates on what’s going down.

There isn’t much commentary necessary here.  The mere existence of such a place is enough said already.

Syphon bars on this side of the world are a rarity.  It’s a difficult brewing method that requires both time and labor.  One wrong move and you’ve got to start over.

So when I heard from 2 different sources that, a mere 3 minute walk down from my home base of crema, there was a concession stand on the beach doing all their coffee via syphon, I chose not to believe it.

My pessimism wasn’t damaged the least when neither of the people who told me about it had actually tried it, they only saw it.

I’d been meaning to make the pilgrimage over but for one reason or the other hadn’t gotten around to it.  This past week Anthony Benda was up from Montreal visiting and we made a point to go check it out.

Fast forward a few minutes – and there we were, surrounded by kids, sand, and the pacific ocean, drinking syhpon’d coffee.

When we approached the counter to order one of the employees looked up and was scooping ice cream with a single basket portafilter, which I found hilarious.  (I’m sure it wasn’t the one they used for making coffee, but I just couldn’t stop laughing.)

So here’s the dealio:

4 Syphons.  49th Parallel Coffee.  Freshly ground, freshly made.  The girl was fast and diligent, and made them both without any hesitation.

Props.

They were using 49th’s 123 Degree W. Longtitude Blend. I asked how they came about to be using Syphons and the girl working there just said that the owner had visited Japan and really liked it.

That’s good enough for me.

On our walk over Anthony related the idea of being able to order syphon at a concession stand similar to getting Filet Mignon from a street vendor.  Agreed.

It’s located at Ambleside Beach in West Van.  Go check it out, even if it’s just to say you did.

A relatively raw and uncut look at how syphon is done at UCC Coffee, Japan.

Nami Taniguchi is one of the Top finalists in the Kyushu Region Syphon Championships.

Some loose notes I managed to get translated.

15g for 1 cup.
15-30 second steep depending on the coffee. (iced is more like 45-50)
Coffee starts in the glass, not poured in after. Noted because it’s the second time I heard a japanese person say this was important.
After the extraction the left overs should be shaped in a nice round hump.
Water is kept at approximately 98c (208F).

The coffee on our right was being iced, hence the longer steep. Gotta love the way she carries the syphons over to the table.

As of this week, Crema will be open until 10pm for the next couple weeks.

A few moments from our coffee tour in New York City. More thoughts to come.

To watch all the action, click here.

Congratulations to Chris Tellez from Espresso Post for placing first! 

The wait is over.

Momento Coffee House opened up this week.  The “opening soon” signs that have teased passer byers for the last while have finally come down, and they are ready for business.

Behold!

Intelligentsia Coffee.

There are 2 brewing methods for coffee: Pour over, or syphon.  Every cup is made fresh (yes!)  The syphon bar is done with 4 halogen burners, and looks great as usual.  No matter if it’s your first time seeing it, or your thousandth, it’s always fun to watch someone work a syphon.  It’s set up in a way so that you can do just that, with just a sheet of glass standing between you and the barista.

Over on the espresso side of things, they have 4 groups of power via the La Marzocco espresso machine.

The space is small and cozy, with lots of dark reds and blacks, with some interesting objects scattered throughout.

How sweet it is to see another shop doing coffee fresh by the cup.  We met the owner Rick last week at a cupping and he seemed really passionate about doing everything right.  My experience confirmed that.

Add it to your list.

It’s located at 2766 West 4th, which is pretty much West 4th and McDonald over in the Kitsalano area.  Here’s their site.

Tasting…123…

I’m not going to recap the night as a linear event, but there are a few things we did that I think are worth noting, some merely out of interest, others in the case you ever find yourself hosting a similar event.

We rented one hundred 2 oz espresso cups from a local party supply store.

With 11 different coffees on the table throughout the chorus of the night, they worked perfectly.  Had the cups been bigger, people might have OD’ed.

We went through 2 flights, resulting in 11 different coffees.  Each flight consisted of 5 coffees brewed by a press and then transferred into an air pot, and a single origin espresso.  The air pots were marked only with a letter, as the tasting was done completely blind.  Having 5 different coffees and an espresso all at once kept a great flow as people could pick and choose whichever coffee they wanted to taste without being rushed.

Over at the espresso bar, I pulled all the shots as either a straight espresso, or if they wanted milk, a Gibraltar. Most people had both.  (correct choice.)  Ecco’s Beloya was fantastic (especially in a little milk) and really wowed a lot of unsuspecting people.

Everyone got their own little pieces of paper to write down their own tasting notes as they went along, but for me the funnest part was having a giant white board in the middle of the cafe, on which anyone could write whatever they were tasting in the coffee.  What started as a blank thought cloud turned into a full flavor profile shortly only moments after the tasting began.  What’s best to me is that the board allowed people to share their thoughts anonymously (more or less.) and I feel a lot of times, especially when you are new to cupping/tasting, it is easy to become very quiet or doubt yourself if someone before you says something in contradiction to what you tasted.  The white board eliminated that problem, and as such, both the newbie’s and the experienced opinions were discussed without any bias.  The idea came from seeing a white board in pictures of James Hoffman’s “Taste of Canada”.  I can only imagine they did the same sort of thing.

After everyone had gone through each coffee in the flight, we all gathered round and Brent Fortune talked about each of the coffees – where it’s from, the processing method used, the roaster, flavor profile info, and whatever else seemed relevant at the time.

We didn’t stop tasting coffee until about 9:30pm, which a lot of us paid for dearly early that night and the next morning.  I know I did at least – totally worth it though.  To all those who lasted until the end, we had a bunch of cured meats and a mini beer tasting as well.

Thanks to everyone who came and tasted and to those who helped out.  And of course, Brent Fortune, for supplying all the coffee.

Navid said the mess at the end of the night was like the morning after a house party.  I concur.

Tonight (July 2nd), 7pm, at Crema.

Guatemalan El Injerto CoE – Stumptown
Guatemalan La Maravilla* – Intelligentsia
Ethiopia Konga – Ecco Caffe
Ethiopia Sidamo Guji – Coava
Ethiopia Adado – Verve
Ethiopia Wondo Worka* – Verve
Ethiopia Beloya* – Ecco Caffe
Kenya Karindundu* – Coava
Kenya Kagumoini – Stumptown
Panama Carmen Estate* – Stumptown
Black Cat (Brazil/Bolivia)* – Intelligentsia

Coffees with an * can and will be brewed as espresso as well.

The event will be co-hosted by special out of town guest Brent Fortune and is a great opportunity to try some amazing coffees from 4 different roasters in America.

It costs 0 dollars, and is open to anyone who reads this.

Once again:  Tonight, July 2nd, 7pm, at crema.

It’s that time again.

7 people competed this week at the JJ Bean In House Competition for the right to represent their company in the upcoming regional competitions over in Victoria.  It ran over the course of 2 nights at the Yaletown location, and had a respectable crowd turnout both nights.

John and I were asked to judge again this year, which we said yes to of course.  We joined 4 others from around the city to make up the judging panel of 6.

Robert Csar (JJ) and I were the tech judges, along with Mike LaRoy (JJ), Arthur Wynne (Wicked), Matthew Kolehmainen (Elysian) and John (Crema), all of whom made up the sensory side.  Arthur’s role doubled as the head judge, and he fit the part perfectly.  Perhaps it was all that practice at the world barista championships…

Tech judging this year was a lot easier than the last, as expected.  Most of the marks in the tech category now are awarded by ticking a box that says “yes” or “no” now anyway, where as the sensory judges have a lot of scores that are out of 6 and require much more thought.  Really the only tricky thing about tech judging is that it all happens so fast that at some points there is almost no time to look down on the sheet in case of missing something.

The signature drinks were interesting as always.  A random sampling of a few ingredients used includes pipe tobacco, sparkling water, cheesecake, and pancreas/liver.  Thankfully, these were not all used in the same drink.

As for the competitors, everyone put on a good show, but none good enough to dethrone last year’s in house champ and Canada’s second ranking barista, Spencer.  Chris from Granville Island came 2nd and Steve from Main St. placed 3rd.  Each of these guys, in addition to earning 9.1 bars of street cred, each received a Reg Barber tamper, which I got to design.  (I don’t have any good pictures of it, but it’s based on the title image.)

Congratulations to everyone who competed, and especially to Spencer for taking it all.

Just got back from Seattle.

It’s awesome here, full stop. The city is crawling with purists and people who truly love what they do.  As usual we started with Vivace, “Alley 24.” An alright ’spro, better Macchiato, and my favourite sparkling water in all of the nation. Vivace is a great work environment, it has outlets everywhere (without being obnoxious), lots of seating, free wifi, and the hospitality in general is usually great.

All hands on deck

Patiently waiting

Overflowing with love

Stumptown

Stump

Stumptown has really won me over in the last few trips down.  Their whole bean coffee selection was quite impressive – I wanted all of it. We didn’t stay for long, but we did pick up – with the help of one of the front men, Zackery – 4 coffees: Kenya Kagumoini, Ethiopia Wondo, Gautemala Finca El Injerto (2008 cup of excellence winner), and Panama Carmen Estate.

Victrola

Macchiato

My favorite cafe in Seattle; Victrola. I love everything about this cafe, the staff are usually very nice/helpful and most importantly – I had one of the most memorable macchiato’s I have EVER had, the flavors were so defined and I could taste so much blueberry from the Harrar component of the espresso.

I had a pretty good espresso as well, though it didn’t compare to the mac .

We didn’t leave without bringing home a little Victrola: 1lb of streamline espresso, Columbia Huila Monserrate Excelso, and Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Beloya Selection 15 (Organic & dry process).

!!1!!!11!!1!

We like sharing.  Come by this week to crema and have some.

Stumptown:
Kenya Kagumoini
Ethiopia Wondo
Gautemala Finca El Injerto (2008 cup of excellence winner)
Panama Carmen Estate.

Victrola:
Columbia Huila Monserrate Excelso
Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Beloya Selection 15 (Organic & dry process).

So, I’m currently at Florida State University College of Medicine, about 7 hours NW of Boca. We have a class of 120, and they divided us into four “Learning Communities” or “LCs.” Each LC has a kitchen, bathrooms, a shower, a large living area with couches, a futuristic printer/copier. There are four study rooms off the main living area, and each own has a projector, whiteboards, tables, and chairs.

Anyhow, I brought in my Gaggia Classic, conical burr grinder, and Bodum French Press and set up shop in my LC. I have been spreading the gospel of the godshot as well as the glory of the French Press to all in my LC, and the good news has spread to other LCs. I am known as the “Coffee Guru”. Two latinas (from other LCs) came by this morning for Kenyan press, and then promptly confessed their love for me after tasting.

Ironically, I am set up right next to a drip machine and Folgers. Yet, the disciples usually wait till I arrive so they can taste the “truth.”

Some coffee news from ’round the world.

Square Mile Coffee Roasters in London is hosting their “Taste of …”  espresso event June 24th and this time they will be tasting Canada!

Every so often they bring in beans from different countries and host a public espresso tasting event.  So far they’ve done Sweden, Australia, West Coast USA, and New Zealand, and Norway.  (Did I miss any?)

From Canada it should be as follows:

Vancouver:
JJ Bean
49th Parallel
Hines/Origin

Victoria:
Discovery

Calgary:
Phil & Sebastian

Edmonton:
Transcend Coffee

If you live in London, don’t miss it.  You can view more about the event on their blog by clicking here.

If don’t live in London, you’ll have to click here first, then click the link above.

Also please note that both of the graphics in the title picture are 100% Square Mile’s, not mine.

Cafe Myriade in Montreal has a new website, which Anthony says will be updated often.  Perhaps linking to it here will make him keep that promise.

They do lots of tasting events as well, which you can keep in the know by checking their site.

cafemyriade.com

Keeping in theme with “tasting events” (and this one’s for Vancouver) JJ Bean hosts public cuppings every Thursday at 1pm.  The location switches from cafe to cafe, but you can check the current week’s location by clicking here.

Spencer conducts them, and they are both free and educational – just like highschool!

Spencer Conducting.

And lastly, the dates for the Canadian Regional Barista Competitions are set, and are as follows:

Centrals: Toronto – July 19th
Easterns: Montreal, August 23rd
Westerns: Victoria, August 29th
Prairies: Calgary, September 12th.

Canadian Nationals: October 14th & 15th, in Vancouver.