Online Magazine

We continue to showcase our line up of high-end grinders reviewed late last year and featured in the latest issue of Crema Magazine. Whether you are starting out or planning to up-grade, this review is designed to highlight the features and functions that you should be taking into consideration. 

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The other day I was preparing to go through the process of designing a new blend and I called my broker to request some samples. He said “I’ve got just the coffee for you! El Salvador Bourbon, she’s my new girlfriend!”  After introducing me to his new love I found myself to be a little confused as to why he had fallen so head over heels; I certainly didn’t share the same attraction. However, keen to find out why my broker had fallen so hard I decided to give her a second chance to leave an impression.
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By Christopher Short

Coffee aficionados love to discuss the elements that make for their perfect cup. Factors often mentioned are their favorite brand of coffee beans, the proportion of arabica to robusta beans, the type of roast and single versus double boiler espresso machines, just to name a few. Interestingly, one issue only occasionally considered is that of water quality. This is odd given that water constitutes 95% of an espresso.

The reason it is not top of the list is probably because few really know what attributes they should be looking for in water and they generally have little choice in the matter. For most of us, it just arrives, normally out of the tap. The reason we should be concerned about water quality is that it does affect the taste of your coffee and it has a significant effect on brewing equipment performance and reliability in many regions. (more…)

As the Summer 2009 print issue of Crema Magazine starts to come together (due for release mid December) - we wanted to bring you a few ‘previews’ of stories. Here we preview our upmarket domestic grinder review, conducted earlier this year.

 So you love great espresso? We do too - that’s the whole reason for Crema Magazine’s existence. So is it all about spending $2,000 + on a fancy espresso machine? Well it may be, but before you go shelling out all that money on a fancy espresso machine, think about your grinder. In fact, one of Australia’s leading espresso authorities maintains that you should spend almost as much on a grinder as you do on your espresso machine - it’s that important. (more…)

For our recent Winter 2008 issue, Crema Magazine invited Stefano Manfredi, celebrated Australian chef, restaurateur, and coffee lover, to showcase some of his espresso inspired desserts. Above and beyond the call, however, Stefano decided to take it as a challenge to create an entirely new selection of desserts. “Kitchens love a challenge and so the challenge of creating new espresso desserts was a pleasure and one we simply had to accept” said Stefano. The pleasure is, of course, all ours as we bring you one of the four exquisite espresso desserts created expressly for Crema Magazine by Stefano Manfredi. 

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We asked Russell Beard, from The Source Espresso Bar in Sydney, which coffee he’s excited about right now and to tell us a bit about it - here is what he had to say…. 

Q. Favourite bean right now and why?

Guatemalan COE Lot# 22 Finca La Perla (only 16 bags produced).
It was a Cup of Excellence (COE) finalist coffee from Guatemala - we were in Tokyo at the SCAJ and this coffee was on the table. When we brewed it (pour over) it had a cloudy apple juice appearance. We tasted it & all just looked at each other and….Wow! A special moment. I was hooked! So much so that we will be getting more coffee from this farm in the coming weeks/months.

La Perla means “Sleeping Woman” in Xamac, a Mayan language used in the Ixil Triangle, where the farm is located, some 38 kilometers northeast of Chajul, in the province of El Quiché. The farm produces Catuaí and Bourbon between 3000 and 6500 feet. Soil is loose, clayey and sandy over a limestone base. Producing quality coffee is very important to the owners of La Perla. They pay attention to detail - from harvesting at the exact moment to wet milling and drying the beans. This is evident in the fact that they have been finalists in the Cup of Excellence program in 2001, 2002, 2006 & 2008.

The lovely thing about the COE program is that the farmer is celebrated and receives the accolade & thus benefits financially; which in turn lays the platform for more interesting and exquisite coffee’s for the future….watch this space!

Q. How is it best appreciated?

I experienced this coffee as pour over /filter & drip. I wouldn’t roast this coffee too dark, as this would take away some of the delicate nuances inherent in this lovely bean.

Q. Flavour/cup profile?

The coffee was clean (as expected of a COE winning coffee) with beautiful apple acidity, nice heavy viscosity in the mouth, just beautifully sweet like honey. Once brewed it’s appearance was almost tea-like or like a cloudy apple juice.  

The Coffee

Farm: La Perla Y Anexos  Farmer: Finca La Perla Y Anexos
City: Chaju  Region: El Quiche  Country: Guatemala
Variety: Caturra  Type of shade trees: Inga  Harvest: October to May
Processing System: Sun and Wet Mill
Climatic Conditions: Average temperature: 18°C, Annual rainfall: 5000mm, Relative humidity: 75%
Type of soil: Loamy (balance of clay, sand and limestone)

Note: The Cup of Excellence is the most esteemed award given out for top coffees. These awards come from a strict competition that selects the very best coffee produced in that country for that particular year. These winning coffees are chosen by a select group of national and international cuppers and are cupped at least five different times during the competition process. Only coffees that continuously score high enough are allowed to move forward in the competition. The final winners are awarded the prestigious Cup of Excellence® and sold to the highest bidder during an internet auction.

Birdie Num Nums occupies an interesting space in Melbourne’s cafe lexicon in that it caters specifically for young families, whereas many cafes do not. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of arty-types and groovy young things here as well, especially in the front section of the cafe, which is warm and welcoming with recycled timber and interesting nic nacs softening the space.  Conversely the back section, with its shade cloths and central sand pit, is ‘kid central.’

Food here is modern bistro with Greek influences, reminiscent of Pireaus Blues, the enduring Greek restaurant on Brunswick Street, which was founded by the same family.  The food is rustic and pleasantly plated - my crispy squid on Vietnamese-style shredded salad with crushed peanuts and sweet roasted chilli dressing ($16.5) hit all the right notes. Coffee is pretty good too, which comes as a bit of a revelation considering the generic brand (Grinders ‘Giancarlo’ Blend); a word of caution though, on the day I visited both the coffee and service out the back - in the ‘family friendly’ area - were not quite up to scratch, whereas out the front it was a different story altogether, where the service seemed to hum, and the coffee was of a noticeably higher standard. 

Still, good food and a great kid-friendly atmosphere provides welcome relief for busy mums, and who knows, maybe you will even hear the occasional ‘howdy partner’ within these hallowed walls?

Reviewed Nov’08 [PS]

Birdie Num Nums
745 Nicholson Street
Carlton North

What’s the election of Barak Obama in the US got to do with coffee in Australia? - Sydney roaster Campos Coffee have come up with a new blend they’re calling the OBAMA BLEND.
When you realise that both Will Young, Director of Campos Coffee in Sydney and John Ronchi, who heads the Queensland Campos Coffee, graduated with Political Science degrees, it’s not so surprising that they came up with the concept.

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Open for a year, the Source is one of the new breed of cafés that’s probably best described as an espresso bar. By that I mean that although they serve food [& in fact the food is very good] - their primary reason for being, is the coffee. When you walk in to this Mosman-located café, everything screams a love of coffee - from the Synesso machine on the bench to the Renegade roaster taking pride of place on the floor. It’s a great spot with a great vibe, but most importantly [for us anyway!] they make great coffee.

And not just great espresso - although that was fantastic - but go prepared to expand your horizons. They are coffee aficionados, and as such, are only too happy for you to experience the latest single origin coffees that they are bringing into the country themselves. We tried the Kenya Masai - served pour-over style through the Swiss gold filter - and it was delicious: full of flavour yet uniquely delicate! Although barista purists - they are currently setting up a barista exchange with Brother Baba Budan [the café we judged Melbourne's best café 2008] - they are definitely not elitist - the Source buzzes with a friendly, vibrant atmosphere.

Whether you’re just beginning on the espresso road and want to ask some questions of knowledgeable staff, or just want a great coffee, this is definitely a place that should be high on your list!

Reviewed Nov ‘08 [AF]

The Source Espresso Bar
6/914 Military Road
Mosman  NSW  2088
Tel: (02) 9969 1368
www.thesourceespresso.com 

Tasting and blending coffee is a very complex, creative and scientific process which is unfortunately underestimated by a great number of people who actually work in the industry. Coffee cupping is one of those wonderful and very necessary rituals which sadly only a small percentage of coffee roasters, green buyers and retailers undertake. Unfortunately for the consuming public, this can lead to a lack of quality in coffee from those who do not regularly audit their suppliers, coffee production and the end product sold to consumers. Often these same people do not venture out trying new products and styles to improve the quality of the end cup. So why is coffee cupping so important, and what does cupping a coffee to produce an end product entail? (more…)