Five Senses Coffee

The business of beer

Wed, 3 Jun 2009 13:48:00 WST

We’ve often touted the similarities between wine and coffee — the common influence of terroir, the flavour profiles… You might think that it’s a bit of a stretch of the imagination to start seeing similarities between coffee and beer, but fortunately, our imaginations are second to none.

Plenty of crazy ideas get thrown around at the Five Senses, and the law of averages means that every now and then, one of those hair brained schemes turns out to be a winner. This is just how Beer Club began — a bit of joking over a casual beer one Friday night.

In recent months, a select few from the roastery have been exploring the world of beer in a more sophisticated manner, transferring the skills of their distinguished palates to the world of hops and malt.

Caleb, Brett and Ryan, self professed ‘Founding Fathers’ of the Five Senses Beer Club, couldn’t resist breaking down the flavour profile of one of their favourite brews one evening, and the idea snowballed from there.

They were well prepared for their next beer ‘cupping’, with ales the chosen focus for the night. They did their research and tracked down tasting notes for each of the beers, devised a beer review sheet, and the first official Beer Club tasting was under way.

As with any club, there are always a bunch of rules. Caleb, Brett and Ryan claim that the right to create the Constitution lies with them, the Founding Fathers, and they’re taking their time to ensure that they don’t leave anything out. They claim that they’re still working out the finer details, but to give you a little taste of their world, here’s a snippet from the Beer Club Constitution:

Thou shall never drink VB, Carlton Draught, Fosters or the like
Thou shall never allow light beer to pass thy lips
Thou shall bring one entry token (one six pack)

The results of each session are considered Beer Scripture — once a judgment of the beer has been passed, it becomes an unbreakable law.

Never keen to be outdone by their Eastern States counterparts, the boys in WA have jumped on the band wagon and are working on a ‘brother’ club over in the West. Hmm, does that mean that Ben’s cupping ‘how to’ will come in handy for more than just coffee?!

From cup to origin — part II

Wed, 3 Jun 2009 13:28:00 WST

Central America is a coffee geek’s dream, with stacks of countries producing world class beans — as well as plenty of beautiful people! Jen and Ben were lucky enough to live the dream, heading off to see some of the outstanding coffee on offer in Guatemala and El Salvador. Jen has generously sent us her diary of the Bennifer journey, so prepare to get a little envious…

We finally touch down in Guatemala City and catch a cab straight to Antigua (a city in the central Highlands of Guatemala), where we base ourselves for the next eight days. The last couple of weeks were great, but the change of scenery is timed perfectly, as we’ve pretty much had our fill of courses, conferences, parties and stuffy hotels. Since this is our first trip to Central America, we’ve come without much of an agenda. The real idea of this impromptu visit is to go with the flow and establish some footing in a region we know so well in theory, but so little in practice.

Visiting a producing country is all about building a strong and mutually beneficial relationship with the region and its producers. So as we rock up at the very tail end of the harvest, we are not worried about the lack of ripe cherries and photo ops — that’s not why we’re here. Arriving without a plan, we are counting on this trip to develop organically through some of the connections we made in Atlanta at the World Barista Championship. Lucky for us it does, indeed, happen that way, and we even manage to squeeze in a quick trip to El Salvador.

Our first stop is in Antigua, at the Los Pastores Mill, where we meet up with Eduardo the manager and local buyer who is happy to show us around. Los Pastores has both a wet and dry mill and they are only buying ripe cherries from a smallish group of farmers just north of Antigua. This means all the pulping, washing, fermentation, drying, sorting and hulling is done on-site, giving them good control. Eduardo explains that any coffee bagged and stamped as Los Pastores has to pass certain quality standards. Their goal is to not just make specialty grade, but to allow buyers to create a reasonable expectation of a quality and taste profile for that particular region/mill; in other words, to develop a brand. Anything that isn’t up to standard is sold under a different name – often locally, or as a lower grade.

At this time of year, the harvest is over and the patios are empty, which means all the action is happening indoors where the coffee is stored and held in parchment. The men are busy hulling and packing, while the women complete the final hand sorting in preparation for shipping. Eduardo gives us a handful of samples to take home and drives us back via the scenic route, providing us with an impressive view of Volcan de Agua (Antigua’s largest volcano) and its surrounding farms.

Back in Antigua, we spend the next couple of days walking around, making calls and planning our next move. This gives us a bit of time to sit back and enjoy some much needed R & R in the form of local food and music. Over dinner, we plan a trip the following morning to Panajachel, which is a small town a couple of hours away, on the famous Lake Atitlan. The volcanic lake is stunning and (much like Antigua) is surrounded by three volcanoes, two of which are active. It is also home to many small Mayan villages, a couple of which we manage to visit by boat. As the region supports extensive coffee growth, without planning, we stumble across numerous coffee plantations, mills, patios and fermenting coffee on our brief visit. We also manage to squeeze in a visit to the Crossroads Café where we meet Michael and family (originally from California) who have been living, roasting and serving locally grown coffee from a gas flame heated / foot pump activated boiler lever machine for the last nine years. It was a real treat. We take another bus back to Antigua, but it’s not long before we make plans to hit the road again.

The Cup of Excellence international jury was being held the following week in El Salvador and Christian Schaps from Mercanta kindly offered us a last minute ride, as well as the chance to visit a couple farms. We all meet up at Mercanta in Guatemala City the following day and hit the road for El Salvador, which is a short two-three hour drive. We got started early the following morning and met up with Rafael and Carmen, who took time to let us explore their farm ‘La Fany’. Carmen casually jokes about the name, as Ben and I have a teeny snicker. She says the farm has been in their family for over five generations and the name probably comes from one of the women in the family. The farm is just outside of the small town of Apaneca, (which translates as ‘River of Winds’) and is the highest city in El Salvador (1,455 metres above sea level).

This explains the large, shrub-like trees that grow tall and thin in a box shape around the coffee trees, acting as wind barriers. It seems this is unique to El Salvador and, more particularly, this region, and from a distance it looks like a ’waffled’ hillside. The trees at La Fany are looking a little bit stressed at the moment, as it is not long after harvest and the December/January winds, which are at their strongest, have stripped off quite a few leaves. Carmen kindly answers all our questions, as Rafael inspects his trees closely, and we move further into the farm.

To my surprise, they have led us to a small pocket in La Fany that has about ten trees that have blossomed early due to some extra water from a nearby catchment. It’s a beautiful and rare sight as the whole flowering process lasts only a fleeting two days, so we feel very lucky to have seen it. Although I’ve stuck my nose in many a coffee blossom before, the overwhelming fragrance of citrus and jasmine gets us all a bit giddy and I can only imagine what it must be like when the entire farm is in flower (only a short week away). The good news is that a healthy flowering means a good harvest, and according to Carmen, things are looking good for this next crop.

We also get a chance to stop at Finca El Carmen in the nearby town of Ataco, where we spend the better part of the afternoon exploring the mostly Bourbon farm. The trees are not as stressed, as the location of the farm shields it from some of the harsher winds. Although the harvest is over, the farm cycle continues and we get a better look at some traditional El Salvadorian pruning. The day is just about over and we head back to the hotel, where we spend the evening catching up and mingling with the many familiar faces that have now arrived for the week of COE.

We spend our last day making the trek back to Guatemala City, and meet up with Ricardo Zeleya who takes us to his farm, Santa Clara, on the southern slopes of Volcan de Agua. Like most farms in Antigua, Santa Clara has been in the family for generations as the cost of land here makes it near-impossible for people to buy and start new coffee farms. As we four-wheel drive up to 1,890 metres above sea level (the highest point of the farm), we can’t help but notice how immaculate, lush and organised everything is. The farm consists of mostly Bourbon and Caturra, as well as some baby Geishas as a side project. They are fully equipped with both wet and dry mills, and a very large and new (as of last year) mechanical dryer. We see beautiful nurseries, new plantation areas, worm compost, lush plants and immaculately pruned shade trees.

During the harvest, they employ up to 400 workers to help with picking the ripe cherries by hand. Picking lasts an average of 110 days. Each lot, from each day, is cupped and assessed before they are blended together and sold. Santa Clara is within the geographical bounds of Antigua and can therefore stamp their bags with the ’Genuine Antiguan’ stamp and seal provided by APCA (Antiguan Coffee Producers Association). Ricardo’s brother-in-law, Rony Ascensio, spends the day with us and, although we don’t have time to visit his farm (Santa Ana la Huerta) in Sierra de las Minas, it’s somewhere we would really like to see on our next visit.

Sadly it’s already time to go and we head back to the city and catch a flight to San Francisco where we spend the next four days. What can I say? It’s a beautiful city with a really friendly coffee community. The crew at Ritual are all very welcoming and accommodating; they let us sneak downstairs to join a staff cupping. They even sample-roasted a few of our samples (from the farms), giving us a preview of what we have to look forward to. We rent a car and hit up Barefoot Coffee Roasters, Four-Barrel and even manage to spend a day visiting the Napa Valley. It all happens so quickly and, before we know it, we’re saying our farewells at LAX as Ben boards his flight back to Melbourne.

The journey was truly inspiring, and I can’t wait to go back and start building a Direct Trade relationship with some of the Guatemalan growers, so that Five Senses can bring some of these amazing coffees to your cup.

One cup at a time

Wed, 3 Jun 2009 13:19:00 WST

Coffee is an intriguing and whimsical thing. Many of us start on our caffeinated journey in an effort to achieve something that doesn’t taste like last night’s used dishwater, and, as we strive forward, we begin to insist that there must be some absolute, some ultimate combination of factors that will achieve the perfect cup every time. And then we taste the cup that, made in completely the wrong way, against all odds, indeed against all reason, tastes like true nectar of the gods. This is where our journey truly begins!

One of the most exciting aspects of coffee is the ever-increasing variety of flavours out there. In terms of agronomy and horticulture, coffee is only a fledgling industry, certainly in comparison to wine and viticulture. The majority of coffee is grown and produced in third world or developing countries, which leads to myriad challenges and restraints within the coffee industry. Aside from industry infrastructure, the flow of communication and education is also a huge issue — imagine the now commonplace image of the cellar door at the winemakers, comfortably positioned a scant few hundred metres from the vines and those who tend them. Juxtapose that image with the thousands of dollars needed to hop on a plane, cross oceans, and trek across mountainous terrain to arrive in a coffee-producing country where everyone speaks another language!

Despite these hurdles, the information is starting to flow between roaster and coffee grower, and the range of carefully grown, well processed, distinguished coffees is beginning to increase. In order to continue this development and communication, there must be an established format and structure to assess these coffees. Everyone knows whether their coffee is good or bad, but to decide whether the cup character of one coffee is better than another, we must break down the components in the cup.

Coffee tasting is much like wine tasting: a lot of what we discern as flavour is, in fact, heavily derived from aroma. Remember how food — and coffee — seem bland and tasteless when you’re suffering from a blocked nose or flu? We traditionally experience four flavour components — bitter, sweet, sour and salty, with a fifth, umami, increasingly being recognised as the savoury character of food and drink. For a great cup of coffee, we’re looking for a particular range and make up of these characters — an overly salty coffee isn’t my first choice!

The practice of professionally tasting coffee is called cupping. By using an internationally recognised, structured process for the preparation of this coffee, along with a format for assessment and record keeping, professional coffee cuppers are able to rate the quality of a cup along fairly objective lines. This means, for example, that if I cup a coffee in Australia, my scores will hold some relevance for those cupping the same coffee in the United States. The establishment of a common language of coffee quality is a key instrument in moving both the producing and consuming coffee industries towards an improved product.

So what exactly is cupping? Cupping is nothing if not simple, and it’s a great way to start educating your own palate, the collective palates of your café staff and even those of your friends and family. Here are some key points to setting up your own cupping session:

Fresh, appropriately roasted, coffee — you want this coffee to be roasted somewhat lighter than your standard espresso roast: generally not far after ‘first crack’ in the roasting process. (A proper filter or plunger roast will also work relatively effectively.) The lighter roast profile allows the true origin and potential defect characters of the bean to shine through.
Dosage — one standard used around the world is 8.25g per 150ml of water (55g/1Ltr). Grind your coffee on a medium-fine setting using a burr grinder, and place directly into your cup or bowl. (Remember to multiply your dosage depending on the volume of your vessel.)
Smell — use that powerhouse of your senses, the nose, to take in the character of the coffee as dry grounds, the fragrance of the coffee. Here you should pick up an indication of what your coffee may taste like.
Water — boil your filtered water and allow it to sit for 30 seconds off the heat. Pour the water directly over the grinds in your bowl and allow it to steep for 3 – 4 minutes.
Breaking the crust — if you have the right amount of grinds in your cup, you will find that they have formed a crust over the coffee liquid below: breaking the crust is one of the most intense sensory aspects of cupping. Get your nose as close as possible to the cup and break the crust by pushing the grinds back and down into the cup. As you break this encapsulating cover, a rush of trapped coffee aromatics will wash over your ready senses, providing you with the aroma of the coffee. (Make sure that you rinse your spoon between each cup to avoid any cross contamination.)
Clear the surface — once you have broken the crust on all the coffees, use your spoons to clear the surface of any remaining grinds, again remembering not to cross contaminate.
Taste! Using a deep-bowled dessert spoon, dip it into your coffee and use a big slurp to take the liquid into your mouth: the idea is to combine the coffee with air to allow it to vaporise and hit more of your taste buds, such as those on the roof of your mouth. Spitting out after tasting is preferred by many professional cuppers due to the volume of samples they have to get to, but you don’t have to be so strict with your own experimentations — just enjoy the process.

My cupping experience began a couple of years ago, when I began to work more closely with the pros here in the roasting department at Five Senses. I wanted to see what was truly available in the bean’s character and, by brewing espresso, which uses both a pretty intense extraction process and a darker roast, I was finding that these characters were becoming muted. Locking down the huge amount of variables around espresso extraction to provide an exactly consistent cup to assess is also a huge challenge, and so I moved towards more and more traditional cupping, which has opened a whole new world of coffee appreciation to me.

There’s a level of ceremony and theatre involved in preparing a cupping. You’re there with the coffee the whole way through the process, weighing, smelling, steeping and slurping. One of my favourite experiences is taking a cupping session with people who are new to the process — there’s something really enjoyable about the basic motions of breaking a crust and clearing the surface of the cup that everyone seems to take pleasure in. And then there’s the coffee! Putting a wide range of coffee characters on the cupping table can really show the variety of flavours, textures and profiles that are out there. People often make lots of appreciative and surprised noises as they work their way through the selection. Who ever thought you’d taste a sparkling, pineapple fruit juice or rich paw paw and burnt sugar in your coffee?

Another turning point in my cupping journey was cupping at origin. Last year I travelled to the coffee growing regions in Aceh, northern Sumatra, and day after day we would cup samples from farms only kilometres apart: the difference in flavour was astounding! This experience was focused around cupping for consistency and defects, where each coffee sample would be presented six times in the same traditional cupping format. By tasting all six cups, it was possible to gain a good average taste of what the coffee would be like, and to discern whether there were any unpleasant, mouldy or fermented defects hiding in some of the coffee beans. Influenced by the micro-climate, the harvesting quality and the processing quality, each sample presented different characters and flavours. This intensive exposure to coffees from one distinct region once again emphasized the utmost importance of traceability. We would think it preposterous if a wine list in a restaurant only listed wines by their country of origin. With wine we expect country, region, vineyard and varietal, so why not with coffee?

While we have an espresso-based coffee culture in Australia, cupping allows us to see the potential within the bean. The job of the roaster and barista is then to maximise those tantalising and unique flavours. Cappuccinos and lattes are obviously the fuel keeping many of us running day-to-day, but it’s exciting to note that alternative brewing methods are beginning to be offered at a number of the country’s leading cafés and espresso bars. Plungers, siphons, drip filters, cold presses, and Clover brewing systems are sprouting up around the country, offering alternative, exceptional coffee experiences. Get out there and try some! Alternatively, delve into one of the little known joys of coffee culture and organise your own cupping — it’s cheap, easy and great fun to do with a group of friends, no matter what their coffee knowledge.

Voyage hits the mark

Wed, 3 Jun 2009 13:06:00 WST

Situated on West Coast Highway in Sorrento, the distant murmur of the ocean gently soothes your senses as the friendly staff welcome you to Voyage Kitchen. Weekends are always busy — the uninitiated would be wise to book ahead — but early on this weekday there’s a little more breathing space.

Voyage always has a pleasant jumble of patrons — a few tanned, toned and sweaty bodies squeezed in alongside those of us who are a little lazier, plenty of young couples with bubs and the odd suit or two, multitasking with their laptop and breaky vying for space on the table.

There was universal agreement within our little group that the breakfast standout is undoubtedly Norma’s Salsa — the plate is generously stacked with two gently poached eggs, plump, grilled cherry tomatoes, half an avocado, wilted spinach and marinated feta on a couple of thick slices of toast. It’s hard to resist ordering it on every visit. Fluffy buttermilk pancakes arrive replete with the best of the current seasonal fruit, and at this time of the year, it’s poached pears, honey and rose water mascarpone and nut crumble. Gluten free bread is available on request, for an additional $1.00, which really ramps up the number of choices for the gluten-free individual.

We’re keen for a coffee infusion first up, and it’s served sweet and smooth, and it hits the spot. Little wonder, when we spy Tracey, one of Perth’s best baristas, reigning supreme at the Synesso.

The naughty-looking sweet things in the glass display cabinet allure with their siren song — white chocolate and hazelnut blondies, chocolate and pear brownies, and a choice of lemon or frangipani tart. The gluten-free flourless chocolate hazelnut cake is singing particularly sweetly this morning, but fortunately it’s early in the morning and our collective sweet teeth are still a little sleepy.

The lunch menu at Voyage features a daily changing range of burgers and filos, pies, paninis, quesadillas, toasties, wraps and savoury tarts, amongst other options. Voyage is a BYO-friendly establishment ($2.00 corkage per person), which is popular with the regulars.

There’s excitement at our table as we spot a blackboard notice — Voyage now opens for dinner from 6.00 to 9.00pm on Thursdays, with a two course set menu that changes each week. We have yet to experience the pleasure, but eagerly peruse this week’s menu as we discuss our Thursday evening availability.

The team at Voyage are meticulous in everything they do. They aim high, and hit the mark. They use only the best quality ingredients in all of their dishes, and their desire for excellence extends to their coffee, too. They know their blend, they take the time to ensure that every variable is just right, and their care and concern is translated to the result in the cup. Too often, the places that are passionate about the food they serve often let themselves down with their coffee, but thankfully, Voyage is one of the few exceptions.

Voyage Kitchen Delicatessen: 128 West Coast Highway, Sorrento WA 6020; Phone: (08) 9447 2443
Opening Hours: 7.00am – 2.00pm Monday, 7.00am – 5.00pm Tuesday to Sunday (also open 6.00 – 9.00pm on Thursdays)

From cup to origin — part 1

Fri, 8 May 2009 11:30:00 WST

Five Senses’ own Ben Bicknell has been on an epic adventure from the cafes of Montreal, to the rigorous challenges of a week’s training at Coffee Lab International and the exhilaration of judging at the World Barista Championships in Atlanta. Here’s a peek at his adventures, couched in an inimitable Ben-style …

Packing for this trip, I ended up kneeling on the top of my suitcase, vainly straining to tug the zip that last couple of centimetres to get it closed. Heading from snow in Canada to the sunny tropics of the Guatemalan dry season meant that I could pack both the Hawaiian shirts and the stylish, fluffy earmuffs. Weather aside, my travels were focused around the World Barista Championships (WBC) in Atlanta, my second WBC. The first was in Bern, Switzerland back in 2006. So on this, my second trip to the US, I was tripping over myself with excitement; not only had I been given the honour of judging for the first time at the WBC, but I was also going to catch up with my good friend, trainer extraordinaire and 3rd place finalist in the 2008 Australian Barista Championships, Jennifer Murray, who has been luxuriating in Toronto, Canada for the past 9 months. As often seems to happen in the dynamic and exciting world of coffee, this trip grew in bursts, like some caffeine fuelled mutant, from one ‘Hey, why don’t you come visit!’ to another. It has developed into a truly epic, mind-expanding undertaking. Jen and I have spent the previous several weeks traversing the ultimate in end-user cafes and the world’s finest baristas, through to the intricate, raw reality of the coffee farms; a true seed to cup journey.

Arriving in Montreal, Canada, Jen picked me up from the airport. A delay leaving Melbourne meant that all my connecting flights went their own merry way — with not enough time for me to check in, but apparently enough time for my luggage to be whisked away into the black hole of airport bureaucracy. Arriving in Montreal without any luggage, I huddled through the following four chilly days, in desperate need of reinvigorating coffee. Stop one was Myriad café, Scott Rao and Anthony Bender’s new project, in downtown Montreal. We’ve been offering Scott’s book, ‘The Professional Barista Handbook’, for sale for some time on our Five Senses’ website, so I was really keen to check out the embodiment of these techniques. Myriad is quite small, but equipped with a plethora of brewing equipment. Serving up a combination of 49th Parallel Espresso blends and Terroir Coffee as their brewed coffee, they’re certainly working with some of the best roasters in North America. With a sweet looking Mystral machine in the center of the service bench, the vibe was low key and coffee-focused. A Yirgacheffe Konga co-operative filled the void in my stomach and did its bit to dispel the lingering jet lag. Interestingly, Myriad are structuring their prices for brewed coffees on the amount of time needed to prepare them — the Hario halogen light Syphons cost around AUD$10 each — which means that the baristas can then afford to spend some serious time talking with the customer about their coffee. Overall, they did a great job on the coffee front. Scott wasn’t there at the time, but co-owner Anthony and barista Chris were both happy to chat and recommend their favorite cup of the moment — definitely a café to add to the worldwide list of drop ins on your next world tour!

After much huddling into the hoodie, and a strangely enjoyable meal of Poutine, a Quebecois favourite of chunky chips, gravy and curds, our second stop in Montreal was Veritas Café. Owned and run by Sam, Veritas is positioned smack bang in the center of the tourist district of old Montreal. This works well in the summer, but means that during the winter he becomes heavily reliant on local regulars. Luckily for Sam, his genuine, friendly attitude, the wide open spaces inside the café and a great, fresh food menu keeps all manner of locals coming back. One of the first things you notice entering Veritas is the sleek curve of the Synesso Cyncra. The 49th Parallel espresso pulled out of this machine notched up another one on the charts for Montreal’s specialty coffee scene, and Jen and I spent an enjoyable few hours talking with Sam about his plans for the café and the differences in technique between Australia and Canada (and tasting the results — of course!)

Between stops for caffeine, Jen took me up to Mount Royal to see the Saint Joseph’s Oratory. The highest point in Montreal, the Oratory is a spectacular building perched on Mount Royal overlooking the city. Climbing the 283 steps to the highest point on Easter Weekend seemed fitting, the taste of Europe was in the air, as around me I heard the first language of Quebec, French. The beautiful architecture nestled amongst grey piles of snow lingering from the recent winter added a slightly surreal feeling. Montreal truly is a beautiful city to visit, and I just wish I had had more time to explore the terraced houses and awesome graffiti.

After this quick visit to Montreal, Jen and I requisitioned Jen’s mum’s car and headed south towards the border of Canada. In the ridiculously short time of two hours, we traversed the snowy hills and headed down to Waterbury in Vermont, and a week-long course at Coffee Lab International. Waterbury-Stowe is an achingly beautiful small town nestled among the mountains of the northern US. Piles of snow and a brisk wind were signs that winter was still lingering. Jen and I were at Coffee Lab to attend the SCAA Cupping Judge Course which would stretch over an entire week and take us through a plethora of coffee and sensory analysis exercises and assessments. Under the tutelage of Mane Alves, we worked our way through the entire spectrum of coffee assessment, from green bean defect grading, cupping triangulations, organic acids, regional cuppings to olfactory identification exercises. It was an intense week as we were required to focus on minute differences occurring on our palate and identify and grade them. At times the cupping lab was blacked out, with only dim red lights for illumination, to make sure that we couldn’t detect any visual difference in our triangulations or cuppings. The week long programme really increased our understanding of the connection between the green coffee and the distinct characters we were tasting, and how to categorise and communicate those characters in an international language. Between our focused coffee tastings, we made frequent stops at the Alchemy Brewery in town for some fine IPAs and classic American wings. A couple of days into the course, I restrained my childlike delight behind a very, very thin mask of coolness as some light flurries (see, I know the tech speak) of my first falling snow settled over Waterbury — they were actually, like, snowflakes, you know! I had another surreal ‘travelling moment’ during the week as I floated on my back in the heated indoor swimming pool watching the snow drift down through the glass walls. Crazy! Coffee is truly amazing. Following the bean has led to some amazing places and people. The week in Waterbury was a technicolour sensory experience with new flavours, great coffees, terrible coffees, alpine mountains and crazy American meal sizes.

After a brief collapse from sensory overload at the end of the week, next up was our flight to Atlanta and the World Barista Championships. Landing in warm, green Atlanta, Jen and I spent a day taking in the sights, and sampling some of the local espresso at Octane. Here we were reminded of the comforting, incestuous, energetic and, above all, small cadre, of the specialty coffee world, as more and more industry faces from around the globe appeared for a quick shot of espresso or some delicious French press. In rolled Emily Oak, Brent Fortune, the Russian barista champion, the Canadian barista champ, the Australian barista champ and also the Guatemalan barista champ, Raul Rodas, who hung out with us a fair bit, discussing our trip down to Guatemala following the comp. The café staff were all super friendly and understanding about the barrage of coffee orders, geekiness and big names and egos walking into the café. It was one of those great moments where everyone is invigorated and buzzing with anticipation. The world title is anyone’s game and everyone’s just pumped to be there and involved in this little family who make you feel like your obsession isn’t so weird after all. After imbibing many of Octane’s fine shots, along with a couple of their equally fine beers on tap (great beer, great coffee…..brilliant!) we made our exit to prepare for the WBC Judge calibration the following day.

It really was an honour to be chosen to judge at the WBC. Where else in the world do you get coffee served from over 50 countries around the world? Nowhere except the WBC. And I got to taste some! Needless to say, I was pumped to see which countries I was judging, and meet my co-judges. Some of these guys we’ve met and watched on WBC videos for the past several years and getting their perspective was like a rapid ‘data dump’ of judging snap shots — varied, personal and driven by an underlying passion for the industry. The calibration day prior to the competition was a refresher of the information, techniques and attitudes that we’d been assessed on in the various world regional judge accreditation sessions. It was great to be part of this whole process, as my own involvement with developing the judging pool and support for judges in Australia has been rapidly expanding, so this was confirmation that we’re on the right track.

I finally got my judging schedule. First up was Italy, followed by India, Thailand, Spain and Croatia — a pretty broad range, including two producing countries (yes, Thailand, as I found out during their presentation, grows some unique coffee). I won’t go into detail about every performance (I’m sure there are many accounts, photos and videos out there already), but the baristas’ attitude was amazing. They all had dignity, style and a real passion to do their best, without any arrogance or awkwardness. I really feel that the recent change in the rules for the WBC and the adjusted approach for the judges — in that it’s not an ‘us against them’ thing, but more of a joint journey, with the judges helping the baristas to present as well as they possibly can — has meant that the whole vibe of the competitions has changed. From a rigid, structured (almost robotic) presentation style, we now see much more personality, and genuine, exciting coffee-driven presentations.

The next few days were a blur for Jen and I, as we dashed from judging, watching the competitors, trawling the trade show floor, catching up with old friends and attending courses and lectures. Some of the most informative discussions were at one of the various after parties, over a beer and a pizza, or during a hectic meeting in the hallway of the convention centre. These international coffee meetings act as a crucible and catalyst for growth. After securing some sweet seats for the finals of the WBC, we, along with several hundred others, watched the presentations of the top six scoring baristas from over 50 countries — the UK, Ireland, USA, Hungary, Korea and Canada. Having been involved in barista competitions for the past several years, I’ve stopped forming expectations of who may or may not place. There are so many variables to a performance and, in the end, the only people ever able to judge the quality of those variables are the judges. Yes, the shot may look like liquid gold to us in the crowd, but to the judges it could be astringent and flat. Yes, to us in the crowd, the barista waxing lyrical about their signature drink sounded incredible, but they were also looking at the crowd while they spoke, not at the judges who were assessing them. There was a great variety of personalities and presentations in the top six, from the intense showmanship and energy of Lee Jong Hoon of Korea, to the measured, calmly analytical presentation of Michael Phillips of USA. The sincere presentations from Sammy Piccolo of Canada and Attila Molnar of Hungary, oozed with passion. For me in the crowd, the newly—crowned World Barista Champion, Gwilym Davies from the UK, was incredibly dynamic. His message came from a place many of us know well — he was impassioned, frustrated and determined. With his time rapidly running out, Gwilym checked the clock and then calmly continued at the same pace, connecting with the judges, and hammering home his message about the fleeting existence of a great espresso and his frustration with an assessment criteria which is based upon a patchwork history. Sound cryptic? That’s why I’m not up there speaking his words! I’m sure video replays of Gwilym’s performance will allow the light of reason to reach my explanation…hopefully….

With the festivities carrying on through the night, the crowd gathered for one last after party — the feeling very reminiscent of the time hanging out in Octane prior to the comp. Once again, the industry had come back together in a no-holds-barred celebration of coffee, the new world champion and spokesperson for our community, and the opportunity to mingle, learn and challenge ourselves. With a tornado warning for downtown Atlanta driving many out of the bar/bowling alley hired for the official after party, Jen and I beat an early retreat in preparation for our flight down to Guatemala City and the next leg of our journey!

Dawn came around far too early, and we groggily piled ourselves and our luggage into the taxi waiting to take us to the airport. After working out the convoluted American Airlines check in system, we assisted a number of non-English speaking coffee representatives from Nicuragua in working their way through the automatic check in process. Looking back, this was an interesting ‘shoe on the other foot’ scenario for what was about to come. With many a ‘gracias’ we oozed onto our early morning flight and took off on the flight to Guatemala.

… stay tuned for Part two where Jen picks up where Ben left off. Jen will talk about the second half of their trip which included Guatemala, ...

What makes you buzz? (re-released)

Wed, 6 May 2009 16:06:00 WST

Caffeine and Coffee are often synonymous in people’s minds, but in reality, we don’t often know all that much about this elusive relationship. In this months article, Ben Bicknell, our Coffee Quality Specialist, sheds a bit more light on the involvement of this common drug in our everyday fix.

Stumbling out of bed in the morning, the first thing many people do is drag themselves to their plunger, drip filter or espresso machine and make themselves a steamin’ cup-o-joe. With what feels like the elixir of life flowing through their veins, they’re suddenly ready to face the world. Whether it’s part of your waking up ritual, you’re savouring the unique flavours of your latest single origin or actively seeking whatever stimulant you can lay your hands on, usually your morning beverage will contain some caffeine.

What kind of coffee bean you’re using and how you’re brewing it will certainly affect the level of stimulation. There are two main species of the Coffea plant — Arabica and Canephora (commonly known as Robusta). Arabica is recognised as being of much higher quality, with distinguished aromatics and complex flavours, while Robusta tends towards woody, leathery and flat flavours. The Robusta plant naturally contains approximately twice the amount of caffeine as Arabica coffee. As the name would suggest, Robusta coffee is a much more robust species — it is more resistant to pests and diseases, crops more often and is easier to grow. Because of these characteristics, Robusta is often used as a filler in cheap instant coffees and large international brand blends you find on most supermarket shelves. Almost all coffee used in Australian cafes is 100% Arabica. As such, better quality specialty coffee will not only taste better — but be lower in caffeine as well.

Of course, there is the option of decaffeinated coffee beans. To be certified as decaf, coffee needs to have 97% of the caffeine removed from the bean. There are two primary methods of decaffeination — the ‘Natural’ or citric acid method and the Swiss Water Decaf method. Neither of these processes use any harmful chemicals and both attempt to maintain the coffee’s natural flavour.

The brewing process, particularly the steeping time, has a big impact on the amount of caffeine extracted. A single shot of espresso has approximately 40mg of caffeine — the average usage in a 8oz takeaway cup. An 8oz cup of drip coffee has 145mg of caffeine buzzing around inside. For a comprehensive list of caffeine concentrations in a wide variety of beverages, check out Energy Fiend. If some of these numbers surprise you, remember to take into account the sugar content, which can add to your perceived buzz.

Coffee contains hundreds of different chemicals of which caffeine is just one. Caffeine is properly one of a class of xanthine compounds. By blocking the binding between a neurotransmitter and the receptors in the brain which would normally cause sedation, these xanthines stimulate brain activity¹. Caffeine is found in over 60 plant species, including the most commonly known, cocoa beans, tea leaves and, obviously, coffee.

Although caffeine is considered a fairly mild drug, it has a number of different effects on the human brain and physiology, primarily stimulating the central nervous system, resulting in a more alert mind and reduced fatigue. Obviously, increased consumption of coffee — over five cups, for instance — can have adverse effects, including an increase in heart rate and breathing, anxiety and light-headedness. As most coffee enthusiasts have noticed on their rare trips away from a source of their regular beverage, caffeine also creates a certain level of dependence, with a splitting headache occurring around a day after the last fix.

Obviously, as with everything else in life, consumption in moderation is the key to enjoying your daily coffee. While the aim of specialty coffee is to keep a focus firmly on the flavours and culinary aspect in the cup, there is no doubt that caffeine is an integral part of our cultural interaction with this beverage. From social stimulant to fatigue battler, or as a side effect of your gourmet explorations, the caffeine in our coffee means different things to different people, but will forever be a part of the rich culture surrounding coffee.

Visit the Coffee Section of our website for our full range of decaffeinated and regular coffees.

¹Digum, G. & Luttinger, N., The Coffee Book: Anatomy of An Industry, New York, 1999, pg 116

Price increase

Tue, 5 May 2009 15:36:00 WST

As of today we have increased the prices for our coffee. We regret the need to do this but over the last 12 months we have been absorbing a number of increased costs due to downturns in exchange rates and the increasing costs of coffee as a commodity. We can no longer continue to just absorb these increased costs and so we have now needed to increase our prices.

As a valued customer we hope you will understand this increase and of course we will continue to find the best specialty coffee beans from the four corners of the earth and roast and dispatch, fresh to your door.

Anyone for tea?

Fri, 1 May 2009 10:26:00 WST

From London to Sydney, New York to Melbourne, chic writers are commenting on an emerging social trend — the rise of the tea party. Banished from the image doldrums, tea is emerging in the Western world as a force to be reckoned with. Famous hotels are taking three sittings of afternoon tea — and they still can’t meet demand! Tiny finger scones, rich petit fours, transparent fruit tarts, fancy china … and the drink at the centre of this new social fashion? Why tea, of course. Tea, the drink at the centre of a thousand conversations. Tea, the drink people reach for in times of crisis. Tea, the most widely-drunk beverage in the world — after water, of course. Yes, tea.

Here at Five Senses, we’re proud of our wide range of premium teas. There’s truly a tea for every occasion. In need of a strong wake up call to banish the early morning blues? English Breakfast will do it every time. Inviting people round for the afternoon? Why not dust off the china, bake a cake and make it a feast of an occasion, scented with the delicate bergamot of fine Earl Grey. Too full after supper, and just want to collapse in front of the TV? Soothing peppermint tea, the centuries old cure for overindulgent eating, will ease the aches of indigestion and lead to a real sense of well being. Want a pick-me-up beverage mid-morning, but you’ve already overdosed on caffeine? Brew a pot of fragrant green or jasmine tea and pour into steaming cups. The scent alone will bring others to join you.

Drunk by Indians in the raging heat, Russians in the freezing cold and Brits on just about every occasion, tea is making a comeback as the drink du jour right here in Australia. Why not join the trend and discover for yourself our amazing range of teas? From scented Lemongrass to the more robust Russian Caravan or PNG Black, we truly have a tea for every occasion.

Milk or no milk, that is the question?

Of course, the endless debate still rages; how is it best brewed? Milk first or afterwards? With lemon, sugar, honey, or just the real thing? Experts seem agreed that great tea is brewed when the pot is first thoroughly heated. China, porcelain, ceramic or glass are the vessels of choice here — with china, porcelain or ceramic winning the caffeinated tea debate, and glass with a diffuser for the herbal varieties. So warm the pot thoroughly and add the appropriate amount of tea leaves (a teaspoon per person and a small one for the pot). For black teas, add water that has just boiled and leave for 3-5 mins before serving. Some teas require a little more time — but strength should be controlled by the amount of leaves, not by steeping time. Then come the bigger choices — lemon, sugar, milk — or just pure tea. For herbal infusions and green tea, the water should be a cooler 80-85°C or you risk a bitter brew. With herbal infusions, after steeping, lift out the diffuser (or strain the leaves) and pour the fragrant brew. Then just sit back and enjoy.

From the Mad Hatter’s tea party to the wild politics of the more famous Boston Tea Party, tea has featured in many historical moments. And it’s still changing lives today. Medical papers eulogise about the effects of antioxidants in green tea. Herbalists recommend the soothing properties of peppermint. And just about everyone who’s ever tried it raves about the delicate, smoky, jasmine-scented depths of the exclusive hand-rolled and gloriously extravagant Dragon’s Tears. There really is a tea for everyone. So what’s your brew?

Keen to try one of our teas? Have a look at the entire range in our Teas, Chocs and Chai section.

Azure delights

Fri, 1 May 2009 09:40:00 WST

I’m not exactly a Mt Hawthorn local, but with a sister living in the area, I’m a regular visitor — so regular, in fact, that I should be awarded frequent flyer points! Keen to make the most of WA’s unusually balmy autumn weather, I decided that an afternoon’s alfresco dining at Azure Restaurant would be just the thing.

Azure Restaurant, situated on the bustling Scarborough Beach Road, opened its doors in March and in a matter of months, has raised the bar for dining in Mt Hawthorn. It caters for a broad spectrum of occasions, from a casual coffee and catch up with friends to leisurely lunches, intimate evening dining or late-night coffee and dessert.

The menu is mouth-wateringly good, with overtones of Asia and Italy, and a generous selection of vegetarian dishes — including many which the chef will happily modify to suit your dietary requirements. Lunch offers a choice of ‘graze’, ‘gourmet sandwiches’ (like the rosemary-infused wagyu beef burger), or a more substantial ‘meal’, and, of course, ‘dessert’. Azure’s dinner menu is divided into ‘to taste’, ‘entrees’, ‘main’ and ‘dessert’.

Deciding between tempura prawns in angel hair filo, marinated salmon tartare, roasted tomato and scallop soup and slow braised pork belly is no mean feat. And it’s decidedly difficult to remember to save room for dessert! That’s where the dessert stomach comes into its own (hard core sweet tooths will know what I mean).

Forget the diet! Skipping dessert at Azure would be sacrilege. Azure Restaurant boasts an award-winning international pastry chef, and the desserts are simply heavenly. On my visit, I had to choose between tiramisu, black forest dome, chocolate caraway cake, black cherry cheesecake and a trio of crème brulees. It took some serious pondering.

The crème brulees won out — just. I simply couldn’t resist the opportunity to indulge in three desserts at once! In a masterful display of self control, I savoured the flavours slowly, working my way through the trio — vanilla bean, mocha and (my favourite) pistachio. My flat white was the perfect complement, smooth and sweet.

Murmurs of appreciation from a nearby table, along with declarations that, “We definitely have to come here for a girls’ night out” assured me that I wasn’t alone in my appreciation of Azure Restaurant. It really is a stylish establishment.

Azure Restaurant: 40/148 Scarborough Beach Road, Mt Hawthorn WA 6016; Phone: (08) 9443 5433
Opening Hours: Tuesday to Friday: Coffee and dessert or lunch from 11.00am(ish) – 3.00pm, Dinner from 6.00pm; Saturday and Sunday: Coffee and dessert 10.00am(ish) or lunch 11.00am(ish) – 3.30pm, Dinner from 6.00pm

Supporting fairtrade at Vada Café

Fri, 1 May 2009 08:16:00 WST

With Fair Trade Fortnight in full swing, we thought it was high time for us to take another trip to one of our favourite haunts, Vada Café. Situated on busy Nepean Highway in Frankston, Vada Café is a strong supporter of the Fairtrade movement.

When you learn the story behind Vada Café, their decision to use a Five Senses Fairtrade blend doesn’t come as any great surprise. In fact, Vada Café shares a few parallels with Five Senses.

The idea behind Vada Café was dreamed up by founding director, Rick Paynter, while he was undertaking mission work in Papua New Guinea. Having experienced first-hand the urban slums of PNG, Rick was keen to educate Australians about the thousands of Papua New Guineans who live in extreme poverty. It was Rick’s hope that educating people about the realities of life in PNG would encourage them to become advocates for change. Rick felt that a café would provide just the right setting to achieve this, and so Vada Café was born, with the mission “creating a great café experience in support of a great concern for the poor.”

Not only does Vada Café provide a great forum for what Rick calls “conversations of concern,” but all of the café’s profits are donated to the Gateway Children’s Fund. The Gateway Children’s Fund works with PNG communities to improve the rates of child survival, to ensure that children and young adults have access to education and to provide vital infrastructure.

The team at Vada Café cheerfully prepare their Fairtrade blend for a huge range of customers. The menu tempts many to add brekkie or lunch to their coffee order, with an array of salads, wraps, and more hearty selections that are made fresh on site by Vada Café’s chefs. They also offer a kid’s menu that’s sure to satisfy their pint-sized customers.

Get into the spirit of the Fair Trade Fortnight, and head down to Vada Café to support the guys who support Fairtrade.

Vada Café: 465 Nepean Highway, Frankston VIC 3199; Phone: (03) 9783 6423 Opening Hours: 7.00am – 4.00pm Monday to Friday, 8.00am – 4.00pm Saturday and Sunday (closed on Public Holidays)

On the road

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 14:53:00 WST

Some of you may be aware that each year, coffee tragics from around the globe gather somewhere in the US for the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s annual expo. This is the biggest event on the specialty coffee calendar and this year, the expo was even bigger, as it was combined with the World Barista Championship. The host city this year was Atlanta, Georgia.

Two of our young guns are in the States, making sure that we keep up with the hottest trends in the world coffee scene. Our favourite Canadian, Jenny Murray, and our resident coffee freak, Ben Bicknell, started the trip by attending the demanding Cupping and Q Graders Course at Coffee Lab in Vermont, with the legendary Mané Alves.

Coffee Lab is considered the top roasting and sensory facility in the world. Word is the kids did very well and we look forward to a more formal announcement very soon. Could Australia have its first certified Q grader?!

From there, Ben and Jen jetted down to Atlanta, where Ben judged at WBC. There’s no doubt that this would have been an amazing experience, and we look forward to Ben passing on some tips to our local competitors on his return.

If that wasn’t enough, they’ve now headed to Guatemala for an origin trip. Anyone feeling a little jealous?

Never mind, you can do the next best thing and follow their travels here, as they explore the world of specialty coffee.

It's all in the cup

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 13:19:00 WST

One of our mantras at Five Senses is ‘it’s all about the result in the cup’.

After the last couple of weeks I’ve realised the cup itself may be just as important. Let me explain…

For the past few weeks, my team (Mark, Jeremy and Ben) and I have been hitting a bunch of our cafés, checking out how they were operating and seeing if there was any room for improvement. At the first café we visited, Mark and Jeremy were trying to assist the owner to work out why a neighbouring café was pulling trade away from them when their coffee and techniques were better.

On closer analysis, we watched as they pulled beautiful shots … then totally camouflaged their good work with way too much milk. If you are making great coffee — let it shine.

The second café took the same problem even further. Their cups were really better suited to eating cereal out of than drinking coffee! Not only did this totally swamp the coffee, it also killed any potential for second cup sales. A better sized cup would have allowed the coffee to shine and also encouraged the customer to have another cup in the same sitting, or return later in the day.

In many ways, the cup says a lot about your venue. Most cafés trying to do great coffee are looking for stylish cups of medium size (somewhere around 200mLs) that allow the coffee to shine and give them a point of difference from their competition. What does your cup say about your café?

Storing your coffee in your cafe

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 10:04:00 WST

For many people, coffee is still thought of as a dry good that doesn’t need any specific attention in regards to storage and handling. Obviously, this is a long way from the truth! In changing people’s perceptions, I try to get them to think of coffee as a fresh food product, and then things start to make sense to them.

Coffee appreciates being in a stable and cool environment, insulated from any extremes of temperature and preferably in a dark place. Café environments are notoriously short of storage space and, unfortunately, coffee often draws the short straw.

Some of the mistakes I frequently run into when I review café operations are:

Storing coffee on a high shelf, close to the roof. There is often heat from appliances (such as sandwich presses) trapped in a layer just below the ceiling. When coffee beans are heated up too much, the volatile oils in the bean (which are the major source of flavour) will sweat out of the bean. Halogen down lights emit a lot of heat, so make sure you keep your beans away from these. Check the position of your grinder, and make sure it’s out of the sun’s glare.
Storing coffee under a shelf adjacent to hot refrigerator motor exhausts.
Storing coffee in the fridge. Fridges circulate wet air and if your coffee isn’t sealed tightly in its bag, there is likely to be water ingress that will ruin the coffee.

Some of our ‘lead user’ group are experimenting with wine storage units set at 17 degrees in their cafés, with early results being promising. This may not be practical for everyone, but finding a cool, dark spot and maintaining a good stock rotation procedure will see your coffee getting to the machine at its peak.

Perfecting your distribution

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 09:01:00 WST

Distributing coffee grinds is always at the centre of many baristi debates. A barista is the public face of specialty coffee, and it is up to him or her to translate the coffee’s best characteristics into the cup for the customer. A café barista can only be expected to work with what is available to them, meaning that decisions about machinery and coffee supply are extremely important for owners. The basics of coffee preparation, things like grinding to order, not re-steaming milk, pre-heating cups, cleanliness and so on, have, for the most part, become common practice. This makes techniques such as distribution, dosing and particle size very valuable, as they are some of the few variables that remain open for barista interpretation.

Firstly, before considering what technique to use, we must understand that the goal of distribution is to create a uniform bed of coffee in the portafilter basket (‘PF’). Assuming we achieve this, combined with correct particle size and dose, the following application of pressurised water would then result in an even saturation and thus an even extraction of the coffee grinds. If you have ever used a bottomless portafilter, I am sure you will concur that this is much easier said than done! However, baristi must remember, the success of the extraction is directly responsible for achieving the correct flavour profile in the cup. Many times, flavours associated with over or under-extraction, such as bitterness, sourness, burnt or watery coffee, are wrongly attributed to the bean or the roast.

The focus of this article is distribution and here I take a quick look at some of the more widely known distribution techniques.

Stockfleth’s Move

Begin by slightly over-dosing and place the PF head close to your body, around your midsection. Looking down, your left arm holding the PF should now be in an almost right angle position, away from the body, with your elbow pointing outwards. Now imagine making a fake gun with your right hand, turning it flat and positioning your thumb on the rim of the PF closest to the right lug, with your index finger on top of the coffee bed. Looking down, both elbows should be pointing out in what feels like an awkward position for first timers. The motion is one that brings your elbows to your sides, your wrists together and runs your thumb along the rim of the PF and then over the left lug to centre the grinds. All this while using the index finger in a circular motion on top of the coffee bed, and then finishing with a swipe. Confused yet?! It certainly is a very hard technique to communicate and even harder to learn without hands on instruction. Because of this, the Stockfleth’s move has morphed into many different variations.

Chicago Chop

Begin by slightly over-dosing the PF so that you have a small mound of coffee on top. Use the back of a butter knife or a similar coffee tool to ’chop’ across the coffee bed in a single direction and then repeat in the perpendicular direction. Scrape across the basket to level the grounds, tamp and insert. This method is obviously much easier to explain and, most importantly, has a high level of repeatability among baristi. It might be a bit less flashy; however, it’s likely to be a more effective way of achieving consistency in a café. Although this technique is dubbed the ‘Chicago Chop’ or ‘Intelligentsia Method’, I have seen many baristi and even first time home users instinctively use a variation of this method when handed a knife to dose.

Schomer’s NSEW

Begin by slightly over-dosing and using your finger or coffee tool to push the grinds in a North / South and then East / West direction, swiping off any excess in the last move. This is another easily learned and repeatable method. However, using your finger can sometimes lead to different baristi applying variable amounts of pressure, thus affecting the dose. If you decided to use this method in your café, I would suggest using a knife or coffee tool, as using your finger does not always create the right image in the eye of the consumer!

Shyndel Method

Again, begin by slightly over-dosing and creating a small mound of coffee in the PF. Rest your index and middle finger on the PF in a V shape and complete a light sweep in a circular motion. Repeat the motion again and you should be left with some grinds in between your two fingers, swipe both fingers off to the side, levelling the grounds. Once again, continually applying a consistent amount of pressure is paramount to making this method repeatable and useable in a commercial environment.

It’s important that we remember our goals as well as our audience when it comes to distribution. It is, of course, natural for competition baristi to tweak their method in order to reduce waste, add flair and create something unique and repeatable for themselves. However, a commercially viable technique, which takes into account the human factor, speed, waste and repeatability is obviously more important for cafés.

Out of the four techniques listed above, I personally consider the ‘Chicago Chop’ or a variation thereof to be one of the more commercially friendly techniques. Last of all, the most important factor to remember is that distribution begins during dosing. Moving the portafilter back and forth during dosing will distribute the grinds as evenly as possible, giving you the foundation you need to establish a great distribution technique.

Some like it hot

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 08:52:00 WST

As a professional barista, you will have well and truly mastered the basics of producing great espresso. You’re probably itching to take on a new challenge and take your coffee to even more sublime heights.

You may not have considered the impact that brewing temperature has on the flavour of the espresso you produce. In fact, coffee is very sensitive to temperature — the same beans will have very different results in the cup if they are prepared at different temperatures.

You won’t be able to play around with brewing temperature unless your espresso machine is equipped with PID controls. In basic terms, PID controls are proportional, integral, derivative controls that continually monitor and then correct the brewing water temperature and make adjustments to keep this temperature constant.

The vast majority of espresso machines on the market are heated with the same heater element that produces the steam for steaming milk. The temperature of the brew water then becomes compromised between the optimum for extracting coffee and the pressure required from the steam wands. The brewing temperature will vary depending on a variety of factors, such as the number of consecutive shots and the amount of water used for flushing the group. Brew water temperature could vary by as much as 10°C.

If you are lucky enough to have a Synesso sitting in pride of place on your espresso bar, then it’s a very different story! Synesso machines are widely touted as having the most stable brewing temperature of any commercial machine. Designed with a custom PID electronic system (known as Digizone ™ control), Synesso machines allow you to adjust temperature by 1/10th of a degree.

In addition to the Digizone control, Synesso machines have a bunch of additional features which render their thermal stability the best in the business. The Synesso uses a brew water preheating system to prevent cold water entering the brew boiler, causing short term temperature instability. Each boiler is independently heated and controlled and is designed to ensure that thermal currents by way of convection prevent any cold or warm spots.

All of this means that you can easily experiment with the brew temperature settings on your Synesso to determine the optimum temperature that will extract the maximum amount of oils and flavour compounds from the specific Single Origin beans that make up your café blend.

Like most things in coffee, there are no absolutes. Taste is very subjective. There are, however, some guidelines that you should keep in mind when experimenting with brewing temps:

Darker roasts and older coffee should respond to lower brew temps, due to more cellular breakdown already being present.
Generally speaking, an increase in brewing temp will achieve a sweeter, fuller-bodied coffee.
Reducing temp can help create a brighter coffee and accentuate levels of acidity.

The bottom line is, don’t be afraid to experiment. Keeping a log may be a handy way to remember some of your discoveries along the way.

Introducing Bar 9

Wed, 8 Apr 2009 05:36:00 WST

For those of us who are passionate lovers of coffee, the dream of owning your own espresso bar is probably a pretty familiar one. Even if it’s more daydream than serious plan, it’s always fun to imagine how you could do things just that little bit better than your local.

For Ian Callahan, South Australia’s reigning barista champion, and Five Senses rep, the dream is about to become a reality. The upcoming opening of Bar 9, Ian’s espresso and brewed coffee bar, is the culmination of a six-year-old dream, and Ian admits that all his friends are heartily sick of hearing about it!

Ian is one of South Australia’s foremost coffee champions, and he has enviable credentials. He was the decisive winner of the 2008 SA Barista Championship, writes regularly for Bean Scene Magazine and is an active member of the Australasian Specialty Coffee Association.

Ian started off in the coffee industry around eight years ago, and while he says he started in humble surroundings, it didn’t take long for him to become fired up about what he was doing, seeking out improvements in his technique and working hard to deliver the best cup of coffee possible. His keen interest led him to undertake a heap of research — online, reading books, talking to industry professionals and roasters and, above all else, carrying out copious tastings of plenty of different coffees to learn just how good coffee could be. Ian has worked in some of SA’s most highly regarded restaurants, where he learnt plenty about flavour combinations.

It hasn’t been an entirely smooth path to success, however — Ian has endured a few setbacks along the way. He’s taken these in his stride, adopting a positive approach, counting these hitches as a “saving grace”, which have allowed him to learn some valuable lessons. This, he says, has ultimately led to his café being exactly what he wanted. He’s had the chance to learn how to do a multitude of different things and can boast that he has almost singlehandedly brought about the fulfilment of his dream.

And while Ian’s been able to try his hand at everything from interior design to the physical labour on site, his focus and desire has stayed centred on the coffee. Ian’s intention is for Bar 9 to showcase the very best coffees available. He has developed two custom blends, one designed for milk-based coffees, Bar 9 Wyte, and one especially for espresso and non-milk coffee. This blend, Bar 9 Blak, has been created to offer something a bit different in the cup — high finesse, clean flavours and a delicious, fruity finish. Alongside these two house blends, Bar 9 will be offering a variety of other high-end blends and single origins.

Ian has designed a culinary bar for Bar 9, where keen customers can sit and sip their coffees while chatting to the barista — perfect for coffee enthusiasts who like to pick the brains of the pros! The team of Bar 9 baristas will be kept busy brewing coffee through a variety of methods, possibilities that include siphon brewing, single cup pour-over, aeropress, plunger, viet-drip and Turkish brewed coffee. The coffee menu will also include some WBC competition-inspired signature drinks.

South Australia’s coffee enthusiasts are in for a real treat, so stay tuned for developments at Bar 9!

Bar 9 Espresso and Brewed Coffee Bar: 91 Glen Osmond Road, Eastwood SA 5063

Getting down and dirty with a naked portafilter

Tue, 7 Apr 2009 15:11:00 WST

The naked portafilter is a tool that has applications in both a café setting and for the home enthusiast. Like one of those ‘magician reveals-all specials’ on TV, to an espresso enthusiast, the naked portafilter strips away the mystery as to what makes a terrific espresso coffee.

Essentially, a naked portafilter is exactly the same as a normal portafilter handle, with the spouts removed — showing the ‘naked’ bottom of the basket that holds the coffee. As every coffee enthusiast knows, obtaining the ‘god shot’ can seem like chasing a unicorn, that is, a mythical creature impossible to capture. Well, this is where the naked portafilter comes into its own!

Having the basket exposed means that you can watch the entire extraction process, and thus diagnose any problems with shot extraction. This sounds complicated, but it’s really not. Keep in mind that to create quality espresso, you need water to be pushed evenly down through the basket of coffee. Using a naked portafilter, you can see the exposed basket, and you are able to easily ascertain whether the water is being pushed through in an even manner, or if it’s going through a ‘path of limited resistance’ in the coffee puck. If the water is running through this path then the coffee is said to be ‘channelling’. This can be seen easily with a naked portafilter, as the water will pour from the side of the basket rather than through the middle.

This can happen for a number of reasons, including not having enough coffee in the basket, starting with a damp basket or everyone’s favourite, an uneven tamp of the coffee.

The colour of the shots you pull through the naked portafilter can also be a good indication of whether you’re getting everything right. A perfect shot should have an even, golden to reddish brown colour that starts to blonde (lighten in colour) around 25 to 30 seconds.

Don’t forget that drinking coffee is a subjective experience. Everyone has a different personal preference, so bear this in mind when you are experimenting with the naked portafilter.

A very blonde (light) shot may be an indication that you need to dose more coffee in your basket, or perhaps your grind is too coarse. An overly dark shot can mean that you are dosing too much coffee, or grinding your coffee too fine.
Blonding of your extraction to the sides of the basket may be a sign of air pockets within your coffee puck, you could be collapsing the coffee in your basket a bit too much (ie tapping the handle on your bench too many times).
Uneven tamping will cause channelling, and the water will run through the path of least resistance. You’ll be able to see blonde patches, which indicate where the coffee is not compressed as tightly or where less coffee is distributed. This is bad news for the quality of your espresso. Have a look at our Hot Tip, which takes you through the basics of tamping.

Once you have had a good look at your extraction with the naked portafilter, you can adjust your technique to fix any problems that may be occurring. Depending on what problem you’ve diagnosed, try adjusting your grind setting, increase or decrease your coffee dosing and work on creating a solid tamping technique.

From a taste point of view, there are more than a few theories floating around. In my opinion, the taste coming from the naked portafilter is different. This is due to the lack of contact through the metal of the spouts, where the coffee obtains a lighter, cleaner flavour with a slightly more aerated crema.

The naked portafilter is an interesting and important piece of equipment which will prove invaluable in terms of its ability to diagnose espresso extraction problems. It even manages to do so while looking very cool in the process!

Of course, the best indication of a great shot is the taste, and from that point of view, I would suggest that you try that for yourself…

If you’re keen to get cranking with your own naked portafilter, why not try one of our Synesso ones. A Synesso portafilter fits most commercial and semi-commercial machines. Drop us an email at info@fivesenses.com.au.

Chilling at Celebrate the Bean

Tue, 7 Apr 2009 14:03:00 WST

Melbourne’s coffee lovers were rewarded for their devotion in March, with all things coffee being honoured at Celebrate the Bean, part of the annual Melbourne Food & Wine Festival.

It was an early start for the Five Senses team, unloading stacks of gear from our 3 tonne truck. There were benches and grinders, the Synesso (of course!), chairs, tables, umbrellas — even Nolan’s turntable. And, most importantly, plenty of Five Senses coffee beans!

Our roasters love any excuse to get into the cupping lab and they knocked up a special blend, the Farm Gate Blend, for the day. This stunning combination of three of our Direct Trade coffees, the Sumatran, Balinese and PNG, was perfectly formulated for the Synesso, which got a heavy workout.

Our stand was home to some of Australia’s biggest barista names, including South Australia’s espresso specialist (and Five Senses rep), Ian Callahan, Nolan Hirte of Liar Liar fame and Café Vue’s Verity Govett. Not to mention our own incredibly talented crew! Even with plenty of hands to help out, we were kept busy with a seemingly endless queue of coffee loving customers, keen to sample some Five Senses goodness and chew the fat with us.

There is a growing trend of cafés offering coffee brewed through a variety of different methods, and we thought Celebrate the Bean was a great opportunity to showcase some of our premium Single Origin coffees brewed through a filter. This went down a treat with the coffee enthusiasts, who had a difficult time choosing between our Indonesian — Lintong, the ever-popular Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, the PNG Elimbari and the Kenyan AA Kichwa Tembo.

Nolan kept us chilling with some smooth tunes from his vinyl collection, which provided the perfect background to the buzz of conversation about our stand. We’re always enthusiastic about increasing the awareness of fine coffee and educating people about the nuances and flavours of different beans, so we relished the chance to get into some interesting debates and discussions.

We sometimes come across people who believe that coffee has hit its peak, that the café market is saturated or that there isn’t much room for growth in the industry. This year’s Celebrate the Bean offered all the argument we need. The massive crowds and hordes of enthusiastic people, keen to learn about the intricacies of coffee, seem like an indication of good things to come for the industry!

SidePLATE hits the NSW espresso scene

Tue, 7 Apr 2009 11:44:00 WST

Sydneysiders are discovering that when it comes to coffee, bigger is not always better. It’s something that we’ve known for a while. SidePLATE hit the NSW espresso scene in January, and manager, James and head barista, Matt, have been run off their feet as they quench the thirst of coffee lovers from all over the metropolis.

SidePLATE is the baby of Savva Savas, and is the coffee-focussed arm of his catering company, PLATED by Savva.

SidePLATE may be a little on the… well, little side, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in quality. Coffee is the standout here — these guys certainly know their stuff. Both James and Matt have impressive credentials, which gives you a bit of a clue as to the quality of their espresso.

James has worked in the hospitality industry (specifically in cafés and bars), for around ten years. For the past four, he has been focussing more strongly on specialty coffee. James has worked in some of Sydney’s most prestigious cafés, including The Source. His experience has given him access to some of the state’s most knowledgeable coffee buffs, which has helped him to broaden his understanding and sharpen his skills.

Matt is also incredibly passionate about coffee and has been heavily involved in the specialty coffee industry in NSW for several years. Matt has an impressive background. In addition to his highly honed barista skills, he’s worked in coffee training for some time, and has even spent time as a coffee roaster. This has given him an amazing amount of knowledge about coffee, which is a big win for SidePLATE customers.

James assures me that Matt “hogs” their two-group Synesso, but they have an easy rapport, despite their jostling over the machine. James and Matt both go beyond the barista basics and display a genuine interest in their coffee. They talk cultivation methods and roast profiles and they look after their coffee well, ensuring that it’s packaged and stored correctly to ensure that it stays at its best. They do justice to their custom SidePLATE blend, which has a delightfully creamy body with a mild, sweet acidity, rich fruit-cake sweetness and a dark cherry flavour. It has a short, dry finish with a lingering flavour; perfect at any time of the day.

SidePLATE has a great feel and is beautifully decked out, tempting you to stay and enjoy a sit-down coffee instead of a hit and run takeaway. If you’re after a superior coffee from a knowledgeable and skilled barista, drop in to SidePLATE and check it out. It’s sure to become a regular stop on your daily route!

SidePLATE: 664 Bourke Street, Redfern East NSW 2016; Phone: (02) 9699 6000
Opening Hours: 7.00am – 3.00pm Monday to Friday, 8.00am – 3.00pm Saturday and Sunday

Five Senses serves at the World's Longest Lunch

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 08:33:00 WST

Every year in March, foodies from all around Victoria start salivating in expectation of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. The Festival attracts a massive 300,000 people to more than 200 events over 17 days, and is a fantastic opportunity to showcase the State’s most outstanding local produce.

Five Senses Coffee was invited to participate in the Red Hill Long Lunch, serving extraordinary coffee to a bustling crowd of leisurely lunchers. The lunch was a triumph of cooperation, with eight chefs, 12 wineries and countless local suppliers working together to create a sumptuous three course meal for 250 guests.

A raffle was held to raise money for the Sustainability Centre at Balnarring Primary School. An incredible $3,800 was raised, and two lucky guests took home a hamper overflowing with delectable treats from local producers. An additional $3,850 was raised by the Red Hill Long Lunch Committee for the Red Cross Bushfire Appeal. Not only did the lunch raise much-needed funds for two of Victoria’s most deserving charities, but it meant lunchers could assure themselves that they weren’t simply indulging their tastebuds — they were doing it for a good cause!

Barista on iPhone

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 13:31:00 WST

If you’re an iPhone geek, as well as a coffee geek, take a look at the new Barista app. It’s a bit like a how-to-guide — but it fits in your pocket far more easily than your favourite barista guide book!

Barista gives you the rundown on how to make the most popular coffee drinks — espressos, macchiatos, lattes, and the US version of a long black, the Americano. It allows you to take shots of your latte art and store them on a gallery, and contains a whole lot of other useful information, including a glossary of coffee-related terms.

Barista was recently named “App Store Pick of the Week”, and hit third place in Lifestyle in iTunes App Stores in Australia. It’s on sale for just USD99c (until 19 March) so get in quickly!

A gem on Victoria Avenue

Tue, 3 Mar 2009 13:24:00 WST

There’s nothing better than finding a fabulous café that’s guaranteed to satisfy your caffeine craving with a perfect brew, every time. In or around Melbourne’s Albert Park, Pagoda is the place to go. The talented team of baristas behind the counter have built a dedicated following of coffee fanatics for this gem on busy Victoria Avenue.

Pagoda is Sam Reid’s second café, being a sister to Gattica in St Kilda East. Sam has a long and illustrious background in hospitality and it’s clear that he genuinely loves what he does. He pays close attention to every little detail, which is a definite bonus for his customers. Whether it’s tweaking the Pagoda custom 5 Senses blend, selecting the best brand of milk, training his baristas, or ensuring that his shiny silver Synesso is treated with the TLC it deserves, Sam likes to get everything just right.

Sam readily confesses that “coffee is my life — having the right cup of coffee will literally make my day… Interestingly enough, that rings true to the vast majority of our customers, too.” He is quick to sing the praises of his staff, proudly professing “I have the best team of staff in the world, I’m so lucky, and I’m very proud of them”. One of Sam’s reasons for opening Pagoda was to allow his beloved team the opportunity to grow into larger roles, befitting of their talents. Head barista, Matt, recently moved to Geelong, but still makes the long trek in to Pagoda — albeit part time. Incredible dedication! Matt is ably assisted by Sean, Joel and the team.

The team at Pagoda always welcome you with a cheery greeting and smile, and quickly learn the names and orders of their regular customers, who Sam says are more like extended family. The burble of the water feature in the courtyard and the changing display of local artists’ works help to create a warm ambience that keeps customers lingering in Pagoda’s plush surrounds for “just a little while longer”…

Pagoda’s delectable menu changes several times a year, to take advantage of local seasonal produce and new foodie trends. A long list of very reasonably priced all-day breakfast options makes a decision very difficult — hmmm, the rosemary infused mushrooms on toasted sourdough with creamy goat’s cheese and pesto, or the BLT with homemade hash browns? From midday, the menu extends to include some stellar lunch selections. Chef Jess’s caramelised potato gnocchi with chorizo, baby spinach, olives, roast capsicum and goat’s cheese is very popular, and the dukkah crusted lamb with a mixed leaf garden salad, lemon and parsley cous cous and herbed yoghurt dressing is hard to beat.

Pagoda’s 5 Senses blend combines Fairtrade organic beans from PNG and Peru, roasted for a full body. It has a spicy, sweet aroma, subtle acidity and a balanced mouth feel, with dark chocolate making a statement from the outset and a hint of sweet roasted hazelnuts in the aftertaste. Whatever your preference, you can be sure that the guys at Pagoda will pour you a perfect coffee.

Pagoda: 135 Victoria Avenue, Albert Park VIC 3106; Phone: (03) 9690 7960
Opening Hours: Open every day of the year except Christmas Day, 7.00am – 4.00pm Monday to Friday, 8.00am – 5.00pm Saturday and Sunday

The pick of the 80's

Tue, 3 Mar 2009 12:24:00 WST

Last month, as part of our monthly Home Barista newsletter, we invited our readers to take part in a short online survey. It was great to receive feedback on what we are doing well, as well as hearing how we can improve; we are looking forward to implementing some of the many suggestions. Thanks to all of you who participated.

As part of the survey, we threw in a couple of light hearted questions about 80’s television, just trying to be funny, in a typical 5 Senses way. The questions were straightforward, with obviously correct answers, but much to our horror, it seems that our fantastic 5 Senses customers don’t know what they are talking about when it comes to 80’s TV.

Now, I consider myself to be a bit of an 80’s expert. I was a child of the 80’s, growing up in the sprawling suburbia of WA. To this day I still frequently use the word mint. I still have my full set of ‘Return of the Jedi’ collectors’ cards. I can’t play a musical instrument, but if I did, it would most definitely be a keytar. I am the 1980’s!

Given all this, I was stunned that Family Ties was not chosen by our readers as by far the best TV sitcom of the 80’s. Family Ties was groundbreaking stuff. It had everything you could possibly want. The lovable, slightly wacky, dad, Steven. The guitar-playing, hippy-loving, never get angry, never a hair out of place mum, Elise. The wisecracking, genius, oldest son, Alex, played by the biggest star of the 80’s – Michael J Fox.

And of course Mallory. Ah, sweet Mallory. She played the middle child, living in the shadow of her smarter, older brother. She was lovable, she was funny, and she was just a little bit hot. You just need to say “Mallory” and anyone who was really alive in the 80’s knows who you are talking about. She was the Beyonce of her time. She was mint.

There was, of course, more. Tom Hanks, actually appeared a couple of times as the alcoholic uncle, and it was undoubtedly this role which launched his stellar career. Jennifer was the third child, and although she couldn’t hold a candle to Mallory, she played her part as annoying younger sibling to a tee.

All this, and yet some people chose not to vote it the best sitcom of the 80’s. C’mon, what you talking bout Willis? The Cosby Show was actually the show that got the most votes. Now, the Cosby Show was ok, but basically, it was a one trick pony. Bill Cosby was hilarious, but what else was there? A cute little girl, the wife who was always grumpy, a couple of whiney teenagers (Theo and Vanessa had virtually no redeeming qualities). Good, because of Bill Cosby, but definitely not mint.

We hope that after these ramblings, some of you might reconsider. Here at 5 Senses, we are very committed to educating people. Usually about coffee, but we are more than happy to branch out into important topics such as 80’s sitcoms, and help point people in the right direction.

Now what can I say about the people who chose MacGyver over Magnum PI? Hmmm….

Fun with a filter

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 15:01:00 WST

Long term readers will remember me banging on about different brewing methods in my critically acclaimed, but often misunderstood, ‘The plunger is back!’ story last year. Australian coffee is dominated by espresso-based drinks (ie from an espresso machine, not necessarily drunk as espresso). Some of the world’s best, and often most expensive, coffees have finely nuanced flavours which are totally overwhelmed and lost in espresso.

Filter coffee gets a bad rap, as it’s usually done terribly at a dodgy smorgasbord or ‘function’. I would rather drink well-made filter coffee than bad espresso any day!

The same golden rules apply to making filter coffee as to all the other brewing methods. Make sure you grind fresh coffee just before you are ready to use it, use clean equipment and good quality water.

You can store filter coffee in a vac pot of some description, but don’t leave it on a hot plate as it will ‘stew’ and get bitter very quickly.

Our Ethiopian Yirgacheffe is brilliant through filter, with a stunning floral, candy character that is totally seductive. Generally, the more acidic coffees will perform best through filter (Kenyan — Gathima Wet Mill ‘AA’, Papua New Guinea — Purosa, Costa Rica — Tarrazu etc). Our Direct Trade coffee from Banda Aceh is also intriguing, with a heavy mouth feel and forest floor and root vegetable flavours which offer a more savoury experience. Go forth and filter!

Victorian Bushfire Appeal

Thu, 19 Feb 2009 10:32:00 WST

The bushfires in Victoria have had a profound impact, both on Australians and on those living overseas. People from all over the globe are digging deep to help the survivors of the fires, from the firefighters who risk their lives to save the lives of others, to the children who have been donating their pocket money to help rebuild fire-ravaged communities.

Here at 5 Senses, we want to do what we can to help those in need. On Monday, 23 February, in addition to personal donations from staff, we will give all coffee sales on our website to the Red Cross Victorian Bushfire Appeal. So get brewing!