Mug Life

Ever wonder what kind of coffee Darth Vader drinks?

2012-12-27T06:40:00.000-08:00

A fun little video on how to use a Moka Pot (if you ever want experience the Dark Side)

Coffee Facts!

2012-05-21T12:39:00.003-07:00

Infographic courtesy ofEspressoMachineAdvisor.com

Make Coffee Video Game!

2012-05-07T14:43:00.000-07:00

A coffee horoscope: What does your coffee say about you?

2012-04-29T17:43:00.001-07:00

What does your coffee say about you? - Imgur

French Press heat issues

2012-04-23T14:47:00.001-07:00

In this video we answer a question from a listener about how to keep french press coffee hot. Take a listen and let us know what you think!

Amazing

2012-02-23T08:10:00.001-08:00

Coffee Addiction Video

2011-07-07T07:07:00.001-07:00

Find Your Grind

2011-06-27T11:31:00.000-07:00

My post from http://coffeeambassadors.blogspot.com/

What's third wave coffee

2011-06-20T11:27:00.000-07:00

Here is a video I made for Coffee Ambassadors to help explain the history of coffee in the United States in the 20th Century

Coffee Fest Latte Art brackets

2011-02-12T14:01:00.000-08:00

A bunch of my friends are competing...I hope they all win! Here is the Bracket for the competition
Chicago 2011 Latte Art Competition Bracket

View more presentations from Chalkboarder.

Coffee and Christmas

2010-12-23T08:32:00.000-08:00

Here is an except from an article I wrote this week. Read the whole thing HERE.

Christmas traditions

Coffee and Christmas have gone together for a long long time. Here are a few Christmas traditions, and fun Christmas facts associated with coffee:

In the 19th centuries there were families who roasted coffee together at Christmas. Coffee was a special treat that brought the family together.
If you are a fan of the Ballet "The Nutcracker, you may notice coffee is consumed in the drawing room scene. This is because coffee was considered a Christmas beverage in the Victorian era
The book "The Ultimate Christmas" talks about the aroma of coffee setting the stage for a perfect holiday. Give it a try!
Maxwell house had an ad campaign in the 1940s that used the centrality of Coffee at Christmas as a major selling point for their coffee
For many families talking over coffee is a more precious tradition then eating the holiday meal itself. Coffee helps bring people together in meaningful ways
Italian Christmas cookies are actually designed to be dunked in coffee

What Christmas or other holiday traditions do you have with coffee?

this is a cool mug

2010-12-09T06:48:00.001-08:00

Buy the The Camera Lens Mug at the Photojojo Store!

Natural Coffee

2010-11-19T07:58:00.001-08:00

Here is another installment from my series over at Coffee Ambassadors

Although most of the coffee you drink today is "Wet Processed," this was not the case for most of history. Long before machines were invented to help process coffee farmers used a method that we call "Dry" or "Natural" process. That process is still used in many places today, and is important to understand. Take a look at the chart below which will help guide you to a better understanding of "Natural Process" coffees.

After harvesting the coffee cherries the beans have to be sorted. Unlike a wet process, which uses water to help separate the "good" from the "bad" and the "ugly," a natural process coffee is generally hand sorted, by winnowing using a sieve. Coffee falls through the seive, rocks and twigs stay in it. This, however doesn't separate good and bad coffee. This is why some people will put the coffee in water, just like in a wet process, and remove any floaters. The picture shows a nice ripe coffee cherry, yum!
The cherries are then spread out to dry in the sun, this is often done on patios or tables. It can take weeks for cherries to dry so it is important to prevent mildew, and rotting, which is a risk of this kind of processing. There are times that huge amount of coffee are ruined using this method just because of inclement weather, or unexpected humidity. To help prevent the coffee going bad cherries are raked or even turned by hand. Sometimes machines are used to dry the coffee part of the way to speed this process up. The picture shows a drying cherry.
Once dried to a stable moisture content all the outer layers of the cherry are removed through "hulling."

Natural process coffees are common in areas with low humidity, and are highly sought after by many roasters because of their fruity tones.

What are "Washed" Coffees?

2010-10-28T20:59:00.000-07:00

After a coffee is harvested it has to be processed so it can be shipped out and used. There are three major ways this is done

washed or water processed
dry or natural processed
honey, pulped natural, or semi-washed processed

This week I wrote an article for Coffee Ambassadors talking about the process a coffee goes through when it is "washed". I thought I would share some of what I wrote with you:

First the coffee is picked off the tree. The fruit you see is ripe. The fruit of an unripe cherry will be green, not red. How this is done is a story for another day.
The main difference between wet and dry processed coffee is how the fruit is removed from the coffee bean, which is the seed inside the fruit. A washed coffee will have had it's fruit removed either by a ferment and wash method or by a machine assisted method.
-Ferment and Wash removes the fruit by first immersing the cherries in water. This causes the good coffee to sink, while the bad coffee floats. The good coffee is then pushed through a screen which removes a good portion of the outer fruit. The coffee then either sits in water or it's own juices causing the remaining fruit to loosen up over the next 2 or three days. This fruit is then washed off by putting the coffee in water tanks.
-Machine Assisted is similar to Ferment and Wash but instead of letting the coffee sit for two or three days while the fruit loosens up. Instead the coffee is placed in a mechanical scrubber which scrubs off the remaining fruit. This process is more reliable then Ferment and Wash, however the fermentation process adds flavors to the coffee that many roasters would like to keep intact.
After the fruit is removed the coffee needs to be dried. It is dried by using a machine, or by spreading the coffee out on large patios to dry in the sun (if it is placed on patios the drying is often finished by machine). This brings the coffee down to a moisture content of 10% which makes the bean stable.
The drying process not only makes the bean stable it also drys up a coating on the outside of the bean called parchment. This makes it easy to remove this outer layer. The parchment is generally removed by a machine, this process is called hulling. After the hulling is complete some folks have an additional step called polishing where the bean is rubbed to improve the way the bean looks and to decrease the about of chaff that comes off in the roasting process. However polishing is looked down on by many people since the process heats up the bean which can be detrimental to the overall flavor of the coffee.

Now the coffee has been processed! It now just needs to be cleaned, sorted and go through grading. Which we will talk about at a later time.

The best "free pour" I have ever seen

2010-10-23T21:15:00.000-07:00

This guy is pouring Ice tea... amazing
(yes I know what a real "free pour" is)

Know your Drink: Au Lait

2010-10-15T07:34:00.000-07:00

Know your Drink: Red Eye

2010-10-08T19:13:00.000-07:00

Know your Drink: Cappuccino

2010-09-21T10:07:00.000-07:00

Know your Drink: Mocha

2010-09-13T11:05:00.000-07:00

Know your Drink: Macchiato

2010-09-07T11:03:00.000-07:00

Know your Drink: Latte

2010-09-01T11:47:00.001-07:00

Beautiful Video of a Syphon

2010-08-24T14:47:00.000-07:00

The Syphon Project from Jacob Forrest on Vimeo.

coffee syphon video by:

@sprobro

@j4studios

@coffeecrema

How to make a great cup of Coffee using the "Clever"

2010-08-10T13:15:00.000-07:00

Ever since I posted a mediocre review of the Clever Coffee Brewer I have been criticized by a number of people who love it. When I first posted the review Nick Cho gave me some great pointers and I have been using and loving the Clever ever since.

I thought that it might be time to make this turn of heart public. I have been using the Clever regularly for about six months now and here is basically what I do... although this is always changing.

With the clever I use 360 grams of water through 21 grams of coffee and steep for 2:30 at a grind slightly finer then standard drip.

Pour water in the center slowly letting it bloom. Then stir three times both clockwise and counterclockwise . Cover the top so no heat escapes. Start the timer as soon as the first drop of water hits the coffee.

I also thought it would be a good idea to post the methodology of a good friend of mine, Jonathan Jarrow. Jonathan has done way more tests on this then me so I would actually trust his opinion more. He says:

Ok. First of all, water when near boiling is about 4% less dense than
water at room temperature. This just means that your ratio should be
based on the weight of the water at brew temperature. Approximatey 8.5
ounces of water just off of the boil measures in at 238g. I measured
out 8.5 oz. for a 8 oz. yield due to the fact that the grounds will be
absorbing around an ounce of the water.

So a 1:17 ratio puts you at 14g to 238g.

Here is how I do it on the Clever.

Start by heating your water. Weigh out 14g of coffee. Grind it
slightly finer than "drip". Place a #4 filter into your Clever and wet
it with hot water to remove any excess paper particles. Right before
your water starts to boil, place the Clever with wetted filter on the
scale and add your dry, ground coffee mass ensuring you are still at
your target weight (14g). Tare your scale, and transfer your water
into a pouring vessel after it boils. Start your stopwatch when you
begin pouring. Pour in around 100g of water and then stir the blooming
slurry with 5-7 passes with a spoon. Then fill to your finsh weight of
238g. Try to do this in about 30 seconds. After you hit 238g,
immediately cover the brewer with a small plate or something similar
to retain as much heat as possible. At 50 seconds, uncover the brewer,
and use a spoon to swish/stir the grounds. Place the Clever on the cup
at 55 seconds and stir the grounds once more as the drawdown begins.
Cover the brewer again. I have my grind size set so that it finishes
the drawdown at about 2:30. You may have to give it a couple of tries
to find the proper grind size to match that. The spent coffee should
be in a flat or slightly domed mass at the bottom of the filter. The
idea here is to keep all of the grounds in contact with the water for
the entire brew. The swish/stir frees the coffee from the sides of the
filter to let it fall to the bottom with the falling water. If
neccessary, give the water another quick stir around 1:15 to keep the
grounds from sticking to the sides.

Jonathan is the Roaster for Coffee Ambassadors. A great roaster I work with in Chicago.

Buy one, give it a whirl!

Video from Intelligensia: Make cold brew tea

2010-08-07T11:34:00.000-07:00

Cold-Brewed Four Seasons Spring from Intelligentsia Coffee on Vimeo.

Mike Phillips Wins WBC Championship

2010-08-05T22:48:00.000-07:00

If you didn't hear Mike Phillips won this years World Barista Champtionship.

This is very exciting for me (Billy). Mike is a great guy, fellow Chicago Barista, and a friend of 'Mug Life.' Mike was one of the first Baristas to welcome me when I moved to Chicago and has been a great colleague and friend to the Chicago Coffee scene. I'm so excited for Mike. Hey Mike, We're always looking for guest writers here at 'Mug Life.' Maybe now that you finely have the WBC title you can slow down and do some of that writing you tell me you plan on doing.

Here is a video of the Competition

Watch live streaming video from worldbaristachampionship2010 at livestream.com

Here are the Final results of the WBC:

1st – Michael Phillips (USA)
2nd - Raul Rodas (Guatemala)
3rd – Scottie Callaghan (Australia)
4th – Colin Harmon (Ireland)
5th – Soren Stiller Markussen (Denmark)
6th – Stefanos Domatiotis (Greece)