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Liz Clayton’s Photos from the MARBC

Mike — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 23:34:51 +0000

If you’ve been looking for Liz Clayton’s MARBC 2010 and/or CoffeeFest photos, let me help you out. Click on any of the pics above to see her full photostream.

Brooklyn's Blue Bottle

Mike — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 23:19:26 +0000

I found myself once again following up on a NY Times post by Oliver Strand, this time visiting Blue Bottle’s newest location in Brooklyn (and first on the East Coast). The space is large, nearly 4,000 square feet, and most of it is dedicated to roasting production. The service area has a paddle group La Marzocco FB80, San Marco lever for SOE, and a pour-over station with Beehouse Drippers. Opposite from the bar is their Japanese Dripper setup.

They have a Probat L12 installed in the back, but plan on upgrading with something bigger as soon as possible.

They’re not actually open yet, but we happened to run into Daniel Delaney there. Daniel is the executive producer and host for VendrTV, which featured Blue Bottle in an episode last July.

One thing they don’t have is a $20,000 syphon bar, though I’m not sure why.

Blue Bottle Coffee
160 Berry St.
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
718-534-5488

Update: Blue Bottle NYC will officially open at 7am on March 10th.

Visualizing Aroma

Mike — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 17:15:24 +0000

What if you could easily isolate and identify each of the compounds above? Discovering unique and interesting coffees from hundreds of samples would become a lot easier. Similarly, desirable roast profiles would be easier to seek out and repeat.

Researchers at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign have created a way to do just that using pigments that change color when exposed to gaseous compounds. We may soon be able to evaluate the aroma of our favorite coffees visually.

I bet Ben Helfen would even make a t-shirt.

The Best Coffee in New York

Mike — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 16:53:38 +0000

If you’ve ever asked where the best coffee in NYC is, Liz Clayton just answered you.

twitchy » Blog Archive » twitchy does nyc: a handy map.

Bunn's Trifecta

Mike — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 21:19:35 +0000

Following up on the New York Times article by Oliver Strand, I spent some time at Cafe Grumpy today playing with Bunn’s new Trifecta. First discussed on Coffeed just over a year ago, the bullet points listed here by Kevin last October seem to hold true today. But I didn’t enjoy Bunn’s recommended recipe. I tried it, and wasn’t thrilled with the cup. Instead I chose to use it like an Aeropress, which the design reminded me of immediately. Using Ben’s method I produced a few cups that tasted pretty good.

It’s an automated one-cup brewer, built in an era when many people are turning towards less automation. It won’t replace my daily pour-over rituals but I’m glad that Grumpy is playing with one. Machines like these provide new opportunities to challenge your understanding of the brewing process. When so many variables can be isolated and controlled, you can experiment more with each one. I just wonder how long it will take before someone submits a Trifecta recipe to brewmethods.com.

Gobal Coffee Production is Showing Some Strain

Mike — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 20:03:10 +0000

Tongues have been wagging lately about the drop in global coffee production this year. Business Week mentioned it last week, and the ICO is reporting a decrease of 3.3 million bags (of Arabica) over the same period last year. Virmax Cafe often updates their Twitter account with rainfall status in Colombia (or lack thereof), and posted on Flickr this graph displaying coffee production in Colombia between 1998-2009.

As you can see their totals for 2009 are the lowest they’ve been in over ten years. The chart below (from the ICO) displays total production globally between the years 2000 and 2009.

At first glance it seems like the total numbers for the ‘08/09 season are quite a bit higher than ‘00/01, but when you look closer you notice that it’s almost exclusively Robusta that’s pushing that number higher. The good stuff is seeing a drop in production across the board, with some exceptions:

Peru
Rwanda
Timor-Leste
Domincan Republic
Ethiopia
Honduras
Jamaica
Nicaragua

What are the causes? It may be related to climate change. Coffee is pretty sensitive, requiring specific amounts of sunlight and rainfall. It is also highly susceptible to a wide range of pests and disease, some of which may be thriving in the more temperate conditions. “Leaf Rust” is one example:

“Broca” is another. It’s an insect that bores it’s way into the cherry and lays eggs, destroying the crop from the inside out.

Something is going on here and it could be bad news for us all. It may become increasingly difficult for roasters to source (or afford) high quality beans from their favorite origins in the very near future.

How to Brew Delicious Coffee

Mike — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 21:44:34 +0000

Curious about how to brew in your latest toy? There’s a site for that.

Video: Espresso at Intelligentsia

Mike — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 10:09:01 +0000

Apparently 2010 will be the year of the video. Here’s another nice one featuring Kyle Glanville.

Espresso, Intelligentsia from Department of the 4th Dimension on Vimeo.

Video: How to Brew a Good Cup of Coffee

Mike — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 13:30:05 +0000

Ben Helfen puts all those other Chemex videos to shame with “The Ultimate Brew Guide”.

How to Brew a Good Cup of Coffee from Ben Helfen on Vimeo.

Video: A Day in the Life of a Canadian Barista

Mike — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:41:59 +0000

December 9th, in 3 minutes. from John Giannakos on Vimeo.