6) 9 – 5

October 2009:

Exciting, lovely new coffees for cafeteire menu due to hit the cafe next week!

the plan

Seasonal Speciality Coffees

In cafetieres for one or for two: 

Kenyan: Kairi Top AA

An exceptionally, clean, bright and fruity coffee, with blackcurrant and grapefruit-citrus notes.

From the Kairi Mill, Thika district, Central province. 99% is the famous SL28 Arabica varietal. 

Costa Rican: Single Estate: Finca La Pira. Tarrazu

Superb high altitude Tarrazu. Chocolate-cocoa body, with grapy acidity, and a twist of spice.
From Carlos Ureña Ceciliano’s La Pira farm, Santa Maria de Dota. Caturra Arabica species. 

El Salvadorian: Single Estate: Finca La Fany

Great, balanced, dark chocolate cup with citrus and red fruits, and a champagne acidity.

From Louis da Silver’s farm La Fany. Red Bourbon Arabica species. 

Ethiopian: Ethiopian Mocha: Habesha blend

Ethiopian Specialty grade coffee. Named after the old English word for Ethiopia, “Habesha”.

This coffee is all about sweetness, fruit, and the essence of great Ethiopian coffees this season. 

Indian: Indian Monsooned Malabar

The coffee is taken to the coast at Malabar for drying, acquiring a unique aged taste that is full bodied , with very low acidity, and a spicy, musky, woody flavour.

From  class=”hiddenSpellError” pre=”From “>Faiz Moosakutty’s Bibi Plantation in Sunticoppa, Southern India. 

Dark Roast: Mezcla El Progresso blend

This is a coffee roasted longer, to a higher temperature, which has caramelised further.

The coffees used are sustainable lots, such as San Juan La Laguna & Cecocafen co-op from Nicaragua. 

Decaf: Peru El Guabo: C02 Decaffeinated

The cup is savoury, and tasting of almost too much to be decaffeinated!

This farm is from the San Ignacio area of Peru. 

…Premium coffees …Ethically traded …Traceable to origin

Fresh craft roasted coffee, from James’ Gourmet Coffee

More seasonal! More traceable! Streamlined range = Fresher! More single estate coffees! More character and quality!

…And, with a little arm twisting, I also hope to ensure the coffees will now be freshly ground to order for every cafetiere – just like our espresso shots!

All things I’ve been trying to introduce for a while. The issues now might just be silly plungers, and grind quality… more arm twisting!

This menu is made up of several coffees that will change seasonally, as the freshest, most unique and characterful lots come and go. Our old menu was made up of permanent generic blends, just two of which were Fairtrade. Now all the coffees can be viewed as ethically traded, instead. My only fear is that this might lead to some scepticism from folks who are comforted by the sight of the big F. There are few things more terrifying to encounter, I find, than someone spitting indignant venom, on feeling that their moral and intellectual highground is being challenged *you’re not going to pull the wool over my eyes, you simple and misguided coffee monkey!* *if it doesn’t say Fairtrade (or maybe have a little green frog on it), then it can’t really be fair trade!*. This suspicion is understandable, I guess, and this type of ethical, direct trade might be more difficult to communicate, and require more trust and/or research than people might sometimes be prepared to entertain; but it’s a risk I’m prepared to take for the coffee…

October 2009:

Gloria arrives at the plan!

October 2009:

 

…Just a few of the other lovely coffees we’ve been using for the espresso at the cafe this year, alternated with Formula 6:

              

              

                

           

Single estate coffees for espresso can be a real challenge, but can be wonderful when prepared successfully, whilst also providing interest, variety, and exciting new flavours for everyone!

 

April 2009:

We’re now serving James’ Gourmet Coffee Co’s fantastic Formula 6 for our espresso at the plan – although other equally delicious blends and single-origin beans will be making frequent appearances too!

The amazing Operation Cherry Red bean in my competition blend was never going to last forever, and besides, I felt it was time for something new!

Whilst my blend was a really exciting, extraordinarily fruity and unique espresso, it was perhaps a little unbalanced, lacked some body, and was maybe not the best with milk…

Formula 6, on the other hand, is a wonderfully balanced, carefully constructed, constantly modified, multi-faceted treat - that is amazing both on its own, or with milk, in ristretto cappuccinos. There’s so much going on in this espresso – but not in a ‘busy’ way – just so many flavours that come together harmoniously and make sense. It has a magical, soft, sweet brightness, that’s balanced perfectly with body and depth.

I feel F6 says pretty much everything that needs to be said about the standard of espresso I want to be serving at the cafe, and it will no doubt be a regular at the plan - but in the interest of variety, experimentation, fun, and to hint at the wide spectrum of tastes within coffee, I will also be regularly selecting some other coffees for espresso from the exciting offerings at JGC, to serve at the cafe.

The espresso side of things at the plan has just gone from strength to strength over the last couple of years, and in terms of the beans themselves, it’s now quite hard to imagine how the quality of the coffee we use could be any better (although there are quality growers all round the world doing their best to achieve just that, as we speak). The key now lies in how skillfully and diligently myself and the other staff prepare the espresso, and the machinery we use to do this. Hence there are always things that can be improved, and plenty to aspire to. 

We loved Monmouth’s coffee, and their service, etc - the transition from Monmouth to JGC is in no way a reflection on anything they do. The reasons are simple:

Firstly, being in Ross on Wye, JGC are more local.

Secondly, in developing the coffee I used for the UKBC, I was able to experience first hand JGC’s amazing coffees, their commitment to quality, their expertise, and a genuine passion for the coffee itself.

At the cafe, you therefore continue to benefit from:

…Some of the best, freshly and expertly roasted coffees for espresso from around the world,

…Traceability to origin, often down to the individual farm/estate,

…Seasonality,

…And coffee that is ethically traded.

This issue of ‘fair’ or ‘ethical’ trade coffee is a complex one, but I’ve found it to be intrinsically linked to the quality of what I try to do with coffee. Sometimes customers seem to worry that without the Fairtrade brand logo on a coffee, it’s not really fair trade. Sadly, some people fear that ‘ethically traded’ is just a marketing buzzword designed to fob them off with an inferior, less ethical product. In the case of some companies, that may be true! However, through relationships, a little research, and knowledge of the craft, I trust the sourcing strategies of our suppliers. This sourcing strategy is first and foremost quality based. This orientation towards quality leads these specialist importers to seek-out the most amazing coffees, and to then pay a premium price for premium beans. This price often far exceeds the price available via the Fairtrade vehicle (as admirable as this may be within the wider coffee market). And this isn’t just a grab-and-dash pillaging of the best coffees in the best seasons, abandoning the growers a year later – many of the relationships associated with this level of coffee are sustained and long-term commitments, on both sides, to continually improve the quality of the crop, the harvesting, and the processing - with the incentive of higher prices for a better product. These relationships are hence meaningful and sustainable, benefiting the entire community where the coffee is grown, along with everyone else in the chain of quality from plant to cup.

Like Monmouth Coffee, JGC source a lot of green coffee through Mercanta and other speciality buyers working with similar objectives, as well as directly. If you’re still not convinced, you can read what Mercanta have to say on their site, and then (with some more research too, perhaps) (like this article by Steve Leighton) make up your own mind!

 

January 2009:

                                                          

We are currently serving my competition espresso blend at the plan. It’s a really exiting and unique espresso coffee, which I’m proud to have access to, and which helped me to win 1st place and Best Espresso at the Wales and West heat of the official UKBC 2009. Come in and try some!

This is a 50/50 blend of Operation Cherry Red Ethiopian Sidamo Natural Process, and Brazilian Fazenda Cacheoira Natural Pulped Bourbon!

July 2008: 

I am delighted to announce a major update: the plan cafe now serves espresso from Monmouth Coffee Company in London!! This is a beautiful espresso blend from one of the UK’s most renowned coffeeshops/roasters. Apart from the delicious taste of this coffee, there are several other key points to be happy about:

…We now know exactly what beans are in the blend at any given time;

…We have a sort of seasonality – the blend will alter slightly from time to time as different premium beans come to the UK;

…And our espresso can now be termed fair trade, as Monmouth Coffee and their supplier have direct relationships with the growers of these premium coffees, and agree a fair price for them – in many instances, the growers will actually receive a better price than they might from the more recognised Fairtrade brand.

At present, the blend contains Brazilian, Colombian and Guatemalan beans, with the addition of an Indian bean expected later in the year.

Also, we are now using Caffe Dolce Supremo beans for our filter coffee, supplied via Cardiff Coffee Company. These beans have lovely fragrant, fruity, almost chocolate-orange notes, and work particularly nicely through our filter machine. We no longer use Torelli’s Perla Bianca blend.

June 2008:

You know what? I might need to conclude this page here. Why? Mainly because, nearly a year on from the last update, the situation is relatively similar, and the points illustrated above still stand, making further updates seem unnecessary. Whilst I feel my own knowledge and technique is continually evolving (however slowly!), simply maintaining the more basic techniques listed above in the cafe as a whole is challenging enough, given staff turnover, and the current logistics of our espresso programme. The points listed previously give a good indication of the high level of quality that I advocate and strive to maintain in the cafe, the techniques I train to all new staff, and the skills I reinforce periodically. Some longer standing members of our team are gradually honing their basic technique and latte art to quite a high level, leading to a gradual, continual improvement overall - but the main battle is very much this preservation of sound basic techniques and attitudes, and so, over time, further progression is fairly stationary!

July 07:

I’ve been at the plan for several months now, and slowly but surely my influence and instruction is making an impact on colleagues and staff, and the quality of our espresso drinks has improved significantly. Whilst we are lucky enough to have a couple of staff who started more recently and brought some barista skills with them, the majority were starting pretty much from scratch in terms of knowing how to make espresso drinks with any real skill or consistent quality.

But after the last few months of regular guidance, training, hints and reminders (for anyone who’ll listen or take an interest!), most staff are now picking-up the basic techniques listed in the bullet points at the top of this page – and those who are still struggling are at least aware of what they need to aim for to do it properly.

A couple of folks are even starting to pour latte art now after seeing me do it regularly, and having been given a few demonstrations, tips and pointers. The first, faltering rosettas have started to bloom, and are beginning to improve in terms of their form, consistency and execution. It’s great to see this, because it shows that staff’s interest and imagination (or at least competitiveness!) has been captured (latte art is a great, awe-inspiring, visually arresting way of achieving this if people are a bit uninterested or unconvinced about barista skills), and in order to improve their latte art further, they’ll need to continue improving their overall skills of texturing, timing, concentration and control – which can only be a good thing.

However, it can now sometimes seem like something of a race to see who can completely crack milk texturing, or who can be the first to pour a really good rosetta – without enough due care, attention and devotion to other aspects of the art – particularly the espresso itself. It’s like people have got their sites set on the showbiz part of the craft, but don’t really care about the overall coffee picture, or realise that a drink with a nice rosetta on top can still be quite poor.

But maybe it’s unfair to expect everyone to share that real passion for the coffee and the cuisine – and I still assert that to do latte art really nicely and consistently takes a pretty high level of barista competence; so it’s a good way of getting staff to hone their skills and techniques, even if it is weighted towards the milk texturing, timing and presentation side of things.

May 07:

Until I get chance to write about aspects of this in more detail, here’s a copy of the espresso and milk texturing program that I’ve implemented for the cafe where I work since I arrived in February 2007.

The points are placed above our espresso machine to remind staff of the basic procedure and techniques for making quality espresso drinks. I believe it’s a pretty sound basic program that most espresso experts would agree on universally, give or take a couple of points, perhaps. Admittedly, it’s by no means the be-all and end-all of gourmet espresso technique (and actually getting people to fully understand and be accomplished at the techniques when they are a little nonchalant or reluctant is tricky!), but at least it’s certainly a good, sound standard to aim for for every drink (and much higher than the majority of coffee bars insist on).

Gradually staff are taking the program on board, and becoming aware of the skill and subtleties required to make really fine espresso drinks – and we have a couple of staff members who take some interest and pride in the barista side of the job, which all helps to gradually nurture and reinforce a general culture of quality and professionalism. As a result, the cafe is now starting to consistently produce some really good quality coffee …but we could go a lot further, and hopefully we will! 

…Trev’s Golden Rules @ the plan cafe (revised Oct 09)

espresso   

Grind only enough coffee for the shot/order.

Wipe-clean the filter basket each time before re-dosing (rinse first whilst flushing if needed).

Learn the correct level of the dose in the single and double baskets so it is not too empty OR too full.

Evenly distribute and level the coffee in the basket with edge of finger before tamping.

Pack and polish the coffee levelly.

Flush 2oz (double shot) of water through the grouphead each time just before re-connecting the portafilter for the next shot.

The ideal brewing time is 25 SECONDS for both single and double shots.

The crema of a properly prepared espresso will be a rich red-brown colour.

Single shot = 1fl oz. Double shot = 2fl oz.

Learn the correct volumes using shot glasses or espresso cups.

Leave the used coffee puck in the filter basket inbetween shots to maintain temperature.

Never leave porta-filters out of group heads during service - apart from for cleaning or when swiftly re-dosing for each shot (again, to maintain temperature).

Check and empty the overflow bucket throughout each day.

During quiet periods every day, remove baskets from portafilters and scrub inside portafilters with green scourer.

Feel free to ask me if you’re unsure about any of these techniques.

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…Trev’s Golden Rules

milk

 Use clean, cold pitchers for steaming – rinse out after/before use.

Always try to use only enough milk for the drink/order. Avoid having much left-over, as this should not be re-steamed and will go to waste.

Do not over-heat or scald the milk – the ideal temperature is approximately 65*C / 150*F.

Milk much above this temperature will have an unpleasant taste and texture.

The aim is to produce completely smooth microfoam.

We do this by careful stretching of the milk, and by using the steam power to spin the milk in a whirlpool whilst steaming.

There should be NO visible bubbles in properly steamed milk/microfoam.

The surface should be glossy and reflective.

(ask for further information or a demonstration if you’re not familiar with this technique)

Purge and wipe the steaming wand after every use (keep a separate cloth by the wand for this purpose).

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