Just one of the reasons why I love my job

I’ve shared this on facebook, and on twitter… but I watched it again today and I am really impressed by this film.. that I wanted to share it here again…  On the risk of repeating myself, sorry folks…

This movie really captures the job of a barista in such a nice way: the actions that involve making a great shot of espresso: the grinding (yay, anfim grinders), the tamping, the brew temperature and pressure of the machine (synesso in this case)… and also the frothing of the milk, latte art… all daily actions of a barista… but what i love the most is how it shows the people aspect of our job: the social interactions, the people sipping their lattes, licking off the foam off their lips, their smiles… ooh, honestly, that is one of the reasons why I love my job…  It requires a lot, it is hard work, but it can be so rewarding! 

I guess I’m saying: keep on smiling and keep on being enthusiastic (“ooooh, look, there’s a heart in my coffee” ;)  )

On a sidenote, I far more twitter about coffee than I write about it here these days… Short small updates on what’s (been) going on in my coffee journey and ‘the’ industry in general. And at the same time you can occasionally learn about the music i like through lastfm. Follow me here.

Coffee breakdown

Ok, this blog has bean dead for a while… Not actually dead, but one has to admit that it suffered from a breakdown or some serious version of summer hibernation.  If it’s any support to the readers, the blog is aware of its dormant status, and has no intention of actually dying at all… He’s just really slow in waking up… Cut him some slack, will ya :) 

Amongst the so many daily interesting and not so interesting coffee related bits and twits that I read, today there was one in particular that caught my intention: a coffee breakdown…

original by Brock Davis

 

Wired Magazine posted an article on the actual compounds of coffee… Of course, we all know that it contains water and caffeine, but it’s the other things that are interesting. Don’t you wanna know what you’re drinking? Go and check what’s in your cup!

 

Speaking about coffee breakdown, lots of people in Antwerp have their daily/weekly/monthly coffeebreak down for a while: Bar Choq has temporarily closed its doors due to construction problems in the building. As one of the best Belgium barista’s I know, and definitely the kindest coffee shop owner I’ve ever met; it’s truly sad that this has happened… While right now, in return for all those beautiful coffee moments he’s created, there’s not a lot we can do besides showing how much we heart Bar Choq… but let’s make him work his ass off once he’s back on track… Promised!

Peter Hernou World Latte Art Champion 2009!

Since yesterday, there is a big international gathering taking place in Cologne, Germany: Coffeena, a coffee fair is playing host to the SCAE’s (Specialty Coffee Association Europe) Wonderful Coffee event. During this event, coffee industry professionals not only talk coffee, drink coffee, buy coffee but also make coffee and compete with coffee. Apart from a conference and several workshops involving espresso, latte art, roasting, barista ergonomics and ‘flair’ (ooh yea, baristas got flair :) ) etc, there are also four world championships taking place: the World Latte Art Championships (WLAC), the World Cuptasting Championships (WCC), the World Coffee in Good Spirit Championships (WCSC) and the World Cezve/Ibrik Championships… Lots of stressful competitors, but also time to let the steam off at the barista parties and social gatherings.

Belgium is represented by some fine coffee professionals: Peter Hernou for WLAC, Bart Vansanden for WCC, Ronny Billemon for WCSC and finally Violeta Leci for Cezve/Ibrik. On top, Manu Demets is master of ceremony for some of the competitions! Today Peter took on the challenge to compete for our country for the third year in a row now. He’s been training harder every year and deservedly placed first in the semifinals… By lucky chance, I just opened up my laptop at the bar to have a quick look at the live stream and he was on!  I missed the finals, but just read the good news: we finally have our first World Champion in coffee: huge congrats to Peter as the new World Latte Art Champion! Belgium is slowly catching up in the specialty coffee industry and this is another big and important step. Thank you, Peter!

Tomorrow and Sunday, the other competitions are on; so lets cross our fingers for our fellow colleages. Tomorrow we are remotely following from the bar (here for the live stream), but on Sunday, the OR team travels to Cologne for some personal support! So Bart, if you hear someone whistle: its us :)

Good luck!

Me, my coffee and my barista

As a coffee aficionado, I follow about a dozen blogs about all things coffee, from local shops and ambassadors such as Caffenation and Bar Choq; over important roasting works such as Intelligentsia (USA), Has Bean (UK) and the Coffee Collective (Denmark) to world barista champions (eg. James Hoffman and Tim Wendleboe) and infamous trainers (eg. Daniel Humphries and Anne Nylander). (This reminds me that I still need to work on my links list, as they really do reserve a place there)

 

Recently quite a lot of the (international) talk has evolved around one event in specific… and to be honest, it really is too ‘hot’ of a topic not to talk about it…  Following the buzz of the latest weeks, partly created by the promise of some pretty impressive equipment, partly by a ‘be there or be square’ opening party and partly by the unfortunate postponing, past Monday at noon, the moment was finally there: THE state of the art-slash-wet dream of every barista-shop opened its doors in Venice, California…owned by Intelligentsia!

 

Unfortunately California is too far away for a quick visit, but telling from the pictures, Intellivenice, as it is commonly called, is a coffee lovers heaven. The whole place is designed to give each customer a personal delightful coffee experience and to “bring down the barrier between barista and costumer” as Doug Zell, owner of Intelligentsia, puts it. And when Intelli says ‘personal’, it’s not some hollow marketing term, they’re for real: once you enter, you are lead to your spot at one of the four (4!) coffee stations… there your personal dedicated barista awaits you to serve you some (oh yes, im sure you’ll have more than one) stellar coffee drinks, whether that is espresso-based or from the ‘slow bar’ meaning vacpot, siphon, press, or maybe a coffee from one of the two Clover machines? You can enjoy your cup at the barista station, chatting to people that really know coffee without having to worry about the line behind you; or chill at the relaxing benches in the back… There’s no counter or register (payment is via a Iphone-like tool that every barista carries, oh cool!)… Its just you, your coffee and your barista…

 

Intellivenice is every barista’s wet dream: 4 Synesso (amongst the worlds best espresso machines) two-group machines, a 1972 customized La Marzocco, 2 Clovers (machines mostly used in the States that make very clean but fully flavored individual cups of drip coffee… the company is now (sadly?) owned by Starbucks), and a ‘slow bar’ with several brewing options including vacpots, chemex, Eva solo and French press.

 

The barista’s that work the bar are not everybody: Kyle Glanville, US barista champion 2008 and Director of Innovation at Intelli hired newlyweds Chris and M’lissa Owens to work at the bar, both extremely knowledgeable and experienced baristas. Tim Styles, coffee professional from Australia but working for Square Mile in London recently, crossed the Atlantic to help manage the place. Other potential baristas were trained during an extensive ‘Barista Boot Camp’ with several tests to pass and certifications to acquire.

 

And last but not least: the beans. Intelligentsia is one of USA’s and the worlds most important roasting companies. They’ve been advocating for a growing awareness of good coffee, not only among customers but (more importantly) among coffee farmers. They travel to origin to create personal relationships with small farmers in remote villages. They explain to them how to distinguish good from bad coffee, what price their coffee is worth and how to make it (even) better. They try to create a better coffee world, a ‘fairer’ coffee world. Their Black Cat espresso blend is honestly amazing and they have some ‘in season’ (yes, even coffee has seasons, more on that next time) single origin coffees of exceptional quality. (For those who doubt: yes, I have really tried some of them myself when I was in NY)

 

Exceptional beans prepared on exceptional equipment by exceptional baristas in an exceptional environment… would “Intellivenice introduces the 4^th wave” be too bald of a statement?

Either way, a visit is exceptionally ;) high on my coffee to-do list. Until then: gaze at the pictures, look in awe at the video of the first minutes and nervously follow the Intelli news.

Our lipstick in the middle of ORcup

On saturday, we have quite some classy shopping ladies coming in for a cup of coffee and a delicious piece of cake… We like them, they bring some attitude and liveliness to the place… but, honestly, we don’t like what they leave us with once they’re gone :)

I can’t help but wonder whether such amounts of lipstick influence the taste of the cup?  Ladies, help me out here: lipstick flavored coffee on our new summer menu?

Speaking of which, that new summer menu is being worked at very hard. Both content as lay-out will change. We’ve been trying out some new coffee specials, refreshing home-made limonades and ice-teas. Ready for those hot’n’sweaty summer days. Some summer teasin:

Some cupping notes

Last Friday, May 8, the Belgian Cupping Championships took place at Lion Products in Bonheiden. Cupping is the tasting of coffee, usually following a certain routine. Freshly roasted coffee beans are grinded in small (cupping) cups. At this moment a first evaluation takes place. By smelling the dry coffee – freshly ground – the coffee fragrance is detected. The fresher the coffee (closer to roasting date), the more intense the fragrance.

Water, just off the boil, is poured over the ground coffee. Coffee particles will rise to the surface and form a crust of coffee on top. You let it sit for about 4 minutes. Then you break the crust with a cupping spoon (this spoon is a little bit deeper and different in shape from a normal spoon) and gently stir in order to fully moist all the coffee. Breaking the crust is a second evaluation point. Sniffing the coffee thoroughly reveals its aromas. The tasting wheel below gives you an idea of the possible aromas in coffee. The range of aromas is different for each coffee.

 

The particles will sink to the bottom. Those that don’t sink should be skimmed off. Now the coffee is ready to be tasted. With a cupping spoon, a small amount of coffee is brought to the mouth and forcefully slurped as to fully aerate the coffee and spread it evenly all over the tongue. Attention is paid to acidity, sweetness, body (how the coffee ‘feels’ in your mouth) and aftertaste (what remains after swallowing). Usually the coffee is spit out, taste buds are cleared, spoons are rinsed and the process starts all over. Read more concrete step-by-step guides here, here and here.

 

Cupping is used by coffee professionals to identify the quality of coffees and to compare different coffees. It’s a way for coffee roasters to sample different coffees and decide which ones they want to use in a blend. It’s a way to detect deficiencies in coffees or just really outstanding crops. Related to this is the “Cup of excellence”, a contest held each year among farmers of a coffee producing country. More about this in a next post or here.

 

But there are also cupping championships, where competitors are asked to ‘cup-taste’ 8 sets of 3 cups of coffees. In each set of three, there are two identical and one different coffee. The latter one is set apart from the other two. The winner is the one who picks out the most ‘faults’ in the shortest time. (Note that the coffee is prepared as drip coffee, so different from ‘traditional cuppings’) As with other coffee championships, national champions compete against each other at the world championships. Last Friday, some ten coffee pro’s took the challenge. Several people from Efico (a Belgian trader, importing green coffee into the Antwerp harbour), some smaller roasters (Donko’s, Deprez) and few barista’s (Rob, Bird, Francois). OR was well presented with both Tom Janssen (our roaster) and Simon Boone (barista) participating. While the boyz were having fun, the girlz (Katrien and I) were securing income (aka working the bar). We were however happily surprised that Tom ended 4^th, at only 5 seconds from the third. Efico’s well-trained cuppers took home 1^st (Bart Vansanden), 3^rd (Laurent) and 5^th place (Jean). Louis from Donko’s placed 2^nd and Peter Deprez 6^th. Congrats to all participants and good luck to Bart for the World Cuptasting Championships in Cologne in june. More pictures follow soon.

 

As for my own cupping experience; I’ve participated in 6 sessions so far, evenly distributed between NYC (Cafe Grumpy, Joe, Intelligentsia) and Belgium (Caffenation, Efico, Deprez). Most memorable were probably Grumpy (5 really different and really good coffees and my first encounter with the amazingness that is Yirgacheffe), Intelli (most thorough and just the nicest knowledgeable people) and Efico (their cupping tables and skills are impressive ;) ).

I love cupping, it gives you the change to really try and describe what you taste and smell… what it is that makes you like or dislike a certain coffee. It’s easy to do at home (ok, you need a good grinder) and you can taste more coffees than you usually do at a cafe (where there’s at most two kinds on offer, here in Belgium that is). It broadens your palate, cos cupping and learning to discern and identify all those different aromas and tastes really just needs a lot of practice! How happy I was when I recently experimentally found out what they actually meant with ‘a clean cup’.

But mostly, the more you do it, the more complicated it becomes (up until a certain point I guess)… and hey, that’s just why I love coffee so much. :)

An absurd challenge

Challenges are fun. Challenges are necessary to keep things interesting. If everything would be a piece of cake, we’d soon be all bored to death. Each challenge, whether a real competition or just for fun, implies trying to push your limits a little bit, thinking out of the box, being creative and aiming as high as you (realistically) can.  And afterwards, whether you go flat on your face or just beyond all imagination, you’ll have learned. A new possibility to get better.

 

Browsing the internet for interesting coffee related stuff – some daily pastime for me :) – I recently came across this. James Hoffman created an ‘Absurd latte art challenge’, where you have to pour latte art into something unusual. Ok pouring into saucers, portafilters, pitchers, trays… but Ryan Willbur and Devin Pedde (Intelligentsia LA hotties) decided to do something a little bit more ‘special’. Danger danger! Tonx took pictures of there submission; here. (Hoffmans own try isn’t too bad either)

 

With my latte art skills almost non-existent but being worked on very hard, it’ll still take a while before I get there! But as I said: challenges are fun. Who’s willing to be my canvas? :)

How the virus got me

It all started last summer, when I ended a one-year trip through South-America with a 3 months stay in NYC.

I was lucky to be living in lovely Williamsburg and every day my roomies came home with a great smelling cup of Oslo coffee… and I just got intrigued by the atmosphere and friendliness that goes with standing in line with all the regulars and drinking a delicious cup before heading to work or home… or just staying in the bar meeting people, working on my laptop… Coffee to stay or to go, coffee in the morning, afternoon coffee with friends, coffee right before hopping on the bus, a cup to wake up, a cup to go to bed. Back then, coffee was not my main interest, nor did the idea of getting a job involving coffee pop into my mind… but my days did involve lots of coffee…and somehow the coffee virus must’ve silently settled into my body somewhere…

 

…ready to hit hard a couple of weeks later.

Coming home after an inspiring year of travelling, meeting wonderful people, leading a ‘non-traditional’ life… is not really like stepping into a warm, welcoming, cozy home at all. Oh of course, there’s family and friends that you’ve greatly missed and that are happy to spent some time with you again. There’s some habits and staple foods that you gladly pick up again. But rather then being fulfilled with the embracing feeling of home, I found myself confused and without any goal or project. Though my plane had safely brought me ‘home’, I was floating around and couldn’t find good soil to plant my feet in. While everyone in my surroundings had a bunch of expectations that I felt I obliged to live up to, I would’ve rather just run away again.

I had to choose ‘the next step’, which seemed harder than all the previous steps I had taken in my life. Was I supposed to work in advertising or event organizing again, something I had studied for and done with pleasure (and a suit and overtime)? Or should I try to find a job in a cultural centre, promoting music and theatre, something that has always been an interest? Somewhere in the back of my mind, I also had the idea of opening my own coffee shop one day; something that seemed fun and great to do but that I didn’t have money for now.

And the idea that seemed the least plausible at first won. Somehow – the virus must’ve broken out – I found myself browsing coffee blogs, searching the existing espresso bars in Belgium (oh so few), looking for barista training (even less). As if my senses had now incorporated ‘coffee’ into their library, I came across articles in the newspapers, interviews on the radio, workshops, books and more information.

 

Coffee became my passion, my goal, my project, my savior, my soil to land in. My home is not a real time place, rather a feeling, a satisfying project surrounded by people that support it. So while I was waiting for OR – the new espresso bar that I was gonna start at – to get ready, I went back to NYC. This time on a concrete mission: visit as many coffee shops as possible, do some coffee research and get some training. It’s lovely to see how the industry is booming over there and how friendly most baristas are. A huge thank you to Daniel Humphries who gave me my very first barista training and who’s an amazing and encouraging trainer. And thanks to Everyman’s Espresso, 9^th st, Oslo, Cafe Grumpy, El beit, Gimme and all the other cafes for my daily doses. As always, time in NYC flies and visits are too short, but I was excited to go back this time…

 

I am happy that I got the opportunity to start at OR, where I am learning every day and I am able to be part of the upswell of espresso and the growing awareness of and interest in good coffee in Belgium. Turning the key of the front door of the cafe and serving shots of espresso everyday, yes, it does feel like coming home.

 

Just so you know: my new home’s open to everyone: come in and sip your coffee; and I’d be happy to show you around.

 

Ps: People interested in my adventure through South-America can still read my stories on http://mwoi-isa.blogspot.com (in dutch except for one article in english)

Dear readers

As I hope the name and design of this blog already show, it’s about coffee.  Some of you will probably think: “bean there (pun intended), done that…. another coffee blog, how exciting.”  Well yea, I realize how this amazing web of information is filled with sites about coffee. From roasters over bar owners via traders and professional baristas to espresso enthusiasts; from geeks that get all turned on by the technical details of the newest fancy schmachines and grinders to regular cafe customers that describe their daily worries while sipping their favorite coffee drink… For some reason, they all feel the need to blog about or discuss their cup of joe… Why bothering putting time and effort into creating another coffee blog?

What (most) coffeebloggers share is a passion for coffee. We all want a good cup at home and an excellent shot at our favorite cafes. However, what we mostly get is bad and tastes like shit.  What we brew at home is our own responsibility, but we wanna share good techniques. What we get at cafes and restaurants is a shared responsibility. Have you ever returned a cup of coffee because its taste was way too acidic, bitter or rather faint or because you felt like you were drinking dishwater? Most likely, the answer is no.  If you did indeed return a cup, did you get an apology from the waiter or barista and a new coffee without having to pay for it? Most likely, the answer is no.  Did you know that an espresso does not contain more caffeine than a regular cup of coffee? Did you know that the pills your doctor prescribed you probably contain more caffeine than the coffee you stopped drinking on his advice? Most likely, the answer is no.

 

So why then do we need another blog about coffee? Well, another blog about coffee… another vote for a better coffee future… another voice that gets the word out… another possibility to educate and infect people’s taste buds… another person that stands up for what he believes in…  So that in time, everybody knows one of us… So that in time, yes, we all return bad tasting cups… So that in time, yes, we all get an apology for bad quality… So that in time, yes, we know what we are drinking and where it comes from… So that in time, yes, the coffee movement – or should I say wave ;) – receives equal recognition (as wine and whiskey)… So that in time, yes we can… one cup at a time :)

Big ambitions start small…. and it is my hope to start off with giving people in Belgium a better idea on what coffee is, how a good shot of espresso is made, how it tastes different from a bad shot, how much of a variety of coffee there is…

As my coffee journey has only started very recently, I also want to describe the path I am taking, how it all started and what experiences and people I meet along the way. It’s a journey without an end, as we will always evolve, as will the coffee industry, as will our tastes and whims, as will technology and techniques, as will so many things that influence a shot of espresso.

Starting out myself, browsing through all the other blogs, reading books, visiting cafes… I felt as if something was missing…  It seemed as if everybody I met and everything I read was already at an advanced or professional level. Everybody was talking about different types of machines and grinders, the body, flavor, acidity and aftertaste of coffee, the barista techniques… as if everybody just jumped to that knowledge level ignoring their very own learning process… They all seemed to have forgotten where they came from, how life was when they started out, how they became what they are now…  By leaving out this part, the gap between ‘mere coffee lovers’ and ‘professionals’, between espresso bar owners and their own customers only gets bigger… and people feel as if they need a lot of time and energy to know what a good cup of coffee is… time and energy they don’t have.

I have doubted whether it was a good idea to start a blog right away, at a time when I dare not even call myself a barista yet, when my knowledge of coffee does not reach further than one book and a few articles I’ve read, when my tasting palate is as inexperienced as anyone who has drunk coffee for a few years and when there’s no way I can tell why one machine is better than the next apart from following what everybody says…

But yes, I have come to realize it IS a good idea to start now. By describing my journey, right from the start, I may not create the blog that people in the industry follow for my valuable opinion, I may not become the next number one reference, but I do hope to create a bridge between coffee laymen and professionals, to let people know that everyone can learn about coffee and how interesting a field it is.

And oh well, I also want my friends and family to know what I’m doing, without having to explain them in boring lengthy conversations :)

Comments, questions and requests are seriously encouraged.

 

There’s nowhere to go but on… I have lived by this motto – brought to me by Feist (http://bit.ly/Ev2U2) – for about two years now, and it has never deceived me. Thanks for hopping on my train!

Isa