Prenatal caffine

So I'm an 9 3/4 hours into the birth of our first child and the need for caffine has never been greater. There is really only one option for my fix and that is the Mater Fig Tree cafe. Aka the caf.

It looks like a nice cup.




The taste is quite strong but I really need it today. Perhaps that is why they use the blend they do. Hmm?

I need sleep but I can not see it coming to me any time soon.

I will keep you up to date as I am sure there will be more coffee had today.

So very excited!!!
- Shot on location. Stefan

Location:SE Freeway on ramp,Woolloongabba,Australia

Melbourne!!

I had run out of Jasper Coffee.
For a week now I have been drinking stale coffee and instant at work. I was in coffee hell.

Then a shining light come into my life. My father in law offered to cover the postage of an order from Jasper.
Woo hoo!

A few days later comes a gift. So wonderous it was like a vision. A care package from my Jasper family. Full of glorious coffee and a few extra goodies thrown in for good measure. They are too good to me. And such a great price too. I miss you too guys.

It made me miss Melbourne even more. It is the reason I am so passionate about coffee. The reason I am so picky now.
Jasper Coffee, 267 Brunswick st Fitzroy. If you are ever in Melbourne I highly recommend that you pop in and see the crew for a fabulous, smooth and very tasty short black. Now I don't care if you love a latte or a flat white. This coffee deserves to be tasted! Add a sugar if you like but it is so lovingly well made that you should savour it's essence.

While your there ask for some advice for the right beans to take home and try out on your [insert caffine maker style here]. If you just guess, you will get a great coffee but it might not be exactly to your specific taste. So ask for some guidance.

Say hi for me when your there.

My favourites are:
Blend One - Rich, smooth and creamy
Sulawesi - strong and smooth
Jamacian Blue Mountain (if you can afford it) - very smooth and velverty. One of the worlds best.
If they have a Cuban instore, get some!

Not to say that Jasper is the only good coffee. Oh contraire.

Check out these pearls:
The Lab @ David Jones in Little Bourke St.
These guys are using a Slayer machine which is a sight to see and also have syphon coffee and a slow drip coffee that takes hours to pour.

Proud Mary in Collingwood off Oxford St.
Similar to The Lab buy in a more welcoming atmosphere. They joined two machines together to make a six group. Just because they can!

Rosamond off from Smith St. (I'll let you find this one) Tiny place, great coffee and good, simple food.

The affore mentioned Pellegrino's on Upper Bourke St. Traditional.

Try Brother Bubba Budan on Little Bourke St in the city. I think. I found it hard to find at first due to the lack of signs so just look for the chairs hanging from the ceiling.

There are more to rant about but I will save that for later entries.

- Shot on location. Stefan

Coffee Club

I'm at The Coffee Club again. I hope that this experience is better that some of the others I have had. I'm on Park rd so the standard should be higher right? You'd think.

Although my fear rises when Jules ordered her Flat White she was asked "in a cup or a mug?" mug? Are you serious?!

The gods are smiling again. This is quite a good cup. It is restoring my faith in the good people who named the joint.

Good pour. Nice crema. Smooth soft taste.

Phew!



- Shot on location. Stefan

Flaming on!

So, as quickly as the gods smile on me for loving coffee, they then smite me for drinking instant.
I left home this morning without my morning bliss in a cup, because I had made myself late by pressing snooze one too many times. Never a good call. (missing the coffee that is)
Only to get to work, the place they keep the emergency coffee substitute (instant), only to be told that the kettle had spouted flames this morning when it was turned on. FLAMES?! What would I do? Brain is already starting to pulse...

And so i turn to Freedom furniture cafe. Hmm. My expectations where very low. Vittoria coffee at $3.40 a cup.

Cardboard cups should not get that hot right?

It did save my life. Would I rush back for another cup? Not in a hurry. If I was shopping at Freedom and needed a fix I would defiantly give them a second chance. Apparently, the flat white my boss had was quite nice. The flavour was good. Not smooth and creamy like it like but it was not burnt like the hot cup implied it's contents to be.

My best Vittoria experience has been at Pelegrinos in Melbourne. But the guy there has been making coffee on the same machine, the same way, every day all day for over thirty years! That's a long reminiscence to go into at another time.

I should not complain as my boss shouted me the coffee and had no naked flames to deal with. Just a minor cardboard scolding.


- tasted on location. Stefan

Location:McDonald Rd,Windsor,Australia

Cafe2U

Yesterday, when I got off the train at Albion Station I had a coffee van directly in front if me. To be honest I was torn, firstly I thought the gods must be smiling on me with this beautiful gift of coffee right there when I needed it but I was also torn as to what the quality of it would be. What do I do? (oh and I was also running a bit behind to get to work)
So, I did what any coffee lover would do. I gave it a shot. Pun intended.
I paid my $3 and was very surprised. Pleasantly.
It was almost one of the best I have had yet. Almost. I know, what are the odds? Some random coffee van at Albion Station!

The older guy running the van, Ron I think, was personable and had a good idea as to what he was doing with the van mounted machine. Goes to show it does not take much room to a good coffee.

The flavour was smooth and creamy and the aroma was sweet. Even though I was almost powerwalking to work I tried with all of my might to savor the flavour as much as I could. Very nice way to start the day. Thanks Ron!

I guess if that is the sole thing you do for 12hrs a day you would hope he was bloody brilliant at it. I know I would be.

There are franchises available for anyone wishing to kick there real job to the curb and invest onto a start-up van.
Visit www.cafe2u.com.au


So I guess what I am saying is that if you see a coffee van somewhere don't palm it of as a dud until you have tried it. You just never know...

- shot on location. Stefan

Home coffee

I have been often asked about what I do for coffee at home. I have two options open to me at home and they are my Breville 800 Cafe series machine and "the Otto".
I like the ease and convenience of the Breville and for my morning fix before work it is 'good enough'. But if I am feeling in more of a challenging mood I can attempt the Otto.

Breville, although it is a thermoblock*, yields a good flavour because I use freshly ground coffee in it. Unfortunately, I have to grind by hand at the moment but I am hoping to get a good burr grinder soon and it will be Much easier from then on.
I have worked out the quirks of my machine and I can manage a decent cup from it. Not as good a coffee as I can get from my father-in-laws Rancillio Miss Silvia! But that's another story.

Unlike the Breville, the Otto needs to have the right conditions to yield a brilliant cup. I am yet to master the device but it is a challenge I will not back down from. It is a beautiful stainless steel stovetop machine, made with precision and I know it can do better then what I have managed so far. Don't get me wrong I have made several drinkable cups from it but I know it can do much better. The problem is the grind I think and once I get a decent grinder to use I will sort it once and for all.

So that's my home coffee experience in a nutshell. I have not had instant coffee in my house for over six years and I am happier for it.

If it's a coffee you need then I say take the time and make it a good one. If not, have tea.

The 800 & hand grinder



The Otto




*Thermoblock verses Boiler.
Too much info needed to explain this here but if you want more information about this I am happy to tell you in further blog entries.

My first month in Brisbane

Hey guys and girls,
Here are some of my first notes on the experiences I have had so far since moving from Melbourne.

They are mostly notes I jotted down but the will get the idea.

--
Garden city.
Monte Carlo @ dbl esp $4.10
Burnt. Unable to drink it. I poured it out in the carpark.

--
Simply Duo, Nundah
Grinders coffee $3.50
Drinkable, nothing special.

--
Jam, Nundah
Segafreddo $3.50
Excellent. Good crema, smooth taste. Nice surprise.
Consistent. Second visit creamy and caramel tones.

--
The ironically named...
The coffee club, South Bris
$3.40 dark and burnt flavour. 2 sugars to make it drinkable, just. That's no surprise.

--
Neat, Edward st city
$3.00 darker roast. Segafreddo
Smooth and tasty. Good for the city buzz.

--
Chase the rider, Jindalee
$3.50 darker Piazza Dorro
Smooth and drinkable
Award winning? That's what I heard. Hmmm.

--
Spoon, East Brisbane
$3.80 diBella
Dark pour bitter bite.
Not horrible but not great.

--
Gallery cafe, Chermside
$3.40 abrisca
Dark pour, not bitter until the end.
Meh.

--
La dolce vita, city
Nutty aroma. Darker nutty flavour.
Served with water! Had to ask for raw sugar. $3.00




--
Coffee club Sandgate
$3.50. Home blend
Actually quite good. Smooth and creamy.
Nice surprise.



--
D'Lish cafe, Laidley. Yes Laidley!
Belaroma coffee $2.90
Nice surprise. Smooth and creamy. Very easy to drink. Who'da thunk it.

This is just the beginning.

- Stefan