The first rule of Filter Club…

Is… always talk about Filter Club.

More and more roasters and retailers are putting up a ‘filter club’. Pay a certain amount of money for a subscription and receive delicious treats, delivered to your door (or pick them up). Fortnightly, maybe monthly.

There are several subscriptions available. You might be familiar with Market Lane or Sensory Lab, but over here in Perth, we have “Grand Central Coffee Roasters”.

Grand Central run a filter club which gets you such delicious treats, selected and roasted by Mr Luke Bates, delivered to your door (or pick up from the roastery).

This week I experienced the stunning Nicaragua Finca La Esperanza. Gently roasted for an ultimate filter brew. I’ve brewed V60, Aeropress and Clever Dripper and just can’t screw this coffee up, it’s brilliant.

Luke is the kind of bloke who will only put up a coffee which he would enjoy personally. It’s in the fine details. The packaging even hosts some roasting params, like drop time and temp (among other things).

Get on board, check out Grand Central Coffee Roasters filter club. Oh, you can order any number of blends or singles too!

http://www.grandcentralcoffee.com.au/

Aeropress recipe used:

18gm med-coarse (go a slightly finer grind for paper)
Kaffeologie S-Filter
300gm water @ 96C
bloom for 30 sec, pour in the rest, plunge at 1m30 to 2m finish.

CCD recipe used:

30gm med-fine
60gm bloom @ 94C
Fill to top, steep for 2m30, drop
enjoy with friends

v60 recipe used:

14gm med-fine
50gm bloom for 30s with a ‘swirl’ (thanks @gwilymbarista)
pour 50gm
pour 100gm
drain and enjoy (2m20 total)

A few cool things (aka, an update)

image

A few cool things going on. My “33 cups of coffee” notebooks arrived. I gave one to Jono at Dimattina because he’s a top bloke and lets us come and mess up his cupping room every Friday. Speaking of, he’s created a new twitter account for the cupping crew. Aptly named “@dimcuppingcrew”.

Bombora (wholesaler) is now stocking everything ‘Bonavita’! http://clean-machine.com.au/BONAVITA/

Perth folk can order items through Luke Bates of Grand Central Coffee. He’s on twitter and FB. He’s a great roaster and a top bloke, so order some coffee with your new bonavita kettle! (Pro Tip: he run’s a filter-club subscription too!) more: grandcentralcoffee.com.au

It’s funny how we fancy a particular brewing device for a while then switch. At the moment I’m thrashing my aeropress again. I think it’s because of all the World Aeropress Championships buzz (WAC 2013). Check it out, it’s going to be in Melbourne this year during MICE2013/WBC! more: http://worldaeropresschampionship.wordpress.com

H2O is big on my coffee agenda at the moment, I’ve been experimenting with pure water (0-ppm). Mixing with different quantities of tap and filtered water and brewing. In the morning I brewed using a filter jug and enjoyed the cup, in the same arvo I brewed with the 0-ppm water and honestly thought I’d brewed the wrong coffee. The difference is mind blowing. More on this later.

Melbourne International Coffee Expo (MICE2013) / World Barista Championships is fast approaching. My flights are booked by my accommodation is not, I really should look into it. I’m pretty excited about the trip. Lots to see and many places to visit.

Sharing is caring. I’ve been roasting a lot of coffee lately, more than ever before. Demand has been increasing. I don’t have a lot of offerings at the moment, but what I do have, I try to roast the best way I can for that coffee. I hope to have some more variety available soon. If you have something you’d like to share, let me know, I’m always up for swapsies!

Other Perth-related news off the top of my head: Gordon St Garage just opened in Perth (west?). I’ve not been yet but I hear it’s flashy. Essence of Coffee are seeking out a marketing expert, Brazil Late-harvest CoE was recently cupped at Gordon St. Di Bella Coffee (of eastern states fame) is opening a roastery in South Fremantle! “Chalky’s” is a new espresso-bar in Freo. Our office espresso machine has a new boiler. yayz!

til next time

Why is it so good? I’ve written about it before, even more detailed with regards to filter paper selection which is very important.

This brewer is awesome because:

The design is just right. Look at that cone, it’s just right for coffee extraction with ‘fins’ and shape
It can brew 1-3 cups (up to 450gm of H2O will fit)
It’s easy, just tip grinds in and fill it with water from any kettle/source
You control the immersion brewing / steep time then drop the brew out with a one-way valve
Light-weight, plastic, solid
Excellent for travelling!
Consistent

Get one!

Pegasus BlendIntroducing: Pegasus BlendIt’s been a very long time since I did any blending at all. The last big hit was the Unicorn Blend, and before that the S.L.A.B (somewhat like a boss) blend.This time around, I took two out of the three great coffee’s that made up the Unicorn Blend and added something else to make up the third coffee. Included is something from Brazil, Guatemala and El Salvador. Lets just say that of all three coffee’s, some of the descriptors include “choc, hazelnut, marzipan, vanilla, honey, maple syrup”.I’ve gone for a really sweet treat for this espresso blend designed to just kill it in milk. Rich, creamy, nutty and sweet.
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Pegasus Blend

Introducing: Pegasus Blend
It’s been a very long time since I did any blending at all. The last big hit was the Unicorn Blend, and before that the S.L.A.B (somewhat like a boss) blend.

This time around, I took two out of the three great coffee’s that made up the Unicorn Blend and added something else to make up the third coffee. Included is something from Brazil, Guatemala and El Salvador. Lets just say that of all three coffee’s, some of the descriptors include “choc, hazelnut, marzipan, vanilla, honey, maple syrup”.
I’ve gone for a really sweet treat for this espresso blend designed to just kill it in milk. Rich, creamy, nutty and sweet.

Built - Budget Cold Drip Coffee Station

OK, so the mega-blok thing was a bit silly. Here’s my real cold drip station, built on a budget mainly to learn about cold drip.
Parts for this build consist mainly of items I already had laying around:

1.25-2L soft drink bottle with the bottom hacked off ($ free)
something to hold the drink bottle in place (i used the top of an old popcorn popper)
Coldbrewtower2
adjustable irrigation dripper (60 cents, bunnings hardware)
Aeropress brew chamber (already had, else, ~$50)
S-filter metal disc for aeropress (optional, just use paper otherwise)
2x aeropress paper filters, cut down, to fit inside the aeropress brew chamber
Jug to receive brew (I used my Hario range server)
Timber to build tower, or some other shelf system with appropriate holes in it
I used Jarrah off cuts from the deck/verandah I built out the front at home. Sliced em up and then cut them up to build a tower with three basic shelves

The idea of cold drip is, water drips from above, in to a bed of coffee (brew chamber) which filters slowly in to a receiving jug of some type over a period of time determined by the drip rate.
My recipe:

100gm medium ground coffee
600gm water, 100gm ice
40 drips a minute
Grind and dose the brew chamber, settle the bed nice and flat, lay down the two ‘cut down’ aeropress filter papers, set up the water delivery system above with desired drip rate, then wait.

When complete, you can store it in the fridge in a bottle or some other container which can be closed.
Serve over ice, or over ice with sparkling water, or on ice with milk, or however!

Coldbewtower1

Coffee cups and espresso love

I was asked by my mother-in-law what I’d like for my birthday last year (29th Nov fyi). I suggested some coffee cups and gave instructions on where to find the ones that I was keen to try.Enter the INKER cups, retailed at Epic Espresso in West Perth and wholesaled/distributed by SIP Imports.

I said “I don’t care how many or what size”. Come my birthday I was surprised with six small-fat-tulip’s (150ml) in vanilla and plum colours. They are really nice, I’m very happy with them!Something interesting happened over Christmas. My mother was visiting from NZ and she likes espresso, so I brewed her up some Finca Alaska which she described as “excellent”. I brewed one for myself and had to agree, it was delicious! I’ve posted about this coffee before: http://thebeaningoflife.com/roasted-el-salvador-finca-alaska although previously I had roasted it more suited to filter brewing, this latest roast was a little darker which just owned it as espresso.

I liked this espresso so much that I went out and picked up some ‘pinch espresso’ INKER’s. These have to be one of the best espresso cups that I’ve had espresso from. They are heavy, thick, and the handle is just right.

My love for espresso has been re-kindled, not only thanks to the new INKER’s, but also that brilliant El Salvador coffee. Glad I ordered some more greens to roast up :)

Inkersproandfattulip Inkerpinchspro
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Built - Mega Block Cold Drip stationLast night I was playing mega blocks with my son Spencer in the games room, we decided to build some towers and as the tower went up, it started to resemble… a cold drip station! I know right?So in the kitchen it went with a few bits and bobs. Does it work? I dunno, it ended up back in the games room and smashed by Spencer (the fun part).I really should get back and finish my jarrah tower!You gotta admit, it’s kinda cool. Shame it’s not propper lego, it would be far more stable! anything is possible.
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Built - Mega Block Cold Drip station

Last night I was playing mega blocks with my son Spencer in the games room, we decided to build some towers and as the tower went up, it started to resemble… a cold drip station! I know right?So in the kitchen it went with a few bits and bobs. Does it work? I dunno, it ended up back in the games room and smashed by Spencer (the fun part).

I really should get back and finish my jarrah tower!You gotta admit, it’s kinda cool. Shame it’s not propper lego, it would be far more stable! anything is possible.
Visited - Maven Espresso (Perth)I thought I’d drop in and visit Ron at Maven Espresso. Ron is of WA Barista Academy fame, you might also know him from coffee events around australia. He recently left the academy and is now serving up brews at Maven in Raine Square, Perth CBD.It amazed me how close it was to the train station, a hundred metres or two, and I was there! Easy.They’re serving coffee from 5 Senses just about any way that you can imagine, even cold drip. Check out the killer tower!I enjoyed a cold drip brew on ice with sparkling water, and later an espresso off the ‘black blend’ grinder. Both very enjoyable.These guys are also running a smart phone app that lets you order your coffee on the go (say, the train), specify how long you will be, pay, then just walk past and pick it up. Pretty cool!Check em out, take the Raine Square exit out of the Perth Underground rail station and head up the escalators. Look for the “twin towers” (cold drips).Also check them out on Facebook, and Twitter @mavenespresso
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Visited - Maven Espresso (Perth)

I thought I’d drop in and visit Ron at Maven Espresso. Ron is of WA Barista Academy fame, you might also know him from coffee events around australia. He recently left the academy and is now serving up brews at Maven in Raine Square, Perth CBD.It amazed me how close it was to the train station, a hundred metres or two, and I was there! Easy.

They’re serving coffee from 5 Senses just about any way that you can imagine, even cold drip. Check out the killer tower!I enjoyed a cold drip brew on ice with sparkling water, and later an espresso off the ‘black blend’ grinder. Both very enjoyable.

These guys are also running a smart phone app that lets you order your coffee on the go (say, the train), specify how long you will be, pay, then just walk past and pick it up. Pretty cool!Check em out, take the Raine Square exit out of the Perth Underground rail station and head up the escalators. Look for the “twin towers” (cold drips).

Also check them out on Facebook, and Twitter @mavenespresso