Epic Cup Stacking at Café in Iran
11.08
Technically this is tea, but it’s amazing no matter what he’s pouring into the cups.
[via wokinabox on Facebook]
Tweet Follow @DCILYCrop to Cup with JJ Bean
09.09
I’ve posted a lot of videos lately, but they’re all fantastic and serve as great reminders of how complex coffee is—not only in taste—but the effort it takes to fill your cup.
This latest video from JJ Bean Coffee Roasters in Vancouver begins with a montage of beautiful b&w photos from an origin trip to Guatemala earlier this year. After returning home, it follows the green beans to the cupping table, through roasting and into a cup.
From the JJ Bean website:
Relatively few people in North America have any knowledge about where or how coffee is made. It is easy to think of coffee as simply a tasty drink made from ground “beans”. However, there is much more to coffee than that, and we wouldn’t even have those beans (which are actually the seeds of coffee cherries) if it were not for the hard work of farmers and workers on coffee farms around the world, as well as the tasters, roasters, and baristas who transform the green beans into the drink we know as coffee. At JJ Bean, we wish to honour the entire “journey of coffee”, from crop to cup, as well as the many people who work tirelessly to bring us that coffee.
I couldn’t agree more. Enjoy.
World AeroPress Record at 20,000ft
09.08
To follow yesterdays re-announcement of the World AeroPress Championship, I’d like to say I’ve found my new training regiment. I’m ready to don an oxygen mask and start making inverted AeroPresses at 20,000ft! Who’s with me?
Last week, while flying 60km/h and geared up to stay warm in the -20°c air, three coffee lovers in Lithuania set a new world record for preparing coffee in a hot air balloon above 20,000ft. Barista Nidas Kiuberis from Coffee Inn, roaster Grazvydas Vilcinskas from Kavos Bankas and pilot Vytautas Samarinas from Orobalionai took to the skies with a thermos of hot water, an AeroPress and fresh roasted coffee from Kavos Bankas (which they ground while on the ground) up into the Troposphere to make history.
After brewing, they each took turns removing their oxygen masks to taste their epic cup of coffee, which sadly was only “as tasty as it is on earth.”
Congrats on the achievement! I think we’ve got our new WAC venue for 2012.
Olympia Coffee Roasting Video
09.05
Another visually stunning look into the world of coffee bars and roasteries made by Charley Voorhis for Olympia Coffee Roasters in Washington. I never get tired of watching these. Take a coffee break and enjoy!
If you haven’t seen the others, check out the videos from MadCap & Doma.
[via Sprudge]
Tweet Follow @DCILYDeep, Dark, Delicious Yuban & Coffee Seasonality
08.19
After reading an article about coffee & seasonality on Nordic Coffee Culture recently, some of what the article discussed reminded me of the entertaining marketing spin used in this 1950′s commercial for Yuban Coffee.
(Yuban is) Richest because it is blended with rare, aged coffee beans…Yuban adds to its blend, beans that are aged to peak flavor; like vintage wine, the choicest cheese, the finest steak…well worth the few extra pennies you’ll spend.
Who wouldn’t want to buy a coffee that’s compared to the finest wines? That technique is sometimes still used today to try and differentiate “third wave” coffee from the rest. Ironically, that strategy is 60 years old and was once used to sell canned coffee from God-knows-where. While Yuban may compare their rich tasting “aged coffee” with vintage wine, Tim Wendelboe compares the technique to defects in corked wine.
The problem with storing unroasted coffee is that after a certain time, (depending on how the coffee is dried, packaged, shipped and stored) the coffee will start loosing moisture and taste more bitter and woody after roasting (almost like corked wine).
If you haven’t read the article, it’s worth checking out. It will give you a better understanding of the seasonal direction many progressive coffee roasters are moving in, as they strive to offer the freshest and highest quality coffee experience possible.
Coffee and Seasonality – Nordic Coffee Culture
Tweet Follow @DCILYMadCrazy MadCap Latte Art
08.16
From the same people who created “Green Bean,” a beautiful video I posted back in April, comes another equally as stunning video featuring the team at MadCap Coffee. Showing off their latte art skills and their custom MadCap tampers, combined with the talented video work of Hybrid Media Co. make this some of the best coffee porn online.
Just like last time, turn up the speakers, watch it fullscreen and enjoy.
Tweet Follow @DCILYA Video About Caffeine (Not Coffee)
06.29
I’ve been sent this video by roughly 20 people and it’s been making rounds on the internet so hard that even Gizmodo has posted it. The video is interesting, and though not necessarily incorrect, I find it really annoying. Describing it as “everything you need to know about coffee in less than five minutes,” while only spending 8 seconds on the actual process from crop to cup, overlooks all of the work it actually takes to produce coffee. The rest of the video is little more than a 4-minute ramble about the effects of caffeine. There’s far more to coffee than caffeine. If that’s the only reason you drink it, you’re missing out on so much more. Just sayin.
Tweet Follow @DCILYKristyna Baczynski’s Java Jive
06.15
I really enjoy this animation chronicling the childhood and life of a coffee bean, set to the tune “Java Jave”—the 1940′s hit by The Ink Spots. The animation was illustrated and produced by Kristyna Baczynski, an artist from Leeds, UK. It also won the Digital Media Award in 2008 at the Northern Design Competition.
Kristyna’s whimsical, but refined illustration style reminds me of Ren & Stimpy with a more refreshing color palate, I love her unique take on comics and sequential art. Check out more of her work, shop her Etsy, or read a nice interview with her at Pika Land.
Dialing in to Common Grounds TV
06.13
Last fall, two friends embarked on a cross-country road trip to experience and capture Canada’s independent coffee culture. What resulted was a 20 episode series called Common Ground TV that highlights the many different places, personalities, and perspectives within the Canadian coffee scene.
I know very little about Canadian coffee aside from the names of a few roasters and a couple baristas I met during Coffee Common, so I’ve learned a lot during the first six episodes. The 10-minute episodes have featured everything from interviews with coffee notables like Zane Kelsall and Sevan Istanboulian—to a trip to the Canadian Barista Championship. There’s also a bit of cultural insight and good clean fun along the way.
The two hosts, Nik and Edan, spoke with DCILY about their project, what they learned during their journey, and what the future holds.
—
What spurred you to make this trip? Have you always been so enthusiastic about coffee?
NIK: Ever since about 16, I’ve had an addiction to coffee. I’ve always had a decent surface knowledge of what makes a good cup. After being a barista on and off for about 15 years, I found the culture to be very interesting as far as the characters you meet across an espresso machine. People never set out to be baristas, they’re always led there and often times down some colorful paths. Those are the stories that we have been capturing. Ex-engineers, athletes—you name it—they’re often very eccentric and intense folks.
EDAN: When I was in high school, a cafe opened in Grand Forks called ‘River City’; they made really good coffee, and I started to appreciate the differences between gas station swill and proper espresso. When Nik opened his cafe, I got a chance to learn the finer nuances of pulling a good shot of espresso and how to steam milk properly. From there, Nik and I wanted to create a guide to the best coffee in BC, but I ended up doing my masters in architecture, and Nik got busy with film school, and we took a few years away from the project. Last year, we finally decided to stop talking about it and do it, and that idea ultimately turned into this film project.
What was the most enlightening thing you learned about coffee on the trip? Has it changed your perception of coffee since learning it?
EDAN: We started the trip as reasonably well informed coffee drinkers, but we soon learned that there is just so much more going on behind the scenes when it comes to getting the most out of green coffee beans. Sevan Istanboulian of Cafe Mystique showed us a lot: from the temperature and humidity the beans are kept at during transport to the roaster, to the exact conditions of roasting, to blending—before a barista ever has a chance to grind, tamp and extract a shot, there is a tremendous amount that goes into ensuring the roasted beans are absolutely the best they can be.
NIK: Personally, I learned, or at least reinforced my belief that the scenario affects the cup. As much science, heart and energy obviously dictates the flavour, taste, profile, etc—the scenario really is what rounds out the experience. We visited cafes that weren’t as highly regarded as others but the staff and locations would be so nice that they would supplement the overall enjoyment. Counter to that we visited a couple of the countries highest regarded and found people to be arrogant and unwelcoming thereby ruining the experience.
I’ve always dreamt of doing something like this in the US, do you plan on taking your crew abroad anytime soon?
NIK: We are currently prepping both Series Two on the West Coast of the USA and we’re shooting Series Three in Europe shortly there after.
EDAN: The US West coast is extremely appealing right now, and we are starting work on establishing connections to cafe’s and roasters from Seattle to San Francisco, and we are hoping for a summer launch. Europe, we hope, will happen in the fall.
What’s the connection between Global Authority and CGTV?
EDAN: The notion of ‘Global Authority’ was a tongue-in-cheek response Nik and I had while driving around BC a few years ago in the midst of a highly opinionated caffeine-fueled rant. It morphed into a proper company in 2010 in order to give ‘Common Grounds TV’ a proper business foundation, and Nik and I remain the primary members.
NIK: We have found great success across numerous intertwined industries including photography, film-making, reporting, small business and architecture. Global Authority is the umbrella under which we operate and explore avenues that interest us. We recruit also, if we feel we aren’t as good as we can be in an area, we refer and outsource work to driven creative types. We have a network of incredible sound techs, sound designers, graphic designers and marketers. Our biggest thing is that we work with nice, driven creative people. Life’s too short to work with awful people and by varying our interests we’re never stuck in a position of dealing with unsavory folks for extended periods. When you drink this much caffeine, outside aggravation has to be kept to a minimum.
You have a couple big sponsors, including Krups, how did that relationship form and what role did they play in the project?
NIK: They’re certainly the biggest name we’re associated with and their sponsorship made the logistics that much more possible. We certainly don’t reap a wage from Series One but being able to cover gas and hotels to minimize our personal outlay is a godsend and we couldn’t have done it without them. They certainly took a chance on us but we feel we are able to reach their target demographic with our humour, content and fanatical approach.
EDAN: Basically we needed someone to fill the gap between the funding Nik and I had ourselves, the the amount needed to pay for the trip (food, gas, gear, etc) without bankrupting us completely, which is where Krups came into play. They had confidence in the concept early on, and with their help, we found a way to take the time off our ‘real jobs’ to make the show.
—
Thanks for taking the time to talk with DCILY. Good luck with the upcoming seasons.
Watch more episodes of Common Grounds TV
Fan Common Ground TV on Facebook
Get more info at Global Authority
2011 World Barista Champion – Alejandro!
06.06
Over the weekend, top baristas from 53 countries around the world competed for the title of World Barista Champion in Bogota, Colombia—the winner becoming the face of exceptional specialty coffee around the world. After a great all-around competition and an incredibly refined finals round on Sunday, Alejandro Mendez from El Salvador took the top prize with his stunning presentation. Big congrats to every competitor, who all exhibited incredible skill, craft and expertise in coffee.
World Barista Champion: Alejandro Mendez, El Salvador (710.5)
2nd: Pete Licata, USA (659.5)
3rd: Matt Perger, Australia (659)
4th: Javier Garcia, Spain (631.5)
5th: Miki Suzuki, Japan (629.5)
6th: John Gordon, UK (613.5)
Not only was this the first Championship held in a producing country* it’s the first time a barista from a producing country has won. Alejandro’s presentation showed his expert knowledge, not only of the coffee most consumers are familiar with, but everything else that is usually discarded in the harvesting process.
Alejandro’s signature drink was comprised of an infusion of coffee mucilage, a tea made with dried coffee flowers, and a tea made from cascara (dried coffee cherries). The espresso used, which was separated from the crema, was a single origin El Salvador, called Finca La Illusion. It was grown by Ernesto Menendez on the slopes of the Sanata Ana volcano and roasted by Steve Leighton of Has Bean Coffee in the UK.
After Alejandro’s final presentation, the internet lit up with excitement, claiming that El Salvador had won, even with several contestants left to compete. His presentation was remarkably calm, personable, and had a beautiful story. I can only imagine how great the drinks tasted. You can watch the final presentation below.
*While the US and Australia both produce coffee, I reserve the term “coffee producing” for countries who include coffee among their primary exports.
View videos of the all the competitors on Livestream
[Photo via Barista Magazine]
Tweet
Follow @DCILY
