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WBC 2012 PREP JOSH HOCKIN

A wee taste of the practice and prep done by 2011 Canadian Barista Champ Josh Hockin before competing at the World Barista Championships in Vienna June 12-15, 2012

Alejandro and Chris discussing coffee

Look what we have for you! Our 2011 Barista and Latte Art Champions discussing coffee, the competitions and their passion for the industry!

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DISK Fine review

The new DISK Fine produces a cleaner cup

Being one of the lucky hundred, receiving the pre-production DISK Fine from Prima Coffee Equipment also meant writing a review. Here it is.

A little background about me. I have been busy with coffee for 3,5 years now. About the last 1,5 year I started to improve my skills rapidly. Reading all about coffee, being inspired by many people and getting some good equipment. The last few months I have sort of been trying to develop my own ‘style’. Getting this DISK Fine and reviewing it was a nice opportunity to contribute some serious word to the world of coffee. So here it goes.

Paper - DISK

Versatility is one of the things I love about the Aeropress. And I think I am not the only one. Though it looks a bit odd for a brewing device, it does the job quite well every time. Furthermore it is virtually unbreakable, which is nice. The paper filters give a very clean and crisp taste. Acidity and sweetness scores high numbers. Having a cooled down coffee, the taste is very pleasant. The only drawback of paper is of course its papery taste. Even rinsed properly, coffee tends to taste a little bit dry. Take a dry filter in your mouth and wet it, not nice.

The DISK 2 is different. Though a great coffee can be made with the DISK, it has lost its sweetness and acidity a little bit. Especially when cooled down, the added sediment (of course, the DISK has bigger holes than paper filter) gives a bit a dry mouthfeel due to over-extraction. Something I do not really like. I do not drink french press coffees for the same reason

The DISK 2 always has some clogged up holes after quick cleaning.

Much finer holes

This new DISK has much finer holes. Much finer! This way less sediment gets in the cup and the coffee should taste more like paper filter. I agree with that. During the testing I compared DISK 2 coffees with DISK Fine coffees and DISK Fine coffees with paper filter ones. I used several fresh roasted coffees: SquareMile’s Sertao Carmo de Minas and Vista Hermosa Huila as well as Caffènation’s Burundi (BAC roast) and their Yirgacheffe.

My conclusion is that compared to the DISK 2 the new DISK Fine produces a cleaner cup with less sediment. There is more acidity and sweetness in the cup, which is very pleasant. The taste is fresher than with the DISK 2 and stays fresh, as the second half of the cup is not influenced by over-extraction. Compared to paper filter the DISK Fine stills lets through some oils and sediment, so it is not as clean but gives a more full bodied coffee. It takes away the risk of a papery taste as well.

DISK FINE no clogging

Of course the use of the DISK is important as well. For example it is very easy to clean. The DISK 2 always has some clogged up holes after quick cleaning. This seems past tense with the DISK Fine as it did not clog up during the testing.

One thing that does worry me is the durability. I like the DISK 2 because is it quite sturdy. The DISK Fine is very, very thin. Though I didn’t damage it during the testing, I am still very careful with it and I have doubts about the usability for shops.

In conclusion:

Pros

• Cleaner cup

• Less sediment

• More versatility for the Aeropress

• Easy cleanup

Cons

• Very thin and fragile

• Too fragile for shop use?

Altogether I am very positive and impressed about Able’s DISK Fine. You can produce a coffee that comes really close to paper filter brew without the papery taste. If you handle it with care there should not be any problems with the fact that is very thin. Though it might just be possible to improve the firmness of the edges.

Two-cup Aeropress recipe

Last but not least: a nice two-cup Aeropress recipe. Many recipes use around 200-220 ml of water. When I enjoy my coffee with someone else, that is just not so much.

Preheat Aeropress and filter (NOTE: use normal method, so NOT inverted)

Grind 18 grams of coffee a tad coarse

Add ground coffee to Aeropress

Pour over twice the amount of water to bloom (so 40 ml)

Give the Aeropress a good twirl

Pour over water along to sides of the Aeropress

Stop when the Aeropress is almost full (you just added 260 ml)

Give it two short bottom stirs

Press slowly without pressing out any air

Enjoy!

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Frans

Thanks! Do you know any shops in NL where these can be purchased?

Nordic Barista Cup

Focus country Kenia

Twobig coffee events are coming up this year. The WBC in Vienna and the Nordic barista Cup in Kopenhagen. The organisation of the latter just published the program on their website. Every year they place an origin country in the spotlights. This year Kenia has the honour!

Nordic Barista Cup

When: 9.-11. August 2012
Where: Copenhagen

Program:

2012 PROGRAM

Proudly presenting the preliminary program for Nordic Barista Cup 2012. We look forward to see you in Copenhagen.

WEDNESDAY 8/8

Location: Café Europa 1989, Amagertorv 1, 1160 Købenahvn K.

19.00
WELCOME to Copenhagen. Presentation of teams, competition + 2012 program

22.00
See you tomorrow

THURSDAY 9/8

Location: Faculty of Life Sciences, The Marble Hall, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871 Frederiksberg.

08.00
BREAKFAST + sign up

9.15
INTRO

09.30
RENE REDZEPI Why food is the s***

10.15
PETER KIMATA Agronomy of Kenyan Coffee

11.45
OLIVER STRAND Coffee and the media

12.30
NORDIC ROASTER 2012 ESPRESSO 1

13.15
LUNCH

14.15
TIM WENDELBOE Developing green coffee quality

15.45
HAMISH ANDERSON Terroir vs. Blending in Wine.

17.00
DIALOGUE DAY 1

17.30
DEPARTURE – Social program

FRIDAY 10/8

Location: Faculty of Life Sciences, The Marble Hall, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871 Frederiksberg.

08.00
BREAKFAST

09.15
INTRO

09.30
MORTEN WENNERSGAARD Sourcing quality in Africa

10.45
JAMES HOFFMANN How to make coffee a viable career

11.45
NBC BAZAAR

12.30
NORDIC ROASTER 2012 ESPRESSO 2

13.15
LUNCH

14.15
NORDIC ROASTER 2012 FILTER

16.15
DIALOGUE DAY 2

16.45
BREAK

17.30
DEPARTURE – Social program

SATURDAY 10/8

Location: Faculty of Life Sciences, The Marble Hall, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871 Frederiksberg.

09.00
BREAKFAST

09.45
INTRO to Saturday

10.00
DAVID WALSH & VINCE FEDELE Extraction: Year Zero

12.00
NORDIC ROASTER ESPRESSO FINAL

12.45
LUNCH

13.45
DOUG ZELL Service in coffee shops

14.45
NBC AUCTION

15.30
DIALOGUE NBC 2012

16.00
CLEAN UP

_ _ _ _

19.00
2012 NORDIC BARISTA CUP AWARD DINNER

21.30
2012 AWARD CEREMONY

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Barista Company

Van to Vienna

Since 2006 Barista Company is a major player on the Dutch coffee market when it comes to coffee quality. Besides providing training and workshops you will see the barista’s from Barista Company at events. Wassili Magendans, owner of the company, joined Barista- and Latte Art competitions several times. He really wanted to help out the Dutch Barista Team on their ‘road to Vienna’ and became their logistic sponsor.

Talking about logistics with Wassili, the first problem was the transportation of all the stuff the team wants to take with to Vienna. And we were not talking about couple of cups and saucers. No, this is an incredible line-up of all kinds of equipment. Starting with the official WBC Nuova Simonelli espresso machine, two Anfim grinders, (thermo)blenders and ending with tablespoons for the jury to gently stir their espressos.

So when Wassili offered to lend his big Barista Company van for the 'roadtrip to Vienna' he became more than logistic sponsor, he became one of the main sponsors.

Tx!!

Coen, Yakup, Henk and Maarten

Review of the Mahlkönig PRO M GRINDER

Order of factors for classic Italian 4M’s of espresso is often disputed. I see it as: Coffee, Grinder, Machine and Barista in that order. You need high quality coffee, the basic ingredient of espresso, without it everything is lost. Then you need excellent grinder to get most out of that coffee. Finally you need good espresso machine to get best out of your ground coffee and finally you need barista to put it all together.

Video: SCAE Deutsche Barista Championships

The German Barista Championship took place in Hamburg and for all competitors it was an ideal opportunity to enhance their network and get to know the latest technology. Remarkable fact: In total 24 baristi competed to obtain the titel „German Barista Champion 2010“ and 20 used MAHLKÖNIG grinders!

Winner is Thomas Schweiger (center)
second Björn Dietrich (right)
third Thomas Schiessl (left)

WCE Request for 2013 Championship Host Proposals

DUBLIN, IRELAND (April 2, 2012) – A request for proposals to host the 2013 World Barista Championship, 2013 World Brewers Cup, 2013 World Cup Tasters Championship, or 2013 Cezve/Ibrik Championship is now available on the World Coffee Events (WCE) website.

“World Coffee Events competitions receive worldwide attention and draw thousands of visitors each year,” commented Cindy Ludviksen, Managing Director of WCE. “Hosting a WCE championship is an exciting way to increase visitor traffic and closely associate any exhibition or host city with the competitive pursuit for coffee excellence.”

Host cities or event organizers meeting criteria outlined in the RFP documents are requested to tender submissions no later than May 4, 2012. Winning bidders will be notified by June 2012.

Hosting Guidelines:

2013 World Barista Championship

2013 World Brewers Cup

2013 World Cup Tasters

2013 Cezve/ Ibrik Championship

Cuisinart and illy caffè

Global partnership to develop a new line of iperEspresso machines

Cuisinart and illy caffè announced on 22 March a global partnership to develop a new line of espresso machines designed and manufactured by Cuisinart.

The collection, co-branded Cuisinart for illy, will feature illy’s proprietary iperEspresso capsule system, a patented two-stage extraction process through rapid infusion and extraction during the brewing cycle. In a joint statement, the companies said that the partnership leverages Cuisinart’s status as an innovative coffeemaker brand across all segments of the product category and aligns it with illy, the company that pioneered the modern espresso method and the world’s first single-serve espresso pods, now an industry standard.

The Cuisinart for illy product line is scheduled to debut by the first quarter of 2013 at Cuisinart and illy’s retail channels, encompassing department and specialty stores, including online segments.

National Geographic Channel will broadcast in the Netherlands a documentary with a factory visit to illy Caffè in Trieste.

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Photo-exposition @ Espressofabriek IJburg

Come to the Espressofabriek IJburg and have a look at the wonderful photograhpy by Jaap van den Beukel. His models are skaters in Barcelona.

Foto: Jaap van den Beukel

Espressofabriek IJburg
IJburglaan 1489
Amsterdam

Biography

Born in 1966 in Almelo in The Netherlands, son of a vicar in a family with 4 sisters. At the end of the secondary school I decided to dedicate myself to graphic design, but after a year in the ‘Free Academy of Arts' I finally was more attracted by photography. A training at a newspaper orientated me more towards ‘staged photography'.
In 1990, I had the opportunity to work for a studio called Picture Report, which were specialized in corporate photography. This experience made me realize I wanted to extend my horizons. So I went to London to take my chance. This period convinced myself to start as a freelance.
So, in 1991, I set up a studio with my friend and photographer Erno Wientjens in Rotterdam. For 5 years I was into studio photography while Erno was more doing the portraits.
In 1996 we split up to dedicate ourselves to our own specialties but more and more I became convinced about the fact I wanted to photograph people on location. I started to travel a lot by doing corporate photography.
Nowadays I share myself between advertising, fashion and corporate photography. This has resulted in doing campaigns and annual reports for brands like; Unilever, Agfa, Senternovem, Shell, former Numico, Exact, Belastingdienst, Olympia, RET, Forbo, Stivoro, Sigma, Priva, SSP, Nestle, Gemeente Rotterdam, SNS bank, Unigarant, Agis, Musictheater Amsterdam, Seiko, Puma, NS.

Beside this commercial photography I like to explore more fields through my personal work.
Personal projects:

2006: ‘Once we're Heroes' 2007; ‘Invisible'2008; ‘Fairy tales' / ‘The Gross project'2009; ‘Birds' / ‘Just portraits'2010; ‘Streetcorners' / ‘Traffic light'2011; 'Skaters MACBA'

Exhibitions:

2006; ‘Once we're Heroes' (outdoor exhibition centre of Rotterdam)2011; 'Fashion and Sports' Barcelona(outdoor exhibition centre of Barcelona)2010; Capetown 1(exhibition Madrid)2011; Capetown 2(exhibition Madrid)2012; Lichtzone Groningen

Coen van Sprangs WBC sponsors

The driving forces behind a championship!

Preparation is everything when you are about to compete at the World Barista Championship. It's even more nerve wrecking than the event itself. Organizing last years WBC in Bogotá, Colombia was a huge challenge, not in the least for the Dutch competitor Yakup Aidin. Getting all the equipment to South America resulted in some exciting and hilarious moments.

The financial cost that goes into organizing and participating at a WBC are high. Therefore financial back-up can be a huge advantage. But it is not only money the Dutch team seek from their sponsors. Their knowledge, experience and enthusiasm can make the difference between getting into the final or not.

For the second year in a row, quality espresso spare parts and barista tools company Nuova Ricambi will sponsor the Dutch team on its quest for gold. Owner Marcello Zanesi is a very good friend of the Dutch team. His enthusiasm contributed in last year’s WBC competitor Yakup place in the final. For several years Marcello has been a very loyal partner and with his support the entire team is certain that they can progress even further on the global coffee stage

Bocca, no championship without coffee;) As barista you are always looking for the best and with Bocca’s Tewis and Menno Simons Coen found his partners. The two brothers are absolute professionals you can rely on. With their immense knowledge they are on top of their game and like Coen absolutely nuts about coffee. Just the partners you need when competing against the best of the best in Vienna.

,,Reliability, user-friendly and leading in technique and design." These are a few keywords from Jeroen Beers of Bravilor Bonamat, a global player in the current coffee market. As Jeroen explains: “We at Bravilor Bonamat seek the same cutting edge performance as Coen van Sprang and support him all the way in his upcoming performance at the World Barista Championship in Vienna.”

BRITA's Willem Huisman never misses a national barista or Latte Art championship. His knowledge of water purification is - to say the least - incredible and impressing. Huisman: "one cup of coffee has an average of 98% water. BRITA enhances the quality of the water which results in a perfect cup, more crème and improves the durability of your espresso machine. The entire Dutch BRITA team wish him all the best!"

With the help of FrieslandCampina's Chrit Sparla, Deborah Huisman and Peter de Koning the national barista championship wouldn't be the same. They've supported every championship like no other and for Vienna 2012 they would not have seen it otherwise.

Espresso Service West is the driving force behind Specialtycoffee, a platform and webshop with all you need to know and want if you are a coffee aficionado. Owner Henk Langkemper is known all over the world and with his help the entire team is sure that Coen will definitely make it into the final!

Algra Mocca d'Or is the Dutch importer of Nuovo Simonelli espresso machines, the official and main sponsor of the WBC since 2009. It's very cool that Algra Mocca d'Or supports Coen van Sprang with the Nuova Simonelli Aurelia Competitizione 2, the official WBC competition espresso machine.

Coen van Sprangs favourite coffee

I would serve cracking coffee and do without pets

This month, Specialtycoffee started a new series in which the men and women ‘behind the coffee’ step into the limelight. In the first episode (sorry only Dutch) Boaz Bosboom of Screaming Beans in Amsterdam took centre stage. For this week’s episode, we invited the 2011 DBC Champion Coen van Sprang to share his innermost coffee-stirrings with us. Coen started off as a barista at LEBKOV & Sons in 2003 and has been the manager of its Rotterdam office for the last 5 years.

Favourite coffee?

"Early in the morning, a full bodied, zesty, fruity espresso from Africa! Or a chemex, always a good thing."

Peak experience?

"My fist visit to a coffee plantation in Bogotá, Colombia, during the 2011 WBC. When I set eyes on coffee plants for the first time in my life, my jaw dropped, literally, out of sheer amazement and happiness. This was a huge thing to me. And so was, of course, winning the Dutch Barista Championships in 2011!"

Colombia, Cartagena

Where did you taste your best coffee ever?

"When I got my first taste of specialty coffee at the WLAC 2009 in Cologne. I was invited to join Henk Langkemper and Maarten van der Jagt on their trip to Germany. At Menno Simons' Trabocca stand I drank my first specialty coffee. And despite being prepped for the occasion by Maarten, I was deeply impressed. My first reaction to Maarten sort of went like this: ‘Huh? What is this, is this coffee? Is this for real? Can I have another one, do you reckon?' Maybe, in hindsight, it was not the best coffee I ever had, but it impressed me more than any other."

Any unsettling ‘coffee usances' you can think of?

"Cacao on top of your cappuccino. Where did this come from? All it does is add a dry, bitter, warped taste to your sweet cappuccino. Why?!"

Best feedback?

"At an indoor market in Rotterdam, where I was brewing coffee together with Yakup Aydin. A woman of around 70 visited our stand, full of wonder and admiration. ‘Oh, is it really you? I've seen you on telly. You are the best coffee maker in the Netherlands, aren't you?' And I replied: ‘Yes, madam, what coffee can I brew for you?' Then she said: ‘Will you really brew my coffee? Who would have thought I'd live to see this!'"

Favourite espresso machine?

"For a long time I worked with La Marzocco's Linea. A good machine that will deliver what you ask it to. But I prefer the steaming mechanism of the Nuova Simonelli Aurelia: a real pleasure to work with. On a different note, I can't quite make up my mind about whether I should bring a GS/3 or a Speedster into my new home. Both Yakup and I are actually most eager to get our hands on Maarten's La Marzocco GS/3, because we both love the extraordinary espressos it keeps churning out."

With John Gordon in Bogotá

Exemplary barista?

"Yakup Aydin (DBC Champion 2010) taught me the tricks of the trade. We would watch many presentations by John Gordon (United Kingdom) and Pete Licata (USA) together. The American is a walking coffee-bible."

What espresso bar or city thoroughly merits a visit?

"London, for us in the Netherlands, is the nearest city with a well developed specialty coffee culture. The number of quality espresso bars is very high and they are often located within walking distance of each other. New York is another city I would recommend. Clovers, Slayers, in NY nothing is too weird. Australia is still on my wish list."

What would be the dos and don'ts if you were to start up your own espresso bar?

"I would serve cracking coffee and do without pets."

What coffee producing countries did you visit?

"Until now I only visited Colombia. My second coffee trip, to Ethiopia, is scheduled in February. In preparation of my WBC, Yakup, Maarten, Henk and I will visit plantations that will possibly provide my championship coffee. Then we will get to taste newly harvested coffees, fresh from the coffee plant."

Any recommendations for home baristas?

"Get a grinder, grind your own coffee. If a high quality espresso machine is beyond your financial means, just brew filter coffee at home and go out for an espresso or cappuccino."

Plans for the future?

"Getting into the final at the coming WBC in Vienna!"

Where can we find you?

LEBKOV & Sons

Stationsplein 50

3013 AK Rotterdam

www.coenvansprang.com

ESPRESSO MACHINE

La Marzocco Linea

Coffee

LEBKOV Houseblend - 80% Brazil 20% Nicaragua

With Kim Staalman at the DBC 2011

James Hoffman and Nespresso

James Hoffman just published a blog about Nespresso. Interesting to read his thoughts about this highly succesful product and to quote his own words:,, I think our side of coffee has underestimated them for far too long. My company shares more customers with Nespresso than I am comfortable admitting to myself."

I’ve been thinking about Nespresso for a little while now. I think it would be foolish to ignore them, not only because they are growing explosively but because of how and why they’ve been so successful. I’ll admit this post was further spurred on by Oliver Strand’s post on the NYT site today, and some of the reactions around that.

K-cups

Nespresso are perhaps the focus for me, more than the K-cup, because I think they are a more global player – operating retail units in 150 countries, with 10 million+ active members of the Nespresso Club. I think our side of coffee has underestimated them for far too long. My company shares more customers with Nespresso than I am comfortable admitting to myself. I don’t think the quality of Nespresso is amazing – but it is better than most retail espresso and it is better than what someone would get at home with a starter home espresso machine and pre ground coffee, or even a bad grinder.

I remember watching a video as part of the presentation of Nespresso at the Allegra European Coffee Summit and being impressed, demoralised and a little inspired all at once. Nespresso dominate in one particular aspect of coffee: accessibility.

They make buying the product as friction free, easy and enjoyable as possible. They make brewing it as easy as possible. No skills, no cleaning, just push a button. As the video showcased their new retail concept it seemed as if they’d made a list of the reasons people might not want to buy their coffee, and then built a store that ticked that list’s solutions off one by one.

Ultimately my point is this: Nespresso and K-Cups success clearly demonstrate that people are happy to pay more for coffee. They are happy to pay a lot more. Their enormous sales volumes are solid evidence of this. I don’t think we should be angry about how much they charge, unless we’re directing this at our own failures to reach that price point despite having better product. One could infer that Nespresso’s success implies we’re way too cheap.

I’m not suggesting poor business practices amongst great roasters- but think about the possibilities for sourcing and financing great coffees, or building relationships that drive up quality, that Nespresso’s retail price point would give a speciality roaster. Nespresso have been pretty smart in their purchasing practices – certainly an entirely different animal to their parent company Nestle.

Ric Rhinehart’s quote in the NYT piece gets to the heart of things: Selling by serving is a lot easier, more tangible and yet somehow more affordable to most people. Selling by the serving has an out of home retail benchmark. In conversation on this topic Ric pointed out that many people don’t benchmark their K-Cup against a cup of black coffee from Starbucks (less than $2), instead they compare it to what they might have at a cafe, usually something much more expensive ($3.50+).

I don’t think we should be beating the drum of anger about Nespresso and K-Cups retail prices, unless we never aspire to them ourselves. We should be learning the lessons they provide us – how to sell coffee effectively, how to make coffee at a higher price point more accessible – and answer some less comfortable questions such as why we’re considered overpriced, and why we might be inaccessible in comparison.

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Increase coffee production Brazil

The International Coffee Organisation (ICO) reports expect Brazil producing 50.6 million bags, comprising of 37.7 million bags of Arabica and 12.9 million bags of Robusta, in the 2012/13 crop year. The report, however, is cautious that this increase in production may not necessarily lead to an increase in exports.

The increase in production was attributed to the fact that the last crop year was an off year in the biennial cycle characterising Arabica production, with the 2012/2013 year set to be a year of high Arabica production.

This speculation on the size of Brazil's crop led to a downward correction in Arabica prices in December 2011, while Robusta prices increased slightly. The fall led to a drop in the ICO composite indicator prices, with the monthly average falling by 2.4 per cent. The report noted that prices were still relatively high compared with their levels in 2010.

Overall, exports in 2010/11 totalled 104.5 million bags, the highest level on record.

Send me to Vienna

For free!

Folks at Natvia are once again sponsoring a trip to the World Barista Championship! Check out Send Me to Vienna to find out how you and a guest can win an all expenses paid trip to Vienna, Austria, to be a part of the 2012 World Barista Championship action!

Chapter 1 New Coffee Hot Spot in Berlin

Exclusive interview - First Siphon Bar in Germany!

Nora Smahelová opened in december 2011 Chapter 1 in Berlin. It's the first coffeebar in Germany where you can get a coffee prepared on the Bonmac Hikari Siphon Bar. Specialtycoffee's Maarten van der Jagt made an exclusive interview with Nora.

Why did you want to start your own espressobar?

By now I´ve been working with coffee since 13 years, mostly as a part-time barista in different shops in Berlin. In 2002 I did win the German Barista Championship and had the chance to compete at the WBC in Oslo. This was my first real contact to the amazing world of specialty coffee. Since that time I started to be more involved into judging at national barista competitions and tried to get as much information as possible about specialty coffee... Last year I finished my studies at the University ofArts and I decided to open an own coffeeplace together with my business partner Björn. We worked together in a coffeeshop and developed very fast the same idea for quality. Since last year I´m WBC certified judge 2011/2012. So I traveled a lot through the world. So the dream to create an own coffeeplace became stronger and stronger. On the other hand it became always more difficult to find a place to work where the quality matched with our visions. Another point was to have the possibility to design our own space, for me a perfect fusion of my two professions: product design and coffee. It`s comparable with a big portfolio, a platform where you present your skills.

Location is very important for a successful espressobar. What was on your shortlist of points which had to be forfilled?

Hmm, that`s a very difficult question, because you never know how it will be in real when you`re planning something. For us it was very important to find a place with a certain atmosphere given by the space, our claim was to find a place where you feel immediately good. A space which reflects the spirit of old Berlin. In addition this place must be in a nice neighborhood, where the residents have a certain appreciation of quality. I always dreamt of a place with old tiles on the floor and now we have it...

How is coffee culture in Berlin?

Fortunately growing and growing, we are very happy to have the biggest coffee community of Germany, we have the most coffeeshops which serve specialty coffee, that`s the advantage of living in a major city. Nevertheless we still have a lot of space and need for new coffeeplaces... and we still have to work very hard to inform people about specialty coffee, because over here a very dark espresso taste is still very dominant in combination with huge amounts of milk.

The coffee culture in Germany is milk based. How do you cope with this, if you want to promote or put the focus on coffee itself?

It took quite a long time to find the right compromise for this problem. As a result we serve only small drinks, the biggest drink is a Caffe Latte, as standard based on a double espresso and in total smaller than a 10oz cup. We only use milk of the highest quality, which is produced by local farmers.

Most of our customers get really snoopy when they see our brew bar, which is purposely in the centre of our counter, so they try our filter coffees. As a result we already have a lot of regulars who completely changed their coffee habits and now only drink filter coffee.

You also work with the siphon bar. How do customers react?

Our customers love the siphon bar. Most of them don`t know it, so they are impressed by the visual play. Along with it the majority is not used to get so many detail information about the way of preparation, the coffee used and the result in the cup. We have one price for all brewed coffees, although the ceremony of preparing a siphon is more spectacular than other brewing methods, it has the same status. The customers have a lower inhibition level to order it.

Which kind of coffee do you use for the siphon?

We serve all the filter coffees which in our view are showcased in taste by the preparation in a siphon. We don`t have a fixed coffee for the siphon, because we want to take our customers on a taste expedition of discovery, so they have the possibility to experience more about how coffee can taste and of course also to get an idea of the whole coffee chain, from the plant to the cup.

Do you want to share a recommendation when using the siphon bar with other baristas?

We have the luck to use the Bonmac Hikari Siphon Bar in our shop. Before I only worked with single Siphon units and with slower heat sources. The Bonmac is very easy, fast and uncomplicated in use. You can work parallel very well, because the machine has integrated timers and a very good temperature control. In addition we have a battery off six siphons and that makes the workflow also easier. I think a lot of people still think that it takes a lot of time to prepare a siphon, I have to say, that it`s faster than to brew a hario v60, woodneck or a chemex, aeropress depends on the technique you apply....

You have chosen to work on the Linea from La Marzocco. Why?

I know La Marzocco machines since the beginning of my work as a barista. Beside the usability of the La Marzocco machines I like the philosophy of the company, the corporate identity and in addition, members of the La Marzocco family are good friends of mine. As a product designer I prefer simple and ageless design, clear shapes, solid materials and durability of products. In our view this machine is a perfect combination of classical design and modern technology and it fits visually perfect in the interior of our bar.

With so much passion for top coffee, how do share this with customers who are not familiar with specialty coffee. Do you offer them free cuppings?

Our coffeeplace is still in work, we have a huge basement, where we plan public events about coffee: cuppings, lectures about coffee (history, harvest, processing, roasting, brewing) and of course trainings for professional as well as home baristas. At the moment we serve free samples of filter coffee several times a day...

Beside coffee, do you offer sandwiches and cakes?

We concentrate on coffee and have only a small offer of food in our store. We sell self made cookies baked by my mother and Franzbrötchen, a specialty from Hamburg, made by hand by a traditional pastry shop named Café Schmidt based in Hamburg Altona. In the future we plan to sell two kinds of sandwiches with ham and cheese. The bread we plan to bake the bread by ourself, the ham and cheese we take from the relatives from Björn, they have an organic farm near Osnabrück.

For us it`s really important to know where the products come from and they have to fulfill our claim of quality,

What can I find in the hoppers of your grinders this week?

We like alternation in our daily routine and in addition we want to show the diversity of coffee to our customers that means we change the coffees quite often. We always have coffee on our shelf and sometimes in the hopper roasted by a small roaster in Hamburg named Quijote Rösterei. Their concept is based on transparency, you can see all the contracts of the whole chain from seed to cup online. Beside we want to support other small roasteries in Germany and always have a guest coffee. Let me think of this week: for the filter coffees we have a brazil bob-o-link and sidamo suko quto grade 2 roasted by Quijote Kaffee and sidama dara kebado and Kenya nyeri district gatina lot roasted by jb kaffee.

On the hopper for espresso we had four different espressos all roasted by Quijote Kaffee. Today e.g. it`s a blend of Brazil Bob-o-link, Guatemala Atitlán and Ethiopia Gayo Amaro.

General info

Chapter One Coffee Berlin

Mittenwalder Straße 30

10961 Berlin

Filter: Siphon, Hario V60, Aeropress, Chemex, Woodneck

Espresso: La Marzocco Linea, K30 Vario

Coffee: Quijote Kaffee and guest coffees

When: opening times for now ( open since 18th of December, so we have to check out the habits of the surroundings J )

Monday: closed

Tuesday-Saturday: 9.00-18.00

Sunday/Holiday: 11.00-18.00

Thrilling Espresso Music Video

The exclusive biography of Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson is a riveting story of the roller-coaster life of the CEO of Apple. With ferocious drive Jobs revolutionized six industries: personal computers, animated movies, phones, tablet computing, digital publishing and of course music through the iPad and iTunes.

In the chapter " Music Man" Isaacson quotes Stephen Levy who wrote in ,,The Perfect Thing" about the iPhone:

‘As the iPod phenomenon grew, it spawned a question that was asked of presidential candidates, B-List celebrities, first dates, the queen and just anyone with ear buds:

"What's on your iPhone?"

Simply handing over your iPod to a friend, a total stranger sitting next to you on the plane opens you up like a book. Musically speaking you are naked.

It's not just what you like - it's who you are'

And this is exactly what I felt when one the foremost baristas of the Netherlands, and owner of a high end espresso bar in Rotterdam, shared with me his deepest and intimate feelings when he showed me his favorite clip on his iPhone. For the reasons mentioned above I wouldn't dare to disclose his name. It's like a musical coming out....

But anyhow this video has to been seen, and preferably after drinking some very strong Belgians beers.

Enjoy mates and have a wonderful 2012! And Karel tx for sharing!

Video: Bean Scene Magazine with a Mirage

BeanScene joins Shanny Sena from Naked Espresso to shoot a naked espresso shot on a Kees van der Westen Mirage for the December 2011 edition of BeanScene. Location: Naked Espresso, 390 LIttle Bourke Street Melbourne, Victoria.

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Video: Punks go barista

The Village Music and Coffee

Very nice video of the very succesful new espressobar in Utrecht the Netherlands. Barista's Lennaert Meijboom and Angelo van de Weerd work with coffee from the Antwerp roaster Caffenation:

Coffee Car

Good idea! Driving a car on coffee grounds! Have fun with both video's of this old Rover 600-series that runs on waste coffee grounds using gasification:

Technique of gasification:

Barbera No blend

Shortly a new coffee from Barbera will be available in the shop of our site. this Sumatra Mandheling Montagna Gayo is certainly one of the noblest coffee from the volcanoes along the north-western coast of the island of Sumatra. The coffee is hand collected, processed and selected. It has a strong and unique personality and is the only one, among the Indonesian Arabica, which deserve a place of honour in the composition of the espresso. The coffee is musky and strong to the olfaction, densely structured to the taste. Its intense flavour evokes forest plant and elixir of gentian which then evaporates sweet notes of dried fruit and roasted seeds.

La Marzocco Linea BBQ

Outside, monday morning in november. Cold chilly and foggy. So cheer up! Summer feelings with La Marrzocco Linea...(source Speciality Sausage Association of Europe)

What is specialty coffee?

Nice video which investigates the knowledge of coffee on the street. Especially amazing for us - based in the Netherlands - is that some Americans think that Specialty Coffee is coming from Holland! (Tx for sharing: Ronny Billemon - Pentair/Everpure)

So what is specialty coffee? In case you have forgotten...click here

SPACE ROGERS GS3 is now available

Recently introduced at OUT OF THE BOX Milano, La Marzocco is proud to launch the SPACE ROGERS special edition GS3. Inspired by the 1970s TV series Buck Rogers, the SPACE ROGERS GS3 is now available for sale. La Marzocco will produce 50 SPACE ROGERS machines only! The retro artwork is serigraph printed on La Marzocco tempered glass side panels, which is protected with a backing in stainless steel. The SPACE ROGERS GS3 will come fitted with an individually numbered, stainless steel plaque commemorating the limited series. Furthermore, the SPACE ROGERS GS3 will come equipped with a set of 6 matching espresso cups and saucers. Contact our sales team to order yours today!

About the artist: Marco "Kino" D'Amico

A multifaceted, underground artist, Marco has created dozens of graffiti murals in streets around the world. Considering art a free form of expression and communication, Marco believes it should be made available for all to enjoy... regardless of the medium. Marco holds a Visual Communications degree from Milan's ITSOS, has been working in show businesses since 1987 and is currently the technical director and lighting designer for the Tarmeh and Alma Rosé theatrical companies.

For more information: please contact our sales team: T: 00 31 70 362 48 72

Video Out of the Box la Marzocco Milan

La Marzocco published this video on YouTube for it's fantstic Out of the Box event in Milan. Enjoy!

Video: revolutionary extraction techniques Espresso

A fantastic parody

Correct technique for the perfect espresso! See the video every barista is raving about.....

GB5 2 group news

New: shiny stainless steel exterior panels

Beginning this month, the GB5 2 group models (serial number 4978) will be produced with shiny stainless steel exterior panels in place of satin stainless steel. Shortly, the same transition will take place on the 3 and 4 group models. La Marzocco’s decision to eliminate satin stainless steel from production is principally based on improved quality and durability of the grain of shiny stainless steel.

Video Trabocca

Trabocca from Amsterdam made a promotional video with very impressive footage of Ethiopia. National Geographic? You ain't seen nothing yet! Enjoy!

The World Aeropress Championships

New Champion: Jeff Verellen Caffenation

In its first incarnation, the World Aeropress Championship (WAC), held at Tim Wendelboe in Oslo, could only charitably be described as an understated affair. There were three competitors, a token prize, and cake at the end. Three years later, the WACs are a different story.

Jeff Verellen (Caffenation) receiving his first prize on the stand of Marco at the Host Milan

While the bigger events, such as the World Barista Championship and its championship offshoots of Latte Art, Coffee and Alcohol and Cup Tasting were becoming increasingly solemn and serious events, the WACs went in a different direction.

Fast, fun, and light-hearted. The format of the competition was designed around these three tenets, and while it has grown larger and slightly more complex with every passing year, it still remains fast-paced and fun.

The goal of the contest is simply to create the tastiest brew possible, using an aeropress. In earlier years, the coffees used were standardised, and showcased a huge variety of different brewing methods that expanded a lot on what had previously been a quite narrow range deemed an “optimal” extraction. Judging by taste alone, three judges would simultaneously point toward their preferred cup of the current round of three brews, with the winner proceeding to the next round.

Aside from being a lot of fun to participate in, the competition has throughout its existence also experimented with a myriad of brewing parameters and methods that has in turn expanded our shared understanding of the device itself, but far more importantly of how we approach brewing.

It is a telling aspect of coffee that something that is – seemingly – so easy to quantify can be subject to so many different interpretations and preferences.

2011 Winner Jeff Verellen’s brewing profile for his Kenyan, a coffee from the Thunguri wet mill in Nyeri, an area famous for the quality of its coffee.

Put the paper filter in the filterholder, wet it with hot water, let it expand and refit it.
Screw it very tightly into a clean preferably pre-heated Aeropress.
Measure out 17 grams of coffee (well, specifically this Kenya…) and grind coarsely, bit courser than paper filter.
Put the Aeropress non-inverted on the recipient.
Measure 270 grams of soft mineral water or filtered water and bring it to 80c.
Splash a bit of the water on the filter and directly after throw in the freshly ground coffee, as to allow the bottom to wet and expand a bit.
Directly after wet the coffee by dripping or pouring very slowly all the grounds, about 40 grams.
After the coffee has absorbed the water, after about 30 seconds, start very slowly pouring the rest of the water in, try to re-wet the coffee fully again, see that the grounds do not separate from the water, this can be done using a good kettle with small nozzle.
Let the Aeropress steep and drip for about 1/4th trough or 1 minute.
Help about 2/4th of the rest of the water trough, with the provided piston, very gently.
Remove the press and the what`s left, about 50 grams of water from the recipient and throw away.

Source: nordiccoffeeculture.com

World Record La Marzocco

623 espresso coffees in an hour

la Marzocco sponsored a world record attempt with 4 GB5s. The challenge - to create a record number of espressos in an hours time. 8 baristas worked 4 white GB5 3-groups. The result - 623 espresso coffees in an hour - destroying the previous title of 300 drinks. The competition drew hundreds of spectators and was nationally televised. On the photo Guido of LM receiving the record certificate.

World of Coffee Vienna

13-15 june 2012

Vienna is the perfect coffee hotspot with its 200-year-old coffeehouse culture. The Speciality Coffee Association of Europe (SCAE), has chosen Vienna as the venue for the world's biggest coffee event in 2012.

According to the motto 'tradition meets modernism', SCAE World of Coffee 2012 promises to become an exhibition blockbuster with participants from over 50 countries and 12,000 expected visitors. The worldwide coffee industry will participate in this unique event - that's not to be missed!

World Barista Championship and more...

The programme will enthuse thousands of coffee connoisseurs, along with the major coffee fair exhibition with brand new innovations on 7.000m2, the world-famous 'World Barista Championship', in which 50 nations compete is eagerly anticipated. Also, the 'World Brewers Cup', the 'World Cup Tasters Championship' and the 'World Cezve/Ibrik World Championship', are exciting spectator events. SCAE World of Coffee is the best opportunity to meet the international professional coffee- community and learn all about the latest coffee trends. SCAE's Coffee Diploma workshops offer professional training and certification all under one roof. Courses include: Barista, roasting, brewing and grinding, green coffee, sensory and cup tasting. Beyond that the entertaining social programme and final night barista-party provide a great way to meeting new customers, networking and exchange of knowledge on a global scale.

Please mark your calendars: Wednesday, 13 June until Friday, 15 June 2012, Messe Wien, Messeplatz 1, 1021 Vienna, Austria.

Exhibitors: from coffee roasters and coffee equipment producers via food suppliers and water/drinks organisations to coffeehouse designers, still have the opportunity to book a stand (contact: Jens H. Thomsen ). For further event information please go to: www.scae.com

La Marzocco GS/3 Top seller ESW

The La Marzrocco GS/3 is a top seller within the range of espressomachines of Espresso Service West. the GS-3 is een state-of-the-art dual boiler machine that is extemely popular with home baristas and pro's Please call ESW The Hague. T: 00 31 70 362 48 72

Are you ready for the main event?

La Marzocco Out Of The Box will return this fall to Milano on occasion of the HOST Expo. OOTB is about celebrating our originality and providing our distribution network, their end customers, coffee shop owners, baristas, trade professionals and industry friends with a snapshot of who we are, as well as the path our company is taking in terms of product innovation.

Workshops

PRESSURE PROFILING

‣Learn more about this new frontier in espresso brewing, what it does and doesn’t do. (conducted by members of the LM Street Team)

THE BASKET CASE

‣Learn about La Marzocco’s new filter baskets and dedication to total quality. (led by La Marzocco R&D)

SOCIAL MEDIA NETWORKING

‣Learn effective marketing tips for a fast-paced internet world. (hosted by Sarah Allen, editor of Barista Magazine)

EXTRACTING PROFITS

‣Targeted to coffee roasters and shop owners, you will learn ways to earn more profits in your coffee business. (led by finance expert, Dan Cunningham)

TECHNICAL UPDATES

‣Discover what’s new from the technical and after-sales department. (led by La Marzocco Service)

THE SPECIALTY COFFEE SCENE

‣Be updated with trends from Europe’s growing specialty coffee industry. (powered by Allegra Strategies)

THE SONGWA PROJECT

‣Interested in “origin” and green coffee, learn about La Marzocco’s experience cultivating green coffee in Tanzania. (by plantation director, Thomas Plattner)

H2O & ESPRESSO

‣Discover the latest on water filtration, how water quality effects your espresso machine and the taste in your cup. (powered by water + more)

LM BREWING SCHOOL

‣Experts will teach the hand pour, single brew methods that are rapidly gaining popularity in coffee shops around the world. (powered by Marco and conducted by members of the Street Team)

Workshops will be carried out in 30-45 minute
classes, rotating throughout both days.

Tattooed with La Marzocco

As a sub-culture of tattooed baristas takes off in the united stAtes,
one academic offers a look at the significance of inking oneself with a company's logo As the ultimate sign of brand identification.

Story by Lisa Kovacevic

Brand loyalty and identification manifests itself in many ways, from what we chose to consume, to the logos displayed on the front of our t-shirts. Recently, company logos have found their way onto the human body in the form of tattoos, as perhaps the ultimate sign of brand identification.

La Marzocco has been manufacturing artisan espresso machines in its hometown of Florence, Italy since 1927. Today, on the other side of the globe, American baristas and coffee industry workers are tattooing the iconic brand on their bodies. Anthropologists note that historically tattoos signified membership in a clan or community. The images used within these communities belonged to a shared mythology of cultural iconography. The human desire for community and belonging is just as strong today as it was back then, but the cultural landscape has changed. The village is now global; cultural iconography is no longer dominated by religious icons but images of pop culture, Hollywood stars, advertising, and of course, brand names. It is little wonder then, that modern forms of tattooing incorporate iconic brand images.

Community

Not every brand, however, finds its way onto the human body, so what is it about brands like La Marzocco that foster such strong examples of brand loyalty? Academic literature demonstrates the role of the tattoo as a signifier of social membership, and suggests contemporary tattoos act as symbolic markers of sub cultural membership.

Terry Ziniewicz of Espresso Parts is one example of how tattoos can represent modern signifiers of social membership. In discussing the La Marzocco logo tattooed to his calf, Ziniewicz speaks of this idea of community that first attracted him to the coffee industry. "La Marzocco is family to me and my tattoo connects me to the coffee community at large," he says, noting how his introduction to La Marzocco coincided with his introduction into this community. In the early 1990s Ziniewicz met CEO of La Marzocco International Kent Bakke to discuss using his machines in his burgeoning coffee chain. "We spent three days playing around with coffee and when it was all said and done I bought a whole bunch of machines from him and we have been great friends ever since," he recalls.

Lizz Hudson of Seattle's iconic Stumptown Coffee has the La Marzocco logo tattooed across her chest. For her, it is also this notion of familial ties that she finds appealing about the La Marzocco brand. "La Marzocco is family," she says. "They look out for one another. They listen to, and involve, their customers and other coffee professionals in the design of their products."

History

Historical brands tend to denote quality, tradition, craftsmanship and reliability. The sense of history is embodied in La Marzocco's logo, taking its iconography from the classic Marzocco statue, a seated lion sculpted by Donatello. Synonymous with victory and triumph, it is the emblem of the La Marzocco's founding city of Florence.

Hudson accredits the beauty of this image for some of her motivation in acquiring a La Marzocco tattoo. Even before the offer of a free machine, Hudson notes that she's wanted to get the tattoo for a while because she "loves the company that designed it" and brand aside: "The design of the logo really is beautiful."

Espresso machine technician Peter Droste, who has an image of the logo tattooed down his bicep, was similarly attracted to the aesthetic beauty of the logo, as well as its historical roots. He says he wanted his La Marzocco tattoo shortly after seeing Donatello's Marzocco sculpture in a Florentine museum. "I'm really proud of it, it's a bad-ass lion holding a shield," he laughs. But his motivations weren't entirely aesthetic. "If it wasn't for La Marzocco I certainly wouldn't have picked the symbol. It's the fact that I've worked at their factory in Florence and the fact that I work with their machines every single day." The tattoo comes in handy, as Droste notes that occasionally when repairing or servicing espresso machines he's questioned by his clients on his knowledge of La Marzocco. "Now I just pull up my sleeve and [the tattoo] displays an interesting bit of a credibility."

Lizz Hudson of Seattle's iconic Stumptown Coffee

Connection with place was a similar motivation for Espresso Parts' Ziniewicz. He notes that it was a family trip to the La Marzocco factory in Florence that cemented his idea to get his tattoo. What struck Ziniewicz was that La Marzocco Hon. President Piero Bambi, whose father and uncle established the company, took time out of his day to meet with them on their visit. "That sense of family really showed itself and the tattoo idea came in through this dedication to family," he says. Much like a historical tattoos traditional role in demarcating community, it seems this sense of the La Marzocco family is a common thread among those sporting this iconic brand.

Passion for what they do

La Marzocco's Marketing Director Chris Salierno says he's proud of the company's family traditions."We're a small company but we don't want to grow so much that we lose connection with our customer," he says. "We're small enough that when people come to Florence our doors are always open to our customers. I think that makes us unique."Salierno explains that knowing your product and being able to have a dialogue with your customers across all facets of the industry is paramount. He says the company invests quite a bit internally in technical training for all employees. Salierno further attributes La Marzocco's success in part to the culture within the company that encompasses a genuine passion for what they do. "We pride ourselves on our ability to communicate with our customers. There are a lot of companies out there whose employees don't even know how to use the espresso machines they manufacture," Salierno says.

“You see them at trade shows and they’re standing there with their distributor trying to explain the machines but they can’t because they don’t have the culture internally, day to day in their offices.”

As a coffee enthusiast, Hudson explains one of the things that differentiates La Marzocco from its competitors is their ability to be “responsive to the needs of the specialty coffee community”.

Innovation is driven by consumer demand at La Marzocco, as Salierno explains: “While most of our competitors will develop new products with their engineers, we develop new products with the end users and baristas that we’ve known for years.” He notes that sponsoring events like the World Barista Championships in the past was a great way for the company to connect with the wider coffee community.

Street Team

Other initiatives include the online ‘Street Team’ program that invited leading baristas and industry professionals from across the globe, including Ziniewicz, Hudson and Droste, to participate in an online forum on the design of machines like the The Strada.

“As a technician I’m elbows deep in these machines everyday,” says Droste. “So for La Marzocco to cast the net wide and ask the main users of their product things like: ‘How do you want it to look? How do you want it to function?’ is really clever and forward thinking and I loved being part of that process.”

Ziniewicz also recalls: “It was amazing, after six months of these online forums they had a prototype machine at a La Marzocco event in Milan called ‘Out of the Box’. All of us who’d participated in the online forums were stunned. We were expecting to see something but we weren’t expecting to see a completed machine.”

In a world where identical products are most often stamped out on the production line, it can be challenging for consumers to connect with the manufacturing process. Cultural commentators argue that this lack of connection to the modes of production leads individuals toward feelings of isolation. We’re defined most often in relation to the objects we own, not who we know. In his critique of advertising, Sut Jhally observes that within the age of mass production people desire human production both symbolically and materially.

Salierno notes that at La Marzocco, not only do consumers know whose hands have welded and assembled the machines, but users themselves have played a part in the design process. “We still manufacture each machine individually, they’re not made on the production line, they’re made by hand on a cart,” he explains. “So each factory worker produces his machine and even today they’re still quite customised.”

Out of the Box event

Two years ago La Marzocco launched its first ‘Out of the Box’ event. As an artistic showcase of their products, they invited graffiti artists to come in and graffiti their machines. This year they’re holding a photographic exhibition. “We want to keep that connection between industry and art because our end customers appreciate art and what baristas do is artistic,” explains Salierno. “It is reflective of us and the people that work here, we’re an artisan manufacturer.”

Along these lines, Chris explains that the company sees each individual machine as a work of art. “Design plays an important role. I don’t know of any other food service equipment whose design is as important as the espresso machine,” he says. “The reason being because the espresso machine is placed in the dining room as opposed to the kitchen. So it’s a point of reference, there’s a decorative quality. Our industry is very much connected to art, because coffee is art. Art is very much a part of our philosophy.”

It seems now that tattooed baristas are becoming just as much a part of the aesthetic experience of going to a café as the espresso machines.

Tattoo subculture

“There’s a whole tattoo subculture among specialty coffee communities in North America,” Ziniewicz notes. “Initially employers weren’t willing to have tattooed baristas in their shops and now it’s like people are clamouring to employ them.”

Where those tattoos are of company logos is a sign of the entrenchment of those brands in the coffee community. It would seem La Marzocco has successfully tapped into is this human desire for community, social membership and understanding. Theirs is a coffee community, their figure head a victorious lion. Their worshippers congregate in coffee shops and adorn their bodies in La Marzocco’s iconography. These efforts are the product of their involvement with their customers. The lesson to be learnt from La Marzocco is an old one: love what you do and the rest will follow, or in Salierno’s words: “It’s about having fun, it’s not about moving boxes”. GCR

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Mahlkoenig Hamburg VIDEO

In august a delegation of SpecialtyCoffee.nl visited the Mahlkönig factory in Hamburg. We were impressed by the sheer craftmanship, the quality control and the incredible small tolerances maintained by the Mahlköning factory.

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New Kenyan coffee varietal

Last year the Coffee Research Foundation (CRF) in Ruiru, Kenya released a new disease-resistant arabica varietal that has been in development for more than an decade. Named after the highest peak on Mt. Kenya, Batian is resistant to coffee berry disease and coffee leaf rust, the two common fungal diseases affecting coffee in Kenya and much of Africa.

The parentage of Batian is predominantly arabica, and it is closer genetically to the well-regarded SL28 and SL34 varieties than Ruiru 11, the rust-resistant varietal introduced in 1985. Varieties used in the development of Batian include SL4, N39, N30, Hibrido de Timor, Rume Sudan, and K7. They were repeatedly backcrossed with SL28 and SL34. The Hibrido de Timor is the naturally-occurring hybrid of arabica and robusta, and is often used in disease-resistant breeding due to its robusta heritage.

Of course, it is the robusta lurking in the background that tends to lower cup quality. According to the CRF, however, Batian cups far better than Ruiru 11 and even the parental SL varietals.

Ristretto | Los Angeles Coffee Crawl

by Oliver Strand in the NYT

The intrastate rivalry between Los Angeles and San Francisco doesn’t make much sense if you live outside of California. Or really, if you don’t live in the Bay Area. I grew up in one city and went to college a BART ride away from the other, so I feel qualified to paint a picture of the two with broad strokes: Los Angeles is crazy about San Francisco, and San Francisco wishes Los Angeles would go away.

Coffee Commissary, on Fairfax Boulevard

This might explain why one of the great coffee cities in the world has almost nothing to do with one of the largest cities in the world, even though the two share a coastline and a couple of highways. You would think that at least one of the Bay Area’s superb small-batch roasters would send a Sprinter south, set up shop and give millions of Angelenos a taste of what they’ve been missing, but no. San Francisco would much prefer to let Los Angeles figure things out on its own.

And so they did. Chicago’s Intelligentsia Coffee and Tea took a stucco storefront on Sunset Boulevard in Silverlake and became the home team. Since its arrival four years ago, Intelligentsia has opened a total of three coffee shops and a roaster, training a generation of baristas and managers who are going on to start new projects. The Los Angeles coffee scene, which always had good style, now has the substance to back it up.

TRABOCCA NOMINATED!

We are proud to announce that the Dutch Coffee Coffee Trader Trabocca has been nominated for the 'Triodos Bank Hart-Hoofd' Trophee 2011. Please vote on www.triodos.nl !

Willem Boot as Key Note speaker

at Out Of The Box event in Milano

La Marzocco is proud to present Willem J. Boot as Key Note speaker and guest of honor at our upcoming Out Of The Box event in Milano...

Willem Boot founded Boot Coffee Consulting in 1999 with the basic goal to improve quality throughout the coffee industry. He roasted his first batch of coffee at the age of 14 and obtained a masters-degree in business economics at the University of Amsterdam. During the 1990's Willem was co-owner of the family's coffee company "The Golden Coffee Box" which is now a leading specialty business in The Netherlands...

Visit http://ootb.lamarzocco.com and read more...>>

New station layout at WBC VIENNA

This year, as with others, the Rules and Regulations Committee has been hard at work improving and refining the WBC competition. Each year information, feedback and data is collated from many different areas of the competitions. They receive submissions and complete surveys from Competitors, National Bodies, Trainers, Audience and our Judges. They compile and process masses of documentation and are able to make changes to the competition.

Their Brief is simple, “Deliver an understandable Rules and Regulations document that provides a platform on which Baristas can innovate and excel.” Making that come to life will always be a challenge, but one that everyone can embrace. This year there is a release of new Rules and Regulations document with lots of changes. Some are small, some much larger.

The new document will be out in the next few weeks, but the Committee wants to share one of the most exciting changes that we have made. This is the new Station Layout.

The rationale behind this includes:

To maximize the time the Barista has facing the Judges and eliminating the need to turn their backs on the Judges.
To allow Baristas line of sight to Sensory Judges to be unbroken while at Espresso Machine.
To provide as efficient a workspace as possible for the Baristas, especially between machine and presentation tables.
To allow the Baristas to prepare their drinks without the Sensory Judges seeing any visual cues around preparation and extraction.
By having the Preparation Table beside the Presentation Table the Sensory Judges are able to have a better view of drink preparation with less requirements for Baristas to transport ingredients around stage.
To provide a distinct “Media Boundary” that cannot be crossed.
Recommended that Audience to be located to the rear of the Judges seats.

The actual changes are: Table Dimensions:

Machine Table- NOT CHANGED
Work Table- WAS 2.70L x 0.60W x 0.90H(m) NOW 1.80L x 0.60W x 0.90H (m)
Presentation Table- NOT CHANGED

Presentation table has been brought closer to the Espresso Machine Table.
Slight overlap with the Presentation Table (0.20m) to minimize the overall footprint of the competition area and to bring the Work Table closer to the Machine Table.
Ice Machine and Refrigerator have been removed from the equipment supplied list.
Head Judge and Technical Judges not constrained to fixed positions.
Media Boundary introduced into the station layout.

The Committee is excited to see these changes happen and believe they provide some opportunities for Barista’s to interact better with their Judges and Audience to improve the delivery of their Competition Routine.

This is just one of the changes coming this year and the remaining changes come very soon!

The Rules and Regulations Committee always welcomes your ideas, questions and feedback. If you have anything you would like to communicate to the Rules and Regulations Committee please feel free to contact us at info@worldcoffeeevents.org

EAT LIKE A MAN BLOG

7 Steps to Survive the Horrible Hipster Coffee Trend

Todd Carmichael is the co-founder of La Colombe Torrefaction has a interinsting blog about today's coffee universe. He posted a very interesting list with 7 steps to survive the hipster coffee trend.

,,The espresso machine was invented for a reason: to be "espress," a.k.a. fast (and, ironically, to replace the siphon and slow-brew). Listen up, geeks: Drop the slow-brew renaissance and pick up the pace. We have work to get to. Here are a few warnings, my way of de-geek-ifying your coffee experience. (This list isn't exhaustive.)

1. Beware the presence of the $17,000 coffee machine. It's a lot like the fad of the $100 hamburger: The beef may be good and the press may love it (at least for a day), but if you order it, someone in public relations will be laughing at you. No one was actually supposed to buy it.

2. Beware bean propaganda. Super-geeks love to claim their coffee hails from single-origin Valhalla, unapproachable for any other roaster. Truth is, we live in the computer and commuter age; the world is tiny and coffee only comes from the small band around the middle. We all have access to the same beans.

3. Beware the barista who looks like an angry bike messenger moving at lazy-eye speeds, yet when he touches the espresso grinder, he goes Eddie Van Halen on it. (By the way, "barista" is Starbucks speak. In Italy the word for "barista" is "barman.")

4. Beware the barista who goes techno-nerd on you when describing how he makes coffee: heat-surfing, pre-infusion profiling, tamp-dialing. Seriously, and how would you describe the act of opening a beer, liquid-load pressure breaching?

5. Be wary of the barista bent on removing your tooth enamel by cranking the dose of ground bean from the recommended 7 grams to a heart-pounding 21 grams. (This is called "overdosing," meant to balance out the taste of a monster latte.) You can always tell by how the espresso looks: less shiny terra cotta and more whipped crude oil.

6. Beware the freak who can only get his coffee rocks off by caging a beautiful wild civet, feeding it coffee cherries and sifting through its poop for coffee beans. Sick puppies like that should just be avoided, period.

7. When the other patrons are taking pictures of their coffee with smart phones, run.

Actually, I have to give it to the geeks — they're a creative bunch. The Web is filled with their caffeinated ramblings and "reviews," and for a long time, the culinary-minded neo-traditional roaster just shut up and took it like a man. The idea was to let the coffee do the talking. But I suppose it was only a matter of time before I snapped.

Once a name brand chef/owner told me he was a wave-surfer, meaning he surfed from trend to trend. Today this guy no longer has restaurants of his own. Instead, he hosts a cable cooking show. I suppose he missed a wave at some point, failed to "drop in."

You see, trends are like waves, and all waves eventually crash. With this particular one, it is hard to say exactly where and when. But when you're standing in line waiting for the super-geek to slow-brew another cup, you can almost feel the water beginning to curl."

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Internet to market your cafe

Gone are the days where it's all about location, location, location. With the emergence of the internet as a promotional beast, every back alley cafe has the chance to become an industry icon. It's certainly not a concept that's new to Melbourne which has had thriving cafés tucked away in laneways for decades, but what may have been a decision made out of sheer necessity back in the day (due to rental costs) is now considered chic and unique.

Before we even start looking at what things you can do to promote your café using the web, you need to get your ducks in a row. First up, you need to be confident that every cup of coffee you make is sensational. The majority of these online marketing suggestions are about getting customers to your site for the first time. It's your job to keep them there by creating a truly memorable customer experience. The easiest way to turn people off is by allowing a bad cup of coffee to slip through to the keeper. And don't think that it's just about producing consistently good flat whites. These days you need to offer something different: single origin programmes, micro-lot coffees and filter brews. All fantastic points of difference to make your customer experience memorable, but the main point here is to ensure that every coffee is sensational.

The dress code of coffee lovers

Individuality within a group identity

Photographer Ari Versluis and profiler Ellie Uyttenbroek have worked together since October 1994. Inspired by a shared interest in the striking dress codes of various social groups, they have systematically documented numerous identities over the last 16 years. The heterogeneous, multicultural street scene remains a major source of inspiration for Ari Versluis and Ellie Uyttenbroek.

Barista - Milano 2011

They call their series Exactitudes: a contraction of exact and attitude. By registering their subjects in an identical framework, with similar poses and a strictly observed dress code, Versluis and Uyttenbroek provide an almost scientific, anthropological record of people’s attempts to distinguish themselves from others by assuming a group identity.

Uomo Espresso- Milano 2011

The apparent contradiction between individuality and uniformity is, however, taken to such extremes in their arresting objective-looking photographic viewpoint and stylistic analysis that the artistic aspect clearly dominates the purely documentary element.

They just published a new series with 48 exactitudes. The new exactitudes come from Milan, Bejing, Rio de Janeiro, Casablanca and New York. The Italian coffee brand Lavazza asked them to spot coffee types. For coffee lovers the exactitudes spotted in Milanese espressobars are very interesting to look at.

Sciuara Decaffeinata - Milano 2011

And due to the internationalisation and globalisation may of the spotted dress codes are familiar to anybody around the world. Don't we all know the Moncler girls in their shiny Michelin Bibendum style shiny down jackets?

Bolla Bella, Milano 2011

The new book with 48 new exactitudes can be ordered here.

Cool cafe - Milano 2011

Team Doppio - Milano 2011

Cappuccino Girls - Milano 2011

Bolla Bella, Milano 2011

Sciuara Decaffeinata - Milano 2011

Barista - Milano 2011

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RANCILLIO SILVIA and MAZZER LUX STUNT

We are offering two coffee geeks favorites, the Rancillio Silvia and Mazzer Lux, Mazzer Super electronic for a very special price in our webshop.

Order direct in our shop. Stock is limited!

NEW: La Marzocco Stainless Steel Portafilter

Renowned for bringing innovation and technology to the specialty coffee industry, La Marzocco is proud to announce the launch of its new stainless steel portafilter. Developed and tested alongside baristas, La Marzocco is renowned for taking design & ergonomics seriously. The new stainless steel portafilter optimizes barista wellbeing and system performance.The new stainless steel portafilters are currently available on the entire range of La Marzocco espresso machines -‐ with exception of the Linea. The new portafilter will be integrated into the Linea series as of September 2011

This new portafilter boasts such features as:

Stainless steel single & double spouts.
Easier to clean thanks to polished stainless steel and snap-‐on feature (patent pending).
More sanitary with no plating.
More than 10% lighter than the current portafilter.
Counter stand integrated for improved and level tamping.

Compatibility

Please note that the new portafilter is not compatible with all grinders. We recommend to send us a mail before ordering items.

New: Too much Coffee App

The new "Too much Coffee" app for iPhone/iPad/iPod has only one purpose and that is to help keep track of your coffee drinking habits. How much coffee do you really drink in a week? The app doesn't need explanations or guidance to understand.

Simply look at the screenshots and you will understand how it works. To us, it seems one of those apps which aren't very useful. If you are interested in specialty coffee and take a lot of attention in every coffee you make, why should you keep a track record of your coffee consumption? Also the negative approach to coffee drinking seems so exaggerated. So save yourself the money and buy a good cup of coffee instead.

HIKARI SIPHON TABLE is introduced into Europe!

Lucky i Cremas, supporting Japan’s coffee culture, introducing world’s coffee cultures into Japan for over 40 years. Today a new style “HIKARI SIPHON TABLE” is introduced by Lucky i Cremas into Europe! “HIKARI SIPHON TABLE”, is available from Espresso Service West, debuted in Europe for more delicious/brilliant siphon coffee! The Siphon table has been chosen by World Coffee Events as the official siphon for the Brewbar.

22tracks

The jukebox for every espressobar

22tracks.com is a jukebox consisting of 22 playlists of different genres, each playlist filled with 22 tracks, selected by specialized DJs from Amsterdam. 22tracks provides a quick overview of the latest music, promotes new artists and lets you discover new genres. No registration, no hassle. New music, the easy way. And easy over the style of music in your espressobar!

London Coffee Festival 8-10 april

The London Coffee Festival is an inspiring celebration of coffee and food culture.

London is rapidly becoming one of the greatest places on earth to discover, taste and share incredible coffee and gourmet food, and is now established at the centre of the new ‘third wave’ coffee scene.

Taking place in the unique environment of the Old Truman Brewery, Brick Lane, the coffee-obsessed and food fanatics will be immersed in a world of discovery, tastings, demonstrations and entertainment.

8-10 april 2011. Information

John Gordon UK Barista 2011 Video!

John Gordon became for the second time winner of the UK Barista Championships.

1 - John Gordon
2 – Neil Le Bihan
3 – Dale Harris
4 – Maxwell Colonna Dashwood
5 – Hayley Draper
6 – Alice Cook

Best Espresso – John Gordon
Best Cappuccino – Neil Le Bihan
Best Signature Drink – joint winners Neil and John

Please follow this link to the video of the semi finals.

The SCAE Coffee Diploma System

The Speciality Coffee Association of Europe is proud to announce a significant initiative which will underpin the delivery of one of it's core products, Education.

In June 2011, The SCAE Coffee Diploma System will be launched, which will allow coffee professionals to earn credits in all aspects of coffee education, ultimately leading to the conferral of an SCAE Coffee Diploma.

The structure of the SCAE Coffee Diploma is designed to meet the needs of the SCAE's members, recognising that our members partake in coffee education courses sporadically, as they juggle their professional responsibilities with their professional development. The Coffee Diploma System breaks the Coffee Education Programme into sensible courses, being:

Basic Coffee Knowledge
Green Coffee
Sensory and Cup Tasting
Roasting
Grinding and Brewing methods
Espresso coffee
Filter coffee
Barista Skills

While the SCAE's 110 Authorised Trainers have been imparting education on all of these topics over recent years, it has been delivered in an a fairly loose manner. To date, only the SCAE's Barista Certification and Gold Cup Brewmaster training has had any system of controlled certification. The SCAE Coffee Diploma System will introduce a certification standard to all of the courses, with each one having an introductory or basic level and an advanced level, for which a controlled certification criteria will exist.

The Curriculum

With a membership that boasts the very best of Coffee Professionals, the SCAE has created a Coffee Diploma System Working Group to deliver a detailed curriculum for each of the courses, with each course being led by or including an expert from their field and comprising at least 3 peers from that field. Thus, each of the coffee courses has a sub-group which will deliver a curriculum which outlines what must be taught on an SCAE Education Course for that particular topic e.g. Green Coffee. Each course will comprise three parts, all will have a basic coffee knowledge component, a basic level and an advanced level, with the three combining to deliver a comprehensive educational overview of that topic.

The Certification

Currently, SCAE certification exams exist for Barista Basic (Level One), Barista Advanced (Barista Level 2) and for Brewmasters (Gold Cup certification covering grinding and filter brewing). The Barista certification program, launched in 2003 boasts over 3,000 level one Baristas and 540 level 2 Baristas. The Gold Cup Programme, launched in 2007 has yielded over 200 Brewmasters. The success of these programmes is linked to the independent assessment of professionals to meet a standard of education underwritten by the SCAE. The Coffee Diploma System will introduce this rigour to all modules.

Achieving Diploma Status

To be conferred with an SCAE Coffee Diploma, one must amass a total of 100 credits. All module certifications will have credits allocated to them. To achieve a credit, one must successfully complete an authorised SCAE Certification. These will be carried out internationally the SCAE's Authorised Trainers.

For example a Coffee Professional who has successfully completed certifications of the Green Coffee module will have amassed 35 points, 10 for the basic level and 25 for the advanced level. The professional can choose to amass credits to total 100 from whatever field of expertise they feel is of most benefit to their work.

Delivering the Diploma System

The SCAE Education Committee will launch the Coffee Diploma System in Maastricht, The Netherlands at the annual Wonderful World of Coffee Expo in June of 2011. All courses and certifications thereafter will be delivered by SCAE Authorised Trainers only, ensuring a consistency of education and consistent calibrated certifications.

High speed coffee video - Feast for you eyes!

Modernist Cuisine - "the very best book on coffee"

Already considered as one great cookbooks of this century: the six volume 2438 pages megacookbook 'Modernist cuisine' ($ 625) also has a chapter on coffee. And this is said to be one the most interesting reads about coffee that ever have been published. One of it's authors - Chris Young - is so passionate about coffee that we can only recommend to read the interview by Paula Forbes. Chris explains the process of writing on this subject and the help he did get from barista champions James Hoffman and Tim Wendelboe. Furthermore he shares his thoughts on questions as: why do star restaurants don't offer better coffee?

In the book interesting subjects (pressure profiling) are thoroughly researched, but there are also questions raised which doesn't seem to bother the serious barista:

To keep your coffee hot for as long as possible, should you add cream right away or wait until just before you drink it? Will the addition of cream make coffee cool faster or slower?

The Modernist Cuisine team sought to answer these 'important' questions. It turns out that coffee with cream added actually cools about 20% more slowly than plain black coffee, so it is best to add the cream immediately. But why is this?

A side bar in Modernist Cuisine reveals the three major principles of physics that deter mine why coffee with cream cools more slowly.
Check out the high-speed videos below and see if you can guess these three factors. For more information on this book and ordering information check this site.

Video's

Chemex!

Everything you wanted to know about the Chemex! Order your Chemex in our shop!

Production, price and export figures

Henk Langkemper of Specialty Coffee and Michel Elverding (Alleborgh) attended the 8th African Fine Coffee Conference and Exhibition which took place in Arusha, Tanzania from 17 to 19 February 2011. The Executive Director a.i., Mr José Sette, was invited to speak at it.The event was organized by the Eastern African Fine Coffees Association (EAFCA) which represents the coffee sector in 11 countries in the region. In his presentation, Mr Sette reviewed the outlook and challenges for the world coffee market. Please read the pdf for information about production, price and export figures. Source: ico.org.

After the conference a group of coffee enthousiasts and experts were invited by La Marzocco to visit their coffee farm Songwa Estate in Tanzania.

Downloads

eafca

SoftBrew Coffee

Back-to-basics coffee maker by George Sowden

The increasing mystification and complication of making coffee has been a trend for years. George Sowden has gone in the opposite direction with SoftBrew™ With a back-to-basics, old fashioned approach, using a jug and hot water, the coffee brewed with a SoftBrew™ filter is as good as the beans it is brewed from...in other words, the natural taste of coffee! The good thing is that you can finally taste the difference between a Colombian and a Kenyan coffee at whatever strength you might want, because you brew coffee the soft way without forcing, pressing, steaming and burning the valuable coffee beans. This revolutionary concept will be reviewed by our SpecialtyCoffees editorial team coming week.

World of Coffee Exhibition in Maastricht

The World of Coffee Exhibition in Maastricht is set to take place june 22-24 at the Exhibition World of Coffee in Maastricht, The Netherlands.

The event, which already promises to be the premier speciality coffee gathering in Europe in 2011, will include a major trade exhibition highlighting the innovations and services offered by the sector's companies.   To be held at Maastricht's MECC exhibition centre, the show will be at the heart of the World of Coffee event, and the place to see what is new in the speciality coffee business in 2011. Standard 9m2 stands will be available in the modern facility, and there will also be a smaller 6m2 size along one wall. Both shell scheme and space only plans are available, and SCAE members will enjoy a significant discount on the regular prices.   The World of Coffee Exhibition's latest floor plan and current list of Exhibitors can be downloaded here as a PDF file. If your company would like to participate in this major European coffee event, act now to secure the best positions; contact Jens Henrik Thomsen, the SCAE's World of Coffee Exhibition & Sponsorship Coordinator, at j.thomsen@scae.com , for more information and stand bookings.   World of Coffee will also include another in the SCAE's much appreciated series of practical Workshops across a whole range of important coffee topics, as well as a buzzing Social Programme that is to include a reception at the city's picturesque town hall.   Of course, a major highlight of World of Coffee will be the 2011 editions of the World Coffee Events Championships, which will bring the best baristas and coffee experts from all over the world together to compete for the ultimate prizes in several disciplines. Up for grabs will be the top honours in the World Latte Art Championship, the World Coffee in Good Spirits Championship, the World Cup Tasters Championship and the World Cezve/Ibrik Championship, and the 2011 winner of the coveted Best Nation award--honouring the most successful competing country's coffee team--will also be announced.  Further details of the packed schedule being planned for World of Coffee will be announced soon, both on this website and in the pages of the SCAE's newsletter Café Europa; you can also contact Amanda Webb at the SCAE, on amanda@scae.com

| Specialty Coffee

WBC 2012 PREP JOSH HOCKIN

Alejandro and Chris discussing coffee

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The new DISK Fine produces a cleaner cup

Paper - DISK

Much finer holes

In conclusion:

Two-cup Aeropress recipe

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Frans

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Focus country Kenia

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THURSDAY 9/8

FRIDAY 10/8

SATURDAY 10/8

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