Forty hands

My virgin visit to Forty hands. I'm not quite sure what bean i had for my machiatto but it was delicious.i'll be back.

Jewel Coffee

I had three different coffee here. I had a Ethiopia Sidamo as an espresso, Brazil Cerado (i think) as a machiatto and tanzania ___________ via chemex. I didn't notice the other coffee names because i was too focus on the Ethiopia Sidamo.A sidamo as always never fail to satisfy my tastebuds.
Something thats not nice, the next cup of brazil as a machiatto is too acidic, almost made me puke and with the additional flat tasting (it tasted stale) Tanzania, my stomach turned queasy almost immediately.So did i finish them? Ask me and i tell you.
Well..It's just probably because I haven't had breakfast and that was already my third cup of coffee of the day (i was on coffee hunt mode).

I still want that perfect tanzania brew because i swear i've tasted clear blackcurrant notes a year back. No secret, i bought it from starbucks (everyone says SB roast their coffee too dark).

So my question is. What is the ideal roast for Tanzania.Slighly darker then how a Ethiopia sidamo should be? Nowadays, everyone is roasting till medium roast profiles without understanding that different beans has different profiles...! Their goal is to achieve "oil-free dry surface" rather then achieving the "sweet spot". I think the Brazil and Tanzania should be roasted a notch or two darker.I'm no expert but you are..

Coffee Tasting session

It was an atmosphere you seldom get to be in. I was fortunate to be there around great coffee people and great coffee beans, drinking and laughing over a great chat. Yes everything was so great that I felt it was like a dream. So I walked out of Oriole brew bar and stood at the far end of the escalator. It was very silent.From where I stood, I can SEE everyone's laughter and actions. There I stood and ponder about my future....
I told you the story, now I'll take about the taste(sounds familiar). I never tasted so many different coffees. We tasted an Australian coffee, beans roasted in Taiwan, coffees Squaremiles roaster, Seven Seeds and some unknown samples.

My favourite amogts all was, Ethiopia Nekisse which came in an unknown packaging. Good coffee comes in that way?
This is an incredible dry processed coffee, one of the best I can remember tasting. The aroma is unbelievable; it is one of those super distinctive coffees that smells like nothing else. Apricot, orange, and flowers are all present, with very high intensity. I want more!!

Starbucks Kenya

I miss drinking kenya so i got a bag of Starbucks Kenya AA last week. I miss its winey and grapefruit notes. I brewed it via drip which was fairly alright and made a latte. The chracteristic diminishes in milk but you're able to get some winey(acidity) and very "earthy" tones in an espresso.As for a latte it's totally flat. No worries,i didn't threw the beans.i fondle with the grind setting and its dosage till I get a decent brew.

Do you know that sometime ago Kenya was using dry method to process the coffee cherries? They're using the washed method now.

Kopi luwak

I didn't had the time to post about my coffee luwak experince last week... Two indonesian guys came in sharing about the kopi luwak beans (i doubt they're the farmer). They brought the coffee in beans form, grounded and raw.
Rizuan,the two man and myself shared a cup(because it's expensive and they only have 200g to sample) via hario v60. The brew was smooth, dry aftertaste, a very pleasent nutty aroma.i didn't expect to taste any characteristic of the coffee since it was already ground. I'm sure it will taste much better i it was freshly grounded.

Are the civet cats still kept in captivity?should there be a stop to it?Does it really bothers me?

Roasting 18062011

Kopi luwak via pour over

How much "cleaner" can the coffee be?

Staying cool, Gonna be a good Saturday

I've calmed down and goth rid of the thought of signing on in the army (that is the last thing i would do!).

I think the guys at CuppaChoice is roasting coffee beans this Saturday. Oh yes...i get to watch, cup and work for fresh coffee beans.

Some sad news and what i think my friends are doing right now.
It's lynette's aka lulu last day on this Saturday do lets throw curdled milk and whip cream on her.
Fadhly still serving two weeks confinement in camp. Nothing new, seen him bald before he entered NS. Probably he's tan after two weeks.
Suhaimie been chiiling and consulting for a friend cafe. Selling mypressitwist online.
Ian is back at Soho7 roasting coffee.
Jamal is still finding a way to grow in height and size.
Rizuan doing cool at work.
Andrew hoi must be enjoying his square miles coffee.
Terence sent me a motivatinal sms which i haven't reply.
Arfian dying to work for Suhaimie and at the same time keeping his options open,working part time at blackbird and starting at cuppachoice.
Melvin studying for exams and having his mocha.
Inda just came back from expo.
Iori and Irvin planning for their future cafe.
Aliff is still Aliff.
Faz kids are cute.

The last barista class by suhaimie

After 4 years in the company, Suhaimie
has officially left the company;
CuppaChoice International Pte ltd.
CuppaChoice four years ago is not the same as CuppaChoice now. Cuppachoice four years ago only sells coffee beans run by a family business selling local and gourmet coffee only. They sold a mocha java beans which they never had(go figure). Four years later when you mention CuppaChoice, they're known for barista classes, proffesional baristas, latte art, specialty coffee and the Temple St cafe/showroom. CuppaChoice has revolutionize......

The last workshop conducted by Suhaimie was a an open session where the students can ask any questions from roasting the beans to making the coffee. Tips and tricks to be a improve their latte art. At the same time i learn some new information through that session.

A celebration to my "virgin" woodneck brewing and a successful syphon brewing. Brewed coffee from Intelligentsia.

Intelligentsia in the house

The perfect brewing method

Hey guys, i was at CuppaChoice brewing Ka'u Forest beans. I was finding the perfect brewing method for this bean and shared it with the rest.

Majority find that the coffee is very musky when it was brewed in a french press (plunger), we didn't really get to experience the expected flavours but it's was clearer in a Syphon. We were still not satisfied. Next we tried it as an espresso and as a cappuccino. It's was through trial and error to get the perfect shot. Too little or too much dosage really affected the flow. It's very delicate i guess. I had to waste a lot of coffee, keep grinding and dosing. Eventually i got sick of it and grinded all of them. Finally, I got a nice flow when there was like half a teaspoon left (saddening man!).

I still haven't conclude the best brewing method for Ka'u Forest. But by far, syphon brewed was the best. In general i feel that every bean and it's roast profile determine its suitable brewing method. For instance, you roast the coffee darker for an espresso blend. Brew a lighter roasted beans using a syphon or pour-over. And Asian like Sumatra and Sulawesi goes well in a french press because you want to achieve the full body of the coffee.

Black Coffee Dessert Bar

Terence

Suhaimie

I was at Black Coffee Dessert Bar with Suhaimie and Terence but I had an iced tea. Hahaha! We were there to catch up with Nizam and i finally i found out who is James; the guy who wore a fishermen hat. I just found out that Black is using a Mirage. I heard "ehem ehem" is also using the same machine.

Hmmm..Nothing much to talk about the coffee ( I'm being honest) except..... i noticed  that the surface of the cappuccino "bubbled" badly. It is definitely not the Barista or the milk. I bet it's the beans. I had the same experience a few months back and it's due the coffee beans. There was more proportion of Robusta beans in the blend which I worked with  before back then. I even drank 100% Robusta espresso shot before (YES i really did). So you can't hide Robusta beans from me. I feel that a blend shouldn't exceed more that 20% of Robusta beans in a blend.
Yes, adding Robusta beans saves cost but it really affect the quality of your overall blend. I' not a Robusta hater but with the right proportion, an espresso blend with it can be excellent too.

On a lighter note, the place really have a good ambiance and i will come back to hang out there over a cup of Ice blended.

A cup of coffee at Oriole Brew Bar

I didn't had this cup of coffee but i had a few sips. I can't say much about it but this what I think. The coffee isn't significant that I can't register its tasting notes in my mind. It reminds me of cruising down 2nd link expressway from Johor to Singapore at 20km/h.

This cup was brewed using an Uber boiler. From the name itself, you would already know it's a water boiler! I read up about it and found out that it is designed to give the user the exact amount of water they want at just the right temperature, without taking up much counter space. Well ,I think this  particular user has room for improvements in is brewing techniques (I'm not an expert but I can see what is proper and what's not). The cup of coffee was brewed at 93.3 degrees Celsius (according to the boiler's screen). But it seemed to be hotter than that when it reaches our table.

Lastly, i think the affogato would be better if it's a fresh espresso shot rather than a cold brew coffee (which tasted sour) and I don't think saving leftover steam milk in a fridge is necessary.

I want a coffee roaster.