Australian Coffee Menu From 2010
I was studying in Australia in 2010, and the menu is from that trip. I remember actually having a sit down talk about the differences in coffee culture between the land down under and the States to better prepare myself for what lay ahead.
I wasn't the coffee person I am these days, but the differences were still quite apparent. The coffee landscape seems to evolve quickly these days, so what I saw during my trip may not be the same as it is today. When I was in Australia, I lived in Melbourne, which seems to be the city for coffee in Australia. During my stay, Australia was not serving filtered coffee; all beverages were espresso based.
Few things of note: The Caffe Latte is served in a taller glass container instead of the typical ceramic latte cup we're used to seeing. Call an espresso a short black. Flat white and a cappuccino seem to be pretty much the same except the cappuccino will have a bit more foam on the top.
Test out the menu and enjoy. One last thing... I've recently been hearing news that Australian Cafes have been trying more filtered black coffee, so you may be able to find some American style brew.
Nuova Simonelli Oscar Espresso Machine Overview
The Oscar by Nuova Simonelli is a proven espresso machine for the home in terms of its reliability and performance. Nuova Simonelli relies on simplicity of design and engineering for their espresso machines, which has made them a hit among home baristas.
Nuova Simonelli Musica Espresso Machine Walkthrough
For this walkthrough, Tiffany is giving us a quick run down of the features and benefits of the new Nuova Simonelli Musica espresso machine.
We love the overall beauty of this machine. Its housing is polished stainless steel and it has advanced features like programmable dosing with an array of soft touch buttons. The lux version on the Musica has lights on the frame of the housing that really make this espresso machine stand out.
The water reservoir doesn't have any hoses that get in the way of refilling, and is covered by a convenient flip top lid.
This is a commercial approved Heat Exchanger espresso machine that is capable of making excellent espresso and micro foam with the powerful steam output.
Brewing Control Chart – Get the Most Out of Your Coffee
How to Use the Coffee Brewing Control Chart
This chart is assuming that you're using a half gallon (1.9 liters) of hot water to brew with each coffee weight.
Look at the chart to see how the brewing coffee weight will change the perceived taste of the coffee in your cup (everything else being constant). This happens because of the increase and/or decrease in the extraction and total dissolved solids (TDS) at each coffee weight.
There is a sweet spot where a coffee will taste the best, and that can be measured by the extraction and the strength of the coffee.
Strength (Y-Axis): How much coffee grounds has actually been dissolved in the water. For example, 1.3o on the Y-axis means that 1.3% of what you're drinking your cup is coffee that has been dissolved in the brewing process.
Extraction (X-Axis): The percentage of the dry ground coffee that has dissolved during brewing. If you start with 10 oz of dry ground coffee and 2 oz dissolves in the cup (2 oz /10 oz), you'll have a 20% extraction yield.
Red Diagonal Lines: These lines show how much coffee you started the brew with.
Coffee & Caffeine: The Greatest Addiction and Drug Ever
This is a short video on coffee and the benefits of coffee put together by Grey's Blog.
Main Points:
- 300 tonnes of caffeine are consumed by the world everyday
- Coffee grows between the tropic of capricorn and the tropic of cancer
- ~40 coffee beans to make 1 shot of espresso
- Coffee trees produce caffeine as an insecticide
- Improves memory
- May have medical benefits such as protection from cardiovascular disease, diabetes and parkinson's
Alex Duetto II Vs. Mini Vivaldi II: Espresso Machine Steam Power
Both the Alex Duetto II and the Mini Vivaldi II have excellent steaming capabilities compared to many other espresso machines. The Vivaldi's steam is one of the best we've seen at Barista Lab, and we wanted to highlight it by showing these two videos of steaming side by side.
You'll notice that the Mini's has a dryer, constant, and more powerful steam than the Alex Duetto II. While the Duetto is awesome with no problems steaming milk, we wanted to show these videos so you'll get a sense of appreciation for just how good the steam is on the Vivaldi II.
Steam Specifications
Mini Vivaldi II: 1.2 liter steam boiler with 1250 watt heater, 110 volts 15 amp or 20 amp, Burn 4 hole .9 mm steam tip (no burn arm and tip is optional)
Alex Duetto II: 1.8 liter steam boiler with 1200 watt heater, 110 volt 15 or 20 amp, No burn 4 hole .9 mm steam tip
A combination of the smaller boiler and oversized heater leads to some powerful steam on the Mini Vivaldi II.
Brew Coffee MacGyver Style (What Is The Best Improvised Coffee Filter?)
Japanese coffee with filter (Photo: holycalamity)
You're in a bind for some coffee, and there are no brewing devices to be found. What do you do to brew a semi legit cup of coffee with what you have around you ? This is the question I posed to a few professional baristas this week, and I was pretty taken away by the answers I got. Some are quite obvious, but others, like the Norwegian Egg Coffee method really surprised me.
Top 4 Ways to Brew Coffee MacGyver Style
1. Paper Towels as a Filter:
Get a pot and a heat resistant glass jug and a colander or other type of strainer, something that you can set on top the jug with holes. Line strainer with paper towels and place on top of jug. Pre wet the towels by pouring hot water over them. Pour ground coffee on top of paper towels and slowly pour hot water over the grounds in a circular motion so that you're wetting all of them just like a pour over. When you're done coffee is ready in the jug.
2. Cupping Style with Strainer:
Pour water directly onto the grounds (cupping style), wait 4 minutes, break the crust and clean the surface like you are cupping, then carefully decant through a small wire strainer.
3. Sock:
If you have a sock, you have a brewing device. Think Hario wood neck cloth brewer, but with your sock.
4. Norwegian Egg Coffee:
Mix coffee with a raw egg, dump raw egg into a pot of near boiling water. The hot water should cook the egg so there are no coffee grounds floating around. Dump off the liquid and drink(the egg should be at the bottom with the grinds).
Coffee in the Office: Caffeine Related Stats [Infographic]
This infographic from Consultant Services Group and Life In The Office Blog shows some interesting coffee statistics.
The infographic will show the caffeine to calorie ratio of many of our favorite caffeinated beverages as well as debunk some typical caffeine and coffee myths.
Alex Duetto II by Izzo Dual Boiler Espresso Machine Overview
This past week at Barista Lab we took a quick walkthrough of the Alex Duetto II by Izzo.
Duetto II Stand Out Features
- PID
- Dual Boiler
- No Burn Steam and Hot Water Arms
- E61 Brew Group
- All stainless steel construction
- Rotary pump
- Easily switch from pour over to plumbed in
We haven't seen many E61 brew groups that are PID controlled and have a dual boiler, so that's what makes the Alex Duetto fairly unique. It's been out for a year or so now and it's a hard machine to keep in stock, so we suggest you at least put a pre order in when you're waiting for it to be restocked.
At the moment we're throwing in an awesome package deal with this machine including cafelat accessories and everything else you'll need to get started making espresso at home. An extra bonus if you need a grinder is that we offer 15% off if you buy a Baratza Virtuoso Preciso or Vario with the Alex Duetto II.
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