Spring into humor - introducing The Corner Drip comic · Saturday April 18, 2009 by colin newell
From the pen and ink of Dea Jenmorri and the madness of writer Colin Newell – comes the new cafe comic strip Corner Drip. Fans of the Coffeecrew website have been exposed in the past to the odd bit of artistic output. Now we are at it again. From time to time we will lighten up the blog a bit with episodes of Corner Drip featuring Jess, the 30-something / 40-something slacker and his cohort cast of odd-balls that hang out at the local coffee joint.
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Spring coffee style chapter 3 french press it · Saturday April 18, 2009 by colin newell
In the photo below – the “Barista Action Figure” pole dances on a 25 year old Melior coffee press. I know – the behavior is in bad taste for the action figure… but the coffee tastes great!
In my kitchen, the French press (or Bodum or Melior) coffee maker is king. And so it would seem – that this way of making coffee is catching on in the cafe as well.
During a recent visit to one of my favorite cafes in Victoria B.C. Canada – Khona Coffee… I discovered that they do coffee a lot of different ways.
One of them, the Aeropress, came as something of a surprise to me.I mean, where else can you order a cup of coffee brewed French Press, or Single origin espresso or French press or good old drip? Well – there are a few places in Victoria. Victoria is one of the few places in Canada that has every imaginable method of brewed coffee on the menu.
Getting coffee your way seems to be the motto around these parts.
Back to my modest kitchen for a moment. I use a press pot almost 90% of the time now. There was a time that I had a resident espresso machine. No more. I do have an ESE Pod machine (more on that in a future blog).
Anyway. My recipe. I use a family sized Bodum. Probably holds about 24 fluid ounces of water. I tend to put in 18 fluid ounces (I will measure next time I promise…) About 1 heaping tablespoon of ground coffee per 6 – 8 fluid ounces of water. Water just off the boil. And I steep it for 3 minutes sharp after stirring or agitating for 10s – and then press the plunger down.
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Spring into action - everything in bloom - Victoria B.C. · Saturday April 18, 2009 by colin newell
Sex. It’s in the air apparently. My main coffee plant, that bloomed and bore fruit over Christmas is at it again… in full bloom. Click on the photo below
I asked Coffee expert Joachim Oster of Blue Horse Kona in Hawaii – what the heck was up with all this propagation?
His reply… “The coffee plant is asexual. It can, pretty much, get it on whenever it feels like – especially if you provide a suitably sexy environment for it; you know, light and food and a little companionship.”
It has all of that. I even talk to it from time to time, scratching its leaves uttering… “You are a good coffee plant! Yes you are! Yes you are!
You get the idea.
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Spring coffee styles - Otto espresso changes the World · Saturday April 11, 2009 by colin newell
I think it is pretty normal to want to make your mark on the World. My theory is: There are 3 ways you can leave the Planet better than you found it… and therefore leave a lasting legacy…
- Find a cure for a nasty infirmity, thereby giving life to someone who might think up some additional solutions to life’s little problems.
- Invent a more efficient or a better way of getting groups of people from one place to another – you know, like a better train or plane engine… something that takes a drop of eco-fuel and transports us 100 miles. And by getting people together, we might fight less.
- Give the World a new coffee maker. Something that would force us to take a moment away from our hamster cage – if only to chill out, enjoy a cup and think of something that might actually help humankind.
At 37 years of age, Sydney Australia resident Craig Hiron has spent the last 5 years working on his contribution to World peace – with a physical addition to the specialty coffee mosaic.
His baby is Otto – Otto is a revolutionary new re-interpretation of a classic coffee maker – The original Atomic was quickly slipping into the darkened recesses of quirky and obsessive antique collectors shelves worldwide.
Otto is named after the first born child of dear friends and mentors Anton and Nikki – who provided much of the inspiration and motivation for the task. Many of Craig’s friends have contributed in their own special way, monetary and otherwise. Craig’s primary source of fuel for this project has come from a creative fiduciary – a multi-threaded approach involving vaporizing credit cards, borrowing against the value of his home, and getting existing vendors buzzed on the future potential of his little coffee maker.
The way I see it, you really, really have to love coffee culture to go this distance. I spoke to Craig yesterday for a half hour. And the product of that conversation will begin a audio series that I am going to call The Coffee People – or something like that. Available on the Coffeecrew blog in the upcoming weeks and months.
We asked Craig about the journey… the whole process and adventure of creating something new and innovative… with all the stresses and strains and growing pains. And I paraphrase…
“It’s like climbing a mountain. There doesn’t seem to be much time spent enjoying the view. It is more about watching your footing on the way up. Little time for savoring the moment. That will come when Otto takes its first steps…”
Trust me Craig. The World will be watching… and welcoming.
Colin Newell lives and works in Victoria B.C. Canada. His writing on the subject of specialty coffee will be a mere historic footnote quickly forgotten. He will, on the other hand, be talking to the history makers.
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