Summer coffee sensations from Drumroaster Coffee Cobble Hill B.C. · Saturday July 30, 2011 by colin newell
Stopped in at Drumroaster Coffee in Cobble Hill, British Columbia (on the way to Chemainus theater for “Fiddle on the roof…”) and had a solid hour or so to talk story with coffee wunderkind Carsen Oglend – son of Geir and Pat Oglend.
Click on the photo at left for the zoomed in view
Had this rare Kenyan over ice (will fill in the details later on preparation).
This was, without hesitation, the best cup of iced coffee I have ever had. I have been drinking coffee, loyally, since the late 70’s and, as iced coffees go, this was extraordinary… other-Worldly… emotionally moving.
The cup was so full of spice and citrus that I would have thought that something was added – but no. It was traditionally prepared filter coffee, served black and on ice – brewed somewhat strong so that as the ice melts, the coffee assumes the proper concentration. Carsen offered to send me the exact details for making a similar iced coffee – just remember folks, you have to brew your coffee traditionally before assembling the “ice brew”. I have had some spectacular iced teas in my life – and this was the first in what will, no doubt, be an evolution of amazing iced coffee beverages.
I brewed a hot Hario pour over of this coffee today — a tad on the fast side – and got a result that was very fragrant, floral with notes of jasmine, strawberries and black tea. Was very un-coffee like with some pretty big citrus notes poking through.
Click on the little photo at left for the much bigger photo!
Geir and Pat were running an errand downtown so Carsen held the fort and chatted with us as time permitted. At some point during the visit, Tamper man Reg Barber appeared out of thin air as he often does. And then vanished again…
Carsen explains the technique for making the best iced coffee with this bean…
I like to use a coffee with a higher acidity and a more fruit forward flavor profile like an Ethiopia, Kenya or northern Guat. I find that brightness cuts through better in the cup.
Start by getting out your pour-over setup. Use the normal 60g/L brew ratio. I tend to do my brews with 30g/500ml.
The trick to the iced brew is to use half of your brew volume with ice, then the other half with hot water. Put the ice into your brewing vessel, and do your normal pour over routine with the bloom, etc., just use 50% of the normal amount of water.
Make sure you’re brewing directly onto the ice, adding ice to a double-strength brew doesn’t work.
Here’s my recipe: 30g ground coffee – 250g small cubed ice (big cubes aren’t as good). You can experiment with up to 300 grams of ice…doesn’t seem to make a huge difference in strength. – 250g hot water
Note the key tip above: Brew the coffee directly onto the ice! It’s key.
Carsen regaled us with a fascinating dialog on the coffee scene in London, England – and San Francisco (where we will be heading for a week in August…) Carsen needs to have his own audio podcast on the subject of coffee and travel – I could have listened to him for hours.
As I said to Carsen prior to leaving for Chemainus… “There is so much in this iced coffee serving that I did not expect… fruit, citrus and the sense that the brew has been extended with the addition of Botanicals or herbs and spices – much in the same way you would infuse a mash in the gin distillation process.
More on this subject soon!
Victoria Summer 2011 Design ideas from Italy Chapter 2 · Sunday July 24, 2011 by colin newell
A P.R. firm in Italy has spent the last 13 months coming up with a re-branding for their product.
13 months and this is what they came up with.
Feel free to click on the photo for the slighter larger view…
I have been polling this story pretty broadly and so far only one guy (a colleague that lives and works in Taiwan) thinks it’s OK to lampoon, minimize, diminish or profit from the misery of the past.
Example: There is a good reason why we discourage commercial use of images of Nazism and Adolf Hitler in ad media around the World.
And for similar reasons, the embracing of multiculturalism and leaving behind of old stuffy racist colonial thinking is known as progress.
The image above was custom made, for me, by the P.R. firm in Italy with the designer begging me for a change of heart with a frequent; “What? WHAT? What is wrong with using this lovely plump African woman dressed in 19th Century clothing to help sell espresso beans?”
My attempts at explaining my position on this matter have prompted more; “What? What? I don’t get it…”
Help me out here folks: Using racial stereotypes to sell stuff in Europe is not, like, this common, is it?
And for the record, the White guy that lives and works in Taiwan does embarrassing impersonations of Chinese Cab drivers that would have fallen flat on a 50 year old episode of the Ed Sullivan show – still, I appreciate all opinions…
Especially yours!
Victoria Summer 2011 About Victoria - Kicking it old school with Yoka · Sunday July 10, 2011 by colin newell
I am a big advocate for buying your coffee whole bean – recently roasted and ideally direct from the roaster.
That way you know what you are getting, you are supporting local business and getting a product that is fresh and ideal for immediate consumption.
Photo left – Yoka keeps it old school at #5- 1046 Mason Street in the historic North Park neighborhood – High Cook near Wellburns Grocery
Here is the thing about coffee. It is a food product and like many others, has a freshness sweet spot. And to put this into perspective, whole bean or ground coffee is not like a bowl of rice or lentils or flour that can sit in a fairly air tight container indefinitely.
It is more like a bowl of fruit or a head of lettuce. And we all know that these food items are fairly fragile and only consumable for X number of days.
So how long is freshly roasted coffee good for? Opinions vary but it generally accepted that whole bean coffee is most ideal between 3 and 11 days off the roast day. Some folks extend this a bit but here is the thing. The moment coffee is roasted, it starts to give off carbon dioxide and this degassing process protects the coffee from the inevitable incursion of oxygen (the oxidizer) which stales coffee. Coffees degas at different rates but it is a given that whole bean coffee has the best and freshest flavor to offer between 3 and 7 days off roast. Between 7 to 12 days, the beans are running out of CO2 to release – and after that, the oxygen makes swift work of robbing the coffee of its great taste.
Yoka and her partner Tristan have been running a coffee roaster and shop since 1983 in Vancouver and recently moved their operation to Victoria for a change of pace. In addition to a wide selection of darker roast old origin coffees, they offer whole Belgian chocolate and local honey. There is a seating area for sipping on of their brews and they have a single group Rancilio for an espresso, latte or cappuccino.
Yoka runs a neat operation in that it is somewhat old school – fresh roast coffee in glass bins, old style weighing scales and a roaster in the main room. They event won a Hallmark heritage nod on the update and redesigns to the building on Mason.
Their roast profiles tend to roll towards the darker of the spectrum and get this, they have 3 different roast profiles on the Swiss Water organic decaf – the best decaf in the World… that is produced in Burnaby of all places.
Yoka’s shop is open Tuesday to Saturday 9AM til late in the afternoon – come on by and make sure you tell them that Colin sent you!
Victoria Summer 2011 About Victoria - Victory Chapter 3 · Saturday July 9, 2011 by colin newell
We spoke with Matthew Conrad of Victory Barbers yesterday prior to and during a much needed haircut.
Victory Barbers and hard goods for Men is the latest addition to the Atrium on Blanshard – also housing Habit Coffee and Culture, Cook Culture, AJ Organic, Zambri’s and PIG BBQ – a welcome addition indeed.
Photo at left – Matthew Conrad (and Victory Barber mascot “Belle”) holds down the fort at Victory Barbers – Victoria
Sensing the need for a male enclave, Matthew has built this around his own vision but also based on encouragement and recruitment from the likes of Shane Devereaux of Habit Coffee and the ever benevolent Jawl Properties – the owners of the building.
Matthew notes, “Victoria is saturated with Salons – the ladies are well represented in Victoria…” “The classic barber seemed to be near extinction, but the demand has never disappeared…”
In some ways, the craft of male grooming was on the decline in Victoria – but for the staff of Victory, all was not lost. Each of Victory’s skilled scissor wizards (including two lovely ladies) had training from a master barber. And it shows. You feel like you are there – in a modern day wild west version of the classic masculine enclave.
For Matthew and his crew, this joint is all about honest to goodness male grooming without the stigma or labeling of “metrosexuality” – simply, Victory Barbers is a man’s World… inside the confines of the salon. Outside, you are on your own.
My salon barber, Kim, circles skillfully with razor sharp shears taking my reasonable sparse pate to a more civilized place – a better place – a manly place.
I leave the chair and the salon with a rugged Bruce Willis (slight more hair) look. No nonsense.
Matthew concludes, “You might not want a straight razor and hot towel shave every day… but you might love one once a month… a treat. Guys need to indulge themselves occasionally…”
And I agree wholeheartedly.
Victory Barbers is open 6 days a week for walk ins or with a reservation.
