Learn the drinks before you serve them · Thursday July 6, 2006 by colin newell
My wife was served a lousy specialty coffee the other day.
The World needs to know.
To start with, my wife does not drink coffee. She drinks Tea. When she has coffee, it is a special occasion.
What was the occasion?
Uhm. I had just bought some hiking boots at Mountain Equipment Co-op in Victoria, B.C. and I needed to run down to Lens & Shutter to grab some film for the West Coast trip on the weekend.
The occasion you ask?
Well. She was in work shoes and wanted to chill while I flew, sub-light speed, down to L&S to grab my film. It is about 8 city blocks. By the time I would get back, the microfoam on her coffee would have hardly settled.
Wrong.
She stepped into Fresh Cup Roastery Cafe on Government at the corner of Pandora. Great location.
New staff apparently.
As I buzzed off toward the camera store, she ordered a Cafe au Lait. Now we all know what a Cafe au Lait is right? Yes we do.
She listened to the barista ask the manager how to make a Cafe au Lait. That was the beginning of my wife’s Cafe trip into Doom.
The manager said: “First you take a shot of espresso”...
Wrong!
“Then you take some hot water and put it in the cup.”
WRONG!
“Then you add foamed milk to it.”
Wrong wrong wrong!
By the time I came back from Lens and Shutter, she had taken one or two mouthfuls.
She said: “This is the worse cup of coffee I have ever had.”
Although I do not drink milk, I had to try it.
Sure enough. It sucked. Big time.
Look people – if you are going to make a beverage and charge me for it, do it right.
Fresh cup roastery will be installing a roaster shortly at this location.
Hopefully they will get their shit together.
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Great coffee - start from the top... · Tuesday July 4, 2006 by colin newell
Synesso, Aeropress, Clover, Baratza Virtuoso, Cup-of-Excellence, Panama hat…
huh?
The last six monthes have been a wake-up call for me. There has been an endless stream of things to get a handle on and a mouthful of words and terms to file away with suitable explanations.
All the while, we have been thinking about branding our website some, if only for fun.
Ok. Well, ball-cap? T-Shirt? Coffee-mug?
What would people want, if they wanted a piece of our online thing?
How about a hat? Something with style?
A Panama hat.
Haven’t you always wanted a Panama Hat?
Truth be told – my hair is not getting thicker as I get older.
And the ozone layer is not getting thicker either.
Seems I burn way quicker.
And if I ever want to spend a day or a week picking coffee, I will need some protection.
Well here it is.
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Mini-restaurant review - Zambri's Victoria · Saturday July 1, 2006 by colin newell
Attended a retirement dinner last night at Zambri’s Restaurant. Located in a faceless Yates Street Mall just up from Quadra Street, Zambri’s has made a name for themselves serving the freshest of slow-food, sourced from all-local suppliers of organic veg and meat.
Slow-food.
What is it?
No… No, it is not slow service. Quite the opposite.
In Zambri’s case, it is a wonderful example of quality dishes prepared fresh and served in no perceptible rush.
And rush we did not.
We arrived (on time) at 7 PM.
We were immediately handed a sparkling wine beverage.
We had one of the party rooms in the back. It is a bit sterile with a careful selection of local art hung on an otherwise unremarkable wall.
The windows looks out over the View Towers entrance. If you know Victoria, you know the View Towers. It used to be a very lively residence housing some of Victoria’s most colorful individuals.
Anyho. After all the guests had arrived and settled in, platters of antipasti started to filter in. They were good. All good. Nothing out of the ordinary mind you – just predictable offerings like brucshetta, polenta, deep fried cauliflower, tuna and potato salad and the like.
Again, at Zambri’s it is not about knocking you out of the park with drop dead amazing flavors – it is about the simple things done right.
Our main course was an offering of Fish (Salmon) or Poultry (Chicken), again simply prepared with a few twists.
There were two choices for dessert: Tiramisu or Pizelle with fresh organic strawberries. They were both wonderful.
This was a group event. My wife and I will be going back for the romantic couple experience!
Slow-food indeed! We finally left (almost the last people out) at about 11:15PM! I had about one glass of sparkling white-wine, a half-glass of a mystery red wine and a mug of 1/2-Caf with my tiramisu. I was one satisfied diner.
And you will be too! Bon apetit folks!
Presenting the Baratza Virtuoso grinder blog · Friday June 30, 2006 by colin newell
That is right folks – there is nothing else like this on the Planet.
At least – we are pretty sure.
I have asked Ottawa Dave to participate with me on this one.
We will talk about the Virtuoso Grinder.
A lot.
Enjoy!
