iWaki Cold Drip

iWaki Cold Drip

We bought a cold drip maker a few years ago in Japan and I put it in the cupboard and forgot about it, yesterday Kim made some Iced Tea and that reminded me of the Cold Drip Maker so I went and found it. The instructions are in Japanese so I did a quick Google and found a Video that said it was it was 40grams coffee to 450mills water. The infusion time should be about 12 hours.

 So I ground the coffee possibly a bit fine but it smelled amazing, I then poured some cold water in to start the infusion.

I let in infuse for a few minutes then I put the top chamber on it and poured cold water into it.

The whole process took about 4 hours and I did some more research which suggests using 370ml of cold water and about 80 grams of ice and that will slow the process down. I will try that in a few days.

The coffee had no bitterness to it but it was strong so I added some water to it.  I will get some filter beans on the weekend and give it another go.
Thanks for reading
Kind E-gards
Dale Stewart

Campos Meet The Roaster

 

Campos Meet The Roaster

A few weeks ago my Coffee Angel Tess told me about this event at Colab Espresso and I was not sure what to expect from it but it sounded interesting. It started at 5:30pm but with traffic we got there a bit after 6 pm.

The Café is a very clean, sharp and modern looking. They had Moonshine on entry and it was very sweet and alcoholic . They had transformed the warehouse to show the coffee machine's internals.

 

 

 

They had coffee samples going, free beer and food, at about 6:30pm they introduced us to Will,  Will was a lovely down to earth guy. It was an amazing story how when he started his first café he failed and that's what encouraged him to succeed. Campos is all about specialty coffee. Specialty means a pursuit, area of study, or skill to which someone has devoted much time and effort and in which they are expert. Specialty Coffee is the way you look after the roaster and how they look after the beans. Specialty is about the care factor from the farm to your coffee cup. It was really good just chatting to him about all things coffee and seeing that passion and love for coffee. Coffee is really a magical bean that brings many people together.
We got a show bag when we left.

 

 

 It was a great night
Thanks for reading
Kind E-gards
Dale

 

November Already

November Already

I don't know where the last 2 months have gone but I guess the family being sick again hasn't helped at all. Iris has started walking in the last few days so now we need to follow her all the time.

 

 

With the coffee I was using Little Chloe's white blend and that was a smooth and light blend.

 

The Cote Terra Milk blend was a stronger coffee and had a bolder flavor.

 

My Latte' art has its good days and bad days lol
Other than that life is chaotic in a good way.
Thanks for reading
Kind E-gards
Dale

Hints & Tricks For Filter

Hints & Tricks For Filter

 I have been using a lot of different filter beans and honestly i prefer doing filter because I find it easier to control and when doing espresso's and latte' you can waste a lot of beans getting the right grind. Filter coffee are really based on three things.

1: The temperature of the water, I don't use any temp above 94 Degrees as i find it can burn the ground beans.

2: The grind, the grind can vary between Aeropress, Clever dripper, Syphon and Pour Over / Chemex. Using a conical burr grinder is the best way to go to give you a consitant grind.



3: The beans, all beans grind differently so its a bit of practice but worth it.
There are many websites that give you some basic to complex methods but it all comes down to personal taste.

Have i missed anything?
Let me know.
Kind E-gards
Dale

Wood & Co Beans

Wood & Co Beans

I have never heard of Wood & Co Roasting company until recently when i went to Platform 7 and suddenly i find it in random places. I got my current batch from Cote Terra while i was trying some other unique coffees. As i sit her sipping on my cup of peaches / plum very fruity coffee and contemplate using the rest of the beans for a cold drip.  While trying to wake up from so many restless nights and a busy week of work.  But i have enjoyed this bag of coffee and will get another one.

 I always try to make the coffee multiple ways and since i pulled out the Syphon i might as well use it until i need to throw the mesh filter away. The recipe i used is here.

A Syphon makes a lighter coffee but its a lot more work especially with cleaning but its like getting your hair cut, just a relaxing process.

I made the coffee as a Pour Over and a Clever Dripper but found the best results as a Syphon.
Do you make Syphons?

Thanks for reading
Kind E-Gards
Dale

Second Wife

Second Wife 

We had planned to go to Terror Twilight Collingwood on Sunday as we had been told it was very good, but plans changed and off we went to Second Wife in Boxhill. Its behind the Hospital in small court underneath some new apartments. Its a beautifully designed Cafe with a lovely mural on the wall.

They have a lovely menu and i decided to go for the Okonomiyaki Pancake which is a Japanese Cabbage Pancake, I am used to the massive ones you get normally but here you received 4 smaller ones but they looked very pretty.  They are juicy with a crispy outside and they have a lot of flavour. The smoked salmon added a bit of saltiness but worked together well.

Kim ordered a bowl that you design the way you want. The chicken was moist and the steamed vegetables were cooked perfectly.

The food was lovely and the coffee hit the spot. Its a great little brunch spot and if you are in Boxhill Head over and have a taste.
Kind E-Gards
Dale

Filter Beans from India & Syphon Recipe

Filter Beans from India 7 Syphon Recipe

I went to Cote Terra on Sunday to have some coffee with friends. While there I bumped into Tess from Tesspresso and she said Joel had roasted some beans from India. Most people have said Indian coffee beans are terrible but you can get terrible beans from anywhere. If you get the best beans youcan make magic happen and these beans are magical. I don't normally make coffee syphons but these beans deserve the best.
The Recipe I used.
16 grams coffee
250 Mls at 94 degrees.

I poured the coffee into the top section and stirred 4 times and at 50seconds i turned off the heat.

Normally i can get some flavours but this was unique,  like earthy tones, sharp flavours but i don't know how to describe it but just awesome.  I also made some pour overs.

I still love making filter coffee's as the flavour can vary so much with each brew.
Kind E-gards
Dale