insects and Coffee

just a quick test note to test the WordPress posting APP.

here at cafe Vita, nice espresso tonight.

here for an Olympia All Ages Project meeting.

:)

Here is an open invitation to all coffee folks…

June 5th from 8pm to 10pm the Dancing Goats Espresso Bar will be hosting some sort of a Throwdown that Sasha King is putting together before she up and leaves us all here in the NW to head off to NY to work with the Folks at Grumpy’s Cafe.

This is dave White’s Blue Cap Cider, I believe he told me it was a Jonah Gold Blend (or was that Single Origin Jonah Gold). Update: Turns out this batch of cider is a blend of Jonathon and Golden.

Once again nicely done Dave! Very clear, almost zero sediment in the bottle.

Notes: Opened and Consumed on 05/12/2008

• Aroma: A little yeasty (not unpleasant, just more so than the Red Cap Blend), and that of crisp light apples; delicate.
• Flavor: Yeasty, lime, apple crisp, dry with an underlying sweetsness (not so much sweet as the idea of sweet), crisp and clean.
• Overall Thoughts: I need more than 12 oz. Refreshing. Nothing bad, the Yeasty flavors not unpleasent, and may pass with little more age in the bottle. Better than most commercial “hard” ciders. The predominant flavor I remember back on is the Lime! Simple, or rather not complex. dig it!

A nice finish to a long day.

Thanks for sharing Dave.

Then again all my days seems too long of late… soon all will be good.

Headed up to Seattle to set-up an Espresso machine in the Meadowsweet Farms (milk) booth, at the NWFS Trade Show.

Back to Olympia just in time to catch a swarm of bees and hive them.

Then back to the cafe… closing the shop and then practicing my espresso, latte kung-fu (to relax; burnt thru 2# of coffee and a gallon of milk).

Highlight of the day, catching the swarm. Always exciting! Even more exciting is seeing the swarm take flight from a hive, the sky seems alive and 20,000 bees in the air in a relatively small area is pretty impressive. When I got home, for they were in my backyard, they had already clumped together in a tree.

Been offline for a few weeks now, sick and tired, workin’ way to much, but first thing… before I forget…

Dave White! Your Cyder was fabulous! (Oly Blend Red Cap)

Tasting Notes: grapefruit (maybe grapefruit zest even), clean and dry, honeydew mellon, light, crisp, acidity light, touch of tannis in the front but quickly passing. white grape, and apple (could not put my tounge on what apple, delicate and elusive). Refreshing, one bottle left me wanting more… great backyard summer day beverage.

Thanks Dave. (I opened this bottle on 04.22.2008)

…the color was great too. Clean, not much sediment at the bottom of the bottle either.

2:1 sugar:water
3:2 sugar:water + one vanilla bean

<<< Just a quick note so that I remember.

elvin iPod message

So… I’ve been thinking about competing for years now, and I am now putting my name in the hat; or rather Throwing my Hat in the ring.

The one thing that has kept me from competing up to this point has been the Signature Drink. Yes the Signature Drink… I have always thought that it ought to be something that a barista could make at the Cafe with out missing a step or slowing down the line. Yet creating a drink that is new(creative) and tasty and simple and elegant, without covering the delicate flavors of espresso is not the easiest to do. My hats off to all the Barista Competitors that have accomplished this.

So, I embark on the daunting task of creating such a beverage.

…and to the rigors of training to compete in front of my Baristi peers.

I’ve had this idea to make an espresso based drink with Bee Pollen in it… and today was the day. Took some pollen down to the cafe and worked on a few different ideas. Alas, none of them turned out good at all. :(

The pollen mixed with the espresso turned out a drink that was just too pungent, earthy, and well… the idea of “Here, drink this! It’s good for you! ”

Not what I’m lookin’ to make.

What I am after is a drink that brings my to worlds together… that of Bugs and Coffee, and tastes great. Well, it’s back to the drawing board for me.

so… here it is the makings for Cola.got to it last night and today made Cola Cappuccinos in the Cafe. over all response was good to excellent.

I think I’ll try tweaking the recipe, making it a little spicier using some hot pepper, maybe a little more black pepper(spicy Cola—just sounds good to me).also tried this syrup in seltzer water! Zing!!! it was great! hand crafted Quick Cola. twas good, real good, much better that trying to make it in to a coffee/espresso beverage. then again I’m just not a fan of sweet flavored coffee beverages, so I’m not the best judge of my Cola creation.

Notes: for this Cola batch I used the Ethiopian Limu, I was looking to put some of that coffee fruitiness in the Cola.

Update 02/27/2008: got to thinking about this recipe… I think there is too much vanilla in it… could not place my finger on the flavor that I was tasting… but now I know! Cream Soda! this recipe was more of a cream soda syrup than a cola syrup. >>> if I make this “cola” again it will be a lot different… I guess that would make it not this recipe at all.

To the Point: Too Much Vanilla.

sugar, water, lemon juice, lemon zest, cracked black pepper, crushed coffee…

boil until sugar is melted, cool, strain.

>>>Cola Syrup.

…at this point one can add the syrup to anything: soda to make a Quick Cola Beverage. brew it like a traditional yeast soda. add to coffee …ect.

black pepper… I’d like to figure a way to get this into a coffee drink; I think it would go well, in moderation of course.

tonight I concocted a rosemary simple syrup. it is very light in flavor, I might need to try it again and use more rosemary. I’ll take it to the Cafe tomorrow and see what the baristas think.

still need to get Fraiogh onto her hot pepper drink, have her get it into the shop that is.

Emeril’s Cola Syrup Recipe:

1 cup granulated sugar
10 whole black peppercorns, cracked
1 lemon peeled (wide strips no pith), juiced and strained
1 cup water
1/4 cup crushed coffee beans
1 cinnamon stick
Whole vanilla bean(split and scraped).

Simmer all ingredients for 10 minutes. Cool to room temperature, cover, and steep refrigerated for several hours(up to overnight).

Strain through a fine sieve.

Yield: about 1 3/4 cups syrup

A long drive to Portland last night, down… back to Oly almost as I reached the bridge, just as I was smelling the Espresso that I would have the folks from Albina Press make for me (forgot something, one of the reasons for going to PDX in the first place… Ok, so we forgot the Cello we were dropping off with the Tour Van, Mira’s crew would not have been happy at all, for a band without their instruments in no band at all). …and then back to PDX again.

Alas, woke this morning a few blocks from Extracto and got an Espresso from them (they were top on my list for this morning). Currently serving Del Sol (Vita’s Blend), looking to start roasting there own soon: it was nice, no complaints, it was like Chocolate-Cherry Water. Sweet, delicate, lighter bodied than I prefer, but no complaints, served right about an ounce in volume.

I hope I did not come across as rude for my lack of excitement to the news of them having Vita’s Del Sol, until now it has never been so good. Could be most of Vita’s Espressos have been served to me at restaurants, and we all know how that can go.

…and back to Oly again.