Dalla Corte Bamboo Edition

There are many super cool modifications of coffee gear out there.

Both large and small projects.

At the Danish coffee forum Espressobar.Dk,  a guy who goes by the name TheBat18, made ​​a (in my perspective) unique stroke of genius with his Dalla Corte Mini.

The site is in Danish, and the thread can be seen and followed here:
http://www.espressobar.dk/forums/showthread.php?6075-Gode-ideer-til-mods-af-Dalla-Corte-Mini/page2

Also TheBat has given me permission to link his flickr page, since it’s still an ongoing project.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/1495119...7633410488907/

For those out there who are not as sharp in Danish, I will quickly give an explanation some of the images as good as I can. I will not go into the techniques and approach, as I have no knowledge of how it’s done.

He has chosen to make bamboo panels for his Dalla Corte.

He has designed a special mold the bamboo plates will be shaped in.

Afterwards the panels have had the necessary holes cut in a laser.

Everything is completed with finesse and perfection.

It is an insanely ambitious project this one. 

The results indicate a designer who does not compromise with quality.

Furthermore the electronics has been given a significant upgrade as well. 

Espresso Summer Beverage

It is that time of year when the weather gets warmer and drinks such as espresso and cappuccino quickly become heavy to drink.

On this occasion I am about to share my own cold coffee favorites.

The traditional iced coffee:

The every time winner is a traditional iced coffee, I like it strong with just a little sweet.

Put three ice cubes in a 300 ml shaker, brew a double shot of espresso directly on top of the ice. 

Then add two teaspoons cane sugar and pour milk in the up to the 250 ml mark.

Now shake hard in a minute so that everything is mixed and not least cooled really well.

Of course you can increase or reduce the amount of milk to your taste.

Pour the iced coffee in a suitable sized glass, and add a few ice cubes more.

The above recipe makes a soft milk drink with a strong taste of coffee. It is perfect when you need your coffee kick in the heat.

The funny one:

This recipe I came across last year. When I read it I thought it sounded strange, and did not have high expectations. But I got pleasantly surprised.

Brew a double shot of espresso into a regular size water glass with a lot of ice cubes in. Fill up the glass with club soda.

It is a very simple recipe, and in its simplicity it’s basically a cold americano, just with club soda. It is incredibly fresh, and it tastes really good. One is tempted to believe the sparkles and espresso is too strange, but because it is cold it goes quite well together.

Have fun and a good summer

Chemex Bonded Filters In V60

When you brew your coffee on the V60, you have countless opportunities to vary the cup from day to day.

Should you nevertheless get the urge to try something new, Chemex filters are a cheap and very good option.

Chemex filter is thicker than the original V60 filters even when it’s not folded, and if you use the halfmoon technique you get a very thick tip at the bottom, therefore the coffee is filtered in a completely different way.

It's very evident in the cup you brew. The coffee is very round, smooth and mild. If you are into the deep notes with lots of chocolate, it’s a great option to use the thicker Chemex filters.

Because if the many thick layers of filter, the acidity level becomes low. I like my coffee deep and strong, and if you already have a favorite chokolate note coffee at your V60 - you are defiantly going to enjoy that same coffee, brewed with Chemex filters. 

The procedure is the same for both filters. The Chemex filter is folded and placed in the V60. Grind your coffee as you would on V60 and brew exactly the same way as usual.

One thing i did change, was the length of the filter, i cut a suiteable piece off with a siscor.

Because the filter is so much thicker, you get a cup where the oils are less prominent. This method is in my view not very good for beans with high acid content, as it is almost working against each other.

I used a 1 cup V60, and as seen in the pictures below the fit is not perfect. Even so, it holds and brews just fine, because the filter is so thick, that it doesn’t need to rest against anything.

But be carefull to fill it up to much, it will get softer and weaker.

The conclusion I can draw is, that it’s the filter that makes the big difference and the V60 represents only a simple holder without purposes.

By looking at pictures of the Chemex pitcher, I’m pretty curtain that the angle is also 60 degrees.  

It is a beautiful coffee brewer, so buying it is defiantly also an option

It is certainly a unique opportunity to brew in a new way, without having to spend a lot of money using your V60 for the purpose.

Besides the V60, i have found that my waterpitcher is a super option for 500 ml brews as well ! Only imagination sets the limits :)