Pronto From Strandvejsristeriet

Pronto

The third and last coffee from Strandvejsristeriet is called Pronto. 

This is a blend containing Robusta. Not something that's common in these days with light roasts. I've heard many good things about this blend on our Danish coffee community Espressobar. 

Many people has an opinion about robusta, mainly because it's used for discount coffee and it's very bitter. 

But what many seems to forget, is that also high quality Robusta is produced by micro lots with great passion, not only minding profit. 

A gentle and well considered amount of robusta, in a blend, can be very very tasty. Especially if the consumer enjoy milk in their espresso. Luckily I fit that description, and that's why I look forward to this blend. 

Strandvejsristeriet describes it as sweet and fat, suitable as straight espresso or cortado. 

Pronto contains 15% high quality Indian Robusta, and 85% arabica. 

It's a lovely dark roast, and the smell is pleasant, the characteristic smell of Robusta, rubber'ish, is also present, but not in a way that makes it bad.

I'm a little gentle with the dosage, expecting it to be strong and powerful. I dose 16 grams trying to hit 25 grams of espresso in 25-30 sec.

After dialing it in which required a few shots, because it's a bit darker than my last bean, it ran very good, didn't see blonding at all actually. 

It's a very heavy espresso, super rich and lots of crema. As I assumed its a strong one. The flavors that come to mind is, chocolate, almonds and more chocolate. Last but not least sweet ! It's a well balanced blend, especially considering the robusta. Not drinking much straight espresso, it's a tad strong for me. A little like a high percentage special brew ale. I love the taste, but when I'm half way thru the taste is too overwhelming. Luxury problems i call it. 

It's a long time since I've had an WAUW feeling with espresso, but Pronto as a cappa sure made my day. A superb balance between the taste of coffee and hot chocolate is what I got. The strong coffee and robusta cuts right thru the milk and blends in with perfection. Did the suggested Cortado as well, and it was good but still a little too strong for me. But that's a matter of opinion and taste. 

The main thing about this blend is, that Strandvejsristeriet has made a statement, trying to compete with Brazil based blends. And they have indeed succeeded. My biggest recommendations to Pronto, and Strandvejsristeriet in general. What I have seen and tasted is a convincing handling and distribution of quality roasts. 

Once again we thank Strandvejsristeriet for giving us the opportunity to review their coffee. 

Pronto can be purchased at 

 http://www.strandvejsristeriet.dk/produkt/espressoblend-pronto/

  

Espro Toroid Steam Pitcher - Review

At Coffee Channel we came across this pitcher. It seems to good to be true. Luckily Øristeriet has supplied us with one, we can test.
Basically Espro claims that your able to produce flawless microfoam with very little effort.

First off is the official presentation 
http://espro.ca/toroid/

Following this link, you can see a full presentation and a video
For some reason I can't insert the video directly
Only our pitcher is a version one !

As shown in the video, the steamwand could be placed right in center, and the bump in the bottom of the pitcher should do the work.

What made me wonder, is that the pitcher isn't used in the video. There's only animated illustrations of the functionality. Also, there's no actual latte art pouring. Only pictures, of latte art drawn with chocolate ?

I have tried approaching the steaming in different ways, and also filmed the attempts.
It can be rather difficult filming and steaming simultaneously, but you should be able to get the bigger picture.




First off I tried like the presentation, right in the center. No movement at all.

The result is actually pretty good. It's hard to capture all the details in the video. But the foam is pretty shiny, there's a bit of hard top foam - and some bubbles. 
The foam is descent, and any one should be able to do that. With months of practice I can only imagine improvement.




Of corse I have done several attempts before shooting the videos.




To get the above result, you have to fill up at least till the spout. Any less, results in to much power at the bump in the bottom. And this

Way to much air in the milk, no way to control it either.

Next off I steamed with the same technique  as I do in my standard pitcher. A small angle, wand resting on the side, introducing a small amount of air all the time.

The result are defiantly better. Much more smooth and less bubbles.
I believe this shows, that the technique the pitcher is sold upon isn't the best one available.

Now a video of my standard pitcher and routine

No bubbles, very shiny and wet foam. I believe this is much better than with the Toroid.
That said, keep in mind I am very used to this pitcher, and I know exactly how to hold and rotate it to get the effect I want.




Conclusion
Well... I don't think the pitcher lives up to its promise.
I doesn't produce perfect microfoam with the technique shown in the presentation video. But, it does make descent foam with no effort what so ever.
Also because of the bend walls, it's tricky to pour from. You have to tilt the pitcher quite a bit to get anything out. I couldn't make any kind of art. But then again, if I gave it two months -  I'm sure I would be use to handling it.
If you are an ambitious upcoming barista, I would recommend buying a standard pitcher recommended by known baristas. Then work towards the correct technique and nice microfoam. Flawless foam requires practice and many tries. Maybe you would be able to get flawless results in the Toroid, but as a novice it doesn't make it for you.




If you would like a latte without being a geek about it, this is defiantly an option. Also my wife is fond of it already. She couldn't get the hang of my technique, so she has always done mediocre foam with a very hard top. With the Toroid she can make foam exactly like the first video. Time after time.
And honestly I have to agree with the misses. It is a prettier pitcher than the standard ones !

It can be bought from Øristeriet following This Link

Enjoy..

Panama - Duncan Estate Review

After visiting Great Coffee in Aarhus, we took a bag of their new Panama home with us.

The Panama Duncan Estate is a Arabica Bourbon, 100% organic bean. Roast master Søren Stiller describes it as tasty orange peel, blueberrys with sweet milk chocolate and notes of lemon. 

Great Coffee is a very respected and recognized roastery.Like many other roasters in the north, their doing the Nordic approach which is very light for espresso.Looking at the bag I'm just amazed. This is a clear sign, that the roast master wants nothing but perfection. A recipe for the perfect extraction.

18,5 gr dose. Extract to 34 gr espresso in 26-28 seconds, giving a brewratio at 0,54%

This tells me, that someone has made a lot of effort to make my experience with this coffee, as good as possible.But I came to miss some sort of closing system.. I had to use a bag-clamp, which is meant for the purpose I know, but the thick structure of the bag made it impossible to seal completely with the clamp. Besides that, only positive about the bag.

Still a bit worried about the light roast though.Honestly, this color would be my home roast drip coffee....

It took me quite a while to dial it in. I had to adjust, a lot, towards finer.But when I hit the recommended brew ratio, I could actually see that it ran just about perfect.

Nice dry, and hard pucks

The texture is fantastic, an the color of the crema is unbelievable ! The smell is surprisingly doll. Notes of lemon mostly.. And, if it smells like lemon, it usually tastes like lemon.

My first taste, and I looked like someone who just eat an lemon ! Really, really not my thing these light roasts.

However I have a feeling that I have to get used to the new flavors for a while. Of course I tried it as a capucinno as well, did pretty good.

So for the past week I have been sipping a bit from every shot, before turning it in to my cappa.I have to say it grows on me, there's much more flawor, liveliness and fun in a light roast.I'd still prefer my own an other darker roasts in the future.. To me they taste better. I'm just a more in to chocolate and sweetness, than fruit and apple acid.

The Panama has a medium body, with a lot of power in it. The notes of blackberry, oranges and lemon are as mentioned almost overwhelming. Getting to know the coffee, sipping it the right way, and at the right temperature, it's very tasty.When it's cooled a bit it tastes better to me. The high notes of fruit has toned down a bit. At that point the body enhances, and the darker notes are more visible. At that point I can also sense the blueberries and chocolate that the roast master describes.

I mainly consumed it as capucinno, and it was actually nice getting some variation in my coffee routines. A light fruity roast combined with rich milk is a great combination. For a while. But, for every espresso consumer there is a different opinion in taste, luckily !! This is just my opinion.

Even though I'm not the biggest fan of Nordic Approach, I do like this coffee, and I can tell its a superb roast with a lot of dedication in it.

If you are fond of light roasts, fruit, high acid and perfection. You should defiantly try this.1 kg costs 250 kr/40$ - and that's cheap for premium coffee like this !



A small bonus is, that I seem to make much better latte art with this coffee, and much easier. Maybe it's just me, but still worth mentioning !

 Still have some troubles with bubbles in light roasts

                                                                                Enjoy !

Jailbreak Blend

I'm well into the 2 kg bag of green Jailbreak Blend, I received from HasBean.

The blend contains 

(40%) Guatemala Finca Cuidad Vieja Los Jocotales Red Honey Bourbon

(40%) Nicaragua Finca Los Miligros Washed Caturra

(20%) Guatemala San Patricio El Limon Washed Caturra

This is the mk6 blend 

I have had some difficulties at the beginning, in how much heat to add. My first two roast got pretty uneven, because of the different sized beans of the three bean sorts. But when I found the right settings to my coretto I could go for the start of 2nd that Has Bean recommends. 

I also got a small bag of roasted beans, which I used as reference to my own roast. 

At my third try of 300 gr batches I got close to the color of the pre roast, but it didn't get in to second.

At this color I got to 199 c temperature 

Roasting more batches, I found that the best temperature for me is 211 c. It's a bit darker than  what Has Bean roasts, but it just hits 2nd and then I cool it.



With this temperature I get a espresso roast very suitable for capucinno. Just a tad darker and stronger than the pre roast. That's why I love roasting at home. The possibilities to change a great blend to my own preferences. 

The blend is round and very mild, with a hint of fruit and bright acid. 

The taste is balanced, rich chocolate, bright plum and the feel of almonds in the very end. Gives a full cream feel with steamed milk, especially when cooled down. 

I have done brighter and darker than my favorite 211c. 

The brighter 200-204c is also great, but not with milk. Many of the bright flavors are more powerful, the body is lighter and the acidity kicks in way more. 

Going darker than 211 isn't good for this blend. Getting half way in to 2nd is too much, almost all flavor is burned away. 

It's a great blend of high quality beans. When roasting at home you have the possibility of doing light and dark. That gives you an opening of roasting a batch for milk based drinks and one for stand alone espresso. The blend is great for both things when roasted for the purpose. The pre roasted beans are very tasty as well, but mainly for straight espresso. I liked my own roast better than the pre roasted though. 

Øristeriet - A2 Espresso Review

Øristeriet has been kind enough to send me an example 

of their new espresso blend - A2

The blend contains 

50% Yirgacheffe Misty Valley & 50% Sidamo Wotona Bultuma.
And it's organic !

Dealer describes it as a lively, fruity and fresh espresso. Very rich sweetness with deep notes of chocolate. 

Suitable for cortado in particular. 

As always with Øristeriet, I received the beans fresh from the roaster. I have had them resting for 8 days.

Opening the bag I'm surprised how light the roast is. It's very popular these days doing light roasts - keeping as many volatile aromas as possible. 

Well, since I'm primarily a cappuccino consumer, light roasts usually doesn't suit me that good. 

But the description claims it to be a great cortado blend. Besiddes, my crawing for milk shouldn't get in the way for a adequate review. 

The smell from this blend is very powerfull. Sweet almonds, and a distinguished spicy smell, in the end I sense tobacco.. 

When I try new coffee, I always go for a 50% brewratio. Usually that's what makes the best results all over for me. 

I notice once again the light roast when grinding - the noise from my major is significant louder than usual. Another thing to keep in mind buying light roast, not all grinders (small burrs) can chew its way thru light beans.

 I think the coffee is pretty easy to handle and I didn't have any problems getting the right flow. How ever I did strugle a bit with distribution. In the picture you can see a spritz from my naked filter. Usually I just grind and tamp, with this coffee i had to distribute with a finger, to prevent lot´s of sprints.

The crema is light and a bit thin, as expected of a light roast I would say. But I do have some problems with a lot of bubbles in the crema. I'm not sure if its the coffee, or my brewing. But it is consistent. 

The taste of the espresso is light and fresh. A delightful medium body, suited to the bright taste.The notes of fruit is defiantly clear. The taste, maybe more the feel, of chocolate is coming thru at the back of the tongue. At the third or fourth zip I could clearly taste tobacco notes. It did very good for the bright espresso. It's a good espresso, easy to get thru with lots of flavor. 

I wouldn't recommend it for cappuccino  and latté. Not enough deep and strong flavor for that. Of course that's my opinion. Doesn't taste bad though - just not enough. 

I also tried the recommended cortado. Better than cappa, and not a bad experience at all. The richness combined with light notes does very well. 

But, I actually liked it best as macchiato or stand alone espresso. 

Another tiny thing. Showed from my latte art progress thread I have had a really hard time, doing descent art. It's defiantly the thin bubbly crema that's tricking it for me. So, not good espresso for latte art :)

You can buy the blend at Øristeriet - or another of their always high quality coffees 

Belkin WeMo - Brilliant Invention

In my summer holidays I have spend a lot of time working with coffee at home.

I have acquired a gadget which I, at first glance, was sure I could not live without.

The amazing thing is called Wemo swicth

When you open the box, the first thing in hand is the manual, which is so simple it's made with four drawings.

First thing is to downloade the WeMo app. Go to app store and search for WeMo. 

It is pretty simple to setup. Plug it in to the device you want to control, find the WeMo wireless network on iPhone and connect. If you can not find the WeMo, just press and hold the reboot button in the end,while you put it to power, and then hold for at least 15 seconds. Then the firmware reboots, and you should be able to find the switch.

Here after you go into the app and setup the switch. Everything is made super straightforward.

It is also possible to receive a notification if the switch is activated manually.

Once you have selected the options you want, you can explore.

There are the first page where you manually turn on and off, response time is less than 1 second no matter how far away you are.

Furthermore, you can set up rules for the contact.

Here I have set it to 06:20 - the machine is then warm when I get up at 07.00. A routine can be  set for it, every day, every Thursday, etc. However, one must remember to disable it if you only need it once.

 Of course the machine must always be ON - so that the socket can supply power and remove it to an always on machine.

If you are standing at the switch and must have power, press the power button. As mentioned previously made so it can not be done wrong.

I have enjoyed the switch so much already. One can certainly do without it, no doubt about that, but when I drive home from work, it's really nice there is a warm machine to come home to. You quickly get used to the comfortable luxury, working in the garden, it's also nice just to pick up the phone when you get your urge for coffee.

If you do not have an iPhone to control with, you can also use IFTTT. It still requires an Apple product to connect and set up WeMoen. I have not used or tried IFTTT but have heard of several who use it without major problems.

Bottomline for me; this is a great gadget with many opputunities. I can only recommend it. The price isn't to bad, and the functionallity is beyond expectations.

The Coffee Collective - Daterra Sweet Collection Review

I have finished my last batch from The Coffee Collective, this third and last one is their Daterra Sweet Collection. 

These were also green when I received them. I roasted them till start of 2nd crack, at about 207c.

Unfortunately all of my pictures from this batch got lost. 

But I can tell the beans are washed and they hold different size. This became a little tricky during the roast. I could see easily that they were roasted uneven. Never the less it became a good batch. 

I like this collection very much, the acidity is extremely low, just when the espresso hits the tip of the tongue, a bright apple acid is noticeable.   

The acid is quickly overtaken by deep and super rich flavors and notes. I have had many problems putting my thoughts of this coffee in to words. 

The flavors are very intense, a heavy mouthfeel with deep notes of bourbon. When after tasting a while, hints of tobacco (in a good way) and malt is shining thru.  The thing that I notice most, is that it's fat. Super fat and rich. It's heavy as well, I only had to fill my portafilter 2/3 compared to normal to get 18 gr.

Because of the fat and richness I don't think it's a good coffee for milk. It just doesn't blend well because of the richness from the milk it self.

As a stand alone espresso with some apple pie, it's just some of the best I could imagine. 

A superb coffee, deep, strong, powerful  and very tasty. But a little tricky to roast.

Enjoy.  

Sidamo and Yirgacheffe from Øristeriet

Øristeriet sent me two samples of fresh coffee – both of them from Ethiopia.

 

Yirgacheffe, Misty Valley, Adado Coop

Roaster Description: The Adado Coop grows in 2000-2400 meters altitude. It’s a typical Yirgacheffe which makes it floral, light and sweet. One of the absolute best coffees they provide. It is a price winning coffee.  

 

This is a light and very bright coffee - I tried dosing up, but it is best at lower dosage. I used my V60, 12,5 gr. coffee slight coarser than drip and 250 gr. water.

The result is a super fruity and balanced cup. I can taste the lemon very clearly, a long aftertaste of deep chocolate as well. The mouthfeel is creamy and round. I can relate to everything in the description, it's a great coffee to end a lunch with !

     Etiopien Sidamo, Wotona Bultuma Coop - Fairtrade

Roaster Description: A true pleasure, fresh, juicy, mild and soft, light sweetness with clear notes of citrus and dark chocolate. The berries are handpicked to ensure that only fully mature berries are harvested, which results in a superb quality and a higher pay for the farmer.

This is what I would describe as an after dinner coffee. It's really heavy and super rich. I dosed exactly like the yirgacheffe, and played around a bit with the dosage as well. It does well with even higher dosage, but I still ended the same way, that's just where it suited me best.

Notes of honey are clear, combined with bright hints of lemon and apple, the combination is very well balanced. Again the description is spot on.

Both coffees are excellent in their own different way. I drank the yirgacheffe mainly early in the day, and the sidamo in the evening. Both suits well in Aeropress, I also tried it in the frenchpress but I got the best results dripping from the V60.

Once again some super coffee from Øristeriet. I'm amazed by the quality every time.

Impod Tampers From Øristeriet

Impod Tampers

I have tested five different tampers from Øristeriet, for the last couple of   Weeks. All five tampers are from the brand Impod. They all look good but vary a lot in price and quality. 

I have tested all of them by the same criteria - how they fit the hand, the weight, how we'll they are processed, looks and of course how well they tamp, and fit the basket. 

The first I tested was also the one in which I had highest expectations. 

A very beautiful wooden handled tamper designed by the Swedish barista Dan Stenqvist. 

Dan Stenqvist

Specs:

Weight     318 gr 

Hight       10 cm

Diameter  57,89 mm

Price        47 $

This is a tamper that looks good in every setup, I love the curves and the wooden look,  which should get darker when it's used. 

It has a small curve at the base. 

It is a pretty high tamper, and it doesn't fit my hand very good. I do have a ridiculous small hobbit hand to be fair, but it just doesn't land well in my hand. 

It is exactly 57,89 mm in diameter, and it fits my Silvia basket very well. The weight is on the lighter side in my opinion; I wouldn't like it lighter than that!

I had a friend with a bigger hand to try it, and he had no problems. So if you have a small hand be aware. Besides that it’s a beautiful and well functional tamper. 

ES 4224 blue

Specs:
Weight    166 gr
Hight       9 cm
Diameter 57, (7/9) uneven
Price       33 $

This tamper is made from aluminum, and is therefore very light, but also a lot cheaper because aluminum is soft and can be processed much faster. 

I think it looks good, I like the bright an shining metal, and the plastic handle looks good even though it’s a cheap tamper. 

As mentioned it is light, way to light. Furthermore its uneven in the base, which is also slight curved, the diameter varies from 57,7 to 57,9 mm. It shows in the brewing to, I had several bad shots in the time I used it. It is meant as a cheap solution instead of the stupid plastic thing that comes with a new machine. I believe it's better to save up and buy proper equipment instead, because you would go bigger at some point anyway. 

    Interrogativo

    Specs:

    Weight    467,8 gr

    Hight       9,4 cm

    Diameter 58,0 mm

    Price       52$ 

Now we're talking.

This is not a tamper with lots of pretty fancy stuff. It's short, it's round, well fitted and it is heavy !! 

Like the others it has I small curve at the base, the base is even and has a hight that, gives me a good impression of my tamp, the lines is easy to look at, and see if it’s even. 

The big "ball" looking thing on the top, gives a good grip. The weight makes the tamp really easy. All shots came out really great. But it's not pretty, and I think esthetics are important, because mainly all of this equipment takes up much space, therefor it should be nice to look at. 

    

    Esclamativo 

    Specs:

    Weight    395 gr

    Hight       9 cm

    Diameter 57,9 mm

    Price       46,5 $

This one holds many of the qualities I want from a tamper ! 

I think it looks really good. It's very neutral and simple. It's relatively heavy - the base is even, we'll processed and with a small curve. 

The handle has a shape and height suitable for every type of person. 

Every tamp came out great, and I was left with a feeling of super quality. This is the one which stayed beside the machine after the test. Because of the looks, the qualities and the fact that it is versatile. 

    Aluminu

    Specs:

    Weight    240 gr

    Hight       9,3 cm

    Diameter 57,9 mm

    Price       43,5 $

This is a tamper with a handle made of good looking shinny aluminum, and a solid, small curved, stainless steel base. Some of the good things from both worlds. I do like this one very much to, like the Esclamativo it fits my hand well, and the esthetics lives up to what I expect from a tamper. But it still is a little too light weight for me. When a tamper isn't heavy enough, I have to push harder and by that I don't get the consistency I like in my brewing process. Its priced somewhere in the middle and it properly fits very well there too. 

As I said the Esclamativo is the one that I keep in the kitchen for now. It's a great tamper which looks good side by side a stainless machine. 

Luckily tampers are like shoes to me. I like changing it once in a while, making some difference. 

Along with the tampers I got two tamper mats. 

One regular and one with a stainless steel plate, which has one side bend to hold against the counter. 

Tamper mats aren't rocket science. Most things can be used for the purpose, until now I have been using a piece of rubber found in the garage. Others use a cloth, mousepad mat or stands made for the purpose. 

With that said, I actually like the one with steel plate. With the bend edge holding against the counter, I can easily slide the mat and tamper against or away from me. And I do give more stability. The mat costs 26$. 

The regular one costs 10$ so there is a significant difference.