Bloggle

Lokesh Dhakar had already made something of a name for himself among web builders for his very spiffy Lightbox image manipulation scripts — scripts which, by the way, drive many of the the galleries and slide shows that you’ll find here on Bloggle.

He’s upped the ante with his latest contribution to a world in want of caffeination… an illustrated guide to espresso drinks.

I’m new to the world of fancy coffee drinks. With the vast number of ordering options and new words with accented characters to pronounce; the coffee shop ordering experience can be intimidating. I’ve created a few small illustrations to help myself and others wrap their head around some of the small differences.
–Lokesh Dhakar

While I expect his contribution won’t bring an end to the incessant arguments about coffee drinks and their proportions, it does offer an informed, common point of reference. Maybe it’s the beginning of a period table of espresso elements. ;)

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I’d never heard of “red espresso” — at all — until this week. And in just the last few days I’m hearing about it, well… lotsa places. Which makes me wonder… just what the heck is it? And why am I hearing about it now?

First of all, apparently red espresso isn’t espresso at all, which is to say, it’s not coffee. It’s tea. Well, that’s not exactly true, either. It’s Rooibos tea, or South African redbush tea, which isn’t exactly tea in that it’s not Camellia sinensis but a piney, low-growing shrub (Aspalathus linearis) that grows only in the Western Cape of South Africa. Its leaves are fermented oxidized, like black tea, but it has no caffeine.

And the espresso part? Evidently folks are using espresso machines to brew the Rooibos and the resulting cup exhibits much of the same character as espresso coffee, including crema. Or something like it.

If I recall, a few years back at the Midwest Barista Championships, one of Barry’s baristas had a specialty drink that paired a Kenya-based espresso blend with tea… and that may have been a rooibos tea. It was a strange but tasty brew… but there was *definitely* no tea in the portafilter, which would have been strictly against competition rules. (And surely you’d have to scrub the hell out of your portafilter afterwards!)

So… anybody been pulling shots of red espresso? Do tell!

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• The snarkiness begins. Canadian papers are having pseudo-hysterics over the per cup retail price of Panama Cup of Excellence Extraordinaire, Hacienda La Esmeralda.
  

  Starting this morning, coffee drinkers in Vancouver will be able to sip some seriously expensive brew.

  At a staggering $15 per 8-oz cup ($135 per half pound in bean form), the Panama-grown, 100-per-cent geisha varietal bean is the most expensive coffee ever to hit lips in this coffee-crazy city.

  ‘Course it’s all offered with a wink and a nod, and the folk at Caffe Artigiano are surely giggling all the way to the bank with the free press. Me, I’m in for a cup, if only I could get one delivered.

• Brilliant! A UK teen was hospitalized after downing seven double espressos at her family’s sandwhich shop. Quoth the victim of her own excess:
  

  “My nerves were all over the place. I was drenched. I was burning up and hyperventilating. I was having palpitations, my heart was beating so fast and I thought I was going into shock.

  “I did not realise this could happen to you and I only hope other people learn from my mistake.”

  To be fair, I’ve had my own brush with espresso-fueled hyper-caffeination. In fact, just last week I’d commented on it on a post at Scazi’s Whatever:

  A few years back I spent an enjoyable Saturday in Chicago working with an eclectic mix of coffee pros and talented amateurs. The object of our attention: create a world-class espresso blend.

  Blending coffee for espresso is tricky; there’s a *lot* of trial and error, and lots and lots of tasting. We began ’round 9am, and finished around 4pm, ’cause — despite merely *tasting*, and not downing every lovin’ espresso that crossed our paths — most of us just couldn’t do it any more. My own palate was blown out, and I was literally *thrumming* like high voltage line.

  I should perhaps note that the result of that weekend’s exercise was the Intelligentsia elixir called Black Cat Espresso.

• I had no idea. Apparently Dunkin Donuts is the leading coffee retailer in the United Arab Emirates.
  

  “Dunkin’ Donuts, the UAE’s leading coffee & baked goods chain, has recently introduced a new iced drink that packs all the flavour of its renowned regular hot coffee, but at a chilled temperature that promises to help take the heat out of the summer.

  “Dunkin’ Donuts opened their first outlet in Dubai in 1997 and celebrated ten years of business across the UAE last month. The company has enjoyed phenomenal success within the emirates and now boasts over 40 outlets, with a target of 50 to be reached by the beginning of the New Year.”

  Waitasec. You’ve been in Dubai for 10 years and just now figured out that iced coffee might be a good idea?

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Congratulations to James Hoffman (whom you may know as Jim Seven (that’s his blog in the list down yonder) on capturing the top honors at the World Barista Championship in Tokyo. His performance was — in a word — artistic. Poised, relaxed — or doing a damn fine job of looking relaxed — Jim wowed the judges with his technical skills, his presentation, and a signature espresso drink that combined separately-pulled single origins from Costa Rica and Kenya (an intensely blackcurrenty Gethumbwini) with a tobacco and cream infusion, topped with a biscotti foam. (I’m thinking it’d probably be labeled illegal in the U.S.)

If you’re at all wondering what the Barista Championships are all about, watch the finalist videos at ZacharyZachary and be amazed. (As a bonus the videography is quite good!)

Congrats to Jim, and congrats to *all* of the national barista champions (and that means you, too, Heather Perry!)

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• Rating:

40 Sardines. The American Restaurant. Blue Bird Bistro. The Classic Cup, Le Fou Frog, Yaya’s EuroBistro… great Kansas City restaurants, all. Each offers a wonderful dining experience. And each serves coffee from The Roasterie. Not the same coffee, mind you… each restaurant has its own custom blend. (more…)

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Some updating to ye ol’ Blogroll is somewhat overdue, at least so far as the college of coffee blogs goes. There’s lots of interesting new voices out there — folks who are pushing the envelope on roasting, brewing, pulling shots and delivering an over-the-top customer experience — and at the same time making some of the old-guard “coffee men” raise their eyebrows, first in alarm, and then in appreciation for what they find in their cup.

• Stephen Morrissey is barista trainer at Bewleys Coffee Co in Dublin Ireland, and his site — Flying Thud — documents his adventures in coffee. Lots of espresso porn, of course, but he’s also a fan of the drip. His posts will make you pine for European coffee shops you’ve never been to.
• Barrett Jones is a Canadian national barista champ and until recently worked the bar at Vancouver’s most excellent Caffe Artigiano. His site — Dwell Time — offers a glimpse of the extraordinary Vancouver coffee scene.
• Stephen Leighton’s blog — Has Bean — offers the perspective of a coffee guy who sources and roasts some fairly stupendous coffees, which sadly I know by reputation, only. (The reputation is certainly deserved: UKBC winner James Hoffman poured his way to the top of competition with a Has Bean custom blend.) Stephen’s been known to drop by here from time to time to offer an insightful comment or two.
• And last but not least — Barismo — a Boston based group blog contributed to by Jaime, Ben, Ben and Silas. Their writing spans coffee roasting, cupping and delivering a top-tier coffee experience in the coffee house. Oh! And they have a shiny cool tamper design.

Go visit one and all. Frequently. Maybe they’ll each get the hint to post more often.

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