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Seven New Wild Coffee Speceis Found in Madagascar
Kew Gardens finds seven wild species of coffee
The discovery, in Madagascar, is good news for coffee drinkers as climate change and habitat loss is threatening an estimated 70% of global crops.
These species of coffee are seven of 290 new plants discovered by these botanists this year. Apparently, they also “discovered” 200 species of yam that are known to cure cancer by locals in South Africa. (yes.. It was already known to cure cancer, yet they are a new species discovery.. and they haven’t been learning to grow them around the world, apparently. Why not!)
I wish there were more information about these coffee species. There is so much research performed in coffee farming every year in various parts of the world, and it would be interesting to see what could be learned, if much at all, from these species found on a remote island off the east coast of Africa.
All vanilla in the world originates in Madagascar. Cacao is a regular crop there. It is a tropical region, and if we have coffees coming from about every island in Indonesia, I suppose it would make sense that coffee could live there.
Bon Appetit Names Progress Coffee In Top 10 List: Austin
9th item down on the list of Bon Appetite’s list of “Top 10 Best Boutique Coffee Shops” is Progress Coffee in Austin, TX. (go Progress!)
Progress Coffee
Austin
Favorite coffee shops don’t just serve terrific joe; they also act as a modern-day meeting place. This Eastside spot with Owl Tree coffee and fresh biscuits is the best hangout in town. 500 San Marcos Street, Studio 105; 512-493-0963; progresscoffee.com
http://www.bonappetit.com/magazine/2010/01/top_10_best_boutique_coffee_shops
(if you love to cook, this magazine has a lot of great info for a shockingly low subscription price)
The author (Andrew Knowlton) begins his list with a disclaimer of sorts:
A coffeehouse used to be just a few couches, ho-hum muffins, and free Wi-Fi. But a new generation of artisinal roasters and enthusiastic baristas is offering not only a quality cup of joe, but also sophisticated menus and innovative design. End result? Now you’ve got a real reason to hang out.
So take from that what you will, but you’ve got to love seeing Progress on the list! Congrats!
(Congrats to Owl Tree for the mention as well)
Random Picture Friday #21: Light McDonald’s Coffee
(via)
Very creative marketing strategy. I prefer my coffee to be edible.
Have a Great Weekend!
Brilliant Idea – Gwilym’s disloyalty card
via – http://www.jimseven.com/2009/12/17/gwilyms-disloyalty-card/
The idea is simple. Take a tour of local up-and-coming cafes, and get one on the house from the World Barista Champ himself. It’s a great idea, and it would REALLY help to build local communities and cooperation between “competing” businesses.
This was taken from the Jim Seven blog, and while it is a clever idea, I think Gwilym would be happy if lots of other people started adopting the concept.
This also gives me another idea that I think I’ll save for next week.
The Pearl Cup’s Winter Coat Drive – Dallas
I saw this on Facebook, and decided it was worth sharing.
“The Pearl Cup is participating in a winter coat drive to gather clean, gently worn coats for ages kids through adults. Our neighborhood DISD schools have voiced a need and we would like to help. So, bring by one that you can live without, inform the staff at TPC and get $1.00 off of any drink we prepare. Thank you in advance for sharing this season.”
Donate a coat and get $1.00 off any drink in the house.
Random Picture Friday #20: Snow Men
Have a Great Weekend!
p.s. – It would be nice to have enough snow for this. Or any stable ground snow at all, for that matter
The Distribution Discussion – Poll
With the forward momentum of technology and the improvement of espresso grinders, a lot of baristas have decided that manual redistribution of grounds after dosing is unnecessary.
Most of these baristas are using a newer behemoth sized doserless grinder, and a lot of them are equipped with a timer intended to dose out a precise weight of coffee each and every time. (repeatably, in theory)
Some others insist that a doser declumps the coffee, which, they say, results in a more even density of coffee at initial dosing (which is also the initial distribution.. as the coffee falls into the basket).
I have my own opinions, but I’m curious to hear yours.
The no-redistribution method consists of a doserless funnel that drops the coffee right in the center of the filterbasket each and every time. I’m inclined to believe that you could get a similar result with a grinder-doser that has been Elvinated, with a doser that drops straight down, or with the removal of the dosing fork and good aim.
Once the coffee has been dosed, there is no touching the mound of grounds freshly piled in the filter basket of the portafilter. The next step is tamping. Straight down, with the tamper of your choice. I’ve noticed that most of the folks who prefer this method also do a fair amount of up-dosing by tapping the portafilter on the bar or dosing fork to settle the grounds. Some then dose more, and some are content to tamp at this point. It would depend on your espresso blend and how you normally prefer to pull your shots.
Then flush and pull the shot as normal.
The redistribution method is based on the premise that the coffee will never land evenly distributed, and that no amount of tamping, regardless of how much pressure is used, will ever re-distribute the grounds to an even density distribution. (if that makes sense)
This camp tends to focus on initial distribution, just like the first camp, however they also exercise some sort of manual redistribution before tamping. Everyone has their own reasons for prefering one or the other. What I want to know if what do you prefer? and Why?
Try it one way on one group head, and try it the other way on another group head. Shoot for the same dose (by weight), and the same pull time. Did one of them result in a higher final volume (when stopped based on color)? How did they taste? Which one did you prefer? What did you prefer about it?
Remember that the focus here is on taste, not convenience.
Edible Austin – Drink Local Night (Austin)
From: http://saturdaynightsmackdown.blogspot.com/
by Lorenzo Perkins
“Event Description:
Alright y’all, the Saturday Night Smackdown is up and running once again. Sunday December 6th from 11 AM to 2 PM at Owl Tree (click for directions) is the first part of Edible Austin’s Drink Local Day, part of the week long celebration known to us as Eat Local Week. (To those of you who caught it, yes, the SNS is now on a Sunday) Around a dozen roasters from in and around Austin will be there, set up with booths, tents, beans, and all sorts of crazy shit to show off to you and other onlookers exactly what it is they do.
David Allan is putting this together with Edible Austin, and he will be judging a cocktail contest later on that evening (we should all go to that too!). David is a cool guy and he makes yummy booze stuff, hi five him if you see him at the event.
The pour off will be back to a standard Smackdown pour off – you choose the cup, you choose the pour, ONE PITCHER ONE POUR!!!! $10 buy in, winner will take ALL. Now, this event is an open invite to anyone across our great state (Texas, you dolt!) HOWEVER, the top ten AUSTIN competitors will go on to represent our fair city in Texas’ first ever City VS City throwdown: ATX v. ATL. (Brainchild of Scott Lucey, actualized by yours truly) It’s gonna be awesome. So bring your game, bring your face, but most importantly, pour your face off!“
2010 South Central Regional Barista Competition
I am thrilled to finally be able to post with concrete details!
Once again, we will be kicking off the 2010 Barista Competition season with the SCRBC being the first to take place.
The South Central Regional Barista Competition, hosted by Cuvee Coffee, will take place on January 7-10th at the Downtown Austin Sheraton, 701 East 11th Street Austin, Texas.
Visit http://www.usbaristachampionship.org/southcentral/ for more information.
I will not be able to be there due to a schedule conflict, but I’d still like to know who is going to be there. Last year’s competition displayed considerable growth compared to the 2007 competition the year before, and I am hoping to see a similar trend for this year.
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