17 posts tagged “coffee”

Man, things have been crazy the last four days.

I've been revisiting my old artwork, trying my hand at writing short stories, sleeping close to seventeen hours in one day, drinking different kinds of tea (Green, Oolong, Chamomile), trying (and failing) to finish leftover coffee beans that have stayed in rotation for a little bit too long. I mean, after the novelty wears off, who really wants to drink pepper-flavored coffee on the regular? Seriously.

I also tried to clean my 4-year old keyboard... which was interesting, to say the least. Okay, it was disgusting. Vacuum, Wipeout,  Soap and Water.  Good riddance, E. Coli.

DSCN2352

I was supposed to attend a coffee seminar at Starbucks Waltermart this morning, but I overslept due to a short story that I had to just bang out 'cos it wouldn't let me sleep. It's about a guy who wakes up in an empty room to find that everyone in his city has turned into a zombie (original, I know). But it's the delivery and the context that matter. Plus, I still don't know if I really want zombies or giant, pink, gene-spliced mutant bunny-roaches with lightsaber carrots. I also plan to insert some socio-political commentary somewhere in there about socialized healthcare. It'll be a hit with the kids, I tell ya.

I managed to roll off my bed and give myself a concussion by falling off the floor, so I'd have no choice but to stay awake or die. Then, I headed off to Origin Cafe to do an interview with Ms. Gina Sy, the proprietress. I expected to do a 15-minute interview, but it was so much fun we ended up talking for 90 minutes. After that, I stole a cappuccino and headed off to Glorietta.

Tumaas nanaman ang pamasahe? Kamote. Kamote kayong lahat. Tse. 11 pesos na sa bus, 8 na sa jeep.

Headed over to Starbucks Makeroom to my homies in the coffee industry (what up Jay, K-rissy, Chai; keep pullin' those shots right and we be down) to pick up my stash (a fudge brownie, decaf drip, and a replacement beaker).

DSCN2362

Went home, unloaded my digicam and the digital audio recorder. Gonna be workin' on those tomorrow. The interview should be up on coffeerev within the next two weeks; still have to transcribe and edit it, make it available as a podcast, and then there's the new Africa Kitamu coffee beans that I have to review.

I've also come to a realization that not all country music (or similar-sounding genres) has the tendency to inflict temporary retardation and/or loss of cognitive and motor functions. Lately, I've been listening to some Carey Ott, Assembly of Dust, and Neko Case... they blend in well with some of the lighter pop/jazz/bossa songs I've got on one playlist (like Better Than Ezra, Coldplay, Jamie Cullum and Miho Hatori).

I'm also now really seriously thinking of a reload.

The next few days will be fun. Now if I can just get some sleep and not die due to lack thereof.

Lace and Kim told me about the newly opened Mozu Cafe over at Amethyst Street in Ortigas. So I checked the place out, and we had lunch. I'll be putting up the article after I rewrite my draft.

Lunch at Mozu Cafe

Finally back on track after dropping everything to help mom with stuff before she headed off to Spain... and man do I need to get my mind back on writing and on work. Otherwise I'd go crazy if I don't do anything productive.

Starbucks has been spoiling me lately. Last week I got two free drink vouchers, which I used yesterday and today. So I've ended the first two workdays of the week with coffee and confections.

Today's Paper, A Free Frappe, and A Soft, Warm, Honey-Glazed Donut.

Gotta love just hangin' out at coffee shops and reading the paper - losing yourself in a calm, stress-free environment while drinking coffee is one of my favorite things to do; to the point of it nearing a vice, if you will.

Delicious food, good coffee, and early 20th century Jazz... tough to beat that combination.

Yesterday: Coffee Jelly Frappuccino. Today: White Mocha Frappuccino. I wonder when I'll be getting another free voucher?

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of checking out the Coffee Break Festival at the Glorietta 4, featuring several coffee merchants and their wares. This particular festival features purely Philippine-grown coffee from different regions, as well as the merchants' own blends and varieties.

I Promise To Take Better Pictures The Next Time Around

The last time I was here, I was only starting to get into the art of coffee drinking, so I really didn't do much but load up on the free coffee (hey, who wouldn't?). This time, I made sure to savor each and every cup of coffee available and to properly review them for your perusal.

Before I get into it, let me just give you a short primer on Philippine coffee. The Philippines grows four varieties of commercially viable coffee, namely Arabica, Robusta, Excelsa, and Liberica, better known locally as Barako/Baraco. Similar to it's neighbors in the SE Asia region, Philippine grown coffees exhibit flavors ranging mostly from citrusy to earthy (although not quite as robust as the Sumatra and Sulawesi varieties), as well as coffee with fruity notes and the rarer kind that exhibits mild, spice and herbal undertones.

So, let's get to it!

Siete Baracos Coffee

Siete Baracos Coffee

It wasn't bad, but nothing really special here.

Gourmet's Coffee

Gourmet's Coffee

Anyway, they had several varieties of coffee available, simply named Robusta, Mountain Grown, and Batangas Baraco, respectively. At the time I was at their booth, they were brewing their Robusta variety (all the merchants brew just 1 variety at a time).

Their Robusta coffee exhibited nice acidity, a medium-full body with earthy flavor and citrus notes, and finishes with a mild, earthy zest.

I was egging them to brew me up a batch of their Mountain Grown coffee, but to no avail. Oh well.

The Coffee Beanery

The Coffee Beanery

This was by far the best tasting coffee that I had tried in the exhibit; these guys know what they're doing!

Still, I would have been really interested to compare how the Cravings blend would have tasted as a regular drip coffee.

Continental Coffee / Batangas Harvest Coffee

Continental Coffee / Batangas Harvest Coffee

I sampled their milder Baraco coffee, which exhibited a nice, winey flavor with cherry notes, very similar to the coffee from Amadeo that I wrote about a while back, albeit this one had a more pleasant medium body.

It doesn't have much in the way of acidity, so the winey flavor tends to stay in your mouth for a while; I'm not sure if this is a desirable trait for some people, but as for me, I'm not too much of a fan of this one because of that. It gets old quickly for me, is what I'm trying to say.

Monk's Blend

Monk's Blend Coffee

Theirs is a full-bodied coffee, with a very nice nutty and milky flavor, with a subtly sweet caramel finish, and nicely balanced acidity (as such, the flavor lingers for only about 3-5 seconds, enough for you to savor it but not enough to make you tire of it for too soon). I liked it; prolly the best tasting coffee next to The Coffee Beanery's Cravings Blend.

However, one thing ticked me off about these guys. One of the attendants tried to sell me the pre-ground variety, and included in on of his "selling points" was that it had a shelf life of one year. One freaking year. Coffee grounds. Still fresh, he says. All the while expounding the fact that they do not use any sort of preservatives.

Are you freaking kidding me?

Coffee is food. Food spoils after some time. And somebody please correct me if I have it all wrong, but ground coffee spoils after a week in open air and a little after two months when it's sealed, does it not?  Even when it's frozen, what I know is that coffee cannot last for as long as a year without preservatives and still be fresh and taste good. I just cannot imagine it, even when you use a vacuum-sealed bag or container. So far, I've asked a handful of baristas about this and they concurred that it was just not possible.

So, while their coffee tasted quite good, minus points for using chemical preservatives - and for that guy trying to make me believe his bullshit.

Cafe de Lipa

Cafe de Lipa

For this one, I had their Cafe de Lipa Baraco, served up as an Americano. It had a thin-medium body with a winey flavor and cherry notes. Similar to Continental Coffee's offering that I tasted, but less desirable (in my opinion), due to the  thinner mouthfeel.

Besides the merchants I took to and those that I didn't, there were other booths that I didn't bother to visit, namely Figaro, Nescafe, and Dunkin' Donuts. I already wrote about my dislike for Figaro's drip coffee (although I do like their espresso-based drinks), so I didn't bother with them. Dunkin' Donuts has already gone the drain a few years ago, so you can't expect a donut shop who can't even sell decent donuts to provide decent coffee (you oughta see the donuts they sell here, they are damn small!). And Nescafe? Well... forget it.

What I do wish the merchants did was offer more than one coffee variety at a time, or at least a drip and an espresso brew at once or the same time. It makes it harder to compare offerings from different merchants when you also have to factor in different brewing methods. Anyway, those gripes do not really diminish the event in any large way whatsoever.

All in all it was a pretty good event. Not without it's shortcomings, but it was good; I got to sample a wider range of coffees from the Philippines as well as revisit old flavors, all in one place! Of course, tasting coffee in a mall exhibition cannot replace the experience of going to different coffee growing regions and savoring the coffee in their own native context.

Similar Articles:
How Not To Brew Coffee
Bag Of Beans

Resources:
Philippine Coffee Board
Cordillera Coffee

Of all the ways to prepare coffee, Filipinos have prolly chosen the worst way of doing it - boiling. Regardless of the roast or grind, we (and by we I mean they) will simply dump an unmeasured amount of coffee (based simply on tantsa, or instinct, if you will) into a pot of water and bring it to a complete boil for five minutes.

Boiled Coffee

The result? Coffee burned beyond recognition.

A prime example of this was when we were visiting our relatives south of the capital. A traditional Filipino breakfast is always inclusive of coffee along with pan de sal (bread rolls) or eggs and stir-fried rice; I hung around the kitchen while they prepped breakfast. Being the elitist bastard [poseur?] that I am, I immediately expostulated on their incorrect method of brewing.

I asked them all to get cups and to taste the coffee they had just made. It was bland, they said, but also adding that they had not yet added milk and sugar so it was to be expected. On this point I decided to give them a crash course in coffee preparation and cupping (with what limited facilities were available to us).

We started off with a clean pot of water (4 cups), bringing it to a boil, and letting it cool off for a few seconds. Once it was off the boil, we added the proportional amount of coffee grounds (around two table spoons per cup - no scoop was available to us at that time). After four minutes, I transferred the coffee to a pitcher, running it through a strainer to remove the used grounds.

Next, I asked them to get two cups each, one for the coffee they boiled, and another for our current batch. I asked them to smell both. The boiled coffee had a burnt aroma, while the ones we made afterward had a subtle fruity aroma. With that done, we all took sips from both cups, noting the mouthfeel and flavor of each brew. The boiled coffee tasted very bland and had very thin body - much like flavored water; the properly brewed coffee had a medium body and winey flavor with cherry tones.

They weren't used to the strong flavor of properly brewed coffee (as opposed to next to no flavor of boiled coffee), so they were understandably reluctant. I gave them some notes on coffee origins and flavors, and some other tips to find the kind of coffee they'd like. After giving it some thought, they started to appreciate notable differences of the twain.

Then, come lunch time, they went right back to boiling it. Oh well.

Notes:
The coffee grounds were purchased from a market in Amadeo, Cavite. It was unevenly ground, with mostly coarse particles and some slightly finer particles. We were unsure of the kind of bean or if it was a blend or single origin, since it was purchased by weight (no mark or brand). It was definitely unlike the coffee I tasted a while back in Bag of Beans, which while of the same origin, had a earthy, citrusy tones.

Me Moka Pot

During a visit, my abuela gave me her moka pot from Spain. Glee.

When she first told me about it, I had no idea what it was, really, since she kept referring to it as "cafetera" (literally, "coffee maker"). I kept wondering, was she talking about a drip brewer? A French press? Or something else? Most people don't make distinctions when it comes to coffee machines (or coffee itself, for that matter); if it makes coffee, it's a coffee maker, whether it's the espresso machine at the cafe or the drip brewer at the office, and my family is no different. I balked when they asked me to brew them some coffee using the instant coffee they bought at the grocery (why waste my energy? Just add a spoon to a cup of hot water!). Anyway, I was pretty happy when I saw what it was.

The Moka Express brews coffee by using steam to force water through the coffee grounds. That said, the current grounds I have won't do; I'll have to have my next batch ground a bit more finely.

I'm also gonna have to get some better containers for my grounds. The jars I have have lids with this spongy matter affixed to the insides, which is to provide a measure of being airtight. It's harder to clean than rubber, and it develops this pungent odor at times when it's not cleaned properly.

Hey... maybe I can goad someone into giving me an espresso machine next time.

Starbucks Gazebo Blend

I suppose a little update is in order.

The guest comic I'm doing is in the last throes of it's insurgen--- I mean, all that's left is the final 6 pages... pages 22 to 26, and the title page. I should have finished this week, but my insomnia reared it's ugly behind once again. A week of erratic sleeping patterns really screws you up, man.

The good news is that the rewritten ending is much better that what I had originally done. Penciled and scanned it all last week, just got to do the inks and tones.

I've also been studying haiku again, and I've already written a handful of fine ones. That is all.

I'm freakin' tired. 5 cups of coffee does nothing. Oh yeah, hot and more so when cold, I hate Starbuck's Gazebo blend.