Month: August 2005 (Page 1 of 2)

pavina-pair-jello
Originally uploaded by minhi.

this is the smallest bodum pavina and the next size up. the small one holds about 2.5 oz and the next size up holds about 8oz. bodum also make a 13 and a 21(?) i think. A pair of 13’s cost $20 and a pair of the largest ones are $30!

It’s hard to justify but my .50 cent ikea cup glass has left a sizeable pool of water on my desk–so it’s almost worth it to avoid ruining wood furniture in the summertime!

i’ll post the little ones with coffee later, they are a good size for a single macchiato.

pavina-icecream1
Originally uploaded by minhi.

there is one thing about the bodum pavina cups that make them worth their price: temperature retention!

hot drinks like cappucino’s (the cups are a little too small for a proper latte) stay hot longer then in a porcelain mug. actually they keep it so hot then you can easily burn your lips. the only minus is that they are so light that the cup does not have the proper ‘heft’ of a porcelain cup.

as expected cold drinks also stay cold longer. A drink, like a glass of lemonade, stays cold and also creates very little condensation. There is some condensation but it’s just a light fog–like if you breath on a mirror. For ice cream, the ice cream stays cold for a long time. Once you get to the bottom instead of a pool of melted ice cream it almost tastes colder then when you started. The ice cream near the top melts much faster then the ice cream against the glass.

Now the minus is that it’s always nice to have a little bit of melted ice cream at the bottom of the cup–it’s like a bonus at the end. Ah, use a mug in those cases 🙂

pavina-large-jello2
Originally uploaded by minhi.

here’s your spooky bodum pavina shot of the day. the jello looks like it will float away.

the pavina’s don’t add much to jello. i guess they stay colder, they do jiggle inside the cup. And because the jello is floating, you can feel it almost oscilating in the cup.

bodum cappucino
Originally uploaded by minhi.

sigh, i’ve really been struggling with my cappucino’s lately. the foam is just too hard, right after i foam the milk the foam is pretty good in the pitcher but a few minutes after the pour it definately ‘hardens.’ It does look nice in the bodum pavinas though, and this is a nice depth of view shot. Even though my foam still needs work the drink itself is quite good, this Daterra blend really pops with the chocolate and vanilla when you add milk, a little bit of sugar also brings those flavors forward. I strongly believe that just a little bit of competence pulling the shot and fresh beans are all you need to make a decent espresso drink.

And talking about ‘competence’ in making an espresso drink. This morning I was in baltimore md for a business meeting and bought a latte at a coffe shop (for those wondering it’s near the domino sugar factor in the inner harbor). Things looked great when i walked in, nice shop, looked like a two group Faema based machine.

Drink was 3.25 for a medium which is a little expensive for a single espressor latte–my first mistake. Second i see him dose without grinding–this is note a huge problem to me, I gave them the benefit of the doubt. If a cafe has good turnaround pregrinding is not neccessarily a bad thing. However the worse infraction was yet to come, no tamp (i forgive this after the next one) and finally i start timing the shot. He brewed into a steel pitcher but the volume looked ok for a 20-25 second single. However he kept pulling until the pitcher was full! I think it was a 4-5oz pitcher, the stream was yellow by that point. He poured about 1/3 of the pitcher into my milk which he already poured into the cup.

How’d it taste, very weak and the milk was burned. I discovered this after leaving, but i wouldn’t have said anything. I don’t know what I could’ve said tactfully that would help them improve. I think the biggest single thing is to pull the correct volume per drink. I should’ve asked for that or switched to a regular coffee.

Sigh, i’ve become spoiled now that i understand how to make an espresso drink. It’s curious to me that people will accept ill prepared coffee drinks, but if you were at a bar and asked for a martini and they made it with rum or they add too much vermouth, would we accept it? I guess i’ve had pretty bad mixed drinks so maybe we do…

terroir coffee
Originally uploaded by minhi.

terroir coffee

This is the blend i’ve used for the last 2 weeks. It’s my first ‘light’ roast that i’ve used. If you’re not familiar with Terroir, you can read more about it at www.terroircoffee.com

This blend was the one used by the winning barista at the World Barista Competition (yes there is one). But I’m sure the skill of the barista had something to do with it as well.

This roast is lighter then traditional, so it doesn’t have the classic sharpness or bitterness from a dark roast. This allows more fruit and floral to come through. When it’s mixed with milk (cappucino or latte) the caramel and especially the chocolate notes really come out.

I’m pretty happy with this blend but it’s expensive for me to order since i have to get it mail order. The math for me is $11 per 12oz bag and about $5 shipping per order. So just one bag costs me close to $17, if i buy two it brings it down a little but still pretty expensive. If i lived in the Boston area then the $11 is a little more tolerable. This is a real problem for people looking for fresh roasted beans. Here in DC we have murky coffee who uses coffee from counter culture coffee. And through some political activism on my part through the coffee geek podcast (see podcast #12), murky now sells their espresso blend.

If you’re not lucky enough to find fresh roasted beans locally mail order is viable if a little expensive. How is this for fresh? i placed my order on Sunday, my order was roasted on Monday and i had it in my hands by Wednesday! I had to wait a few days to let the beans completely degass before i could use them!

sweet marias
Originally uploaded by minhi.

a double ristretto in the sweet maria’s espresso monkey cup. obviously this is the Terroir Daterra blend.

sweet marias
Originally uploaded by minhi.

i ordered some stuff from Sweet Maria’s last week and ordered one of their “Espresso Monkey” cup sets. They’re pretty decent, good weight, feel pretty sturdy and the handle is not too small. And they’re cheap at only $4.25 a set–so cheap that they have a limit of 6 per order! Sweet Maria’s is a great site if you’re looking to roast your own coffe beans from green. They’re pretty much the reference for home roasting.