Luca Moderator Joined: 27 Jan 2004 Posts: 2,646 Location: Melbourne, Australia
Espresso: H: Maver W: FB-80 Grinder: H: Super Jolly W: Brasilia... Vac Pot: Hario TCA-2 Roaster: Sample Roaster at Work
Posted Mon Dec 31, 2007, 12:29am Subject: Poll: Your Best of 2007
Hi Gang,
I thought it best to use and abuse my moderatorly privileges to create this post as a sticky. We can un-sticky it in a few weeks.
For a few years, it has been a tradition in this forum to begin the new year by recapping the best experiences of the past year. So let's have at it! What was your:
(a) Best coffee experience (drinking a coffee, visiting a place, learning to do something, barista competition, buying something - whatever)
(b) Best coffee at home.
(c) Best coffee in a cafe.
(d) Blend and/or single origin of the year (home roast and/or commercially roasted)
(e) Best coffee that wasn't based on espresso.
(f) Best piece of coffee gadgetry. (It's no secret that we're all gadget mad, so let's hear about your nuclear-powered tampers, gyroscopic cups and ruby laser roasters.)
(g) Best coffee photo.
Seeing as this is a time for celebration, I feel compelled to ask that we not talk about what our worst experiences were - it tends to drag things down a little.
In the past, people have found it easy to answer this by copying the criteria, hitting the reply button, pasting into the field and answering under each letter.
(f) Best piece of coffee gadgetry. (It's no secret that we're all gadget mad, so let's hear about your nuclear-powered tampers, gyroscopic cups and ruby laser roasters.)
Luca Moderator Joined: 27 Jan 2004 Posts: 2,646 Location: Melbourne, Australia
Espresso: H: Maver W: FB-80 Grinder: H: Super Jolly W: Brasilia... Vac Pot: Hario TCA-2 Roaster: Sample Roaster at Work
Posted Tue Jan 1, 2008, 12:19am Subject: Re: Poll: Your Best of 2007
Wow, Luca, great thread! ;P
(a) Best coffee experience (drinking a coffee, visiting a place, learning to do something, barista competition, buying something - whatever)
There have been a few, but one of the real highlights for me was getting to visit the Rio Coffee roastery in Adelaide and chewing the fat with Tony, their uber roaster, at various times throughout the year. Tony has an great combination of bucketloads of experience, a very open mind, a genuine interest in other peoples' opinions and an extremely generous sense of Italian hospitality. Plus he bakes a mean bean, as anyone who tried out the 16kg (!!) that he sent down to Melbourne earlier this year will attest.
(b) Best coffee at home.
Honestly can't remember. It has been a good year!
(c) Best coffee in a cafe.
Ditto. A particularly amazing espresso from Mecca earlier in the year stands out.
(d) Blend and/or single origin of the year (home roast and/or commercially roasted)
A few months ago, Donnie, one of the roasters at work, invited me to help him come up with an experimental blend. Donnie had roasted about 15 different origins and an afternoon of blending and tasting left us with an incredibly balanced blend, with monster sweetness and fruit flavours. I hope to hell that he kept the recipe!
As for SOs, I'm not sure which one I would call the "best," but the one that I enjoyed the most was a generic lot of colombian supremo that just happened to be far cleaner, sweeter and more syrupy than any other colombian supremo that I have tasted. It was really quite spectacular, and a real wakeup call not to overlook the classics.
(e) Best coffee that wasn't based on espresso.
Panama Esmeralda brewed in a vac pot. Like drinking Mandarin juice. Second place goes to St Ali's Kenyan AA brewed in vac pot and Mountain Top Bin 549 through the clover at BBB.
(f) Best piece of coffee gadgetry. (It's no secret that we're all gadget mad, so let's hear about your nuclear-powered tampers, gyroscopic cups and ruby laser roasters.)
The GS3 certainly is a formidable piece of equipment. There are heaps of good nominations for this category, but I think that I would probably give it to the GS3 and the Nez du Cafe set of reference scents.
(g) Best coffee photo.
Syd did a fantastic job in getting time to stand still in the attached photo. Excuse the blatant product placement - the photo is for a brewing guide for work.
Easy - Watching the WBC in Tokyo! From sharing a machine with Einar Kleppe Holthe to sharing a beer with Doug Zell. It's no wonder Baristas keep going back for more. There was such a sense of comradeship.
(I'll exclude work.) Espresso was Mountain Top Bin 549 (St Ali roast) served at The Maling Room. Latte was Forza at First Pour (yes I've been working there as well, but geez it was good!)
Luca Said:
(d) Blend and/or single origin of the year (home roast and/or commercially roasted)
Tough call. I was privileged to have the legendary Panama Esmeralda Geisha from the Clover at the WBC in Tokyo, and that was damn fine. The Tanzanian Kilamanjaro (St Ali roast) brewed in a syphon at First Pour was great (cumquat marmalade), and the Mountain Top Bin 549 (St Ali roast) was fantastic (Strawberries). Am I allowed to have 3? :-)
Ditto. The Panama and the Tanzania. Can I have 2? :-)
Luca Said:
(f) Best piece of coffee gadgetry. (It's no secret that we're all gadget mad, so let's hear about your nuclear-powered tampers, gyroscopic cups and ruby laser roasters.)
kiwicoffeeman Senior Member Joined: 27 Sep 2005 Posts: 216 Location: New Zealand Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Home: Faema Due Work: La San... Grinder: Home: Cunali? Work: mazzer Roaster: Home: heathware I-Roast
Posted Wed Jan 2, 2008, 5:20pm Subject: Re: Poll: Your Best of 2007
Hey Everyone.. my list: :) (a) my personal one was doing well at the latte art comp.. unexpected win, but was stoked!!
(b)hmmm.. the dbl shot latte i made myself after being stuck in the hospital while my daughter was being born... and sitting outside in the sun enjoying it!!
(c) theres been a few, but probably one i had at Atomic in Auckland stood out a bit... and another at Emporio Roastary in wellington!
(d) Was a blend of left over green beans that i had at home.. in my iRoast... and do you think i can do it again... i doubt it.. :)
(e) Finally made myself a good cuppa on my aeropress... again.. the 2nd one just wasnt the same:) ... keen to try a clover tho... i hear a rumour that a certain wellington roaster is getting one?
(f) Still on the hunt.. my collection is pretty boring still... always on the lookout tho.. :)
(g) hopefully it will attach.....its not the best coffee i have done this year, but for some reason i really like it... and i have another fav that features my vespa as well... maybe i'll post that later!
All the best for 2008 people!! hope to meet some more of you thru out the year!
AndyL Senior Member Joined: 31 Dec 2003 Posts: 1,317 Location: australia Expertise: Pro Barista
Espresso: synesso Grinder: Robur,k10,mini Vac Pot: still in its box Roaster: Matty
Posted Wed Jan 2, 2008, 10:49pm Subject: Re: Poll: Your Best of 2007
(a) Best coffee experience. Last year i didnt get a kick out of making great coffee. Best experience is training staff and watching them improve so much. Trained 3 boys this year and watching them improve really did it for me. Dan who had never made coffee, was pouring 4 rosettas in a cup under a month of teaching.
(b) dont drink coffee at home
(c) Blue bottle San Francisco. Must have been the huge let down on coffee in the U.S. Ready for someone to amaze me and they did. Also its hard not to fall in love with San Francisco. Amazing espresso and latte
(4) best coffee St ali Aussie bin 549. That day Simon had it. Was lucky!! No hot days, peaked just on that day and on that time. Next day it wasnt the same Panama Esmeralda roasted for espresso.... WOW 3 days of heaven. drank 10 espressos on one day. Honduras estate from Fiori.
(5) best coffee not espresso Brazil COE that St Ali had. Was really on. First roast i believe. Bang on the money.
Posted Fri Jan 4, 2008, 4:11am Subject: Re: Poll: Your Best of 2007
(a) Best coffee experience
(b) Best coffee at home.
(c) Best coffee in a cafe. Espresso at Brother BaBa Budan late October.
(d) Blend and/or single origin of the year (home roast and/or commercially roasted) Blend: Ipanema Dulce, Sumatran Gao and Harrar
(e) Best coffee that wasn't based on espresso. Clover, at Brother BaBa Budan. I think it was my only non-espresso based coffee all year.
(f) Best piece of coffee gadgetry. The coffee gadget disintegrator. This is an amazing gadget which allows CoffeeGeeks to get back to the coffee. I'm over gadgets.
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