The Piccola Titanio is our compact, but powerful coffee grinder for home use. It fulfills highest barista request and its 60mm titanium flat burrs guarantee outstanding grinding results. The bean container made of glass and the lid made of wood show, how much we, at Bellezza, value sustainable materials.
Available in: Matte Black Matte White Aluminium
available at www.dipacci.com.au
THE GRIND
Something in the water
With over 90% of your coffee being water, getting the good quality H2O has got to be worth a bit of effort
to describe it. Then James revealed that he’d used exactly the same beans, brewed in exactly the same way. Only for one, he’d used bottled water, for the other, tap. The difference was astonishing. The pros have known this fact for a long time, and all good cafés will have in-line filtration systems managing their water quality. But what makes water ‘good’ for coffee? In a report published by Adam Carr of Seven Miles Coffee Roasters, there are a couple of key factors to take into account. Hardness has a significant effect on the pure amount of flavour extracted. Between 50-80ppm (parts per million of calcium carbonate) is ideal. Exceeding this will
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“When you’re spending all that money on wonderful beans, sourced responsibly, roasted to perfection, water quality becomes an definite issue” deliver diminishing flavour returns and risk damaging your equipment. pH balance is also critical. Carr claims that “the higher the pH, the greater the amount of flavour extracted.” To maximise flavour and consistency in extraction rates he recommends pH 7–8.5. The easiest way to experience flavour nirvana at home is to use bottled water.
Many relatively inexpensive, ownbrand bottled waters produce a really good cup of coffee with mineral and hardness levels perfectly aligned. The main downside is the negative impact on the environment, and as a longterm solution, buying bottled water is ethically flawed. However, when you’re spending all that money on wonderful beans, sourced responsibly, roasted to perfection and brewed using equipment designed to enhance them, water quality becomes an definite issue. It's got to be worth trialling bottled water to explore the potential for improvement. Once you’ve converted your opinion you can then explore more sustainable options. One would be to make friends with your local specialty coffee shop – if you’re not already – and ask if they would supply you with an occasional litre or two from their filtered system. It’s a nice idea and could be considered a kind of aftercare service, the way that some shops grind beans for customers who don’t own a grinder. If you’ve ever spoken to your barista about coffee, you’ll notice how they come alive and feel genuinely passionate about it. Frankly, no one is happy about negatively affecting the taste of their beans with sub-standard water. Perhaps a small contribution would help facilitate an arrangement and prevent it becoming a wearisome commitment for one or both of you. Excepting those that have unfettered access to filtered water, or just have a scant disregard for discarding plastic bottles into the food chain, it’s certainly worth a discussion. You will never know unless you ask, and the flavour revelation is a tempting goal. This is an adaptation of an original story by Chloë Callow @FaerietaleFoody
T Y LE R N IX / UN S P LA S H
F
resh beans? Check. Grinder? Check. Scales? Check. Aeropress, French Press, piston or pump? Got it. You’re all set to be a domestic barista, producing tasty coffee in minutes, any time you choose. We don’t want to rain on your parade, but what are you using as your main ingredient? The water coming out of your kitchen tap may be considered healthy to quench your thirst on a 40-degree day but in all likelihood it’s doing absolutely nothing for the flavour of your brew. In a demonstration a few years ago by Mister Coffee himself – aka James Hoffmann – he got experienced tasters to try two coffees blind. Feedback was unanimously enthusiastic about one – a delightful blend with notes of caramel, toffee and a little burst of citrus. The other? “Dull”, “mucky”, “flat” and “lifeless” were some of the words used
LOUIS HANSEL/UNSPLASH
THE GRIND
Post-pandemic tea As cafés reopen, they should focus on the deliberate ritual that’s part of brewing top-quality tea, says Emilie Holmes of Good & Proper Tea
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offee shops have shown incredible resilience during the pandemic. Many have served their communities with takeaway and deli offerings, with owners working overtime while their teams survived on disaster payments. While central city locations suffered from a lack of footfall, some neighbourhood cafés reported spikes in sales thanks to those daily local walks. But there’s something about a visit to our favourite coffee shop that no hatch or pared-back counter can provide: the scan of the menu, the clink of cups
hitting saucers, the gentle “ssssht” of the steam wand, and the immediate warmth of being in a room with others. The popularity of speciality coffee was never just about the drink; the opportunity to stop, draw breath and focus on pleasure for a moment during our busy lives was an important aspect. With restrictions lifted, we’ll be looking to cafés for much more than just our daily caffeine fix – and tea, in this regard, has a lot to offer. We have all been drinking more tea than we were pre-pandemic. The biggest spike in demand has been for loose-
leaf tea, and understandably so. When working from home it’s easier to wait out the extended infusion time that the best loose-leaf teas demand, and reap the reward in taste. The figures refer to tea consumed at home, but it seems inevitable that delicious, properly brewed tea will be more prominent on coffee shop menus in a post-pandemic world. The appeal of good-quality tea is not only in the complexity of flavour, but also in the spectrum of types available. From robust breakfast blends to floral greens, from fragrant oolongs to soothing herbal infusions, the world of tea offers something for every mood. The naturally “slow” nature of the tea ritual also plays to our increasing need for daily moments of calm. So, if at home we are willing to take the time and pay the premium for delicious tea, then coffee shop owners would do well to take note and ensure their tea offerings are of the highest standard. To do this they need a suitable range of tea, to take care in the brewing of the leaves, and to offer an experience customers will come back for. Tea drinkers can enjoy their part in the process at the table, seeing the leaves in a glass pot emit wisps of colour as they infuse, or simply appreciating the ritual of the pour. However it is presented, giving tea the same care and attention that baristas give their beans is worth getting right as coffee shops open their doors again. After all, with a greater post-Covid focus on worklife balance, the customers won’t all come in between 8am and 9am any more… Emilie Holmes is the founder of Good & Proper Tea
Sucking good coffee The VacOne Coffee Air Brewer is the result of experiments using vacuum pumps to make better coffee by two young Latin American entrepreneurs, Eduardo Umaña and Otto Becker. They discovered that by using negative pressure they could produce sweeter, more balanced hot coffee and cold brew in only four minutes. VacOne manages this by banishing the bloom. Created by the release of CO2 when ground coffee comes into contact with water, the bloom, or crema, is that delicious-looking layer of ‘foam’ that forms on freshly roasted coffee when it's brewed. It may be aesthetically pleasing but it can cause your brew to taste acidic or under-extracted. Operating it is simple. Ground coffee and water are added into the plastic hopper to steep. The resulting bloom is then separated from the finished cup using vacuum suction, through a reusable metal filter and into the sealed glass jug below. It achieves this by applying 7psi of negative air pressure provided by a near-silent rechargeable motor. Hot filter coffee, brewed to Specialty Coffee Association Gold Cup brewing standards within 30 seconds, is pretty special but the real winners are lovers of cold brew. A procedure that traditionally takes hours can now be completed in minutes. RRP $179; espressocompanyaustralia.com.au
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THE GRIND
Some like it cold
Cold brew coffee that's better for you and better for the planet A growing number of people around the world are choosing to get their caffeine hit as a refreshing cold drink. And if you're someone who only ever enjoys their specialty coffee as a hot beverage then there's a whole world of chilled goodness waiting for you. Coffee that's ‘not hot’ falls into two categories – iced coffee and cold brew – and apart from temperature and their basic ingredients of ground beans and water they are quite different beasts. Iced coffee is quite simply a regular hot coffee that has been cooled down by the addition of ice. On the other hand, cold brew uses time rather than temperature to extract the sugars and oils – a process can take upwards of 12 hours. The result is smoother and sweeter than its iced counterpart, with more emphasis placed on the subtle flavours of the bean and the roast profile. Given the lengthy process grabbing a cheeky cold brew from the fridge will require some forward planning. So it's nice to know that the non-dairy nuts at Califia Farms have done the hard work for you. Their new XX Espresso is a mix of cold brew and almond milk. Califia’s almond milk is made from whole blanched almonds (where none of the almond is wasted) and uses 40% less water to produce versus the average glass of dairy milk.
Recycled Coffee Runners These stylish Rens trainers are breathable, durable, lightweight, odourproof, anti-bacterial, quick-drying and 100% waterproof; but that's not all. Available in a range of fashionable colours, for men and women, these running shoes are made from used coffee and recycled plastic – 21 cups worth of coffee grounds and six plastic bottles, to be precise. Founded in Helsinki, Finland, Rens is the result of a conversation between two passionate sneaker-heads about the environmental impacts of the global sneaker industry and the less-than-stylish sustainable options available. Their mission statement claims that, “sustainability is not a goal that can simply be achieved. It's a non-stop process.” Only two years down the line, they have already recycled an incredible over 250,000 plastic bottles and more than 750,000 cupsworth of used grounds; and this si just the beginning. Rens is committed to this journey and if you want to find out more visit rensoriginal.com or follow @rensoriginal
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Califia also only works with almond farmers who use the most efficient and technologically advanced irrigation practices, to minimise water and almond wastage. The caffeine hit comes from cold brew made using 100% Arabica coffee beans sourced from Brazil for the Australian market. Jennifer May, nutritionist, author and wellness speaker from Sydney City Nutritionist and Food Intolerance Australia, says, “Cold brewing maintains the antioxidants of the coffee bean. Antioxidants are important during and after alcohol consumption as they help to heal and prevent cellular damage, and they also help prevent disease and illness. Califia Farms offers a delicious cold brew range blended with nut milks for added antioxidants, nutrients, healthy fats and protein.” XX Espresso contains significantly less sugar than traditional flavoured milks and cold brew coffees. It has added calcium (25% of your daily needs) and is completely dairy free. So, it's better for you, and for the planet. Califia Farms XX Espresso Cold Brew Coffee is available from the fridge at Woolworths and independent retailers nationally. For more information visit califiafarms.com.au or contact australia@califiafarms.com
THE GRIND
Ingredients
For the meringue 6 egg whites (240g) 480g caster sugar 1tbsp cocoa powder For the roasted grapes 500g red or black grapes 2tbsp golden caster sugar 1tsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed For the espresso cream 600ml double cream 1tbsp icing sugar 4tbsp strong brewed espresso or 1tsp instant espresso powder To serve Dark chocolate Edible gold leaf (optional)
SCRUMPTIOUS!
Chocolate and espresso pavlova with fennel roasted grapes This year I’m giving coffee centre stage on the Christmas dessert table. I firmly believe coffee shouldn’t just be an afterthought to accompany dessert, it should be the dessert – but aside from that, it just makes sense. That sofa is practically asking you to nap on it after you’ve eaten an entire month’s worth of food for Christmas lunch, so you’re going to need all the caffeine you can get to survive more games, more wine and, well, more food. Not only does this pavlova have an indulgent chocolatey caffeine kick, it’s also the perfect make-ahead showstopper for any dinner party over the festive period. You can bake the bases up to three days in advance and keep them in an airtight container, then when you’re ready to serve it simply roast the grapes, whip the cream and assemble… leaving you more time for you to eat, drink and be merry!
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Preheat the oven to 200°C and line a baking tray with parchment paper. To make the meringue, pour the sugar on to the baking tray and pop in the oven for five to six minutes. When the sugar goes in, start whisking the egg whites on a low speed. As bubbles form, gradually increase the speed and continue to whisk until the whites form stiff peaks. Remove the sugar from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 120°C. Slowly and carefully, add the sugar to the egg whites one tablespoon at a time, allowing the mixture to come back to stiff peaks each time. Once all the sugar has been added, whisk at high speed for five to 10 minutes to allow the sugar to dissolve. Line two baking trays with parchment paper and draw a 20cm circle on each. Gently swirl the cocoa powder through the meringue with a spatula. Dollop half the mixture into the middle of each circle and spread out with the back of a spoon or palette knife. Bake for approximately 90 minutes, or until the bottom of the meringue pulls away from the baking paper. Lightly crush the fennel seeds in a pestle and mortar, and mix with the grapes and sugar. Set to one side. Remove the pavlovas from the oven and leave to cool. Increase the oven temperature to 180°C. Spread the grapes on a parchment-lined baking tray and roast for 15 to 20 minutes until bursting and syrupy. While the grapes are roasting, whip the cream with the icing sugar and espresso. Remove the grapes from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Scrape the edge of a bar of dark chocolate with a vegetable peeler to create chocolate curls. To assemble, spread half the espresso cream on one of the pavlovas. Stack the other on top and spread with the remaining cream. Top with the grapes and any syrup they may have. Finish with chocolate curls and edible gold leaf.
W OR D S, ST Y LIN G A N D P HOTOG R AP H Y BY S A F IA S H A K A R C HI
Method
THE GRIND
Kool cafés
on the block
Kopi Café A round-up of some interesting coffee spaces across the country
Merchant & Maker
Old Man Drew
399 Ewingsdale Road, Byron Bay NSW 2481 Maggie Dylan, Jules Kelly and the team at Folk are working hard to keep things loose and organic. Their day-to-day milk-based coffee is Organic Highwire from Dukes Coffee Roasters, plus Dukes’ organic singles for black coffees. On top of that is a regular rotation of local and international specialty roasts. Jules says: “We’re committed to great community vibes, swinging tunes, delicious plantbased food and top shelf coffee.” Even the tropical garden is edible! folkbyronbay.com
8/35 Dunn Bay Road, Dunsborough WA 6281 Danish owners, Steve and Anna Momsen, have taken the old Dunsborough General Store to a whole new level. Serving the Five Senses High Fidelity blend accompanied by a rotation of seasonal single origins, Merchant & Maker is much more than just a café serving quality coffee. Their own in-house food offerings form part of a showcase for local gourmet products, and the space has become a hugely popular community hub. merchantandmaker.com.au
359-361 Mt Alexander Road, Ascot Vale VIC 3032 Old world vibes abound in this charming oasis of calm in the Melbourne suburb of Ascot Vale. Enjoy a range of blends and single origins from Five Senses in a café that exudes vintage charm. Or escape to their sprawling garden with working veggie-patch, or chill out in the original bluestone wine cellar. oldmandrewcafe.com.au
@ N HU G HE S PH OTOG R AP H Y 1
M AGGI E DY LA N
Folk
227 Grant Street, Golden Point, VIC 3350 From the outside it looks like an old 1970s service station; on the inside it's an invitingly spacious and welcoming diner. This inspired family-run venture doesn't just offer great coffee – Dukes Coffee is their bean of choice – but also a range of locally sourced food and beverage options. Grabbing a coffee from the servo has never tasted so good. drive-cafe.com
Hoi Polloi Espresso Bar Denham Lane, Townsville QLD 4810 In 2014, brothers Sean and Conor Doyle took over the garage space of a heritage listed building that their parents owned. Tucked away down an art-filled laneway the Hoi Boys have developed a quirky and laid back coffee space. Serving locally roasted Tomorrowland blend from Freelance Roasting; definitely worth a visit. @thehoipolloicafe
Teddy Pickers
Mr.Sister
53/65 Constitution Avenue, Campbell ACT 2612 A fully-licensed, all day breakfast café providing a variety of specialty coffee options. Their local house roaster is Red Brick, but they also bring in coffee from around Australia, as well as over 25 teas from the Tea Garden Co. The food is special too, and the Salmon Eggs Bennie is to die for! teddypickers.com.au
169-185 Hunter Street, Newcastle NSW 2300 Brother and sister duo, Garth Buchannan and Bec Thomson have struck coffee gold with their new space in Newcastle's refreshed East End. They don't have a food menu, choosing to concentrate on their extensive pour-over and espresso offerings, with beans from Coffee Supreme. @mrsistercoffee
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Bitter & Twisted 50ml Aperol 100ml Happy Hippie Raspberry Fusion Kombucha 30ml freshly brewed espresso Serve in a tumbler with a small block of ice. Rub an orange slice on the rim and drop on top.
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KOMBUCHA
Alive kicking Words Anna Sulan Masing Photography Gary Smith
The world of kombucha is one with multiple layers, fervent disciples, hidden gems and, above all, many, many ways to ferment tea. But rather than revering it as mystical or exotic, it’s important to treat this wonderful beverage as part of the real world
K
ombucha is, essentially, a fermented tea drink. It’s made by adding a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY) to brewed tea and sugar. This is left to ferment with available oxygen, then bottled – minus the SCOBY, which is saved for the next batch – and fermented for a second time, without the presence of oxygen. Put like that, it sounds simple. Deceptively so. Cell biologist and fermentation expert Tiff Mak says the complexity of kombucha is evident in its name. “The association with tea is probably derived from the -cha part of the word, which stands for tea in many Asian languages. But the word can also be used to mean broth. Whether the drink’s exact definition is that it has to contain tea – ie be derived from the tea plant, Camellia sinensis – as the main component is ambiguous.” Adding to the confusion, she says, is that “there are many variations of kombucha – for example, Jun is a subcategory that is made specifically with green tea and honey.”
At times this ambiguity is exploited. A number of kombucha brands in the global north have injected origin stories into their marketing that begin in south or east Asia, leaning heavily on a mystic notion of wellness. For example, the US brand GT’s – established more than 20 years ago and one of the biggest global kombucha brands – cites “eastern philosophy” and “ancient history”, using south Asian-inspired design to create exoticism and, in the words of academic Uma Narayan, the contrast between “the material West and the spiritual East”. This modern image of kombucha possibly stems from Gunther W Frank’s 1995 book Kombucha: Healthy Beverage and Natural Remedy from the Far East. The connection to wellness has been further developed by an increased interest in fermentation and its relationship to health.
S
andor Katz, a US food writer who’s been described as the godfather of fermentation although he describes himself as a fermentation revivalist, is an avid fan of kombucha but cautions against buying into the elixir reputation the drink has acquired. In an appearance on the REAL Kombucha podcast, he explained that, although fermented food has positive benefits to a lot of people, there is no one food or drink that solves all our nutrition problems. “We are multivariable beings – one small change doesn’t change everything. What we eat and drink is part of a larger context.” The claimed health benefits have played a major part in Australia’s rapid adoption of this new-fangled drink. People may want to cut out sugar but they don’t want to compromise on taste. Emmet Condon, co-founder of Remedy Drinks, explains how they achieve this balance; “Our long-aged brewing process allows us to craft a kombucha with great depth of flavour that naturally contains no sugar and is chock-full of live cultures, organic acids and antioxidants.”
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Best since Bradman Who invented the first espresso machine and when did they start to get any good? Barista Hustle’s supersleuth Jem Challender follows the time line
H
ave you noticed in cricket, when it comes to rating batsmen, they talk about the ‘best since Bradman’? That’s because The Don’s records are so unattainable that no modern cricketer has got within coo-ee of them. While researching for our latest course, The Espresso Machine, our team at Barista Hustle have been having fun rating espresso machines using a scale reminiscent of the Bradman one. With modern espresso making, we’re very lucky. Machine technology has gotten so good that the point of difference between a great shot and a bad one has little to do with the machine and a lot to do with the beans and the way they were roasted. When it comes to flavour, even the role of the barista is secondary to the roast quality. That’s not to say the race to the top for machine makers or barista champions is noncompetitive (and there’s plenty of room for improvement in both areas). But take my word for it; if you got some low-scoring coffee beans and made espresso with them using stateof-the-art equipment, they would go down in flames next to top-quality coffee beans brewed on any espresso machine invented after 1947 — even one you picked up at Aldi for 80 bucks. Why the line in the sand in 1947? Because that’s the year Gaggia invented the spring lever machine. It is virtually impossible to find an espresso machine that was made before 1947 that is still operational. One reason for this scarcity is the wartime demand for scrap metal. In Italy, it was so intense that many of the glorious old machines were scrapped and turned into munitions. But another explanation is that Gaggia’s innovation made all the previous designs redundant in the eyes of the public.
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So if we can’t taste an espresso from a machine made before Gaggia’s lever machine, then we have to take a theoretical approach to work out what pre-war coffee machines were the game changers. After weeks spent researching the coffee machines of the 19th and 20th century, it was always going to happen that we’d start to think, ‘what machine made the best coffee before Gaggia came along?’ Little by little, the ‘Best Since Bradman’ question morphed into the BBG scale… Best Before Gaggia. Of course, Gaggia didn’t just waltz up the mountain on his own, but his influence was so far-reaching that modern espresso never looked back. Gaggia wasn’t the first to come up with the idea of a piston in the group head. What he did was add the spring that pushed down the piston, which in turn drove hot water through the coffee bed. The idea for the piston had come from an inventor named Antonio Cremonese, whose widow — aptly named Rosetta Scorza — sold the patent to Gaggia for 1,000 lira (worth about AU$1,500 today). You could argue that Gaggia and Cremonese were recycling ideas from a century earlier. Take a look at this patent from 1816 lodged by M. le Comte Réal (fig 2). It’s a hybrid of Gaggia’s lever machine and the AeroPress, predating the latter by almost two centuries.
1 Giovanni Achille Gaggia’s patent for the spring lever group
3 An illustration from Luigi Giarlotto’s 1909 patent
2 An illustration from M. le Comte Réal’s 1816 patent
4 Marius Malausséna’s 1921 patent. The column on the right side includes an electrically powered heat exchanger
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ESPRESSO GRINDERS
Grind Zero Having the right grinder is the biggest single way to improve your espresso experience. We assess some options
A
ny coffee aficionado worth their salt will tell you that the secret to consistently great coffee depends on your grinder. But which of the myriad of domestic bean-crushing devices on the market will do the job best? The majority of budget grinders just don’t cut it when it comes to fine-tuning your brew. So, we have gathered seven well-specced machines at different price points, and then trialled their output by pulling an espresso and assessing its flavour. To facilitate the process, we enlisted the expert help of Paul Hallit, Head of Development & Education at The Little Marionette, who has been in the business of delivering great-tasting coffee for over 15 years. “The intense aromatic flavours of roasted coffee are released by immersing them in water,” he explains. “To achieve the perfect espresso shot, we need to increase the coffee contact area by cutting up the roasted beans into tiny, consistently sized pieces, before applying hot water under pressure to extract the best result.” In a controlled test we used The Little Marionette’s House Blend, and evaluated the key factors of noise, grind time, retention (how much actually comes out), clumping (the all-important consistency of the ground coffee), and, of course, flavour. Frankly, it was amazing how much difference the choice of grinder actually made. While budget must be considered there is little doubt that you get what you pay for – in most cases at least.
Breville Smart Grinder™ Pro Functional and friendly Price: $399 Grind Time (18g): 18.8secs Retention: 3.7g Avg Noise: 68.3dB* From filter through to espresso, the multi-purpose Smart Grinder has pre-programmed settings that are clearly displayed on the impressively-large LCD screen. The 40mm conical burrs took a leisurely 18.8 seconds to grind 18 grams of beans into either a portafilter – interchangeable clips accept different sizes – or the air-tight container that forms part of the standard kit. In our test, the retention of 3.7 grams of coffee is
a concern as this will form part of the next dose and runs the risk of becoming stale if left inside the machine for too long. Overall grind consistency was clumpy, and this lack of uniformity may have affected the quality of the final espresso extraction which was a little thin, with inconsistent flavour notes. The mouthfeel was a touch light, as was the aftertaste. Functional simplicity and wellconsidered accessories are typical of Breville. While flavour delivery is not the best in this group, a small footprint and value for money is undeniably attractive. breville.com.au
PROS User-friendly, digital display, good accessories, great value.
CONS Lightweight and plastic,
high retention of ground coffee.
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Baratza Sette 270Wi Form meets function Price: $880 Grind Time (18g): 8.0secs Retention: 0.2g Avg Noise: 76.1dB*
produced quite marked clumping and the resulting retention of nearly three grams is certainly not ideal. This is a ‘stepped’ grinder with 55 steps ranging from super-fine to extra coarse. Ultimately, the espresso extracted was creamy, sweet, with a pleasant aftertaste. Based on flavour and price point, the Rocky would be a very capable and dependable addition to your coffee kitchen. rancilio.com.au
‘Sette’ translates as seven in Italian, which may explain the unique shape of the Baratza – as long as you view it from the right side. Whatever the designer’s influences may have been, under this angular exterior is a heap of sophistication that allows you to take complete control over your grinding. Sector-leading innovation includes micrometric adjustment, built-in Acaia scales, and programmable grind-toweight functionality. Not to mention the ability to constantly learn and fine-tune itself automatically. Handy adjustable forks will cater for all sizes of portafilter as well as various brewing devices. The Sette was the fastest grinder in our review – dealing with 18 grams in an impressively fast eight seconds. Retention was a miserly from the outset; a figure that will improve as the AI learning does its thing. The 200-watt motor was noisy but the grounds were uniformly distributed – evenly sized – with no clumping. The resulting espresso was creamy and rich with a light flavour and sweetly satisfying aftertaste. A superbly capable machine with pro-level functionality offering absolute precision. fivesenses.com.au
PROS Workhorse grinder, wide
PROS Grinds by weight, AI learning,
CONS Totally manual two-handed
CONS Small LED display, loudest
Rancilio Rocky Solidly dependable Price: $459 Grind Time (18g): 15.0secs Retention: 2.9g Avg Noise: 74.3dB* The quirky styling may not be everyone’s cup of tea or, indeed coffee, but the no-frills ‘Rocky’ is a simple to use and relatively bulletproof piece of kit. The plastic hopper is tinted blue to filter out UV rays and protect your beans, although we don’t recommend using any grinder as a storage solution. The removable cradle means you can grind to a portafilter or a larger container as required. On paper, the 140-watt motor seems under-powered – especially in espresso terms – but it still manages to spin the 50mm flat steel burrs at an impressive 1350rpm which grinds 18 grams of beans in 15 seconds. Finer grind settings
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range of grind settings.
operation, no timed dosing.
zero retention, great tasting coffee.
grinder in our review group.
ESPRESSO GRINDERS
Eureka Mignon Specialita Linear loveliness Price: $955
Black, white or chrome for
Grind Time (18g): 10.0secs Retention: 0.3g Avg Noise: 69.1dB* The Mignon is a sleek, stylish and solidly built, all-purpose grinder with three colour options – black, white or chrome – and a big 310-watt heart. The powerful motor is able to quietly and effortlessly spin the 55mm flat steel burrs at 1350rpm without putting too much heat into the grounds and affecting the coffee – a big plus. The clean body line is extended into the angular plastic hopper, creating a very slim and compact footprint.
The good-sized touch screen is simple to operate and is conveniently angled towards the user. The small micrometric grind-size knob allows for extra fine adjustment; although its hypersensitivity takes a little while to fully master. Light work was made of an 18-gram dose of beans, with the Mignon dispatching a powdery waterfall of coffee in an impressive 10 seconds with no mess or clumping and virtually zero retention.
The espresso flavour was impressive too; viscous, creamy, with a good mouthfeel and a sweet aftertaste. With angular aesthetics and superior performance, the Mignon should definitely make it onto anyone’s shortlist. segafredo.com.au PROS Clear digital display, fast grind,
premium build, great tasting coffee.
CONS Not many, although grind
adjustment is a little fiddly.
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f you are involved with the coffee industry, chances are you have heard of the frosts in Brazil. This year the first of these frosts arrived on 20th July, damaging many plantations in most coffee-producing regions of the country. Shortly after, on 29th July, a second wave arrived, aggravating an already critical situation. It’s thought around 10% to 20% of arabica-producing areas were affected. The frosts coincided with the driest weather in almost a century, which meant the trees were already vulnerable. The freezing temperatures caused two major problems: “burning” trees and leaves, and killing the younger trees. As well as harming the current harvest, these factors could compromise production for many years to come. It’s not just coffee that is affected. A combination of historically low soil moisture and low rainfall projected for much of south and central Brazil in August raises concerns for food production in general, especially sugar cane and wheat. Soil moisture in the state of Paraná, Brazil’s largest wheat producer, has reached its lowest level since 2017. Corn and vegetable crops are also affected. A preliminary assessment by Brazil’s government signals that the frost may have reduced next year’s arabica coffee output by as much as 10 million bags. The silver lining is that coffee prices have surged on the New York Stock Exchange, with an accumulated increase of 50% over the past 12 months. This means higher prices paid to producers for commodity coffee and subsequently for specialty too. However, this is little
The chill in Brazil
Severe frosts have hit the country’s already vulnerable crops hard, and coffee has been badly affected. Bruna Costa analyses the damage and the cost comfort to the many farmers who have lost most of their livelihood. In the local economy, Brazilian supermarket coffee prices are expected to increase by 35% to 40% – the biggest rise in 25 years, according to some analysts – which will mean many Brazilians with lower household income might struggle to get their daily cup of coffee. However, few people believe there is a true risk of coffee shortage. The frosts and increased green prices have coincided with economic
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Above: the contrast between healthy green coffee bushes and dead brown frostaffected ones is clear
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instability and rising inflation, so Brazilian roasters and consumers will experience an increase in packaging, energy and other costs as well as the coffee itself. Worldwide, coffee prices will undoubtedly increase in cafés and supermarkets. I believe the growing specialty scene in Brazil will be less affected because it is still relatively small. Roasters involved with specialty in Brazil invest a lot of time and effort educating consumers and explaining why specialty is priced the way it is. One possible effect is that the higher prices will stop newcomers trying specialty. Hopefully the efforts of roasters to make prices transparent will compensate to some extent.
n more positive news for Brazilian coffee, the government has approved an allocation of R$1.32bn (AU$324m) in financing from the Coffee Economy Defence Fund (Funcafé) to producers affected by the frosts. This should help with replanting and damage mitigation for the affected plantations, with the main focus on small growers who account for most of the affected area. These events show the connection between the frosts and other climatic issues in Brazil and the resulting price we will all pay for coffee. Environmental issues in one country have a global impact and this is especially true for such an international industry as specialty coffee. As a green coffee buyer, I believe it’s vital to have truly transparent communication with producers, clients and consumers: sharing information is what we must do in order to help farmers to sell their coffee for the price it deserves. Brazil-born Bruna Costa is general manager of Kamba Coffee.
C O C K TA I L
the caffeinated tipple
Sweet and sour flavours combine in this fruity take on a cold brew tonic The recipe for this wonderfully stimulating cocktail comes from Pietro Collina, bar director at The NoMaD in London. It’s named in honour of a former bartender at the chain’s New York hotel, Will Wyatt, who created the drink while working there and went on to open the Mister Paradise bar in the city’s East Village district.
Mister Paradise Ingredients 1 strawberry 7.5ml cane syrup* 15ml vanilla syrup** 15ml lemon juice 15ml cold brew coffee (or Mr Black coffee liqueur for an added kick) 30ml grapefruit juice 30ml pineapple juice Method * To make the cane syrup, mix 2:1 evaporated cane sugar to hot water. Combine and blend until all the sugar is incorporated, and strain. ** To make the vanilla syrup, scrape one vanilla pod and mix with 500g of white sugar and 500ml of hot water, blend until all the sugar is incorporated and strain. Muddle the strawberry at the bottom of the mixing tin. Add the remaining ingredients and some ice, and shake. Double strain into a Collins glass with ice, and top with Capi Tonic and garnish
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