Michael J. Gibbons seorang barista dan spesialis kopi dari Australia menunjukan cara membuat latte art kepada puluhan pengunjung di bar Social House Mall Grand Indonesia. Acara ini merupakan bagian dari agenda Jakarta Culinary Festival yang dikemas dengan nama Coffee Culture bekerja sama dengan Illy Coffee tanggal 22 November lalu.  Latte yang diturunkan dari bahasa Itali, caffelatte, sebagaimana yang kita ketahui adalah milk based coffee, sebuah minuman yang populer selain cappuccino, terutama di cafe2 Amerika.

Salah satu faktor penting sebuah latte adalah kualitas frothing susu yang fungsinya adalah untuk meningkatkan dan memperkuat rasa kopi, bukan sebaliknya. Jadi bukanlah latte kalau rasa susunya lebih dominan dibandingkan dengan kopinya, atau kopi dengan sedikit rasa susu.  Untuk mencapai kriteria tersebut tentunya diperlukan sebuah mesin espresso yang bertenaga agar proses frothing benar2 menghasilkan busa halus atau micro foam dalam susunya, selain keterampilan teknis si barista tentunya.

Bagi barista sekaliber Gibbons, yang kelahiran Australia, latte art bukanlah hal yang sulit untuk dilakukan, apalagi dengan pengalamnnya yang malang melintang selama 20 tahun di industri kopi. Keterampilannya dalam menuangkan susu dan membentuk rosetta dalam waktu singkat serta bentuk2 latte art lainnya membuat para pengunjung sangat menikmati suguhan acara ini.Tidaklah aneh karena Gibbons juga seorang yang bersertifikat pengajar dalam lembaga pendidikan kopi bergengsi Universita del Caffe.

Dalam obrolan singkat dengan saya, Gibbons yang juga seorang Business Development Manager perwakilan Illy Coffee di Indonesia, PT Bahana Genta Viktory, akan segera membuka Universita del Caffe, sebuah lembaga pendidikan kopi pertama di Indonesia bagi perusahaan atau individu yang tertarik dengan bidang ini. Rencananya mereka akan membuka kelas sekitar bulan Februari atau Maret tahun depan, jadi kita tunggu saja formatnya seperti apa.

Don’t drink your latte, if there’s a beautiful art there

* * * * *

1. For being pregnant! Though I complain about the ’side effects’ I was convinced it would take me a year and I want a baby more than anything!

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2. For my wonderful fiance! Though we work long hours and rarely get days off together he never complains and knows it’s the little things that help.

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3. For living in such a beautiful part of the world! Though it can seem insular at times, the local community here is wonderful and we are the envy of many for living in a gorgeous coastal area.

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4. Summer! Dec, Jan and Feb bring even more work (and complaints from locals!) to our small business as tourists arrive in their hordes to enjoy our peninsula… but the money is good and much needed!

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5. Red wine, Jasper organic coffee & camembert cheese! Although I can’t enjoy any of these due to my pregnancy, I know they’ll be all the better for when I can! Woooo!

Sources here, here and here.

This post was inspired by this one from No Biggie.

Pregnancy Timer: 17 weeks + 3 days

Vad det föreställer? Det är väl uppenbart. Det är naturligtvis en purjolök.

Shafts of light pierced the atmosphere adding texture and shape to the skyline against a perfectly lit sky, a fleeting moment along Ralph McGill as the sun moves quick to set. (above)

In the middle of a dredged up yard in the Highlands, the tiny backhoe that had done the damage was sitting on top of a mound of earth. A man walking his long-haired dog had stopped to watch as I climbed halfway up one dirt mound to frame the shot. They eventually grew bored and continued walking perfectly into the frame. (below left)

“Have we met before?” I asked the barista after ordering a shot of espresso and a chocolate chip muffin. “You look familiar but I’m not sure from what”, she replied. “Marg, short for Margaret”, “Marg, Tim”, we exchanged names and said it was nice to meet again. I ate my muffin and drank my espresso, naturally sweet and syrupy. ”Who are you guys using for coffee?”, I asked Marg and the other barista behind the counter. “Batdorf and Bronson”, the bearded barista replied. “Marg,” I added, ”I just wanted to say that the shot tasted good.” She was proud of her accomplishment and replied, “Hopefully I’ll get my certification soon.” Latte art throwdowns and barista competitions are the eventual goal. I asked a few questions about their certification program, soon Mark was rushing to the back room to show me his certification flow chart, it was a simple diagram, I appreciated his enthusiasm. (above right)

The MARTA Civic Center Station has long corridors forming an overpass which straddles the width of the highway. These serve as massive outdoor waiting rooms for those in transit, those in transition, and for some who, it seems, would rather not move at all. (above left)

The top point of the Bank of America building looks like it was made out of popsicle sticks especially prominent at night with the lights glowing from inside the structure. (above right)

One of the best skyline views of downtown Atlanta is from the top of the parking garage at the main campus building of the Savannah College of Art and Design in Atlanta. It has always been a favorite spot. Originally I sought out the buildings lighted signage seen from a distance the way a mosquito flies toward blue neon bulbs to its demise. The top two levels are blocked off forcing one to walk the final leg to reach this destination. At night these last two floors are an empty, hollow, uniform space flooded with strange orange lighting. The line between covered and uncovered parking is dramatic due to the blue neon glow that washes over the uncovered spaces. I watched the highway traffic moving below and the fairly quiet airspace above, peering through the viewfinder searching cropping framing shapes and lines, the light of the skyline. (below left)

The sun was gone at this point but the warmth of it lingered. As I walked toward the Arts Center I noticed further up the street a large illuminated light board reminiscent of Times Square. I walked toward it and set up a shot just waiting for something to move into the frame. Soon the Jesus Bus rolled up. It was only after taking the shot did I notice the faces from inside the bus peering out at me. (below right)

On Highland Avenue just south of Ponce De Leon in the area designated as Poncey Highlands I saw a No Parking sign at the Highland Inn indicating the lack of spots for their neighbors at Soul Vegetarian or any other nearby business. (above left)

There was a murky haze in the air on the northbound platform at Five Points station. The man to my right tried to escape from the frame but was not quick enough. An approaching train sped into view from the left and far down the platform a striking figure in white walked into the tunnel of light ahead. Overhead MARTA reminded us to be safe. (above right)

Perhaps too safe and cordial to the point of possessing no sense of self or belonging. A landscape that seems bright from a distance yet feels distant upon close examination. However some elements continue to have drawing power, striking shapes stay burnt upon minds. Not enough perhaps to drive us, yet we keep on moving until we can find what does excite each one of us. They are diverse and fleeting moments, but the more of them we collect and the more of them we share, the sooner we will find that collective sense of self, of definition, of a city which demands that you belong here. (a)

爹爹每早喝一杯咖啡，我不會沖咖啡，只好學latte art整色整水，企圖一早給老細一個好印象。

細佬行年三份二，體重二十，腰圍一十有九：

Having 17 competitors working through 34 cups of coffee, we still had time for a few more to get their hands on the machine. Kimberly called for competitors to step up, and I was volunteered by my teammates at Oriole to try my hands at impressing the judges. I could only manage a triple rosetta under that tremendous pressure. And that wraps up this round of competition.

Everyone took a short break while our 3 wonderful judges took meticulous effort to tally up the score. And surprisingly we have a tie for the top position. Shin Hao got a high score of 24 from 3 judges, with an average of 8 (max score is 10) and I managed to tie his score of 24. So to decide the winner, we had to do a tie-breaker. It was done in a face-off style. Both of us decide to pour a tulip for the face off. He did a 3 tier tulip while I attempted a 5 tier tulip. (Well it’s not about how many you pour, it’s more of how define the art is) The judges deliberated long and hard, and we were tied again!

So it’s face-off round 2. This time, the judges wanted us to duplicate what we just poured. And the art will be compared to the previous one and it will be judged on the similarities and definition. And I was awarded an extra point for similarity. It was a close call and it’s definitely a tough decision by the judges… Well I guess I walked away with the pot as well as the tamper thrown in by Kimberly, a bottle of red wine, courtesy of Oriole Cafe & Bar which was shared among some of the Baristas present.

Before you all thought that was the end of the night, we had an impromptu finale which is the Blindfold Pouring! Thanks also to Kimberly for throwing in the Reg Barber tamper as a prize! We opened it up to 5 contestants that were adventurous to attempt such a feat. (We had Ian, Raj, Terence, Alif & Danny)

Two thumbs up to Terence who managed to pull off a rosetta while being blindfolded. Well done my friend.

As the event came to a close, many of the baristas stayed on for a few drinks while we caught up after not meeting for a couple of months, we look forward to such gathering again. A round of applause to Kimberly for such an initiative, thank you to Emmanuel for helping to co-ordinate the flow of event. Once again thanks to SCA & Greenfields for helping us baristas & coffee lovers to meet. I’m already looking forward to meeting everyone at the next event.

I’m really glad to see baristas putting effort to improve the level of latte art in Singapore. We believe all this passionate & professional baristas will certainly elevate the coffee scene here in Singapore. Well done guys, keep brewing with dedication.

Our coverage continues..

We have Faz from Jones stepping up to the machine, & we have a double heart on display. Good Job! Jocelyn from Spinelli, got ‘forced’ by Kimberly to take a shot at the machine, she pulled a lovely rosetta to give everyone a run for their money…

Next up, we have Max (-the winner of Oriole’s previous round of Throwdown and, currently churning out coffee at Aerin’s). We can feel the pressure he is under to claim another round of bragging rights as he placed a lovely heart on the judges table.

Terence from Kova wows the judges with a showcase of triple hearts. You can see that it went well with the 2 lady judges. Well done Terence.

Danny from Espressoul shows what a seasoned showman can do by pouring a nicely defined rosetta with no pressure at all. Fareed of Gloria Jeans gets a rosetta onto the table almost effortlessly.

Ian Consulta, award winning barista from CuppaChoice, shows everyone why he is one of the best by pouring an angel with a halo. Kudos to him for pulling off such a feat.

Vic from Oriole did not disappoint by pulling his new design. What should I call it? A two way rosetta? Till I find another name. My dear friend Chris Yeo from Spinelli does what he do best, charming the ladies with a beautiful heart on the top of the coffee. Well done my friend. Shin Hao from Starbucks, putting a very composed display with a HD (high-definition) rosetta.

Next up, we have a last minute entry, (I think he’s Dayard, will someone please help me on this!) what a nice rosetta, he poured it and twist it to the side. What a different art he has displayed to the judges. Under the crowd’s insistence, Mr Ross Bright, Vice Chairman of the SCA steps up to show everyone that a Master Roaster can pour a rosetta as well as any Barista. Chris Short calls it a rosetta with a halo. Nice one Ross.

Next up, the results!

I just found a few amazing new sites the other day (sidenote: I found them while waiting to meet people from my group project for a class. There are 18 people in the group, 3, including myself, showed up) and since I have papers and tests to do instead of wander all of these amazing sites I figured I should let you know about them one. at. a. time.  If I have no time for myself then I don’t have any time for you!

The website Francescomugnai.com, created by Francesco Mugnai who is a “certified expert” in Photoshop, a Freelancce Graphic Designer, a Teacher of Graphic Design and a Web Manager at the Italian Institute of Art and Design in Florence, Italy.  He has been featured in Computer Arts, Advanced Photoshop, and Web Designer Magazine and has expanded his interests into advertising, website development, and editorial blogs. 

Check out some of my favorite blogs from back until October (you know that if you have this many good links from such a short period of time, it’s quality ).

30 clever logos with hidden meanings. The magic of negative space…

Mac OS Evolution: from System 1.0 to Snow Leopard (55 wonderful images)

Banksy the genius: 60 pieces of amazing street art

The 80 best guerrilla marketing ideas i’ve ever seen

Photoshop training videos: The magic of “blend if gray”

35 Creative and Inspiring Examples of Latte Art

Check out all of the website’s authors feeds below!

Francesco Mugnai Jacques van Heerden Jake Mize Nikola Lazarevic

Jag försöker varje helg överträffa min latte art från föregående helg och blir gång på gång påmind om hur svårt det är att få till något fint. Det viktigaste är naturligtvis att kaffet smakar bra, men det är plus i kanten om man får till ett mönster.

Ibland gör jag rätt …

Jag har all respekt för baristorna där ute som vet hur man levererar gott kaffe och samtidigt får till ett riktigt löv!

… och ibland gör jag helt fel.

After all the dust has settled, we finally found the time to blog about Oriole Cafe’s Latte Art ThrowDown II.

This time round, we managed to attract a total of 18 participants (although a few of us joined in the fun only at the very last minute).

First & foremost, we would like to extend our thanks to the people who made this possible, Singapore Coffee Association (SCA) for reaching out to all the members as well as coffee lovers, Kimberly who has been running tirelessly seeing to all the mechanics and logistics. Kudos to Greenfields for sponsoring the milk, as well as the representatives from Greenfields who came down to support the event, Mr Gilbert, Ms Carmen & Mr Samson. Special mention must be given to Ms Carmen, Mr Christopher Short of Caffeto & Ms Kimberly Yer who spend their precious time to be our judges.

By 7.40pm and after a few rounds of beer and wine, we got the event off to a start. First up, we have Alif who plies his trade at Jones. Nerves set in when you are the first person to step up. Nevertheless, he pulled off a very nice wave heart to the judges. Ivy from Oriole was the next, first time she is pulling latte art in front of such a large crowd, sees a little shivers in her hands. Puts out a lovely rosetta with nice solid foam. I take my hat off to her for being able to withstand the pressure even though she has been a barista only for the past three months.

Raj from our sister restaurant, Bedrock, got a little nice rosetta onto the table as well. Everyone can see that he has been putting hard work into training for this. Nizam of Jones amazed everyone by pulling off a swan. It’s definitely a lovely piece of work. Oriole has another barista putting his skill to the test; Astro stepped up and put a rosetta with lovely foam and nice definition.

In part 2..competitors from Gloria Jeans, Starbucks, Spinelli, CuppaChoice Espressoul and the SCA throw it down!

Turkish Latte by Ashley

When Martin Dietrich opened Kéan Coffee, it was a huge day for our caffeinated coast. Diedrich lovingly treats coffee beans as what they are: food. Yet he doesn’t compromise what we all love: style. The result is heady, complex performance art. Kéan’s superlative baristas personally stylize each cup coaxing perishable tobacco-hued espresso crema and meringue-textured micro foamed milk into rosettes, hearts, exotic palm fronds, rabbits and even Pac Man on the surface of your latte, no extra charge! Last time I was there, a woman with maniacal Dan Zane’s-like hair asked for and received a Piero Fornasetti sun motif. Next up: The Lord’s Prayer on a patch of Macchiato foam. Kéan Coffee 2043 Westcliff Drive, NB 949.642.5326. 13681 Newport Ave. Ste. 14, Tustin. 714.838.5326. www.kean.com Coffee and snacks for two, $13.00.

Habe heute an einem sehr interessanten Austauschprojekt zum Thema Kaffee teilgenommen, der ersten Barista-Jam Hamburgs.

Die Veranstaltung fand in dem Café und der Rösterei Torrefaktum in Hamburgs Stadtteil Ottensen statt. Hier wird zu meiner großen Freude ausschließlich fair gehandelter Biokaffe und unpasteurisierte, nicht homogenisierte Milch, direkt vom Biobauernhof verwendet

Verschiedene Baristas, Kaffeeröster, Kaffemaschinenhändler und Interessierte fachsimpeln, über alles was mit dem schwarzen Gold zu tun hat. Weil ich mir auch eine Kaffemühle zulegen möchte und schon immer auf diese 15 Bar-Gastro-Espressomaschinen (und vor allem das, was da rauskommt) stehe, dachte ich, dass das eine ganz gute Informationsquelle vor meinem Kauf ist.

Aber die Veranstaltung hat alle meine Erwartungen übertroffen. Die Experten haben verschiedene Röstungen, Kaffesorten, Latte-Art und Maschinen ausprobiert, doch auch als Laie wurde man an die Maschinen gelassen und konnte so unter Anleitung der Baraistas einen perfekten Espresso, Cappuccino oder eine Lattemacciato zubereiten.

So hat man mir nicht nur gezeigt und anschließen nachmachen lassen, wie man den Siebträger vorbereitet, wie viel Kaffepulver (ca. 7 g) in den Siebträger gehört, wie man ihn mit dem Tamper (Kaffepuck) verdichtet und schließlich, welche Farbe der Espresso beim rauslassen haben muss, sonder auch, wie man die Milch perfekt aufschäumt. Zuerst bläst man mit dem Wasserdampf knapp unter der Oberfläche der Milch und zieht den Dampfkopf langsam aus der Kanne, dann “lässt man die Milch am Rand entlang rollen” (Zitat eines Baristas: “Rock n´Roll Bayby!”) sodass ein gleichmäßiger Schaum mit kleinen Luftbläschen entsteht und keine zu luftigen Schaumberge (Zitat eines Baristas: “Nicht solche Bauschaum-Milchberge wie bei diesem amerikanischen Burger-Schnellrestaurant”).

“Ein Barista ist ein „Kaffeekünstler“ an der Espressomaschine, der ein großes Wissen über Kaffee hat…” (Zitat von Wikipedia)

Ich kann nur sagen oh ja, verdammt, das sind sie – Kaffeekünstler mit großem Wissen darüber.

Highlites für mich waren unter anderem Milchschaum aus Ziegenmilch (nach dem zweiten Schluck gewöhnt man sich daran, mal was anderes), Kaffee, der in der Popcornmaschine geröstet wurde und das zeichnen eines Elefantenkopfes im Milchschaum eines Cappuccinos.

Viele Gerüchte haben sich gelüftet: Vollmilch eignet sich am Besten zum Aufschäumen (also nicht die Magermilch oder gar H-Milch), Espresso braucht gar nicht 15 bar Druck, sondern nur 9,5 bar und besonders: Siebträgermaschinen, die für mich als Einsteiger in Frage kommen kosten gar nicht unbedingt 2.000 Euro – nein, ab ca. 300 Euro ist man mit einer sehr guten Einsteigermaschine, die über viele Jahre exzellenten Espresso brüht, dabei.

Total glücklich und munter (aufgrund der vielen Espressos und Cappuccinos, die ich getrunken habe) habe ich die Veranstaltung verlassen, denn zum einen weiß ich jetzt, welche Kaffemühle ich mir kaufe und zum anderen rückt mein Traum einmal Besitzer einer Siebträgermaschine zu sein aufgrund des niedrigeren Preises (als erwartet) immer näher.

Und: Ich habe meinen ersten eigenen Cappuccino an einer Gastromaschine gemacht. Mit allem was dazugehört – genauso wie die Kaffeekünstler…

Vi segnalo volentieri un  completissimo blog di Gabriele Cortopassi, dove troverete moltissime info su come aprire un bar e gestirlo al meglio con consigli e trucchi del mestiere veramente interessanti:

aprireunbar.wordpress.com

…non fanno male solo al cuore, ma anche alla testa. Fino a 15-20 anni fa esistevano solo pochi modi di preparare un caffè e addirittura non c’erano varianti. Caffè macchiato, lungo, ristretto, latte freddo e decaffeinato. Forse poco altro, a seconda della regione e della città, a Napoli per esempio usa molto il caffè servito in vetro, ma non la considererei un tipo di preparazione.

Da anni ormai siamo arrivati al paradosso: in tazza grande, macchiatone ( che dovrebbe essere un minicappuccino oppure un macchiato lungo in tazza grande ), solo schiuma, senza schiuma, marocchino ( e qui, regione che vai usanze che trovi ), decaffeinato lungo in tazza grande macchiato caldo solo schiuma, ristretto con una spruzzata di cacao…. e di conseguenza tutte le medesime con l’orzo, che non è un caffè e non capisco perchè si ostinano a chiamarlo caffè. Forse una volta lo era, quando si usavano le cialde, ora non è altro che una bevanda liofilizzata servite da macchinette automatiche, insieme al Ginseng….e qui potremmo ricominciare.

Non c’è niente di male nell’offrire una vasta scelta al cliente, anzi, a volte queste bevande ti salvano quando entra il cliente notturno non appena hai lavato la macchina del caffè e puoi dargli altro senza dover rifare il lavoro. Certo è che secondo me si inizia a fare molta confusione, con gente che è convinta che prendendo il caffè lungo in tazza grande faccia meno male perchè c’è meno caffeina…bah!!

L’altro giorno mi è stata fatta questa richiesta: un caffè lungo macchiato non troppo tiepido.

Non troppo tiepido??? Qualcuno ha idea di cosa voglia dire? Non troppo caldo o non troppo freddo?

Se qualcuno lo sa, mi dica qualcosa, io l’ho servito tiepido…nessuna protesta ovviamente.

I tend to have better latte art results with a macchiato cup. Oh, it was delicious. Counter Culture Coffee’s limited Finca Mauritania single origin espresso, with light fruity notes accompanied by chocolate.

Roasted: 8th Oct, Cupped: 14th Oct

We are getting some interesting notes out of this week’s coffee, from rambutan husk(!) & sweet musky wood on the dry fragrance to hazelnuts, toasted bread and caramel aromas after brewing. Some herbal flavours (almost like a chinese herbal tea) were present as well as distinct lingering chocolate notes.

Espresso tasting notes: sweet chocolate and burnt caramel on the nose. Lively lime acidity overlaid over dark herbs and ginger root flavours. Syrupy textures with distinct dark chocolate and nutty finish. This week’s roast was quite lively and so we tuned up the brew temperature to 94.5°C and got way more balance. We’ll probably tune it down slightly over the next couple of days as the acidity mellows out.

Macchiato tasting notes: over the top intensity (woah!) with good lime acidity underlined by sweet milk chocolate tones.

Intelligentsia LA's Nicely (via his flickr page) steamin some amazingly well textured latte art. It seemingly defies laws of gravity and liquid cohesion/tension.

Another amazing latte art that defies gravity (and spillage) on Nicely's flickr page. Poured by Teal Allan.

Nicely at work.

Ok, I’m sooooo flying down to LA for coffee.

Wow!  It has been 10 months since we opened Tradiciones and what a success it has been!

First our pre-opening in November of 2008 and then our Grand Opening in December of 2008. They were both big hits!  People loved the design of the shop, the food and of course our coffee!

In August we participated in the Latin American Food Show at the Hilton, Cancun.   We shared a booth with the Consejo de Cafe de Veracruz which is the Coffee Association of Veracruz, Mexico.  The president of this association is Dr. Eduardo Assad.  He is also the owner of Jocultla Coffee Plantation which provides the coffee for Tradiciones.  It was a fun event and people were continuously lined up for a cup of coffee.

Dr. Eduardo Assad then came to Tradiciones to give an interview with a local radio station and give a talk to some of our regular customers.  It was very interesting and an honor for all of us at Tradiciones!

Business is going very well.  People continue to come back for their coffee, paninis, and deserts!  It’s wonderful to be able to say that Tradiciones is thriving, especially in difficult economic times like these!

Its already time for the TNT number 2 for Philadelphia. We had such a good turn out last month, about 25 attendees and 10 competitors, that we have to build on the momentum. There will be more money (the more competitors, the more prize money), more prizes, and more beer.