Whoop Obama! But Oh...Wait...

Okay, quick break from coffee here. My other current passion. Politics and economics. I am currently watching the US election on BBC 1 and CNN. I am also getting very drunk on Martini, Apple Schnapps, vodka and Midori Melon. I also have work tomorrow. Bring it. So, what do you think?



Well, I can't say what I think. I love Obama. He's charismatic and interesting. I love listening to him. But he wants to pull out of Iraq. That is a big problem for me. I used to be in the Territorial Army. As such I have a lot of friends who are deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. This means that their safety is utmost in my considerations when deciding the next president. However, the economic meltdown is another consideration, as is the fact that Sarah Palin could become the president if McCain dies. Shit. Who would I vote for?

As an American; Obama. It's a no brainer. I love the guy. As a brit with a military background and friends in warzones, I'd abstain. I can't bring myself to put my support in Obama, but I can't bring myself to imagine Sarah Palin in office.

So what do you think? Who should be/should have been president? And why must Jeremy Vine ALWAYS be on those stupid sodding maps? He's a fear mongering retard and he should just retire and die. He makes my work life hell, having to listen to him between 12 and 2.

Anyway, cheers, and I'll get that cupping written up tomorrow night.

Seamus.

A Quick Update, Some Good News, And Are HasBean Truely As Good As Everybody Claims They Are?...

Well, here you go. I promised you something good, and now you're getting it. But I'll come to that soon. A few quick things I want to get out of the way first. To kick off, I'd like to say well done to Chris Weaver for getting through what I hear were some pretty shit times, and for getting stuck back into the podcast where lesser men may have just given up. Good on 'ya mate, and good luck. Can't wait for the next episode. You can visit his site and listen to the podcast at http://www.commongrind.co.uk/.

Secondly, I'd like to thank everyone who has kept checking back to sew if anything has been posted. I've been really busy lately with work, this latte art evening I'm trying to organise, and the novel I've been trying to write for three years now. Yeah, it's true, I'm a crap novelist as well. Hopefully Third Wave should be getting back to normal soon, and I ask that you'll bear with me for now.

Some good news! Third Wave makes a difference! I recently received an e-mail (that was for Dane, but was sent to the ThirdWave hotmail account) from Jon Hassall, from Operations and Development for AMT Coffee. It read as follows:

"Dear Dane,

I am very sorry to have read you had a bad coffee at our newly opened unit in Manchester.

I am personally going to visit the location next week and review all the equipment and training as we pride ourselves on great coffee.

Separately we are opening a second unit in Manchester, this time in the Arndale next Friday, I trust you will take a visit next time you are up there and we are heading to Newcastle very soon as well.

Best wishes,
Jon Hassall
Operations and Development"

This, frankly, gave me a huge ego boost, that people actually took notice of what two coffee lovers think. It also made me very proud to think that the quality of training and hopefully the quality of the coffee will be improved due to our review of their establishment. In this respect I wish them the best of luck, as they obviously care about their coffee enough to want to impress two young upstarts such as Dane and myself. The news of a Newcastle also excites me; I always love a new coffee bar to try. So, thank you Jon, and please do keep in touch.

Anyway, onto the main event. I decided in late September that it was time I locked horns with the powerhouse of British Roasting, Steve Leighton. A year in the business and I had never tried a HasBean coffee. So, I e-mailed the man himself and asked for his recommendations. To my utter shock he asked for a delivery address and promptly sent out four of the very best coffees I have ever had in my house. Brazil Cachoeira Canario 2007-2008, El Salvador La Fany Bourbon, Kenya Gethumbwini, and El Salvador La Ilusion COE number 1. I received the box, opened it, and my jaw dropped. So let me begin this by saying a f*****g HUGE thank you to Steve.

All the bags were foil bags with a single-way valve. Nothing out the ordinary there. Each was presented in pure white, with a deep maroon/red stripe and the HasBean logo, along with a sticker which declared the name of the coffee, any special notes about the coffee, what the coffee tastes like, and the roasting date. This last detail is what impressed m most. Even Union doesn't put a roast date on their 250g bags. What really impressed me however was the actual roast date itself. I was delivered these coffees on the ninth of October, literally the day after they were roasted! So, I left them for two weeks to let them mature, then got on with the cupping...

And that is where I'm going to leave you for now! Firstly because it's 1am, I'm tired and have work tomorrow, secondly because I feel that this post is getting long, and that the cupping should take pride of place. So I will write that up in full tomorrow.

Anyway, cheers, and hope you can survive till the next post!
Seamus.

Just So You Know I'm Still Alive...

I just thought I'd post something so that people know I'm still here, and still blogging. A huge apology to you all for being so quiet for the last week, but I'm working on a lot at the moment, not least of which is a post for this site. It should be up very soon.

Again, very, very sorry.

Seamus.

The Search For The God Shot...

Here we go, lets try and throw up some controversy. The God Shot. Is there REALLY any need?

I don't think so. Making a good cup of coffee is a well documented art now. With all the books out there, all the fantastic barista trainers, online resources, etc there is no excuse for making consistently crap coffee. But as any self-respecting pro-barista can tell you, the God Shot is not simply a good cup of coffee. It's an experience that transcends the usual coffee shop coffee. Flavours should explode in the mouth, and it certainly should be one of those memories which remains with you for the rest of your life. The only problem is that it's impossible to achieve consistently.

Making a good cup of coffee is entirely dependent upon your ability to control certain variables such as water temperature, the consistency of the grind, the distribution of the coffee in the puck before and after tamping, the pressure with which you tamp, and the amount of coffee grounds and water used to make the shot. The God Shot is made when by some utter fluke the barista manages to control every one of these variables. Therefore it is impossible to reproduce over and over again.

But why not strive for the God Shot I hear you say? Because I feel it gets in the way. Rather than sit around as coffee professionals at point of sale, or at home trying to make the perfect shot with what we have, why not put that effort into sorting out the coffee at Origin, making a real effort to give farmers a fair price for the coffee we all love so much. Or why not spend that time teaching home baristas, or amateur coffee lovers how to make good coffee with their little press pot, or their little Gaggia semi-auto. Education is what we as an industry need to concentrate on; both technique and the ethics behind commodity trading. Yes, good coffee is what I want to see, but lets start by educating people how to make good coffee before we sit around deciding how to make the perfect coffee.

There, your thought for the day.

Seamus.

Not so good...

Right so I've been in Durham since saturday just gone, and I've only just ventured out into the city center today as I needed my course textbook, £40! for one book. Anyways, this presented itself as an opportunity to find some coffee. 

I passed O'briens of which I'm not a huge fan, but its drinkable, so decided to have a go, must say I've not had a coffee for about 5 days now, which is torture so I walked in. Then swiftly out again, the machine was filthy, the portafillers were scruffy, the steam arm white and thick, the jugs dull and stained. I'm sure it was a health hazard!

Second port of call a small independent, coffee house by day, wine bar by night, nice set up. Ordered a latte paid up for it, watched the guy make it, bag of starbucks beans next to the grinder :( 'nough said

Cheers,

Dane

Just to let you all know!

Right, I moved into my uni on saturday, been looking around durham, gonna have lots of reviews for you in the next week, or two, when I should be sober, in the meanwhile if anyone knows of anywhere good please comment!

Cheers,

Dane

Finding Your Third Place...

Firstly, sorry about the total lack of posts for the last few days. It's been a hectic time for both Dane and I. He went off to Uni for his Freshers' Fortnight yesterday, so don't expect much intelligible from him for a while lol. As for me, well, I've spent every waking moment building a remarkably complex website in html...God it's hard...

Anyway, I was spending some time today with the girlfriend sat in my 'Third Place'. The subject of the 'Third Place' is something I've meant to mention on this blog for a while, but something I've only recently experienced. Now, for those of you who don't know, the Third Place is a part of a concept which assumes there are three places in a coffee lover's life. These are the home, the workplace and the coffee shop. I love Coolaboola. I think we serve the best coffee in Newcastle, and I think we have some of the most committed and professional baristi in the surrounding area. But it's where I work, and for that reason I can't ever relax when I stand at the bar.

The Third Place is something which should be very important to a coffee lover; a place in which you feel comfortable, where the baristi know who you are and, of course, somewhere where you love the coffee. Every coffee shop has it's own unique feel, it's own soundtrack and it's own ethos. In my opinion the ethos is the most important. There are some coffee shops (though they tend not to last very long)who try to appeal to everyone. One coffee shop in Newcastle (who shall remain nameless, for now) which has a laid-back, Costa-style atmosphere, with multicoloured lighting in the ceiling for the local gay community. Another nice touch is the tremendously capitalist Che Guevara milkshake. At the other extreme there are coffee shops who refuse to compromise on drink quality for anyone, serving only 6oz drinks, refusing frappes, etc.

My Third Place is a mix. As a barista I love it when people challenge me to adapt drinks for them. I have total respect for the hardcore baristi who refuse to change anything, and who refuse to serve capps after 11, but I love the culinary aspect of coffee, and the creativity it allows. I love caramel capps with chocolate sprinkles. They're great. That's what my Third Place allows. A huge drinks menu, with a real chance for the consumer to play about and customise their drink. I'd love to tell you all where my Third Place is, but I would hate to upset all the other coffee shops lol.

So, go, find your Third Place! And if you already have, feel free to tell me about it! Comment, and let us all know what you love.

Anyway, I have a web book now, so the reviews should be coming thick and fast soon, and hopefully posts will be a bit more regular.

Cheers,
Seamus.