Sufu Barista social club

[rockon99]

good thread, just started reading this. its kind of a surprise this never popped up earlier.

i've got an old La Pavoni lusso piece of shit, just cleaned it the other day. got the crema enhancer. pulls weak shots with way too much light colored foamy fake crema, steams alright.. i need a new machine. but ...... the lusso was FREE. so i cant complain about everything. got to work with my old employer's la marzocco a couple times after closing. things a dream.

if you ever come to eugene, oregon, hit up Wandering Goat on 2nd and Madison, and One Cup on 3rd and Blair. and shoot me a pm so we can chill.

[american_hearts]

if you've got a clover, pretty soon you'll be the cafe that has 'that machine that starbucks has got.' it's a good cup, but small cafes should continue to focus on other things to compete. high-quality espresso or manual brewing with a brewbar setup -- things the mega chains, by definition, can never provide.

[GregoryH]

if you've got a clover, pretty soon you'll be the cafe that has 'that machine that starbucks has got.' it's a good cup, but small cafes should continue to focus on other things to compete. high-quality espresso or manual brewing with a brewbar setup -- things the mega chains, by definition, can never provide.

I had no idea that the clover was so commercialized...

I remember hearing about it a while back, I think it was Stumptown that we were talking about, but at the time it sounded innovative and quite interesting.

[american_hearts]

You're not wrong there -- it still is both of those things. However, it's just a machine; one that a Starbucks employee can operate in pretty much the same manner as a barista at a more specialized coffee shop.

[youkinorn2]

You're not wrong there -- it still is both of those things. However, it's just a machine; one that a Starbucks employee can operate in pretty much the same manner as a barista at a more specialized coffee shop.

I definitely see what you're saying but, at the shop I go that has a clover machine at least, they still grind the beans to order. And it definitely takes more effort/time then pouring some pre-brewed coffee out of a big tank like Starbucks does currently, since it does just make one cup at a time.

Still, I agree with you for the most part.

[JohannesDeSilentio]

London is pretty dreadful for coffee. There are an increasing amount of excellent places to get it (thank god for the barristas of Oceania), but they're mostly clustered in the west and east ends. There are also some excellent coffee houses, like Square Mile and Monmouth, but most coffee shops still buy vacuum packed beans/grounds from Italy. I make drip coffee at home using a vietnamese ceramic, we get through about half a kilo of monmouth a week, so I have them grind it for me at it stays pretty fresh in that time. Does anyone else use this method? I used to use a stove top espresso maker, but it always tastes scalded. Saving up for a Rancilio Silvia, meantime this is working out fine. Have my first coffee of the day with warm milk, or if I'm out a flat white. From then on strictly black.

[aso2004]

Thank god for the Koffie Cultuur Centrum here in Amsterdam.( translates as coffee culture centre) They sell coffee machines.and what not. I recentlyupgraded from my trusty old Vibieme to their house brand Magistere.

Works like a dream and steams and drips at the same time( don't know what the proper term for that is in English barista talk. )Rancillio grinder and brandmeester beans and I am good to go every morning

In town the coffee is mediocre, our Starbucks clone, the coffee company, turns out boring but sometimes decent coffee. Further this is the still drip country..

[tmadd]

if you've got a clover, pretty soon you'll be the cafe that has 'that machine that starbucks has got.' it's a good cup, but small cafes should continue to focus on other things to compete. high-quality espresso or manual brewing with a brewbar setup -- things the mega chains, by definition, can never provide.

A Clover can only be as good as the coffee that is being brewed with it, and it can very easily be worse. For that reason, they are still quite useful and integral parts of some top-notch coffee bars. For them to adequately fill this role, they need to be well dialed in for each of the coffees that are being brewed on them, and they need to be kept super clean (cafiza cleaning cycles every 20 brews or so at minimum). Otherwise, they are prone to produce dirty, muddled, or otherwise less than satisfactory cups. I do prefer a variety of manual brewing methods myself, but in all honesty, the option to provide a brewed to order cup in just over a minute in a fashion that allows you a large chunk of that minute to do other tasks (ringing in, making espresso drinks, etc) is a pretty huge asset in a shop that does crazy volume. I hope that experiments doing pour-over at high volume work out, but I remain skeptical that many places are staffed with baristas (top to bottom) that are capable and willing to do an adequate job with pour-over (way more complicated than most would make it seem) at crazy high volumes and during rushes. That said, if it could be well executed, it would be exciting.

[american_hearts]

It's do-able, trust me. Whether or not it's any fun for the employee, well...depends who you ask. Either way, it's not slave labor and customers get a kick out of it without having to pay 3 bucks a cup.

Offering individual french presses on the menu, though? Fuck that. I will always hate my Park Slope employer for that shit. You offer that a restaurant as your fancy after-meal coffee option that 1 out of 20 people will order, not at a cramped-space, high-volume cafe where there won't be enough orders for it to let you get in a groove...just enough to throw you off the rest of your game when you have a goddamn line out the door on a saturday afternoon.

[american_hearts]

in the interests of expounding on the nerdy topic of how one manages a brewbar in a bustling cafe:

Take the customer's coffee order

"You'll be under number 8"

1. Throw the cup in the spot, clean filter should be waiting, scoop in the grounds, fill pitcher with a little water, pour just enough to wet the grounds, set pitcher down. First pour.

Punch it in, "that'll be 1.75." As they dig through their pockets

2. ...turn back to pitcher, fill up, 2nd pour

Pitcher down, turn back, take money, make change, "it's #8, you can grab it whenever it's full enough for you." They step aside, you take the next. "You'll be under 7"

3. Load it up. Grab the pitcher. In one go, that's 1st pour for one, just in time for 3rd pour to finish the other.

That's if you can only spare two people on the floor -- one register/brewbar, one running the machine. If you've got the luxury of three or four, than you've got one on brewbar permanently -- going down the line and getting 10 coffees started before they get to the reg.

[tmadd]

It's do-able, trust me. Whether or not it's any fun for the employee, well...depends who you ask. Either way, it's not slave labor and customers get a kick out of it without having to pay 3 bucks a cup.

Offering individual french presses on the menu, though? Fuck that. I will always hate my Park Slope employer for that shit. You offer that a restaurant as your fancy after-meal coffee option that 1 out of 20 people will order, not at a cramped-space, high-volume cafe where there won't be enough orders for it to let you get in a groove...just enough to throw you off the rest of your game when you have a goddamn line out the door on a saturday afternoon.

I know its "do-able", but I don't really buy that what you are proposing as an optimal (or acceptable) means of pour-over brewing. It's not about being fun for the employee, its about having a crew of baristas that actually understand everything that factors into the final cup in a pour-over and are capable of repeatedly executing excellent brews of different coffees, all while running an espresso machine and running a line...there are baristas that are more than capable of this, but not many cafes that are staffed with this caliber of barista from top to bottom.

[american_hearts]

...and not many cafes are staffed with baristas that I'd trust to make me a hot chocolate. It's a viable model if someone chooses to staff and train correctly.

I argue for this because that's exactly the kind of place I started in and worked for years. It's not going to be right for everyone, but it was right for us. Besides, learning how to run a quality brewbar makes for a good learning/hazing experience in the months before you're allowed on machine.

[GregoryH]

still waiting to hear some updates from that comp. tmadd, keep the thread alive! haha

[tmadd]

Wow...its been too long...I got a little burnt out on coffee after the Guatemala trip and was not focusing on coffee much outside of work, but I'm over that and am trying to get into and take part in as much as I can on as many different fronts as things related to coffee. I'd love to get some barista discussion going, but not sure what direction you'd all like to take it?

One thing I've been thinking about is a crazy hypothetical in which if I was given a year to work in a different cafe in the US each month, what 12 cafes would I work in...I'm working on a list right now, but want to make sure there is nothing I am missing. Anyone else have answers to this one?

Also, heres a mocha I poured a couple weeks ago. I usually don't like taking photos of my latte art, but I took it to show a friend.

[Guest NoRtHsIde]

that is very cool, teach me how to do that?

[GregoryH]

update as to what's going on in my coffee world as of late...

I'll be participating in the Western Canadian Regional Barista Championship this coming July (representing JJ Bean in Vancouver, as well as Caffe Motivo here in Kamloops)

Super excited for this opportunity, and I've been sampling some amazing espressos. Decided to go with a single origin brazilian, pulp natural from the carmo estate, and I'm just finishing up prep on my signature drink.

anyone else competing?

[GregoryH]

anybody from Van check out the Western Regionals at the Roundhouse?

finished 6th in the west, chance to go to nationals if one of the 5 back out, pretty pleased with my results considering it was my first comp..

[mpcec]

This thread makes me feel like a shitty barista, in terms of technique/skill... I can't even do latte art. I basically just pull shots as best I can and try to make good foam but I haven't really had much training (at least comparatively speaking.) Hopefully in the future I'll land a job in a place with higher standards as far as quality and technique are concerned.

Outside of that I really love the job. Awesome for meeting people and I enjoy the coffee shop environment.

[GregoryH]

I wish this thread saw more action,

anyways...

here's a ustream clip from my first ever barista competition, western canadian regionals, last july. I finished 6th overall (4th place going into the finals round, then I fell to 6th) not too too bad for my first time, being from a tiny little town with no real coffee scene doesn't help either...had fun, here's the clip for anyone who cares.

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/8442831

[Guest]

Giving this thread a little more action, great performance Greg, congratulations, use of the palate cleansing salt was a really nice touch.

I competed in our instore in May but only placed third, first time competing, aiming higher this year. We just got the Aurelia last week, cool to see it in action when you're familiar with it.

[mpcec]

Nice job (so far) Greg... in the middle of watching your performance but it's taking forever to load for me haha.

Been trying to make it to Coffee Cupping events at New Harvest lately to work on my palette and try out a larger variety of coffees. It's been really educational (and a lot of fun so far). Each cupping usually has a different objective (taste the difference between brewing with distilled vs remineralized water for example).

Going to eventually take some Barista skill/ technique classes with them when I have some more time. In the meanwhile I've been practicing when I can at the coffee shop I work at.

e: Greg your signature drink sounded amazing man, nicely done!

[GregoryH]

Thanks for the love guys,

mpcec the sig turned out nicely, but I lost points because i didn't prep my reduction or caramel in front of the judges, I brought it with me pre-made...oh well, next time.

Make it out to as many cuppings as you possibly can, and taste taste taste. I've done countless cuppings and it's always fun to taste something new and different.

Hope you post some updates of your progress! look forward to hearing about it, and if you ever have any questions coffee related feel free to fire them my way, I'd be happy to help!

Greg

[Tyro1]

so I went to Intelligentsia, stump town coffee (at the ace), Blue Bottle and Ritual Coffee while I was in the US, and all were pretty good, but honestly I still think coffee in Melbourne is better.

[GregoryH]

so I went to Intelligentsia, stump town coffee (at the ace), Blue Bottle and Ritual Coffee while I was in the US, and all were pretty good, but honestly I still think coffee in Melbourne is better.

I've served/talked to many Aussies and they tend to agree when it comes to milk based drinks (lattes) that they have it better at home. I'd have to disagree when it comes to cappuccinos (I've been told numerous Aus cafes serve them with chocolate??? wtf??) and I've also been told that drip coffee rarely exists down under...by drip I'm talking chemex/clover/siphon/pour over etc. not nasty burnt brewer sludge, I could be wrong..shed some light?

oh and down there it's flat white not latte correct?

[tmadd]

so I went to Intelligentsia, stump town coffee (at the ace), Blue Bottle and Ritual Coffee while I was in the US, and all were pretty good, but honestly I still think coffee in Melbourne is better.

Which Intelligentsia location or locations did you hit...it'd be a shame if you visited the one I work at, and we didn't get a chance to geek out on superfuture AND coffee stuff.

[todesengel]

tmadd which intelligentsia do you work at? I have a friend at the silverlake one who just moved down from seattle

[tmadd]

I work at the Venice coffee bar, but it's a close-knit family in LA and I know everyone at the Silverlake shop, unless they just started working there in the last month or two.

[GregoryH]

I work at the Venice coffee bar, but it's a close-knit family in LA and I know everyone at the Silverlake shop, unless they just started working there in the last month or two.

any hook ups on some Kenya Thiriku? haha

I'd love to organize a sufu coffee swap for all of us who work at different shops. We're stocking a JJ Bean christmas reserve at the moment...a Los Novios microlot from Panama, 100% Catuai...amazing cup

[benbenben]

I'm no barista but I do indulge in the very big coffee culture here in Melbourne. I don't make coffee myself, but I'm fairly well educated on all the techniques employed to make a good coffee.

@GregH, nice synesso you're using there (re: one of your posts earlier on in the thread). Those machines are great!

I think the chocolate on cappucino's is done by some places just as a light sprinkle of cocoa powder over the top, not all places do it though, so I don't think it's an "australian" thing. Also some places do use other ways of extracting coffee, the more common ones I've encountered are the siphon, clover, cold drip and french press.

My understanding is flat white and latte are the same, just that latte has a bit of foam over the top.

[Tyro1]

Which Intelligentsia location or locations did you hit...it'd be a shame if you visited the one I work at, and we didn't get a chance to geek out on superfuture AND coffee stuff.

Went to the city Chicago location, didn't have much time to check out many spots in LA. I had mixed feelings about LA, but I need to go back and hang out with locals, rather than try to entertain ourselves.

I've served/talked to many Aussies and they tend to agree when it comes to milk based drinks (lattes) that they have it better at home. I'd have to disagree when it comes to cappuccinos (I've been told numerous Aus cafes serve them with chocolate??? wtf??) and I've also been told that drip coffee rarely exists down under...by drip I'm talking chemex/clover/siphon/pour over etc. not nasty burnt brewer sludge, I could be wrong..shed some light?

oh and down there it's flat white not latte correct?

Yeah Australian coffee culture is all about milk coffe drinks, but with a recent surge in quality 3rd wave places, drip, clover, siphon, and the likes are becoming more popular.

In the US, the only difference I noticed between a latte and a cappuccino was the size of the cup, but here a cappuccino is around coffee, 1/3 steamed warm milk, 1/3 frothy milk, with a sprinkle of cocoa on top. It's served in a ceramic cup with a handle.

A latte is similar with 1/3 coffee, mostly steamed warm milk, then letting about 1cm of foam sit on the top. It's served in a "latte glass" (glass, no handle)

A flat white (in melbourne at least) is basically a latte served in a cappuccino cup.

Espresso machines rule most cafes, LMs, Hydras and increasingly Slayers are pretty common, but more and more you see the fancy equipment, like clovers, siphons, etc.