MOUNTAIN TOP COFFEE OPEN DAY, QUEENSLAND
THE THREE KINGS: Geoff Watts, Andrew Ford & Tony Marsh.
Brucey poo’s and Geoff after their 8th bucket of Hoegaarden
BROOD BOX – LAUNCH PARTY
remember the BROOD BOX?
well, this caravan turned cafe/art gallery was launched last friday night in style alongside one of melbourne’s most renowned street artists ‘drew funk.’
the BROOD BOX will be brewing up a storm, armed with a la marzocco linea and ST. ALi juice.
if you’re around the area, show some love – 8 rankins lane, off lt bourke st | www.broodbox.com.au
GEOFF WATTS @ ST. ALi
geoff watts = I.N.S.P.I.R.I.N.G!
a true pioneer and genius of coffee that’s worlds ahead of the game…
not to mention, a genuine good f*cking bloke.
thanks again geoff – welcome here ANYtime!
SENSORY LAB BARISTA & COFFEE CONSULTANT TRAINING
Ali are putting together a team of talented baristas and coffee consultants for the new concept out to take on the world of CRAP coffee… Sensory Lab.
Toshi, Tom and Kris will be guiding you through a couple of days of intense training involving the Slayer espresso machine, Hario syphons, cupping and a whole heap of other cool shit.
If you’re interested in getting in on it, email your creds to: tom@stali.com.au
Toshi’s 2 cents…
I roasted Nossa Senhora yesterday from 5 kg renegade and cupped this morning. It was amazing, even espresso roast. Citrus aroma, nuts, full body winey and tobacco leaf at the end. Then today we ran out of coffee of the day and I had to use 1 day old Nossa Senhora. I put it through the Slayer… it was the best Brazil coffee I have ever had from espresso machine! Kris and I both agree with the best Brazil from the machine. Looking forward to La Perla espresso roast soon. I cupped already and that was good as well. Toshi
DREW FUNK~BROOD BOX~ST. ALI
do NOT miss this.
this is going to be an orgy of cool shit and you’re all invited!
Kris on Slayer…
Now that the Slayer is running at full steam lets let all on the outer channels, in
To begin with I’d like to say that first and foremost the coffee that the slayer produces in unrivalled. With the right bean and the right barista the results are incredible! Whether it’s a single origin or a blend the taste is amplified three-fold. No…wait…I shouldnt even describe the flavour enhancements in such an amber light.
The Slayer is able to reproduce the flavours found through cupping, in espresso. It is a tasting MACHINE. All we want to do all day is drink more Slayer espresso! The machine does not just replicate the cupping flavours, it amplifies them all.
Say, for example, one of our single origins at the moment, Costa Rican Herbazu. The profile we are getting when cupping is fresh lemon acids with a light choc finish. When the same coffee is put through the Slayer the lemon acids upfront are bright, fresh and tingly. The chocolate finish dominates the back palate being rich and full.
As with cupping the way to get the best flavour in the cup is to use lightly roasted coffee. Usually if such a light roast coffee has been put through the espresso machine the results are extremely acidic. Espresso tasters may sample this occasionally but only for sensory knowhow and is not regarded by many as pleasurable.
The Slayer on the other hand has changed our view on this!
We put a lightly roasted Columbian Curazao through the machine last week and the results are to be admired. We start off at the same brew temperature as our regularly roasted coffee and the espresso delivered is obviously Slayer, but the acids are way too high.
After many tastings and increase of temperature to that point that it does not ‘dull’ the espresso, the results are incredible. A mouthful of tropical fruit from this naturally processed Columbian. Awesome.
This has been practised by many in the past on their tempurature controlled (and stable) espresso machines but the results from a coffee of such a light roast have still been very acidic. The Slayer through its stepped infusion which we’ve set at 4Bar (we think, as we dont have a scase devise. The 4Bar reference is from the brew gauge) levels out the acids and, especially as a long black delivers a beverage well worthy of serving.
And Slayer through milk!? Helllllo!
Because the flavours are enhanced so, the espresso cuts right on through the dairy and makes even a black drinker smile:)
You can actually taste the notes of a blend coming throught the milk. Our Whiteman blend which is named so because little white boys drink with milk:) tastes of tropical friut with a full rich body and choc finish.
But you must be careful. Like with the Costa Rican Herbazu, the lemon acids are so fresh that the milk coffee tastes ‘wack’.
The dose we’ve been using is quite low compared to past practised espresso dosing methods. As we saw (and were advised by) from Slayer “try a low dose and fine grind”. This dosing and grind method works extremely well, amplifying the flavours and balance of any coffee. Dont get me wrong, dosing the same as usual on the Slayer still gives amazing results(the best I have seen) but those flavours that are contained within a single origin or blend are amplified and the flavours are incredibly layered and distinct. Obviously there is a limit to this low dosing method. If one goes too far the resulting espresso has harsh and cutting attributes.
When dosing the lower dosed basket you need to be incredibly precise and deliberate with distribution and tamping as there is more chance of a channel ruining your shot. This is not a bad thing and only makes us all better baristas.
We run a Robur E for the Hardcore blend which is named so because apparently black coffee drinkers are ‘hardcore’:) The blend is fruity big, sweet and clean.
The Robur E is great as the regularity and control of grinds dispensed makes altering dose and grind a breeze.
We run a Robur for the single origin of the day and dose using the Scottie Callaghan dosing tools which scrape off the desired amount of coffee. A bit slower dosing technique than the E but still very effective.
We have found that the best tasting shots have been coming from shots that are around 45 – 50 seconds long.
Activating to the lower pressure infusion until the coffee forms a ring showing around the basket bottom with dotted extraction over the rest of the basket face(which takes 18-22sec) to full brew(around 25sec) to lower pressure infusion(3-5sec) to off.
We had a problem with an o-ring that was being torn inside the group valve. This problem has been rectified by Slayer and all groups are up and running at full speed.
Slayer tells us a coffee-house in San Fransisco is doing 800+ coffees a day and have no problems. We are two weeks into the upgrade and noooooo leaking! Very happy campers at Ali:)
A STAR SIGHTING – SLAYER MEETS MEGADEATH
Slayer met its arch nemesis a few weeks back..the lead singer of Megadeath! And boy was the showdown one for the ages! That sleek, black, intimidating stance of steel and X-stone versus the long, ranga flowing mullet curls(to be admired by all) coupled with that 80 glare!
Peas, Kris
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