Espresso Workshop Britomart

Well folks it's open!  Located at 11 Britomart Place (corner position, Atrium on Takutai), we have been trading since 1st April.  David and Kayoko have thrown themselves into the launch of this city espresso bar, in fact during the pre-opening chaos David even managed to throw his back out... spending opening day laid out and on pain killers!  Two stunning cherry red La Marzocco FB80s are the centrepiece of the operation, our designer Victoria from Red Turtle has done a fantastic job of designing the space, it certainly conveys the feel of a contemporary 'workshop' with superb function and some awesome coffee features.  The customer area flooring and the above counter lights both incorporate the use of coffee chaff, a by-product of coffee beans during the roasting process.  We must also thank Jia Hu for providing us with some fantastic espresso workshop photos that feature on the walls, you can view his work on www.jiahuphotography.com, to view opening day pics click here.

Our ethos remains the same in this new location, quality coffee, highlighting the flavour potential of each coffee, efficient service but also providing a forum for those that love coffee a little more than they should.  We have kick started with the 'Ernesto Martinez' Nicaraguan micro-lot coffee, see below for the details of this amazing coffee.  This is a limited release and will only be available at Britomart for 2 weeks!  Our cabinet food offering has taken a fresh city twist, with great rolls, wraps and sandwiches while offering delicious vegetarian options such as the eggplant parmagiana.  We have superb loaves and small cakes while continuing to offer Espresso Workshop baked scones, muffins and that essential sidekick to coffee... biscotti. 

To view more about Espresso Workshop Britomart and the wider development go to http://www.britomart.org/espresso-workshop-britomart.

Britomart Opening hours:
Monday to Friday - 6:30 to 4:30
Saturday & Sunday - 7:30 to 4:30 

Max the Baker - Auckland Barista Champ 2011

This year Espresso Workshop unleashed a couple of new competitors to the Barista competition scene, Max Chao (a.k.a Max the Baker) and Joe McElhinney.  Max took a diligent and solid approach, using the Brazil Moreninha Formosa coffee, which has a proven track record in the competition environment.  Joe, the rock star he is, took a more theatrical approach both in performance and also in using a coffee with more upfront and intense flavours.  Joe turned out a fantasically entertaining display, however on the day the suscinct performance by Max paid off, and to our pleasant surprise Max took out 1st place for the Auckland region.  An outstanding result and we are fully behind him taking on the rest of New Zealand at the Nationals in Wellington on 16th April.   Good luck Max!  You can catch Max in the Falcon Street Espresso Bar on weekday mornings.

Keep Cups

I'm sure you've seen them around... its the new thing to have for coffee drinkers on the move!  Well we are on the bandwagon and now have Espresso Workshop Keep Cups.  Much nicer to drink out of than a paper cup and a lot friendlier to the planet through reducing personal waste.  Get yourself your own 12oz Keep Cup for $16.00, the first coffee is free!  Keep Cups are available from both Falcon Street Roastery and the Britomart Espresso Bar.

The El Salvador San Emilio received such great feedback last month that we have reluctantly switched our single origin coffee of the month, however, although very different from the San Emilio we believe we have another coffee which will impress your palate. 

The Moreninha Formasa is 1 of the 31 lots of coffee grown in Fazenda Aurea (farm name), high in the Brazilian region of Cerrado Minero.  Moreninha Formosa means 'beautiful brunette' in Portuguese, an attractive name for an attractive coffee.  We generally perceive Brazilian coffee to have great body, be mild in flavour and contain big sweetness, this coffee contributes both body and sweetness but it takes the flavour aspect to another level, demonstrating that Brazil can produce unique specialty coffee. 

The coffee is grown at 1200 meters above sea level, quite high in relation to the majority of Brazilian coffee plantations.  At this elevation the beans grow more gradually allowing for better acidity development. 

The coffee cherries are hand picked at optimum ripeness and handled with the upmost care during the harvest.  The cherries are then transferred onto outdoor African beds (raised drying platform) where the hot, dry air circulates above and below the beans.  The circulation of air is assisted by the permeable material which these african beds are made from, helping to negate unwanted mould and fermentation, and contributing to a cleaner flavour than most natural processed coffee.

This coffee can be consumed as black coffee or with milk, both with incredibly satisfying results.  On sampling by espresso we noted: 

• Full body with a buttery mouthfeel;
• Clean berry tang up front, the flavour resembling blueberry and dried cranberry;
• Great depth to the sweet flavours progressing from honey to dark cane sugar and chocolate;
• A consistent cocoa undertone throughout the taste;
• Subtle almond and evident toasted sesame in the finish.

We are currently selling the Moreninha Formosa as espresso in the cafe (check with the barista, as we also use Mrs Green and Mr Black for espresso) for the month of March and early April.  If you would like to buy beans please email us directly on andrew@espressoworkshop.co.nz.

 

El Salvador coffee is an origin that we have not used extensively in the past, when looking in the region of Central America we have generally focused on the stunning coffees from its neighbour, Guatemala.  However sharing a similar topography, and geographically being so closely positioned it makes sense that quality El Salvador coffee should also appeal to our palate.

El Salvador's recent civil war from 1980 to 1992 crippled the coffee industry, many farms and coffee mills were damaged or abandoned, while remaining farms provided their coffee to a centralised coffee market.  The centralised market pooled together coffees of varying quality creating an end product not suitable to specialty coffee buyers.  Since the end of the civil war the El Salvador coffee industry has been able to refocus, we have seen the re-emergence of small scale farms, providing a quality specialty product directly to the market.  The Cup of Excellence program has been embraced by El Salvador and over recent years has demonstrated the country's ability to grow fantastic specialty coffee.

Late last year we had the opportunity of purchasing some El Salvador San Emilio, we grabbed that opportunity after an impressive sample tasting.  

The San Emilio coffee is 100% 'pulped natural' bourbon.  The 'pulped natural' is a processing method which sun dries the coffee immediately after the cherry has been de-pulped, in essence this is a hybrid method of 'wet' and 'dry' (natural) processing.  A pulped natural has the ability to feature the clean nature of the wet process combined with the sweet, ripe and full bodied characteristics of dry process.

The San Emilio showcases the best aspects of what a pulped natural coffee can deliver, when we tasted this coffee as espresso we noted:

• Medium to full body with a buttery mouthfeel
• Effervescent and refreshing acidity, partnered by big sweetness
• Toffee and almond are harmoniously balanced with wine and cherry flavours
• The aftertaste is clean and delicate

If you would like to buy beans please email us directly on andrew@espressoworkshop.co.nz, stocks are limited!

After a couple of months sourcing and cupping new coffees, we have come across some brilliant single origins and one of the most exceptional is the Guatemala El Injerto. This farm specialises in growing top quality arabica coffee  and has diversified to produce other agricultural products such as apples, macadamia nuts and trout!  El Injerto produces several varities of premium beans, all very good quality but some that are truely exceptional.  Unfortunately it is very difficult to secure the lots which rank highly in the Cup of Excellence (ranked number one for the the Guatemalan program in 2006, 2007 & 2009).  However this farm has incredibly high standards and the coffee which we have obtained from El Injerto has displayed the charateristics which mark their product as one of the most alluring coffees you will come across.

Our El Injerto has a good juicy flavour, a clean but complex cup with balanced acidity, delicate sweetness and a full body.  Flavours we scribed from our taste notes included vanilla, caramel, and cane sugar sweetness, green apple, lemon and lime notes and underlined by soft cocoa and spice tones.

Below is an excerpt from the farms own website, http://fincaelinjerto.com/.

The first owner of this farm was Mr. Jesus Aguirre Panama, who acquired it in 1874. He began cultivating sugar cane to produce crystallized sugar locally known as "panela", corn, beans, and tobacco. During 1900 he started planting coffee, and called this section EL INJERTO (The Grafting), since this was what started the agricultural development in the area.

The current owner is Arturo Aguirre Escobar, representing the third generation of his family. He has worked the farm since 1956, when the production was approximately three hundred (300) bags 100 pounds.

EL INJERTO has a total of seven hundred and fifty (750) hectares, four hundred (400) of them are between 1,500 and 2,000 meters (4,921.26 - 6,561.82 feet) above sea level, all planted with coffee, fruit orchards, basic grains and ornamental plants. The remaining three hundred and fifty (350) hectares have been preserved as a thousand-year-old virgin forest, which gives the farm its special climate and adequate conditions to have clean water that springs directly from the mountains. In addition, it constitutes the perfect habitat for flora and fauna; and especially allows the production of coffee in an eco-system preserving our natural environment. The forest area surrounds the coffee plantations. The farm has an annual rainfall of 1800-200 mm per year a relative humidity of 70% and an average temperature of 73°C (23°C). The soils are volcanic, profound, well drained, and with high contents of organic matter.

Coffee is the second most traded commodity in the world and within the tropical zone is a widely grown agricultural product.  Coffee origins cover Central America, South America, Africa, India, South East Asia and even Australia.  Each region offers different characteristics, for example Brazilian coffee produces a mild taste, good sweetness and great body, a very good coffee to use as a base in an espresso blend.  Whereas coffee from Costa Rica commonly produces a very hard bean containing bright and delicate characteristics, such as crisp citrus notes, floral tones, and light nutty sweetness.  Brighter coffee is used in espresso blends to give the flavour a distinct lift.

To speak in general terms, farms from a region often share the same taste characteristics but every farm within that region will produce beans that contain a slightly different flavour profile.  The same farm may produce crops that yield a different flavour from season to season, this highlights the fact that coffee is an agricultural product and therefore from year to year environmental factors will play a big part in determining coffee flavour.  Every coffee growing area attains distinctly different attributes, for example some of the world’s most unique flavours come from Central Africa, the high floral tones of Ethiopian Yirgacheffe and the remarkable berry notes of the Kenyan Peaberry.

The only way to truly understand the differing qualities of coffee is to purchase single origin beans, consuming it as plunger or filter at home.  Once you have circumnavigated the coffee world you will have developed a favouritism towards a couple of coffee origins.  Talk with your coffee roaster to find out what their star single origins are, and ask to what degree they are roasted.  Flavours of the same bean can dramatically change according to the degree of roast.  We currently use a Colombian coffee (which recently came 8th in the International Cup of Excellence!) that has fantastic red apple and cane sugar flavours when roasted lightly, but roasted darker the flavour transforms to resemble sweet and soft cocoa.  Check our list of single origins under the 'Coffee' tab, I strongly recommend the Guatemalan Huehuetenango. 

On 28th February David Huang (co-owner of Espresso Workshop) competed in the National Barista Finals after placing taking 1st place in the Auckland Region Finals.  The National's took place in Christchurch's C4 Roastery, the open plan nature of their espresso bar lent itself perfectly to holding the event.

Come competition day David calmed his nerves with an early morning trip to C1, the orginal C4, smaller than its later version but very unique and funky.  Actually maybe it was more to wake me up (me being David's business partner, Andrew) I consumed the much heralded coffee and felt the caffeine surge into my veins, "okay now I am functioning".   Meanwhile David sat calmly consuming an OJ and a giant raspberry muffin.  Once fellow competitors started zeroing in on the same place it was time to leave, far too early for mind games.

At 10am we transferred ourselves and six heavily laden boxes to C4 for the barista briefing, where Emma Markland Webster, Head Judge for the Finals, laid down the law.  Emma slipped into the judges room leaving the competitors to go through the torture of pensively waiting for their turn under the glaring stage lights.  While sifting around in the completitors area, the contrasting style of preparation was observed, some recloused, some looked anxious while others looked calm reading the paper... or was it a charade?  Little verbal jabs were heard and the competition runners cracked the whip keeping the barista's on time and keeping egos in check.

David's turn to practise eventually arrived, 30 minutes practise time is allowed in a separate room.  Upon running some practise shots their was panic, the shots were not tasting as they should!!  Travel, a new environment and new machines often transforms the coffee into a new beast, its flavour profile may considerably alter from the profile you taste in your own (famaliar) environment, just more evidence how volatile coffee can be.  After an intensive exercise in adjusting grind and dose David it got it to a point we were happy with.  Then time to briefly compose before setting up his stage. 

David had the unenviable task of performing after Carl Sara, Carl was favourite and experienced not only in winning the New Zealand titles but in performing well on the world stage.  Carl's performance seemed immaculate, he even ad-libbed a couple of jokes into the rountine.  David was up, he wiped his brow several times while being introduced and seemed anxious in the pre-performance interview, then, when the performance started he soon paused, what happened?? Has he forgotten the words, he calmly swivels to the sound technician and asks the gentleman to cue the music.  He continued back into the routine, but because the sound techician neglected to cue the music he lost a valuable 20 seconds from the routine.  David quickly resumed his work, effectively conveying his passion for coffee and expertly carrying out the technical side of espresso preparation.  The routine was completed 12 seconds over the allowed time, so the music blunder was going to cost him points, but would it cost him a trip to Atlanta?

The pack up was furious with little time to reflect on the performance.  Before we knew it all the boxes were back in the hotel and after a quick rain soaking on the way back to C4 we were only waiting a tension filled 30 minutes before the announcement.  The contestants stood expectantly, as Chris Dillon (from Supreme) thanked sponsors, the audience, the helpers and the contestants.  Then quickly into the placings Chris announced David in 3rd place.  We were stoked, David had managed his best National ranking through passion, enthusiasm and most importantly dedication.  Hide Kono from Vivace snared 2nd and Carl Sara deservedly took out the National title once again.  Luckily this year David has the bonus of a trip to Atlanta to be part of the New Zealand team at the World Barista Championships, this allows him to observe first hand what it takes to compete on the world stage.  

David would like to throw out a couple of big thank you's.  Fristly to Ben Boyle (from Ben Espresso Bar, 57 Fort Street) for lending him his Robur Electronica (that must have been worrying for you Ben) also to Luciano Marcolino for receiving our freight, and for a few words of advice in the practise room.  Anyone going to Christchurch should check out his Espresso Bar in the Hunter Furniture Centre, 220 Moorhouse Avenue.
 

On Saturday, 31st January the top Baristas in the Auckland Region battled for the right to be named Auckland's premier barista of 2009.

The venue was Allpress Espresso's Roastery in Freemans Bay and the standard of competition was very high.  Espresso Workshop was represented by C0-Owner David Huang and Manager, Gloria Kim.  David had his eye on the top spot after twice placing second in the Auckland champs and Gloria was looking to improve on last year's third place. 

Competition was intense and David was placed under extra pressure when his competition tamper went missing just before the start of his routine (its whereabouts is still unknown... scandal!).  David, being the perfectionist, was not happy with many aspects of his routine, mostly things not noticeable to the casual observer but elements that can lose you marks under the close scrutiny of the judges. 

Gloria delivered a routine that outwardly seemed more relaxed than David's, the vibe was good during the routine and her excellent technical ability was well demonstrated, however, some late speech amendments may have derailed Gloria's ability to deliver a succinct presentation and may have cost her a few critical points.

After a long day (particularly for the judges) the presentation ceremony commenced and the top three were announced.  After the judges announced Troy O'Rourke in third and Robert Hulse in second we were on a knife's edge.  This year's winner was announced as our own David Huang, the team was stoked and I'm sure David, behind the glowing smile, was relieved to have reached the number one spot.

David almost immediately announced that he is going to have to train twice as hard (not sure that is possible) in preparation the the National Championship Finals, held at C4's Roastery in Christchurch on 28th February.  The winner represents New Zealand in the WBC finals which is held this year in Atlanta, USA during April.  In addition, to strengthen New Zealand's chances the 2nd and 3rd place competitors will also travel to Atlanta to bolster our chances of taking out the title. 

Competitors and Support Crew
From left Tim, Gloria, Andrew and David

  

 

Most coffee consumers understand that the freshness of coffee is important when preparing their coffee at home.  However it is important to understand that coffee can be too fresh.  During the first 48 hours after roasting the coffee beans are ‘degassing’, this means that during this initial 2 day period the beans still contain volatile gases.  If you were to make an espresso shot within 48 hours you would notice a very voluminous and lumpy extraction, it looks impressive, however the taste comes across a lot lighter and brighter than you would have expected and the depth and fullness of the flavour is not yet apparent.  In general it is recommended to use coffee beans within 2 to 14 days after roasting. 

After 2 weeks the coffee will be past its best, the result is the reverse of fresh roasted coffee.  The flavour will be flat, dark bitter undertones become more evident, and the coffee will actually start to taste stale.  The espresso extractions will be very thin and the crema will disperse very quickly.  Environmental conditions have much to do with how long your coffee will last.  Store the coffee in a cool, dry and dark place.  I’m sure everyone now knows by now that the fridge is a big no no, the effect of condensation will spoil the coffee.  A great spot is on a low shelf in the pantry.  Keep the coffee away from units that generate heat and remember that coffee will not last as long in summer than during winter.  It is possible for coffee to maintain desirable qualities for 20 days in winter but in summer when the humidity climbs coffee life can be shortened to 10 days.

Lastly, when purchasing coffee ensure you know which day the coffee was roasted on.  Don’t settle for ‘packed on’ dates or ‘best before’ dates.  These dates can be misleading if packed well after roasting or if generous shelf life dates are allocated to the beans.  Most importantly talk to your local roaster, they are a resource of information when it comes to understanding coffee.