I have now made one of the best decision of my life. I have moved back home to Sweden and are now working entirely with coffee and horses. I have been so lucky to finally get to work at the Estate Coffeeshop in Copenhagen and only part time. How great can that be? I now have time to relax and time to train for the barista championship, which is by the way going extremely well, whilst I still have time to be around my horses which are the most important things in my life.
I have also met some great new friends in Charles and Anne from Sweden whom have started their own microroastery and coffeeshop in Helsingborg Sweden. They are both Swedish Champions and have been so kind to let me come and train at their place and also letting me make some espresso from time to time. Thanks a lot.
Klaus Thomsen 2006 WBC Champ and The Coffee Collective has been so kind to help me train for the championship and it is a privilege for me to be in such good and knowing hands.
Mowgli is back again.
torsdag den 6. december 2007
onsdag den 17. oktober 2007
My lastest taste experience.
Finally I got to taste the coffee from Coffee Collective. I shared a lovely quite cold morning together with Klaus and Peter from the Collective. It was fun to get out there and see their passion. The bags where laying there and a nice smell of what I guess would be their newly roasted espresso blend, which I immediately got to pull some shots of. Though the one I used was and older roast. It was nice to get to work with the GB5 especially with Klaus newly input of lights. The espresso was incredible. Exactly how I like it. Extremely sweet, gentle and very clean. It has a great balance between the sweetness and the acidity and yet with a good smooth and slightly creamy feeling in the mouth. Very nice experience for me.
I got to taste to more coffees. French Press. One of their top product and one I had not tasted before.
Finca Vista Hermosa, Guatemala. French Press.
Very balanced coffee. Nice deep chocolate like body and good sweetness. Light smooth and nice in the mouth. A medium roast slightly on the dark side. A very good choice for this coffee. Not one I would be drinking a lot of in French press but inside an espresso blend it will give a good balance and body. I know that the Collective use it in their espresso.
Kariaini, Kenya AA, French Press.
This is a great coffee. Nice delicate acidity and an extreme aroma. Just as I brewed it I was amazed. It has notes of caramel and fresh sweet fruit. Great mouth feel with a bit sparkling affect. At least in my mouth. It is light roasted to keep the fresh acidity and this will definitely be one of my future morning drinks.
Great great great.
Looking forward to work with you guys.
I got to taste to more coffees. French Press. One of their top product and one I had not tasted before.
Finca Vista Hermosa, Guatemala. French Press.
Very balanced coffee. Nice deep chocolate like body and good sweetness. Light smooth and nice in the mouth. A medium roast slightly on the dark side. A very good choice for this coffee. Not one I would be drinking a lot of in French press but inside an espresso blend it will give a good balance and body. I know that the Collective use it in their espresso.
Kariaini, Kenya AA, French Press.
This is a great coffee. Nice delicate acidity and an extreme aroma. Just as I brewed it I was amazed. It has notes of caramel and fresh sweet fruit. Great mouth feel with a bit sparkling affect. At least in my mouth. It is light roasted to keep the fresh acidity and this will definitely be one of my future morning drinks.
Great great great.
Looking forward to work with you guys.
mandag den 15. oktober 2007
Living without coffee is like living without your true love.
I can tell you that being without the daily work with coffee is not fun. As I wrote earlier I now work as a waiter at Restaurant Saison and they only serve French Press Columbian Supreme. But the beans are to dark roasted and they get the coffee pre-grinded and leave it in a plastic container for, well until it is almost empty and just pour new pre-grinded coffee unto it. It doesn’t really have a identifiable taste almost. It is NOT good.
I think I will apply for a part time job at a coffee shop to have on the side. Just to be able to make some coffee.
As I live like I do now (in my sports bag) and sleeping different places almost everyday I figured I had to buy my own transportable “coffee-brewer”. A Bodum French Press and some good beans. Las Nubes from Estate Coffee. It is good to live again.
Alive alive oh. Alive alive oh…. As the Irish song goes…
Well on to the next train.
I think I will apply for a part time job at a coffee shop to have on the side. Just to be able to make some coffee.
As I live like I do now (in my sports bag) and sleeping different places almost everyday I figured I had to buy my own transportable “coffee-brewer”. A Bodum French Press and some good beans. Las Nubes from Estate Coffee. It is good to live again.
Alive alive oh. Alive alive oh…. As the Irish song goes…
Well on to the next train.
My latest taste experiences
Estate Coffee: Kangocho Kenya AA+, Clover brewing method.
Very tasty. good fruitiness and light acidity. The clover makes it very clean, both in color and taste. Though it was a bit fat in the mouth it still where kept smooth. Definitely a coffee worth trying. I think it will be good, even though it is a Kenya, as a morning coffee because of the fresh fruity berry taste. It quickens you up. At least it quickened me up. I am looking forward to trying it with French Press.
Estate Coffee: Las Nubes, Guatemala. French Press.
Now this is going to be one of my favorites. Light, smooth and a hint of fresh fruit. Very balanced and delicate in the mouth. It almost feels like when chocolate melts on your tongue. I really want to try this as an espresso. It could be interesting. When having it brewed on the Clover I think it takes a little bit of the body and therefore also a bit of the character of the coffee, but still it is very tasty.
Very tasty. good fruitiness and light acidity. The clover makes it very clean, both in color and taste. Though it was a bit fat in the mouth it still where kept smooth. Definitely a coffee worth trying. I think it will be good, even though it is a Kenya, as a morning coffee because of the fresh fruity berry taste. It quickens you up. At least it quickened me up. I am looking forward to trying it with French Press.
Estate Coffee: Las Nubes, Guatemala. French Press.
Now this is going to be one of my favorites. Light, smooth and a hint of fresh fruit. Very balanced and delicate in the mouth. It almost feels like when chocolate melts on your tongue. I really want to try this as an espresso. It could be interesting. When having it brewed on the Clover I think it takes a little bit of the body and therefore also a bit of the character of the coffee, but still it is very tasty.
torsdag den 11. oktober 2007
The way of the barista.
This is a debate post.
In my opinion there are two ways to be a barista. As a job and as a lifestyle. What you see in a lot of coffeeshops even some of the good ones is that there is a big amount of "job"-baristas (i think I will call then that in this post) and not "lifestyle"-baristas. And you see it the moment you look at them or the "brewingplace". They are not concentrated, they work slowly, they doesnt clean and the place is just a mess to look at. There is a big sign saying "Barista-Gunsil work here". When you then taste the coffee made from the job-barista, the taste is just like their job. Messy, unclean, not focused on the tastyness and just not good. It is sad that it is happening so many places. Maybe it is the concept of the place to not having that great coffees but when you then see it in really good coffeeshops you start to wonder. How can this happen? Can the manager not see it or has he not made an effort to get the barista to understand the principles of making good coffee?
What can we do as outside people to help coffeeshops to get better? Should we confront them or should we just go to our little closed world and only drink coffee from certain people? How can we make it more popular to be a Lifestyle-barista? How can we get people caught in our world. Because that is what you do. You get caught in this world of specialty coffee.
On the other side though. It is absolutely trilling for me to come to a new place and see new baristas who are either trying to be or being a lifestyle-barista. And in my eyes a lifestyle-barista is one who understands the principles of brewing. Not only the technique of brewing but the whole chain of coffee. He has respect for the people who made it possible for him to be able to stand and work with such great materials. That be beans, grinder, machine, accesories and milk and a lot of other things.
Its wonderful to see a barista who combines all of these things and put it in the coffee. When you taste the coffee you can taste how interesting the baristas life is. You can taste his feelings and reflections and find his personality in the coffee and that my friend is what I dare to call as close to a perfect espresso, clover or any cup of coffee as you can get. There cant be any: "it should" "it ought" or any other phrases like that when you taste another baristas coffee. You can do it with your own coffee but not others. Because it will never be like it "should" or "ought to" be.
That is just my opinion please give me yours.
Mowgli
In my opinion there are two ways to be a barista. As a job and as a lifestyle. What you see in a lot of coffeeshops even some of the good ones is that there is a big amount of "job"-baristas (i think I will call then that in this post) and not "lifestyle"-baristas. And you see it the moment you look at them or the "brewingplace". They are not concentrated, they work slowly, they doesnt clean and the place is just a mess to look at. There is a big sign saying "Barista-Gunsil work here". When you then taste the coffee made from the job-barista, the taste is just like their job. Messy, unclean, not focused on the tastyness and just not good. It is sad that it is happening so many places. Maybe it is the concept of the place to not having that great coffees but when you then see it in really good coffeeshops you start to wonder. How can this happen? Can the manager not see it or has he not made an effort to get the barista to understand the principles of making good coffee?
What can we do as outside people to help coffeeshops to get better? Should we confront them or should we just go to our little closed world and only drink coffee from certain people? How can we make it more popular to be a Lifestyle-barista? How can we get people caught in our world. Because that is what you do. You get caught in this world of specialty coffee.
On the other side though. It is absolutely trilling for me to come to a new place and see new baristas who are either trying to be or being a lifestyle-barista. And in my eyes a lifestyle-barista is one who understands the principles of brewing. Not only the technique of brewing but the whole chain of coffee. He has respect for the people who made it possible for him to be able to stand and work with such great materials. That be beans, grinder, machine, accesories and milk and a lot of other things.
Its wonderful to see a barista who combines all of these things and put it in the coffee. When you taste the coffee you can taste how interesting the baristas life is. You can taste his feelings and reflections and find his personality in the coffee and that my friend is what I dare to call as close to a perfect espresso, clover or any cup of coffee as you can get. There cant be any: "it should" "it ought" or any other phrases like that when you taste another baristas coffee. You can do it with your own coffee but not others. Because it will never be like it "should" or "ought to" be.
That is just my opinion please give me yours.
Mowgli
New blog. New life. New home.
This is trilling. Well to tell the truth I am actually starting a whole new life all over again. I have quit my job at Meyers Deli (http://www.meyersdeli.dk/) and got a new one at Restaurant Saison (http://www.saison.dk/) as a waitor. All though it is not a coffeeshop I hope that it will work out for me. I know I will miss the daily work with coffee. At the same time I have sold my car, moved from my ex-girlfriend, looking for a place to live and still keep my handsome looks. It quite amazing if you ask me. Just want to say thanks to all the people in Moscow making it a trip worth remembering. Special thanks to John Sanders for giving me incredible knowledge and help for my next competition, James Hoffmann for becomming my friend and sharing unforgettable Titanic moments. (I dont think it was polite, what the russian Captain said to us and last Anette Moldvaer for letting me share some of my life with her.
Looking very much forward to talking to you agian. All of you.
May the horse be with you.
Mowgli
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