What I thought was the best signature drink from WBC 2009 Day One goes to Akihiro Okada from Japan.
Akihiro Okada's signature drink preparation
Akihiro paints the insides of martini glasses
He used… Continue reading
During the break before the awards ceremony of SNBC 2009, there was a friendly competition between Eleen Cai (SNBC 2007 Champion) and John Ting (SNBC 2008 Champion). It was a competition to make as many cappas as you can in 10 minutes. The highlight of the event was uh, someone volunteered me to be the 8th guest judge. All guest judges were chosen from the audience. The WBC judges took… Continue reading
I just came from SNBC 2009 Finals held at Suntec Convention Hall today. Whew! What a turnout. Sadly, I didn’t see any familiar faces from our local home roaster’s group, CGSG (Coffee Greens Singapore). Cafes that had baristas in the finals were 2 from Oriole Cafe, Ian from TCC, 1 from Spinelli’s, Danny Pang from Geek Terminal, and 1 from Jones the Grocer (Ahmad… Continue reading
On a lighter note, I caught this with my iPhone as I passed by Starbucks (branch at Shaw Tower) one day:
“To be a Starbucks Roaster,You need skill, artistry anda really good watch.”"We’ve been proudly roasting since 1971.”… Continue reading
[Why, oh why did I feel it's appropriate to add this article to this blog??? Check out Point Number 9.]
I first came across this word when I watched an episode of Boston Legal where James Spader’s character, Alan Shore explains it as “taking pleasure in someone else’s misfortune.” I am guilty of schadenfreude when I read about Starbucks closing their stores. I’m thinking in the perspective of someone who enjoys coffee, as someone who enjoys good coffee. I’m not thinking in terms of the twelve thousand jobs lost… Continue reading
I should change the title.I was jinxed yesterday.I thought I had a good day ahead of me. I roasted a real nice batch of SM Italian Espresso blend 4 days ago. Yesterday would be peaking at 3 days. The roast was stopped at the start of 2nd crack, giving the bean a nice dark chocolate brown, with very slight hints of oil. Perfect day, right? My bro requested an americano… Continue reading
Today’s my first day as a professional barista. I started work at Gloria Jean’s at the Raffles City branch. Their setup is a La Marzocco 3 group GB5 and a La Marzocco Swift grinder and auto-tamper. The La Marzocco GB5 is a beaut to work with. By the lunch hour, I was already pulling shot after shot. The Swift makes life easier. You get to skip the DLT (Dose-Level-Tamp). No… Continue reading
Today, I had the ultimate panic attack. Plus stupidity. I turned on the
Anita, hit the showers, and came back to the Anita. The Anita takes
about 30 minutes to warm up. I put my Vivave Dolce into the grinder,
turn on the grinder. I went back to do a flush, and to my utter
amazement, the digital temp read 78.4ºF. What???
The boiler did not turn on. Panic attack starts here. The Anita is… Continue reading
