I’m extremely proud of this Yellowbird, as I was involved in the process leading up to the creation of the blend. I have been working at Oriole Coffee as a barista, webmaster, and a roast apprentice under the excellent tutelage of barista champions Keith and John. Like what Steve said, I couldn’t have come to a better coffee university. As a roast apprentice, I’ve been roasting for Oriole Coffee for the past half year, and I’ve learnt more in that short span of time than I’ve gathered in all my 4 years as a home roaster.

Today, I pulled a few shots of this Yellowbird, a 20th December roast and 6 days old. The tasting notes that we got on a La Marzocco GB5 MP were “notes of piped tobacco, rich & intense mouthfeel, bright sweet prunes, hints of umami in the mid palate, lingering notes of pomelo in the finish.” On my Quickmill Anita, I had sweet smoke, hints of umami, and hint of grapefruit in the finish. From here on, I could tell the difference between a Quickmill Anita and a LM machine, the slight lack of complexity in the shot. But no bitters. On a GB5, the new mac yellowbird (as I like to refer to it) yielded the fragrance of shisha and the flavours of sweet tobacco, a definite savoury umami, hints of sweet dark prunes and subtle lemon drops beginnings which gave way to a lingering finish of pomelo or grapefruit. And the looks? Mottling and red brownish specks peppered the surface. Let the pictures speak for themselves.

Toby’s Estate Singapore opened its doors on 7th October to the public. The address is at 8 Rodyk Street #01-03/04, Singapore 238216.  Toby’s Estate Singapore is fronted by Alvaro Sanchez as the head of operations (formerly from Boncafe and Society Group) and a relatively well-known coffee personality Suhaimie Sukiman, 2nd Runner Up, Singapore National Barista Championships 2010, 2011 (formerly from CuppaChoice) as the cafe manager.  SNBC 2011,2010 #3 Suhaimie has brought along with him at Toby’s Estate quite a few other familiar faces as well. We have Terence Tan, Singapore National Barista Championships 2011 #4 (formerly from Joe & Dough), Nizam (from Black), and Andy (from Jewel and Starbucks).

As you enter the premises of Toby’s Estate, you are greeted by a huge wall mural depicting exactly what every Third Wave cafe is all about: nitpicking the coffee journey from the bean to the cup. A humungous Loring drum coffee roaster attached to a towering exhaust system lies on the right, and a much-humbled Probatino sample roaster is almost hidden alongside it.  And almost akin to an army canteen, it’s space, space, space. And a very long bench. With a coffee tree growing out from the middle of the bench. On the left, there are nicely back-lit retail shelves with bags of roasted coffee, keepcups personalized with Toby’s Estate logo, Cafetto cleaning products for your coffee machines, Chemex brewers, entire lines of Hario products, Toby’s Estate tea and drinking chocolate. Despite the many jute bags of green coffee lying on the pallet by the side of the roaster, the air is very clean, for a sufferer of sinuses like me.

The espresso machine is a Kees Van Der Westen Mirage Triplette Classic. Alongside it, rests 1 of 2 Clover machines in Singapore. The 2 Clovers spent their history in Intelligentsia Coffee, and I’m quite sure along the way, Deaton had something to do with them being brought into Toby’s Estate Singapore. Toby’s Estate kept one of the Clovers, and sold the other to Loysel’s Toy. Good things are meant to be shared, it seems. Kudos to Toby’s Estate. There are 2 Mazzer Roburs here, along with a Mazzer Mini to grind decaf beans.

On espresso, Toby’s Estate Singapore is serving Rodyk Blend and Guatemala Antigua Los Volcanes. I had the Rodyk blend, but coming from the dentist, my mouth was numb and I tasted only brightness in the espresso. My 2nd cup  was a Cafe De Colombia Cup of Excellence roasted by owner Toby Smith and made by Andy on a V60.  I could taste distinct blackberries. The 3rd cup I had was a Brazil Fazenda Rainha made from a Clover by Nizam. Pecans came to mind as I sipped this very clean cup of Clover.

The CGSG core group was here today too, with the exception of Kai Seng. Steve, Adhe and Sam had espresso, cappuccino and a pour-over. Melvin and Diane had the Guatemala Las Volcanes from a clover and a Chemex. Floral, nutty, and sweet.

My take on Toby’s Estate is that their real gem lies in what Suhaimie calls The Slow Bar, thus named because coffee extraction on The Slow Bar would take longer than the 25 to 35 seconds it takes for an espresso-based drink.  The Slow Bar looks like a science lab filled with Chemex flasks sitting atop digital weighing scales, Hario Syphons, a rare Clover machine, a Tiamo cold brewer, and a Vivreau water filtration system, with sparkling, still and hot water dispensers.  The Vivreau system, as explained by Alvaro, supplies the entire line of coffee machines with filtered tap water. Customers can sit at The Slow Bar and marvel at the different processes coffee can be extracted to the eventual cup in front of you.  There are power outlets every few meters and free wifi so customers can lounge with their devices. There is also alfresco tables outside should customers want to sit by the river.

My verdict:  Clean. Comfort. Clover. Coffee. Coming back.

Brazil Moreninha Formosa
Roasted to Full City +
4 days old
Dose: 18 grams

For this 1st shot, after separating the crema, I tasted both cups before adding water. Both taste tests were the same as previous post.

1st shot:

Eric’s Thermocouple:  Start at 200, end at 204 Fahrenheit.

Espresso only:  Slight bitterness.

Crema only:  Good fragrance. Taste spreads thru entire tongue.

Water-espresso 2:1 ratio:  Tastes like…. coffee. Smooth, even cup, no bitterness.

Water-crema 2:1 ratio:  Tastes wonderful. Pronounced fragrance.

Water-crema-espresso:  Good body, very smooth with good fragrance.

The first thing that hit my mind after drinking the 2 different cups was that if the Aldo Coffee taste test was repeated here, the ones who chose Maxwell House will go with the water-espresso cup, while the ones who were able to distinguish the CoE Fazenda Kaquend will go for the water-crema cup. Drinking the water-crema cup brings me the same sensation as my Panama Hacienda La Esmeralda. It doesn’t taste like conventional coffee. It brings the best to the table. To get a taste profile like this, I feel I have to roast the beans to almost Full City, without ever hitting 2nd crack.

2nd shot:

Eric’s Thermocouple:  Start at 198, end at 202 Fahrenheit.

Espresso only:  A bit bright, lemony feel.

Crema only:  Strong fragrance, berry-like.

Water-espresso 1:1 ratio: Citrusy lemony hints. A bright and smooth cup.

Water-crema 1:1 ratio:  Aromatic, perfumed cup. Hint of blueberries. Esmeralda-like. Not like coffee.

Water-crema-espresso:  Coffee with a good aroma. Smooth. A bit lemony. Pleasant aftertaste.

After this 2nd shot, it is safe to say that crema is not rubbish. Au contraire, watered down crema is IMHO a good way for beginners to distinguish the fragrances of the particular coffee. I would reiterate as I have stated in the previous Espresso sans crema taste test, espresso is not complete without crema. If this does work across the board for all coffees, I wonder if this process of separating the crema out will redefine espresso tasting/cupping sessions.

The message is that he was also prompted to do a taste test, following a discussion he had at The Coffee Collective’s blog post. Without further ado, here are my findings, and I believe there are more to come.

Brazil Moreninha Formosa
Roasted to Full City +
4 days old
Dose: 18 grams

I did 2 pulls at different temperatures, each indicated by Eric’s Thermocouple.  I used a Bodum Pavina for the espresso, so that the crema could be clearly delineated. I then separated the crema into another cup. Then I tasted the espresso, followed by the crema only, and then both the espresso and crema. (Note: for this article, the espresso means the black liquid without the crema.)

1st Shot:

Eric’s Thermocouple: Start at 200, end at 204 Fahrenheit

Espresso only:  1st sensation was that it was bitter, a tobacco feel. Bitter aftertaste.

Crema only:  Sour, with a tiny hint of some sort of fragrance in the mouthfeel.

Espresso and Crema:  Bitter and sour (At this point, I was thinking, “My home barista skills have gone into the Dark Ages.”)

2nd shot:

Eric’s Thermocouple:  Start at 198, end at 202.5 Fahrenheit.

Espresso:  No bitterness, more body than the 1st shot, very mild aftertaste, taste is mostly congregated at the back of the mouth. A bit nutty and dark chocolate.

Crema only:  No sours at all. Lemony feel. It’s almost akin to perfume oils. There’s a pronounced fragrance but not of the floral sort. Taste goes over entire flat of the tongue.

Crema and espresso:  Perfumed lemony dark chocolate.

I Hate (with a capital “H”) to disagree with The Coffee Collective and James, but I believe that espresso is incomplete without the crema. I believe that the crema is what gives espresso the fragrance and the defining factor that lends to its character and body.  But likewise, the body is incomplete without the head (pun intended). I will definitely be staying on this topic and will include more taste tests. My next set should involve americano.

From Eric’s Thermometer, the pour was started at 200 degrees and ended at 203 degrees. The temperatures are a bit on the hot side as the pour had a slight bitterness. As a 4:1 water-espresso americano, hint of berry can be detected, and it is full bodied. 2 ounces in 25 seconds. I will try it at 198 tomorrow.

While many would balk “45 seconds? Ristretto (restricted espresso)? That’s almost twice 25 seconds – the standard timing for a shot of espresso.” I was well aware of this, taking quick looks at Eric’s e-61 thermometer to ensure the temperature doesn’t drop below 198 degrees Fahrenheit while watching the pour to cut at first blonding. The resulting pour:

The details of the pour are:

Roast: Brazil Moreninha Formosa
Degree: Full City +
Machine: Quickmill Anita
Brew Pressure: 9.5 bars
Boiler Pressure 1.5 bars
Dose: 18 grams
Grind: Ultra Fine
Tamp: 30 pounds (Espro Clicker Tamper)
Eric’s e61 Thermometer: Flushed to 187, Start pour at 198. End pour at 198.

Here’s  the sequence of my 3rd cup today. Same variables as above shot with
Eric’s e61 Thermometer: Flushed to 187. Start pour at 200. End pour at 203.5
which resulted in a slight bitter shot, but still very pleasurable. Slight bitter dark chocolate.

2nd day: espresso, slow drip, 45 second ristretto, gorgeous naked flow. Extremely creamy, long aftertaste. Hint of spice, chocolate notes. I think taste will be more pronounced when it peaks later. Will be better tomorrow or day after. Needs more rest. Fantastic RISTRETTO roast. I’m in love! What have I been doing blending this with Zambia? This Brazil is great on its own. KS, take note, I know you have some left, don’t waste blending it.

Temp/Time      Period
380F/3:00       12:00 – 9:00
450F/4:00       9:00 – 5:00
480F/4:00       5:00 – 1:00
400F/1:00       1:00 – 0:00

I roasted 90 grams of Colombian Cup of Excellence El Descanso and 60 grams of Brazil Moreninha Formosa. 1st crack was at -6:00 and 2nd crack was at -1:30. I was extremely pleased with the evenness of the roast.

After a rest of just 1 day, I pulled 2 shots, the 2nd with a slightly coarser grind setting.

Both drinks had slight fruited tones with a floral finish. I feel the fruits will be more pronounced on the 3rd day. This is one program I’ll be keeping.

Brazil Moreninha Formosa Day 5

For me, I try to keep it to a mouse tail. While I know this is applicable
to those stock portafilters with their bottoms intact, I’m not sure
about the bottomless. Something to look in the forums for. My ideal for
a well-rested coffee would be to do a 45 second ristretto, where the
flow is sticky, gooey, and drips down like chocolate fudge, and I’ll
cut the flow at the slightest hint of pale. Intense.

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