A Day in the Life of a Barista Trainee at Oriole Coffee

Posted in barista, Cafe, championship, espresso, oriole, oriole-coffee-roasters, singapore on May 23rd, 2011 by Colin Loh

I was formerly a barista trainer at The Line Restaurant at Shangri-la Hotel. I quit rather than having to compromise on quality issues. Now, I’m a barista trainee at Oriole Coffee. Does this bother me? Let me elaborate ….

My work day starts at 7.00 am. I open up the Republic Plaza outlet of Oriole Coffee Espresso and Brew Bar together with my colleagues. I get to calibrate coffee that is… Continue reading

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The Number One Highlight of SNBC 2011

Posted in barista, Cafe, championship, competition, News, Pulls, singapore on March 22nd, 2011 by Colin Loh

The number one highlight of Singapore National Barista Championships 2011, held in conjunction with Tea & Coffee World Cup Singapore (for me) has to be Oriole Coffee Roasters’ brand spanking new espresso machine, the La Marzocco Strada! This is the first Strada to appear in Asia, according to May Soo of Wineberry, the La Marzocco distributor in Singapore. This is the Strada EP (Electronic Paddle).

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Singapore National Barista Championships 2011 Day 1 Highlights

Posted in barista, championship, competition, News, singapore, wbc, world on March 22nd, 2011 by Colin Loh

I wrote a first draft of a post I extremely liked until the wee hours of this morning, but I felt I was straying from the subject heading too much, therefore, although I feel it should justly be the highlight of this entire event, I shall address it last instead.

For those heading out to Singapore National Barista Championships, running alongside Tea & Coffee World Cup Asia today and… Continue reading

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SNBC Day 2

Posted in championship on February 26th, 2010 by Colin Loh

Today, I came prepared, with my naked portafilter, a digital thermometer crippled from my Eric Svendson’s setup from home, and my Espro tamper.

While attention was focused on the latte art competition on the floor, I stole away to try my stint at the Rancilio Classe 6 unit at the door. A few points in summary:

My Rancilio naked portafilter locks in at 6 o clock

The… Continue reading

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Meetup at Kai Seng’s

Posted in Meetups on January 17th, 2010 by Colin Loh

CGSG Gang of Four (L to R): Colin, Melvin, Kai Seng, Steve

Today’s gathering, January 17 2010, was called up at the last minute, and the attendees were the usual Gang of Four: me, Melvin and Steve at Kai Seng’s pad. Peter was away in Geneva while Adrian was selling bakkwa (roasted pork… Continue reading

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Home Barista Steve Cairns

Posted in Video on November 24th, 2009 by Colin Loh

Home Barista Steve Cairns shows you how he goes about his espresso routine. Equipment used are an Expobar Brewtus espresso machine, a Macap M5D grinder & a Reg Barber tamper. This was filmed at his home on Sunday, 8th November 2009 during one of our get-togethers Continue reading

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Meetup at the Cairns

Posted in Meetups on November 24th, 2009 by Colin Loh

This coffee get-together was organised at a last moment’s notice on Sunday, 8th November 2009 at Steve Cairns’ new place. The ones to turn up this day were me, KaiSeng, and Melvin. Peter couldn’t make it and Adrian was in Malacca. (UNLUCKY)

I regret that I didn’t take any pictures of the HIGHLIGHT AND MAIN EVENT of the day:

The . . . . .

. … Continue reading

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Article on Coffee Brewing Methods [Gizmodo]

Posted in External Article, Tools on October 6th, 2009 by Colin Loh

First, I have to apologize for the long hiatus from blogging as I was quite held up working at a bistro. I’ve since left that job and am continuing in my search for the barista position that chooses to escape me. While I am currently awaiting several emails to help me in my next post (yes, I’ll be researching this next one and not just post my many naked portafilter… Continue reading

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Americano Sans Crema Test

Posted in Notes, Pulls, Roasts, taste on July 8th, 2009 by Colin Loh

While I used to dismiss the americano as a watered down drink, I’ve grown to appreciate it much more after talking to fellow coffeegeek KS. It is much easier to discern the taste profile of the coffee if one is not used to the intenseness of an espresso. Of course, this intense taste profile comes only with freshness of the bean and quality of the barista and the machine preparing… Continue reading

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Espresso Sans Crema Test

Posted in Notes, Pulls, taste on July 8th, 2009 by Colin Loh

After reading James Hoffmann’s 1st video blog (well done, James!), I was prompted to do an espresso tasting session at 1 am, and I’ve done enough to give myself a caffeine high at this point. His last words were a shocker. I won’t give any spoilers. You have to watch the video.

The message is that he was also prompted to do… Continue reading

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