Singapore on WBC 2010 Day 2

Oriole Mac Yellowbird Blend

Posted in coffee, cupping, espresso, john, Notes, oriole, oriole-coffee-roasters, Pulls, Rant, Roasts, taste, ting on December 27th, 2011 by Colin Loh

Oriole Coffee just announced their new Yellowbird seasonal espresso blend this Christmas week. Previous iterations of Yellowbird have been a duo-origin blend, Brazilian and Ethiopian, and this new YB follows in its ancestral footsteps. Made up of 20% Ethiopian Sidama, and 80% of a semi-washed Brazilian bean from Fazenda Machado, this YB proves to be another winner in… Continue reading

Tags: beans, brazil, coffee, espresso, ethiopia, La_Marzocco, oriole, roast, sidamo, singapore, ting

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Toby’s Estate Opens in Singapore

Posted in Cafe, espresso, Meetups, Roasts, singapore, taste, tobys_estate on October 9th, 2011 by Colin Loh

I’ve known about Toby’s Estate opening in Singapore a while back. I was highlighted to it by way of jimseven and then Deaton Pigot, who opened Toby’s Estate in New York. Blogging has its accolades. In fact, it was the 1st of only 2 coffee places I went to for job interviews.

Toby’s

Tags: barista, beans, brazil, cgsg, championship, coffee, cuppachoice, espresso, estate, kaiseng, melvin, singapore, snbc, starbucks, steve_cairns, suhaimie_sukiman, tobys, tobys_estate, world barista championship

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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

Tags: barista, championship, coffee, espresso, naked-portafilter, oriole, roast, singapore, snbc

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Oriole Coffee The Bodum Way

Posted in barista, Cafe, espresso, john, nespresso, onirio, oriole, oriole-coffee-roasters, Roasts, singapore, taste, ting on May 11th, 2011 by Colin Loh

On this coming weekend of 14th, 15th May and on the next weekend of 21st, 22nd May, Oriole Coffee Roasters will be making Bodum French Press presentations at Takashimaya Shopping Centre at Ngee Ann City. The baristi instructing the Bodum French Press class are past Singapore National Barista Champions, John Ting (2008, 2009) and Keith Loh (2010).

Of special mention and also an update to this blog post is… Continue reading

Tags: aceh, barista, Bodum, champion, espresso, ethiopia, keith, loh, nespresso, onirio, oriole, sidamo, singapore, sumatra, takengon, ting

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Getting To Do What You Love

Posted in barista, Cafe, jimseven, News, singapore on April 12th, 2011 by Colin Loh

“Getting to do what you love…”

As far back as I can remember, I have been quite lucky and have always managed to turn my passion into a job. I’ve done this with comics and toys for 14 years. Now, I’ve elected to do the same with my other love, coffee. Walking away from a barista

Tags: barista, cappuccino, espresso, jimseven, latte_art, singapore

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The Big Picture

Posted in barista, championship, competition, News, Rant, singapore, wbc, world on March 29th, 2011 by Colin Loh

“As a barista trainer, I would rather resign than compromise on the quality of coffee and training I deliver.” And I did. My last day in The Line [Restaurant] will be April 25th. Sorry, I can’t bring myself to conduct training in a manner that would set the quality of coffee in Singapore back to the Dark Ages. It’s not what I signed up for.

I posted this on… Continue reading

Tags: barista, challenge, championship, coffee, espresso, facebook, singapore, snbc, wbc, world, world barista championship

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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).

: The translucent side panels give us an inkling of the internals

: From the customer’s viewpoint. Sadly, they don’t get to see the naked pours.

: So hot it sizzles

: Leaving no stone unturned, which is what the La Marzocco Street Team did, by re-designing the portafilter …

: to make it easier for baristi to ….

: The La Marzocco Pressure Profiling Cheat Sheet

Tags: barista, championship, espresso, keith, La_Marzocco, naked-portafilter, oriole, ristretto, singapore, snbc, strada

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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

Tags: americano, barista, championship, competition, espresso, jimseven, latte_art, naked-portafilter, oriole, sans-crema, signature, singapore, snbc

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SNBC 2011 and The story so far

Posted in barista, championship, competition, singapore, wbc, world on March 21st, 2011 by Colin Loh

I know I have not been blogging for a long while. It’s almost like taking a long hiatus, but I hope to be able to start writing again. My wish to participate in the coffee industry has been answered, and since 2010, I’ve been hired as a barista in a bistro, then a cafe, and now I’m a full fledged barista trainer in a prestigious hotel. More about myself in… Continue reading

Tags: barista, championships, diamant, expobar, national, singapore

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