Hario Woodneck: First Impressions

The Hario Woodneck drip brewer is of most intrigue due to it's simple elegance, reusable cloth filter, and ability to produce one of the most defined cups, yet truly exemplifies body without the loss of crispness (which is something that can be difficult to achieve). Jose and I have already had a fair share of Woodneck brews, but we were certain we needed one in possession. Out of the box it was fairly simplistic to get up and going. It provided a nifty Hario branded spoon for that oh so perfect volume measurement, and the device itself looking quite dashing with it's wooden accents (quite similar to that of a chemex). On the down side the glass seemed a bit flimsy, although maybe thats because we are so used to the hardy chemex build. The cloth filter slides around a ring attached to a wooden handle, and is then placed on top of the wood neck for brewing. We poured a solid liter of hot water through the brand new filter just for good measure and fear of a cloth-like tang.

The cloth filter really brings a lucid body out of the coffee, and preserves the sweet acidity that we simply crave. An interesting aspect of the Woodneck is the absence of any directly guiding support along the filter, it's essentially hanging from the metal ring. It's also quite a bit more narrow and long compared to your average dripper. This could be of assist because of a smaller surface area to assure an even extraction (perhaps anyway). It's interesting because a lot of the time when I order a Woodneck brew form a cafe, they pour directly down the center for the last hundred or so grams of water. They also fill the filter up just shy of the metal ring, which as far as I'm concerned is doing nothing but unevenly extracting, and under-extracting the pour coffee grounds stuck high and dry. I originally thought on behalf of the diminutive surface area of the slurry, and with account of it's length that it might be less significant to worry about these things.

Since then I've made my fair share of drips, and with solid coffee to begin with it's a difficult dripper to really screw up, but the cups I've made - according to the cafe's I've gone to - always turn out with something slightly unpleasant or less interesting. After the initial bloom, what I've found to really bring out those sweet and acidic notes is to then do two more slow continuous pours (fast enough to retain constant flow, but slow enough so that the drip rate is around 1/3 the rate of pouring). Once you hit your mark on the second pour, I like to give it a gentile one rotation swirl to assure uniformity while extracting. It generally should sit around two minutes and thirty seconds, which is a trusty was to assure your pouring speed is on time. Also for proper storage and reuse of the cloth filter, make sure it's slightly damp, seal it inside of a zip-lock bag, and then store it inside of the fridge or freezer. Then when you are ready to use it again, revive it with a dose of hot water. I've probably made a solid thirty+ cups and still rocking the same filter. So let us know if you have a faithful procedure for brewing one of these puppies, and I'll certainly give it a go.  

Los Angeles Coffee Tour

Road trips. A quintessential American pastime consisting of greasy food, cramped spaces, and of course gas station coffee. Two out of those last three points were surely true on our most recent trip to the beautifully sunny city of Los Angeles, but it certainly wasn't gas station coffee. Like our coffee tour of San Francisco, we decided to focus our attention to coffee bars and cafes that truly accentuated the coffee atmosphere of southern California.

Our List:

1. The French Press - Santa Barbara, Ca
2. Intelligentsia Coffee Bar - Silverlake, Ca
3. Handsome Coffee Roasters - Los Angeles, Ca
4. G & B Coffee - Grand Central Market Los Angeles, Ca
5. Go get em tiger - Los Angeles, Ca
6. Cognoscenti Coffee - Culver City, Ca
7. Intelligentsia Coffee Bar - Venice, Ca

Reviewing all of these establishments in a single review would do justice to no one as each of these places constantly breaks barriers on how coffee should be made.  Too many cold brews, pourovers, and espressos to really just lump it all into one review so in fairness to the hardworking baristas that supplied deliciousness, here is a personal review of each cafe.

THE FRENCH PRESS - SANTA BARBARA, CA

Cruising in just before sunrise and 4 hours of traveling, the first stop on the trip was The French Press located in the heart of downtown Santa Barbara. The French Press first caught our eyes as it came up in the research of southern California cafes. With an easy exit off highway 101, it was clear that it had to the our first stop of the trip. 

Click to visit The French Press's Facebook.

Simple, elegant and beautiful, The French Press offers a certain kind of warm comfort and perhaps it was the foggy morning but it was reminiscent of the coldest of winter mornings. Its location, layout and presence were certainly stunning, no detail overlooked, something that can also be said about the city where this cafe is located. 

Verve Coffee Roasters supplies the coffee to this beautiful cafe, something that Cole and I know and love. With Streetlevel espresso, on the La Marzocco Strada and french press coffee on tap, it was certainly a good sight to see after early morning travels. The barista, friendly and attentive quickly served Cole his french pressed coffee, and pulled a shot of espresso for myself.

Streetlevel, citrusy, sweet and with a smooth finish, a coffee like no other, The French Press went beyond my expectation in recreating my profile of this coffee. To my delight it was certainly became one of my favorite espressos on the trip.

Cole on the other hand, with a cup of french pressed coffee, felt that his coffee lacked something special, perhaps attributed to the fact that the coffee was on tap, and not made directly after ordering. Sad and a little lonely, Cole concluded that it was certainly a good cup of cup, but just short of stellar.

Delicious pasteries and other bagels were on sight and available for purchase, as well as coffee gear for home brewers wanting to replicate perfection the french pressed seems like a well rounded coffee shop appealing to different types of customers. 

It has been a long time since I have actually felt comfortable in a coffee shop, not in the sense that I don't felt like I belong, but more with a comfort compared to a childhood memory. Its decor, layout, the hardwood flooring maybe it was everything about this place certainly captivated my memories. One day, I shall return to The French Press, but until that day, I will keep it close to my heart.

Barista Bud App Published!

It's been some time since our first few posts, but I would like to gratefully announce the release of our shiny new app Barista Bud. Now - before you pop that lovely name in the search bar of your fancy Iphone, or Android device of choice,  your going to have to wait a while longer. It's unfortunately only published for devices running Windows Phone. It's in current development of the IOS version (I just bought a mac specifically for this, ah!), and I am as well working on the android version. Please keep in mind that this is the first app I've committed all the way until publishing, and that I'm also still quite new to programming.

But wait, what even is Barista Bud!?

Barista Bud is a simple way to calculate the perfect ratio of water to coffee for specific brewing methods. It has the ability to convert through different units (also tablespoons for those non-weigher's out there), and also has a brew timer. The current app now is essentially the "lite" version. It's free with ads, and is fairly straight to the point. Once I get it up and running for all major devices I'll begin the "Pro" version which should have many more features like manipulation of TDS% and extraction yield% (sort of how VST's MojoToGo app for IOS achieves), and also a guided timer for pour over brewing. The timer will provide visually when to pour water, how long between pours, and quantity of water when poured (for that extra special cup!). Currently all ratios are based off a constant 1.28% TDS, and 19.2% extraction yield.

The Barista Bud logo.  Click it!

So if you have a Windows phone device, I would more than eternally love you to go check it out, and possibly drop a rating! Also I would love to hear what you guys are looking for in this app. Drop a comment of ideas or criticism and I'll surely do my best to implement it.

Chemex Notions

All hail the mighty chemex! 

So we all know the - You're trapped on an island and have one thing to bring with you scenario. So what if you had only one brewing method to bring along with you? If I was in such a position, I would bring along my trusty ole' chemex. With respect, If I was really on an island I'd bring something less fragile, but bear with me. 

If you have never ventured into the land of chemex, I'd highly commend you try it out. The chemex was invented by an American chemist named Peter Schlumbohm and released by the chemex corporation in 1942. If you enjoy clarity, and crispness in your coffee - this is where it's at. 

The Supplies:

• 205F Water



Boliva coffee from Four Barrel

• If you don't have temperature control: bring to a boil and let sit for 30 - 45 seconds. 
• We say 205F because of the rapid heat loss while brewing chemex. The actual slurry should be a solid 200F, and setting your water to 205F usually keeps the slurry proerly heated.
• Some sort of pouring mechanism
• We prefer the bonavita goose-neck electric kettle for control.
• Fresh coffee
• Use a 1:17 ratio (this works for any unit)
• Ex: 340g water to 20g coffee
• Medium/fine grind
• We will cover ratios more in debt later (also in current development of a mobile app for exactly this (Barista Bud)
•  Chemex Filters



Always grind directly before brewing!

• The paper filters absorb more acidity for a crisper cup, while the metal filter is more bold like a french press.
• Also if you watch your cholesterol: Coffee contains a substance called cafestol that is a potent simulator of cholesterol levels. It  is found inside the oily fractions of coffee, and when brewed in a paper filter, the cafestol gets left behind in the paper. 
• And of course a chemex!
• They have different sizes, the process it essentially the same with all, they just make different quantities. 

The Process:

Blooming or pre-infusion

• Wash the filter
• If you are using a paper filter, put it inside of the chemex and pour enough hot water down the sides to engulf everything. This will both take out any unwanted paper/dust taste, and also preheat the chemex. After it sits for a minute or so empty the water out.
• Place the filter so that the thick side is facing the lip on the chemex, this way air can naturally flow through.
• Pre-Infusion / Bloom
• Pre-infusing is one of the most overlooked steps to a great coffee.
• Fresh coffee has excessive amounts of Carbon Dioxide, and prevents the water from full contact with the surface of the grinds. 
• It essentially creates tiny bubble barricades around the coffee particles resulting in a weak extraction if you don't defeat them!
• Put your freshly ground coffee into the filter, and evenly pour water in a circular motion. You want to pour just enough to fully saturate all of the coffee grounds (roughly the weight of coffee in water). It should look much like the picture, and you should be able to see the Carbon Dioxide degassing in bubbles. 
• As soon as your done pouring the bloom, gently stir the slurry to ensure full saturation.
• Let it bloom for about 35 seconds.
• The fresher your beans are, the more it should bubble. 
• As beans sit they contiguously degas, so the fresher they are the more Carbon Dioxide they should have inside. 

Extraction time, try not to fill all the way up

• Now its time to extract!
• Pour slow circles starting from the center outward. You should not fill the entire filter to the top, instead fill it with smaller bursts.
• It's extremely important to keep the slurry as low as possible. This is simply because the grounds will stick to the sides, and as the water lowers, it leaves grounds up top which are not being extracted from. Then you will have over extracted grounds at the bottom resulting in bitterness, and under extracted grounds at the top. This is known as "high and dry."
• My first pour is usually around 120 milliliters of water depending on how much I'm making.
• Try not to pour directly down the filter side, it can speed up extraction and create channeling.
• Because water takes the least path of resistance, channeling is terrible because water will continue to flow down the same path if the slurry is uneven. Because the water is passing through a channel more then the rest, it extracts excessively creating bitters.  
• Also note that by placing the triple layered side towards the lip, you can control air flow by closing/opening it. This is just another way to have full control over extraction time. 
• The grind should allow the water to pass through in just about four minutes. 
• If it's drastically off, I would first change your grind settings to differ extraction time, rather than your pouring.



Enjoy!

• Finishing up
• Pull the filter out right as the last bit of water passes through the grinds.
• Generally it's fairly apparent how the brew turned out by looking at the ending bed of grounds. 
• The bed should look very flat (or a slight bulge in the center), and there should be little grinds clinging to the sides. 
• If you notice a significant amount of grounds "high and dry," I would recommend a soft, circular stir with a spoon - right after your last pour of water to assure evenness. 
• Now hold your chemex high in the air so that it gleams in the sunlight, and give it a good swirl to release excess gases, as well as couple together different levels of extraction.
• Now all you have to do is serve and enjoy! 

Greetings!

Hello,

    and welcome to the start of an eccentric endeavor into the shrewd world of coffee. We are two striving connoisseurs, and this blog is not only an accolade to the beverage so many of us cherish daily, but is also a way of further expanding our own knowledge, as well an effort of augmenting the apprehension of others. Jose and I figured we'd start it off right with a tour of San Francisco to hit up some of the most premium cafe's around. 

The only real endorsement that Blue Bottle was even there.

First stop: Blue Bottle 

Cappuccino from Blue Bottle

After enduring the ambitious 20 minute line wait - we finally arrived to the front register. Despite the time, the Barista was kind enough to have our drinks already prepared for us at the front checkout. We ordered a macchiato and a cappuccino to keep things simple. We both achieved a prompt characteristic of both earthy, and mellow tones that was considerably feeble. Without doubt the drinks were pleasant and delicious, but did not quite stand out like our expectations prospected. It was ideally sweet, sitting at around 120 degrees(we inferred anyway), and it also majestically vanished rather quickly. The energy of the room was loud with casual conversing, which contrived a difficulty to relax and enjoy. The customer service was certainly worthy, although it lacked the intimacy that many of us enjoy about going to a coffee shop.   

Second stop: Sight Glass

Outside the massive window to Sight Glass

The initial arrival to Sight Glass was profusely inviting in respect to the congested experience at Blue Bottle. The majority of the seats were filled with student Mac zombie's enjoying a solid cup of Joe. At discrete attention to a tiny sign by the door, led intriguing adventure up the stairs to a separate, smaller station where they specifically served AeroPress beverages. This was both convenient and just really cool. They served three single origin roasts: 

Songea Peaberry, Tanzania (Blackberries, Plum, Lime Zest)

Finca Alcatraz, Wilfredo Ule, Columia (Cherry-limeade, Cola, Cara Cara Orange, Grape)

Finca California, Juan Palomo, El Salvador (Caramel Apple, Gingersnap Cookie, Butterscotch)

And of course we had to try them all, even at 4 bucks a pop. I personally found their descriptions fairly accurate, although a little excessive. The Barista was very kind and creditable as we asked her questions, and was a plus that we had a chance to chat. The coffee was well extracted, and was quite different than what we had been concocting at home. Sight Glass is definitely a well rounded café with a notably comfortable vibe. If you're in the area, make this a definite stop and perhaps even wander upstairs if you're in the mood for some AreoPress.

Next: Four Barrel



Outside Four Barrel (apologies for the unclear picture)

As we proceeded through the threshold to yet another outstanding café, we found ourselves in a warm and cozy environment with the sweet, rich aroma's of roasting coffee. They as well had set up a separate brewing section which seemed to dismiss the line, and we were starting to really enjoy this. At first strike the lady up front did not promote any compelling love for the drink, but our contiguous conversing finally got her to talk a little more about coffee - she also managed to serve up a tasty cup. The Columbian I received was quite sweet with some honey and caramel accents, although as it cooled a slight bitterness approached later. I personally don't mind a little bitter zest, sometimes it can be very assisting to the flavor. We as well purchased some baked goods which were a reason enough to go check out Four Barrel.  

Last but certainly not least: Ritual Coffee

Shot from the back towards the front entrance. 

Hot chocolate art!

By this time into the trip, we were all exceptionally feeling divergent from the plethora of coffee's consumed. Although still completely devoted we ventured off to Rituals Coffee. Rituals first impression was entirely relaxed and easygoing. The Barista welcomed us grandly, and turned out to even have competed at the US Barista Championships. Intrigued, I ordered a cappuccino, Jose thought he ordered espresso but received a pour over, and our pal Nathaniel got a hot chocolate (The picture to the right). My cappuccino was very sweet, a lovely tulip, solid foam, and nudged into some higher notes which was very delightful. This one certainly did just over Blue Bottles cappuccino. Later on as we sat on a squishy couch the Barista asked if we wanted to try a new Costa Rica that they don't sell upfront. Entirely excited, we accepted to give it a go. He AreoPressed 16.5grams coffee to 200ml water for one vivacious brew. I may have even enjoyed this more than the AreoPress we possessed from Sight Glass. Rituals seemed like a fantastic place to get some work done, as well as make some killer drinks.