From a cup of Kenyan coffee

Having a minor temperature this morning, I stayed home for a sick leave.  This gave me a time for total re-charging of myself from the recent hectic life.  I haven’t made myself syphon coffee for a while.  Today, I made a cup from the Kenyan coffee beans.

I remember the days when I still a small kid, there were TV news reports on the severe famine of people living in such African countries as Kenya and Ethiopia.  I naïvely asked mum why these people lived in such an environment.  She said, ‘because people were poor’.  And I cried for these people.

African countries have undergone a lot of improvement in recent tens of years.  The once poor lands now become fertile grounds for coffee plantation.  Thanks for organizations such as OXFAM who taught people ways of plantation, helping these people to help themselves.  Places like Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania fall exactly on the best areas of the world’s coffee belt which give them special blessings in producing the most famous beans in the coffee industry. 

Today, I really feel happy for these people.  They show us hopes in hopeless situations.  And today, I am no longer a little girl with naivety in all things.  People are poorer than us only because we are luckier.  And I would never learn to take things for granted.

今天因為早上發燒，沒有上班，便待在家中；這卻給了我一個好好的機會，從近來忙碌的生活中竭一竭，充一充電。已很久沒有為自己做一杯塞風壼的咖啡，今天，就來一杯用肯雅豆子做的塞風壼咖啡。

記得小時候不時在電視新聞報導中，得悉非洲一些國家，如肯雅和埃塞俄比亞等地，人民都受著饑飢的煎熬。那時，無知的我問媽媽為什麼那些人會生活在這樣的環境中，媽媽說：「因為這些人貧窮」… 我為這些人而哀慟。

數十年來，非洲國家經歷了很多改善，曾是貧脊的土地，現今成為種植咖啡最佳的土壤。感謝如OXFAM等的組織，教導當地人民咖啡種植的方法，讓他們助人自助。現今，如埃塞俄比亞、肯雅和坦桑尼亞等地方，正落在全球最好的咖啡帶上，讓這些地方得到最大的祝福，為全球出產最出名的豆子。

今天，我為這些人而慶幸，因為他們在絕望的環境中，讓我們看見希望。而今天，我再不是一個小女孩，天真地感受生活中的每件事情。世界某些角落，別人比我們貧窮只因為我們比他們幸運；而我也學懂，對身邊的事物，不要當是理所當然。

Something for Jess

I was attracted by the name to go to this café – something for a lady.  It’s really a big surprise to me because the café is a hidden gem in the city area. 

I like the decoration here.  The overall composition including the use of furniture, potted plants and old stuff tell you explicitly how much support they have endeavored in for their central theme: sustainability.  The owner Philib stated that only 2 pieces of furniture were bought while the remaining ones were got from the street.  The abandoned articles now have a place of shelter and a chance to maximize their potential here!  Food ingredients are fresh with a portion of organic materials.  Philib said some of the ingredients were directly brought from his partner’s parents living and planting in the Blue Mountains once every 1 to 2 weeks.  Wow!

I was much impressed by the words written at different corners of the café.  The words were small; yet the messages were impressively meaningful.  Aren’t we too much spoilt by the affluent materials in the modern world today?  Are we too easy in throwing away old things which still have values?  Haven’t we added too much flavors in our cooking that we blind our senses in experiencing the real taste of ingredients?

Last but not the least, I am really jealous about Jess.  When I saw Philib working hard in the kitchen for preparing food for the customers, I could feel the dedication of this gentleman not only to this café, but also the lucky lady Jess.  I wish somebody would also do something for me~! :P

因為名字特別的緣故，我被吸引來到這咖啡店，竟發現它是繁忙城市中的瑰寶。

很喜歡這咖啡店的裝潢，它的佈局很特別，用的傢俱­、栽種的植物及舊物品，清晰的告訴你他們致力支持環保。店主Philib說傢俱中只有兩件是買的，其餘的都是從街上拾到的。就這樣，這些舊傢俱得到容身之所，也發揮了它們的作用！食材也是新鮮的，部份還是有機物品。Philib說部份材料是他伴侶居住在藍山的父母所種的，每一至二星期左右新鮮運到店來！讚！

我被店內不同角落所寫的字所吸引。字的體積雖小，但它所帶著的訊息卻是格外的有意義。在現今世代，我們是否被富裕的物質所寵壞？我們是否太易丟棄舊卻仍有用處的物件？我們在做菜的時候，又是否添加太多不必要的味道，蒙閉了我們的味覺去感受食材真正的味道？

最後，我的確很羨慕Jess；當我看見Philib在廚房裡很努力的為顧客準備食品，在這男子身上看到的，不只是他對這咖啡店的熱誠，也是他對這幸運女神的熱誠。我都希望，也有同樣的福份！

Mon-Sun 0700-1500

Corner of Abercrombie Street and O’Conner Street, Chippendale NSW 2008

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Something-for-Jess/460954030651788

Yes, no entry this way, but round the corner

 

Support sustainability and small scale businesses~!!

Bean Drinking

Bean Drinking has been selected as the top 10 of Sydney cafes in the past few years.  
 

It is a popular café to the locals living in Crows Nest.  It’s probably a good place for take-away coffee, lunch, snack and catch-up, etc.  Nevertheless, this is more than a normal neighbourhood café. On the right corner at the entrance, there is a coffee lab with things ready for coffee education purposes: global map showing coffee belt, tasting chart, test tubes containing beans at different roasting degrees, siphon, hand-drip set, etc.  It’s awesome that products of the highly reputable brand Hario are available for sale here, including the siphon set, hand-drip scale, hand-drip filter, filter paper, etc.

Various brewing methods are carefully prepared.  Apart from the traditional espresso-based coffees, you can also have siphon and hand-drip coffee here.  Wanna try making coffee at home.  There you go.  You can buy some of their freshly roasted beans home.

這咖啡店在這數年內都被選為悉尼十大最佳咖啡店之一 。

這亦是在當區極受歡迎的咖啡店之一，受歡迎的原因，或許是因為它的確是一間幾乎是全能的咖啡店，讓你享受外帶的咖啡、午餐、零食及跟友人交誼談心等。然而，這也是一間非一般的咖啡店，進門口的右邊，你會見到一個咖啡實驗角落，內設不少能隨時提供咖啡教育的教材，包括標示咖啡帶的世界地圖、咖啡品味圖、裝有不同烘焙度豆子的實驗容器、手沖壼、塞風壼等。在悉尼難得一見，高質素的品牌Hario的物品也可在這兒買得到，包括塞風壼套裝、手沖法的濾杯、濾紙和電子量重器等。

這兒你可以享受到不同的沖煮咖啡方法，他們都為你精心泡製。除了常見的意式特濃咖啡及相關飲品外，你還可以享受到手沖及塞風塞的沖煮法。若然心癢癢想在家自行沖煮?! 沒問題，即管在這兒買一包他們自家烘焙的新鮮豆子，包你滿意！

Mon-Sun 0700-1800

Shop 1, 13 Ernest Place, Crows Nest, NSW 2065

9436 1678

http://www.beandrinking.com.au/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/BDMicroRoaster?fref=ts

Always crowded

 

Single origin coffee available here

Freshly roasted coffee beans ready for you to buy them home

siphon coffee

Different degree of roasting

Special journey Pt 1-Visit to the Coffee Roaster

My 5^th visit to this café was a special visit – a planned guided tour by Dan, the Managing Director of The Coffee Roaster for my friends in Sydney and a group of coffee lovers from Hong Kong.

 

The air-flow roasting (for details please refer to another post) is special for its strengths in consistency control of the beans roasted as compared to the conventional drum-roasting.  A breakthrough from the traditional stuff is always uneasy with lots of risks and uncertainties.  Thanks for Dan who took these risks and uncertainties in 1992.  Without all the efforts by Dan and other pioneers, all we can try in the market may be solely factory-made large-scaled beans with hardly any character.

All the participants in this visit were impressed not only by the smart logistics of the roasting process, but also Dan’s knowledge and, more importantly, the passion and persistence in the coffee industry. 

Hopefully coffee quality in Sydney can be kept consistently high.  At the same time, I hope coffee industry in Hong Kong can grow with an integration of the knowledge, skills and culture from different countries in the world.

Special thanks to Chester, my coffee instructor, who took me from absolute zero in coffee knowledge.  All the best for his coffee business and mission in leading the coffee education and industry in Hong Kong.

Special thanks to Nora and Edward, my BT classmates.  I didn’t expect our friendship started with coffee and it lasts until today.  All the best for their everything~!  Hopefully we shall see in another coffee meetup very soon.  Hong Kong? Taiwan?

My coffee journey started 3 years ago in Hong Kong.  Until today, I have not been good in tasting, roasting and barista skills.  Yet, I support the mission of the coffee industry, the passion of the people involved, the life and hope farmers in underdeveloped countries derived from this industry.  And I hope the coffee industry in Hong Kong and Australia can have more passionate people like Dan and Chester!

到這兒的第五次探訪是一次很特別的安排－跟這兒董事總監Dan一早約定的講解探訪，除了悉尼的朋友以外，還有一班來自香港的啡友。

相比傳統的鼓熱式烘焙，熱空氣烘焙的好處，在於更能控制烘豆的一致性(詳情請參看另一篇部落文章)；但這樣的突破傳統，難免帶著危機與難測的未來。感謝Dan勇於冒險，於1992年引用這樣的烘焙技術，若這行頭內沒有像Dan及其他先行者，我們能在市場上嚐到的，大槪只有是工廠裡大規模烘焙，沒有個性的豆子。

這次探訪的參觀者不只讚歎整個烘焙過程的運作，還有Dan的知識及他對咖啡業的熱誠與堅持。希望悉尼能維持高質數的咖啡，同時，也希望香港的咖啡業能成長，並融合來自世界各地的知識­、技術與文化。

特別感謝我的咖啡導師Chester，從零開始一點一滴的教授我咖啡的知識。祝福他的咖啡事業，及帶領香港咖啡業及教育的使命。

特別鳴謝咖啡班的同學Nora及Edward，我從沒期望從咖啡班開始的友誼能持續至今，衷心祝福他們的一切。希望有天再在別處啡聚。香港? 台灣?

我的咖啡旅程由3年前在香港開始，至今，我仍不算在味覺、烘焙及沖煮方面有任何特長之處。然而，我仍一直支持咖啡業的使命、業界的人的熱誠­、及在落後國家啡農在透過種植咖啡時得到合理的生活與希望。很希望香港及澳洲的咖啡界能有更多像Dan及Chester的熱誠者!

Mon-Sat 0600-1430

380 Botany Road, Beaconsfield NSW 2015

1800 811 0309

www.thecoffeeroaster.com

An introduction about beans by Dan

The green beans are dropped from here (1/F) into the huge roaster which is situated next to the wall.

Computerized roasting procedures to ensure consistent bean quality

Good coffee, good roaster, good roaster owner, good visit... all good~!

Good coffee

The whole group was impressed by the guided tour and the passion of Dan!