Monday, January 28, 2008

Cups

For the past year we have been looking to find a set of cups that would suit our needs. From past experience we had some criteria. Stuff we picked up training for the world barista championship and other thoughts we had while working countless hours behind the bar.

We wanted an espresso cup with a round bottom to allow the espresso to mix well while extracting. "Mix" might sound odd to some - after all, the entire espresso passes through one spout on the way from the filter basket to the cup, right. But we're talking about mixing the first drops of the shot which are very intense and strong with the latter part of the pour. If you have ever done a "Salami pour" (where you change the cup during a pour every five seconds and taste them separately) you'll know what we mean.

The inside wall of the espresso cup also had to be straight down, because often there are two espresso cups under one double spout and if the walls are angled, sometimes the espresso is running down the side of the wall. In our experience this produce an inferior shot.

We wanted a smaller size of 50-60 ml. compared to the usual 80-100 ml here in Denmark. And we wanted the cup to be narrow, but not tall. This is to make sure the crema is not exposed more than necessary in order to preserve the crema - and the aromas trapped inside - as much as possible. We wanted there to be enough space on top of the espresso to capture those aromas, but not have the cup be in the way of your nose.

In the end we were also searching for a cup that looked good. We wanted white porcelain. Not the off white you often see, but really white like fine dining porcelain. And of course of a good thickness so it would hold the heat well, feel soft on the lips and not break easily.

Some might say that's a lot of criteria for such a small cup.

It wasn't much easier for the cappuccino cups. We wanted two sizes; a small and a large.

The small would have to be smaller than any cappuccino cup, we've found in Denmark before. 150 ml. This is the smallest size allowed in the WBC, but we've found it to be a perfect match with our kind of light roasted 25-30 ml. espresso. The large would have to suit a double espresso, but we really didn't want a cup twice the size of the small; it just gets too "mega-gulp" for our liking.

Previously we've been using Tulip-shaped cups, like the ones I used in the competition. They were great in the way that they made the foam quite thick, due to the narrow surface. But for the same reason they were very hard to present great latte art in.

So, we were looking for cups to combine these two qualities; a conicical shape with a small diameter to support the foam but simultaneously allowing for great latte art.


It has taken a while to find cups that would match the above, but today we're finally able to launch our own cups.
They are produced by the respected Italian porcelain factory D'Ancap.

The espresso cup is the Palermo. It measures 60 ml. (We measured all cups by filling water to the rim on an accurate digital scale - just to be sure)
The cappuccino cups are from the Torrino line. The small measures 150 ml and the large 220 ml.

Our logo is printed on in a discrete blue color that matches the tint of the beautiful white porcelain.

The cups can be purchased in boxes of 6 from our webshop


On the Picture you see the 150 ml Cappuccino Cup

Friday, January 25, 2008

We're moving!

On February 1st we're getting the keys to our new location.

We're very pleased to announce that we will be opening a coffee shop in conjunction with our roastery!

The Coffee Collective's new address will be
Jægersborggade 10
2200 Copenhagen N


The space will combine our needs for training facilities, office and meeting space, roasting, packaging and serving our guests wonderful coffees. The aim is to create a new experimental coffee workshop.

As you can see from the picture the place is currently under re-construction. Good news for us, because it means completely new walls and installations, so it shouldn't take too long from we move in until we're ready to open.

This means that Tuesday next week is the last day we'll be open at the old location on Kirstinehøj. Webshop customers, please be aware, that the option to pick up the coffee there is no longer available. It will of course return, when we open the doors on Jægersborggade.

We're looking forward to inviting you all in for coffee!

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

New Prices - Direct Trade

With the arrival of the '07 harvest from Daterra we now offer another Direct Trade coffee. To mark this and to promote the Direct Trade model, we have from today lowered the price on these coffees!

Daterra Sweet Collection, Finca Vista Hermosa and our Espresso blend - which is now 75% Direct Trade - are all available for the new price at the Coffee Collective webshop.



Many greetings from The Coffee Collective

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Espresso Blend update

A new year and a new blend.
With the arrival of a new Ethiopian Yirgacheffe from the Adado mill we're happy to present our new espressoblend:
25% Adado, Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia
25% Finca Vista Hermosa, Huehuetenango, Guatemala
50% Daterra Sweet Collection, Cerrado, Brazil

The blend still has the sweet and creamy body of the last version, but with a more interesting aroma. By using the unwashed coffee from Adado we have added hints of strawberry to top the deeper aromas of chocolate and marzipan.

To mark the new blend Linus has also designed a new label with multiple colors.

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Daterra, Brasil unloaded



So after some hours of hard work we managed to unload the container with green beans from Daterra, Brasil, from who we now are buying directly.
Even if we are not used to this kind of intense carrying, it is really rewarding to get some physical experience of the coffee. It really makes you think about what gigantic work it is in the farm before the coffee even gets to us. Humble greetings from the loaders. Now it is up to us to carry on with the rest.

Bom trabalho mineiros ! Beleeeza!

Monday, January 7, 2008

:-)


Something very special arrived today at the roastery.

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

New member of the collective!

Wonderful news. Although this actually happened on Christmas day. There is now another mouth to feed in the collective because Peter and his wife Thea are now parents!!!

Early Christmas morning Thea gave birth to a beautiful little boy. He's got long hair and is apparently pretty tall (no surprise considering the parents).



Say hello to Malte!

Peter is now on a well-deserved leave for a few days to enjoy family life and we all wish him, Thea and little Malthe a very happy new year!

 
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