WBC approaching

Three and a half weeks till the World Barista Championship here in Copenhagen. By this time the baristas should have gotten their whole presentation together and hopefully they are just doing run-throughs of their set to practice from now till then.

At the Collective we're gearing up to the event already. We're training the Danish competitor Søren Stiller Markussen and trying to help out some of the people who's travelling from far away with getting some details in place. It's not an easy thing to bring in cups, glasses, milk, electronic devices, plants and ingredients from around the globe. I remember that all too well from my own days of competeing. We've recieved a lot of emails from competitors who would like to come in and train a bit on our GB5 just before the competition. Unfortunately we only have the one in our coffee shop for now, and it's being put to full use as it is. Personally, I don't think it matters much to have access to a machine so close to the competition if you're well prepared from home. Each competitor will get some training time on the WBC machines, so don't stress if you're a competitor and haven't gotten some arrangement for a machine when you arrive in CPH.

The WBC will be covered this year by the Danish online forum and coffee web site EspressoBar. They have made a site specific for the event: WBC on EspressoBar




On the site you will be able to read about the competitors of the different countries, get updates during the event and participate in the forum, where I'm sure there will be many questions and answers about the baristas' presentations. Go there already now for information about the competing baristas.

FVH - the movie

Blogger presents...
A Coffee Collective Production...
Starring...
Finca Vista Hermosa!

Just for fun I assembled this little video clip from my camera. I did nothing to make this look good or sound nice - so you can hear the real noise. Hopefully next time we go, we can bring a proper camera and show some more of what's going on at origin.

You can read (or re-read) our account of the trip here:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3


Enjoy :-)

DK4

DK4's program Luksus visited us some weeks ago. Their filming and interviewing have come together in a nice little segment which you can view on DK4 at the following times:

17-05-2008 09:30
Luksus 08 (4)

19-05-2008 04:00
Luksus 08 (4)

20-05-2008 11:30
Luksus 08 (5)

Hope you'll be able to catch it, as it's not coming online.

Shakerato Time!

Summer time has come to Copenhagen (at least for a short visit). Over 20 degrees C in the shade this week, which is niiiice for us. It gets a little warm in the roastery when we're roasting, but we wouldn't dream of complaining.

But it means that our lovely americanos must clear the way for the awesome SHAKERATO! - A favourite drink amongst the collectivists. It's so fresh and prefectly balanced. There's no milk, which is nice since we're close to the beach season ;-) When shaken really well it gets a nice thick foam and if you drink it straight away the mouthfeel is amazing. It brings out a lot of fruitiness in our espresso blend, but this week we've made it with the light roasted Kenya AA Top, the Kariaini, and it's just a bomb of fruit! It's almost like a coffee juice.

Recipe:
Ice cubes in shaker - just below half full.
Simple Sugar Syrup 20 ml. over the ice.
Brew a double espresso (try our light roasted Kariaini, Kenya AA Top!).
Pour espresso into the shaker and let just cool for a couple of seconds..
Shake very well! With lots of energy!
Serve ...for yourself :-)
Enjoy!