Hair For Hope 2012

Come 28 Jul, one of us will be going for a close shave as part of the Hair For Hope 2012 campaign to raise awareness of childhood cancer in Singapore. Leading up to the Sunday, we will be putting aside a dollar for every bag of coffee and coffee accessory sold in the shop from 16 Jul to 29 Jul. Together with all the tips collected during the period, the amount will be donated to the Children’s Cancer Foundation after the hair nip. We are hoping to raise as much as possible for this good cause, so do support us by the various channels mentioned.

Oh, in case you do not recognise the barista behind the machine come 29 Jul, do continue to enjoy the cup of coffee.

Brazil Sitio Canaa

As some of you might know, we have run out of our Fazenda Lambari from Brazil, but another new coffee, also from Brazil gets into our hoppers from today. So excited to introduce this micro-lot coffee from the Sitio Canaa farm, the 2nd direct trade coffee that we are introducing as part of our 2 month anniversary. The lot that we managed to buy is of the Red Bourbon varietal, pulped natural, roasted primarily for espresso, but still works well for certain brew methods.

When we first cupped the coffee back in December, we were amazed by the aroma and tasted fruity notes with caramel sweetness, creamy rich mouthfeel finishing off with pleasing dark cacao flavours. This cup stood out immediately from the rest of the other Brazils, to the point that it’s so “un-Brazil”!!!

Retail bags go on sale on the rack as well. As we only managed to secure 2 bags of this delicious coffee, you might want to grab them while they last.

July Popup with Sadie Rose

08.07.2012 :: 0930 - 1430

Yes, the chirpy gals from Sadie Rose are back this weekend with more of their delicious bakes. We have scheduled this on a Sunday instead to make best use of the free parking at the multi-storey carpark. Judging from the last turnout, we expect another sell out of their specialties. So set your alarm early and ambush them before anyone else get to lay their hands on their fresh goodies. As usual, tasty brown ‘drugs’ are also available through the glass door, just bring your own stool if there is one lying around the house.

A sneak preview of our fresh crops arriving from Central America on the brew awaits those who make the trip.

El Primero Refreshed

We loved our 1st incarnation of El Primero - the extra sweetness and cherry acidity from the Peru El Guabo beans balancing out our really clean Brazils from Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza (our 1st direct trade coffee) in the blend. Sadly our last batch of the blend flew off the shelves over the weekend BUT we are really excited with our refreshed El Primero Seasonal blend, replacing the Peruvian with another of our favourite coffee - Finca El Carmen of EL Salvador.

In this cup, we get loads of fruits, think red fruit and dried raisins. Grape-like acidity balanced with a medium body. A sweet clean cup with a long finish. Thoroughly enjoyable as an espresso or with milk.

Brewing with Kalita

Many of you might not have seen this dripper before. If you have dropped by our shop recently & ordered a daily brew, it is likely that you might have seen this dripper in action. We first came across this interesting brewing device at the International Café Show in Seoul last year. At the Kalita booth, we watched a demo of the Kalita wave dripper. The design of the wave dripper and filter was intriguing. The key feature is the flat bottom coffee bed design. The coffee geeks might have come across Scott Rao’s book “Everything but Espresso” which discusses the “weaknesses” of some cone-shaped brewing devices. We did some research to find out more about the product and the theory behind this flat bottom design. From our research and communication with the peeps from Kalita, we understand that the wave dripper and filters were designed to promote even extraction, better thermal stability and consistency.

While there seems to be a lot of good stuff written on the Kalita wave series, we had to rely on our own experiments and taste-tests before we are convinced with this brewing device. When we received a box full of the Kalita toys a few months back, it was like opening Christmas presents. We started playing around with the dripper and filters everyday. After many cups of brew and tasting, we came to a common finding – CLARITY. The flavour clarity is what struck us when we tasted each brew. The flavours tend to stand out distinctly and such clarity really brings more focus on the flavours, while one enjoys the cup.

As for those who have used the other brewing devices with a cone-shape and a big hole at the bottom will know how challenging it is be to replicate the same cup flavours with each pour. Controlling the pour is probably one of my biggest “nemesis” to consistently produce a cup with same/very similar taste and the Kalita wave dripper appears to solve this problem. It is much more “forgiving” in achieving the same cup profile as it is less sensitive to how one pours. You can get really close to the coffee bed, creating little turbulence when you pour.

We also did a taste test on the brown (unbleached) and white (bleached) wave filters to see if there was any obvious paper taste. Similar to other filters in the market, the unbleached filters do exhibit a more pronounced paper taste that requires more pre-rinsing with hot water. The white (bleached) ones have almost undetectable paper taste. However, the brown (unbleached) wave filters definitely hold its shape very well in the dripper in comparison with the white (bleached) ones, especially when you attempt to pre-rinse the filters. Those who don’t mind doing more pre-rinsing might go for the brown filters and these might be handy for baking too, as muffin cups!

After countless number of brews, we really wanted to share this cool brewing device with fellow coffee brewers. So here we are, the first retailer of the Kalita wave dripper in Singapore. Currently, we are only stocking up on the stainless steel wave dripper. It’s not only beautiful to look at, but it’s lightweight (good for travelling) and brews beautiful coffee. We have both the brown (unbleached) and white (bleached) wave filters for sale so as to cater to customers with different “threshold” for pre-rinsing effort. To add to our range of Kalita products, we also have the handy Kantan drip coffee filter. It’s a great single-use dripper, especially when you’re travelling or feeling lazy to do some washing after you brew. So drop by our little shop, ask for a daily brew and browse the cool range of Kalita products in-store!

As part of the Great Singapore Sale 2012, we are offering these smashing deals to tempt you to start brewing coffees at home:

• Kalita Wave dripper + filter - 10% off total retail price
• Kalita Wave dripper + filter + bag of beans - 15% off total retail price

Here’s a video from Nick Cho of Wrecking Ball Coffee Roasters, demonstrating how easy it is to brew a brilliant cup at the comforts of your home on the Kalita wave dripper.