01.24.07
Posted in @ the Cauldron at 9:50 am by The Coffee Alchemist
One of the most precious pieces in the Cauldron’s arsenal is the La Marzocco Linea - its powers of transmutation are phenomenal. Alas, even at the tender age of two and with regular water filter replacement, its inards unduly labour under a layer of scale. The water at the Cauldron, it seems, is quite hard. The signs hint at scale, and the cup declares it.
So apart it comes: panels, pipes, fittings, probe and boiler - all destined for descaling and scrubbing. The temperature probe suffered the worst and was wasted. A new one adorns the boiler neck now.
Then, when the parts are gleaming and free, reconstruction takes place with new gaskets, o-rings and sealant. All become one again.
Taking in new water, the pipes hiss and the fan hums. I watch as beads of water break out under the hex screw and tighten. The Linea awakes…!
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01.08.07
Posted in @ the Cauldron at 5:09 pm by Alchemist
For years, I have stowed a disparate
assortment of brewers and grinders in my
luggage to maintain the coffee loop when
away from the roastery. Packing the french
press was always a challenge. Travelling
overseas required a search for appropriate
adaptors never mind the inextricable puzzle
of voltage differences. Still, I lugged.
Lately, however, I realised how things had gotten wonderfully simple - no more plug problems, no more breakage anxieties, and a lighter load off the turnstile. The coffee? Amazing!
In true coffee fashion (read: hello serendipity), this new evolution happened when I forgot to pack the french press. With only fresh-off-the-tray Holy Hildegard! and a hand grinder in tow, the most obvious brewing option was a conventional cupping.
True cupping is far more complex, but for travelling, cupping goes like this:
> turn kettle on
> while the kettle’s going, start grinding (a heaped tablespoon gives me roughly 8g, perfect)
> let kettle sit off the boil for a few seconds
> warm cup with hot water, discard
> put grinds in cup
> pour hot water over coffee making sure all grounds are wetted
> let infuse for 3-5 minutes
> break the crust (smell!)
> skim surface of residual grinds
> drink (slowly)…
…watch borders fade and timezones shrivel the strange becomes home to a well-known ritual.
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