http://coffeealchemy.com.au/blog the Alchemists' Blog @ the Cauldron Wed, 20 Aug 2008 11:02:57 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en The ship carrying our precious cargo docked. Our shipment full of really special single-estate coffee beans arrived cool, fresh and blue. Kindling, kindling everywhere…and they are sparky! Roasting and cupping, followed by more roasting and cupping, the coffee offer wonders piled upon new wonder - a succulent grapefruity Kenya, a ... http://coffeealchemy.com.au/blog/?p=34 It ain’t broke. But it can be better…infinitely. There are many things involved in making coffee. Many work very well. Thankfully some of these things can work a little better if they can be pulled apart and put back together in better shape. Better encompasses not just faster or bigger. It can ... http://coffeealchemy.com.au/blog/?p=33 There are things to relish about plunging into the chasm that is barista competition. One is that competition becomes some form of purification of practice, of discarding assumptions and other attachments that are extraneous to coffee. Through competition I realise new disciplines: Every bean ground is expressed in the cup. Every lifting ... http://coffeealchemy.com.au/blog/?p=32 There are many coffee places in the world I would like to visit, for their blends, but more so for the staggeringly wider range of specialty coffee they offer. I’ve done imaginary cuppings of these mythical things and they are as cold as my nose against a glass window. ... http://coffeealchemy.com.au/blog/?p=31 In August last year, I fell in love with this single-estate Australian coffee and I’ve been drinking it since then almost every morning through my vacuum brewer. In a realm ruled by espresso, I wished more could catch a glimpse of this coffee brewed this way. So for my 15 ... http://coffeealchemy.com.au/blog/?p=30     It was no doubt a most eye-opening     experience! What a thrill, to have cupped     alongside some of the world’s best cuppers     - from coffee-growing origins to green     bean suppliers in coffee-buying countries.     Congratulations to Anette Moldvaer   ... http://coffeealchemy.com.au/blog/?p=29 We have always photographed the pours of both our blends and some single origin coffees, you’d be surprised how much you can learn from a picture. We thought we’d share some of these shots of coffee, this is how Paracelsus Punch flows. These are what we’ve defined as Stage 1 and ... http://coffeealchemy.com.au/blog/?p=28 Some time ago I stumbled upon a pot of gold…not quite, just an airtight barrel of Sumatra Blue Batak that I decommissioned for underperforming. A few months later I sampled a few kilos of this rested Sumatra as it was the Sulawesi’s turn to give me grief. The Blue Batak ... http://coffeealchemy.com.au/blog/?p=27 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, ... http://coffeealchemy.com.au/blog/?p=26    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 ... http://coffeealchemy.com.au/blog/?p=25