3 little words - Old fashioned ones

It strikes me that all that is wrong with the world can be summed up by the absence of 3 old fashioned attributes, namely: Discipline, Respect and Responsibility. From these 3 facets flow 3 very human or humane traits that are so valuable in an envied society. Like the primary colours that make every shade, these are, fear, hope and aspiration. Unfortunately the liberal left that have blighted 2 generations that have spawned a youth devoid of fear of the law or its punishment. They have no hope of a job, or a life better. Nor do they aspire to anything different.

Little wonder that the countries now powering ahead are those countries that have instilled in their population, discipline, respect and responsibility. It may seem harsh at the time, but it is far more cruel to deny someone all the colour that life brings by turning down the hue.

If we create a certain market for terrible coffee, we guarantee its existence.

Time as an Illusion

Time is a paradox. Although linear on a human scale, perception bends it into an accelerating format gaining momentum and speed as we travel through it. I have longed believed that the reason why this is so, is that as we get older our memories are peaks of excitement good or bad that are elevated above the routine that life becomes. These peaks are close together in youth as everything is new and exciting, but age dulls the sheen of novelty and hence the peaks start spread apart at a exponential rate.
I worry that this can be also be applied to coffee. Peaks of greatness are distancing themselves and how ordinary to have an ordinary coffee, time will pass quickly before I have one worth remembering.

A Mish of Metaphors

As we wander through the tangled wood of life, I pause to consider whether some see refuge in the density of the enveloping canopy or whether the same foliage represents darkness, oppression and something to fight against. With certainty in the autumn, the greenery thins and disappears and it is only then we can see how far we have travelled.
And so it is, that after the last sip of my espresso, the hubris of its making is put to one side and the lingering memory is either savoured or forgotten in an instant. Whether it be with people or a coffee, the sentiment is the same.

Depression but Full of the Joys of Spring

Hello everyone. The Coffee Serf is back with amusing musings on life in general. Noticing my past tweets, it has indeed been a while since I have tickled the keyboard. Much has happen and not least in the country as a whole. Rejoice that a Conservative led government is formed, perhaps now, we won't have the children in charge of the nations credit cards.
On the coffee front, we still seem unable in this country to make the black brew properly. There are notable exceptions amongst the independents. I think there is a correlation between the state of education in the country and the quality of my Latte. There should be a Chalkboard/Latte Index - maybe I should start one. Essentially, most of my Lattes are made by people who have more interest in discussing Xfactor, or Cheryl Cole - how is that going to help in steaming the milk to a perfect microfoam.

New Coffee Serf Webpage - A free resource

Just setting up The Coffee Serf Video site that will be a free resource for anyone who wants to tap into some free instructional guides on how to make and improve their coffees.

We will also be doing some video tastings on lots of different coffees.

What I want to know is why anything to do with computers takes an inordinate amount of time!!

New Elections

So the country has decided to have indecision within the corridors of power. A certain degree of ideological prostitution must take place. The mere possibility that the losers (lib dems) could form a government with the runners up (Labour) should only be news in a despotic African country giving the illusion of democracy, but it seems a real possibility in Britain. We must be the laughing stock of the world. To add insult to injury, the losers would have to also form an alliance with the Scots who not only want independence but with whom Westminster has a diminishing influence. What a nation!
So as I sit sipping my morning espresso, I have a heavy heart as I fear what is to become of this country. What is even more depressing is that my espresso is old, cold and bitter - an analogy for the UK as a whole I think.

Are Branded Coffees a Lazy option?

For a while now, I have been thinking why o why do stores spend so much time creating a great name for the themselves and then fill their stores with other companies brand names. Could it be that it is the lazy option believing in the mistaken belief that a brand attracts instant respect and product loyalty.

Of course the pushers of such brands will tell you in unison that their coffee is the best and that they are better than everyone else. - Big and lumbering behemoths means that they become inflexible in their ability to see subtle market shifts in taste and trends. You will never get a coffee brand that hunts out the great estate coffees from the far flung regions of the world, instead they will rely on the bulk producers that are akin to choosing between butter mountains.

Having spent years with customers all around the country, the best coffee is served by those who take pride in their machines, their service, their ambiance and most of all choose coffees that are best suited to their customer base and the food that they are serving. Best of all if they have all of the above right, the only name that should be on the bag - is theirs!!

Flat Whites versus Lattes

Oh Lord!! I am losing the will to live.

Flat Whites are being pushed by the high street chains at the moment - but are they all that they are cracked up to be?

The chains will market them as being the next big thing, trying to distinguish between their rather poor lattes and their not so bad lattes. To me they have got the names the wrong way round - how dull does a 'Flat White' sound. Like a Flat Tyre, Flat Foot, Block of Flats, Flat Notes and now we have a Flat White!!!!!

Well I've tried a couple and to be honest about them, they weren't bad at all. However, what really gets me, is they are precisely what Lattes should have been from the beginning!!

There are a growing number of independant coffee stores that take great care how they produce their lattes, in fact when I train new baristas, I always leave the latte till last as it is the hardest coffee do well. It is precisely for this reason that most chains have avoided doing the Latte as it should and have opted for hot steamed milk plonked on to the coffee.

Flat Whites do prove two things though - Firstly, do coffee right and you can command a higher profit margin. Secondly the best places are often the good independant coffee stores to buy your coffees.

Why Espressos don't taste the same

There is such as thing as the perfect espresso - it exists in your mind. Like the perfect holiday, it is difficult to replicate again and again and there are many facets that go into the make up.

On a basic level, you need the right coffee and a good clean machine a grinder and a cup. But this is like saying that for a good holiday all you need is an aeroplane and a passport.

Temperature and humidity, sharpness of the grinder blades, residue build up on group head pipes, scale, pump pressure, age of the coffee, skill of the barista, heat of the cups, shape of the cup, water temperature, atmospheric pressure etc etc etc and that's just for an espresso. Add milk into the equation and well......

Each one on the the above list is subject to a seperate discussion, but the elusive replicability of the perfect espresso is far from an easy one to explain.

I don't mean to be a humbug....

....although Christmas is yet a mere heartbeat away, I can only just get over the fact that the sailing season has finished and the temperature in the Solent has headed South.

This did not stop me being on a small sailing boat on Sunday with the instruction booklet as to how to get the heating working. Fuel would have been the answer or rather lack of it, and once the tank was filled, warmth was a welcome soulmate. On the other hand, what I should have done was to ignore the Winter and headed straight to the kitchen to open a fresh bag of Espresso beans and make myself a morning espresso. I should have counted my 23 second extraction time and had some internal central heating courtesy of the those friendly coffee farmers in Brazil.

In the seat of power!!

Well, just returned from my dinner in London with the powers to be where a poor underling was being eviscerated over policy. Although the starter looked like it had been eaten once before, the rest of the meal was very good. However, with a rather delightful portrait of Winston Churchill overlooking the preceedings we should have been in safe hands.

However, when coffee was served, what a disappointment. It was a good thing that there were no Germans in the room. Filter coffee - nothing wrong in that, but it had that very distinctive overstewed burnt taste that is so easily recognisable. You did not have to be a Serf to realise that the staff had anticipated the dinner to be over sooner than it had. Filter coffee can only be left on the plates for a maximum of about 30-45 minutes. Blends last slightly longer, single origins are delicate and Viennese with fig will last about 90 minutes.

Winston would have been happy with the roasted peasant though.

Sack Cloth

Next week I will find myself sitting down with some of the higher echelons of the Conservative Party in London. The Serf now moves in powerful circles!! So much so that I have been looking for a new suit.

Why, I hear you ask, are such people asking the Coffee Serf to attend dinner. Is it that on the eve of taking power they are worried that the coffee is not up to scratch in Westminster? Could it be that the latest expense scandal has meant that people with taste are now reduced to drinking an Instant. Ironic I thought, that the current batch of MP's are wearing sack-cloth - not too dissimilar to the material from which our delicious brew emanates.