gauperaa

2009-03-21T17:34:00.000+01:00

2007-01-05T09:57:00.000+01:00

I will be converting this blog to the new blogger version this weekend. The changes may temporarily cause some bad formatting, lack of comments etc.

2006-12-11T19:33:00.000+01:00

December espresso trek
I went on an espresso trek last saturday with my friend Audun. We visited five bars in downtown Oslo and had a single espresso in each. Why? well, it's something fun to do together and actually a bit educational since we decided to judge them according to acidity, balance etc. Well, maybe more interesting for me than for Audun since he cups coffee at work all the time.

Note:
- these were random samples, so the shots served do not necessarily represent the average quality of shots served at each place
- we sampled shots during the most busy part of the day, so maybe the shots suffered a bit as a consequence.

Scale: 1-6 where 6 is best.

Stockfleths Lille Grensen

Fruitiness: 4
Acidity: 3
Sweetness: 4
Taste balance: 3
Aftertaste: 3
Price: 10 kroner (great!)

(using beans from Solberg&Hansen)

Ristretto (!) shot. Crema breaks up even before we've gotten the chance to drink it, but looks good until then (some flecking). The taste is a bit too acidic and the aftertaste is long but not that pleasant.

Overall verdict:
3 out of 6

United Bakeries
Fruitiness: 2
Acidity: 4
Sweetness: 2
Taste balance: 3
Aftertaste: 4
Price: 20 kroner (served in paper espresso cup)

(using beans from Den gyldne bønne)

Very nice new bakery / coffee bar / sandwhich shop on the Karl Johan main street. Shot made by former norwegian champ Gunnhild Seljenes. Nice crema with flecking. Great to talk to Gunnhild again.

Overall verdict: 3 out of 6.

Mocca

Fruitiness: 4
Acidity: 4
Sweetness: 3,5
Taste balance: 3
Aftertaste: 4,5
Price: 18 kroner

(using their own beans)

Ristretto(!) shot. Made by swedish barista champ Anne Lunell. Shot looks nice. Love that a small glass of water is always offered by the barista when ordering espresso there.

Overall verdict: 4 out of 6

Kaffebrenneriet Bogstadveien
Fruitiness: 2
Acidity: 2
Sweetness: 2
Taste balance: 3,5
Aftertaste: 1,5 (Audun: "makes me want to taste something else as soon as possible..")
Price: ? kroner

(using beans from Solberg&Hansen)

Thin, light crema. Bitter. 35-40ml per shot.

Overall verdict: 2

We were then supposed to go to a branch of the "kaffe&krem" - chain, but they had closed down, so we went to a bakery instead ("Baker Hansen").

Baker Hansen, Bogstadveien

Fruitiness: 1
Acidity: 1
Sweetness: 1
Taste balance: 1
Aftertaste: 1
Price: 25 kroner

Too hot (Audun: "looks like a volcano erupting"), too large volume with clearly visible "white eye". Reminds us of mocca pot coffee in consistency and mouthfeel. Not a good way to end the trek :)

Overall winner: Mocca!!

2006-12-03T16:22:00.000+01:00

Christmas three made out of Rancilio Silvia machines.

2006-12-02T20:17:00.000+01:00

December is here and life is quite ok. Loving my new job with its endless stream of interaction design puzzles, and the nice people who work there. Coffeewise I am brewing the occasional espresso at home and stopping by Java espressobar a couple of times a week. The stuff they serve there is always top notch. I had a lovely cappa the other day, and while looking around I noticed that they're selling the price winning "Hacienda la Esmarelda, Geisha" for 348 kr / 250g (!), as well as offering a clover cup for 48 kr. 6,5 norwegian kroner is about 1 us dollar. So it is quite an expensive coffee. Can't but wonder who buys it, but I have the utmost respect for the work they do to offer us these great coffees. The Esmeralda is not the only great coffee they have on the menu. I tried a Kenya "Leana" last week which had a wonderful aroma of blue berries. Will definitely try the Esmeralda from the Clover next time.

Coffee at work is horrible :), and I am not saying it because I am a coffee enthusiast. It just plain is and people are pissed off. The machine we have is "Bolero XL" and it is a disaster in every respect. Thank god we have a Moccamaster drip maker next to it.

Besides coffee I am really into artisan bread these days. I love the texture, aroma and flavour of the type of bread they make at "Åpent bakeri" (sourdough french style). It is strange how a loaf bread of bread can really make my day.

2006-11-24T09:21:00.000+01:00

Tim Wendelboe's new blog

2006-10-26T12:39:00.000+02:00

Barista video workshop (in dutch) with Jeroen Veldkamp. Cool stuff.

2006-10-14T12:44:00.000+02:00

If you haven't already done so : go and read the fantastic coverage of the nordic barista cup written by Sarah Allen & Kenneth R Olson. Sadly I missed out on the event this year because of personal reasons, but I will definitely try to go next year in Gothenburg!

2006-10-12T22:32:00.000+02:00

As mentioned in my last post, I spent my summer holiday in Italy this year. My travel companion was fellow coffee nut and good friend Audun Sørbotten. We decided to split the holiday in two: first a visit to beautiful Firenze (for the museums and galleries, gelato(!) and coffee) and then off to Sardegna to relax at the beach and explore the island.

This worked out really well. It was really nice to turn down the pace after 2-3 days of strolling in museums in Firenze. All in all one of the best vacations I've had. Travelling with Audun really adds to the enjoyment since he's a very positive character that really knows to appreciate life.

Audun enjoying a shot on the ferry to Sardegna :). I have to admit that it didn't taste that good, but who cares when the sun is shining and you're on your way to visit a beautiful place? Good times.

Beautiful Ponte Vecchio in Firenze. I highly recommend visiting Firenze if you haven't already done so!

Renting scooters and exploring the island. Very fun! The sense of freedoom and adventure was massive. This was easily the most fun I've had in a long, long time. Especially cool that we were able to rent 100cc scooters with a regular EU driving license. This made it possible to keep up with the general traffic. Still, we had some close encounters with impatient italian car drivers, but it all went well.

Designated place for the morning cappa in Cagliari. Illy espresso and ok milk steaming there. The best cappas we got however was in Firenze at "Gilli" (Piazza della Republica). The milk was perfectly textured and sweeet.

Coffee in the morning is great in Italy, but the breakfast they eat is ..eh..not that healthy. It's mostly stuff made of sugar, starch and regular flour.

2006-10-06T09:33:00.000+02:00

This week I started working for the Norwegian Health Services Research Centre as an interaction designer. They're situated close to Java espresso bar (Robert Thoresen's first bar) so I can stop by to and from work (woohoo!). I've just had a really tasty cappuccino there and a chat with Kaveh Ataei. He was on the (winning) norwegian NBC team and seemed to have had a really nice time. Congrats to them and I hope they have a great time in El Salvador.

I was in Italy this summer and I've been planning to write a bit about it and post some pictures. Will try to do it this weekend.

Take care.

2006-08-31T11:18:00.000+02:00

Smart Club søker brennerimester!
Smart Club skal åpne kaffebrenneri i sitt nye varehus på Slependen i oktober. I den anledning søkes en brennerimester som skal ha ansvaret for drift av brenneriet.

Oppstarten styres av London School of Coffee med tidligere Norgesmester i Baristakunst Eirik Sand Johnsen som prosjektleder. Målet er å ha opplært en brennerimester som kan drive brenneriet videre etter om lag to måneder. Smart Club er allerede kjent for å være et av landets beste ferskvareforretninger, og ønsker å drive et kaffebrenneri som leverer høy kvalitet, med sporbare råvarer. Brenneriet skal ligge i butikken slik at publikum kan se prosessen hele veien fra striesekken til koppen.

Relevant erfaring er ønsket. Det søkes en serviceinnstilt, utadvendt og effektiv person. Lidenskap for kaffe, smaksopplevelser, mat og drikke er nødvendig.
For spørsmål, kontakt Eirik Sand Johnsen på tlf 93 01 01 88 eller eirik@londonschoolofcoffee.com

Les stillingsutlysning på disse sidene:
http://finn.no/finn/job/object?finnkode=8063787&sid=11as-Y_QDU708350&pos=5&tot=89
https://www.aetat.no/sbl/as/stillingssok/stillingsannonse.do?id=1166905

2006-05-21T17:56:00.000+02:00

Congrats to Klaus Thomsen from Denmark who is this year's WBC champ! More results can be found on portafilter.net.

2006-05-02T14:05:00.000+02:00

Viva Barista - The future of the World Barista Championship

2006-04-12T00:41:00.000+02:00

Some weeks ago I saw my first example of bookcrossing at Stockfleths Lille Grensen. Basically it is a movement of book lovers who leave books for people. The goal is make people disover the joy of reading. Cool stuff. Here's a norwegian article about the phenomenon.

2006-04-12T00:07:00.000+02:00

Recently I was invited by Gunnhild Seljenes (norwegian barista champ 2005) to come and check out the new restaurant/cafe she is working in, called Café Cartagena. I was more than happy to do that since Gunnhild is a really nice person and an excellent barista. Audun wanted to check the place out too, so together we headed out to Lysaker for some espresso.

The cafe is situated by the waterfront, close to some large office buildings. Seems to be a great place to start a business considering the large amount of potential customers that would want lunch and morning coffee.

Gunnhild and the owner Caroline Schreiner showed us around the very airy and stilish interior of the place. We got a nice shot of SH espresso brewed by Gunnhild. (They're using a Rancilio classe 8 and Mazzer grinder for those who are interested to know). Gunnhild is the head barista and is training the staff also. Got to be good.

Audun and Gunnhild

Seems to me to be a really nice place to go on say sundays to have a coffee and a bite with friends. I think it is also worth pointing out that this probably is one of the few places in Oslo where you can have really nice restaurant meal and a coffee that matches it at the end.

If you want to check it out, then I believe the easiest way to get there is by train (covered nicely by a regular sporveiene travel card / ticket).

Here's the address:
Lysaker Brygge 41-43
1366 LYSAKER
Phone: +47 67 11 06 00

Be sure to check out the article on Temperato about the place too.

2006-03-30T22:18:00.000+02:00

I visited my friend Audun Sørbotten today to have dinner and check out his new Pavoni lever machine. I got to brew my own shot with it, and that was quite interesting. Since it's not powered by a spring, the brewing process is very hands on to say the least. Fun! and we got some great espresso out of it.

I'm real happy with the lens that I used to take those pictures, a Sigma 28mm f1.8 EX DG (which translates to 45mm on a 1.6 crop camera like my 300D). I was actullay going to sell it. Had an ad for it in a forum and everything, but then I realized how sharp it is and how it is nearly a macro lens if need be, so I closed the ad. Since it is an f1.8 lens, it also allows available light pictures that just isn't possible with for instance the lens that comes with the Rebel, the 18-55 f3.5-5.6. Well, enough of the photogeek-talk :).

Take care all.

2006-02-18T22:57:00.000+01:00

The norwegian barista championship was held last week. Here are the results:

1. Halvard Amble
2. Jonas Lippestad Johansen
3. Einar Kleppe Holthe
4. Jim Ø. Pedersen
5. Katrine Amdal
6. Karen Aanerud

Congrats!

And here are some pictures from the competition:
Alex from Stockfleth's watching the competition and spreading joy as always
Judges and spectators
Einar Kleppe Holthe pic 1
Einar Kleppe Holthe pic 2
Einar Kleppe Holthe pic 3
Einar Kleppe Holthe pic 4
Einar Kleppe Holthe pic 5
Einar Kleppe Holthe pic 6
Einar Kleppe Holthe pic 7
Einar Kleppe Holthe pic 8
Hey, I really took a lot of pictures of Einar :)
Gunhild checking
consistency of puck
Gunhild watching
Halvard brewing shots
Halvard talking to judges
Halvard tamping pic 1
Halvard tamping pic 2
Jim pic 1
Jim pic 2
Jim pic 3
Jim pic 4 (very happy with this shot)

Other pictures :
Alexander von der Lippe at the Temperato booth
Audun in front of the beautiful E61
Rancilio classe 10 at the Temperato booth
Portafilter and Rancilio group

Luigi Lupi, Audun and me. Luigi is great! He made us a superb cappuccino and we had a nice talk. I was suprised to find him at the venue. Apparently a norwegian roaster, Kjeldsberg, had hired him to promote them and the Musetti coffee which they distribute in Norway.

Luigi pour pic 1
Luigi pour pic 2
Luigi drawing in crema pic 1
Luigi drawing in crema pic 2
Luigi drawing in crema pic 3

Short video clips:
Competition area
Jim's station

2006-01-12T15:26:00.000+01:00

Added Stolt Kaffebar to the norwegian coffee bars wiki. Text and pictures by Halvard Amble.

2005-10-11T22:31:00.000+02:00

More photos from the NBC 2005 in Oslo, including comments.

2005-10-05T20:40:00.000+02:00

Audun stopped by today to sample an espresso blend we've both gotten from Skien kaffebrenneri to sample for free (thanks! please send more). It is very nice, balanced, citrusy - a blend that I would gladly drink as my everyday espresso. Roasted just into second crack. Some oil showing, but not much. According to Skien Kaffebrenneri it is 100% arabica and only contains beans from Brazil.

We also sampled some Kilimanjaro espresso that Audun brought. It was roasted during the NBC (during the educational track?). We made a couple of nice cappas with that one. Mmmmm..

It was really nice seeing Audun again and be able to talk way too much about coffee without the other party getting dizzy, hehe.

2005-09-28T21:21:00.000+02:00

I had a great time last weekend at the Nordic Barista Cup here in Oslo. It was even better than attending the national or world championships. Why? Well, because there were so many activities for both the competitors and for the attendees, and everybody seemed to have more fun. I especially remember seeing the national teams laughing, cheering and enjoying themselves in several events. You don't see that often in normal championships. People are a lot more tense and focused then. I am not saying that is a bad thing, only that I am glad we have an event like the NBC too were it is more relaxed and playful.

The NBC is above all a great way to meet other people interested in coffee, and we got to mingle a lot during the event. The social program was great and during the three days I got to talk to lots of nice people from around the world sharing the same interest. There is such a great vibe and people are so open and willing to share knowledge and experiences. This is what I personally enjoy the most about barista championships, and I guess why I like hanging out with people involved with specialty coffee. I always feel very welcome as an enthusiast.

Day 1
I met my good friend (and fellow coffee nut) Audun at Nationaltheatret and took the subway to Ryen. Our destination was the Solberg&Hansen building which is only a five minute walk from the station. The first thing that hits you when you walk up the stairs to the main facility at S&H is a fresh smell of green coffee. Our expectations rose even higher. This was going to be a great day!

After registering and getting our gear we soon met Andreas, Trygve, Tim, Tone and many more. It was so nice to see them again and they made us feel very welcome. Tone and Tim were pretty busy already with coordinating the event. The first competition task had already been given and we could see the national teams working in the background. Being pretty thirsty for some coffee, we proceeded up the stairs and towards the Faema they have there.

We made some coffee for ourselves. A queue materialized almost immediately and I swiftly moved away so I wouldn't be stuck there making shots. I was more interested in meeting people. A lot of familiar faces were to be seen, like Ron Cook from La Marzocco, John Sanders from Hines, Stephen Vick from Stumptown etc. I also saw various people from coffee bars here in Oslo and from other cities in Norway. After chatting and eating lunch we got to see some presentations, the most interesting being the one by Aida Batlle from Kilimanjaro Estate in El Salvador.

She spoke about her involvement with the Cup of Excellence program, about coffee in El Salvador, and about her fruitful business relationship with Solberg&Hansen. They bought her winning COE 2003 coffee for the record high price of $14.06. An attendee asked if she still submits coffee to the COE events. She replied that she doesn't. By winning in 2003 she got the recognition and PR that she needed to reach the buyers. COE is a great marketing tool in this respect. Coffee farms that normally are hidden behind exporters are made visible and people can deal directly with the farms. To win the COE is no easy feat. Aida's coffee was cupped twice nationally and twice by an international team of cuppers. I've had the chance to drink that coffee both as drip and espresso and it is great.

Presentations were also given by DaVinci and Mahlkoenig, but I didn't find them very interesting. They were too product centered. The presentation by COSIC about coffee and health was pretty interesting, but I am not completely convinced that their results are not affected by them being funded by the coffee industry. Little time was spent on talking about any negative effects of coffee. I was especially puzzled by the statement that coffee is not addictive. I think most people clearly feel some negative effects when suddenly ending their coffee consumption. Personally I get headaches.

After the presentations we all met in downtown Oslo to go on a guided tour by tram. They had actually rented a tram for the sole purpose of taking us around the city and afterwards to the destination of the evening: the Ekeberg restaurant. Champagne was served and people were having a really nice time. It was pretty weird to be partying on the tram that I most of the time use to and from work.

We arrived at the Ekeberg restaurant, a beatiful place with a great view over Oslo. Wine and delicious food was served and we got to know which team was the overall winner of the first day: the danes. Afterwards we did some speed dating were everbody had to switch person after talking for three minutes. We did this for a half hour. A great idea. I have to admit that I didn't switch as often as three minutes :).

I'll write about day two later.

2005-09-01T09:44:00.000+02:00

I finally got around to borrowing a digital thermometer with probe the other day. By drilling a small hole in a standard rancilio double filter, I am now able to do some measurements on my Euro2000 (E-61). The first realization was that I need to flush even longer than I believed. With a completely warmed up machine I need to flush 25-30 secs to get the temperature down to 90-91 celsius (boiler set to 0.95-1.15 bar). That's where I find the Ottolina Classica coffee to taste best. By increasing the temperature I get more contrasty flavor notes, but I don't think that improves it in the straight espresso - no sugar added - role. I am pretty happy to have found the correct flush amount, and to be enjoying classica espresso that is up to par with what I get when I visit the Temperato (norwegian rancilio distributor) shop here in Oslo. Alexander von der Lippe, one of the owners, is a really good barista. I've always loved the stuff he has served me.

Another realization has been that I have been a bit sloppy with the cleaning of machine and grinder lately. This was pointed out by Alexander when we drank a mediocre shot in his shop, and he told me that it was due to a pf that needed cleaning. The flavor was similar to what I had been getting at home, a sort of medicinal aftertaste that can be a result of specific beans, but in this case cleaning. After he cleaned the pf, the subsequent shots tasted great. A thorough cleaning of my own gear, and increased flushing, has made me a happy barista. Just got be careful not to drink too many doubles too fast !

It is also cool to see that the standard rancilio 14g double filter is capable of producing great shots.

2005-08-27T23:37:00.000+02:00

Hehe, funny italian Lavazza commercial. That espresso does not look good.

2005-08-27T22:37:00.000+02:00

Some time ago I started a wiki called "norske kaffebarer" aimed at describing all the best coffee bars in norway. The work ground to a halt for several reasons, but maybe mostly because the wiki software I installed wasn't very user friendly. I've bought some server space now and switched to the same wiki software that is used by wikipedia.

I've also renamed it "norwegian coffee bars" and aim to do it all in english so that it is useful to as many coffeegeeks as possible.

Please feel free to contribute!

Norwegian coffee bars.

2005-07-23T10:02:00.000+02:00

Temperato espressomaskiner & kaffe has released their new website. Most of the webdesign and implementation in Mambo CMS was done by me. Check it out.

2005-07-11T14:27:00.000+02:00

Forbruker.no: Den store kaffe-testen. Rancilio Silvia wins consumer espresso test done by Norsk kaffeinformasjon (European Coffee Brewing Centre). It got 5 out of 6 on espresso brewing, and 6 out of 6 for its milk steaming capabilities.

2005-06-25T13:09:00.000+02:00

You may be wondering why this space is so quiet. I am still superbusy at work. We're working hard to complete a project to a deadline early next month. My life for the moment is just about working and working out after work. Coffee at work can hardly be called coffee, and doing espresso when I get home late in the evening is not a good idea if I want to get some sleep:). I do try to stop by Stockfleths every now and then to get some of their supberb shots.

I've been reading a norwegian book called "Ona fyr" lately. It is a very nicely written, and funny discussion on why some companies and organizations are more successfull than others, and about consumer behaviour. The author writes about "tribal behaviour", our need to feel we are a part of something and how dreams sell. Good stories sell. It got me thinking about the consumer espresso phenomenon. I think many of us have an inner dream of working as a barista or maybe a drive to recreate that mind blowing coffee experience that we once had vacationing in the homeland of the espresso, Italy. It is also of course connected to lifestyle. We want to bring that coffee experience into our homes and be able to serve great coffee to our friends and family. It is not all about 9 bars, double boilers etc.

The author (who works in advertising) shows an add he and his company made for a travel operator called Saga. The whole add is about why people have more sex when they are on vacation in lets say Spain where the climate, culture, food etc is great. The ad was supposed to be about how people could save money by ordering before a certain date etc, but the author realized people don't care about that all, and decided instead to focus on peoples dreams and desires. They managed to increase Saga's sales by 46 %. Saga's switch board totally collapsed when an armada of customers called in.

Btw, don't you just love the new podcasts at portafiler.net and coffeegeek? Be sure to check them out.

Take care.

2005-06-09T22:49:00.000+02:00

Awesome review of the Grimac Mia written by Malachi. Check it out if you haven't already read it (chances are that you have).

Been superbusy at work so it has been quiet in this space. Hope you are all well. Take care.

2005-05-14T00:42:00.000+02:00

Dutch barista Jeroen Veldkamp's has started a new blog. I actually go to meet Jeoren when I was in Italy last summer for the WBC. A really nice guy.

2005-05-09T23:36:00.000+02:00

I've been playing around with some t-shirt designs for coffeegeeks :). Here is one for the robusta lover. *smiles*.

2005-05-08T22:58:00.000+02:00

Home-Barista.com - The Home Barista's Guide to Espresso

2005-05-06T21:29:00.000+02:00

I am really enjoying the espresso I am getting from my E2K and the Ottolina Classica blend. By tweaking the boiler pressure down to 0.95-1.10 and flushing the group more, I've entered the sweet zone of this coffee. Now it has a nice mouthfeel and a smooth taste. I am brewing doubles at 1.25-1.5 oz. Happy days.

Lots to do at work. We're doing a complete ebusiness site in like 4 weeks so I will be spending a lot of time in front of the keyboard. I am very motivated since I like the project and the customer a lot. Still, I wouldn't mine more time to play and rest.

Besides coffee I always have a couple of other projects going at home. Currently it is learning to stretch and baking sourdough breads.

The book I am reading about stretching is by Bob Anderson. It is a classic with good explanations and nice illustrations of all the techniques. The best thing is the programs included for different sports and for everyday life. I try to do the "everyday stretches" program every day. It is a real energy booster that only takes 10-15 minutes to complete. I warmly recommend the book.

Sourdough baking is a lot of fun, well as much fun as baking breads can be :). I've always been fascinated by craftmanship, and baking definitely is. Especially when you have to care for a starter, and spend extra long time letting breads rise. It really pays off in the end. And like coffee, breads are highly appreciated by friends and family.

2005-04-30T18:05:00.000+02:00

A little delayed, but here are some thoughts after working as a barista during the "Microsoft-dagene" - conference last week.

The idea of having a small coffee bar in Exense's (company I work for) booth was mine. I believed it would draw a nice crowd. And it did. We even got several repeat visitors, some of them probably potential customers for IT-projects. They were all very happy with the coffee and service, and so were the people I work for. A big success that will probably be repeated at a later time.

Being a barista is hard work. I already knew that since I have done similar gigs before, but I always forget the tiredness felt after a long day of standing on a hard surface, serving coffee and trying to give good service to all who wants coffee. A lot of respect goes out to Jimmy and all the other baristi I know. Especially to those who manages to serve a sweet and tasty shot throughout the day. That requires focus and good cleaning routines, and a passion to serve the best you can to each customer.

It is interesting to see how the rules and practices governing brewing and cleaning really works. It may be overkill to follow all the schomer rules for instance in a home setting, but I promise you that it is important when you serve hundreds of shots. It is stuff like cleaning as you go, flushing the group, popping out the filter and scrubbing the pf when you have time etc.

Keeping the dose and tamp consistent is also important. Then it is just a matter of adjusting the grind when air moisture changes. People were entering and leaving the conference hall in regular intervals. One moment it was packed, the next it was almost empty since they were all somewhere else listening to a presentation or the like. I had to adjust the grind quite a lot. The shot timer on the Rancilio classe 8 was a big help.

It was nice to work on the rancilio classe 8 espresso machine and the rancilio MD50 grinder. No shortage of steam, hot water etc. Shots came out very nice and I love the steam arm and the way it really gets the milk moving. I like the design too. It is almost like Silvia's big brother. Mmmmmmm, Silvia.

The MD50 grinder is heavy and robust. It is the grinder the marines would choose if they ever got into espresso. I have nothing negative to say about the grind quality or the way the grind is adjusted. Negative points are heavy and sluggish dosing lever and that it is quite loud. I think it disturbed some conversations in our booth, but on the other hand it probably got some people's attention too:).

Some stuff I learned:

- try to plan ahead. Ask several customers in the queue what they want
- letting the group flush/run for a long time can actually make the group hotter, not colder like I believed. Only flush for an instant to get the dirty brew water out before the next shot
- steaming with the 3 dl pitcher works just fine. Just don't steam with full power. Start slow in the stretch phase and then open up more to finish up

Still wondering about:

- macchiatos. Do most baristi steam a 3 dl pitcher amount and throw the leftovers away?
- dosing. What works best? below the line in the filter, or overfilling and swiping. I tried lots of variants, but ended up swiping. I've seen Alexander von der Lippe use surprisingly small amounts of coffee and getting excellent shots. Definitely some differences between E61 groups and traditional groups.

A big thank you to fellow coffeegeek Anders Gulden Olstad who stopped by the booth two times to play. He even brought a single spout pf with LM filter that I could experiment with.

2005-04-22T23:33:00.000+02:00

VOA News - Baristas Do Battle in Seattle for the Best Specialty Coffee (MP3 audio)

2005-04-22T22:52:00.000+02:00

Last year I wrote a post about the sad state of the WBC homepage, and other big official (coffee related) websites. The potential is huge. How about up to date scores and comments, pictures, blogs, live streaming etc. etc. The state of affairs however is sad. The only thing they've managed to do on the WBC page is to post a short paragraph about Denmark winning, and that took some days after Troels was announced as the winner. The danish site www.scae.dk has nothing? Can you believe that?.

The Internet plays a huge part in promoting speciality coffee and connecting people. I hope next year will be better.

The championship itself looked awesome though. Wonderful work by the people arranging it and by the competitors and their supporters.

2005-04-22T22:48:00.000+02:00

Head over to God Shot to read Malachi's thoughts about today's espresso grinders and how they can be improved.

I found this paragraph particularly interesting :

"With any of the grinders used in the booth (and the other two top tier options out there) the coffee is coming out of the grinder hot to the touch after less than 30 minutes of use. Not warm, but hot. Obviously, this not only compromises the resulting coffee but also creates terrible grind and extraction problems.".

2005-04-22T15:58:00.000+02:00

Heh, I like my job. One minute I am programming HTML/CSS and the like, and then I am brewing espressi. I am going to work as a barista during "Microsoft-dagene" next week. It is a microsoft conference in downtown Oslo. We're leasing a machine and grinder from Temperato. It's a Rancilio classe 8 2grp machine and probably a MD50 grinder. Blend will be the very nice Ottolina Classica. Looking forward to it! I've done such gigs before and it is a nice learning experience, especially when it comes to keeping a tidy workspace. If I don't clean while on the move it becomes a mess in like two seconds. Stress is another factor. It is important to stay cool and take the time necessary to brew great coffee.

Have a nice weekend.

2005-04-21T13:13:00.000+02:00

Head over to alistair.coffeed.com to see Alistair's pictures from Seattle.

2005-04-21T10:03:00.000+02:00

Very interesting thread about under/over dosage over on the barista guild board. During the SCAA, various top baristi took turns brewing espresso for the spectators and other baristi ("Jamming with the champs"). As they were all using the same type of machine, grinder and coffee, Trish got the bright idea to sample shots from Tim, Paul B and Robert T. All WBC champs. Very interesting to read about her impressions.

To be honest, I think it is very refreshing to see some discussions about brewing espresso. I am pretty fed up with all the latte art threads. Don't misunderstand me, latte art is a very nice trend as it means more people take care to steam milk correctly, and the drinks themselves look great, but I miss focusing on the core principles of espresso, making blends etc.

2005-04-20T14:09:00.000+02:00

Luigi Lupi's pictures from Seattle

2005-04-19T23:14:00.000+02:00

Espress yourself - Nervous times abound at coffee’s world championships, article at www.msnbc.msn.com. Nice pictures!

2005-04-19T09:55:00.000+02:00

Dane takes the crown in World Barista Championship (transcript from Seattle Times posted on alt.coffee)

2005-04-18T23:23:00.000+02:00

According to temperato.no, Denmark's Troels Overdal Poulsen won the WBC ! Congrats. Gunnhild Seljenes from Norway ended up in sixth place.

2005-04-18T09:43:00.000+02:00

Gunnhild Seljenes, our norwegian champ, is in the finals! Congrats. Pictures and info in the day 2 article on CG. In tme same article : check out the new LM prosumer machine! looking good.

2005-04-09T16:46:00.000+02:00

Finally, here are some video clips from this year's norwegian national barista championship. Sigh, it was a frustrating process to capture and edit those clips. Windows Movie Maker kept on crashing all the time :-(

A big thank you to Anders Gulden Olstad for shooting this video for me while I was taking pictures.

Well, here they are:

Jonas preparing workstation part 1 (not working?)
Jonas preparing workstation part 2
Renate serving cappuccini
Technical judges inspect puck
Torstein's introduction
Torstein making espressi

PS! on my machine nothing happens when I click the links. Windows media player fires up all right, but it won't play the clip. If this is the case for you as well, try to right-click and select save as to download. Enjoy.

2005-04-05T18:44:00.000+02:00

This picture from the latest coffeegeek article reminded me of something Tim Wendelboe told med after serving as a judge during the norwegian barista championship. He said that is a bad thing to hold the cup like in this picture, where you're touching the rim with your fingers. That spot will soon be touching the judges lips. Not very hygenic. It is best to use the handle (is that the correct english word?. Believe me, judges notice these things.

2005-03-31T10:42:00.000+02:00

CoffeeGeek - USBC 2005 Day 2 & Semi Finals, excellent article on the CoffeeGeek website. Lots of photos and descriptions.

2005-03-29T10:26:00.000+02:00

My friend Audun has received his new machine and grinder, and has subsequently updated his blog : The Elektra Micro Casa a Leva home espresso blog

2005-03-25T14:52:00.000+01:00

For a long time I've wanted to make a page with information about all the great coffee bars we have here in Norway. While reading about Wiki, a way of doing collaborative editing of web pages, I got the idea to make a wiki for this purpose. It is called "Norske kaffebarer" and is now open for editing. It is not required to register to edit, so go for it and share your information and experiences!

2005-03-24T12:05:00.000+01:00

Come to think of it I never wrote anything about the norwegian barista championship. In short it was a really nice event. I like to attend these events because of the inspiring performances and creative use of coffee, but to be honest the main reason is to catch up with friends and acquaintances. The coffee scene in Norway isn't that big and it is easy to get to know people. They are all very friendly and outgoing, with a desire to make really good coffee.

This year's event was held in the Oslo Atrium building close to the central station. It is a huge building with lots of space, air and air. Perfect for such an event (and for photography!). I would have loved to work in that building. Last year's event in Trondheim was held in a nice place too, but it was inside some kind of conference hall / movie theatre with limited light, and with the spectators having to sit some distance from the baristi. This year it was possible to stand right next to the action. Very nice for someone like me who likes to get really close when taking photos.

(I love the way the Canon 50mm f1.8 mark II (translated to 80mm on a DSLR) lens forces me too do crops and change my way of composing)

When arriving I met all the regulars like Anders Gulden Olstad, Alexander von der Lippe, Tim Wendelboe, Eirik Johnsen, Tone etc. They are all so nice people. It didn't take long before I was snapping away and enjoying the event.

At the end of day 1 we all got a nice buffet dinner/late lunch sponsored by SCAE. Yum! This was combined with the announcement of the finalists. It was a close race this year so people I personally expected would be in the top 3 didn't make it even though their performance was seemingly top notch. Being a spectator, it is hard to judge the performance when one can't taste the drinks. Granted, one can be bold and step up to take a sip from one of the judges signature drinks after they're done, but the signature drink is just one of the components of the total evaluation. I would have loved to be able to taste their espressi and cappuccini too.

After the finals (and another day of taking lots of photos), we went to a restaurant/bar in downtown Oslo called Centraal. The winner, Gunnhild Seljenes, was announced and we then proceeded to eat a nice tapas dinner. Before arriving I had gotten prints made from some of my pictures. I handed these out to some of the baristi which seemed to appreciate it. I think Gunnhild (the winner) got something like 6 prints since I took a lot of photos of her. She is very photogenic and I really liked her outfit in the competition.

During the dinner I had a nice chat with Tim W. and among other things asked him about the final stages of extraction (very coffeegeeky question, I know, but dammit, he is the world champion and got the answers). I told him that I was curious about judging the last stages of the pour with regard to 100% arabica blends vs. those with robusta in them. As I expected and basically already knew, but needed to get confirmed, a 100% arabica blend may look like it is done to somebody used to robusta blends, having the mousetails curl inwards, getting lighter etc., but can be extracted some seconds more looking like that with good results. A robusta based blend extracted that far will definitely be overextracted. Interesting stuff. I will definitely experiment more with 100% arabica blends.

Here are some more pictures from the event:

Anders Gulden Olstad shooting video for this site (that I will post here when I get hold of a firewire cable)
Judges
An arm
Torstein's glasses
Gunnhild 1
Gunnhild 2
Gunnhild 3
Torstein pours
Marianne pours
Renate pours
Renate pours again
And again
(they all seem to be pouring a lot during these things)
Roy's back and colorful shirt in a sea of white and black outfits
Tim and Eirik
Torstein watching the action
Torstein dosing
Torstein steaming

2005-03-23T22:15:00.000+01:00

The Blue Bottle Clown College, a coffee blog I discovered while reading a post on Tonx's blog. Hm, I've got to remember to put these two on my link list (*mental note*). Fun to see more coffee related blogs appear.

2005-03-21T20:22:00.000+01:00

Cool pictures from the icelandic barista championship at the kaffitar website. Who took those? Great job.

2005-03-20T20:56:00.000+01:00

Barista Torstein Bjørklund has sent me this nice report from the recent icelandic barista championship. Check it out - a good read!

Report from the Icelandic Barista championship 2005
By Torstein Ivarsson Bjørklund

After not getting to the finals in the Norwegian barista championship this year, my brother and I quickly ordered some tickets to Iceland, and the next day we were half way over the Atlantic. This might seem a bit crazy, but I was trying to get to my grandmothers funeral two days after the competition, and it would have been impossible if I got to the finals. I was unlucky but at the same time glad to be able to reach it. What I did not know though, was that during my stay in my second homeland, the Icelandic Barista Championship was going to be held at Smáralind, the largest shopping mall on Iceland. I only got to watch the finals, but it was really worth the trip out of the city centre.

For those of you who watched the Norwegian competition, the Icelandic arrangers had really thought of a good way to gain a large crowd. By setting up the entire competition in the middle of the two-floored Mall, they got nearly a hundred spectators in the finals. The local coffeeshops and machine retailers had stands in the area, so there were plenty to view, smell and taste. They had also put up two big screens and speakers so the sounds of the competition echoed through the entire mall.

The head judge, Andreas Kragh and one of the technical judges, Klaus Thomsen had arrived from Denmark to assist in the competition.

Klaus works at Estate Coffee in Copenhagen, and Andreas comes from the well known Café Europa in the same city. After six impressive presentations the judges made their decision, and announced the winners just minutes after the last contestant.

The results:

1. Jónina Tryggvadóttir
2. Thórey Vigfúsdóttir
3. Njáll Björgvinsson
4. Ása Jelena Peterson
5. Kristín Ingimarsdóttur
6. Marta Ólafsdóttir

Jónina Tryggvadóttir did an impressive presentasion. Sadly, I did not get any pictures of her since my camera ran out of film. Her signature beverage was a blend of espresso and a rum-syrup, which she had boiled down from Havana Club rum. On top she laid a layer of whipped cream with the same syrup. She had named it Fidel after the Cuban rum. Thórey won the price for the best signature beverage, named Staupasteinn.

The beverage that impressed me most was Ása Jelena´s. She made a sorbet out of Lapsang Souchong tee which she had in her glasses. She then shaked the espresso cold with sugar and poured it over the sorbet. Personally I love Lapsang Souchong
tea, and especially her usage of it in the drink, but not everyone
share my opinion. The tea is strange, and many dislike it. So she
took a chance. Ása won the championship in 2003 and ended up second
in Boston at the WBC. She was raised in Northern Norway, and speaks
fluent Norwegian, so I had a nice chat with her after the
competition. She won the price for the best Latte Art too. Congratulations!

Njáll, who won last year, impressed everyone with steady technique and four really nice looking cappuccini. His presentation was great too. I didn't have the opportunity to taste his beverages though. Marta Ólafsdóttir ended up in sixth place, but she did a great job, competing for the first time only 18 years old.
Unfortunately I didn't have the chance to watch Kristín Ingimarsdóttur from Kaffitár, also competing for the first time. The speaker must be mentioned too. She made a great job introducing and telling about the six contesters, keeping the crowd interested. I didn't get her name though. It remains to see how well Jónina
contends in the WBC, but our own Gunnhild will for sure have plenty of worthy opponents in Seattle. For those of you planning to see the WBC in April, you will meet all the Icelandic contesters who got to the finals there. They represent the Icelandic barista team, and will all travel to the States together with Jónina.

// -torstein

Pictures:
(copyright Torstein Bjørklund)

Technical judges
Illy's stand with Bailey's
Njáll Björgvinsson makes cappuccini
Asa's gear
Head judge from Denmark
Claus from Denmark observes Þórey Vigfúsdóttir's (2nd. place) technique
Judges taste the cappuccino
Þórey Vigfúsdóttir
Þórey Vigfúsdóttir
Judges with the large crowd in the background. (ca 70-80)

2005-03-14T00:02:00.000+01:00

Phuong Tran from Lava Java wins USBC!. Congrats!

Here are the results:
(taken from the coffeegeek post)

1st place: phuong tran, lava java
2nd place: ellie hudson-matuzak-intelligentsia
3rd place: billy wilson-albina press
4th place: matt riddle-intelly
5th place: ryan dennhardt-barista's daily grind
6th place: amber sather-intelly

2005-03-13T23:01:00.000+01:00

Norges beste kaffekoker, article about Gunnhild Seljenes in the Nordlys newspaper (norwegian).

2005-03-13T15:46:00.000+01:00

I've uploaded my pictures from the finals of the norwegian barista championship. Check them out.

Results:

1st place: Gunnhild Seljenes, Kaffebonna
2nd place: Einar Kleppe Holthe, Kaffefuglen
3rd place: Halvard Amble, Dromedar
4th place: Jonas Lippestad Johansen, Stockfleths
5th place: Hege Bierman, Dromedar
6th place: Marianne Broeng, Stockfleths

2005-03-12T00:03:00.000+01:00

I've uploaded some of my pictures from the norwegian barista championship day 1, to the www.scae.no website. More to come. I'm just too tired to do more uploading. I need some sleep.

I've had a great time today talking to lots of nice people and taking pictures. Barista events rock.

2005-03-05T21:10:00.000+01:00

Einar from the Kaffefuglen coffee bar in Oslo did a gig on the norwegian TV show "God morgen, Norge" last thursday. If you want to watch it, go to the TV2 web-tv page and select Aktualitet > God morgen Norge (gratis) > Torsdag > Kaffekunst. (All in norwegian and you have to register to watch it). He talks about what a barista is, makes a cappa (with Rancilio Siliva) and a speciality drink.

2005-03-04T23:31:00.000+01:00

Tim Wendelboe wins world cupping championship in Athens. (text in norwegian). Congrats!

2005-02-26T21:14:00.000+01:00

I've finally finished the work on my newly acquired Yashica 35 GSN rangefinder camera. I had to get batteries, install new light seals, clean it outside and inside, clean the lens etc, but now it is ok and ready for some film! I am looking forward to seeing the first pictures. Have a nice weekend.

2005-02-23T16:48:00.000+01:00

And check out these latte art pictures posted by a user nicknamed Tonc:
latte art - a photoset on Flickr. I love this one.

2005-02-23T16:44:00.000+01:00

Flickr: Photos tagged with espresso. Espresso related photos by various people.

2005-02-22T12:46:00.000+01:00

A friend of mine, Audun Sørbotten, has started a new blog : The Elektra Micro Casa a Leva home espresso blog. I am looking forward to reading about his experiences with a lever machine.

2005-02-20T23:51:00.000+01:00

The norwegian latte art championship was held today in the Oslo Atrium building, close to the new opera building site. Lots of air, light and space in that building. I would have loved to worked there. A friend of mine does, so now I am kind of jealous.

It was a quick competition since there were only 5 competitors and maybe 30 spectators including the judges. It is my understanding that this was the first time a latte art championship was held in Norway. The winner was Halvard from the Dromedar chain up in Trondheim.

It was a nice competiton, but it puzzles me why there isn't put more emphasis on the look of the latte art. They were graded on taste, presentation etc, and had to make some mandatory milk drinks as well as a signature beverage (limited to doing something on top of a milk drink). Doesn't this sort of sound like a traditional barista competition? a light version? It certainly does so to me. I think they should have put more emphasis on the art if that is what they want to promote by doing such a competition. The latte art I saw frankly wasn't that impressive, except for the art that Roy did according to my friend Audun. I didn't get there in time to see it. That being said, I guess taste should be a factor too. We all know how big a letdown a nice looking latte or cappa can be when the milk is way too soupy or the taste bad.

Well, here are some pictures I took while there. Enjoy and please leave a comment if you like them. I am a sucker for comments..hehe

The crowd
Latte Macchiato sketching
Halvard getting ready
Halvard pouring art on espresso macchiato
Using gas burner to make caramel on top of milk drink
SH paper cups - they're nice don't you think?
Another picture of the crowd
Halvard sketching
Winners. Halvard got a cool hand made (by Willy from SH) box with a champagne bottle inside)
Results
Digicams everywhere
Swipe for coffee, no just kidding..:)
Yours truly (thanks Audun)
Interior of the building
Another one
And yet another one

2005-02-12T16:16:00.000+01:00

Have you noticed how most coffee enthusiasts are also heavily into photography? (e.g Jimmy, Mark P etc.) Go to a competition and you'll find lots of people there to watch the show, but also to capture those moments on memory cards or film. I am no exception. I am into photography for a period, then coffee and back to photography again. They are both great hobbies. Coffee for the aromas, textures, caffeine kick, sharing coffee with friends, the technology and mechanics, the way a perfect pour looks etc etc. Photography for the way it makes you notice more of what is happening around you. I am always on the lookout for an interesting scene or angle.

Lately I've been using my new 300D a lot, but I am also checking out other equipment, like all the interesting old analog gear that is available on ebay. I am especially interested in the 70s rangefinders that can be had for 25-100 us dollars in good shape. The build quality of those cameras is just phenomenal, as well as the lenses. Just check out the Yashica Electro 35 GSN with its f1.7 lens. I won one of those in an auction some days ago and now it is on its way to Norway from Charleston, US. 39 bucks :). It has been in storage for 20+ years so it may have to be serviced somewhat.

I've also bought a Minox 35 GT that I got in the mail from Germany some days ago. It is one of the smallest 35mm cameras in the world, sporting a knife sharp tessar style lense. It is sort of a cult camera because of its size and image quality.

Another picture of the Minox.
And another picture of the Minox.
And yet another picture of the Minox.

I am on my first roll of film now and hope to develop it next week.

Norwegian latte art championship next weekend. I'll be there and take pictures.

Take care all.

2005-02-03T16:45:00.000+01:00

Norwegian Latte Art championship (text in norwegian), sunday 20th of February.

2005-01-28T21:45:00.000+01:00

Today was the last day of the qualification rounds, but I couldn't be there because my brother came on a surprise visit. We had a nice time, eating a steak dinner and drinking coffee in my apartment. My energy was superlow when I got home from work so it was probably smart to stay at home tonight. But : how did it go tonight? who qualified? I'm very curious. I bet the place was packed since the final results were announced.

2005-01-27T22:36:00.000+01:00

Pictures from day 2:

2005-01-27T11:42:00.000+01:00

Head over to Jimmy's blog to read about his visit to Reg Barber's workshop. Cool stuff.

2005-01-26T20:56:00.000+01:00

You know you're tired when you in desperation use superb ottolina classica espresso as drip coffee to wake up in the morning, and not the least just pour the beans into the filter unground...

Well, I felt a lot more alert in the afternoon and went to see the first day of qualification rounds for the norwegian barista championship. It is all happening down in the basement of the stockfleths bar in prinsensgate.

I took some pictures, but it is hard with the limited lighting down there. I got some pics of Chris though (a reader of this blog). He was first. His cappas and espressi looked really nice. I didn't stay long enough to get his score.

2005-01-25T21:28:00.000+01:00

Just heard from Eirik S. Johnsen that the norwegian barista championship has been postponed to 11-12th of March.

2005-01-25T17:11:00.000+01:00

Fortune Elkins writes about the stockfleths espresso. Very cool. It is my favourite blend, well, the way I get it served in the Stockfleths bars in Oslo. It is hard to get it exactly right at home.

2005-01-21T11:02:00.000+01:00

I took the day off last wednesday and got time to do some stuff that I normally never have time for, like stopping by Temperato (dealer), shooting pictures, drinking some nice coffee at Stockfleths etc. It was really nice to talk to Alexander again. When I was unemployed I stopped by quite frequently. Now I seldom get the opportunity since they close at around 3pm. We sampled some shots of "Ottolina Z" and discussed photograpy. Another guy who is fascinated by both coffee and photography!

The Ottolina Z coffee is very demanding, but when it is fresh and the extraction is spot on it is very nice and sweet with hints of black currant. Nice coffee indeed. I also bought a bag of Ottolina Classica, a very popular espresso coffee among enthusiasts here in Norway. Yesterday evening I sampled it, but it didn't taste quite right, a bit bitter and with some tiger flecking that had become almost black streaking on the surface. Telltale signs that the brew temperature may be too high. I dialed it down to something like 1.0-1.15/1.20. Bingo! That did the trick. I was dancing and enjoying classica as good as the one Alexander makes in his shop. A double espresso, a double cappa and some single shots later I was pretty happy and buzzed on caffeine.

Bonus: meeting Tim at Stockfleth's Grensen and drinking a nice cup of Sumatra (french press..mmmm).

Next week: qualification rounds in Oslo for the norwegian barista championship. Looking forward to it.

Have a nice weekend!

2005-01-19T18:34:00.000+01:00

Tim Wendelboe's website, www.worldbaristachampion.com, launched. Check it out.

2005-01-15T21:34:00.000+01:00

Been working a lot lately so coffeewise its been all about roasting coffee for the drip in the morning. Looks like my involvement in (a very time consuming) project at work will soon be over, so maybe there will be more time for espresso stuff in the afternoons.

Qualification rounds for the norwegian barista championship will be held 26t-28th of January in the new Stockflets bar in Prinsens gate, Oslo. The barista championship itself is in the end of february, 18-19th to be precise, and that one will be held in the "Süd/Øst" restaurant/bar/cafe/nightclub in Trondheimsveien. More info at www.scae.no. I'm really looking forward to being there to talk to people and take photos. Maybe I'll meet some of you guys there? I know Chris will be competing and that Audun will be present as well, not to compete, but to enjoy good coffee and company.

I've switched to a Canon 300D digital DSLR. Not that I was disatisfied with my Olympus C-750. All the photos I've posted here have been taken with that nice camera. The main reason for switching is the wide angle in the kit lens and the reduced noise in pictures taken at a high ISO setting. Even pictures taken at ISO 800 are usable. In a pinch there is a ISO 1600 setting as well, but then the noise is really evident throughout the frame.

Other nice features:

- really fast battery charger. It charges a full load in just 90 minutes compared to more than 12 hours for my old camera.

- access to all EOS/EF lenses in the Canon range. They are very expensive though.

- 2.5 pictures per second speed shooting

I've only taken a few pictures so far and to be honest I haven't been that impressed with the results right out of the memory card. It is evident that I will need to spend more time in Photoshop sharpening and adjusting pictures. I am confident though that it will beat the Olympus when I learn how to get the most out of it. Most importantly it will allow me to take pictures in low light conditions that were impossible to do with the Olympus because of ISO noise.

I cycled past the new Java bar at St.Hanshaugen today. It was packed with people so I decided to stop by another day. Have any of you been there?

Well, I hope you are all well. Take care.

2005-01-06T21:19:00.000+01:00

New SCAE Norway website launched. I've been asked to write some articles about the norwegian barista championship (18-19th of February) for this site. Looking forward to it. I will of course also take pictures and shoot some video for you guys.

2005-01-06T21:14:00.000+01:00

Article about SOS (single origin) espresso by Kyle Larson.

2004-12-31T15:51:00.000+01:00

I learned a valuable lesson today: NEVER leave your roaster alone while you go to do other things. After roasting some Ottolina Classica to a gentle second crack, and this taking 10.5 minutes, I put on another batch at that time setting. I go into my living room to do some quick web surfing. Next thing I know the smoke alarm is blaring. I run into the kitchen to find it filled with thick, sweet smelling smoke. The beans are absolutely charcoaled (like starbucks) and the timer seems to be stuck somewhere in the cooling cycle. I can't for the life of me understand why this roast has turned out so dark?. Maybe it got stuck earlier in the cycle too and managed to get lose on its own. Anyway I rip out the power and proceed to the smoke alarm. It gets a violent treatment for I can't remember how to turn it off. I rip it off the ceiling and take out the battery. Ahhh, silence.

It took some time to get the smell out of my apartment...believe me.

Well, got to do some more roasting.

Happy new year to all who reads this post. I wish you all the best and lots of good coffee in the year to come.

2004-12-07T18:52:00.000+01:00

Official pictures now up on the nordic barista cup website.

2004-12-05T01:15:00.000+01:00

Norwegian article about a program in Trondheim where young drug addicts are getting trained as baristas and getting work in a cafe called "Stolt" (proud). Preben Oosterhof (former norwegian barista champ) is the man behind it all. Cool stuff.

(photo taken from article)

2004-11-23T21:21:00.000+01:00

Hi guys, I just wanted to let you know that no, this blog isn't dead and abandoned even though it hasn't been updated in three weeks. I am just very busy with a project at work. I hope things will calm down before christmas. Take care all.

(btw, celebrating my 30th birthday today :)

2004-11-04T13:31:00.000+01:00

Here are some pictures from Iceland that I got from Tim (thanks!)

Swedish team
Danish team
Icelandic team
Martin and Torkell duelling in karaoke skills
Norwegian team making cappas with *fresh milk*
Swedish team discussing the ingredients

2004-11-02T19:30:00.000+01:00

- Latte ingen hverdagsdrikk, norwegian article / interview with Tim Wendelboe. Tim once again promotes drinking espresso and drip coffee, not the big lattes.

2004-11-02T19:28:00.000+01:00

Check out this article about the calorie content of milk based drinks. It is in norwegian, but the table at the bottom is interesting for you english speakin guys too. (btw, H-melk has 3.9% fat, Lettmelk has 1.5%).

Turns out that adding a double latte (200 calories) to a perfectly balanced diet (calories consumed equals calories burned/used) would theoretically make you put on 20 pounds in a year :).

2004-11-01T09:41:00.000+01:00

More photos from the nordica barista cup at Malachi's blog.

2004-10-31T17:32:00.000+01:00

Thread about the nordic barista cup that was held this weekend on Iceland. Includes pictures.

2004-10-29T09:33:00.000+02:00

Head over to Jimmy's blog to see a video of a naked portafilter pour (Euro2000). Cool stuff.

2004-10-17T10:24:00.000+02:00

I finally got a chance to visit the new Stockfleths shop yesterday. Last week was filled with job related stuff that made it impossible.

It was quite easy to find, located at a corner in Dronningens gate. Very easy to spot. Inside it was even nicer than I had imagined it to be. The first floor includes window seating, the coffee bar and beans, coffee equipment etc. Down in the cellar they've placed cosy sofas and more seating. According to Tim they may expand even more down there. He showed me what is now the storage room. It is huge and can be used for several purposes in the future. When I dropped in Tim was busy painting the walls in the cellar, but he took the time to chat and demonstrate the very cool Kees van der Westen espresso machine. He even let me make a shot and steam some milk (activated with foot pedals, very cool). Apparently it is harder to make a perfect shot with the lever, but if everything clicks the result can be even better than on the LM, theoretically anyway ;).

Oh man, coffeegeeks in Oslo are lucky people.

Btw, it is possible to buy green beans there! and Tim told me they are considering selling home roasting equipment in the future.

Pictures:

View from the street
The shop
Tim brewing a shot
Female barista brewing a shot (don't know her name)

2004-10-13T09:55:00.000+02:00

Skien Kaffebrenneri, small norwegian roastery. Page in norwegian. I love the fact that small coffee roasters like these guys are appearing in Norway. We had lots of small roasteries in the old days, before the big commercial operations started to appear with their preground, vacuum packed coffee. Too bad almost all of them have disappeared.

I will actually get to taste their blends soon. They are going to send me (free of charge) a pound each of two new blends, a pure arabice blend and one with some robusta in it. I only have to give som constructive feedback. Cool huh? I am not the only one who will be reviewing their coffee. They wrote a post in the temperato web forums yesterday asking people to participate. The first 5 will get the coffee for free. Others will get it for only 65 crowns. I think this is a smart move that will improve their product and maybe get them some more customers.

2004-10-12T12:35:00.000+02:00

Stockfleth's homepage released.

2004-10-07T10:43:00.000+02:00

Pictures from the final round of the dutch latte art championship are now online. Too bad they are so small.

2004-10-07T09:52:00.000+02:00

Check out Luigi Lupi's instructions on how to steam milk and do latte art. I really like the images that pop up when hovering the mouse pointer over some of the links. Clever.

The new stockfleth's outlet on the corner of dronningens gate (downtown Oslo) is scheduled to open next saturday. Looking forward to it. I hope it doesn't get delayed. I will post pictures.

2004-10-05T16:34:00.000+02:00

Pictures from the preliminary rounds of the dutch latte art championship (Nederlands Kampioenschap Latte Art 2004). The final was yesterday so I guess Jeroen will post pictures from that event as well when he finds the time.

2004-09-30T09:35:00.000+02:00

Life may be changing for better or worse, but coffee is always there to give joy through flavours and aroma and that extra energy boost to propel oneself to do more. My life is um...ever changing at the moment, but I still take time to roast with the imex and enjoy excellent drip. I find that roasting for drip sometimes can be challenging because I want to get as close to second crack as possible without entering it. As soon as I enter second I get that dark roast in the aftertaste and loose some of the natural sweetness. So, lately I've been sort of roasting too much on the light side and I am now working my away over to the dark side of the force..cough..no that was star wars. I got to confess that I have bought the star wars dvd - box :)

Btw, Kyle, were you in Oslo last weekend for the SH Barista Jam session? I heard it was a lot of fun?

2004-09-26T19:27:00.000+02:00

Great news! I just got my job back.

2004-09-24T23:39:00.000+02:00

I got a newsletter from www.moccabox.dk today with information about the I-Roast, and an offer to preorder. The price is 2495 danish crowns. No info about when they expect to ship, but they do write that to "secure a unit before christmas" one should contact them and preorder today etc..

2004-09-22T14:22:00.000+02:00

Interview with Gunnhild Seljenes at the Temperato website. She came in second in the norwegian barista championship this year. Article in norwegian.

2004-09-17T15:16:00.000+02:00

German TV clips on espresso.

2004-09-05T13:19:00.000+02:00

In case some of you are wondering why this blog hasn't been updated that much lately, it is because I have little time for coffee these days. I lost my job this week because of cutbacks, so I have to spend time writing applications and going to interviews. Other personal things are also taking time, but I hope to work things out so I get more time to keep updated on what is happening in the coffee scene, and to brew more shots. Nowadays I get home from work and after-work-activities at 8 or 9pm. Sigh.

Btw, Audun Sørbotten and Bernt Natvig visited me yesterday, the guys I went to Italy with. I made some spaghetti bolognese and then brewed some SOS Brazil shots afterwards from coffee roasted the day before. Audun is on the lookout for coffee related work in Oslo. I hope finds something.

2004-08-26T15:16:00.000+02:00

Solberg&Hansen Barista Jam session (PDF), Oslo 24-26th of September.