Coffee Cup

Hello hello and happy new year!
The cup of the day is the Australian Skyberry - a brew I've had the pleasure to encounter before but this time available in my local supermarket. It seems 2014 may see the dawn of civilized drinks, either that or it was an overflowing seasonal specialty. Nonetheless it has been prepared, as have I, and together we will get acquainted.

The first warning sign is that it was one of a selection of ground coffees in the finest range - The Skyberry was in good company with an Ethiopian Sidamo and some South American thing, so i'm hopeful that the drink reaches me in prime condition.

The second warning sign - as if buying ground coffee isn't problematic enough - is that the Best Before is months in the future.  This rather stretches the definition of "best". Technically, it'll be worse after the smugly printed so by process of elimination better before it, but "best" before it implies some objective yardstick by which you can measure the coffee and if you want to get specific about "Best" before rather than "better" before then your process should be counted not on a calender, but by a wristwatch.

Nonetheless, in a hopeless sea of optimism and toxic cocktail of stubbornness and thirst I purchased my beloved Skyberry. Preparation was a two-shot black americano, slightly strong. And I figured I'd take my time to decide on sugar or biscuit accompaniment - My coffee-shop goto at the moment is to dunk a spoon to leave a few drops of coffee on it and set it aside on a saucer, about half full of brown sugar. Once the drink is complete, take the sugar as required for a sweet sugar rush. Its a strange ritual, but counteracts the occasional bitter aftertaste of some high street blends.

Well, as can only be expected, the poor drink was doomed before it passed my lips. It can only be a christmas gimmick to pad the shelves and was as stale as a new-year Turkey sandwich. I managed about a finger or so, but its flat stale taste suffocated the taste buds with a dry ash finish. It wasn't terrible, but I own an instant coffee that's less unpleasant and there didn't seem to be a reason to continue any longer than needed to finish this write-up.

So I bring you the disappointment that was supermarket ground coffee, defined by their remarkable ability to start with something delicious and completely ruin it. To continue the theme, next week I'll be playing SimCity!

I am Roger in Technology, thanks for reading.

A taste of Hawaii

Earlier this month I was privileged to be drinking Hawaiian Kona, and I'll try and do it justice in this writeup. This review is based on a single 250g bag of Type 1 Kona beans ground and prepared as 2, 3 or 4 shot espresso and the occasional 2 shot americano. The beans were roasted mid-december, stored in an airtight container in a cool dark place and ground immediatly before use.

Setting the Kona aside is its distinct sweet aroma like black forest fruits. There is an exciting berry hit from the moment you start grinding.
The initial sip is dominated by its sweet fruity fragrance that quickly gives way to a soft main taste, which is warm, but not earthy at all. The Kona then relaxes into a gentle, but slightly sharper, aftertaste that completes the palette.

Producing a rich dark crema I found the Kona difficult to under or over extract - you just can't go wrong with each cup coming out very similar to the last. Letting it steep for a little longer produces a stronger coffee but without the dark bite of a lot of South American beans. 

Prepared too quickly and under extracted the Kona still performs well but misses some of its magic.

The versitile Kona is ideal for espresso or strong americano and doesn’t need the extra water to bring it alive but nor does it suffer from a more dilute preparation.

I don’t take milk or sugar in my coffee, and although I didn’t try them I can imagine it blending very well with Vanilla or hazelnut syrup if that your style.

I know I’ll be returning to the Kona, and even the first cup won a top spot in my estimation.