Saturday, November 26, 2005


siberia, part iv

as promised yesterday, i brewed scott and jessica's batdrof "latitudes" siberia pacamara in the chemex. naturally, i used oren's ratio of 1.85 oz/52 g fresh ground coffee to 26 oz./769 ml water, for a total brew time of 4 mins 7 secs.

the coffee's now 8 days old. taking my own advice, i ground it 4 notches finer (since the saeco is marked at whole and half numbers) taking it down from a "12" to the "10" point. this was wise, as immediately i could smell the sought-after lime-leaf aroma as the grounds hit the hopper during grinding.

i repeat myself -- i do believe the siberia benefits from a slightly finer grind! experiment and see for yourselves. . . .

ok, now to the scaa flavor wheel. we remember scott roasted this to full city, right?

this floral, lime-leaf feeling i've already mentioned was fully in the dry grounds. as the coffee bloomed in the chemex, i smelled some sort of "dried" sensation, but i wouldn't say it was the raisin i've been seeking.

sipping the coffee, the chemex brings the lime into the cup, no doubt, along with a brown-sugar-y or maybe very dark honey feeling.

as the coffee cools, the brightness becomes more noticeable as does the lime. i really like this coffee with a bit of raw sugar -- that makes the lime sort of "key lime," which i like a lot.

when i added a little light cream, i thought the coffee acquired a strong vanilla syrup-type aftertaste. and the chemex does the body of this coffee justice; ironically, i preferred the body of this coffee in the chemex as opposed to the french press.

in sum, i think the siberia is best as a single-origin espresso or in the chemex! those are my recommended brewing options for this lovely, rare bean.

but of course, you must try it yourself and see how it works for you. . .

devoted readers will recall that i'm going to sydney very shortly. i hope to be able to blog 2 or 3 times a week there, since internet cafes are everywhere.

naturally, i will be pursuing my interests there:

coffee: campos, toby's, michel's patisseries, bar cupola, sugarcube, spring espresso, bar coluzzi, vinyl lounger, and hazel de los reyes' roastery, when i can find out its exact address! some of these places are probably more about atmosphere than the brew, but i'm very interested in oz's coffee culture, so that will be good too.

artisan chocolate: belle fleur, kimberly

artisan bread: infinity sourdough, sonoma woodfired baking, victoire, st. honore sourdough, bourke st. bakery

certified neapolitan pizza: pizza mario

yoga: acharya yoga, samadhi bliss, city apothecary, lifesource, yoga moves, lotus. this will be interesting, because sydney has 80 yoga studios -- 320 classes a day! this is much more than nyc,w hich i think has only about 200 classes a day.

if any "sydneysiders" have any suggestions or comments about this list, please, don't hesitate! i'm looking for the best sydney has to offer!

posted by fortune | 12:27 PM | top | link to this | email this: | | | 3 comments