Its about time that I let you all in on a badly kept secret that Saturday 26th January will be our last day at the Twisted Pepper on Abbey Street after a little over 3 years making coffee in the iconic venue. Its been an amazing place to work, we’ve met so many wonderful customers over the years and it also gave us the platform for all the plans that we’re rolling out at our Grand Canal Street shop.
Its a strange decision admittedly to walk away from a successful business but what it allows us to do is to refocus all of our efforts on one premises and grow the wholesale business in the coming year.
We’ve got a really excellent network of businesses that we’re supplying and now we’re on the look out for the next set of wholesale customers who want to improve their coffee offering. Most of you are aware of our ambitions to open a roastery here in Dublin so recruiting more wholesale customers is central to realising this.
The shop at Twisted Pepper will of course keep going and we will continue to supply it. In fact we’re passing the mantel on to one of our own and gaining a wholesale customer to boot.
Tom Stafford has effectively been running the place for the last 18 months for us and has always harboured ambitions of opening his own place some day. It made a lot of sense for us then to pass the business on to him and give him a leg up the same way that Bodytonic did for us way back in 2009. Since the first day he started with us Tom has shown a huge dedication to the 3FE cause and has worked tirelessly to ensure that the Twisted Pepper shop maintained and even improved its standards over the years.
Tom’s got some great plans in store for the place after they close for a bit of refurb. We’ll be open until 6pm on the 26th of January and I’m going to make sure I’m there to see the last coffee served. It seems like a life time ago that we set up in the lobby but although I’m sad to be leaving I know Tom will do a great job looking after all the regulars on Abbey Street.
Thanks to all those who’ve supported us over the years, especially Trev and Eoin at Bodytonic and hopefully you’ll all be able to swing by and lend your support to Tom when he sets up shop.
We all know water is very important in brewing coffee but its also crucially important in tasting coffee. When you think about a filter coffee, most of the time we’re looking to deliver something thats nearly 99% water whilst espresso is almost 90%. The water we brew with is not just a vehicle for brewing but actually the main constituent of the product we make and sell by quite a substantial distance.
To put that into context, there is more water in green coffee by percent than there is coffee in a drip filter. There’s also pretty much the same amount of water in green coffee as there is coffee in an espresso*. Applying one logic to the other we could get away with calling green coffee “water”. We won’t though.
Water is undoubtedly important in terms of extraction but the impact it has on flavour is a completely different issue that is often lumped into the same category. They are separate issues that should be addressed independently and one should always bear in mind that you can have many different waters with the same TDS that impart very different flavours on the water.
The water itself can have many different chemicals, minerals and additives and can also be affected by how its heated and dispensed. Aeration of water through a dispersion screen will have a big effect on the flavour in the cup, especially where the water has remained stagnant after boiling.
This post is about 2 years too late in a way as its based on some experiments I did in 2010 leading up to the 2010 WBC. I ended up designing a signature drink that comprised of the same espresso diluted with 2 different types of water in order to highlight different flavours in the coffee.
The two waters I used were actually distilled water I bought in a Pharmacy (TDS 0PPM) and a bottled water (TDS 470PPM) that I bought in Tesco. The distilled water highlighted the floral, fruity and acidic flavours whilst the bottled water made it earthy, woody and viscous. It was a real eye-opener to me and when I came up with the idea I didn’t fully expect it to work as well as it did.
This was undoubtedly my favourite signature drink I’ve ever made, though undoubtedly an unnecessarily risky one. In my finals round I scored a 5, 4.5, 4 and 3.5 as well as a 2 from the head judge. In truth it probably would have been better to use it as a blog post instead of a sig drink. Mia culpa.
Until this point I always believed before this that water should be neutral when you’re brewing but I now believe thats actually impossible. Water will always have a flavour and that will always be reflected in your final cup. You should treat water as an ingredient and not just a flavour conduit.
The idea of this experiment is to taste the effect that water has on coffee and not the effect it has on the extraction. Therefore what you need to do is to brew a coffee and with a high TDS and then dilute it with different waters to see the flavour it imparts. The beauty of this particular test is that its one you can try tomorrow while you work without much prep at all.
The best way to do this is to heat the water in non-metalic vessels (I use a syphon bulb and burner) so as not to impart flavour on the coffee and then use the various waters to dilute the high-TDS coffee. I’m sure you could also use a microwave but I haven’t tried this yet. I know someone who has though.
The easiest way to do this is by brewing espresso (one for every sample cup) and mixing all the espressos in a large jug so that all the sample cups have the same coffee. The chances of brewing identical espressos 4 times or more in a row are unfortunately unlikely. I’d also recommend you filter the espressos for more clarity.
You can also opt to brew a “regular extraction” but high TDS filter coffee and use that as the sample. I wouldn’t attempt this method without an Extract Mojo or TDS meter so that you can check the TDS as you go. It is also vital to use an accurate digital scale when diluting the coffees so that you add the same amounts of water to each sample.
So, once you’ve got your coffee sample the basic idea is to take the same coffee sample into a a number of different cups (e.g. 6 cups for 6 samples) and dilute the sample with different waters to see how it changes the taste. If you can use scales, temp probes, mojos, TDS meters and other gizmos then great. If you can’t then don’t worry about it, just have a go and you’ll definitley learn something.
Here’s some suggested waters you should add to coffees to be cupped;
Distilled water
Various bottled waters (The TDS is usually displayed on the side panel or can be calculated easily)
Water heated to 85c
Water boiled and cooled to 85c
Water from your espresso machine hot water fosset
Water from your boiler
Filtered water from a different city heated to same temperature
Water poured carefully and slowly
Water whisked, splashed and stirred (aerated)
Pre-filter water
Post filter water
I’m sure there’s many other types of waters that you can try and each will yield different results. If you want to keep it simple and get dramatic differences I’d go with distilled vs high TDS bottled water. Enjoy and let me know how you get on
Col
*estimated at 10.9873987598798398% by one particular coffee maverick
I came across the the video above on Twitter the other day and I recommend you watch it if you work in retail coffee. A lot of the points that James makes are excellent and there’s one particular bit where he mentions ‘vinyl’ that almost broke my heart. You’ll see when you get there.
Anyway, James is a one man dictatorship, although a lovely one, and doesn’t allow comments on his blog. We attempted a chat on Branch but that quickly turned into a conversation about, well, everything really. I therefore decided, under duress from the dictator, to post some thoughts on here.
I definitely agree with James in his assertion that the way coffee is sold should/can/will change and I see that this is a good thing. I’ve always said that on my day off I’d pay a fiver for a cup of coffee if it was good value and I believe a lot of people reading this would too.
The word value here is crucial because it can’t be just an expensive coffee, it needs to be worth every penny. What you pay for has to include everything from the drink to the service to the setting and everything in between. I’ve paid €12 for a glass of wine and not thought twice about it because it was good value in that particular context. The best value meal I’ve eaten this year was also the most expensive. Last year it was somewhere in the middle of the price range. Price and value are not the same thing.
The question I really began asking myself though was about the viability of a “low-volume high-price” coffee bar where people like me would come to drink coffee in its best case scenario. We’d enjoy the service, have great coffee, avail of the free wifi*, nibble on petit-fours and generally have a €10 luxury half hour.
The implication that James makes in his talk is that the current specialty model involves selling the traditional way, but with higher costs. I see this everyday at 3FE when I wonder is it worth re-pulling shots, spending more on coffee/machines/equipment and doing things in a quality-focused way that take twice as long as they do elsewhere. Is it worth it?
Can we make money selling the traditional way but with better coffee and higher standards. I still think we can, given the right skill set.
Admittedly, our prices are slightly more on the expensive side at 3FE but for a long time they weren’t. Did I make any money? Nope, not at all. I was pretty much broke to be honest but we did get a name out and build a reputation. Its a strange feeling to own a coffee shop that people all around the world are talking about but still have to search the back of the couch for train fare. This is sadly a reality for a lot of startup specialty coffee shops and it definitely was for me.
I also know folks that have investors behind them pumping massive funds into a startup and they too are broke. There is no easy route into this industry. Everyone’s context is different and there is always a sacrifice to be made. Anyone who runs there own business and is reading this will know all about the consequences and sacrifices to be made, both personal and financial, and wonder from time to time if they were worth it.
In saying all this though, is this any different to the rest of the food and drink industry? I’ve met a lot of F&D business owners in the last few years and I’d be surprised if any more than 20% were actually making a wage that they were happy with. The catering industry is an expensive one to start in and even more expensive to keep going in.
If we drop coffee into a larger food and drink category you’ll find that very few of them are actually profitable and it would be unfair to suggest that other F&D businesses are doing better than we are.
To suggest that charging more per cup will make you a more sustainable business is just fooling yourself though as all the variables that are static at a low-price business begin to shift up the curve. Standards begin to move if people are to pay more and the barrier to entry begins to rise with it. You suddenly have a smaller market, less visits per customer and higher unit costs.
Every week in Dublin I hear about a high-end restaurant that’s beginning to creak and see a cheaper restaurant thats flourishing. The same can also be said the other way around though.
My point is that once you’ve decided on your business model you need to be professional, hard working, diligent and (a lot of the time) lucky to ensure that your business is successful. The price point itself is almost redundant in determining if you’ll be successful, its more your ability to apply the model that suits your price point.
Im not sure if anyone has managed to build a sustainable coffee business on the high price per cup model without having one of the following criteria in place, or perhaps even a few;
i) an existing successful coffee bar elsewhere to draw out the new bar’s burn rate
ii) access to cheaper coffee, e.g. as a roaster/wholesaler
iii) an existing skillset and inventory to facilitate such an approach
iv) attached to a ‘traditional’ coffee bar i.e. a brew bar
v) pop-up approach, not designed to stay longer than a few months
vi) A pot of gold
We will continue to charge a little more than most for our coffees and continue to offer value for that price. In the coming months there will also be more expensive options available but the initial feedback in the last few weeks has been hugely positive from those seeking a tasting experience rather than a simple ‘drinking’ one.
I’m excited about offering the ‘next step’ in specialty coffee and I know right now that it will be painful, difficult and result in us losing some customers. In saying that I know we’ll gain more customers and challenge ourselves in what we do, like we’ve always done. Wherever we drop the pricing pin though there is always the constant necessity to be an excellent business in every facet of what you do, whether its accounting, marketing, H&S, HR or quality control. As the industry gears up to charge more and change the way we do things, its important to remember that a higher price is not the only answer to making a business viable. Personally I’ve found the tasty coffee part easy, its the other stuff thats difficult.
Lately I’ve become a little bit obsessed with work flow and efficiency in coffee bars which has been driven by a few factors of various importance. Barista Comps are always a great way to learn about double/triple tasking and saving yourself 30 seconds. Anyone thats competed will know how organising workflow in a routine can help you appear busier, do more, reduce stress and save time. The same logic applies to coffee bars.
An organised bar not only works faster but also gives you a huge advantage in terms of customer service. Yes, the service will be better, that is a no-brainer, but people often overlook something very important about calm, controlled efficient workflow and thats the perception your customers develop of your business.
There’s a rule in the service industry called The Bleeding Bunny rule which is based on the logic that the more distressed you appear the more likely you are to be criticised by your customers. This is true worldwide and is born out of the fact that bleeding bunnies will always be preyed upon before their more able-bodied comrades. If you appear distressed, you are opening yourself up for attack regardless of how much you deserve it.
I’ve worked shifts at both extremes. I’ve had very few orders and been in an absolutely tizzy. Drinks made badly, orders misplaced, orders made twice, customers pissed off. I’ve also worked ridiculously busy shifts in a state of near zen. These occassions often bring with them very little conversation between co-workers. everyone knows where they are, where they’re going and how they’re getting there. The system is clear and there’s no need to discuss it. Customers have waited a long time for orders without even knowing it because everything seems effortless, purposeful and worth it.
In specialty coffee we have for the last few years been caught between a place where we want to impress our customers and the constraints placed upon us by having to deal with said customers. The more people that come the harder it is to wow them, but the less people that come the harder it is to stay open. Pete Williams that works with me at 3FE once quipped “wouldn’t it be amazing if we had loads of money and no customers. Think what we could achieve!”
The brew-bar in a modern specialty coffee bar is a great example of this. I’ve seen many set up that were successful from a taste/experience perspective but as the business owner in me becomes more outspoken I can only question the viability of the “brew bar” going forward. I think at 3FE we have just about found a balance but its perhaps been the most difficult aspect of what we do day-to-day.
The brew-bar has become the weapon of choice for specialty coffee shops and although I feel its value should be placed more in the marketing budget than in the Z-read analysis it’s striking that we have very little discussion about how we should make this podium of ours a little more financially viable. Profit is a filthy filthy word in this industry but its one we need to face up to if we’re going to gain the recognition that we so crave and workflow is the key to this in every aspect of finding success.
Carrying on the theme of feedback from last weeks post I thought it pertinent to skip the permission phase and skip straight to the meaty bit by posting some feedback online that sits nicely with this weeks theme of workflow.
I am however trusting that both interested parties, namely Marco (Paul Stack) and Barartza (Joyce Klassen), will forgive me going public on this one as both products do come out rather favourably and I know both as people who have no doubt already copped on to whatever it is I’ve discovered.
A few weeks back Joyce sent me an Essato to tinker with and gather feedback. The Essato for those of you that don’t know is an attachment base for Baratza’s grinders that allows you to set a target weight for ground coffee and then grind that specific amount for you at the touch of a button (there are actually 3 presets). It differs from grind-on-demand grinders I’ve encountered so far in that instead of correlating time and dose and managing the former with fingers crossed, the Essato goes straight to the point and promises you a specific dose every time. Importantly, it consistently delivers on this promise.
The Uber grinder creates the best grind profile I’ve encountered and thus is the tastiest tool to make your filter coffee with. When things aren’t too hectic you can weigh-grind-weigh and create more beautiful coffee than you can ever imagine. Lovely grinder, lovely grind profile, lovely coffee. Simples.
Then real life kicks in and the reality of weigh-grind-weigh (perhaps repeat?) will start to hack away at the time you have to satisfy your customers. The fact that you must stand by the grinder when you do this adds to the time you must commit and thus slows you down. Slowing you down on bar usually leads to you trying to speed yourself up which I guarantee will lead to mistakes, errors and angry customers. Its the twisted logic of the bar, never go as fast as you can, because you can’t.
So, back to the Essato. No, it doesn’t have the amazing grind profile of the Uber but what it does have is smarts. I hit one button and then concentrate on the other things like rinsing papers, arranging cutlery and talking to customers. When I’m ready I pick up the grounds dispenser and dose my filter.
On a busy bar its innovations like this that really contribute to enabling us to achieve real excellence on a consistent basis. In truth I know Marco are working on something to enable similar benefits in workflow but I shall not steal their thunder, this time.
The real point of this post though is a statement that popped into my head as I walked back from the till to my 18g ground dose that was waiting for me on the Esatto.
Workflow will trump grind profile in the vast majority of cups handed out.
I’m not sure everyone will agree with me but I would like to know where you stand on this and what you think;
Saturday sees the culmination of a lot of hard work, blagging and planning in the form of Tamper Tantrum Live 2012 at the Twisted Pepper. Anyone that follows me on twitter will know doubt have heard about it but I thought it appropriate to reflect via this neglected blog and aim for two birds with my solitary stone.
In a way Tamper Tantrum started with this hungover rant (pictured above) the morning after we managed to pilfer 4th place at the 2009 World Barista Championships, at Octane Coffee in Atlanta with Ben Helfen. Myself and Steve came away from the conversation with a sense that we’d perhaps come across something we both enjoyed doing.
Tamper Tantrum started a few weeks later and soon developed into a relatively (!) monthly video blog which drew more viewers than we’d ever thought possible. Half way through one of these recordings we had an idea to do a live version with guest speakers and so Tamper Tantrum Live was born.
Last year was a wonderful success with James Hoffmann, Cosimo Libardo, David Walsh, Gwilym Davies and Paul Stack all putting on excellent talks which have between them clocked up tens of thousands of views. The fact that all these talks are being passed on to those looking to learn about coffee is the real reward in all this. Every few weeks I get an email from someone thanking us for doing it and it all makes sense again.
This Saturday we have another great list of speakers including John Gordon, Kas Ali, Tim Styles, Rasmus Helgebostad, Ellie Matuszak and Keith O’Sullivan as well as one or two surprises along the way. We will also be beaming it out live across the internets and as always, posting the videos online afterwards on the Tamper Tantrum site.
No doubt a few of you reading this know already, but on Saturday afternoon we will also announce the next step for Tamper Tantrum live and to say we are excited is an understatement. Without letting the cat out of the bag, it will bring Tamper Tantrum to an International audience in a way that we never thought possible.
I’m looking forward to the weekend, thankful for all your support and excited about the future. I’m glad this has grown to what it is and looking forward to letting you all in on our good news
Tickets are still on sale here and we’re looking forward to a great day. We hope to see you there
Eating and drinking is my hobby. I’ve had the pleasure of eating in some incredible restaurants in the last year. Some really exceptional places that do amazing things in every facet of the operation from the salt, to the oysters, to the beef to the wine and everywhere in between. Everywhere that is, except the coffee.
I do this strange thing where I insist on ordering coffee after an amazing meal because I know its going to be terrible and 99.99999999% of the time it is. I really don’t know why I do order it. Am I trying to make myself feel clever? Is it a curiosity thing? Do I secretly want to be proved wrong?
I’ve worked in a few restaurants and understand that everything needs to be weighted in terms of margin and speed but at €4 a pop I think some restaurants are well placed to actually serve a quality product.
The most frustrating thing for me personally is that when, inevitably, the coffee is awful, I say nothing. I don’t complain, i don’t send it back. I just sit there and keep my frustration to myself.
Its annoying because if the wine, cheese, fish, beef or any other offering isn’t right I’ll be the first to say so. When it comes to coffee though I don’t expect the same level of quality, even though I’m charged for it and often times a lot more.
Part of me thinks that as a barista it is my role to point this out to restaurants (who I see as the ultimate podium for all things culinary) and encourage them to improve their offerings. However, the other part of me feels that me having a pop at someones coffee because I can do better is just being, well, dickish.
So, I’m posing a question to restaurateurs across the country and I vow to abide by the majority results. This could get ugly, be nice….
The tasting bar at 3fe has always been a place for us to give customers a little extra in terms of tasting. They often get thrown samples, asked to taste things side by side and generally used as guinea pigs for us to try new things out with.
Lately, some of our more frequent customers have gotten to the stage where they don’t even ask for a coffee, because they trust us enough to decide for them and over the last 18 months we know exactly what sort coffees they enjoy. They just sit down at the bar and we let them know whats coming and make sure its good.
Asking for recommendations is not a new thing, but I’m constantly surprised at how badly its done in this city. What tends to happen is that you ask for a recommendation and the person serving you will simply list the choices to you. This frustrates me because whenever I’m asking for a recommendation, its usually because I haven’t a clue what I’m buying so listing the options is of no real benefit to me.
Once this has been done they’ll unfortunately suggest something that is so run-of-the-mill and inoffensive that you possibly couldn’t dislike it, but its not going to satisfy the sort of person who asks for a recommendation in the first place.
I no longer drink, but when I did I really enjoyed going to L Mulligan Grocer in Stoneybatter and just asking them to pick for me. The choice was usually good and even when I wasn’t mad about it I never felt short-changed. Some of the most interesting conversations I’ve had with Colin et al were about drinks I hated. I’d pay the money for the taste experience rather than the drink itself.
Sheridan’s cheese mongers on South Anne Street is another place where they’re happy to lead you down a path with a recommendation. Fallon and Byrne’s wine cellar, Murphy’s Ice Cream, Hollands of Bray and Drink Store are other rare examples of places in Dublin that will take control of your tasting if you ask them to. I’ve also been assured that Lilliput Stores will do the same but to my shame I have yet to visit. I know.
There’s something very reassuring about someone who’s so passionate about their trade that they can have the ability and confidence to select something for you. Lately I’ve given up on asking for recommendations and started asking them for “something you’re not entirely sure that I’ll like”. The results have always been interesting, usually been tasty and I’ve consistently come away with an experience.
So, where else am I missing? Is there other places in the city where this sort of thing happens? I’m compiling a list of places for tourists to visit entitled “Tasting in Dublin” so all suggestions will be tested and tasted. I will also happily post the list once its compiled so pop your suggestions in the comments box!
So. Lately I’ve been doing something wrong, and I haven’t really told anybody but its about time I fessed up because I’d like to hear what you all think. It’s about the bloom, or indeed, the lack thereof.
Recently I decided to prioritise temperature stability and do away with the blooming stage of my filter brewing. The reason was that I felt I could de-gas the coffee sufficiently by stirring a few times at the start and avoid the inevitable temperature loss associated with leaving the coffee to a 30second bloom.
My routine now consists of; Wet grounds slowly, stir after 80g of water has been added, leave the Uber to drip at the same slow rate over 2mins 30 seconds, stir once more towards the end and serve (30g/500g/3min/1.3%/19%)
The (brewing) temperature would therefore be more stable and I could also deliver the drink in a more timely manner. The results have been staggering insofar as they are exactly the same.
All my brews are as consistent (if slightly more so) than they were before and the taste results have always been good enough to serve. I can’t say for sure that its any better than when I did bloom but it definitely isn’t any worse and it certainly is less faffy.
I’m well aware that there is more than one way to brew a tasty cup and you probably need a new method like a hole in the head, but I would like to know if there is any reason why I should start to bloom again?
Usually we like to keep our choice to a maximum of three coffees so you (and we!) can really get to know the coffees. This week however we’ve changed tack slightly and decided to get a mixed bag in, just cause its fun to really. In total we probably have about 15 or so coffees ranging from bright and fruity to more dark and chewy coffees but all are tasty and really interesting.
So this Sunday bring along a soup spoon and join in the free tasting session from noon at 3FE. This is not an exam, not a test, not a class even. Just a gathering of people who like coffee and wanna taste and chat. We’ll set ‘em up for noon and all you gotta do is turn up.
