All the best ideas come over coffee or beer. This one was over beer last night with Dale. We decided that and every friday, were going to look back at a photo or a blog post or something that was happening during this week over the previous years. I’m very excited to start this, I hope to keep it up too, the best way to make sure I do is with encouraging comments tweets and emails.
We have such a back catalogue of amazing videos, photos and resources that each week I will trawl the archives for something amazing that you may have missed or will make you smile.
And if your going to start, start with a bang and my all time favourite in my mug I ever did this week back in 2010 with Mario and Lupe of Bolivia Machacamrca fame, while I was out there on the farm. 28 minute of amazing video, and the amazing memories came flooding back what flashback friday should be about.
With all thats happened to the farm since then, knowing what we know now (see here) it makes it even more special.
As I’ve already said I have kind of neglected this blog for a long time. But I have still been creating content, and lots of it. One of the most popular things we have done is our brew guides.
Now a brew guide is not a verbatim way to make all coffee (as some guides will have you believe): it’s my methods shared with you. But the latest one is actually not my method. Instead it’s the ethos and idea of my good friend and fellow coffee roaster Roland Glew.
Roland has been with us for a while now and is an unusual fellow. We are all a bit strange at Has Bean (geeky obsessive types). Working at Has Bean is fun with all these characters; it’s very relaxed and we play many pranks / jokes on each other. A couple of years ago Chris decided it would be fun to play with the auto correct on all of our phones and whenever I typed Roland it came up with “ibrik” (this was one of the least offensive ones that he changed – some of them I couldn’t tell you here).
It came up Ibrik because of Roland’s love for the brewing method and in our heads it was a teasing way to dig at him. You see, the Cezve (another name for Ibrik) is a brewing method frowned upon in specialty circles; so much so the people who arrange the barista competitions have been trying to kill it off, and dropped it from their programs this year.
Never one to follow the cool crowd, I got interested in the Ibrik because of the lack of interest from the cool kids. So I helped make sure we had a competition this year in the UK, and in order to try and raise some interest, I also entered. This is where the problems started. I had tried to make a few Ibriks in the past, but they were normally horrible and badly made, and this was the reason I made fun of them.
So I turned to Ibrik Roland for some advice, and he became my “coach” for the competition. The first one I made was absolutely delicious (and I mean generally delicious, not just delicious for an Ibrik). Now, I didn’t do so well in the competition because I made a stupid mistake on my signature drink, but I have become a bit of an Ibrik convert. I found if you put good coffee in you got good coffee out.
I am not drinking Ibrik everyday, but there are lots of brew methods I don’t feel the need to do that with. But every now and again since the competition I have dusted off my saucepan, and got on with making an Ibrik coffee.
I wanted to share Roland’s wisdom with you all and change the model of the brew guides being only my methods (well it is now). We have a saying at Has Bean; don’t be cool, be good.
Down load the pdf version of our brew guide here ibrik
This is the 11th in a new line of guest coffee blends that we are introducing in 2013. Each month there will be a new blend, for which there will be an original label in a different style of bag, and of which there will only be 500 made. Each bag will be marked with a unique, limited edition number.
These are the blends most roasters would be scared to share with you, but not us fearless souls at Has Bean Towers where we think the unthinkable.
In the cup think unbalanced, off-the-wall experiments that are tasty but never normal, and are always a bit unusual and pushing the boundaries.
The inspiration for this comes from the now infamous Movember. During November each year, Movember is responsible for the sprouting of millions of moustaches around the world. With their “Mo’s” men raise vital funds and awareness for prostate and testicular cancer and mental health. As an independent global charity, Movember’s vision is to have an everlasting impact on the face of men’s health. Here at Has Bean we are all supporting this (even the girls), and you can too, as 50p from every bag of this coffee we sell we will give to Movember.
Each bag will also contain your chance (even the girls again) to get involved. We encourage you to send us pictures of you and your mo!
So What is in Must Dash ? Well its brought to us by two of our Mo loving producers, one from El Salvador in Alejandro Martinez Argentina Piletas Bourbon Natural
And Daniel Cardoso Murcia with his Washed Colombian from Finca Las Brisas
60% Argentina Piletas Bourbon Natural
40% Colombia Las Brisas Washed
In the cup expect some funky sherry tones and stewed dark fruits with a whisker of milk chocolate and creamy mouthfeel.
Time for another Guest Blend this time Number 7 in the series. This time we have lost our minds.
Well not exactly, but to coincide with our release of the roasting guide video (You can see this here) we have done an example of roasting profiles along with a super cool blend I have to do for a number of years.
Its available Roasted Beans Only Also Note this will not fit through a standard letterbox. It wont fit through as its a tin of baked beanz, and a bag of toast. Its in honour of Baked Bean month.
You will receive a tin of 125 g of roasted El Salvador Finca Argentina Guachapilin Pulped Natural roasted on a slow roasting profile of 15 minutes. This will be full of body and mouthfeel, but lacking in a little sweetness, clarity and acidity.
You will also receive a bag that contains 125 g of roasted El Salvador Finca Argentina Guachapilin Pulped Natural roasted quickly on a roasting profile of 7 minuets. This will be lacking a little body and mouthfeel, but be full of sweetness and acidity. Try them on their own, then mix them together in the toast bag for a complex one bean one varietal blend.
We suggest you try them both on their own with 12g and a cupping bowl. Then mix the two together in the toast bag and enjoy as a blend.
We were saving this special lot from Finca Argentina for something special. But it just works on both of these profiles, it chose itself.
When mixed together expect a complex blend that is balanced, with a big body, with a controlled and balanced sweetness of milk chocolate and white grape.
50% El Salvador Finca Argentina Guachapilin Pulped Natural
50% El Salvador Finca Argentina Guachapilin Pulped Natural
If you want to learn more about roasting profiles take a look at this video here.
