Coffee, an affordabe luxury... but at what cost?

"Meanwhile, the mainstream first-world consumer has held stubbornly to the idea that coffee is a cheap luxury, that the $1.00 bottomless mug is somehow a right or a deserved privilege. It is this very attitude that will continue to ensure that the modern smallholder coffee farmer has little hope of escaping a life of extreme poverty. Cheap coffee (and by “cheap” I mean low cost, which typically equates to low quality) is one of the many forces shackling the developing world and suppressing opportunity for advancement for a huge chunk of the planet’s population who depend on coffee to make a living."

-GEOFF WATTS, Intelligentsia Coffee


This is an exert taken from a fantastic response to an online article that's definately well worth reading.

Location Confirmed, keys in hand.

Well its been a VERY long time coming, but I finally have the keys in hand. The confirmed location of Bar Nine Adelaide is

91 Glen Osmond Rd
Eastwood, South Australia

Still awaiting certain approval's before any major can take place, and then the big install of some very cool and exciting machinery!!

I'll obviously keep you all posted as it all comes to light.  But here's its location to wet your apetites:


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Best Coffee at the Adelaide Fringe

Well, it's that time of year again, when the Fringe festival makes it's way to the small old town of Adelaide, South Australia.

Detail's can be found here, but basically the Adelaide Fringe Festival is an annual open access multi arts festival, which takes place over three weeks all over Adelaide.  The festival typically brings together an ecletic mix of hippies, boguns, socialites, students, drunks and other arty people from across the state.

It's generally a great event (or set of events for that matter) showcasing the talents of various comedians and artists in a wide range of roles, and is definately one of the bigger nad better events to happen in South Australia.

As is usually the problem at just about any event, generally across the country, finding a decent coffee to help get you through the weeks and weeks of entertainment can be a tremendous challenge (I'd love to have a chat with the guy or girl who's in charge of organising the people (carts) providing things like food and drinks, and give them a smack over the back of the head).

So to make it easier for you, I thought I'd spill a little secret, Where to find a decent cuppa?

Head on over to Combi Coffee where coffee nutter, Josh, or one of his awesome staff will prepare you a fantastic cup.  Their coffee is certified organic fair trade, made from crops in Ethiopia, PNG, East Timor and Columbia.  The coffee is super fresh and rosted in the Yarra Ranges by David Moon.  The Coffee is made using 100% Atlantas spring and local Tweedvale milk (from Lobethal in the Adelaide Hills).

Needless to say, they actually care about the coffee being sent out, and not just pushing out a product.  They can be found just heading past the bridge, on the right, in the Garden of Unearthly delights.

Enjoy!

Launch of new Imma & Mario's coffee line

This is a little late notice, but the information was only just forwarded to me, so if you see this in time and get a chance to check it out head on over.

Imma and Mario's mercato is a massive italian gourmet's delight located in Campbelltown, South Australia.  This is a great place to empty your wallet and spend some time strolling through little italy looking at all the very specialist delights they offer (everything from cheese and small goods, to cooking and crockery to home wine brew set-ups, if it's italian, you can find it here).

Anyway, for some time they have been running their own brand of roasted coffee, but after some careful consultation with Aroma Fresh (located in Klemzig) they are launching a new string of three different blends of coffee.  I'm yet to try any of these, but they'll be giving it away tomorrow (20th Feb, 2009) from 11am till 2:30pm, so be sure to pop in and grab a few bags.  And if you do, be sure to post here and let us know how you go.

2009 Australian National Barista Competition Results

Here's a snapshot of the results for those of you who couldn't follow the comp at the time and are wondering what went down.

Australian Barista Competition:
1st Tim Adams (Qld) - by a margin of 10pts
2nd Zoe Delany (Vic)
3rd Con Hara....(Vic)
4th Habib Marbani (NSW)
5th Jessy Hyde (Vic)
--there was no public announcement of the scores

Latte Art
1st Erin Sampson (VIC)
2nd Habib Marbani (NSW)
3rd Will (TAS, now working in VIC)
4th Johny Pisineli (SA)

Coffee and Good Spirits
1st Kirby Berlin (Vic)
2nd Scottie Callaghan NSW)
3rd David Seng (Vic)

Cupping
1st Ben Bicknell (WA, now living in Vic) - 8/8 in 1:29sec
2nd Luca Costanzo (Vic) - 7/8
3rd Brian Raslan (SA) - 6/8

The event on the whole was a tremendous success with all the hard work of the organisers, sponsors, volunteers and of, the competitors really paying off. It get more cliche every year to say it, but it's true, the level of dedication and passion just keeps getting higher and higher.

It was great to see so many industry professionals together enjoying the day and I think, one the whole, it was a great success.

Davinci Syrups through together a fantastic afterparty, but the stories there I think I'll leave for another time ;P

Well done to everyone involved, and especially the competitors who really gave their all!