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December 2011 Newsletter Holiday closing dates will be as follows: LAST ROAST will be on MONDAY 19th DECEMBER. LAST SHIPPING DAY & CLOSE will be WEDNESDAY 21st DECEMBER. REOPEN on MONDAY 9th JANUARY 2012. As always, customers are reminded that we will be running our stocks
of roasted coffee down to zero, and late orders may be filled by
whatever coffees are available, and not what you actually ordered. Late machine orders will probably end up being delivered sometime in
early January. The usual volume related mistakes by couriers and
Australia Post have already started, and will probably only get
worse from this point on. You should also factor in our packing and shipping times. Normally
we will pack and ship an order the day after it is received; the
time in-between is spent roasting the necessary coffees. The large
increase in order volumes over the next 3 weeks means that it may
take 2 or even 3 days after receipt to get an order away. This year's Chrismas special coffee is the result of technological
advances in a traditional coffee growing area. Sumatran coffee has
been processed by more or less the same rough and ready methods for
the last 100 years or so. Modern methods of processing coffee cherry
are only now starting to be applied, with mixed results as far as
coffee flavour is concerned. It appears that a lot of the low-acid,
earthy tasting, full bodied character typical of Sumatra Mandheling
is the result of the way it's processed. However, it seems that by choosing the right sort of coffee
varietal, and processing it correctly, you can retain the full body
but get bonus flavours in the form of chocolate and spicy notes,
with a hint of lemon. Sumatra Wahana Rasuna $44.00/kg A sweet malty aroma with chocolate and cinnamon spice and a rich,
creamy finish. This is the sort of coffee which goes well with plum pudding and
custard, makes a rich Irish Coffee and is also perfect as an
espresso to kickstart the old brain on the morning after. Finally, I've had a chance to play around with the new Breville Dual
Boiler espresso machine, and I must say that it seems to do the
things it is supposed to quite well, especially when teamed with a
good grinder. After a look under the hood I do have reservations
about its repairability and longevity, but when I commented on this
to the owner he said basically "Never mind, I expect to buy a better
machine in a couple of years anyway." This surprised me, as it seems to be at odds with the expectations
of the majority of my customers, who expect their machines to last
forever. With good reasons, too, as a 1998 Napoletana 1 we got back
for repair last week demonstrates. Its owner estimates that it has already pulled over 18,000 shots,
and with a decent makeover and $300.00 worth of parts and labour it
looks like another 18,000 espressos are in its future. It does make
me wonder how many shots the Breville Dual Boiler will do for its
$1500.00 pricetag. Wishing all a safe and happy holiday season, see you next year, Alan.
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