How seriously do you take your coffee? Would you know a V60 from your left elbow? Could you discuss the merits of an AeroPress? Maybe George Clooney, patron saint of coffee pods, is your caffeine poster boy? Or do you think the coffeescenti are just a bunch of beverage boasteurs?
I admit that I’m a bit of a fusspot when it comes to coffee, and the jar of floor scrapings …. I mean coffee granules …. at the back of the kitchen cupboard is strictly for baking. Maybe I’m spoiled coming from Sydney, where there are so many mighty fine independent coffee shops serving world class coffee that Starbucks pretty much got up and walked out a few years back after the nation turned up its nose.
Nonetheless, I did feel a bit intimidated rocking up to a cupping masterclass at Ozone Coffee, an award-winning cafe and roastery - what with it’s location in a uberhip Shoreditch warehouse and all. I’m also aware that espresso, my tipple of choice, is a bit passé and pour-over coffee, once disdained, is now de rigeur. But as it turns out, the problem was all in my imagining. The company’s owners, New Zealanders Lizzie Bain and James Gurr, are far from coffee snobs. They’re just obsessed with coffee and keen to share the love.
Although it sounds like an alternative medical treatment (or something involving women’s underwear) cupping is actually a style of coffee tasting favoured by Master Tasters. It’s a serious business. At competition level, tasters are banned from wearing perfume or using soap to wash their hands lest they spoil the olfactory blank canvas they need to taste coffee properly. “We can be quite a pedantic lot,” James acknowledges. Thankfully, none of that was evident on this evening.
This is the beautifully “pimped up” vintage roaster is where all the imported green beans are carefully roasted for 12-14 minutes, then cooled. Using artisan roasting techniques is best, says James, because ambient temperature and humidity varies from day-to-day. Manual roasting allow you to adjust the process accordingly.
Special cupping bowls are used to hold the coffee. First we take a deep, deep sniff of each bowlful before the water goes on. James says a huge amount of the taste of coffee comes from the aroma - that’s why you should grind coffee beans just before brewing, so the flavour doesn’t escape. I’m already having caffeine head spins at this point and I haven’t tasted any yet.
Filtered water at a temperature of 93° is gently poured over the freshly ground grains from a special pouring kettle.
Then the coffee is left to infuse for a few minutes - the crust that forms on the top prevents the flavours escaping. After this we spoon off the crust and, slurping loudly so the coffee reaches the back of our mouths, we taste the coffee with silver spoons. Lizzie and James start talking about mouth feel and notes of stone fruit. I’m not sure I understand what they’re talking about, but I do know that each coffee has its own distinct flavour. Coffee made this way - or made through a filter - is much more flavourful than espresso and, so they say, contains much more caffeine. (The process of forcing water through the coffee in an espresso machine reduces the caffeine intensity.)
Ozone is very picky about where it gets its beans, and only buys the highest quality Arabica. We were lucky enough to try the Costa Rican Los Nacientes, which came 10th in the country’s Cup Of Excellence competition. This is pretty much the Olympic Games for coffee and this winning coffee was truly exceptional.
I can’t say I’m a convert to pour-over coffee after taking the Masterclass - but what I do appreciate is that it’s actually a different drink to my favoured espresso, actually more of an infusion (and a pointless waste of money paying to drink it with milk). Importantly I know so much more about the complicated process of getting the coffee beans into my cup. This is a brilliant way to spend the evening. Ozone holds a monthly cupping Masterclass (£25), which would would make a fantastic Christmas present for anyone who even takes a passing interest in coffee. There’s also have an online guide to brewing the perfect cup of coffee. Click here for details.
When I had come down from my caffeine high (this took some time!) I put some thought into making the perfect sweet treat to go with the perfect cup of coffee. I think these are it. I was inspired by my abiding love affair with the Australian chocolate bar, Cherry Ripe, which for some unfathomable reason is not widely available in the UK. I’m also shamelessly jumping on the raw chocolate bandwagon due to its supposed health benefits. I know I always say things are addictive, but these really are. You can, though, take some comfort from the fact they don’t contain any sugar. As they say in Australia, notably when serving you a cup of coffee, Enjoy!
Raw chocolate and espresso cherry ripe truffles
- 50g dried cherries
- 25g raw cacao butter
- 30g raw cacao powder
- 40g ground almonds
- 50g desiccated coconut
- a pinch of salt
- 2 tablespoons cold strong espresso coffee
1. Put the cherries in a small bowl, cover with hot water and leave to soak and plump up for 5 minutes. Drain well and pat with kitchen roll to remove excess water.
2. Melt the cocao butter in a bowl over a pan of gently simmering water. Take it off the heat when there is still a small amount of butter unmelted - it will liquify in the residual heat. Add the cocao powder and stir well until amalgamated. It won’t look great at this point - rather thick and gluggy - but that’s fine. Take the bowl off the pan of water and set aside.
3. Place the almonds, coconut, salt and cherries in the bowl of a food processor and blitz to form a coarse mixture. Add the cocao and blitz again until well combine. Add 1 tablespoon of the espresso and pulse, then gradually add enough of the remaining espresso so that the mixture comes together into a ball. You will probably need all the espresso but add less if the mixture looks too sticky.
4. Roll teaspoonfuls of the mixture into balls. You can roll these in coconut or cocao powder if you like. I’d probably pop these in the fridge if they’re being made well in advance of eating, but mine didn’t last that long.
Note: I do not take payment for anything that I write about on Pen and Spoon. I attended the cupping Master Class as a guest of Ozone Coffee but I only write about good things worth shouting about and provision of samples or free stuff is no guarantee that I will write about your product or service.
