Latte Art: Etchings in Gold and Brown

This was done by the Boncafe barista at the recently held Food and Hotel Asia 2008 in Singapore. Gorgeous isn't it? I particularly love the gold striations. The barista was actually showing how it was done and allowing audience participation. The Coffee Concierge was a little too shy to try in so public an arena but has resolved to practice quietly at home. Given that one's coffee machine ain't even in place yet, that could take a while.

I Sing the Coffee Machine Elektra

Ain't she a beauty! La Belle Epoque. None but the Italians could design a machine so drop dead gorgeous. Although The Coffee Concierge cannot resist saying that the eagle on the top looks a tad triumphually French. But I will undoubtedly be flamed by Italians and French for saying that.

This is a model of a coffee maker from the Italian company, Elektra, which was on display at the Food and Hotel Asia 2008 in Singapore. One imagines that this was a coffee maker made to sit in the coffee lounges of large, grandiose hotels in Europe when large, grandiose hotels were still the "in" thing and are now replaced by large, grandiose bathrooms and sleek private quarters with diminished public spaces. However this model is actually available in this 21st century believe it or not.

*"I Sing the Body Electric" by Ray Bradbury is the title of one of my favourite science fiction books for those of you wondering why I have such an unusual title. Yes, the Coffee Concierge has a geeky side.

Spinelli Coffee Company: Novena Square

The Coffee Concierge arranged to meet a friend at Novena Square a couple of days ago and decided it was a good time to also sample the Spinelli coffee there. It was certainly a crowded zone with a lot of people around. Despite there being several outlets almost cheek to jowl including an organic cafe, Cedele, Spinelli's was quite full up with a fair amount of turn over of people coming and going.

The outlet had three staff kept on the run by the constant flow of customers: two men and a lady The Coffee Concierge was served by one of the young men. Service was polite enough but certainly didn't beat the attention the coffee concierge was getting at the admittedly quieter T1 location. The clientale was mixed but the coffee concierge did notice one man in his 30s or so in a black polo shirt reading, taking his time, and definitely watching the other customers and world go by. Most of the other customers were definitely more engrossed with their own affairs so it did cross the coffee concierge's mind if that was a Spinelli staff member on his coffee break keeping an eye on what the customers behaviour was like.

Sadly however the more hurried pace of life at Novena Square has certainly taken its toll on the quality of expresso turned out. The Coffee Concierge ordered the usual expresso while his friend ordered a spin. The expresso despite being made with presumably their usual Rancilio machines and with the same original blend, turned out poorer than the T1 barista's effort. Definitely more sour, less flavourful in general and much less aftertaste. The aftertaste did improve upon cooling for quite a while but still could not match the nice slightly bitter and dry aftertaste that I liked so much in T1.

The biscotti though is great. I have to say I actually really like Spinelli biscuits and food in general. Oh and for those looking for price, I think it was about S$3.00 for an expresso.


Overall rating:
Taste: 1 1/2 beans
Service: 2 1/2 beans

Spinelli Coffee Company at Changi Airport

A few days ago, the Coffee Concierge found himself at Changi Airport seeing off a good friend. So naturally, to blunt the pain of parting, the Coffee Concierge found himself standing at the Spinelli Coffee Company stand in Terminal 1. Spinelli shares this space with Mr Bean and Polar in supplying snacks and beverages to the thirsty travellers and their farewelling entourages.

The barista on hand was better than average, and obligingly looking up where John Ting, the newly crowned Singapore Barista Champ 2008, and Chris Yeo, the runner up, worked. (Turns out John Ting works in Spinelli Raffles Quay branch. Chris Yeo's whereabouts were more elusive so if any of my reader's know please do say.)

He also managed to make the Coffee Concierge a halfway decent expresso. I say halfway decent because while it had a strong smoky aroma and absolutely terrific aftertaste that lingered in bittersweet dryness in my mouth long after, it was still slightly sour. The sour quality dimminished as the coffee cooled to a lukewarmth. This sour quality I have found so far has dogged every cuppa I've had yet in Singapore. It'll be news indeed when I find one that isn't sour. It makes one wonder about the quality of the beans imported into Singapore in general.

I've forgotten how much it cost but I think it was about S$3.00 for an expresso which is average for a coffee chain here.

Overall Rating:
Service: 3 1/2 beans
Taste: 3 beans

The Ritz Carlton Poolside

The Coffee Concierge was recently lounging around the poolside at the Ritz-Carlton, Singapore. The Ritz-Carlton in Singapore is a sumptous hotel with grounds and rooms designed with great aesthetic care. Although I do note that it takes two chambermaids not just one, to make the enormous high bed, I have to say, as a guest, the effort is well worth it. The poolside is no exception with a lovely oblong pool which allows laps and lots of neatly laid out and very comfortable deck chairs with ample towels and umbrellas surrounding it with the tropical gardens behind.

However since this post is meant to be mainly about the coffee at the Ritz-Carlton, I shall not go on about the exquisite Japanese restaurant, Shiraishi, or the insanely sinful chocolate fudge cake at the Greenhouse. Instead as you can see in the photo, the expresso was made on the spot by the poolside waiter, a very charming Indian hotel veteran. I was struck by his attentiveness and his effort to keep both me happy not just this time but also on other earlier occasions. He even brought his manager out to plead to let them make up some fruit basket on the spot when me and my family friend said we had no time to order a proper lunch.

Back to the expresso. The crema didn't exactly support the few large grains of brown sugar I slid into the cup. So after a few grains had sunk immediately to the bottom, I started wondering whether the test for a crema was meant to be executed with fine or coarse-grained sugar. The crema was nevertheless a beautiful golden brown with just that one large bubble you can see the coffee through.

The expresso had a reasonable aroma but not one that was particularly striking. It was slightly sour though reasonably mild. It was likely a medium roast. While it was slightly bitter, I generally like my coffee very slightly bitter so didn't have a quarrel with that. Overall there was some complexity and a little balancing of the flavours but not that much. I'd say overall that as a hotel claiming to be six star, I would have expected the coffee, like the attentiveness of the staff, and the outstanding physical surroundings, to be similarly exceptional. However although it was by Singapore standards at least (which I have to say are not high) an acceptable cup, it was not a six star cup. I should add that as this is the Ritz-Carlton, the prices were too match with an expresso going for S$10. (The very nice waiter added in cookies for free).

So the overall rating:

Flavour: 2 1/2 to 3 beans
Service: 5 beans

Latte Art

As promised in my earlier post on Boncafe, here's a shot of the Boncafe barista's latte etching. I think personally their latte art skills are better than their barista skills but their latte art was stunning indeed. More anon.

Winners All

The second Singapore Barista Championship recently concluded on 25th April and the Coffee Concierge was in attendance but only for the finals sadly enough as work called on the day that the heats were held. So I only got to see the final three in action.

For those of you who were not able to go at all, the test requires the contestant to make a total of 12 drinks within 15 minutes. 4 expressos, 4 cappucinos and 4 signature drinks not necessarily in that order. They are given 15 minutes to prepare their stations and 15 minutes to clean up. They are judged by 4 sensory judges and 3 technical judges.

As an observer only, I was unable to sample their coffee so could only watch their showmanship. I rather liked the way both John Ting and Keith Low presented themselves and their drinks to the audience and judges. Both came across as being able to operate well under pressure. Keith in particular had one of his machines that was supposed to help the cream whip into shape fail on him but keep his cool throughout and talked his way through.

In the photo you see the three winners: Chris Yeo, John Ting and Keith Low from right to left. While they compete as individuals rather than as representatives of their companies, for those of you who may wish to want to sample their coffee and see what the top baristas have to offer, John and Chris work for Spinelli's and John is usually to be found in the Raffles Place branch. Keith works at Whitebait & Kale. I'm certainly going to be showing up at their outlets just to see what a difference a good barista can make.

What I thought was a pity was that the championship was held in the middle of a trade show that was held during office hours and generally restricted to trade visitors only. For an event that has the potential to capture the interest of all coffee drinkers in Singapore, the audience was restricted to trade folk since it was held within the Food & Hotel Asia Exhibition. For this event to grow in future, it would be better off if the organisers can eventually shift it into a more publicly accessible location. This does deserve a wider audience.