The Affogato - My favourite cold Espresso drink, dead easy to make and absolutely delicious.
Affogato literally means "drowned." It generally consists of gelato (Italian-style ice cream) that is topped with hot espresso. You may also top your drink with a liqueur such as Kahlua, Grand Marnier, or Frangelico. You can also add a little powdered chocolate milk mix to the coffee for a mocha flavor.
Serve affogato with a biscotti on the side.
Consists of a double espresso (60ml) poured over two generous scoops of Vanilla Ice Cream and served straight away!
It was 7 O'Clock and I was worried, I had just arrived at Hyde Park Corner but the lights were off!! Eskom had decided to do some load shedding in the Hyde Park area on the same night we were having our Barista Jam. About 25 caffeine addicts gathered in the candle lit Seattle Coffee Company while we tried to work out what we were going to do, we decided to that David Donde should talk about coffee for a while (not a major problem for David) and luckily we did have some filter coffee and Cape Velvet available for the desperate.
Luckily for us the power came on again at just after 8 O'Clock (sorry Dave :-)), a loud cheer was let out by everyone present and we all wondered how long it takes for a La Marzocco GB5 to heat up again, luckily for us, not long.
A Crowd of people formed around the grinders and machine and everyone was keen to try out their hand at making some coffee. Jose from Origin, Morris from Seattle and the rest og thee guys and girls from Seattle Coffee co. were definately showing how things should be done. There was some pretty good coffee making the rounds and there was even some pretty good latte art making an appearance as well.
Altogether I think it was a very worthwhile excercise and we look forward to growing these events and making them more and more fun for the participants with maybe even a latte art competition being run at the next one, what do you guys think?
Ever fancied pulling a few shots on a La Marzocco, same machine as used at the World Barista Championships?
Or perhaps meeting the reigning South African Barista Champion, Jose Vilandy?
The Barista Underground has been invited for a Jam at the Seattle
Coffee Company in Hyde Park corner this coming Tuesday the 27th of
November. Drinking of coffee will start at 19:00 and we will probably
carry on until they tell us to go home. Jose will also be pulling a few
shots for us and showing us a bit of latte art, he does a wicked triple
rosetta! (no pressure Jose)
If you haven't been to one of our Jams before,
or even if you have, why not stick your head in the door and say hi?
You may even get the opportunity to drink some pretty good coffee! The
Seattle Coffee Company is located inside of the Exclusive books at the
Hyde Park Shopping Centre so looking forward to seeing you there.
Cleaning your machine is a vital part of getting the best out of
youre coffee. Making coffee generates a load of oils which, unless the
machine is regularly cleaned, build up and impart a nasty flavour to
your coffee. Please remember that this is a guide and you should check
your owners manual for in depth cleaning instructions.
Super-Auto Machines
I spoken to a number of coffee machine technicians and they have all told me that
one of the main reason for machines failing is due to owners failing to perform basic maintenance on their machines. Contrary to common belief, super-auto's are NOT maintenance free!! There are generally two systems in superauto's that require cleaning:
Boiler/Steam system
- The boiler/steamer part of the machine needs to be descaled
regularily, failure to do so will result in the build up of scale (a
bit like a kettle) inside of your machine reduced steaming ability and
ultimately a totally blocked up machine. Most machines have softeners
which reduce the amount of scale build up in the machine but they still
need to be descaled on a regular basis. I personally used to descal my
superauto every 2-3 months, it is not an expensive excercise and will
ensure the long life of your machine. Various different commercial
descalers are available, I personally used an Australian one available
from Makro for +-R50 for three doses. Most machines have a de-scaling
cycle that is selected from the front panel of the machine, water
filter is removed and descaling agent is mixed and put into the water
tank. Descaling cycle is then run.
Coffee Making system
- The coffee making side of things also needs to be cleaned and
lubricated on a regular basis. I have only had experience with the
Saeco brew group but believe that they are all very similar. Coffee
oils build up inside of the brew groups and should be cleaned out on a
regular basis, I would suggest at least once a month, preferably once
every two weeks. I used to take out my Saeco's brew group and scrub it
down with a toothbrush and a degreasr to get rid of all the coffee and
lubrcant stuck the the brew group, I would then remove the two built in
filters and used "Slo Joe" degreaser again to remove all the coffee
oils that have built up on them. Check all the O-Rings, re-assemble
everything and then lubricate all the moving parts with spray on food
grade silicone lubricant. It is then a good idea to ensure that the
machine is thoroughly flushed to ensure that there are no residues left
over from the cleaning agents used.
Basic maintenance like this will increase the life-span of your
machine and ensure that the coffee from your super-auto is as good as
it can be.
The next BU Jam will be an exciting one. Paul, an espresso technician who works at Tazza D'Ora, asked me if we'd ever do a coffee jam in Soweto. I thought, well why not. So we will be planning a Sunday morning jam at Nambitha Restaurant, No 6877 Vilakazi Str, in Soweto. I find the best way to really learn something is to teach it to someone else, so we are going to teach people how to make espressos and cappucinos. Paul mentioned that there are a lot of people there who are very keen to learn.
Its happening this coming Sunday 16 September 2007.
We will all meet up at Tazza D'Oro (Alessandro's place) at 6 Sixth Str, Parkhurst at 9:30am, then move in convoy to Soweto with Paul as the guide. We will be taking a few home and prosumer machines and there will be a commercial machine at the restaurant. Bring your home machine if you want. Coffee jams are a great place to really test your skills and tools. The only thing we ask you to bring is a two litre bottle of milk (more if you wish). Joe from Ikhofi has been kind enough to donate the coffee beans. Any one who would like to contribute beans, please contact John or myself. Let us know on the forum or by cell, if you will be there. We need to know the numbers. Let's take coffee way beyond our kitchens. Its more than just a drink.
TrevO
Affogato literally means "drowned." It generally consists of gelato (Italian-style ice cream) that is topped with hot espresso. You may also top your drink with a liqueur such as Kahlua, Grand Marnier, or Frangelico. You can also add a little powdered chocolate milk mix to the coffee for a mocha flavor.
It was 7 O'Clock and I was worried, I had just arrived at Hyde Park Corner but the lights were off!! Eskom had decided to do some load shedding in the Hyde Park area on the same night we were having our Barista Jam. About 25 caffeine addicts gathered in the candle lit Seattle Coffee Company while we tried to work out what we were going to do, we decided to that David Donde should talk about coffee for a while (not a major problem for David) and luckily we did have some filter coffee and Cape Velvet available for the desperate.
Ever fancied pulling a few shots on a La Marzocco, same machine as used at the World Barista Championships?
I spoken to a number of coffee machine technicians and they have all told me that
one of the main reason for machines failing is due to owners failing to perform basic maintenance on their machines. Contrary to common belief, super-auto's are NOT maintenance free!! There are generally two systems in superauto's that require cleaning:
Coffee Making system
- The coffee making side of things also needs to be cleaned and
lubricated on a regular basis. I have only had experience with the
Saeco brew group but believe that they are all very similar. Coffee
oils build up inside of the brew groups and should be cleaned out on a
regular basis, I would suggest at least once a month, preferably once
every two weeks. I used to take out my Saeco's brew group and scrub it
down with a toothbrush and a degreasr to get rid of all the coffee and
lubrcant stuck the the brew group, I would then remove the two built in
filters and used "Slo Joe" degreaser again to remove all the coffee
oils that have built up on them. Check all the O-Rings, re-assemble
everything and then lubricate all the moving parts with spray on food
grade silicone lubricant. It is then a good idea to ensure that the
machine is thoroughly flushed to ensure that there are no residues left
over from the cleaning agents used.
The next BU Jam will be an exciting one. Paul, an espresso technician who works at Tazza D'Ora, asked me if we'd ever do a coffee jam in Soweto. I thought, well why not. So we will be planning a Sunday morning jam at Nambitha Restaurant, No 6877 Vilakazi Str, in Soweto. I find the best way to really learn something is to teach it to someone else, so we are going to teach people how to make espressos and cappucinos. Paul mentioned that there are a lot of people there who are very keen to learn.
Its happening this coming Sunday 16 September 2007.
We will all meet up at Tazza D'Oro (Alessandro's place) at 6 Sixth Str, Parkhurst at 9:30am, then move in convoy to Soweto with Paul as the guide. We will be taking a few home and prosumer machines and there will be a commercial machine at the restaurant. Bring your home machine if you want. Coffee jams are a great place to really test your skills and tools. The only thing we ask you to bring is a two litre bottle of milk (more if you wish). Joe from Ikhofi has been kind enough to donate the coffee beans. Any one who would like to contribute beans, please contact John or myself. Let us know on the forum or by cell, if you will be there. We need to know the numbers. Let's take coffee way beyond our kitchens. Its more than just a drink.
TrevO