illy coffee workshop :: espress-o myself

i'm not surprised if you rolled your eyes but i just couldn't help it. heck, even i almost rolled my eyes when i chose this title. and yes, the pun was intended!

trying to figure a title for this entry led me to google for a coffee qoute. which is where i found this 

but there was one that really caught my eye was probably every coffee-holics would agree ::

when i was working in chicago, i needed a cup of latte every single morning in order to function effectively especially after only 5 hours of sleep. it came to the point where i received a gold card membership for starbucks and even one of the baristas knew my order by heart and asks me if i wanted the usual whenever she saw me coming. i would occasionally change it up just to confuse her (lol!) but  'a tall soy latte' was always my go-to choice. it still is.  

i've never considered of starbucks as brewers of awesome lattes. they are 'meh' (for lack of a better term) but i've always gotten one from there because of the convenience and the abundant number of starbucks kiosks everywhere.  

when i read a fellow blogger, cindy tong's tweet about a coffee workshop, i jumped at the opportunity. organized by thirstmag in collaboration with illy coffee,  the world of coffee workshop course encompassed different types of coffee bean and their origin and the various transformation of coffee. thirstmag is a beverages magazine website, the first of its kind in the region focusing on coffee, tea, mocktails and cocktails. and i had the pleasure of meeting with the editor, kim choong at the workshop.

a coffee connoisseur, i am not. but i'd classify myself as a coffee enthusiast :) if you're wondering, i have found my favorite cup of latte here in malaysia and i was interested to see how does the counterpart brewed by illy's experts fare against it. if you are interested for just a cup of joe by illy, you can find espressamente illy  in bangsar village one and pavillion.

the workshop was held at università del caffè della malesia (illy school of coffee malaysia) located in phileo damansara 2. it is an extension of the original university of coffee in trieste, italy -- the brainchild of illy where its main aim is to promote and spread the culture of quality coffee.  

my first thought was..this workshop is going to be good since italians take their espresso seriously! oh, and espresso is an important ingredient in my favorite-est dessert, tiramisu! :)

we were greeted by the friendly illy people and were invited to a classroom. there i could find fancy shiny and pretty gadgets and the old school ones as i walked in. fitting for a coffee workshop, we were offered either a shot of espresso, a latte or cappuccino before the workshop started. no prize for guessing which one i went for :) haha 

i've always tried to remember what those espresso-based drinks names are and what they correspond to and i found a poster chart which i thought was uber awesome! i love it! thought it might be helpful to some of you too! :)

quick facts about a couple of espresso based drinks that might be good to know and show off to your friends what these coffee names usually mean ::

caffe latte | ratio of espresso to milk is 1:2. the milk is heated (but not frothed) to 150-160F (not more) using a steam wand. hot milk and espresso poured together into a serving cup with the small amount of froth topping the drink.
ristretto | extraction is faster, more oily than espresso, lesser caffeine and more sour

cappuccino | ratio of espresso to milk is 1:1, the milk is frothed to double the original amount of milk (forms microfoam) and microfoam is poured over espresso. 

latte macchiato | the opposite of cappuccino where the espresso is poured into microfoam. 

i was so excited when we got our own cups of coffee. i was accompanied by {wy}, {mw} and {hr} since i was could to bring along three friends (thanks kim!) and everyone ordered one of each which was a perfect opportunity for picture variety. 

i've always felt that foam art takes a ton of skills and i am always at awe at pretty ones. and no, we didn't learn how to make foam art in this workshop -- instead it was highlighting coffee appreciation. 

we were very lucky to have francesco fusco, the youngest barista trainer from universita del caffe illy trieste to be a part of the workshop. at age 21, he overlooks all training for illy in the whole asia pacific region and we had him teaching us what makes the best espresso. pretty impressive, i have to admit.

i'll try to skip a lot of what i learned and spilling the beans on some important points that might be interesting and useful for you coffee lovers :)

ever wondered what espresso means? prepared on express order! meaning the barista would make a cup just for you on the spot as you ordered it.

so what makes a good cup of espresso? 

the coffee beans? sure! illy uses 100% arabica beans, with nine blends of it from different regions that represents the nine desirable aroma characteristics. so that's taken care off.

if you wanted to distinguish between the arabica and robusta beans, arabica beans are longish with a s-shaped deep furrow (groove). so you can recognize them over the robusta beans which are roundish and an almost straight furrow. once roasted they are look the same and your only clue would be tasting it ^^ the beans are grounded finer than regular coffee for espresso.

espresso is what it is because of the way it's made. say hello to the ferarri of all espresso machines : la maazocco.

the double boiler in this machine (which is why it's so awesome) allows the water temperature to be constant at 90ºC (194F) and the 9 bars. flushing the spout before brewing is very important just so the remnants from the previous brew would not sully the taste of the next. 

but the most important part of it all is the barista him/herself! evelyn (i am guessing manager of the university) and francesco mentioned that 50% goodness of the espresso depends on the mood of your barista. if you ever went to a cafe and noticed the barista seems to have a scowl on his/her face, run away quickly.. at least to the next cafe. so, it really does mean that a happy barista means a happy espresso :)


the next part of the workshop is slightly more interactive -- the tasting session (yum! if you like coffee ^^) through the various transformation of coffee. all starting from the same beans but we'd learn soon enough that the taste changes at the hands of the barista using different techniques!

first tasting is how various little things affects even the taste of a single shot espresso. and you'd also find out why espresso shots are served in such a small volume! ^^

here is a little fact sheet for the perfect espresso :


the percolation time ensures that only 60% is extracted from the coffee which is the best part to make a good cup of espresso.


an excellent cup of espresso consists of crema on top of the coffee (created by the pressure where it extracts the coffee oils). you drink with your eyes first similar to eating with your eyes first ;)  hehe. if the crema is dissolved, you could try asking your barista very, very nicely if he/she could make you another shot.

to savor the small shot (well, it is a 25 ml!) first inhale the aroma of coffee (especially love it in the morning). then sip it within 2 to 3 minutes after it's brewed where the taste of bitterness first touches your tongue then it ends with a slight sourness. mmm.... blisss :)

reason behind the 2-3 minute rule -- cold temperature makes your coffee tastes sour over time. i've had terrible espresso where it was truly just sour and immediately i thought the coffee had went bad. {rmc} had to throw out that double shot after a sip >.<

there is a difference in flavor if you brew it too fast or too long -- longer and it becomes too bitter with less sour because caffeine is water soluble -- meaning longer time, more caffeine and more bitter. brewing under 25 seconds, the espresso becomes too sour with a hint of bitterness in the background.

there are a couple of transformations of coffee they introduced us to and each with a tasting session to follow ^^

o1. french press -- more coarse ground, 4 minute brew and push the grounds to the bottom slowly (and smoothly) to get the aroma



o2. moka -- what most italians use to make espresso at home (at least that's what i seem to notice), no crema, over the stove. mostly a waiting game.


o3. drip coffee (v60) -- what busy, competitive lifestyles have resorted us to :: similar to a coffee maker except the method done manually gives better flavor depending on the technique. possibly the most common technique used for everyday coffee.




o4. siphon technique -- when the barista took this apparatus out, i was like 'omg, it's the mobile dashi maker from alinea!' looked like a cool scientific apparatus. heat the water . add coffee grounds on the top . brew for a minute. filter to the bottom flask.



what i've learned from the tasting session was that each technique gives a very slight, almost subtle variation in flavor profile -- more of the balance of bitterness and sourness. if i had to rank the first two techniques to be my favorite, it would have to be...


hmmm...

i had to think really hard.. i think it would be....

the siphon technique comes first then espresso is second.

the differences may be very subtle but what gives the siphon technique an edge was the fact that i felt there was somewhat of a clarity in its flavor profile -- bitter without an obvious sour aftertaste while espresso leaned towards creamier full body.

one thing i noticed though in all techniques is that everything that touches the coffee, be it the cups, the spout or apparatus, it's best to keep them warm.  just like warm food should be served on a warm plates and chilled glasses for beer to keep the temperature constant.

it was an absolute delight to have learned so much in two hours and have gotten more than my share of caffeine for the day lol. (just an interesting fact -- too much caffeine can kill! literally. lol but it would take a lot of caffeine for that to happen)

all the participants of the workshop + universita illy crew :)

so much coffee that it put me on a caffeine high which only meant a crash later...which was exactly what happened to me lol.

thanks kim! it was nice to meet you and to learn about thirst mag! us posing with the sexy machine ^^

with francesco and our barista expert (?)

università del caffè della malesia offers barista courses (they mentioned a course at a discounted rate of RM500 for a limited time) and also the artsy side which includes the foam art classes. thanks thirstmag, illy,  università del caffè della malesia and its crew for such a interesting and informative coffee appreciation workshop. 

it seems that we have forgotten due to our busy lives that coffee is a social experience. it's meant to be enjoyed together with friends. :) so pick up your favoriate cuppa brew with friends, pause from the hectic lifestyle and take some time to savor, appreciating the subtle bitter ad sour notes of coffee.