Gallery of Coffee Illustration

I just found this lovely article showing the little doodles created on top of coffee in fancy shmancy bars that make you smile when you see one, I just hope the coffee underneath is as well behaved and tasty!

Black Gold - Wake Up and smell the Coffee

I understand that not everyone gives a damn about the welfare of the producers of the things they consume, personally I think that the world would be a better place if they did, but that's just my opinion I thought it before watching this thoughtful documentary and I probably think it more strongly after wards.


The central theme is that of the importance of Fair Trade coffee, and is told by following a fine gentle man by the name of Tadesse Meskela and a group of Ethiopian coffee growers, it points out the hypocrisy of the World Trade Organization, the five big traders of coffee and the typical western consumer. But it also highlights the positive work done by Mr Meskela who in my opinion portrays everything I remember to be admirable about Africa. Other companies the come out in a good light are Taylors of Horogate.

To be fair (pardon the pun) It should be required viewing in every school, college and super market throughout the developed world.

Not only is the subject matter an important one, but the film making is superb, the soundtrack engaging and it makes fine if not impassioned viewing.

I strongly encourage you to watch if not buy - watch - lend to a friend this film

Black Gold [2007] [DVD] on Amazon UK

Further reading, writing and drinking

Jones the Grocer, Newmarket, Auckland, New Zealand

It was a cold wet morning and I had my eldest daughter and my baby son with me, we had just left my youngest daughter and wife at the Children's hospital where my daughter was to have her tonsils removed.

I've been up Newmarket plenty of times on lunch breaks when I worked in the city briefly but had never seen this place which is quite surprising as its in no way an inconspicuous place, its huge and shinny and to be honest not a sort of place I find inviting, never the less it looked interesting with the rows of interesting gourmet produce on shiny shelves.

We ducked in and found a table quite easy I ordered a Soy latte Bowl for myself, a fluffy for my son and a hot chocolate for my daughter and a couple of little cakes, they all went down with great enthusiasm with the exception of my Soy Latte for me it tasted a little peppery and the milk had a slight 'off' taste, I'm fairly confident that it wasn't and it was probably just a brand of Soy milk I was unfamiliar with but it wasn't that nice to be honest.

After we finished we had a quick look around the store and a chat to what I presume where the owners, I was struck by what a nice enthusiastic and friendly couple they where. I left with a fine Browne to take to my wife on guard duty in the hospital.



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Circus Circus, Mount Eden Village, Auckland, New Zealand

It was a damned hot day and I had taken it upon my self to walk from downtown Auckland out to a meeting in Mount Eden, I was knackered and agitated when I saw on the other side of the road a brightly colored, quirky looking cafe and decided it was time for a break in my pilgrimage.

This cafe sure is a popular spot and I found a small table that was half in a bush, the music was some kind of cool hipster 60 's psychedelic pop that added to the buzzing atmosphere in the small annexes and tented areas out the back.

The coffee it self was my usual fair of a Soy Latte Bowl of about average price in the Auckland region, It was full flavored, with a velvety texture that lasted well on the pallet and a faint but most welcoming aroma.

I didn't get anything to eat on that visit but what I saw looked superb and if I'm ever up that way again I would definitely drop in again and get a little snicky snacky snoo with my brew, perhaps I might drop in when its less busy next time.



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Not all Fair Trade Coffee says its Fair trade and not all Coffee that implies its fair is

I firmly believe that every human being should be treated fairly and with respect so when I learned that my morning joy could potentially be contributing to someones suffering there was only one way I was going to go. Then I began to think about supporting local business's and believe it important to buy local, but could I find a local Fair Trade labeled coffee, nope not a chance. OH the dilemma... However I got talking to some folks in the local Organic supermarket who informed me that most local roasters do in fact use fairly traded beans, however they don't put it on the label because the term is regulated and it would mean that they had to pay to put the recognisable logo on there labels and that with such small distributions that come with a local roaster this would mean increasing the cost to the consumer by an extra 2-3 dollars, so instead they don't bother and carry on using fairly traded beans without bragging about it then raise there prices for a sticker.

Conversely I get very nervous about labels such as the 'rain forest alliance' I just don't trust them, as far as I understand they where set up by companies such as Nestle in order to cash in on customer demands to feel good about what they are drinking. I view it as a cynical marketing device to trick purchasers into thinking its 'Like Fair trade'. I would love to be proven wrong but I'm just to damned cynical about there motives.

How to stop soy milk curdling in coffee

I'm no a fan of cows milk, it gives me a bad chest, full of phlem, and that's not to nice for those working and living with me.

Why Soya Milk curdles!

I've heard 2 theories about why soya milk curdles in coffee, but not tea, I cant vouch for why it doesn't curdle in tea as I like my tea black so have never been tempted to put milk in it but coffee, I prefer white. The first theory is that soy milk curdles in coffee because of the acid content of coffee. The second is that its because of the heat difference between the coffee having just been boiled and the Soy milk coming from the fridge.

The way I stop my Soy milk from turning to tofu in my coffee is to pop it in a Pyrex dish and put it in the microwave for 60 seconds. I have found that if I heat it for to long it actually gets hotter then the coffee and it still curdles anyway.

Some soya milks fair better then others in my opinion and its not always the more expensive ones that do best. Also I have heard that the Tesco's home brand soya milk is actually organic anyway.

I don't recall if oat milk or rice milk curdled if not heated, but they are often twice the price so I probably wont get around to trying them anyway.

Charley Farley's Onetangi , Waiheke Island, New Zealand

I don't often take the kids to school in the car but it was one of hose odd New Zealand mornings where its rains & shines at the same time, one of those days where we get beautiful rainbows across the Island of Waiheke. So rather then wander down the dirt track in the rain to drop the kids at the school bus I decided to drop them of at School in the car and drop over to Onetangi for a coffee at one of my favorite bars on the island 'The Beach Front' but it was shut at that time of the morning so we popped into our ex-favorite (only because we went past on new years even and there was bouncers on the door and I don't like to drink anywhere that feels the need to have bouncers), any way that was then and this is now.

Both bars are right on the water front on what I believe o be one of Auckland's finest beaches. I love going there rain or shine, but to have both rain and shine is just entertaining for its surreal qualities.

Charlie Farlie's wasn't quite open yet but the bar lady said we where most welcome to come n and have drinks whilst we waited, so we where of to a good start, we ordered a soy latte bowl, a flat white, a fluffy and a coffee / chocolate cake / slice thing.

The coffee wasn't as hot as I normally like it, but it was a fine enough brew, wasn't strong enough for me either, but not to week to be unpleasant, but the spoon of cake I was allowed was great. My wife enjoyed her flat white but she is less fussy then me, and our son loved his fluffy with 2, yep 2 animal biscuits that it came with. He loved it despite the solid pat on his back from me after stuffing a lion biscuit in his mouth whole without chewing.

SO in summary, I really rate Charlie Farley's for its friendly attitude, it more then adequate coffee, great cakes & food and stunning scenery. Its a lot cleaner then it used to be too.



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Zen and the art off coffee making

1. First boil the kettle getting the water hot already saves stove time however if you want to be more frugal then biol the water in a microwave first in a microwave jar, you could boil the water in the stove top espresso maker but on the stove top not in the microwave, that would make aloud bang and may cause the fire service to visit your home



2. Fill the base of the coffee maker with the boiled water, not full leave about an inch from the top or there will be to much water and it will spill out



3. Place the internal coffee holder inside the base carefully



4. Spoon in the coffee with a tea spoon or coffee measure to just bellow the top, this stuff is expensive so don't waist it all over the work surface



5. Either with the back of the spoon or if you have a tamper press the coffee down so its firm but don't make it rock hard



6. Using a tea towel hold the hot base of the coffee maker and screw on the lid tight



7. Place on the hot stove and wait



8. If you have an electric oven, when you hear it start to whistle turn the heat off and let the residual heat in the ring to finish it off



9. If you want milk, you'll need to heat it up, either in a pan on the stove or in the microwave, don't boil it though



10. Scrape away the milk skin, that will ruin a fine brew, to find that wrapped around your teeth



11. Either use one of those tacky plastic looking electric whiskers or a strange milk pump thing that I found in Australia once, or failing that you can froth the milk in an old plastic milk bottle if its not to hot and if you put the lid on properly, simply give it a shake. Full fat milk is best as is Soy milk as you need the ft cells to hold a bubble



12. If you have sugar put that in the mug / bowl / cup first, then the coffee, give it a considered stir



13. When adding the milk use a knife or spoon to hold back the lighter fluff until you are near the top of your cup then simply spoon it on top



14. If you want to be fancy try a slight sprinkle of cinnamon or nutmeg or coco



15. enjoy

Need a new coffee grinder

I'm not proud of the following but it made me realise how much I depend on a coffee fix in the morning for emotional and physical stability and if I don't get it how it effects me, I suppose this is how smokers must feel!

Over the weekend I was preparing to make my morning brew and cracked open a pack of fresh Scarborough fair coffee beans, got the electric coffee grinder out of the cupboard filled the grinder & plugged it in turned it on and whirrrr puppt... it died... I emptied it thinking it might be to full and wanted to try it empty then Whirrr puppt, whirr, whirr nothing doing, no spinning of little bladey thing... then there was the following sound You F*&^^n B@$£$^rd and the crashing of plastic and motor out the window.

Silly ehy!!!

I've not managed to replace it yet, and I keep thinking about those lovely beans languishing in the fridge.

I will find a good blender, hopefully not to expensive, and probably an electric one as every hand grinder I've used I've never gotten the hang off. Just haven't found one I like the look of yet that looks up for the job, I might look for a vintage one on trade me or ebay. I love my sturdy vintage paraphernalia.

Stove top espresso maker

I prefer to use a stove top espresso maker then any other coffee maker for the following reasons:

1. They are cheaper then most coffee makers


2. You can use most grinds of coffee in them


3. You don't need to buy specialist pods that tie you to a specific maker and blend


4. The last for ever as there is no breakable glass bits to break in the wash


5. They look good when they get older, all full of character and charm


6. The water has to turn to steam and pass upwards through the coffee as tiny droplets so takes most of the flavor and oils with it so you get more bang for your buck


7. they make a delightful sound when the steam moves north

But most of all I love the whole ceremony around making a proper brew of Coffee and this is how I do it.

Waiheke Ferry terminal Coffee shop

Having spent the odd year commuting in England to and from London & visiting clients I've drank many a transit lounge / service station coffee and learned not to expect to much other then hot (sometimes a little more like drinking direct from a kettle), black (as there usually isn't a soy option and I would rather drink my coffee black then dilute it with the juice from the breast of a mistreated, antibiotic filled fell beast). However Since moving down under and briefly swapping Market Harborough train station in England's commuter belt for a pleasant commute on the overpriced Waiheke Ferry, I've been pleasantly surprised buy the quality and range of the coffee on offer in the service lounge at the ferry terminal, although I would stay away from the coffee on the actual ferries.

It has been a long time since I've had one of there coffee's as I stopped commuting back in September when I got laid off the Creative Director for an internet company and started freelancing from the island, but today my youngest daughter had a school trip and I had to drop her off at the ferry so I thought I would catch a sneaky brew.

Coffee Range

The range of coffees on offer was no different then you would get in most Auckland coffee shops and I ordered my usual Soy Latte and paid the extra 50c for the pleasure of having soy milk (This irks me a little as its so much more on top of the price then it needs to be).

Coffee Price

A little more then I think it should have cost at $5.00 for a Soy Late in a paper cup from what is essentially a transport cafe.

Cafe Service

It took me a while to get served even though I was the only one waiting as the guy behind the counter was having a chat with his mate, but he was a big shaven headed fellow so I wasn't going to complain in a hurry, although he did acknowledge me and when he got round to it he was a friendly enough of a beast.

Coffee Aroma

Smoky, although I'm not sure if this was because I wandered thought the smoking area to wait for my daughter.

Coffee Taste

Not an unpleasant ashen & bitter taste, a little light for my pallet but it felt strong and grown up with out me being in danger of getting heart palpation's.

A little snack

Not for me, however my daughter was hungry so we looked t the cakes and pastries and settled on a chocolate and raspberry tart for $3.00 that I was allowed 'Just a little nibble daddy' and it was a fine little nibble I had, very rich and creamy and incredibly pleasant, I might get one my self next time as it accompanied the coffee taste perfectly.

Coffee shop location

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