Sunday 19 February 2012

Single Origin Roasters

This week feature cafe belongs to Single Origin Roasters. This is my first interview with a roaster! For those who had read my earlier blog would have found this roaster name familiar. That's right, the beans that was used by Cafe Creasion is roasted by Single Origin.

Chef Yu Sasaki from Cafe Creasion recommended Barista Shoji Sasa from Single Origin for the interview. An interview session was aranged over the phone with Barista Shoji to be held at the Single Origin cafe in Surry Hills.

The cafe is located within walking proximity to Central Station and about 10 minutes walk from Haymarket. Surry Hills as a suburb covered a broad area with two very well known streets. Crown street is the heart of the suburb featuring many restaurants, cafes and fashion stores.














The other main street that draw the boundary of Surry Hills from Darlinghurst is Oxford Street which is lined with many pubs and is also the main street the annual  Mardi Gras Parade.

Surry Hills colorful profile is not an identity of the recent. Its colorful past from the 1880s to the 1960s has also given Surry Hills a reputation for crimes. Since 1980s, the suburb has took a turn for the better. With urban gentrification, many of the older properties were restored and are now tenanted by middle-class residents who are enjoying the inner-city living lifestyle.

Single Origin cafe is located on 64 Reservoir Street. As you walk from Elizabeth Street towards the cafe, you will find a line up of relatively posh restaurant, hairdresser and other boutique stores.




















As you walk towards the cafe, what you will find is Single Origin "Sideshow". Sideshow is Single Origin cafe that caters specifically for takeaway customers only. The sideshow was setup so that it can move takeaway customers from the cafe so that dine in customers can enjoy their meals with less disruptions.

There is no cafe signage, in fact if you have a look at the top of the picture, you can still see part of the sign from previous business on the tiles.




















Sideshow shop front concept also provides a street exposure to attract more customers and it also provide a good platform for the trialing of different coffee making form. Just check out the variety on the menu board.

























By the way have a look at the decal sticker on the coffee machine, pretty cool isn't it? Is a butterfly with a skull head feature within. Next to the coffee machine is also a Japanese small toy, which sole purpose in this case is to provide a cute way to collect tips from the customer.

During my short stay there, one of the customers decided to put a coin on the box and a little cat paw will come out of the box to grab the coin. Finding it amusing, the customers "feed" the cat with a couple more coins.





















At sideshow, you can also find a variety of coffee beans and a blackboard showcasing the coming attraction.
 




As for customers that would like to sit in for a coffee and a meal, you can choose to sit along the street or in the limited number of seats inside the cafe. Please note that the cafe is not open on the weekend.





















64 Reservoir Street is the original location for roasting but Single Origin has now moved their roasting operations into a bigger venue at Alexandria in order to fulfill the high demand for their beans.




















History and geography over, now to the interview.

What's the idea behind the cafe name?
The idea was to showcase single origin/single estate coffee. Single Origin deals directly with coffee farmers to source high grade coffee beans that are grown in a sustainable manner.

Single Origin was found by 4 people in 2003 and the two remaining founders are Dion and Emma Cohen.

Coffee Beans:
Single Origin Roasters

Barista Name:
Unfortunately Barista Shoji Sasa has to leave urgently prior to my arrival, but Charles Cameron who is the manager of the cafe was kind enough to entertain me.

Background of Charles Cameron
Charles used to work part with other famous roasters in Sydney such as Campos and Toby during his years of study at University of Sydney. Charles said that most of his barista skills were picked up during his full time barista position at Toby Estate. But Charles stressed the importance of learning the skills of making coffee in a non-stressful environment (ie Coffee School) to pick up the foundation skills prior to working in a cafe.

That's Charles walking towards me in the cafe




















What do you like about working as a barista?
The constant social interaction with customers and making a customer happy through good coffee and a smile. The ability to make some positive impact on someone's day is very rewarding. He also felt a sense of community belonging, by knowing customers through the small chit chat during the making of a coffee.

Charles provide an advice for other budding barista. He stressed the importance on enjoying the ritual in making a coffee because other than the relationship with customers that are less predictable. The making of coffee is actually very repetitive and it takes alot of love for coffee to constantly produce a good cup of coffee.

What is your favourite coffee?
Double ristretto piccolo latte

Have you ever competed?
I haven't but I can recommend Chef Yu Yamamoto that did. No I haven't type in the wrong occupation, Mr Yamamoto is a chef but was good enough to come 4th in the NSW Latte Art Competition. In fact most of the team members at Single Origin are also substitute barista when the cafe need a hand at the coffee machines.

This is Charles' first try



















An interesting note, when Charles brought out the cappuccino, the first remark from the barista at sideshow was. Does it have 12 leaves? It seems like there is a standard requirement on the number of leaves for the Classic leaf pattern.

Now with Yu mentoring, Charles' second try.
Can you guess which one is Charles and which one is Yu?




















Finally, have a look at the staff serving at the sideshow, pretty funny lot. Now onto something that is not coffee related, Single Origin also work with Hands Lane in their cafe. Hands Lane has a similar philosophy to Single Origin as in their focus on working directly with small (Aussie) growers to grow in a sustainable manner. So people, come show your support for the growers either in a cup or in a jar.

On the left is Chef Matt Rothman of Hands Lane who also work at the coffee machine when I was there.

Sunday 5 February 2012

Takeaway Coffee

I received this gift yesterday (Sydney Morning Herald Good Cafe Guide 2011). So what I have decided today is to try and go through as many cafes as possible within the guide. I will post the takeaway cup from each cafe that I go to. If it's a dine in, I suppose I will have to go with what's being served. So here we go!
Due to copyright, I can't reproduce the intro for the cafe.


The guide book

















1. Central Baking Depot
http://www.centralbakingdepot.com.au/
Best Bakery Cafe
Page 18 of the guide
Coffee beans: Single Origin Roasters


















2. Illy
Did not make it into the Guide
Coffee beans: Illy


3. Bertoni Casalinga
Page 17 of the guide
Coffee beans: Bertoni




















4. Single Origin Roasters
Page 66 of the guide
Coffee beans: Single Origin Roasters




















5. York Lane
Too new to be on 2011 guide
Coffee beans: Block 136




















6. Cafe Capriccio
Not on 2011 guide
Coffee beans: Grinders
New cup front                                                New cup back
 

Old Cup 






















7. Klink
No Website (281 Clarence Street, Sydney CBD)
Page 22 of the guide
Coffee beans: Golden Cobra





















8. KB Coffee
Coffee beans: KB Coffee Roasters





















9. Espresso on Sussex Lane
No Website
Not on the guide
Coffee beans: Campos





















10. Pure Grind Cafe
No Website
Not on the guide
Coffee beans: Jackson 5 Blend




















11. Cafe Bezzini at King Street Wharf
No Website
Not on the guide
Coffee beans: Vittoria





















12.Mobile Cafe





















13. Joe Black on King Street

No Website
Not on the guide




















14. Espresso @ Westpac building on Kent Street
Coffee beans: Piazza d'Oro




















Coffee beans: Allpress




















16. Caffe Amici
Coffee beans: Adore Estate




















17. Espresso 250 on Sussex Street
Coffee Beans: Toby's Estate

18. Pie Face (York Street corner of Barrack Street branch)
http://pieface.com.au/
Coffee beans: Wake Me Up




19. Blend 66 @ Clarence























20. Cafe Crisp
Coffee Beans: Morgan Coffee





21. Crema55
Coffee beans: Grinders Giancarlo Blend



22. Not Just Coffee
Beans: Di Lorenzo



Saturday 4 February 2012

XXII

Before we go into the details of the interview, let's start with a brief history of the place where the cafe is located. Pyrmont is an inner city suburb, part of the Darling Harbour region. Some of the more famous attractions of the Darling Harbour region include the newly renovated Star (casino), Maritime Museum, Powerhouse Museum and Google office.

Pyrmont as a suburb is a mix of commercial and residential. Following the redevelopment of the area, Pyrmont has became more multicultural. Based on the 2006 Australia Census, 38.4% of the residents are born overseas and 4.5% are born in China.

Union Street which is the street that the cafe is located, used to be a track which will run from Harris Street to the foreshore where people will take the ferry to get to the city. As part of the Better Cities Program, union street was closed to traffic from Harris Street in 1998 to form what is now known as the Union Square. As for the building that XXII is operating from, it has been registered as a heritage property in 1999. For more details of the heritage of the building, please go to the Australian Government site. Heritage Details

Union Square


















Okay now that we got history out of the way, time to focus on the cafe. How did I discover this place, as usual I was on my weekend hunt for cafes and I decided to drive around Pyrmont and just park anywhere on the street. I am a resident of Sydney city for the last 14 years but this is actually my first visit to Pyrmont Union Square. 

I must have passed by the place zillion times but yet I have never stopped to walk around the area. For many tourists it would have probably been the same as well, they would probably stop their discovery of the area at the Casino when the cafe is only a stone throw away from them. 











So based on a cup of takeaway cappuccino on the Sunday, I took a liking to their coffee and their customer service, and so I decided to contact the owner to arrange an interview. Nina returned my invitation with a very welcoming "Yes" and an arrangement was made for the interview to happen on a Monday morning. Sam who is the owner of XXII spent a good 45 minutes to tell me the story of XXII, which is very much appreciated. 

By the way, I think he looks like Ian Thorpe, Have a look at the 2 images, and tell me what you think. 
 

 

 











Cafe Name: XXII

Coffee beans: Espresso Anonimo (Watch lovers, please do not mix up with the Italian watch brand. Anonimo in this case is to illustrate the idea of anonymous).

What is the story behind the name?

XXII = 22 in the roman numerals

The cafe is called XXII because it is located on 22 Union Street

Why is the cafe located here?

The cafe started in 2001, there were not many cafes in the area then and the junction was an ideal location.

Barista Name: Sorry readers, like the beans it is anonymous. So instead of Barista, we will talk about the owner instead. 

Owner Name: Sam

His passion for food and coffee was the reason why he bought XXII. He tasted the coffee at XXII and decided that it was so good he has to buy it. Readers, you need to know that other than XXII, only 1 other Italian Restaurant is serving the Anonimo beans, so it is pretty exclusive. 

Is important to note that XXII is not your usual cafe, because it is cafe by day but fine dining by night. It is also a cafe that is very much about serving the community that the cafe is located in. 

With regards to the cafe's fine dining, you might struggle to find a menu. That is because, the menu is not on a board, it will be dictated to you instead by the staffs. In addition to providing a more personal experience by having the staff talking through the menu with you. I suppose another practical reason is also because there is a high frequency in the change of the menu items. 

Sam mentioned a saying during the interview: you can resolve the biggest problem in the world over coffee because at least they have coffee as a common ground

He also mentioned a philosophy: coffee brings peace and calm for him, which I agree too. On a hectic day, duck into a cafe and just there with a cup of coffee can be the most zen thing to do. Can you just imagine yourself sitting in this stone cottage and enjoy your coffee on a winter day and just watch the world pass by on the oustide. 


















From the 45 minutes interview, it is clear that Sam takes feedback very seriously. Why did I say so? I requested for a latte with art on it and when he asked me what I think about it? I told him it's alright. This happened at the beginning of the interview. At the end of the interview, he suggested that I try the cappuccino which is also a better option for creating patterns. In a short moment, 2 cups of cappuccino were served with 2 different patterns. Why 2? Just in case I don't find one of the pattern good enough, at least there is a second option. From that action, you can see how serious the team at XXII takes their customers' feedback. An immediate improvement action is taken to ensure that I will leave with a good impression of the cafe. 

First cup that I comment "it's alright" - Latte - classic variation of leaf



















Second cup - Cappuccino - classic variation of leaf 


















 
Third cup - Cappuccino - classic heart















If this is how serious they are about their coffee, you can only expect better from their fine dining restaurant which I am sure has gone through many many rounds of improvements based on previous diners' feedback. 

Finally, what is your favourite coffee?

Piccolo

Cappuccino price index: AUD $3.40

Can you see the symbol "XXII" in the picture?