We received two new coffees yesterday which we tried out today. One was a Hawaiian coffee from the island of Maui, coffee varietal originally from Mocha, Yemen; grown on the "cool lower slopes of the West Maui Mountains" on the Ka'anapali Estate and sent by a friend. The espresso, after three grind settings, OK to good, definitely tasted just like a traditional Mocha (which we have been using; a roast from Green Beanery in Toronto). Very caramelly with milk, probably due to the long roast time, maybe just over the edge a touch. Then there was the new coffee, we picked up at Discovery (Victoria, BC), a Guatemalan from a farm called Guataloompa. Made quite a good espresso after a few grind setting changes; very acidic, bright with a light mouth feel. So classically Guatemalan. Then we made a 50:50 blend of both beans. Not great, too chocolately, the Hawaiian swamped the bright notes. So, after lunch, and after adjusting the grind setting finer, we went for a 40:60 (Guat

49th Parallel  2009-2012 2152 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver, BC Not to be missed in Vancouver (shall we say Canada, or North America?). No need to go on about this extraordinary establishment, can’t praise them enough. We have been visiting this cafe and buying their coffee for years: consistently one of the finest cafes and roasters in the world! And never have we encountered such buttery and flaky croissants! A tribute to the highest standard in the specialty coffee world. 

Molino Schwalbacher Strasse 3 Wiesbaden www.molino-kaffee.de Martin Mayer, barista and owner of Molino is warm and friendly person, open to discussing his cafe's coffee, as well as sharing some views on Germany's coffee scene. His espresso roast is a blend of 6 beans- the result being complex, subtle, sweet chocolate flavours; wonderfully acidic, giving forth a melody of citrus and fruit notes. A seriously good cafe, striving for the brilliant possibilities that good sourced beans and medium roasted, holds and can be released with a skilled barista using first rate equipment (Molino is a La Marzocco dealer!). This is third wave coffee at it's best! He also served us the very last beans of a single origin Indian from Has Been roasters in England with a pronounced blueberry note. It was such a pleasure to taste a single origin espresso so rich in complexity. Just thirty minutes from the airport, Wiesbaden provides a reason for choosing to fly i

Enjoyed a yummy single estate Ethiopian Sidamo #3. And subsequently have been taught what the numbers mean. Ethiopian rating for green beans: #1 washed beans of the highest quality #2 washed beans with some minor defects #3 unwashed beans of the highest quality #4 washed beans with some minor defects The first espresso: The Ethiopia Sidamo #3 roasted by Bocca, was fruity blueberry, sour acidic bitter chocolate with perfume of vanilla. It was that perfect cup with full body balance. The second espresso: The semi-washed Costa Rican- again roasted by Bocca in Amsterdam. This is a first for me; the initial flavour was rubber, but in a good way, followed very quickly by liquid alcohol sweetness combined with Cassis. It a had a thin body with hints of clover grass, nuttiness and ethanol. The aftertaste was ashy, acidic with hints of grasses. Owner and Barista Mark Jordan offers the highest quality espresso based drinks, roasted beans and good warm-hearted conversations! He has only been