More coffee snobbery

So I really really like coffee now and it appears I have come to love all sorts of coffee.Originally I just liked cappuccinos until one day I got too much foam in it. So then I switched to lattes and then things dieded. So then I went to flat whites and had a lot of that.I never figured I'd like espresso because I always found it too strong and bitter and overpowering and whatnot, but now I love that stuff because it's a punch of flavour, and a good espresso is never bitter. It's like all kinds of floral acidity smoothy buttery caramel-ly and toffee-y goodness.Turns out I also really like the filtered stuff, and I've also had a clover filtered coffee exactly twice. The other day I also had a chemex and wow, the liquid was so clear! I was very impressed and a filtered coffee is nice when I don't want to be punched in  the face.Also watching baristas make coffee is awesome.I was supposed to type other stuff but now I forgot. I am also going to be highly caffeinated this week as I am on holidays and am embarking on a coffee adventure of near overdose.Dismantling watches is fun.

My brother's new camera

My brother decided to get a micro four thirds thingymajig, as his DSLR is too bulky and he doesn't want to use whatever point and shoot he has. He ended up getting a Sony Nex 5N and set me on a mission to go take pictures with it. In a way it was also a way for me to figure out whether I wanted to use one or not, and wow, even though I thought I was getting most of my manual focus shots OK, turns out only about half of my pictures actually worked.So my first project was to take pictures of food. I specifically ordered a flat white to test out my skills, but it turns out none of my 4 or 5 shots were actually 100% in focus. So instead all I have to present are two awesomely lit photos of short blacks (some sort of Colombian single origin I believe) sitting next to their decor.And of course, I fail at taking photos so the best photo taken, ever, was by my boyfriend:

I reckon I took an okay vertical shot, which was at the same time but from a different angle. Also no, size does not matter, it's just that the vertical fits better in my blog which is the only reason the picture above isn't any bigger. Also, I had a dream that coffee was extracted from diamonds that burned in the sunlight.

 After this great adventure, we also bought a fancy percolator and made some swallow coffee at home! He was freaking out that something would die a miserable death where I was too confident nothing could possibly go wrong, even though I had poured water past the pressure valve. In any case, turns out the beans make the coffee in this case - as there was no crema so the intial taste of the coffee is bitter, but then comes the body that instant coffee and stale grounds severely lack, and then it finished with a sweetness that comes a moment after the sip.Anyway, afterwards we had the opportunity to go to Randwick and try out some food from Elysium. It featured in the SMH Good Food Guide, and so I tried out a steak - medium rare sirloin, which was quite yummy with delicious onion rings and tasty baked potatoes! My main reason for going was to try the bombe alaska; my brother had always wanted to eat one ever since he discovered the hilarious name of the dessert but hasn't yet had the chance to taste one. So I went and did it for him! It was interesting enough, I didn't expect it to be pink, and I'm not sure it was quite the definition of a bombe alaska but it was still cool. It was pink meringue on the outside (and no, it wasn't set on fire for us sadly), with some sort of mousse like thing on the inside with choc honeycomb bits. The caramel sauce that the "bombe" sat on was delicious, and there was a nice toffee ice cream that sat on a bed of crunchy toffee nutty things.

And then finally I ran around the city shooting the birds that doesn't afraid of anything! :)

MINE MINE MINE

Single O - the best start to the day

So Single Origin Roasters won best barista and got 3 cups etc, hooray! And for some reason I figured, it is incredibly weird that I have never ordered a macchiato from them, but then again I don't really understand the way the drink is supposed to work. I have, however, come to appreciate single origin espressos because they are awesome!I usually get my single o's from Workshop, and I'm used to the way the serve it up - a little on the heavy side but still amazing. They also know who I am now and say hi, but the funny thing is that they only really started to get to know me after I started ordering the espressos. It's always a challenge to try and squeeze in the shot after work as that grinder usually gets cleaned way before they close.Anyway, today I went to Single Origin, just because, with a plan to order a macchiato. However I didn't want to order one unless there was someone else ordering a milk drink for fear of wasting milk. However, everything turned out better than expected when: I took a look at their single O and it was Yirgacheffe grade 2 washed (not that I'm entirely sure exactly what this means), so immediately figured I'll get it as an espresso. The barista went straight to work on this and I heard the grinder go... multiple times. There was a lot of noise made and time spent on this, and I was really excited as I'd only previously read about people describing the dialling of the grinder and testing the shots. There were at least 2 shots that went down and I assume it was because they were calibrating and making sure it was good to go, and therefore I concluded that they were making the first single o order for the day. I felt special!After a good 5 minutes or so at this grinding sinking thing, they finally presented me with the cup. And wow I didn't expect it to be so light and bright and tasty! It was a huge contrast from any Workshop Espresso espresso I'd had (admittedly I have not had a Yirgacheffe from there) and made me very happy. Not to mention I managed to grab a chocolate donut as well, and they were super nice and gave me the food and drink for $5! Apparently I had made an excellent choice.I still need to get myself some Clover and Slayer coffee one day tooooooooooo!CHICKEN

Rockpool Bar and Grill bar

So I went to Rockpool Bar and Grill's bar for some fantastic no-booking needed yet classy dinner. Ordered their oysters, and the lemon that came with it had mesh over it! Was very happy about that. The garlic vinaigrette dressing that it came with was also tasty, but I think the dressing provided by Tetsuya's was better. I tend not to like natural oysters, but rather with heavier sauce flavours. Also, I had to taste the best burger in town - David Blackmoore's full blood wagyu burger. It was interesting that it came as a burger with a nicely toasted bun - that was amazing, but also had two pieces of lettuce and tomato just sitting there on the side, which I thought was a little weird for a place as nice as Rockpool. Either way, the burger had some great flavours. Very simple, but it was nice and not heavy. Also tasted their hand cut chips with tomato sauce, and wow, such clean, natural tasting sauce. The dessert I tried was their dark chocolate pudding tart with chocolate sorbet, which was a little too rich - which meant it was probably very rich. It was delicious though.Also I think I am turning into an almost real coffee snob. I'm starting to really like espressos - the flat whites I get nowadays are a little underwhelming, even though they used to be so nice. I always get the single origins, but I don't think I can actually taste the difference between all the beans haha. However it's a nice feeling and I love that strong hit which is so tasty. Plus the baristas at Workshop and Swallow always make sure the shots are awesome :)I love food.

EVE + Single Origins moar

Been playing EVE and it's fun! I get to buy boats and fly around in them.Also, trying to get a single origin espresso at Workshop Espresso is difficult, I tried two times and I fail, and the barista even said so! XDSo instead I bought some single origin chocolate, but I am skeptical as to whether the flavours are as unique as coffees, considering that chocolates have sugar added to them. I've tasted the Ecuador and Peru chocolates and there are differences, however they do have different cocoa and sugar levels so whatever. I will forever be a wannabe nub!I love coffee. Tastes so good. Mmmmmmmmm....