Coffee: Ethiopia Hambela Wamena Natural Anaerobic
Dosage: 8g
Output: 140g
Grind size: 9 clicks (Comandante CK3)
Brewer: Takashi Endoh Dripper
Brew temperature: 95°C
We are a little excited, anxious and nostalgic at the same time. Towards this week to come. Long-brewing idea of taking some time off is finally coming to realisation, accompanied by some slightly overwhelming order to fulfil before we go off the radar, to embark on a slightly different journey.
Well aware that today might be the most stressless day of the week, before all the roasting and packing, we savoured it the best we can. We started the day with a little jolt (usual 20-minute HIIT). This was one of the special days we wanted to commission Takashi Endoh's beige coffee dripper. On such celebratory morning, it's only apt that we took out this stash of Ethiopian gifted by dear friends from Cumulo. Strawberry milk, bubblegum and winey finish. That was some delicious coffee Daryl! Next time, we would love to brew at a slightly lower temperatute, for more aromatics! Thinking of Mich's bubbly face while pouring definitely helped elevate the flavours. This ever supportive husband and wife are our pillar of strength. Not getting to talk to them on Thursday for a few weeks will be tough. They are as excited as us about this month-long exploration on a foreign continent. This is real friendship, no doubt.
We grabbed a piece of Jan's blackout after bidding a temporary goodbye to the talented folks at Pinhole Coffee Bar yesterday. As good as always Jan. Salted enough to cut through the richness of the dark chocolate! Our seasonal collab is coming to an end. It's unbelievable how 3 months just whooshed past like a whirlwind. Jaguara PB, Caballero #6, Tablon Gomez, Mama Simba, Burtukaana Bombe, La Independancia, Shady Bader, Rosa Paraiso and more. These origins mean so much to us. Starting with an espresso tasting at the round table in roastery, moving on to meeting the rest of the team and sort of following the progress of how the bar was coming into place, we are counting down to the finale showcase in the hopper. What a journey. Our biggest takeaway? Amanda, Hong Hao, Matt, Jan, Sean, Kiev. All the love for them (as well as the cookies Jan always shares with us and the pasta dish done by Matt).
Our heart is full now.
Cheers to a trip of surprises, delights and experiences. We will come back with a more jovial heart and uplifted soul!
luli roasts.
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Coffee: Ethiopia Burtukaana Bombe #2 Natural
Dosage: 8g
Output: 150g
Grind size: 9 clicks (Comandante CK3)
Brewer: Hario V60 #2
Brew temperature: 92°C
We were on a week-long break back in December. A short little trip to KL. To reunite with good old friends. To breath some fresh air on the land of WAWASAN. To have a few days spent at a slower pace. It's worth going through the swab tests, indeed, in return for a well rested body and mind.
We tried not to exaggerate but felt exhausted after the flight back to Singapore. Yes a 45-minute one from Malaysia. The next day, we just wanted to laze around. Switching our Comandante's knob to a coloured one was relaxing enough. We are totally in love with the thin orange strip that cuts through the middle! The slightly bigger knob gives a better grip. Well, that satisfaction was comparable to the uh-huh moment when we found that set of perfectly-fit ear piece.
Something about the trip. It was such an enriching one. Very first stop was Rex KL. A hearty bowl of noodles, iced cold beer by local brewery and long overdue conversation with Thomas. It felt so good. Wonderful time continued at a newly open roof top bar. Outdoor seatings, unpretentious stools, a bottle of natural red, breezy weather, what more could we have asked for?
On the following days, it's reunion with friends and friends.
We travelled a bit out of town to check out Vvinnie's cute little spot, Yue Coffee Bar. That space is a community condensed in a village house. Such vibe is almost non-replicable. It's the humans and little things around that make it. So proud of you girl!
The highlight of the holiday got to be the pizza night with our lovely roaster friend, February Coffee Roaster. It's our first personal meeting with the one and only Jamie! Her smile radiated through the air the moment she stepped in! We talked as if we were good old friends. What have we done to cross path with such sunshine? That's surreal to have spent the night with her and Leonard.
Then, Sujian and Chris completed the trip. We always love them. Their personality, charisma and taste is hard not to like. A big fan of Su Jian's sharing. This lady is a born-sweetheart. On the other hand, Chris is like the big brother next door. He knows what he's doing and literally, there's this sincerity and genuineness flowing in him. Oh yes, he loves donuts from Universal Bake House too! Thanks to Darren, we call each other friends now. The only shame was we haven't got to visit their charming hideout (Wild Sheep Home), taste that scope of ice cream churned by Sujian and sip on that cup of coffee roasted by Chris.
So much more was inhaling new ideas and thoughts from the fellow friends back home, apart from bakery hopping. We are hopeful, that the good intentions behind every gesture win and are what carry us through high and low tides, again. Honesty is key.
Side note! That espresso we had at Awesome Canteen was divine. Beautiful Ethiopian Shakiso Washed by Artisan Roast. It's been a while we have had such a memorable shot. This one definitely made the cut. Fruity, sweet, balanced.
luli roasts.
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Tea: Honey Orchid Dancong Hongcha
Dosage: 4g
Output: 120g
Brewer: 美子's tea pot
Brew temperature: 91°C
November is here. Our favourite month. First week was filled with sweet gestures. Happy Birthday to us!
Hong Yuan from Pekoe and Imp sent over an adorable tea pot. A piece by taiwanese potter 美子, purely made by hand pinching. The size, the shape and the texture is beautiful. This is our first tea ware and we swear to take the best care of it! The next morning, we brewed some Honey Orchid Dancong Hongcha gifted by Hong Yuan as well. Using the pot itself is a pleasure, the profound lychee and rosewater notes just elevates everything! Interaction with Hong Yuan is always humbling as she is one of the most genuine people we know. Her narrative keeps drawing us into this tea adventure, without any sense of humiliation. This approachable manner reminds us of Miku from Rebel Rebel Wine Bar. Warm service. Unpretentious sharing. Immense passion. We just love it.
Back in roastery, celebration started with a birthday zi char meal. Jason, Brendan and Darren sang us a birthday song. This is the second year they have witnessed us grow older. Brothers at work. Truly. Alexis then appeared with a whole cake, ribboned up. We got a black sesame matcha cake and shared this delicious blessing with friends throughout the week. We have to mention our favourite husband and wife, Mich and Daryl. Every Thursday, we catch up on things and share good finds. This week, Mich passed us some good ol' chocolate chip cookies she baked! Pretty sure Leon (their cute boy) lent her a hand.
There's more. Yesterday, our friends from Simple Cafe threw us a little party in their shop. Special donuts, cookies box and champagne. We wonder what we have done to deserve such treats! Joining us was Chris. Her birthday is just one day before ours (Scorpions rock). Chris and Jack (absent due to 2 pax dine-in rule) got us a Fellow Carter mug in pastel pink, which instantly turned us into the happiest kid. We used to work together but not for too long. They are off to something else but this precious bond with them is what we wouldn't trade anything for.
Oh yes. Before the week ended, Leonard from Dopa Dopa Creamery dropped us some kickass gelato himself. That effort scored an 'A+' and the goodies he sent over? Unbeatable, as usual. Aunty Angie and Uncle Hon Wah are more than ready for the feast back home.
What a happening week but celebration is never tiring.
luli roasts.
]]>Coffee: Ethiopia Chelbesa Danche Gedeo Wolisho Washed
Dosage: 8g
Output: 150g
Grind size: 9 clicks (Comandante CK3)
Brewer: Hario V60 #2
Brew temperature: 93°C
These few weeks have not been the easiest for us. Many thoughts are sweeping through the mind. Mental fatigue kicks in, we feel lost. Going back and forth about the social restrictions (thanks to pandemic), mundanity of work, lack of excitement and struggles of holding onto the passion that kicked start us, change of momentum in the environment we have always been in. They are adding up and we are feeling this not-to-be-overlooked pressure. Yes, totally get the message of tidying up our mind to bring mental health back on track. Apparently, still quite some work to be done!
Genuine friendships and support shine in the darkest time. Sweet encouraging words from Michelle and Daryl. Just-in-time messages from Jamie (February Coffee Roaster). A beautiful box of bakes sent by Jin Yee (we go way back). She's one of the biggest takeaways from our 2-month exchange in Taiwan 8 years ago. Yes 8 years! We have this telepathic connection when she can just tell something is off. She remembers we are fond of bakes by Folks and Stories. Our heart sank when unboxing. That means someone cares and always listens. Folks and Stories is a local bakery in Everton Park. This is the anniversary assortment box containing 6 pieces of their specials. Every single one was uniquely gorgeous. Still we have our favourites. Top two has got to be N°3 Nutty Professor (roasted pistachio sandwiched between brown butter cookies) and N°2 Urban Globetrotter (earl grey between malted chocolate). These are real guilty pleasures. Not overwhelmingly rich but we taste every single hint of flavours mentioned. Sincere. Delicious.
Sparkles in other people's work inspires us and we embrace the excitement of trying new coffees. We just get bored with our own stash perhaps? Weekenders from Kyoto has been in our radar for a while. We stumbled upon their coffee beans on a web store. A washed Ethiopian sounded just right to go with the bakes. It was a cup of refreshment. Earl grey tea. Lemon. Coming right after was melons. We missed a light, delicate brew like this, very very much. Michelle tried it as well. She imagined having this by the window chilling away. We added on: "How about it being a rainy afternoon as well?"
luli roasts.
]]>Tea: Gyukuro (玉露)
Dosage: 8g
Water volume: Enough to cover the tea leaves
Brewer: Toriikanaami (Kyoto) Tea Brewer
Brew temperature: 45°C
A switch of mode from coffee to tea the past Saturday. We grabbed a loaf of 'Humble' sourdough from Bakers Bench Bakery. It's one of the local shops we frequent. Bakes are yummy. Staff are awesomely friendly. The blueish hue inside the bakery always gives us a sense of coziness and slightly foreign vibes.
Out of coffee beans at home, the small jars containing these precious Gyukuro from Daryl (Cumulo Coffee) came to rescue! Following his shared recipe, we had this refreshingly sweet tasting cup of green tea to go with our wholesome plate of breakfast. We don't know much about tea and when it comes to this, we ran out of words to describe its magic almost. Greenish. Vegetative in a good way. Licorice lingering at the back.
Stumbled upon the rebranded Greenfields' milk on a grocery online store, we couldn't resist to grab one (we are all visual). Not quite sure if the aesthetics adds some point to the taste, we quite enjoyed the fresh milk version!
luli roasts.
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We had our vaccine jab yesterday. We went to check on our friends at Simple Cafe and Kizuna. We stopped by the roastery to do some taste tests. Rough count was around 9 pour overs. One hell of a busy day.
This morning, we felt lethargic. The mind yearned for something soothing (not coffee please). Right arm was quite sore. The wound (tripped on some sharp surface) on the left calf was still tender. All these screamed for rest, couching and watching Olympics.
Still, we take our breakfast very seriously. Chilly morning it was. A good old sunny side up, our favourite bagel in town from the bunch behind Simple Cafe, pea sprout drizzled with yuzu sesame dressing and, every one's childhood favourite (we assume!), MILO. Pretty sexy line-up for a Saturday's breakfast right! Having chowed down everything, we just went straight back to bed.
Recent news about Simone Biles withdrawing from the all-around finals is a wake-up call. We at luli roasts always emphasise the importance of mental health. This young lady backing out is the loudest way to speak up for herself. Admitting the problems is the beginning to building a stronger and more resilient self. We totally salute what she just did.
Hence, do not feel shy to take a break. Then, march on with the rhythm you feel like. You are the queen of your own life. Cheers!
luli roasts.
]]>Coffee: Panama Finca Deborah Geisha Washed
Dosage: 14g
Output: 230g
Grind size: 5.5 (EK43)
Brewer: Hario Mugen
Brew temperature: 96°C
Another Thursday. Another end of the work week. Daryl brought over his personal stash of Panama Geishas from April Coffee Roasters. Something delicate would be great to soothe our exhausted body and mind following a renovation weekend in the roastery.
A lot of packing, unpacking, repacking and reallocation was happening the past two weeks. We can finally say it's getting there. Looking more like a roastery now! The brew bar looks more pleasant to do some pour overs. Toaster is back in place. Time for well-deserved mid morning break!
We brewed some washed Geishas. The aroma was earl grey-ish with forward coming lemony notes. Very tea-like texture accompanied by white floral hints in every sip. Local breakfast always has a spot in our heart and on the table was 'shao bao' from a small bakery in Jurong this morning. Warm in up for the flaky outer crust (we bought it the evening before). Bao and hot Brew, the morning booster.
luli roasts.
]]>Coffee: Colombia Tablon Gomez Washed
Dosage: 19g
Output: 34g
Shot timing: 23s
Grinder: Versa Lab Grinder M3
Brewer: Iberital IB7 Single Group Head Espresso Machine
Brew temperature: 93°C
Thursday feels almost like a little community day as we get to meet other roasters. They come in and do their work. Also, we exchange good finds of cafes or bakeries, ideas of packaging, exotic coffee beans and so on.
Two days ago, Michelle and Daryl from Cumulo Coffee showed up at roastery to do their weekly roast. This time round though, they packed us loaves of shokupan and a jar of jam as well. YES! They made these from scratch. Michelle has been trying to make shokupan and this week we finally got to try some! Daryl topped it up with homemade strawberry balsamic jam. For sure they are one of the most hands-on pair of husband and wife we have met! This thoughtful bundle made our day. Gorgeously wrapped, nicely taped and tied.
We found some Colombia Tablon de Gomez lying around and pulled a shot out of it. Perhaps age is catching up (that bloated feeling after drinking milk is real unpleasant). Else, we sincerely and more willingly accept the fact that people make better dairy alternatives these days! A white with oatmilk is more like the go-to now. The chocolaty and nutty white, toasted shokupan with butter and jam, nothing fancy but scrumptious enough to fill our heart (and stomach too).
luli roasts.
]]>It's another day of trying out new recipe found on Monocle. We made chicken miso udon. Not a complicated dish but the outcome looked so nicely put together (knowing it's from amateur like us)!
Weather has been unbearably hot. A dry udon just hit the spot. After work, we grabbed some minced chicken (pork was used in the original recipe), spinach, Japanese cucumbers and a few loose packs of udon from supermarket. Best part about this dish, no prior prep work is needed. For the chicken miso paste, fry up garlic and ginger. Add miso, mirin, soy sauce, honey (sugar works as well) and water. While reducing, cook some udon. Serve the miso chicken on top of udon. Definitely go for the extra mile and fry an egg please. Garnish with some greens too. Cucumber works impeccably well with miso!
Coconut water was apt for the humidity and heat. It also cut through the slightly heavy tasting miso. Throw in some fruits if you don't mind and we found 2 apricots in the fridge. Our work revolves a lot around caffeine and extreme rounds of tasting. An umami-packed carb dish is a good savoury balance.
luli roasts.
]]>Coffee: Ethiopia Guji Hambela G1 Natural
Dosage: 10g
Output: 160g
Grind size: 9 clicks (Comandante manual)
Brewer: V60 #2
Brew temperature: 93°C
Having spent the afternoon at our friends' place (Simple Cafe) yesterday, we brought home a bagel and some other bakes. This morning, we put shredded cheese, layered some sliced pumpkin and sprinkled a bit of dried oregano on the day-old bagel. There it went into the oven.
While toasting the bagel, we brewed the Guji Hambela (from Primordial Coffee, Tainan) on V60. The coffee beans itself smells fantastic. Almost like passionfruit cream custard. In the brew we found notes of guava, apricots and actually there's this interesting hints of ferments resembling durian or jackfruit at the back. Please don't take it as something off-putting! We love durians hence we savoured every sip all the way till the end.
Back to the bagel situation, things happened and we kind of over toasted it. The pumpkin was alright but the inner side of the bagel got a tad too dry and hard. Bites of bagel, sips of Guji Hambela, life goes on and we still had quite a decent breakfast.
PS: Simple Cafe's bagels are our favourites and they definitely taste delicious with the right amount of chew. We are sure they do a much better job at serving these babies in house. Go try!
luli roasts.
]]>Coffee: Ethiopia Guji G1 Gotiti Washed
Dosage: 10g
Output: 150g
Grind size: 4.8 (EK43)
Brew temperature: 93°C
In 2017, we spent around 3 weeks in Tainan for a break. There we attended a roasting class conducted by Ms Hui Ju (known as HuiRu Lao Shi) and got to know Xin Yue, one of the class mates at the time. These two ladies are some of the loveliest we have met. This notorious pandemic has definitely taught us to appreciate all these in-person meetings when we are able to do so. We miss them and Taiwan, very badly.
A few days ago, we received this parcel containing 2 packs of Ethiopia Gotiti Washed and one of Ethiopia Guji Hambela G1 Natural from the ladies. Gotiti is always gorgeous from what we can remember. On our road trip from Tainan to Chia Yi, we stumbled upon this little roastery cafe called Slow Soul Cafe and had a very pleasant Iced Gotiti (filter). The company at that time, the holiday mood we were in and the warm hospitality of the owner all added up to this fond memory of Gotiti, no doubt.
We brewed some Gotiti Xin Yue roasted. The aroma was straight up Iced Lemon Tea! Coming along were kiwi, strawberry and melon that lingered at the back. When cooled down, it reminisced longan water. It was a very enjoyably clean cup throughout. Good roast Xin Yue!
The past week almost felt like Christmas with parcels coming almost every day. The Balmuda toaster we ordered a while ago finally arrived! To pair Gotiti, we toasted some white bread then spread peanut butter and jam on it. This evergreen combination never goes wrong. We had the plain toast itself as well and have to say, Balmuda lives up to its reputation (in our opinion), put aside its sleek look. Beautifully toasty on the outside, soft on the inside.
luli roasts.
]]>Coffee: Ethiopia Aleto Wondo Natural
Dosage: 10g
Output: 150g
Grind size: 10 clicks (Comandante C40)
Brewer: V60
Brew temperature: 93°C
We found this recipe of blueberry scones from Monocle (magazine). It looked like a straight forward recipe and we thought it'd be easily nailed out! Sadly, we weighed the baking soda and salt wrongly during the first trial few days ago. The worse part was that salted butter was used instead of the unsalted one. Total disaster!
This afternoon, we were determined to get it right and cooked! After some sieving, mixing and kneading, we managed to put a tray of 11 irregularly shaped scones into the oven. Anyways, we were short of blueberries this time round! Fret not, Aunty Angie had some cheese (assumed as Limburger as she couldn't recall exactly what cheese it was) in the fridge. Half of the batch became basil and cheese scones while the other half still stuffed with blueberries. These little treats were ready 15 minutes later and they looked gorgeous!
For drinks, we paired it with Ethiopian Aleto Wondo Natural. Brewed way before the baking afternoon started, we added a bit of hot water to dilute and warm the coffee up as it was quite a strong cup to begin with. We prefer the savoury scones as the coffee cut through them nicely with the fruitiness! This delicate at the same time profound Aleto Wondo, basil and cheese scone's new best friend.
luli roasts.
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Coffee: Colombia Shady Bader Mandarin Natural
Dosage: 8g
Output: 150g
Grind size: 4.5 (EK43)
Brewer: Takashi Endoh Dripper
Brew temperature: 93°C
When just grinding the coffee, we were already captivated by its aroma. The most fruit-forward aroma ever! Imagine holding an orange very close to your nose (exactly how it smells). Best diffuser.
We always love to have this cooled down a little before we enjoy. The candied nuttiness would become more profound and the mandarin tone was just throughout every single sip. The sweetness in it actually reminded us of chrysanthemum tea! We had it with scrambled egg on toast. Comforting. A piece of chocolate cookie will perhaps be a better compliment though. Nonetheless, we had a good morning with the toast!
On a side note, this feels like a very appropriate cup to have during Chinese New Year. That festive mandarin in it just speaks for itself. Gather your uncles and aunties, cousins and nephews. Surprise them with this amazing Shady Bader.
luli roasts.
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