Elite Event: Craft Beer & Coffee at C.W.D.

Coffee, coffee and more coffee! Here in the little caffeine haven at Three Beans City Works Depot we learned how to make a decent espresso. I now know more about coffee than some baristas that have made mine I think. Which is bad. I love Three Beans coffee. Toru, Scullery and Teed Street Larder all use Three Beans and every espresso or long black is always beautiful. Reason why, the guy who took us for coffee 101 trains these guys. He dropped a knowledge bomb on us.
18g of coffee automatically dosed, a prescription for espresso starts with the right amount, (double is standard!). We learned how to tamp, and not to tap and the physics behind optimal tamping pressure. Hard core stuff. Milk was discussed, never knew how important the fat and protein profile was to milk frothing and consistency.
I made an espresso that even to my standards was pretty damn good, then again, how could it go wrong with Three Beans beans, a high tech espresso machine and the all knowing Sam who showed us the reigns! Another awesome Unilocal event!

Another great event from AK Unilocal
Fantastic insight to my two favourite things — coffee and beer. Alex made great use of City Works Depot in going door to door around the precinct sampling the various producers goods.
BTW city works depot is awesome.
Sam at three beans was highly entertaining as we got a perfectionist’s opinion in what makes beautiful coffee. I have always rated my self as a coffee snob so it was awesome being able to increase my bs vocabulary and array of catch phrases to describe and critique what I can’t really taste or tell. Watch out Unilocal — this reviewer now has a war chest of coffee chat!
Same goes for nick at brothers brewery — clearly a guru and passionate about his mission. Fantastic array of beer and top cider like the Zeffer nuts.
Also very cool to meet some more Unilocalers — I’m pretty sure everyone started as strangers but we all left as mates after a few jugs!
Alex, as always, was the perfect host.
I would sign up for this event again in a hart beat.
Thanks Unilocal

Thanks to Alex D. for another interactive and educational YEE!
First stop was Three Beans to learn the delicate art of espresso preparation. Little did I know what truly goes into making a perfect flat white! Sam guided us through the step by step, intricate process from shot measurement to tamping technique (lock your right hip, n00bs) to getting the milk to the ideal, whirling consistency. I must say, I felt quite accomplished pouring my very first flat white. (although the latte art I’ve become accustomed to didn’t quite pan out ;)).
My creamy FW was enjoyed alongside a sampling of Scratch bakery’s offerings (the rhubarb slice and citrus scone were divine).
Next stop was neighboring brewery, Brother’s Beer where Nick ran us through the beer making process as we sampled through a wide variety of brews (and I finally learned the difference between a lager and an ale! heyoo).
All around awesome event — another YEE learning experience :)

Look ma — look at what I can do! That is truly how I felt after seeing the beautiful heart I made on my latte. Not to mention it was delicious! Our host Sam provided a step by step lesson on how to make the perfect coffee. He explained that the three most important requirements to achieve this are to have 1. Fresh beans 2. Quality milk 3. A proper grinder. I learned that coffee goes stale fairly soon after grinding. So all ya folks out there buying pre-​ground coffee, stop it! It’s dead.
When making an espresso, the one part I always fail at is the foaming of the milk. Sam sorted me out. By keeping my hand on the bottom of the mug, I can gauge the temperature and make certain I am not burning my cream. He also showed me how to scoop the top layer of cream off the top to reveal the creamy shine below. «Simple!»
Paired with my delicious almond scone from Scratch Bakers, my morning coffee treat was heaven.
Moving a few feet down, we were greeted by Nick at Brother’s Beer. Nick was great! So calm, relaxed and very knowledgeable about the various beers we sampled from the brewery. He spoke about the brewing process and how each new batch is created. I had no idea hops were such a key factor in the beer making process. Essentially without hop, you have no beer! He gave us a brief history on the origins of hops, more importantly how their use changes the flavors of beer. With that said we had an assortment of thirst quenching beers. The Pilsner was my favorite; it had a nice aroma, a hint of citrus and was very refreshing!
Plans are in the works for a much larger space in the Mount Eden area of town. So keep your eyes peeled and ears tuned!