Coffee Madness

Leslie Williams was a judge at the recent Irish Barista Championships. Here, he recalls the winners and introduces us to the subject of 'latte art'

New coffee shops continue to open in Ireland every week and soon there won't be a street corner in the country without a coffee shop and hopefully a couple of competent Baristas (coffee makers).

Generally standards of coffee preparation in Ireland are quite variable but I got a chance to review standards around the country recently when I was a judge at the Irish Barista Championships.

In all there were 15 competitors from 14 different coffee shops nationwide, all of whom had to present 4 espressos, 4 cappuccinos and 4 non-alcoholic speciality drinks within 15 minutes, while giving a detailed commentary on everything.

Thankfully I did not have to drink every single cup but merely take a quick sip, swirl, suck and spit. Surprisingly it was not the coffee that got to me at the end of the day but the froth from all those cappuccinos and speciality drinks which clinged to my palate for at least 24 hours.

Competitors were judged on everything from whether they flushed the water from their machine before making their coffee (it is sitting stagnant in metal pipes don't forget), to their tamping technique (pushing the ground coffee into the metal cup that attaches to the machine), to the temperature and taste balance of the drinks.

One crucial piece of information judges were given was the length of time each espresso took to make which was timed on a stopwatch. Ideally this should be between 20 and 30 seconds and only one competitor (the overall winner) managed to make all his espresso shots within the correct time with some taking as long as 2 minutes and some as short as 11 seconds.

Coffee should not be over or under extracted as either can upset the balance of flavours in the drink giving you a thin insubstantial tasting coffee or an overly bitter one. The rate of extraction is controlled by the Barista by the fineness of the grind, by adjusting the pressure of the tamping and by the flow of water from the machine.

According to Ernesto Illy of Illy Coffee Company there are 200 things that can go wrong in making an espresso but thankfully our score sheets had an average of a mere 20 boxes to fill on each drink. The commercial espresso machine is an extremely complex piece of machinery and the quality of the coffee it produces is in direct proportion to the skill of the Barista operating it.

Quality did vary quite a bit over the day and while most managed to make passable espressos, over-extraction was a common problem.

The cappuccino section was where many lost the bulk of their marks, especially those that made the mistake of preparing single shot cappuccinos, which invariably tasted weak and insubstantial. A true cappuccino is an equal proportion of one-third espresso, steamed milk and foam and the most crucial element is the hit of espresso underneath all that foam and milk.

Can I urge all cappuccino drinkers to demand double shot cappuccinos in future visits to coffee shops as there is simply no other way a true cappuccino can be made.

Speciality drinks were a more varied lot with some competitors simply preparing lattes or making minor variations on cappuccinos, tactics which guaranteed a lower mark. The highest marks in this category went for creativity and flair and the better competitors added everything from Hagen Dazs ice cream to chocolate sauce and crushed ice. One of my favourites was given a wonderful zing by being stirred with a stick of cinnamon prior to drinking.

The winner of the speciality drink section, Majella Tobin of Café le Monde in Carlow served a low fat strawberry flavoured concoction made from espresso, strawberry syrup and low fat steamed milk which was a lovely light refreshing Summery drink with much more body than the ingredients would suggest. Other speciality coffees included a shot of espresso dropped into a glass of Dr. Pepper (much nicer than it sounds and a great hangover cure I reckon!) made by Robert Holt of Mocha Beans in Galway.

The overall winner was Billy Timmins of Seven Wonders Coffee Shop in the IFSC (great bagels and smoothies there too, I discovered recently). Billy represented Ireland at the World Barista Championships in Boston shortly after the Irish event and although he didn't win any prizes he is determined make it to Trieste for next year's championships.

The runner up by a hair's breadth was Stephen Morrissey of Rio coffee shop in the Westbury Mall who also scooped the Cappuccino prize for his perfectly balanced cappuccino. Third was Shannon McGuire of the Insomnia chain. Winner of the Espresso competition was Nuala Hickey of Hickeys Bakery Café in Clonmel which won out for its excellent balance and harmony between the three elements in a good espresso; bitterness, acidity and sweetness.

The event was sponsored by the Speciality Coffee Association of Europe, of which all the major coffee importers here are members. Julie Murray of Bewleys Barista Training School (known as Julie Bewley to one and all) put myself and other judges through our paces prior to the event so we would know our Group Heads (the bit the coffee goes into) from our Grinders. Bewleys put an enormous amount of work into the event which was very professionally organised and it should also be mentioned that the overall winner Billy Timmins is a graduate of one of Julie's training courses.

And, in the next Megabytes: Leslie Williams lets you into all the secrets of home roasting and brewing a cup of sheer perfection in your own home.

Latte Art

Latte Art is something we are going to see much more of as our coffee culture continues to improve. All Baristas (coffee makers) aspire to great coffee but presentation is important too. A correct cappucino is one third each of espresso coffee, steamed milk and foam but the most crucial aspect is to first create a top quality (double shot)espresso with a rich thick crema (the golden creamy bit on top). To create the above effect you simply wiggle the jug of steamed milk as you gently pour it onto the espresso (double shot of course). It works best if you use a jug with V shaped pourer but can take years of practice to perfect and only works if the crema and the steamed milk are near perfect. As you pour the milk through the crema a "tiger" or "rosetta" pattern" will appear as above... So get practicing Baristas... this will set you apart from Starbucks when they arrive...