Quarantine coffee
I had to stay in a quarantine hotel and failed to bring any travel coffee equipment đ¤Ś
Hey friends!
I started writing this newsletter while at a quarantine hotel in ReykjavĂk, Iceland. Today is the first day post-quarantine and I can finally meet friends and family. I have not seen most of them since I moved to Oslo 18 months ago.
Five days in quarantine go by at snail pace. During the stay I got time to put together this newsletter and plan how I can send future posts a tad more often.
I know we all suffer from email fatigue. But an update every 6 months is stretching the definition of occasional.
For the sake of personal accountability, Iâve decided to send at least 6 more updates before this year is over. Feel free to give me a nudge if the time between updates has gotten too long. You can reply to this email, or find me on twitter.
On that note, I hope you enjoy todayâs letter.
Can hotel coffee actually taste good?
I found a new appreciation for instant coffee during quarantine â since I wasnât clever enough to bring a hand grinder and an aeropress with me.
I wrote a short thread of tips if you ever find yourself in my shoes:
I hope that hotels will pick up on the fact that specialty instant coffee exists and it is delicious. Quality and convenience isnât something you have to choose between when having coffee. You can have both.
Articles Iâve enjoyed
âThe Tyranny of Structurelessness by Jo Freeman
A strong case against structurelesseness as a virtue when scaling up an organization. The article was written in the 70âs about structuring feminist movements. But it has a much wider application.
When movements grow in member count, informal elites are bound to form. If the movement lacks structure, it is easier for elites to gain and hold onto power.
Hereâs Jo Freeman explaining the difference between what an elite requires of you, and what the organization needs:
âThe characteristics prerequisite for participating in the informal elites of the movement, and thus for exercising power, concern one's background, personality, or allocation of time. They do not include one's competence, dedication to feminism, talents, or potential contribution to the movement. The former are the criteria one usually uses in determining one's friends. The latter are what any movement or organization has to use if it is going to be politically effective.â
In short, elites look at where you come from, what you are like and how much free time you have to maintain relationships and status within the elite. If the elite sucks a major part of a membersâ energy, there isnât much left to do any real work for the movement.
Did I mention that this article was written 50 years ago?
đ¨The Best Espresso Machines by Ashley Rodriguez
The most common question I get is which espresso machine to buy. It is also one of the questions I have the hardest time answering.
Iâve never owned an espresso machine. I donât need one as long as I have access to a professional espresso machine at work.
What I am good at is helping people figuring out how to get something tasty from the machine they have.
This article is a fantastic runthrough of what is available out there, based on what your needs are.
Ashley Rodriguez also sends out one of the best coffee newsletters out there, B O S S B A R I S T A. Check it out!
Coffee tip
This coffee tip is a bit of a weird one. It is a blend of theory and science but mostly a chance to explore taste outside of the normal parameters.
There is a way to make a fresh roasted coffee taste great with a few tweaks.
Brewing a coffee that is too fresh, using your normal recipe, gives you a hollow-tasting and disappointing cup. Coffee usually needs to rest for some time after roasting before it reveals all the complex flavors. Kind of like steak.
Typical resting time for coffee varies from a couple of days up to 2 weeks. This resting window depends on factors such as packaging and roast level.
I explored a way to work around this resting time when I practised for the World Brewers Cup in 2016. By making coffee stronger and lowering extraction, you can make delicious coffee. This is called âupdosingâ.
Updosing can also help if you are in a situation where you have great coffee but a terrible grinder. You wonât get the flavor youâre used to. But when done right, the flavor can be rich, intense and vibrant with a short finish â much like youâd describe a Beaujolais Nouveau.Â
This trick is wonderful for aromatic, fruity coffees. Iâve gotten delicious brews with this method with coffee as fresh as 1 hour after roasting. Â I recommend adjusting the recipe closer to default as the coffee has gotten more rest.
Hereâs how you do it:
Use more coffee. If you normally use 20 grams coffee with 300 grams of water, then try 27-30 grams.
Grind coarser.
Pour the water faster through. Skip the blooming stage.
Be ready to practise, fail and adjust often. But the payoff when you get the flavor right is enormous.
Notes on wearing a mask
Norway has finally lifted off requirements to wear masks in cafĂŠs. Iceland has removed all covid-related restrictions within its border.
I wonât say I will miss wearing a mask. But luckily they never bothered me, even after 8 hours per shift.
What I wonât miss is the added burden of âsecurity guardâ duties: reminding people to keep distance, sanitizing hands, not moving furniture, not touching bar equipment, respect the limit of people queueing inside.
Letâs hope this stays that way. But Iâm afraid itâs no longer a question of if Iâll have to put on a mask again, but when.