8th visit to full of beans @ straits quay

I am a serious coffee lover as i drink my coffee without milk and sugar, and i am also sophisticate, macho, rebellious, eccentric, interesting, creative and honest because i drink my coffee without milk and sugar. I had a dream. In my dream, i am a coffee connoisseur, so today, when i having my 8th visit to Full of Beans, i want to act like a coffee connoisseur.


How to be a coffee connoisseur? I can not always rely on google,

 i must do something different, i am no longer a coffee lover because i need at least one cup of white coffee a day, i am no longer a serious coffee lover because i drink my coffee without sugar and milk, i am a coffee connoisseur, i can not continue to rely on google, i must have a new way to find out how to be a coffee connoisseur, so this time i use MSN

This is what MSN said :-
If you want to be a coffee connoisseur, you need to know a few things :-
1). BEAN TYPE and VARIETY. There are two main bean types: Arabica and Robusta. Unless you are looking to make your own espresso blend, you will want to buy only Arabica beans, which are considered to have superior taste characteristics


2) BEAN LOCATION. There are four main coffee regions, each sharing some common taste characteristics - The Americas, Africa, Asia, and Indonesia. Coffee beans are grown in over 80 countries throughout the world, however a smaller number are considered the prime coffee growing regions due to superior climate, growing conditions and soil. Infrastructure and harvesting technology in these countries may also be important in order to be able to get beans to market at the proper time. Like wine, there are also distinct coffee growing regions and estates within these countries, each with distinctive taste characteristics. After you become familiar with the coffee from the countries you enjoy, you can further refine your taste by developing knowledge of these individual estates.

3)BEAN QUALITY. Cracked or defective beans may not retain or produce the optimum flavors. Certain countries have grades that incorporate not only size but also bean defects. The Specialty Coffee Association of America(SCAA)provides gradations specifically linked to bean quality. The top quality bean under the SCAA system is "Specialty Grade Green Coffee," containing fewer than 5 full defects per 300 grams of coffee. Refer to the link below for a list of their other grades.

4) WET OR DRY PROCESSING. Coffee beans must be processed to remove the coffee bean from the red outer chaff. The method of processing can make a large difference in the taste profiles of the beans. The more common method is some type of wet proceesing, which tends to yield a cleaner, brighter tastes. Dry processing involves the beans drying in the open sun until the husks are dried and cracked. Dry processing is considered by some to have a more earthy taste and commonly used in Brazil, Ethiopia, Indonesia and Yemen. Compare the taste of a dry processed coffee from one of these four countries with a wet-processed coffee from a country such as Columbia or Guatemala to experience the differences in taste from these two methods.

5)FRESHNESS OF ROAST. For optimum flavor, coffee should be consumed 14 day after roasting. After one month it will lose significant flavor..

6)TYPE OF ROAST. The lighter the roast, the more acidic and less sweet coffees tend to be, however the full range of flavor characteristics tend to be preserved. Darker roasting produces caramelizing of the beans' sugars and produces a sweeter, less acidic taste however some of the original taste characteristics may be burned off. Many feel that the full city roast is an ideal compromise to obtain the best of each. Specific roast are often recommended for particular beans, but any roast may be used for any bean. Experiment with different roasts for different beans to experience the widest range of flavor combinations. Since different roasters may call the same roast different names, it is best if you do your own roast identification using a chart of the different bean colors. Refer to the link below for such a chart.

So, i now i am a coffee connoisseur, because i know my coffee bean type, location, quality, processing, freshness and roast. Time to put that into use.

8TH VISIT

Open my apartment door, walk into the lift, come out from lift, open a door, here you are, Full of Bean. Here i come, a coffee connoisseur, a person who know his coffee bean type, location, quality, processing, freshness and roast. The superhero Thor was there, after the usual exchange "what's up bro, yeh, how are you?", he asked me what i want, i said something not in the menu, he said how about 'CARMEN"? OMG, the master roaster/owner must be playboy, few day ago asked me to try YAN 艳, now CARMEN, tommorrow MIMOKO, then may be AMINAH BT HASSAN , after that SUSILA A/P MANIAM???? Anyway, none of my business if he is a playboy, so i said why not. Thor brewed my coffee with the Belgium Pot

CARMEN was put right in front of me after 5 min, follow YAN 艳's procedure, 10 min let the coffee cool down, finished the coffee in 10 min, then stare at the empty cup and recalled the taste......

For me this is a good cup of coffee because i paid RM35 for that, that is all i know, nice, i like it, but according to msn :-

Erupting out of the cup was a bright, full of flavor aroma. There was luscious wave of warm chocolate. There was the citrus that Central American coffees are known for. It had hints of pineapples and oranges, just delicate hints compared the strong aroma that the Dreamsipple had yesterday.

From the first sip, I was impressed by how clean coffee tasting it was. It almost felt like I was drinking pure spring water. There was only minimal bitterness, with it being an overwhelmingly smooth coffee.

On the first layer of taste, there was a mellow nutty-chocolate flavor. Underneath was more citrus-y. It almost felt like the flavor was popping around on my tongue, like it was tingling with fresh orange juice and lemon drops

As a coffee connoisseur , i need to know my coffee bean type, location, quality, processing, freshness and roast, this is the Q & A with Thor :-

Bean Type : Arabica

Bean Location : Americans, Panama, from the estate called carmen

Bean Quality : Less than 5 full defect in 300g, SCAA view this as specialty coffee

Bean Processing : Wet

Bean Type of roast : medium

See, how a connoisseur asked question.

After the 8th visit, back to my apartment, looking at my computer, i miss my mother, today 7/5/2011 saturday, is mother's day. I called my mum, she asked me to call back later because she is watching movie in the cinema, i asked her what show, she said :-

and i hate THOR. Suddenly i remember i forgot to ask THOR about YAN艳， because I am a coffee connoisseur,  as a coffee connoisseur , i need to know my coffee bean type, location, quality, processing, freshness and roast. I cannot get the information about YAN艳 in msn or google, So i decided to email THOR......

" To : Thor

 From : a white coffee lover

Text :

Hi, bro. Happy Mother's day, can you pls tell me something about YAN艳。 Thanks bro."

This is THOR reply :-

"To : a white coffee lover

From ; Thor

Text :

Sex : Female

Birthday  : 13th of september

Place Of Birth : Shanghai, China.

.........

.........

.........

..........

p/s, by the way, bro, mother's day 2molo lah"

MY 7TH VISIT TO FULL OF BEANS @ STRAITS QUAY

I am a serious coffee lover as i drink my coffee without milk and sugar, and i am also sophisticate, macho, rebellious, eccentric, interesting, creative and honest because i drink my coffee without milk and sugar according to Colin, The New Brunswick Telegraph Journal.

7TH VISIT

Today, the whole Straits Quay look so deserted, empty, no life..... 

Full of Beans also look so lifeless, by the way.... only 10.15 am  in the morning

 Only one person there, not the little girl who can :"난 미스 유니 버스가되고 싶지 최대 언제 성장", not the girl who always smile, but a man this time. I chose to sit at the work station because i like to see how my coffee being brewed right before me. I asked him how to address him, he told me "No. 57, Taman Berjaya,  Alor Setar, 05000 Kedah". I re-phased, what is your name, he answered, called me THOR (what a joker!)

I said :- "hi thor, i am doremon"

I think thor the superhero can remember me as one of his regular because he is very friendly to me, thor asked me what coffee i wanted to try today, as a serious coffee lover because i drink my coffee without milk and sugar, i should know about the coffee i wanted to drink for the day, so i said something from columbia and what do you have. Thor answered, from columbia they have

1) single origin columbia coffee

2) Beans from Mesa De la Santos

3) Narino.

As a Malaysian who was born in the 70s, when mentioned about columbia, we know valderrama from columbia

Mesa de la santos, santos?? I only know santokh singh, the great 70s malaysia footballer

Anyway, since i already know valderrama and santokh singh, i ordered Narino. I asked thor to use different method to brew my coffee because i have tried syphon pot on my last 6 visit. So, this time he used the  presso to brew the coffee for me.

While thor prepared my coffee, i asked him what is the different between presso and espresso machine, may be because he is too busy, he answered " presso  is cheaper, machine expensive and he cannot afford to buy one yet" . What a joker again.  My Narino was ready after 5 min.  I like it. I asked thor what he think about Narino, this is his answer:-

The Narino is a quintessential Colombian coffee. Excellent body, deep, rich. complex and bright. Fruity (currants and plums) overtones with a nice chocolate background, just a hint of earthiness and a long, satisfying finish. Narino coffees, over the years, have been my favorite Colombian origin, and this ranks right up there with the best of them

By this time, there were already 2 malay customer walked in and sat next to me, as a serious coffee lover who drink coffee without sugar and milk and also sophisticate, macho, rebellious, eccentric, interesting, creative and honest because i drink my coffee without milk and sugar, i turn to them and said :-

"saya setuju dengan thor, the Nariño adalah kopi Colombia klasik. Excellent tubuh, dalam, kaya. Kompleks dan Bright. Fruity (kismis dan plum), dengan nada didominasi coklat bagus, hanyamanual dari membumi dan selesai, lama memuaskan. kopi Nariño, selamabertahun-tahun, telah Been asal Colombia kegemaran saya, dan ini Ranks kananatas ada dengan yang terbaik dari Mereka."

I paid RM 22 for my Narino. A bit expensive, but worth it. The friends who sat next to me order single origin columbia, RM9.50 per cup, i think the taste must be :

The Narino single origin columbia is a less quintessential Colombian coffee. Less Excellent body, deep, rich. complex and bright.Less Fruity (currants and plums) overtones with a nice chocolate background, more just a hint of earthiness and a less long, satisfying finish. "

AFTER MY 5TH VISIT TO FULL OF BEANS @ STRAITS QUAY AND MY 6TH VISIT

I was a coffee lover, because i need to have at least one cup of white coffee a day.  I am a serious coffee lover now, because after my 5 visit to Full of Beans, i have my coffee without milk and sugar. Wait..... hold on, they encourage patrons to try their coffee without milk or sugar, because of the increase in the price of sugar lately?   See.... they are clever, further they are using sugar imported from Paris in France, not Perlis, northern state in Malaysia.

 As a serious coffee lover, i need to investigate further into this matter. As usual, i seek the help of google, this is what i found:-

"I love coffee. More specifically, I love black coffee. It genuinely tastes better and it is so much healthier than drinking it with tons of sugar and cream. Plus, without all the fat and caloriescoffee is actually really good for you. However, I wasn’t always this way. I actually had to train myself to get off the sugar and cream and enjoy coffee the way it was meant to be tasted. If you are like I was and throw in needless packs of sugar and dump in milk, cream, or half and half then I recommend the following 5 step process to remove these needless calories from your life and become a true coffee lover.

1) Remove the cream – By removing the cream you can begin to taste the real acidity and flavor of the coffee. Believe it or not, coffee isn’t a flavor you add to your milk but a drink that needs to be enjoyed on its own.

2) Remove the sugar – Now that you have the cream out and you can actually begin to taste the real coffee try gradually removing the sugar from your coffee. If you usually add 3 sugars, try 2. If 2, try 1. Work your way down until you have no added sugar in your coffee. If you were like I was, then this could save you over 100 calories per cup!

3) Savor the taste – After all the sugar and cream are gone you can really experience what the coffee tastes like. If this is your first time drinking it totally black, you may not appreciate the subtleties of the flavors yet. It will take a little time to retrain your tongue.

4) Try different coffees - Now that you know what coffee is supposed to taste like try out different blends and see which one suits you best. Lately I’ve been trying tons of different kinds of coffee and I’m constantly surprised at how different each blend tastes. This experimentation can really add enjoyment to your coffee experience.

5) Buy good coffee - All that’s left to do now is buy the good stuff. Buying coffee beans by small amount is a great way to make sure that you get a consistently good cup of fresh, healthy, low calorie coffee that tastes great every time. I always enjoy buying a small bag of beans and having them grind the beans for me. The smells from the fresh ground beans alone are always enjoyable.

Seriously, just try drinking your coffee black for a month and I doubt you will regret the decision. Coffee is a natural, healthy drink and when enjoyed properly, is a great low calorie way to treat yourself."

Then, i saw this this article :-

"Basic Black - Coffee for the next generation

WRITTEN BY COLIN

The New Brunswick Telegraph Journal Life & Entertainment, Tuesday, March 19, 2002 Food- The personality of coffee CHUCK BROWN Telegraph-Journal Some observers out there think people who drink their coffee strong and black are sophisticated, macho, rebellious, eccentric, interesting, creative and honest. "

So, now i am a serious coffee lover who is sophisticate, macho, rebellious, eccentric, interesting, creative and honest.

6TH VISIT

I stay in straits Quay, i am going to stay here for 3 weeks. This is where i stay....

Today is my no. 6 day stay here, i am running out of my nissin instant noodle, i am hungry. I took RM25 with me and go down to the commercial section of the Straits Quay. Coming out from the lift, open the door, i saw full of beans again :-

i walked in and sat down, i saw this little girl who convinced me to have my coffee without sugar and milk talking to a group of customer. I was so shock, she is actually "작은 두 작은 세 작은 인도 넷, 다섯 작은 여섯 조금 ...."  with a group of korean, to my ear, it sound like "yoh...cai kun...yeh.... yoh...ha sei....yoh.". She can speak korean!!!! Since this little girl is so busy, the other girl came to me, she is so sweet and always have a smiley face. I asked what food they served, she told me they don't serve food, they only have macaron and dessert. I am a serious coffee lover, because i drink coffee without sugar and milk, and because of that i am also sophisticate, macho, rebellious, eccentric, interesting, creative and honest, so i need meat and something solid. So, i told her i come back later because i need to eat something first. To my surprised she told me outside food is allowed here as long as the food is not like those sambai belacan petai that will give some extra smell to the place. 

So, i went to SUBWAY, just across Full of Beans, i ordered my sub of the day for only RM7.50, but of course with the "*" behind RM7.50, but still a great deal, because everything inside the sandwich is fresh. Just like the price, RM7.50*, the length of my sandwich is also 6-inch++, i used my infra-red measure meter to measure my sandwich, and my sandwich is actually 6 and a half inch with some meatball and veg poking out, value for money. This is true :-

"Our goal at each SUBWAY® restaurant is to offer a quality product that is made specific to each individual customers taste. Your SUBWAY® sandwich is made-to-order, exactly the way you want it. Bread is baked in each and every restaurant, daily. Crisp vegetables are provided though local suppliers and a wide assortment of cold cuts are available, topped with your choice of our special sauces and condiments. Every order is prepared right before your eyes."

And i think Full Of Beans is trying to follow SUBWAY, because their coffee is also brewed right before your eyes. After my take away, went back to Full of Beans, i only have about RM16+ out of my Cash Of The day. I order Mocha without asking for recommendation because i am already a serious coffee lover as i drink my coffee without milk and sugar, and also because the price is merely RM9.50. My coffee came after 5 min, which is about 1 and a half min after i finished my Sub Of the day, and i was told "you have to wait for the good coffee, bad coffee will wait for you", i agreed because i am a serious coffee lover as i drink my coffee without milk and sugar. BUT, i have a shock of my life because my mocha is without chocolate, how can this be? why they cheat me? Nvm, i will keep score, you are not the only one who sell coffee in straits quay, i will never come back. I finished my mocha, the one without chocolate , paid RM9.50, without saying goodbye and the girl still smile with me despite my black face, walked back up with the help of the lift to my apartment.

I am still very upset, how can they sell mocha without chocolate. i seek for help, i google, this is what i get :-

The word mocha may conjure up decadent tastes of chocolate, coffee, and a nutty sweetness. However, the term mocha coffee is actually cause for considerable confusion. Mocha coffee can refer to two completely different products, one a bean hailing from the terraces of Yemen, the other a popular espresso drink.

Mocha coffee beans are one of the oldest known varieties of coffee in the world. Traditionally grown throughout Yemen, these deeply flavorful beans take their name from the ancient Yemeni port of Mocha. Mocha beans are grown on high hillsides, flourishing in the upper altitude and unique dry climate.

Mocha beans were one of the first types of coffee beans marketed to Europe. In fact, some experts say that almost all coffee was first referred to as mocha in the Western world. Throughout the 16th and 17th century, as the beans became a popular import to Italy, Holland, and eventually the rest of Europe, true mocha coffee maintained a reputation for being the finest available.. Today, coffee beans are often classified by growing region, making the term specific to the Arabica beans grown throughout Yemen."

Lucky me, i nearly accused full of beans for selling me the mocha without chocolate, as a serious coffee lover as i drink my coffee without milk and sugar, i should know about this. After google, i tried to think back how my mocha taste like, i couldn't recalled because when i have my mocha earlier i only have why my mocha is without chocolate in my mind. So i went back down, again acted like a serious coffee lover as i drink my coffee without milk and sugar and who is also sophisticate, macho, rebellious, eccentric, interesting, creative and honest,  "one mocha, take away, no sugar and milk".

Back to my apartment , looking at my computer and enjoy my take away cup of mocha :-

Mocha doesn't mean chocolate! Mocha is the name of a Yemeni port where coffee has been traded for generations. Distinguished by its dintinctively rich, winey acidity, and intriguing nuance, this coffee originates in the Harrar region of Ethiopia.