Square Mile Coffee Blog » Anette Moldvaer

UBF 9 -Buckle up!

Anette Moldvaer — Thu, 27 May 2010 04:21:53 +0000

With almost a year’s worth of UBF’s under the belt it is time tie up some loose ends. So grab a partner, grab a belt and tie yourselves up!

For this challenge we want you put your teamwork to the test. 2 baristas strapped together leaving only 2 arms will have to make an espresso, a cappuccino, and an aeropress. It will be a head to head battle against another team with the fastest team going through to the finals. Time penalties will be deducted for spills and poor quality drinks (at the judge’s discretion).

Location:
Taylor St Baristas
Unit 3, 125 Old Broad st
Bank
(nearest tube Bank, take exit 2 to Threadneedle st)

Date:
2 June, 2010

Time:
7pm

BYO drinks (tesco extra is located 50 metres away on Old Broad st)
All monies raised go to Coffee Kids!

Tickets to compete sold here! Please note that each member of the two man team has to buy one ticket each!

Audience: £5 on the door!

New Coffee: Capao

Anette Moldvaer — Wed, 26 May 2010 18:53:19 +0000

We’ve just added the Capao to the webshop. We’re loving this coffee, and it made its debut on the menu at Penny University this week. The response has been great and if you want a coffee that is just delicious, effortlessly drinkable and like a Snickers in a cup then we’d strongly recommend this!

Fazenda Capao – £7.00 (350g)

The Penny University

Anette Moldvaer — Tue, 18 May 2010 16:46:30 +0000

On Saturday 22nd, at 10am we’re going to open the doors to the Penny University – our first retail space.

We hope to see some of you there! (Though please bear in mind that there are only 6 seats at the bar)

The Penny University
5 Redchurch Street
London
E2 7DJ

map

info@pennyuniversity.co.uk

If you have any questions then just leave a comment!

Opening Hours:

Weekdays – 9 til 5

Weekends – 10 til 4

Last call for Barista Buddies for the WBC!

Anette Moldvaer — Tue, 18 May 2010 02:44:56 +0000

Do you want to be a Barista Buddy? As part of the World Barista Championship 2010, all 50 + National Champions competing in the WBC with be paired up with a Barista Buddy who will be there to support and help their champion. You might be asked to be the buddy for more than one barista, but no more than three. We need a few more volunteers for this year, so if you have some time to spare and would like to be a Barista Buddy, sign up! ( Local knowledge of London is useful! )

The Buddy Code of Conduct and Expectations:

-Find out any needs your champion will have while in London and see where you can help them
-Do not buy anything for your champion until they have approved the cost and agreed they can pay you back.
-Do Not answer any competition or score sheet questions, please direct those questions to Amber Sather, Competitor Liaison.
-Plan for your time together in London, when you plan on meeting, shopping trips, etc..
-Attend WBC Meet and Greet, Tuesday June 22nd 5:30pm -7:30 pm, location TBC
-Fulfill any commitments you made to your barista ahead of time
-Be at their scheduled practice time 30 minutes ahead of time
-Be in the back for their competition time at least one hour ahead of time. Be sure to talk to your champion and find out when they want you there.
-During your Champions competition time wave their flag proudly and cheer them on. In some cases, you will be their only support.
-Help them clean up as much as possible after their competition time.
-Be there for the announcement of the finalist
-We understand that the show has a lot going on, but ask you to remember that this is the opportunity of a lifetime for many of these baristas and we want to set an example and want the competitors to walk away inspired and wanting to bring this sense of community back to their country.

The WBC competition days are held at the Caffe Culture show at Olympia, Wednesday- Friday June 23-25. You might be required to be there on two of those days, should your champion qualify for the Semifinals/Finals on the Friday and need your assistance!

Email Anette with you name, age, place of work, languages spoken/cultures familiar with, any competition experience or special skills that will make you a great Barista Buddy!

Best of Panama 2010 tasting

Anette Moldvaer — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 13:27:48 +0000

The Specialty Coffee Association of Panama hold a yearly ‘Best of’ competition for their coffee producers, but this year they are doing things a little differently! Instead of bringing in the international jurors to cup and score the samples in Panama, they have sent the samples out to selected jurors, to be roasted and cupped in labs across the world!

Anette has been honoured to be chosen as one of these jurors, and while all of SQM will be cupping the coffees according to Best of Panama protocols, only Anette’s scores will be calculated towards the final result.

As part of this year’s Best of Panama, we’ll be opening up for the general public to come along and try some of the samples as well. If you want to come along to try some of the best coffees in Panama this season, you are now able to purchase a £10 ticket through our webshop. Places will be limited, so first come first serve!

You’ll be given the option of cupping the coffees using the SCAP cupping form, or to just enjoy them with out having to score!

The cupping will take place at the Square Mile Coffee Roastery on Saturday May 1st, 2pm.

UBF 8 -The Blindfold Challenge!

Anette Moldvaer — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 01:36:56 +0000

Ah yes, the UBF is back, tougher and fiercer than ever! After a League break where we saw several of our UBF contenders take their battle onto the white tablecloths of the UKBC stage, the real, gritty throwdown is back where it belongs: the murky depths of roasteries and shops of London. Next up: Hosted by Kaffeine of Great Titchfield Street, a challenge so brutal you’ll be scared to come watch- which is only fair since our UBF’ers won’t see a thing either!

Head to head, two baristas will be blindfolded and guided to the steamwands by their chosen seeing eye helpers, they’ll get to steam once, be provided with one cup and shot each, and they have to pour their best latte art guided only by the voice of their aide. Winner progresses to the next round. Rules entirely subject to change!

Buy your ticket to compete, pack your milk pitchers, pick your helper, don your wellies and be at Kaffeine Wednesday the 28th, 7pm.

Audience: Space is limited, so please email Kaffeine or twitter at them @Kaffeinelondon to say you’re coming! £5 on the door or free with beer/food as usual!

Aida’s Grand Reserve

Anette Moldvaer — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 02:26:35 +0000

Every year Aida Batlle creates an extremely unusual and outstanding selection of the best peaberries from her three farms Kilimanjaro, Mauritania and Los Alpes. With a mix of Bourbon and Kenia grown across the farms, a peaberry selection processed by the washed method bodes for a exclusive profile of crisp fruits, sweet caramel and intense aromas. We only have three vac packs left of this coffee, and boy do we plan to enjoy it before it goes!

Aida’s Grand Reserve is a legendary coffee, and we’re extremely honoured to be able to introduce this to the UK for the first time, especially due to the way we’ve come about roasting it. When Gwilym Davies won the WBC in 2009, Aida very generously wanted to give him this bag of Grand Reserve as a prize. Gwilym equally generously passed it on to us, as he doesn’t roast much from his cart on Whitecross Street! There is no way we could sell this coffee for any sort of profit, so we are passing on the love and good fortune that we’ve been shown and we’re giving all proceeds from the sale of this remarkable and delicious coffee towards the medical bills of our fellow friend Ricardo Espitia, the executive director of the Consejo in El Salvador, who suffered a stroke in January last year.

I first met Ricardo almost six years ago, and it was his tireless efforts to promote his country’s lovely coffees that set El Salvador up to become my favourite origin. We were thrilled to have him come visit us at the roastery the summer before he fell ill, as we had just taken delivery of our seasonal El Salvadors for him to taste! Here with the lovely Lorena Pacas from El Borbollon.

When I went to El Salvador for the Cup of Excellence last year it was good to see that Ricardo was doing better, but there is still a ways to go until we’ll have the pleasure of seeing him back at work, bringing coffees from El Salvador into the spotlight.

We should be clear about this – when we say we’ll donate all proceeds we mean that for every £20 you spend on a bag, we’ll send £20. We’ll cover the cost of roasting, bagging, credit card fees and all the rest.

We hope you will take this rare opportunity to not only try one of the most delightful coffees in the world, but to help us let the good will and grace continue to flow through the simple pleasure of a great cup of coffee.

Anette

UBF 7 – Have you got the brains to match your beans???

Anette Moldvaer — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 15:49:03 +0000

Being the Ultimate Barista Fighter requires immense intellectual power as well as big tamping muscles. We’re testing our contestants’ brain cells by putting them through a grueling pubquiz, where the questions will of course center around the who, what, where, why and how of coffee!

This pubquiz will take place on Tuesday the 19th, 7pm, at The Miller : oh yes Ladies and Gentlemen, we are taking the UBF South Side!!!

Now, we can only fit 50 people in there on the night, competitors and spectators alike, so if you want to compete or just come along for the beer, YOU HAVE TO EMAIL ME AND LET ME KNOW!

There will be about 50 questions in various coffee related categories. The UBF’ers will compete in pairs, and each member of the couple will get points for their placing on the final ranking. So team up with the smartest UBF’er you know, or find a really smart UBF newbie to ensure your chances for a round 7 win! We’ll have as many teams as we can so email me to confirm you’re coming along, whether you want to compete, and who your teammate is. Bring a 5′er on the night, winner takes all!

SEE YA THERE!!!

UBF 6 – Let’s take it outside Santa

Anette Moldvaer — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 21:57:10 +0000

Columbia Road is a magical place on a Wednesday evening in December, the lovely shops are open but it isn’t as crowded and bustling as when the flower market is on.

Need another reason to visit? Join us for the first UBF we’ve ever held outside! World Barista Champion 2009 – Gwilym Davies – is hosting us at his legendary coffee cart on Ezra street as London’s finest baristas prove that fine art can be achieved in take-away cups too!

Spectating is free! Coffee (to keep you warm) will be free! Fun will had, and you can do a bit of Christmas shopping too!

If you want to compete there are a few spots left and you can book a place by purchasing your ticket here.

See you there! It is going to be amazing!

Gwilym’s Cart
Ezra Street (Off Columbia Road – Map)
7.30pm
Wednesday December 17th

UBF 6 – Take it outside, Santa.

Anette Moldvaer — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 15:32:21 +0000

Ultimate Barista Fighters must be able to defy the elements in order to prove their worthiness, so we’re sending them outside, to pour off in the cold, dark December nights… On Wednesday the 16th, we’ll meet in the backalleys of East London (well, at Gwilym’s cart on Columbia Road, anyway) to throw down in…. you know it- 8oz takeaway cups! Who can pour the best with frozen fingers? Will wearing gloves prove advantageous or a handicap? Will the milk freeze before it hits the espresso? You never knew being a UBF fighter would turn this physically challenging, so put your Mukluks and Santa hats on, and we’ll see you at Gwilym’s cart at 7pm!

Tickets to compete here.

Supporters and hecklers: no fee to come along, Happy Christmas to you all! (Thermoses with hot beverages probably useful)

(Also, the Columbia Road shops are open as per their Christmas Wednesdays, so it’s a good time to get those last presents in!)