Don Campos: For Coffee Fanatics, Alexandria (18 Dec 2010)

21 Fountain Street, Alexandria NSW 2015
http://www.camposcoffee.com

For the coffee fanatics

This is truly a barista's dream come true. Our first operating Slayer espresso machine - working very well after months of research and tinkering here at HQ as well, our first, (and perhaps a Sydney first), siphon bar serving only select grand cru Single Origin coffees. The Baristas are Specialty Coffee fanatics who have been with us for years.

I've been wanting to check out this place after hearing about it at The Cupping Room session so while visiting Dan Murphy's across the road for some much needed Christmas cheer I popped over for a quick looksie. There's limited signage on the outside which makes it not very noticeable from the street and they seem to be one of the first tenants of this renovated lofty warehouse space. The coffee equipment looks pretty serious including their Slayer espresso machine which can do varying pressure — for a coffee novice like me I don't really understand it but sounds impressive. They also have the laboratory looking siphon which I've heard so much about at Sensory Lab in Melbourne. There's even a drip style coffee apparatus which is run overnight and the filtered coffee is served cold. There's some simple baguettes and pastries on offer and the staff are pretty friendly and seem to know a lot about making a good coffee although I've yet to try — next time.

Other blog reviews:

• Cafedave

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Light and airy space, Spacious seating compared to Newtown store, Different coffee choices including siphon, Friendly staff

CONS: Not close to my home, Not much else around the area

MUST TRY: The different styles of coffee preparation

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Slayer espresso machine in foreground

Barista fanatics

Siphon

Coffee drip filter apparatus

Coffee beans for sale

Brewing today menu

Seating with room to move




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Campos Coffee: The Cupping Room, Newtown (27 Nov 2010)

193 Missenden Road, Newtown NSW 2042
http://www.camposcoffee.com

Coffee aroma-therapy

Campos Specialty Coffee have launched Sydney’s very first Cupping Room at their flagship store in Newtown. ‘Cupping’ is the term which describes the ‘evaluation’ process that happens when coffee beans are bought and sold direct from growers around the world, a concept which is explained in each session.

Thanks to Caroline Bligh from Cav Con who organised a cupping session

for me

with managing director Will Young of Campos Coffee to see what it's all about. For only $8.80 per person, groups of 2-8 people are talked through the process over 45 minutes which includes tasting up to 5 different coffee beans. We learnt Campos personally source their coffee beans from around the world

which are then used to make their own blend of coffee. They focus on buying from only sustainable coffee plantations which are both environmental and fair to the community that's producing the coffee beans.

Personally I'm not a huge coffee drinker but I found the session very educational and it gave me a much better insight into the philosophy of Campos and the process involved in acquiring coffee beans. After the session I tried an Affogato ($5) in the downstairs cafe. I noticed it's made with plenty of Serendity Belgian White Chocolate ice cream. To save time the ice cream is prescooped into glasses and kept frozen in the freezer. Because the ice cream sits firmly on the bottom of the glass I found it didn't mix as easily with the coffee like the one at Cafe Sopra which I still prefer. The Macchiato ($3) had a robust depth of flavour but I thought it also had a slightly bitter aftertaste — perhaps the sudden afternoon rush affected the quality? I'll have to return to try a flat white, cappuccino and mocha to compare to other places.

Here's a video I found on youtube which basically goes through the process of cupping to give you a good idea of what we did in the session — except none of us really did the spitting.

Other food blog reviews:
• Gosstronomy

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: A better appreciation of how coffee is selected and its origins, Intimate group, Informative and interesting class, Efficient cafe service, Coffee specialists

CONS: Standing only in the cupping session, Limited seating in the downstairs cafe when busy, Can get overly crowded and noisy at peak times in the cafe

MUST TRY: More coffee to compare to other places

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Managing director Will Young takes the coffee cupping class on a journey of origins and appreciation

Examine the coffee beans

Samples of coffee beans to smell (left to right): Ethiopian Lekempti, PNG Marawaka, Indian Monsoon, Kenyan Tembo, Basic IGA supermarket packaged coffee

Add hot water to infuse the coffee beans

Inhale the aromatics

Break the surface crust with a spoon and inhale aromatics

Scrap away the surface scum

Taste by slurping quickly

The Cupping Room sessions and info

Affogato ($5)

Macchiato ($3)

Campos Superior coffee blend

Service counter when not busy

Service counter when really busy — gets a bit chaotic

Limited seating at the back of cafe

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