Blog: of Mice & Men!

admin

If you're attending MICE in Melb this weekned, please feel free to use this thread as a blog to catalogue your experiences for those of us who could not attend!

cheers
A

askthecoffeeguy

Had a few coffee luminaries come into my cafe in the last few days - good to know we're still on the radar !

beanflying

Speaking non luminaries here I will see you late Tuesday for a coffee too Pat The photos are a coming now I have found the lead in one of my house moving boxes  :doh:

beanflying

Complete directory is here but I will link most of the shots here too  https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/109400676470209299278/albums/5738989373507597457 Nice alternate in a one group Brugnetti Lever. Not sure I like the group that much but worth a look from Coffee Machine Technologies Prototype dual boiler made with the same groups and what appears to be LM boilers or similar behind. Apart from the prospect of being able to make drier steam than on a lot of levers the benifits are dubious IMO. The back end A little LM action It really is that tiny the KVW speedster To complex but it is a nice look Want your Cafe to stand out then look no further KVW Spirit Phoneticia a new one on me but a fairly nice E61 domestic. Multi group commercial from the same crowd

beanflying

For AM, KK and the rest of the wood nuts. A Dellacorte with leather wrapped handles and wooden laser cut drip tray insert and sides  8) Vittoria Arduino lever. Off to look and maybe play with one at Naked Espresso on Tuesday on the next Melbourne excursion Time for some manual brewing. Chemex from Coffee Surpreme including one of 2 in the world 20+ cup pourovers made over 50 years ago. A little Hario on the St Ali stand The Toddy now available via Bombora and their resellers Also brand new to their range some laser cut pourover stands and cup holder/carriers.

beanflying

Finally onto some Roasters. I should mention Peter Wolff was there with a very nice 15kg Probat but I failed to take pics IR5 Manual Diedrich IR BIG  ??? with full Automation package Shot of the Automation screen in manual mode, full control over heat and airflow here with logging and then save and playback for future roasts. circa $12k addon but payback won't take long in heavy use. Manual control is locked out on playback mode. Last couple and much as some of us have seen thme before at now circa $22k for a 1kg dumb dumb proof roaster with easy shop installation these have their place (just not my place ) 6-8 minutes per 1kg roast and the results were really nice and consistent. Auto clean cycle at roast end is nice too virtually zero smoke and chaff collection is excellent.

Brett H

Great pics mate.  Many thanks!! So glad that I couldn't be there... 2nd, 3rd, 4th mortgage...  :rofl:

DoubleRistretto

hey Bf - great pictures, thanks!

askthecoffeeguy

ditto - grea photos! My mrs has got a singing gig on this arvo so looks like i'm looking after the kids

Brett H

on 1336274558:

ditto - grea photos! My mrs has got a singing gig on this arvo so looks like i'm looking after the kids

My wife has a gig too!!!  She has to sing the national anthems for a corporate function  :rofl: Good news for me is that the fee is buying me a flat lapping machine  :thumb: Hope your wife buys you something great too Pat!!

beanflying

Take the kids, lots of things for them to play with Was nice to get the decent camera out of mothballs rather than my cruddy phone camera. Some other basic thoughts are that if AASCA keeps a show of this quality like this going be it in Sydney or Melbourne where does that leave Cafebiz in particular and to a lesser degree the good food and wine coffee addon? Great to see 4 companies displaying PLA bio degradable cups and lids! If your cafe isn't using them then time to change. Good range of overseas bean sellers and or brokers present from PNG and India in particular along with a couple of the locals being represented. Certainly and visibly there is a big push into Manual brewing methods and the available choices continues to grow. More of an obvious lever presence from the machine wholesalers who wouldn't have bothered with them in the past so it will be interesting if this translates to some cafes fitting one in 'as well' or instead of for commercial use. Very welcome from an outsiders point of view is the exchange, cooperative spirit and friendliness shown by one supplier to others in spite of every looking out for their own bottom line. With this sort of atmosphere this show should go from strength to strength in the future.

UNM

Managed to get along for a couple hours today - would have liked to be there longer, but family commitments prevented that. Well worth it and better than the last coffee expo I went to in Melb (Cafebiz). some really beautiful machines. Had a few good coffees. Best was a DR of Tobys Estate Brunswick blend, roasted 23/4 - barista there said he likes to use coffee of an appropriate age.  So many stands and machines, but I think shot was pulled on a slayer, FWIW. It is refreshing to see someone using coffee at its best, rather than straight out the roaster. Obviously I only have his word that it is the best age, but it was excellent... Also had a couple nice Geishas as pourover/syphon (one from Proud Mary, one from Hario) Picked up a couple of samples of Chai tea from Prana Chai - interesting and a bit different to your run of the mill chai - seems to be rolled in honey (and then baked?). An odd coincidence too - when I spoke to the guy on the Beanscene stand, I noticed he had a Scottish accent, turned out he is from Greenock (where I grew up) and used to live less than 100m from my parents house. I also noticed more of a presence from the sustainable materials crowd, no bad thing as takeaway seems to be growing as a proportion of sales - may be a perception thing, but that's how it seems to me.

admin

Thanks BF - great pics - almost like being there! A

3rd Crack

What an epic adventure ... goes something like the creditcard ads ... Return trip to Gold Coast / Melb ..  $99 Cab to showgrounds ...  $40 bed at backpackers hostel for the night .. $26 thanking Kees Van Der Westen in person .. Priceless .. or .. Having your coffess cupped side by side to not one but 5 other Geisha's  ...... "am i dreaming ??"

Koffee_Kosmo

Thank you all for the most excellent reports and superb photos Wish I was there  :thumb: KK

Seeya Latte

Yep, thanks for the photos - beautiful pieces !