When the weather outside is frightful....

there's nothing more delightful.... than having no place to go... so enjoy an Old Wwworld cup of joe.

As Luke mentioned in his previous post, roasting as of late with an unheated building isn't the most enjoyable experience. However, we always find a way to brighten our spirits, and during last nights roast, the perfect solution was a delicious cup of fresh roasted Panama. Though lattes are generally my specialty, sometimes curling up with a fresh cup of french pressed coffee is just what I need.

Winter is the perfect season for coffee. It's cold enough for the coffee to really warm your soul and make for an extra enjoyable experience. I've had more coffee these past few weeks than I have in a while, and I don't mean lattes. It's just suiting. If I want a milk based drink at this time of year, I have a hot cocoa. Oh, and a little tip with that, if your a hot cocoa lover and have an espresso machine, froth your milk like you're making a latte and then add it to your chocolate mix. PLEASE NOTE THAT WHENEVER YOU ADD liquid to a cocoa powder to add a littttlllee bit in at first, make a paste by stirring/whisking it in, then add the rest of your hot liquid. If you have no espresso machine, boil your milk on the stove (or even in the microwave) before adding it. It makes for a smoother, more delicious cup.

Though right now cocoa isn't getting the job done. My preference is coffee and not my usual coffee regions/blends. My preferences are changing with the seasons. Normally, I prefer lighter/medium roasted sweet coffees like our Costa Rica or Peru. Now, I am enjoying the darker roasts like Dominican Republic, which I am very much looking forward to a delicious cup of when I get home.


Oh and Turkish coffee time will soon be on us again....last years was quiet potent.

-- Ashley


http://theoldworldcafe.com/

Tis the season to be busy (and cold!)

This past week has been crazy! Keeping up with our demand this week has been very interesting. I think coffee is the emergency gift for people everywhere! As always I like to give you guys a bit of a behind the scenes of what goes on here, so here it goes.

We got swamped with orders this week, and at the same time we had to refill our propane tank. This sounds simple right, after all we have done this in times past and have a backup tank for when our large tank is being refilled just in case we need to fill out orders.

So while we await our large tanks arrival we have a wholesale order to fill along with some smaller local orders, pretty standard stuff. However, the building we roast out of is not heated at the moment, and this is where things get interesting. We all go out to hook up our backup tank when it is 23 degrees outside, and the tank itself is so cold it cannot put enough pressure through the line to start the roaster...

So the next morning our big tank arrives, full, heavy and awaiting me to move it about 100 yards down a slight hill. One almost repulled hernia later we are up and running and the orders go out on time. Not the worst thing we have endured, but I could not believe that even our large tank struggled to put out pressure once it hit 1/4 tank. Apparently it will need jacketed...

Oh and what temp was it when I did roast you may wonder? Twenty six degrees F. I had 5 layers on so as to stay warm. Thankfully the roaster adds a little bit of heat to the area surrounding it!

BTW I thought the worst roasting I have had to endure thus far was the 125+ degree heat we had this summer because I am to cheap to buy an AC unit for us.....and I had to have a towel around parts of me so I did not drip sweat into the cooling tray! Now I am not sure...


---Luke



Old Wwworld Cafe

La Pavoni Romantica

When Old Wwworld Cafe first started pulling espresso shots, we used a La Pavoni Romantica. We wanted to stick with the manual lever machine, and really enjoyed learning our way around espresso and frothing milk. However, when our Elektra Barlume arrived, the La Pavoni was pushed to the side to collect dust....

Well, we decided to go back to the La Pavoni this week to see just how much it differs from the Barlume. Now, the La Pavoni is fun to pull a shot on and to froth latte milk on, but it is still just a home machine. It's crema is nothing compared to the Barlume and the pressue to the steam wand is minuscule. It's extremely difficult to get great latte milk from, though it is possible.

Overall, I was more than surprised by the La Pavoni's performance. Remembering back to when we first started using it, the steam pressure seemed too high and hard to control to froth milk. Now, I sit there waiting and thinking of how the milk must be baking. Though a whirlpool is still possible and a good frothing may occur, it is not an easy feat to pull off.


After pulling the shot and getting the milk ready, which cannot be done at the same time like on the Barlume, I was able to mark the top and have a tasty latte. Though the La Pavoni may not compare to the Barlume, it's not meant to; these are two different classes of machine. Still, the La Pavoni is fun to pull shots on and makes a great latte =D.

-Ashley

www.theoldworldcafe.com

Post blending (and blend your own number 2?)

Having issues setting up a new part of the site where we offer our current roasted selection as a post blended blend....if that did not make sense let me try again. Lets say you order a 1/4 lb of panama, and I have to run a batch meaning I now have 2 and 3/4 lbs of panama unsold. This coffee is held here for a very short time or blended into a blend that calls for it. Other coffees do not currently have blends to go in afterward and end up as mystery blend if I feel they are past their prime.....now bear in mind for me past their prime is 16 days and coffee you get at the store has probably been roasted months ago (always look for a roasted on date!)

At any rate, I am trying to set it up so our site can offer blend made with the freshest coffee on hand while its available and taken down when its not, encouraging you all to go their more often and for us to offer some crazy blends. This week I had Guat. mixed with Dom. R. post blended and it was a gorgeous cup, but unless you bought both you would not get to experience it. Now if I offered this as a post blend always I would wind up with a 1/4 lb of it ordered and a bunch of leftover (Dom. R, actually moves fast but for the sake of argument lets say it was unpopular.). If I can figure out a fancy way of coding I will keep everyone informed and show off some really unique coffee blends for you all to enjoy!

Oh and as a note, the current blends on the site are either preblended or are blend of coffees that move very quickly.


The Old Wwworld Cafe Americas best online cafe!

-Luke

Try a Blend 1: Breakfast without Body

So this is a fun post blend for you all to try, it tastes similar to a breakfast blend of many other roasters.

75% Costa Rica Tarrazu Full City
25% Guatemalan Antigua City+

Love this blend, and figured I would pass it along to others! For a bit more body, add some Colombian Supremo or a nuttier Brazilian.

http://theoldworldcafe.com/

Upstate Steampunk Extravaganza

On November 20th a Steampunk Extravaganza was hosted at the Marriot Greenville. There was dueling, dancing, classes, and shopping along with many other events. There were quite a few vendors there selling anywhere from books to weapons to clothing to coffee.

Yes, that's right, Old Wwworld Cafe set up shop for the day serving french press micro lots and grog. We also brought along our siphon pot for fun and samples.

The top item of the day was definitely the coffee grog. It's rich cream and spice kept everyone fueled all day long!



But it wasn't the only thing that caught people's attention. The siphon pot was a must see. We brewed several pots throughout the day and each time drew a crowd. Not only was everyone fascinated with how it worked, they also loved the clean, sweet cup it produced.

Exploring, having fun, and learning wasn't all the extravaganza was about. It was also about showing off your steampunk style(s). Almost everyone showed up in a costume of sorts, and several people actually changed through out the day.

Awesome old timey camera.

Airship pilot


Wait, was that an Ornithopter?

Victorian lady and gentleman, alchemist, mad hatter and white rabbit from Alice in Wonderland.

Steampunk fest

So this past weekend we worked a steampunk fest in the upstate area. Stay tuned for a short write up and some wonderful pics!

Dark and Buttery

So tonight we roasted our French Noir blend, and I decided to take a handful out of the cooling tray and put it into a strainer with butter. This rather unorthodox cooling blend combo is not for sale mind you, but I had heard about it at Coffeefest and wanted a taste.

The result? A very, very smooth and clean dark coffee... definitely worth trying at least once, so take your darkest roast and butter away!

the old wwworld cafe

Oh how I long for a good cup of coffee...

Days like today always remind me of how fortunate I am to drink quality, tasty coffee on a regular basis. As usual, the weekend was not kind on my sleep schedule, so it was a rough Monday morning. Well, I left the house without coffee, and just couldn't make it through the day without the caffeine. So I went to the lunch room and grabbed a cup of their coffee...

.... 3 creamers and 2 sugars later and I barely managed to gulp it down. There's still a bit left in the cup. I think I'll be pulling some espresso when I get home tonight. Not just for the caffeine kick, but I need to refresh the delicious taste of coffee and get rid of this nasty one.

Anyone else have a coffee experience that reminded them of why they drink the good stuff?

Gotta heart!

Luke's first latte art pour with something that didn't look ugly as sin!


the old wwworld cafe

Rain + aluminum roof is scary

Where we roast these days has an aluminum roof, and it is currently POURING OUTSIDE! It is deafeningly loud in here, and I have to leave it to get more beans to weigh....not a huge highlight for me. On the plus side, I am not wet...just yet.

Behind the Scenes Pics

We had a good bit of positive feedback on our sample roasting video, so I am planning on putting up a few more. I am still editing our first espresso series video, but expect it up within the week.

In the meantime, here are some pics of the other night filming. The wind was picking up a bit, hence the shielding!











http://www.theoldworldcafe.com/

Vid up if you have not seen.

This video is the first in a series of what it is like to roast by hand, quite literally.




the old wwwworld cafe

Fun Monday

So its storming here in upstate SC, and with that a makeshift shelter I had to use for some overstock came down. Luckily everything stayed dry that needed to, but I was not happy resetting that up first thing in the morning!

Today marks the first of our Drink building exercises. We are taking the time to build and test new and existing drinks from scratch in an effort to understand what makes the difference between a good drink and a totally amazing drink!

Let the experimentation begin! Using standard our espresso blend, various syrups by Sweetbird, sauces, and other garnishes we set to work making drinks from ideas that we all came up with during the past week or so.

As we ground and tamped, pulled and repulled, syruped, sprinkled, drizzled and frothed, many drinks were born and consumed with eagerness to find perfection. Although all of them were delicious (i mean how could they not be with all that amazing espresso), there were some that were so perfect that it made your head spin and tongue tingle with delight leaving you wanting more. Hints of peaches, raspberries, chocolate, amaretto, caramel, and hazelnut pulled through to make some of the best drinks that I have ever tasted.

Here are some of our personal favorites!

Mint Chocolate Mocha

Hazelnut Mocha (Dan attempted latte art, first tries could be worse!)






Peach Cobbler








Caramel Soda Americano (yes you read that correctly)

Dom Gold First Roast

Just finished roasting the Dom Gold (as in I haven't even poured it from the cooling tray), and I took a bean and decided to bite into it. Just wow, it tastes like a honey spiced chocolate was put over these beans, and its roasted darker than I thought these type of beans would be, I LOVE IT!

Here is a pic, enjoy!



South Carolina's Premiere Online Coffee Roastery,The Old Wwworld Cafe

New Coffee in, Dominican Gold!

I am very, very excited about the new coffee we have just received here today, and for many reasons. First off it marks the first time we have traded directly with a farm, second off it is our first "island coffee", and third off IT IS OUTSTANDING!

For those of you who LOVE Jamaican or Hawaiian coffees, this is a must try as it is in the same category. I cannot rave about it enough, so go get some already!


I will leave you today with a few parting images (the videos I took are a tad dark until I edit them) with our monthly sample roasting. Each month we all pitch blend ideas or rework an old coffee and take it for a spin on the sample roaster. Our sample roaster needs some work done to it though, but we have plans for that so we wont have to turn it by hand for much longer!




Oh and to the fine people at Dominican Gold, your espresso makers will be in route here in the next 2 weeks along with some lovely syrups, I cannot wait to here about you pulling shots on them and making drinks!

Happy Monday Everyone!

It is a new week, and much work needs done! This week you should expect to see the start of a series of videos on espresso, as per request of several of our customers. Since so many videos exist on the net of people pulling shots, we did not want to do a video in that manner. Instead, we are doing a miniseries on espresso where we briefly discuss the beans and machines separately. We will also go over some tech details in the series and even pull some shots with coffees that are not our own (I will warn you, its cheap coffee and it tasted awful but it will prove a point!).

On top of that, our new coffee lot arrives this week from the Dominican Republic! I highly encourage EVERYONE to try out this coffee.

Our new bags are due in today as well, I posted up a sample pic on the Facebook Page of them.

In other silly, fun news, if you google us we are now in the top 6 search results! In closing, I will leave you with a shot of our new espresso machine up and running when we did tests on it.






Take care everyone!
www.theoldworldcafe.com

New design, and still editing

Updated the blog to look a little nicer, and I am still editing away at videos. The plan is to have the website have a video showing you how to brew using a variety of different methods. Most of the videos are shot, I am just not very efficient at using video editing software :(.

In the meantime, you can checkout some pics of the new machine if you are following us on Facebook, and be sure to check back frequently as we will be updating a great deal in the upcoming months!


theoldworldcafe

Net is back up!

The net is back online for us, and phones are as well. With this expect some updates including vids and pics of our new machines!

www.theoldworldcafe.com

Site Updates, Vids on the way

Site is undergoing a few updates, and good ones at that! In the meantime, I am also editing and uploading a few videos to youtube. As you watch the videos, you will get an idea of how much time we dedicate to making great coffee and espresso.

Btw, Dont forget to subscribe to our Youtube page and follow us here on blogspot!




Old Wwworld Cafe

Guat Cupping, new roast better taste!

So I was compelled to awake from my slumber this morning to re do my roast profile on our Guatemala. I booted on up the sample roaster, and about 30 mins later I was cupping said Guat. Here are some pics of a very simple/informal cupping on an early Sunday morning.

I like the new roast for this, it is much cleaner and sweeter than the previous. In my opinion the previous Guat was a bit too light (it was almost our lightest roast!), so now its a tad bit darker. The result is a nuttier cup, but still it has plenty of fruit hints and a chocolate aftertaste.

Once I finalize the new roast, the Guat will be on sale with any order of a pound or more.

Barlume Inc

Just placed an order for our Elektra Barlume, now I cannot wait!

Noir, its French for Black!

So I am adding a test coffee to our line up, and tonight is its first run!

Incoming Coffee Noir Samples.

Learning Latte Art Part 4

More of us learning latte art. Ash is the leafy looking one, and the other 2 images our of mine. The squiggle one is us messing around with etching the one previously shown.

The Pavoni is a harsh mistress.

Learning Latte Art Part 3

Part 3 of our day to day (ish) quest for better latte art, again using an 8 cup La Pavoni Romantica.



I got a snowman... and accidentally an ugly swan, where as Ash is starting to get better at her hearts.

theoldworldcafe

Learning Latte Art on an 8 cup La Pavoni..Part 2

Every morning we wake-up and make delicious lattes. We always pour art in our attempt to master the skill. Here are some pics of our pours, including one of this mornings lattes.

Learning Latte Art on an 8 cup La Pavoni..Part 1

While awaiting our Barlume, Ash and I have decided to try to learn latte art on our home lever machine, an 8 cup La Pavoni Romantica.

So far, here is what we got.


You can see Ashley is doing a better job than I!



the old wwworld cafe

This steampunked monitor is now 90% operational!

Some pics of the near completed steampunked monitor, all its missing its its power button.


www.theoldworldcafe.com