I’ve spent the week in Jakarta opening St Ali’s first* international outpost. We’re rocking the new Linea PB with scales. IT’S AWESOME!!!!!! 😍

- Dialling in is so fast and efficient: I’m yet to pull more than 2 shots each morning.

- Repeating yesterday’s recipe is a no-brainer. I think I’ve adjusted the yield once all week.

- It’s such a relief during service to know that the espressos are on point. I have much more energy for interacting with customers and making sure every drink is perfect.

- Volumetrics make manual shots seem archaic, and this makes volumetrics completely obsolete.

I’ve said it before: automation is the future.

*😒

That something is putting really delicious coffee in Nespresso pods. You can sign up for updates as they happen (highly recommended).

I’m sure you have an opinion about pods, but nobody cares. The only thing that matters about this project is how well it’s received by regular consumers and how many people it introduces to -and convinces of- the deliciousness of specialty.

Here’s why I think it’ll work:

I’m really interested in hosting a series of debates about the pressing issues in coffee. So many voices, so little organised conversation.

2 teams of three.
~3-5 minutes each speaker.
Speak and rebuttal cycles of ~24hrs (to ease the international timezoney nature of these things).
I’ll organise the debate behind the scenes and post it as one video at the end.

Debate No .1 : Omni Roasts

Head to the (new) Barista Hustle Facebook Page to nominate and vote for the speakers you want to see!

This will be fun. 😬

A tumblr that rates Melbourne cafes on, well, douchey barista dudeness. I’m not saying this is the best way to tackle the various gender divides and attitude problems in our industry, but it’s something. 

Most recent reviews are of Proud Mary Coffee (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “Extreme Douche Alert”) and St ALi (⭐️⭐️⭐️ “Medium Douche Alert”).

Chefsteps -my favourite cooking website- teamed up with James Hoffmann to devise a delicious espresso martini (note: it requires chocolate bitters and a whipping siphon).

I also have a super-simple recipe for these that’s scalable for large events. It’s quite textural, plays nicely with most roast styles, and has lubricated many a Melbourne party.

100 x ~90ml serves:

4000ml Vodka
1000ml Patron XO 
1000ml Cointreau

50 double espressos (from a ~20g dose)

Scale up or down as appropriate. Mix and chill overnight. The colder the better!

Thanks for reading, and please let me know if you have any feels about this new format!

To the boundaries of coffee,

Matt Perger