The idea of the latte art contest is to provide a platform for the coffee baristas (doesn’t matter if he/she is a home or professional coffee barista) to not only to compete against each other but to share knowledge between us.

Also, I hope that through these activities, we will have a bigger and thriving coffee community in Malaysia.

So, I have created a survey form to see if there is enough interest out there for a first unofficial latte art competition. Please feel free to complete the survey and forward to your friends.

What We Need For The Competition:

1. A host, can be a home/cafe ( I will be glad to host the competition at my home for the 1st one).
2. Sponsors (goodies for the winner).
3. Contributions (for the coffee beans/milks/tools/snacks/machines).
4. Competitors.
5. Judges and crowd.
6. Anything that can make the competition even better.

Got more ideas on the competition? Leave me your comments below or contact me.

For your information, Wega grinders are manufactured by Compak, a Spanish company that also manufactures Ascaso brand of coffee grinders, which you can find at ETC concept store @ The Curve, Damansara.

The grinder is still in good condition and is capable of grinding fine enough for the most demanding espresso enthusiasts.

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The used Wega grinder up for sale.

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As you can see from the sticker on the side body of the grinder, this Wega baby was born in 2002 but has been seldomly used and been kept in store for a long time.

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Comes with a built-in floating rubber tamper but I would recommend you remove this to give more clearance so it is easier when you remove the portafilter below the dosing chamber (unless you are those using just 7gm per cup). Less mess for you when you are filling over the top for the Stockfelth/NSEW distribution method.

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Check the video above for the dosing action.

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This is a stepped grinder. It is at around mark 65 for the 2-month old Jack Hanna’s beans that I tried last week.

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Check out the video above for the grinding action.

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The dosing chamber. If you are the sinful people of filling the doser till full, the electronic switch board on top will activate the grinding process when it is less “full”.

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An even coffee bed waiting for extraction.

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Nice even pour. Honey flowing crema!

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Check out the video above for the extraction process.

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Yummy, how can I resist not drinking?

If you get to read this far and interested in buying this used Wega Max grinder, please contact me or use the comments form below.

The general consensus for hot drinks is always drink them while still hot because at that temperature, they always taste the best.

Unfortunately, this is not the case with brewed coffee. Of course, you have to brew the coffee at near boiling water (96degree Celcius to be precise) in order to extract all the best coffee flavours that particular coffee has to offer. However if you intend to taste the full potential (especially when you are drinking a single origin coffee), then read on.

The temperature of the coffee after brewing is usually around 90degree Celcius or less depending on the various factors like brewing method used, cold/warm cups, quality of the coffee maker and etc. At this degree of drinking temperature, it is mission impossible to be able to identify the real coffee flavours and cut through the roast flavours. And most of the times you will get your tongue burned if not careful enough.

So what is the right temperature to start drinking your coffee? Let it be slightly cooler and only start drinking it when it is around the 70degree Celcius mark. From my experience of drinking a freshly brewed single origin coffee (either it is a Kenyan, Costa Rica, Sumatra, etc.) every morning, I would say coffee is at its best when it is around 60-65degree Celcius mark. That is when you get to taste the natural sweetness, full body, fruitiness (acidity) and other coffee flavours (that will depend on how good is your taste palate). If you do drink wine, then you might understand what I am trying to say here.

DO NOT BELIEVE WHAT I SAID?

Try to brew a cup of single origin coffee at home and only start drinking when it starts get warm.

Photo credit: Coffee Geek, Jimseven