Cappuccino Chronicles - Bean There Coffee Cupping Experience

So the hubby (he of  the affairs of the tart ) and I went to our much anticipated Coffee Cupping at Bean There at the 44 Stanley in Milpark. We used to drive past the one in Wale Street in CT when we went for the Camps Bay Holiday and say "woooooo Bean There , we're going next week" and other similar silly things.

We arrived and greeted by Sarah , who is the co-founder along with her brother Jonathan. Sarah is amazingly passionate about Bean There's vision. They don't compromise on their standards and beliefs . They are really committed to making exceptional coffee and these coffee cupping sessions are an amzing oppotunity to learn about what they do as well as learn about coffee (we're not talking Jacobs here people, these people are stratospheres beyond that). They only use and source the top 2 % of coffee on the world. They are especially commited to "African" coffee. They are also all about adventure - going to and experiencing all the countries they source coffee beans from. Gosh , Sarah was saying so much , I was trying to remember it all for the blog . (bad job here) Anyway it was #amazeballs and I would love to do it again. What is fantastic about Bean There , they are always striving to be better , make better coffee, do it in a better way, make things better. It seems as if they relish adventures and challenges.

With a love for coffee and a passion for the African adventure, Bean There Coffee Company acquires, through direct fair trade, the world’s finest single origin coffee, which is roasted in small batches to produce an exclusive optimal roast.Bean There is committed to providing unblended, single origin coffee from one carefully selected country and region, their  goal is to allow the coffee drinker the opportunity to know a country through its coffee.

Direct fair trade means producers receive a fair payment for their coffee through equal engagement, regardless of market fluctuations, which ensures community development, empowerment, and sustainability. Bean There enhances their trading relationships through practicing DIRECT FAIR TRADE which involves travelling to the country of origin, personally selecting the coffee, meeting the coffee farmers and their community, and partnering with already established programs or initiating new programs. Regardless of certification, Bean There operates according to direct fair trade principles and we believe in not discriminating against amazing coffee which lacks “certification” but rather building a healthy and sustainable trade relationship with the producers

 Bean There provides single origin, unblended coffee beans from one country and region. All coffee beans have an optimal roast: a point within the roasting process where the key coffee elements of aroma, body, acidity and flavour meet perfectly, resulting in a most desirable, optimal roast. Bean There has directly sourced the world’s most exclusive coffee which it traditionally hand-roasts in small batches. The coffee taste and experience emanates class, distinction, extravagance, and passion. Every cup of Bean There coffee creates an adventure able to transport the taster to the jungles of risk, the farms of intrigue, the plains of mystery, and the taste of Africa’s coffee heritage.

The Coffees

Great Ambience

We luuuuuuurve cheese spreads and the figs were #amazeballs.

Their Probat Roaster

Sarah in the back and Thenkiso (their Master Roaster) doing a quiz. Here we learnt some interesting things
and the hubby won a prize (freshly ground coffee from Burundi - freshly ground as in ground that day! #amazeballs).
We learnt about the most expensive coffee in the world

Kopi luwak or civet coffee, is one of the world's most expensive and low-production varieties of coffee. It is made from the beans of coffee berries which have been eaten by the Asian Palm Civet – a sort of Lemur (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus) and other related civets, then passed through its digestive tract.A civet eats the berries for their fleshy pulp. In its stomach, proteolytic enzymes seep into the beans, making shorter peptides and more free amino acids. Passing through a civet's intestines the beans are then defecated, keeping their shape. After gathering, thorough washing, sun drying, light roasting and brewing, these beans yield an aromatic coffee with much less bitterness apparently .This coffee was widely noted as the most expensive coffee in the world with prices reaching $600 per pound

Kopi luwak is produced mainly on the islands of Sumatra, Java, Bali and Sulawesi in the Indonesian Archipelago. It is also produced in the Philippines (where the product is called motit coffee in the Cordillera, kape alamid in Tagalog areas) and also produced in East Timur (where it is called kafé-laku). Weasel coffee is a loose English translation of its Vietnamese name cà phê Chồn, where popular, chemically simulated versions are also produced. However, Vietnam has 2 farms with 300 wild civets in Dak Lak. The farmers collect the coffee seeds and produce only 300 kg of authentic Vietnamese chon coffee.

 

When I first started sniffing I sniffed so hard it shot in my eye. Lol. It's amazing how the different coffees smelled - leather, hazelnut, toast, blueberries. The lady that sat on our table smelled a bit of cigarettes and Barbie (don't ask!)

Starting to brew the coffee

The Coffee brewing, after this , we remove the crust and taste it.

The Hubby tasting

Love the decor

A foamer

Head of Research and Development - this is serious business

The best Flat White in the whole wide world (so far) . No sweetner required! Wow wow and woooooooow! You can correct me on this but a flat white is a coffee beverage originating from Australia. It is prepared by pouring microfoam (steamed milk from the bottom of a pitcher) over a single or double shot of espresso. It is similar to the latte and the café au lait. Like other espresso-based beverages, it can be interpreted in various ways.The beverage is typically served in a small, 150–160 millilitre, ceramic cup. Microfoam is used, resulting in a smooth and velvety texture. A flat white may incorporate latte art.

A cappuccino is similar, but has a head of dry foam rather than microfoam. The Spanish Cafe con Leche is similar to a flat white but uses scalded milk. In a flat white, the milk is steamed to 60–70 °C (typically 150–170 °F). Steaming the milk to a lower temperature retains the fats and proteins in the milk which retain a sweet flavour, lost when milk is steamed to scalding temperatures.A Cafe con Leche also lacks the head of microfoam.

Love the figs

Have a look at the website :Check it out here. It was a lot of fun , we met some interesting people , had some great coffee and learnt a lot. We'll both be returning to Bean There