A few months after reviewing the Sowden coffee brewer, we got a note from experienced Australian coffee entrepreneur Mr. Ian Bersten. He mentioned he had been working on a single cup coffee filter for some time, that would allow quick brewing with very finely ground coffee.
Now he had a few preproduction samples ready, and would we like to try it? Needless to say, our answer was yes, we were very curious.
We’re lucky here in Europe. We have access to many of the best coffees in the world, from Asia, to Africa and South America, and even as far as the South Pacific Islands.
A few weeks ago, we received a sample from a relatively nearby country that brought Europe its first taste of coffee; Yemen. The first coffees drunk in Europe were imported from the ancient port of Mokha – hence the name “moka”.
Musallam Trading, one of the largest exporting company in Yemen sent us a sample of their coffee. This Raimi coffee is one of the finest prepared dry processed arabicas we have seen in a long time. With less than five defects per 300g, this is Specialty Grade by any measure. The fairly small coffee beans are a mixture of native Yemeni cultivars. The coffee is sun dried.
Contrary to what you might think, we also like tea. A lot! Unfortunately, teapots tend to be shortlived items here. Whether made of porcelain, stoneware, or glass, teapots have parts that can and eventually will break. Often, it’s because the lid comes off, and falls to pieces.
We received two very stylish teapots from Zero Japan, the European distributor for Zero Japan Inc.. These are the classic style Zero Japan teapots.
The 2011 Middle East Coffee & Tea Convention, the only dedicated event for the Coffee and Tea industry in the Arab World, will be held at the Meydan Hotel, Dubai between 3rd – 5th November. The event is important for business owners, entrepreneurs and professionals within the HORECA sector as it offers an unprecedented networking opportunity and access to some of the leading national coffee and tea export associations, the world’s most respected coffee and tea professionals and a host of suppliers and services related to the industry.
30 of the country’s top baristas will compete to win the title of UAE Barista Champion, at an amazingly competitive event this year, with the winner going on to represent UAE at the World Barista Championship at Vienna in 2012.
From a European perspective, Kinto is more or less the Japanese equivalent of Bodum. Both are founded on the idea of affordable design. Both companies also enjoy a reputation for good quality home and kitchen products.
At the same time, the cultural backgrounds of these companies inevitably lead to differences in the product line-up, and different approaches in styling.
Whereas Bodum focuses primarily on press pots, we take a look at a special item by Kinto in part III of our series on drip coffee makers.
In recent years, Kinto launched a series of new drip coffee makes styled by the renown Japanese designer Kosei Shirotani. The series is named “Faro”, Italian for lighthouse, the obvious source of inspiration.
All parts of the Faro series are in a clean, form follows function style, without unnecessary decoration. We certainly appreciate that. The series consists of a coffee pot, a mug, and a cup. The cup is a double wall design that keeps the coffee hot, while still remaining cool on the outside.
The Kinto Faro Grande is a slightly larger derived version, available only as a cup set, or the slightly larger mug set. While the original Faro series is available only in white, the Faro Grande series is also available in stylish, toned-down blue and brown.
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