What the heck is a Short Black then? The opposite of Long black?

I always believe that words should have its appropriate meaning. As words are used for communications,  it should have a defined meaning.

Allow me to propose that the Long Black be the opposite of the Ristretto. Ristretto with the meaning “Restrict” attached to it… we literally restrict the flow. Either tamp a bit harder, dose a bit more, grind a bit finer OR/AND pulled a bit SHORTER (in volume).

Hence, the Long Black should be tamp a bit lighter, dose a bit lesser, grind a bit coarser OR/AND pulled a bit LONGER. And you have the word LONG black.

Americano on the other hand, let it be Espresso with water. Does not matter whether the espresso is on TOP or Bottom.

There are some slight difference whether you pull the espresso on top OR add hot water to the espresso.

The former will give a better visual presentation, aroma a bit stronger and the first sip a bit bitter (due to the floating crema).

But once you stirred, both of them tasted the same to me.

When more and more cafes in Malaysia moving towards fresher and better coffee, the GIANT that is Starbucks goes INSTANT.

RM8 per pack. Inside consist of 3 servings.

I rope in 2 unsuspecting “victims” for some blind test. I bought the Colombia Pack.

Using the Colombia from Highlander, I made 2 portions. One using the V60 Dripper and another using Aeropress. And then the last portion, Starbucks Instant Colombia.

Epic Failed Award goes to ….

Something Special

Coffee.. serving the nations, building societies, improving productivities.

As simple as can be… but probably can be simpler still.

Sponsored by… ahem…

True coffee lovers know that latte art does not determine the taste of good coffee.

A simple velvety textured milk will taste just as good.

One of the most user friendly coffee maker. Expect clean and flavourful coffee.

To brew coffee at home, nothing is more important than a good grinder.

Some people just can’t do without SUGAR.

Dirty machine cannot make you good coffee.

Location: 63A, Jalan USJ 21/11, Subang Jaya.
Time: 10.30am to 8pm
Days: Monday to Saturday (Sundays by appointment)

To all Malaysian who have not registered as a voter, please do so ASAP.
If you manage to register from NOW till end of year 2011, FREE coffee from me.

The Isomac Professionalle Home Grinder.
Check the specifications here.

Grind the beans using the Isomac grinder and extract using the VBM Lollo.
Pour was slightly faster than what I want but still pretty good.

Ya, it is a bit slow… retain lots of grounds… But hey, you are a home user. You can afford to wait. Shake it a bit to clear the retained grounds. From Aeropress to Syphon to pour over to espresso… Isomac Professionalle Home grinder rocks.

Pretty gals are most welcome.

Warning: coffee may increase biting incidences among children.

We don’t discriminate… even against Mat Rempit.

All are welcome to learn.

Using humble tools.

We try our best serving fresh roasted, delicious coffee.

Photos courtesy of: Marcus Low’s Photography. (expect the last two pic)
Address:
63-A, Jalan USJ 21/11, Subang Jaya

Nowadays with all the “trendy” people raving about their iPhones and Androids, many wondered why in the world am I still going for the Nokia N8 with its Symbian OS that has no future.

Before we even go into that, there is a need to differentiate the meaning of Smartphones and Smart Phones.

Based purely on my own perception and not any authoritative view:

Smartphone = Very Internet dependent, Very Apps dependent and Very Socially focus. Almost expect live update on Facebook, Twitter, Internet news and emails all the time.

Smart Phone = An all rounder phones that works well on multiple front. A convergence of different functionality.

The Nokia N8 is a Smart Phone. While the iPhone is a Smartphone as are most Androids phone.

What the Nokia N8 can do decently well… as most Smartphones do.

• SMS with Conversation view
• Full Touch QWERTY keyboard (only decent while iPhone’s is great)
• The portrait T9 predictive keyboard is very good
• Email. I use gmail client and Mobile Documents. They are good but not great. While the Symbian Default email client is damn stupid (Cannot have options to just delete email on the phone only. When delete on the phone, that email in the server gets deleted)
• Default browser is forgettable but with Opera Mini, it is acceptable. I only use it to surf the web when absolutely needed to find information when I don’t have access to my laptop. I can’t really find pleasure in surfing the Internet on such small screen. So what if you have a 4 inches screen. Give me my 12 inches laptop anytime. Ok, maybe I’m getting old.
• There are decent free and paid apps for facebook and twitter. Good enough for simple usage. They are not great and not meant for those people who lived 24/7 on their facebook and twitter.
• My favourite messenger, WhatsApp is supported and works very well.
• It can Skype too.
• Games. Quite a few nice games but nowhere near iPhone or Androids. But then, sigh.. how much time you wanna spent playing games on your phone. I rather reserve the battery for making phone calls.

What the Nokia N8 do very well… most likely better than most Smartphones.

• Excellent Camera for photos and videos. Ok, some people claim it is unfair to compare the camera of N8 with other phones. But I assure you, once you have the N8, you will use the camera extensively.Why? Well, if you are a Smartphones user and spent lots of time on Social Media, then sharing photos is expected. And so many of those Smartphones cannot take those love memories of the moment that makes you proud. How many times you see people shared photos on their facebook that just spoils that lovely memories one tried to capture.And after 1 year since N8 launched, the newest Smartphones today still cannot match the N8. The closest competitor like the Samsung Galaxy S2 is also much more expensive.

  12Megapixels + Carl Zeiss lens + Xenon flash + the biggest sensor in a mobile phone. Even in pitch black room, one zap of the flash will light everything up clearly.

• GPS and Turn-by-turn Nokia/Ovi maps that does not require Internet access to work. You can go anywhere in the world major cities and the GPS and maps work as usual. Let’s say you go to Paris or Tokyo, don’t tell me you will activate data roaming.
• Call quality is excellent. It is a phone after all and any phone that does not have good call quality is a joke. Making phone calls is the primary function of a phone.
• Speakers is loud and clear whether listening to songs or watching videos. It’s not stereos but I think only those newest and much more expensive phones can match.
• USB on the go. Androids can do. Let’s all laugh at iPhone. Oh yes, if your car music player supports USB->MP3 player, it will play music via your car speakers.
•  Works like a mobile hotspot via the Joikuspot App. I heard some trendy Smartphone cannot.
• Works like a modem to tether Internet connection to your laptop. I heard some trendy Smartphone cannot.
• Battery life better than most of the high end Smartphones. But to me, it is still not good enough. It should have used the same battery as the Nokia E72.
• Oh yeah, compare to iPhone user, N8 save me at least RM500 on the price… hahaha.

There are things I’m not happy about of course. Since Nokia gave up on the future of Symbian, many service company totally ignore the thoughts of making Apps for it. One of my favourite mobile Bible app from Olive Tree is not available. Google have largely ignore Symbian.

Warning: Please note that among Nokia so called Smart Phones, N8 is the most worthwhile. I have friend using the C7 and kept complaining of lag. The N8 has one of the fastest processor in the Nokia family. Maybe the only other phone in the Nokia range worth considering is the N9.

Here are some worthwhile pictures:

In bright day light

Works like a Scanner if you need to record some documents.

Night mode

Indoor with flash

Animal looks good too.

You may think what to interesting about this photo. Well, I’m getting old. I actually cannot see the details on the sticker with information about the distributor. Take a snap and VOILA… what my eyes cannot see, my N8 can.