Bourbon Street Cafe's first video

The Fat Americano

Since I opened my cafe, I've been mixing drinks here and there to try and come out with a new coffee concoction, with two main objectives in mind: first, the taste. The drink would have to be enjoyable. Second, consistency. I have to be able to replicate the same taste on a reasonably consistent basis. And after many tries, I am proud to announce my first creation: The Fat Americano. 

A Fat Americano. Europeans will find the
name redundant, but whatever.

The name is derived from the already popular beverage "Americano," which is a shot of espresso over water. Trying to stay consistent with pop culture, I thought that adding the word "Fat" to signify the replacement of water with soda would be appropriate. If an average American can lose five pounds just by cutting out their soda intake, you know something's up. 

So far there are two variations of the Fat Americano. The Sprite mix looks awesome when the fresh espresso is poured on top, and has a tangy coffee soda taste. 

The Coca-cola version looks exactly like a glass of Guinness with ice in it. It has a much richer, molasses-like taste than its lemon-lime counterpart. 

This beverage certainly isn't for everyone, as a shot of espresso over anything still contains a shot of espresso, which is an acquired taste. But if you love espressos, I think this will be a welcoming variety, especially on a hot day like today. 

Let's Get Trashed at Starbucks

Did you know that Starbucks is experimenting by selling beer and wine at their stores? The first store will be in Seattle near their corporate headquarters, and depending on how it does, we'll be seeing more of these Starbucks all across the nation... or no Starbucks at all.

15 blades. The best a man can get... you know,
until they come out with 16 blades

We see this all the time. A corporate giant starts to lose its vision, and looks more towards earnings and shareholder returns instead. In a matter of years, they become a shell of the company that they once were. Seriously Gillette, do I really need five blades on my shaving razor? fail. Three blades may have made for a better shave, but its subsequent products were nothing more than foolhardy attempts to keep their earnings per share and sales growth figures up. And do we even care about Krispy Kreme anymore? I remember one time a friend brought a dozen plain donuts as a housewarming gift. The best part of Krispy Kreme donuts was the novelty/exclusivity of it. Over-expansion killed that franchise quicker than Madonna killed Guy Richie's career.


So a promising coffee franchise, armed with the know-how to deliver not just good coffee, but a great coffee "experience", sweeps the entire nation into a coffee craze, then stops making good coffee. I mean, if your coffee is being compared to McDonald's coffee, you've already lost. But losing to the same burger chain in a taste test? That's like a Mortal Combat fatality ending to your demise.


I hear that a barista at a Intelligentsia Coffee store has had over a year's worth of training before getting behind the espresso machine, and I can believe that. As much as it's important to run a profitable company, their earnings are followed first by an endless passion for quality coffee. And that's what's important, that you stay great at what you were supposed to be good at. Take In-N-Out, for example. You won't find chicken sandwiches, breakfast burritos, no happy meals; just great burgers, and the same sides that we always enjoyed. And in that way, it stayed the course. They didn't look for new customers by bringing in new things to the menu. They didn't sell their products at supermarkets like Starbucks did their frappucchinos and (seriously what the heck?) energy drinks.


So now they're in a fourth-and-long position, and will be throwing a hail mary pass for their stockholders. The smart money says that the franchise won't succeed, but hey, this is America, a land of second opportunities. If you don't believe me, look at Jennifer Aniston. That woman has had more fourth and long situations than the Detroit Lions.

Social Experiment

I'm not here to knock on my own people, and especially the demographic that I will sooner or later be a part of, but middle-aged korean men (called "ajushi's" in korean) have had the honor of being my worst customers. There was the one gentleman who "ordered" a large cup of ice water, and pulled out his laptop to start typing away. There was the guy who took off his shoes, and enjoyed his coffee barefooted. Gross. That might be fine if you're a gorgeous woman with well-manicured feet, but a 40+ year old man with yellow toenails don't fall into the same category. Then there's my favorite; three ajushi's sharing one latte and camping out for hours. There's just something about three people sharing a hot beverage with dairy in it that I find disconcerting.

And under that context, I now confess that I am currently conducting a small "social experiment".

Question: How do I subconsciously deter a possibly problematic "ajushi" from getting too comfortable at a coffeehouse?

Hypothesis: The subject will feel more inclined to not treat a coffeehouse like his own living room if the music is not according to his taste. 

Procedure: The variable under examination will be music. The music will be presented in such order: 1) Rap music from the 90's (aka Gangsta Rap) 2) Heavy Metal and 3) as a last resort, Ashlee Simpson's "pieces of me" will act as a constant yet subtle reminder that there is a clear difference between enjoying a cup of joe in the privacy of your own home, and enjoying a coffee in public. If the subject does not respond to the music after 10 minutes, a song in the next genre will be played. If (and probably, when) Ashlee Simpson's hit single is played on repeat, it will be more to repel the subject out of the cafe than to remind him to keep his shoes on. 

Results: After one week's worth of data, it is becoming apparent that classifying the music in terms of genre alone is not good enough. 90's rap music is effective, but only when a certain song within the genre is played, i.e. "hit 'em up" by Tupac Shakur,  "ruff riders anthem" by DMX, and "mama said knock you out" by Ladie's Love Cool James (LL Cool J). Heavy Metal-wise, Rob Zombie is very effective. So far, no subject has been able to withstand more than two repeats of Ashlee Simpson, however such effective repellent comes at a high price, as Barista Paul isn't able to wear earplugs to prevent himself from such torture, since he needs his sense of hearing to take orders. 

Conclusion: Two fundamental truths are reinforced: 1) The old-korean man (ajushi) is completely unadaptable, yet can withstand a surprising amount of punishment. And 2) Ashlee Simpson's music, as expected, only gets worse over time. 

The Perfect Espresso

Caffe espresso, or espresso for short, is a concentrated, 1 fluid ounce of coffee that is extracted by forcing hot water through finely grounded coffee. To extract a perfect espresso shot, a well trained barista needs three things: 

1. Fresh, quality coffee beans
2. a great grinder
3. a well-built espresso machine

Having fresh, quality beans doesn’t require much explanation - as with anything food and beverage related, the fresher something is, the better it will taste. Besides water the coffee is the only ingredient, so obviously it would be the most crucial element. My cafe uses Intelligentsia’s Black Cat Espresso blend. It’s simply great. 

When you see these two, you know you'll get great
espressos. 

Once you have your coffee, how you grind it is essential. A quality grinder is necessary if you want your coffee to be ground consistently and evenly. I use Mazzer grinders at my cafe. They’re built like tanks, the grinds are consistent and they’re easy to adjust. 

The third most important part is the espresso machine. When you walk into a coffeehouse, the easiest way to tell if they take their coffee seriously or not is with the espresso machine. Right now in the commercial market, the two best espresso machine makers are La Marzocco and Synesso. Since 1927, Italian-made La Marzocco’s were considered the best espresso machines until Synessos from Seattle were manufactured in 2004. I hear that the Synesso is basically an upgraded version of the La Marzocco.

I have a 2-group Synesso Cyncra at my cafe and it’s just great. The steam wand is powerful, and the espresso shot is always, always at 9 bars, and that consistency, along with the reliability, is what makes a great espresso machine. 

Just having great equipment doesn’t make the espresso shot great, however. Every morning and throughout the day, a dedicated barista will pull a shot for him/herself, and taste the espresso. Whether it be temperature of the room/machine, humidity, or the age of the coffee bean, many things will affect the taste of the espresso, and adjustments must be made. If the espresso is sour, the coffee is being underextracted, and thus the grind needs to be finer. If the espresso is bitter, the coffee is being overextracted, and the grind needs to be more coarse. If the espresso is salty, the temperature of the pressurized water needs to be increased. 

If you’ve already read my blog on lattes, now you know that the barista doesn’t just need to steam good milk, but pull a great shot of espresso also. Impressive!

The Perfect Drip Coffee

There are all sorts of ways to make coffee. There is the drip, where you literally “drip” the water into ground coffee. There is the syphon, where the brewing method is the most aesthetic and definitely deserves its own column. There is also the French Press, where coarsely ground coffee is thrown into a cylinder of hot water, ‘pressed’ through a metal filter, and is sipped in a stylistic manner while your country surrenders to Germany. 

Anyway, currently the best way to make drip coffee is through the Japanese Hand Drip method. It’s A-bomb way to make coffee ;D. The original drip cone (and still the best) was made by Hario, a Japanese glass making company. A v-shaped filter paper is placed inside a cone of the same shape, and rinsed with hot water. The temperature of the water should be somewhere between 195 and 205 degrees, which is best for brewing great coffee. Rinsing the filter paper helps to wash off any paper residue, and more importantly, it helps to heat up the filter and the pot to the appropriate temperatures. One important rule of coffee brewing is that the temperature of the water should be as consistent as possible. 

Everything you need to make great hand drip coffee

Once the paper is throughly rinsed and the glass pieces heated, you throw in the ground coffee. The ratio of coffee to water can vary, but a good start is to use 7.5 ounces of water for 12 grams of coffee. If you like your coffee lighter, just know that it’s better to brew the coffee with more water than to add hot water to the coffee later. 

When you first add the water, pour just enough water to wet the coffee, and let it “bloom” for 45 seconds. If the coffee is fresh, you should see CO2 bubbles rising out of the coffee. If you really want to get the full taste of the coffee, I suggest waiting 90 seconds. Then, pour the rest of your hot water into the middle of the grind. Don’t pour too fast, because although some of the coffee will be floating around with the water, a careful pour will help to keep the coffee on the filter paper, thus ensuring that the water will pass through as much coffee as possible before passing through the filter. 

I think that a quality cup of coffee has three phases in taste. 1) right after it’s brewed, 2) at around 140 degrees, and 3) when the coffee has cooled down. Whether it be the science of it all, or just the way the human palate is, I think that coffee tastes, and smells the best at phase 2. 

All in all, a great cup of coffee is like a man women dream of... rich, hot, and can keep you up all night. LOL

The Perfect Iced Coffee

In light of the scorching hot weather here in Southern California, I thought it would be nice to write about our currently-best-selling item, the iced coffee.

I think that the best iced coffee is brewed via the "filtron cold water system" method. To brew something in hot water in order to serve it cold just didn't sound right to me. Anyway they sell this filtron device for home use, but for commercial use, the thing looks ridiculous. It's huge. Like a water-cooler gone wrong. I brew 4 gallons of coffee concentrate at a time, but the system can easily do more. 

The idea behind the brewer is that you throw in a set amount of coarsely grounded coffee into a pot of water, and let it sit for 24 hours. The process is long, but it's definitely worth it. with the help of a cloth filter, you are able to extract a coffee concentrate that tastes wonderfully smooth, like Shaft. Or David Hasselhoff. 

When it's served, however, I think that the quality of the ice can also add to the iced coffee experience. At my cafe, I went through some pains to get the best ice machine that I could find. It's made by a company called Kold Draft, and to quote a colorful friend of mine, they make, "huge, C-cup-sized" ice cubes. Aside from such insightful commentary, one other advantage to big ice cubes is that they take longer to melt, thus allowing the coffee to stay colder for longer in this 110+ degree heat, and not have it get diluted with the water from the ice. 

Huge ice cubes in a huge, 20 ounce glass. 

Best way to beat the summer heat.