My coffee setup: roast, grind, brew, drink

A very good cup of coffee first thing in the morning

Coffee can be a deep topic. While quite ordinary on the surface, serious coffee geeks know about the many variables which affect the final cup. Like any agricultural product, it starts with the grower's ability to consider the soil, climate, and their team of workers. After harvesting, there is fermentation, cleaning, and drying. In the roaster's hands, the skill is in controlling time, temperature, and movement to bring out the best characteristics of each bean. Understanding the general flavor tendencies of growing regions is important, and the best roasters will know the differences in specific farms and microclimates. Then the barista decides the grind size, water ratio and temperature, contact time, brewing method, serving vessel, and any flavorings such as cream, sugar, spices, and extracts. Finally drinker can drink it. Coffee geeks might use all their senses to contemplate what they perceive.

My own coffee geekery began with a home coffee roaster from Sweet Maria's. They have always been my source of green coffee beans and anything coffee related. There is a vast amount of useful information on the website for anyone interested in learning more. The beans from Sweet Maria's are always of the highest quality, and I especially appreciate their direct relationship with growers in making sure business is handled respectfully and responsibly. I've never ordered it, but you can also get roasted coffee there. They are a superior company.

I roast every 5 – 6 days, usually rotating between several origins. I use a burr grinder for consistency and control of grind size. The water is filtered and heated to 200 F in an electric kettle. I have used many brewing methods over the years, but my current device is the Clever Dripper. This unique hybrid method allows you to control contact time like French press while using a paper filter (my favorite filter is Filtropa) like the pour-over style. There is a silicone stopper mechanism on the bottom where the coffee drains when you set it on a cup. One drawback is that it's a bit precarious and one bump could make the whole thing go flying. My cup is double walled and I notice a big difference in heat retention over a regular cup.

I would understand if all this sounds a bit obsessive. In my mind, this is the distinction between geekery and snobbery: geeks seek out knowledge for their own enjoyment while snobs are more concerned with status and self image. This concept can be applied to pretty much anything. Go geeks.

---

High quality beans from Sweet Maria's

Freshly roasted coffee has an intoxicating aroma

Assistant roaster used to think I was pouring cat treats into the bowl, but now knows it's just green coffee

Simple home air roaster allowing for pretty good control

Burr grinder is nice to have

Interview: multi-percussionist Patrick Graham talks music, sound, and groove

photo by Randy Cole

Recently I talked with Patrick Graham, a Montréal based percussionist who is doing really interesting work. The first time I heard Patrick perform live was in 2009 at the North American Taiko Conference (Los Angeles) evening concert as a guest artist with On Ensemble. I was immediately drawn to his playing and have become an even bigger fan as I've heard more of his music over the past seven years. In this interview, I asked Patrick about his background, musical training, his concept of sound and groove, and composing. His thoughtful conversation is in symmetry with his music so I would encourage everyone to check out the web links below for video, music, and additional details about his work.

Patrick's musical background and interests have a lot of overlap with my own. No wonder it was so much fun playing with him for an On Ensemble concert in the summer of 2014. It was one of those rare occasions where the music just comes together right from the beginning, as comfortably as if we had always worked together. It's a feeling that is hard to describe; maybe something like speaking the same dialect of our musical language. I also enjoy just hanging out with Patrick and talking about music or whatever. We live pretty far away from each other but I'm pretty sure we'll be collaborating in the near future. Here are some samples:

Patrick and Eien Project

I have included music from Rheo, Patrick's album which came up in our conversation. The tracks excerpted in the interview are: King Worm, Liminality, Le Souffle M'envahit, Brilla, and Strata. It's a great album and I would recommend everyone checking it out at the links below.

---

From Patrick:
"I've been so fortunate to study with many fantastic teachers. I am indebted to them.
Bob Slapcoff at Vanier College, Pierre Béluse and D'Arcy Gray at McGill University, Trichy Sankaran, Glen Velez, Tokyo-based sensei Taichi Ozaki (stage name Kato Tosha), Kodo's Tomohiro Mitome led the taiko Koh-Kan workshops in 2000, Tetsuro Naito, Carlo Rizzo and Zohar Fresco."
 

Links
Patrick's website
Patrick's youtube
Patrick's vimeo
Rheo on iTunes
Rheo on CD Baby

How my online lessons work

I have been teaching online lessons by Skype for several years now. While most of us are accustomed to learning from our teacher in the same physical space, current technology is good enough that real-time instruction through a screen is still very effective. I feel that the person we study with is more important than the format of the lesson. There may be teachers available locally but if they don't offer what you need, online lessons can be a great alternative. They also have their own advantages beyond the fact that the two sides can be anywhere in the world (with internet).

How does it work? First, you would send me an email describing what you're interested in covering. Then we set up a meeting time that works for both of us. My policy is that payment is made before the lesson takes place, and the online check out system (Stripe) on my website is secure and works well. There are no refunds but credits are issued for emergency cancellations and rescheduling with a minimum of 48 hour notice. Most of my online lessons have been through Skype so you would need to have an account as well as a screen with a camera (desktop computer, laptop, iPad, iPhone, etc). The slight delay doesn't allow us to play at the same time, but a lot can be accomplished through demonstration and explanation. To take advantage of the format, I send web links, PDFs, and audio files relevant to the topic. Students in the past have also uploaded videos (public, unlisted, or password-protected) of their practicing or performance to get my feedback. And it's possible to record the lesson using software such as Skype Call Recorder. Beginning students, advanced players, and all levels in between are welcomed in my studio.

What do I teach? Past lessons have covered drumset, taiko, percussion, shinobue, and composition. My workshops page shows specific topics I have offered, but I am always open to requests. Perhaps you are learning a new piece and need some guidance on how to work on it. Maybe you want to learn a new instrument such as the atarigane and are looking for basic technique. It could be that you want to write a piece but don't know how to structure your ideas. Or perhaps you want to become a stronger soloist and better improviser. One topic that is requested regularly relates to exercises for improving stick control and rhythmic accuracy. Your musicianship will progress forward if you have goals to work toward, a good practicing strategy, and thoughtful feedback from an outside perspective. If you are interested, I recommend trying one lesson to see if it fits your needs. I have included a short video here so that you can see what the lesson would be like. Please contact me with any questions or to schedule a lesson.

Animals Asia: a foundation you want to know about

Why am I wearing this shirt? People often ask me about the design. The Animals Asia Foundation is an organization dedicated to animal welfare based in Hong Kong with facilities in Chengdu, China and Vietnam. Founded in 1998 by Jill Robinson, their main focus is to rescue moon bears from the horrible conditions of bile farms, providing them a safe and enriching sanctuary to heal and live better lives. The Animals Asia website has many photos along with descriptions of what they do and I would encourage everyone to learn more there.

Animals Asia's website

The reason I'm aware of Animals Asia is because my sister has been one of their resident veterinarians since 2013. Mandala describes her job and experiences in two blog entries:

Living My Dream as a Wildlife Veterinarian in China

“As the vet I have to keep it together – but inside my heart is breaking”

In the video below, the founder Jill takes us inside their facilities and provides a stark glimpse into the reality of bear farming as well as how their work is making a positive difference.

Video: Animals Asia - End Bear Farming 

Below are some photos of the rescued bears. I have not yet visited Animals Asia but it's high on my list of places to travel. Please spread the word to anyone who might be interested in this issue and organizations like Animals Asia.

That is why I am wearing this shirt.

---

How to make kimchi the way you like it

This could be a controversial statement, but I think kimchi is just another variation of sauerkraut. If you go back and read my post on sauerkraut, the basic technique is to cut cabbage, add salt, pack into a jar, and ferment at room temperature. We can add other greens, fruit, herbs, and spices to add variation as long as the technique and salt level remain intact. My kimchi method is the same as my sauerkraut method except that it has a few additional ingredients. Realizing this commonality was enlightening because it freed me from needing to follow recipes. Through experimentation and diligent note taking, I have dialed in a basic recipe that works for my palate, but I would encourage everyone to make kimchi the way you like it. Heck, you can even skip the red pepper if you are not a fan of spicy hot food since this was the traditional way kimchi was made until chile peppers were introduced to Korea around the 17th century.

One book I would highly recommend is The Kimchi Cookbook by Lauryn Chun. According to her, "there are more than 160 foundational recipes for kimchi, and every Korean family has its own version of the basic recipe based on their regional style." Not only does this book cover a wide variety of recipes categorized by season, there are also some very exciting ideas about cooking with your kimchi such as kimchi slaw, kimchi risotto, grilled kimchi cheese sandwich, red curry mussels with kimchi, and kimchi grapefruit Margarita. My favorite recipe from this book is the scalloped potatoes with kimchi where thinly sliced potatoes are layered with cream, cheese, and kimchi and baked. To call this flavor combination brilliant is no overstatement as I have made this fantastic dish many times.

There is no particular reason for the weights of cabbage and daikon in the recipe below - I just cut it up and weighed it so that I knew how much salt to add. It turned out that this batch was about 1 cup too big to fit in the jar, but the little jar fermented just as well as the big one. I add the salt to the cabbage and daikon, let sit for a couple of hours for the liquid to release, then add everything else before stuffing into the jar. I ferment for two days at room temperature, which is just before I detect sourness. The kimchi is stored in the refrigerator where it will slowly develop acidity over weeks and months. In addition to salt level and flavorings, the sourness is another variable that can be adjusted to suit your preference. Just taste a sample daily. 

I have tried a lot of different vegetables including carrots, turnips, beets, gobo, radishes, tops of daikon/turnip/radish, kale, mizuna, watercress, green/red/savoy cabbage, shiso, cucumber, eggplant, and more. They all work well as long as the salt level is consistent and the vegetables are fresh (organic is better) so that the naturally occurring bacteria has vitality. My salt percentage is a little lower here because the anchovy sauce and salted shrimp are included. If omitting fish products, umami could be added by using shiitake, konbu, wakame, shoyu, miso, or shiokoji. 

---

1. add salt, mix, and let sit for a couple of hours to release liquid
or speed up the process by manually massaging the salt in

Kimchi
1120g napa cabbage, 1 - 2 inch pieces
670g daikon, 1/4 inch slice
35g sea salt (2% of the weight of cabbage & daikon)
1 bunch green onion, thin slice on angle
3 inch piece of ginger, grated
2 cloves garlic, grated
1 TB Korean anchovy sauce (can substitute fish sauce)
1 TB salted fermented shrimp
1 tsp sugar
1 cup Korean red pepper (coarse powder)

2. after the first step, add all other ingredients and mix well

3. finally, a sunny day...

4. all mixed and ready to pack into a jar
a wide canning jar funnel makes this step a bit quicker and less messy

6. ferment 2 days at room temperature
airlock is not at all necessary
I just like to see the bubbling of active fermentation

5. it didn't all fit into one jar but no big deal
the little jar kimchi tasted just as good