Cappuccino at Starbucks

I wrote about its "disappearance" 4 years ago. I just re-read that post (yes, I do enjoy my own writings a lot :P) and decided to revisit the topic. I am pretty sure cappuccino is on the menu again these days. However, I just found out the best "version" to order is the "short" size, which makes it the same amount of espresso and milk as the "standard", i.e., what other "good coffee shops" would do. I will try it next time as I always find Statbucks cappuccino tastes too much like milk than coffee.

Side note: I also re-read my post about gesha coffee. I have finally tried it in Taipei last year (it costed less than US$8) and surprisingly enjoyed it. As other reviews mentioned, it doesn't have much bitterness and sourness.

貴咖啡

昨天和朋友（別號「奶茶王」）說笑要開店賣頂級咖啡，首先想到的是「藝妓咖啡」(Gesha)，其實以前我認識的貴價咖啡只有「貓屎咖啡」，不過上個月讀了香港的明周又認識了似乎更高貴（貓屎相對有點不雅？）的Gesha，在香港某家咖啡店賣四百港元一杯！好在我不太懂欣賞這些精品，在本地咖啡店如Sightglass, Ritual等等喝杯四十港元左右的cappuciano經已十分滿足！

後記：無巧不成話，今天又看到台灣大學電子系碩士成為冲咖啡世界冠軍的故事。

Decaf?

I became a coffee lover last year and drinks mostly decaf these days just to avoid the stimulant. I had no idea it's association with that infamous "party" though. The most interesting facts I learned from the linked article though, was that the method they extracted the caffeine actually left poison in the drink! Hmmm...... what about the current method? Hopefully it won't suffer the same fate.  

"Pour over" with AeroPress

My friend bought me some coffee (ground for drip) from Kona (Thanks!) And I decided to experiment with a different brewing method than my usual "espresso made with an Inverted AeroPress" (and dark roasted beans ground more coarse) I bought a Kaffeologie S Filter and followed this video:

I think it works well (and produced a bigger cup :) Come to think of it: this is how the AeroPress is "supposed" to be used rather than the "inverted" method, right? I have actually tried this method when I first got my AeroPress 1 year ago (but with the original paper filter) and the water "dripped" way too fast and made very weak coffee. The comments on Amazon from many users mentioned they found their coffee tasted better after replacing the paper filters with this S Filter. Maybe it's really that good. Who knows?

No cappuccino on Starbucks menu

I have been a Starbucks shareholder for years but I didn't drink coffee until early this year so they rarely get my businesses except a frappuccino once in a long while. As a self-proclaimed cool dude of course I am anti-mega-chains and pro-local-business so I am still not getting my coffee fix from the likes of Peet's and Starbucks (I think its stock does fine without my contribution) I did tried Peet's cappuccino once ('coz my daughter gave me a coupon) but I found its foamed milk too firm and didn't mix with the espresso much. A few days ago I need to get online and my best bet was the Starbucks at Truckee. The place was ideal: large table and plenty of power outlets. I actually did my stuff for 30 min until I got a break and of course I needed to do the right thing: order something! (Well, the line has been long with tons of tourists coming in and out anyway) I thought it's time to try Starbuck's capp but I double-checked the menu when it's my turn to order and I couldn't find it! Why why why? Well, I did find the closest thing, which is latte. Of course I expected more milk in it but the whole drink tasted more like milk than coffee. Definitely not my thing. Then I had to go online to find out why there is no capp on SBUX's menu! I figured this is significant enough to make the news. I still don't know why SBUX cannot hire all those baristas capable of making perfectly well cappuccino at the local coffee shops. Maybe not hiring them are good for the profit margin? I'm fine with that and I would just try Flat White next time if I really need to. To all coffee-drinking readers of this article: please keep getting your coffee from SBUX! That's my kids' college fund :)

咖啡世界

開始飲cappuccino不經不覺已是大半年前的事，在屋企及公司附近的Blue Bottle及Philz自然是最初的選擇！前者的Bella Donovan味道相當balanced討好，我更喜歡dark一點點的Giant Steps(當然，作為John Coltrane忠實fans的我非試不可）而Philz的decaf dark French及Jacob's wonderbar 兩溝的味道對我是百喝不厭。花心的我當然不能滿足於僅僅喝兩家咖啡！這幾個月每月都有新發現：Napa Oxbow market內的Ritual coffee, SFMOMA內的Sightglass, SF Mission/Valencia的Fourbarrel, Palo Alto Cal Ave 跑步用品店Zombierunner內的咖啡檔，以及南灣Campbell的Barefoot, 皆各有特色。
特別想推介Walnut Creek downtown 附近的Pacific Bay Coffee Company, 在這貴租地區一杯cap賣$3.5一點也不貴，而且播smooth jazz網台好好feel，老板見我會說廣東話多談了幾句，他告知賣咖啡關鍵是炒豆，一般咖啡店賣所謂一磅豆只有12oz, 因為25%水份在炒時流失，但Pacific Bat就賣足秤16oz， 我買了他的espresso blend，有機會會再光顧。

The K-Cup controversy

Most of my friends know I'm not a coffee drinker and I would have no idea what K-Cup is if they didn't install a K-Cup machine at work. (The sign above said clearly that purchasing K-Cup is the responsibility of the employee. Well, do I still have the responsibility if I don't drink?) Anyway, as a curious guy, especially for tech, I fulfilled that responsibility and bought my own K-Cups. It's easy to use for sure. The ones I bought tasted not bad (though I put in a lot of condensed milk :P) However, I read quite a few negative pieces of news about it lately. First, the technology is proprietary so other coffee companies tried to "reverse engineer" to come up with compatible "cartridge" of their own brand of coffee. Of course the original K-Cup maker is trying to defeat this. Second, the inventor was recently interviewed and said he regretted about inventing something so environmentally unfriendly (the plastic is hard to recycle) He doesn't even use it! He thinks it's expensive and he could make better coffee without it anyway :P

The President's day vacation

It's actually my sister's vacation.  Her 1 week visit included the President's day long weekend.  My plans for her has become kinda predictable:

Food
Home: I made her the now-famous (among our friends and family) "So Steak" of which the recipe came from my good friend.
Chipotle: she has never tried burrito-in-a-bowl (less carb) before! I suggested the new flavor: tofu (which Chipotle introduce in response to shortage of meat last time I heard) It tasted no bad. Just kinda feel like lack of substance though.
Cafe Epi: this will forever be known by our family members as the restaurant that charges $12 for 3 eggs and ham and bacon that I ordered for my son! Maybe I shouldn't have assumed that they would charge it for the same price as a 3-egg ham and bacon omelette. The restaurant did provide a justification: they use less ham and bacon in an omelette than having them as a side order. I don't necessarily disagree but I think the kids will remind us to avoid going there.
The Counter: this restaurant is probably famous for the burger-in-a-bowl style. I also enjoyed coming up with strange combinations of toppings.
Archetype: we went there for dinner in Napa, which we seldom do (usually leave before 4 to come back to the bay area for dinner for some reason. The traffic condition actually seemed better after leaving Napa after dinner) To be honest, this restaurant was not our top choice: we got recommendations for other places but they were all fully booked on the Sunday night of the President's day long weekend, except this place. We like the food there a lot actually, especially the duck. 
The Sea: my buddies celebrated their anniversary at this nearby restaurant recently. We went there for our year of the ram/daughter b-day celebration dinner. My buddy recommended lobster risotto, which was very good. The dessert (Souffle + macaroon) was awesome too.
Five Guys Burger: she's a fan of the In-and-Out. So I took her to its "rivalry" IMO Five Guys' burgers are a bit better than In-and-Out's and thus justified its slightly higher prices.

Wine
Domaine Caneros: this winery is known for its good sparkling wine (and pinot) and more importantly, great for taking photo. It looks like a chateau in France. We had a great time tasting outdoor, enjoying the wine and the great scenery.
Dariousch: this is another winery perfect for photo-op. It's as if we traveled to ancient Greece/Rome with all those columns. 
Girard: we left Dariousch ~4. That's when most other wineries (e.g. Joseph Phelps, Inglenook were about to close for the day) Thanks to Yelp and Google we found this winery which was close enough and didn't close until 7. Their $25 tasting was not cheap (and the portions were not big) but the quality was pretty high.

Napa Valley Distillery: this is not exactly a winery. Compared to wineries, it's a rarity in Napa. In fact, it's the first distillery opened in the city of Napa since Prohibition! The distillery and its retail shop in the Oxbow market are actually fairly new. Spirit tasting was only allowed after the required law passed recently. I like their Brandy Cordial and the East India cocktail a lot.

Coffee
Philz Coffee: by now she's familiar enough with the neighborhood that she could drove there herself :) This brand is expanding quickly. I guess it's only "rival" would be the equally ambitious Blue Bottle.
Fraiche Yogurt: last time she visited we took her to the Blue Bottle stand inside the AOL building but sadly that's gone. Rumor has it that the old Borders book store location on U Ave will become a new Blue Bottle retail store. For now, Palo Alto folks could go to Fraiche Yogurt for their cup of Blue Bottle (and of course fresh yogurt)
Cafe Venetia: it's still voted #1 (at least by me) for the best cafe in Palo Alto. Can't beat the setting. And according to my sis who actually drank coffee, it's high quality.
Coupa Cafe: it's still the #1 place to pretend you're an up-and-coming Silicon Valley high-tech startup entrepreneur. Well, the cafe itself does utilize one "high-tech gadget" that sits on every table to sense your smartphone/tablet and allows customers to place order without leaving their seat. 

Shopping
Ferry Building: I seldom go on a Saturday and it's indeed very busy. Long lines for Blue Bottle coffee, frozen yogurt and ice cream. My sis bought her Scharffen Berger chocolate as well as coffee beans. 
TCHO: This chocolate maker used to have their big store at the current location of Exploratorium between Pier 39 and the Ferry Building but they moved across the bay. Their SF presence has reduced to a stand inside SF Shopping Center. Still, we bought what we wanted :)
Livermore Premium Outlet: This is relatively new and this was the first time I've been there. Strongly not recommended because of how hard it was to park! I actually parked way outside and rode my bike in. That said, there are plenty of bargains even for a guy like me. I bought a pair of New Balance. There were also an Under Armour and a Columbia for your athletics/outdoor adventure needs.
Chinatown: it was New Year (Ram) Street Fair. First time I've been to one. It's a popular event!

Music
Keiko Matsui at Yoshi's: my sis is a big fan of piano and I figured this is her type of music: smooth jazz/new age-ish that was neither too watered-down nor too hard-core. Even for a guy who is mostly into modern or traditional jazz like me, it's very enjoyable performance: good playing and good melodies. I especially like the saxophone player who played soprano on 2 tunes. Matsui was a classy lady which also showed her sincere and friendly side. No wonder her career lasted so long with so many albums released!