Latte art throw down

It's saturday night, the shops are closed, the streets are buzzing with the the pre-saturday going out vibe...and one door is open to Torvehallerne, the luxury food and beverage market in Copenhagen. It´s the Coffee Collective, and it's filled with baristas from all over Copenhagen. Here it is not just Coffee Collective baristas, but cafés such as Democratic and Estate are also represented. It is a latte art show-down.  And the competition is challenging. One shot to prove your worth.

And the winner was Morten Vestenaa from Coffee Collective, Godthåbsvej. Big congrats!

Making a good espresso at home

Ever wonder if you can make a good cup of coffee at home, without having to mortgage the house?

Nothing beats hanging out in a cool café with wonderful people....BUT...sometimes it's nice to start the day with good cup of coffee, coming right at you from your own kitchen.

Now, I use one of these!  --->

I have tried the aluminium espresso makers too, but this one just seems smoother and makes a lovely cup of coffee.

But how to make that perfect cup of coffee?

I took my Espresso maker down to Coffee Collective and wacked it on the counter and asked Kim, "How on earth do I get the best out of this?"

And Kim sent me a link to The Stumptown Coffee Roasters' (from "over there") blog with the perfect instructions to making an espresso on a Moka Espresso Maker. I will thus share it with you guys:  ≧◔◡◔≦ 

Guide to making a good espresso at home

Kim says to boil the water before brewing the coffee.  This makes the water boil quicker and gives a more stable extraction which means a less bitter coffee.  Remember to wash the pot in warm water, and not use vinegar.

Last but not least, go out there and get your favourite beans to go!

Where to find the Espresso Maker??

In my hunt to do so (on a tight budget) (remember, I am spending ALL my money buying coffee at café´s in Copenhagen), I came by Kontra Coffee.

Now, I did actually try to find the 4 cup Bialetti Venus Espresso maker elsewhere in town, but was told that these are impossible to find in Copenhagen and that there is a 7 month waiting list in order to find them. So if this is the espresso maker you are looking for, hurry on down to Kontra, because there were plenty for sale there.

Kontra also has loads of  parts and other nifty little coffee instruments on hand, so if it's not this one you want, you may just find what you're looking for anyway.

Find Kontra Coffee here:

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Coffee Collective - The hidden beans

Psssstt...I found the best coffee in town! (｡❤‿❤｡)   ..but this is just between me and you, because this is this towns' best kept secret.  So secret is it, that you have to pass through a café jungle of temptation before finding this café nested in an inconspicous little side street of Frederiksberg.

Space is not a problem. The café is situated in an old factory building and instead of jamming tons of tables and chairs in, they have kept this wonderful feel of openess and space.

The Coffee Collective roasts their own beans, and this is not at all a secret!  In fact the roastery is situated in the café behind a glass wall. The transparency is reftreshing and inviting.

But that's not all.  The coffee is an experience in itself! You have just got to try it.  It is the type of coffee that stops all time and demands your full attention. The guys working here are fully trained baristas and it shows (or tastes).

The service is exceptional! The people working here actually talk to the customers, something which can sometimes be a rare experience in Copenhagen.

Time enters another dimention.

This is the type of place I would go out of my way to hunt down if I really wanted to have a coffee experience.

Find the hidden Coffee Collective at Frederiksberg here: (make sure you look down the side street from the main road, it's at the bottom)

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The Coffee Collective

If I was a cup of coffee, at the Coffee Collective, then I would be one of those coffees that was born in a house of nurture and patience.  I would be strong minded and sure about myself, because I would have been raised by confident and competent hands. If I was to drink that coffee, then I would be forced to pay attention, and nurture the experience in turn, thus giving that cup of coffee and its story, the time it demands of me to be listened to.

It's not just a matter of making a buck and churning those coffees out. It's not just about yelling orders across the  bar and finding some flakey half icecream sticks used to stir the coffee because the customers may just steal the spoons. No, this is about the coffee.  This is about the experience and this is about the atmosphere. It is worth the little walk around the back streets to find this place in the culturally extensive part of Copenhagen.  This lovely little shop is simplistic with a hidden little back room that houses even more tables.  The coffee is great and so it should. On the shelves you can see the many barista championship trophees won throughout the years, and there is a lovely laid back attitude in the café.  These guys know what they are doing, and the coffee is an experience, a story and a time spent well away from the rest of the world. Find the Coffee Collective here:

Jægersborggade 10, 2200 København, Danmark

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