A Coffee Roaster For All OccasionsWritten by Julie Carter
Coffee roasters and those who roast, brew and serve ultimate cup of coffee are now esteemed professionals within social fabric of our community at large. A good coffee roaster is a little like a celebrity chef these days, complete with loyal followings, highly descriptive reviews and ability to command premium prices for their products and services. As coffee continues to grow in elevation from merely a mundane beverage to something of art form, a good coffee roaster has begun to take on a glamorous aura. But there is a café on almost every street corner or every suburb now and every barista thinks of him or herself as best roaster on block. The professional barista is a now fiercely competitive industry and cafes and restaurants across globe fight to retain barista that can produce a coffee that will have customers returning time and time again. So, because roasting is everywhere, how do you choose coffee roaster for you? Your first question is whether you're looking for wholesale coffee roasters to supply your business, or retail roasters to keep you happily supplied with beans at home. But for our purposes, let's say you're looking for a retail roaster to feed your coffee habit because you are a die hard coffee lover. One approach is to decide exactly which coffee beans you prefer. Once you have found coffee beans that you like you can then search for that specific bean. It might take you some time to research this and you might want to join a coffee club so that you can do some extensive taste testing. They will send you a number of coffee varieties each month for a small fee and this gives you opportunity to try out blends and pure coffees to see what you prefer.
| | Tempranillo, a new red wine star in AustraliaWritten by Darby Higgs
Tempranillo is premium red wine grape variety from Rioja region in Spain. It is now challenging Sangiovese as up and coming star of red varietal wine scene in Australia. New plantings throughout Australian wine regions over past five years are just coming into bearing. In fact on a percentage basis Tempranillo is growing in popularity more rapidly than any other variety. What makes this variety so exciting? Well, it makes wines which have good colour and good fruit flavours along with low acid and low tannins. This adds up to an easy drinking style. The wine also goes well with American oak. In vineyard variety has a short growing season which makes it suitable for cooler areas. In Spain variety is backbone of wines of Rioja and Ribera del Duero regions in Northern and Central Spain. In these regions it is often blended with Graciano or Cabernet sauvignon playing a minor role. It is a component of Ribera del Duero's famous Vega Sicilia, Spanish equivalent to Grange. In Portugal variety is used as a minor component in port, and some red table wines. Elsewhere in world major plantings are in Argentine and California. In latter region it is called Valdepenas and is regarded as unsuitable for making fine wine. Tempranillo has taken off in Australia only in past few years. Brown Brothers have been a pioneer of variety, but there are now over 50 producers in about half of Australia's sixty wine regions. Although McLaren Vale has highest number of producers variety is widely planted throughout mainland Australian wine regions. The highest rated Tempranillo in James Halliday's Wine Companion 2005 is from Manton's Creek Vineyard in Mornington Peninsula. Casella Wines, makers of hugely successful [yellowtail] range are also interested in variety. They received a silver medal for a 2003 Tempranillo at Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show 2004.
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