July 01, 2019
THE CROWD PLEASER, BRAZIL FAZENDA SERADO AND NATURAL ETHIOPIA GELANA ABAYA (ESPRESSO)
KENYA KIANDERI PEA BERRY (PB) (FILTER)
Craig Simon, Founder and Director of Criteria Coffee, would make an excellent campaign manager. His view of the coffee world starts, begins and ends with the idea of community and education. Many artisan coffee roasters believe in building a sense of community or togetherness in their approach to coffee. But with Simon, this belief goes way beyond the hypothetical, and is truly built into the core of Criteria Coffee Roasters.
Based in Port Melbourne at one of the most beautifully designed roasting facilities we’ve ever seen, at Criteria, you have a sense that you’re attending a lecture or a workshop at a world-renowned university. Criteria’s home base is literally built for teaching, for training, and for motivating the next generation of coffee professionals. According to Simon, coffee is so much more than the bean and the roast – “coffee is a blend of knowledge and experience” he says, “for us the ultimate mark of success is empowering others to take their own coffee journey.”
Simon is so dedicated to the proposition of educating and motivating others to action, that on any given day you might find a new batch of baristas being put through their paces, or an industry newcomer roasting their own coffee on Criteria’s own equipment. The business is styled: a creative collaborative shared coffee roasting space. New age? Sure. But Simon, a 3-time Australian Barista Champion, can back it up. He’s Australia’s first certified Q Grade Instructor, and has a keen interest in teaching, developed as a music instructor and a performing musician earlier in his career. Like many hard-core coffee evangelists, he’s also done the “hard yards” in the coffee business, starting as a barista, and acquiring roasting, grading and other skills along the way. When it comes to coffee, Simon’s tastes are broad, and he believes that anyone can roast incredible coffee, with the right tools and guidance.
“Criteria is about educating the next generation – we offer ‘guided roasting’ to Melbourne’s cafes and coffee businesses, we host regular free onehour workshops and offer a selection of specialised training courses including the three-day Diedrich Roasting Course which has previously only been held in the States.”
In introducing this month’s coffee, Simon highlights the interplay of flavours in our Espresso blend: “this blend is crafted to get the best out of both beans - the chocolate notes and creamy body of the Brazilian beans pair perfectly VIC with the red fruit, cherry and apricot flavours the Ethiopia bean brings.”
For this month’s filter bean, Kenya Kianderi PB, Simon loves the blackberry and blackcurrant flavours with under notes of vanilla. “This coffee is a perfect example of the best small lot coffees from the Kirinyaga district. It has a clean and beautiful flavour profile.”
Preparation:
Espresso
- Dose 22 grams
- Yield: 40 grams
- Extraction time: 22-24 seconds
Filter
- 18 grams coffee, water at 93 degrees, 300g water in total. Pour 1 50g bloom for 30 secs, pour 2 with 150g, and pour 3 with 100g. We believe that you’ll love our selections from Criteria Coffee Roasting this month. If “The Crowd Pleaser” and “Kenya Kianderi PB” were on a ballot, they’d be getting our votes!
Enjoy!
