The Long Black

I like espresso.  Most mornings I enjoy 2 or 4 or 6 shots, sometimes with steamed milk, but usually just espresso.  After a very thoughtful Christmas present at the end of 2017, I've been roasting beans at home for about a year. Home roasting has been surprisingly interesting, engaging, and rewarding, and lately I've been tuning the process variables so that I can now claim reasonably repeatable results.  I'm starting to experiment with raw beans from different origins and processing methods, trying to appreciate some of the more aspects of coffee. 

In New Zealand a few years ago I came across the Long Black, but it didn't grab my attention.  But a steam punk server recommended it made with from a single-origin Burundi bean.  Ok, let's try it.

Looking for the Holy Grail of the best coffee in the world, one inevitably stumbles upon the famous award-winning 'Truth Coffee' in South Africa.

A long black looks like a very old cup of coffee.  The luxurious espresso crema loosely breaks up as it is poured into the hot water.   There's no silky microfoam.  One advantage over straight espresso is that it lasts longer -- it's more social.  One might want to sit around and have a conversation, or have something to enjoy during a drive.  Or one might want something to sip to enjoy with a pastry.  The apple tart depicted above may be the best ever.  Caramel on top of thinly sliced apples, nuts around the edge, sitting on a praline base.  I think we're going to try to recreate it sometime soon, and I hope we get close.   

We were at this really fun, super cool, perhaps bordering on famous, coffee shop called Truth Coffee.  We enjoyed it so much that we stopped in again later in the week.  I wanted to taste the coffee again and I wanted another apple tart. 

If the coffee and tart good to you, we could meet at Truth Coffee so I could introduce you to a long black and their apple tart.  But it's damn far away.  Another option: give me a few weeks to work on a good roast for the long black and another week to work on the apple tart.  Then you can stop by and we can sit around and have a conversation.