Christmas: a season of festivity, gingerbread cookies, and fighting people for the last few kilograms of prawns. Oh and the stress of present buying, especially for someone whose interests may not lie in the same area as yours. So I pulled out a sheet, collected some things, and set about making a simple gift guide for coffee addicts and food culture lovers in case you've run out of ideas or what to treat yourself. At some point in time I have wanted each of these thinges, so here goes. Caution: May contain lots of books.
For the coffee addict
1. Introduce a new roaster or bean
Here's where I recommend a roaster who, in my opinion, hasn't gotten the love it deserves outside of the South: White Horse Coffee. It's headed up by two bruz, Dom & Matty, who practically live and breathe the stuff. To keep it simple, let them lead you towards the light that is specialty coffee. Trust me. White Horse release new single origins every two weeks or so and they're currently showcasing the
Sigri ($16) from Papua New Guinea and
La Bisunga ($18) from Costa Rica. Since we're in the silly season, grab a bag of their Christmas blend – half Brazil, half Ethiopia – which has the most festive packaging I've ever seen. Can't head south? Pay Artificer a visit; it's a small batch roasting operation with a ridiculous turnover rate. You can always be sure that they've got packets of good coffee for you to snap up and gift.
White Horse Coffee is located at 2/137 Flora St, Sutherland. Artificer is located at 547 Bourke St, Surry Hills.
2. Next level coffee presentation
If you want your home brew to have cafe vibes, you're going to need
Acme & Co. cups. They're durable and thick walled so your coffee won't be getting cold any time soon. The New Zealand company makes everything from tulip cups to flat white cups and saucers in a variety of colors including blue, black, and green. For those of you who are all about the #LatteLyf there's latte cups ($10.45-$13.45) with matching saucers ($5.87-$7.37) and for the more hardcore #ShortBlackSquad, pick up a demitasse ($5.42-$6.55) and matching saucer ($4.82-$6.13). Prices are dependent on color. White Horse Coffee sell cups and saucers separately so you can mix and match to your heart's desire. Send them an email for a complete price list – the options will make your head spin.
Acme & Co. cups available online and or email White Horse at whc@whitehorsecoffee.com.au
3. Travel doesn't mean you can't have a good cup
As much as you wish you could take your Linea Mini with you on holidays, you can't. There's other ways to make a good coffee though. Aerobie's
AeroPress ($59) packs up neatly and unlike a Chemex, it won't break in your luggage. It's a fast and easy way to brew. Want to splurge? Head over to Alternative Brewing and get the
AeroPress and Porlex tall hand grinder kit ($97.95). You know what, an AeroPress is a good thing to have in the office. No more of that strange sachet stuff. Go old school with a mokapot for all your stovetop brewing needs – it's the only way I make Cuban coffees and those are wicked good. AB stocks a huge range of
Bialetti mokapots ($29.99-$99.95).
AeroPress and Bialetti mokapot available online or in all good coffee shops.
4. Indulge in coffee geekery
Most of us love coffee, but not everybody is interested in roasting methods and the whole nine yards. Smudge Eats’
Specialty Coffee Book – NSW ($40) is divided into two sections: one with everything you need to know about what a coffee bean goes through before ending up in your cup and one with a guide to some of the state’s best specialty shops. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that the list isn’t the be all and end all of great shops. Sure, it’s not Illy’s
Espresso Coffee: The Science of Quality ($207) but it’s good material for someone who isn’t a career barista and is lighter on the pocket. If your human is intent on becoming a cupping god and you’ve deemed them worthy, gift them a
Le Nez du Cafe Sensory Training Kit ($549). They’ll love you forever.
The Specialty Coffee Book is available online, in Sample Coffee shops, and Kinokuniya. Espresso Coffee is available in Kinokuniya. Le Nez du Cafe is available online.
For the food culture lovers
5. Hello, deliciousness. Is it me you're looking for?
To me, the best summer condiment is hot sauce; it works well on eggs, is a great dip for corn chips, and poured over a taco. The
De Arbol Hot Sauce ($12) from Bondi’s Handsome Devils Co. is a current favorite with its medium heat and hint of spice. HDC also have three other varieties to check out.
Himalayan pink salt: many people espouse its health benefits but that’s not why I’ve added it here. It has a beautiful color and when placed on the dining table, will convince most of your guests that they’re in for an even better meal because you brought out “the good, exotic stuff.” Your dinner parties will be smashing. Kusmi Tea makes some fine blends and
Prince Vladimir ($21) is one of the decades-old company’s original creations with citrus and vanilla notes. I find it to be quite relaxing.
Handsome Devils Co. hot sauce is available online or at the Bondi Farmer’s Market. Kusmi Tea and Himalayan pink salt available from all fine food purveyors and good department stores.
6. Can't forget the kitchen staples
To quote Anthony Bourdain, “you need, for God’s sake, a decent chef’s knife.” It’s a utility tool that you shouldn’t be able to live without. You could compare the Japanese Global to the German Wüsthof all day and while both knives are amazing, it comes down to the user. Let me tell you something though, Global knives aren’t as expensive and aren’t as unwieldy as a Wüsthof. The high chromium stainless steel is easy to sharpen. If you’re keen on learning how to knife sharpen, book at
knife sharpening class ($125) at Chef’s Armoury. Pick up a
20cm cook’s knife ($179) for general purpose cooking and an
8cm paring knife ($69.95) to do your more delicate prep work. Just owning a high-quality knife won’t make you a great cook, but owning a shit knife isn’t going to get you very far either.
Global knives available from all good hospitality supply and department stores. Chef’s Armoury knife sharpening class schedule available here.
7. Fancy things for the fancy home cook
A
digital scale ($20) accurate to 0.1g is super helpful if you’re going to be playing with sensitive ingredients. It also makes for a great coffee scale although, if you’re really going to put it to use, you may want to invest in an
Acaia Pearl ($230) to time your shots and monitor flow rate. Another useful item is a
digital thermometer accurate to 0.1°C because ain’t nobody got time for trying to estimate the temperature when the needle is in between notches.
Tweezers: both handy and slightly pretentious. Impress your guests by clipping a pair onto your apron and whipping it out to tweeze microherbs into their place. In my day, I had to search for these items at Chef’s Armoury but now that food culture is extremely popular, you can find these just about anywhere.
Digital scales available from White Horse Coffee. Acaia Pearl scale available online. Tweezers and digital thermometer available from all good hospitality supply stores.
8. Summer books for a keen cook
The French Laundry ($89.95) by Thomas Keller, a man with a place in the culinary pantheon, is good reading material for the more ambitious home cook interested in classical cuisine. Despite being tough to execute and follow, it’ll train you in technique and refinement. Soon after James Morton’s impressive run on the Great British Bake Off, he released
Brilliant Bread ($60) wherein he breaks down everything you need to know about bread to make a successful loaf. All in layman’s terms. It’s helped me impress many a dinner guest. James Wirth – the man behind some of your favorite venues like The Norfolk and The Oxford Tavern – has collected the most popular recipes from his many venues and put them all in
This Could Get Messy ($45). Go on, show your mates that you can offer more than a beer and a steak.
All books available from Kinokuniya.
9. For the kitchen theorist
It’d be blasphemous to not mention Hervé This in a section about kitchen theory so I’ve picked my favorite –
Building A Meal: From Molecular Gastronomy to Culinary Constructivism ($32). What a mouthful. The book takes you through meal construction, the relationship between mind and stomach, and makes you question what you know about food as a concept. It’s a little dense so it should only be gifted to someone who is truly interested. Help them up their cooking game by creating recipes with the help of
Culinary Artistry ($43) and it’s contemporary
The Flavor Bible ($61); both by respected food authorities Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg. They’ll have a reference to classic flavor pairings and ‘modern’ combinations. Who knows, you may even end up as a guinea pig for their delicious creations.
All books available from Kinokuniya.
10. Lazy afternoon reads
I couldn’t not mention my favorite food personality here. Anthony Bourdain’s
Medium Raw ($25) is five years old now but remains a good read. It’s less acerbic than his famous
Kitchen Confidential ($21). He even addresses the no fish on Mondays thing. Say Ferran Adria to anybody who is into food and it’ll garner a strong reaction that is anywhere between endless admiration and vehement rejection of his philosophy.
The Sorcerer’s Apprentices ($25) by Lisa Abend takes you through a season in elBulli and it’ll put you in awe of the man and professional kitchens. Jeffery Steingarten is one of the most prominent food writers in the US and even though his first essay collection –
The Man Who Ate Everything ($22) – is almost ten years old, it’s a must read for anybody interested in food journalism. If you’re anything like me, you won’t be able to put it down.
All books available from Kinokuniya.
Finally, to give you a little bit of an insight as to who I am as a person, here are five items from my personal wishlist:
An ungodly amount of painter's tape and Sharpies (totally counts as one item)
A thermometer with laser targeting
A Linea Mini
Access to the Barista documentary
All the back issues of Lucky Peach
Merry Christmas, everyone!
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