#53 – About my vision, and about why “Sin Mentiras

This one will not be a practical post, and neither it will be technical, or anything close to that. I have some of those coming after, but today I am gonna be talking about myself. Not humble, but honest 🙂 This place came to life because I was thinking about a platform to be putting … Continue reading #53 – About my vision, and about why “Sin Mentiras

Lisbon: Espresso Map

Lisbon: Espresso Map (September-December 2017)   So here I am, putting altogether the experience (sensory, mainly) I have been having these months, visiting Lisbon Specialty Coffee places. If you are following me on Instagram (@cafesinmentiras), you probably already saw me going to these places, sharing some information about the espressos they are serving, how they … Continue reading Lisbon: Espresso Map

#52 – Is there any point in lattes?..

Is it shocking to say it, or not so much?.. I don’t know about you, I am in the situation of pouring them a lot every day, because people order them, but I also have clients asking me what’s the difference. Between latte, flat white, and cappuccino. And I explain. Milk/espresso ratio, type of foam, … Continue reading #52 – Is there any point in lattes?..

#51 – (Non)generalization

(Leer en Español) Sat down with the idea to write about one thing, ended up thinking about another. Thinking a lot about crema last days, does the color matter? Do the stripes matter? I mean, we all know something about it, from old school standarts. OR how overextracted and underextracted espressos probably look. I am … Continue reading #51 – (Non)generalization

#50 – Check-list “Is it a Specialty Coffee Place?”

… othewise it is just something else.   All of us know that saying “we have the best coffee” in social media does not need any criteria behind it. There will always be somebody who will say that particularly this coffee is the best. This list not only takes in consideration if the place is serving … Continue reading #50 – Check-list “Is it a Specialty Coffee Place?”

Lisbon Specialty Coffee Guide by Café Sin Mentiras

Regularly updated list of Specialty, and Second Wave coffee shops in Lisbon, Portugal based on the locations that I visited, and my vision of what is specialty coffee and specialty coffee shop will be updated constantly alphabetical order   SPECIALTY COFFEE SHOPS: coffee shops that follow the wast majority of the requirements from this list, … Continue reading Lisbon Specialty Coffee Guide by Café Sin Mentiras

Roasting Coffee Locally in a Multi-Connected World

I have more and more clients coming to the coffee shop, searching for a locally roasted coffee. And although the coffee shop where I am training baristas is working succesfully with one of the biggest Spanish Specialty Coffee Roasters, and I know the beans, and I have my speach ready, to tell them that beans are coming here every week, freshly roasted, that guys are experienced, etc. – I cannot help myself noticing that people are expecting to find a local roaster.

#48 Plant-based milk alternatives: overview and tips

(leer en Español) It is hard to surprize us anymore with the order like “soy milk latte”. For many different reasons people nowadays are switching from the “cow juice” to the lactose-free, plant-based alternatives. We will not discuss the reasons why here – they could be various, from the ideological to the simply physiological – … Continue reading #48 Plant-based milk alternatives: overview and tips

#47 – WBC 2017 Seoul: Competition vibe, and Café Sin Mentiras

This one will be short, intimate and a pure sharing of my thoughts.   I think this is the first year in many years in coffee that I literally forgot to watch World Barista Championship. Barista and Brewers. Just forgot. In the middle of all the confusion of my day-today tasks, work, trainings, moving from … Continue reading #47 – WBC 2017 Seoul: Competition vibe, and Café Sin Mentiras

#46 – Passion is the wrong word to promote Specialty

  If I were to be asked to choose one thing in the specialty coffee industry that is overestimated, and potentially dangerous, I would say this one. “Passion for coffee”. Passion is used to promote specialty almost to the same degree as sex is used to promote, hmm,  almost everything – basically now we can … Continue reading #46 – Passion is the wrong word to promote Specialty

#45 Single portafilers. Is this a goodbye?

I mean, I surrendered. But I fought hard, I swear. Honestly,  I feel like the last barista on Earth who finally switched to using only double portafilters, while all the other guys already did it long time ago. By this I admit that I knew that singleshot basket portafilter had been banned from specialty because … Continue reading #45 Single portafilers. Is this a goodbye?