Category: Drink

Our preference seems to skewed towards smooth-tasting sakes with prominent fruity notes. But smooth isn’t quite an industry term, and sake brewers use the Sake Meter Value system plus an acidity value to differentiate their product.

If I had to map what we like onto this framework, my best guess is that it would be in the “Sweet-Rich” region, with an SMV of -5 to -10 and Acidity of 1.5 to 1.7. But, as always, we’ll only know if we like any particular bottle after we actually taste it.

Sampling eight different beans from The Caffeine Peddler

Drink

June 23, 2021February 21, 2022 Alvin Lee

It was coincidental that Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) restrictions were kicking in on 16 May, and I received my delivery just before the lockdown-lite started. I had ordered the Sensory XL Box and chose eight different beans, each packed in small 100gm bags, allowing me to sample and compare flavours from various coffee origins over the course of a month.

What exactly is the font used in the 1Zpresso JX-Pro grind setting dial?

Drink

June 19, 2021February 21, 2022 Alvin Lee

The number “5” looks particularly interesting, with its prominent angles and truncated top line. Unfortunately, it looks quite similar to “6” and regularly confuses me, especially when I’ve not yet consumed my morning dose of caffeine.

The number “7” appears almost boomerang-like and given that the numbers are probably machine-milled, I’d imagine that carving its shape out of the hunk of metal would have been especially efficient.

Mt Whitney Roasters - Coffee origin countries

Blind taste test of single-origin beans from Mt Whitney Coffee Roasters

Drink

June 2, 2021February 21, 2022 Alvin Lee

Over the past few months, as I was experimenting with new equipment and different brewing variables, I’ve been asking her to score the coffee on a scale of 1 to 10. But now that the scores have been consistently 8 or more, it was time to run a new experiment on her — a blind taste test to see if she could differentiate coffee brewed from beans grown in different countries.

Tetsu Kasuya vs Tetsu Kasuya

Drink

May 15, 2021February 21, 2022 Alvin Lee

The Tetsu 4-6 is the go-to recipe that I use to brew my V60 pour over coffee every morning. But since Tetsu is now experimenting with a drastically different technique than the one he perfected in 2016, I thought it’d be interesting to conduct a head-to-head comparison between the two.

What will be the result of the Tetsu vs Tetsu competition?

Will Tetsu beat Tetsu?

Or will Tetsu beat Tetsu?

When you can’t fly to Japan, head to Tanoke for good food and lots of sake

Drink
Food

May 8, 2021September 28, 2022 Alvin Lee

The six bottles of sake on display were only a small sample, because once you turn around, you’re greeted with a wall of chillers packed with sake from all over Japan. It’s not a terribly large collection, but it is impressive and not a common sight in Singapore.

Brewing freshly roasted beans from Tiong Hoe Specialty Coffee

Drink

May 5, 2021February 21, 2022 Alvin Lee

I’d read about how good Ethiopian beans resulted in coffee with a prominent blueberry note, but I’ve always been skeptical. How can coffee taste like blueberry? But I finally understood after tasting it for myself. It had good balance and body, with a wonderfully floral scent and that amazingly addictive blueberry flavour.

I think I’m going to stop buying coffee equipment now

Drink

April 17, 2021February 21, 2022 Alvin Lee

Hobbies can get really expensive, really quickly and the trick is knowing when to stop after you start going down a rabbit hole. When it comes to coffee equipment, I think I’ve reached that stage where I’ve bought all the gear that I need to enjoy my daily morning V60 pour over and the occasional afternoon flat white.

Welcoming the latest member of our V60 family

Drink

April 14, 2021July 23, 2023 Alvin Lee

For the longest time, my pouring setup was to first boil water with our normal electric kettle and then transfer it to a small gooseneck jug for better flow control. It’s worked well so far and I’ve managed to get good tasting cups, especially after I upgraded my grinder. But it’s been bugging me that I don’t really know what temperature I’m actually brewing at, so I decided to finally get a temperature-controlled gooseneck kettle.

Trading in the old Nespresso machine for a new Creatista Plus

Drink

April 7, 2021April 18, 2022 Alvin Lee

My daily morning coffee is a cup of black V60 pour over and it’s usually enough for the day. But sometimes, during the late afternoon, I feel a bit sleepy and remember how nice a cup of flat white tastes. Especially one with a rich and creamy texture, topped with pretty free-pour latte art.