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Where theBay’s news comes first! Hawke’s BayToday 25Saturday, June 12, 2010 2548HOURS—FOOD

WHERE TO

BELINDAHENLEY

IN SEARCHOFOUR FINEST ... coffee

Groove Cafe’s Cappuccino Slice

HOWTO

BASE:125g (4oz) butter1⁄4 cup sugar1 cup plain four1⁄4 cup self-raising flourFILLING:400g can sweetened condensed milk30g (1oz) butter2 tablespoons golden syrupDouble shot of fresh espresso coffee (40 –60 mls). Alternatively - 3teaspoons instantcoffee powder.1/3cup finely chopped walnuts.TOPPING: Make this first and refrigeratewhile preparing the base and filling asdescribed1 cup plain flour2 teaspoons cinnamon1/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed125g (4oz) butter

BASE:Cream butter and sugar until justcombined. Stir in sifted flour. Mix to a firmdough.Press evenly over base of well greased30cm x 25cm (12in x 10in) swiss roll tin.Bake in a moderate oven 10 minutes.FILLING: Combine condensed milk, butter,golden syrup and coffee in a saucepan.Stir over a moderate heat until just startingto thicken – taking care it doesn’t burn onthe bottom. Stir in the walnuts.Spread over the pre baked base.TOPPING: Sift dry ingredients into basin,rub in butter. Mix to a firm dough.Refrigerate 30 minutes. Grate evenly overthe top of the filling.Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until toppingfeels firm to touch.Stand for 15 minute before cutting intoslices.

ReusableKeepCups areavailable in a rangeof colours anddesigns.

PICTURE /WARRENBUCKLAND

HBT100107-01

brewingupamasterpieceM

ANY of us can’t get through theday without it, I certainly can’t.Nothing beats a great coffee andnothing is worse than a sub-

standard brew, especially if it’s your first ofthe day.New Zealanders consume around 3.7 kgs ofcoffee, per capita, per year. A long waybehind the world’s biggest addicts, Finland,who sip their way through a whopping 12 kgseach per year.Luckily for us all, the cup literally runnethover when it comes to getting a decent coffeein the Bay. The Hawke’s Bay cafe scene isrelatively new, emerging and developing asan increasing number of people moved herefrom the major centres, bringing with themtheir demand for consistently good coffee anda more sophisticated cafe culture.The country’s most awarded roastery,Hawthornes, is based in Havelock North. Theboutique business was bought by local coupleTom and Benita Ormond four years ago andsince then, production has doubled.Around 80 percent of their sales are inHawke’s Bay. They pride themselves onproviding a personal service with full trainingand support to the cafes, restaurants andprivate buyers.Perhaps the most established coffee roasteryhere is Bay Espresso. The company has threecafes as well as a substantial coffee roasterybusiness.Jonelle and Chris Jarvis moved fromWellington to buy the existing Bay Espressoroastery and cafe on Karamu Rd six yearsago. It is now a thriving business withfollowers all over the country.Jonelle says the couple are passionate aboutlifting the standards in the Hawke’s Bayhospitality trade.‘‘We we want people to see working in one ofour cafes as a career choice not just atemporary job,’’ she says.The couple make themselves accessible to

their customers — Chris is generally makingcoffee in one of the cafes or dealing directwith customers.Each cafe offers the same menu andatmosphere, something their fans appreciate."We tried to introduce a new menu atKaramu road but the customers didn’t like it,they wanted the same experience but atdifferent locations,’’ Jonelle says.Wendy and Bruce McKenzie started Aurumcoffee roastery on Heretaunga St, after a longhistory working as a roaster for other people.Aurum means ‘‘gold’’ in Latin and the coffeesare appropriately named, including ‘‘Fool’sGold’’ for their decaffeinated blend to ‘‘24Carat’’ for their organic and free trade blend.Aurum offers a unique coffee text service.Over the years they have established adatabase of regular customers and theirpreferred type of coffee, who send a text to adedicated coffee hotline and their order isready for them to collect as they drive past.Innovation is a vital part of the highlycompetitive coffee trade, somethingAustralian company KeepCup knows allabout.Concerned about the environmental impact ofusing disposable cups, the company inventedthe world’s first barista approved re-usablecup.The first cup was sold less than a year ago inMelbourne and since then they’ve sold tens ofthousands of the funky designs around theworld.There are 70 stockists in New Zealand aloneand they also sell into countries such asDubai, Singapore, US and Canada.KeepCup has developed a cult followingaround the world, with legions of dedicatedfans on Facebook and Twitter includingactress Keira Knightley who carries herseverywhere. In Hawke’s Bay KeepCups areavailable at Milk and Honey in Ahuriri and atBay Espresso with many other outlets lookingat stocking them.

HawthornesNapier Rd, HavelockNorth

Groove KitchenTennyson St, Napier

Owner and barista Ben Simcox has apretty big reputation to uphold. Regardedas one of New Zealand’s mostexperienced and talented baristas you canpretty much guarantee a great coffee onany day of the week. The coffee, which isblended for them by Atomic, is smooth anddelicious. The cafe offers a good selectionof counter and menu food. Thanks to Ben’smum for the excellent cappuccino slicerecipe.

Porto KaliJoll St, HavelockNorth

This small espresso bar is housed in thesame building as Hawthornes roastery.The coffee is consistently excellent, withchief barista Blair Kirkwood recentlywinning best barista in the Hawke’s BayHospitality Awards. Special mention mustbe given to their homemade sweet andsavoury scones, mind-blowingly good andhighly addictive.

Previously the Olive Tree cafe, it has beengiven a facelift and re opened as Port Kali.Boasting the ‘‘best coffee in the village’’,they use Aurum coffee and while that is apretty big claim, the coffee is good. I had acappuccino (not my usual) and it wasexcellent, smooth and with a good amountof froth, and plenty of chocolate on top.They have a great selection of sweetthings, including a light and moist saffronand lime curd muffin.

MUSTDO! Mission Restaurant, June 1- August 8.Groovy Midwinter retro menu $45 pp for 3courses.! Pacifica, opening Saturday night for chefsset 5 course tasting menu, $110 pp.! The Old Church, reopening 11th June.Spanish Fiesta - 16th June, 5 courses, $39.50

! Te Awa. During the Winter - Friday andSaturday - 5 course degustation Menu, $80 (+$30 for 5 wine matches)

We welcome your feedback andsuggestions please email us athbfinest@gmail.com

THEMASTER: Ben Simcox of GrooveKitchen makes up to 300 coffees a day.

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LEARN TO BE A BARISTAFor most of us, making a cafe-qualitycappuccino or latte is virtuallyimpossible unless you have access toexpensive equipment and someone toshow you how to operate it.My coffee-making experience has

been largely confined to whipping up adamn good cup of instant, or if I wasfeeling really adventurous, a plungercoffee.But being the barista you always

dreamed of being is now a little moreaccessible, thanks to one of NewZealand’s most acclaimed baristas, BenSimcox, owner of Napier’s GrooveKitchen.Ben has been in the industry for more

than 20 years and his credentials speakfor themselves — last year he won theHawke’s Bay Hospitality awardsoutstanding barista of the year, in thesame year Groove Kitchen won NZ cafeof the year.Simcox is also a previous winner of

NZ barista of the year.Over the years Simcox has trained

thousands of aspiring baristas in NewZealand and overseas in the art of agood coffee. Now he is extending hiscourses and sharing his knowledge withenthusiastic amateurs — like me.His courses fall into two categories —

coffee appreciation to teach you thebasics of making better coffee at homeas well as the background into theorigins of coffee, how it is grown,roasted and what makes it taste so good(or bad); and for those wanting to taketheir addictions a step further, he offersworkshops for those wanting to have a

career in the industry and to become thebest barista they can be.Simcox says New Zealand’s excellent

standard of coffee is because we havemore roasteries per capita thananywhere else in the world and the

highly competitive nature of our cafeculture — customers are discerning andwon’t tolerate a bad brew.I went into Ben’s course knowing

virtually nothing about the art of coffeemaking.Ben starts by running me through the

basics including the ideal time whenbeans should be used (10-14 days afterroasting and immediately aftergrinding), how the temperature andenvironment can affect your ‘‘grind’’ and‘‘brew’’, the different taste profiles ofdifferent coffee and then I was ready tobe let loose on Ben’s pride and joy, his$10,000 La Cimbali espresso machine.After grinding my coffee and tamping

it into the basket, I fired up the machineand attempted to pick the moment tostop my pour, before the coffee becomesacidic and loses its smooth, round taste.I was told it should look ‘‘like buttery

caramel or molasses’’ and, surprisingly,it did!Ben showed me how to froth and

pour my milk (complete with ferndecoration) and then the best bit —drinking it. It is surprisingly drinkable. Iwon’t be putting Ben out of workanytime soon, but it’s not bad.On a busy day Ben makes around 300

coffees, once he made 500. It’s a high-pressure, highly skilled business and Idon’t for a minute think I could replicateBen’s quality of coffee without theluxury of time and being under hiswatchful eye. But there’s somethingabout a coffee you’ve made yourself thatmakes it just that little bit special.

— Belinda Henley