Five Senses Coffee Blog

The SynessoMac Mark II is born

What was 18 months in the making is finally complete and stands proud on my kitchen bench — the SynessoMac Mark II.

My home set-up including the SynessoMac Mark II

It’s been about two years since Richard finished and installed the original SynessoMac at his home and after a few months or constant pestering, late night sms’s and post-it notes on his fridge, he finally agreed to go around the block again and create a Mark II of his original creation.

Once I got the nod, I raced my machine into the service department ready for its conversion. Richard assured me it would only take about eight weeks … ok, maybe it got dragged out just a little a bit, but I guess a few slightly more important projects like green bean lifting machines, roasted bean mixing trays and a 90kg Giesen roaster install were a little more important to bump my little machine further down the priority list.

Alrighty, enough about those other projects … a mere 18 months in the womb and the SynessoMac Mark II was born. It’s almost identical to the original with a few small differences: blue PID (at my request), a custom-made double walled cooltouch steam wand (thanks Synesso, you guys rock!) and the pump was mounted externally under the bench (making the internal area much easier to work around).

It came home just before Christmas, which was gold!!! … seens as it was holidays. I’ve been experimenting with different coffees, different temps and even dosing levels, which has been a lot of fun. I’ve been looking for something that’s chocolaty and super sweet. I really don’t know whether it’s possible to beat our Colombian Monserrate at 96°C, which is what I’ve been tasting for a few days now. I started at 92°C and one thing that I’ve definitely found is the shots get sweeter as I drive up the temp. Next up is to try some of our blends.

For all the technical details of Richards original project, check it out here: http://blog.fivesenses.com.au/category/project-x/

And just for the record … the wait was totally worth it.

Close up of the Synesso grouphead

The Gems Make Themselves Known

Yesterday we got through the entire 41 coffees that successfully made it through to the National jury from the original 101. Although exhausting it was equally as exhilarating to see some of the coffees jump off the table and others come right out and slap you in the face! Two experimental natural lots had intense aromas of nectar, strawberry, apricot, clove, liquorice, molasses, tobacco … pungent, rich and enticing. Unfortunately they didn’t quite follow through in the cup, however as “red cherry” processing is relatively unknown to the tribal farmers, the idea is provide useful feedback which can help them find a fine processing balance, these coffees have great potential. Lots of juicy, sweet, tangerine, heavy, voluptuous coffees and one delicious pulped natural that had me dreaming of blueberry and vanilla pies. That was hands down the best Indian coffee I have ever tasted and I’ve got my eye on it. There is lots to report, but very little time at the moment in between intense cupping’s and korma comas! My belly is getting rounder and so far no sign of any rumblings, could I finally be developing an iron clad stomach … only time will tell (crossing my fingers now). It’s morning dosa and masala chai time and then off to another round of final cuppings, sounds like we have narrowed it down to 21 coffees.

More news to come …

Beanhunter iPhone App Released

The BeanHunter iPhone App

Good news for fans of Beanhunter — there’s now a Beanhunter iPhone app, so you can hunt down the best coffee anywhere around the world, wherever you are. You can find the nearest cafe wherever you are. Then, if you’re generous enough to share the best kept coffee secrets, you can write reviews and upload photos directly from your iPhone or iPod Touch.

Download the Beanhunter App here.