SB 3 VIDEOS

heath — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 22:51:49 +0000

The 3 videos featured in this issue of ShortBlk;

Axil Espresso Instructional Video

Cottle on Coventry, Coventry St, South Melbourne

The Last Piece, Waverley Park, Mulgrave

SCOUT ABOUT – STH MELBOURNE STREET FAIR

admin — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 12:11:30 +0000

The first ever South Melbourne Street FAir is ont his weekend – Sunday the 19th Feb and is an event not to be missed for Melbournites and coffee lovers alike.

The South Melbourne Business Association is launching the first ever South Melbourne Festival to celebrate the diversity and innovation in the area and showcase its unique traders.

The Festival will be centred around Coventry Street, however there will be walking tours, events, performances and special events from local businesses including The Butterfly Club, Coventry Bookstore, House of Snowball and Beggar Man Thief that will feature the whole area from Moray to Ferrars Sts.

South Melbourne Business Association president Sam Tresise said “There are so many things that make South Melbourne unique. You can spend the day in our business district, enjoying great food, culture, parks and shopping. We want to show Melburnians all that we have to offer.

SHORT BLK ‘POSTERCHILD’ ISSUE 01

admin — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 00:13:19 +0000

We have enlisted the help of talented Melbourne artist/designer, Rosie Ren, to create the artwork for the first, monthly, Short Blk Posterchild A2 Poster. This is a new concept for us and the industry and will see coffee marketing and the cafe industry head in a slightly new direction - with a heavy reliance on substance, aesthetics and video extending the reach or what is essentially a small print footprint. Video is being shot (we have just knocked off a brilliant instructional video with David Makin @ Axil Coffee) and there is a lot more to come as we start 2012 with a bang. Look for the A5 booklet come poster in cafes near you soon.

PASSIONATE? CONTRIBUTE!

admin — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 02:34:05 +0000

We are always looking for people to contribute to Short Blk and other caffeine related projects so if you are a photographer, videographer, designer, illustrator or wordsmith (or you just have a van burning a hole in your driveway?! ) then get in touch and show us what you can do. Talk now

2011 HUDSONS BARISTA COMP FINAL VIDEO

admin — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 02:08:26 +0000

The heat was on. The Hudsons final and the release of Issue 02 of Short Blk smack bang in the middle of Melb Central. MC’ed by Axil’s David Makin. Hope you made it and were able to snap up a copy of SB2. If you missed it check your local in coming days or get one here

Finalists for the 2011 Hudsons Coffee Barista Competition were:

Adam DeVries franchisee at Greenslopes Private Hospital, QLD.
Yijun Yuan- staff member at Melbourne Central store, VIC.
Jillian Farrell -store manager, Shepparton VIC.

And, the three Bean Teams were:

Virginia Barnfather and Katelyn Elkinton of Norwest Private Hospital, NSW.
Jack Helms and Sherice Lumley from Elizabeth st Melbourne, VIC
Adam and Allison DeVries of Greenslopes Private Hospital, QLD.

These baristas had spent weeks steaming, tamping, pouring, practising and trying on teddy bear ears in readiness for this National final and the heats were accordingly tough (the ears were related to one of the couple’s signature ‘teddy bear’s picnic’ drink). Watch the video above to see a speedy version of how the day panned out.

SHORT BLK #2 MAGAZINE

admin — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 02:02:23 +0000

Short Blk issue 02 - It’s a little bigger, just a smidge fatter and a little bit more action packed than issue 1.5. It also takes us back down to a normal way of numbering, which, after 1.5 is a little bit of a relief as the explaining can finally stop.

Featuring:
*Guest Cover Art by Andrew Gauld (10FOLD)
*Live Beanhunter review links
*Cafes that Care
*First Look: Otto Induction top
*Cafes including: Balderdash, Bike Gallery, Coffee Hit, Hobba, Juddy Roller, Little Bean Blue, Little Wish, Naked Espresso, Not All There, NOSHRY, Q11, Red Door Corner Store + Truman.
*CSR Golden Bean
*Hudsons Feature
*Chocolate, Tea and more…

Limited numbers for delivery here Contains Caffeine Store - the rest dropped direct to Melb cafes.

BEANHUNTER REVIEW LINKS IN SB2

admin — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 15:10:41 +0000

We are fans of user generated coffee reviews. Beanhunter have set up a beautifully functional site for people to review cafes and coffee from their iphone or online. It’s convenient and it works. We have included Beanhunter links on all cafes in issue 02 so that you can both see what others think of them and add your own thoughts into the mix. Short Blk is in in no way affiliated with Beanhunter – we just thought that the links would be a welcome addition for readers hungry for real user generated reviews.

Scan the codes in the latest Short Blk to get to Beanhunter or go to their website here

BREW:SYPHON

admin — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 09:10:22 +0000

An excerpt sample article from issue 1.5 written by Simon Smithson

Melbourne is a city that appreciates a good cup of coffee. The people here pride themselves on knowing where to get the lightest roasts, the smoothest espressos, and the best blends. We kidnap recently arrived foreigners who just want a cup of Starbuck’s by placing a soft but firm hand on their shoulder and saying ‘No, no. You can get that anywhere in the world. Come to this little Italian cafe around the corner. They know me there. No, they don’t do mint frappuccinos. Yes, I will pay for it. No, don’t mention kangaroos.’

It’s fitting, then, that cafes in Melbourne should be among the first places in Australia to offer the discerning palates of its citizens siphon filtered coffee. Siphon filtering is a process with a long history and a love-hate relationship with coffee aficionados. Massively popular in America at the first half of the 20th century, siphon filters slumped in usage and popularity over the course of the last fifty years, but a revival is slowly brewing in cafes and coffeehouses around the world – and Melbourne is no exception, courtesy of some dedicated baristas.

The workings of a siphon filter depend entirely on vacuum principles. Made mostly of glass, the basic arrangement is two chambers and a filtering tube. The first chamber holds water; the second holds the coffee grounds. A siphon tube connects the two and a filter is put in place for gas and liquids to pass through, purifying them. Once heat is applied to the first chamber with the water, expanding water vapours push the water up through the filter and into the raw coffee. Some of the vapours escape, but the majority of the heated water remains in the second chamber, saturating the coffee grounds. The water in the second chamber can reach temperatures of up to 98c, hotter than in other coffee brewing devices.

After a couple of minutes (a good siphon filter barista will have a better idea of exactly how long to give the grounds) the heat is removed from the first chamber, and the principles of vacuum go into effect. As the remaining water and gases heat and contract, the freshly brewed coffee is sucked back through the filter and into the first chamber. The action of the vacuum is so strong that the original grounds can sometimes be left dry by the force of the suction.

For full article pick up a copy of issue 01 from a local cafe or direct to your door here

SB ISSUE 02 COVER ART: 10FOLD

admin — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 07:53:10 +0000

We are happy to have had Andrew Gauld, ex ‘Skribble Studios’ and now ’10FOLD’ work on the covers for Issue 02 of Short Blk. To find out more about 10FOLD check their site

SHORT BLK 1.5

admin — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 07:12:09 +0000

If you missed SHORT BLK’S street debut here are a couple of spreads so you can see what you missed.

Open publication – Free publishing – More australia

Although already dropped and picked up, we have limited back issues in the store. Click here grab one now for the price of post.