Blog — Page 97 of 283

What’s Sumatra with you? High Voltage Coffee.

As the Descendents put it ever so eloquently “I don't need no booze or drugs/ I just chug-a-lug-o my coffee mug”. Now, my first visits to the US in the early 90s and when those lyrics were penned, were certainly not graced with fantastic coffee experiences and what was proffered was weak as.

Given the evolution and refinement the coffee landscape has experienced over the last two decades, I wonder what Milo Aukerman’s go-to is in 2021.

“Strong” coffee is a category for itself and can be interpreted in many ways as it can pertain to the roast level (which is actually a misconception as rich, dark roasts are not necessarily stronger than lighter ones) or amount of caffeine, the latter of which is dependent on factors like the species, soil and altitude it grew on. Generally speaking, you get more bang for your buck in the caffeine department if you opt for Robusta beans instead of Arabica.

At the end of the day, a skilled barista has the final word when it comes to strength.

However, there are beans whose caffeine content is much higher than those of others, which results in jolts every time you take a sip.

Enter High Voltage Coffee.

Now, given the skull and crossbones aesthetic I was a tad sceptical as from a distance, I was not sure if the strong effects would go at the expense of nuanced flavours, as it is the case with many of the novelty coffee brands mushrooming worldwide.

However, upon first sip, all concerns were alleviated as what materialized on my palate was an exercise in well-calibrated, full-bodied, bitter free smoothness, which plays in its own distinct league far away from the often overpouring competition. The accompanying aroma turns heads when I prepare a cup and that is something to be said for as I am surrounded by certified coffee snobs.

The fact that High Voltage’s bean selection and roasting process borders on the artisanal paired with the fact that the beans are ethically and sustainably sourced from rainforest alliance farmers, only enhances the experience.

What I like about High Voltage is that the more I learn about it, the more it shows that it is being produced by dedicated connoisseurs and coffee aficionados, who are now channelling their alchemy after having crafted it for more than  twenty years and it definitely shows in the end result – a coffee made by coffee lovers for coffee lovers, which delivers a whopping dose of close to 1200mg caffeine per cup without giving you the jitters.

A definite recommendation for anyone remotely into the appreciation of coffee in search for a bit of an extra kick.

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image from company website

Water of Life – Thomson Distillery

Now, this has been for the longest time in the making: An instalment dedicated exclusively to a craft distillery from New Zealand.

With Australia whiskies being revered the world over and being touted for at times exorbitant prices, I have yet to come across a dram from NZ that disappoints me.

Thomson Whisky is no exception.

Having started out as a small operation / independent bottler with whisky sourced from Willowbank Distillery with a passion for the water of life, Thomson Whisky has grown into a veritable heavyweight and placed itself firmly on the world map with their premium, artisan and progressive whiskies.

Channelling their distilling alchemy via a hand-beaten copper pot still, they limit their ingredients to quality malted barley, pure water, yeast. Following tow distillation runs,  the results of which are then aged in a range of casks including ex-bourbon barrels, NZ red wine casks and smaller variants.

Needless to say, I was got immensely excited when I learned about Thomson releasing their own idiosyncratic Manuka Smoke and South Island variants.

Clocking in at 46% ABV, he Manuke Smoke expression is considered a work in progress, however, it got me from the moment the aromas tickled my nostrils with the melange of subtle campfire smokiness, vanilla, heathery Manuka honey oils, herbal freshness, bay leaf and cinnamon.

On the palate, the smokiness serves as the backbone on which fruity highlights and menthol notes counterpoint each other, before an elongated finish culminates in wood oak, liquorice , hints of aniseed and enough ash to make one lust for another dram. Definitely a unique  and lovable whisky and a recommendation for Islay smoke heads.

Peaty expressions are usually my first choice if distilleries proffer them, however, New Zealand was yet to be experienced territory in that regard.

Thomson’s limited batch bottling is refined with local South Island Peat and being fairly young, I love the iodine nuances which are pervaded by vanilla and faint smoke notes. Not unlike the Manuku Wood expression, there are herbaceous and sour fruity highlights along with the effects of having matured in smaller sized ex-bourbon casks, which adds complexity with the elongated exit finishing on a high spicy note.

Given the quality of their early releases, one is very much looking forward to what the future holds for Thomson Distillery.

Brief Answers to the Big Questions

Stephen Hawking

Hachette Publishing

Stephen Hawking’s contributions are not merely limited to physics and cosmology but he had always something meaningful to contribute to current affairs, especially when asked questions that were thrown at him during public appearances.

His legacy in the scientific realm will live on forever and even after his departure, posthumous research papers were published, which encapsulated his contributions about the complexity of the universe and the paradox of creation not having a creator.

His legacy will also live on in popular culture as he has been immortalized via guest appearances in The Simpsons and Star Trek, entering the horizon of an audience that under normal circumstances might have not become overly familiar with his work.

Brief Answers to the Big Questions is an easily accessible book that was completed for Hawking after he died. In essence, the title is a telling one as Hawking elaborates his theories in a poignant, engaging and effortless manner, peppered with his trademark wit and humour.

Parts of the book touch on elaborations that were originally geared towards an academic audience as part of his lectures and have been translated into a dictus that makes it relatable to mere mortals.

Written from a first-person angle, Hawking’s spirit and insights from his life’s work and it adds another facet to his immense legacy – one that allows him to posthumously address ten of the questions all of us have pondered at such stage.

During his exchanges with the general public, Hawking’s mission was to spark curiosity and to cement the notion that however difficult life may seem, key is to not give up and be creative to shape the future. Brief Answers to the Big Questions does exactly that in the most enjoyable manner,

Fashion with a Conscience – Plant Faced Clothing

Zef culture is an interesting one, as, at least from the outside, it appears to be a movement that has been derived from a state of shame and of national melancholiac sentiments and a way for Afrikaner to self-parody in post-apartheid South Africa.

The South African group Die Antwoord channels its alchemy around the incorporation of local counterculture movements to spice up their musical emissions with anarchic sub-cultural nuances.

Word around the campfire has that Yolandi Visser of Die Antwoord once described the essence of Zef as being poor “but you're sexy, you've got style."

While the point about being impecunious does not necessarily apply to the clientele of Plant Faced Clothing, the latter definitely holds true when it comes to their plant-based and ethical fashion movement, which is geared at preserving our planet to actively support the non-harming or exploitation of any beings - humans, animals, or plants.

The common denominator between Die Antwoord and Plant Faced Clothing is that one of their sweaters is adorned with an excerpt from “Baby’s on Fire”, which was my first exposure to the streetwear brand with a conscience.

What I instantaneously liked about the sweater is the attention to detail and the awesome feel to the use of sustainably, curated fabrics, such as organic and chemical-free cotton or alternatively recycled polyester , all of which have been put together by stringently adhering to ethical certifications, such as Fair Wear or WRAP. The fact that the final products are durable yet feel fluffy on the skin does not hurt either.

However, it does not stop art style and quality as even the mailer boxes are made from 100% recycled paper and printed with lead- and PVC-free water-based inks, with the next stage of PBC looking at phasing out their woven labels to be replaced with recycled ones as well.

Plant Faced Clothing is at the forefront of a new independently owned vegan movement that sits at the crossroads of fashion, art, music, and a cruelty-free lifestyle, which does not let eco-friendly sustainability come to the expense of style and fashionable gear and thereby transcends being a mere brand or fashion fad.

Given that clothes design is one of the more efficient ways of subtly planting seeds for ideas and conversations, brands like Plant Faced Clothing infiltrate the scene conspicuously to spark thoughts within a crowd that under normal circumstances might not be confronted with such ideas.

If you are familiar with the preachy straight edge and vegan movements of the mid-1990s, it is easy to see how much progress has been made when it comes to the creation of sustainable streetwear and Plant Faced Clothing is an example par excellence for the advancement of eco-friendly endeavours with a sensibility for style.

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image from company website

The Formative Years – Glitterhouse Records

It must have been in the early 1990 that through acquisition of a large fanzine collection, I came across old back issues of The Glitterhouse fanzine from the 1980. Content-wise, it intrigued me as it offered insight into genres I had not been exposed to, e.g. the outliers of punk and underground scenes like sixties garage, fuzz rock and psychedelia and similar genres.

I did some more research only to find that the fanzine had not only spurned a distribution, but also a record label, which had started a collaboration with Sub Pop Records as early as 1987. Needless to say, they were at the forefront and on the pulse of the emerging Seattle scene and it was through Glitterhouse Records that I was first exposed to Mudhoney, Tad, Supersuckers and Afghan Whigs.

Glitterhouse Records’ collaboration with Amphetamine Reptile Records opened doors in Europe for heavyweights of the calibre of bands like Helmet, Cows and God Bullies, before they ventured even further by signing bands like Monster Magnet, Sister Double Happiness and Bitch Magnet.

It must have been in 1992 that I got introduced through Glitterhouse Records to one of my favourite albums of all time, i.e. Rollins Band’s opus magnus The End of Silence. Introduced as the new effort of the “zuckende Muskel”, the melange of primal rage, despair, guilt, sorrow and guilt fanned the flames of the burning kerosene tank that was my teenage angst and frustration, with Blues Jam becoming a hymn for the remainder of the year.

Having had such experiences through Glitterhouse Records, it cemented my affiliation with them and while it was never the centre of my record buying endeavours, I have to this day kept an eye on how they evolved as there was always something new and exciting to be discovered and one could trust their curation.

Case in point: In the mid-nineties, instead of riding the grunge wave that had infiltrated mainstream, Glitterhouse took a deliberate detour and focussed on releasing a broader variety of musical styles, specifically with bands from Scandinavia and the UK: This new incarnation of Glitterhouse Records not only exposed me to bands like Midnight Choir, Pere Ubu and the fantastic Wovenhand and 16 Horsepower, but also helped to expand my horizons with a sensitivity for world music through their sub-branch Glitterbeat.

To this day, Glitterhouse has released well over seven hundred titled, which is further substantiated by their distribution and their own open-air festival.

If you are remotely into underground music and are not familiar, there is a lot of delectable and rewarding homework to be done.