cactus espresso bar

A few of our Deli lines.

2011-10-28T14:36:00.002+10:00

All available at Cactus Espresso Bar

173 Brisbane Street Ipswich

MAGGIE BEER

Burnt Fig Jam (SA)	285gm	$9.95
Extra virgin olive oil	375ml	$11.30
Verjuice	375ml	$11.20
Verjuice	750ml	$16.00
Red Wine vinegar	375ml	$8.60
Seville marmalade	285gm	$9.95
Quince paste	250gm	$13.95
Raspberry and Pomegranate jam	285gm	$9.95
Burnt Fig Jam (SA)	285gm	$9.95

SIMON JOHNSON

Dijon Mustard (FRANCE)	210gm	$7.95
Couscous	500gm	$4.95
Black truffle oil	250gm	$25.00
White truffle oil	250ml	$25.00
Porcini oil	250ml	$21.00
Red Curry paste	100gm	$4.95
Green curry paste	100gm	$4.95
Butter Chicken paste	100gm	$4.95
Laksa Paste	100gm	$4.95

DOODLES CREEK

Aioli	300gm	$9.95
Caesar dressing	250ml	$9.95
Chilli Lime and Coriander mayonnaise	300gm	$9.95
Wasabi Mayonnaise	300gm	$9.95
Tartare Sauce	300gm	$9.95

HANKS JAMS

Onion marmalade for BBQ	370gm	$10.50
Raspberry Jam	285gm	$8.95
apricot	285gm	$8.95
Chilli jam	285gm	$8.95

How hot should coffee be?

2011-10-27T19:12:00.003+10:00

How hot should coffee be?

We occasionally get requests for coffee hotter than usual, but what is usual?

I'll restrict this discussion to coffee with milk - cappuccino, caffé latte and that peculiar Australian invention 'flat white'. At Cactus we aim to produce foamed milk that is at 67˚C. This is poured over an espresso shot extracted into a warm glass or cup. This is the ideal temperature for milk based espresso coffee. The milk is still luxuriously thick and full, and you can start to drink it almost immediately.

If you ask for your coffee 'very hot' we aim for 72˚C.

You may wonder why not a higher temperature? Milk boils at roughly the same temperature as water 100˚C, but the difference is that milk begins to deteriorate at around 75˚C. This is because at over 75˚C the proteins in the milk begin to curdle and this affects both the flavour and the fineness of the foam. A second effect of overheated milk is that the fats become much thinner, just like when you heat olive oil in a pan it gets thinner. The thinner the fat, the less it coats your tongue, what you will miss is that luxurious creamy feel that correctly heated milk provides to milk based coffees. Aiming for 72˚C gives a little latitude so as to avoid ruining your coffee.

For those that want much hotter coffee try a long black with milk on the side. A long black (also called, caffé lungo and caffé americano) can be served at up to 95˚C.

Tom Waits

2011-10-17T17:23:00.004+10:00

There has been bit of publicity surrounding Tom Waits new album, an album which I am looking forward to listening to. During an interview with Iain Shedden he was asked about his earlier recordings and if he still listened to them.

"God no. Sometimes I'll be shopping somewhere and something of mine will come on and I'll say: 'turn that shit off so I can drink my fucking coffee."

Regarding songs, "You don't raise 'em like kids. You make 'em and throw them up in the air and they show up somewhere else. I like a lot of them but I never listen to them again."

Cactus recommends - Gary Abkin - new paintings showing at 'the Swich Contemporary Art Space', Ipswich

2011-10-08T16:45:00.010+10:00

Highly recommend a visit, Gary is a remarkable painter - his work is vibrant, colourful and full of life. These newer works are less figurative and more abstract. There are references to the landscape, or more accurately the artists views of the landscape, but here it is a landscape obscured. The colours are rich, heavy mustard yellows and deep blacks. They are neither sombre nor bright, presenting as even, almost matter of fact statements of the artists view.

The works reminded me of Paul Cox's film 'Man of Flowers'. In the film an eccentric old man loves to paint and play music, he attends an art class where a nude young woman is posing for the students. He paints in a very concentrated manner and it is obvious that his teacher is annoyed because the old man is painting flowers, the teachers says 'why don't you paint what you see?' The old man replies 'I am.'

The photograph shows Gilbert Burgh opening the exhibition.

Cactus recommends - Henri Cartier Bresson - The man, the image & the world

2011-10-02T19:57:00.004+10:00

Now showing at the Queensland Art Gallery. A comprehensive exhibition of one of the worlds most influential photographers. If you are familiar with his work then you will not be diassapointed, all his iconic images are present. I find the french and spanish images the most compelling, but there is so much great work on show that it is hard to choose. One of my all time favourites below.

How to store coffee beans.

2011-09-30T19:01:00.005+10:00

We are often asked what is the best way to store coffee beans?

The factors that make coffee beans deteriorate are exposure to heat, light, and air. Thus, the best way to store beans is in a cool, dark place in the same package they were sold in. Transfer to a new container exposes all the beans to air, and this will increase the rate of deterioration.

After coffee is roasted it releases carbon dioxide, this as called degassing. The coffee we sell comes in a pack that has a one-way valve. This enables the coffee to be packed immediately after roasting before degassing has finished, the carbon dioxide can escape the one-way valve and air is prevented from entering.

How long do roasted beans last? About a week, beyond that the loss of flavour becomes increasingly noticeable.

One of the reasons why there are coffee roasters in each major city and even in many country towns is that coffee goes stale fast. It is impossible for foreign suppliers to get freshly roasted beans to Australia fast enough to compete with local roasters before their coffee has gone stale!

Burr grinders - flat versus conical

2011-09-24T22:04:00.003+10:00

Just to make things a little more complex, there are not only two types of grinders - blade and burr - there are two types of burr grinders - conical and flat. There is some evidence to suggest that conical burr grinders are superior, they work more slowly and can provide a more even grind. Conical burr grinders used to be only used in high volume cafés but now they are also used domestically. This where it gets a little confusing, a good flat burr grinder will produce a better grind than a poor conical grinder. This is because prices and quality vary so much between manufacturers and models. As a rough guide expect to pay at least $500- for a good quality electric conical grinder to grind coffee to home espresso standard. If you do not need such a fine grind a cheaper grinder can produce good results for plunger coffee. An industry benchmark for high volume cafés is the Mazzer Robur grinder, at $3400 they are not often used domestically but I have seen one in an office. Recently I have been using a Kyocera (Japanese) hand grinder for espresso coffee with very good results. Don't know the exact retail price yet as this was suppled as a sample for us to try, but I expect it to be about $100- . It does great espresso and the exercise is free!

Burr grinders.

2011-09-23T19:04:00.003+10:00

Burr grinders are the most commonly used grinders in cafés. They are also gradually taking over from blade grinders in the domestic market. The advantage with burr grinders is that the grind can be regulated to suit the kind of coffee you are making. For plunger coffee you need a coarse grind for filter and espresso a finer grind. Beyond that gross distinction between the kinds of coffee making there is also the importance of getting the grind for your particular coffee machine just right. In a café the barista may reset the grind several times a day to keep the coffee extraction perfect.

Below a picture of a typical burr grinder - the bodum bistro. This is similar to a commercial grinder except that all the parts are smaller and lighter and it is not designed to run continuously in a commercial environment.

The daily grind.

2011-09-23T18:05:00.000+10:00

These ladies have the whole thing down pat, the grinder breaks down the coffee into small particles, the sieve allows only the correct size to pass through. The only difference between now an then is that we do everything fast.

Current Exhibition - Leanne Vincent

2009-10-21T21:33:00.002+10:00

Leanne's images are of Ipswich, both familiar and unfamiliar locations. Beautiful saturated colours depicting a complexity of contrasting architectural styles.

Anita Murray - Photographs - current exhibition

2009-07-27T17:47:00.001+10:00

Above one of Anita's travel images.
Below Anita and friends - opening night.

Eswood undercounter dishwasher - UC25 - review

2009-07-22T20:13:00.004+10:00

We bought our Eswood undercounter dishwasher new. We previously had an old Hobart that we bought at auction which, though very good, slowly became more and more expensive to repair.

The first thing we noticed about our new Eswood was that the dish tray is higher than our old Hobart's was. This is good because you don’t have to bend as far. The second thing we noticed was that the amber coloured shell around the ‘cycle indicator light’ fell off. It was poorly adhered so we stuck it back on with sticky tape, looks crappy but its still there.

I realised straight away that the quality control at Eswood was not much good. We have had the unit for about two years and that has been a pattern ever since. Poor quality parts that are expensive, not repairable, and break easily. The first item to go was the main switch that controls the cycles, a tiny piece of plastic broke off and we had to buy a new switch. The most recent problem is that the drain pump leaks, it is in two parts and they no longer fit together properly.

Parts are not readily available, each time a new part is required we have to wait for at least two days.

Now you may be thinking that we are twenty four hour a day 7 day a week café with hundreds of cycles each day and that breakdowns are to be expected. But this is not the case we open only for breakfast and lunch 6 days a week and breakfast only on Sundays. I would say that we have provide the machine with a medium load. The machine is rated at 500 plates per hour, we only haves seats for 34 and part of our business is take away (no washing up).

In summing up my experience is that if you wish to support your local dishwasher repairer and enjoy washing dishes by hand for a couple of days each time something goes wrong, then the Eswood is for you.

The unit we have is the Eswood compact under-counter dishwasher model number UC-25.

Diana Love and Holm Sohn - photography

2009-07-06T21:35:00.004+10:00

Diana Love

Holm Sohn

Holm Sohn - is a visiting german photographer see his website holmsohn.com

Gluten Free Breads

2008-12-07T18:07:00.004+10:00

We now use gluten free bread for those who have are gluten intolerant. For people who prefer a gluten free diet, or those that don't have a choice our Toasted Turkish bread sandwiches are now available on a gluten free alternative.

Xmas 2008

2008-12-07T18:04:00.001+10:00

Our current exhibition by Andrew Spark

2008-09-10T22:17:00.003+10:00

Andrew Spark is currently showing at Cactus. His large installation is tailored to the space and looks great.

Our fifth birthday cake

2008-03-27T18:43:00.004+10:00

This marvellous cake was made for the cafés fifth birthday by REBECCA LEWIS. The café opened on 3rd March 2003.

Current exhibition by Kevin McMahon

2007-12-28T22:15:00.000+10:00

Kevin McMahon’s art education started in Perth, going onto a fine arts degree at RMIT, Melbourne. After completing two years, he deferred to take up study at the Stadel School of Art, Frankfurt (Germany) and completed a three-year program of mentoring with various professors of art. On returning to Australia in 1994, he then completed a Graduate Diploma in Sculpture from the Canberra School of Art. Since then he has been exhibiting his work and has been involved in a number of site-specific art projects and public art commissions.

Your breakfast . .

2007-10-07T16:01:00.001+10:00

from a delightful series by jon huck called breakfast

Carla and Ben tshirts

2007-08-18T22:13:00.001+10:00

You can offend some of the people some of the time. . .

Carla Baxter - opening night

2007-08-18T22:12:00.001+10:00

Rhonda Crane

2007-06-04T21:17:00.001+10:00

Anna-Maria Mays Vermeer

2007-05-23T19:34:00.000+10:00

"I enjoy the spontaneity of painting in water colours, mixed media and collage. Flowers tea pots, textiles, natural found objects and Vincent have been the inpsirations for my artworks."

Our eager and intelligent ..... etc.

2007-05-23T19:31:00.000+10:00

Congratulations on being a finalist at the Ipswich City Employee awards.

Our machine - Azkoyen bravo 3e

2007-03-26T20:38:00.000+10:00

This is a nice machine to use, lots of pressure from an 18 litre boiler (you never run out of steam). Consistent temperature from heavy cast group heads. So far no major problems, just a few seals replaced and one electrical repair after four years service. The pumps produce a nice even pressure and we get a very good crema. These machines are made in Spain and are becoming very popular, the Vienna version being used in many franchised cafés.

carla baxter - alphabet

2007-03-26T18:16:00.000+10:00

carla baxter

2007-03-26T18:06:00.000+10:00

Carla Baxter is a photocopy artist, she creates images using a black and white photocopier. She has recently shown her new work at the Ipswich Art Gallery. These large photocopies are very rich and detailed. That's Carla in the photo with three of her prints.

espresso

2007-03-25T18:14:00.000+10:00

The thing that makes espresso coffee different to any other way of making coffee is the way the flavour of the beans is extracted. With espresso coffee the extraction is done at very high pressure and fairly quickly (hence the name 'espresso' Italian for fast). What this means in terms of flavour is that while the sweetness of the ground beans is extracted the bitterness is left out.

The early part of the extraction is the sweetest. This is why there is a drink called 'ristretto' (Italian for restricted), where the pour is stopped early in order to avoid any of the later flavours and just get the sweetest part of the extraction. This also has less caffeine as caffeine is extracted in greater proportion later in the pour.

To know if you are getting the pour right there is an accepted standard. You should extract about 25 to 30ml of coffee in about 25 to 30 seconds. Some people are very strict about this and go to extremes to get their pours to be exactly 28ml in 28 seconds. But this is not necessary, as there is another test which can help you get the right result. That test is to look at the 'crema,' which is the thick brown foam on top of your pour. If it of a rich, reddish brown, reasonably thick and able to hold a few grains of sugar on its surface you have a good result. If it is too dark your pour was too, long or water to hot or coffee ground too finely. If it is too light, your pour was too short, coffee ground to coarsely, or equipment or water too cold.
It seems complex but after awhile it becomes second nature to watch as the pour is happening and you will know straight away if all is well.

brian che

2007-03-16T19:18:00.000+10:00

Chris Hall from 'Think Aloud' loaned us this beautiful photograph by Brian Che. This small reproduction does not do justice to the real thing which was a luscious and seductive ocean of blues.
The photograph is of the southern ocean and was about 3 metres long.

Why use locally roasted coffee?

2007-03-11T20:20:00.000+10:00

We use Abrisca coffee. Abrisca are award winning roasters located in East Brisbane.
The advantage of using locally roasted coffee is that it is fresh.

Coffee deteriorates after roasting and even faster after grinding. So there is really no substitute to having your coffee roasted locally. Imported beans such as those found in supermarkets (Lavazza for example) or some coffee houses may have been roasted several months ago and will have lost alot of their unique flavours.

Our coffee is delivered in sealed bags with a one way valve. The valve allows the coffee to give off gasses but does not allow air to enter the bag. When coffee is exposed to air, it deteriorates and will eventually become stale.

Coffee should be stored at room temperature. Cold coffee resists extraction and if exposed in a refrigerator or freezer may absorb either moisture or other flavours which would be detrimental to its flavour.

andrew spark

2007-03-11T19:46:00.000+10:00

The images are entitled 'Ghosts of Jarman'. From Andrew's exhibition in May 2004. The bird of paradise flowers are from our garden.

dogs out the front

2007-03-07T17:21:00.000+10:00

One of the nicer aspects of a street cafe is that you can walk the dog over, park yourself and your dog outside and enjoy a coffee. While your dog does its utmost to look as bored as possible.

what are your chances ?

2007-03-07T16:41:00.000+10:00

What are you chances of getting a decent coffee? Here's a test.

1 Are you in a shopping complex ?
2 Are you at a coffee franchise - Gloria Jeans, Starbucks, etc. ?
3 Can you see the word mugaccino anywhere ?

Answer yes to any one of these questions and you had better keep moving.

andrew spark

2007-03-04T21:25:00.000+10:00

This was taken on the opening night of Andrew Spark's exhibition at Cactus, in May 2004. We have since shown Andrew's works again and he has recently had an exhbition at the Ispwich Art Gallery entitled 'Signs and Signifiers.'

terry bouton

2007-03-04T19:50:00.000+10:00

Terry Bouton is Brisbane artist and educator. We showed her large flower paintings sometime in 2003. These were large works with clear references to Art Nouveau. More of her works can be seen on her website.

mieke den otter

2007-03-04T19:40:00.000+10:00

This was from our first show of Meike's work. Her background in illustration can be clearly seen here in the fine drawing.

blanca oraa

2007-03-04T19:31:00.000+10:00

Blanca Oraa is a basque artist whose abstract work has been exhibited in Spain, the USA, and most European capital cities. We were lucky enough to show her work in September 2004.
Each small canvas is about 40cm square. They can be arranged in various combinations.

inga nolan

2007-03-01T20:03:00.000+10:00

I think we showed Inga's works in 2005. Inga Nolan is a Brisbane art with a degree in viual arts. All the paintings were large colourful and reminiscent of Chagall in their dreamlike quality.

rhonda crane

2007-03-01T19:53:00.000+10:00

Part of an exhibition last year by local artist Rhonda Crane. We hope to have some of her new work up again this year. The piece in the photograph was bought by the Ipswich Art Gallery. The flowers are made of domestic cleaning pads. We got alot of comments about these, both positive and negative. People were polarised in their opinions women generally enjoying the playfulness of the works and identifying with the ideas they bring to mind, men often dismissing the works as frivolous. Some artists works elicit very little comment, sometimes it can be weeks before a regular customer notices that the exhibition has changed, with these works that did not happen.

end of the day

2007-03-01T19:38:00.002+10:00