As we all know, Autumn officially begins on February 28th, which means it’s time for our new seasonal coffee blend. As the brains behind this season’s coffee, I thought I’d let you take a peek behind the veil. Whatever the saying is, the curtain lifted, the baguette broken, and what you’ll quickly realise is: I don’t really know what I’m doing. But name seven times that has stopped me before. I left things a touché late, so I messaged my good friend Daniel Milligan—lapsed barista, occasional Instagrammer, and lover of a chip. I asked him if he had any photos from the birthplace of the phrase Cart Blank, and within minutes, he delivered: a perfect shot from Italy. Voila! Exactly what I was looking for, even though I wasn’t looking for anything in particular. The coffee itself is as bold and lawless as its name. It’s a combination of La Familia, a washed Colombian coffee named after the famous philosopher Vin Diesel, and Supernatural, a coffee from El Salvador inspired by the hit TV show Buffy. The flavour? Ooh la la! Sweet toffee apple, warm cinnamon bun, and a little bit of say la vi!—indulgent, spicy, and unpredictable, much like my decision-making. This coffee, much like its name, is a free spirit. An empty cart rolling downhill, direction unknown, destination unclear. All we know is, it has a wonky wheel, which means—well, you know what that means—Bon apple teeth.

P.S. Shoutout to Daniel Milligan, director of Every Cup Counts and expert in last-minute photo sourcing. Find more of his work at @danny.milo.

Espresso
Starting pretty conservatively with a 1:2 ratio looking for depth of flavour and texture.

D: 21.5
Y: 42
T: 29 secs

(try to age for at least 7 days)