Hi Folks!

If you’ve been following us on Facebook or Twitter then you’ll already have heard the big news but for those of you who prefer your news in more than 140 characters, here it is – Duke’s Lounge has, for the first time, been included in this year’s Sydney Morning Herald Good Café Guide and, right off the bat, has been crowned with the coveted One Cup award!

So what is a One Cup award & why are we so excited about it?

The Good Café Guide gives out a few awards each year, ones for things like Best Food Cafe & Best Small Cafe, as well as their Cup awards. There are three levels (surprisingly labelled One Cup, Two Cup, & Three Cup), and they work in a very similar way to the Hat ratings that are awarded to restaurants in The Good Food Guide. As for why we’re so excited, it comes down to the numbers – there are hundreds, if not thousands of cafés in Sydney, of which 300 made it in The Good Cafe Guide. In Randwick alone there are only 3 cafés that made it into the guide. Out of the 300 that did make it, only about 80 cafés are awarded One, Two or Three Cup status. That essentially puts Duke’s Lounge on a list of the 80 best cafés in the whole of Sydney & in the company of cafés such as Toby’s Estate, Bourke St Bakery & Sonoma Bakery Café!
(We need a lie down now.)

The SMH Good Café Guide 2012 is on sale with Saturday’s Sydney Morning Herald for just $5, don’t forget to pick up your copy! Not only is Duke’s Lounge covered (page 57!) but it’s a great guide to other fantastic cafés in your local area & a source of inspiration for trying some new places too.

Thanks for the support!

See you soon at Duke’s Lounge!

Those of you who read the SMH may have seen a slightly worrying article about milk, or
rather about the surprising lack of milk in some milk. The key word there is some because
as anyone who reads this blog knows we use A2 milk for everything here at Duke’s
Lounge. Whether you have a coffee, tea, hot chocolate, iced chocolate, iced coffee or
milkshake you will only ever be served A2 milk. Even our pikelets are made using A2 milk!

Now, some of you might not have read the article or might not understand either what
all the fuss is about or why serving A2 milk is so important – the answer is something
called ‘permeate’. In essence, permeate is a waste product that is created during the
manufacture of cheese. Permeate isn’t known to cause any specific health risks & so its
use has been allowed to continue to the point that some of the biggest milk suppliers in
the country are now supplying supermarkets with milk that is 16% permeate. The only
condition placed on its use is that it doesn’t dilute milk to the point that the fat percentage
of the milk is altered by more than 0.8% (a fairly large margin when you consider that
natural milk is only 4% fat).

As we said, there are no health risks with permeate, so it shouldn’t be feared, but we
still think it should be avoided. Why? Well, it really comes down to a question of quality.
Permeate might be considered a ‘milk component’ when it comes to food safety standards
but I’m sure there aren’t many of us who could look at a glass of a watery greenish liquid &
think ‘mmm, milk’. At the end of the day, the average consumer expects their bottle of milk
to contain 100% milk, not around 84%. Even if it was being watered down with straight
tap water, with absolutely no chance of any health problems, would you be satisfied with
your 84% milk? The reality is permeate is a waste product. It might be harmless but that’s
not really the issue here – the issue is that some milk producers have found a way to
simultaneously dispose of a waste product that they might otherwise have to pay to get rid
of and to save themselves a lot of money by watering down your milk with it.

So, if you can see why we avoid permeate and want to do the same yourself, the next
question you’ll be asking is how to avoid it. It might sound simple but unfortunately it’s not
as easy as it should be. There is no requirement for milk producers to disclose that they
use permeate on their labelling, which makes it next to impossible to compare products in
the supermarket with any kind of helpful information. In addition to that, most of the major
milk brands, both the home brand and more famous versions, are using permeate in their
products, making tracking down pure milk much more of a challenge than it ought to be.

In the end, the only advice we can give you is to do what we’ve done & find a brand of milk
that has made some guarantees on the quality of its products, including a promise that
no permeate is used in their milk. That way you can leave the supermarket with a bottle
of milk that is actually 100% milk. A2 is a brand that has made exactly those promises &
that’s why we’re proud to support them as the only cafe in Randwick serving exclusively
A2 milk with not a drop of permeate in sight.

Thanks for reading guys!
See you soon at Duke’s Lounge!

Read the SMH article here: http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/cuisine/cheese-waste-in-up-to-16-of-milk-20120416-1x3sq.html

It’s only been about 12 hours since  the Living Social deal launched, and already 240 vouchers have been purchased! There are still about 60 hours to go, which is pretty amazing, so thanks everyone for giving us a great start to the campaign!

The vouchers don’t expire for 6 months so there’s no need to worry about missing out, there’s plenty of time to stop by & take advantage of this great offer

Whilst you’re here, please take your time to browse through the website. We’re passionate about our coffee & our cafe & hopefully it shows! You can read about our suppliers too, and how their passion for their own quality products feeds into our coffees, teas & food. Speaking of the coffee, tea & food that we serve, there are also menus on the site to help you plan out what you’d like to try out when using your Living Social voucher and what else is available not just for breakfast but also for brunches, lunches & afternoon teas.

Lastly, Duke’s Lounge is also on Facebook, Twitter & YouTube (we realllly like social media) so stop by & check out those sites too. Liking our Facebook page is the best way to stay up to date with news & special offers but you can also follow us on Twitter or subscribe to our YouTube feed to really get involved with the ‘social’ part of social media! So Click the logos above now, or the ones on the right menu bar! Like us, follow us and chat to us!

Once again, thank you so much for taking interest in Duke’s Lounge and we look forward to seeing you soon!

Spreading the love one coffee at a time,

Duke

Apart from also supercharging our menu with plenty more items, including salads and a couple of signature dishes (Valentyn Chicken, D-Stack special etc.) we’ve also been very busy organising the ‘soon to be’ super awesome cafe courtyard extravaganza! for our lovely customers!
That’s right folks, a Courtyard! (projected seating capacity would be around 15 to 25 persons)
The plan is to have a few umbrellas, some very chic outdoor tables and chairs with maybe a big communal table in the middle for a group (or those who are lonely and don’t want to sit by themselves hehe) …and of course, some plants and decorations to add style and culture.
Here’s the work in progress:

Before we continue, we’ve been talking about sharing the courtyard with our neighbours [Java Restaurant] to form a super massive courtyard extravaganza, however, this plan might not go through after all, …but stay tuned anyways

Next on the list to show and tell is Byron Bay Cookies! yep! We got them and they are disappearing fast!

These guys are super yummy and are a great accompaniment to our beautiful coffees. We have Dotty, Sticky Date and Ginger and Double Choc Fudge!!! (My mouth waters as I type this……..and yes, I’ve been eating up my own supplies…very bad of me I know..)

Last but not least, The MShift turns 6 live at Duke’s Lounge long awaited archive is now ready to be enjoyed!
I finally make a debut, rubbing my shoulders and records next to Sydneys’ finest DJ’s in this exciting event held at Duke’s Lounge last year.
Paul O’Brien, one of our awesome customers/coffeegeek/adventure biker/CopyMachine Guru has kindly documented and made us a short clip of the event.,
The M Shift 6th @ Dukes Lounge

a MASSIVE thanks goes to DJ Brendan Clay for masterminding this operation, for asking me to be part of his show and for chosing Duke’s Lounge to be the host. Thanks for all the support!  We congratulate you on the success so far and we are honoured to be a part of it

So, I’ll leave you with this blog post below:

The M Shift Turns 6 [234] with Special Guests D-Funk, Def Tonez, Tony Why, Toddy Trix, Duke Von & Andy Wright

Part One :
http://www.brendanclay.com/downloads/20111218_TheMShiftTurns6_234_01.mp3

Part Two :
http://www.brendanclay.com/downloads/20111218_TheMShiftTurns6_234_02.mp3

Welcome to 2012, all. Yes, it’s quite a late greeting – but better late than never, I suppose!

We have just made available the epic, final show of last year – our 6th Birthday show – which was hosted live from Duke’s Lounge, in Randwick.

The four-hour show featured live sets from D-Funk, Def Tonez, Tony Why, Toddy Trix, Duke Von, Andy Wright and myself.

Our sincerest apologies for the delay however; we feel that the quality of this show is certainly worth the wait – and you have four hours to sink your teeth into now!

We’ll have the archive of the first show of 2012 coming up shortly, too. So, watch this space.

Furthermore, we’ve almost finalised the show schedule for the entire first quarter of 2012, so we assure you that the quality will continue. Check the schedule below.

As always, enjoy this archive, and enjoy your stay!

Brendan [Bruno] Clay
xx

—

> 18th december, 2011

> Download Part One

> Download Part Two

: Tracklisting:
: Andy Wright’s Mix:
01 : Silicone Soul – ‘Dub4Toots’ (Original Mix) [Soma Records]
02 : Phaeleh – ‘Soundmouse’ (Original Mix) [Afterglo]
03 : Phaeleh – ‘Think About It’ (Original Mix) [Afterglo]
04 : Phaeleh – ‘Plateau’ (Original Mix’ (Original Mix) [Afterglo]
05 : Uncle Sam ft. Tiiu – ‘Under The Dancing Feet’ (Tes La Rock Remix) [Argon Records]
06 : Von D – ‘Truth’ (Tes La Rok Remix) [Black Acre Records]
07 : DJ Rum – ‘Undercoat’ (Original Mix) [2nd Drop Records]
08 : Pinch – ‘Teleportation’ (Original Mix) [Planet Mu]
09 : Emika – ‘Double Edge’ (Pinch Remix) [Ninja Tune]
10 : Kryptic Minds – ’768′ (Original Mix) [Tectonic]

: Duke Von’s Mix:
11 : Tits & Clits – ‘Fist Of Steel’ (MALO Remix) [Electrico Records]
12 : Fast Foot ft. Music Instructor – ‘Perfect Paganini’ (Club Version) [CDR]
13 : Wang Lin – ‘Injury Can Not Afford’ (DJ Mix 2011) [CDR]
14 : Sergio Fernandez – ‘El Son Te Llama’ (Original Mix) [Spinnin' Records]
15 : Beats Addict & C&C Music Factor – ‘Keep It Comin” (Luccio Loose Control Remix) [Ibiza Night Records]
16 : Fragma – ‘Toca’s Miracle’ (Vandalism Remix) [Tiger Records]
17 : Nightshifterz Vs. Marik – ‘Touch Me (All Night Long) (Max Farenthide Club Remix) [Clubtronics]
18 : Pharmacy Of Sound – ’2 Worlds’ (Original Mix) [GK Records]
19 : Swanky Tunes – ‘Equilibrium’ (Harry Choo Choo Romero Remix) [Big Love]
20 : Cold Blue – ‘Mount Everest’ (Original Mix) [Anjunabeats]

: D-Funk’s Mix:
21 : D-Funk – ‘Intro’ [CDR]
22 : Tipper – ‘Ton Of Bricks’ (Original Mix) [Tippermusic]
23 : Jurassik 5 – ‘Linguistics’ (D-Funk Acapella) [CDR]
24 : Ray Charles – ‘What I’d Say’ (Bobby C Sound Mix) [CDR]
25 : D-Funk – ‘International Flava’ (Original Mix) [CDR]
26 : Slynk – ‘Boomin” (Original Mix) [CDR]
27 : Young M.C. – ‘Bust A Move’ (Stickybuds Mix) [CDR]
28 : Neon Steve – ‘Flipped The Script’ (Original Mix) [Bomb Strikes]
29 : Steve Velocity – ‘It’s On Tonight’ (D-Funk’s Ghetto Glitch Mix) [CDR]
30 : D-Funk – ‘Untitled’ (Original Mix) [CDR]
31 : Stanton Warriors – ‘Get Up’ (D-Funk’s Damm Those Deadlines Mix) [CDR]
32 : CMC & Silenta – ‘Get It On Now’ (D-Funk Mix) [CDR]

: Tony Why & Toddy Trix’s Mix:
33 : A-Skillz & Kraft Kuts ft. Kurtis Blow – ‘Gimme The Breaks’ (Original Mix) [Finger Lickin' Records]
34 : Totalcult – ‘Dynamite Lady’ (Original Mix) [CDR]
35 : Chicken Lips – ‘He Not In’ (Stanton Warriors Remix) [Azuli]
36 : Nero – ‘Promises’ (Philly Blunt Remix) [CDR]
37 : Aloe Blacc – ‘I Need A Dollar’ (Zinc Remix – Mooqee Rub Up) [CDR]
38 : Destroyers – ‘Weird Day’ (Guau Remix) [Elektroshok Records]
39 : Access Denied – ‘Black’ (Original Mix) [Ayra Recordings]
40 : DJ Magic Make ft. Press Box – ‘We On’ (Original Mix) [Elektro Aktive Musuc]
41 : Buzzwak – ‘Mumbling Music’ (Access Denied Remix) [R3gma Recording]
42 : Vovking – ‘Stimulator’ (Original Mix) [Toastclub Recordings]
43 : Curtis B ft. KillNM – ‘Step Back’ (Breaks Mix) [Drop The World]

: Def Tonez’ Mix:
44 : Coloursound – ‘Fly With Me’ (Giac Le Groove Mix) [Great Stuff Recordings]
45 : Drumattic Twins – ‘Crazy In Love’ (Peo De Pitte Remix) [Finger Lickin' Records]
46 : Ed Solo, Deekline & Tim Healey – ‘Take It Ezy’ (Breaks Mix) [Giant Pussy Records]
47 : Slybeats – ‘Move Your Body’ (Original Mix) [Booty Breaks UK]
48 : Beat Assasins – ‘Generation MTV’ (Full Vocal Mix) [Mofo Recordings]
49 : Crackerz & Jam – ‘Hold On’ (Datadex Remix) [Upstart Music]
50 : Jack Beats – ‘Out Of Body’ (DJ Hero Re-Rub) [CDR]
51 : Karl Sav – ‘No Doubt’ (Original Mix) [Re:Connect Recordings]
52 : Krafty Kuts & Dynamite MC – ‘Pounding’ (Deekline Remix) [Instant Vibes]
53 : Slyde – ‘Move Ya Body’ (Original Mix) [Hot Cakes]
54 : Stanton Warriors – ‘Get Wild’ (Stanton’s Bounce Mix) [Punks]
55 : Ed Solo, Deekline & DJ Assault – ‘Gimmie’ (Original Mix) [Rat Records UK]
56 : Splitloop – ‘I Want You’ (Original Mix) [Against The Grain]
57 : Defkline & Red Polo – ‘Felix Hustle’ (Breaks Mix) [Hot Cakes]

: Bruno’s Mix:
58 : Soldiers Of Fortune – ‘Finding Feet’ (Original Mix) [CDR]
59 : Incident – ‘An Evening With Her’ (Original Mix) [Fokuz Limited]
60 : Lomax & Autumn – ‘It’s Always About The Girl’ (Original Mix) [Fokuz Recordings]
61 : Nu:Tone – ‘Balaclava In My System’ (Original Mix) [Hospital Records]
62 : Netsky ft. Jenna G – ‘Moving With You’ (Original Mix) [Hospital Records]
63 : Fred V – ‘Simple Beginnings’ (Original Mix) [Hospital Records]
64 : Komatic – ‘Now She’s Free’ (Technicolour Remix) [Bassdrivemusic]
65 : Calibre – ‘Hummer’ (Original Mix) [Samurai Music]
66 : Technicolour & Komactic – ‘Daydreamer’ (Original Mix) [Technique Recordings]
67 : Bcee – ‘Captured In Time’ (Original Mix) [Spearhead Records]
68 : High Contrast – ‘Kiss Kiss Bang Bang’ (Original Mix) [Hospital Records]
69 : Laidback Luke & Robin S. – ‘Show Me Love’ (High Contrast Remix) [CDR]

_________________________________________________________________________

So, that’s it for now folks! Enjoy Australia Day and see you soon at Duke’s Lounge!

Much Love.

                  We’ll be serving up bacon & egg rolls & coffee like it’s no one’s business, as well as a few other items to satisfy your stomachs and musical appetites!! We want to see all our regulars, as well as many other people we’ve never seen before come by so we can wish you well before we head off on our own hiatus (we’ll be closed from 24th December – 12th January 2012) before we re-open on good ol’ Friday the 13th of January 2012 to continue serving up your favourite EPIC b/e rolls, Canadian Heartbreakers, & Espresso fuel along with some new items that’ll be even fresher than our produce!!

                 So come along for the music & stay for the EPICness that is your one & only Duke’s Lounge!! 4pm – 8pm Sunday December 18th, be there or be a pointy shaped object!

To my excitement, I’d like to yell out to the world how proud I am for the boys at TeaCraft. The Sydney Morning Herald ran an article a few weeks ago which hopefully will propel tea culture into the next level. So in case you missed the article, here it is again:

Steeped in their craft 

Two young tea merchants spread their enthusiasm for a fresh, loose leaf cuppa brewed with care.

In Arthur Tong’s world, there’s no shelf space for tea bags. Tong and his business partner, Tjok Gde Kerthyasa, are specialty tea distributors and regard the disposable bag as the enemy of right-minded tea drinkers.

They urge people to lose the bag and take up the loose leaf.

”Tea is meant to take time, the making and the drinking,” Tong says. ”If you see a cafe using a tea bag, you should run a mile.”

”It’s all about water temperature and steeping time.”

This contemplative ritual of boiling water and brewing leaves is hugely attractive to Tong and Kerthyasa, who set up Tea Craft in 2005. In the nearly six years that they have been sourcing and selling premium single-origin and blended loose-leaf teas, they’ve converted more than 100 Australian cafes, retailers and other customers to the slow dance of tea drinking.

The two men met after leaving high school in 1996 and have been friends since. Kerthyasa, 33, was the first to take the road to tea conversion. On a holiday in Hong Kong in 2000, he was caught in a downpour and took shelter in tea-merchant’s shop. Two hours later, he emerged laden with tea and armed with a mission to know more.

His studies in naturopathy were a natural fit with this ambition and so was his part-time job with T2, the Melbourne-based tea retailer. ”I was its first and last tea master,” he says.

He left T2 after three years in 2005 and and teamed up with Tong to create Tea Craft.

Tong, 34, was a freelance writer and graphic designer looking for a business opportunity and he was taken by Kerthyasa’s passion and philosophy about tea. In that time, Tong has become a tea evangelist, too. They began by sourcing tea direct from India, where Kerthyasa had contacts, and China, where Tong’s father was living.

For the first couple of years they pounded the footpaths with a bag of samples, cold-calling restaurants. Greg Doyle at Pier was one of the first to put Tea Craft’s products on his menu. He has several of their blends, a Darjeeling and Ti Kuan Yin or Iron Goddess oolong tea.

Claude’s, Tetsuya’s, Spice Temple and Ms G’s are some of the other restaurants on their books, as are hard-core coffee places such as Le Monde and Mecca Espresso.

Part of the Tea Craft mantra is to avoid the traditional Western route of buying tea from European middle-men. ”We are so close to India, Sri Lanka and China, why would we want to buy tea that has gone halfway around the world and then back to us?” Tong says.

Kerthyasa says: ”So many teas are stale, having spent months and months on boats and in warehouses.”

They bring in about 34 different black, green, red, white and oolong teas and make their own blends, including breakfast, earl grey, masala chai and their signature Karavan, a mix of black and green teas, rose petals, peppermint and bergamot. They do their blending and packing in a storage facility in Rydalmere. Tong likes the rudimentary set-up, away from the inner-city buzz, saying it strips away any pretension and fanfare.

Tong is the point man in Sydney because Kerthyasa is based in Ubud, Bali, where he runs his naturopathy practice. He has also started a tea plantation using Indonesian cultivars in the mountainous region around Bedugal, above Lake Bratan.

The art of tea-making is that sipping the golden liquor and inhaling the frangipani notes of a carefully brewed and poured Yunnan red makes any situation, even a utilitarian storage facility, suddenly seem refined.

The partners are contemplating opening a warehouse-style teahouse and shop but, for now, Tea Craft’s products are available through its online shop.

A NEW LEAF

It’s time to take tea drinking seriously. ”We’ve conquered food, wine and coffee,” says Arthur Tong from speciality distributor Tea Craft. ”What is the next thing we need to do well? Loose-leaf tea. Cafes and restaurants know this and they are thirsty for it,”

Michael Klausen from Brasserie Bread Bakery Cafe is a cafe owner thirsty for a good cuppa.

”Our clientele can only drink so many coffees [a day],” he says. ”It’s important that cafe owners start acknowledging that there should be a tea menu and an approach to tea that is different.”

”We have to get people familiar with drinking really good tea and the next step is we can push the boundaries about tea.

”I would love to offer single-origin black teas such as Assam, Ceylon and Darljeeling.

”It’s about educating the market and the staff.”

Anthony Svilicich, from Le Monde, is another cafe owner who wants to offer his customers tea of the same quality as his coffee because ”not everyone is into coffee”.

”People are a lot more aware of tea, whether it’s a first flush or a seasonal tea,” he says. ”They want something a little different.”

Toby Smith from Toby’s Estate sources black, green, white, oolong and aged teas from Japan, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, India and China and says he can offer traceability and a sustainable product, fresh and packed at the source. ”It’s easy to serve a good pot of tea,” he says.

But Klausen says: ”Many baristas [who are] pumping coffee out don’t have the same respect for tea.”

Ironically, if tea is going to have a renaissance, the trend will be propelled by the hard-core coffee dudes. ”Some of the young coffee guys getting into delicate filtered coffee are leaning more to black teas,” Smith says.

”They are discovering the similarities between filtered coffee and black tea, the subtleties of filtered coffee and black tea. Filter coffee is released over time like tea – it opens up to the water like tea.”

Source: Good Living

You can purchase TeaCraft teas from Duke’s Lounge.
We stock:
English Breakfast ‘Good Morning’
Earl Grey BlueFlower
Masala Chai
Organic Peppermint…………………………..$12.50

Dragon Well
Silver Jasmine
Yunnan Red
Darjeeling………………………………………….$14.50

…and many more coming soon!

Also, as we move into the year 2012, we are planning out big changes and improvements to make Duke’s Lounge bigger and better. Starting with a courtyard (construction already underway) and new counter space dedicated for the presentation of TeaCraft teas and specialty coffee, also a take away bar counter for those who are in a hurry. We are looking at stocking more essential items such as loose leaf teas, coffee equipment and other retail products.
So stay tuned everyone!
Thanks for supporting Duke’s Lounge!

Hope all is well. Summer is coming up quite erratically but nonetheless it’s here, bringing people out from hibernation and straight into Duke’s Lounge! So, here’s the latest:

We are starting to prepare our summer menu now with a few more cold beverages to add. Our favourite at the moment is our Iced Coffee – Shaken, not stirred, using a double shot of espresso, or if you need a good punch, we’ll extract the coffee from the Pour Over, then it’s your choice whether you want it with milk, or black. Adding a scoop of Ice Cream to sweeten it up is also a popular choice. A whole range of Ice Teas of coming as well. So keep watching and asking, because we are always coming up with something new for you all the time!

And, the highlight for the month is:

The Southern Courier has discovered Duke’s Lounge and have kindly put us in one of their features about coffee! It’s always great to see people noticing our passion, and  appreciate what we do here on a daily basis. It’s also great that our locals are encouraged and informed to always be on the search for coffee perfection.

So thank you for the publicity guys! – It reassures us that we are doing something right

Check it out!

Thanks for reading guys! See you tomorrow morning, at Duke’s Lounge !

So, summer is just around the corner (so soon already) and we’ve been working really hard here at Duke’s Lounge to bring you the best. We’ve been in contact with a few produce suppliers and visiting friends in the industry and try to come up with an exciting summer menu, included are a wide selection of cool drinks!
Also, exclusively for summer and unique to the Eastern Suburbs, we will also be brewing up Cold Drip coffee. So in a couple of weeks time, be sure to come in early and grab a shot of cold brew, either as an iced coffee or a straight up espresso. Guarantee to kick start your day while cooling you down at the same time

So anyways, lets get back on subject, which is our new carbonated water (sparkling mineral water) sourced from Moree in north west New South Wales. We’ve just ordered in a new lot for our fridge and so far I’m trying really hard not to drink it all, because I love this water!

It’s a very ‘soft’ water with hardly any metallic taste, unlike the european style mineral waters you usually find commercially. It has this sweetness to it which I cannot describe, but the following might explain why:

Australian Artesian Water, is an artesian water that has high levels of natural Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) and Ions. Which have been absorbed into the water  from the permeable sandstones from which the water is being tapped.

Why the great taste

The secret is in the minerals, Australian Artesian Water as a still water is a high alkaline mineral rich water.

Only two sources of mineral rich water are readily recognised in Australia, water from the Daylesford Hepburn spa area of Victoria, and water from The Great Artesian Basin (GAB) that underlies one fifth of our landmass. Water from the GAB varies wildly in mineral content from location to location, but the artesian water sourced in Moree in Northern NSW is a high alkaline mineral rich water.

So why is the mineral content so important?

Carbonation, the introduction of CO2 gas to the water, produces not only bubbles but carbonic acid. This drops the pH of the water from 8.6 to 5.6, but the process is also the catalyst for accentuating and developing the flavour of the minerals in the water. When ordinary low pH low mineral content spring waters are carbonated, which most commercially available, locally sourced, sparkling waters are in Australia, the effects of carbonation are very much reduced if not irrelevant, except for the addition of bubbles.

So, carbonation of Australian Artesian Water has not only produced a great tasting water, that is simply described as delicious and refreshing but it still has its minerals and ion content intact.

So there you have the quick version of it. For more info, please check out their website: http://www.artesianwater.com.au

Also, if you’re daring enough, we can make you our signature sparkling blacks. Not for the faint heart! hehe

Thanks for reading folks, next update will be focussed around our new summer menu and a few projects we are working on at hand.

See you tomorrow for your morning coffee!
Duke

]]> http://dukeslounge.com.au/2011/09/29/summer-dukes-lounge-presenting-australian-artesian-water/feed/ 0 http://dukeslounge.com.au/2011/09/14/blooming-tea-or-flowering-tea/ http://dukeslounge.com.au/2011/09/14/blooming-tea-or-flowering-tea/#comments Wed, 14 Sep 2011 02:16:15 +0000 admin http://dukeslounge.wordpress.com/?p=697

I’ve been curious about these teas for awhile. I’ve heard about them, seen them in Asian grocery stores and my Barista [Justine] keeps telling me about the labour that goes into making these teas which involves poor old Chinese ladies going blind due to lack of proper working conditions. [Not very amusing at all]

I am intrigued though, and would love to try a few soon. However, I probably won’t have high expectations of how these teas would taste when compared to the high grade, high quality of the TeaCraft Teas we have here at Duke’s Lounge. Nonetheless, it’s a beautiful art form that should be highly appreciated.

Throughout my research, aside from the information given by retailers on their websites, there’s not a whole heap of proper information on the internet.

However, here’s what WikiPedia has to say about the Blooming Tea:

A flowering tea, or blooming tea (Chinese: 香片, 工艺茶, or 开花茶), is a small bundle of dried tea leaves and flowers bound together with cotton thread into a ball. When steeped, the bundle expands and unfurls in a process that emulates a blooming flower.Typically they are sourced from the Yunnan province of China. Flowers commonly used in flowering teas include globe amaranth, chrysanthemum, jasmine, lily, hibiscus, and osmanthus.

It remains uncertain whether flowering tea was developed in the 1980s or was a much older invention.

Flowering tea is generally served in containers made of glass, or other transparent material, so that the flowering effect can be seen. The bundles can usually be reused two or three times without the tea becoming bitter.

Furthermore, here are a couple of YouTube video’s. I find it extremely hypnotic to watch:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnH3EAES8_8]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_j3ThSg068]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKHd-wkyMIY]

If anyone reading this have tried these amazing creations and can direct me to a high grade selection, I’ll be most interested to get my hands on them.

In the mean time, If you feel like tea and demand the best, come into Duke’s Lounge and indulge in our selection of TeaCraft Teas, we have plenty, and we’re constantly looking at bringing in more, Why? Because they are the best Teas in the Universe!!!

It was a lovely weekend, with Saturday being a spectacular day in terms of weather and trade. So, we were almost looking forward to a nice and easy Sunday at the Café serving our local customers. What we weren’t expecting was probably one of the best starts to the day we’ve had at Duke’s Lounge! (and probably one of the busiest Sundays so far for us afterwards!)

I recognised a brand new BMW 1200GS parked outside the café and the owner inside the shop. I was about to approach him to strike a small chat about his bike, as I do like my BMW’s as well. Having ridden the F650GS and the 800ST personally, I admire BMW’s sense of balance and perfection when it comes to comfortable two wheeled machines.
But just when I was getting the kitchen ready, I heard another bike pulled up. It was a distinct triple engine and I had no doubt it would be a Triumph Speed Triple. I walked up to the window and saw it pull over. My eyes almost popped out as this one was adorned with Rizoma parts and a custom ceramic coated Arrow exhaust. At this point, I had my suspicion, and just when I was wondering what would happen next, a whole big bunch of bikes turned up.

Then one thing ran into my head at this point is, to get the kitchen ready!

So, I ran out back and fired up the stove, grill and toaster. Knowing bikers, they’ll want a good piece of bacon to start the day and I want to be the one providing them with the best, even though I was still anxiously waiting for my kitchenhand to arrive. Luckily one of our Baristas arrived first so Mon played sous chef for the time being.

After a good twenty minutes went past, almost a dozen bikers were happily eating their most important meal of the day. One highlight was that one of the bikers than came could speak Thai. So we had a bit of a ‘jam’, you might say, conversing, with one of my waitresses also joining in.
I was told that ‘Ed’ was asking for me so I was in the search to find who this ‘Ed’ was while bumping into new friends along the way.
Eventually I got to meet the man behind NSWRiders.org and we hit it off. As forum owners, there was no breaking the ice. We were talking as if we’ve known each other for years and it was great!

I went to check out all the bikes parked outside and saw a really good mix of cruisers and tourers with a dash of sports in the recipe. A couple of Japanese Cruisers that I’ve always wanted to own was parked between a few tourers, with a limited edition BMW F800GS 30th Anniversary (I think) and an Yamaha XJR1200. The result, I can only imagine, is that these guys are riders of long distances, and I wanted to join them badly.

So, the answer to the question was found with Ed, at http://www.nswriders.org who had planned breakfast at Duke’s Lounge, followed by a ride to Wollongong via the Royal National Park, and if my Suzuki was registered and ready to wheel out the front door, best believe I’d be gone for the day, out riding with the fine people of NSWRiders.

So once again, Thank you so much to the guys at NSWRiders for coming all the way to see us and making Duke’s Lounge your first pit stop. It’s always a pleasure and an honour to serve friendly bikers

Check them out at: NSWRiders.org

Here are some photo’s of their day: