Our journey in coffee.
Cost of Coffee
Cost of Coffee – Our Choices Matter As a little taste of Portland, Amanda sent me the Winter edition of Edible Portland, with a wonderful article about coffee in it. Insert page: 38 to get to the front of the article mentioned. But if you want to look around, another great article is on page: 22. Jimmy met this guy a while back, so it was fun to see him in here! As always, we wanted to share. :...
read moreTasting Coffee
Ok. You get that we like coffee. But here’s one side I really want to show off: tasting. Not just drinking. But tapping into your sense of smell, taste and touch to describe a particular coffee. It’s a bit humorous to watch if its your first time, and makes you feel a bit awkward, like when your friend the wine snob sticks their nose into their glass for a full minute with their eyes shut. Welcome to what we call: ‘geeking out’. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll realize its just a playground for...
read moreAeropress method comparision: Verve – Elida Natural (lot B), Panama
Meet: The Aeropress This is one of the more recent brewing mechanisms that has come out. Many rave about how it makes an ‘espresso like’ cup, but without the cost of an expensive machine! It travels well, its easy to use, and the best part is, you can experiment with it too. There are many recommended ways to use the aeropress, and many people simply end up saying. ‘test it out and find what works best for your preferences’. So where to begin? This is the fun part. You now have the opportunity to make your...
read moreIt’s All in the Grind
An often misunderstood step of the coffee brewing process, the grind is something to take very seriously when crafting a perfect cup or pot of coffee. As you dig deeper into your new found love for freshly roasted, complex, and delicious coffee you find that your old “whirley bird” (see below) coffee grinder might just be what is holding you back from achieving coffee nirvana. Why is this? What makes those tall, sleek grinders found in coffee shops so much better than your “Magic Bullet” or spice grinder? Blade...
read moreCupping
What is ‘cupping’? Cupping is an experiment to comparatively analyze a sample of roasted beans against another. It is most successful when done blindly, silently, and with a partner or small group. Once everyone is ready to share their thoughts, the conversation begins. For me, as a beginner, this is where the learning begins. I find it so intriguing to hear that one coffee expressed an aroma of ‘raw sweet potato’ to one person, and ‘floral, sweet, roasted sugar’ to another. It may seem like a simple...
read moreRoasting: Q & A
Below are a few more specifics about roasting, outlined in question and answer form. I came up with a few that I thought would couple well with the previous post. But, please comment if you have any of your own! How long does a roast take? It is generally recommended that a roast take between 12 – 20 minutes depending on the roaster. For the Diedrich, a roast shorter than 13 minutes will likely have been roasted at too high of a heat, and a roast longer than 18 minutes probably over baked the beans. Negative effects of over or...
read moreRoasting: meet Diedra
Makana Garden’s Diedrich IR7 - And now for the good stuff. Don’t get me wrong: everything up until this point in incredibly important in aiding for a consistent, flavorful and aromatic experience in the cup. In roasting, we allow these characteristics in the beans to come alive. A skilled roaster will hit the intersection between acidity and sweetness, producing a cup that perfectly balances both the origin flavors and the roast profile. Before I get a bit too poetic about this, I must tell you that this is the most scientific...
read moreMilling and Sorting!
After the coffee has reached a moisture content between 9-11% in the drying room, the beans are sent off to rest for a stage called ‘Reposo’. It is suggested that coffee sit at least 30-60 days, in parchment, and in a humidity and temperature controlled location. During this time, the bean’s contents are stabilizing. It also will ensure the green bean a longer, more defect resistant shelf life. The next step, of which for those who are lucky enough to do right before roasting, is the dry mill. This green machine...
read moreA ‘special’ cup
I am thinking this would be a good time as any to explain a bit about the coffee industry, and specifically about the variance in quality. The specialty coffee industry demands that quality measures be considered in every step of the process: beginning with the health of the coffee trees. Everything including cultivation, harvesting, processing and drying all are very vulnerable phases for the coffee bean. Defects, even when infrequent, do matter and are noticeable in the cup. As I get more and more into the coffee thing, I realize how...
read moreSorting out the defects
The beans will be residents of the drying room for the next 7- 10 days. The first day or two, it is important to rotate them to ensure they all are exposed to air. Should they not be exposed, or stuck to one another, molding is at risk. Within a few days, they should be dry enough to remain separate. Depending on the processing method, the beans will need a varying amount of attention. Essentially the methods that require the most involve the least amount of fermenting, such as: Natural (full cherry), Pulp Natural (pulped and...
read more