November 4th, 2009

Coffee 101 – Home Brewing Overview

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STORING COFFEE:  Coffee is best kept in an opaque, airtight container or bag.  Coffee needs to rest (off-gas) for 72 hours for optimal taste.  Make sure your container or bag allows for the off-gassing.  Do not store your coffee in the fridge or freezer.  Use your coffee within 14 days of when it was roasted.  The ideal window is typically 3-7 days past roast.

DOSING COFFEE: The SCAA (Specialty Coffee Association of America) standard is 10 grams (2 tablespoons) per 6 ounces of water.  Use this as a starting place and make micro-adjustments depending on brewing method and coffee.  We highly recommend getting a gram scale for dosing.

GRINDING COFFEE:  Grinding coffee appropriately is critical.  This includes: grinding immediately before brewing, grinding with higher-quality burr set grinder, and grinding to appropriate particle size for brewing method.  A great grinder should be a high priority in your coffee equipment.

WATER:  Coffee is primarily water, so this is important.  Use fresh, cool, filtered water.  Reverse osmosis actually strips too much of the necessary mineral content of the water, so we recommend a solid single-phase filter for home brewing.  Water temperature should essentially be between 200-202 degrees.

BREWING METHODS:

French Press –  Preheat french press with hot water. Weigh out proper amount of beans and grind them relatively coarsely.  Dump out the preheat water and immediately add the coffee grounds.  Add hot water (roughly 200 degrees), completely covering all grounds.  This will cause the coffee to bloom and form a crust on top.  Leave for 1 minute then stir and add plunger-lid.  Leave for another 2.5 minutes then plunge, serve and drink immediately.  On each store page for coffees, we have a recommended dosage.  The number after “Press” is the cup size, so “Press 3″ would be a 3-cup sized french press, etc.

Clever Coffee Dripper – We recommend the Sweet Marias method of Clever brewing.  Use around 22 grams of coffee for 12 ounces of water (we provide recommended doses for each coffee within their store page).  Grind coffee to a regular drip grind (middle) and add to #4 paper filter within Clever.  Add 200 degree water, pouring to cover all grounds.  Place a small plate on top to cover and wait for 1.5 minutes.  Remove plate, stir and place plate back on top.  Wait another 1.5 minutes, then place Clever on mug (10 ounce capacity) to dispense and drink immediately.

Manual Pour Over – Measure appropriate amount of beans (try 16 grams per 8 ounce mug).  Place paper filter into cone and place on or above cup.  Pour hot water through to rinse the filter and preheat cup.  Grind beans to a size finer than drip (middle-fine).  Discard water in mug.  Pour grinds into filter and pour 200 degree water over all the grounds.  Do not pour all the water at once, you will want to wait and add water every few seconds to make sure that all the grounds are being hit evenly.  Wait for water to pour through into the mug and drink immediately.

Siphon –  See blog post on siphon brewing in “Brewing & Equipment” category.

COFFEE RETENTION:  Coffee is made to be consumed immediately.  It will quickly break down with time.  So, even though thermal carafes can keep your coffee hot for hours, you’re coffee will not taste the same.  Also, never use burner plates.  If your automatic coffee brewer has a burner plate, simply transport into a thermal carafe right after it is brewed.

These are just some basic concepts for coffee preparation.  We will continue to post more detailed information for each of these points and brew methods.  Check the “Brewing & Equipment” blog category.

November 4th, 2009

COFFEE 101 – Countries of Origin (Australia through Jamaica)

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COUNTRIES:

Australia – First grown in 1832, coffee production really took off in the 1880s and continued until the 1920’s when it fell off due to competitive labor costs.  It was rediscovered in the 1980s and continues to seek to define it’s taste profile.

Bolivia – Historically known for lower quality coffee, Bolivia is currently making great strides towards quality. Bolivia has benefited through it’s involvement in the Cup of Excellence Competitions since 2004, seeing auction prices as high as $21.10 per pound paid directly to the producer.

Brazil – The powerhouse of coffee production. Originally brought to brazil in the mid 1700s, coffee has since made a lasting impact as a major export of Brazil.  In Brazil, coffee is often grown and processed through large estates.  A large majority of high-yield, low-quality Robusta coffee is produced in Brazil along with some high-quality Arabica varietals.  Higher elevation Arabicas from Brazil are often used as a base component of espresso blends.  Brazil received a lot of attention in 2005 when a farmer received $49.75 per pound through the Cup of Excellence program (Brazil has been involved with Cup of Excellence since 1999).

Burundi – Introduced by the Belgians in the first half of the 20th century, coffee has since struggled through many challenges and transitions up through 2006 correlating with the end of the Tutsi and Hutu fighting.  Since 2006, Burundi has quickly demonstrated that it has a lot to offer in terms of high-quality Arabica coffee.  In Burundi, coffee is grown by many small producers and processed through localized cooperatives.  Keep your eye on this country of origin!

Colombia – Apparently Juan Valdez was born in the early 1800s when coffee was first brought to Colombia. He’s aged well.  Colombia has an extremely well-organized and advanced coffee infrastructure.  Associated with quality throughout the world, Colombia has built it’s brand on macro-collective strength.  Recent micro-lot separation has broken free from the Colombian coffee machine and deliver some really amazing coffees.  This origin has participated in the Cup of Excellence program since 2005 with auction prices as high as $21.00 per pound directly to producers.

Congo – Belgian colonialists brought coffee to Congo in the early 20th century, however, it has yet to really break through.  This is an origin with great potential, but struggles through continued political instability and poor coffee infrastructure.

Costa Rica – Brought to Costa Rica in the late 18th century, coffee has played a large role in the country’s development.  Costa Rica is actually the only country where by law, only Arabica (high quality) coffee can be grown.  Similar to other origins, Costa Rica has seen recent success in moving from a model where producers input their coffee into large mills for processing to a micro-model where producers process their own coffee. This origin has participated in the Cup of Excellence program since 2007 with auction prices as high as $21.35 per pound directly to producers.

Ecuador – Introduced to Ecuador in the early 19th century coffee was a large export through the 1970s.  Both Arabica and Robusta are grown in Ecuador with the majority grown on small farms.  Ecuador still has a lot of quality-based infrastructure and support yet to develop in order to break into the specialty coffee arena.  Another origin with potential.

El Salvador – El Salvador has recently risen to acclaim within specialty coffee.  Coffee was brought to El Salvador in the early 19th century.  It played a lead role in the country’s GDP for many years – up through the 1980s.  Recent micro-level production and processing has helped encourage the coffee producers of El Salvador.  This origin has participated in the Cup of Excellence program since 2003 with auction prices as high as $22.25 per pound directly to producers.

Ethiopia – The birthplace of coffee (google the story of Kaldi & his goat).  This origin has a rich coffee tradition including internal consumption and ritual.  Big floral (washed) and big fruit (natural) are common taste descriptors of coffee from Ethiopia.  Coffee in Ethiopia is grown on small farms and collected by cooperatives and mills.  Recently, Ethiopia transitioned authority to the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX) to manage coffee production and export.  This transition has concerned the specialty coffee industry as it has “consumed” smaller specialty lots into larger “branded” lots.  Only a few specialty-focused producers have gained exemptions from the ECX for their export.  Our Amaro Gayo offering is one of such coffees.  Stay tuned as we go more in depth on this origin.

Guatemala – Coffee was brought to Guatemala in the early 19th century.  It became an important part of the country’s development and continues to be.  Guatemala has established itself as a high-quality coffee origin with a classic bright taste profile.  This origin has participated in the Cup of Excellence program since 2001 with a hiatus between 2003 & 2005.  In 2008, Guatemala set a new C.O.E. record with the winning farm receiving $80.20 per pound.

Honduras – Honduras has yet to really make a name for itself in specialty coffee.  One of the biggest struggles is improper processing and drying techniques.  A lot of Honduran coffee has also been brought across the border into Guatemala to be sold as “Guatemalan”, since there is stronger demand for Guatemalan coffee.  In just the last few years, Honduras has been making strides in it’s quality.  This origin has participated in the Cup of Excellence program since 2004 with auction prices as high as $18.75 per pound directly to producers.

India – Wins the award for the best named coffee…”mysore nuggets”.  Smuggled into India in the 17th century, arabica coffee was primarily grown until the mid 19th century when coffee rust became a big problem.  Many of the farmers switched to the more hardy robusta varietal and it remains the majority of the coffee export today.

Indonesia – The country of Indonesia is made up of several island provinces including the following coffee-producing ones: Sumatra, Java, Bali and Sulawesi.  Coffee was brought to Indonesia in the 17th century and it was the first place outside of Arabia and Ethiopia where coffee was widely grown.  Indonesian coffees produce a heavy, rustic, unmistakable taste profile.

Jamaica – Made famous by Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee.  Coffee was brought to Jamaica in 1728 and still struggles to produce a remarkable taste profile.

KENYA THROUGH ZAMBIA COMING SOON…