|
Untitled Page
Contents:
A) Regarding Freshness (questions #1 thru #7)
B) Regarding Packaging (questions #8 thru 12)
C) Regarding Roast Types (questions #13 thru #15)
D) Regarding Varieties (questions #16 thru #22)
E) Regarding Home Roasting (questions #23 thru #24)
A) REGARDING FRESHNESS
#1 Q: How do you define "Fresh" Coffee?
A: Generally speaking, "Fresh" Coffee is any roasted whole bean coffee product
that has not been allowed to sit in temperatures above 32 degrees fahrenheit for longer
than 275 hours (approximately 11 days). The more conservative roasters go as far to
say that 90% of the delicious aroma diffuses out of the oily cell structures by 72 hours
post-roast. My tasting skills may not be as refined, but I find little difference during the
first week or so; but by 12 days, it's "flat" or nearly so.
#2 Q: 32 Degrees? Should fresh coffee be kept frozen?
A: Yes. If frozen right out of the roaster, whole bean coffee can remain fresh for
up to 9 weeks (+/-). Once unfrozen, the clock starts ticking. However, if it is
re-frozen after having been thawed, the clock again stops ticking...or at least is so
completely retarded as to be effectively suspended up to, again, for a combined
total available time of about 9 weeks. The freezing process slows the degradation
process by multiples of approximately 6. Is it best not to freeze coffee? Yes. But
if you have a quantity of whole bean coffee that will not be consumed within 10 days
to 2 weeks, the effects of freezing is negligable when compared to the effect when
beans are left to degrade at room temperature.
#3 Q: How does freezing help keep whole bean coffee fresh?
A: The primary reason is that the vapor pressure of the aromas (carried via
resultant CO2) are reduced by approximately 8 fold, and the freezing of
contained water immobilizes chemical reactions approximately 10 fold. Also, the
oils turn to fat solids hindering aromatic diffusion. When frozen within a sealed
container, the aromatics are suspended within, in equilibrium with its components
in the frozen oil.
#4 Q: So, I should take the beans out of the bag that you ship them in and put
them in a sealed container?
A: Absolutely. I recommend a canning jar or some other glass product. Plastic or
tupperware-like containers are suitable too, but I think glass is best from a recycling and
sustainability perspective.
#5 Q: What if I buy beans and don't know when they were roasted? Should I still
freeze them?
A: It wouldn't hurt but you would need to know whether or not they were fresh to begin
with in order to affect a benefit. Freezing a stale bean just makes it cold. Similarly to bread:
if you freeze a piece of stale bread, it remains a piece of stale bread once thawed.
#6 Q: I bought some whole bean coffee recently that had an expiration date on it.
This information is helpful, right?
A: I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that the expiration date was many weeks, or even months,
down the road and that a roast date was not included. If this was the case, then an
expiration date is both unuseful and misleading. Remember, the available shelf-life is at
maximum, approximately 11 days of real room temperature "freshness" and approximately
9 weeks if frozen. An expiration date is only useful when used in conjunction with a roast date.
#7 Q: OK, I understand what to do with the beans and why fresh is so important,
but what is "fresh" really? What makes coffee so noticably superior when it is fresh?
A: The thermal decomposition of the bean's sugars during the roasting process that is
subsequently dissolved in the coffee oil (approximately 20% of the bean's weight) eventually
and slowly diffuses out of the cell structure and into the air in tandem with the escaping of 1.5%
weight of the bean that is gaseous carbon dioxide. Once gone, less favorable flavors remain.
B) REGARDING PACKAGING
#8 Q: Why do some coffee bags have valve looking gizmos on the backsides of them?
Does that help retain the good flavor?
A: Unfortunately, no. If a bag does possess a release valve, the desireable aromas can escape
to keep the bag from bursting. It's a no-win situation when it comes to packaging. No matter
how it's packaged it will stale relatively at the same rate unless frozen. This is a concern that
mass-producing coffee roasters may not want the coffee consumer to completely understand.
I've had some excellent success with vacuum packing my beans but if there is any air whatsoever
in the bag, they tend to burst if the coffee is roaster fresh.
#9 Q: Why do some companys use fancy packaging if it is not an effective method of
ensuring freshness?
A: I suspect, to offer the consumer the illusion of freshness. That, and the trend of consumers
demanding sophisticated looking packaging. Besides, most folks have never had fresh coffee.
They have no idea how delicious it is. Similarly to the person who's eaten Wonder bread all of
their lives. They think it's good when soft and bad when hard. When it comes to freshness, it's a
question of getting the product to market. Most companys choose to roast, package, warehouse,
ship, shelve, and then sell. We choose to "roast to order", thereby eliminating the overwhelming
majority of time between roast and consumption.
#10 Q: Are you implying that many coffee companies are disingenuous in the
presentation of their products?
A: Not at all. Demand, for the most part, drives supply. The huge demand for coffee products
creates a manufacturing environment that serves this demand. Think about how many people
drink coffee and imagine what it would take (read: profit degradation) to get it to the market
fresh. Further, large manufacturers can't operate the way a small batch roaster does: When a
customer orders10 pounds of coffee...we roast 10 pounds of coffee...the only lag is shipping
time which is relatively negligable in effect. Besides, stale coffee does not become undrinkable
from a safety standpoint...it just doesn't taste as delicious.
The good news is, people are enjoying the benefits of enjoying fresh coffee products
and are sourcing small batch roasters in ever increasing numbers. I've converted the
most stalwart of bad coffee drinkers with a single cup of fresh coffee. And, it didn't have to be
more expensive.
#11 Q: So, Packaging doesn't matter?
A: It does matter to the extent that it must be safely deliverable. And, consumers want
convenience and appeal. But infinately more important is when the product was roasted.
Many of our store keepers and vendors sell the coffee product in plain glasine lined paper
sacks. This works fine as long as the products are rotated. As a supplier, we have to keep
a sharp eye on this.
We sometimes use, albeit infrequently, a fancy pants package for retail presentation. However,
we find it entirely more important to focus on freshness, similarly to any perishable item.
#12 Q: How does Granite Ledge Coffee package their beans?
A: If ordered in bulk, we use a labeled bag (NSF / food service quality) that is tied
with hemp twine. Our "retail" packaging is typically glassine line kraft, and sealable foil
or poly bags. Again, we recommend that retail customers introduce the product to their
freezer if it will not be consumed within 10 days or so.
C) REGARDING ROAST TYPES
#13 Q: How does the roasting process effect the flavor?
A: A roaster has two primary inputs when applying their craft: time and temperature. There
are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of combinations available to manipulate these concerns
that can be executed in order to extract the optimum flavor for any particular bean; usually
possessing a characteristic that is being sought-out.
Therein exists the appeal for a roaster: developing roasting profiles for many different tastes, types
of beans, seasonal preferences, beverages, etc. I can roast the same variety of bean many ways
and times before I find the best tasting combination (through an activity termed "cupping").
This will come as a huge surprise to many people: Generally speaking, the lighter the roast, the
more flavorful the brew. More about this later.
#14 Q: What do the different roast names mean? Such as American,
Vienna
, City,
Full
City
, French, Italian, Turkish, etc.
A: They mean quite a bit to those slick marketing guys sitting in their offices trying to figure out a
way to "value up" their products. And, it does provide a descriptive point of reference; albeit an
ineffective one. If you were to ask ten people to identify a bean using the labels you mentioned,
I'd wager heavily that you'd get just about as many different answers.
A craftsman roaster would rarely use these terms except in idle conversation but certainly never to
specifically define a roast...it's too subjective. We use a scientific scale (agtron) that ranges from
#95(very light), #85(light), #75(moderately light), #65(light medium), #55(medium),
#45(moderately dark), #35(dark), to #25(very dark) and all points in between.
#15 Q: What color roast is the best tasting?
A: Well, there's a ubiquitous retailer out there that can't shake their reputation for over-roasting
their coffee and charging a premium for the privilage. Why? Some say it's because they prefer to
use cheaper varieties and since they dilute most of their beverages with milk, who's the wiser?
Roasting too darkly is also a way to hide the bitterness; a characteristic of stale coffee or poorly
grown and dried beans. They sure sell a lot of milk! In my opinion and generally speaking, coffee
roasted in the "medium" (AGTRON #55) range tends to be the most flavorful. There are many
exceptions, of course, but it is extremely rare that any bean should be black and oily in appearance
out of the roaster. If the coffee has been heated to the point (post second crack) that the oil has
escaped the bean, then much of the flavor has gone up in smoke. Again, there are exceptions,
especially where espresso blends are concerned, but for the most of us who just enjoy a great cup
of coffee, look for a nice brown color that is slightly shiny.
Ask your small batch roaster about their recommendation as to what roast degree is optimum for
any particular bean within their stable.
D) REGARDING VARIETIES
#16 Q: Where are the best coffees grown?
A: With few exceptions, the finest beans are grown between the Tropics of Cancer and
Capricorn, in volcanic soils and at high altitudes (my rule of thumb is above 1200 meters).
#17 Q: What are the SHB, SHG, AA, Supremo, etc. designations that are seen on
many coffee labels?
A: Unfortunately, there is no world standard for grading coffee. Seemingly, every country, and
sometimes even within a region within a country, producers use a different method for "grading"
their coffee. Sometimes these designations are a label for the screen size of the bean (as is the case
for "supremo", frequently used in
Colombia
). Others use SHB>Strictly Hard Bean, SHG>Strictly
High Ground. Often, the designations refer to the consistency of the beans color. It can be
confusing...rely on a reputable roaster to assist in educating you while promising only to use the
highest quality and best tasting products available.
#18 Q: Do organic coffee beans taste differently?
A: No. I've met no person who can tell the difference between organic or non-organic brewed
coffee. Some beans that I use are not "certified" organic, but it is a well known fact that many
growers can't afford to use pesticides and herbicides so their products are grown completely
naturally anyway. Another foible for them, they can't afford to have their farms certified organic
and therefore can't label them such. "Certifying" is great for the heavily capitalized growers that are
beginning to dominate the whole "organic" movement, but I don't think it serves the small
grower effectively. Coincidentally, or perhaps not, the vast majority of coffee growers do so on
less than 3 acres of ground. For this reason, we strongly promote fairly traded coffees.
#19 Q: What is Fair Trade?
A (source: wikipedia): 'Fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach to
alleviating global poverty and promoting sustainability. The movement advocates the payment
of a fair price as well as social and environmental standards in areas related to the production
of a wide variety of goods. It focuses in particular on exports from developing countries to
developed countries, most notably handicrafts, coffee, cocoa, sugar, tea, bananas, honey, cotton,
wine, fresh fruit, and flowers. Fair trade's strategic intent is to deliberately work with marginalized
producers and workers in order to help them move from a position of vulnerability to security and
economic self-sufficiency. It also aims at empowering them to become stakeholders in their own
organizations and actively play a wider role in the global arena to achieve greater equity in international
trade. Fair trade proponents include a wide array of international religious, development aid, social
and environmental organizations such as Oxfam, Amnesty International, and Caritas International.
Like most developmental efforts, fair trade has proven itself controversial and has drawn criticism
from both ends of the political spectrum. Some economists and conservative think tanks see
fair trade as a type of subsidy. Segments of the left criticize fair trade for not adequately challenging
the current trading system.'
#20 Q: What about Bird Friendly, Lizard Loving, Bug Sensitive, Mother Earth Approved,
etc. labeled coffees?
A: If it does not help the farmers, their families, and communities directly (read: in their pocket), I
have little confidence for the efforts and tend to think that it is more about marketing and less
about sustainable best practices. Of course protecting our environment is important; I just find it
hypocritical to the point of absurdity that gas guzzling, hybrid flower fertilizing, electricity wasting,
hair dying, over consuming, pop-culture living, guiltsters can be so selective with the type of coffee
they buy, predicated on some cause-du-jour. The small-plot farmers that grow coffee just want to
feed their families and we strongly support their ability to do so by offering Fairly Traded coffees.
The reality is, more probably than not, the organizations / "certifiers" that promote the concept will
eventually become bloated with self-importance, internal cost and fecklessness and will be reduced
to yet another well-intentioned sink hole of capital. Until that time, we recommend buying products
that have been fairly traded.
#21 Q: Why are some varieties, like KONA and
JAMAICA
BLUE
MOUNTAIN
so expensive?
A: Supply and demand. Take a good bean in relative short supply, sprinkle on a huge dose of
effectively created marketing and voila, you've got a high margin / high demand product. All
KONA is not necessarily great and certainly not worth the price. Look for Estate grown beans
as they tend to be well produced. We use a GREENWELL FARMS single origin estate that is
simply scrumptous. KONA coffee has a very unique taste, tends to be perfectly balanced and
mild.
JAMAICA
BLUE
MOUNTAIN
is another low supply-high demand product. While it can
be very, very good, most Jamaican coffees that I see at the retail level are not genuine JBMs.
Again, look for an estate grown label (We use Wallenford Estate). Also, be critical of HIGH
MOUNTAIN, JAMAICAN BLUE, BLUE JAMAICAN MOUNTAIN, BLUE MOUNTAIN
BLEND, etc. labeling. These coffees are almost always nothing more than attempts to convince
the consumer that they are authenic Estate Grown JBMs; if they were, they'd say so.
#22 Q: What country produces the best all around bean?
A: Without exception, every producer country has farmers that grow a quality bean. However, if
I had to live somewhere and drink only their locally grown, I'd probably choose
KENYA
. Their
farmers' best practices are very meticulous and they've got some really cool animals strolling
about. Besides, this region of
Africa
is where the arabica coffee bean originated; the cradle of
coffeekind, so to speak. That being said, how disappointed I might be to have to curb my
enthusiasm. Peru, Papua New Guinea, Sumatra, Costa Rica, Hawaii....so much to see and taste
and so little time.
E) REGARDING HOME ROASTING
#23 Q: Can I roast my own coffee at home?
A: Absolutely. Some of the best coffee I've ever had came out of my kitchen's oven. There are many outlets out there that offer raw beans for sale.
#24 Q: Does it require special equipment and tools?
A: No. I'd bet Dollars to Pesos that virtually every American kitchen has what it takes already. I
roasted my own beans for years before getting into the coffee roasting business.
#25 Q: How's it done?
HOME ROASTING INSTRUCTIONS
Up until the turn of the 20th century, many coffee drinkers roasted their own personal beans at
home. The finished product you’ll achieve will be as good as those purchased. Have fun and
enjoy the project:
1. Place a cup or so of the green beans in a metal cake pan. These beans are washed and ready
to go; no additional prep is necessary.
2. Place the pan in an oven set at 425˚F. Preheating the oven is not absolutely necessary.
3. Once the beans get up to temperature (approximately 390˚F) after at least several minutes, the
beans will start to “pop” (termed “crack” within the industry). Using a spoon or spatula every
minute or two, stir the beans around...this will help in obtaining a consistent color.
4. The trick is watching the beans for the color that you want. This is not rocket science. As long
as you don’t burn them, they will be better than most anything that you’ve purchased off of the
grocery store shelf.
5. When the color of choice is achieved, pull the pan and set it on a trivet to cool.
6. Put the cooled beans in a large bowl and take them outside and blow the chafe away. Voila`
Note: This process will create some smoke. Don’t be alarmed. Also, if you allow the beans to
continue roasting beyond the second “crack”, you will begin to see oily discharge form on the
beans. This is what would be loosely termed an Italian roast. If you let them go much longer, you’ll
have nothing more than charcoal. Typically, lighter roasted coffees are more flavorful than dark
roasts in that the flavor has not gone up the smoke stack. Enjoy!
|
