<< Home
|| About
Barismo || Projects || Events ||
Subscribe ||
barismo
Monday, March 31, 2008
To the next 'golden' brew
Right now, there is a lot of navel gazing going on in the blogs about what brew methods are best, what to do now that the clamour for Clover turned into the planet buster on the death star....
A lot of people are talking about moving to the manual methods or anything new that's less automated. Siphon, pourover bars, and getting back to basics are becoming the buzz words. I think it's just a movement in trying to find a new niche, the new amazing brewer that will give them the angle. Specializing and definite product differentiation from the big boys. I am proud there are some serious cats out there brewing vac with all the tedium and technical precision of a guitarist mid solo but they are the few among a mob of new found fans of the manual method.
The times are changing and nothing is settled right now. There are no firm standards and we have no clear direction where things will be in the next year. It was not too long ago that I believe we were in the dark ages of coffee on the verge of change. Sure the forums were buzzing and 3wavers were aplenty working for 'the goal', but it was a time with a lot of passion and very little substance. Vac sealing was something only eccentrics did and few would publicly admit how much coffees deteriorate much less think about freezing a coffee.
The focus was on the equipment mods, ritual movements in preparation, and all about these name brand 'black box' blends. The forums were left to the machinations of latte artists proclaiming the value of triple rosettas and pacman blowing flames in your cup AND gratuitous photo series of 'naked' portafilter triple thick one ounce muddy baked 'chocolate' shots. Sure, there was an interesting segment focused on how to hack some cheapy piece of equipment into some better cheapy piece of equipment.... but eventually, you PID your PID and it becomes redundant so you end up buying the best equipment after spending lots of cash on a series of small modded upgrades.
Somewhere along the way, a lot of focus on the actual coffees was lost. Sure, I realize everyone is 'about letting the coffee speak for itself' and other catchy phrases but a little less time on forums talking about the concept and more time living it would help us all.
It's all the more complicated these days by marketing that is geared at direct trade and relationships where the farmer as a brand is glorified on one hand and on the other often then repackaged in mill marks where the farmer disappears again. Transparency is a funny thing we all talk about but don't really ever see or have the access to understand.
Then there are coffees where the placement in contests or prices paid set notoriety and it can simply be a contest to pay the highest price for the right to pay the highest price AND then you have press and buzz based on expensive brewing equipment and 20K utterly superfluous heating elements clouding the picture of what is really good coffee and what is just an expensive lamp making cheap coffee at a high price.
So, if you can clear through the fair trade, organic trade, direct trade, bidding wars, ego trips, pricey brewers, complicated techniques, barista flair, and well, everything but cup taste to well... simply cup taste, that's an amazing moment of clarity.
Things haven't really changed that much but I am thoroughly excited by splintering segments of the industry headed in new directions. The point is, there are great things going on in coffee BUT you have to dig deep and often the people doing the most amazing bits don't spend time cruising coffeed or CG, they are out there doing it. Marketing rarely cuts through to the tiny elements that can help make or break a good coffee.
Labels: article, clover, hand pour, musings, syphon, vac pot
¶ Jaime van Schyndel 10:58 PM 6 Comments
Friday, December 21, 2007
It's all about volume
I have long been a bit confused by the marketing of some of the larger coffee companies out there who set absolute terms for quality but the product has almost never really lived up to the pitch. It's as if by shaping the term quality to fit their own model, they can be 'right' or 'correct' in their approach or a hard to prove claim, the most ethical in their dealings. This is something that quietly is muttered by many a purist in closed circles but often doesn't get discussed in public.
So let me add a few thoughts on volume and quality.
Volume begets buying power. Buying power allows for purchase of better product or quite simply, purchasing discounts. The problem therein, the best product is only available in limited supply and at a high cost so scale becomes relevant to access and purchasing power.
Building for volume then means you may have the buying power to get the best coffees but then you also may get too large in volume to offer them to all your accounts or too large in scale to focus on producing the product at near peak efficiency. It becomes a relevant question if the end quality even exists to justify the purchase of the high grade product at certain volumes. Once you begin a volume model, there must be a minimum and a maximum to sustaining peak quality but I feel like many roasting outfits pass the maximum threshold well before the machines are running at max capacity.
Think on this, the best lots are tiny, the best roasts are at less than full capacity, the best brews are often manual and labor intensive. The best product must then be quite manual, labor intensive, and time consuming at every step in production. It's everything a volume business is not. Though every sustainable model currently in coffee focuses on volume and still screams about quality during every step of the way, it seems that the roasting part of the coffee business and especially the cafe end are about as volume oriented as you can get.
A true specialty model would be built solely on the top end coffees and focusing on producing them at maximum quality. Does a roasting outfit like this exist and could it survive under the current market OR would it simply lack access to top green coffees for lack of buying power? Could they even get through all the convoluted 'fairly directly organicaly' traded speak out there to a market segment willing to pay top dollar for detailed execution of a good cup?
Many roasters who dabble in the most expensive green seem to be buying a lot of low grade coffees to fill out the majority of their offerings which they sell in volume to a multitude of cafe accounts. In many cases, the margin on a sub $2/lb coffee can be much larger than on one of these top placing CoE winners. The truth is that you can jack up the cheaper greens once roasted several times the actual production cost but the price multiplier on an expensive coffee leaves a slim margin. This is built on a fear that consumers won't pay the high prices. It almost seems that buying the top coffees are simply marketing schemes to attract high volume accounts with some 'credibility' so a company can then push the lower tier coffees at good margins.
At low margins, as established by the current market, how can a business focus on solely top end 'gold bag' product without selling a lot of 'black bag' offerings to shore up the financials? How do they keep the disconnect out of the public eye and balance a commitment to both ends of the business? How can you commit to quality and charge a profitable price AND still be able to buy top product in the current market at a smaller production volume?
I have long been a bit confused by the marketing of some of the larger coffee companies out there who set absolute terms for quality but the product has almost never really lived up to the pitch. It's as if by shaping the term quality to fit their own model, they can be 'right' or 'correct' in their approach or a hard to prove claim, the most ethical in their dealings. This is something that quietly is muttered by many a purist in closed circles but often doesn't get discussed in public.
So let me add a few thoughts on volume and quality.
Volume begets buying power. Buying power allows for purchase of better product or quite simply, purchasing discounts. The problem therein, the best product is only available in limited supply and at a high cost so scale becomes relevant to access and purchasing power.
Building for volume then means you may have the buying power to get the best coffees but then you also may get too large in volume to offer them to all your accounts or too large in scale to focus on producing the product at near peak efficiency. It becomes a relevant question if the end quality even exists to justify the purchase of the high grade product at certain volumes. Once you begin a volume model, there must be a minimum and a maximum to sustaining peak quality but I feel like many roasting outfits pass the maximum threshold well before the machines are running at max capacity.
Think on this, the best lots are tiny, the best roasts are at less than full capacity, the best brews are often manual and labor intensive. The best product must then be quite manual, labor intensive, and time consuming at every step in production. It's everything a volume business is not. Though every sustainable model currently in coffee focuses on volume and still screams about quality during every step of the way, it seems that the roasting part of the coffee business and especially the cafe end are about as volume oriented as you can get.
A true specialty model would be built solely on the top end coffees and focusing on producing them at maximum quality. Does a roasting outfit like this exist and could it survive under the current market OR would it simply lack access to top green coffees for lack of buying power? Could they even get through all the convoluted 'fairly directly organicaly' traded speak out there to a market segment willing to pay top dollar for detailed execution of a good cup?
Many roasters who dabble in the most expensive green seem to be buying a lot of low grade coffees to fill out the majority of their offerings which they sell in volume to a multitude of cafe accounts. In many cases, the margin on a sub $2/lb coffee can be much larger than on one of these top placing CoE winners. The truth is that you can jack up the cheaper greens once roasted several times the actual production cost but the price multiplier on an expensive coffee leaves a slim margin. This is built on a fear that consumers won't pay the high prices. It almost seems that buying the top coffees are simply marketing schemes to attract high volume accounts with some 'credibility' so a company can then push the lower tier coffees at good margins.
At low margins, as established by the current market, how can a business focus on solely top end 'gold bag' product without selling a lot of 'black bag' offerings to shore up the financials? How do they keep the disconnect out of the public eye and balance a commitment to both ends of the business? How can you commit to quality and charge a profitable price AND still be able to buy top product in the current market at a smaller production volume?
Labels: article
¶ Jaime van Schyndel 12:06 AM 6 Comments
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Espresso: Time vs Volume
I wanted to discuss prefinsuion but I think a stepping stone in working up to that topic is to address time vs volume and one methodology I use in evaluating espresso.
I have made a lot of empirical observations in espresso, troublesome finicky espresso at that, which have led me to value timing over volume. If I had not been using such an 'all or nothing' espresso, I might have a different perspective so don't take this as gospel but rather a set of observations to be tested on your own.
When dialing in an espresso, I often would establish a dose, volume, and time, sometimes new temp for the blend. In essence, I would set all the variables down to timing and leave volume as the last variable which I would control by adjusting the grind. This means, the timing of the shot would be set. This somewhat contradicts a lot of people out there so let me explain.
I noticed shots at the 'ideal volume' and and 'ideal time', let's say 28 seconds, were good. If at the same volume but plus or minus 3 seconds, the shot quality deteriorated immensely.
Conversely, shots that hit that 28 second extraction time but had a plus or minus of .25 ounce change in volume from the 'ideal volume' were actually quite drinkable. In fact, they were either a bit more intense or a bit thin but not as bad as the time variance shots.
Why volume is a tricky subject!
I surmised timing plays a very important role on extraction and was therefore more important as a perceived constant than volume. The problem is that most semi autos don't let you adjust the volume unless you go through a lot of trouble. This means that anyone using the semi autos would have a hard time adjusting for roast aging or variances in the cup while keeping the shot timing as a constant. They would have to rely on the flow meter or go for free pour thereby eliminating the need for a flow meter.
It occurs to us that a volumetric setup is indeed a problem on a machine. It is often the source of temperature fluctuations and is a relic of the super auto focus.
Why not put delay timers on machines that counted down from a certain time and killed the shot leaving you to adjust the volume as your only variable, constantly tweaking it towards your 'ideal volume'?
I propose for a volume cafe, everything on the machine should be set and programmed leaving your one external variable, the grind, to be tweaked.
I wanted to discuss prefinsuion but I think a stepping stone in working up to that topic is to address time vs volume and one methodology I use in evaluating espresso.
I have made a lot of empirical observations in espresso, troublesome finicky espresso at that, which have led me to value timing over volume. If I had not been using such an 'all or nothing' espresso, I might have a different perspective so don't take this as gospel but rather a set of observations to be tested on your own.
When dialing in an espresso, I often would establish a dose, volume, and time, sometimes new temp for the blend. In essence, I would set all the variables down to timing and leave volume as the last variable which I would control by adjusting the grind. This means, the timing of the shot would be set. This somewhat contradicts a lot of people out there so let me explain.
I noticed shots at the 'ideal volume' and and 'ideal time', let's say 28 seconds, were good. If at the same volume but plus or minus 3 seconds, the shot quality deteriorated immensely.
Conversely, shots that hit that 28 second extraction time but had a plus or minus of .25 ounce change in volume from the 'ideal volume' were actually quite drinkable. In fact, they were either a bit more intense or a bit thin but not as bad as the time variance shots.
Why volume is a tricky subject!
I surmised timing plays a very important role on extraction and was therefore more important as a perceived constant than volume. The problem is that most semi autos don't let you adjust the volume unless you go through a lot of trouble. This means that anyone using the semi autos would have a hard time adjusting for roast aging or variances in the cup while keeping the shot timing as a constant. They would have to rely on the flow meter or go for free pour thereby eliminating the need for a flow meter.
It occurs to us that a volumetric setup is indeed a problem on a machine. It is often the source of temperature fluctuations and is a relic of the super auto focus.
Why not put delay timers on machines that counted down from a certain time and killed the shot leaving you to adjust the volume as your only variable, constantly tweaking it towards your 'ideal volume'?
I propose for a volume cafe, everything on the machine should be set and programmed leaving your one external variable, the grind, to be tweaked.
Labels: article, espresso, timing, volume
¶ Jaime van Schyndel 8:59 PM 4 Comments
Friday, May 25, 2007
Fresh bread and fresh coffee
Assume you, like a lot of us, grew up on wonder bread. Thin sliced and completely devoid of unique character. Now take it a step further and say you were eating wonder bread your whole life having only a limited selection of other breads which were also mass produced factory baked loaves. White, wheat, and 'hamburger buns' were your entire selection in the local grocer. You would become quite accustomed to toasting those limp lifeless slices and slathering them with all kinds of toppings so it won't be so 'dry.'
One day you come across a little artisan bakery. The flour is milled locally, the ingredients are farm fresh, and you go in to order some bread on a whim. The selection is overwhelming. Olive breads, focaccia, names and descriptions you don't begin to understand. It's just bread right, you think to yourself, why is it so complicated? You settle on a nice looking loaf of olive bread, ahh but it's not sliced like your wonder bread, what to do? You think to yourself, how do you toast this thing, because you are supposed to toast breads, right? Now what do you do for that BLT with extra mayo you had planned to go on a dry piece of toast?
What would be a normal reaction to this new experience? Rejection? Curiosity? Confusion?
This is an analogy for what happens in coffee. People walk into one of the few higher end or simply good coffee shops selling fresh roasted higher grade coffees and possibly single origin coffees and may be overwhelmed. These people tend to initially push for what's familiar to them and reject the rest so having options that don't involve whip cream and syrups while being offered something different may not appeal... at first. Coffee is coffee to them and the real estate for their laptop is possibly their biggest priority at the moment but that could change if they take the time to pay attention to what's in their cup. It's difficult for anyone who is newly introduced to a different view of coffee. Coffee has a pyramid of quality that is forming and not all coffee is on the same level. It's not the branding and marketing alone that define the offerings like in the chain stores, it may be the coffee itself that is the difference. Sure, you may go into Dunkin Donuts and get a 'regular coffee' which ironically comes doused in cream and sugar. Though, if you ask for a regular in a high end shop, they will ask you what origin and won't put condiments in it for you. They may even get offended if you do! You could go into Starbucks and get your well toasted coffees which are well past being fresh. Much like fresh bread though, coffee doesn't need to be so toasty if it's good quality and still fresh.
From a barista's perspective, the irony is there will always be that customer who comes in and knows you care about coffee who says, 'I love coffee' but in the next breath says 'I can't have it without cream or sugar.' In some cases, that's like telling the bakery you love bread but you intend to cover that olive bread in mayo for a BLT. It doesn't make sense because the fact is there are coffees that are fit for cream and there are some that simply are not. It would be ludicrous to drink bitter or lower grade coffees without cream and sugar but it would also be just as ludicrous to drink an expensive high grade one with those condiments.
I would offer that most customers who frequent the large chains have neither had a fresh roasted coffee nor had an ideally roasted coffee before. Like wonder bread, it will always be the same, but maybe that's not a good thing for everyone.
Assume you, like a lot of us, grew up on wonder bread. Thin sliced and completely devoid of unique character. Now take it a step further and say you were eating wonder bread your whole life having only a limited selection of other breads which were also mass produced factory baked loaves. White, wheat, and 'hamburger buns' were your entire selection in the local grocer. You would become quite accustomed to toasting those limp lifeless slices and slathering them with all kinds of toppings so it won't be so 'dry.'
One day you come across a little artisan bakery. The flour is milled locally, the ingredients are farm fresh, and you go in to order some bread on a whim. The selection is overwhelming. Olive breads, focaccia, names and descriptions you don't begin to understand. It's just bread right, you think to yourself, why is it so complicated? You settle on a nice looking loaf of olive bread, ahh but it's not sliced like your wonder bread, what to do? You think to yourself, how do you toast this thing, because you are supposed to toast breads, right? Now what do you do for that BLT with extra mayo you had planned to go on a dry piece of toast?
What would be a normal reaction to this new experience? Rejection? Curiosity? Confusion?
This is an analogy for what happens in coffee. People walk into one of the few higher end or simply good coffee shops selling fresh roasted higher grade coffees and possibly single origin coffees and may be overwhelmed. These people tend to initially push for what's familiar to them and reject the rest so having options that don't involve whip cream and syrups while being offered something different may not appeal... at first. Coffee is coffee to them and the real estate for their laptop is possibly their biggest priority at the moment but that could change if they take the time to pay attention to what's in their cup. It's difficult for anyone who is newly introduced to a different view of coffee. Coffee has a pyramid of quality that is forming and not all coffee is on the same level. It's not the branding and marketing alone that define the offerings like in the chain stores, it may be the coffee itself that is the difference. Sure, you may go into Dunkin Donuts and get a 'regular coffee' which ironically comes doused in cream and sugar. Though, if you ask for a regular in a high end shop, they will ask you what origin and won't put condiments in it for you. They may even get offended if you do! You could go into Starbucks and get your well toasted coffees which are well past being fresh. Much like fresh bread though, coffee doesn't need to be so toasty if it's good quality and still fresh.
From a barista's perspective, the irony is there will always be that customer who comes in and knows you care about coffee who says, 'I love coffee' but in the next breath says 'I can't have it without cream or sugar.' In some cases, that's like telling the bakery you love bread but you intend to cover that olive bread in mayo for a BLT. It doesn't make sense because the fact is there are coffees that are fit for cream and there are some that simply are not. It would be ludicrous to drink bitter or lower grade coffees without cream and sugar but it would also be just as ludicrous to drink an expensive high grade one with those condiments.
I would offer that most customers who frequent the large chains have neither had a fresh roasted coffee nor had an ideally roasted coffee before. Like wonder bread, it will always be the same, but maybe that's not a good thing for everyone.
Labels: article
¶ Jaime van Schyndel 2:12 PM 1 Comments
Friday, May 11, 2007
Seasonal coffee and preserving quality.
Coffee is an agricultural product and due to the multitude of growing regions throughout the world, it has multiple harvest dates through the year. The question I ponder today: when is coffee 'in season?'
I glanced at a forum post by Geoff Watts of Intelligentsia where he briefly touched on the facts that coffees, especially high grade coffees can degrade quickly.
"...coffees that campaign on a platform of delicate floral or fruit notes and seductive aromatics usually have a much more limited time frame within which to impress. Those are the first things to go when Chronos comes knocking, and are sitting on the beach getting a suntan long before any hint of woodiness or paper shows up. Another thing to consider is the original quality level of the coffee. Like Jimmy says, the harder they come they harder they fall. A coffee that earns a 94 in May might be closer to 87 by December, whereas one that starts at 82 might only slide to 79 in the same time frame. It's like the supermodel/beauty queen syndrome--most of these models/actresses are in their teens and twenties. Forty is geriatric by those industry standards, whereas your average person can still be considered quite attractive and vital at that age." Geoff
I know some people will disagree with that. Still others will agree then point out coffee being a seasonal crop which must be served 'in season.' Then there are others who are pushing that we simply abandon jute bags and do much more to preserve great coffees that believe the lifespan of a great coffee is much shorter.
I count myself as the latter. A sample of green for our green storage project that was open has already faded and lost considerable color and aroma. My initial fear is that our home style vac setup and freezing method are only able to slow age rather than stop any significant amount of aging.
The argument that irritates me enough to write is simply the 'seasonality of coffee' argument. Coffee is produced around seasons but I wonder if it is ever really in season. Simply put, we often get the coffees months after harvest, when are we ever really drinking something that is in season? Maybe the 'in' season is 3-6 months after harvest, after the coffee has sat in jute bags on docks or in transport on ships or over land for several months before we cup it.
It takes a series of steps to notice age in a coffee. You first have to be exposed to 'fresher' coffees that are very close to harvest and cup them regularly. This largely depends on sampling coffees from a roaster who air shipped a coffee or vac sealed it at origin or simply carrying back some high grade green coffee from origin. You must then roast in a manner that you would notice the floral and fruit slipping away and turning into woody notes aka 'the generic stale coffee taste.' You would also then have to value that fruit and floral aroma as a key component of the cup to value it at the same time devaluing the woodiness of age. Many who value body over fruit and floral would simply never roast in such a manner as to notice the fruit. The wild cup lovers on the other hand are simply not working with coffees upon which it makes a big difference either way.
While I quote Geoff, I think he is one of the people who could use his influence to push for those changes in transport and bagging for many of the farms he works directly with as well as in the industry overall. The problem is, it comes down to a definition of quality. A balance of what is acceptable financially vs an ideal. Acknowledging a problem and actually doing something about it are two different things.
How do you really define quality in coffee?
As Simon mentions to us often, it's the total package when you talk about quality. As a North American industry, we always chest thump about quality but it comes down to the entire product from seed to cup and preserving that quality... It's not simply the barista skills, equipment mods, and 'artisan' roasting. As Edwin often points out, coffee is a product in which we strive to preserve value along the way. We cannot intrinsically add value, we can only preserve what was in the 'finished' product at the farm.
Preserve quality. It's an interesting thought.
Coffee is an agricultural product and due to the multitude of growing regions throughout the world, it has multiple harvest dates through the year. The question I ponder today: when is coffee 'in season?'
I glanced at a forum post by Geoff Watts of Intelligentsia where he briefly touched on the facts that coffees, especially high grade coffees can degrade quickly.
"...coffees that campaign on a platform of delicate floral or fruit notes and seductive aromatics usually have a much more limited time frame within which to impress. Those are the first things to go when Chronos comes knocking, and are sitting on the beach getting a suntan long before any hint of woodiness or paper shows up. Another thing to consider is the original quality level of the coffee. Like Jimmy says, the harder they come they harder they fall. A coffee that earns a 94 in May might be closer to 87 by December, whereas one that starts at 82 might only slide to 79 in the same time frame. It's like the supermodel/beauty queen syndrome--most of these models/actresses are in their teens and twenties. Forty is geriatric by those industry standards, whereas your average person can still be considered quite attractive and vital at that age." Geoff
I know some people will disagree with that. Still others will agree then point out coffee being a seasonal crop which must be served 'in season.' Then there are others who are pushing that we simply abandon jute bags and do much more to preserve great coffees that believe the lifespan of a great coffee is much shorter.
I count myself as the latter. A sample of green for our green storage project that was open has already faded and lost considerable color and aroma. My initial fear is that our home style vac setup and freezing method are only able to slow age rather than stop any significant amount of aging.
The argument that irritates me enough to write is simply the 'seasonality of coffee' argument. Coffee is produced around seasons but I wonder if it is ever really in season. Simply put, we often get the coffees months after harvest, when are we ever really drinking something that is in season? Maybe the 'in' season is 3-6 months after harvest, after the coffee has sat in jute bags on docks or in transport on ships or over land for several months before we cup it.
It takes a series of steps to notice age in a coffee. You first have to be exposed to 'fresher' coffees that are very close to harvest and cup them regularly. This largely depends on sampling coffees from a roaster who air shipped a coffee or vac sealed it at origin or simply carrying back some high grade green coffee from origin. You must then roast in a manner that you would notice the floral and fruit slipping away and turning into woody notes aka 'the generic stale coffee taste.' You would also then have to value that fruit and floral aroma as a key component of the cup to value it at the same time devaluing the woodiness of age. Many who value body over fruit and floral would simply never roast in such a manner as to notice the fruit. The wild cup lovers on the other hand are simply not working with coffees upon which it makes a big difference either way.
While I quote Geoff, I think he is one of the people who could use his influence to push for those changes in transport and bagging for many of the farms he works directly with as well as in the industry overall. The problem is, it comes down to a definition of quality. A balance of what is acceptable financially vs an ideal. Acknowledging a problem and actually doing something about it are two different things.
How do you really define quality in coffee?
As Simon mentions to us often, it's the total package when you talk about quality. As a North American industry, we always chest thump about quality but it comes down to the entire product from seed to cup and preserving that quality... It's not simply the barista skills, equipment mods, and 'artisan' roasting. As Edwin often points out, coffee is a product in which we strive to preserve value along the way. We cannot intrinsically add value, we can only preserve what was in the 'finished' product at the farm.
Preserve quality. It's an interesting thought.
Labels: article, green age, green coffee, green quality
¶ Jaime van Schyndel 12:20 PM 2 Comments
Saturday, May 05, 2007
Tell me how you really feel about espresso
Ben and I worked on shots of a Kenya AA yesterday. The first time in a long time that we actually got back into espresso. We have an espresso goal that a friend down south will be intrigued to see progress on as I promise we will make it there first!
It has been a particularly long time since we tried pulling a Kenya or anything exotic as a shot and I do miss pulling espresso. I love working the machine and miss it a lot because what I have been tasting lately has not been all too thrilling. Not necessarily bad, just rather boring. To be honest, I am really tired of working with Brasils right now and particularly fatigued with being asked to diagnose roast variances in them! I want to move past it but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate a good Brazil when I see it. It's just that I really want to get back to the days when we were pulling shots of interesting coffees and doing something unique. Yup, coffee shots and what not!
I have been into vac pots lately and it finally gave me an appreciation for brewed coffees other than espresso. Still, the truth is that there is nothing quite like the complexity, viscosity, aroma, and intense sweetness of a beautiful espresso.
So back to this Kenya pulled as espresso. It was clean candied fruit rather than what most would define as the more common sharp acidity you would expect. Some of this is owed to the particular roast style. Like the mysterious shots of Crescendo we are still chasing, it remains an interesting goal to pull a complex but not overpowering shot of a coffee like this. This was exciting and at one point, we were able to even subvert the fruit to get a very unique perfume from this coffee. Strangely pleasant but a bit unexpected in this Kenya. I would post notes but it defeats the purpose of writing today.
Very few people blend exciting coffees in their espresso. Most of the time it's coffees that are rather boring and quite focused on body, earth, and spice. A caramel cocoa espresso... Yawn. I have no problem with that being doused in milk!
It's hard to sit around and listen to people talk about letting the coffee speak for itself and decrying the value of straight shots and less milk when often the coffees used in the espresso are simply put, cheap. The shop may be paying a lot for these coffees but the cost of green coffees used is not quite expensive.
You might say that's being snobbish but I think it's snobbish when you want someone to drink your espresso straight simply because you believe in some hip standard for sizing drinks. If the espresso is good enough, people will naturally move towards smaller drinks and less milk. This much I have seen before. If the espresso is expensive, you sure cannot dump it into a large milk drink. It wouldn't really make sense, would it?
Dare I say it?
To us, third wave doesn't exist. It's largely irrelevant. Talk to me aboutgood great coffees. That's all I want to focus on, a better cup. All the technical stuff and marketing jibe is grand but really it comes down to what you are drinking.
What are you drinking? ¶ Jaime van Schyndel 5:07 PM 14 Comments
Ben and I worked on shots of a Kenya AA yesterday. The first time in a long time that we actually got back into espresso. We have an espresso goal that a friend down south will be intrigued to see progress on as I promise we will make it there first!
It has been a particularly long time since we tried pulling a Kenya or anything exotic as a shot and I do miss pulling espresso. I love working the machine and miss it a lot because what I have been tasting lately has not been all too thrilling. Not necessarily bad, just rather boring. To be honest, I am really tired of working with Brasils right now and particularly fatigued with being asked to diagnose roast variances in them! I want to move past it but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate a good Brazil when I see it. It's just that I really want to get back to the days when we were pulling shots of interesting coffees and doing something unique. Yup, coffee shots and what not!
I have been into vac pots lately and it finally gave me an appreciation for brewed coffees other than espresso. Still, the truth is that there is nothing quite like the complexity, viscosity, aroma, and intense sweetness of a beautiful espresso.
So back to this Kenya pulled as espresso. It was clean candied fruit rather than what most would define as the more common sharp acidity you would expect. Some of this is owed to the particular roast style. Like the mysterious shots of Crescendo we are still chasing, it remains an interesting goal to pull a complex but not overpowering shot of a coffee like this. This was exciting and at one point, we were able to even subvert the fruit to get a very unique perfume from this coffee. Strangely pleasant but a bit unexpected in this Kenya. I would post notes but it defeats the purpose of writing today.
Very few people blend exciting coffees in their espresso. Most of the time it's coffees that are rather boring and quite focused on body, earth, and spice. A caramel cocoa espresso... Yawn. I have no problem with that being doused in milk!
It's hard to sit around and listen to people talk about letting the coffee speak for itself and decrying the value of straight shots and less milk when often the coffees used in the espresso are simply put, cheap. The shop may be paying a lot for these coffees but the cost of green coffees used is not quite expensive.
You might say that's being snobbish but I think it's snobbish when you want someone to drink your espresso straight simply because you believe in some hip standard for sizing drinks. If the espresso is good enough, people will naturally move towards smaller drinks and less milk. This much I have seen before. If the espresso is expensive, you sure cannot dump it into a large milk drink. It wouldn't really make sense, would it?
Dare I say it?
To us, third wave doesn't exist. It's largely irrelevant. Talk to me about
What are you drinking? ¶ Jaime van Schyndel 5:07 PM 14 Comments
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Don't blame the Barista!
The smell of rancid burnt coffee, the shot that pulls in 15 seconds... but it's not the barista who is really at fault here,is it? Sure it's easy to blame the person behind the counter for your bad cup of coffee but let's be realistic for a moment and take the long view.
When we look at all the quality inputs that go into a coffee from the seed to cup, there are a lot of points in the line that must be accounted for.
Yes, accountability is the key to production of any good product.
Pre-harvest, the terroir of the land and all climate inputs to the coffee are critical. Ideal rainfall, keeping away/treating pests and disease, and adequate shade are only a few of many issues the farmer faces in getting the crop to harvest. Once at harvest, care must be taken to pick the ripest cherries without damaging the tree and it's possible future growth. This means multiple passes over the harvest to get the ripest harvest possible. This is all based on if the weather permits.
Assuming the crop is turning in a good harvest, the processing must be exceptional to clear away as many defects as possible. Under ripes, bug bitten, and all sorts of undesirables must be sorted out in either the milling phase, the processing method itself, or by hand.
Now once this goes to market, the green buyer must find this pristine lot among many by identifying it with only a small sample to go on. Assuming the green buyer does identify the lot and arrange it's purchase, the lot can still be contaminated, age or otherwise change from the time the sample was taken to the time it arrives often months later.
Photo Courtesy of Jason Silberschlag
Once the roaster has the bean in their hands, they must begin identifying an ideal roast profile and begin to reproduce it consistently. If the roast is not somewhat consistent, it will not be easy to produce a consistent product in the cafe. The roaster must then deal with logistics and packaging to get the correct coffees in the correct bags and to the correct people.
This is something almost every business must deal with and mis-labeling bags or inaccurate shipments is an accountability problem in the system, not necessarily a coffee specific issue.
The next phase is the cafe owners/management who must provide adequate equipment which must be cleaned, serviced, and maintained well for the end product to resemble what the roaster is providing. I have visited very few cafes which simply have grinders that are up to date where the burrs are changed regularly much less a knowledge of the temperature of the brew, so this presents one of the biggest problems in production.
Photo Courtesy of Jorg and Corinna Scott
This is an issue where the cafe owner/management must work with knowledge often provided by the roaster to train staff and understand equipment maintenance and even adjust technique/parameters to get the most from the coffees. This is strictly an opinion, but great cafes are built on knowledge and one of the few legitimate sources of that knowledge and training should be the roaster. This is not often the case as many roasters have a fear or simply appear to not want to stir up trouble by suggesting improvements. This often shows up as a personnel issue where knowledgeable people with good communication skills are needed to get cafe owners on board with a quality program.
At the end of the line is the Barista. A low pay individual who is often left to their own devices with minimal training. Sadly, they are often left to the burden of selling a product they may not be proud to sell. To change this though, they must overcome management or push for changes when resistance may lie not only in management and with coworkers but at the Roasterie as well. A bit too much to ask from a Barista.
When you look at the bigger picture, it's hard to blame farmers who are simply responding to whatever we demand. It's also hard to focus simply on the Barista and put the entire weight of the process on their shoulders.
When you have a complaint about your coffee, consider leveling it at management or even better, call the roaster and discuss the account. Rather than focusing on the individual, we should focus on the organizations. Bringing attention to the company will create a need for training or change. While a barista is in no position to respond, the company can.
On the other hand, you could always look for another cup at another store in the future until you find a better coffee and vote with your wallet. The simple fact that we don't demand better or make our voice heard is part of the reason a good cup is hard to find.
When you do find a good Barista, tell the management and yes, please leave them a tip because good Barista are a good thing.
The smell of rancid burnt coffee, the shot that pulls in 15 seconds... but it's not the barista who is really at fault here,is it? Sure it's easy to blame the person behind the counter for your bad cup of coffee but let's be realistic for a moment and take the long view.
When we look at all the quality inputs that go into a coffee from the seed to cup, there are a lot of points in the line that must be accounted for.
Yes, accountability is the key to production of any good product.
Pre-harvest, the terroir of the land and all climate inputs to the coffee are critical. Ideal rainfall, keeping away/treating pests and disease, and adequate shade are only a few of many issues the farmer faces in getting the crop to harvest. Once at harvest, care must be taken to pick the ripest cherries without damaging the tree and it's possible future growth. This means multiple passes over the harvest to get the ripest harvest possible. This is all based on if the weather permits.
Assuming the crop is turning in a good harvest, the processing must be exceptional to clear away as many defects as possible. Under ripes, bug bitten, and all sorts of undesirables must be sorted out in either the milling phase, the processing method itself, or by hand.
Now once this goes to market, the green buyer must find this pristine lot among many by identifying it with only a small sample to go on. Assuming the green buyer does identify the lot and arrange it's purchase, the lot can still be contaminated, age or otherwise change from the time the sample was taken to the time it arrives often months later.
Photo Courtesy of Jason Silberschlag
Once the roaster has the bean in their hands, they must begin identifying an ideal roast profile and begin to reproduce it consistently. If the roast is not somewhat consistent, it will not be easy to produce a consistent product in the cafe. The roaster must then deal with logistics and packaging to get the correct coffees in the correct bags and to the correct people.
This is something almost every business must deal with and mis-labeling bags or inaccurate shipments is an accountability problem in the system, not necessarily a coffee specific issue.
The next phase is the cafe owners/management who must provide adequate equipment which must be cleaned, serviced, and maintained well for the end product to resemble what the roaster is providing. I have visited very few cafes which simply have grinders that are up to date where the burrs are changed regularly much less a knowledge of the temperature of the brew, so this presents one of the biggest problems in production.
Photo Courtesy of Jorg and Corinna Scott
This is an issue where the cafe owner/management must work with knowledge often provided by the roaster to train staff and understand equipment maintenance and even adjust technique/parameters to get the most from the coffees. This is strictly an opinion, but great cafes are built on knowledge and one of the few legitimate sources of that knowledge and training should be the roaster. This is not often the case as many roasters have a fear or simply appear to not want to stir up trouble by suggesting improvements. This often shows up as a personnel issue where knowledgeable people with good communication skills are needed to get cafe owners on board with a quality program.
At the end of the line is the Barista. A low pay individual who is often left to their own devices with minimal training. Sadly, they are often left to the burden of selling a product they may not be proud to sell. To change this though, they must overcome management or push for changes when resistance may lie not only in management and with coworkers but at the Roasterie as well. A bit too much to ask from a Barista.
When you look at the bigger picture, it's hard to blame farmers who are simply responding to whatever we demand. It's also hard to focus simply on the Barista and put the entire weight of the process on their shoulders.
When you have a complaint about your coffee, consider leveling it at management or even better, call the roaster and discuss the account. Rather than focusing on the individual, we should focus on the organizations. Bringing attention to the company will create a need for training or change. While a barista is in no position to respond, the company can.
On the other hand, you could always look for another cup at another store in the future until you find a better coffee and vote with your wallet. The simple fact that we don't demand better or make our voice heard is part of the reason a good cup is hard to find.
When you do find a good Barista, tell the management and yes, please leave them a tip because good Barista are a good thing.
Labels: article
¶ Jaime van Schyndel 6:51 PM 2 Comments
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
'Lemony' Espresso
I had another shot of a 'lemony' espresso this morning. One I would normally refuse but it was free and I felt I could not refuse since it was my opinion that was sought. It was not painful, nor was it comparable in sweetness to our last espresso venture. In fact, it was kinda boring or you could say clean in the 'I don't mean' way. Not much aroma, very little creaminess and little viscosity. It was like a little lemon curd pastry in it's singular flavor component. It is not that I do not like a little lemon citrus in my espresso, it's just that I like somethng creamy and thicker for espresso. Once upon a time, Ben and I may have said this was a unique espresso but times have changed... a lot.
A nice Yirgacheffe with beautiful aromatics and a hint of lemon is nice. A Kenya, a Guat, or a Colombia with some lemon would be interesting. I love a good fruit character in a coffee but this shot was none of these.
It is not that a Brazil cannot be lemon but the question is should a classic washed Brazil in espresso be all lemon? OR maybe the question is, could I sell something like this with confidence and conviction?
Brazils can be boring but honestly, they make a much better base than your garden variety earthy spice characters often used as a base in espresso. When I think of Brazil though, I think vanilla, sarsaparilla, nut, cocoa, caramel, molasses... sure, but lemon, I am not sold on that. It's like trying to pull fruit out of something that isn't, for lack of a better term, fruity.
I don't know if lemon is really a big issue for me in an espresso I don't drink and would not serve but maybe that's not my point in writing today. I realized that this drink sparked a conversation.
You have to have perspective.
The best thing I ever did was consistently serve multiple espresso and varied roaster's coffees in one shop. When you only see one roaster's perspective, you lose your perspective. If all you ever really taste are your own coffees from one source, you will not have a greater understanding of other people's styles and the realm of possibilities that exist beyond what you are currently serving in a cafe. As a Barista, a shop owner, a consumer, and also at the roasterie, trying various styles leads to growth in palate and appreciation of what coffee can be.
I had a long debate about this with friends (Corinna and Jorg) in Guatemala. The greatest single thing you can do for yourself is to try everything and don't buy into the hype about anything. For all the Gurus and supposed Masters, there are a dozen others who scoot by under the radar doing amazing things without flashy egos or lengthy diatribes on why they are the best.
Sometimes, it's the guys who aren't selling themselves to their peers who are doing great things in their own shops. If I hadn't been guesting coffees, I never would have run across Andrew Barnett, Miguel Meza, or a whole other group of roasters out there doing respectable work. Heck, we may have even thumbed our nose at other great roasters simply because they didn't agree with what our current roaster is doing if it weren't for our guesting program.
Some podcaster once offered that a roaster is like the religion you choose, I would offer that roasters are like chefs and there are many to choose from with lots of perspectives on interpretation of the same ingredients. Sometimes, you can mix or match to what you perceive as their strong points, other times you let them lead you to a unique experience.
Coffee is an evolution and if you lock in too hard to one philosophy, there you will be and no further.
Point is, whether you were hooked into coffee by a chocolate ristretto or a lemony lungo, take the time to see what else is out there and give it a chance with an open mind and a curious palate. Don't listen to the pundits and try everything for youself because there are no standards and there is a unique new taste out there around every corner. ¶ Jaime van Schyndel 12:00 AM 1 Comments
I had another shot of a 'lemony' espresso this morning. One I would normally refuse but it was free and I felt I could not refuse since it was my opinion that was sought. It was not painful, nor was it comparable in sweetness to our last espresso venture. In fact, it was kinda boring or you could say clean in the 'I don't mean' way. Not much aroma, very little creaminess and little viscosity. It was like a little lemon curd pastry in it's singular flavor component. It is not that I do not like a little lemon citrus in my espresso, it's just that I like somethng creamy and thicker for espresso. Once upon a time, Ben and I may have said this was a unique espresso but times have changed... a lot.
A nice Yirgacheffe with beautiful aromatics and a hint of lemon is nice. A Kenya, a Guat, or a Colombia with some lemon would be interesting. I love a good fruit character in a coffee but this shot was none of these.
It is not that a Brazil cannot be lemon but the question is should a classic washed Brazil in espresso be all lemon? OR maybe the question is, could I sell something like this with confidence and conviction?
Brazils can be boring but honestly, they make a much better base than your garden variety earthy spice characters often used as a base in espresso. When I think of Brazil though, I think vanilla, sarsaparilla, nut, cocoa, caramel, molasses... sure, but lemon, I am not sold on that. It's like trying to pull fruit out of something that isn't, for lack of a better term, fruity.
I don't know if lemon is really a big issue for me in an espresso I don't drink and would not serve but maybe that's not my point in writing today. I realized that this drink sparked a conversation.
You have to have perspective.
The best thing I ever did was consistently serve multiple espresso and varied roaster's coffees in one shop. When you only see one roaster's perspective, you lose your perspective. If all you ever really taste are your own coffees from one source, you will not have a greater understanding of other people's styles and the realm of possibilities that exist beyond what you are currently serving in a cafe. As a Barista, a shop owner, a consumer, and also at the roasterie, trying various styles leads to growth in palate and appreciation of what coffee can be.
I had a long debate about this with friends (Corinna and Jorg) in Guatemala. The greatest single thing you can do for yourself is to try everything and don't buy into the hype about anything. For all the Gurus and supposed Masters, there are a dozen others who scoot by under the radar doing amazing things without flashy egos or lengthy diatribes on why they are the best.
Sometimes, it's the guys who aren't selling themselves to their peers who are doing great things in their own shops. If I hadn't been guesting coffees, I never would have run across Andrew Barnett, Miguel Meza, or a whole other group of roasters out there doing respectable work. Heck, we may have even thumbed our nose at other great roasters simply because they didn't agree with what our current roaster is doing if it weren't for our guesting program.
Some podcaster once offered that a roaster is like the religion you choose, I would offer that roasters are like chefs and there are many to choose from with lots of perspectives on interpretation of the same ingredients. Sometimes, you can mix or match to what you perceive as their strong points, other times you let them lead you to a unique experience.
Coffee is an evolution and if you lock in too hard to one philosophy, there you will be and no further.
Point is, whether you were hooked into coffee by a chocolate ristretto or a lemony lungo, take the time to see what else is out there and give it a chance with an open mind and a curious palate. Don't listen to the pundits and try everything for youself because there are no standards and there is a unique new taste out there around every corner. ¶ Jaime van Schyndel 12:00 AM 1 Comments
Friday, February 23, 2007
Good barista like to watch, great barista like to taste...
Since the novelty of the bottomless portafilter has since come and gone (for most), the tagline that good Barista like to watch has been offered more than once. That's a silly statement because everyone likes to watch. Even if you don't like coffee, the novelty of a beautiful bottomless extraction is a great draw. There is a huge thread on the coffeegeek forums of simply people taking photos of glorious espresso shots.
Great. Good. Amazing. Let's frame it!
Thing is, I really want to see a barista sneak a shot in between orders and taste it. Not my shot! Maybe a throw away shot or a split shot where instead of throwing away half, keeping it and taking a sip to evalutate it. Yeah, that's the sign of a good barista, much like a good chef, always tasting everything.
Visuals can lie. Volumes can be off because of freshness or roast variations, but taste is the only way to go. Evaluating the shot by diagnosing it's taste. There are so many times I have found bad batches simply because I stopped and tasted a shot every now and then. Accountability is doing that step in quality control where you taste it.
You want to learn how to make the perfect shot? Well, first off, there is no perfect shot, only a series of great shots you will find once you become serious about espresso. The truth is though that you will never really progress as a barista, home barista, or general aficianado unless you learn to understand what you are tasting.
It's sour. What kind of sour and what is causing it?
The causes range from bean sours, defects, fermentation issues, clean fruit acidity, improper brew temps, improper dose, and possibly the roast profile. To put it simply, it's complicated. Then take into effect that you must diagnose this for not only your array of sours but for the many different bitters as well. Finding that balance where the cupping notes come through is hard.
The Barista controls the dose, grind, temperature, and an array of other minutia to tweak the most from each offering.
Taste. It takes experience and training and a lot of time drinking a lot of bad coffee to understand what is good.
For a Barista to identify the smoke and know that they need to up the dose and shorten the shot, that's a skill. That's why all the great Barista spend so much time learning to cup.
A good Barista knows taste.
Since the novelty of the bottomless portafilter has since come and gone (for most), the tagline that good Barista like to watch has been offered more than once. That's a silly statement because everyone likes to watch. Even if you don't like coffee, the novelty of a beautiful bottomless extraction is a great draw. There is a huge thread on the coffeegeek forums of simply people taking photos of glorious espresso shots.
Great. Good. Amazing. Let's frame it!
Thing is, I really want to see a barista sneak a shot in between orders and taste it. Not my shot! Maybe a throw away shot or a split shot where instead of throwing away half, keeping it and taking a sip to evalutate it. Yeah, that's the sign of a good barista, much like a good chef, always tasting everything.
Visuals can lie. Volumes can be off because of freshness or roast variations, but taste is the only way to go. Evaluating the shot by diagnosing it's taste. There are so many times I have found bad batches simply because I stopped and tasted a shot every now and then. Accountability is doing that step in quality control where you taste it.
You want to learn how to make the perfect shot? Well, first off, there is no perfect shot, only a series of great shots you will find once you become serious about espresso. The truth is though that you will never really progress as a barista, home barista, or general aficianado unless you learn to understand what you are tasting.
It's sour. What kind of sour and what is causing it?
The causes range from bean sours, defects, fermentation issues, clean fruit acidity, improper brew temps, improper dose, and possibly the roast profile. To put it simply, it's complicated. Then take into effect that you must diagnose this for not only your array of sours but for the many different bitters as well. Finding that balance where the cupping notes come through is hard.
The Barista controls the dose, grind, temperature, and an array of other minutia to tweak the most from each offering.
Taste. It takes experience and training and a lot of time drinking a lot of bad coffee to understand what is good.
For a Barista to identify the smoke and know that they need to up the dose and shorten the shot, that's a skill. That's why all the great Barista spend so much time learning to cup.
A good Barista knows taste.
Labels: article
¶ Jaime van Schyndel 7:15 PM 6 Comments
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Freezing Green For "Vintage" Coffees?
Wine is a beautiful thing. It is one of the products in this world in which the grower can create a bottle of wine and enjoy it year after year and watch it grow, mature, and change with time.
Coffee is not wine in that regard. Coffee is much more like produce in that it is a perishable product meant to be consumed with as little interference from the deteriorating effects of heat, moisture, and most importantly time. Freezing cannot increase the flavor of the coffee over time but makes it possible to keep coffee fresh until it is roasted.
I am all for freezing green to keep it fresh, but are so called “vintage" coffees a good idea? You could approach coffee like wine and vintage it. You could even save it for your kids to try, but why do this now when we have so much to look forward to?
At this point in time, our industry is still in its infancy. Since freezing obviously cannot increase the flavor of the coffee over time, why hoard it? One of the greatest things about this time in coffee is that we are at a point where we have everything to look forward to. If we want the coffee industry to continue to progress in the direction of product quality, what use is there in freezing coffee to be used several years from now? I see only detrimental effects to the industry from this. Every successful business has return customers. How can farmers be expected to create a consistently good coffee if they cannot rely on return customers? How can a farmer expect a return customer if the company buying it just freezes it to be sold when the company chooses and does not continue to buy that coffee year after year? If we want to continue to see consistently good washed coffees year after year, we must retain the seasonality of the coffee business and give farmers a chance to perfect their craft so that it is more repeatable. Especially at this time when so much growth is happening, this is important.
Vintage coffees also create false demand. If a roaster chooses to freeze a coffee for years to come, it creates the demand for consumers to buy that coffee when the roaster chooses to roast it, not when the coffee is still in season.
Everyone has favorite coffees that they want to continue to have again and again, but “vintaging” coffees means that at such a pivotal point in time as is now, farms that produce consistently good washed coffees will remain few in number.
It would be great to fill a vault with all the best coffees you have ever had. To take the best from each origin and make an all-star cupping table would be great. On the other hand, each year the coffees that come to the CoE cupping tables get better and better. Each year I taste coffee, I continue to taste new coffees that amaze me.
Not only would “vintage” coffees put another question mark in how the farmer will consistently be able to sell his coffee, but it will also cost much more for consumers. Freezing coffee costs a lot of money and why would the consumer want to pay for that cost if the coffee can be used faster and ultimately take less money to freeze ? I am willing to take the chance that next years coffee might not be as good, in order to assure that the next 10 years of coffee are.
Wine is a beautiful thing. It is one of the products in this world in which the grower can create a bottle of wine and enjoy it year after year and watch it grow, mature, and change with time.
Coffee is not wine in that regard. Coffee is much more like produce in that it is a perishable product meant to be consumed with as little interference from the deteriorating effects of heat, moisture, and most importantly time. Freezing cannot increase the flavor of the coffee over time but makes it possible to keep coffee fresh until it is roasted.
I am all for freezing green to keep it fresh, but are so called “vintage" coffees a good idea? You could approach coffee like wine and vintage it. You could even save it for your kids to try, but why do this now when we have so much to look forward to?
At this point in time, our industry is still in its infancy. Since freezing obviously cannot increase the flavor of the coffee over time, why hoard it? One of the greatest things about this time in coffee is that we are at a point where we have everything to look forward to. If we want the coffee industry to continue to progress in the direction of product quality, what use is there in freezing coffee to be used several years from now? I see only detrimental effects to the industry from this. Every successful business has return customers. How can farmers be expected to create a consistently good coffee if they cannot rely on return customers? How can a farmer expect a return customer if the company buying it just freezes it to be sold when the company chooses and does not continue to buy that coffee year after year? If we want to continue to see consistently good washed coffees year after year, we must retain the seasonality of the coffee business and give farmers a chance to perfect their craft so that it is more repeatable. Especially at this time when so much growth is happening, this is important.
Vintage coffees also create false demand. If a roaster chooses to freeze a coffee for years to come, it creates the demand for consumers to buy that coffee when the roaster chooses to roast it, not when the coffee is still in season.
Everyone has favorite coffees that they want to continue to have again and again, but “vintaging” coffees means that at such a pivotal point in time as is now, farms that produce consistently good washed coffees will remain few in number.
It would be great to fill a vault with all the best coffees you have ever had. To take the best from each origin and make an all-star cupping table would be great. On the other hand, each year the coffees that come to the CoE cupping tables get better and better. Each year I taste coffee, I continue to taste new coffees that amaze me.
Not only would “vintage” coffees put another question mark in how the farmer will consistently be able to sell his coffee, but it will also cost much more for consumers. Freezing coffee costs a lot of money and why would the consumer want to pay for that cost if the coffee can be used faster and ultimately take less money to freeze ? I am willing to take the chance that next years coffee might not be as good, in order to assure that the next 10 years of coffee are.
Labels: article
¶ Silas Moulton 9:25 PM 12 Comments
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Cupping coffee clubs
Cupping coffee is one of the things I enjoy most. To cup is divine. In truth, it could be Tea or anything in the cup and if the flavor is there I would be happy.
Cupping is traditionally something you do when evaluating coffees in a professional capacity. Many of the best barista I know spend extra time and money cupping outside of work to build a better palate and understanding.
When I sit down for a cupping, it's largely a group of friends getting together to evaluate a coffee and enjoy it. That's not the norm but I think more people should consider this type of event. A coffee club if you will.
I think Ben originally called our group the Saturday Afternoon Coffee Club but that was a long time ago. A lot of faces came and went. In the end, we tightened up and had a small group of us who were really serious and no nonsense.
It doesn't need to be serious though and it can just be fun.
Photo courtesy of Gabe Rodriguez
Coffee can be fun but you have to distance yourself from the personal nature of the business. Inviting someone who works at a company to bring their own coffee to cup is not a good idea. If the invites don't keep an open mind, you can end up with someone who simply critiques everything but their own products.
When I was in Guatemala though, I got a big reminder of the joy of cupping.
Edwin fetched us all personal cupping spoons, looney toons and the likes. it was a statement made unintentional. We were not the rock stars or the big egos, just the coffee people. No silver spoon, just ready to try something new.
Some of the joy gets sucked out of coffee when people become unwilling to see other perspectives. A lesson I took away from the trip is appreciation for others and their views. The flip side is that it left me with a bit to chew against the myopic and narrow minded people in the business.
All that aside, cupping an amazing coffee with a group of friends is great fun. We will be looking to get together with some of our local buddies and tap some old friends soon. It's time to start doing something and culture a bigger community.
Ideas or participants welcome...
Photo courtesy of Gabe Rodriguez
Cupping coffee is one of the things I enjoy most. To cup is divine. In truth, it could be Tea or anything in the cup and if the flavor is there I would be happy.
Cupping is traditionally something you do when evaluating coffees in a professional capacity. Many of the best barista I know spend extra time and money cupping outside of work to build a better palate and understanding.
When I sit down for a cupping, it's largely a group of friends getting together to evaluate a coffee and enjoy it. That's not the norm but I think more people should consider this type of event. A coffee club if you will.
I think Ben originally called our group the Saturday Afternoon Coffee Club but that was a long time ago. A lot of faces came and went. In the end, we tightened up and had a small group of us who were really serious and no nonsense.
It doesn't need to be serious though and it can just be fun.
Photo courtesy of Gabe Rodriguez
Coffee can be fun but you have to distance yourself from the personal nature of the business. Inviting someone who works at a company to bring their own coffee to cup is not a good idea. If the invites don't keep an open mind, you can end up with someone who simply critiques everything but their own products.
When I was in Guatemala though, I got a big reminder of the joy of cupping.
Edwin fetched us all personal cupping spoons, looney toons and the likes. it was a statement made unintentional. We were not the rock stars or the big egos, just the coffee people. No silver spoon, just ready to try something new.
Some of the joy gets sucked out of coffee when people become unwilling to see other perspectives. A lesson I took away from the trip is appreciation for others and their views. The flip side is that it left me with a bit to chew against the myopic and narrow minded people in the business.
All that aside, cupping an amazing coffee with a group of friends is great fun. We will be looking to get together with some of our local buddies and tap some old friends soon. It's time to start doing something and culture a bigger community.
Ideas or participants welcome...
Photo courtesy of Gabe Rodriguez
Labels: article, coffee, cupping
¶ Jaime van Schyndel 11:02 PM 8 Comments
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Green coffee ages but what does that mean?
Stale: Having lost freshness, effervescence, or palatability.
Is it that simple for your green coffee? Is it possible that over time, something changes, and your coffee can lose it's flavor even before it is roasted?
The answer is surprisingly complex. In fact, to what level could depend completely on the coffee itself and the original flavors present. There is most definitely no catch all answer. Some coffees may show this "agey" flavor change whereas others may not show perceivable age. The important part in analyzing this is roasting in a way that you can perceive a difference. The one thing that is certain is that 'something' is changing whether we can perceive it or not.
Chemical and structural changes happen over time in storage that have been well documented. Temperature, humidity, and light seem be the things that can expedite those changes. It should be a given that exposure to chemical agents, molds, and other contaminants should be avoided but these can also contribute to biodegradability.
George Howell has pointed to lignins previously as proof of the biodegradability of coffee seeds. Lignin is a biodegradable plant material that is hydrophobic. This means it is water resistant and resists pathogens entering or possibly flavors escaping while acting like a glue binding the seed together. Coffee seeds are very waxy, so it really brings up the question of how hydroscopic the coffee is in the green state and what part that plays into the flavor changes. Lignins are only about 2% of the total coffee mass so it remains to be seen if this 'glue' is the sole culprit in bean decomposition or plays a part along with volatile flavor components that may escape over time.
What is truly curious is the relationship between sugars and how flavors form as well as the overwhelming topic of moisture content. Sugars are increasingly interesting according to the research on low molecular weight sugars in green and roasted coffee collected in Ivon Flament's 'Coffee Flavor Chemistry
.' Poor storage was believed to result in an increase of glucose which correlated with a marked increase in woody/rubbery notes in the coffee. There was also an increase in water content during the same period, so it remains that moisture content of the bean is an easier measure of green quality than a quantitative sugar analysis. Storage in tropical temperatures (such as at origin) can even induce chemical changes such as the Maillard reaction in the green coffee.
So what does that tell you food scientists?
There are changes in coffee in the time it is stored that need to be addressed by expedited shipping, better storage method, and possibly freezing green.
Is that conclusive proof that we should all start flying coffee from origin and freezing green? No. What it points to is that we need to set up conditions where we can do a qualitative analysis of the changes coffees in storage go through and continue pursuing the upgrades you see from pioneers like Daterra Farm in bagging.
From a recent experiment we did with a CoE quality green stored in air conditioned storage and one frozen over the last year, we had a very stark contrast in the two. The differences we have noted are that floral citrus notes in wp centrals, wp Yirgs, and clean Kenyas appear to disappear over time to be replaced with a woodsy dull lifeless note and an unpleasant wheat or barley flavor. Aromatics disappear first, followed by changes in the citrus notes. Naturals turn quickly from the soft over ripe fruit into very muddy rotten fruit flavors over time in storage. We don't have enough notes on controlled dry process to state definitively what is changing.
Those are just our evaluations and this is a challenge to roasters to make their own evaluations and share their observations. Keep in mind that if the green quality isn't already very high, you may not notice the changes. This is not something to invest in your Sumatra at $1/lb but might make sense for that $20/lb CoE Guatemala.
Point being, if you paid a lot for this coffee, you should research keeping it in it's best shape as long as possible whether you are a professional roaster or the home variety.
Stale: Having lost freshness, effervescence, or palatability.
Is it that simple for your green coffee? Is it possible that over time, something changes, and your coffee can lose it's flavor even before it is roasted?
The answer is surprisingly complex. In fact, to what level could depend completely on the coffee itself and the original flavors present. There is most definitely no catch all answer. Some coffees may show this "agey" flavor change whereas others may not show perceivable age. The important part in analyzing this is roasting in a way that you can perceive a difference. The one thing that is certain is that 'something' is changing whether we can perceive it or not.
Chemical and structural changes happen over time in storage that have been well documented. Temperature, humidity, and light seem be the things that can expedite those changes. It should be a given that exposure to chemical agents, molds, and other contaminants should be avoided but these can also contribute to biodegradability.
George Howell has pointed to lignins previously as proof of the biodegradability of coffee seeds. Lignin is a biodegradable plant material that is hydrophobic. This means it is water resistant and resists pathogens entering or possibly flavors escaping while acting like a glue binding the seed together. Coffee seeds are very waxy, so it really brings up the question of how hydroscopic the coffee is in the green state and what part that plays into the flavor changes. Lignins are only about 2% of the total coffee mass so it remains to be seen if this 'glue' is the sole culprit in bean decomposition or plays a part along with volatile flavor components that may escape over time.
What is truly curious is the relationship between sugars and how flavors form as well as the overwhelming topic of moisture content. Sugars are increasingly interesting according to the research on low molecular weight sugars in green and roasted coffee collected in Ivon Flament's 'Coffee Flavor Chemistry
.' Poor storage was believed to result in an increase of glucose which correlated with a marked increase in woody/rubbery notes in the coffee. There was also an increase in water content during the same period, so it remains that moisture content of the bean is an easier measure of green quality than a quantitative sugar analysis. Storage in tropical temperatures (such as at origin) can even induce chemical changes such as the Maillard reaction in the green coffee.So what does that tell you food scientists?
There are changes in coffee in the time it is stored that need to be addressed by expedited shipping, better storage method, and possibly freezing green.
Is that conclusive proof that we should all start flying coffee from origin and freezing green? No. What it points to is that we need to set up conditions where we can do a qualitative analysis of the changes coffees in storage go through and continue pursuing the upgrades you see from pioneers like Daterra Farm in bagging.
From a recent experiment we did with a CoE quality green stored in air conditioned storage and one frozen over the last year, we had a very stark contrast in the two. The differences we have noted are that floral citrus notes in wp centrals, wp Yirgs, and clean Kenyas appear to disappear over time to be replaced with a woodsy dull lifeless note and an unpleasant wheat or barley flavor. Aromatics disappear first, followed by changes in the citrus notes. Naturals turn quickly from the soft over ripe fruit into very muddy rotten fruit flavors over time in storage. We don't have enough notes on controlled dry process to state definitively what is changing.
Those are just our evaluations and this is a challenge to roasters to make their own evaluations and share their observations. Keep in mind that if the green quality isn't already very high, you may not notice the changes. This is not something to invest in your Sumatra at $1/lb but might make sense for that $20/lb CoE Guatemala.
Point being, if you paid a lot for this coffee, you should research keeping it in it's best shape as long as possible whether you are a professional roaster or the home variety.
Labels: age, article, coffee, green
¶ Jaime van Schyndel 5:16 PM 2 Comments
Friday, December 15, 2006
Espresso: Blends are a compromise
A blend is a compromise. An alchemist's approach to coffee in many cases. Taking parts, that alone can be quite inferior which equal something greater as a whole. Lead into gold, not quite, but close.
Of course I am pitching the extreme to prove a point here.
Espresso blends are historically composed of some of the lowest grade coffees available. Robusta, monsooned malabar, and low grade indonesians are the backbone of the traditional generic milk espresso blend.
What if you took a wine approach to blending? Two or three high grade varietals blended together for something even more complex. Instead of putting together inferior parts, use components that were great as separate pieces.
What if we took only amazing high grade coffees and were to blend them? Not to suddenly abandon the terroir view of micro lots and soil quality, but to add this blending on top of the great single origins/green quality concepts with one caveat to give the farmer due credit:
What if blends came to market that were transparent and labeled the contents and percentages proudly on the bag?
Abandoning the black box approach to espresso and stating what was contained inside for the consumer.
What if?
It's been done with percentages and all by the Danes.
A blend is a compromise. An alchemist's approach to coffee in many cases. Taking parts, that alone can be quite inferior which equal something greater as a whole. Lead into gold, not quite, but close.
Of course I am pitching the extreme to prove a point here.
Espresso blends are historically composed of some of the lowest grade coffees available. Robusta, monsooned malabar, and low grade indonesians are the backbone of the traditional generic milk espresso blend.
What if you took a wine approach to blending? Two or three high grade varietals blended together for something even more complex. Instead of putting together inferior parts, use components that were great as separate pieces.
What if we took only amazing high grade coffees and were to blend them? Not to suddenly abandon the terroir view of micro lots and soil quality, but to add this blending on top of the great single origins/green quality concepts with one caveat to give the farmer due credit:
What if blends came to market that were transparent and labeled the contents and percentages proudly on the bag?
Abandoning the black box approach to espresso and stating what was contained inside for the consumer.
What if?
It's been done with percentages and all by the Danes.
Labels: article, blending, espresso
¶ Jaime van Schyndel 7:38 PM 8 Comments
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Definition: Grand Cru
'In theory, and many times in practice, vineyards are designated "grand cru" (literally, "great growth") when they have shown the highest potential for greatness. It is emphatically not a classification of wine quality per se, but rather the potential of the site. An underachieving winemaker can easily make characterless wine from outstanding terroir, and a conscientious one can make a superior wine from a less-favored site. To help increase the quality of grand cru wines, they typically have the lowest maximum yields...' Source wikipedia.org
I heard this term being thrown around a lot and I thought it might be a good idea to explain it a bit. Grand Cru relates to terroir, so you might want to plow through the terroir article. If not, the simple of it is that the farm lots with the highest potential and best terroir can be considered Grand Cru. This applies to coffee most often when you see the term Grand Cru Kenya thrown around. You could however use the term to describe any agricultural site with great potential in wine, coffee, or even in teas.
The Cru classes have their roots when, in 1855 Emperor of France, Napoleon III ordered the chamber of commerce to set up a classification system for the most famous wine estates.
According to the 1855 Bourdeux classifications, below grand cru are premier cru, deuxièmes cru, troisièmes cru, quatrièmes crus, cinqièmes crus, and finally cru bourgeois.
'In theory, and many times in practice, vineyards are designated "grand cru" (literally, "great growth") when they have shown the highest potential for greatness. It is emphatically not a classification of wine quality per se, but rather the potential of the site. An underachieving winemaker can easily make characterless wine from outstanding terroir, and a conscientious one can make a superior wine from a less-favored site. To help increase the quality of grand cru wines, they typically have the lowest maximum yields...' Source wikipedia.org
I heard this term being thrown around a lot and I thought it might be a good idea to explain it a bit. Grand Cru relates to terroir, so you might want to plow through the terroir article. If not, the simple of it is that the farm lots with the highest potential and best terroir can be considered Grand Cru. This applies to coffee most often when you see the term Grand Cru Kenya thrown around. You could however use the term to describe any agricultural site with great potential in wine, coffee, or even in teas.
The Cru classes have their roots when, in 1855 Emperor of France, Napoleon III ordered the chamber of commerce to set up a classification system for the most famous wine estates.
According to the 1855 Bourdeux classifications, below grand cru are premier cru, deuxièmes cru, troisièmes cru, quatrièmes crus, cinqièmes crus, and finally cru bourgeois.
Labels: article, coffee, defintion, grand cru, terroir
¶ Jaime van Schyndel 11:57 AM 3 Comments
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Coffee and terroir:
The 'Somewhereness' of the seed
Originally uploaded by asteri design.
Terroir in a direct translation from French yields us simply 'earth' or 'land.' The basic interpretation of this is to say that a product has a distinct association with the land on which it was produced. Stating that the product is representative of it's origins would be the same as saying a product is expressing it's terroir. The term is difficult when trying to apply this to coffee or tea given the disagreements over the specific definition of this topic in wine.
The most simplistic definition of terroir I came across in my research was simply that terroir is a 'sense of place' that a product has. The terroir of a coffee is very broadly defined as the site or region influences that cumulatively give the coffee an attachment to it's origins. It is not simply the taste of earth but all the contributing factors therein that add to flavor. There are two ways the term terroir is approached in wine from which we draw parallels, but we first must have a better understanding of French culture and the approach they have to terroir in not just wine, but an array of products not limited to only the agricultural ones.
The French approach terroir as a philosophy in life. The love of dining and appreciation for local farmer's markets along with a focus on fresh ingredients are important to the French food culture. To the French, terroir seems to be applicable to any product, even clothing, which exemplifies the unique characteristics of a specific area. The traditions or methods of production can be added to the unique (soil, geography, climate) and physical(minerals, soil acidity, etc.) characters of that producing region in describing the product's terroir.
Much like Champagne is only truly a Champagne if produced in the Champagne region of France, this is the predominant view of terroir. The attitude is to preserve this uniqueness where in some cases it may not be viewed as desirable. In France it appears that saying something has terroir is to say that it represents where it was produced well.
The French focus is very much based on the importance of where it was grown over what varietal is used or the producer. The French love of terroir has worked to produce both quality and diversity in the French food, wine, and cheese market. In essence, the opposite to the mass produced commodity cultures you see in other countries.
There are two approaches to the concept terroir we must be aware of. The Old World approach and the New World approach.
The Old World approach is simply the previously mentioned French approach to terroir. To say, in wine specifically, that the flavor of the cup comes from the soil, geology, aspect, altitude, and other factors. An example is to draw a direct corollary between the flavor and the inputs from the soil. This would be to say that since this tastes of mineral and there is strong mineral content in the soil therefore it must be associated and therefore preserved. Each areas unique character is presented in the cup. It could be stated that Old World philosophy is more about restrictions placed on the product to achieve a specific representative quality much like AOC. In essence, the French label would focus on the growing region over the varietal or producer. For example, the French would say it is not a Pinot Noir produced in Burgundy but rather it is a Burgundy that happens to be made of Pino Noir.
New World philosophy seems predominantly based on viewing all the inputs as part of quality. They aim to use the terroir of the region to achieve a product they deem more quality. This is to say, they break down their lots into similar producing groups and attempt to achieve something of greater ripeness and evenness. Terroir is in essence an approach to quality in where defined standards are not traditional defined for the producing regions. The focus leans on the varietal used and not so much on the region. A means to an end if you will, where preservation of the traditions is not such a defining factor.
Applying terroir to coffee is very difficult to understand and this is why I have undertaken this project. Since the term is being thrown around a lot these days in the coffee cognesceti(as one roaster put's it), I feel it's time to begin thinking about this and research it more. Once we can begin to comprehend the term terroir, you begin to see how it is applicable in quality coffee. Silas believes the closest approach in Tea is that of Biodynamic teas, but that's an article for him to write.
Now, when someone speaks about the terroir of this coffee, you will understand what they are saying. Next time you are at your local roaster and they say, 'This is an exemplary Kenya, very expressive of what a good Kenya coffee should be!' Once tasting it, to agree your response could be, 'Yes, I see the terroir in that coffee!'
The 'Somewhereness' of the seed
Originally uploaded by asteri design.
Terroir in a direct translation from French yields us simply 'earth' or 'land.' The basic interpretation of this is to say that a product has a distinct association with the land on which it was produced. Stating that the product is representative of it's origins would be the same as saying a product is expressing it's terroir. The term is difficult when trying to apply this to coffee or tea given the disagreements over the specific definition of this topic in wine.
The most simplistic definition of terroir I came across in my research was simply that terroir is a 'sense of place' that a product has. The terroir of a coffee is very broadly defined as the site or region influences that cumulatively give the coffee an attachment to it's origins. It is not simply the taste of earth but all the contributing factors therein that add to flavor. There are two ways the term terroir is approached in wine from which we draw parallels, but we first must have a better understanding of French culture and the approach they have to terroir in not just wine, but an array of products not limited to only the agricultural ones.
The French approach terroir as a philosophy in life. The love of dining and appreciation for local farmer's markets along with a focus on fresh ingredients are important to the French food culture. To the French, terroir seems to be applicable to any product, even clothing, which exemplifies the unique characteristics of a specific area. The traditions or methods of production can be added to the unique (soil, geography, climate) and physical(minerals, soil acidity, etc.) characters of that producing region in describing the product's terroir.
Much like Champagne is only truly a Champagne if produced in the Champagne region of France, this is the predominant view of terroir. The attitude is to preserve this uniqueness where in some cases it may not be viewed as desirable. In France it appears that saying something has terroir is to say that it represents where it was produced well.
The French focus is very much based on the importance of where it was grown over what varietal is used or the producer. The French love of terroir has worked to produce both quality and diversity in the French food, wine, and cheese market. In essence, the opposite to the mass produced commodity cultures you see in other countries.
There are two approaches to the concept terroir we must be aware of. The Old World approach and the New World approach.
The Old World approach is simply the previously mentioned French approach to terroir. To say, in wine specifically, that the flavor of the cup comes from the soil, geology, aspect, altitude, and other factors. An example is to draw a direct corollary between the flavor and the inputs from the soil. This would be to say that since this tastes of mineral and there is strong mineral content in the soil therefore it must be associated and therefore preserved. Each areas unique character is presented in the cup. It could be stated that Old World philosophy is more about restrictions placed on the product to achieve a specific representative quality much like AOC. In essence, the French label would focus on the growing region over the varietal or producer. For example, the French would say it is not a Pinot Noir produced in Burgundy but rather it is a Burgundy that happens to be made of Pino Noir.
New World philosophy seems predominantly based on viewing all the inputs as part of quality. They aim to use the terroir of the region to achieve a product they deem more quality. This is to say, they break down their lots into similar producing groups and attempt to achieve something of greater ripeness and evenness. Terroir is in essence an approach to quality in where defined standards are not traditional defined for the producing regions. The focus leans on the varietal used and not so much on the region. A means to an end if you will, where preservation of the traditions is not such a defining factor.
Applying terroir to coffee is very difficult to understand and this is why I have undertaken this project. Since the term is being thrown around a lot these days in the coffee cognesceti(as one roaster put's it), I feel it's time to begin thinking about this and research it more. Once we can begin to comprehend the term terroir, you begin to see how it is applicable in quality coffee. Silas believes the closest approach in Tea is that of Biodynamic teas, but that's an article for him to write.
Now, when someone speaks about the terroir of this coffee, you will understand what they are saying. Next time you are at your local roaster and they say, 'This is an exemplary Kenya, very expressive of what a good Kenya coffee should be!' Once tasting it, to agree your response could be, 'Yes, I see the terroir in that coffee!'
Labels: article, coffee, defintion, single origins, terroir
¶ Jaime van Schyndel 10:52 PM 0 Comments
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Coffee: Repeating that great experience
The romance of your first great cup and getting back to that feeling. Be it coffee, tea, or wine, this is what we are searching for. That one defining moment where everything is beautiful and the cup was glorious. It could have been the moment, the people you were with, or simply the lack of a good cup in a long time. The problem is repeating the 'in the cup variables' of that great experience are a lot harder than we would like and we need to do something about that.
There are plenty of great drinks out there to be had right now. The wine and liquor industry has a long established pyramid of quality in which at any point there is a unique experience waiting to be found. Coffee though, is still finding it's own quality pyramid and we don't really have a handle on how many great coffees are out there or what prices are fair. In fact, so few people have had the truly great coffees, it's often very hard to relate paying for a great cup. There is very little perception in the general public of what great coffee can be right now. If you do manage to find that great defining cup, the very real problem arises that we want it again.
In essence, the great drip coffees are somewhat like bottles of wine. Taking a simplistic look, they are typically similar for each year's crop from the same area or same lot. There can be inconsistencies from roast to roast in the coffee, but the ability to repeat the experience with the right roaster exists. The irony of typing this is one amazing coffee experience I had this year literally yielded me a single good bag while the rest were far less than amazing. With that said, your 'top of the top' drip coffees are typically easier to prepare and will likely yield more consistent bang of the buck than that high grade espresso.
If we do venture into espresso, that's where it gets tricky because espresso is not like wine. Espresso is really like a bottle of those more expensive single barrel Bourbons. You really only know what you will get from batch to batch and it's the intensity that is at the root of the drink. One week, the coffee's roast may be a tiny bit darker and your espresso may have more chocolate flavors, the next, it may be lighter citrus. This is the nature of espresso. While it may magnify all those delightful flavors, it also magnifies any tiny change in the roast. This means it is in constant flux and the Barista needs to adjust.
All this makes coffee a very frustrating product for even the best trained and obsessive Barista. While the Barista is constantly adjusting and attempting to compensate for every little detail, the consumer just really wants to repeat that experience. They want to come in every time and get the beautiful cappa or perfume Yirgacheffe with no excuses. That's easier said than done, but it shouldn't be so hard.
After all the issues with consistency and repeatability, I still feel that espresso has the greatest untapped potential, because there are so few cafes that exist which simply pull acceptable shots of a decent grade espresso much less great shots that qualify as culinary experiences. Aside from those hurdles, the great redeeming factor in espresso is that the intensity makes the flavors obvious to even a beginner. A great Barista can call their shot and the customer will be simply wowed or at least go 'I get it'. Imagine walking into a shop and hearing 'This is a Brazil Daterra Reserve 2004, you should get a creamy sweet buttery almond flavor.' That's rarefied air though and only a few shops in North America have this caliber of Barista.
Today's great coffee experiences will only be shadows when compared to our future experiences as long as we continue to move forward. What I thought was great only a year ago is sad in comparison to what I have today and what I find tomorrow may overshadow it all. We will keep looking for that great cafe Barista to show me the way, but in the meantime, I will nurse a good french press of a nice coffee assuming I get that good bag! ¶ Jaime van Schyndel 2:23 AM 6 Comments
The romance of your first great cup and getting back to that feeling. Be it coffee, tea, or wine, this is what we are searching for. That one defining moment where everything is beautiful and the cup was glorious. It could have been the moment, the people you were with, or simply the lack of a good cup in a long time. The problem is repeating the 'in the cup variables' of that great experience are a lot harder than we would like and we need to do something about that.
There are plenty of great drinks out there to be had right now. The wine and liquor industry has a long established pyramid of quality in which at any point there is a unique experience waiting to be found. Coffee though, is still finding it's own quality pyramid and we don't really have a handle on how many great coffees are out there or what prices are fair. In fact, so few people have had the truly great coffees, it's often very hard to relate paying for a great cup. There is very little perception in the general public of what great coffee can be right now. If you do manage to find that great defining cup, the very real problem arises that we want it again.
In essence, the great drip coffees are somewhat like bottles of wine. Taking a simplistic look, they are typically similar for each year's crop from the same area or same lot. There can be inconsistencies from roast to roast in the coffee, but the ability to repeat the experience with the right roaster exists. The irony of typing this is one amazing coffee experience I had this year literally yielded me a single good bag while the rest were far less than amazing. With that said, your 'top of the top' drip coffees are typically easier to prepare and will likely yield more consistent bang of the buck than that high grade espresso.
If we do venture into espresso, that's where it gets tricky because espresso is not like wine. Espresso is really like a bottle of those more expensive single barrel Bourbons. You really only know what you will get from batch to batch and it's the intensity that is at the root of the drink. One week, the coffee's roast may be a tiny bit darker and your espresso may have more chocolate flavors, the next, it may be lighter citrus. This is the nature of espresso. While it may magnify all those delightful flavors, it also magnifies any tiny change in the roast. This means it is in constant flux and the Barista needs to adjust.
All this makes coffee a very frustrating product for even the best trained and obsessive Barista. While the Barista is constantly adjusting and attempting to compensate for every little detail, the consumer just really wants to repeat that experience. They want to come in every time and get the beautiful cappa or perfume Yirgacheffe with no excuses. That's easier said than done, but it shouldn't be so hard.
After all the issues with consistency and repeatability, I still feel that espresso has the greatest untapped potential, because there are so few cafes that exist which simply pull acceptable shots of a decent grade espresso much less great shots that qualify as culinary experiences. Aside from those hurdles, the great redeeming factor in espresso is that the intensity makes the flavors obvious to even a beginner. A great Barista can call their shot and the customer will be simply wowed or at least go 'I get it'. Imagine walking into a shop and hearing 'This is a Brazil Daterra Reserve 2004, you should get a creamy sweet buttery almond flavor.' That's rarefied air though and only a few shops in North America have this caliber of Barista.
Today's great coffee experiences will only be shadows when compared to our future experiences as long as we continue to move forward. What I thought was great only a year ago is sad in comparison to what I have today and what I find tomorrow may overshadow it all. We will keep looking for that great cafe Barista to show me the way, but in the meantime, I will nurse a good french press of a nice coffee assuming I get that good bag! ¶ Jaime van Schyndel 2:23 AM 6 Comments
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Tea and coffee: Can I afford the great ones?
Photo of very expensive tea by Ben Kaminsky
We typically don't drink good tea in North America. I know Americans don't drink very much good coffee either. The real question is do we have access to good examples of both?
If you want good coffee there are literally a handful of roasters in the US and then it becomes a roast preference to get those coffees roasted the way you like them. You will probably have to pay more for a freshly roasted coffee, spend more on the equipment to brew it, and put some energy into brewing it correctly, but you could find it and it would be affordable to most consumers. The most expensive coffees coming out of the Cup Of Excellence still break down to affordable per cup prices if you brew them at home. A pound of coffee produces a lot of cups making even a $20/lb bag steep but still affordable as a once in a while treat. Even as these microlots creep higher in price, we are still able to access them if we want to pay the price.
Pulling a double espresso for a milk drink(don't tell)
The problem with tea is it's a largely inaccessible market. Sure, we can all buy commodity grade tea bags or even pay a lot for a famous named tea, but those aren't the truly great ones. The great teas of Taiwan and mainland China don't make it to the American market. The price paid for them there is so high due to demand, we have little ability to buy them. What we do get is often stale or poorly processed remainders. Even if we had access, the top teas sell for such exorbitant prices, we would never even get a sniff! A competition grade tea in Taiwan of 300g recently sold for $15000. (yes, that's 15k) And to think we still complain about a $12/lb bag of decent coffee.
Photo of Oolong Tea by Ben Kaminsky
Right now, we can afford the great coffees coming out. Of course, all of this has little to do with your free refill diner coffee or that phony Starbucks black apron offering, but that Brazil for $50 a pound doesn't sound as unreasonable now. The truth though, is that good teas are much rarer than we like to admit. You can get great herbal teas but you get largely poor grade broken leaf teas for everything else.
Unless you've got a connection in Taiwan or China, it's going to be hard to get that mind blowing Oolong or high grade tea. Want a good coffee, browse the CoE buyers. Until someone truly taps the foreign markets for fresh picked high grade whole leaf teas, a lot for us will have to be content with cupping these CoE coffees. It's rough being a mouthwatering cupper.
Photo of very expensive tea by Ben Kaminsky
We typically don't drink good tea in North America. I know Americans don't drink very much good coffee either. The real question is do we have access to good examples of both?
If you want good coffee there are literally a handful of roasters in the US and then it becomes a roast preference to get those coffees roasted the way you like them. You will probably have to pay more for a freshly roasted coffee, spend more on the equipment to brew it, and put some energy into brewing it correctly, but you could find it and it would be affordable to most consumers. The most expensive coffees coming out of the Cup Of Excellence still break down to affordable per cup prices if you brew them at home. A pound of coffee produces a lot of cups making even a $20/lb bag steep but still affordable as a once in a while treat. Even as these microlots creep higher in price, we are still able to access them if we want to pay the price.
Pulling a double espresso for a milk drink(don't tell)
The problem with tea is it's a largely inaccessible market. Sure, we can all buy commodity grade tea bags or even pay a lot for a famous named tea, but those aren't the truly great ones. The great teas of Taiwan and mainland China don't make it to the American market. The price paid for them there is so high due to demand, we have little ability to buy them. What we do get is often stale or poorly processed remainders. Even if we had access, the top teas sell for such exorbitant prices, we would never even get a sniff! A competition grade tea in Taiwan of 300g recently sold for $15000. (yes, that's 15k) And to think we still complain about a $12/lb bag of decent coffee.
Photo of Oolong Tea by Ben Kaminsky
Right now, we can afford the great coffees coming out. Of course, all of this has little to do with your free refill diner coffee or that phony Starbucks black apron offering, but that Brazil for $50 a pound doesn't sound as unreasonable now. The truth though, is that good teas are much rarer than we like to admit. You can get great herbal teas but you get largely poor grade broken leaf teas for everything else.
Unless you've got a connection in Taiwan or China, it's going to be hard to get that mind blowing Oolong or high grade tea. Want a good coffee, browse the CoE buyers. Until someone truly taps the foreign markets for fresh picked high grade whole leaf teas, a lot for us will have to be content with cupping these CoE coffees. It's rough being a mouthwatering cupper.
Labels: article, coffee, cup of excellence, taiwan, tea
¶ Jaime van Schyndel 6:57 PM 3 Comments
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Coffee: Strong and dark is better?
One of the most common complaints I hear is the Barista's lament 'The customer only wants a really large, dark, and bitter cup of coffee they can pour large amounts of cream n' sugar into. Why should I bother?'
The roots of our coffee heritage are strongly rooted in Starbucks and the dark roast mindset. Darker is better. It's more premium. If it's not dark, it's not specialty. Roast it so dark some of the beans explode, that way there's less to grind up! It's not about the coffee, it's about what's added to it that makes it special. That's the state of specialty coffee for most of North America and a lot of marketing money has been spent to make that case.
We've been suckered.
A Northern Italian style roast for espresso.
In Northern Italy (and the Scandanavian countries) they source better grade beans and roast much lighter than we generaly do. (There are a handful of exceptions tho) They historicaly have wealth in Northern Italy and therefore the customers can pay more for better quality. In the South, the roasts are darker because they were economicaly forced to use poorer quality beans and needed to roast over the defects. Hence the Northern Italian(very light) and South Italian(darker) roasts in espresso. The poorer areas roasted the coffee darker because they had to.
Espresso is a brewing method and not a roast or certain coffee.
Early American espresso seems to have adopted the South Italian style simply because of immigrants from Southern Italy and what appeared to be the complete lack of access to good coffees for espresso. Rumor is that certain countries bought all the good coffee while we were still serving cheap coffees with unlimited refills.
What about French roast you say, the French are wealthy and have a culinary focus...
French roast is a very dark roast for a simple reason. Historicaly, the French were colonialists. They only bought coffee from their own colonies, which was a problem because the coffee producing colonies were all low altitude areas that produced very poor grade coffees. They roasted dark and covered all the faults in the beans. All they had to do to compensate for the campfire roast flavor was add a lot of scalded milk and some sugar, and you have your Café au lait!
If you look at the China/Taiwan/Japan tea culture and how black tea came about, they don't drink these black teas. The tea they shipped over to Europe was roasty to preserve them for transport and sold to the Europeans who compensated and doused tea with cream and sugar. The Chinese and Taiwanese focused on holding the best teas for themselves and continue to do so. This is the reason many of us may never have a great green tea.
There are parallels in wine/grappa as well but it might be too much for one article.
It's easy to argue about, but the point is that a rare few of us have had high grade light roasts. Most of us have sampled the grassy under roasted poor grade coffees of companies like Dunkin or the overroasted coffees dressed in nicer bags and must begin to realize, the bean plays as much a part as the roast. Darker, yes, when you have a bad coffee or want a lot of milk and sugar. When it is exceptional coffee, you can and probably should go lighter. Let the coffee speak and enjoy it for what it is and where it came from. There are changes thanks to CoE but it's a long slow process.
Dark roasts have their place but they are about what the roaster has done and not about the unique flavors of a great coffees.
Anybody know what these are?
Aussie Double Roasts
The Mythical Third Crack
One of the most common complaints I hear is the Barista's lament 'The customer only wants a really large, dark, and bitter cup of coffee they can pour large amounts of cream n' sugar into. Why should I bother?'
The roots of our coffee heritage are strongly rooted in Starbucks and the dark roast mindset. Darker is better. It's more premium. If it's not dark, it's not specialty. Roast it so dark some of the beans explode, that way there's less to grind up! It's not about the coffee, it's about what's added to it that makes it special. That's the state of specialty coffee for most of North America and a lot of marketing money has been spent to make that case.
We've been suckered.
A Northern Italian style roast for espresso.
In Northern Italy (and the Scandanavian countries) they source better grade beans and roast much lighter than we generaly do. (There are a handful of exceptions tho) They historicaly have wealth in Northern Italy and therefore the customers can pay more for better quality. In the South, the roasts are darker because they were economicaly forced to use poorer quality beans and needed to roast over the defects. Hence the Northern Italian(very light) and South Italian(darker) roasts in espresso. The poorer areas roasted the coffee darker because they had to.
Espresso is a brewing method and not a roast or certain coffee.
Early American espresso seems to have adopted the South Italian style simply because of immigrants from Southern Italy and what appeared to be the complete lack of access to good coffees for espresso. Rumor is that certain countries bought all the good coffee while we were still serving cheap coffees with unlimited refills.
What about French roast you say, the French are wealthy and have a culinary focus...
French roast is a very dark roast for a simple reason. Historicaly, the French were colonialists. They only bought coffee from their own colonies, which was a problem because the coffee producing colonies were all low altitude areas that produced very poor grade coffees. They roasted dark and covered all the faults in the beans. All they had to do to compensate for the campfire roast flavor was add a lot of scalded milk and some sugar, and you have your Café au lait!
If you look at the China/Taiwan/Japan tea culture and how black tea came about, they don't drink these black teas. The tea they shipped over to Europe was roasty to preserve them for transport and sold to the Europeans who compensated and doused tea with cream and sugar. The Chinese and Taiwanese focused on holding the best teas for themselves and continue to do so. This is the reason many of us may never have a great green tea.
There are parallels in wine/grappa as well but it might be too much for one article.
It's easy to argue about, but the point is that a rare few of us have had high grade light roasts. Most of us have sampled the grassy under roasted poor grade coffees of companies like Dunkin or the overroasted coffees dressed in nicer bags and must begin to realize, the bean plays as much a part as the roast. Darker, yes, when you have a bad coffee or want a lot of milk and sugar. When it is exceptional coffee, you can and probably should go lighter. Let the coffee speak and enjoy it for what it is and where it came from. There are changes thanks to CoE but it's a long slow process.
Dark roasts have their place but they are about what the roaster has done and not about the unique flavors of a great coffees.
Anybody know what these are?
Aussie Double Roasts
The Mythical Third Crack
Labels: article, cup of excellence, dark roast, french roast, starbucks, Strong coffee
¶ Jaime van Schyndel 7:26 PM 6 Comments
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Why the North American cafe culture is a negative on coffee quality
We pull up to a table at the nearest cafe and nestle ourselves in with a 20oz to go cup of coffee flavored milk and sit. Content to settle in for a few hours of work. Comfortable watching all the others in the cafe sitting on their laptops, headphones on, happily typing away on study projects and work assignments. We just want a cheap tea or coffee that will justify our sitting in the cafe for hours on end, taking up space that the owner would surely love to have for other paying customers.
We should be ashamed of ourselves that this is what our cafe culture has come to. Isolated individuals who no longer converse and talk. Too easily irritated by the commotion around us. Impatient with the people behind the counter and complaining about the lack of ambiance. We miss out on great coffee experiences because the perception of cafe owners is that they will be over run with students or laptops so why pay more for good coffee? Why invest in training good barista? Why work on making the coffee prep consistent? Why buy the good equipment when the consumer will only douse their coffee with milk and sugar? They cynically believe consumers are a bunch of people who will come in and choose the cheapest menu item and pull up taking table space for as long as their conscience will allow. Many shop owners believe customers won't pay a nickel more for bettter coffee and they may be right in many cases.
The sword cuts both ways when we complain about the coffee or tea, realize that we, as the consumer share a fault in this. As long as we settle for less, we should expect only the minimum. The majority of us will miss out on great coffees coming out of the Cup of Excellence program. We will miss out on great barista who can pour and know tastes like a sommolier.
When it comes down to changing this, consumers need to see these tiny developing sections of coffee no longer as a commodity but as a true specialty that has nothing to do with syrups or chemical flavorings. These are the micro-lots of coffee that have distinct floral and naturally sweet flavors which need to be recognized as unique by themselves. Each region and microlot being distinct and unique in taste from the next.
When you demand to know the name of the farmer and the specific farm it comes from as well as it's growing climate and then begin to educate ourselves about what this means, we can begin to challenge things. We can demand the division of more auction lots of coffees into smaller lots too small for large commercial chain roasters but just right for artisan roasters who can focus on perfection of roast. We can get past burnt bitter over roasted coffees and defect laden under roasted grassy coffees to perfectly roasted ripe defect free coffees. We can learn to accept these disctinct coffees as quality experiences of flavor and not something based on volume or quantity. We can stop trying to get the most volume for the cheapest price and focus on the best tasting drink where caffeine is an afterthought. When we demand fresh ground, fresh brewed, AND fresh roasted(with dates), then we will see things begin to change.
When consumers and shop owners head in the direction that the Cup of Excellence is going, then the debate over what is good coffee will change from what goes good with milk to what flavors are inherent in a Grand Cru Kenya or is the Brazil CoE really worth $50/lb? That's a beautiful thought.
-Jaime
We pull up to a table at the nearest cafe and nestle ourselves in with a 20oz to go cup of coffee flavored milk and sit. Content to settle in for a few hours of work. Comfortable watching all the others in the cafe sitting on their laptops, headphones on, happily typing away on study projects and work assignments. We just want a cheap tea or coffee that will justify our sitting in the cafe for hours on end, taking up space that the owner would surely love to have for other paying customers.
We should be ashamed of ourselves that this is what our cafe culture has come to. Isolated individuals who no longer converse and talk. Too easily irritated by the commotion around us. Impatient with the people behind the counter and complaining about the lack of ambiance. We miss out on great coffee experiences because the perception of cafe owners is that they will be over run with students or laptops so why pay more for good coffee? Why invest in training good barista? Why work on making the coffee prep consistent? Why buy the good equipment when the consumer will only douse their coffee with milk and sugar? They cynically believe consumers are a bunch of people who will come in and choose the cheapest menu item and pull up taking table space for as long as their conscience will allow. Many shop owners believe customers won't pay a nickel more for bettter coffee and they may be right in many cases.
The sword cuts both ways when we complain about the coffee or tea, realize that we, as the consumer share a fault in this. As long as we settle for less, we should expect only the minimum. The majority of us will miss out on great coffees coming out of the Cup of Excellence program. We will miss out on great barista who can pour and know tastes like a sommolier.
When it comes down to changing this, consumers need to see these tiny developing sections of coffee no longer as a commodity but as a true specialty that has nothing to do with syrups or chemical flavorings. These are the micro-lots of coffee that have distinct floral and naturally sweet flavors which need to be recognized as unique by themselves. Each region and microlot being distinct and unique in taste from the next.
When you demand to know the name of the farmer and the specific farm it comes from as well as it's growing climate and then begin to educate ourselves about what this means, we can begin to challenge things. We can demand the division of more auction lots of coffees into smaller lots too small for large commercial chain roasters but just right for artisan roasters who can focus on perfection of roast. We can get past burnt bitter over roasted coffees and defect laden under roasted grassy coffees to perfectly roasted ripe defect free coffees. We can learn to accept these disctinct coffees as quality experiences of flavor and not something based on volume or quantity. We can stop trying to get the most volume for the cheapest price and focus on the best tasting drink where caffeine is an afterthought. When we demand fresh ground, fresh brewed, AND fresh roasted(with dates), then we will see things begin to change.
When consumers and shop owners head in the direction that the Cup of Excellence is going, then the debate over what is good coffee will change from what goes good with milk to what flavors are inherent in a Grand Cru Kenya or is the Brazil CoE really worth $50/lb? That's a beautiful thought.
-Jaime
Labels: article, cafe, coffee, espresso, north america
¶ Jaime van Schyndel 7:09 PM 4 Comments
Monday, November 06, 2006
Tea: Judging Leaf Appearance
Photos by Ben Kaminsky
Left: a photo of a single unfurled leaf. Right: A quarter next to a rolled/unbrewed tea pearl with a brewed unfurled intact leaf/stem underneath.
Leaf appearance is a critical observation when judging the quality of a tea. Just like green coffee to a certain extent, you can judge the quality and the degree of precision in processing just by looking at the leaf. In China and Taiwan, the teas are sometimes named after their dried leaf appearance. In many cases, the leaf appearance cannot tell you exactly what kind of flavor it has, but it can certainly tell you all about the processing, and from knowledge of the processing you should be able to tell where the flavor is coming from. According to the Tea Research and Extension station in Yangmei Taiwan, “As a matter of fact, it is a good quality tea, as long as it looks good.” The idea behind this theory is that the people who are judging the tea train themselves to detect flaws in appearance that parallel those in taste.
When judging a tea by leaf appearance, one must look for several things. In the dry leaf, consistency, degree of oxidation, and roast or firing is evident. Also the skill with which the tea was handled and sorted is evident by the shape and consistency in size. The post steeped leaf can tell you how consistant the grading was and reveal flaws in the oxidation.
For example, things I look for in a Semi-ball type Poachong tea (the tea in the photo) are consistency in size, shape and color. The color tells you how heavy the oxidation and roast are. Size and shape tell you how well sorted the tea was, and also how the leaves were manipulated in the processing. In the wet leaf(after it is steeped), I look for evenness of oxidation, color, and how intact the leaf structure remains. A good semi-ball paochong should have very few broken particles when brewed and for the most part, the leaves should stay intact through the duration of the steepings. If the oolong leaf shows too much brown, this is a sign of too much oxidation and is contributing to the bitterness and astringency of the tea.
Judging what a tea should look like is different with each tea, and should be judged according to what the tea manufacturer was trying to get. In the end, cupping a tea's taste is the deciding factor, but leaf appearance helps explain how and why the tea tastes a certain way.
-Silas
Also see:
Tea: Processing
Cupping high grade taiwanese teas
Photos by Ben Kaminsky
Left: a photo of a single unfurled leaf. Right: A quarter next to a rolled/unbrewed tea pearl with a brewed unfurled intact leaf/stem underneath.
Leaf appearance is a critical observation when judging the quality of a tea. Just like green coffee to a certain extent, you can judge the quality and the degree of precision in processing just by looking at the leaf. In China and Taiwan, the teas are sometimes named after their dried leaf appearance. In many cases, the leaf appearance cannot tell you exactly what kind of flavor it has, but it can certainly tell you all about the processing, and from knowledge of the processing you should be able to tell where the flavor is coming from. According to the Tea Research and Extension station in Yangmei Taiwan, “As a matter of fact, it is a good quality tea, as long as it looks good.” The idea behind this theory is that the people who are judging the tea train themselves to detect flaws in appearance that parallel those in taste.
When judging a tea by leaf appearance, one must look for several things. In the dry leaf, consistency, degree of oxidation, and roast or firing is evident. Also the skill with which the tea was handled and sorted is evident by the shape and consistency in size. The post steeped leaf can tell you how consistant the grading was and reveal flaws in the oxidation.
For example, things I look for in a Semi-ball type Poachong tea (the tea in the photo) are consistency in size, shape and color. The color tells you how heavy the oxidation and roast are. Size and shape tell you how well sorted the tea was, and also how the leaves were manipulated in the processing. In the wet leaf(after it is steeped), I look for evenness of oxidation, color, and how intact the leaf structure remains. A good semi-ball paochong should have very few broken particles when brewed and for the most part, the leaves should stay intact through the duration of the steepings. If the oolong leaf shows too much brown, this is a sign of too much oxidation and is contributing to the bitterness and astringency of the tea.
Judging what a tea should look like is different with each tea, and should be judged according to what the tea manufacturer was trying to get. In the end, cupping a tea's taste is the deciding factor, but leaf appearance helps explain how and why the tea tastes a certain way.
-Silas
Also see:
Tea: Processing
Cupping high grade taiwanese teas
Labels: appearance, article, tea, tea leaf, tea leaves
¶ Silas Moulton 9:37 PM 1 Comments
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Diagnosis of a label
On our last trip to New York, I came across a few bits and pieces in one of the McDonald's gas station combo rest areas you see in CT on I95. Inside is a McDonalds and a coffee stand selling Lavazza. At the stand was this big board describing PB&J lattes and Nutty Buddy lattes as 'Specialty Coffee.' Those drinks had little to do with coffee but the irony was that right across from the stand was a huge sign for McDonalds iced coffee as a 'Premium Roast.' I thought, all we need is a Starbucks in the building! Then we could round out with some 'gourmet coffee' or some other nondescript term the marketers came up with. I chuckled a bit but it was kind of sad. With those terms, it's just varying derees of the same spin.
The coffee industry is running out of nondescript terms to describe it's coffee.
There, I've said it. When Starbucks says "This coffee is bold." I'm sorry, I looked it up and I still don't know what it means in terms of coffee! How about robust? I still struggle with full bodied. Now if my coffee is not Bold, Robust, and Full-bodied, it must be meek, weak, and light??? It's marketing spin isn't it? They must assume by controlling the label to make it sound nice without really saying anything they have succeeded in delivering the product with ambiguous terms that cannot be identified as positive or negative. It takes a lot more guts to describe the flavors in a coffee than to just say it's "full bodied and smooth." Check the coffee boards of some of these corporate shops and try to really pin down exactly what they are saying. It's all very nondescript and vague. Try the Starbucks site, that's my favorite. Just scroll through and imagine trying to tell a friend what each of the -flavor- descriptors of each of the coffees means. This one has zest! This one is bold! Say what? Then again maybe that's better than saying bitter, ashy, and burnt!
It seems that the marketing just muddies the proverbial water. Diluting and confusing the facts until the consumer gets into a routine of "Venti Breakfast blend." That's the real danger when someone is convinced that they know what that means and are so comfortable ordering it, they cannot go into another shop and order something else without confusion. The marketing gets into your routine and you have been pushed to recite the branding terms until you forget that you have been branded. Now, when you go into another shop, you must unlearn your routine and go back to normal land where there are small, med or large. OR Where a cappuccino may actually be a true italian 6oz microfoamed cappuccino and not large foamy latte.
Sadly, I really don't see it stopping anytime soon but we should not give up and roll over.
So, How do we fight this:
Transparency
Consumer Education
Perceivable Quality(and value)differences
Online Forums and other free information sources
Exceptional product in the independent Cafe
All opinons welcome-
Jaime
On our last trip to New York, I came across a few bits and pieces in one of the McDonald's gas station combo rest areas you see in CT on I95. Inside is a McDonalds and a coffee stand selling Lavazza. At the stand was this big board describing PB&J lattes and Nutty Buddy lattes as 'Specialty Coffee.' Those drinks had little to do with coffee but the irony was that right across from the stand was a huge sign for McDonalds iced coffee as a 'Premium Roast.' I thought, all we need is a Starbucks in the building! Then we could round out with some 'gourmet coffee' or some other nondescript term the marketers came up with. I chuckled a bit but it was kind of sad. With those terms, it's just varying derees of the same spin.
The coffee industry is running out of nondescript terms to describe it's coffee.
There, I've said it. When Starbucks says "This coffee is bold." I'm sorry, I looked it up and I still don't know what it means in terms of coffee! How about robust? I still struggle with full bodied. Now if my coffee is not Bold, Robust, and Full-bodied, it must be meek, weak, and light??? It's marketing spin isn't it? They must assume by controlling the label to make it sound nice without really saying anything they have succeeded in delivering the product with ambiguous terms that cannot be identified as positive or negative. It takes a lot more guts to describe the flavors in a coffee than to just say it's "full bodied and smooth." Check the coffee boards of some of these corporate shops and try to really pin down exactly what they are saying. It's all very nondescript and vague. Try the Starbucks site, that's my favorite. Just scroll through and imagine trying to tell a friend what each of the -flavor- descriptors of each of the coffees means. This one has zest! This one is bold! Say what? Then again maybe that's better than saying bitter, ashy, and burnt!
It seems that the marketing just muddies the proverbial water. Diluting and confusing the facts until the consumer gets into a routine of "Venti Breakfast blend." That's the real danger when someone is convinced that they know what that means and are so comfortable ordering it, they cannot go into another shop and order something else without confusion. The marketing gets into your routine and you have been pushed to recite the branding terms until you forget that you have been branded. Now, when you go into another shop, you must unlearn your routine and go back to normal land where there are small, med or large. OR Where a cappuccino may actually be a true italian 6oz microfoamed cappuccino and not large foamy latte.
Sadly, I really don't see it stopping anytime soon but we should not give up and roll over.
So, How do we fight this:
Transparency
Consumer Education
Perceivable Quality(and value)differences
Online Forums and other free information sources
Exceptional product in the independent Cafe
All opinons welcome-
Jaime
Labels: article
¶ Jaime van Schyndel 12:17 AM 1 Comments
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Costa Rica: Reflecting on water
Last winter when I was travelling through central america, I volunteered at a coffee farm for about a week and a half. Now the water quality in most of central america (Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Hondorus, Nicaragua and Panama) is fairly poor, but Costa Rica because of the economic situation in most of the country, is an exception for the most part. So after having to buy filtered water or purifying my water with iodine tablets for 2 months, I was surprised to find that the coffee farm had clean, fresh tasting water. It came from springs near by and collected in a well underneath the guest house. For several days the other guests and I were drinking the water with delight, relived that iodine was not necessary. After maybe 5 days I noticed a soapy taste in the water and started to get concerned that maybe the water wasn't as good as I had thought earlier. The other volunteers didn't notice any thing strange about the taste so I kept drinking it, thinking that maybe they had a chlorinated source. After washing some dishes one night I realized there was a hole in the sink. I ran the faucet and went outside to see a good amount of water dripping into the ground right below the sink. The pipe that brought us fresh water was right there sticking in the ground and it turns out that the soapy dish water was leaking into our well beneath the house. I patched up the hole as best I could and put a pot underneath the sink to catch the excess water leaking through. After about a day or so, water started to taste alot cleaner and like it did the first couple of days I was there. I never thought developing my palate would actually be practical like that!
Now several months later after coming back from california, I am realizing how incredibly critical water quality and chemical make up is for tea. I think my brita has a learning disability, cuz the water goes through it too fast. I tried poland spring and volvic and neither work as nicely as the water in cali. Ben's filtered and softer water worked fairly well, but I still can't get that same sweet and fullness as in california. Whatever ends up working, I realized that where ever you are in the country your water is probably gonna be a little different. I know that when I was in Arizona several years ago, the water tasted aweful cuz it had been sitting in the pipes for a really long time. Maybe I just need to get a new filter...
-Silas
Last winter when I was travelling through central america, I volunteered at a coffee farm for about a week and a half. Now the water quality in most of central america (Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Hondorus, Nicaragua and Panama) is fairly poor, but Costa Rica because of the economic situation in most of the country, is an exception for the most part. So after having to buy filtered water or purifying my water with iodine tablets for 2 months, I was surprised to find that the coffee farm had clean, fresh tasting water. It came from springs near by and collected in a well underneath the guest house. For several days the other guests and I were drinking the water with delight, relived that iodine was not necessary. After maybe 5 days I noticed a soapy taste in the water and started to get concerned that maybe the water wasn't as good as I had thought earlier. The other volunteers didn't notice any thing strange about the taste so I kept drinking it, thinking that maybe they had a chlorinated source. After washing some dishes one night I realized there was a hole in the sink. I ran the faucet and went outside to see a good amount of water dripping into the ground right below the sink. The pipe that brought us fresh water was right there sticking in the ground and it turns out that the soapy dish water was leaking into our well beneath the house. I patched up the hole as best I could and put a pot underneath the sink to catch the excess water leaking through. After about a day or so, water started to taste alot cleaner and like it did the first couple of days I was there. I never thought developing my palate would actually be practical like that!
Now several months later after coming back from california, I am realizing how incredibly critical water quality and chemical make up is for tea. I think my brita has a learning disability, cuz the water goes through it too fast. I tried poland spring and volvic and neither work as nicely as the water in cali. Ben's filtered and softer water worked fairly well, but I still can't get that same sweet and fullness as in california. Whatever ends up working, I realized that where ever you are in the country your water is probably gonna be a little different. I know that when I was in Arizona several years ago, the water tasted aweful cuz it had been sitting in the pipes for a really long time. Maybe I just need to get a new filter...
-Silas
Labels: article
¶ Silas Moulton 1:14 AM 1 Comments
Friday, October 20, 2006
Transparency in coffee...
Las Termopilas, Esteli, Nicaragua
Entwined notes of soft citrus and apple over a subtly smoky base of nuts, coconut and a dash of persisting sweet chocolate. Full bodied with medium acidity. The next roast of this fine coffee will be on Monday, October 16th. Supplies are limited.
Roast Style: Full Flavor Roast
Certified Organic
Cup of Excellence winner
Rated 90 points by Kenneth David's Coffee Review, to read the review click here.
Farmer: Milton Canales
Region: Esteli
Altitude: 4,100 feet (1,250 m)
Rainfall: moderate
Soil: N/A
Arabica cultivar: Caturra
Size of farm: 52 acres (21 ha); 7 acres coffee (3.5 ha)
I noticed this the other day. Transparency is a good thing. I am looking forward to the point where this information is on the bags somewhere. My appreciation for this extra info comes a bit from my purist side but also from my sales/marketing side. Being able to go that extra bit and talk about the coffees elevation or varieties can really sell someone on your coffee. That and it's just cool to know!
BTW does anyone question the palate of Ken Davids? Sometimes his scores seem like he rolled a handful of dice and just went with it! Having tasted many of the coffees he has, I read the reviews and just wonder what was he tasting that day?
FYI Take note fellow New England Barista!
Jaime
Las Termopilas, Esteli, Nicaragua
Entwined notes of soft citrus and apple over a subtly smoky base of nuts, coconut and a dash of persisting sweet chocolate. Full bodied with medium acidity. The next roast of this fine coffee will be on Monday, October 16th. Supplies are limited.
Roast Style: Full Flavor Roast
Certified Organic
Cup of Excellence winner
Rated 90 points by Kenneth David's Coffee Review, to read the review click here.
Farmer: Milton Canales
Region: Esteli
Altitude: 4,100 feet (1,250 m)
Rainfall: moderate
Soil: N/A
Arabica cultivar: Caturra
Size of farm: 52 acres (21 ha); 7 acres coffee (3.5 ha)
I noticed this the other day. Transparency is a good thing. I am looking forward to the point where this information is on the bags somewhere. My appreciation for this extra info comes a bit from my purist side but also from my sales/marketing side. Being able to go that extra bit and talk about the coffees elevation or varieties can really sell someone on your coffee. That and it's just cool to know!
BTW does anyone question the palate of Ken Davids? Sometimes his scores seem like he rolled a handful of dice and just went with it! Having tasted many of the coffees he has, I read the reviews and just wonder what was he tasting that day?
FYI Take note fellow New England Barista!
Jaime
Labels: article
¶ Jaime van Schyndel 12:52 PM 4 Comments
Monday, September 18, 2006
Espresso and absolutes?
I just finished covering a bit at the shop so Simon could get a emergency dentist appointment. Painful so I sympathize. I caught up a bit and heard some different things going down. A lot of people have been coming in and asking for 'ristretto' lately. Not just straight shots but in everything. A bit annoying. Simon's pulls the Ecco as ristretto and anything else they guest that tastes better as a ristretto.
I think it goes to the NY times article where Ken Nye got some plentiful coverage on ranting about the ristretto in espresso. It reminded me of something GHH said about espresso is only 2oz and that is the only espresso.
I just don't really know if I am alone on this, but I feel like there are not many cut and dry absolutes for espresso. There are variables but there are only a few things in espresso that you could say are true for all beans. Fresh roasted, tamped, clean machine, fresh blades, etc fall into the obvious but what about extractions and beans to use for espresso? I have on occassion pointlessly weighed in and started fights with people on forums who post absolutes(Jim and Jon, right Jason...) for one size fits all home user advice. When somebody says triple updosed is the only way to go or that only certain beans can make good shots, I get a little ruffled. No disrespect to anyone who has an opinion of what they like, but I feel like it is so limiting in an area we understand so little about to declare anything as absolute. We as a passionate coffee culture don't know espresso very well. That much I know is absolute. I am only beginning to understand the magnitude of the research I personally need to do in espresso to better understand it.
The thing is, how many people are just experimenting and playing with temp, volume, and dose to find the sweet spots in each coffee(not commercial blends but individual coffees pre blend or SOE)?
Maybe I am off on my own on this, but I really feel like few of us in the industry are talking about the same things when we talk about espresso. Some of us are hung up on being techies, some like the culture/community, some just like the flavors. It's all a bit muddled.
-Jaime
PS to you know who: Master Barista??? It sounds a bit arrogant and I know you aren't... ¶ Jaime van Schyndel 5:01 PM 2 Comments
I just finished covering a bit at the shop so Simon could get a emergency dentist appointment. Painful so I sympathize. I caught up a bit and heard some different things going down. A lot of people have been coming in and asking for 'ristretto' lately. Not just straight shots but in everything. A bit annoying. Simon's pulls the Ecco as ristretto and anything else they guest that tastes better as a ristretto.
I think it goes to the NY times article where Ken Nye got some plentiful coverage on ranting about the ristretto in espresso. It reminded me of something GHH said about espresso is only 2oz and that is the only espresso.
I just don't really know if I am alone on this, but I feel like there are not many cut and dry absolutes for espresso. There are variables but there are only a few things in espresso that you could say are true for all beans. Fresh roasted, tamped, clean machine, fresh blades, etc fall into the obvious but what about extractions and beans to use for espresso? I have on occassion pointlessly weighed in and started fights with people on forums who post absolutes(Jim and Jon, right Jason...) for one size fits all home user advice. When somebody says triple updosed is the only way to go or that only certain beans can make good shots, I get a little ruffled. No disrespect to anyone who has an opinion of what they like, but I feel like it is so limiting in an area we understand so little about to declare anything as absolute. We as a passionate coffee culture don't know espresso very well. That much I know is absolute. I am only beginning to understand the magnitude of the research I personally need to do in espresso to better understand it.
The thing is, how many people are just experimenting and playing with temp, volume, and dose to find the sweet spots in each coffee(not commercial blends but individual coffees pre blend or SOE)?
Maybe I am off on my own on this, but I really feel like few of us in the industry are talking about the same things when we talk about espresso. Some of us are hung up on being techies, some like the culture/community, some just like the flavors. It's all a bit muddled.
-Jaime
PS to you know who: Master Barista??? It sounds a bit arrogant and I know you aren't... ¶ Jaime van Schyndel 5:01 PM 2 Comments
Friday, September 08, 2006
Coffee chemicals: Stinkers and not so stinky...
Prospective reading on coffeed.com
The two least favorite chemicals in coffee according to this blog: 2,4,6 trichloroanisole(TCA) and Geosmin
Two sources of your earthy musty, moudly, dirty smells/flavors in coffee. Charming, I think not. In wine, you can find mention of these flavors with cork taint, poor handliing of the grapes and other general missteps in the processing of wine. TCl and Geosmin are also noted in wine as being associated with barnyard (something so unhygenic in preparation that it took all the unsavory substances of a barnyard to create) flavors but sometimes in coffee, many pundits call these wild and intriguing.
Earthy alone is such a strange descriptor in coffee. In wine, earthy is often frowned upon by many as an imperfection. To quote an article on winepages.com on Earthy: 'It is not a "goût de terroir", which in its true sense means expressive of its terroir or complete growing environment, not tasting simplistically of earth!' Yet, there are many who desire this character in coffees and in particular in espresso. Simply put, this is an old way of thinking that goes back into the use of Robusta and dark roasts for espresso because of some perception of what espresso should be....
One of my favorite espresso is the nontraditional Ecco Reserve, a blend of two brazils(Cachoeira & Daterra farms) offered by Andrew Barnett of Ecco Caffe. I would not use earthy as a descriptor in this coffee but it is a fabulous espresso on it's own. I wouldn't use that to define any of the drip coffees from Terroir either. In some ways, the more expenisve coffes coming out of CoE present this profile of clarity and cleanliness over earthy muddled flavors.
It seems in many ways clarity is the antihesis of earthy. Yet, earthy is so tied to 'body' and our perception of the generic espresso profile. This leads me to consider that flawless coffees may be lacking or of less body than muddied defect laden coffees. I wonder in essence if we should continue to grade body as often as we do in any way as an indicator of quality? The funny thing is that once you are weened off of the earthy profiles, it's a brick to the teeth to try and go back.
One of the more pleasurable finds was a chemical named β-damascenone. Noted for it's aroma of honey, roses, and exotic flowers. This is an actual component of rose aroma, teas, and evidently many different products such as red wines. The other intruiging notes are on Furals, furans, and some aldehydes which seem to lead to a lot of the ideal fruity and floral but volatile and fleeting aromas I enjoy, but that's another entirely more complicated post. So the next time someone drops a floral or perfume remark, you can say, yep, that's posible. There are more than enough chemicals in coffee for us to compare coffee to wine complexities and intricate floral aromas.
The point of this is that coffee has the same potential as wine to be a culinary experience. We just have to get the right green, the right roast, and the right extraction to make it all come together in that defining moment on the cafe floor. As I see more and more defining experiences among all the boring ones out there, I feel a change coming in the industry abut how people perceive coffee.
The flavors are all there to be had and we just discover how to get at them and repeat them. A mouthwatering task, but that's the best part... we get to taste everything.
-Jaime van Schyndel
See also “…Coffee: The Chemistry behind its Magic” by Marino Petracco
Prospective reading on coffeed.com
The two least favorite chemicals in coffee according to this blog: 2,4,6 trichloroanisole(TCA) and Geosmin
Two sources of your earthy musty, moudly, dirty smells/flavors in coffee. Charming, I think not. In wine, you can find mention of these flavors with cork taint, poor handliing of the grapes and other general missteps in the processing of wine. TCl and Geosmin are also noted in wine as being associated with barnyard (something so unhygenic in preparation that it took all the unsavory substances of a barnyard to create) flavors but sometimes in coffee, many pundits call these wild and intriguing.
Earthy alone is such a strange descriptor in coffee. In wine, earthy is often frowned upon by many as an imperfection. To quote an article on winepages.com on Earthy: 'It is not a "goût de terroir", which in its true sense means expressive of its terroir or complete growing environment, not tasting simplistically of earth!' Yet, there are many who desire this character in coffees and in particular in espresso. Simply put, this is an old way of thinking that goes back into the use of Robusta and dark roasts for espresso because of some perception of what espresso should be....
One of my favorite espresso is the nontraditional Ecco Reserve, a blend of two brazils(Cachoeira & Daterra farms) offered by Andrew Barnett of Ecco Caffe. I would not use earthy as a descriptor in this coffee but it is a fabulous espresso on it's own. I wouldn't use that to define any of the drip coffees from Terroir either. In some ways, the more expenisve coffes coming out of CoE present this profile of clarity and cleanliness over earthy muddled flavors.
It seems in many ways clarity is the antihesis of earthy. Yet, earthy is so tied to 'body' and our perception of the generic espresso profile. This leads me to consider that flawless coffees may be lacking or of less body than muddied defect laden coffees. I wonder in essence if we should continue to grade body as often as we do in any way as an indicator of quality? The funny thing is that once you are weened off of the earthy profiles, it's a brick to the teeth to try and go back.
One of the more pleasurable finds was a chemical named β-damascenone. Noted for it's aroma of honey, roses, and exotic flowers. This is an actual component of rose aroma, teas, and evidently many different products such as red wines. The other intruiging notes are on Furals, furans, and some aldehydes which seem to lead to a lot of the ideal fruity and floral but volatile and fleeting aromas I enjoy, but that's another entirely more complicated post. So the next time someone drops a floral or perfume remark, you can say, yep, that's posible. There are more than enough chemicals in coffee for us to compare coffee to wine complexities and intricate floral aromas.
The point of this is that coffee has the same potential as wine to be a culinary experience. We just have to get the right green, the right roast, and the right extraction to make it all come together in that defining moment on the cafe floor. As I see more and more defining experiences among all the boring ones out there, I feel a change coming in the industry abut how people perceive coffee.
The flavors are all there to be had and we just discover how to get at them and repeat them. A mouthwatering task, but that's the best part... we get to taste everything.
-Jaime van Schyndel
See also “…Coffee: The Chemistry behind its Magic” by Marino Petracco
Labels: article