Welcome To The Coffee Connoisseur and Caffeine Addicts Group
This groups is for the caffeine addict locally and abroad, who are in search for their next caffeine fix, lol. A coffee drinker does not need to be a coffee connoisseur or a coffee snob. But as with any food or drink preparation, one must know enough to make his or her coffee well and have a certain level of sophistication to taste the difference. Knowledge is pleasure!
LIFE'S TOO SHORT TO DRINK BAD COFFEE.
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10 Steps to the Perfect Cup
(1.) Make sure that your equipment is thoroughly cleaned. Left-over oils & grounds will impart strange flavors.
(2.) If you dont start with quality beans, you shouldnt expect quality coffee in the cup.
(3.) This also applies to the water that you use to prepare the coffee.
(4.) Always grind your coffee immediately before brewing.
(5.) Make sure that the grind of the coffee matches your methods & tastes.
(6.) Use the right amount of coffee. A good index is 2 tbsps of coffee for each 6oz cup of water.
(7.) Warm your mug before pouring the in; this keeps the coffee hot longer.
(8.) Before serving, stir the coffee. Heavier oils & inconsistent extraction will cause differences in the consistency of the coffee.
(9.) If you are making more than you intend to drink, store the coffee in a thermos. The burner or warmer slowly heats the brewed coffee, destroying its flavor.
(10.) After going through all of this work, take the time to enjoy the fruits of your labors. Dont gulp; sip & savor!
Recommended Brewing Method: French Press
Begin by storing your whole bean coffee in an air-tight container. Never refrigerate or freeze your coffee (it was a myth!). Measure 2 tbsps for each 6oz of water. Grind coffee for approximately 10 seconds on a medium-coarse level. Pour ground coffee into the French Press beaker. Boil 6oz of purified water for every 2 tbsps of coffee. Wait approximately 10 seconds for the water to stop boiling and pour water into beaker. Place and push plunger filter to surface of water allowing the coffee to steep for 4 minutes . After 4 minutes, push plunger to bottom of beaker. Pour coffee into warmed mug, drink, & enjoy. It should take no longer than a regular coffee brewer but the taste is a world of difference!
Premium Coffee Varieties
Single Origin Coffees (Estate Grown, 100% Premium Arabicas)
In selecting a coffee from a country, we cup dozens of coffees from specific estates for their richness and flavor. We primarily roast estate grown coffee, because plantation or estate farmers have a passion that we follow to the cup. these coffees are grown without the use of pesticides and are cultivated and cared for by hand so that each crop represents the very best of its kind.
Coffee Blends (Estate Grown, 100% Premium Arabicas)
Creating a blended coffee requires a thorough understanding of the flavors and qualities that each varietal will bring to the blend. They must be blended in the right amounts: one flavor cannot be allowed to cancel out another; the coffee cannot be too acidic; coffees that have weak bodies should not be blended together. Everything needs to be in harmony and all of the flavors need to be balanced.
Roasting
The terminology used in roasting changes from roaster to roaster. As with anything else in coffee, it is all a matter of perception. Here we present a step-by-step explanation of the roasting process, describe our coffee roasting process, our six degrees of roasting, and the decaffeination process.
Roasting Coffee (The alchemy of blending heat & beans that creates coffee)
Truly great roasting is a science and an art. Precise control of heat and timing turns the hard, green beans into the wonderfully roasted coffee beans we all know and love. When roasting, all of your senses are engaged as you listen for the cracking, smell the developing bean, watch the color of the bean turn from green to yellow to brown, and finally taste the fully roasted bean, judging how well you did.
The environment that a coffee is grown in affects its final characteristics. Each type of coffee has its own unique flavor, aroma, and body. These characteristics can be developed in the roasting process. There is an optimum roast for every estate, region, or country. Coffee should be roasted in small batches, carefully bringing out the very best qualities of all of the beans that we sell.
"Artisan Coffee Roasting"
No doubt the roasting of coffee is a product of chemistry and science, but in the same way that cooking and winemaking are. The term "artisan roasting" as indicative of the marriage of heat and heart, probe and proboscis that make up a great roaster.
Six Degrees of Roasting
Each different varietal and each different blend will call for a different degree of roasting. Even roasting the same coffee to a different degree can make a drastic difference in what that coffee will taste like in the cup. Unlike with cup terminology, coffee roasters have a difficult time agreeing on what to call each degree of roasting. One roaster may call her darkest roast a "Vienna", while another calls the same roast an "Espresso". Here are the six traditional degrees to which we roast our coffee, in order from lightest to darkest. This list is by no means complete: there are regional descriptions like New Orleans (which tends to be a dark roast) and "American" (which is a lighter roast).
| Different Degree of Roasting | Coffee Brewing Methodology |
Cinnamon:
The lightest roast; the coffee is left almost in its green state. Having a very light brown color, this roast is almost exclusively used for cupping or in flavored coffees, where the flavors added to the bean will overpower the coffee's natural flavors.
Full City Minus:
Next lightest, the coffee is just barely allowed to develop. This roast also has the "green" or raw taste that accompanies a Cinnamon roast.
Full City Plus:
Somewhere in between a Full City and French, this roast is often used by commercial roasters and large chains. The beans are allowed to fully develop and then are roasted just long enough for any impurities or faults to "roast out". When starting with an inferior grade of coffee, this kind of over-roasting hides any of the faults that these coffees commonly have.
French Roast:
A darker roast that, when done correctly, produces a full bodied, rich, flavorful coffee. The common association with French Roast and bitter, burnt coffee is largely due to the over-roasting of inferior robusta.
Espresso Roast:
The darkest of roasts. This roast is also associated with bitter and burnt coffee. | French Press:
This method utilizes infusion and pressure. After placing ground coffee in a beaker, hot water is added to create coffee "stew". This is allowed to steep and then a plunger filter pushes the grounds to the bottom and the coffee is left at the top. The French Press method allows the coffee to retain more brewing substances (oils, colloids, etc) than would be left by methods using paper filters.
Percolator:
This method passes brewed coffee from a heated reservoir below up through the grounds above, again and again. Although accompanied by a comforting aroma and that distinct morning music as it gurgles away, the coffee that it produces is far from soothing.
Drip:
This is today's most popular method of preparing coffee. Near-boiling water is poured slowly through the grounds, either manually through a cone containing a filter, or sprayed over the grounds by any of the numerous electric drip machines. It is important to remember that the water must be maintained at 195°F so make sure you purchase a capable machine. Also the pot should be removed from the keep-warm burner to prevent the coffee from burning.
Turkish:
This method is used throughout the Middle East and Greece and is perhaps the original method of extracting the liquor from the beans. The process is simple and results in a very strong, sweet, and thick cup of coffee. The coffee is ground, placed in a pot, called an ibrit, with sugar and water and brought to a boil three times. It is served in small cups.
Espresso:
Once the sole property of coffeehouses, these machines are becoming more common in households as they become cheaper to obtain. Hot water is forced through finely ground coffee and into a cup. Due to the pressure involved, the resulting coffee is more concentrated than the Drip method.
Cold-Water Method:
Ground coffee is mixed with cold water in a large container (one pound finely ground coffee to one quart cold water) and let stand at room temperature for 10 to 12 hours. This will create a coffee extract. The grounds are then strained and the result is refrigerated. When ready to drink, fill a cup one fourth (or less) full and add hot water. This method extracts fewer of the coffee's natural oils and the extract will keep in the refrigerator for about a week. The Cold-Water Method is also a wonderful way to make coffee ice-cubes, ensuring that your iced coffee doesn't become diluted as the ice-cubes melt. Simply pour the extract into ice-cube trays and freeze. |
Storing & Grinding Methods
A coffee bean's two greatest enemies are air and moisture. Keeping this in mind, the proper storage methods for coffee beans should be natural.
Ideally, coffee should be ground, brewed, and consumed quickly to obtain the best flavor. Coffee beans are at their peak within 24 to 72 hours after roasting and begin to quickly stale after that. Within a week, most of the original flavor will have deteriorated. The grinding process speeds the staling by exposing more of the bean to air.
It's recommend grinding your beans as you need them and storing the whole beans in an airtight container. Place this container anywhere where it will remain cool and dry. The water that you use to brew your coffee should be cold and as free from impurities as possible. Water makes up 98-99% of coffee and any impurities in the water will be evident in the final cup.
Match the Grind to the Method
The fineness/coarseness of the grind is a major factor in determining the amount of oils and other flavor components that are extracted from the bean. As coffee is a subjective taste, these are general guidelines, using the electric grinders commonly found in most homes. You should always feel free to vary them depending on your own tastes.
Grind Fineness for Various Brewing Methods
Cold-Water / Percolator: Coarse Grind (5-10 seconds)
Electric Drip/French Press: Medium Grind (10 seconds)
Filter-Cone Drip/Espresso Machines: Very Fine (30 seconds)
A note on Gold Filters: Due to the nature of these filters, you will need to add from 2-5 seconds to the grind time listed above.
Coffee Terminology
Acidity: A measure of the acid content of the liquid; in fine coffees acidity results in a pleasant sharpness. Not to be associated with the genuinely sour taste of inferior coffees.
Aftertaste: The sensation of brewed coffee vapors released after swallowing. Characteristics will range from carbony to chocolaty, spicy to turpeny.
Aroma: The sensation of gases released from brewed coffee; may be described as ranging from fruity to herby.
Bitter: Perceived by the back of the tongue and characterized by solutions of quinine, caffeine, and other alkaloids; usually caused by over-roasting.
It's what you will recognize as Starbucks Coffee's defining characteristic. Sorry, I couldn't resist.
Bland: Perceived by the sides of the tongue and ranging in taste from soft to neutral. Found often in washed Arabica coffees such as Guatemalan Low Grown.
Body: Associated with mouthfeel and texture, this should be a strong, full, pleasant characteristic; see also mouthfeel.
Bouqet: The total aromatic profile, resulting from compounds in the fragrance, aroma, and aftertaste.
Caramelly: A common aromatic sensation; reminiscent of candy or syrup.
Chocolaty: A common aromatic sensation in a brew's aftertaste, reminiscent of unsweetened chocolate or vanilla.
Delicate: Related to mellow; characterized by a fragile, subtle flavor; perceived by the tip of the tongue. Found in washed New Guinea Arabica coffees.
Earthy: An unclean smell or taste that can be specific, such as sourness or mustiness or a more generalized taint that reminds one of eating dirt.
Flat: Used when describing bouquet to denote a lack of strong perceptions in fragrance, aroma, and aftertaste; also called dead.
Flavor: The experience of aromatics once the coffee is in the mouth.
Fragrance: The aromatic sensations inhaled by sniffing; can be described as ranging from floral to spicy..
Fruity: An aromatic sensation reminiscent of citrus fruit or berries.
Grassy: Used to describe an odor and/or taste in some coffees that is reminiscent of a freshly mown lawn, with accompanying astringency like that of green grass.
Mellow: A rounded, smooth taste, characteristically lacking in acidity.
Mild: Refers to coffee that lacks any overriding characteristic, either pleasant or unpleasant.
Mouthfeel: The tactile sensations the coffee produces on your palate.
How a coffee "feels" in your mouth.
Muddy: A dull, indistinct, and thickish flavor that can be caused by the grounds being agitated.
Musty: A flavor that often occurs due to poor storage or lack of sufficient drying, aging, or overheating. In aged coffees, mustiness is not necessarily undesirable.
Nutty: An aromatic sensation that is released as a brew is swallowed; reminiscent of roasted nuts.
Neutral: A flavor characteristic that is desirable in good blenders. Used to denote a lack of any strong flavors.
Rich: Used when describing bouquet to denote intense perceptions of fragrance, aroma, and aftertaste.
Rough: Characterized by a parched sensation on the tongue, related to sharp, salty taste sensations.
Sour: Related to over-acidity; a sharp, biting flavor, often from under-ripe beans.
Spicy: An aromatic and taste perception reminiscent of spices.
Sweet: Free of any harshness.
Thin: Related to underbrewing, resulting in coffee lacking in any acidity; also referred to as lifeless.
Watery: Caused by wrong water-to-coffee ratio. which results in a low level of oils in the coffee. This is mouthfeel.
Wild: A gamey flavor often associated with Ethiopian coffees.
Winey: Reminiscent of a well-matured red wine; characterized by a full-bodied smooth coffee. Often found in Kenyan and Yemeni coffees.