Category Archives: Theory of coffee enjoyment

In Praise of Aging

When Aged Coffee is a Good Thing

Some time ago, I bought (actually it would be more accurate to say, ” invested in “) a Costa Rica Cup of Excellence entry that had great scores but tasted too “in your face” for most of my customers—almost uncomfortably acidic and bright. I know that raw coffee beans keep a very long time, so I put this lot aside to see what natural aging would do. Turns out, while some beans really fade and go horribly bland pretty fast, this lot mellowed just enough to bloom into the coffee I had originally hoped for over several months in storage. Serendipity!

I was about to chalk this one up to a fluke, but then a second lot, a Guatemala from a farm that’s won or placed in successive Cup of Excellence competitions over the years, did the same thing when put away for another 9 months. It is just coming into its own now.

What’s going on with these Central American processors? I don’t have a definitive answer, but I note that many new lots from Central America and Colombia seem to be processed so as to accent lively acidity in a way they previously had not. Maybe some coffee snobs prefer this level of acidity, but most of us probably wish they would dial it back a bit. The good news is that the underlying coffee quality is there, even if we have to wait for awhile in some cases.

PS. These specific Guatemala and the Costa Rica coffees are no longer available on our Single Origin page, but we do have some yummy ones that won’t break the bank. Check them out here.

Update:  I just saw a listing from my coffee supplier for Aged Sumatra. It’s supposed to be even funkier from storage in epic humidity, the way Indian Monsooned Malabar is. Are they onto a whole new processing method??

Enjoy that funky coffee!

s

Coffee Data Trends and the Coffee Snob

Coffee Production and Consumption Impact on NanoRoast and You

I love sifting through data to gain enlightenment (who doesn’t?) I finally got around to reading the latest USDA coffee import/export report, and it explains a lot about the factors affecting the specialty grade coffee NanoRoast sells. Here are a few nuggets you might find interesting:

1. World production barely moved the needle at all, while the size of the market increased. The table of domestic consumption includes many more countries than it did ten years ago. While it doesn’t appear that any are drinking mega-factors more than they did some five years ago, the picture for ten years ago is jaw-dropping. Countries like Russia, China, Japan and Korea drank very little of the specialty class of coffee ten years ago, and now they are major players. The list of buyers for Cup of Excellence competition lots shows this change year over year. We’ll look at that in detail in another post. Why the slowdown in consumption growth? Bottom line: More people drinking coffee, and more people wanting to drink the good stuff and willing to pay for it at the same time that the supply has decreased in the specialty market (due to weather, rust disease, war, volcano misbehavior, etc.)

2. Climate change is affecting coffee growers around the world. Some traditional coffee-producing countries are finding the conditions amenable to really top quality coffee eroding as droughts and temperatures increase. In short, the optimal coffee-growing areas are moving up the mountain where there is less acreage to farm.

3. Is there any good news for coffee lovers? One factor in the report that bodes well for coffee drinkers everywhere is that the production of Robusta isn’t growing nearly as fast as Arabica. As farmers everywhere begin to realize higher prices for their higher-quality product, there may be more effort to produce the kind of quality coffee we actually want to drink. At the same time, small farmers are starting to get better prices for their high-quality coffee crops, helping them improve life for themselves and their kids world-wide. That’s really good news.

Enjoy the Blessing of Really Good Coffee!

s

Uniformity Issues with Your NanoRoast Custom Coffee

Uniformity Issues with Your NanoRoast Custom Coffee

Every now and then, I get a question from a new customer that boils down to, “Why is my coffee not uniform?” The answer is, “Because it is selected, processed, roasted and otherwise crafted just for you.” If uniformity is your issue, you probably are used to buying from a much larger roaster who produces hundreds of pounds at a time from large pre-blended lots. This change to custom coffee can be surprising, so let’s look at two ways lack of uniformity might present itself in your custom coffee.

ROAST LEVEL UNIFORMITY?

This issue shows itself in two ways, a) a medium roast of one origin and another, and b) what “medium roast” means from one lot to another of the same origin and varietal. In the first case, a customer will notice that a medium roast Sumatra looks lighter than a medium roast Colombian. In the second, someone will remember last year’s Burundi Kayanza medium roast was darker than this year’s.

Explanation:  Coffee is a crop, affected by weather patterns during the growing season, plant varietal, processing methods and even altitude where it’s grown. Even the same coffee origin/varietal/farm/processing can vary from year to year where you can tell the difference in the cup. Our challenge, then, is to find what “medium roast” means within the range of good roasts for that particular lot and to describe it accurately. It may not be the same shade of brown as the medium roast of another origin that year. For example, wet-hulled Indonesian coffees look less roasted than they actually are, and some East Africans look dark but taste medium.  Bottom line: Go by taste, not sight.

WEIGHT AND VOLUME UNIFORMITY?

You learned in high school chemistry that things of the same mass but different densities occupy different volumes, right? We equalize these by weighing. Therefore, 1 lb of dense, high-grown Colombian beans might take up less space in the package than 1 lb of those fluffy, low-grown Brazilians. Also, if you hadn’t noticed, those tiny, dense Ethiopian heirloom beans not only naturally take up less space due to small size and high density, they pack closer together. So you can receive a tiny Ethiopian, a relatively large Brazilian and a medium-sized Colombian package in the same shipment, all weighing 1 lb. Class dismissed. Bottom line: Ignore volume differences. Go by weight.

By the way, we use the “Net Wt. at least x” method of filling our orders. We usually try to err on the side of overfilling your order cuz we like you.

Enjoy your coffee!

s

Frozen Beans: A Rebuttal

Frozen Beans: A Rebuttal 

The New York Times posted a story (read it here: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/17/science/coffee-freeze-beans-grind.html)  on actual scientific research into coffee grinding, to the effect that freezing coffee beans before grinding would improve flavor. Clearly they had not read my page on Coffee Basics (https://nanoroast.com/learn/the-basics/) explaining why grind matters to taste. Sigh. Nevertheless, the recommendation to freeze before grinding could be a bad idea, so here is what you need to know:

1. Do coffee beans grind more uniformly if frozen? If you use a decent burr grinder set for the kind of brew you are making, beans are being ground fairly evenly without freezing. Further, freezing beans actually could hinder the extraction process by dragging down brew temperature, so DON’T. (FYI, please read my pontification on Grind Matters.)

2. No substitute for using the right equipment. If you are using a whirly-blade grinder, freezing your beans might help the “coffee dust vs coffee rocks” situation, and you might reduce unwanted bitterness that way. You will never obtain a consistent size grind using this method, IMHO, so don’t expect miracles when the “miracle” is actually a decent burr grinder.

3. So if you DO freeze your beans...If you do want to freeze your beans ahead of grinding, you might have to allow the ground coffee to return to room temperature before brewing. I don’t know if letting your ground coffee sit exposed to air for a short time prior to brewing will appreciably impact flavor. Technically it should, but I doubt that it would be a bad trade-off in practice. The bigger threat is bitterness from over-extraction of the very small particles.

4. Something smells off here.  What really bothers me about the suggestion to freeze your coffee is that refrigerators and freezers are dangerous places for coffee due to the danger of flavor contamination and staling from exposure to air. Be aware that you cannot keep coffee fresher longer by freezing, but you could wreck quality beans by doing this. Stay away, please!

5. Get trustworthy guidance.  Now is a good time to remind everyone that NanoRoast has literally pages of guidance on maximizing coffee enjoyment. Why not refresh your knowledge now?

Enjoy!

s

Do We Really Need 47 Ways to Make a Better PourOver?

Pour-Over Made Better?


My friend Stan gets it.

I recently ran across this article giving a gaggle of barista tips for making better pour-over coffee. I noted two things immediately:

  1. Baristas don’t agree on anything.
  2. Nobody mentioned starting with really good coffee.

Do you stir or not stir? Do you grind really coarse or only medium? Should the water be exactly 204F? Why does anyone expect a Keurig to make decent coffee??

Ok that last one was mine. I really hate Keurig for the reason that they seem specially designed to produce bad coffee–low temperature water, using pre-packaged mass market coffee ground who knows how and stored for long periods before use. Please don’t use NanoRoast in your Keurig.  Just don’t. I don’t want to be responsible for your disappointment.

But I digress…

Pourover coffee is not complicated as long as you can boil water and discern a medium to coarse grind. A paper filter leaves less sediment than a metal one, and starting with filtered water really helps as well. Otherwise, pouring water just off the boil slowly through medium-coarse high-quality coffee grounds in a filtered cone is really all you need to know. Read my comprehensive musings on brewing techniques for details here.

Keep it simple, and Enjoy your coffee!

s

Eureka! Best.Chocolaty.ColdBrew.Ever

Quest for Mocha Cold Brew at an End (Film at Eleven)

One of the things that is especially fun as Head Bean Wrangler at NanoRoast is getting to play with our artisan blends and other coffee “innovations”. Sure, nobody is going to equate a cup of coffee with the Mona Lisa, but I think there is (or can be) art in the cup if you try hard enough. If you have followed earlier blog entries, you know that I have been hunting a really chocolaty cold brew recipe for a couple of years now–one where the chocolate doesn’t come from a squeeze bottle but is natural to the brew. Well, we at NanoRoast R&D have exciting news: We have one that will delight the most diehard chocoholics without adding sugar or artificial flavorings. In the interest of advancing civilization a bit further, here is the recipe. You’re welcome.

NanoRoast’s Natural Mocha Cold Brew Recipe
Makes about 1 1/2 pints – ish

Note: The brew is very concentrated, so you don’t need a large volume unless you are having a party. It keeps about 2 weeks in the fridge.

First, select appropriate coffees (NanoRoast offers full caf, lighter caf and decaf options perfect for good cold brew on this site). For this batch, I like a medium-dark Brazil (50%), a a darker-medium Mexico (30%) and a medium-dark Ethiopia Sidama (one with restrained fruitiness @ 20%). The Brazil is nutty and low-acid; the Mexico Oaxaca adds loads of chocolate with sweet high notes; and the Ethiopian adds floral and semisweet chocolate notes (more as the Ethiopian goes dark). Oddly enough, our experiment with Indonesian coffees known for chocolate notes did not seem to yield a chocolaty cold brew. Hmmm.

Second, put 1/2 c. raw cacao nibs (we tried toasted but didn’t like the outcome any more than raw) in your coffee grinder. Grind coarsely, and follow with the coffee to “clean” your grinder. You will want 2 cups of coarsely ground coffee plus the nibs. I put the cacao nibs and coffee in my large Bodum french press, but you can use any clean glass vessel with a lid. Mix well.

coldbrew1

 

Third, add about 4 cups room temp or lukewarm (NOT HOT) water. Amount will determine just how strong the brew is. I would not go for more than a 2:1 ratio of water to coffee. Stir gently.

 

coldbrew2

Notice the foam on the top. That’s FRESH coffee. Let sit a minute, then stir again.

Fourth, put the lid on the brew and let sit on the counter for about 8-10 hours or so, but no longer than 12 or the coffee may overextract and add bitterness.

coldbrew4

Finally, once the brew has finished, stir once, let settle a bit and decant into a clean storage vessel with a lid. (See why I used a french press?) You might want to “rinse” the grounds with another half cup of warm water to coax out all the chocolaty goodness. Now comes the trick that emphasizes the chocolate flavors:  Add a pinch or two of salt and stir. If you desire, you can also add up to 1/2 tsp of natural vanilla extract for sweetness and enhanced chocolaty taste without sugar.

This concoction is made to be the base for a refreshing summer drink over ice with milk or water diluting the very strong brew. I hope you like it.

Enjoy your coffee!

s

 

 

High end coffee and climate change: Not good

CLIMATE CHANGE, RAIN AND EFFECT ON COFFEE COUNTRIES


I’ve read the report from the UNESCO on outlook for water worldwide by 2050, and I am so glad my kids live in British Columbia! The forecast is also worrisome for coffee production according to the International Center for Tropical Agriculture that forecasts impact on coffee-growing lands. There was a synopsis of the bottom line in the Daily Coffee News that lists the winners and losers by region:

Biggest potential winners:  Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda and Burundi, Papua New Guinea, Uganda

Biggest potential losers, immediately:  Central America (especially El Salvador and Nicaragua), Brazil, Viet Nam and India

Biggest potential losers, intermediate term:  Andes region, Indonesia, Brazil again

Also significant in the mix is that even areas that receive enough rainfall will be challenged so that high-grown quality arabica coffee must be grown at even higher altitudes, and there is less land there. For example, most high-quality arabica is grown at altitudes over 1200 meters above sea level (MASL), or just under 4,000 ft. and usually not more than 7,000 ft. or 2200 MASL. There are not too many locations across the world between 23.5 degrees North and 23.5 degrees South with sufficient rainfall AND altitudes in this range AND people who want to grow high-quality arabica coffee. The main areas are East Africa and PNG. It could be that if the market develops, as in SW China for example, more of the population of high-altitude locations in the coffee belt might start growing and producing high-quality arabica. Let’s hope so. Even better, let’s start (as a species) to manage our planet a bit more responsibly.

Enjoy and treasure your coffee!

s

Lighter Roast Sumatra?

Or, Why You Can’t Find Light Roast Sumatra for Sale…

Ethiopia dry process medium roast

Ethiopia dry process medium roast

Sumatra Onan Ganjang cultivar wet hull medium roast

Sumatra Onan Ganjang cultivar wet hull medium roast

Note the difference! Both beans are processed leaving some of the coffee cherry on the bean while drying. This imparts interesting, complex flavors, but the roasted beans look pretty ugly short of a dark, dark roast. Sumatra wet hull coffees are notorious for looking uneven, mottled and less roasted than they really are. Besides the excess chaff that sticks to them, they look like a disaster. No wonder you won’t find these for sale in your favorite coffee bar! The Ethiopia, while having some of the same gradations in color at the same roast level, is so much more even looking! (The Ethiopian shown is dry processed, another process that leaves a lot of chaff on the bean and gives unique flavors to the coffee.) So why would anyone want to deal with the kinds of processing that leave part of the coffee cherry attached when dried? In a word, flavor!

There is no one way coffee is processed in the world. Every region has its own methods born out of tradition, weather and water availability. Central American coffees are generally processed in a way that removes anything that could “taint” the flavor. They are going for a very clean taste–crisp, well-defined, well-integrated flavor profiles. By contrast, Indonesians leave lots of hull clinging to the bean, and the processing method allows for lots of “environmental input” as the hull and cherry ferment in the heat or the beans dry on a tarp on the ground, for example. Sometimes these more rustic processing methods can lead to dirty, moldy, nasty flavors, but if care is taken with the beans, a rustic, savory, herbs-and-cedar or licorice note can be detected.  This is very unique and quite pleasant.

At NanoRoast, we choose wet hulled coffees* for the flavor in the cup, not what they look like. We will be happy to roast your wet hulled Sumatra or Bali dark-dark if that’s what you like, but you owe it to yourself to try one of these savory, rustic coffees with a bit more of the origin flavor showing. For those who aren’t sure, we offer our wet hulled offerings in a medium-dark roast (beginning of second crack, no oil on the outside) or in a melange roast, combining a range of roast levels so you can get the best of the dark and less dark.

*Origin offerings that use wet hull processing are generally those from India, China, Sumatra, Bali, Sulawesi and the rest of Indonesia. Dry process is mostly used in southern Ethiopia (Yirgacheffe) and in Brazil, but those are another blog post.

Enjoy your coffee!

s