Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood: The Coffee Dictionary – An Extract

Part of coffee’s beauty lies in its complexity. From the intricacies of coffee processing to the precise parameters of brewing, there are numerous details that can dramatically affect the flavour profile of your coffee – as well as how much the producer is paid. But this can also mean there’s a lot to learn.

Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood, 2015 UK Barista Champion and owner of Colonna Coffee, has decided to tackle this in his upcoming book: The Coffee Dictionary: An A-Z of coffee, from growing & roasting to brewing & tasting. The 256-page hardback is a beautiful work of art, with over 80 illustrations by Tom Jay.

SEE ALSO: What Is Coffee? A Basic Explanation From Seed to Cup

The book will be published on the 7th September, but publisher Mitchell Beazley has sent us the first chapter as a sneak preview. Read it below!

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Acidity | T A S T I NG

You may have heard acidity being described positively as “brightness” and negatively as “sourness”. This is the thing about acidity: it is integral to a great cup of coffee, but it is also a broad term. There are good and bad acids where taste is concerned, and there are also compounds that from a scientific point of view are acidic, yet we wouldn’t describe them as tasting acidic. Though there are many sources of acidity in coffee, it is only a mildly acidic beverage, with a pH of around 5, as compared to the pH2 of wine. Coffees grown at a higher altitude often showcase more structured, complex, and positive acidity. Coffees without such acidity can be described as tasting flat and uninteresting. Brightness lifts a coffee in your mouth and gives it structure. A lot of perceived sweetness can also be derived from, or elevated by, acidity.

Aeropress^TM | BREWING

The name Aeropress^TM is inspired by a high-tech frisbee called the Aerobie^TM, which was invented by the same man – Alan Adler. The Aerobie has set several world records for the furthest-thrown object; the Aeropress is instead designed to make the perfect brew. Alan is a self-taught inventor from the United States. The Aeropress houses the ground coffee and the water inside a syringe-like brewing chamber. Manual pressure applied by the user forces the brewed coffee through a multi-holed lid that holds a custom-shaped filter paper. (Metal filter discs are also available.) The Aeropress allows you to be very versatile with brewing. You can opt for fine grinds and strong brews, as the pressure generated allows the grounds to be separated from the brew to a degree that a gravity-fed filter method could not manage. You can also brew lighter, more elegant brews. There is even a World Aeropress Championship, which, at the time of writing, attracts contestants from 51 countries.

Agitate | BREWING

To agitate is basically to fiddle with the brew in any way that mixes the water and the coffee grounds. By agitating, the brewer can allow the water to more easily access the coffee by mixing things up. This will increase extraction and can be very valuable in any brewing method where the coffee grounds might settle and stop mixing with the water, such as with a French press. Agitation can be achieved in a couple of ways: you can use a stirring stick of some kind or just give the brew a good old shake.

Agronomy | GROWING

From the Greek for “field law”, agronomy is the science and study of the growing of crops and managing of land. An understanding of agronomy can transform the fortunes of a farm. Certain farms will have a dedicated onsite agronomist; others – with equal success – make periodic use of an independent agronomist to inform their practice. An understanding of agronomy will benefit how a coffee-growing plot is managed and maintained. Many coffee farms are now broken up into many smaller segments that are treated individually. Small changes in sunlight, climate, and soil can have a big impact on how coffee plants behave and on the quality of fruit they produce. Of course, weather and climate are out of a farmer’s control, but adapting to make the most of changes is not – by tweaking irrigation or altering harvesting times to compensate.

Agtron scale | ROASTING

You may have heard people discussing the colour of a roast. When discussing colour we are really referring to light and dark, not to a more normal idea of colour – there are no orange or purple roasts! The Agtron scale is a reference point for how dark or light a coffee is. Agtron measuring devices are pricey. In essence, they measure how much light is bounced back off the roasted coffee bean: a darker roast will absorb more light and produce a lower reading, and a lighter roast a higher reading. (It may help to think about how a white T-shirt throws back sunlight, while a black one will absorb it.) There are many terms that have been attributed to the Agtron number such as “light city roast” or “French roast”. The colour, though, is only one measurement of a roast, and a coffee can be roasted in many different ways to achieve the same colour.

Altitude | ORIGIN

The general rule of thumb is the higher the better. But – and it is a big but – this is not a fixed rule. As with everything in coffee, it is a bit more complicated than it seems. The more prized Arabica species is typically grown at altitudes higher than 1,000m (3,300ft) above sea level and can be grown all the way up to 2,500m (8,200ft) plus. The less desirable Robusta crops are grown between sea level and 1,000m (3,300ft). The idea is that at higher altitudes the climate is cooler and the cherry has a longer ripening period, developing a superior flavour. However, the plants do not like it too cold either, which is why coffee is grown in the Tropics. Cup quality is to do with many other aspects of provenance, such as soil, climate, and processing. It is true that no world-beating coffee is grown below 1,000m (3,300ft). It is also true that the world’s most sought-after and prized coffees are not necessarily the very highest grown. Sometimes a cooler micro-climate at lower altitude can mimic a higher altitude and produce similar results.

Arabica | SPECIES

“100% Arabica” is a common billing adorning coffee packets everywhere, intended as a sign of quality. Coffea arabica is the name of the most widely grown coffee species in the world. (C. robusta is the other widely grown species, though a couple of others, such as C. liberica, show up here and there.) All of the world’s highly graded coffees and essentially those that we would classify as “speciality” are of the Arabica species, or closely related to it. This is why you will see it noted on a packet as a major selling point. However, the species itself does not guarantee quality and there is far more commercial-grade Arabica than there is speciality. As Arabica is a given in the speciality market, you will more likely see the specific variety of Arabica noted on the packaging of speciality coffee companies. Arabica itself can be traced back to the Ethiopian Highlands, where there is still the most genetic diversity of C. arabica varieties (subspecies). The range of flavour within this species is phenomenal as varying varieties combine with other elements of terroir to create distinct and varied flavour profiles. As you will see from the entry about the coffee-related species C. eugenioides, Arabica has its ancestry in Robusta, and crosses between the two species are commonly explored. There are Robusta–Arabica hybrids such as Catimor varieties that can produce high-quality results. The Lempira variety is a Catimor subvariety that is grown extensively in Honduras. I recently bought a Cup of Excellence lot of this variety that was exceptional, with complex acidity and tropical fruit notes.

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Austin & Portland Coffee Events Team Up For Harvey Relief

As Hurricane Harvey downgrades yet again to a tropical depression, its effects are still in full force, leaving much of Houston underwater and many of its residents facing circumstances of life and death. With the evacuation shelters reaching capacity, many Houstonians are struggling to acquire basic necessities: food, drinkable water, toiletries, etc. But two barista communities 2,000 miles apart have teamed up with Pacific Foods to donate 40,000 pounds of food to those in need.

The Austin Coffee Society and Portland Coffee Social Club are holding their monthly Thursday Night Throwdowns (TNTs) tonight, and in light of the tragedy currently facing Houston, they have joined forces to help out. Thanks to an incredibly generous donation of 20 tons of food from Pacific Foods, the barista groups are using their TNTs to raise the $3,500 necessary to have the food delivered to Houston.

From Debra L. Kaminsky, ‎Director of Foodservice Marketing at Pacific Natural Foods:

Feeding those in need is an important part of our mission at Pacific Foods. So, it was critical for us to partner with Waterfall Gourmet, our distributor partner located in Austin, and send food to Texas. Pacific also has a longstanding relationship with Feeding America and we are working through them to supply additional food to Texas area food banks.

When asked about their involvment, Portland Coffee Social Club co-founder Elizabeth Chai had this to say:

Portland Coffee Social Club co-founder, Thor Himle, came from the Austin Coffee Society, and his experience there inspired us to create an organization to serve the Portland coffee community. Our monthly event was a TNT scheduled for the same night as the Austin TNT that would be raising funds to freight food to Texas. Since Pacific Foods is a PNW-based brand, we felt this would be an opportunity to send love from Portland to Texas. I’ve seen the coffee community come together so many times during crisis, and when we found out there could be a tangible way we could know exactly where our donations would go, it made perfect sense.

The Austin TNT will be held at Spokesman, a brand new South Austin coffee and beer bar, that will include a silent auction and beer specials to help raise the requisite funds. Portland’s throwdown will take place at Dapper and Wise. Both events begin at 7pm local time.

If you are unable to attend either event but would like to help out, the Austin Coffee Society is accepting donations via Venmo.

Times of crisis are perhaps not the most appropriate moments to pat each other on the back, but there is nonetheless something truly inspiring about watching barista communities come together to help out time and time again.

Know of another fundraiser for Harvey Relief? Let us know in the comments below.

Zac Cadwalader is the news editor at Sprudge Media Network.

*Top image via Austin Coffee Society

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Tamper Tantrum Is Coming To San Francisco

Tamper Tantrum is making its way back across the pond for another live event, this time taking place on the West Coast in San Francisco. With the help of Chemex, the European-based fortnightly podcast and lecture series created by 3FE’s Colin Harmon and Has Bean’s Steven Leighton will take over the Github South Beach HQ on Saturday, September 9th for a full day of discussions, food, and of course coffee.

This edition of Tamper Tantrum will feature “a mix of talks, interviews, debates, and an exciting activity shepherded by hosts Stephen Leighton and Katie Carguilo (Counter Culture Coffee).” The morning will begin with a discussion on coffee’s future, featuring Hanna Neuschwander of World Coffee Research, the Director of the UC Davis Coffee Center Professor William Ristenpart, and Finca Argentina’s Alejandro Martinez. The discussion will be followed up by “a geeky talk from Wrecking Ball‘s own Trish Rothgeb, an interview of Pim Techamuanvivit of San Francisco’s Khin Kao, with specific focus on pushing the boundaries of tradition and the use of ingredients, and a debate moderated by Nick Cho on the use of origin stories to sell coffee.”

Throughout the event, filter coffee from Sweet Bloom, Intelligentsia, Madcap, and AKA Coffee will be available to all participants. Attendees will also be able to be part of World Coffee Research’s #futureofcoffee video that will be launched on International Coffee Day on September 18^th.

Tickets for the event are $85 and can be purchased the Tamper Tantrum Eventbrite page. For more information, visit Tamper Tantrum’s official website.

Zac Cadwalader is the news editor at Sprudge Media Network.

*top image via Tamper Tantrum

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Back To The Beginning With Blue Bottle’s Old Oakland Cafe

Fifteen years ago, Blue Bottle founder James Freeman sold his first bag of coffee at the Old Oakland Farmer’s Market at Broadway and 9th. Freeman at the time was roasting his beans in a 183-square-foot potting shed and delivering them to his friends in a beat-down Peugeot wagon. Old Oakland was the first market in the Bay Area that would accept Freeman’s nascent roaster as a vendor. In July of 2017, a decade and a half later, Blue Bottle is the biggest name in specialty coffee with shops in America, Japan, and Europe, a thriving delivery service, and a line of coffee gear fine tuned to the company’s extremely high standards. But getting bigger doesn’t mean you still can’t come home. This summer sees Blue Bottle’s return to Old Oakland, across the street from the Old Oakland Farmer’s Market. It’s a return to the beginning, a back to where Blue Bottle first got its start.

The new location, the Bay Area’s 13th brick-and-mortar locale, sits on the ground floor of the Henry House Hotel. Built in 1877 by banker Ashmun C. Henry, the Henry House Hotel was a “first class hotel” that was once the stomping grounds of famed, and troubled, dance sensation Isadora Duncan. “I like to imagine that my office in the building,” James Freeman says, “is where she stayed. But I don’t actually know that.” Working with architectural firm Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, Freeman hoped to instill the space with a hint of a recent interest of his: turn-of-the-century perfume factories. “I’ve been fascinated by the perfume industry,” he says, “it’s so clinical and scientific, but it’s all in the service of pleasure.”

The exterior of the Henry House boasts an impressive Italianate facade—Corinthian columns and the occasional gleam of gold leaf. Inside, Bohlin Cywinski Jackson has, in the Blue Bottle tradition, worked with the materials on offer. In this, original brick walls and an exposed ceiling pair with Baltic birch cabinetry and the requisite shine of a burnished La Marzocco espresso machine and a pour-over drip bar.

Customers at the new space will have the opportunity to peer into the training process of Blue Bottle employees. The company’s state-of-the-art training facility stands exposed behind a floor-to-ceiling window, the next generation of baristas learning their trade a few hundred feet from where Freeman got his start in the coffee business. “We didn’t need to make a cafe that was twice the size,” Freeman says, “and we liked that Old Oakland would be a hub of activity.” Already, baristas from the recently opened Blue Bottle in Georgetown in D.C. have made the trek to learn the Blue Bottle way.

There’s been talk of a 15-year anniversary, though Freeman has always been skeptical of celebrating past successes. “I like to keep looking forward,” he says, “but maybe we’ll roast a special coffee, sell it on the corner.” In the meantime, Blue Bottle will, inevitably, continue to grow. “Given how successful we’ve been in Japan,” Freeman says, “there’s definitely other countries in Asia that are calling out to us.” Before that though, Blue Bottle will make a first step into Europe with its first Paris-based shop opening in February 2018. For Freeman though, expansion has always been a delicate balance. “I’ve always been uncomfortable with the size of Blue Bottle,” he says, “big or small, I’m always a little uncomfortable with the size. But, you know, the universe will be extinguished in a few billion years, so I guess we’re keeping pace with the expansion.”

Blue Bottle Coffee is located at 480 9th St, Oakland. Visit their official website and follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Noah Sanders (@sandersnoah) is a Sprudge.com staff writer based in San Francisco, and a contributor to SF Weekly, Side One Track One, and The Bold Italic. Read more Noah Sanders on Sprudge.

Photos courtesy of Blue Bottle.

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Build-Outs Of Summer: Qualia Coffee In Washington, D.C.

Another day, another sweet new Build-Out from the Washington, D.C. area. Qualia Coffee‘s stated goal is to treat coffee like fresh produce. Quips owner Joel Finkelstein, “The only flavor we offer is coffee.” This new cafe opened earlier this summer.

As told to Sprudge by Joel Finkelstein.

For those who aren’t familiar, will you tell us about your company?

Retail roaster established in 2009 to treat coffee as fresh produce. We sell all our beans within three days of roasting, coffee brewed on site by the cup plus a single-origin focused espresso program. The only flavor we offer is coffee.

Can you tell us a bit about the new space?

Building on eight years of experience, the new space expands on the current focus on single-origin, locally roasted coffee while refocusing our approach to customer service. With an 18-foot bar and no central register, the new space enables greater customer interaction and education while highlighting specialized equipment such as a Poursteady single-cup pour-over brewer and a Slayer espresso machine.

What’s your approach to coffee?

We treat coffee like fresh produce with a limited shelf life. As a retail roaster, we are able to tightly control when our roasted coffee is brewed on site as well as delivered to the end user. This allows us to roast to maximize the flavor profile without making compromises to extend shelf life. Therefore, much of our customer education can focus on the natural product, specifically where the beans come from, how they are processed, and how to improve brewing at home. We also source our green coffee from a wide variety of suppliers both small and large scale importers, focusing on farm direct and small lot offerings.

Any machines, coffees, special equipment lined up?

We have a Poursteady, allowing us to effectively offer any of our wide selection of coffee beans by the cup in a variety of sizes, hot or cold. We also have a Slayer espresso machine that allows us to highlight single-origin espresso.

What’s your hopeful target opening date/month?

We opened on July 15th.

Are you working with craftspeople, architects, and/or creatives that you’d like to mention?

We worked with Bestudio Architects and Something Different Contracting.

Thank you!

Qualia Coffee is located at 151 Q St NE, Washington, D.C. Check out their official website and find them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

The Build-Outs Of Summer is an annual series on Sprudge. Live the thrill of the build all summer long in our Build-Outs feature hub. Got a Build-Out of your own? Get in touch.

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Speakers Announced for Micro Coffee Festival: Brazil

It’s just a few weeks until the Perfect Daily Grind Micro Coffee Festival: Brazil, and we’re thrilled to announce our line-up of world-renowned speakers. Presenters are travelling from as far afield as Asia and Europe to provide a global perspective on the entire specialty coffee industry, from production through to consumption.

Buy your ticket here!

We’ve set out to provide an inclusive platform for discussion, and so our speakers include coffee farmers as well as buyers, and are nearly 50% female.

We’re also providing perspectives from other specialty industries, with Dr. Carla Martin, Founder and Executive Director of the Fine Cacao and Chocolate Institute, teaming up with Anthony Rue of Volta Coffee, Tea, & Chocolate to discuss cacao.

Here is the itinerary:

Speakers

Silvia Graham of SCA – Romania Chapter
Specialty Advances: The Growth of Eastern Europe

Maria Esther López Cásares of Café Registrado, Argentina
Pioneering Specialty Consumption in a “Non-Third Wave” Region

Noon NutRada of BlueKoff, Thailand
Understanding Gender Issues in Southeast Asia

Carla Martin of Fine Cacao and Chocolate Institute & Anthony Rue of Volta Coffee, Tea, & Chocolate
Specialty: The Differences Between Q-Grading & Cacao Evaluation

Bruno Ribeiro (PhD in post-harvesting) of Origina Coffee, Brazil
Post-Harvest Techniques for Obtaining Higher Quality Coffees

Ricardo Tavares of Grupo Montesanto Tavares, Brazil
Passion for Coffee, Challenges & Its Future

Workshops

Benjamin Evar of La Cabra Coffee Roasters
Sustainability at The Small-Farm Level

Ronald Cortez of Cortez Coffee Co 
How to Pay Producers a Fair Price

Florian Flöter and Paulina Kamola of The Barn Coffee Roasters Berlin
What Do Specialty Roasters Look For?

Buy your ticket here!

Perfect Daily Grind

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¿Cómo se está Creando la Trazabilidad del Café?

La trazabilidad abre la puerta a una mejor calidad del café y a una cadena de valor más equitativa. Sin embargo, la ruta de la finca a la taza es larga y cuenta con muchas manos: productores, beneficio, cooperativas, exportadores, importadores, tostadores, tiendas de café …

¿La solución podría estar en la tecnología moderna? La Federación de Productores de Café de Cerrado lo cree, y utilizaremos su ejemplo para ver como se está creando la trazabilidad.

En la región productora de especialidad de Cerrado Mineiro, Brasil, los códigos QR se utilizan para dar información tanto a los compradores como a los consumidores finales sobre el cultivo, la finca y el beneficio de café. No es la primera vez que esta tecnología se ha utilizado para el café, pero generalmente, lo ves en pequeña escala. En contraste, la región del Cerrado Mineiro abarca 210.000 hectáreas de fincas de café.

Echemos un vistazo al programa, y a cómo los productores y tostadores han estado respondiendo.

English Version: How The Region of Cerrado Mineiro Is Creating Coffee Traceability

Cerezas de café de la finca Sao Luiz, Cerrado Mineiro. Crédito: Sao Luiz Estate Coffee

¿Por Qué es tan Importante la Trazabilidad?

El café de la tercera ola se trata de la búsqueda de granos de alta calidad y sostenibles. Y la clave de esto es entender en dónde y cómo se cultivó un café en particular.

Ahora sabemos que cada elemento de la producción de café tiene un impacto en la bebida final, ya sea el suelo, la altitud, el microclima y la estacionalidad,la variedad de café,los métodos de cultivo y procesamiento, las enfermedades o cualquier otra cosa. Si podemos trazar una taza de café empezando desde la finca, podemos saber más al respecto. Podemos saber más sobre cómo tostarlo. Podemos saborear el impacto de todos estos elementos en la taza.

Y si podemos trazarlo desde la finca, o del lote específico de la finca, también podemos trabajar hacia unos precios más justos, más procesos ecológicos y más iniciativas sociales.

Brasil es uno de los países más grandes del mundo – el 80% de Europa podría caber dentro de sus fronteras – y un área tan grande viene con una variedad enorme. En algunas regiones, las fincas producen sólo 30 o más bolsas de café cada año; en otros, producen decenas de miles. Algunas regiones son conocidas por sus cafés montañosos de gran altitud que requieren de una recolección manual; otras son conocidas por fincas  con territorios planos y la mecanización. Así que tal vez no es ninguna sorpresa que este país esté utilizando tecnología moderna para garantizar la trazabilidad en gran escala.

 

Finca São Luiz en Cerrado Mineiro. Crédito: São Luiz Estate Café

Presentando a Cerrado Mineiro, Brasil

Cerrado Mineiro es una región grande en el estado de Minas Gerais, en el sureste de Brasil. Según la Federación de Productores de Café de Cerrado, está formada por 55 condados, 210.000 hectáreas de fincas de café y 4.5000 productores. Tiene una producción promedio de 5 millones de sacos al año, un cuarto de la producción de Minas Gerais y un 12,7% de la de  Brasil.

Las fincas de la región se encuentran entre 800 y 1.300 m.s.n.m., y son principalmente planas. Hay estaciones bien definidas lo que significa que las cerezas generalmente maduran al mismo tiempo. Los dos factores combinados significan que les favorece una recolección mecanizada de la cosecha.

El café es conocido por sus aromas intensos, notas de caramelo o frutos secos, acidez cítrica suave, cuerpo medio y completo, y retrogusto persistente a chocolate.

Es también la primera región en Brasil que recibe el estatus protegido de Denominación de Origen, por lo que el café con etiqueta “Cerrado” tiene que venir realmente de Cerrado (similar a las reglas que protegen el jamón o la champaña española).

Cerrado Mineiro en Minas Gerais. Crédito: La Federación de Productores de Café de Cerrado

¿Qué Significa una Denominación  de Origen?

La Denominación de Origen es uno de los muchos pasos hacia una mayor trazabilidad en Cerrado Mineiro. Para recibir la Denominación de Origen de Cerrado Mineiro, el café debe ser Arábica de especialidad (80+ puntos) cultivado sobre 800 m.s.n.m. dentro de la región. También hay otros requisitos, como comprometerse a seguir la legislación brasileña, y la cooperativa y la bodega también deben haber firmado este acuerdo.

Sin embargo, el estatus de Denominación de Origen no es sólo la trazabilidad: también se trata de la calidad y la diversidad de sabores. Según el sitio web de la Federación de Productores de Café de Cerrado, “Una Denominación de Origen es un territorio demarcado que produce un producto que tiene características únicas que no se pueden encontrar en ningún otro
lugar”.

El Superintendente de la Federación, Juliano Tarabal, me dijo, “[El Cerrado Mineiro tiene] un territorio muy adecuado para la producción de cafés especiales … una bebida singular, con características que sólo se puede alcanzar en el territorio delineado”.

También le atribuye la Denominación de Origen a la organización de productores. El lema de la región es “café producido con actitud: ética, rastreable y de alta calidad”.

Le pregunté cuál es el mayor valor percibido por la Denominación de Origen. Tarabal dijo: “Es, sin duda, la garantía de origen y calidad a través del Control de Origen. Es un fuerte instrumento de protección que aporta valor … a través de la trazabilidad “.

Un productor inspecciona cerezas en la finca Sao Luiz, Cerrado Mineiro. Crédito: Sao Luiz Estate Coffee

¿Cómo la Tecnología Mejora la Trazabilidad?

Para mejorar aún más la trazabilidad de Cerrado Mineiro, la Federación recurrió a los códigos QR, similar a los códigos de barra. A cada porción de café verde se le asigna un código QR que, cuando se escanea, proporciona información sobre la finca; historia del agricultor; detalles del café – variedad, método de proceso, tamaño del lote, etc.; perfil de sabor de café; perfil de tueste sugerido; y más.

Este código QR se anexa a las bolsas de café verde y también se puede agregar a las bolsas de café tostado. Esto significa que la información detallada sobre la finca, el agricultor y el café está disponible en todas las etapas de la cadena de suministro. Desde los compradores de café verde a los que preparan café en casa, todo el mundo puede aprender más acerca de su café.

Una captura de pantalla de la información que se ve al escanear un código QR de denominación de origen Cerrado Mineiro.

VER TAMBIÉN:Brasil Será País Anfitrión de PDG Micro Festival de Café 2017

¿Qué Opinan los Productores & Tostadores?

Actualmente hay 833 productores, 9 cooperativas, 7 asociaciones, 7 almacenes y 4 miembros exportadores registrados en este sistema.

Reinaldo Olini es productor de café en Cerrado Mineiro, y exporta directamente su café. Me dice que la Denominación de Origen y el código QR son herramientas valiosas para su negocio. “Creo que la trazabilidad durante la exportación es extremadamente importante desde el punto de vista de la seguridad alimentaria”, dijo.

“Con esta evidencia de la Federación, puedo ofrecer a los clientes más exigentes un café con las cualidades intrínsecas de la región de Cerrado Mineiro y, al mismo tiempo, asegurarme de que estoy siguiendo la legislación pertinente”.

Georgia Franco de Souza, tostadora y propietaria de Lucca Cafés, me dijo que esto también ayuda a comunicar la calidad al consumidor. “El cliente entiende que el producto tiene una calidad que está certificada a través de un registro y una fuente que está garantizada por una organización”.

Y André Nakao, productor y tostador, está de acuerdo. “La etiqueta de Denominación de Origen en el café tostado proporciona un resumen de la historia de la familia cafetera al consumidor en la punta de la cadena y certifica la calidad del café con un informe técnico y ratificación de origen. Todo el producto debe ser de buena calidad, pero la etiqueta crea una
conexión con el productor, afirmando que … todo el proceso fue hecho por ellos “.

La trazabilidad proporciona a los consumidores información sobre su café y, al hacerlo, aumenta su valor percibido. Sistemas como este tienen el poder de beneficiar tanto a los consumidores como a los productores.

Una bolsa de café verde Sao Luiz Estate, con código QR. Crédito: Sao Luiz Estate Coffee

Incluso dentro de un mismo país, encontrarás una gran variedad de perfiles de sabor en el café. Desde las notas distintivas de una región como las de Cerrado Mineiro hasta las altas altitudes de Caparaó, la diversidad de Brasil sólo puede ser reconocida cuando nos podemos remontar a las raíces de su café.

Y con un sistema como este, cualquier persona en la cadena de suministro de café puede descubrir no sólo de qué región proviene un café sino qué finca, qué tamaño de lote, qué variedad y más.

Escrito por Ana Cecilia Velloso.

¿Quiere probar los cafés Cerrado Mineiro, junto con otras regiones de Brazil? La Semana Internacional del Café de Brasil se lleva a cabo a finales de octubre – ¡descubre más aquí!

Traducido por Alejandra Muñoz y Editado por Karla Ly

Nota: Este artículo ha sido patrocinado por Brazil International Coffee Week. 

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AeroPress Coffee Guide: How to Brew for Different Flavor Profiles

What does your morning coffee taste like? With the AeroPress, that depends on your mood.

One of the greatest things about this iconic brewing device is its versatility. Brew it one way, and you’ll get greater body and richness – a flavor profile more like the French press. But brew it a different way, and you can expect more clarity in your brew – something more like a pour over.

To find out more about AeroPress recipe manipulation, we reached out to Ben Jones, 2016 USA AeroPress Champion and a member of the Training & Education Team at Batdorf & Bronson Coffee Roasters. He agreed to chat to us about how to achieve a French press or pour over flavor profile.

SEE ALSO: AeroPress Tips & Recipes From The Cafés That Serve Them

Ben Jones, 2016 USA AeroPress Champion, brewing coffee on an Aeropress. Credit: Ben Jones

How to Use An AeroPress

Before we get started, let’s quickly recap the AeroPress brewing instructions. (Confident with these? Skip to the next section: Flavor Profiles 101!)

Standard Method:

• Insert the filter in the filter cap

• Attach the filter cap to the AeroPress chamber

• Rinse the filter with hot water

• Add freshly ground coffee (weight/volume will be determined by your recipe) to the chamber

• Add water (the amount will be determined by your recipe)

• Optional: stir (more on this step later!)

• When you’re ready, insert the AeroPress plunger and plunge

Inverted Method:

• Insert the filter in the filter cap

• Insert the plunger seal inside the top of the AeroPress chamber, but do not plunge (the seal should sit about 1 cm below the chamber rim)

• Invert your AeroPress, so that the plunger is on the bottom and the chamber on top

• Rinse your filter and filter cap with hot water

• Add freshly ground coffee (weight/volume will be determined by your recipe) to the chamber

• Add water (the amount will be determined by your recipe)

• Optional: stir (more on this step later!)

• Attach the filter cap to the AeroPress chamber

• When you’re ready, flip the AeroPress onto your cup or other drinking/serving vessel and plunge

SEE ALSO: Inverted vs Traditional: A VIDEO Guide to Choosing Your AeroPress Brew Method

Coffee being brewed using the inverted method. Credit: Jay La Mode

Flavor Profiles 101

Every coffee comes with its own flavor profile. Some are sweeter, others are more fruity and acidic, and others have a lot of body. But different roast profiles, brewing methods, and brewing recipes can accentuate particular flavors.

This is all because of the science behind extraction.

Some of the first flavors to be extracted in a brew are the fruity acids: the ones adding those nectarine notes, for example. Next comes sweetness, balance, and increasing body. And finally, we start to get more bitter, dry notes.

If your coffee is too acidic or too bitter, it’s not going to taste good. But within the happy medium of good extraction, there is some wriggle room to emphasize your preferred tastes.

Ben tells me that you can use the AeroPress to achieve “a soft flavor profile, which varies, of course, depending on grind size and water temperature.” But you can also brew it for acidity, body, and more.

Coffee being brewed on an Aeropress. Credit: Samuel Prima

The AeroPress “Pour Over” Flavor Profile

Pour over coffees are often associated with remarkable cleanness and clarity, in comparison with a French press. They can allow complex coffees to shine.

But you can also achieve this with an AeroPress. Let’s look at how.

• Brew Time & Grind Size

No matter the brewing method, grind size is key. But it can only really be understood in terms of brew time.

The finer the grind, the quicker the flavor and aroma compounds will be extracted from the coffee. What’s more, the water will flow less quickly and there will be smaller gaps between the grinds.

Pour over brews tend to benefit from a fine to medium grind. With the French press, on the other hand, a coarser grind is the norm (although breaking the rules can sometimes result in a great brew). And there are reasons for this.

Since the French press is an immersion brewer, you generally use a longer brew time and a coarse ground will slow down the extraction. This is good because the last compounds to be extracted are the ones responsible for bitterness. With a pour over or drip brewer, however, the water passes more quickly through the grounds. A medium to fine profile prevents under-extraction, both by making it easier to extract those compounds and by preventing the water from dripping through too quickly.

Fortunately, the AeroPress is immersion so you have complete control over brew time – no matter what grind you opt for. If you want a clear, fruity brew, your AeroPress coffee may benefit from a shorter immersion time or a coarser ground.

SEE ALSO: Your One-Stop VIDEO Guide to Grinding Coffee

Coffee beans, scale and Aeropress, all ready to brew some coffee. 

• Water Temperature

Just like grind size, the water temperature also affects extraction. The hotter the brew, the more easily it breaks down the coffee cells and gets to those flavor and aroma compounds.

SEE ALSO: VIDEO: Want Great Coffee? Control Your Brew Temperature

Now, it’s not as simple as that: water temperature interacts with other factors, such as grind profile and roast level. However, as a general rule, compounds will extract quicker at a higher temperature.

There’s a general consensus that coffee should be brewed between 195 and 205°F (91–96°C). however, AeroPress coffees are often brewed at lower temperatures, from 175 to 185°F (80–85°C). This can create mellower coffees with less acidity and bitterness – something more similar to a cold brew Toddy than a Chemex.

Ben tells me that he usually brews his AeroPress coffee at the low temperature of 180°F (82°C). However, if he wants more acidity, he brews a little hotter – but still not so hot that he’s getting bitterness.

“I brew my coffee with higher temperatures to brew a cup with high acidity and fruity flavors,” he says. “If I want a mellow and softer highlight, I lower the temperature.”

What’s more, the environment may change the temperature of your brew – especially if you’re brewing outdoors, as many “AeroPressers” do. Ben told us that, in 2016, one of the US competitions was outdoors and the breeze was harsh. Concerned about a dropping brew temperature, he used cartons and a coozie to “maintain that thermal stability”.

Kennya AA Karimikui, brewed on an Aeropress using inverted method. Credit: jukka_jii

• Filters

If you want clarity, filters are your friend. As Ben says, this is key to having “a light-bodied, delicate cup of coffee.”

By filtering out more of the oils from the coffee, you will get a cleaner cup profile that allows you to really taste the coffee’s unique flavor – but, if you remove all the oils, you may also sacrifice some body.

When choosing filtering methods, they key points are material, thickness, and quantity. Paper filters will help you to get that pour over clarity, especially if you use more than one. Ben tells me, “I use two to three filters so I can brew a clean cup.”

Coffee puck after brewing coffee on an Aeropress using a paper filter. Credit: Gabor Labath

The “French (Aero)Press” Flavor Profile

If you favor a round body over clarity, look towards a more French press style brew. And you can get this with the AeroPress, too.

• Grind Size & Brew Time

Earlier, we looked at how to adjust grind size and brew time for a coffee with more clarity. Now we’re looking at it from the other angle: how do we increase body?

A finer grind will lead to more body, as will a longer immersion time. The trick is to balance the two. This is because both allow for more extraction to take place (scroll back up to the Pour Over section for a recap on why/if you skipped that section).

But don’t forget that your coffee is continuing to extract while you plunge – and that your grind size can affect your plunge time. This is because the ground coffee is still in contact with the water in the chamber. Ben tells me, “In my recipe, the plunge should be around 20 seconds. You build momentum and increase speed while plunging.”

If you’re brewing for clarity, the slightly coarser grind size should make it easy to plunge. But with finely ground coffee, you’ll want to be ready to exert some force.

“When you use a coarser grind, you have less resistant coffee and it will be less effort to plunge,” Ben says. “If you use finer grind, you have more resistance and you will need more pressure.”

Coffee brewed on an Aeropress and ready to drink. Credit: Brewing Habits

• Filters

If you want clarity, as we said above, go for paper filters. But if you want body, think metal. And just like the French press, you can use a metal filter with the AeroPress.

Paper absorbs the oils within coffee, but it’s these oils that create body. Ben explains, “I usually use a metal filter when I want all those oils in my cup of coffee. It doesn’t matter whether the filter pores are coarse or fine, you will always have oils when using metal filters, increasing the body and profile of your cup.”

Coffee brewed using different kinds of filters. Credit: Erich Chmiel for MNML Coffee

• The “Hiss”

One key feature of the AeroPress is the characteristic hiss that you’ll hear at the end of your plunge. Some people stop pressing the instant they hear that noise, while others continue to press as far as they can go. So what’s the difference?

Ben explains that, yet again, it’s all about those oils. “If you want all oils, and a full-bodied cup,” he tells me, “you should plunge until the end. If I want to brew a French-press like cup, I will press until the end.”

Coffee being pressed into a glass. Credit: Baristocrat3rd

Some General AeroPress Brewing Tips

No matter whether you brew for body or for clarity, there are some general points worth bearing in mind with the AeroPress. Take the stir, as an example.

Stirring, or any other form of agitation, is a matter of personal preference. Agitation is associated with more consistently extracted coffee – and this is true whether you’re brewing immersion (like the AeroPress and French press) or pour over coffee.

You can create some agitation with your pour, using concentric circles to create water movement. Additionally, you can choose to stir the brew for some strong agitation. Ben says, “After I pour, I use a really good stirring. A good vigorous stir will give the brew the perfect agitation to get the coffee grounds in contact with water.”

Stirring coffee while it is being brewed on an Aeropress using inverted method. Credit. Aryan Joshani

A Competition-Winning AeroPress Recipe

While there’s no “right” way to brew the AeroPress, there are some impressive recipes out there. I finish our interview by asking Ben to share his winning recipe from the 2016 US Barista Championship.

Coffee: Colombia (fun fact: Ben’s favorite coffee is from Huila in Colombia)

Details:

• Coffee Weight: 26g
• Water: 250 ml
• Temp: 205°F (96°C)
• Grind Size: 8 on the EK 43 – a fine grind, almost like sand
• No of Filters: 2 paper filters over an Abel fine metal disc
• Method: Traditional/standard

Instructions:

• Set up the AeroPress chamber and filter on top of your cup and add the ground coffee

• Put a thermal coozie (like the ones they use for beer) around the AeroPress chamber

• Pour 175 ml of water

• Agitate quickly and thoroughly

• Slightly insert the plunger into the chamber and pull back to create a vacuum

• After 1:45 minutes, slowly press for 20–30 seconds – make sure to stop before the hiss

• Add 75 ml of water to your brewed coffee and stir – “The AeroPress works well with some dilution!” Ben says.

Written by Julio Guevara.

Please note: This article has been sponsored by Aeropress, Inc.

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Local Coffee Shops Help With Tropical Storm Harvey Relief Efforts

Coffee May Affect How You Perceive Sweetness

Coffee is sweet. Totally. But according to the Huffington Post, new research suggests that drinking coffee may decrease you ability to taste sweetness, which may make you crave more sweet things. Less Sweet.

Conducted by Cornell University assistant professor of food science Robin Dando and published in the Journal of Food Science, the blind study split 107 participants into two groups: regular and decaf (or more precisely, decaf-with-200mg-caffeine-added and decaf). The same amount of sugar was added to each group’s coffee, but the decaf group consistently rated their coffee as tasting sweeter than the caffeinated group.

According to Professor Dando:

“When you drink caffeinated coffee, it will change how you perceive taste ― for however long that effect lasts,” she said in a statement. “So if you eat food directly after drinking a caffeinated coffee or other caffeinated drinks, you will likely perceive food differently.”

Based on previous research, Dando theorized that this perceived lack of sweetness may lead craving sweet things later on.

Now, not to be a complete coffee homer here, but the caffeinated coffee being perceived as less sweet may be due to the addition of pure caffeine, which has a bitter flavor. It may not be perception at all. The coffee may just not be as sweet. I dunno. Just a thought.

Another interesting finding from the experiment was that neither group—the regular or the decaf—were able to determine the amount of caffeine in their coffee and both “reported the same increase in alertness on average.” The study found that there may be a placebo effect of drinking coffee.

Or as one Sprudge shirt suggests, decaf may actually give you life.

Zac Cadwalader is the news editor at Sprudge Media Network.

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Maison Han: Vietnamese Cafe Life In Berlin’s Kreuzberg Neighborhood

At first glance, Maison Han includes all the elements of a classically trendy Berlin coffee shop. Located in Kreuzberg and close to a bucolic promenade along the Landwehr Canal, the cafe attracts young entrepreneurs with its outdoor benches and indoor, craft-made seating.

But inside, Duc Nguyen, the 35-year-old Vietnamese-Berliner who founded Maison Han, is out to make Vietnamese morning food and coffee culture famous in the old European city. “In Vietnam, we have a strong tradition of breakfast, you can have a Bánh mì or a soup everywhere with a coffee,” Duc says. “There is an important Vietnamese community here but people don’t really know our culture. My generation didn’t grow up in Vietnam, we are Berliner, but we are proud of our roots and we want to make them known.” The Maison Han logo is an octagon split in two. One side depicts a bear, a symbol of Berlin—on the other side, the word Han as an ideogram.

Duc Nguyen

Maison Han transports you far away from Berlin with its menu, which features Vietnamese breakfast staples like the eponymous aforementioned patê-based bánh mì, Marou chocolate bars from Hồ Chí Minh City, and selection of Vietnamese coffees. There’s also the sweet milk-based phin coffee, which drips down through the thin, metal, top hat-shaped dripper of the same name. “This process has influenced a lot the way people drink coffee in Vietnam,” Duc says. “They don’t drink quickly their cup of coffee, like an espresso—they have to wait until the coffee is dripped, so meanwhile they talk, read newspapers…it’s a relaxing ritual.”

Duc founded Han Coffee Roasters before Maison Han, entering the roasting business as a coffee lover. “I went to El Salvador to learn more about the plant and then I came back to Vietnam and met the farmers in the mountainous plateau,” Duc says, with both experiences shaping his formative coffee education.

Today, he imports green coffee from Vietnam, attempting to do in Berlin what elsewhere young roasteries and cafes in Hồ Chí Minh City are. “Vietnamese coffee has a bad connotation,” Duc says. “People imagine it’s not good quality. But there are not only producers for Nestlé, there are plenty of small farmers who care about their product.”

Duc uses a dark blend to brew phin coffee and lighter, fruitier beans to be drunk without sweet milk. “It’s important to fit with the modern way to drink coffee also, for people who appreciate pure coffee,” he says. But those who want, say, roasted peanut chunks in their latte foam, are of course welcome in Duc’s home as well. Embraced, even.

Maison Han is located at Pannierstraße 40, 12047 Berlin. Visit their official website and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

Aimie Eliot is a freelance journalist based in Berlin. Read more Aimie Eliot on Sprudge.

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