Saturday, December 3, 2016
Friday, December 2, 2016
Coffee Science: A VIDEO on Caffeine Extraction
Caffeine: the fuel our coffee-addicted bodies run on.* The world’s most widely consumed psychoactive drug. But what does this powerful chemical look like and how do you get hold of it in its purest form?
Simple: by extracting it from your coffee. Or watching someone else do that.
*Unless you drink decaf, in which case we admire your ability to sleep at night.
How to Extract Caffeine From Coffee
Extracting caffeine from coffee isn’t easy – but it’s certainly interesting to watch. In today’s video article, Nile Red demonstrates the process.
SEE ALSO: Debunked: Do Light or Dark Roasts Have More Caffeine?
SEE ALSO: How Does Caffeine Affect Your Brain? Are You Addicted to Caffeine?
Feature photo credit: NileRed
Please note: Perfect Daily Grind does not own the rights to these videos and cannot be held accountable for their content.
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Thursday, December 1, 2016
4 Decisiones Claves Para Ganar El Premio de Emprendedor Joven SCAE
Hace dos años, Henry Wilson era un barista en entrenamiento en Ecuador. Hace un año era un Asesor de Gerencia. Hoy en día, es el CEO de Perfect Daily Grind y el ganador del premio Emprendedor Joven del Año de SCAE.
Nosotros aquí en PDG no podríamos sentirnos más honrados al recibir este premio, o más orgullosos del crecimiento que ha tenido la publicación. El amor de Henry por el café y su comprensión de los principios de negocios, han demostrado ser una combinación ganadora, y a lo largo del último año hemos visto un aumento del 850% en el número de lectores. Sabemos que es gracias a nuestros maravillosos lectores, que comparten nuestros artículos, comentan en nuestras publicaciones y le dan ‘me gusta’ a nuestros videos.
En combinación con nuestra lealtad y participación, Henry ha seguido 4 principios de negocios que son clave para el éxito. Sigue leyendo para descubrir cuales son.
English Version: 4 Key Decisions to Winning SCAE Young Entrepreneur Award
Henry Wilson, CEO de Perfect Daily Grind y Emprendedor Joven de 2016 de SCAE. Foto: Joel Smedley
1. Elige al Equipo Indicado
Perfect Daily Grind es exitoso gracias al equipo de personas que hay detrás del proyecto. El equipo indicado trabajarán juntos, motivando e inspirando entre sí. Verán las cosas desde diferentes perspectivas, dándote a ti, como líder, nuevas ideas y viendo las fallas que quizás hayas pasado por alto. Serán personas en las que confías y que admiras – personas a las que con confianza puedes permitirles que representen tu organización.
Lo más importante, las personas indicadas para ti, no serán las personas indicadas para alguien más. Entender las necesidades de tu organización, y buscar personas que llenen ese espacio es crucial. Piensa en habilidades, en dinámica de equipo, en conecciones previas, y en motivaciones cuando construyas tu equipo.
2. Haz Conexiones Fuertes
Perfect Daily Grind solo es tan bueno como sus artículos – y por fortuna, esos artículos son realmente excelentes. La razón por la que son tan buenos es porque tenemos conexiones fuertes con personas excepcionales. Son escritos por productores, dueños de cafés, tostadores, baristas, y consumidores de todas partes del mundo, y no podríamos estar más agradecidos con nuestros escritores. Sabemos el valor que nos brindan, y por eso trabajamos duro para cultivar una relación con ellos.
No es suficiente sólo hacer buenas conexiones; también tienes que alimentarlas. Respeta a las personas con las que trabajas, respondeles en un tiempo oportuno y ten en cuenta qué puedes hacer por ellos – no solo que pueden hacer ellos por ti. Lo que hace que el mundo del café de especialidad sea tan maravilloso es la experiencia de comunidad; tenemos la suerte de estar en una industria donde conectar a las personas es fácil. Pero necesitamos entender que no podemos subestimar el valor de nuestros maravillosos escritores y socios.
Todos los ganadores de premios a Excelencia SCAE con sus Troféos. Foto: Joel Smedley
3. Responder al Mercado
Como dijo David Veal, el Director Ejecutivo de SCAE, “Perfect Daily Grind creó una nueva plataforma para el intercambio de información dentro de la comunidad del café. El formato es innovador y colaborativo, y estimula la participación de muchos colaboradores en todo el mundo.”
Suplimos estas necesidades y aspiraciones del mundo del café de especialidad trabajando hacia la transparencia desde la semilla hasta la taza. Damos atención a áreas de las que las personas quieren saber más – y áreas que merecen reconocimiento. Y lo hacemos de una forma que aprovecha la tendencia hacia los medios digitales y sociales.
Para lograr el éxito tienes que entender a profundidad las metas y desafíos que enfrenta el mercado. Tienes que responder a la tecnología que está en uso – y la tecnología que se usará en el futuro. Y tienes que evaluar constantemente el servicio que ofreces para ver cómo puede mejorar. Estudiando tu mercado y adaptando tus servicios, podrás asegurar ser relevante en tu industria a largo plazo.
4. Planifica Tu Futuro
Necesitas saber lo que quieres lograr, saber lo que puedes lograr y encontrar una forma de unirlos. No es suficiente estar contento con lo que tienes ahora, porque entonces te quedarás atrás en el mercado futuro. En lugar de esto, constantemente piensa en el futuro.
Perfect Daily Grind comenzó como el blog de un estudiante universitario. Y si nadie hubiera planificado que creciera a ser una publicación digital, si nadie hubiera apuntado a que tuviera escritores de todo el mundo, si nadie hubiera soñado que fuera una marca reconocida – entonces se hubiera quedado como el blog de un estudiante universitario.
Pero recuerda que los planes no deberían ser grabados en piedra. Van a suceder cosas que no esperas, las personas vendrán y se irán, y las tendencias de la industria cambiarán. Ten un plan que permita poco espacio para cambios, y siempre ten un plan B, y C, y D. De esta forma, estás planificando para tener éxito.
Convierte tus sueños en metas, tus metas en planes, y tus planes en realidad. Foto: Joel Smedley. Gracias a Fujifilm por la película.
Gracias especiales a: SCAE por sus cálidas palabras y reconocimiento del éxito de Perfect Daily Grind, nuestros escritores por su excelente cobertura del mundo del café, y todo el equipo de Perfect Daily Grind por su dedicación.
PDG Español
Traducido por Amec V. y Editado por Karla Ly
No podríamos estar más contentos con la gran acogida de PDG Español. ¡Gracias! Síguenos en Instagram y danos ‘like’ en Facebook.
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How Does an Award-Winning Cooperative Support Producers?
How do you ensure an award-winning cooperative supports farmers in producing excellent coffee? La Prosperidad de Chirinos in Peru won two awards at Let’s Talk Coffee Mexico: one for consistently high-quality coffee, another for professionalism in logistics. We spoke to Abdias, General Manager, to find out more.
SEE ALSO: VIDEO: Introducing La Prosperidad de Chirinos, a Peruvian Cooperative
Members of the cooperative process their coffee with technical assistance from the cooperative. Credit: La Prosperidad de Chirinos
Thanks for chatting with us, Abdias! So tell us about the cooperative.
The cooperative was created in 1968, at which time coffee was sold through government institutions. In 1986, La Prosperidad gained organic certification and began to export coffee through non-government exporters. Then in 2001, we managed to independently export our first container to Twin Trade in England. That same year, we also achieved Fair Trade Certification.
Today, we work with 764 producers. Our goal is to reach as many coffee farmers as possible, providing them technical assistance and including them in social and environmentally friendly projects.
How does a producer join the cooperative?
Each producer must pay 400 soles (approx USD 120) to join. They also need to contribute 5 soles (approx USD 1.50) per quintal of coffee annually, which is used for investments and as working capital. They also need to be approved by the region to which they will belong before they can join the cooperative.
How do they benefit from joining?
La Prosperidad gives higher prices than the competition. Also, every December, La Prosperidad gives additional bonuses based on cup quality. And in March, producers receive 43 soles (approx USD 13) per quintal.
We also provide technical assistance and a fertilization plan which runs throughout the year. As part of this fertilization plan, producers can get organic compost from the cooperative’s composting plant. 85% of the producers have organic certification.
All of them have Fair Trade certification, too, but 25% of the Fair Trade bonus is reserved for improvements in production and quality. What’s more, producers get feedback on cup profiles, which has helped ensure high-quality coffee is produced over the long term.
A meeting of the cooperative. Credit: La Prosperidad de Chirinos
How are you including the younger generation?
We work with a foundation that runs workshops for young people in order to change the way they think about farming. We are also working on a project for replacing leaders with ones from the next generation. And we have our own youth committee to increase participation among younger farmers. Overall, we see high levels of interest in working in coffee among the next generation.
Younger members of the cooperative picking ripe cherries. Credit: La Prosperidad de Chirinos
What about women in coffee?
We provide each woman with two pigs and a “bio garden” in order to promote income diversification. We also organize a contest to reward the women with the best garden.
Do you get support from any other organizations?
The companies Progreso and Colectivo have provided coffee dryers. We also try to get support from our customers for producers who have been affected by climate change. And different foundations have also supported our social projects.
What have the biggest challenges been?
Maintaining quality over the long term. Climate change is something we constantly battle. It’s the reason we have to deal with plagues and diseases such as the coffee berry borer, broca, and coffee leaf rust, roya, and it makes it difficult for us to meet the market requirements. And we have to be very strict with our producers in order to reach our standards for quality. Ultimately, this brings us better prices and better farming practices.
The cooperative works to ensure cup quality despite the risk of pests and disease. Credit: La Prosperidad de Chirinos
How is the Peruvian coffee industry changing?
Due to climate change, producers are trying to farm new, more resistant varietals. We take into account new climate conditions and cup quality in order to teach producers about varietals that are convenient to grow.
Also, national coffee production and the internal consumption is growing. We wish we had more government support so as to guarantee prosperity and success in the coffee sector.
What makes La Prosperidad successful?
We engage producers through education, trust and constant communication. We are committed to teamwork – you can achieve great things if you have a great team! We also know that training is important if we want our team to work at a higher level. We need to provide them with education and encourage them to constantly work towards improvement.
Good communication is also important. If I’m aware of what’s going on, I can act rapidly. I am in constant communication with the managers. We meet often to discuss organizational and logistical problems and look for ways to improve. We do the same with the producers.
I see. Congratulations on your awards, and thanks for talking, Abdias!
Interview conducted and translated by A. Molina Ospina.
Perfect Daily Grind
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Meet April Coffee, The New Nordic Roaster From Patrik Rolf Karlsson
At just 26 years old, native Swede Patrik Rolf Karlsson has already built himself an impressive resume in the world of coffee. An alumnus of prestigious European roasters da Matteo (Helsingborg) and Five Elephant (Berlin), Karlsson is a Coffee Masters tournament finalist, a Barista Guild of Europe CoLab featured speaker, and was name checked as a coach by competitors in both the 2016 World Brewers and World Barista Championship. But today, and for the first time, he’s directing a project of his very own: April Coffee, a new coffee roastery based in Copenhagen, Denmark.
To learn more about the project, Sprudge co-founder Jordan Michelman spoke with Karlsson digitally from Copenhagen.
Patrik Rolf at the Coffee Masters Tournament. Photo by Gary Handley.
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed.
Hello Patrik, and thanks for speaking to Sprudge. For starters, give us some background on your work in coffee leading up to the opening of April .
I started at da Matteo in Gothenburg, my hometown. I did as most people in the industry: you start doing dishes and work yourself up. I went from running an entrepreneurial project to coffee because I was fascinated by how the coffee industry was developing. Right from the beginning, I spent a lot of time practicing, researching and testing on my free time. I still do that today. For every door you open there is always something new to explore. After six months behind the bar, I ended up in the roastery together with Christian Gullbrandsson, who was and still is head of the da Matteo roastery. He taught me a lot and most importantly he gave me an opportunity to experience roasting. I am very fortunate to have had the opportunity to start my career at da Matteo; a lot of very talented people have their background there.
After a few years my curiosity took over and I needed to see what was happening in coffee around Europe, and I ended up in Berlin, working as the Head of Roastery at Five Elephant Coffee Roastery. It was a two-year long intensive process. I only had a few days over that time where I wasn’t in the roastery, and I finally got the opportunity to explore as much as I wanted. One of the key things was a very big private label client that gave me the opportunity to roast a lot of coffee, averaging 3 – 4 tons a week on a CR-25 Diedrich roaster. One day I roasted for 25 hours in a row, averaging 3-5 minutes in between each roast. I tried it simply because I could. It was a great time.
Along that time I started to travel around and share ideas about coffee, attending and giving presentations at workshops all over the world. Sharing knowledge hs always been a key thing and will continue to be in April.
Why did you choose Copenhagen as a base of operations?
I decided to start this project in Copenhagen because the city has been my main source of inspiration over the last years. Its a dynamic, quality oriented and innovative place, home to some of the best beverage and food in the world. I believe that your surroundings shape who you are, both as a person and as a company.
What are you roasting on? Does April have its own facility?
I am roasting on a 15 kg Falcon Loring Machine at The Factory Roast Lab in Copenhagen. April will have its own facility in the future, but right now I am taking it easy, step by step. I am just as interested in the business part of a coffee roastery as well as the coffee part.
Please tell us about the coffees you are opening with — why these choices? What makes them special?
The most important thing with the green coffee is that I have decided to start working with one green bean supplier. Most roasteries today buy from several different importers. A big part of April is exploring how companies can grow together and most importantly working with one green bean importer gives me the opportunity from a very early stage to work continuously with my producers. For me, this will be the most important aspect of what I will do. I am growing together with others, not taking any shortcuts. If I get more money my producers gets more money.
That being said, there is some really tasty coffee in the lineup. I am trying to build up a wide range of taste experience to showcase the potential behind each origin.
Describe to us your “philosophy” on roasting — what approach to you take? Analytical, taste-based, or some sort of synthesis?
We are still learning how to roast. I am going to write that with capital letters on the wall in the future April facility. It is important to understand that we as an industry are new to this. Every day is a learning curve. I believe in a combination of data and taste, and lots of it. That is the only way. If you ask me how I will roast a year from now the only thing I can say for sure is that I will figure out something better than what I do now.
We enjoy the sleek, minimalist design of your packaging. Whom designed it? What inspired it?
Thank you. A dear friend, Verena Warnke, who is a Berlin-based designer and freelancer helped me. Everything with April is connected to Copenhagen. One of my favorite features is that the colors are taken from four of the houses at the famous Nyhavn Street in Copenhagen. Simple is good. I also thought a lot about what kind of information that was important for me to have on the bag and how to display it a good way.
Where will April be served? Is your coffee’s availability limited to Europe?
The idea behind April is to work long term with a few list of clients that are all very quality oriented. I have clients in South Korea, Australia, and Canada, as well as in Europe—so I am sure we can figure out something if anyone wants to buy some in the States.
Do you intend to open a cafe?
No.
Who are your greatest coffee inspirations?
Tim Wendelboe. I still remember jumping on the bus almost every weekend when I lived in Gothenburg to go up and drink coffee at his shop.
Petra Roasting Co‘s owner Kaan Bergsen. They do an amazing job integrating some amazing coffee in a setting that feels unique and has a lot of identity—you won’t find another Petra out in the world.
Most of my inspiration comes from outside of coffee.
If you could have April served in any coffee bar in the world, which would it be and why?
ON’AIR in Shanghai. Love at first sight. Attention to detail, the fact that the owner is a really good guy, location and so much more. It’s something that needs to be experienced.
Jordan Michelman is a co-founder and editor at Sprudge Media Network. Read more Jordan Michelman on Sprudge.
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VIDEO: How Coffee Is Bringing Together Refugees in South Sudan
Coffee can’t replace a permanent home or provide closure after trauma – but it can help life to feel normal again. It can also provide a small income where otherwise there would be nothing.
Yida refugee camp was supposed to be closed by now, but it’s still home to 60,000 refugees who have been based there since 2011 (UN figures). Although the UN wish to relocate the camp, refugees are unwilling to move to the new location out of fear that they will be even more vulnerable there.
Amid this tragedy, widow Afaf Ahmed decided to start serving coffee in the traditional Sudanese method, roasting the beans fresh by hand and adding spices. See her explain why in this video from AJ+.
SEE ALSO: Laos, Ethiopia, Nepal: 3 Insider VIDEOS of Street Vendor Coffee
SEE ALSO: Fika Coffee Break: The Social Ritual of Coffee
Feature photo credit: AJ+
Please note: Perfect Daily Grind does not own the rights to these videos and cannot be held accountable for their content.
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London: Inside The All-New Assembly Coffee Brixton
Assembly Coffee is a small batch, specialty coffee roaster and a sister brand to Volcano Coffee Works, based in London. The company started roasting 18 months ago after officially launching the business at the London Coffee Festival 2015. Earlier this November, they established a new home in Brixton, south London, and celebrated with a big party for the London coffee industry.
A few days before the opening I went to Brixton for a tour of the site and a chat with Michael Cleland, responsible for marketing and development, and Nick Mabey, head of quality and certified Q grader. Sitting around a rotating cupping table in Assembly’s sensory lab we discussed how Assembly was born and what goals they set up to achieve.
right: michael cleland; left: nick mabey
The main goal for any roaster is to consistently offer great coffee that is aligned with the needs and tastes of the industry. “There are no compromises on coffee at Assembly: this is the core of our work at the roastery,” says Mabey. “Our coffee has to be as good as anybody else’s.”
Director of coffee Joe McElhinney and roaster Katelyn Thompson roast over 500 kilograms of coffee weekly on Giesen machines (including a brand new Giesen WP1). Assembly currently ships coffee to 75 cafes across the UK, Europe, and rest of the world. Outside London, a few of the cafes they work with include in the Ten Belles in Paris, Lowdown Coffee in Edinburgh, and Bloom Specialty Coffee in Bucharest. Their coffee has been served as far away as Taiwan’s All Day Roasting Company, and upcoming plans call for collaborations with the likes of Flight Coffee (Wellington), Proud Mary (Melbourne), and Grace & Taylor (Sydney).
The new roastery is huge, housed in a former 19th century fire station. At the front there are two small rooms dedicated to public events, coffee research, product development, and quality control. Future plans include hosting open cupping selections once a month, barista trainings, events, and exhibitions. The middle room is where the roasting takes place, while the back area is used for packaging, dispatching, and administrative work.
One of the reasons behind Assembly’s move to Brixton was to create a welcoming and accessible space in a central location, easy to reach and open to all their wholesale customers. “Assembly is driven by progression and community,” explains Cleland. “Our philosophy is to change our customers’ perception on coffee. We want to move coffee forward,” says Cleland.
The new roastery is an open door to the coffee industry; a space where roasters and buyers can develop a relationship that goes beyond the sale transaction.
“A roastery and a cafe have the same objectives and the ultimate goal is to have more customers go into independent cafes. They also have the same obstacles,” Cleland explains. Part of his job is to analyze how independent cafes work, understand their needs, identify problems straight away, and help cafe owners find the solutions. He also runs reports and collects insider information that is shared with the wholesale customers directly or via the Assembly blog.
Being able to offer advice and support to independent cafes is at the core of Assembly’s work and what they hope, with time, will set them apart from the competition—and this being London, there’s no shortage of it.
Giulia Mule (@mulia) is a Sprudge.com contributor based in London. Read more Giulia Mule on Sprudge.
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