Cómo Dibujar tu Café: Una Guía de Ilustración Paso a Paso

El arte del café va más allá de los lattes. El sabor, el olor e incluso el aspecto de una preparación evocan emociones, así que, como barista e ilustrador, siempre estoy ansioso por capturar la perfección del café a través de mis obras de arte.

Y hoy, estoy aquí para enseñarte a dibujar tu propio arte del café. Verás algunas fotos, ya sea que las utilices para tarjetas de cumpleaños o como arte en la pared de tu cafetería.

English Version: How to Draw Coffee: A Step-by-Step Illustration Guide

Proceso de Ilustración

Mi estilo es una mezcla de trabajo autodidacta y técnicas de la vieja escuela, como sombreado cruzado y punteado (explicaré esto en un momento).

Cuando comienzo a dibujar, primero decido qué información (si hay alguna) quiero encontrar en mi trabajo; luego puedo comenzar a hacer la forma y las características. En el ejemplo que utilizaré para este artículo, solo quería dibujar una taza de café, así que lo mantuve simple pero visualmente atractivo e interesante.

Ah, y mientras tanto te mostraré cómo crear una imagen específica, este método versátil se puede utilizar para dibujar una variedad de otras imágenes relacionadas con el café. El límite es tu imaginación…

1. El Contorno

Comienzo dibujando la forma con lápiz. En este caso, empecé con una taza de café; es algo que conozco bien y que servirá de base para el resto de la imagen. Luego agregué una fuente y dos granos flotando en la parte superior.

Una vez hayas terminado el contorno, tendrás una buena idea de cómo resultará el dibujo final. Entonces es hora de comenzar a hacer algunas marcas más permanentes.

Con cuidado, traza nuevamente las marcas de lápiz, siendo lo más preciso posible. Aquí he usado un marcador Sharpie estándar sobre lienzo.

2.  Sombreado

 

Ahora estamos listos para dar vida al dibujo con algo de sombreado. En los granos usé punteado, lo que significa que construí la textura y la forma usando cientos de puntos. Pero para la fuente usé negro sólido. Echa un vistazo a las diferencias en la imagen y piensa qué técnica se adaptará mejor a tus imágenes.

Utilicé una tercera técnica para sombrear la taza, que es en realidad mi método favorito de sombreado de líneas. Implica trazar líneas siguiendo la forma de la taza, pero gradualmente las desvanece para dar la impresión de una fuente de luz. Es simple, pero es una gran manera de agregar sombra y profundidad.

3. El Fondo

Ahora es el momento de realizar el último paso: el fondo. Esto no es estrictamente necesario, la taza y la fuente ya se ven bien, pero la imagen se destacará con un fondo adecuado. Entonces, en este caso, opté por un patrón ondulado de vetas de madera que realmente resalta el primer plano.

Si seguiste el proceso que hice, ¡felicidades! Has hecho tu propio arte de café. Puede que no sea perfecto, pero con la práctica se volverá más fácil.

Y si no estuvieras haciendo los pasos conmigo, ¡¿qué esperas?! Saca tus lápices y bolígrafos y comienza a dibujar. Te sorprenderá lo que puedes producir.

¿Has hecho tu propio arte de café? ¡Nos encantaría verlo! Compártelo con nosotros en los comentarios, en Instagram o en Facebook.

Escrito por T. Shaw y editado por H. Paull.

Crédito de la foto: pexels.com

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Brooklyn: The Mixtape Shop Combines Coffee And Vinyl In Bed-Stuy

Stroll past The Mixtape Shop, and you’ll know straight away that it’s a shiny new cafe—but that’s only the half of it.

“The brightness, the white walls—they became steps to make it more welcoming for more people,” says owner Brian Thomas, seated in his new cafe-cum-record-store in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood.

Well over a decade ago, as mom-and-pop record shops succumbed to the MP3, Thomas’ opening might have seemed ill-timed. And while record sales have actually gone up, record stores are still teetering—which is why Thomas hasn’t opened a record shop (or at least, not only a record shop).

Think of The Mixtape Shop like the mullet of concept stores: Business in the front (a minimalist cafe), party in the back (a hidden record shop, complete with a DJ booth). A cafe has an easier time standing alone, while a digital-age record store will benefit from the buzzy habitat.

It’s an evolution of a story that began in 2009: While Thomas was in art school in California, he co-founded MixTape Club, a website which regularly published batches of mixtapes. It started as a way to bring artists and amateurs together, to share new tracks.

Thomas moved to Brazil in 2012, and later, at a party in London, met Erica Roden, a member of MixTape Club. They moved to Australia one year later (Roden is Australian, hence their ensuing interest in coffee shops), and then to NYC in 2014.  Around this time, they began to consider bringing the MixTape Club into the physical retail space, inspired by other mixed-use businesses they’d seen anywhere from NYC to Berlin and Tokyo. They dipped their toe in the water last year, opening an online record shop, and after learning the ropes, they eventually found a storefront in Bed-Stuy for their brick-and-mortar.

But they knew that record stores had the tendency to intimidate the casual music fan.

To them, classic record shops were known for being a bit worn around the edges, a clutter of titles in various bins, which were only fun to browse if you knew exactly what you were digging for. The everyday passerby might hesitate to explore such a place—which was usually dim, dusty, and far from welcoming.

They opted for a complete refresh.

Insid The Mixtape Shop, the cafe’s clean-lined interior is minimal and airy. Plank floors are painted white, and surfaces are all light-wood accented with leafy green plants and cacti. The tin ceiling, painted black, is highlighted with a succession of thin overhead bulbs which flood the space with light.

The coffee bar, helmed by a shiny La Marzocco Linea that is visible from the street, serves Intelligentsia Coffee (Black Cat for espresso, and Frequency for drip) while a case of treats from nearby Saraghina Bakery offers a range from speck and Robiola croissants to sausage and fennel biscuits.

Brian Thomas

Once you’re inside, you can’t miss the music.

Beyond the bar, about halfway through the shop, the space eases into an open layout where vinyl is stocked in the spotlight. For most, there’s no need to explore beyond the cafe area, but Thomas and Roden’s intention is that, while customers await their latte, curiosity might just handle the rest.

“People will order their coffee and then do a loop and around the store and look,” says Thomas. “But after visiting a few times, they’ll start asking questions and start picking things up—it can spark the interest.”

Unlike timeworn shops with miscellaneous finds, there’s a pristine order to the small collection, all encased in tidy rows and right-angles. A long, jet-back DJ booth punctuates the back wall and hosts DJs every few weeks, while two listening stations are permanently up for grabs.

Along the walls, a handful of featured records are propped on shelves. It’s no panoply—beats for sale are a special curation, largely house, dance, and techno music along with a sprinkling of music that helped birth those genres, like soul, jazz, and folk. It gets personal, too, with Brazilian funk and boogie, influenced from the owners’ time in the country.

It’s a distilled approach to the classic record shop experience—paid for by the modest price of a great cup of coffee.

The Mixtape Shop is located at 1129 Bedford Ave, Brooklyn. Visit their official website and follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Keith Flanagan is a freelance writer and photographer based in Brooklyn, contributing to Condé Nast Traveler, Tasting Table, USA Today, Paste Magazine, The Robb Report, and more. Read more Keith Flanagan on Sprudge.

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Roaster Basics: An Explanation of Roast Graphs

Roast graphs may look intimidating at first, but once you understand them, they are a valuable tool. Whether you’re a pro or a home roaster, they can help you achieve better, more consistent roasts; experiment with new profiles; and learn more about this wonderful craft.

So read on for a basic explanation of roast graphs, from what they measure to how pros and home roasters alike can use them.

SEE ALSO: A Home Roaster’s Dictionary, From First Crack to Silverskin

Checking bean temperature on a roast graph. Credit: Fernwood Coffee Company

Why Use Roast Graphs?

There are few feelings more frustrating than realising you can’t recreate that delicious roast you did last month. Consistency across roasts is key. However, as Patrik Rolf, Founder of April Coffee, tells me, that requires recording data – and the more data you have, the better.

“Consistency will only be achieved if you can follow your curves, using the same burner and air settings as the reference,” he says. “When and how you reach a temperature is as important as the temperature in itself.”

This is why we create detailed roast graphs. They act as a reference that allows you to recreate the same roasts time and time again.

Sebastian Brauer, Head Roaster of Elbgold in Germany, also reminds me that “to follow a roast curve is like following the path of understanding coffee better”. Not only will recording data enable you to repeat the roast but it will help you to understand it. You’ll be able to spot how particular elements influence the final flavour profile of your beans, such as charge temp, rate of rise, and more.

And when you want to test a theory, or try something you read about roasting, you’ll have data to compare the results to.

A roast graph will allow you to find even the slight differences in your roasts. Credit: ladyoftheroast

Can Home Roasters Create Roast Graphs?

Roasting graphs don’t just have to be for professionals. While it’s easier to create them with pro equipment and software, anyone who wants to improve their craft can begin tracking data and analysing it.

Colin Hayes uses the Behmor 1600 Plus drum roaster, which offers a “B temp” reading that correlates with environment/air temperature – a roast graph feature that we’ll be looking at shortly. He tells me that he records the B temp every minute to “check against previous roasts of the same bean”. Placing a thermometer inside a home roaster is another option.

Logging and charting air temperature, while not as comprehensive as pro-level graphs, will enable you to control your roasts and follow previously successful curves. So let’s take a look at what these curves mean.

Recording the temperature every 30 seconds. Credit: Amateur Roasters

How to Read a Roast Graph

Danny Hall is the developer of Roastmaster, an app designed to record roast data. He divides roast graph data into two types of curves: control curves and reading curves. Control curves are variables that you directly control during the roast, such as the heat settings, airflow, and gas flow. Reading curves are temperature readings. Since the variables are constantly changing, they are recorded as line graphs.

But what reading curves do you need to know? Patrik tells me that the key ones are bean temperature, air/environment temperature, and rate of rise curves – although you can also measure bean colour, air, and gas pressure for even greater insights.

Roast graphs track the journey from green beans to roasted coffee. Credit: rezakosar_

Bean Temperature

Neal Wilson, the author of open-source data collection app Typica, says, “One piece of data that people like to have is the temperature of the coffee in the roaster and how that changes over time. This can provide insight into what’s happening both chemically and physically in the bean and aid in comparing roasts or diagnosing quality and consistency issues.” He explains that bean temperature can be read through a thermocouple installed inside the coffee mass.

The bean temperature curve will look a bit like a check mark; once it starts going up (something called the turning point – more on that to come!) it should always continue going up. If not, you risk stalling your coffee and developing bread-like, doughy flavours

Rate of Rise

The rate of rise curve is linked to bean temperature, but there’s a subtle difference: it measures the rate at which bean temperature changes. This will give you far earlier indications of temperature changes and, in turn, allow you more control over the roast. It has a very different shape to the bean temperature curve, rising sharply from zero shortly after the turning point.

SEE ALSO: Coffee Roasting Essentials: A Guide to Rate of Rise (RoR)

Air Temperature

This variable – which is the same one Colin records via B temp on his Behmor 1600 Plus – measures the environment inside the drum. It’s useful to know because much of the heat transfer in coffee roasting is via air. This line will follow a similar shape to the bean temperature curve.

A roast graph measuring bean temperature and rate of rise. Credit: Panorama Coffee Australia

Key Stages on Your Roast Graph

Now we know what the roast graph measures, you can start reading and interpreting these lines. To do so, you want to pay attention to several key points on the graph: charge temp, turning point, first crack, and end temp.

Charge Temperature

This is the temperature of your drum just before you add the coffee. By manipulating this, you can speed up or slow down the rate of rise and, in turn, choose how much acidity to accentuate. You should also pay attention to bean density and processing method when selecting this.

SEE ALSO: Coffee Roasting Guide: How to Control Charge Temperature

Turning Point

As you add the cold beans to the roaster, the heat inside the machine will dramatically fall before starting to rise again. The point at which it begins to rise is called turning point.

First Crack

One of coffee roasting’s most famous moments, first crack signals that the beans are almost ready. As the beans expand and moisture evaporates, steam develops inside the beans. This steam then forms pressure that cracks the beans open.

SEE ALSO: What Is First Crack and How Do You Recognise It?

End Temperature

As the name suggests, this is the temperature at the end of your roast.

By understanding what’s going on inside the roaster at these key points, you’ll be able to start evaluating the impact of them on your beans. For example, by manipulating charge temp you can speed up or slow down your roast. The duration of first crack can affect body.

One small thing: it’s important to pay attention to the whole roasting process. These are the key points that give the roast structure but they shouldn’t be analysed alone. As Sebastian tells me, “All phases stick together. But points, especially like first crack, need a package of extra care.”

The coffee bean continues to transform at every stage of roasting. Credit: Shutters Coffee Roastery

Roasting graphs may, at first, be challenging. There’s a lot of data to collect and understand. However, as you start to work with air temperature, rate of rise, first crack, and more, you will begin to gain real mastery over how your coffee beans develop during roasting. So don’t be intimidated by these charts – start recording those temperatures and see how it helps you as a roaster.

Written by Angie Molina.

Please note: This article has been sponsored by Behmor.  

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Tostadores: Lo Que Deben Saber Sobre el Café Descafeinado

Tostadores, no cometan el error de usar el mismo perfil de tueste para los descafeinados y cafés habituales. La descafeinización afecta la composición de los granos, y a la vez afecta la cantidad de calor que se transfiere a sus células. Si quieres sacar lo mejor de tu café descafeinado y quieres que su origen salga a relucir, vas a tener que crear un perfil de tueste único.

Pero, ¿cómo deberías adaptar los perfiles de tueste para un café descafeinado con gran sabor? Aaron Braun, especialista en calidad del café en Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee Company, compartió conmigo sus consejos. Aquí está lo que aprendí.

English Version: What Roasters Need to Know About Decaf Coffee

Café verde rumbo a ser descafeinado. Crédito: Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee Company

Café Descafeinado: ¿Qué tan Distinto Es?

Aaron me explicó que el objetivo de Swiss Water Process es remover del grano únicamente la cafeína, sin agregar ningún proceso específico de sabor. Sin embargo, tan solo eliminar la cafeína ya afecta la estructura del grano. Echemos un vistazo a esas diferencias.

Lo primero que debes notar es la diferencia de color. El proceso de descafeinización altera la apariencia del café. En el caso de Swiss Water, los granos son uniformes en color pero con un tono más oscuro que los cafés verdes regulares. “Esa apariencia exterior necesita tenerse en consideración” enfatizó Aaron. “El café puede verse más desarrollado de lo que en realidad está, así que necesitas dedicarle más atención a la temperatura del tueste”.

Otro punto importante es el peso del grano; el café descafeinado es más liviano y menos denso porque los componentes se han removido, y a su vez esto afecta como el café reacciona al calor.

VER TAMBIÉN: Aspectos Básicos del Tueste: Cómo Tostar Granos Duros y Granos Semiduros

Dicho esto, el café descafeinado sigue siendo café. Por ejemplo, digamos que tienes un café descafeinado Yirgacheffe de Etiopía. Los grandes determinantes del perfil de tueste seguirán siendo esa región, la altitud, el perfil de sabor, la variedad y así.

Lo que vamos a sugerir son algunos cambios para tu proceso de tueste, cambios que asegurarán que obtengas lo mejor de esos granos exquisitos.

Los granos descafeinados son ligeramente más oscuros que los granos normales. Crédito: Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee Company

Temperatura de Carga

Tostar café siempre se reduce al uso correcto del calor. Con los descafeinados, necesitas ser un poco más gentil. Mantén la temperatura de carga (el calor del tambor antes de introducir los granos) baja. Los granos descafeinados son más livianos y su estructura está un poco más degradada, es decir que debes evitar calentarlos demasiado rápido.

VER TAMBIÉN: Por qué las Tiendas de Café Deberían Cobrar Más Por el Café Descafeinado

Aaron no me dio una guía de temperatura exacta (después de todo, todos los cafés son distintos). Sin embargo, me dijo que cuando hacen muestras de tueste de sus cafés descafeinados en las instalaciones de Swiss Water, usan una temperatura de carga de 375–400ºF/190.5–204.5ºC.

Café tostado listo para análisis.  Crédito: Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee Company

Primer & Segundo Crack

Ten cuidado de no tostar tu café por demasiado, o muy poco, tiempo. El primer crack debería ocurrir aproximadamente al mismo tiempo para los descafeinados como para los granos normales. Sin embargo, es probable que el tueste progrese rápidamente después del primer crack en el café descafeinado, debido a sus células degradadas y su peso más liviano. Te sorprenderás de lo rápido que llega el segundo crack.

Por otro lado, recuerda que los granos van a ser más oscuros que los regulares. No te dejes engañar, tostar cafés descafeinados es un equilibrio delicado: debes prestar atención al desarrollo de esos deliciosos aromas de café, la temperatura del tambor y más.

Granos normales y descafeinados del mismo café, listos para la prueba. Crédito:  Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee Company

Último Control de Calidad

Al igual que con el café normal, debes catar los granos después de tostarlos. Pero Aaron también recomienda prestar mucha atención a la consistencia del color de las partículas. Como el color de la superficie es más oscuro, es aún más importante verificar el color interno.

¿No estás seguro de cuán oscuro debería ser tu café? No hay una respuesta “correcta” (después de todo, los niveles de tueste son una cuestión de preferencia). Sin embargo, cuando se tuesta una muestra, los expertos en café de Swiss Water apuntan al número 63 en la escala de Agtron.

Revisa el color de las partículas del café descafeinado. Crédito : Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee Company

No hay una sola regla para tostar café regular, dijo Aaron, e igualmente no hay solo una regla para tostar descafeinados. Se un poco más gentil con la temperatura y no te confíes del color externo del grano. Pero recuerda, no solo estas tostando café descafeinado, sino que también estás tostando un blend Bourbon-Caturra Colombiano, un Zambia Mafinga Hills o un Mandheling de Sumatra. El valor de un café va más allá de su contenido de cafeína.

Escrito por Angie Molina.

Traducido por Alejandra M Hernández 

Por favor, ten en cuenta: este artículo fue patrocinado por Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee Company.

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Stand.earth Is Staging A Protest At Starbucks HQ Over Their Cups

There’s a protest going on right now at Starbucks Headquarters. No, it’s not because someone took exception to them wanting to use their international platform to hire refugees or because their holiday cups aren’t Christmas-y enough. This protest is in response to Starbucks’ unrecyclable cups.

Started on Monday, #BetterCup is a five day protest being staged by Stand.earth, a Bellingham, Washington-based environmental group that is “calling on Starbucks to live up to its 2008 promise to make a 100% recyclable paper cup.” From Stand.earth’s press release:

“Nine years ago, Starbucks made a promise to give us a 100% recyclable cup. But to this day, they’ve left us with nothing but broken promises,” said Jim Ace, Corporate Campaigner at Stand.earth and the lead organizer of the protest. “Starbucks’ own leadership has said their unrecyclable cup is their biggest environmental liability. So why does Starbucks continue to kill more than a million trees each year to make their paper cup — just so customers can use it once and throw it away?”

The protest will include handing out free Starbucks coffee in prototype recyclable cups to all Headquarters employees, multiple appearances of a 12+ foot tall “monster” made of more than 1,000 used Starbucks cups, and erecting a wall of 8,000 used cups, representing the number of the company’s to-go cups that get discarded every minute.

The efforts of Stand.earth are laudable, and to be quite honest, if there’s an American coffee mega-chain that would make this sort of environmentally friendly change it is Starbucks. The company is no stranger to taking on causes; it certainly would not be shocked to find out they’ve already invested a lot of time and money into developing a recyclable cup that can be made on the scale needed for such a large company. Only time will tell.

For more information on Stand.earth or the protest, visit their official website.

Zac Cadwalader is the news editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.

*top image via Earth911

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Mia Coffee Shop: A Tiny Little Cafe Brings Specialty To Malaga, Spain

Tucked away in a cute little square of the old city of Malaga is Mia Coffee Shop, one of a growing number of specialty cafes in southern Spain. It is owned and run by 32-year-old Leo Linares, who arrived in the country in his late teens when his family immigrated from Venezuela. The place is small, unpretentious, and not immediately noticeable. The flamboyant church across the street draws away most of the looks and photos from tourists passing through the area.

Every now and then, you can see Linares’ head popping out of the shop’s main window—beautifully adorned with fruits and plants—saying hello to passers-by, and serving quick flat whites to tourists and regulars. “At first, most of my customers were foreigners,” says the waiter-turned-barista. “Specialty coffee is a new thing here in Malaga. Locals are used to their traditional coffee shops and are generally unwilling to change their routines when it comes to eating and drinking,” he adds.

Indeed, southern Spain and Malaga in particular seem to be tough markets for specialty coffee venues. Scattered through the city, you can see posters that proudly present the way you are supposed to order a local cuppa: a milk-heavy nube (cloud), a mitad (half milk, half coffee), sombra (literally “shadow”—kind of a cappuccino), solo (a 120mL Americano), or a crema (an espresso shot). This is also torrefacto (sugar-glazed, dark-roasted, low-quality beans) territory.

Linares began his specialty coffee journey in 2013, a turning point in his life. “I had some ups and downs that year, with some powerful issues in my personal life. I wasn’t happy with work either,” he admits. It seems things started to click for him when he met his wife. “She made me a better person, straight away. Then at work, I saw a colleague pour a heart in a cappuccino. I thought it was pretty cool, so I asked him to teach me. 2013 made me slow down, become more mature, and show passion and care for what I really wanted to do in life,” says Linares. “I got the Mayan sign for the year tattooed in my arm, as a reminder,” he adds.

Fast forward to 2015, he decided to quit his well-paid barista job in Seville to plan the opening of a shop in Malaga and prepare his participation in the 2016 Spanish Barista Championship. For the signature beverage part of the competition, he looked to his mixed Latin American-Spanish roots for inspiration and prepared a concoction made of honey-processed Colombian espresso with panela (a sugar cane powder) and vanilla-infused olive oil.

“The beverage had great reviews from the judges, although I ran out of time and was eliminated from the competition. It gave me massive confidence going forward with coffee,” says Linares. His wife Maria—after whom he named Mia Coffee Shop—helped him execute the idea for the drink and continues to support him with the business. While Linares competed in Madrid, she was busy talking to sales representatives, trying to secure quality equipment for the cafe.

Mia Coffee Shop is basically a one-man operation, where drinks and food are prepared with delicate care and at the owner’s pace. There is a Wega Pegaso with Compak E6 grinders and coffee from Spanish micro-roasters like, Mr Chava from Seville and Puchero Coffee Roasters from Valladolid. Linares’ ability to convey expertise and love for the job he does is certainly a factor behind his recent success attracting coffee aficionados traveling through Malaga as well as luring the more traditional local crowd to specialty coffee.

Other places flying the Third Wave coffee flag in the city include pioneers Bertani Café, along with more recent openings such as El Último Mono and Santa Canela. Linares also runs improvised cupping sessions for anyone willing to learn. “It may sound cliché, but all the new friends I’ve made here, the regular customers who fall in love with Mia Coffee, they are my new family and this is my house, because I open 10 to 12 hours per day, Monday to Saturday,” he says.

And a family atmosphere is exactly what you feel in this cozy little place, especially when you see his eight-month-old son hanging from his shoulders, reaching for the grinder. “He loves its smell [coffee], because it reminds him of me,” says the proud father.

Mia Coffee Shop is located at Plaza de los Mártires Ciriaco y Paula, 4, 29008 Málaga. Follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

Jaime San Martin is a freelance journalist. This is their first feature for Sprudge.

Photos courtesy of Robin van Calcar.

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The Story Behind Costa Rica’s Disappearing Coffee Farms

People tell me that, once, my hometown was full of coffee fields. But today, there’s just one tree left standing near my house. In the harvest time, its branches are full of fruit, reminding us of what there used to be.

My neighborhood lies in the Tres Ríos coffee region of Costa Rica, on the east side of the Central Valley. Yet Tres Ríos coffee is slowly disappearing. The data backs this up; so too do our stories and memories.

But why? And what does the future hold for our coffee farms?

SEE ALSO: What Are The Main Challenges Faced by Coffee Producers?

Hacienda Alsacia, a Costa Rican coffee farm. Credit: Matias Sauter for Sintercafe

Tres Ríos Coffee: High Altitudes, High Quality

The Tres Ríos coffee region is made of several districts, most of which are in La Unión in the Cartago province. Costa Rica has eight different coffee-producing regions and Tres Ríos is one of the smaller ones. However, it’s also well-recognized for its cup quality.

According to the Instituto del Café de Costa Rica (ICAFE), Tres Ríos was one of the first regions to start cultivating coffee. With its volcanic soil, high altitudes, and good climate, the coffee here is high quality with good acidity. It’s known for being dense and Strictly Hard Bean – something that is associated with more complex flavors and aromas.

Ripe Costa Rican coffee, ready for picking. Credit: La Cafeografa

More Concrete, Less Farms

Yet the same climate that is good for coffee farms is also attracting urban developers. Today, if you tour the region, you’ll quickly notice the real estate growth. New residential areas and shopping centers are displacing farms and coffee fields.

According to ICAFE, Tres Ríos coffee production has been declining over the last ten years. The 2005–2006 harvest accounted for 20,460.5 fanegas (one fanega of coffee cherries is equivalent to 46.2 kg of coffee beans). In the 2015–2016 harvest, this had fallen to just 11,901.33 fanegas.

Of course, production levels could be affected by many factors: climate change or pests, for example. So I decided to look into how much farmland we have, turning to the National Institute of Statistics and Census of Costa Rica (INEC) for data.

In 1984, La Unión (where we find most of the Tres Ríos region, remember) had 234 coffee farms totalling about 1,254 hectares. In the most recently published census, however, in 2014, just 52 coffee farms are listed at a total of 533 hectares. While coffee farms are getting bigger, they are also dramatically dropping in number.

Coffee cherries being depulped at the El Espino micro mill in Atenas, Costa Rica. Credit: Matias Sauter for Sintercafe

Why Is Coffee Declining in Costa Rica?

I reached out Randall Obando, the manager of CoopeUnión Coffee Mill in Tres Ríos, to find out his perspective on the change. In the past, CoopeUnión used to process just coffee from Tres Ríos; now, Randall tells me, the majority of their coffee comes from other places.

I ask him why; he tells me there are many reasons. “It’s partly the price of the coffee,” he begins, “which isn’t enough for coffee producers to live on, even though here in Costa Rica and the region of Tres Ríos we have differential prices. It also has to do with the difficulties we have with coffee leaf rust [a devastating coffee disease which can destroy crops] and real estate pressure.”

And it can all be summed up, Randall believes, with a generational change. “The children of coffee producers inherit lands that require maintenance in order to produce adequate yields, but then they receive offers from real estate companies and prefer to sell up.”

As I said, the land in Tres Ríos is highly valued, wanted for apartments and malls. When prices are good, and coffee farming is hard, it’s easy to see the temptation in selling.

This situation isn’t unique to Tres Ríos; other coffee regions are experiencing it too. However, it is sad to watch coffee farms disappearing in one of the country’s oldest producing regions.

Costa Rican coffee beans.

Is Quality Key to The Future of Tres Ríos Coffee?

Yet Randall wasn’t without hope for the future. “In general, we have fewer and fewer hectares devoted to coffee across the whole country. However, the yield and quality are improving,” he says.

Here is where we find the future of Tres Ríos’ coffee – and that of Costa Rica’s, too. It’s in high-quality specialty-grade beans, often processed in micro mills for third wave consumers. These micro mills make the seed-to-cup journey visible (“Now, traceability is key in our gourmet coffees,” Randall emphasises) and help to ensure distinctive flavor profiles for demanding customers.

I have seen this trend take shape; I have tried this coffee for myself.

The coffee I have in my hand is a Peaberry from a nearby farm. A small specialty roaster gave it to me. Its flavor is balanced with a good body and a citrus acidity.  It is the flavor profile that we hope to taste in an industry we traditionally called el grano de oro or “the golden bean.”

Written by Xótchil Méndez D. of La Cafeografa, Costa Rica. All interviews translated from Spanish.

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The post The Story Behind Costa Rica’s Disappearing Coffee Farms appeared first on Perfect Daily Grind.

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Cómo los Cafés Naturales y Honey Están Cambiando la Imagen del Café Guatemalteco

Guatemala es conocida por su café Arábica de proceso lavado, sin embargo los cafés honeys y naturales están despegando lentamente en este país centroamericano. De hecho, en 2016, cinco de los ganadores de la Taza de la Excelencia fueron honeys y naturales.

Hablé con Roberto Soto, Ingeniero agrónomo en la Asociación Nacional del Café de Guatemala, Anacafé, y con varios productores del país para averiguar más sobre esta tendencia.

English Version:How Naturals & Honeys Are Changing The Face of Guatemalan Coffees

Honeys y naturales en camas elevadas. Crédito: Amec Velazquez

Honeys & Naturales: Lo Esencial

El procesamiento húmedo o lavado tiene una larga y respetada historia en el café de especialidad. Durante este proceso, primero se remueve completamente la cereza antes de poner a secar el café; esto es algo que reduce el riesgo de una fermentación sin control. A su vez, este crea un sabor limpio y consistente que permite realmente sobresalir las características del café. Y hasta hace poco, esto era la norma en Guatemala: de acuerdo con el Green Book de Anacafé, el 98% del café del país es Arábica de proceso lavado.

Pero, recientemente los honeys se han estado ganando los corazones de los consumidores, mientras que los naturales están dejando su nombre en alto en la industria de especialidad. Los cafés naturales, también llamados “cafés procesados en seco”, se secan con la cereza aún adherida; los honeys, por otra parte, se secan con parte de la cereza aun en el grano. En ambos casos, se espera un perfil dulce, a fruta, con un mejor cuerpo.

Sin embargo, estos pueden venir con más riesgos y tener perfiles de sabor más inconsistentes, por lo que los productores deben monitorear y controlar las condiciones de secado, y asegurar un lote de alta calidad.

VER TAMBIÉN: Proceso 101: Lavado, Natural Y Honey Producción de Café

El proceso natural empieza cuando se ponen a secar las cerezas maduras en camas elevadas. Crédito: Angie Molina

Los Beneficios para los Productores & Tostadores

No es que los honeys y naturales vayan a reemplazar a los cafés lavados, pero pueden ser una forma genial de diversificar las ofertas del productor y el tostador, y atraer otras áreas del mercado.

Roberto dijo, “Hay 360 microclimas en Guatemala, más las diferentes variedades, más las altitudes. Agregar nuevos métodos de procesamientos multiplica esto, creando más oportunidades en el mercado, con las mismas variedades presentadas en diferentes formas”.

Además, ciertos cafés pueden ajustarse a diferentes métodos de procesamiento. Roberto me recordó que más del 85% de los cafés del país son granos estrictamente duros, un indicador de una calidad mayor y sabores complejos. Estos cafés en general se ajustan bien cuando tienen un proceso lavado y pueden dar una experiencia sensorial excepcional cuando pasan por proceso honey o natural.

Sin embargo, esos cafés más suaves que crecen en Guatemala bajo los 1,200 m.s.n.m, generalmente obtienen precios más bajos. Un proceso natural o honey puede agregar dulzura, cuerpo y sabores distintivos que permitirá al café llamar la atención de los consumidores.

Además, mientras que los honeys y naturales llevan un poco más de trabajo, generalmente requieren menos infraestructura, lo que ayuda a ahorrar dinero a los productores.

VER TAMBIÉN:  Por qué Los Naturales de Especialidad Requieren de un Estricto Control de Calidad

Con honeys y naturales ganando la Taza de Excelencia, sin duda alguna, estos procesos pueden producir cafés de calidad, y la demanda del mercado también lo refleja.

Cafés naturales secándose en camas elevadas mientras que un productor revisa el progreso de un lote de proceso húmedo. Crédito: Angie Molina

¿Es el Clima de Guatemala Adecuado para Honeys y Naturales?

El clima seco es importante a la hora de procesar honeys y naturales. Si es demasiado húmedo, puede generar un secado inconsistente o cafés mohosos, una situación que sale cara para el productor.

Roberto me dijo que algunas regiones son mejores para los honeys y naturales que otras.  Por ejemplo, el centro y sudeste de Guatemala por lo general son secos.

Sin embargo, en otras regiones puede ser más difícil porque hay un mayor riesgo de lluvias durante la cosecha. Aun así, es posible con un invernadero o secador solar.  Roberto me contó sobre Alejandro Morales, un productor en Huehuetenango, que produce honeys y naturales de forma exitosa y capacita a otros en cómo hacerlo a pesar del clima frío; ya que este retrasa el secado y pone en riesgo los naturales y honeys.

Similarmente, José Alfredo Gómez de La Bendición Coffee Farm, produce honeys y naturales en Palencia, al oriente de Guatemala. Me comentó José que mueve sus cafés hacia adentro y afuera cada vez que la temperatura cambia, por tal razón está pensando en invertir en un invernadero para construir camas elevadas.

VER TAMBIÉN:  Una Guía de los Cafés de Guatemala

Siempre es riesgoso cuando se cambian métodos de procesamiento.  Es importante considerar tanto el clima como los recursos disponibles para decidir si hacer o no procesos naturales o honeys. Sin embargo, al ser cuidadoso como productor, es posible hacer ambas cosas en Guatemala.

Honeys y naturales secándose bajo el sol. Crédito: Angie Molina

Consejos de Procesamiento para Productores Guatemaltecos

Le pedí a Roberto consejos para productores guatemaltecos curiosos sobre el procesamiento natural y honey; me dijo que Anacafé ha creado una guía llamada Guía de Buenas Prácticas para el Café Semi-Lavado y Natural, que lo divide en cuatro pasos:

1. Identificar el café con el que vas a hacer un proceso natural/honey e identificar sus atributos sensoriales. Roberto me explicó que, si lo productores conocen la calidad de ciertos cafés y variedades cuando hacen el proceso de lavado, pueden identificar los mejores cafés para proceso honey o natural.

2. Seguir las mejores prácticas de cosecha. Las cerezas de café deben estar libres de plagas y enfermedades, idealmente deben tener un nivel Brix de 18% a 24%, y las cerezas poco maduras o demasiado maduras deben eliminarse del lote. Además, si se procesa honey, Roberto recomienda dejar las cerezas durante 24 horas antes de despulpar (siempre que el clima sea adecuado).

3. Clasificar el café por densidad o tamaño. Esto tradicionalmente se haría con agua, pero Roberto explicó que esto podría eliminar parte del mucílago adherido a los granos. La cantidad de mucílago definirá la intensidad de las cualidades afrutadas del café y también puede afectar el método de secado.

4. Secado. Para obtener mejores resultados, seca los cafés lentamente. Usa camas elevadas para asegurar el flujo de aire; esto creará un secado uniforme. Por la misma razón, los productores también deben usar capas delgadas de cerezas y moverlas regularmente (cada dos o tres horas durante los primeros días).

VER TAMBIÉN: Cómo Secar Café Natural en Camas Elevadas

Aun así, siguiendo las mejores prácticas, los honey y naturales pueden ser algo engañosos. Roberto recomienda a los productores hacer uso de cualquier asistencia técnica disponible. Además, los productores deberían comenzar con lotes pequeños y experimentales para reducir el riesgo. Las primeras veces, sugirió, que no se centren en la calidad del perfil del café sino en su limpieza: dominar esto será crucial a largo plazo.

Cafés honey secándose bajo el sol. Crédito: Angie Molina

Es importante que los productores sigan las mejores prácticas y actúen con cautela cuando experimenten con nuevos métodos de procesamiento. Y, por supuesto, los cafés de proceso  húmedo siempre serán populares. Sin embargo, para aquellos que pueden invertir tiempo y mano de obra al  procesamiento, y tienen el clima o la infraestructura adecuadas, los cafés honeys y naturales son una gran oportunidad.

Escrito por Angie Molina.

Traducido por Alejandra M Hernández y editado por Karla Boza.

Por favor, ten en cuenta: este artículo fue patrocinado por Anacafé.

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The post Cómo los Cafés Naturales y Honey Están Cambiando la Imagen del Café Guatemalteco appeared first on Perfect Daily Grind.

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