I recently read an article posted on a prominent online news site admonishing "bad coffee" and the people who buy it. I'll be the first person to encourage drinking good coffee over bad, so I dove into the article hoping to find it an insightful and positive set of tips for a coffee drinker eager to learn. Unfortunately it turned out to be a poorly written, ill informed rant from a bitter barista someone mistakenly hired to write a piece on coffee.
The article got me thinking though; thinking about all of the coffee questions I field in a day from customers, friends, clients, chefs--you name it. I realized that most of the questions fall along a fairly consistent line of topics and almost always can be answered with just a few basic pieces of information.
I decided to rebut the negative article I read with something more along the lines of what I had hoped it would be--a helpful FAQ on what makes a good (or bad) cup of coffee so the next time you're buying a cup or a bag, perhaps you'll be armed with a bit more knowledge to guide your decision.
The article's first and foremost falsehood went something like this: "All dark roasted coffee is bad coffee". False. All badly roasted dark roasted coffee is bad coffee. In fact, all badly roasted coffee of any type is bad coffee. Whether you love or hate dark roasted coffee, it is a legitimate style and if done properly, has a great deal of value and relevancy in the specialty coffee world. Why? Science.
Dark roasted coffee is roasted longer and to higher temperatures which takes the bean further into the Maillard Reaction (complex amino acid reaction that leads to browning and the creation of unctuous flavors), as well as the second crack where the beans essential oils (flavor) expand, breaking the cell walls and eventually coming to the surface. In darker roasts, caffeine and acid are burnt off to a greater extent. Yes, if you go too deeply into the roast, some of the essential oils (flavor) will burn off, which is a bad thing, and the bean starts to carbonize (burn) which isn't all that tasty; but if your roaster knows what they're doing, a dark roast can be an excellent cup of coffee on its own or a great addition to a post-roast blend.
Don't get caught up in the notion that great coffee has to be expensive or rare. Yes, there are some great exotic coffees out there and they certainly have their value, but the average coffee drinker can find a nearly limitless world of awesome coffee experiences for normal market price.
Old school notions of where "good coffee" comes from are just that, old school. Everybody has an older family member who insists that Colombian coffee is the best in the world. Neat, but not really true. Years ago, Colombian coffee was the "best" because it was marketed as such. Colombia's coffee production varies in yield and quality just like every other coffee producing coffee in the world--why? Because coffee is an agricultural product. Saying one country produces the best coffee, always, is like saying one country always produces the best cabbages. There are countries in Latin America, Indonesia and Africa, all producing coffee, much of it is great in the hands of a good roaster. Go exploring. Take note of why you like the coffees you do. Take those notes to your roaster and ask for suggestions on where to explore next--they're professionals and they'll appreciate the opportunity to share their passion. If they don't, get a new roaster (like us!).
Brew right. Once you've gotten an awesome bag of coffee, fresh from the roaster, ask your roaster to show you the best way to brew that coffee without drastically changing your equipment. Yes, there are a ton of brewing methods, one cooler than the next and the next and the... you get the point; but fact is, you can brew a great cup of coffee with any piece of equipment, even if it is as simple as a clean sock and a pot of hot water. Challenge your roaster or barista to teach you how to best extract your coffee with the tools you have. Once you've mastered it you can explore new brewing methods if you want. Skip pretense. Have fun.
Take good care of your coffee. Now that you've got great coffee and you know how to brew it, take good care of it. Coffee absorbs smells and is sensitive to moisture, harsh temperatures and sunlight. Keep your coffee out of the fridge, freezer, spice cabinet, sock drawer etc. You don't have to be fancy, just use a tupperware or a ziplock bag and keep it in a cabinet. If you want to be fancy, we like to suggest a Mason Jar or a nice hinge-seal canister. Also, only buy what you need for a week. If you're a one cup of coffee per day kind of person, you can probably get by on a single 12oz bag per week. Our motto is buy fresh and buy often. The best way to ruin what could have been a great cup of coffee is to wait until it has oxidized (more science). Remember, coffee's flavor is coming from its essential oils; if they have oxidized and/or evaporated then what do you have? A little piece of lightly toasted wood (not appetizing).
Do you have specific coffee questions--things you've heard or wondered?
We have answers. I'm pretty sure we've heard all the wacky questions about coffee and formulated responses, but I would love the challenge of you sending us something new.
Ask away; all questions will be answered!
The article got me thinking though; thinking about all of the coffee questions I field in a day from customers, friends, clients, chefs--you name it. I realized that most of the questions fall along a fairly consistent line of topics and almost always can be answered with just a few basic pieces of information.
I decided to rebut the negative article I read with something more along the lines of what I had hoped it would be--a helpful FAQ on what makes a good (or bad) cup of coffee so the next time you're buying a cup or a bag, perhaps you'll be armed with a bit more knowledge to guide your decision.
The article's first and foremost falsehood went something like this: "All dark roasted coffee is bad coffee". False. All badly roasted dark roasted coffee is bad coffee. In fact, all badly roasted coffee of any type is bad coffee. Whether you love or hate dark roasted coffee, it is a legitimate style and if done properly, has a great deal of value and relevancy in the specialty coffee world. Why? Science.
Dark roasted coffee is roasted longer and to higher temperatures which takes the bean further into the Maillard Reaction (complex amino acid reaction that leads to browning and the creation of unctuous flavors), as well as the second crack where the beans essential oils (flavor) expand, breaking the cell walls and eventually coming to the surface. In darker roasts, caffeine and acid are burnt off to a greater extent. Yes, if you go too deeply into the roast, some of the essential oils (flavor) will burn off, which is a bad thing, and the bean starts to carbonize (burn) which isn't all that tasty; but if your roaster knows what they're doing, a dark roast can be an excellent cup of coffee on its own or a great addition to a post-roast blend.
Don't get caught up in the notion that great coffee has to be expensive or rare. Yes, there are some great exotic coffees out there and they certainly have their value, but the average coffee drinker can find a nearly limitless world of awesome coffee experiences for normal market price.
Old school notions of where "good coffee" comes from are just that, old school. Everybody has an older family member who insists that Colombian coffee is the best in the world. Neat, but not really true. Years ago, Colombian coffee was the "best" because it was marketed as such. Colombia's coffee production varies in yield and quality just like every other coffee producing coffee in the world--why? Because coffee is an agricultural product. Saying one country produces the best coffee, always, is like saying one country always produces the best cabbages. There are countries in Latin America, Indonesia and Africa, all producing coffee, much of it is great in the hands of a good roaster. Go exploring. Take note of why you like the coffees you do. Take those notes to your roaster and ask for suggestions on where to explore next--they're professionals and they'll appreciate the opportunity to share their passion. If they don't, get a new roaster (like us!).
Brew right. Once you've gotten an awesome bag of coffee, fresh from the roaster, ask your roaster to show you the best way to brew that coffee without drastically changing your equipment. Yes, there are a ton of brewing methods, one cooler than the next and the next and the... you get the point; but fact is, you can brew a great cup of coffee with any piece of equipment, even if it is as simple as a clean sock and a pot of hot water. Challenge your roaster or barista to teach you how to best extract your coffee with the tools you have. Once you've mastered it you can explore new brewing methods if you want. Skip pretense. Have fun.
Take good care of your coffee. Now that you've got great coffee and you know how to brew it, take good care of it. Coffee absorbs smells and is sensitive to moisture, harsh temperatures and sunlight. Keep your coffee out of the fridge, freezer, spice cabinet, sock drawer etc. You don't have to be fancy, just use a tupperware or a ziplock bag and keep it in a cabinet. If you want to be fancy, we like to suggest a Mason Jar or a nice hinge-seal canister. Also, only buy what you need for a week. If you're a one cup of coffee per day kind of person, you can probably get by on a single 12oz bag per week. Our motto is buy fresh and buy often. The best way to ruin what could have been a great cup of coffee is to wait until it has oxidized (more science). Remember, coffee's flavor is coming from its essential oils; if they have oxidized and/or evaporated then what do you have? A little piece of lightly toasted wood (not appetizing).
Do you have specific coffee questions--things you've heard or wondered?
We have answers. I'm pretty sure we've heard all the wacky questions about coffee and formulated responses, but I would love the challenge of you sending us something new.
Ask away; all questions will be answered!
RSS Feed
