The Home Barista: How to Bring Out the Best in Every Coffee Bean

Table of contents :
Cover......Page 1
Title Page......Page 4
Copyright......Page 5
Contents......Page 7
Introduction......Page 9
1. From Crop to Cup......Page 12
Background to the Brew......Page 13
From Cherry to Bean......Page 17
What's So Special about Specialty Coffee?......Page 21
Coffee in the World Economy......Page 25
2. Good Cup, Bad Cup......Page 28
Is Specialty Coffee Worth It?......Page 30
Coffee Ethics......Page 31
Grading & Classification......Page 36
Single Origins & Blends......Page 37
Establishing Your Palate......Page 40
So Where's My Coffee Bean?......Page 48
Pick a Bean, Any Bean......Page 61
3. A Good Roasting......Page 68
How to Become a Genuine, Certified Roaster......Page 69
The Roasting Process......Page 71
The Home Roaster......Page 75
Is It Worth Roasting at Home?......Page 76
The Roaster's Essentials......Page 77
Tool Up......Page 87
Blending......Page 101
4. You Brew......Page 104
The Daily Grind......Page 105
All in the Timing (and Weight)......Page 109
There's Something in the Water . . .......Page 112
Brew Style......Page 113
Espresso......Page 136
Milk or Sugar?......Page 145
Latte Art......Page 153
Boozy Brews......Page 164
How to Talk Coffee......Page 169
Resources......Page 178
Index......Page 187
About the Authors......Page 193
Back Cover......Page 194

Citation preview

Egger

Roast 

You don’t have to be a roaster to be a great barista, but knowing a bit about how your coffee is roasted can give you a new understanding of the power of the bean. If you want to turn your addiction into a hobby, roasting is the way to do it.

Brew  The huge number of home-brewing options now available to us makes it almost criminal (criminal!) to just stick to the tried and true. Your new favorite brew might be hiding where you least expect it. Drink  A good coffee shouldn’t taste like charcoal or potatoes, it shouldn’t be underwhelming, and let’s face it, it really shouldn’t come from an industry that exploits its workers. Taste 

Have you ever been told a coffee has “berry undertones,” only to take a sip and find that it actually tastes like . . . well, coffee? Don’t be disheartened!

$14.95 US Cooking | Beverages

THE EXPERIMENT ■ NEW YORK

BECAUSE EVERY BOOK IS A TEST OF NEW IDEAS theexperimentpublishing.com Also available as an ebook

Savvy, smart and utterly charming, The Home Barista reveals the secrets to brewing coffee like a pro—right in your own kitchen:

How to bring out the best in every coffee bean

Brew it yourself eight different  ways—from the classic pour over and French press to the siphon and Turkish ibrik. Roast your own beans (and learn  how not to burn them)—whether you invest in a roaster or repurpose your popcorn maker. Refine your palate (try it black—  you may never go back).

How to bring out the best in every coffee bean

Enjoy  Sure, some may frown, but milk, sugar and coffee are a power trio that have been linked for far too long to be ignored. But what to make of all those tut-tuts around soy and skinny? What about the looks of disapproval as you reach for the sugar? Never mind them, we say put whatever you darn well like into your coffee.

f

Ashby Orr

the hOME BARISTA

Turn a Simple Bean into a Sensational Beverage!

!"

Master the elusive espresso (it’s all  about tamp, time and temperature). Design your own latte art (it’s  easier than you think). With these tips and techniques—plus insights on coffee’s lingo, history and culture—you, too, can become a coffee connoisseur! simone egger & ruby ashby orr

THE EXPERIMENT

Home Barista.Cover.indd All Pages

5/21/15 6:20 PM

the

HOME BARISTA

HOW TO BRING OUT THE BEST IN EVERY COFFEE BEAN

SIMONE EGGER & RUBY ASHBY ORR

THE EXPERIMENT NEW YORK

3

The Home Barista: How to Bring Out the Best in Every Coffee Bean Copyright © 2014, 2015 Simone Egger and Ruby Ashby Orr First published in Australia in 2014 by Affirm Press. All rights reserved. Except for brief passages quoted in newspaper, magazine, radio, television, or online reviews, no portion of this book may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or information storage or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book and The Experiment was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been capitalized. The Experiment, LLC 220 East 23rd Street, Suite 301 New York, NY 10010-4674 www.theexperimentpublishing.com The Experiment’s books are available at special discounts when purchased in bulk for premiums and sales promotions as well as for fund-raising or educational use. For details, contact us at [email protected]. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Egger, Simone. The home barista : how to bring out the best in every coffee bean / by Simone Egger & Ruby Ashby Orr. pages cm Originally published: South Melbourne, Vic., Australia : Affirm Press, 2014. Includes index. ISBN 978-1-61519-292-2 (pbk.) -- ISBN 978-1-61519-293-9 (ebook) 1. Coffee brewing. 2. Coffee. I. Orr, Ruby Ashby. II. Title. TX817.C6E38 2015 641.3’373--dc23 2015007634 ISBN 978-1-61519-292-2 Ebook ISBN 978-1-61519-293-9 Photographs on pages 56–57, 77, 101, 156, 162, cover/ iStock All other photographs used under license from Shutterstock.com Recipe on 131, worldaeropresschampionship.com/recipes Design by D’Fine Creative Manufactured in China Distributed by Workman Publishing Company, Inc. Distributed simultaneously in Canada by Thomas Allen & Son Ltd. First printing August 2015 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION......................................... 8 FROM CROP TO CUP............................ 10 Background to the Brew............................................................... 12 From Cherry to Bean.................................................................... 16 What’s So Special About Specialty Coffee?.. .................................. 20 Coffee in the World Economy....................................................... 24

Good Cup Bad Cup. . .......................... 26 Is Specialty Coffee Worth It? . . ...................................................... 29 Coffee Ethics................................................................................ 30 Grading & Classification .............................................................. 35 Single Origins & Blends. . .............................................................. 36 Establishing Your Palate.............................................................. 39 So Where’s My Coffee Bean?......................................................... 4 7 Pick a Bean, Any Bean.................................................................. 60 6

A Good Roasting.............................. 66 How to Become a Genuine, Certified Roaster................................ 68 The Roasting Process . . ................................................................. 70 The Home Roaster........................................................................ 74 Is it Worth Roasting at Home?...................................................... 75 The Roaster’s Essentials............................................................... 76 Tool Up ........................................................................................ 86 Blending .................................................................................... 100

You Brew......................................... 102 The Daily Grind ......................................................................... 104 All in the Timing (and Weight)................................................... 108 There’s Something in the Water................................................. 111 Brew Style.................................................................................. 112 Espresso..................................................................................... 135 Milk or Sugar?............................................................................ 144 Latte Art .................................................................................... 152 Boozy Brews .............................................................................. 163

How To Talk Coffee.............................168 Resources.............................................. 177 Index......................................................186 about the authors.............................. 192 7

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INTRODUCTION

his book can make you love coffee even more than you already do. “Not possible,” you say. “I already love coffee as much as a human can reasonably love a foodstuff.” But it can, in not one but three ways. The first way is to give your coffee some context, track it back to its absolute origin—to a seed in a cherry—and follow it through its whole life. It’s said that at least forty pairs of hands touch your coffee before you do. While that doesn’t sound super hygienic, it does show the many processes coffee goes through from crop to cup—each one with potential to influence the quality of your coffee. The second way is to refine your coffee-making ritual. This book brings together all the little pieces of information you need to make the best possible brew. Coffee is a complex thing, capable of expressing myriad characteristics. We’ll show you how to harness your coffee-making powers to tease out these flavors. Making that one minor adjustment to your coffee ritual could be a revelation—the flavor equivalent of turning on a light in a dark room.

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The third way is to introduce you to other types of coffee altogether. Dear Reader meet Cold Press, Cold Press meet Dear Reader. Even if you only try one of the seven other methods of making coffee (other than your usual method) described in this book, you may discover characteristics of coffee you never knew existed. Try more ways and you may find you like coffee cold, hot, pressed and espressed. The Home Barista is coffee-making 101: without the eye-crossing technical details and with some eyebrow-raising stories and facts. From the beans you buy to the extraction method you choose, there are lots of ways to love your coffee more. You can read about the possibilities here, but true bliss is in those precious moments of each day when you’ve transformed a bean into a sensational beverage.

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FROM CROP TO CUP

From the outside looking in, coffee culture can seem intimidating, like stepping into a well-established clan with its own particular dress code (facial hair and ink a must), language (that ain’t just a latte, that’s a full-bodied, acidic blend with roasted hazelnut undertones) and unwritten laws (did you say soy cappuccino?! Uhuh). But as any pro barista will tell you, all you really need to make an outstanding coffee are some basic ingredients, some practice, a bit of creativity and tastebuds to which you’re willing to be true. Like anything, coffee culture is subject to changes in fashion, and sometimes it’s hard to keep up. But there are a few things that never change, and once you’re clear on the facts, the rest will fall into place. So first up, here’s a quick guide to coffee: what it is, where it comes from, and a few other handy facts to put this beloved beverage into perspective.

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Background to the Brew

It’s said that we’re in the third wave of coffee, so what were the first two waves? Well, the first wave didn’t come until the mid-twentieth century, but let’s not ignore the hundreds of years of coffee that came before. As far as we know, coffee (the drink) has been around since the fifteenth century, when someone in the south-western highlands of Ethiopia (possibly a goatherd, possibly a starving, exiled saint—nobody seems quite sure) realized that boiling the seeds of the native coffea tree produced a drink that was both flavorsome and gave a pleasant little energy kick to the drinker. The drink spread throughout the Middle East, and by the end of the sixteenth century these beans were being traded across Europe, from where they were shipped to growing colonies throughout Asia, the Pacific and America.

As far as we know, coffee (the drink) has been around since the fifteenth century.

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The next big shift came during World War II, when someone figured out how to freeze-dry their brew and the world was granted the (debatable) joy of instant. It became easy and cheap to take coffee across continents and oceans, later to be brought to life with just a splash of boiling water. This is known as the first wave of coffee, which took the stuff into homes and offices across the developed world.

The second wave was the arabica bean boom—companies like Lavazza and Peet’s started roasting higher-quality arabica to be sold to cafés and supermarkets. This was the era that saw massive coffee chains such as Starbucks taking over entire shopping strips, and good coffee became all about the espresso machine. And now for the third wave, where we go back to the bean and all it has to offer. It’s all about seeing the production of coffee as an art—like winemaking or micro-brewing beer. Concerns about exploitation in the coffee industry have led to a new age of transparency, where baristas, roasters, importers and growers are more intent than ever to open up. And the best thing about this is that it’s becoming easier for anyone to learn the ropes, without having to spend thousands of dollars on equipment.

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A goat first discovered coffee, apparently. Legend describes a ninth-century, Ethiopian goatherd named Kaldi finding his flock up on their hind legs dancing after eating coffee cherries. Or, as is more likely (though less colorful), he noticed they were perkier than usual and they didn’t sleep that night. Kaldi reported his findings to the local abbot (“Those blasted goats annoyed the bejesus outta me last night.”). The abbot then boiled the berries and noticed he was more alert for that evening’s prayer. He then made a few more cups to share with the rest of the monastery, and the good word about coffee spread.

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From Cherry to Bean Beans for Botanists

Going back to the beginning, coffee beans are actually seeds found inside the bright red, cherry-like fruit of a coffea tree. There are different species of coffea tree, but generally, they grow to around ten feet and flourish in tropical conditions (hot and high), between the tropics of Capricorn and Cancer. The coffea tree blooms fragrant, white flowers three times a year and the cherries begin to grow after each bloom, reddening from green as they ripen. Each cherry contains two green seeds that, once processed, become what we know as coffee beans.

Arabica vs. Robusta

Arabica is the species of plant from which all specialty (and also most commercial) beans are currently derived. It’s a princess of plants: fragile, susceptible to attacks by pests and relatively needy—requiring particular degrees of moisture, sun, shade and soil richness to thrive. But, it’s also capable of producing a wide taste range. There are a number of varieties, strains and cultivars of arabica. 16

Robusta is the other species that’s commercially farmed. It’s just beginning to emerge onto the specialty coffee market, but is commonly used in instantcoffee brands. It’s a hardier plant with a higher yield of beans that are higher in caffeine but have been described as having “a neutral to harsh taste range.” Still, a small number of coffee growers are experimenting with specialist robusta—time will tell if it catches on. The Process

It takes a lot to turn a cherry into a coffee bean. After it’s picked, often by hand (one cherry at a time), the raw fruit is processed to remove the cherry pulp from the seed (or bean). There are various ways to do this. The most meticulous process, which requires custom equipment, is wet processing (also referred to as washed coffee), where the pulp is allowed to ferment before being washed off, then the bean is dried and hulled to remove the parchment around the seed. Another commonly used process is the dry process (also known as natural coffee), where the whole fruit is dried and then hulled, which removes the parchment and pulp in one process. There is a third, in-between process called semi-drying (sometimes called semi-washed, or wet-hulled) in which the pulp is removed by custom-built machines, before the seeds are stored for a day, washed, then partially dried. Once the bean has been completely separated from the fruit, it’s cleaned and sorted according to its density, size and color, then graded.

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Of the many coffee-related traditions that have sprung up over the centuries, the most warm-and-fuzzy of all has to be caffé sospeso. Born around a century ago in the working-class neighborhoods of Naples, caffé sospeso is Italian for “suspended coffee.” It’s a simple “pay it forward” concept, where a customer pays for two coffees but drinks only one. The second coffee is “suspended,” and given free of charge to anyone down on their luck who comes into the café. This old practice has had a bit of a resurgence lately, and there are now cafés and coffee-drinkers all around the world getting involved.

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What’s So Special about Specialty Coffee? Specialty coffee is about honoring every one of the many stages coffee goes through, and all the people involved in its production. It’s about finding the very best beans and trying to unleash their full flavor potential at every stage of the process, from planting through to brewing. “Specialty” is also much more than just a marketing term. There are organized specialty coffee associations that formally track, test and set world standards. Among them are associations of America, Australia, Japan and Europe that hold competitions, certification courses and symposiums to promote and regulate any coffee being called “specialty.” By competitions, we’re talking world-class events with specialized categories, like the World Coffee in Good Spirits Championship for boozy brews, with fifteen pages of rules and regulations. It’s serious business. Considering the long trip a coffee bean takes, and the many hands that help get it to your kitchen, regulation can take out a lot of guesswork for coffee-makers. With specialty coffee, baristas know the origin and quality, so it’s easier to predict the taste. From there they can test, taste and blend away to bring out the most complex flavors.

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The Persnickety Process of Specialty Coffee

Every individual stage of the process of converting fruit to bean can influence the flavor of the roasted and brewed coffee. Suppliers of specialty coffee tightly control every step of the process to ensure theirs is of the highest quality. They start by choosing beans by their origin: ensuring they know exactly where and at what altitude the beans were grown, as the particular geography of a place imparts flavor. It’s the terroir concept, also used when describing wine or some cheeses: soil and climate in partnership with both the specific cultivar of the plant and the unique farming practices express a particular character of place. Specialty coffee is selectively hand-picked so that only ripe cherries are used: these are more fragrant, smooth and mellow. Ripe beans are most often wet processed and sorted by hand. Specialty beans can be sorted two to three times, with any impurities like twigs or hulls removed, and any dud beans ditched.

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COFFEE IN THE WORLD ECONOMY For most of us, coffee is what gets us out of bed in the morning, and it’s what makes us happier people. How do you put a price on that?! Here’s how.

Coffee gets hundreds of millions of people around the world out of bed because their livelihoods depend on it—working in the cultivation, processing, trading, transportation or marketing of the stuff. It’s also one of the most valuable primary products in world trade; for years, it was the second-most-traded commodity after oil. Prices for coffee in the world market are determined by market conditions such as supply and demand. Lately, there’s been too much coffee out there, which has pushed prices down to below the cost of production. Speaking very broadly (and so sparing us all an economics lecture), it is out of this climate—where farmers, most of whom live in developing countries, are frequently crushed by world economics (factors beyond their control)—that specialty coffee has developed. Specialty coffee is quality coffee, with unique characteristics and with limited availability; this gives it an intrinsic value over and above the less regulated commercial products, which comprise about eighty percent of the market.

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GOOD CUP BAD CUP

A good coffee could be a half-strength cappuccino, if that’s your thing. It could be a long double espresso, or a black filter coffee. It’s subjective, depending on you and your tastes on any given day. But there are some essential qualities to a “good” cup of coffee that not even the most hardcore of revolutionaries would deny. A good coffee shouldn’t taste like charcoal or potatoes, it shouldn’t be underwhelming, and let’s face it, it really shouldn’t have come from an industry that exploits its workers. But we can say for sure that good coffee should be delicious, perhaps even complex, and it should bring out the best (or at least the most interesting) in every bean. Yep, behind every great cup of coffee is a great bean, well roasted. This section is your guide to choosing your beans and knowing your flavors, so that you can easily find the perfect base on which to build the brew that’s right for you.

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Is Specialty Coffee Worth It? Okay, so obviously engaging with the world of specialty coffee takes a bit of extra effort. You can’t just pick it up at the supermarket; you have to go to cafés or roasters, and you’re expected to taste and consider the flavors to find what you like. So is it worth it? The answer is: it depends on what you want to do with it.

As specialty coffee tends to be a bit pricier than what you might call “commercial” coffee, if you’re going to splurge and buy a fancy single-origin Kenyan, you want to be brewing it in a way that gets the best from the bean. If you’re not interested in this side of coffee drinking then you’re better off going for a more commercial bean, which might be half the price, meaning you can skip straight to the roasting and the brewing and stress less about your beans. But as proven by the growing hordes of coffeelovers around the country, if you give the world of specialty coffee a try you might find yourself loving the added awareness it can bring to your brewing.

the world of specialty coffee takes a bit of extra effort.

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coffee ETHICS America is just one of the countries with an industrialized economy that consumes coffee like . . . well, the delicious drug that it is. In the past ten years, our consumption of coffee has more than doubled. But most coffee comes from countries with developing economies in Asia, South America and sub-Saharan Africa. It’s a labor-intensive product produced by smallholder farmers who often don’t break even—thanks, for the most part, to fluctuating world market prices. Coffee production for the mass market is associated with exploitative child or forced labor practices. But there is a way to enjoy your coffee without it leaving a bitter taste. Ethically produced coffee is guaranteed to have come from farms where workers are paid and treated fairly for their labor. It also refers to coffee that has been produced in a way that’s sensitive to the surroundings, with respect for the local environment. There are a number of certification agencies setting basic standards and monitoring the activity of its members, but the nature of specialty coffee almost defines it as being ethically produced. Roasters and buyers partner with farmers to produce a high-quality product that most often only comes about from improved, sustainable farming and processing methods.

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Fairtrade

Fairtrade is a nonprofit commercial trading partnership and certification program established to ensure that growers receive a fair price for their coffee. Fairtrade does this by helping growers form co-operatives that then sell to traders who are certified to pay the Fairtrade Minimum Price—a price set by their co-operatives that covers the cost of sustainable production— or the market price, whichever is higher. The system protects individual growers from fluctuations in market prices and establishes growers in a robust supply chain. There’s also the Fairtrade Premium, which is paid above and beyond the coffee price. The grower’s community receives this additional amount to fund better farming and community development programs. Direct Trade

“Direct trade” refers to the relationship between roaster and grower, which is mutually respectful and beneficial without there being any official certification attached. It means roasters scoot off overseas and visit farmers with some regularity. They discuss processes and practices, adjust methods if it’s possible to do things better and pay a fair price. It benefits the quality of the coffee, the environment, the farmer and their employees.

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Rainforest Alliance

Rainforest Alliance is an international nonprofit organization that works to conserve biodiversity and promote the rights and well-being of workers, their families and communities. Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee farms or groups of smallholder farmers are audited annually against comprehensive social, environmental and economic criteria and must commit to a process of continual improvement. Rainforest Alliance certification also promotes decent living and working conditions for farm workers, access to education for their children and gender equity. Cause Coffee

This is when a roasting company and/or retailer establishes a relationship with a particular development project (or cause) to which it gives a percentage of the purchase price. For example, Café Feminino in Vancouver (Fairtrade and organic to boot) promotes autonomy for women in Peru by being a business that’s entirely run by women. Organic

Organic basically means that no chemicals were used in the growing and processing of the coffee. That means no synthetic fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides. While the certification involved in auditing an operation’s methods to ensure they comply with the guidelines of organic production will differ slightly between agencies, you get the gist: no chemical intervention.

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Grading & Classification Green coffee is graded and classified for export with the ultimate aim of producing the best quality cup and in turn, securing the highest price. However, there is no universal grading and classification system—each producing country has its own system, which it may also use to set (minimum) standards for export. Generally this grading is more about the physical aspects of the bean (how many defective beans or twigs are in the coffee) than it is about taste, so if you need flavor guidance you’re better off getting advice from specialty coffee suppliers than following the grading system. Grading and classification is usually based on some of the following criteria: Altitude and/or region Botanical variety Preparation (wet or dry process) Bean size (screen size), sometimes also bean shape and color Number of defects (imperfections) Roast appearance and cup quality (flavor, characteristics, cleanliness) Density of the beans

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Single Origins & Blends The term “single-origin coffee” might sound selfexplanatory, but the rules of what exactly defines a “single origin” are hazy and widely debated. Depending on who you’re talking to, it might mean a single farm, a collection of farms in one region, or a whole range of other possibilities. Whatever the case, the idea is that it’s “pure” in that, depending on how it’s been handled, it represents the true terroir of the region from which it’s come. Often beans from several origins are blended, the idea being to combine the characteristics of various coffees to create a well-balanced and complex blending of flavors and body. Specialty coffee roasters often blend with a particular brew method in mind to create the ideal final cup flavor. If you’re just starting to become interested in specialty coffee, trying out a few different single origins can be a good way to develop your palate— you may be surprised at the range of flavors you begin to notice.

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Developing your palate means trying different coffees—but don’t do it all in one day. If, after throwing back coffee number six, you notice your heart is racing, it’s probably not just because that was a darn delicious coffee. Caffeine works its way into the brain where it affects the receptors that speed up nerve cells and lift your mood. The effects peak somewhere between forty minutes and an hour after drinking, wearing off after around five hours. Experts recommend no more than four cups of strong, drip-percolated coffee a day; any more and you risk suffering dizzy spells and hallucinations.

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Establishing Your Palate Have you ever been told a coffee has “berry undertones,” only to take a sip and find that it actually tastes like . . . well, coffee? Don’t be disheartened and don’t lose faith in third-wave coffee—flavor descriptions really are more than just marketing ploys. Like wine, coffee can develop a completely different taste depending on its origin and the production process it goes through. And with practice, you can identify all sorts of complex flavors. Cupping Coffee cupping is professional tasting and sniffing. It’s how roasters and buyers get to know and measure every batch of coffee. The process is identical all over the world, whether on a farm in Colombia or in a suburban roasting room. Each taster has a cup or bowl with a 5–7 oz (150–200ml) capacity, 10g  (about 2 tablespoons) of ground coffee and 200°F (92°C) water that’s poured over the coffee and allowed to stand for 5 minutes, forming a crust.

Tasters break the crust, scrape off the grounds from the surface and  allow to stand for another 5 minutes. Tasting is achieved by deeply sniffing and slurping the coffee so it  spreads to the back of the tongue. 39

Many roasters have public cuppings, and keen coffee drinkers can learn a lot from a session. Imagine scuffling about the kitchen in your dressing gown, taking that first sip of coffee but instead of “mmm, yum” you could be saying, “Mmm, that’s an animal-like brew this morning, babe. I like the full mouthfeel, low acidity and lingering chocolate aftertaste.” Processing Influences

No matter where you get your coffee from, one of the biggest contributing factors to flavor is the processing. A lot of coffee tasting notes will point out whether the beans are dry processed, wet processed or semi-dry processed. These processes are explained on page 17, but as far as flavor goes the effects are as follows: Wet-processed coffee: This process tends to create quite consistent coffees that are cleaner and have a more delicate acidity than dry-processed coffees. Appearance-wise, these beans also tend to look greener and cleaner than natural or semi-washed beans. Dry-processed coffee: Natural coffees tend to be a little more “complex” or “idiosyncratic,” show more body and the beans have a yellowish, green color to them. Semi-dry processed coffee: Like dry-processed coffee, semi-dried can look more inconsistent than wet-processed coffee, encouraging more individuality in the final brew.

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The Flavor Wheel

 

 

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EY

  

   

 

  

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

  

  

 

 

  

M GA

 

H FATS CHE CHA M I NG CA I LL N Y

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Y SE OR

  

  

 

  

 

  

   

 

F

  

 

   

 

    

  

  

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ED OK CO

    

 

 

RN Y CO NC RE TE MIL DEW Y  

 

  

  

 

  

 

SWEAT Y

         

 

 

      

     

 

 

W ET

 

            

      

  

 

         

      

  

     

  

  

 

 

 

  

  

 

    

    

  

    

   

  

 

       

LE AT HE RLIK E W O H OL IR CI N E

  

        

LAC TI

 

 

 

 

  

   

     

  

  

 

      

  

  

       

TA L LO WY

         

        

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

   

 

TO TA PO

   

 

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SOA P Y

  

  

 

  

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OI L WET S

   

  

  

  

 

 

 

FRESH EARTH

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BUTYRIC ACID

The Flavor Wheel is like the Esperanto of the coffee-speaking world, developed in the late 1990s by the Specialty Coffee Association of America and designed to institute a common language among coffee cuppers.

Adapted from the SCAA Flavor Wheel by the Specialty Coffee Association of America (©1995), which is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

 

 

   

   

 

AP PL E AP RI CO T

   

 

 

 

 

 

BL AC KB ER RY ON IO N

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

    

COR IAN DER SEED S LEM ON

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

      

 

 

 

CARD CARAAMON WAY

 

TEA ROSE

COFFEE BLOSSOM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CIT RUS    

 

AC ID Y

TASTES  

 

BI TT

 

 

O Y DR L AT I IL DIST

ER

HA RS H

T EN NG RI T AS  

 

Y CARBON

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

  

 

    

 

DAR K CH OCO LATE  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

SW ISS  

 

 

BU TT ER

 

 

 

 

 

PIN EY  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    

 

 

  

 

 

E YM TH  

   

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

RY TAR

 

 

 

 

 

BURNT

 

CHARRED

VE CLO

 

CO OBAC PIPE T

ER PP PE

   

R DA CE

 

C LI EO N CI

 

CU B RR LA EN CK CA T-L M IK PH E OR IC   

 

 

 

 

 

 

BAK E RS

 

 

 

 

 

VA NIL LA -LI KE TU RP EN Y

M ED IC IN AL

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

 

PHEN OLIC

 

M A PLE SY RUP

 

 

 

HONEY

 

 

KY SMO

ASHY

 

 

 

 

 

 

CA US TIC

 

CHOC OLAT E-LIK E

G IN M AR W

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

SYRUP-LIKE  

 

 

 

 

ROAST ALMOND

 

 

T EN NG PU

 

T AZELNU ROAST H

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

PU N GEN T

 

 

 

 

 

 

KE CANDY-LI  

 

 

 

 

 

 

R

ICY SP

 

 

 

N

 

H UG RO

 

 

 

 

 

AL

  

CREOSOL

 

AL KA LI NE

 

  

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TR NEU  

T SAL

BLAND

SOFT

aromas

 

 

CH OCO LATE

 

ICE IC R SAM BAL T TOAS

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ES IN OU S

   

SW EET

MEL LOW

 

   

 

CARAMEL

  

IK T-L

 

 

SUGAR BROWNING

 

NU

 

DELICATE  

 

 

 

 

 

 

TTY NU

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

ENZ YM AT IC

 

S OU IN UM G LE  

H R SOU

        

  

  

 

 

 

 

BY ER

MIL D

 

Y

 

   

 

FR UI T

EY IN W

 

NI PP Y  

FLOWER Y

 

 

AL LI AC EO US

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

SOURY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BE RR Y-L IK E

 

 

 

FRAG RANT

 

 

 

 

RT TA

FLORAL

ACRID

 

D HAR

 

 

 

Y NG TA

PI QU AN T

IC RL R GA BE M CU AS U C PE EN T RD A NU G EA TP AS O R UT LN WA

 

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Try it Black (You May Never Go Back)

Dipping your toe into the world of third-wave coffee? Well, put down that milk jug, friend, because serious coffee drinkers take their brew black— well, some of the time, anyway. And it’s not because it makes them look tougher: milk can drown out many subtle and complex coffee flavors. The same goes for sweeteners: if you need four sugars just to take a sip, then you won’t be noticing the natural sweetness inherent in that singleorigin pour over. Tasting your coffee sans additives allows the true nature of each bean to come through. And while milk, and even sugar, can enhance and complement some stronger brews (especially espresso), opening your mind to unadulterated coffee may give you a new view of the variety of flavors the humble bean can produce.

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So Where’s my coffee Bean? Knowing the origin of a coffee gives something of an (albeit, extremely broad) indication of what the flavor will be like, which is why most beans are sold with the beans’ origin written in big letters on the packaging. Each coffee-growing region, from Kenya to Colombia, is defined by its climate, the prevalent plant varieties, and the processing methods used—all elements that significantly affect the final flavor. Experts mostly agree that basic attributes can be pinned to certain regions, within which there are, of course, innumerable possibilities. So, here is your absolute basic guide to which regions produce which kinds of flavors. Don’t get too attached, though: the more you taste the more you’ll realize that there are plenty of flavor surprises to be found.

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Central America

As a group, Central American coffees are known for balance. Think cocoa flavors, a fruity background and a soft sweetness with varying levels of acidity. This area has been producing commercial coffee crops for a while, and reputations for quality vary from country to country. Guatemala: Guatemala is renowned for specialty coffee, consistently supplying top-notch beans with a wide range of flavors. Really good Guatemalan coffees have a moderate body and are bright, clean and powerful, with a taste range that includes chocolaty, spicy and smoky as well as delicate, floral and buttery. Mexico: Mexican coffee is known for being light-bodied and mild; it’s naturally sweet, so good for darker espresso roasts. There isn’t a particularly strong focus on specialty coffee in Mexico yet, so well-processed beans aren’t always easy to find. Panama: Somewhat ignored for a while, these days Panamanian coffee has a bit of a “next big thing” aura around it, with a lot of attention being given to the intensely floral “Geisha” variety of coffee bean produced there. Specialty coffee farms in Panama are known for having some of the more fair labor laws and wage standards in the region, producing bright coffees with strong fruit and floral notes.

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these days PanamaNIAN coffee has a bit of a “next big thing” aura around it.

South America

Long synonymous with the coffee industry, particularly the big-hitting Brazil, coffees from South America have been more generally described as having a clean mouthfeel and lively acidity, and for being slightly sweet. Though long the home of massive commercial coffee crops, there are plenty of smaller farms in South America shifting the focus to specialty. Bolivia: Bolivia is producing some wonderful specialty coffee that is often delicate, bright and sweet with subtle fruit flavors. They can also develop more nutty and chocolaty roast flavors. Brazil: Brazil is the biggest coffee-producing nation in the world, with huge commercial crops as well as some excellent, quality single origins. Top Brazilian beans are known for their power, subtle flavor variations and balance, so they’re great for blending and produce a mild, clear, lowacid coffee, with possible milk chocolate, cherry and sassafras flavors. Colombia: The Colombian coffee industry has been particularly well run for a long time, with a strong federation of growers (and excellent marketing). Because of this, their coffee is particularly consistent in quality and is, for the most part, very clean tasting, balanced and big-bodied, with a range of flavors that at its finest can be cane-sugar sweet with tropical fruit notes. Peru: Grown at high altitudes, Peru’s best coffees are notably bright. They’re clean and mostly wet-processed, acidic with touches of fruit or floral. These coffees are often lively and rounded, rather than overpowering. Though recently, some specialty coffee suppliers have struggled to find highquality beans in Peru.

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Africa and the Arabian Peninsula

This region is coffee’s natural homeland, and thought to have some of the most exciting specialty coffees around. These distinctive beans have sweet flavors ranging from mellow and wine-like to zesty and citrusy. Ethiopia: Ethiopia, the home of Coffea arabica, has a special place in the coffee industry. Wet-processed Ethiopian beans tend towards clean, floral flavors, while the dry-processed beans are thicker and have a distinctively rich and complex flavor profile. Ethiopian beans are a particular favorite of many coffee-lovers, and knowing that some of this coffee comes from the oldest coffea trees in the world only adds to this country’s cred. Kenya: Kenyan coffee, known for its acidity, has an excellent reputation for both its industry practices and quality. At its best it produces a complex coffee that is particularly fruity, with berry tones, a sharp, full body and rich fragrance. Also, some spice, sweetness and wine-like qualities are possible. Rwanda: Rwanda has long been a large producer of coffee, but these days it’s an interesting case of a specialty coffee industry booming in the wake of huge (and tragic) cultural and industrial shifts. The top specialty coffee in Rwanda is more balanced and less fruity than Kenyan but still has an acidic kick, with floral characteristics and sometimes a tea-like finish. Yemen: If Ethiopia is the home of the coffee plant, Yemen is the home of the coffee industry. This is the country that brought coffee to the rest of the world, and its current crops are known to have a distinctly rustic, musklike sweetness. Unfortunately there isn’t an enormous amount of care taken in the coffee picking and processing here, so it can be a challenge to find a high-quality cup. 51

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Top Arabica beans are picked by hand in a process that takes incredible stamina. The average healthy adult would be able to pick about ninety pounds of coffee in a day, but a seasoned picker can manage over four times that amount. In the Kona region of Hawaii, there are even accounts of coffee pickers who are so skillful that they can pick over eleven-hundred pounds of coffee in a day, one bean at a time. It’s said that these experts work so smoothly and consistently, that the coffee beans falling into their buckets sound like rain.

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Islands

In the coffee world, the “island” category generally includes Hawaii and the Caribbean. Beans from this area are rich and full-bodied, with nutty and earthy flavors, smooth in acidity with a slightly dry finish. These coffees are often preceded by their reputation as being the best in flavor and quality, however as the coffee-tasting culture shifts towards more experimentation, good Hawaiian and Jamaican beans become just two of a wide range of interesting flavors on offer, rather than crowning the top of the list. Hawaii: The Kona coffee of Hawaii was just about considered the epitome of “good” coffee—though there’s some argument as to whether this is deserved. Our local brew enjoys excellent conditions—volcanic soil, afternoon shade, light and frequent showers. Beans are mostly mild, clean and balanced, but the really great ones can be rich, fragrant and fruittoned, occasionally with some vanilla flavors. Jamaica: You may have heard Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee pitched as the world’s best, above even Hawaiian Kona. Unfortunately, what some coffee producers sell as “Jamaican Blue Mountain” isn’t quite that; rather, trading on the trend, it might be just a small amount of Blue Mountain blended with cheaper beans. Jamaican beans are mild and full-bodied, complex but balanced. Considered glorious by some and flat by others, you’ll need to taste some and decide for yourself whether true Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee deserves its reputation—and hefty price tag.

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Asia and Australia

As always, it’s hard to generalize about these completely different nations, but Asian coffees—from India to Indonesia—have a reputation for being dense, exotic and a little earthy. India: India’s first coffee crop came from beans smuggled out of Yemen in the late seventeenth century, and it now exports many wet- and dryprocessed coffees with a wide variety of flavors. One interesting variety is India’s “monsooned” coffee: the beans are stored in a warehouse open to the monsoonal winds, which causes the beans to double in size and develop a golden color. Known to have a strikingly musty, smoky, low-acid flavor, it’s worth trying if you’re after something quite different. Indonesia: These beans are known to be dark, rich and savory—almost meaty. They’re full-bodied with a mild acidity, but with long-standing, diverse growing styles used on different islands, flavors can range from fruity, earthy and musty to bright and floral. Here, there is also focus on semi-dried coffee, which makes for a uniquely clean, balanced cup. East Timor: Timorese coffees have a lot of feel-good benefits to them, since most of the sales directly benefit the organic farmers’ co-ops, rather than exporters. Beans are known to be rich and deep, often featuring notes of leather and tobacco. Australia: Australian coffee is generally quite mild, has a medium to low acidity and is sweet and chocolaty. Their beans aren’t really big in the specialty market right now and are sometimes accused of having a lack of complexity.

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For something different, there’s Kopi Luwak, coffee that comes from the poo of a civet. these cat-like creatures eat the coffee cherries and poo them out. It’s claimed that a bean that has passed through a cat’s gut, then butt, removes some of the enzymes that cause bitterness in coffee (yes, the beans are washed!). Critics say this is a load of crap— that there are hundreds of variables that affect the flavor of coffee and the civet’s input is overblown. Then, there are the farms that keep civets caged to produce commercial proportions of Kopi Luwak. Whichever way you look at it, it’s an expensive novelty, costing up to $600 per pound.

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Pick a Bean, Any Bean If you’re feeling a bit lost as to where to find your beans, the best place to start is at your favorite café. Ask for advice from your local barista or roaster: they’ll have spent enough time with their beans to be able to give you a few hints, and might even supply you with some for tasting. You can also source your beans, whether roasted or green, from a variety of online stores. Don’t Follow Price

While specialty coffee is generally more expensive, and better quality, than commercial coffee, keep in mind that within the category of specialty coffee the pricier doesn’t always mean the better. Island coffees, such as those from Jamaica and Hawaii, are generally more expensive, not because they taste better, but because production costs are higher and there are fewer of these beans available.

ask for advice from your local barista or roaster: they’ll have spent enough time with their beans to be able to give you a few hints.

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Know What You Want

Specialty coffee tends to be sold either as an “espresso” or “filter” roast, so you should know how you’re going to brew your coffee before you pick the beans. Filter roasts are lighter and allow more complex flavors to shine through, perfect for the gentle process of filter brewing. Espresso roasts tend to be darker and richer, meaning flavors can survive the highpressure brewing process of an espresso machine. Remember, milk is not a friend of specialty single origins. It can drown out the more subtle flavors in a coffee, so for lattes and cappuccinos you’re better off with a robust blend, or at least a stronger, fuller single origin such as a Brazilian. Keep an Eye on Freshness

When buying coffee, look for a roast date on the bag. There’s a lot of debate around when coffee is at its best, but the general consensus is that it needs to rest after roasting for anywhere between one and four days, that it reaches its flavor peak between five and ten days after roasting, and that it is okay for up to three weeks from the roast date. But as always, the only way to really know is to try—some coffees might peak earlier or later, so it’s more about the bean and the roast and the way you intend to brew it.

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Buy Whole Beans

Grinding your beans is like putting them into hyper flavor-release mode, which means they will peak and start to go stale extremely quickly— we’re talking a few hours. Within a day of grinding, the coffee will have lost much of its complexity; within a week you’ll have a pretty dull flavor. You’re most definitely better off buying a grinder and grinding as much coffee as you need for each cup (see page 104 for grinding advice). Still, if you really, really don’t want to bother with a grinder, just make sure you’re getting the freshest ground coffee possible. LOVE YOUR BEANS

After going to such lengths to choose the right coffee beans, you really want to take care of them properly. Of course you can buy specialized coffee storage canisters, but it’s not essential, as long as the coffee is protected from air, heat and moisture. Buy only what you’ll use in one to two weeks and, ideally, store in an airtight glass or ceramic container in a dark and cool spot. Don’t keep coffee in the fridge or freezer, no matter what anyone says; the beans will absorb the moisture and smells of the fridge, ruining the flavor, and making your double ristretto taste just a bit like last Thursday’s pizza.

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Your coffee addiction may have some down sides (caffeine overdose, anyone?), but it may also be helping you to live longer. Two significant studies have found that drinking coffee was associated with a lower risk of death in both men (twenty percent lower risk) and women (twenty-six percent lower risk). There could be plenty of reasons for that—coffee is the biggest source of antioxidants in the Western diet, and it can lower the risk of getting type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease. It’s even been found that drinking coffee decreases the risk of cirrhosis, an alcohol-related liver disease—excellent news for all the Irish coffee drinkers out there.

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A GOOD ROASTING

You don’t have to be a roaster to be a great barista, but knowing a bit about how your coffee is roasted can give you a new understanding of the power of the bean. You’ve probably been to a café where a huge coffee roaster is on display, churning away to its precise instructions (if you haven’t, you should—it’s pretty impressive). Like much of the coffee industry, this process was hidden for a long time but is now opening up to professionals and amateurs alike. Raw, green coffee beans, as you’ve probably figured out, aren’t much use (fad diets aside). They have to be roasted to make them consumable and to unlock all those delicious coffee flavors. As the roasting temperature increases, raw coffee is transformed (chemically and physiologically) and each tiny adjustment affects the final brew’s flavor. When it comes to specialty coffee, roasters meticulously control the process to tease out a spectrum of flavors— it’s about getting the most you can out of a bean.

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How to Become a Genuine, Certified Roaster Technically, you can become a specialty roaster by just roasting specialty coffee and selling it (a little like being a DJ—it’s impressive and all the cool kids are doing it, but there’s no certification process to go through before you can call yourself one). There’s really no way to know a great roaster from a so-so roaster except by trying some of their coffee and seeing if you like it. That’s not to undermine those really talented roasters—it takes a great palate, a lot of practice, some bang-on intuition and a fair number of scorched batches of coffee to get the knack. The Roasters Guild, an official trade guild of the Specialty Coffee Association of America, has established a certification for roasters—both experienced and just starting out. Roasting is considered an art, rather than just an industrial process.

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The Roasting Process It’s easier to monitor quality when you’re producing something in smaller batches, and small-scale “artisan” roasters are becoming more and more common, experimenting away in backyards and café storage rooms. Rob Forsyth, president of the Australian Specialty Coffee Association, has been in the business for around forty years and says he’s seen the number of cafés roasting their own beans—and offering them for retail sale—at least triple in the past five years, so there must be something in it. The roaster controls the transfer of heat to the beans by adjusting airflow, gas levels, drum speed, charge weight and, the biggie, time. Each tiny adjustment can make a huge difference to the final flavor. Roasters use sight, sound and smell to judge how the coffee is coming along, watching it change color, listening out for the loud “cracks” (the sound the beans make as the heat causes them to release gases) and inhaling all that lovely (cough) coffee smoke.

The roaster controls the transfer of heat to the beans by adjusting airflow, gas levels, drum speed, charge weight and, the biggie, time.

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There are many ways to describe the roasting process, but it goes roughly along these lines: D  rying: The beans steam, changing from green to a brownish yellow, and might start smelling a bit grassy, or like burlap or bread. F  irst development: Beans start to give off that familiar coffee smell, turn light brown and begin to smoke. F  irst crack: Beans make a loud crackling sound, the sign that the beans’ fibers are splitting and they’ve started to roast. S  econd development: From here, the beans start to expand and darken as they caramelize. Depending on taste, the roast can be stopped at any time after the first crack reaches its crescendo, and most single-origin roasts are best stopped between this stage and the first few rustles of the second crack. S  econd crack: The second crack is like a last warning, where timing becomes essential. It’s quieter than the first crack, more like the sound of crinkling paper. As the second crack gets louder and smoke fills the air, the beans become very dark. N  o! Stop! Too far!: The beans are burnt. Any coffee made from these will taste a bit like rubbery charcoal.

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Recent leaps in technology make it possible for coffee nerds to monitor their bean roasting down to the finest detail. But perhaps one of the most interesting high-tech coffee gadgets is the Agtron. This machine uses “near-infrared abridged spectrophotometers” (whatever that means) to actually measure the color of a roasted coffee bean. It then assigns the bean a number: the lower the number, the darker the roast. Agtron numbers are now used to classify roasts throughout the coffee-drinking world.

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The HomE Roaster Up until the early twentieth century, most coffee that was drunk at home was also roasted at home. It was only after World War I that industrial coffee roasting took off, and the development of high-tech roasters allowed for more and more control over the process. But it seems we’ve started to miss that fresh coffee smell and home roasting is becoming a popular hobby for the amateur coffee-lover. There are all sorts of nifty ways you can roast your own beans, and you don’t necessarily have to spend a lot of money on fancy roasting machines (though you might find yourself getting passionate enough to scale up to one). Here you’ll find some basic information about home roasting, but for more details and step-by-step instructions check out some of the online guides in our resources section.

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Is it worth roasting at home? Do you want to impress that significant other you just invited up for coffee? Or to completely floor that couple from your kid’s school when they come to dinner? Imagine pulling out a batch of beans with an, “Oh, these? Oh, no big deal, I just sourced these from a little place in Kenya and roasted them up yesterday.” That’s some serious coffee-cred you’re building there. Roasting coffee at home shouldn’t be any more intimidating than brewing coffee at home. It takes practice and patience, but you get to enjoy developing a completely personalized roast profile catered to your tastes. Sure, if you know a roaster who makes coffee just as you like it and you don’t have the time or the patience to roast, then don’t worry about it. But if you want to turn your addiction into a hobby, roasting is the way to do it. Green coffee beans are also much cheaper and have a much longer shelf life than even vacuum-packed roasted beans (they can stay fresh for six to twelve months, while roasted coffee can go stale within two weeks). That means you could buy a larger quantity of green beans and just roast small batches as you need. Your thrifty side will love it.

if you want to turn your addiction into a hobby, roasting is the way to do it.

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The Roaster’s Essentials There are, basically, two ways to approach home roasting: you can buy a dedicated roasting machine (“automated roasting”), or you can improvise and use household objects and appliances (“manual roasting”). This section covers, in brief, the kinds of home roasting machines available, as well as suggesting a few DIY roasting styles. No matter what method you use you’re bound to have a couple of failures before you get the hang of it. For that reason you might want to try starting off with cheaper green beans until you feel confident enough to work with something more complex. Safety and Ventilation

Never leave your roasting coffee completely unattended, particularly if you’re using one of the DIY methods. The chaff—pieces of skin or hull— that’s created in the roasting process is extremely hot and tends to float around. If you’re not aware, you might just set your lawn/house/self on fire (and we won’t be taking responsibility for that). Roasting also creates a lot of smoke, so make sure that wherever you’re working is well ventilated. If you have a cramped galley kitchen with no windows then you might want to consider doing your roasting outside.

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QUICK ROAST GUIDE Very light brown

Light brown, spotty, no oil

(approx.) Bean temperature

Up to 410°F (210°C)

410–425°F (210–225°C)

Smell

Bright, biscuity smell, no smoke

Bread-like smell, slight smoke

Sound

First crack still going or only just stopped

First crack complete, 30 to 90 seconds after the end of the first crack

Notes

Underdeveloped. There hasn’t been enough time for the necessary chemical reactions to take place and release flavor—not tasty.

The first stage of well-roasted coffee. Origin flavors should come through clearly and balance with developing roast flavors.

Also known as

Half roast; Cinnamon roast

City roast; American roast

APPEARANCE

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Medium brown, more even coloring, no oil

Dark brown, even coloring, oil on the surface

Black–brown to charcoal

425–455°F (225–235°C)

455–475°F (235–245°C)

475°F (245°C) and above

Smoke increasing

Slight burning smell, more smoke

Thick, bad-smelling smoke

Just on the verge of second crack, 90 seconds to 3 minutes after the end of the first crack

Just after second crack begins, 30 to 60 seconds into second crack

Second crack on the wane, or completely finished

Stronger roast flavors should be coming through, which may enhance and complement certain origin flavors, but drown out others.

These bigger roast flavors will drown out many subtle origin flavors, but are good for espresso roasts.

This coffee is overcooked, and all the flavors have been obliterated except for that of burning charcoal. (This might also set your curtains on fire.)

Full-city roast; Vienna roast

French roast; Italian roast

(You don’t want to drink this!)

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Quick Roast Guide

That nifty little guide on the previous page should give you an idea of what temperatures, colors and smells to look out for as your green beans turn brown. Just keep in mind that every bean and roaster is different, so these signs (and particularly the temperatures) will almost certainly differ from roast to roast. Monitoring Bean Temperature

When you’re using less regulated roasting methods you can keep a closer eye on your coffee by measuring its temperature with an oven thermometer. This is a slightly more accurate guide than just watching color, and might help you to develop more specific roasting profiles yourself. Chaffing with the Colander Method

Even after processing, most green beans will still have some chaff attached that will dry and detach from the beans as they roast. A little bit of chaff won’t hurt your brew, but too much can affect the flavor for the worse. Roasting machines will generally blow the chaff off as part of the process, but for less automated roasting you can just toss the beans between two colanders until the chaff floats free. This also helps to cool the beans, which is essential to avoid overcooking. It’s best to do your chaffing outside or over a sink to avoid mess, and be sure to use oven mitts, especially with metal colanders.

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Cooling

Ideally, beans should be cool enough to touch within two to three minutes after the roasting is done, otherwise they’ll keep cooking and your perfect roast will be wrecked. Like chaffing, cooling is done automatically by good roasting machines, but it’s easy enough to do it yourself. The colander method should do the trick, but to speed things up you can also give the beans a couple of light, quick sprays with purified water (this is called “water quenching”).

TIP Remember, roasted coffee keeps cooking, even after you’ve removed it from the heat source. You may have to pull it out early to make sure you don’t go too far.

Two Golden Rules of Roasting

R  ecord your roasts: Keep a table like the one on page 82 close to your roasting equipment and try to note any changes to temperature, time and technique. Then when you brew it a few days later, you’ll know how to get that flavor again. It means that the one perfect cup you created won’t be lost forever. M  ake only one change at a time: Did you get an exciting new hint of cinnamon in your latest roast? Well, if you changed bean volume, temperature and time all in one go, then you’ll never know which one gave you that flavor. Be patient and go one step at a time.

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The Roast Record Here’s a simple table that you might want to use when you first start experimenting with roasting. As you improve, you’ll start to think of other adjustments you can make that might affect your final roast.

Coffee identity and age

Date of roast

Bean volume

Roasting temperature

Other (weather, etc.)

First crack (time and temperature) Second crack (time and temperature)

Total roast time

Results

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Third-wavers are certainly not the first coffee-lovers to revel in the ritual of coffee. In a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony, roasting, grinding, brewing, serving and, of course, drinking a fresh brew are all conducted carefully and reverently in the presence of guests. You can experience a version of this ceremony at many Ethiopian restaurants. The green beans are roasted in a long-handled pan (and sometimes walked around the room, like a thurible, to spread the aroma). They’re then ground to a powder, put in a clay pot with water, and boiled. This coffee is served in and sipped from little cups.

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Tool Up Automated Roasters

There are basically two types of automated home roasters around: air roasters and drum roasters. If you want to generalize about flavor, air roasters tend to develop the brightness of a coffee, while drum roasters tend to develop the body. Some brewing methods, such as espresso, might be better suited to coffees with more body than brightness, but feel free to throw the rules out the window and play around. The roaster you choose will depend very much on your budget, space and what’s available where you are.

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Air Air roasters, such as Nesco and FreshRoast machines, work much like popcorn makers (see page 98 on how to repurpose an actual popcorn maker for coffee roasting), blowing hot air onto the beans to cook them. They’re generally quite small, can finish a roast in around ten minutes and are relatively cheap, with low-end models retailing for around $100 to $200. Air roasters tend to be more “set and forget,” so if you want to experiment with temperature adjustments these may not be your best option. Also, keep in mind that an air roaster can be affected by line voltage—if it’s sharing an electrical outlet with other appliances, it may lose power and slow down your roast. They might also roast slower, or faster, depending on the ambient temperature.

Pros: Cheaper, faster and smaller than drum roasters, but easier and more reliable than DIY methods. Some air roasters also have automated systems for cooling beans and removing chaff and smoke, which helps with indoor use. Cons: Air roasters don’t always have the longest lifespan, can be somewhat unpredictable, and may not offer the level of control you need for a really complex roast.

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Drum Drum roasters tend to be bigger, can roast larger batches of coffee, and allow for a lot more control than air roasters. Behmor, Hottop and Gene Café are some examples of home drum roasters, but there are a lot out there. They’re generally slower than air roasters, taking around fourteen to twenty minutes, which is a bit closer to the commercial beasts you’ll see at cafés and artisan roasters. This means you have more chances to adjust the temperature and roasting profile. Machines start at around a few hundred dollars and go right up to the thousands. Generally, the higher the price, the more control you’ll have. Drum roasters are also known to be more durable than air roasters.

Pros: They offer great control, make it easy to personalize and replicate a roast, and are quite reliable. They also look impressive on a big counter top. Cons: They can be very expensive and space consuming. You generally need to be roasting a lot of coffee to make it worth your while.

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Manual (and DIY) roasting

There are plenty of good home roasters around, but you don’t want to invest in a top-of-the-line roaster only to find out that you find roasting dull and frustrating. Luckily, hobby roasters have established all sorts of creative ways to roast their coffee without resorting to bulky or pricey roasting machines. You might want to try these methods out first to see if roasting does it for you. Manual roasting can take anywhere between ten and twenty minutes, and tends to result in a more full-bodied flavor, though you’re more likely to be left with an uneven roast, where some beans are darker than others.

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If anyone ever turns their nose up at your home-roasted beans, then Jabez Burns is just the name you need to shut down those naysayers. Burns was a roasting pioneer whose improved industrial coffee roaster, invented in New York in 1864, changed the face of commercial coffee production. And even he wasn’t averse to a bit of DIY roasting, declaring that some of the best coffee he ever tasted had been roasted in a hand-cranked popcorn maker. Well, if it’s good enough for our friend Burns, it’s good enough for anyone.

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Oven This is perhaps the most accessible of all roasting methods: all you need is a flat, perforated pan—the kind you might use to bake pizza or bread—and a conventional oven with reasonably reliable temperatures. If you don’t have a perforated pan you can always just punch some small holes in a regular baking tray. It’s then just a matter of spreading the beans evenly on the tray and popping them in the oven to go through their six roasting stages (see page 71).

Equipment: A conventional oven, a perforated pan, two colanders and a pair of oven mitts. Pros: You might already have the equipment ready to go, you (hopefully) already know how to use an oven, and you have some control over the temperature. Cons: Ovens can be a bit unreliable, and you will almost definitely end up with an uneven roast (which you may or may not enjoy, depending on your tastes). Flavor: This is a fairly unpredictable process, so it’s probably not the go-to for high-end specialty beans that need a lot of tenderness. It’s a good method for simple, dark roasts, suited to plunger or espresso coffee.

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Pan Roast This is old-school roasting. The beans are put into a light skillet, which is covered with a lid or some aluminum foil. Then the work starts: you have to shake the pan constantly without taking it off the heat, tossing the beans and listening out for the first and second cracks. Another option is to use a wok (or even a heavy cast-iron pot) and stir the beans constantly with a wooden spoon. You should use an oven thermometer to keep track of the temperature. These methods are harder than the oven method, but if you can master them you’ll most likely get better results. It’s also a good skill to have in case you’re ever stranded in the forest with just a fire, a skillet and some green coffee beans (with your only alternative an ancient can of instant).

Equipment: A skillet (or a wok or a cast-iron pot), a wooden spoon (if that’s how you’ll do it), a thermometer, a stovetop and a solid pair of biceps. Pros: The equipment is easy to find, you can watch your beans change color and you’ll look rugged and impressive. Cons: It’s extremely easy to scorch the beans, so you may need a lot of practice before you start getting really good results. Flavor: Most people struggle to get good specialty coffee roasts out of this method, so until you’ve got the technique down, don’t expect anything too nuanced. Better suited to darker roasts than lighter single origins.

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Stovetop Coffee Roaster or Popcorn Maker You can get your hands on either of these for as little as $30 or less, and it makes for a much more even roast than the oven or skillet method. Just throw in the beans, put it on the stove and turn the handle as the beans roast. This is much like the wok or skillet method, except that the crank makes for an easier and more thorough stirring of the beans. If you use a thermometer to keep an eye on the heat (just drill a small hole in the top where you can place the thermometer) then you should be able to get a good result. These pots often have flip-up lids so you can peek in and judge the color of your beans. Plus, if you don’t like it as a coffee roaster, it still makes darn good popcorn.

Equipment: A stovetop popcorn maker, a thermometer and a stovetop. Pros: It’s cute and fun, not too expensive, and still a bit of ye olde style roasting that produces an even roast without too much fuss. Cons: Putting anything on a flame makes it hard to control the temperature, even with a thermometer, so it’s still not the most exact method. Flavor: Once you’ve done this a few times you should be able to get a nice, even roast on your beans. It’s still not easy to get a lighter roast, but you can develop some of the more subtle flavors.

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Hot-Air Popcorn Maker The old popcorn maker strikes again, this time in electric form: it’s basically an imitation air roaster. It takes the same amount of coffee beans as it would popcorn kernels, so you’re looking at very small batches. You should only use models where the hot air goes into the chamber through diagonal slots in the chamber wall. If the hot air comes from the bottom of the chamber then it’s a no-go. As with the stovetop version, if you’re a bit handy you can install a thermometer in your popcorn maker by drilling a hole in the top. The hot air even gets rid of a lot of the chaff, which should come floating out of the chute—though you will still need a colander for cooling.

Equipment: A hot-air popcorn maker, a thermometer and a colander. Pros: There are lots of these around and you can get a better result more easily than what’s possible with the more manual methods. Cons: You’re using the appliance for something it wasn’t designed for, so you may have to be extra careful with it. It can also only roast small amounts of beans at a time. Flavor: While you can get a pleasant flavor, darker roasts may cause the machine to overheat, shortening its lifespan. Considering this, you may be better off sticking to light or medium roasts.

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Heat Gun Also known as the “dog bowl” method, this involves aiming a heat gun at a metal bowl of coffee beans while stirring them with a wooden or metal spoon. A heat gun is essentially a hard-core hairdryer (but don’t use it on your hair, trust us), and is available for less than $100 at a hardware store. This process imitates a drum roast, and the heat of the gun can be adjusted at any time, giving you more control over the temperature. If you want to take this method a step further, you can actually use an old bread maker instead of a metal bowl, which spins the beans around for you: there are lots of online guides on how to do this, but be aware that this kind of repurposing can be a hazardous game, so always put safety first.

Equipment: A heat gun, a metal bowl such as a mixing bowl or a dog bowl (or a bread maker), a spoon and a colander. Pros: Possibly one of the easiest ways to personalize your roast without a dedicated roasting machine, and this method uses affordable, everyday equipment. Cons: The process can be quite messy so it’s best done outside. It may also be difficult to replicate a roast, which means the flavor is still a little unpredictable. Flavor: Very flexible—just about any roast profile is achievable with this method thanks to the temperature control of the heat gun.

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Blending So you’ve been roasting your own coffee for a few weeks and have almost come to the bottom of your bag of green beans. There’s not quite enough there for a full roast, but you don’t want to throw them out . . . what to do? Why, blend, of course! Blending can be a fun way to get something different out of your coffee, and it’s particularly suitable when setting up the strong flavors needed for milky espresso coffees. You can blend before or after roasting, but if you do plan to blend green beans, remember that they may have different moisture contents, which could make roasting inconsistent. The solution to this is simply to keep your blends together in an airtight container for a week or so before roasting, which should help to diffuse the moisture and make for easier roasting.

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YOU BREW Appreciate those coffee beans you’ve got there. Each bean has passed through many hands, even before it gets to the barista, so you really ought to treat ’em right. Of course, once the beans are in your hands you have plenty of options: there are as many methods for making coffee as there are moods, and what we once considered the “rules” are constantly being challenged. Take that darling of the specialty coffee world: the pour over. Not long ago this kind of coffee might have been derided as “weak” and “watery” but we now prefer terms like “gentle” and “tea-like.” It’s also acknowledged as one of the best ways to discover the full flavor profile of a bean. So leave your prejudices at the door, because your new favorite brew might be hiding where you least expect it.

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The Daily Grind It takes two machines to make a great coffee: the coffeemaker and the grinder. Despite what the name suggests, the daily grind of coffee is anything but laborious; it’s here that all those special aromas bust out of each bean, leading you by the nose to get some of that good stuff into you. We know that different brewing methods need different grinds, and that all the alchemical elements of coffee beans start to dissipate as soon as they’re ground, so to get the best from the beans (and the best possible cup of coffee) grind them just before brewing. Think of it as part of the coffee-making process. Grinders are distinguished by: Consistency: The same size particle, every time Granularity: Ranges from fine to coarse L  ow temperature: Heat alters the flavor and character of coffee. Speed generates heat, so preference low-speed (hand-cranked) grinders or a motorized grinder with reduction gears Low-noise operation: Because if it sounds like there’s a plane landing in your kitchen every time you grind, that just ain’t right

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There are two types of grinders: a blade and a burr. A blade grinder looks and works like a propeller. It’s fine for all brewing methods, except espresso. Because its characteristic chopping action can lead to inconsistency (which makes it harder to achieve a smooth brew), the bump-and-grind is recommended when using these grinders: interspersing one-second bursts with little bumps to mix through any beans at the top. Repeat for anywhere from eight to twenty seconds—depending on the coarseness of the grind you want to achieve. A burr grinder crushes beans between two burrs (often disc-shaped) that are preset by you. They consistently deliver a precise particle size, and can be used for any coffee brewing method, from plunger to espresso. Most serious coffee drinkers swear by the burr. Recommended for medium to coarse grinds, the Hario Skerton Hand Grinder is cheap and portable. The hand-crank means it’s lowspeed (and doesn’t create heat), it has longlasting ceramic burrs, is completely quiet and has a no-slip rubber base.

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Grind Guide

Coarse: Distinct particles Similar to coarse sand or chunky salt Use with: plunger or cupping Medium: Gritty consistency Similar to sand U  se with: AeroPress, siphon brews or pour over cones Fine: S  mooth, hard to see individual grinds, but you can feel them Similar to fine salt Use with: espresso

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All in the Timing (and Weight) Coffee brewing is all about the coffee to water ratio. Too much water and the coffee will be weak and flavorless, too little and you get bitterness. You can play around with the ratio until you get the result you want, particularly if you’re using filter or steeping methods of brewing, but if you want to replicate a coffee, you’ll want to be measuring your ratios. Just how finicky you are when it comes to your coffee will inform just how careful you should be with your measurements. “Two tablespoons of coffee, with the water poured up to around here” may be all the measurement you need, but if you want more control, weighing your coffee and your water is the best option. Scales are an important tool for specialty coffee baristas, and to ensure accuracy, they tend to measure out both the coffee and water in weight instead of volume. You can get a trendy, programmable, coffeespecific digital scale if you want, but your run-of-the-mill kitchen scale should be enough to ensure you get a consistent brew. Similarly, whether or not you feel the need to time your coffee brewing down to the second is totally up to you. There are some great smartphone apps, a lot of them free, which can help you with timing and with planning your ratios for various brewing methods. Embrace technology!

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In 1777, the hot beverage had become entirely too popular for Frederick the Great, who issued a manifesto in favor of Germany’s more traditional drink: “It is disgusting to notice the increase in the quantity of coffee used by my subjects, and the like amount of money that goes out of the country in consequence. My people must drink beer. His Majesty was brought up on beer, and so were his ancestors.”

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There’s Something in the Water . . . If you don’t like the taste of your tap water, it’s worth investing in a water filter. This is also important if you live in a hard water area, which is high in alkalinity and can neutralize the acids that give coffee its bright and subtle flavors. Also, don’t forget that water can be too hot and scorch the coffee. Most brewing methods are most successful when the water is about 194 to 200°F (90 to 92°C). If you’re fastidious, use a thermometer, but if you can’t be bothered just wait a minute or two after the kettle boils before you start pouring.

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Brew Style Most of us make the same type of coffee every day, and every day we try to make a cup the same as, if not better than, yesterday’s. The huge number of home-brewing options now available to us makes it almost criminal (criminal!) to just stick to the tried and true. Those who have a few coffees a day can tailor their brew to suit their mood, from a light, delicate drop to a deep, rich sip. How you choose to extract the coffee will give the brew certain characteristics, whether strong or delicate, tea-like or viscous. Within each method, you can adjust the coffee grind, the timing, or use a different type of coffee to produce a different cup—there are enough variables for months’ worth of experimentation. Let us throw down the scent of some possible brewing methods and styles that you can follow to . . . well, as far as you want to go.

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Ibrik Coffee

Coffee character: Rich, dark and intense, since this coffee isn’t filtered, its texture is a bit on the, well, muddy side Good for: Going back to the roots of coffee brewing Grind: Very fine and powder-like Brew time: Can take around 10 minutes total

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An ibrik (known in Turkey as a cezve) is an ornate little coffee pot with a long handle, the type that you might have been given by your sister that time she went to Istanbul. The coffee is boiled over a flame before being poured straight into a drinking cup. This isn’t exactly specialty coffee territory, but it makes a very distinctive brew with a history as old as coffee itself. And don’t think for a second that ibrik connoisseurs aren’t as serious as espresso or siphon coffee devotees: the World Cezve/Ibrik Championships are held annually in Europe and competition is fierce. Traditionally, this coffee is drunk on special occasions—unsweetened for sad times, such as funerals, and with sugar for happier occasions, such as weddings. It’s also common for brewers to add a pinch of cardamom for a spicy, woody aroma. For ibrik coffee, the beans need to be pulverized until they’re superfine and powdery. Most grinders aren’t capable of that, so get your coffee as fine as possible then grind it further with a mortar and pestle.

To use: Pour 90g (3 oz) of cold water into the ibrik. Add 10g (about 2 tablespoons) of superfine coffee. If you’re adding sugar or cardamom, do so now and stir (don’t fill the ibrik more than halfway). P ut the ibrik over medium heat. W hen the coffee starts to boil, lower the heat and let it sit for 1 to 2 minutes. Once the coffee has settled, turn the heat back up and repeat the previous step twice more, turning the heat down as soon as the coffee boils. On the third and final boil, take the ibrik off the heat. Slowly and gently pour the coffee into pre-warmed cups.

TIP Arabic, Turkish, Cypriot, Greek: for the uninitiated these styles of ibrik coffee may seem exactly the same, but keep that opinion to yourself. Follow the cues your hosts give you, and no matter what you do, never ever call a Greek’s brew “Turkish coffee.”

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Coffee is serious stuff in Turkey, and in the past it was even an essential part of the courtship process. When meeting a potential daughterin-law, families would carefully assess how skillfully she brewed and served coffee. Meanwhile she would slip salt instead of sugar into her prospective bridegroom’s cup, and if he managed to keep a polite expression while drinking, it was considered a sign that he was even-tempered. The importance of coffee even extended to the wedding ceremony, where the groom had to promise to provide his new wife with coffee. If he failed to do so, it was grounds for divorce.

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Plunger or French Press

Coffee character: A rich, mediumbodied brew Good for: Its simplicity—it’s easy to use and can make up to six cups at a time, so it’s great for when you have people over Grind: Coarse Brew time: Let it steep for around 4 minutes

People across the country are digging into the back of their abandoned-gadget cupboards and dusting off their plungers. They’re back in vogue, only now we like to refer to them as French presses—it sounds more cosmopolitan, oui? Loved for its simple, and forgiving, nature, plunger coffee virtually makes itself. It’s a form of steeping, where water and coffee are in contact throughout brewing, which means all you need to do is bring the two ingredients together. Mix hot water with coffee grounds and leave the pot to sit while you think about whether it’s time to let go of the waffle-maker you also found in the cupboard. After 4 minutes, separate the rich brown brew from the grounds by pressing down the plunger (fitted with mesh). Voila! Depending on the size of your pot, you can make many cups at a time. Coupled with the fact that it’s low maintenance to make, it’s a good one to serve to a crowd.

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The Hario coffee press has two thick glass walls for extra insulation and protection from heat. The removable, olivewood collar aids grip. To use: P re-heat coffee press by rinsing it out with hot water. Grind coffee—a coarse grind is best suited. Add around 10–12g (about 2 tablespoons) of coffee to every 100–120g (3.5–4 oz) of water. Pour 200°F (92°C) water over grounds, providing an even coverage. A fter 4 minutes, stir lightly. Gently plunge.

TIP Decant your coffee straight away. It will continue to brew if left in the pot and become over-extracted: bitter and dry.

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Cold Brew

Coffee character: Low acid, sweet, rich and thick, almost liqueur-like

Hailing from Japan, the cold brew or cold press method is a completely different way to pull all that flavorsome goodness out of your beans.

Good for: Iced coffees on hot days, or mixing into recipes and cocktails

This is long-term steeping, and it couldn’t be simpler or more accessible. All you really need is your freshly coarse-ground coffee, a large pitcher, a sieve and a standard coffee filter. The coffee is stirred into the water and allowed to sit for a minimum of 12 hours, then presto! Strain, and you have some sweet, low-acid coffee concentrate.

Grind: For an ultra-smooth brew make it coarse, or for a touch more bitterness try medium Brew time: 12 hours or more

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This brew involves a different chemical process, meaning that the final product is a lot less bitter and acidic than most coffees. It also stays fresh for much longer than hot-brews, and can be kept for up to two weeks. Simply leave it in the fridge and whenever you want a coffee, combine with milk, water (hot or cold), ice or whatever you desire. You could even add it to a tiramisu, or bypass the espresso machine to make a “cold-brew martini.”

To use: To start, aim for a 1:8 ratio of coffee to water—so on your electronic scale, 100g (about 1 ⅟₄ cups) of coffee should be mixed with 800g (about 10 cups) of water. You can always adjust for a stronger or weaker brew as you see fit. Place the ground coffee in a pitcher, jar, bucket—any vessel that is big enough. Then add the water and stir to combine. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap and let steep at room temperature for at least 12 hours, and up to a day. L ine a fine-mesh strainer with a regular coffee filter (available at any supermarket) and fit it over a bowl or pitcher. Slowly pour the coffee into the filter until all of the liquid has passed through the strainer. It might take a while, but just let it seep through at its own pace. Transfer the strained coffee to a clean pitcher. Cover and put in the fridge.

TIP For an iced coffee-style drink, dilute the concentrate with an equal portion of milk or water. Sweeten with a sugar syrup if desired (though keep in mind this method really brings out the coffee’s natural sweetness) and top with ice. 121

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Bottled cold brew coffee is a popular product in markets and specialty stores across the US of A, but the state of washington was the first in which you could buy your cold brew with a dash of marijuana. Yep, thanks to the state’s relaxed marijuana laws, a cold brew infused with cannabis extract, called Legal, has been created to give the good citizens of Seattle a rather different kind of morning buzz.

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Siphon (Vacuum Brewer)

Coffee character: Tea-like, with bright, fruity qualities Good for: Those who enjoy ta-da theatrics with their coffee-making; the serious coffee hobbyist Grind: Coarse Brew time: Actual brewing time 3–4 minutes. Pre- and post-fiddling around is 10–20 minutes

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It may seem like a newfangled fad, but the siphon has been around for centuries, invented in Berlin in the 1830s. And, unless you’re the kind of person who regularly likes to bore their friends (“Hey guys, want to come over and watch me make a siphon again?”), then this method is best left in the nineteenth century—or at least to the serious hobbyists or for the café where someone else makes your coffee. This brew is made in a lab-like contraption consisting of two glass balloons, one on top of the other. Water in the lower chamber is heated so that it bubbles up to the top chamber. Here, the water mingles with coffee before being sucked back down into the lower chamber by vacuum pressure. It’s an excessively involved process for everyday use, but it does produce a clear, tea-like brew that fans love for its bright and fruity qualities. The delicate and gentle nature of the brew allows the more subtle c h a r ac ter i s t ics of cof fee to blossom , wh ic h su it s t he highest quality singleorigin coffees with lighter roast profiles.

To use: Fill the lower chamber with 194°F (90°C) water. Place a clean, wet filter in the top chamber. T urn on gas heat source. Attach the top chamber to the bottom chamber. Once most of the water has been sucked into the top chamber, add coarsely ground coffee—10g (about 2 tablespoons) to 100g (about 3.5 oz) water—and stir gently. A llow to brew for 1 minute, before again stirring gently. Remove from heat and watch the liquid get sucked through to the bottom chamber.

TIP The siphon process brews very hot coffee, so you may want to let it cool a little before serving.

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Pour Over or Drip Brew

Coffee character: Gentle, clear brew that produces a nuanced, wellrounded cup Good for: Single-cup, delicate drinks—think a nice morning or late afternoon brew Grind: Medium to fine Brew time: 2–3 minutes

The pour over method is exactly what it sounds like: water is poured through coffee grounds held in a filter basket or cone, and the water drips through the coffee by way of gravity. The method has been around since 1710 when the French made infused coffee by pouring boiling water over a suspended cloth bag. Today’s choice of drip or filter devices range from one-cup, mug-top filter cones to electric gizmos that are automatically programmed, and may even feature an integrated grinder. The thing they all have in common is a paper filter. The paper filter brilliantly traps all the coffee particles to produce a clear, clean brew, which filter-brew proponents will tell you transposes to a clear, bright flavor. Its detractors say that the paper robs the brew of richness. The Hario V60 dripper is the latest craze in filter coffee. This handy little thing is easily transportable (to the office, say), and fits right on top of your cup (though, purists may also want to lug the grinder, long-spouted kettle and scale around with them).

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To use: Place a paper filter in the cone. Pour hot water over the filter until it’s saturated. Place the cone on your cup and move cup onto the scale. Grind coffee beans to medium-fine. Place coffee in the filter, keeping an eye on the weight [allow 10g (about 2 tablespoons) for every 100g (about 3.5 oz) of water you intend to use], and make a small dent in the center of the coffee. Add about 50g (1.75 oz) of 200°F (92°C) water to wet the grains and let sit (bloom) for around 30 seconds. Pour the rest of the water over in a gentle circular motion.

TIP You can adjust the flavor and strength of your brew by adjusting the speed you pour your hot water: quicker for a lighter coffee or slower for a darker brew.

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Filter-brewed coffee is always stronger at the bottom, which can make it hard to pour two equal-strength cups of coffee. Who cares, you ask? Professor Robert M. Richman, that’s who. Richman, a retired chemistry professor, spent ten years developing a mathematical pouring sequence that ensures nobody gets cheated when it comes to the strength of their coffee. The simplest sequence uses four pours of equal size: first into cup A, then cup B, then B, then A. Easy. But for more finicky types there’s a more accurate eight-pour sequence: A,B,B,A,B,A,A,B. Not quite fair enough? Well, try sixteen pours: A,B,B,A,B,A,A,B,B,A,A,B,A,B, B,A. You’ll never be accused of stingy pouring again.

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AeroPress

Coffee character: Full-bodied, smooth brew Good for: Everyone. It’s versatile, easy to use, inexpensive and transportable, though best for making single-cup coffees Grind: Medium to fine (depending on the strength you’re after) Brew time: Less than 2 minutes

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Speaking technically, the AeroPress is an immersion-drip plastic plunger. But it’s more generally known as that little gadget invented by the same company that invented the Aerobie (a flying disc that was to the 1980s what rubber band bracelets are to today). The AeroPress is a filter brewer, but it produces a gutsier, bigger-bodied brew than most paper filter brewers because the coffee is extracted under pressure—via air caught in the barrel. It’s lightweight and compact (ideal to transport), durable, easy to use (and clean), it lends itself to experimentation, is affordable and makes a great brew. Phew. There are two distinctly different ways to brew using an AeroPress, and a lot of third-wave kids recommend the inversion met hod—world cha mpionships have been won this way (yes, there are world championships for this method of brewing too). Inversion means the initial steeping part of the process occurs in an upside-down AeroPress (with the plunger on the table).

“To invert or not to invert,” and some other adjustments to consider: W  ater temperature: Any change will yield different results Steeping time: Longer or shorter T  urbulence: Ease up on any aggressive stirring, and see what happens . . . Pressure: Harder or faster? There are no hard and fast rules R  atio of water to coffee: Less water makes for a stronger brew

World AeroPress Championships 2015 winning recipe from Lukas Zahradnik Inverted brew method Use 20g of coffee ground at 7.3 (using a Mahlkönig EK34 grinder). Add 60 grams of water heated to 174° F (79° C). Wiggle vigorously for 15 seconds. Let bloom for 30 seconds. Slowly add the rest of the water up to 220g. This should take 10 seconds. P ress for 45 seconds. Total brew time: 1:37 131

Moka pot or Percolator

Coffee character: Full-bodied, almost viscous, dark and sweet

The moka pot was a precursor to “proper” home espresso machines. It did the job of making an almost-espresso at home—using pressure to extract coffee.

Good for: Portability and price (these are pretty cheap), sharing a pot with a friend

Over the decades it’s taken on a life of its own, and is no longer espresso’s poor cousin. The Italians invented it, and the originator, the Bialetti, is a classic piece of Italian design that’s changed little since its invention in 1933. It’s still made from aluminium and with eight sides to diffuse heat evenly.

Grind: Medium to fine Brew time: 3–4 minutes

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Today’s range of designs includes two-to twelve-cup, aluminium or stainless steel, and one spout or two.

To use: Fill the lower chamber with cold water just below the valve. Insert the funnel into the base and fill the basket with ground coffee. When full, smooth over with a finger; do not tamp as it needs room to expand. Remove any grounds on the edge of the funnel and tightly screw the upper part of the pot onto the base. Avoid using the handle for leverage. Place pot on a burner over moderate heat. For gas stoves, the flame should not come around the sides of the pot. And make sure the handle is not over the heat (it will melt). W hen the top of the pot is about one-third full, remove from stove and let the residual heat extract the rest. Hazel-brown foam will appear just seconds before the coffee is completely extracted—you want to take it off while the steam is honey-yellow. Before pouring the coffee, stir while it sits in the upper chamber to equalize the different coffee layers for optimum flavor.

TIP Some people prefer to preheat the water in a kettle before adding it to the moka pot to prevent the pot from getting too hot and cooking the coffee (giving it a metallic taste). 133

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Espresso Yes, espresso gets its own special section, but no, we’re not saying it’s the ultimate brewing style—that’s entirely a matter of taste. But you can’t deny there’s a lot of love for the hiss and hum of that big ol’ pressure brewer, and it isn’t the easiest of brewing methods. It takes a lot to master pulling the perfect short black or making a silky smooth latte. Coffee character: Heavy body, rich texture, and crema top. This is strong, rich, viscous, complex and adaptable coffee Good for: The soul, and for those willing to take the time to master the art of making it (it’s not simple) Grind: Fine Brew time: 30ml (1 oz) in 30 seconds is the magic formula

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For most of the past fifty years, espresso meant coffee. It was the very definition of “real” coffee, and this dark and mysterious beverage was at the center of most socializing. Italy virtually owns espresso, since Milan-based La Pavoni Spa made the first steam-powered espresso machine around 1902. Espresso was first introduced in the United States by Domenico Parisi who imported a Pavoni in 1927. The machine is still on display in its original home, Caffe Reggio, in New York City. Espresso is brewed by forcing hot water through finely ground coffee beans. The result is viscous, oily and full-flavored coffee with crema. The 30ml (1 oz) shot is the basis of most coffees: just add milk for a café latte, cappuccino, flat white or macchiato. Older, lever-operated machines have now pretty much been replaced with the shiny, automated beasts you see at cafés. It’s really only in the last twenty years or so that espresso machines have been manufactured for use at home. But, the trend has caught on quickly and there are heaps on the market, starting at a couple of hundred dollars and swooping up to the thousands.

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While it’s true that our espresso culture originated in Italy, we’ve since made it completely our own. In any café in Italy, order a “latte” and you’ll be given a cup of plain milk, order a “flat white” and you’ll be met with a blank stare. In fact, if you try to order any milky coffee after midday, you’ll be breaking unwritten Italian law, and (if the Italians are to be believed) asking for a bout of indigestion. So when in Rome, drink your afternoon coffee black.

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So Many Ways to Espresso Yourself

If you’re about to invest in an espresso machine, remember to factor the price of a grinder into your budget (if the machine doesn’t already have one built in). A decent espresso machine is a big investment, so it will help to read up and consider the following before making the commitment. Do you want a manual or automatic machine? A manual machine gives its user plenty of control over the final cup, or, depending on your perspective, requires a lot of hard work to use. If you think the latter, then you’re probably willing to pay extra to have everything automated for you, but say goodbye to the possibilities of experimentation. How long will it take to heat up? The higher the wattage, the faster the water heats up—and the higher the price of the machine. If you’re not in a hurry, and only make one or two brews a day, a lower wattage will be fine. Will it have an even holding temperature? Brass or steel filter baskets hold heat better than, say, aluminium ones, which makes for more consistency in the brew. Will it be able to make coffees for all your friends? If you’re regularly going to make more than six coffees back-to-back, you might want to invest in a machine with a dual boiler or heat exchange, which can handle this kind of capacity.

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Breville Barista Express

In a bench-test of home espresso coffee machines, the Breville Barista Express is highly recommended. It has a built-in burr grinder, and both automatic and manual options for most stages of the coffee-making process, so you can control the grind, dose and temperature, or just let the machine run automatically.

minipresso

The Minipresso is a compact, hand-powered espresso maker that builds pressure with a semiautomatic piston. Load it with grounds and hot water anywhere and presto! It only brews one shot at a time and it won’t texture your milk, so it’s best for black espresso drinkers. It’s an eminently portable machine, perfect for travelers or those without much counter space. It even includes a measuring scoop (which doubles as a tamp) and an espresso cup. Weighing less than a pound it’s the smallest and lightest on the market, extremely affordable, and the best part—no electricity necessary.

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The Little Guy

The great looking Little Guy is unique not only for its stylish design, but because it’s a stovetop espresso maker—dependent on an external heat source. The Little Guy was developed in Australia by Craig Hiron, who liked his vintage Atomic stovetop so much he devoted his life—and finances—to redesigning its mechanics to produce the best possible homemade espresso. The Little Guy is made from stainless steel, and creates enough internal pressure to texture milk. It’s good for its looks and making one double-shot at a time (you’ll need to let it cool a little between making the first and second brew).

TIP When filling the little guy’s filter basket with justground coffee, fill it to three-quarters full. Tap it to make sure the coffee is evenly spread and tamp. Then fill to the top. Tamp the coffee again, pressing firmly to create a seal.

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Extraction Guide

Is your espresso shot just not up to scratch? If the coffee’s sputtering out, or pouring too fast with no sign of crema, you may need to adjust the grind, the dose, or the tamp. Here’s a basic guide to where you might be going wrong.

Flavor

APPEARANCE

Grind

Over-extracted

Coffee barely dripping through, crema very dark and patchy

Too fine

Balanced

Coffee pouring consistently in a curve like a mouse’s tail, thick, golden crema

Optimum

Under-extracted

Coffee running quickly, crema thin and watery

Too coarse

(bitter, astringent)

(underdeveloped, sour)

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Grind Dose

Tamp

Shot time

Too much

Too heavy

Over 40 seconds

10g (about 2 tablespoons) to 1 cup

35–45 lbs of weight

25–35 seconds

Too light

Under 20 seconds

20g (about 4 tablespoons) to 2 cups Too little

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Milk or Sugar? Sure, some third-wavers may frown, but milk, sugar and coffee are a power trio that have been linked for far too long to be ignored. But what to make of all those tut-tuts around soy and skinny? What about the looks of disapproval as you reach for the sugar? Never mind them, we say put whatever you darn well like into your coffee. (Un)Holy Cow

We’ve mentioned that milk doesn’t always suit specialty coffees, but that doesn’t mean you have to rule it out completely. With the right bean and the right brew (think strong and rich, such as espresso or French press), a bit of milk can actually complement and enrich the coffee’s flavor. However, not all milks are created equal: any pro barista will happily serve up a fullcream flat white, but skinny and soy milks are a different story. Skinny: There are very few cafés that don’t offer skinny milk, even specialty ones, so it may seem quite self-important of those few that don’t serve it. Their reasoning is generally that because of the lower fat content, skinny milk has an inferior mouthfeel. When textured, the foam in skinny milk separates more quickly from the milk and the flavor of the coffee is altered, usually for the worse. This is all true enough, and it’s understandable that baristas want their expensive beans to be shown at their very best. But you’re the barista now, so it’s your call—if you truly love the richness of a full-cream latte, then sadly no low-fat alternative is going to cut it. 144

Soy: Like skinny, soy is much maligned among some specialty coffee makers. It heats quickly, so it can be a real challenge to get good microfoam. It has also been accused of curdling in certain coffees, and has a strong, nutty flavor that is definitely either love or hate. But if black coffee’s not your thing and lactose is not even to be considered, there are some soy milks that are known to be better for frothing: Pacific and Vitasoy both have specialized barista soy milks, but reviews vary on the texture and flavor of these when combined with coffee.

not all milks are created equal: any pro barista will happily serve up a full-cream flat white, but skinny and soy milks are a different story.

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The Sweet Stuff

Sugar: Specialty coffee-lovers argue that sugar drowns the natural sweetness of any seriously good coffee, so it may not be worth investing in specialty beans if you can’t enjoy them without that sweet kick. If you are a massive sweet tooth, though, you might like to play around with different kinds of sugar—perhaps try a dark brown or raw sugar for a richer flavor and see how it interacts with the coffee. Flavors: The caramel latte may be out of vogue, but that shouldn’t stop you from adding flavored syrups to your home brews. Some commercial coffee roasters even sell coffee with flavors, such as hazelnut and vanilla, already infused into the beans. Just remember that if you use these regularly the flavors will seep into your grinder and brewing equipment, changing the flavor of future cups.

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Heating and Texturing Milk

Texturing uses the machine’s steam to aerate and heat milk, which alters the milk’s sugars and proteins to make it sweeter and fuller. The aim is to get froth that is smooth and creamy, low on bubbles and cool enough to drink straight away. Overheated milk will mess up the coffee’s flavor and ruin any chance of that ideal, creamy microfoam, so practice and practice some more until you get it right, because there are few feelings more satisfying than pouring perfectly textured milk. Fill a sparkling, stainless steel jug with the amount of cold milk you need (not more than halfway). Place the steam wand under the surface of the milk and turn on the steam fully. Slowly lower the jug to the point where the wand gently sucks air at the milk’s surface. Adjust the angle to create a whirlpool. Listen for the hiss. Hold your other hand against the jug to feel the temperature; if you can keep your hand there for 3–4 seconds, the milk is around 140–158°F (60–70°C). (Any hotter and you’ve boiled the milk—pour it out and start again.) T urn off the steam. Remove the jug. Wipe the wand. Gently bang the bottom of the jug on the counter to settle the milk. Use a spoon like a gate when pouring to let more, or less, milk roll into your cup.

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TIP Never re-steam milk. When you first heat your milk it changes the chemical structure; basically, it cooks it. Reheating it would be like reheating a fried egg—not all that appealing.

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Coffee historian Ian Bersten believes that the Arab taste for black coffee, and the widespread European (and later American) habit of taking coffee with milk, owes something to genetics. The Anglo-Saxons could tolerate milk, while Mediterranean peoples—Arabs, Greek Cypriots and southern Italians— tended to be lactose-intolerant.

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Latte Art Latte art won’t make your espresso taste better, but it will show that you care. For best results: use a wide mouth cappuccino cup. Swirl the pitcher of steamed milk before you start, in case the liquid and foam have separated. Pour with a steady hand and consistent, even flow. Your design won’t be perfect the first time, but keep practicing! Heart Take the pitcher in your stronger hand and the cup in your other hand. From about 2 to 3 inches above, start pouring a thin stream of milk into the center of the cup. The milk should sink below the espresso. Continue pouring. When the cup is just over half full, tilt it slightly toward the pitcher, and bring the spout of the pitcher very close to the mouth of the cup. Aim the milk at the center of the cup. The foam should begin to form a white circle on the surface of the espresso. A s the circle grows, gradually straighten the cup. When the cup is nearly full, lift the pitcher 2 to 3 inches, aiming the milk closer to the edge of the circle. Quickly move the pitcher across the cup, so that the stream of milk cuts back through the center of the circle and all the way out the other side. This will create the divot and point at the bottom of the heart.

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Rosetta Take the pitcher in your stronger hand and the cup in your other hand. From about 2 to 3 inches above, start pouring a thin stream of milk into the center of the cup. The milk should sink below the espresso. Continue pouring. When the cup is just over half full, tilt it slightly toward the pitcher, and bring the spout of the pitcher very close to the mouth of the cup. Aim the milk near the handle of the cup. The foam should begin to form a white circle on the surface of the espresso. Gently shake the spout from side to side while moving the pitcher across the cup, away from the handle. Gradually straighten the cup as you go. W hen you reach the opposite rim of the cup, lift the pitcher 2 to 3 inches higher and quickly move it back toward the handle of the cup, so that the stream of milk cuts a straight line through the zigzag pattern. This will create the stem of the rosetta, and transform the zigzag into the leaves.

TIP Try varying the height and speed at which you pour to see how it affects your design. The faster you pour, the more foam texture you’ll create.

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Espresso Coffee Styles

Depending on which state you live in, the definition of coffee types varies. In fact, it varies within suburbs—each café adopts its own recipe. But in general, the traditional Italian way goes a little something like this: Short Black or Espresso: This one’s easy: just a single espresso shot, usually served in a little ceramic cup. Two shots make a double espresso. Ristretto: A bit of a throwback from the hand-pull espresso days, on an automated machine this is simply a shorter short black—a double espresso is about 60ml (2 oz), while a double ristretto is more like 45ml (1.5 oz). Long Black: A cup is filled two-thirds of the way up with hot water (not quite boiling or it will burn the coffee) and a double espresso shot is poured straight on top. Long blacks are usually served in a ceramic cup. Americano: The opposite of a Long Black, hot water is poured on top of a double espresso shot for a milder flavor. Latte: The milkiest of the milky, a latte is usually served in a glass with textured milk and a layer of foam that should be 1 to 2 centimeters deep. They are often not as hot as other milky coffees (likely so you can hold the glass without scorching your fingers). Flat White: Usually served in a ceramic cup, a flat white is much like a latte, but sometimes slightly stronger and with less foam. Cappuccino: Served in a cup, the aim is for one third coffee, one third milk and one third foam (which should rise above the cup in a smooth dome), sometimes with a dusting of chocolate. 157

Macchiato: Can be long (double shot) or short (single shot) and is usually served in a glass. Macchiato means “stain,” so this coffee is “stained” with a tiny dash of warm, textured milk and has three layers: black, tan and white. Piccolo Latte: Essentially a very short latte, this drink is growing in popularity, a great balance between the big hit of an espresso shot and the calm of the milky coffee. It usually comes in the form of an espresso shot in a macchiato glass, filled to the brim with milk. Café Mocha: Served in a latte glass (mocha latte) or a cup (mochaccino), chocolate powder or syrup is mixed into the freshly-pulled espresso shot and the whole thing is topped with textured milk. Iced Coffee: There are two common approaches to iced coffee. The more popular is brewing hot coffee at double strength, or espresso, and diluting with ice, sugar and cold milk or water. It can also be made by mixing cold brew (which eliminates the inherent acidity) with milk. For a real treat, add ice-cream.

TIP An espresso shot begins to lose quality the moment it’s poured, so with milky coffees, try to keep the time between pulling the shot and pouring in the milk as short as possible.

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So, it’s flat(ter than a latte) and it’s white, but the other defining characteristics of the flat white are pretty slippery, depending on who and when you ask. Each barista has their own formula, and prevailing tastes have changed over time. It could have been invented in Australia or New Zealand, or it could have less and slightly hotter milk than a latte, but it will be served in a cup and it will contain 30ml (1 oz) of espresso. Outside that, there’s no right or wrong. Make it how you like it.

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TIP You can use cold brew instead of espresso in this recipe, but its sweetness means you can probably skip the sugar. For a Mexican twist, there’s talk that tequila sits better with the coffee than vodka. 162

BOOZY BREWS Unlike most other flavor enhancers, liquor is beloved of the specialty coffee world. Coffee and cocktail experts have started experimenting with the taste sensations achievable when good-quality spirits and liqueurs are combined with single origins. Here are two of the more famous coffee cocktails to get you started:

Espresso Martini

Rumor has it that this classic cocktail was invented in 1984, when a famous model walked into a London bar and requested a drink that would “wake me up, then f**k me up.” If ever there was a drink to fit that description, this is it. In a cocktail shaker, combine a generous amount of ice, a single (30ml) shot of espresso, 30ml (1 oz) of top-of-the-line vodka and 30ml (1 oz) of coffee liqueur (avoid milky liqueurs in this one). If you need extra sweetener, add a splash of simple syrup. Give it a good shaking—this is what  makes the crema-like foam that sits on top of a good espresso martini. Pour into a chilled martini glass and garnish with a few espresso beans.

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Irish Coffee

Coffee, cream and whiskey: it’s hard to go wrong with that kind of flavor combination. Cocklewarming and rich, this indulgent nightcap is in again. Opinions differ as to the best proportion of coffee to whiskey; it’s a matter of taste, but generally aim for no more than one part whiskey to two parts coffee. Pre-warm your serving mug by rinsing it with hot water. Brew yourself a hot coffee, something rich and strong like a long black or a French press brew. Combine coffee and a smooth whiskey  according to the size of your mug (and craving). Add brown sugar to taste (one teaspoon is a good start) and stir. The sugar helps the cream to float. L ightly shake some thickened cream to  aerate it a little, then pour the cream gently over the back of the spoon to create a layer on top of the coffee.

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TIP Gutsy Brazilian or Colombian beans are a good option to balance the potency of the whiskey in this drink.

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A mocha is a mix of chocolate and coffee, sure, but Mocha coffee beans don’t taste in the slightest like chocolate. Confusing? Well, here’s why. The sweet “mocha” drink we know today is named after the Yemeni port city of Mocha (also spelled Mokha), where Europeans first came in contact with coffee. For many years, Mocha’s particular variety of coffee was known for its inherent cocoa f lavors, so step by step we arrived at the bastardized but beloved “mocha coffee.” Over time Mocha’s coffee beans lost their chocolate f lavor, but the name still stuck. That’s why it’s always worth checking which kind of “mocha” you’re ordering.

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How to Talk Coffee You may be familiar with some, or none, of the terms in this grab bag of coffee language. Many of them have come up in the book, others you might hear when buying beans from your local roaster. Acidity: A cupping term that describes the high notes of coffee (with words like “bright,” “clean” or “dry”) or unpleasant qualities (described as “sour”). Aged coffee: Also “vintage coffee,” this is coffee that’s been stored in warehouses for several years (longer even than “old crop” or “mature coffee”). Aging generally reduces acidity and increases body. Arabica: The main cultivar of the coffea tree used for most specialty coffee. Aroma: The smell of just-brewed coffee. Balance: In cupping terms, when a coffee has no single characteristic that stands out above the others.

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Bloom: Freshly roasted coffee is constantly releasing carbon dioxide. When ground coffee is combined with hot water, the release of gases increases in what is called a “bloom.” “Blooming” essentially involves preparing coffee for extraction by sitting the ground coffee in hot water, forcing out that carbon dioxide. Body: The weight of the coffee: how it feels in your mouth, from watery to oily to grainy. Break: In cupping, the important moment where the crust of grounds is broken to assess aroma. Coffee snob: Folk who only drink specialty coffee and frown on those who don’t. Chaff: The paper-like substance that detaches and floats off the coffee beans during roasting. Classic: A coffee with flavor that is typical of its origin. Clean: In cupping, a coffee free of flavor defects.

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How to Talk Coffee Complexity: A brew that has shifting layers of flavor, giving an impression of depth. Crack (first and second): The sound made when coffee beans release gases during the roasting process. Crema: The tan-colored top layer of espresso that’s a result of gas trapped in bubbles of oil. It’s a vital part of espresso flavor and texture. Cup of Excellence: Although you may start referring to your own brews this way, technically it refers to the competition that determines the best coffee bean grown in a particular nation. It’s a not-for-profit program that directly benefits farmers from member countries, and the winners of Cup of Excellence draw significantly higher prices at auction. Cupping: The method used to judge the quality and characteristics of coffee beans. Coffee is coarsely ground, then exactingly steeped, scraped, sniffed and slurped. Defect: Either a specific problem with the green coffee, or a flavor problem identified during the cupping process.

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Density: Before export, beans are sorted according to density, with the denser beans generally considered higher quality. This is partly because denser beans roast more evenly. Degassing: The natural process by which freshly roasted coffee releases carbon dioxide, which temporarily prevents it from going stale. Doser: The device found on specialized espresso grinders that dispenses specific doses of ground coffee. Espresso: A short black, or 30ml (1 oz) shot of coffee, extracted using an espresso machine. Estate Coffee: Coffee that has either been grown on a single farm, or grown on a collection of farms and processed at the same mill. Filter: Coffee that’s made by coffee grounds being steeped in water and passed through a filter to remove all the solid bits. Finish: The taste and feel of coffee just before it’s swallowed. Some coffees change significantly between the initial sip and the finish.

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How to Talk Coffee Fragrance: In cupping this describes the smell of freshly ground (but not yet brewed) coffee. Green coffee: Unroasted coffee beans. GROUP HEAD: The handle of an espresso machine—the bit that holds the ground coffee and the conduit through which your espresso passes. Hard: A trade term for low-quality coffee, as opposed to mild coffee. Mature coffee: Coffee held in warehouses for two to three years. Mild: As opposed to “hard” coffee, a term for high-quality Arabica coffee. New crop: Green coffee delivered for roasting soon after harvesting and processing. Old Arabicas: Varieties of Arabica that were developed relatively early in the history of coffee. Some experts maintain that these produce a superior-quality cup compared to more modern varieties.

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Old crop: Also “past crop,” kept in warehouses for some time before roasting, but not as long as “mature” or “aged coffee.” Microfoam: The ideal textured milk consistency for lattes, cappuccinos and other milky coffee. Less soap bubble consistency and more like shaving cream. Micro-lot coffee: The most regulated of coffees. Micro-lot beans have all been grown in the same field, with minimal changes in altitude. All beans are picked on the same day. Mouthfeel: It’s how the coffee feels in the mouth—maybe oily, bubbly or silky. Peaberry: A coffee bean that hasn’t separated into two parts. It looks a bit like a football and is known to have an intensified version of the flavor profile of the rest of its crop. Pull: Espresso shots are “pulled.” It’s a holdover from the days when machines were lever operated.

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How to Talk Coffee Quakers: Defective coffee beans that just won’t roast properly. Richness: A full, satisfying flavor, body or acidity. Silverskin: The thin inner skin on a coffee bean that turns into chaff during roasting. Single origin: A loose term for coffee in which all beans come from one “origin,” sometimes meaning a single farm and sometimes a broader region. Having a single origin makes it easier to generalize about the coffee’s flavor. Smallholder farms: Small farms, mostly in developing countries. Specialty coffee: Coffee that has been sourced with an extra focus on the quality of the bean, from crop to cup. Steam wand: Sometimes “nozzle,” “pipe” or even “stylus.” It’s simply the pipe found on most espresso machines that you use to heat milk.

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Tamp: To press coffee into the filter basket of an espresso machine, so it’s evenly extracted. Third Wave: The breed of coffee roasters and baristas who deal exclusively in specialty beans and who are totally devoted to getting the most out of them by whatever means, including varying roasts (particularly lighter roasts) and filter brewing.

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Resources Luckily this latest coffee obsession has grown up along with the internet. Huzzah! There is an absolute wealth of information available online: tips, blogs, reviews and guides that you can learn from and contribute to. A few have been listed here, but they’re only starting points. It’s worth reading around, since opinions differ strongly (sometimes furiously) on many coffee-related topics. And always remember that if in doubt, your local roaster is your best friend. Many roasters and retailers even run training courses and public cupping sessions. Look to them for insights into sourcing the right beans, roasting and brewing, and don’t be shy—coffee-lovers enjoy nothing more than sharing knowledge of their passion.

Coffee

Brewing Courses

Cupping Courses

Roasting Courses

Gear

Online Guides

Tours

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General Information Coffee Cuppers coffeecuppers.com Visit the reference page for solid information on cupping and flavor profiles Coffee Review coffeereview.com Reviews, expert articles, handy glossary and reference pages Counter Culture counterculturecoffee.com Roasters with good brew guides and regional training centers in Asheville, Atlanta, Chicago, Durham, NYC, Philadelphia and Washington D. C. Sweet Maria’s sweetmarias.com Home roasting specialists with guides to roasting, brewing and equipment World Vision worldvision.org Keeps tabs on the world coffee market and workers’ exploitation

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Industry Bodies These organizations generally have information on professional development, competitions and resources. International Coffee Organization (ICO) ico.org National Coffee Association of USA ncausa.org Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) scaa.org

Machines and Gadgets AeroPress aerobie.com/products/aeropress.htm

Breville breville.com Bialetti bialetti.com BRITA brita.com Chemex chemexcoffeemaker.com Hario by Sensory Lab sensorylab.com.au The Little Guy thelittleguy.info Apps KoHi kohilabs.com Can be used for manual brew methods and include a timer, calculator and recipe manager SPRO sproapp.com Step-by-step espresso making

Roasters and Courses While not an exhaustive list, consider this a springboard if you’re stumped for a place to start. Many of the retailers and cafés listed here also have online stores selling coffee and tools, plus they may provide brew guides and roasting information. New York City, NY Boot Coffee bootcoffee.com Brooklyn Roasting Company brooklynroasting.com Irving Farm irvingfarm.com Joe Coffee joenewyork.com Roasting Plant roastingplant.com

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Stone Street Coffee Company stonestreetcoffee.com Unique Coffee Roasters uniquecoffeeroasters.com

Chicago, IL Bowtruss Coffee Roasters bowtruss-retail.myshopify.com

Chicago Coffee Roastery chicagocoffee.com

Cuvée Coffee cuveecoffee.com Java Pura Coffee Roasters javapura.com Texas Coffee School texascoffeeschool.com

Intelligentsia intelligentsiacoffee.com

Third Coast Coffee Roasting Company thirdcoastcoffee.com

Metropolis Coffee Company metropoliscoffee.com

Wild Gift Coffee wildgiftcoffee.com

Passion House Coffee Roasters passionhousecoffee.com

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Austin, TX/Houston, TX Casa Brasil casabrasilcoffees.com

San Francisco, CA/Los Angeles, CA Bar Nine barninela.com

Seattle, WA Caffe Vita caffevita.com

Blue Bottle Coffee bluebottlecoffee.com

Espresso Vivace espressovivace.com

Demitasse Café cafedemitasse.com

Madrona Coffee madronacoffee.com

Four Barrel Coffee fourbarrelcoffee.com

Seattle Coffee Works seattlecoffeeworks.com

Healing Coffee Roasters healingcoffeeroasters.com

Slate Coffee Roasters slatecoffee.com

Verve Coffee Roasters vervecoffeeroasters.com

Victrola victrolacoffee.com

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Portland, OR Coava coavacoffee.com Heart Roasters heartroasters.com Kobos Coffee koboscoffee.com Night Owl Roasters nightowlroasters.com Stumptown Coffee Roasters stumptowncoffee.com

Providence, RI Bolt Coffee Company boltcoffeeco.com Coffee Exchange thecoffeeexchange.com

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Custom House Coffee customhousecoffee.com New Harvest Coffee Roasters newharvestcoffee.com Richard Alan Specialty Coffees  richardalancoffee.com

New Orleans, LA New Orleans Roast Coffee & Tea neworleansroast.com Orleans Coffee Exchange orleanscoffee.com Sólo Espresso soloespressobar.com Zephyr New Orleans zephyrcoffee.com

Wichita, KS/Kansas City, MO Blacksmith Coffee Roastery blacksmithcoffee.com Oddly Correct oddlycorrect.bigcartel.com PT’s Coffee ptscoffee.com Reverie Roasters reverieroasters.com

New Mexico Piñon Coffee nmpinoncoffee.com Ohori’s Coffee Roasters ohoriscoffee.com Prosum Roasters prosumroasters.com Red Rock Roasters redrockroasters.com

The Roasterie theroasterie.com

Albuquerque, NM/Santa Fe, NM Iconik Coffee Roasters iconikcoffee.com Johnny Lolita’s Coffee Roasters johnnylolitas.com

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INDEX A AeroPress  107, 130–131, 179 Africa  30, 51 Agtron 72 air roasting  87, 98 alkalinity 111 americano 157 Arabian Peninsula, the 51 arabica  13, 16, 53, 168, 172 artisan roasters  70, 89 Asia  12, 30, 57 Australia 57 automated roasting  76, 86–87

brewing about  29, 61, 86, 103, 108–112 AeroPress  107, 130–131, 179 cold brew/cold press  120–123, 158 espresso  135–143, 157–160 ibrik 114–115 moka pot/percolator  132–133 plunger/French press  118–119 pour over/drip brew  126–127 siphon/vacuum 124–125 BRITA  111, 179 burr grinders  105, 140 buying beans  29, 60–62, 73

B bitterness in brewing  108, 119–120, 142 blade grinders 105 blending  36, 49, 54, 100 bloom  127, 131, 169 Blue Mountain cultivar 54 Bolivia 49 Brazil  49, 61, 165 Breville Barista Express  140, 179 186

C caffeine  17, 37, 65 cappuccino  61, 136, 157 cause coffee 33 Central America 48 chaff  76, 80–81, 87, 98, 169, 174 civets 58 classification 35

climate  23, 47 coarse grind  104–105, 107 coffea tree  12, 16, 51 coffea cherry  8, 17 coffee industry  24, 30–35, 47–57, 68,   136, 177–183 cooling roasted beans colander method  80–81 water quenching  81 cold brew/cold press  120–123, 158 Colombia  49, 165 commercial coffee  16–17, 24–29, 48–49 commercial roasters 146 countries, coffee-growing 47–57 crack, in roasting  70–71, 78–79, 170 crema  135–136, 142, 170 cupping  39–40, 170

D defect  35, 170, 174 direct trade 32 DIY roasting (see manual roasting) drum roasting  86, 89 dry processing  17, 40

E

espresso about  135–139, 171 extraction guide  142–143, 157–158 grinding and brewing  104–107, 139 makers 140–141 serving styles  157–158 espresso roast  48, 61 estate coffee 171 see also single origin ethics 30–33 Ethiopia  12, 51 Ethiopian coffee ceremony 85

F Fairtrade 32 Fairtrade Premium 32 filter coffee  120–121, 124–125, 126–127,   130–131, 171 filter roast 61 fine grind  104, 107 fire safety 76 first crack  70–71, 78–79, 170 flat white  137, 157 Flavor Wheel 42–43 flavored coffees 146 flavored syrups 146

East Timor 57 economy, coffee in the 24 187

foam espresso (see crema) milk 144–155 freezing beans 62 French press 118–119 freshness green coffee beans  67, 75, 172 ground coffee  62 roasted coffee beans  62

G Geisha coffee 48 glossary 170–175 grading 35 Greek coffee (see ibrik) green coffee beans  67, 75, 172 grinders 104 grind guide 107 Guatemala 48

heating milk (see texturing milk) history of coffee 12–13

I ibrik 114–115 iced coffee  121, 158 India 57 Indonesia 57 In Good Spirits Championship 20 Irish coffee 164 Italy, coffee in  19, 132, 136–137

J Jamaica  54, 60

K Kaldi the goatherd 14 Kenya 51 Kona 53–54 Kopi Luwak 58

H Hario coffee press 119 Hario Skerton Hand Grinder 105 Hario V60 dripper 126 Hawaii  53–54, 60 health benefits of coffee 65 heat gun roasting 99

188

L latte  61, 135, 137, 157 latte art 152–155 Little Guy, The  141, 179 long black 157

M macchiato 158 manual roasting  76, 90–99 martini, espresso  120, 163 Mexico 48 microfoam  145, 148, 173 milk  44, 61, 136–137, 144–155 mocha  158, 166 moka pot 132–133 monsooned coffee 57

Peru  33, 49 piccolo latte 158 picking/ers, coffee  17, 23, 51, 53 plungers (see French press) popcorn poppers, roasting with hot-air  87, 91, 98 stovetop 97 pour over/drip brew 126–127 processing  17, 40

R N natural processing (see dry processing)

O organic coffee 33 origins of coffee historical 12–13 regional  36, 47–57 see also single origin oven roasting 93

P palate 36–46 Panama 48 percolator (see moka pot)

Rainforest Alliance 33 refrigerating beans 62 regions, coffee-growing  36, 47 Africa and the Arabian Peninsula  51 Asia and Australia  57 Central America  48 Islands 54 South America  49 ristretto 157 roasting general 67 guide 78–79 home-roasting, about  74–99 process 70–71 record 82–83 temperature 78–81

189

roasting methods air 87 drum 89 oven 93 heat gun  99 hot-air popcorn maker  98 pan roast  94 stovetop coffee roaster  97 roasts (types) espresso roast  61 filter roast  61 robusta 16–17 Rwanda 51

S safety, roasting 76 selecting coffee 60–62 blends  36, 61 characteristics 40–43 cupping  39–40, 170 geographical origins  47-57 green beans  67, 75 roasted beans  60–62 semi-dry processing  17, 40 semi-washed processing (see semi  dry processing) short black/espresso  135, 157, 171

190

shots, espresso  149, 150, 157–158, 171 siphon (vacuum brewer) 124–125 single origin  36, 61, 174 skinny milk 144–145 smallholder farm/ers  30, 33, 174 smoke  70–71, 76, 78–79, 87 sospeso, caffé 19 South America 49 soy milk 144–145 specialty coffee  20, 23, 24, 29–30,   60–61, 174 Specialty Coffee Association of   America, The (SCAA)  20, 42, 178 steaming milk (see texturing milk) storage 62 sugar  44, 114–115, 121, 144–146 sustainable farming  30, 32 syrups, flavored 146

T tamp  141, 142–143, 175 tap water 111 tasting  39, 44 see also cupping tequila 162 terroir  23, 36 texturing milk 144–145

thermometers 80 third wave  12–13, 44, 175 time brewing  108, 158 roasting  70, 78–79 troubleshooting espresso 142–143 Turkey, coffee in  114, 116 Turkish coffee (see ibrik)

V vacuum brewer (see siphon) ventilation 76 vodka 163

W washed processing (see wet processing) water  108, 111 water quenching 81 weight, brewing 108 wet-hulled processing (see semi-dry processing) wet processing  17, 23, 40 whiskey 164 World Cezve/Ibrik Championships 114

Y Yemen  51, 166

191

ABOUT SIMONE EGGER Simone is a writer and editor. She writes for The Age in Melbourne, has authored books for adults and children and used to write guidebooks for Lonely Planet. She also used to wait tables and, for seven years (on and off), worked with a charming (now quaint) 1960s, stainless-steel Faema E61, pulling Illy coffee to deliver little doses of happiness. She wishes to thank Lucio Pezzimenti, who owned that Faema and taught her how to make espresso, and give kudos to Mark Dundon, who inspired a whole city to specialize in coffee. Hallelujah to Simon who she wooed with her coffees (occasionally spiked with alcohol), and who now makes hers most mornings.

ABOUT RUBY ASHBY ORR Ruby also made espresso coffee for seven years (on and off) and was known to drink up to six short blacks in a shift. Since then she’s moderated her caffeine intake (a little) and is now an editor at Affirm Press. Many thanks are due to the coffee pros whose passion and insight helped to give The Home Barista direction. Special thanks go to Jenna Bracecamp, Charlie Self and to Hootan Heydari and the brilliant roasting team at Wide Open Road, including Dylan Hewitt and Luke Condon.

Egger

Roast 

You don’t have to be a roaster to be a great barista, but knowing a bit about how your coffee is roasted can give you a new understanding of the power of the bean. If you want to turn your addiction into a hobby, roasting is the way to do it.

Brew  The huge number of home-brewing options now available to us makes it almost criminal (criminal!) to just stick to the tried and true. Your new favorite brew might be hiding where you least expect it. Drink  A good coffee shouldn’t taste like charcoal or potatoes, it shouldn’t be underwhelming, and let’s face it, it really shouldn’t come from an industry that exploits its workers. Taste 

Have you ever been told a coffee has “berry undertones,” only to take a sip and find that it actually tastes like . . . well, coffee? Don’t be disheartened!

$14.95 US Cooking | Beverages

THE EXPERIMENT ■ NEW YORK

BECAUSE EVERY BOOK IS A TEST OF NEW IDEAS theexperimentpublishing.com Also available as an ebook

Savvy, smart and utterly charming, The Home Barista reveals the secrets to brewing coffee like a pro—right in your own kitchen:

How to bring out the best in every coffee bean

Brew it yourself eight different  ways—from the classic pour over and French press to the siphon and Turkish ibrik. Roast your own beans (and learn  how not to burn them)—whether you invest in a roaster or repurpose your popcorn maker. Refine your palate (try it black—  you may never go back).

How to bring out the best in every coffee bean

Enjoy  Sure, some may frown, but milk, sugar and coffee are a power trio that have been linked for far too long to be ignored. But what to make of all those tut-tuts around soy and skinny? What about the looks of disapproval as you reach for the sugar? Never mind them, we say put whatever you darn well like into your coffee.

f

Ashby Orr

the hOME BARISTA

Turn a Simple Bean into a Sensational Beverage!

!"

Master the elusive espresso (it’s all  about tamp, time and temperature). Design your own latte art (it’s  easier than you think). With these tips and techniques—plus insights on coffee’s lingo, history and culture—you, too, can become a coffee connoisseur! simone egger & ruby ashby orr

THE EXPERIMENT

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5/21/15 6:20 PM