E-News - "A Good Cup of Joe"

"A Good Cup of Joe"

September 24, 2009 - Volume 1 - Issue 18

In This Issue

Special Workshop - Oct 26

The Bean

The Roast and the Grind

Recipes for Sweet Treats

Quick Links

Beyond Pots and Pans Website

Beyond Pots and Pans Online Shopping

Beyond Pots and Pans Gift Registry

Morning Therapy

Some mornings it's the only thing that entices us out of bed - the anticipation of that first great cup of coffee! The total experience begins with a good dose of aromatherapy, the fragrance of the beans as they're scooped from their container into the grinder. Then it's the vibration of the grinder as it transforms the beans to their brew-ready stage. Next, the sound of water pouring continues to wake our senses. The second dose of aromatherapy floods the room as the brew is formed and the perfume released. Finally, it's time for the first sip - almost always followed by an "ahhh...." It's going to be a good day! In this issue, we indulge our passion for coffee by exploring just what it takes to make a good cup of joe - the bean, the grind, the water, and the brewing. And what goes better with coffee than just a little bit of sweet? We offer three recipes from a charming cookbook, Bite-Size Desserts, that will complement your coffee encounters in a most delightful way!

Special Workshop

The Bean

Coffee beans are the fruit of the coffee tree, actually, more of a shrub. They grow in the tropics in a band on either side of the equator as seeds inside red fruit known as coffee cherries. Each fruit contains a pair of seeds, flat sides together. A coffee cherry with only one seed inside is known as a "peaberry" and is highly prized and uniquely marketed. Beans and brews are often sold by country of origin - Sumatra, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Columbia, etc. There are two basic types of coffee trees used for culinary purposes, those that produce arabica beans and those producing robusta beans. Arabica beans are the more favored fruit and produce the better coffees that most of us are quite fond of. Robusta beans, easier to grow for a variety of reasons, comprise the more mass-marketed coffees.

Recently, coffee growing practices have received a fair amount of attention. Agricultural systems in the uniquely tropical coffee regions are growing rapidly to meet global demand. Here's a glossary of a few common terms associated with coffee bean choices:

Fair Trade - Fair trade certifications were established to provide a standard for ethical coffee growing. Beans with the fair trade designation are grown in working conditions that are safe and fair for the employees, produced through environmentally sound growing practices, and where the farmers are guaranteed a minimum price for their coffee. The fair trade label is determined by a third-party organization that inspects and certifies coffee growing operations.

Shade Grown - Naturally, coffee shrubs prefer a shady location with dappled light. However, some species can thrive in full sunlight. Shade grown coffee implies that the forest's upper canopy have been left intact and that the environment remains in its more natural state with minimal use of fertilizers and mass-farming techniques. Shade grown coffee may not produce in the quantities that full sun coffee growing conditions might, but does not reward commercial deforestation, and, therefore, is considered to be more friendly to the environment and protective of wildlife habitats.

Organic - The "organic" designation for coffee beans also defines "how" the beans were grown - that is, without pesticides or chemical fertilizers. The choice for organic beans reflects personal health concerns and general environmental concerns. Organic beans are usually more expensive due to the increased costs involved in organic growing, certification processes, and the expense in providing an adequate motive for farmers to grow organically.

From the tree, coffee cherries are picked as they ripen. Finer coffee beans are picked by hand. This is due to the variable ripening of the cherries where a look and evaluation is required for each pluck. Cherries that are underripe, or those that are overripe, will taint the final brew in undesirable ways. Perfectly picked coffee cherries are then processed in one of three ways:

Dry processing - In this method, cherries are placed on trays and dried in full sun for 10 - 20 days. The dried fruit pulp is removed by machine leaving the inside seed.

Washed processing - Through this method, the skins of the freshly harvested cherries are removed mechanically leaving the inside pulp. The berries are left to ferment in a tank for nearly a day, then are washed and dried. This method is considered preferable for finer coffees with added flavor gained from the fermentation step.

Semi-washed processing - Similar to washed processing, just harvested berries are processed with both skins and the pulp removed. The beans are dried with no fermentation step involved.

From post-harvest processing, the beans are readied for roasting. They are sorted and graded according to their size, density, and color. Excellent beans are hand-sorted multiple times. As can be seen with each of these steps, the labor intensity of coffee is high! On to where the "green beans" go from here!

The Roast and the Grind

Plenty of artistry has already gone into the coffee before it is shipped from the farm. But the fine craft continues as the beans proceed to the roaster. Coffee wouldn't resemble coffee if it weren't for the roast - bitterness, smokiness, floral overtones - it all gets built into the bean at the point of roasting. In fact, the same batch of beans can take on completely different characteristics when roasted differently. A coffee roaster heats the beans and moves them constantly to promote an even roast. During the first stage of a roast moisture is released from the bean. As heating continues, sugars in the bean begin to caramelize. Finally, during extended roastings, natural oils are released. The timing and temperatures of roasting will greatly impact the flavor and determine the type of roast moniker applied to the ready-for-market beans:

Range of Roasts

Different Roasts:
Light roasts - As one might guess, light roasted beans have received the least heat and are pulled from the roaster before sugar caramelization has occurred.

Medium roasts - These beans have released their natural moisture and have some sugar caramelization, but no oils unveiled.

Dark roasts - This roast has continued longer to the point where the bean's natural oils have been released and the bean roasted to a darker color. Within this designation of dark roasts you'll find French, Italian, and espresso roasts.

Coffee is best enjoyed from freshly roasted beans. Choose your beans from purveyors that roast or purchase in smaller quantities thereby providing turnover and greater freshness.

Grinding the Beans:
Grind whole beans just before brewing. This allows the nuanced flavors and volatile aromas to be retained and infused in your coffee. The fineness of the grind is determined by how long the coffee is in contact with the water during the brewing cycle. Finer grinds are used for drip brewing, where a coarser grind is suitable for French press brewing. Very fine grinds are used for espresso brewing.

Range of Grinds

There are many styles of coffee grinders to choose from; they generally fall into one of two categories:

Burr Grinders - This style of coffee grinder allows the most control over the grinding process. The beans are crushed between a moving wheel and a stationary surface. With a burr grinder you can variously adjust the fineness of the grind and achieve consistent results. Burr grinders may have either a wheel or conical style grinding mechanism. Conical burr grinders are considered preferable, especially for darker, oilier roasts which may clog other grinders.

Blade Grinders - Also called "impact" grinders, these machines use a metal blade to crush the beans. The fineness of the grind is governed by the length of operation, a potentially imprecise science. Impact grinders will also produce less consistency in the evenness of the grind.

When choosing a grinder, evaluate how it operates, durability of its motor, the heat generated (avoid burnt grounds), its capacity, and on/off safety mechanisms. Match your need for different grinds with the grinders' capabilities. Check Capresso's Features Chart.

The Brew

No pressure, but now the artistry of the final product is all on you! You've chosen the right bean, accomplished the right grind, it's time to brew.

Capresso MT500 Plus

Water - Coffee is mostly water, so this is a critical step. Use freshly filtered water that has had any chlorine removed. Many simple water filtering systems are available that will yield great water for coffee and for general consumption. Do not use distilled water as it has no character. Softened water has too many minerals added and can prove to have a distracting taste.

How Much Coffee to How Much Water - This is a subjective topic -- general guidelines call for 1-2 tablespoons of coffee grounds for every six ounces of water. From that broad range of instruction, the ratio is governed by the type of bean, the grind, and personal Capresso TeamTherm

strength and taste preferences.

Brewing Systems: Gone are the percolators of the olden days that produced many a pot of questionable product. Today, brewing systems are built specifically to brew a better cup of coffee.

Drip Brewers - Drip brewing produces an excellent cup of coffee. Better machines will have good mechanisms for heating the water to the perfect pitch of 200°F.

Consider the filtering system deployed with each machine. A gold-filter is inert, and will not impart any taste to the coffee as paper filtering methods might. It's essential that any filtering mechanism be kept impeccably clean for the best tasting pot.
A thermal carafe will keep the coffee at the proper drinking temperature for about an hour. A hot plate may be of use to warm a thermal carafe, but care should be taken to not apply heat directly to the coffee through a single-walled pot.
Timing and programmability features may be important to you; assess their ease of use.
Many drip brewing systems offer integrated coffee grinders - one less step.
Single-serving brewers make coffee always available at its freshest. If you like to vary your coffee choices, the single serving packs are a great way to experiment with different flavors.