Why do coffee beans need to be roasted?
March 22, 2010
What does roasting do for the coffee?
I am thinking about juicing beans, to create a very strong cup of coffee, that does not have any burnt taste.
For this I believe that I should use un-roasted green coffee beans.
I have a lot of ignorance in this area though and need help and suggestions.
If you have ever tasted under-roasted (or even green) coffee, you would find that it has an extremely sour, acrid, flat, and unpleasant flavor.
During the roasting process, several chemical reactions (including the Maillard process, Strecker degredation, and caramelization) take place between the sugars and amino acids in the beans. These reactions are responsible for developing the flavors, aromatics, and sweetness within a coffee. Through extensive tasting, smelling (during and after the roast), and science, an excellent roaster should be able to find the best balance of flavors within a bean.
When coffee is initially tasted (before purchasing from the farm), it is always done so with a light roast. This amplifies the flavors of the beans themselves, but it also amplifies the defects. Many roasters will choose a darker roast in order to mask any of these defects and create their own consistent “signature roast” flavor. It is impossible for a large coffee company to achieve consistency between batches with a light roast – coffee is a seasonal crop and varies far too much, even from hillside to hillside on the very same farm. Even with the world’s best roasters, when consistency is more important than quality, the end product quality suffers.
If all the coffees you have tasted have a burnt taste, I would wager that you have never had the opportunity to taste exceptional coffee. If you are interested, I would recommend searching for local roasters on www.coffeegeek.com. Look for high quality coffees from farms who have won awards such as the Cup of Excellence. Look for a shop that advertises the roast date, not expiration date. Coffee is generally best between 4 and 10 days after roasting. Look for lighter roasted beans that do not appear black or show visible oils. Ask questions! A passionate roaster will be willing to tell you way more than you ever wanted to know about his or her Coffee. Many smaller “third wave” coffee shops will focus on quality above all else, even if it means that the flavor of their coffee is constantly changing with the seasons and growing conditions.
By the way, you might have just opened Pandora’s box of coffee – enjoy your journey.
Food That Goes Well with Coffee
March 16, 2010
People, often than not, pair food with a beverage that is palatable to their taste. One food commodity that does not go out of the picture nowadays is coffee. It has become so essential in our daily routine that different coffee shops mushroom all over the world. Every food imaginable is paired with coffee. But what food really goes well with coffee? Is there really any formula that would make any combination perfect?
Most people won’t even care what food they eat as long as they have coffee in the morning. It really depends on your own tastes what you want to pair coffee with. The truth is, there are great food out there that can taste even better with coffee.
Well, here are some suggestions.
Coffees that have deeply smooth, natural chocolaty, and nutty tones goes well with any salad, biscotti, or shotbread.
A sweet, full rich coffee with a well-balanced taste, and with a touch of orange or caramel tone is taste great when paired with cakes, nut bread, and granola.
Coffees grown in high-altitude places is usually known for being consistently smooth and fragrant. Consequently, these coffees have rich, smooth, and delicate taste. These goes well with baked foods that are lightly flavored.
Coffees with rich, fruity taste, and with hints of wine, lemon, and berries and medium roasted go well with cuisines that include lemongrass or spicy dishes or bread.
Coffees with smoky smooth, fruity, and with rich chocolaty tones or medium to dark tones go well with cheesecakes, chocolate cakes, or pies with carmelized sauces and subtle flavored baked food.
Coffees with deep berry or strong winey taste is great with fresh fruits, scones, and tarts.
Coffees that are of mild and medium tones or those with delicate, dry, intensely sweet go well with breads, quiches, cookies, breakfast, or lighter taste foods.
Coffees with naturally exotic, earthy, or intensely smoky taste go well with heavy cuisines like roast beef or lamb, tomato sauce or sauteed vegetables.
Heavy and dark roasted coffees go well with fruit tarts and pies, meat, potatoes, rich filled-desserts, or anything with chocolate and caramel. It also goes well with most scones and biscuits.
There is really no formula as to the kind of food that really goes well with coffee. A taste that is to one’s liking may not go well with another’s and vice versa. This is true with any kind of food and beverages. Every food and beverages that one takes would still depend on one’s taste buds.
So finally, pairing coffee with any kind of food is like a journey. A long the way, you will encounter varieties of food that, though delectable, are not compatible with your coffee. However, like every journey, it should still be savored and enjoyed.
As William Henley would say, You are the captain of your ship, you are the master of your soul. I say, you are the connoisseur of your coffee, you are the taster of your food.
Brazil – The Biggest Coffee Producer
March 1, 2010
As discussed in this segment before, coffee is the second largest traded commodity next to petroleum. It is no surprise that a product as good as coffee is largely traded. Coffee has been pretty much the staple beverage of every country today. This time, it would be remiss not to discuss, Brazil, the biggest coffee producer in the world.
Brazil is a South American country. It is the fifth largest country by geographical area, and it is the fifth most populous country. It is situated near the equator, with an equatorial climate of 27 degrees Centigrade or 77 degrees Fahrenheit. They have the perfect geography and climate for coffee plantations. This is one of the reasons why Brazil is the biggest coffee producer in the world.
Brazil used to supply 50 percent of the world’s coffee. While that is not longer true, Brazil is till the world’s biggest coffee supplier at an estimated 30 percent of the world’s crops.
More Reasons Why Brazil is so Successful
Aside from the obvious climate reasons, Brazil is also doing a lot of things right when it comes to coffee production. Brazil also managed to employ modern industrial standards as much as they can to help in the production.
They actually employ mechanical pickers to help them harvest the coffee beans for cheap. They also use a hybrid processing method to separate the fruit pulps of the harvest from the coffee beans.
The coffee industry of Brazil also has what is called a Coffee Policy Council, where members of the council are part of the coffee grower groups, the exporters, and the local industrial users of coffee.
All of these efforts from the Brazilian government and the private sector have helped lower the production cost of coffee and it also raised the profits.
Santos the Coffee of Brazil
The name Santos is really synonymous with the coffee of Brazil. Santos is mainly grown in Sao Paolo but it is named from the main port on which it was shipped and traded. This coffee was a strain of coffee arabica brought in from Bourbon.
Santos also used to compete with the medicinal tasting Rios. Rios was also a Coffee named after Rioy, mainly because of its medicinal taste. Santos was of course more popular since it is milder and tastier than any medicinal tasting coffee.
The highest grade coffee that Brazil produces is called Bourbon Santos. It is a small curly coffee bean that is dubbed as the Brazilian coffee. This is probably the coffee type you’ll get from specialty stores.
The Future for Brazilian Coffee
With a good government and private sector backing, Brazilian coffee will sure still soar up until the future. The 2010 projection of coffee production will be up to 45 million bags, with 28 million bags going to international export. These 28 million exported bags are the majority of all traded coffees in the world.
Brazilian coffee consumption has grown at a steady rate of about 2 percent to 3 percent annually in the 1990’s. But it is presumed to plateau at 1 percent in the coming years.
With a moderate to aggressive effort, and with frost and drought avoided in Brazil, the coffee production of this country seems to be still heading on a fast but steady success ahead.
