Coffe History
Coffee was first discovered in Eastern Africa in an area we know today as Ethiopia. A popular legend refers to a goat herder by the name of Kaldi, who observed his goats acting unusually frisky after eating berries from a bush. Curious about this phenomena, Kaldi tried eating the berries himself. He found that these berries gave him a renewed energy. The news of this energy laden fruit quickly spread throughout the region.
Monks hearing about this amazing fruit, dried the berries so that they could be transported to distant monasteries.They reconstituted these berries in water, ate the fruit, and drank the liquid to provide stimulation for a more awakened time for prayer.
Coffee berries were transported from Ethiopia to the Arabian peninsula, and were first cultivated in what today is the country of Yemen.
From there, coffee traveled to Turkey where coffee beans were roasted for the first time over open fires. The roasted beans were crushed, and then boiled in water, creating a crude version of the beverage we enjoy today.
Coffee first arrived on the European continent by means of Venetian trade merchants. Once in Europe this new beverage fell under harsh criticism from the Catholic church. Many felt the pope should ban coffee, calling it the drink of the devil. To their surprise, the pope, already a coffee drinker, blessed coffee declaring it a truly Christian beverage.
Coffee houses spread quickly across Europe becoming centers for intellectual exchange. Many great minds of Europe used this beverage, and forum, as a springboard to heightened thought and creativity.
In the 1700′s, coffee found its way to the Americas by means of a French infantry captain who nurtured one small plant on its long journey across the Atlantic. This one plant, transplanted to the Caribbean Island of Martinique, became the predecessor of over 19 million trees on the island within 50 years. It was from this humble beginning that the coffee plant found its way to the rest of the tropical regions of South and Central America.
Coffee was declared the national drink of the then colonized United States by the Continental Congress, in protest of the excessive tax on tea levied by the British crown.
Espresso, a recent innovation in the way to prepare coffee, obtained its origin in 1822, with the innovation of the first crude espresso machine in France. The Italians perfected this wonderful machine and were the first to manufacture it. Espresso has become such an integral part of Italian life and culture, that there are presently over 200,000 espresso bars in Italy.
Today, coffee is a giant global industry employing more than 20 million people. This commodity ranks second only to petroleum in terms of dollars traded worldwide. With over 400 billion cups consumed every year, coffee is the world’s most popular beverage. If you can imagine, in Brazil alone, over 5 million people are employed in the cultivation and harvesting of over 3 billion coffee plants.
Sales of premium specialty coffees in the United States have reached the multi billion dollar level, and are increasing significantly on an annual basis.
Roasting and Blending Coffe
After quality coffee beans are obtained, the most important phase of the production of gourmet coffee begins, the roasting and the blending.
A good roaster must be part artist, and part scientist, to maintain quality and consistency. It is during the roasting process that the sugars and other carbohydrates within the bean become caramelized, creating a substance which is known as the coffee oil. Technically, this fragile chemical is not actually an oil (since it is water soluble), but it is what gives the coffee its flavor and aroma.
Specialty coffees are generally roasted in small batches. The two most common roasting methods are: drum-roasting and hot-air roasting.
Drum-type roasting machines roast the coffee beans as they tumble in a rotating drum that is typically heated by gas or wood.
When the desired roast is achieved, the beans are poured into a cooling hopper to keep them from overcooking.
The hot-air roaster, also known as a fluid-bed roaster, roasts the coffee beans as they tumble on a current of hot air.
Most green coffee is roasted at approximately 400 degrees. The roasting process causes the coffee beans to swell and increase in size by over 50%, while at the same time greatly reducing their weight.
A lightly roasted bean may range in color from cinnamon to a light chocolate tan. Lighter roasts are generally not used for espresso since they produce a sharper, more acidic taste than do darker roasts.
Darker roasts, in contrast, have a fuller flavor approaching a bittersweet tang. The amount of oil drawn to the surface of the bean increases proportionately to the length of roasting time.
As the roast darkens, caffeine and acidity decrease proportionately. Dark roasts can range in color from a medium chocolate brown with a satin-like luster, to an almost black bean with an oily appearance. The darker the roast the more you will taste the char, rather than the flavor of the bean.
Extreme dark roasts will tend to have a smoky flavor, and are better suited for brewed coffee rather than espresso.
Many roasters refer to the following terms concerning the degree of roast, from light to dark: Cinnamon, Medium High, City, Full City, French, and finally, Espresso or Italian roast.
On the West coast of the U.S., French roast is the term generally used to describe the darkest roast. It is important for you to understand that these terms have no relationship to where the coffee is grown or roasted.
With more than 100 coffee-growing regions in the world, each producing beans with distinctive characteristics, we believe proper blending is essential to the balance of flavors necessary to create superior espresso.
A single coffee bean will generally not possess the complexity necessary for great espresso. Many espresso blends will contain three to seven different types of beans.
The experienced roaster, with his knowledge of each bean, artfully combines them to create the desired blend of flavors. The roaster’s blending knowledge is usually a closely guarded secret.
In the United States, 100% Arabica beans are generally used for gourmet espresso blends. As we mentioned earlier, in Italy, some robusta beans will often times be added for the additional crema, caffeine, and complexity they contribute to the blend. The Italians possess generations of expertise in the art of blending coffees for espresso.
Argument still exists among roasters as to which should occur first, the roasting or the blending. Generally, roasting each varietal separately to maximize its flavor characteristics, and then blending, will produce the best result.
Freshly roasted beans will release hundreds of chemical substances in the form of vapors. A day or two will generally be required for these gases to dissipate before the beans will reveal their optimal flavor characteristics.
Today, many quality roasters are packaging their beans in air tight bags with a one way valve, which allows the gases to escape, without the beans being exposed to the damaging air. This type of packaged should help retard flavor deterioration.
If beans are not packaged this way, or once beans packaged air tight are exposed to the air, they will begin to deteriorate. Roasts where oils are exposed on the surface of the bean are much more vulnerable.
Once exposed to the air, and if properly stored, beans will stay reasonable fresh for 7 to 10 days. We recommend storing beans in a clean, dry, air-tight container, in a cool dark place.
We do not recommend storing beans in a refrigerator, because coffee tends to absorb flavors. Freezing coffee beans can also have a damaging effect, and is not recommended, unless the the beans must be stored for a prolonged period of time.
Ideally, you should strive to purchase and use-up your supply of roasted beans on a weekly basis.
