blood0range
caffeinated?Archive for January, 2008
spro trippin
There’s been a bit of heartache recently over the espresso issue, both over on coffeed and at Intelly. While the debate rages on as to the nature of North American versus Italian styles and independent (third wave) roasters’ sacred cows versus larger names, there have been some interesting developments taking place at Intelligentsia in attempt to recover from what was perceived as (in some circles) a snub on Ken David’s Coffee Review. Whether or not the Black Cat is a sacred cow, and whether it deserves to be regarded as such aren’t arguments I’m particularly interested in engaging in, nor do I feel like I’d have much more perspective (read opinion) than what has already been given.
What I have been observing, however, over the past few weeks of espresso tastings and blendings, is an interesting phenomenon. Particular taste for espresso, even among those who drink or sample it on a regular basis, greatly varies from person to person, significantly more so than it does on the cupping table among evaluators of comparable experience.
More interesting is the affect travel has on coffee, an effect especially evident in the life and flavor of espresso. The Silver Lake store has been evaluating espresso roasted here in Chicago along with us, usually a day after air travel. While there are certainly stylistic differences between the Mid-West and the West coast, more interesting has been the appearance of certain traits such as acidity and roastiness to translate differently. There is also likely an explanation lying to some extent in the water being used to pull the shots, despite Cirqua water purifying systems being calibrated to identical settings in both the Los Angeles and Chicago locations.
But water certainly can’t account for everything. I’ve never had Illy espresso outside of the States, but I’m told it tastes radically different in Italy. There are some who swear the best espresso they’ve ever had is Northern Italian style in Northern Italy, and no North American espresso can attain a equally impressive shot. However, I would probably be likely to say the same thing given the right circumstances.
Regardless, a fascination with single origin coffee has translated into the realm of espresso, and it has been a challenge (albeit a rewarding one) to work on creating a balanced single-origin espresso blend that can please a large realm of diverse palates. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the way of the future for many ‘third wave’ roasters, retailers, enthusiasts & purists.
Top 10
It may be a little overdue, but I figured I’d throw in my obligatory end-of-the-year list. At the suggestion of a friend, I’ve resolved to rate the top ten things to have crossed the plane that lies between ‘out there’ and ‘in here’… i.e., the top ten things I have imbibed this year (excluding food, though don’t you worry, I’ve eaten my fair share of 2007).
10. 
Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Coffee, roasted by Intelligentsia. Beautiful medium bodied cup from the beverage’s birthplace with predominate notes of jasmine, bergamot, and lemon.
9. 
Monkey Picked Oolong Tea. Light and delightfully sweet with light peach and floral flavor. Not actually picked by monkeys (apparently they’ve outsourced the work to arboreal children now).
8. 
Alpha Klaus, brewed by Three Floyds. 7.5 ABV American Porter with prominent molasses, chocolate, and clove flavor. The perfect brew on a freezing day.
7. 
Brown Shugga’, brewed by Lagunitas. 9.9 ABV Strong Ale, reddish, exceedingly sweet brown sugary (big surprise), but with a slightly strong alcohol finish.
6. 
Billius Virginia Leaf, distributed by Up Down Cigar. A fine shag, mild yet pleasantly flavorful and citric tobacco.
5. 
Muyongwe, Rwanda Golden Cup #1. The first place finisher in Rwanda’s first ever national coffee competition organized by OCIR Caf, complex to an almost unattainable degree, full of light fruit (pear, candied cherry, citrus) and spice (cardamom, clove, cinnamon). Here’s to a country that deserves some good press.
4. 
FairValley Pinotage. A deep, buttery, slightly dry yet pleasantly fruity (plum, cherry, pomegranate) hybrid wine from South Africa. Inexpensive, sustainable, tasty.
3. 
Malawi Kings, distributed by Marshall McGearty Tobacco Artisans. Thick, nutty, and spicy burley leaf single-origin tobacco from Malawi, aged under huts and air-cured. The perfect pairing with a cup of coffee.
2. 
La Fin Du Mond, brewed by Unibroue. 9.0 ABV Tripel Belgian, absolutely gorgeous golden beer with a sufficient body, fruit flavor and sweetness to make me forget its high gravity.
1. 
Hacienda La Esmeralda, Auction Lot, Best of Panama 2007. Sublime no matter how it’s brewed (and I’ve tried a few including Clover, Chemex, and espresso); tangerines, jasmine, ginger, sweet vanilla. Simply put: the best cup of coffee I’ve ever had.
Inverting the French Press
I recently read an interesting discussion on an alternative brewing method using an inverted style French Press.
Normally, I add about 5-6 tablespoons of coarsely ground coffee to the press, bring my water to just under boiling (96-98C) and pour, stir, and press down the plunger after 4 minutes. This produces a heavy-bodied cup of coffee, usually a little on the silty side (despite the mesh filter). The benefits of the FP are numerous, among them the ability to completely control all aspects of brewing (temperature, dose, extraction time) as well as a cup that is unadulterated by a paper filter. A lot of people swear by drip coffee or Chemex, 
both of which use a paper filter (unless you’ve got a gold-cone filter on your drip machine–but most of those don’t reach a high enough temperature). I have brewed a number of coffees on the Chemex, including Hacienda La Esmeralda auction lot 2007, and each of them had a papery flavor I found unpleasant and a finish that was less sweet than I would like, both of which I attribute to the filter.
Personally, I enjoy the sediment in the French Press, though I know a number of people that don’t enjoy it. So when I read about a a brewing method in which one inverts the normal proceedure, I was curious to see how efficiently and cleanly it brewed. 
So I set up my press, and ground my coffee, placing it on top of the metal filter. 
I used a Nicaragua that I roasted a little on the light side, just past first crack, and ground immediately before brewing. 
You can see the coffee rests on top of the metal filter. 
I brought the water up to temperature, and poured. 
Afterwards, I let the coffee steep for about 4 minutes.
The idea is to emulate a cupping setup, where the coffee extracts openly in the hot water. In the process of cupping, after the coffee has extracted, the surface tension is broken and then scooped off. In my experiment, I simply pulled up on the plunger.
The inversion is not unlike that of a vacuum pot or even the Clover, in that the extracted coffee is sucked through the grounds in a very efficient way, leaving little residual sediment. 
I found the cup incredibly flavorful, a bit lighter in body than a typical French Press (partly, of course, due to the light roast — though I have pressed the exact same coffee at a similar roast level in the past resulting in a very bright but surprisingly full cup), and the smallest amount of sediment at the bottom, all fines from a less than perfect grinder.
Try this at home, especially if you like the flavor of a French Press, but find the body a little heavy and/or dislike the sediment at the bottom. You’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Tip of the Iceberg
As the new year begins, I’m realizing I have a lot for which to be grateful. Besides a loving family and a warm apartment, I have been privileged to be repositioned as a lab assistant for Intelligentsia (Chicago) in the quality control room. Amid fears of a market slowdown and a surprising lack of creation of jobs across the US, Intelli has been a real beacon of light. While I’m learning to sample roast, calibrating my palate, and logging information on incoming green samples, I get the additional perk of working around some of the most excellent, talented, and knowledgeable professionals in the coffee industry. It hit me today how amazing it is to be surrounded by such a wealth of experience, wisdom, and information.
Today we cupped 3 tables of coffee from Rwanda and Colombia, each table with its unique gems and flaws. It was the first time I got to experience tasting beans that I had roasted myself, a learning experience to be sure. In addition, Tim Castle, an importer of some of our coffees, sat at the table with us during breaks from the Roaster’s Guild meetings led by chairman Geoff Watts. Cupping with these two gentlemen, in addition to daily exercise in palatal gymnastics with my direct supervisor Sarah Kluth, has been one of the most challenging and exciting additions to my daily routine. I feel like I’m on the cutting edge of coffee, entrenched on all sides by knowledgeable and dedicated peers with similar interests and diverse experiences… and I’m just at the tip of that great iceberg.
