Archive for December, 2009

Coffee Joe recently researched the Art of Cupping, wanting to find out how the aroma and the taste figured into the quality and flavour of coffee. At an event for Cupping, there were judges slurping and swirling a soup spoon full of coffee in their mouths, then spitting out the sample without swallowing. Sounded a little unpleasant, but it was necessary. By flooding as many sensory nerves as possible, cupping participants were better able to judge a coffee sample. Coffee Joe found out there is a formal set of brewing standards, and a step-by-step procedure for the judging process. Who knew?
The Art of Cupping generally uses these six steps:

• Fragrance
Grind each coffee to a medium-coarse ground.
Fill a cup with 2 heaping tablespoons of the ground coffee.
Vigorously sniff the gases released.
The character of the fragrance indicates the nature of the taste.
Sweet scents will mean an acidic taste; pungent scents will mean a sharp taste.

• Aroma
Add 6 oz. near boiling water (200 degrees) over the coffee sample in the cup.
Allow it to steep for 2 – 3 minutes, forming a crust on the surface of water.
While steeping, check the coffee for any sour smells.
When breaking the crust with your spoon, take long, deep sniffs of the gases. This gives the cupper the full range of aromas from fruity to nut-like.

• Taste
Fill your spoon with the brewed coffee avoiding the floating grounds.
Slurp the coffee into your mouth with some force.
Swish the coffee around your mouth to get a good idea of the overall flavour.

• Nose
Vapours travel up the back of the nasal cavity until they reach the nasal membrane, creating an aromatic stimulation.
This assessment of the taste and nose of the brew give it its unique flavour.
The nose tends to recognize compounds created by the roasting process.

• Aftertaste
Aftertaste is the sensation that is experienced after the coffee is swallowed.
It is the lingering reminder of the coffee taste.
Permanence is the length of time it takes from the initial sensation on the back of the throat to the when that sensation is gone.

• Body
To understand a coffee’s heaviness, imagine holding some whole milk in your mouth as compared to water.
The one with the heavier body will retain more of its flavour.

Introducing himself as the famous Coffee Joe, he tried to get a job tasting, spitting, smelling and judging. After all, he is the connoisseur of great coffee. No dice. Not qualified, or over qualified. Well, maybe another time.

One day, Coffee Joe decided he needed a new grinder for the delicious coffee beans that had been purchased from P&B. More research found the following information which Coffee Joe is happy to share. Apparently, there are two types of grinders available.

Burr grinders produce the most uniform size. They can be adjusted with a dial or lever that moves the grinding burrs closer or farther apart. The grinding burrs are grooved metal discs or concentric cones, one of which spins. Whole coffee beans are cracked into smaller pieces at the edge of the discs, broken down further between the burrs, then pass through the smallest space between the burrs and out of the grinding chamber. Burr grinders produce very little coffee dust.

Blade grinders are simple, practical, and affordable, but they produce more dust than burr grinders. The varied size of coffee grains makes them only good for coarser grinds. The dust will clog, and occasionally ruin espresso machines. It can clog metal filters used for drip coffee but paper filters will continue to let water flow through. However, the ever-present dust can produce a bitter and burnt flavour. With drip grinds and coarser grinds, this may be preferred by some, but it is a compromise of convenience and lower prices for the blade grinder.

Coffee Joe suggests having a party, invite all your friends and ask them to decide which method they prefer. You’ll be almost as popular as CJ!!

Sleep is a symptom of caffeine deprivation

There’s been a lot of research offered on coffee for years; some good and some bad. Most people don’t pay much attention to any of it because there is no way they will ever stop drinking coffee. However, that said, one interesting article stated that coffee drinking lowers a woman’s stroke risk. Also this study suggested that the more coffee consumed the more protection it gives.

Another result of this study states that coffee could also offer prevention against diabetes 2 while not raising the risk for heart trouble.

Laboratory studies suggest that the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant compounds in coffee could help reduce risk of cancer. Coffee also has a tendency to speed the passage of waste through the digestive tract. Hypothetically, this could lessen the time that cancer-causing compounds spend in the intestinal tract, thus potentially reducing the risk of colon cancer. Population studies, however, tend to be split between coffee intake having no effect on or reducing risk of breast and colon cancer.

Of course opposing forces have a concern about caffeine addiction, but studies can be found reporting that caffeine might not be as harmful as originally thought.

Most people will enjoy the benefits listed above without even knowing about them, still loving the smell and taste of coffee.

The bottom line is that not only is coffee a great beverage, it may also turn out to be beneficial to our health. Bring it on!