Here's a grainy photo from one of my flights into the Ecuadorian rainforest to pick up coffee, 1997 (Click to enlarge)

As many of our locals know, before we came to Auburn, we were missionaries living in Central and South America.  I worked  as a bush pilot with Mission Aviation Fellowship where I supported the work of missionaries to some degree, but to a greater degree my flying was in support of the indigenous tribes that inhabited the eastern rain-forested jungles of Ecuador.  The tribes includes the Waorani, Shuar, Atshuar and Quichua Indians.

In the northern Ecuadorian  jungle lived several communities of Quichuas (the descendants of the Incas) who grew Arabica coffee. In one community, Arajuno (ah-dah-hun-no), each year they began picking the coffee in November and the picking lasted through the holidays and finished in January.

They processed their coffee the best they could easily in the jungle by laying out plastic sheets on the main street of their community and situating the picked beans onto the black plastic in the sun.  As it baked in the sun and they raked it back and forth throughout the day, the outer layer (pulp) would split, dry out the four layers surrounding the coffee bean and pull away from the inner fruit which is the coffee bean.  This is an example of dry processing.

Dry Processing

The dry-process is often used in countries where rainfall is scarce and long periods of sunshine are available to dry the coffee properly.  Most coffees from Indonesia, Ethiopia, Brazil, and Yemen are dry-processed.

Dry processed coffee. These are the actual cherries with beans still inside after dry processing. Next step is hulling.

The entire cherry ( the red fruit of the coffee plant ) after harvest is placed in the sun to dry on tables, in thin layers on patios or in the case I witnessed in Ecuador, a plastic covered street. It will take between ten days and two weeks for the cherries to completely dry. The cherries need to be raked regularly to prevent mildew while they dry.

Once the skin of the cherry is dry, the pulp and parchment are removed by a hulling process.  This is commonly done by sending the dried cherries off to a mill with machinery to do the hulling.  There also, the sorting and grading occur. While coffee was once all dry processed it is now limited to regions where water or infrastructure for machinery is scarce.

My experience in Ecuador was unique in that this was the rain forest, but somehow they managed to get the coffee dried out enough. When I picked it up, I can remember looking at the dried knurly beans and what I was seeing was the actual bean still encased in the dried out pulp.

Characteristics of Dry Processed Coffee

The dry-process  produces coffee that is heavy in body, sweet, smooth, and complex. They are also lower in acidity (not pH), a flavor characteristic some call “brightness” or other refer to as the dry characteristics of a good red wine.

Probably the best example of a dry processed coffee we have in our inventory would be our Sumatra.  Of course there are slight variations on the dry process and my experience has been that Sumatra while often a dry processes can have a slight mildewy taint.  That’s not a negative but an actual characteristic common to many Sumatrans.

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In our next article, we will talk about the more common processing method known as wet processing.

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Sandy Toomer is Roast Master and part owner of Toomer’s Coffee Roasters, a premium specialty coffee roaster located in Auburn, Alabama.

You can do more with coffee than just brew it. Try adding it to your next rub!

Wanted to pass along this great article from the San Francisco Chronicle once again highlighting the incredible coffee bean!

Sandy
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By Marlene Sorosky Gray
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
Wednesday, July 29, 2009

When I was contemplating a culinary career many years ago, I took cooking classes at a small French restaurant near my home. The instructor, Chef Gregoire, did not believe in throwing anything away. Frugality, he said, was an important part of French cuisine.

He put every edible particle of food – vegetable peelings, scraps of meat, gravy, pancake batter and even leftover coffee – into a pot, covered the concoction with water and simmered it for hours.

If the resulting potage, which he affectionately called “garbage soup,” came out bland, he would throw in an extra cup of coffee.

“Coffee wakes up more than human beings,” he would say in his pronounced French accent. “It wakes up food as well.”

With the resurgence of comfort foods, chefs are braising more often and using coffee as part of the liquid.

“It adds another layer and depth of flavor,” says Mitchell Rosenthal, chef and co-owner of Town Hall in San Francisco, who adds a shot of espresso to a basic mushroom sauce in his pork osso bucco.

John Karbowski, executive chef at Pampas in Palo Alto, Calif., braises beef in a combination of stock and coffee to which he adds a little unsweetened cocoa powder.

He likes to pair coffee with flavors that complement it, like chocolate. To counteract the bitter coffee and cocoa notes, he cooks the beef with sweet vegetables, such as carrots, parsnips and onions.

How much to use

The amount of coffee to use in braising depends on how strong a flavor you want. There is no hard-and-fast rule.

Josiah Stone, chef-owner of Sent Sovi in Saratoga, Calif., recommends substituting strong coffee for half of the stock when braising heavy cuts of meat . Coffee’s aromatic components become integrated in the stock after simmering for several hours.

“The flavor of the coffee should not be discernible,” he says. “The goal of cooking with coffee is not necessarily to taste it, but to have it blend in and add another layer of flavor.”

Sauces and rubs

Coffee is so versatile that it is good for far more than just braising. It adds a jolt of flavor and a deep mahogany hue to barbecue sauces, marinades and rubs.

Steven Raichlen, author of “The Barbecue! Bible,” adds espresso to the brine for chicken breasts and, to complete the coffee motif, serves them with an espresso-flavored mustard barbecue sauce.

Dry rubs are a combination of spices, seasonings and herbs that add flavor and texture to meats and fish. When you add ground coffee to an ordinary rub, you take it to a whole new flavor level.

Pork tenderloin, a cut of meat that can be bland and dry, is the ideal candidate for an aromatic coffee rub. I was so enamored with the crust the rub imparted to the meat that for my next try I coated the pork with the seasonings and refrigerated it overnight.

The grilled meat was moist and succulent, and the seasonings permeated the entire roast. I basted and served it with a smoky, coffee-flavored barbecue sauce.

Coffee and dessert

Unlike combining coffee with savory food, a relatively recent development, coffee’s distinctive flavor has been part of desserts for centuries. When I asked pastry chefs about adding coffee to desserts, their first response was to combine it with chocolate to create a velvety mousse. The marriage of coffee and chocolate isn’t surprising when you consider that they grow in many of the same geographic regions and have similar floral and herbal notes.

Carol LeValley, proprietor of Rustic Bakery and Cafe in Larkspur, Calif., adds just enough coffee to her chocolate mousse to deepen the dessert’s flavor, but not enough to discern any coffee taste. She believes that coffee heightens the chocolate flavor.

Yet chocolate guru Alice Medrich, author of “Pure Dessert” and “Bittersweet,” has stopped adding coffee to chocolate desserts. “Chocolate has become so refined and complex that it overpowers the coffee,” she says.

The bottom line is, if you are using a complex, high-quality chocolate, you might not want to dilute it with coffee. If, however, you are using a semisweet or bittersweet chocolate that lacks floral, smoky and herbal notes, coffee can add just the boost you need.

Emily Luchetti, executive pastry chef at Farallon and Waterbar in San Francisco, uses coffee in ice cream, granita, angel food cake and a sumptuous cappuccino soufflé. One of her favorite recipes is a caramel coffee sauce in which she substitutes coffee for half the cream.

When I asked her what she puts it on, she laughingly answered, “Everything. It is so good, you can almost drink it.”

Tips for cooking with coffee

• Strong brewed coffee perks up the flavor in pot roasts, stews, chili, mole, baked beans and hearty soups.

• For fuller flavor, use ground coffee beans instead of instant. If you do use instant, make it espresso.

• When adding coffee to dishes that will be cooked, make the coffee stronger than you would normally drink it.

• To get the most coffee flavor in cookie dough, dissolve ground coffee in a small amount of liquid and add it to the creamed butter and sugar.

• To add coffee flavor to cakes, coarsely crush the beans with a rolling pin and steep them in the liquid used in the batter.

Coffee-Braised Pot Roast with Cinnamon and Ancho Chile Pepper

This recipe works equally well with lamb shoulder or shanks, short ribs and beef stew. If time permits, cook the roast ahead and refrigerate it and the cooked sauce separately. It is easier to carve the meat and remove the fat from the sauce when they are cold. Spoon the sauce over the meat and either refrigerate for up to 2 days or heat and serve. If desired, vegetables such as carrots, parsnips, rutabaga and potatoes can be added during the last 45 minutes of cooking. Serves 6.

4-lb. boneless chuck roast

For the rub

2 tsp. kosher salt

2 tsp. black pepper

2 Tbsp. ground or instant espresso

1 tsp. ground ancho chile pepper

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

For the braising liquid

4 Tbsp. olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

8 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tbsp. ground or instant espresso dissolved in 11/2 cups warm water

1 cinnamon stick

11/2 tsp. ground ancho chile pepper

1 Tbsp. packed brown sugar

1 Tbsp. butter, softened

2 Tbsp. flour

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Rinse the roast and dry thoroughly. Combine all rub ingredients in a small bowl and rub all over the meat.

In a Dutch oven or wide, heavy saucepan, heat 3 Tbsp. oil over medium high heat until hot. Add the roast and cook on all sides until very dark (coffee will cause it to become almost black), 8-10 minutes total. Remove the roast to a plate.

Add the chopped onion to the pan, reduce the heat to medium and cook, scraping up as much of the seasoning stuck to the bottom of the pan as possible, until the onion begins to soften, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Slowly add a small amount of coffee to the pan (it will sizzle). Add the remaining coffee and cook, stirring up the remaining bits from the bottom of the pan. Stir in cinnamon stick, chile pepper and brown sugar. Bring to a simmer. Return the beef to the pan and bring to a boil. Cover tightly and transfer to the oven.

Bake for 11/2 hours, then turn the beef over, cover again and continue cooking until meat is fork-tender, but not falling apart, about 31/2 hours total. If making ahead, refrigerate meat and juices separately.

To serve, transfer the beef to a cutting board and tent loosely with foil. Remove the cinnamon stick from the braising liquid and skim the fat.

Bring the braising liquid to a boil over medium-high heat. Mash the butter with the flour to form a paste and whisk into the gravy. Simmer for 5 minutes, or until thickened slightly.

Carve the roast and serve with the gravy.

- Marlene Sorosky Gray

Caffeine content winner: You'll be surprised!

Well this may surprise you.  Truth is neither actually wins.  They are about the same.  Let me explain.

The traditional American espresso based drinks, cappuccino or latte, are made from one to several “shots” of espresso and steamed milk.  One shot of espresso is approximately 1 1/2 ounces, two shots 3 ounces and so on.

Espresso is prepared by grinding beans to a finer consistency than for traditional brewed coffee.  The water is passed through the coffee rather quickly and under high pressure (20 seconds +/-) and the result is a bold, concentrated dose of coffee.  We call this espresso.

By the way, espresso is not a specific bean or roast level it is a method of making coffee.

Any bean or roasting level can be used to produce authentic espresso.  In Italy, the birth country of espresso, roast levels can vary quite a bit. In Southern Italy, a darker roast is often preferred, but the further north one goes in the country, the trend moves towards lighter roasts.

An espresso shot has about the same caffeine content as a cup of brewed coffee

Brewed coffee on the other hand is made with much less coffee generally (as a ratio of dry coffee to finished beverage), more coarsely ground and then allowed to float in a bath of hot water (as in a paper filter basket type) then draining through a calibrated orifice (hole) in the bottom or in a percolator where water is continually passed over the coffee for several minutes.  The result generally is coffee with a distinctly milder body. Drip or percolator brewed coffee strength is varied by the amount of coffee used.

There are other ways to  process roasted coffee like a french press for example, but the point here is not process but end result.

Caffeine comparison chart (click to enlarge)

Conclusions

Here it is: by the drink, a 12 ounce latte made with one shot of espresso has no more and possibly less caffeine that 12 ounces of brewed coffee.  Each shot of espresso adds approximately the equivalent caffeine of one 12 ounce cup of brewed coffee. Ounce for prepared ounce they are all about the same.

Our preferences for espresso based drinks, brewed coffee and even french pressed coffee should really be defined more by their unique characteristics of flavor and not misconceptions about caffeine potency.

In other words, a triple shot  latte will produce about the same results as three cups of regular brewed coffee.

“So how do I add  a little more kick to my coffee?”

-If you want more caffeine in your cup of brewed coffee or french press add more coffee not more time.  Remember this: steeping coffee longer, in a french press or percolator for example, will just make it bitter.

FYI, real hard-core-caffers often add shots of espresso to regular brewed coffee.  This is called a “Shot in the Dark”.

-In the case of espresso based drinks, add more shots.

“What if I don’t like coffee all that well but need a boost some mornings?”

One popular alternative is to add a shot of espresso to hot chocolate or to a chai tea.  The intense richness of these drinks masks a lot of the coffee flavor, still providing the caffeine.

Another popular alternative for energy seekers not wanting a lot of caffeine is white and green tea, both of whom have a component called ECGC (not available in black teas), which some studies show to increase metabolism and fat burning as well having other potential anti-oxidative effects.  This is largely unsupported through extensive scientific testing, but results so far are at least promising.

At Toomer’s coffee we serve a wide variety of loose teas which we brew by the cup.  Good stuff!

First, there are two types of coffee beans

Coffee beans come from two basic versins of coffee plants: either the Robusta ( aka Coffea robusta, or Coffea canephora) or Arabica (aka Coffea arabica) version.

At Toomer’s Coffee Roasters we do not roast or sell Robusta beans. I once asked our coffee broker how much Robusta they sell and she said less that 5% of their total volume is Robusta. While it is higher in caffeine content (the main reason I guess a dubious roaster might add it..to jack up the “vibrancy” of their blends), the overall taste issues and roasting peculiarities she said make it a less than desirable option.

Arabica beans on the other hand, while lower in caffeine content have a number of factors that make them the number #1 preference amongst 99% of roasters today, taste being the main factor.  But we will cover that in a later articel specifically on Arabica beans.

They start life as a fruit

Coffee beans start out "Cherries" (Click to enlarge)

Arabica beans are grown on low (3-6 feet) shrubby plants that bear white blossoms that produce the coffee fruit called “cherries” (about the size and color of cranberries).

These coffee cherries are clustered along the limbs of the plant ( See image).  The cherries are harvested from approximately October through January each year.  Since the coffee cherries do not ripen together, several pickings of the the same plant may be required until all of the cherries have been harvested at the peak of ripenness.

This is the first step in the chain of factors that seperates fair coffee from truly exceptional coffee: only picking the red cherries.  Mixing in under-ripe/ greenish cherries with red cherries will result in bitter coffee no matter how well it is roasted.

In our next article we will talk about the regions beans are grown in and how that affects flavor.

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