INTRODUCTION

TO COFFEE
FIRST THINGS FIRST

• House keeping

- Fire exits

- Toilets

- Breaks/lunch

- Mobile phones

- Useful information

• Introductions

- Activity
CONTENTS
• What is specialty coffee?

- commodity vs. specialty

- taste & flavor

• Coffee History

- origins

- consuption

• Understanding the beans

arabica
- vs. robusta

species
- and varieties

from
- seed to cup

• The basics of roasting

- artisan vs. industrial

• Coffee freshness

• Brewing basics

- cupping protocol

- extraction basics

• Drinks menu
COFFEE HISTORY
COFFEE ORIGIN
• Arabica

- found in Ethiopia around AD 850

- wild arabica

- also cultivated in South Sudan

- plants transferred from Ethiopia to Yemen around 13th century

- India, Ceylon, Java, Indonesia since 15th century

- 1616 - coffee comes to Europe thanks to Dutch trader

- 1715 - French mission plants coffee on Reunion Island

(Madagascar)
18th century - Arabica comes to America
-

• Robusta

- cultivated in Congo since 1870

- 1900 - moved to Java, spreads around South-East Asia

- 1912 - robusta comes to America (Brazil)

THREE WAVES OF COFFEE
• 1st wave

- coffee as a commodity (salt, grain etc.)

- price and convenience over quality

- no consumer’s interest in origin or quality

- stock market

• 2nd wave

- started in 20th century

- more interest in quality, origin

- coffee shop becomes more popular

- coffee culture expands

• 3rd wave

- quality over quantity

- consumer interest in traceability, sustainability

- processing, roasting and brewing science

- artisanal approach towards coffee

- direct trade
WHAT IS SPECIALTY
COFFEE?
INSTANT vs. GROUND
• Instant
-quick & easy
-no waste
-no taste
-no origin
-no leftovers
-industrially processed
-cheap?

•Ground
-diversity of sensation
-choice quality
-100% natural
-
Specialty = brewed (ground) coffee!
COMMODITY vs. SPECIALTY
• Commodity

- > 95% of world production

- quantity > quality

- price ≠ quality

- no origin

- industrially processed

• Specialty

- < 5% of world production

- quantity < quality

- price = quality

- choice and diversity

- 100% naturally processed

UNDERSTANDING THE
BEANS
COFFEE IS A FRUIT
• Grows on trees

• coffee cherry

• bean is a seed

• raw seed has to be processed

SPECIES AND VARIETALS
• Over 150 coffee species around the world
• Most popular: coffea arabica, coffea canephora (robusta)
• endless combinations of varietals
• typica, gesha - native varietals

Arabica Robusta
tree 1,5-3 m 3-6 m
altitude 1200-2000 masl 0-800 masl
resistance low high
yield low high
body light/juicy/syrupy heavy
flavor fruity/floral/chocolate earthy/cocoa
acidity medium-high low
caffeine low to medium 2x arabica
ARABICA vs ROBUSTA
VARIETALS
• Coffee has its own ‚Merlots’, ‚Rieslings’, Pinot Noir’ etc.
• Ethiopian Herloom - where it all begins
• Typica and Bourbon - heritage of most of the varieties
• Gesha / Geisha and Yemen Mocha - other indigenous varietals
FROM SEED TO THE CUP
COFFEE CULTIVATION
• Terroir:
- altitude
- soil
- temperature
- UV exposure
- rain
- wind
- variety
- agriculture

• Diseases:
- fungus
- bacteria
- insects
 HARVESTING
• Machine:
- effective
- fast
- low-cost
- flat-small sloped area
- quantity > quality

• Stripping:
- shaking branches
- more quality oriented
- not so selective as picking
- mechanical or hand made

• Hand picking:
- high altitude
- quality control
- cherry to cherry selection
- high-cost
PROCESSING
• Three main methods:
- dry / natural
- wet / washed
- pulped natural / honey

• Dry process:
- cheap
- simple
- increases sweetness and body

• Wet process:
- more control
- higher acidity and clean cup

• Pulped natural / honey:

- combination of wet and dry
- sweetness + clean cup
DRY / NATURAL PROCESSING
WET / WASHED PROCESSING
Stages of process:
• sorting + soaking
•
rinsing
•
• de-pulping
• fermenation
•
washing
drying
• selection

sorting

soaking
rinsing de-pulping fermentation
washing drying and selection
HONEY / PULPED NATURAL
PROCESS
• rinsing

• de-pulping

• drying

Mainly done in Brazil and Costa Rica.

ROASTING
ARTISANAL vs INDUSTRIAL ROASTING
• Artisanal
- small batches (1 - 120 kg)
- mostly manual
- challenge for consistency
- slow
• Industrial
- large batches (120 kg +)
- fully automated
- consistent
- flash
• Why is roasting important?
- changes the structure of a bean
- makes green coffee drinkable
- biggest influence on taste
- scientific process
- requires skill and experience
COFFEE FRESHNESS
FRESHNESS AT EVERY STEP
• Green coffee

- 12 months after processing

- humidity and temperature is crucial

- changes within time

• Roasted coffee

- 3 months after roasting

- degassing process (14 days)

- light, oxygen, humidity

- looses intensity of aromas and flavors

• Ground coffee

- 15 mins after grinding

- humidity and temperature

- burrs condition

• Brewed coffee

- serve immediately

- acids decomposition
BREWING BASICS
TASTE, AROMA & FLAVOR
• Taste

- only 5 tastes on a tongue

- sweet

- bitter

- sour

- salt

- umami

• Aroma

- coffee contains 800+ identified aromas

- about 40 important in coffee

- aroma can affect taste perception

• Flavor

- complex sensation of taste & aroma

- strongly connected with terroir

EXTRACTION
• Coffee dissolves in water

- 30% of a coffee mass is soluble

- 18-22% is desired

- more effective extraction = more flavor

• 4 main factors

- grinding

- time

- temperature

- technique

• Water

- 90-99% of a final brew

- contains varoius minerals

- strongly affects the cup profile

- always filter the water!

PRACTICAL #3
BREWING METHODS