Coffee Basics: A Quick and Easy Guide

213 Pages·1997·3.85 MB·English

by  Julie S Huffaker

COFFEE BASIC S
Coffee Basics
A QUICK AND
EASY G U I D E
Kevin Knox
Julie Sheldon Huffaker

CONTENT S
Preface ix Acknowledgments xiii CHAPTER 1 What Is Coffee? 1
Arabica and Robusta 2
Growing and Harvesting 7
Wet and Dry Processing 8
Milling and Sorting 12
From There to Here 13
CHAPTER 2 A Brief History of the Bean 15
Of Goats and Holy Men 15
The Baptism of the Bean 16
Coffee Crosses the Atlantic 18
CHAPTER 3 The Name Game: Reading Coffee Labels 21
Blend, Dark Roast, or Single-Origin? 21
Grading, Estate Names, and So On 24
The Broken Chain of Custody 27
CHAPTER 4 A Taster's Guide to Cupping Coffees 29
The Cupping Procedure 30

Talking about Taste 32
CHAPTER 5 Regional Character 41
A Taste of Place: Finding the Great Coffees 42
The Three Great Growing Regions: The Americas, Africa and Arabia, Indonesia
47
CHAPTER 6 Roasting and Blending 73
Roasting "to Taste" and Tasting to Roast 73
Artisan Blending 84
CHAPTER 7 How to Brew Great Coffee at Home 89
Freshly Roasted Beans 90
Just-In-Time Grinding 92
Good Water: 98 Percent of the Cup 96
Proper Proportions: The Key to Good Coffee 97
Make It Fresh, Drink It Fresh 100
Brewing Methods: Finding the Best Fit 102
Trade Secrets for Superlative Coffee 117
CHAPTER 8 Espresso: A World unto Itself 121
When You Brew Espresso at Home... 122
Understanding the Four Italian "M"s 124
Espresso and Caffeine: Poco Ma Buono 135
CHAPTER 9 Putting Restaurants to the Test 139
For the Consumer: Insist on Quality 140
For the Restaurant: Brewing Standards and Recommendations 142
CHAPTER 10 Customizing Your Coffee 147
Seasonality: Ours and Coffee's 148

Flavoring Coffees 149
Coffee and Food 153
CHAPTER 11 Issues in the Marketplace 155
Decaffeination and Caffeine 156
Organic Coffees 163
The Price of "C" 172
Appendix A Glossary of Tasting Terms 177
Appendix B Equipment Sources, Related Reading, and Industry Information 183
Index 191
P R E F A C E
Many volumes on coffee have been written, including a few that merit
designation as classics. With all of these publications available and more
glossy coffee-table tomes than one can set a cup upon, is there truly need
for yet one more book on the subject?
Our affirmative answer to this question is a book thatto a greater degree
than its predecessors-attempts to break down the barriers that exist between
the world of the coffee professional and that of the consumer. Our goal is to
walk readers down an unswerving path to superlative coffee. We want you
to know the unvarnished truth: What's out there that's great? What's called
great, but isn't? Why do some of the most popular brewing methods give
you the least value for your dollar?
Between the two of us, we have roasted and brewed a great deal of coffee
over the past twenty years. We've had the privilege of talking with
customers at every level of sophistication. And, as we interact with an ever
widening world of coffee drinkers, we're struck by the perceptual gulf
between the customers who buy good coffee and the professionals whose
lives revolve around it. Taste is ultimately a subjective matter. The road that
leads there, however, is as objective as asphalt and full of pitfalls. There are
basic truths governing the ability of a region to grow good coffee and of a
roaster to sculpt its taste. There are coffees that have been processed well
and those that have not, and there are straightforward formulas that yield
exponentially better coffee than most consumers currently brew at home.
We want to talk about these in accessible detail, and share with you some
secrets for getting the most pleasure out of every coffee dollar you spend.

Since one of this book's authors buys and roasts coffee for a living, one
might well question the inherent subjectivity of the text. Before you turn to
page 1, we wish to make this abundantly clear: Despite the objectivity of
much of the information presented, our overall approach to fine coffee is
obstinately, passionately subjective. How could it possibly be any other way
and still possess meaning?
The world of fine coffee is closely aligned with that of the exacting wine