Part 2

Varietals

When it comes to Arabica, there are lots of different plants that are known in the industry as varietals. These are different breeds of Arabica, just as there are different breeds of dogs and cats, some of which are natural, and some of which have been cultivated.

Some of the varietals include: Bourbon, Typica, Catimor, Beisha, Catuai and many more, all with different characteristics.

Origin

The origin is where the coffee beans have come from, and they come from dozens of countries which fall within what is regarded as the “coffee belt”, between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. Coffee origins include Brazil, Ethiopia, India, Columbia, Vietnam, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Zambia, Indonesia and lots more.

Single Origin

 When you see the word ‘single origin’ its coffee grown within a single known geographic origin, sometimes, this is a single farm, or a specific collection of beans from a coffee growing region or single country.  The name of the coffee is then usually the place it was grown to whatever degree available. Single-origins are viewed by some as a way to get a specific taste, and some independent coffee shops have found that this gives them a way to add value over large chains.

Part 1

Coffee Beans or Seeds.

We call them Coffee beans but actually they are seeds. They’re seeds, from the fruit of coffee plants, and while all beans are seeds, only seeds which are a member of a particular family (Fabaceae, Leguminosae) are actually beans.

Coffee Trees / Plants

Coffee cherries grow on small trees and shrubs of the Coffea Genus. You may be interested to know that there are 124 species of the “Coffea” genus, which is a member of the Rubiacea family. Other plants in the Rubiacea family include shrubs, trees and herbs, and there are lots of them!

There is also species called Liberica which can grow to 20 metres tall but most of the coffee beans that we buy will be Arabica or Robusta or a blend of the two.

Arabica & Robusta

The majority of coffee beans used for speciality single origin coffees are Arabica while Robusta is often mixed with Arabica beans to produce an espresso blend.

Instant coffee is more often than not a blend of Arabica and Robusta. There are some brands of instant which are 100% Arabica, but unless you’re buying a coffee which is specifically advertised as so, it’s likely to be a blend.

Arabica grows at much higher elevations, especially the trees which grow the better quality beans.  It’s a far more varied coffee taste profile thanks to the many different tree varieties, where it’s grown, the soil and how it’s processed.

Robusta is hardier, less susceptible to disease such as leaf rust, can be grown at much lower elevations and it is generally cheaper to produce. In terms of taste, Robusta is generally acknowledged as having a very strong taste that is too much on its own for most palates. However when blended with Arabica it can give a nice kick and helps to produce a good espresso crema. It can contain up to double the level of caffeine than Arabica.

 

Starbucks plans for the Cold Coffee Market

Have you heard of such a thing – next there will be a space station in the galaxy – Starbucks have released cold coffee on tap.

Starbucks Chairman and CEO Howard Schultz recognized the rapid and ongoing escalation of the multimillion dollar cold coffee market. Unveiled last year Starbucks have revitalised the hot coffee beverage with their ‘cold bar’ concept. They have already in 2015 tapped into the cold coffee market by brewing coffee over ice, this next project unveiled in select Starbucks stores throughout the United States, takes it onto another level with the ‘nitro cold brew’.

The drink — in which coffee is kegged, kept cold and infused with nitrogen as it is tapped to create a Guinness-like texture.

It’s apparently not new Stumptown coffee roasters from Seattle took the lead in introducing a canned version of the beverage, a step that took Guinness decades to initiate.

 “For over 40 years we have perfected the craft of roasting and brewing the finest hot coffee, and while we have always offered our customers new options in cold coffee, nothing will compare to the pace of flavour, craft and brewing innovation we will see in the next few years,” Schultz said. “The opportunity to create an entirely new cold coffee experience is limitless and our customers are already telling us that they want to meet us on this journey as cold coffee is now becoming a go-to drink.”

The Oomph Coffee Maker Review

As seen on Dragons Den this week Matthew Deasy went head to head with the Dragons - his product ‘The Oomph’.

Matthew has a background in coffee products and was looking for £40k for a 5% stake in the business. 

The Oomph it’s different, it’s a coffee maker and travel mug in one. It is a unique coffee gadget that can brew three times faster than standard coffee machines. 

So why are people going crazy for the Oomph here are some pointers:
1: Taste. 
We as roasters agree how you make a coffee is important but also important is the coffee you put into the machine, a good quality product freshly roasted is best but that said this is what one reviewer made of it:
The first time I tasted coffee from the Oomph, I was hugely impressed with the taste and the mouth feel. It just seemed to have a more rounded taste and also a bigger mouth feel to what I’m used to tasting.
2: Convenience.
Making coffee with the Oomph is very convenient you plunge it, and then go – as The Oomph doubles as a travel mug. You can just open the lid and drink directly from the coffee maker, or decant it into a cup, delivering a hot brew of coffee for up to three quarters of an hour.
3: The grind.
The Oomph is able to handle a wide range of grind sizes. Idea for those out there who haven’t got a grinder easily at hand and buy pre ground coffee in a variety grinds.
4: Substantial. 
This is a rugged, chunky, substantial coffee maker. It’s clear that it is made to perform and to last. Although I’m sure it could be made lighter, and cheaper, this would result in a flimsy and less substantial product. The majority of the material used is something called Tritan, a food grade BPA free heavy grade plastic that I’m sure doesn’t come cheap!
5: Volume. 
It can hold 13 fluid ounces of brewed coffee, enough to make a couple of cups of very enjoyable coffee without having to make a second brew.
6: Re-brew.
It’s also said the Oomph is the first brewer which enables re-brewing. If you taste the coffee and you’re not happy with the extraction, you can twist to open the catch, and pull up the plunger and give it another plunge, to extract more. 

Buy from Amazon from £36.90

"I never laugh until I've had my coffee." - Clark Gable

Riggers restaurant - RNLI Poole

We have just had a great lunch at the Riggers restaurant at the RNLI training college in Poole, Dorset. While we were there we looked at the displays about the foundation of the RNLI and particularly at the story of Grace Darling. She has a special significance for us as there is a memorial to her in our home town of South Shields as her heroic rescue occurred just up the coast of Northumberland. For those not familiar with her story and how it led to the foundation of the RNLI here is a shortened version.

Grace Horsley Darling was born on 24th November 1815. Her father was a lighthouse keeper employed by Trinity House and when she was a small child Grace was taken to live in a cottage beside the lighthouse on Longstone Island one of the Farne Islands off the Northumberland coast.

 In the early hours of 7 September 1838, Darling, looking from an upstairs window, spotted the wreck and survivors of the Forfarshire on Big Harcar, a nearby low rocky island. The Forfarshire had foundered on the rocks and broken in half: one of the halves had sunk during the night the survivors were clinging to the bow section which was stuck on the rocks. The stormy weather meant that the lifeboat at Seahouses, further down the coast at Sunderland, could not assist so Grace and her father rowed a mile in the rough seas to the survivors using the shelter of the islands. Darling kept the small boat steady in the water while her father helped four men and the lone surviving woman, Mrs. Dawson, onboard. Of the 62 persons on board only 14 survived. When the lifeboat eventually managed to sail from Seahouses they found only the bodies of Mrs Dawson’s two children and a vicar on the rocks.

As news of her role in the rescue reached the public, her combination of bravery and simple virtue set her out as exemplary, and led to an uneasy role as the nation's heroine. Grace and her father were awarded the Silver Medal for bravery by the Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck, later named the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

In 1842, Grace fell ill while visiting the mainland and was in convalescence with her cousins. Grace's condition declined, however, and in the final stages of her illness she returned to Bamburgh where she died of tuberculosis in October 1842, aged 26.

Bees and Caffeine

Doing a little holiday research I came across this article in the magazine Discover and thought it was interesting.

A recent study which gave bee’s caffeinated sucrose solution has found that caffeine helps you get the job done.

Honeybees fed on this solution were significantly better at remembering floral scents than bees that received a sucrose-only solution, according to research published in Science. The findings indicate that caffeine helps bees pollinate more efficiently, and gives naturally caffeinated plants an advantage: Bees remember these plants and return to them more regularly, ensuring continued pollination.

Caffeine naturally occurs in a number of plants, including—no surprise—Coffee species such as Arabica and Robusta, which are used to produce commercial coffee. But the stimulating substance also turns up in Citrus species such as grapefruit, lemon and orange plants, where its levels are high enough to taste unpleasantly bitter and deter would-be nibblers.

In the nectar, however, the caffeine levels are lower than in the plant itself, enough to affect bees’ behaviour but not enough to impart a bitter taste.

In the study, bees fed a caffeinated solution were three times more likely to remember a flower’s scent 24 hours after exposure than bees that received a caffeine-free solution. In the wild, scientists theorized, this would lead to pollination patterns that were more efficient for both bee and plant.

“Remembering floral traits is difficult for bees to perform at a fast pace as they fly from flower to flower,” said study leader Dr. Geraldine Wright of Newcastle University, UK.

Even though human and honeybee brains are very different, Wright suggested that a similar process may be behind both species’ attraction to caffeine.

“This work helps us understand the basic mechanisms of how caffeine affects our brains,” Wright said. “What we see in bees could explain why people prefer to drink coffee when studying.”

The study could also shed light on ways to protect and improve the natural habitats of honeybees, which are in significant decline in many parts of the world, particularly Europe and the U.S.