What The Pros Know: Coffee
Rod & Robin Torrence and Christopher Grady don't just know beans -- they've been roasting them for 15 years at their Cooperstown, NY and Albany, NY outposts of Stagecoach Coffee. They sat down with us over, what else, coffee, and poured out plenty of useful info.
There are two major types of commercial coffee beans -- arabica and robusta.
Robusta (Coffea canephora) is the bean that's found in the majority of grocery store coffee blends. It's generally grown at low altitudes on massive coffee plantations, mainly in Vietnam, Brazil, and Indonesia. As it's grown in such large quantities, and the plant matures to harvesting age more quickly than arabica, robusta beans are much cheaper. They've got twice the caffeine of arabica, but produce a less flavorful brew.
Arabica (Coffea Arabica) tends be shade grown on mountainsides, and hand-harvested by families of farmers. These beans have been cultivated in Ethiopia for over a thousand years, and now thrive in Costa Rica, Colombia, Brazil, Kenya, and other nations around the globe. Coffee connoisseurs tend to favor the less bitter flavor of these beans.
The "beans" of both arabica and robusta are actually the seeds of the coffee fruit, or "cherry". Once they're harvested from the bush, the cherries are either air processed in the sun, or pulped with a water technique to separate the green beans from the outer fruit. Once they're dried, they're ready to be shipped and roasted.
Have What They're Having
How do you develop great taste? Taste something great! Take a note from the pros and throw a coffee tasting party to find your new fave.
- Chris's Pick: Indonesia Sumatra
- Robin's Pick: Mexican Altura
- Rod's Pick: Kenya AA
- Editor's Pick: Costa Rica Organic
Coffee gets the majority of its characteristic flavors from the level of roast it receives. The longer the beans are roasted, the more oil comes out of them, and the less acid and caffeine remain. There's no set standard as to how long roasting times last, but generally a regular or "city" roast is finished first, the French roast is next, and the espresso remains in the roaster longest. That's right -- espresso-roasted coffee contains the least amount of caffeine, but because of the concentration in which it's brewed, it retains its reputation for strength.
There is no such thing as a chocolate, hazelnut, raspberry, vanilla, or any other such bean occurring in nature. Technically, coffee contains double the flavor components of wine, but unless you're "cupping" or professionally tasting it by sucking cooled samples of it to the roof of your mouth, it's not going to register. Steer clear of flowery descriptions, and focus on regional origins (Kenya, Costa Rica, etc.) and roasts to figure out your favorite flavors. You'll know what you like when you taste it.
Chat about coffee with Rod, Robin & Chris at their Stagecoach Coffee Roasters locations in Cooperstown, NY and Albany, NY, or visit them online at stagecoachcoffeeroasters.com.
What's your favorite brew? Click to spill it in the comments.
There is no such thing as a chocolate, hazelnut, raspberry, vanilla, or any other such bean occurring in nature. Technically, coffee contains double the flavor components of wine, but unless you're "cupping" or professionally tasting it by sucking cooled samples of it to the roof of your mouth, it's not going to register. Steer clear of flowery descriptions, and focus on regional origins (Kenya, Costa Rica, etc.) and roasts to figure out your favorite flavors. You'll know what you like when you taste it.
Chat about coffee with Rod, Robin & Chris at their Stagecoach Coffee Roasters locations in Cooperstown, NY and Albany, NY, or visit them online at stagecoachcoffeeroasters.com.
What's your favorite brew? Click to spill it in the comments.