Your Comprehensive Guide to Coffee

Welcome frens, a bit of a suprise start as @bowtiedarcticfox asked me about coffee beans for a substack of his own, and I figured I would provide a resource! My homeschooling series is coming along on schedule, and the first post of the series will be out on the first week of October.

Coffee is as detailed as wine. I am going to take you from zero to hero in your coffee game.

Bean Basics

Coffee plants have two varieties: Robusta and Arabica. Robusta does have double the caffeine content of Arabica, but half the sugar content so it’s extremely bitter compared to Arabica. I don’t recommend Robusta. If you’re seeking higher caffeine content, just drink more coffee. Your tastebuds will thank me. Robusta roasts tend to be more bitter, but are a heartier plant and therefore cheaper to grow. If you order Robusta and Arabica espresso shots, you can immediately taste the difference. Robusta will need a lot more sugar.

There are a ton of varieties of both Arabica and Robusta, and each is slightly different. Not enough of a difference to matter for our purposes. I pay attention to see if a roaster takes care enough to list out the varieties on their single origin, as that is a sign that they pay attention to the quality everywhere, including blends.

The concept of 100% Arabica is a marketing slogan. Starbucks uses 100% arabica, and it’s burnt and bitter. It’s as descriptive as calling red wine a red blend. If a bag says 100% arabica and no further details, the roaster isn’t using their brand to stand for quality and instead relying on the term 100% Arabica to stand out.

Autist’s Note: Most Vietnamese coffee is Robusta, which is the cheaper bean. If a coffee shop uses a Vietnamese roast, they’re cutting costs and the quality will be lower.

Elevation and Soil

Higher elevation brings cooler temperatures, and a longer growing season. The longer a coffee cherry takes to grow, the more complex sugars develop in the fruit, leaving you with a more intense and distinct flavor in the final drink. 

I aim for high altitude or very high altitude in the beans that I buy. The notes in the coffee come through extremely well in a pour over, and there’s ton of variety based on region if you prefer fruity or nutty flavors.

The soil, climate, and elevation combine to form the concept of terroir. Ethiopian coffee is known for it’s bright acidity from the nutrient dense soil, and Indonesian coffee has an earthy richness from the fresh volcanic earth.

Process

Once coffee cherries are picked, the bean needs to be removed and dried. The two main methods of processing are washed vs. natural.

The washed method involves peeling the cherries, and soaking the fruit in a tub full of water. This breaks down the layers outside of the bean via fermentation, and floats the spoiled fruit to the top. The beans are removed and dried either by machine or the sun.

Tasting notes for this method include a higher acidity level, and more specific tasting notes. I have an Ethiopian Tsebel that is a washed process that tastes like tropical fruit and sweet lemon.

Natural

The natural process is similar to cacao pod processing. The berries are laid to ferment and dry in the sun. This gives these coffees a funk to them rather than the clear distinct flavor of the wash, as more variables are in the ferment. These have a less consistent flavor between batches as the weather changes compared to the washed process. I don’t have a preference for process, but each does affect the flavor profile.

Roasting

Light, Medium, and Dark. In roasting terminology, first crack, second crack, and beyond the second crack. Most consumer coffee is a medium or dark roast drip or espresso from a place like Starbucks or Dunkin’ Donuts. It’s likely stale, burnt, and bitter killing any flavors the beans once had. There’s a reason Starbucks is mostly in the milk and sugar business.

The longer you roast, the more sugars you burn and more flavors you roast out of the coffee. When you think of coffee, if you think of bitter you’ve probably had Starbucks or dark roasted beans. A light roast should have fruit, nut, or spice taste. A medium roast has more of a nuttier earthy taste, and a dark roast has spicy, chocolate, and bitter notes. The longer you roast, the less subtle and delicate flavors you have. A medium to dark roast is going to hold up better as espresso, and a light roast is excellent for a French Press or Pour Over.

As soon as coffee is roasted, it begins oxidization. Carbon dioxide fills the bean during roasting, and over time it naturally escapes and is replaced with oxygen. As the oxygen enters the beans, it reacts with the natural oils, and it changes the flavor. Oxidized coffee will taste and smell like fish. This process generally takes about a week to have a noticeable taste difference, which is why when buying a bag of coffee, if it doesn’t have a roast date, you have no idea how old it is. A good online roaster will roast to order, and ship within 24 hours of roasting. Having an airtight container at home prevents oxygen from entering, slowing the process and leaving the beans fresher for longer. I own a container that creates a vacuum when I close the lid. This is my standard for coffee storage. (LINK)

There’s a new trend for something called “green coffee”. It’s raw or barely roasted beans ground and served like any other roast. A green coffee drink tastes like drinking pistachio ice cream and not like regular coffee.

Caffeine

The amount of caffeine stays the same between roasting levels, at around 95mg per 8oz of non-espresso, and for one shot of espresso about 65mg.

To make coffee decaf, the roaster either uses the solvent method, or the mountain water method. The solvent method first steams the beans to open the pores, then soaks them in water and Ethyl Acetate to bind with the caffeine molecules and decaffeinates the bean. This process repeats, and then the beans are steamed and washed again to remove the Ethyl Acetate. The mountain water method spins the beans in water tanks mixed with green coffee extract. The green coffee extract binds to the caffeine molecule and extracts it from the bean. I don’t drink decaf regularly, but the taste of decaf isn’t measurably different.

Brewing Tools and Methods

This is where we bring it home.

If you can spare the extra dollars, buy a burr grinder. A burr grinder produces a consistent grind every time. A blade grinder is less consistent but cheaper. The grind level matters because it determines how quickly flavor is pulled from the grounds. A fine grind is needed for the rapid brewing of espresso, but a medium grind is needed for a pour over or French press as the process takes minutes not seconds. Avoid pre-ground, as oxidization speeds up even further once ground.

Water

Using filtered water gives us more control over what we taste. Your water may have minerals in it that alters the taste, and we want repeatable flavors. The water should be around 200F, but not boiling to prevent burning the grounds. My kettle has a thermometer on it. This is the same concept as in tea brewing.

Drip

This is your Keurig, your office coffee pot. Water fills a reservoir, and gets heated as it passes through to a shower head that sprays over the grounds, once the coffee filter is full the coffee “drips” down into the pot or cup. Drip filters are very thin, so they don’t absorb any oils, leaving you with a very harsh acidic and bitter cup. Usually, a drip machine is served with lower quality, pre-ground coffee, and you have minimal control over the entire roasting process.

Espresso

An espresso machine forces water through compacted fine grounds and produces a very concentrated cup of coffee. It brings all the oils naturally found in the bean through to the cup. This is known as the “pull”. If you’ve ever seen an espresso shot, it’s much thicker than water. Espresso is excellent for any drinks with milk, as the strong coffee is balanced out by the milk.

Autist’s Note: Scalded milk (181F) sweetens the milk naturally, and combined with a steam wand or frother makes the milk foamy, perfect for a latte. Don’t boil your milk.

The two main brewing tools are an espresso machine, and a Moka pot. Both produce a highly concentrated cup of coffee. They have no paper filter, so they only stop the grounds from passing through and none of the oils. You get much harsher flavors from this brew. I wouldn’t add milk to a pour over but would to espresso. They compliment each other.

French Press

This is a hybrid between a pour over and espresso. Medium-size grounds are best. It uses a metal or thin paper filter to stop the grounds, but not the oils from coming through. The grounds float in the hot water to extract all the flavor, and then the grounds are pressed down, so the coffee is left at the top and can be poured easily. This is a great method for someone who likes the taste of drip but would like to improve their coffee experience.  

Pour Over

This is my favorite, but probably the most complicated. A Pour Over requires a scale, goose neck kettle, and a Chemex or Hario V60, and filters. A Chemex is aesthetic and better to serve multiple people, but the Hario has easier cleanup and a smaller profile. For both, I prefer the bleached filters as the natural have a strong paper taste.

Medium-sized grounds are the best fit here. The ratio of beans to water is 5oz water to 8g beans. Each 5oz is a “cup”.

A pour over uses a filter like a drip, but has a much thicker filter designed to catch most of the oils in coffee. A good pour over should be similar to a tea. The grounds sit in the filter, and water is slowly poured over and passes through the grounds. Unlike a French press or even a drip, the water is always moving. The water soaks in the flavor from the grounds and the oils, and the filter strips out most of the harsh notes left in the oils.

A pour over requires degassing of the beans, which means lightly wetting the grounds and waiting 30 seconds till the bubbling stops. Then in a circular motion slowly stream the water into the grounds, pausing as it fills up.

A pour over gives you the greatest control over your coffee, and a better black coffee experience than anything else.

Securing the Bag

Using what we’ve just learned, here’s my process for finding new coffee.

• Identify your brewing method of choice. Buy whole bean coffee regardless. Buy a grinder and stop being lazy.

• I look at the single origin first, to check on how much detail they provide. If the single origin is detailed, their blend has the same level of care taken. The roasters who label their single origin cater to the coffee fanatics. Buy from those who offer the best.

• The key for online orders is if they roast to order. If they don’t, the coffee may be stale at shipment. If they don’t provide that detail, ask.

• As soon as my beans get home, they go into the vacuum sealed container, I clean out my grinder of the old beans and I brew a cup to taste test.

Examples:

I’m not associated with either site, but have sampled both and they are examples of high-end roasters. Both are based in the Pacific Northwest.

Caravan Coffee (my go to)

Mirror Coffee Roasters

This third roaster I have never tried, but I’d comfortably order from. They provide the details up front, and take pride in shipping on roasting day.

Amiche Coffee

Enjoy your new found love of coffee frens. If you have any questions or want me to take a look at a roaster, I’m on twitter @bowtiedbernard and happy to chat.

If this gains enough support, I plan to provide a monthly review of different roasters and get more people drinking quality coffee.