FACT 1: Discovery

The Kaffa Region in Ethiopia (formerly Abyssinia – see map below) is the birthplace of coffee (genus caffea). Legend has it that an Ethiopian goatherd named Kaldi discovered his goats dancing joyously after eating berries from a green shrub. He tested the cherries himself, then ran to the local monastery to share them with Monks who at first despised it. In its earliest existence (circa 6th century), it was used by Monks to stay awake during prayers, was used as a medicinal herb, and eventually made its way around the world to become the basis for the early coffee houses where stimulating intellectual conversations took place amongst incredible entertainment. Thousands of feet high into the tropical regions, the drink can be traced back to a coffee tree which produces red or purple cherries/berries (in some cases yellow or orange). The cherries usually produce two seeds (beans). A special type of seed/bean called a Peaberry occurs when the seed does not split, and only one bean per cherry is produced. Smaller and more round in comparison to the “normal” coffee bean, this bean has intense explosion of flavor and is highly sought after.

Birthplace of Coffee

 

Coffee Tree, Cherries and Beans, Breakdown

 

FACT 2: Species and Use

There are several species of coffea; the two most well known species are caffea arabica (arabica) and caffea canephora (robusta). Here are a few quick facts:

Caffea Arabica

• Trees usually produce cherries for as long as 60 years (in some cases up to 100!)
• Require substantial amounts of water
• Cultivated at 1300 to 1500 m altitude (susceptible to cold/freezing temperatures)
• Nine months to ripen (Takes roughly 7 years to completely mature)
• More desirable taste characteristices (about 1/2 the caffeine content as robusta)

 

Unroasted and Roasted Caffea Arabica Beans

Arabica Producing Countries: Ethiopia, Yemen, Tanzania, Papua New Guinea, Mexico, Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Martinique, El Salvador, Guatemala, Hawaii, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador, Columbia, Peru, Bolivia, Guyana, Paraguay. 

Caffea Canephora (robusta)

• Trees usually mature within three years
• Can withstand and tolerate environmental conditions better than arabica
• Used in espresso blends to achieve both crema (see pic) and the desired heightened pungency on the palate
• Vast amount of caffeine content, less desired taste (much cheaper than arabica), generally used to make instant coffee

Unroasted and Roasted Canephora (Robusta) Beans

Crema

Robusta Producing Countries: Rwanda, Madagascar, Ivory coast, Uganda, Java, Bali, Sulawesi, Borneo, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sri Lanka, Angola, Vietnam, Timor.

Countries that Produce Both Arabica and Robusta: Brazil and India

Next Week’s Blog: The Top Five Things You Must Know About Coffee: Part Two

References:

Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How it Transformed Our World – Mark Pendergrast

Coffee – A Guide to Buying, Brewing, AND Enjoying, 5th Edition - Kenneth Davids

…Or are they just a repeat of history?

Mainstream coffee has never truly been about experiencing the quality in a good cup of coffee. What mainstream knows is a series of brand names, a few terms, and coffee socials over a lifeless black cup loaded with cream and sugar. Once coffee leaves the farms to the mills to exporters to the commercial coffee roasters and coffee shops, with the exception of a few specialty roaster-retailers, coffee aficionados and enthusiasts, and specialty coffee shops who care about the incredible characteristics of coffee – the beauty of “crop to cup” - coffee becomes a huge marketing ploy to maximize profits without the educational value attached.

We’ve all heard the news about SBUX closing stores, revamping themselves to become recognizable as a “local” coffee shop (15th Avenue Coffee & Tea), raising prices, lowering prices, adding breakfast, and so on. The problem I’m having with them raising prices for “specialty drinks” is that it further hazes the truth about what good coffee really is. What I find incredibly confusing is that they’ve lowered the price on brewed coffee and lattes - two of the most traditional drinks that may offer consumers the most visible taste characteristics. We’ve allowed coffee shops to offer less premier coffee, stuff a collage of mess in our drinks, and call it “specialty coffee” while jacking up the price. But of course we’re getting the classic ambiance and atmosphere. As quoted in the New York Times: “Connie Williams, 57, a saleswoman in Los Angeles…said the price changes would not affect her daily habit of buying a 12-ounce nonfat cappuccino ‘with a little shake of chocolate’ at Starbucks. ‘I’m hooked,’ she said. ‘It’s like asking a cocaine addict, If I raise my prices, are you going to buy less?’.” I think she’s been forced into a perception of what good coffee is. My RAGING question is what happened to SBUX?? Forty years ago when they were the start of what modern American coffee is, they would have pulled coffee off the shelves if it was more than a week old. And while they’ve done a decent job with their management structure, their team-friendly environment, and their accomplishments in social responsibility and fair trade, somewhere along the line they went for straight commercialization and forgot to hold true to their traditional values of fresh roasted coffee (even though they still roast their own) and what it means to truly be local (I guess that happened when their “globalization” commenced without carrying on the original passion of what SBUX once was). They became caught up in flaunting coffees in elegant packages from various regions versus translating them to the palates of the customer. Instead, coffee became and orgy of syrups, whipped cream and misperceptions rather than creating an experience based on the coffee region. Gee, thanks Howie.

I am not solely picking on SBUX; I am picking on the guilty parties responsible for the overall commercialization and exploitation of coffee. Unfortunately, this exploitation has continued over centuries and has even been a victim of the coffee-producing regions themselves.

The BIGGEST question I have is: Do consumers even know what they are buying?? The coffee industry seems incredibly complex with its collection of coffee-producing regions, terminology, cuppings, taste profiles, etc; however, it is relatively simple to understand the truth behind the illustrious bean. There is nothing wrong with blending; there is nothing wrong with roasting in large quantities. The main beef I have is when we market something of less value, allow our customers to buy in, and fail to educate them properly – because if they all really knew exactly what they were buying, they may not buy it after all.

As a consumer, I am guilty – we all are guilty – of assisting in the exploitation of coffee and begging for it in an adulturated form. Remember: The simplest things can provide the ultimate pleasure. Drink unadulturated coffee.

Reference: The New York Times

Next Week’s Blog: The Top 5 Things You MUST Know About Coffee

Soooo, where do I begin? I guess I can say my infatuation with coffee (funny, I almost wrote a hashtag in front of #coffee) started some time in late high school/early college – right about the time of the commercialized birth of Starbucks accompanied by raging hormones of the influential college atmosphere…

Growing up, my mother had always been the coffee fanatic; my father, less convinced that there was “much ado” about it. I was more like my father and was not halfway concerned about lapping up that brown drink. I recall my sister coming home with a Starbucks frappuccino that was loaded with chunks of brownie. I was crazy about sweets, so I jumped on the bandwagon. Thus began the basis for my addiction. As Starbucks sprung up on just about every unclaimed piece of land, I was given several options: one in my neighborhood, one in the core of my college campus, one on the way to work – oh and of course, on my way home from work, hit the one in my ‘hood again. I schooled myself on the newest “terminology” from tall to venti and skinny to whipped, and was drinking everything from warm apple cider to triple shots of espresso (Ma’am, do you know this comes with a shot? Yes*DUH*, please add another…)

A few years into my “Starbucks Habit,” I had applied about three times (all rejected); all of the Baristas at each shop knew my name, preferred drink, and my fave treat (Oreo Dream Pie); and just about every gift I received and gave was coffee-related, most of which were gifts from Starbucks. I began to influence people around me with my coffee habit, turning non-coffee drinkers into avid coffee drinkers who eventually turned their mugs down to “office coffee” and who began to help fuel my habit. As all addicts do, I denied that I had a problem, hid my Starbucks purchases from my parents, and became a walking, talking billboard for Starbucks.

After going through a bag of old receipts and discovering that I was spending almost $400 a month on Starbucks – OUCH – I decided to “scale back” on my coffee habit by only purchasing Maxwell House and Starbucks from the grocery store. I still completely indulged into coffee and the lifestyle, yet had never been truly educated about the beauty and history of it. I just knew that decent coffee came from my mother’s kitchen and that Starbucks coffee *at the time* gave me warm fuzzy feelings. I had a great supporter, who one day in passing told me that the greatest coffee experience I could have was to taste fresh roasted coffee. I thought about it and at first took it a bit lightly…until about 5 years ago when I cheated on Starbucks with Peets . Instead of shipping some of my friends marketing/brochure samples, Peets accidentally shipped an oversupply of coffee. EXACTLY. This opened up a whole new discussion of what “good coffee” actually is, and ever since, I have purposed in my heart to embrace coffee’s history and to educate others about what coffee actually is…and I vowed to never return to Starbucks…

Since then, I’ve become a home coffee roaster, launched a coffee club, have been researching coffee’s history, influenced my friends to only get coffee from me, and have found my Signature Blend (for purposes of protecting the writer, the name/blend qualities will not be revealed J). It has been an incredible journey that anticipates the rebirth of the coffee house and the education of the general coffee consumer.  As every true coffee man or coffee roaster has their own internal (and external) battle with SBUX vs local coffee shop vs fresh roasted coffee, we may occasionally visit SBUX and get busted in the act.

I recently attended a local art gallery opening. They had the usual hodge podge of food: a few dips here and there, some healthy stuff to quiet the health freaks, and of course, coffee. I watched as everyone hovered around the coffee bar, one guy nervously spilling it all over the counter top. I approached the bar, poured a little coffee for myself, and waited for it to cool down. When I finally got the chance to drink some, the only thought in my mind was that it tasted like brewed cardboard water. Everyone else was seemingly enjoying it, constantly revisiting the coffee bar for a warm up. I pretended to sip on so as not to “be rude,” and as my eyes wandered the room, I caught a glimpse of a woman in a gold party dress that was over-adorned with sequins and glitter – way too much for her petite frame. At that moment, I thought to myself: “Is this what coffee has become? Over-adorned with a mess of ’stuff’ we think looks good, but actually tarnishes the beauty of what’s underneath?”

This brought me to a question, which has been toiled over for years: What constitutes good coffee? Is it good for only satisfying our morning jolt? Or is it only good for awakening us to break us from the afternoon’s robotic work patterns?

We yearn for good food, to be cultured, artistic, entertained, and to be “in the know…” But has our taste for good coffee fallen by the wayside? Why do we even drink it? To socialize with friends? To talk about how many espresso shots we had stuffed into one drink (that ended up giving us the jitters for the next two days straight)?

Or is it only good by a coffee connoisseur’s suggestive dialogue? Terminology and recommendations forced upon us, and like human nature we rebel and do exactly what we want anyway, too afraid to try something new.

Coffee doesn’t have to be crammed with unnatural flavor for it to be enjoyed; and it doesn’t have to be sans milk and sugar or “under-brewed” either. But shouldn’t it have its own character and elegant flavor, not something we’ve forced it to be? Example – Ethiopia: Naturally sweet coffee, it can have honeyed tastes, chocolate undertones, and may even be loaded with berries. Sometimes I take it black, sometimes with a little sugar. Example – Café au lait: historically prepared with steamed milk, mostly tastes like toasted nuts, the coffee most likely from Brazil or Nicaragua, somewhere conducive of a great espresso blend. Genuinely good stuff.

We are feel good people and some brands of coffee know how to tap into that human element. SBUX… As people, we have always demanded better coffee, but without knowing the true element of “better coffee,” it was defined for us and excited us enough to buy fancy machines and syrups, host parties, collect art, all in good efforts to make it good just like SBUX taught us. Coffee can still induce good friendships, family, conversations, fun… The cup itself can truly be a lively experience that compliments our relationships, conversations and friends, but it doesn’t have to be completely empty or over-adorned with postiche beauty.

And while Starbucks isn’t exactly the devil, we as consumers have managed to demand a beautifully wrapped package. Starbucks has answered the call and has assessed our aesthetic needs by dazzling us with tasty syrups and whipped cream. We’ve allowed ourselves to become drawn to the package without appreciating the beauty of the cup underneath all the wrapping…

Black Is Beautiful…

Ethiopia’s dictator revokes coffee licenses of major exporters

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (APA) – Ethiopia’s dictatorial regime led by accused war criminal Meles Zenawi on Wednesday revoked the coffee export licenses for six major export companies and shut down another 88 coffee supplier unions with warehouses stocked with coffee.

The decision was made after the government accused a number of exporters and coffee suppliers of hoarding.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development also revoked the international coffee standard certification for the six companies.

“These companies cause big economic damage to the country which has resulted in the decline of the country’s coffee earnings this year,” said the ministry.

The major exporters of Ethiopian coffee affected by the decision are Mulege, S. Sara, Legesse Sherefa and Kemal Abdela.

The dispute between the government and the coffee exporters started when Ethiopia introduced last year a new electronic commodity exchange.

The Ethiopian Commodity Exchange was set up to replace a murky auction system that was often abused by market players.

Some exporters have been reluctant to sell their beans through the country\’s new electronic commodity exchange which began trading in December, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi told parliament last week where he urged the exporters to immediately start selling their stocks. The ministry accused the exporters and coffee suppliers union of creating the coffee shortage in the local market, resulting in price increase in the country in the past few weeks.

Coffee accounted for about 60 percent of Ethiopia’s foreign exchange revenue in the 2007/2008 season when Ethiopia earned more than $525 million from exporting 170,888 tones of Arabica coffee.

Ethiopia, the birth place of coffee, is Africa\’s biggest coffee producer.

Some 15 million smallholder farmers grow coffee in Ethiopia, mostly in the misty forested highlands of its western and southwestern regions.

COFFEE-TRADE SWITCH IN ETHIOPIA DISAPPOINTS IMPORTERS

U.S. coffee importers and roasters are worried that a new auction system in Ethiopia makes it almost impossible for them to buy coffee from the particular farmers whose beans they want.

By Melissa Allison

Seattle Times business reporter

Related

• Melissa Allison’s Coffee City blog

U.S. coffee importers and roasters are worried that a new auction system in Ethiopia makes it almost impossible for them to buy coffee from the particular farmers whose beans they want.

The system, overseen by the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange, mixes coffee beans from different growers before selling them for export.

That’s a big deal to specialty roasters who prefer beans from certain growers and processors, and sometimes have worked with them to improve quality.

During a visit to the Ethiopian exchange in February, one Seattle coffee importer became concerned about how the new system would work.

“We spent a whole day going through the phases of grief — anger, denial and acceptance — just trying to get our arms around what’s going on,” said Craig Holt, owner of Atlas Coffee Importers.

The new auction system and its implications are poorly understood, Holt and others said.

What they know for sure is that they’re unable to order many of the coffees they want.

Some have had trouble getting any coffee from Ethiopia, although it is not clear whether the new auction system is to blame.

Royal Coffee, an importer based in Oakland, Calif., has not received shipments from Ethiopia that ordinarily would have arrived by now.

“There seems to be a wrench in the gears,” president Robert Fulmer wrote on the company’s blog. “To say there is confusion and chaos in Ethiopia is an understatement.”

Last week, Ethiopia closed the warehouses of six of its largest exporters, accusing them of hoarding coffee and contributing to a shortage of foreign currency.

Bloomberg reported on Thursday that the government plans to start exporting beans itself.

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The changes haven’t affected Starbucks, a spokeswoman said. The company buys coffee through the exchange and from cooperative unions and estates, which are allowed to sell directly.

The U.S. imports 12 to 15 million pounds of Ethiopian coffee annually, less than 5 percent of that nation’s total coffee exports. Japan is the largest importer of Ethiopian coffee, taking about 66 million pounds a year, according to the Specialty Coffee Association of America.

Ethiopia’s new exchange estimates that specialty coffee, which is high-end coffee for which consumers pay a premium, represents about 3.7 percent of its coffee exports. Specialty coffee includes coffee bought by importers and roasters who have relationships with certain coffee growers.

The exchange said in a December paper on specialty coffee that it can hone its contract specifications to reflect geographic criteria and other refinements. For further traceability, “the direct channel by which growers can directly export coffee can be used,” the paper said.

Victrola Coffee Roasters in Seattle is among those counting on it.

Coffee buyer and head roaster Perry Hook is excited about a shipment of 2008 Ethiopia Natural Yirgacheffe Beloya beans that he just bought from the importer Ninety Plus Coffee.

He doesn’t have much hope of getting anything so specialized from this year’s crop.

“We’ll still buy Ethiopian coffee, because they have some of the best coffee in the world,” Hook said. “It’s the specialty ones that can be tied back to specific producing areas and handled in specific ways that we’re not going to get [this year]. We’re just going to hope something happens down the road and that in 2010 we can get these kinds of coffee again.”

Melissa Allison: 206-464-3312 or mallison@seattletimes.com

I apologize to all of my readers…I know some of you are checking back in. My new blogs weren’t posting…Looks like I had too many tags…This is a test… By the way, I roasted some more El Salvador yesterday and was having problems hearing the “cracks.” Needless to say, I roasted it what I thought was a slight step beyond C+, but once I saw it I knew it was closer to FC+/Vienna. THEN this morning I performed a taste test b/c I was so disappointed last night, but to my surprise it DID explode with cinnamon. BUT…it was a little over 12 hours later, and this particular coffee needs a little rest to taste its best at each roast. I gave that batch to a friend, so I am tasting the remaining at about 17 hours. Sip, Sip. Still immense cinnamon with underlying chocolate notes…YUMMY!

Just Eat The Beans

Am I addicted to coffee? I like to call it passionate. Here I am, no coffee, constantly thinking of it…My body already going through sleepy spells and body aches – Am I REALLY addicted to caffeine, NOT  coffee?? Constantly fiddling and knocking things over like a helpless drunk, going cold turkey is NOT how to pull yourself off of the coffee habit. Actually, I don’t intend to stop at all, I JUST ACCIDENTALLY LEFT MY COFFEE HOME, and I REFUSE to drink “office coffee.”  So for the next hour and a half I will just keep up with the random arm scratches, neck twitches, back spasms, and completely crazy daydreams that remind me I’ve slipped into a work coma until I make it to my front door, and the hero’s theme music begins to play. Yes I will sprint to my kitchen cupboards (read below), rip the package of coffee open, and relentlessly chew those coffee beans! Yes I said chew, no time for brewing.

I am not addicted…I am passionately crazy about coffee.

So last Friday I was trying to stray away from overloading on coffee. This morning I grabbed my 3 cup french press, packed my lunch and was so excited…until I got to work. I left my fresh roasted Yemeni coffee home!!!! Now the question is do I break down and have “break room” coffee, or do I wait for that glorious moment this afternoon, when I break through the front door of my house, sprint to the kitchen, grind my coffee, and sip up?

I think I will wait…maybe I’ll play theme music just before I bust down the door.

So it’s mid-afternoon and I’ve only had about a cup and a half of coffee (people have this misconception that since I eat, sleep, and breathe coffee that I must consume like 12 cups a day…). HOWEVER, all I can seem to think about is drinking more! And not only because I’m hella sleepy, but because I’ve got like 6 bags of freshly roasted coffee that I am supposed to ship out today, and they are sitting right behind me in my office, and all I can smell is creamy chocolately coffee! MMMM!!! You walk in and it smells like a small coffee shop – LOL. See you soon, I am going to go fix myself another cup of that Ethiopia Idido Misty Valley (in my french press of course) – YUM!