Coffee and Thanksgiving

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, which means lots of turkey, lots of tryptophan and a carbohydrate-rich meal that increases the level of this amino acid in the brain and leads to serotonin synthesis (in other words you are going to be sleepy!)

This is why there is no better time to break out some coffee!

I would personally recommend stopping by and picking up some of our Honduras, it's a clean and rich coffee which will go really well with everything from cranberry sauce to pumpkin pie, and you can tell all your in-laws the great story behind the bean!

At Thanksgiving there are plenty of other uses for coffee too. Here are a few ways you can make coffee a part of your thanksgiving all day long.

1. Darken your Gravy
2. Make a Coffee Gravy for your mashed Potatoes
3. Make Coffee Pumpkin Pie
4. Glaze your turkey with a Maple-coffee sauce

Do you have any other tips on how to make this thanksgiving buzz this year?

Crop to Cup: Natural coffee

Although most of the coffee you drink today is "Wet Processed," this was not the case for most of history. Long before machines were invented to help process coffee farmers used a method that we call "Dry" or "Natural" process. That process is still used in many places today, and is important to understand. Take a look at the chart below which will help guide you to a better understanding of "Natural Process" coffees.

1. After harvesting the coffee cherries the beans have to be sorted. Unlike a wet process, which uses water to help separate the "good" from the "bad" and the "ugly," a natural process coffee is generally hand sorted, by winnowing using a sieve. Coffee falls through the seive, rocks and twigs stay in it. This, however doesn't separate good and bad coffee. This is why some people will put the coffee in water, just like in a wet process, and remove any floaters. The picture shows a nice ripe coffee cherry, yum!
2. The cherries are then spread out to dry in the sun, this is often done on patios or tables. It can take weeks for cherries to dry so it is important to prevent mildew, and rotting, which is a risk of this kind of processing. There are times that huge amount of coffee are ruined using this method just because of inclement weather, or unexpected humidity. To help prevent the coffee going bad cherries are raked or even turned by hand. Sometimes machines are used to dry the coffee part of the way to speed this process up. The picture shows a drying cherry.
3.  Once dried to a stable moisture content all the outer layers of the cherry are removed through "hulling."

Natural process coffees are common in areas with low humidity, and are highly sought after by many roasters because of their fruity tones. Our Brasil is a great example of a dry process coffee. Come in and try it!

Coffee Focus: Brazil

The largest producer of coffee in the world is Brazil. Brazilian coffee is known for

sweet nutty tones and chocolate finish. It has a characteristic low-acidity which has made it a frequently sought after base in many espresso blends, including many of the best I have ever had.

History
Brazilian coffee has a very interesting history. For many years, in Brazil, there was a quota system set in place by the International Coffee Organization (ICO) and the Brazilian Institute do Café (IBC). To meet quotas during this time many producers blended high quality coffee with low quality coffee, creating a reputation within the industry that Brazilian was only good for blends. However in the last fifteen years the quota system was eliminated and Brazilian coffee is on the rise. The reputation Brazilian coffee has for being only good for blending is now only a myth. Revolutions in coffee methods for growing and producing have put Brazil on the map for quality coffee.

Processing

Although you can find Brazilian coffee that has been processed using wet (washed), dry (natural), and semi-washed (pulped natural) methods. Brazil has made famous the pulped natural way of processing coffee. This method can't be used in many places of the world because there needs to be a very low humidity in order for it to work since this method requires the mucilage on the outside of the coffee beans (seeds) to dry rapidly. In areas with too much humidity the coffee will start fermenting and the desired flavor will be lost. Many of the highest ranked coffees in Brazil use this method, although there are other fine coffees produced using other methodology (our brazil for example is a Natural process and is oh so delicious).

A little Bit About Our Brazil

As I mentioned above we offer a natural process Brazil. We love this coffee because of it's clarity, intensity, and fruit notes, which is much better then that of Brazils processed in other ways. Since we are a small batch artisan roaster all our coffees are sorted at the time of roasting assuring that the end product is free of any defects that are notorious in natural processed coffee. A cup of CA's Brazil is sure to please.

We get our coffee from the legendary Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza (FAF) farm renown for it's quality, sustainability, and organic farming practices. For more information on our Brazil Click Here

Crop to Cup: Wet processed

There is a lot that happens to a coffee before we get our hands on it. By the time any given bean makes it into the roaster here in Chicago it has already gone through a process of growing and preparation to make sure that what makes it into your hands is of the highest quality. One of these steps is called Processing. After a coffee is harvested from the tree it grows on, it has to be processed so it can be shipped out and used.

There are three major ways this is done

1. washed or water processed
2. dry or natural processed
3. honey, pulped natural, or semi-washed processed

This week we will be exploring what a coffee goes through when it is "washed". I have created this graphic to help you see what goes on with the coffee "bean".

1. First the coffee is picked off the tree. The fruit you see is ripe. The fruit of an unripe cherry will be green, not red. How this is done is a story for another day.
2. The main difference between wet and dry processed coffee is how the fruit is removed from the coffee bean, which is the seed inside the fruit. A washed coffee will have had it's fruit removed either by a ferment and wash method or by a machine assisted method.
   -Ferment and Wash removes the fruit by first immersing the cherries in water. This causes the good coffee to sink, while the bad coffee floats. The good coffee is then pushed through a screen which removes a good portion of the outer fruit. The coffee then either sits in water or it's own juices causing the remaining fruit to loosen up over the next 2 or three days. This fruit is then washed off by putting the coffee in water tanks.
   -Machine Assisted is similar to Ferment and Wash but instead of letting the coffee sit for two or three days while the fruit loosens up. Instead the coffee is placed in a mechanical scrubber which scrubs off the remaining fruit. This process is more reliable then Ferment and Wash, however the fermentation process adds flavors to the coffee that many roasters would like to keep intact.
3. After the fruit is removed the coffee needs to be dried. It is dried by using a machine, or by spreading the coffee out on large patios to dry in the sun (if it is placed on patios the drying is often finished by machine). This brings the coffee down to a moisture content of 10% which makes the bean stable.
4. The drying process not only makes the bean stable it also drys up a coating on the outside of the bean called parchment. This makes it easy to remove this outer layer. The parchment is generally removed by a machine, this process is called hulling. After the hulling is complete some folks have an additional step called polishing where the bean is rubbed to improve the way the bean looks and to decrease the about of chaff that comes off in the roasting process. However polishing is looked down on by many people since the process heats up the bean which can be detrimental to the overall flavor of the coffee. 

Now the coffee has been processed! It now just needs to be cleaned, sorted and go through grading. Which we will talk about at a later time. Do you know which CA coffees are washed? If you guessed our Guatemalla and our Honduras you're right!

Bach and Babies

Did you know that the brilliant piece of music by J.S. Bach, the Coffee Cantata, was composed in an effort to counter a movement in Europe in the early 18th century that was trying to fight against coffee. Opponents of coffee at this time argued that coffee was unhealthy and would render the drinker sterile. If a woman were to drink coffee, people were told, she must forgo bearing children. Yikes!

Well I have living proof that their add campaign was indeed a lie, and a terrible one at that!

Last week my wife went into labor and gave birth to my (Billy Kangas') first child! The labor started around 4AM so the first thing I did was brew up some of our Guatemala and put it in my porcelain to go mug. It helped me get up and to the hospital. By one o'clock I was holding my new born son in my arms!

Our roaster Jonathan says that the Guatemala has all four D's: delicious, delightful, delectable, and decadent. I couldn't agree more, but after dealing with a newborn child for the past week I would like to add one more: de-drowsing.

This week I would like to share with you a bit of Bach's Coffee Contata.
You can read the lyrics in English here, which I recommend since they are actually very entertaining.

Enjoy!

WIN FREE COFFEE from Coffee Ambassadors + NEW COFFEES!

There are a lot of really exciting things happening at CA. 

First of all we have NEW greens! There are two NEW coffee offerings available, both of which are very exciting.

First: Our Guatemala comes from a new farm Finca Villaure, and we couldn't be happier with what's coming out in the cup. This coffee comes from the Huehuetenango region, which is renowned for it's unique fruity taste.

A little bit about Guatemala

Guatemala is located just south of Mexico in Central america and has been growing coffee as one of it's major crops since the 1870's. Guatemalan coffees are known for having plenty of acidity that many describe as "winey". This tends to come out more clearly and with a better body when grown at higher elevations (as is ours).

We have found that this new Guatemala goes very well with the Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza Brazil. And have unleashed a BRAND NEW espresso blend we are calling the Blue Dragon. Make sure you check it out!

Second, our Honduras

This years Honduras once again comes from the Rancho Ebenezer Farm on the mountain of San Matias. If you haven't read the incredible story of our involvement with this farm check it out

A little bit about Honduras

Located just East of Guatemala, Honduras is a country that has been slowly gaining notoriety in the coffee world. Just ten years ago it was rare that anyone was talking about Honduran coffee.  But in the last decade coffee seems to have gotten better and better. This is certainly true of our partnership with the folks at Rancho Ebenezer. Last year this coffee was my pic for Coffee of the year at CA, and this year it's even better. Make sure you pick up some!

New Blog Writer

Another new feature at CA is ME. My name is Billy Kangas. I have been working with coffee and writing about it for the better part of a decade now. I have recently been brought on staff with CA to keep you all updated on the goings on in the Coffee World in general and at CA in particular. I hope I can start to build a relationship with you all!

FREE COFFEE CONTEST!!!

We will be offering a free bag of coffee to the first person who can answer the following question:

Which of the following is NOT a Coffee growing region in Guatemala

A) The Antigua Valley

B) The Coban region

C) San Marco

D) The Pacamara Provence

We will be giving the prize to the first person to post on twitter with the hash tag #coffeeambassadors or who posts on the facebook group 

Cup of Excellence

This Sunday I'm headed down to Honduras for a week to serve on the jury for the Cup of Excellence. I'll be sampling and scoring more coffees than I can imagine over the course of the week. I've never done cupping at this level before. It's easy to distinguish between great and poor quality coffees. But, these coffees have already been through two rounds of sampling. So, I feel honored to be one among twelve other professionals determining which coffees are the most elite.

Portland Roasting does a good job of explaining how the CoE serves the farmer well in this brief video:



Attending the CoE is a great step for Coffee Ambassadors. It opens numerous doors for relationships with farmers who are working hard to produce a quality product in hopes of earning a good wage for their coffee.

I'm planning on paying our friends a visit at Rancho Ebenezer while I'm in Honduras as well. My hope is that in the coming years, their coffee will be recognized as one of the most elite in all of Honduras.