How Coffee Is Made
by Scott | February 12, 2019
If you’ve ever wanted to know about how coffee is made, we wrote this just for you! Visit our award-winning coffee roasting plant for coffee beans, espresso, and the best coffee equipment available today – from Aeropress, Hario V60, Chemex, Clever Dripper, French Press, Yama Vacuum Siphon, Breville espresso machine and Baratza Encore grinders.
Green (Raw) Coffee
It starts with the freshest beans. Imported directly from the farmer and stored in cool conditions away from other products, green coffee can have a shelf life of up to 12 months before the flavor and intensity starts to fade. Green coffee is high in chlorogenic acid, an anti-inflammatory, which can reduce blood pressure, and if you have ever heard of green coffee extract, it’s the chlorogenic acid being sought out and promoted as a weight loss aid.
Fun Fact: Finland consumes the most coffee per capita.
Everyone recognizes a roasted coffee bean. Before it is roasted, the green coffee bean is the seed of the coffee cherry after it is picked, de-pulped, and dried. Coffee cherries grow in bunches along the branches of the coffee shrub. After the flowering of the fragrant, white blossoms, it takes nearly a year for a cherry to mature . Because it grows in a continuous cycle, it is not unusual to see flowers, green fruit, and ripe fruit simultaneously on a single tree. The best terroir for coffee is rich, volcanic soil and high elevations with mild temperatures, frequent rain and shaded sun. The best coffee is hand-picked, constantly turned as it is dried, and carefully sorted for quality. Green coffee has a shelf life of 6 to 12 months.
Home Roasting
Roasted daily for peak flavour and aroma. Coffee starts to lose aromatic compounds starting the day after it’s roasted, even in a sealed bag, eventually becoming flat and lacking in complex aromas. Over the time of about 6 weeks, oxygen starts to creep into the bean and oxidize it. This causes the increase in bitterness associated with store shelf coffee. Oxidation destroys anti-oxidants, which one of the major health benefits of fresh coffee.
Fun Fact: During roasting, coffee pops a little like popcorn, twice.
Home coffee roasting is easy! It only takes 7 to 15 minutes and your reward is the freshest coffee around. Green coffee is half the price of good roasted coffee. We have a huge selection of green coffees, each carefully chosen for quality. Coffee can be roasted in many ways, from home coffee roasting appliance, to the oven, on the stove-top, in a popcorn popper, with a heat gun, or even on the gas grill.
Roasting Coffee
The craft of roasting coffee is a highly developed skill.
Fun Fact: Espresso beans and Coffee beans are not different, only the brewing method is.
Whether your goal is to experience the best light roast Colombian coffee, or to savor a bold, dark roast in the french press, coffee has the potential to offer one of the most complex sensory experiences of all the foods and beverages. As green coffee is roasted, acids and sugars react with heat, turning the coffee brown, caramelizing sugars and creating hundreds of aromatic compounds that contribute to a vast array of smells, tastes and textures. Our artisan roasting team is constantly developing and tasting, driven by a passion to bring out the best aspects in every coffee that we source. Every country of origin, every harvest and every lot has different potential and our roaster develops roast profiles that allow the coffees to speak in their own unique voice, creating a pleasing experience in the cup for our customers.
Brewing Coffee
Brewing coffee should be easy, fun and tasty.
Fun Fact: Forty percent of a coffee bean is soluble in water. Only the first 20% tastes good.
There are dozens of ways to enjoy your fresh roast coffee at home. All involve the same basic steps: grind, steep, filter, enjoy!. Starting with a quality grinder, filtered water, a scale and your brewer of choice, spending a little time learning to make a beautiful, aromatic and complex cup of coffee can be a rewarding experience. Whether you enjoy a delicate, floral, citrusy cup or a bold, syrup, dark brew – there is a coffee and a method for you. From french press to drip, aeropress to espresso, siphon to moka pot, we have you covered with a coffee and the tools to do it up right.
Cafe
Sometimes it’s good to let someone else do the heavy lifting!
Fun Fact: 65% of coffee is consumed at home.
We provide only fresh, roasted-to-order coffee to your cafe. Along with coffee, our wholesale customer gets our expert guidance on the best method and techniques for brewing, along with hands-on training, and all of the cafe supplies needed to keep first-rate coffee your passion. We are obsessed with making the best possible cup of coffee, so don’t shoot us if the coffee tastes better at the cafe. It’s what we do!