Gourmet Coffee: What’s in your cup?

By: Cathryn Piccrillo
Published: April 1, 2011

If you’re anything like me, the first thing you crave in the morning is coffee. The flavor and aroma wakes you up as nothing else can. However, with work, your commute and children, a nice brew prepared in the comfort of your own home often falls by the wayside.

CBS recently conducted a survey that found 50-percent of American consumers to be coffee drinkers. Of these, on average, an American coffee drinker will guzzle three or four cups per day. Other research found that about 20-percent of consumers were making ground coffee while 80-percent were buying blends during their commute to work This begs the question: Isn’t that just throwing money away?

As the recession rages on, this statistic is shifting. Clearly, an obvious advantage of making your own coffee is saving money. The other beauty behind buying ground coffee or beans is that you know a little more about the brand. Buyers get a glimpse into how the beans are processed and sourced. One factor preventing people from buying and making their coffee at home is a lack of knowledge about flavor profiles. Hopefully, our investigation into the newest coffee products in the industry will help consumers define who they are as drinkers and retailers can encourage experimentation in the coffee market.

The Science Behind Coffee
There is a science and a formula behind producing the perfect coffee and espresso. Dr. Joseph John, founder of Josuma Coffee, has spent 19 years perfecting this process. Originally educated as a nuclear physicist, John gets that creating a balanced brew involves understanding the science and technology behind extracting the oil from coffee beans.

“Our primary Function is to import high grade coffee exclusively from India,” John says. “Most people in the U.S. don’t even know that India produces coffee, but it’s actually the sixth leading importer. Our goals are to import green coffee, sell it to roasters all over the U.S. and Canada and to apply a level of technology that the industry is missing.”

He explains that many consumers don’t understand the nuances behind a great cup of coffee or espresso. “To appreciate a good espresso you need to know the difference between espresso and strong coffee,” he says. “Ninety-five percent of espresso sold in the U.S. is brewed coffee prepared in an espresso machine There’s chemistry behind the process. Your hot water should have direct contact with the coffee. Most brewers understand this and adhere. But if they stop at this point they’ve solely created strong coffee. For an espresso, they then need to apply high pressure in order to extract oils in ground coffee.”

John continues to explain that these oils produce a better-flavored coffee, as they eliminate much of the bitterness. With brewed coffee, much of the flavor is released in the aroma. The oil pockets in the foam of an espresso, called the crema, holds this aroma in. “These bubbles burst in your mouth and release the aroma. It’s where all the sensation and flavor comes from.” John says.

Josuma, through its Malabar Gold Espresso, has created a high-end espresso with more crema than any other in the U.S. “Crema is the crux of the espresso. Gold is an European, light roast. Because it’s lightly roasted, the oils in the coffee stay in the bean to be driven out later during the process. It is also a low acid espresso. That’s important because espresso is five times stronger than coffee. High acidity, therefore, can’t be tolerated by our taste-buds.”

When asked to describe the beverage in two words. John says Malabar Cold is smooth and balanced. “It’s like an aged cognac sliding easily down your throat.”

From Tea to Coffee
Brands of Britain is a U.S. importer who built a solid reputation on introducing an American constituency to European brands. They’re notorious for top-notch teas and
recently started dabbling in the gourmet coffee industry.

“What’s happening in the U.K. is inverse to what’s gone on in the U.S.,” Brands of Britain President Mark Rajeski says. “People there are becoming more and more interested in the coffee market and being educated about coffee. In the U.S., there has always been a profound interest in coffee and people are starting to learn more and care about tea. It wasn’t that long ago that a basic cup of tea was a basic cup of tea. In the last decade, the interest — particularly in the female gender — has grown. They’re asking questions, expanding knowledge and sampling different teas. This, of course, has also continued with coffee too.”

Brands of Britain has partnered with Taylors of Harrogate to launch its new coffee range, the Lifestyle Range, in the U.S. “The range we’re launching has seven items,” Rajeski says. “All the beans are Arabica — with the exception of the Hot Lava Java blend that uses some high end robusta beans. What’s nice about the line is it’s not solely premium coffee, it’s premium coffee that’s consumer friendly.”

Rajeski explains that the packaging not only describes where the beans are from, it gives a flavor profile description so consumers will understand which blend best suits them. “We’re not targeting an unsophisticated coffee drinker,” he says “But, we’re trying to provide a more substantial code and suggestion for what they’ll enjoy and when they’re most likely to enjoy it.”

Taylors of Harrogate sources beans from 49 different suppliers across 20 countries. “The thing about Taylors is they’ve been in the industry since the late 1800s.” Rajeski says. “So, they’re well respected within the growing community. They’ve been working in the same regions and on the same estates for generations and all their relationships are well founded.” Moreover, they’re a company with a cause. “The CEO [from Taylors of Harrogate] has personal relationships within the growing community so giving back is always important.” Rajeski says. “He started an initiative to plant trees in these communities to prevent mudslides. The overall goal is to save 3.7 million acres of land. While that sounds like an arbitrary number, it’s actually the size of Yorkshire County in England where Taylors started.”

All in the Family
Like so many other industries, coffee is all about tradition. And, at F. Gaviña & Sons Inc., this tradition is passed on from generation to generation.

“My great-grandfather left Spain and started a coffee farm in Cuba.” says Michael Gaviña, purchasing manager for Gaviña gourmet coffee. “My grandfather, Francisco, was therefore born on a coffee farm. Rather than stay in Cuba though, he left to study business in Georgia until the Great Depression. Even though coffee prices plummeted, we continued to grow and roast coffee during that time. When Castro came into power, my family fled Cuba. leaving everything behind to wait out the tyranny in Spain. In the end, we never went back. We started over in the U.S.”

Now, Francisco Gaviña’s predecessors honor him by creating the Don Francisco Reserve line, which bears his name. “We take the finest beans and include them in our family reserve line.” Gaviña says. “As a fourth generation business, we know that quality is what sells products. When prices go crazy, we’re not going to tweak our recipes to accommodate because that wouldn’t be favorable in the long run.” As a brand, Gaviña sources beans from a variety of countries. However, on average, it’s been found that Colombian coffees are met with the most mass success. “Colombia is where we
get the majority of our beans because it produces the most well-balanced blends.” he says.

“Colombian beans also produce blends with a fair amount of acidity.” And, while Gaviña would recommend any of the company’s products, his favorite is the family reserve Breakfast Blend. “The Breakfast Blend has a little more body than traditional cups of coffee. It’s also very complex,” Gavina says. “One of my favorite things about it is the beautiful aftertaste.” Even as the recession continues to have an impact on all industries, Gaviña believes that a love and longing for premium coffee will continue to ensure brand recognition. “Coffee, especially good coffee, is expensive to produce,” he says. “But, the moment you taste something better, you don’t want to leave it. I think consumers, even with the price increase. will continue to buy premium coffee.”

Flavored Coffee
Often, flavored coffees get the short end of the stick. They’re viewed as inadequate because many mass producers use artificial flavor to ensure the coffee is popular, despite unsophisticated palates. Often artificial flavors mask the taste of the coffee beans themselves. Neighbors Coffee quickly realized this would be a mistake. All the flavors should act harmoniously to enhance both the blend and the coffee drinking experience.

Phil Huggard, the product manager of Neighbors Coffee, understands that in order to produce gourmet coffee you must use quality ingredients. Therefore, Neighbors solely uses Arabica beans. “We don’t use any fillers,” Huggard says. “The difference between Arabica and robusta beans can be seen in both the aroma of the coffee and the overall flavor. Arabica beans are going to have a sweeter smell, akin to blueberries. Their flavor is equally bold. Robusta beans have a neutral to harsh taste that’s unpleasant.” That being said, a good robusta blend can be better than a bad Arabica blend, which is why Neighbors uses the top 10-percent of quality Arabica beans. “We’ve been in business a long time, since l972,” Huggard says. “So, we know how to make a coffee that’s far from inferior. All our flavors are roasted to order and they’re delivered the next day. They are always fresh!”

While Neighbors has 200 flavored coffees, its trademark is Snickerdoodle. The original and award-winning blend mixes the spicy flavors of cinnamon and hazelnut. Surprisingly, the coffee isn’t overpowered with sweetness and drinkers can still appreciate the smoothness of the blend.

Behind the Beans
Your source for decoding coffee terminology

Have you ever walked into your local café or coffee shop and just stared at the impressive number of options available? As consumer interest in the gourmet coffee industry grows, so must the knowledge of what’s behind a good brew. In order to evaluate your beans, you must first decode coffee terminology.

• Acidity: the brightness or sources of a coffee
• Americano: Prepared by adding ht water to espresso, giving a similar strength but different flavor than regular drip coffee. Its strength depends on the number of espresso shots and the amount of water applied.
• Aroma: he sensation of the gases released from brewed coffee, ranging from fruity to herby, as they are inhaled through the nose.
• Body: the physical properties of the beverage resulting in the tactile sensations perceived in the mouth during and after ingestion.
• Cappuccino: ½ espresso, ½ steamed milk and stiff milk foam
• Coffee Arabica: The species name assigned to a coffee tree. Arabica beans are generally considered higher quality than its competitor, robusta.
• Depth: The resonance or sensual power behind the sensations that drive the taste of coffee.
• Espresso: A concentrated coffee beverage brewed by forcing hot water under pressure through finely ground coffee.
• French Roast: Bean is roasted high enough to bring the natural oil of the coffee to the surface.
• Full City Roast: City is a roast that is slightly darker than the American roasting norm. Full City is definitely darker than the norm and sometimes has patches of oil on the surface.
• Heavy Roast: Coffee beans are roasted to a very dark brown with a shiny surface. It’s often called an Italian Roast.
• Latte: ¼ Espresso, ¾ steamed milk and a little foam. A latte has a milder and milkier taste than cappuccinos.
• Mocha: Coffee combined with chocolate.