What makes a bean good?

I had an odd request yesterday when I walked (ok, trudged- it was 8am and I'd been up since 6), into my local cafe. The barista had found out where I worked, and what kind of beans we use, and then he asked me to buy him some. "What?!" I thought, "He works in a cafe that uses perfectly nice beans- why would he want to spend money on the ones we sell? And at almost $40 a kilo at that?!" He must have been huffing too many espresso fumes. I know they do funny things to my brain by the end of the day.

He explained that he likes the taste of Havana beans (the ones we use- roasted by some crazy guys in Wellington) more than the ones they use at his cafe, and he wanted to take Havana away on holiday with him at Easter.

Confession time: I don't like Havana beans much, even though I REALLY want to. This isn't because they aren't good quality- they're just different. I find them bitter, other people find them fierce.

Anyway, so that got me wondering: what makes a good bean?

You need to start with Arabica (or the rarer Typica or Bourbon) plants, of course. I'm not being a snob here either- it's well understood that Arabica is bred for taste, and Robusta for caffeine content and mass production. Nothing personal.

The beans should be grown at the right altitude (this helps ensure that the they don't get too hot or grow too fast and absorb heaps of water- same thing as when strawberries take in too much water and taste bland).

They need to be picked when they're perfectly ripe, and handled carefully so that they arent damaged.

One coffee writer compares coffee cultivation to raising kids- as long as you use the right plants, the beans will start out good. It's then up to the people handling the beans once they're separated from the tree to ensure they don't get damaged (e.g. Don't throw them around too much or they will get bruised...).

But what about after they head out into the big, wide world?

Individual roasters might start out with similar beans- or even, perchance, beans from the same plantation. Yet, something happens which makes Havana beans more preferable to my barista than the ones they use in his cafe, and it has little to do with the initial product.

Both use Fair Trade beans from South America (and yes, there are differences between one coffee-growing region in S America and another, but we're not going to go into that much detail). Both roast in large batches, and both do so here in New Zealand. His cafe's brand vaccuum-packs their beans, Havana doesn't (actually, they would if our owner was willing to pay for it...).

Havana, however, have built their own custom European-style hot air roaster (pictured here), while the other company uses a traditional drum roaster (which, Havana argues, over-bakes the beans). The difference is basically that Havana's beans cook more evenly, and retain more moisture. But whatever, really- I still prefer the other brand's taste, for some reason which is probably best explained by personal quirk rather than scientific analysis. Maybe I like "over-baked" beans, and my barista likes his "moist." What implications this has for my future parenting style, I remain unsure...

Coffee Bean Layout

1) Center Cut

2) Bean (Endosperm)

3) Silver Skin (Testa, Epidermis)

4) Parchment Coat (Hull, Endocarp)

5) pectin Layer

6) Pulp (Mesocarp)

7) Outer Skin (Pericarp, exocarp)

Random Coffee Facts

This morning I was a spaceball and forgot my wallet. Being the coffee freak that I am, my immediate reaction was not the (possibly more rational) thought of "oh, crap, I'm at the petrol station and there are 15 irritable commuters behind me waiting while I fluff around in my purse for spare change," but rather "OH, CRAP! How am I going to pay for my coffee??!!"
Thankfully my local java junky reload station (Dora's Cafe, on Collingwood St- GREAT coffee) was feeling compassionate and allowed me to put my double shot on layby.
Anyway, here are some random coffee facts, stolen from The Oatmeal's website:
1) Legend has it that the effects of coffee were first discovered by an Ethiopian shepard who noticed his goats going apesh*t after eating some little berries.
2) In the beginning, coffee beans were rolled in animal fat by African tribespeople and eaten as a kind of Redbull-esque energy bar.
3) The rise of Islam is largely to thank for the spread of the wonder bean throughout the world- the religion doesn't allow for the consumption of alcohol, but coffee is considered an ok drug of choice.
4) All coffee beans grow in a belt between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.
5) In 1675, the King of England banned cafes, as he feared they were becoming popular meeting points for people who wanted to overthrow him.
5) There are two main types of coffee plants: Arabica and Robusta. Arabica is inarguably better quality in terms of taste, but Robusta contains 50% more caffeine and is often mixed with Arabica in order to provide a stronger "hit."
6) Coffee plants can grow to 10 meters tall.
7) The coffee bean is the second most commonly traded commodity on Earth. Oil is the first.
8) Just to get our facts strait: Espresso is not a type of coffee bean, roast, or blend. It is simply the product of preparing ground coffee in a particular way (though the grind used for espresso-making is finer than that used for filter coffee and other methods).
9) The term "Americano" comes from American GI's during WWII who would dilute their espresso with water in order to make it less bitter.
10) Finland consumes more coffee per person than any other country.

If you're interested in the story of how coffee has traveled the world, read this book...

Stewart Lee Allen is a really entertaining writer- even if you're not a particularly devoted caffein junky, you'll probably think this is a fun read. His journey follows the path that coffee beans took out of Ethiopia and you'll be learning all kinds of java facts without feeling like you're reading a text book :-)

This week I want to talk about COFFEE! Where does it come from, how is it processed, what makes it orgasmic versus what makes it make your mouth twist up, what are some of the different brewing methods, and is there really an art to the perfect espresso shot?