Coffee 101:

History, Selection & Brewing Perfection

 Interesting Fact
Hawaii is the only state in the
U.S. that commercially grows
coffee.
 CLASS OVERVIEW
LECTURE:
HISTORY OF COFFEE
SELECTING COFFEE
BREWING THE PERFECT CUP

DEMONSTRATION & HANDS-ON:

FRENCH PRESS, V60, CLEVER
YOUR TURN
Q&A
 HISTORY OF COFFEE

“The story of how an unknown shrub became one of the

most cultivated plants in the world is one of mystery,
treachery, and intrigue. It’s rise to fame came amidst
protests, slander, and revolution. In it’s wake, cultures
were transformed, governments changed, and the
western world was brought out of it’s stupor. There is
arguably no beverage as complex--both in it’s chemical
composition and it’s history--as coffee.”
-William Kangas
 HISTORY OF COFFEE
But, first....... WHAT IS COFFEE?
The pit of a fruit!
Processed (washed, semi-washed, dry)
Roasted
Brewed
United States #1 Food Import
Global Economy’s 2nd most traded commodity
1) center cut
2) bean
3) silver skin
4) parchment
5) pectin layer
6) pulp
7) outer skin
HISTORY OF COFFEE
A TIMELINE
9th Century - The precise origin of coffee is one shrouded in
mystery. The most common legend about the origin of coffee tells
the story of a goat herder named Kaldi who tried the beans after
he witnessed his goats dancing. He connected their prancing with
the strange fruit they had been eating, which is known today as
coffee.

15th Century - The first credible mention of coffee does not

appear until the 15th century, where it is found used within sufi
monasteries. The fruit was dried and boiled making a drink they
called quawah which means wine. This new drink was used to
replace wine in these communities religious rituals and to help keep
them awake while praying.
HISTORY OF COFFEE
A TIMELINE
16th Centrury - By this century coffee had spread throughout the
middle east, and Northern Africa. A history of it’s legal
controversies was published by Abd al-Qadir al-Jaziri at this time,
and the first coffee house was opened in Istanbul.

17th Century - Coffee had made it’s way into Italy and people
started to protest it. Legend says that a delegation came to Pope
Clement VIII requesting that he ban it. Instead he is said to have
tried it, and liked it so much that he baptized it. In 1645 the first
European coffee house opened in Venice. Another coffee shop called
The Blue Bottle opened in 1686 in Vienna. They are said to have
been the first place to serve coffee with milk.
HISTORY OF COFFEE
A TIMELINE
18th Century - Coffee exploded in Europe and in the American
Colonies. Thousands of coffee houses were opened. Coffee was
quickly becoming a player in western history. The American
revolution was hatched in a coffee house in Boston called The Green
Dragon. Lloyd's of London was founded in a coffee shop at this
time, too. Many coffee houses banned women from entry. The
famous French woman mathematician, Émilie du Châtelet had to
wear drag to enter one. The first coffee plant was brought into the
western hemisphere through the efforts of Frenchman Gabriel de
Clieu, who brought the first coffee plant to the french colonies in
1720, keeping it alive by sharing his water rations with it. The plant
flourished and quickly spread.
HISTORY OF COFFEE
A TIMELINE
19th Century - Due to colonial interests coffee quickly became one
of the most common products grown across the globe in areas
suitable for coffee growth. Varietals were being brought back and
forth between America and Africa. Interestingly coffee plants from
Brazil started to be used in Kenya which is just south of Ethiopia,
where coffee originated 400 years earlier. In the coffeehouse
scene cliques that had begun meeting in coffee houses became
more established as clubhouses, gentleman's clubs, chess clubs,
yacht clubs, motor clubs, and even became residential venues for
like minded individuals to lodge.
HISTORY OF COFFEE
A TIMELINE
20th Century - Coffee production continued to spread with Brazil
producing nearly 40% of all coffee. During this century the world
saw the birth and spread of a new way of making coffee called
espresso. Although, in the United States espresso was mostly
targeted at European immigrant communities for the first half of
the century, in the 60s it began to be marketed to the general
American population. It was made popular in large part due to
Starbucks. In the 90s people began to be concerned with the
social ethics of where their coffee came from and Fair Trade coffee
became popular.
HISTORY OF COFFEE
A TIMELINE
21st Century - A new focus of coffee quality often called “third
wave” emerged as a major movement in the coffee industry. Many
micro-roasters and home-roasters began to emerge. Coffee began
to be viewed as something that could be enjoyed with the same
care and complexity as a fine wine.
 Interesting Fact
Robusta coffee contains twice the
caffeine as arabica coffee.
 SELECTING COFFEE
UNDERSTANDING IT’S JOURNEY
With every coffee comes a compelling story. In most
cases, the story begins on a small coffee farm in a
developing nation and ultimately ends in the cup of an
enthusiastic caffeine seeker. The story of specialty
coffee, however, involves much greater attention given to
the details of the journey that a particular coffee
takes; from the soil of it’s farm, through the careful
hands of pickers, to the washing station, onto the drying
patio, to parchment storage, to the dry-mill, to the port
for export, to the importer’s warehouse, through a
roaster, to a retail establishment, through a grinder and
the skillful hands of a barista, into the brewing device
of choice, and finally....into a cup for your consumption.
 SELECTING COFFEE
UNDERSTANDING IT’S JOURNEY
Country of Origin - Coffee is commercially grown in nearly 50
countries spanning the tropics of Capricorn and Cancer.
 SELECTING COFFEE
UNDERSTANDING IT’S JOURNEY
Species - The two main commercially harvested species are
Robusta (Canephora) and Arabica. In specialty coffee we are
exclusively dealing with the Arabica species. While higher grade
Robustas are sometimes used in espresso blends, they are generally
used for lower grade, conventional coffees, especially when the
coffee market price is high.

Arabica Varietals - There are a number of varietals that are

commercially grown throughout the coffee producing world. Some
varietals are more commonly found in certain countries over others.
The varietal of a coffee has great significance as it pertains to
what flavors will be found in the cup. Some common varietals
include typica, bourbon, caturra, catuai, catimor, mundo novo,
maragogype, blue mountain and, the recently popular, gesha.
 SELECTING COFFEE
UNDERSTANDING IT’S JOURNEY
Growing Conditions

Tropical Climate

Nutrient Rich Soil

Altitude

SHB (Strictly Hard Bean), SHG (Strictly High Grown)

Dense Bean = Depth of flavor development

 SELECTING COFFEE
UNDERSTANDING IT’S JOURNEY
Processing Coffee -

How a coffee is processed is one of the single most influential

contributors to how a coffee tastes in the cup.

Coffee is processed one of three ways on the same day that it

is picked:

Washed Process

Semi-Washed Process

Natural Process
 SELECTING COFFEE
UNDERSTANDING IT’S JOURNEY
PROCESS ELEMENTS

WASHED SEMI-WASHED NATURAL

pulped pulped put out to dry

fermented put out to dry
washed
put out to dry

AKA: Wet Processed AKA: pulped-natural, AKA: dry-processed

honey-processed
 SELECTING COFFEE
UNDERSTANDING IT’S JOURNEY
FLAVOR ELEMENTS

WASHED SEMI-WASHED NATURAL

Clean Sweet Heavy Body

Bright Gentle Brightness Very Sweet
Distinct Smooth Body Complex
 SELECTING COFFEE
UNDERSTANDING IT’S JOURNEY
COUNTRIES COMMONLY FOUND IN

WASHED SEMI-WASHED NATURAL

Latin America Sulawesi Indonesia

An increasing Papua New Guinea Brazil
number of coffee
producing nations Brazil Some African
Countries
An increasing
number of
countries are
experimenting with
this method
 SELECTING COFFEE
UNDERSTANDING IT’S JOURNEY
The next series of photographs display the “washed”, or, “wet-
processed” method of processing coffee. The photos trace
coffee from it’s infancy in a nursery all the way to the dry mill
where coffee is graded and ultimately bagged up for export.
These photographs were taken while on a trip to Finca Vista
Hermosa, one of our staple coffee suppliers in Guatemala.
 Interesting Fact
Lightly roasted coffees contain
MORE caffeine than darker
roasts
 SELECTING COFFEE
UNDERSTANDING IT’S JOURNEY
Grading and Classifying Coffees -

Bean size

Peaberry

AA

AB

Cupping used to identify defects and evaluate coffees

 SELECTING COFFEE
UNDERSTANDING IT’S JOURNEY
Packaging for export -

Jute Sacks (burlap)

Vacuum Sealed and put in boxes

Grainpro Bags inside a Jute sack

SELECTING COFFEE
UNDERSTANDING IT’S JOURNEY

DECAFFEINATION
Outer bean structure made permeable by applying hot water
or steam

Caffeine is allowed to exit bean structure

various methods of extracting caffeine without extracting

flavor

Re-drying beans to original moisture content

 SELECTING COFFEE
UNDERSTANDING IT’S JOURNEY

DECAFFEINATION
METHYLENE
ETHYL ACETATE CO2 WATER
CHLORIDE

Methylene chloride is Ethyl Acetate is mixed Carbon Dioxide is Initial batch immersed
mixed in with the water in with water to be an applied either in liquid and soaked in water
immersed coffee. The agent that the caffeine form in a similar then discarded leaving a
methylene chloride particles attach to. The manner as ethyl acetate flavor saturated and
attracts the caffeine to Ethyl Acetate and water is used or in it’s caffeinated water.
itself. The caffeinated mixture along with supercritical state Caffeine is removed by
water and methylene caffeine are then whereby high pressure running through
chloride solution is then flushed from the tank is required to draw the activated carbon filters.
flushed. Process is in which the process is caffeine out of contact This flavor concentrated
repeated until caffeine taking place. This with the bean. water is recycled with
content us below legal application is repeated a new batch of beans,
standard of 2.5% until caffeine levels absorbing caffeine while
reach below the legal leaving flavor in the
standard of 2.5% bean.
 SELECTING COFFEE
UNDERSTANDING IT’S JOURNEY
Importing

Large warehousing at ports

Smaller supply at inland warehouses

 SELECTING COFFEE
UNDERSTANDING IT’S JOURNEY
Certifications

Fairtrade

Organic

Rainforest Alliance

Shadegrown

Bird Friendly

Utz Kapheh
 SELECTING COFFEE
UNDERSTANDING IT’S JOURNEY
A word on Fairtrade versus Direct Trade
 SELECTING COFFEE
UNDERSTANDING IT’S JOURNEY
The Roaster (CA/Ipsento is a roaster)

small-batch botique vs. large scale production

roast-to-order

fresh

artisan/craft vs. automated

human senses utilized

unique profiling vs. streamlined consistency

drum vs. air

 SELECTING COFFEE
UNDERSTANDING IT’S JOURNEY
A word on cupping
 SELECTING COFFEE
UNDERSTANDING IT’S JOURNEY
Packaging
Enemies of coffee:
oxygen
moisture
light
Degassing Valve
Nitrogen (nitrous oxide) Infused bags
Tin-Tie Bags
Should I refrigerate? Or, should I freeze my coffee?
BREWING PERFECTION
WHERE TASTE AND SCIENCE COLLIDE
Important Factors

grind

water temperature

water filtration & mineral content

paper filter/mesh filter type

cleanliness of brewing equipment

coffee to water ratio (1:17)

BREWING PERFECTION
WHERE TASTE AND SCIENCE COLLIDE
Important Tools

Burr Grinder

Gram Scale

Water Kettle

Timer

Brewing Device of Choice

BREWING PERFECTION
WHERE TASTE AND SCIENCE COLLIDE
Various Brew-by-the-Cup methods

Clever

V-60

French Press

Chemex

Syphon
THIS CONCLUDES THE
LECTURE PORTION OF
THE CLASS.