Orchard House Cafe - For Coffee Geeks

The discovery of coffee

Kaldi and his goats. According to legend, a young Ethiopian goatherd named Kaldi, noticed his goats frolicking over the hillsides after eating some red berries from a dark leafed shrub. Even the oldest and weakest were romping wildly with a heretofore unknown energy, so Kaldi tried eating some of the berries himself, and experienced their powerful effect.

Live coffee beans.

The head of a nearby monastery sampled some of the fruits himself, and prescribed them to his monks to help them stay awake during extended hours of prayer. Word spread to other monasteries, and coffee began to proliferate. A brew was made from the cherry and bean together. The drink came to be known as Qahwah, which means “invigorating and stimulating.”

The first coffee houses opened in Cairo and Mecca.

The stages of coffee roasting

The most significant points during roasting:

Turn-Around: The point where the temperature stops falling and starts rising again.
Yellow: The beans have lost all of their green coloration and have taken on an intense yellow color.
First Pop: The beans make a popping sound similar to popcorn and double in size. This is the lightest usable roast level and is called the called the Cinnamon Roast because of the color. Most canned supermarket coffee is roasted to this level. This coffee can be used, but the only flavor that has developed is an intense, sour acidity.
Second Pop: The beans begin popping again and the oils come to the surface of the bean. This is when most of the body, mouth feel and desirable single origin characteristics are developed.
Finish: After one or two additional minutes, the color and oil development have reached just the right point and the roaster discharges the coffee into the cooling tray. The cooling tray has a powerful fan that draws cold air through the coffee so that it cools evenly.

Coffee tasting

Among all foods coffee is second only to wine in its variety of flavor indicators! In fact, tastings are conducted in much the same manner as wine tastings. By brewing one cup at a time, qualities which help give a coffee its brightness, smoothness, a hint of chocolate, cloves or fruit, for example, stand out. More and more, coffees are grown to emphasize their unique flavors.

Coffee Tasting Terms:

Flavor, Aroma, Acidity, Body

Additional coffee descriptors:

Bitter, Earthy, Flat, Fruity, Light, Mellow, Nutty, Rich, Sour, Spicy

Coffee and the rainforest alliance

Many coffees are now certified as having been grown in areas where efforts are made to conserve the resources of the land.

The Rainforest Alliance has 3 major initiatives:

Sustainable Agriculture: This is at the center of the Rainforest Alliance’s efforts. To conserve ecosystems by protecting healthy soils, rivers and wildlife and by promoting dignified living conditions for farm workers and neighboring rural communities. Cash crops such as coffee, tea, bananas, cocoa, citrus, ferns and cut flowers often grow where tropical forests once thrived.
Forestry: The Alliance seeks to reconcile the demand for lumber and flora with the shrinking supply through planned harvesting processes.
Tourism: By developing and promoting tourism to areas of natural beauty and biodiversity, tourist dollars replace ready cash paid for lumber. And tourism is replenishable.

Fair Trade Coffees Overview:

Fair prices: Fair Trade Certification means organized farmer co-ops receive a guaranteed minimum price per pound of coffee and an additional premium for certified organic products. This means smaller farms are protected from the fluctuations in the coffee market by pooling resources with other growers.
Fair working conditions: Workers on Fair Trade farms are ensured safe working conditions and living wages.

...A Little Something For You Coffee Geek Wannabes