The Coffee Poet

Why should professionals have all the fun? 'Cuppers' taste coffee as an adjunct to professional buying, judging contests, writing reviews and so forth. But the joy of sitting before a half-dozen cups of Tanzanian Peaberry, Monsoon Mysore and the rest is a delight anyone can experience.

The cupper tastes (and smells) for aroma, flavor, body, acidity, finish and a wide variety of more subtle attributes. To reproduce the professional setting at home one can start with a simple arrangement.

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True coffee aficionados always drink their coffee straight, right? Wrong! There are, if anything, more blends and flavorings of coffee than there are of wine. Cast off your confines and let loose with the 101 different ways to enjoy nature's gift.

The creativity of blenders is inexhaustible. One Indonesian blend is a combination of Sumatran and Papua New Guinea beans that makes for a delicious, full-bodied brew. Who even knew that Papua New Guineans grew coffee?

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In the 1930s, physicists started discovering a whole zoo full of exotic atomic particles. There were muons and kaons and who-knows-what-else-ons. When told of these, the famous physicist Enrico Fermi said: 'If I wanted to remember all that I would have become a botanist.' Ironically, later he invented the process used in atomic bombs.

I feel the same way about coffee. It may be fascinating and delicious and even romantic, but sheesh - all those names!

There's the elegant and simple Frappe, but with a silent 'e'. Widely consumed in Europe and Latin America, it's a cold espresso made with two teaspoons of sugar and milk with crushed ice cubes. For a nice variation, add a quarter cup each of brandy and crème de cacao. Since it's served with a straw, I just wish those drinking it were silent, too.

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That a mere beverage could generate so many romantic tales and so much hard-headed business is a wonder. Yet from its beginnings to the present, this dark and pungent liquid has fascinated, cured and enriched billions the world over.

Legends abound about the origins of the coffee plant, but the most reliable histories put its discovery in Ethiopia somewhere around 500 BC. From there, after observing the stimulating effects of its berries, travelers brought it to Arabia, where it acquired the name.

The Renaissance gave birth not only to science and art, but the commercial production and known-world distribution of what would later be called 'that heathenish liquid'. By the late 18th century both plantations and drinking popularity had spread to Europe, Asia, the Middle East, South and North America and to every social class.

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Home wine makers will be happy to hear that roasting coffee beans is even easier - and the results are often as good as the pros.

A variety of roaster types are available, but even a frying pan or popcorn popper can be used. Be sure to start with ultra-clean equipment, though. Nothing spoils the taste of coffee like left over fish oils or butter.

Dark roasts contain a little less caffeine than lighter roasts, but they lack the acid taste of the latter. Be sure to start with quality beans, of course!
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That a mere beverage could generate so many romantic tales and so much hard-headed business is a wonder. Yet from its beginnings to the present, this dark and pungent liquid has fascinated, cured and enriched billions the world over.

Legends abound about the origins of the coffee plant, but the most reliable histories put its discovery in Ethiopia somewhere around 500 BC. From there, after observing the stimulating effects of its berries, travelers brought it to Arabia, where it acquired the name.

The Renaissance gave birth not only to science and art, but the commercial production and known-world distribution of what would later be called 'that heathenish liquid'. By the late 18th century both plantations and drinking popularity had spread to Europe, Asia, the Middle East, South and North America and to every social class.

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A 'barista' is someone who makes coffee drinks as a profession. Naturally, that experience will shape how beans are judged.

'Cuppers' (coffee contest judges or professional tasters) and company buyers share the barista's goal of finding beans which produce a great drink. But it's the barista who stands in front of the final consumer every day and receives immediate feedback on the success or failure of those efforts.

So, let's find out what the barista thinks about a bean and its product...

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Here's a short look at how coffee makes its way from the beans that are picked to the shelves where you can buy it, ready to brew...

From its origins over two thousand years ago, coffee bean processing has grown to a worldwide market whose output as a commodity has a dollar value second only to petroleum.

Though there are dozens of bean varieties, the plants fall into two main classes: the arabica, first cultivated on the Arabian Peninsula, and the robusta which contains about twice the caffeine.

By contrast to wine, the coffee berry (called a 'cherry') is not valued for its fruit, but only for the bean inside. It's that bean that is aged, roasted, ground and brewed to make the 400 million cups per day consumed around the world.

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Recently a variety of the coffee tree was discovered that naturally contains almost no caffeine. Until and unless that species finds its way into commercial production, we're left with the current methods for removing unwanted caffeine from coffee. But how do those methods affect the taste of our java?

Blind taste tests suggest that most people can't really tell the difference between decaf and regular, provided both kinds are processed properly and the cup brewed well. But, for those who can...

Among the methods for removing caffeine from coffee is treatment with hot water, followed by rinsing in methylene chloride.
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Coffee roasters - the mechanical device, not the human profession - come in all shapes and sizes. Prices range from a few dozen dollars to nearly a thousand. Of course, as with any manufactured product, price doesn't necessarily correlate exactly with quality. Beyond looking to a reliable brand, here are a few tips about what to look for, based on your goals.

How much involvement do you want?

Some people just have a bit of the chemist in them. They like to mix and stir, whir and measure. Roasters vary along this dimension. Some simple stove top models are basically just a sauce pan with a tight lid and a special handle.

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