Dry-Process: The dry-process (also known as the natural method) produces coffee that is heavy in body, sweet, smooth, and complex.  The dry-process is often used in countries where rainfall is scarce and long periods of sunshine are available to dry the coffee properly.  Most coffees from Indonesia, Ethiopia, Brazil, and Yemen are dry-processed.

Wet-Process: Wet-processing coffees is a relatively new method of removing the four layers surrounding the coffee bean.  This process results in a coffee that is cleaner, brighter, and fruitier.  Most countries with coffee valued for its perceived acidity, will process their coffee using the wet-process.

Pulped Natural: The pulped natural method consists of pulping a coffee, but emitting the fermentation stage to remove the silverskin.  This results in a beverage that has characteristics of both a dry- and wet-processed coffee.  It is often sweeter than wet-processed coffees, has some of the body of a dry-processed coffee, but also retains some of the acidity of a wet-processed coffee.  This type of processing can only occur in countries where the humidity is low and the the coffee covered in the sweet mucilage can be dried rapidly without fermenting.  Brazil has made this method famous and produces some of the best pulped natural coffees in the world. All twenty winners of the Gourmet Cup competition in Brazil in 2000 used pulped natural coffee processing method.

Re-passed:  There is another type of coffee that has emerged on the market called re-passed or raisins.  These coffees are floaters and are usually discarded with the rest of the floaters.  However, they have a flavor profile that some of the world’s best experts find to be much sweeter than traditional pulped coffees.  The cherries float because they have dried too long on the tree before being collected.  This, however, allows the bean to interact with the mucilage for a longer amount of time before the start of fermentation.  The beans are removed from the rest of the floaters using a barrel system developed by Eduardo Sampio in Brazil.  The coffees are then re-passed and pulped.  They can then be washed or used as pulped naturals.  The availability of the curiously sweet re-passed coffees is very limited since it is mainly experimental at this time.

Comparison: The vast majority of coffee producers will claim the virtue of their coffee processing method. In Guatemala, for example, dry processing is a bad word and rightly so. Due to their high humidity a dry processed coffee will almost definitely be fermented, which is why only their lowest grade coffees are dried without pulping. However, in Brazil, dry processing results in a sweet, complex, and heavy-bodied coffee that is almost essential in any good espresso blend. The only conclusion that one can make is that every region has its own proper coffee processing technique and that the processing technique should help attain the flavor profile that is desired by the producer and consumer.

Other Coffee Flavor Contributors: The coffee processing method is usually the single largest contributor to the coffee flavor. The differences between a washed and dry-processed Brazilian coffee from Sul de Minas will generally be more distinct than the differences between two wet-processed coffees from two different regions. However, the microclimate and soil are the next major contributors to the flavor profile of a coffee, and assuming processing is done correctly, they become the most important contributors to the flavor profile.

DEFINITIONS FOR THE VOCABULARY TO DESCRIBE THE FLAVOUR OF A COFFEE BREW

AROMAS

A Green Bean Coffee fluid bed, roasting machine uses a glass chamber to suspend the green beans with a vented screen over a combustion chamber that has gas heated, fan forced air driven through it. The overall design balances air, bean load, and temperature, so that the flow of hot air will levitate green and roasted beans.

At Green Bean we sell two models with differently sized roasting chambers. The differing volumes determine the bean mass (1.2Kg or 600g), air, and temperature requirements. A specific amount of hot air raises the green beans from room temperatures through roast temperatures. Hot air comes from gas burners and is fan driven up through the beans, separating the beans from the chaff and collecting any foreign material at the same time.

Roast times are between nine and eleven minutes, depending on degree of roast. Cooling times are less than six minutes minutes. So you can comfortably expect to get at least three roasts per hour from your roaster.

Because the roast process depends upon convection, the roast chamber preheats quickly. To get a consistent roast you need to add the correct amount of green beans put into the chamber for each roast. There is a designed balance among weight, airflow, roasting temperature, and roast time. The stated capacity of each size of machine is not variable by much, or the balance is defeated.

If the load is too little, the bean mass is so light that it degenerated as airflow increases and bean movement becomes chaotic. The roast goes so long that the beans are grossly uneven. If the amount is too large, the mass is so heavy that upward air pressure from the blower and combustion is overcome. The bottom layer cooks rapidly, without air coming in to spread heat through the mass. The result is charred beans.

The Green Bean Roaster is the only roaster that allows you full 360-degree access to watch the roasting process as it takes place.

The darkness of the roasted coffee is determined by the red LED number on the control panel – from “0″ to “9.” “0″ will be a very light roast, and “9″ will produce an extremely dark roast.
Different coffees will reach different degrees of darkness at the same setting, so you will have to learn the appropriate setting for each type of coffee you will be roasting. This, of course, is a matter of taste.

The settings represent different finish temperatures for the roast. “0″ sets the machine to finish the roasting cycle at 193 degrees C, and each number up from there represents a 3.5 degree C increase in the finish temperature. You can find out what setting is correct for the type of coffee you are roasting by a couple of different methods. One is to start at a setting of “4″ and, by trial and error, do roasts until you find what number is right.

A more systematic way of doing this would be to set the machine to roast level “9″, then roast the unknown coffee until it looks right. Then, hold down both “arrow” keys at the same time. The LED window will scroll off the temperature in degrees C. You can then use the “Gas” switch to cut off the roast and start the cooling cycle. For the next roast, you can simply set the machine to terminate the roast cycle at the temperature that you observed.

The profile set, you start the Green Bean Roaster and watch the beans tumble and dance as the fan driven air brings them up to temperature.

The temperature is increased slowly as we want the beans to lose a certain amount of moisture. You’ll notice that a decimal point will appear in the LED display during the roast cycle. This indicates that the burner is actually operating. The burner will have a number of six-second off pulses during the roast, as microcomputer adjusts the roast rate. But if it is off for more than six seconds, you know the roast has concluded, and that the machine is in the cooling cycle.
Because the roast cycle is controlled by temperature rather than time, the results of the machine are very repeatable, although there can be some slight variation in colour if the machine is very cold at the start of the roast.
There is no need to let the machine “rest” between roasts. It is built to withstand continuous operation.

In Green Bean fluid bed machines, the balance among air volume, temperature, and bean weight creates the fluid bed, and it sets limits for roasting to the desired temperature.
Roasting goes only to the selected temperature. Once the terminal temperature is set, there is little to do during roasting. When the gas combustion chamber switches off, the fan continues to force room temperature air through the roasted coffee beans. This fast removal of heat “sets” the flavour in the beans and also prevents over roasting.

It’s important to note that unlike a drum roaster you have no need to remove the beans from the roaster to cool the beans. The Green Bean roaster will automatically switch off when the temperature reaches 36 degrees Celsius (body temperature).

With the right amount of green beans, roasts at specific temperatures will have similarity, roast after roast.

If you’d like more (or less) detail, on the roaster and it’s merits relative to the competition please feel free to contact us for a chat.

Thanks, and happy roasting!

Reputed to have first entered into Italy circa 1604, and with ever increasing demand, the first cafe on Italian soil opened in Venice in 1643, to great success. Though not standing today, it did set a precedent in Venetian culture, which fostered many cafes to exist.

The worlds longest surviving cafe is Florians, sited on St. Marks Square opposite Basilica San Marco.
Opening in 1722, Florian has served coffee to the public through a turbulent period of history and boasts many illuminaries of history as its coffee clients, including Cassanova.

Opposite on St. marks Square is Cafe Lavena and Cafe Quadri, which opened their doors a few years after Florians. All host sumptuous rich interiors of paneled wood, gilded mirrors, fine paintings and Murano glass chandeliers.

Elsewhere in Italy, many historic cafes exist today. One of the most loved, is Cafe Grecco in Rome. Situated near the Spanish Steps and opening in 1760, Cafe Grecco became the salon for many artists and musicians throughout history. Today Romans stand at the front bar for a quick espresso coffee and pastry, while those who want to linger and soak-up the rich atmosphere, sit inside the salon and take time to relax over coffee.

Italy hosts many exquisite historic cafes. Cafes such as – Cafe Platti in Turin, Cafe Zucca in Milan, Cafe Gilli in Florence, Cafe Gambrinus in Naples, plus hundreds more, are fine examples of a coffee era of bygone days. These are much loved by the Italian populace who frequent them as highly relevant cafes of today.

Soon inventors toiled with boiler pressure to extract more soluble particles, in a shorter period of time. Solving this problem was the greatest and most exciting development in the history of coffee. International patent offices are full of attempts to solve this challenge, but it was not until 1901, when Bezzera patented a new machine with single handle and boiler, that the problem was finally overcome.

In 1902 Bezzera sold the patent to an industrialist and friend, Desidero Pavoni, who proceeded to perfect the steam relief valve, which allowed the controlling of steam pressure and certainly made the espresso machine a lot safer. This friendship and the resultant commercial application of of Bezzera’s patent, became the basis of the first commercially available, volume produced machines, to bars and cafes across Europe.

Launched in commercial volumes and with increased exposure to an eager public, the Bezzera / Pavoni stand at the 1906 Milan Trade Fair excellerated the uptake of a pressurized extraction of coffee – the espresso was born.

Soon the Victoria Arduino espresso machine joined the Bezzera and Pavoni machines offered to the market and the new category of coffee – ‘Espresso – made espressly for you’ – was embraced by an eager coffee consumer, who have not departed from this form of coffee since.

Coffee is full of healthy components such as magnesium, potassium and vitamin B3. Coffee is also our most popular source of antioxidants according to one 2005 study. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition also revealed that a single cup of coffee may have more antioxidants than a serving of blueberries or oranges.

Antioxidants play a key role in reducing the inflammation associated with many health problems ranging from heart disease to rheumatoid arthritis.
Says one researcher, “Antioxidants are your army protecting you from the toxic free-radicals that come from breathing oxygen and eating sugar and can start chronic diseases. Antioxidants may help stave off cancer, heart disease, diabetes and stroke.”

It may indeed be the high level of antioxidants that helps coffee protect the heart. Researchers from Norway studied data involving more than 27,000 women in the Iowa Women’s Health Study and found that women who drank 1 to 3 cups of coffee each day had a 24 percent reduction in risk of heart disease compared with women who didn’t drink coffee at all. Women who drank as much as five cups a day demonstrated a 19 percent decrease in risk of death from all causes. However, the study also concluded that more is not always better. Drinking more than six cups of coffee per day did not seem to increase benefits significantly. As is the case with everything, moderation is the key.

An analysis of several studies conducted by the Journal of the American Medical Association revealed evidence that consuming coffee can lower the risk of developing type II diabetes. The benefits increased with the amount of coffee consumed. Risk was lowered by 28 percent for those who drank at least four cups per day

Again, however, the important thing is to consume coffee in reasonable but not excessive amounts. “I wouldn’t advise people to increase their consumption of coffee in order to lower their risk of disease,” says Dr Rob Van Dam of Harvard University, “but the evidence is that for most people without specific conditions, coffee is not detrimental to health. If people enjoy drinking coffee, it’s comforting to know that they don’t have to be afraid of negative health effects.”

Given the wide variety of organic coffee beans available from Green Bean, roasted to perfection on Green Bean roasters, coffee lovers can also enjoy the health benefits arising from organic blends. Such blends are free of the chemical residues which may be present in non-organic coffees. Freshly roasted in a Green Bean Roaster, can there be a better drink to start or finish one’s day, and to get through the challenging hours in between?

(Adapted from an article by Elizabeth Walling, www.naturalnews.com)

This means that these beans are produced with:

• Less water pollution as all sources of contamination (pesticides and fertilizers, sediment, wastewaters, garbage, fuels and so on) are controlled.
• Less soil erosion as farms implement soil conservation practices such as planting on contours and maintaining ground cover.
• Reduced threats to the environment and human health as the most dangerous pesticides are prohibited, all agrochemical use is strictly regulated, farmers must use mechanical and biological pest controls where possible and strive to reduce both the toxicity and quantity of chemicals used.
• Wildlife habitat protected as deforestation is stopped, the banks of rivers are protected with buffer zones, critical ecosystems such as wetlands are protected and forest patches on farms are preserved.
• Less waste as farm by-products such as banana stems, coffee pulp, orange peels and un-marketable foliage are composted and returned to the fields as natural fertilizer. Other wastes, such as plastics, glass and metals are recycled where possible.
• Less water used as water conservation measures are applied in washing and packing stations, housing areas and irrigation.
• More efficient farm management as the certification program helps farmers organize, plan, schedule improvements, implement better practices, identify problems and monitor progress.
• Improved conditions for farm workers — who are getting fair wages, decent housing, clean drinking water, sanitary facilities and a safe and wholesome work area. Workers and their families have access to schools, health care, transportation and training.
• Improved profitability and competitiveness for farmers who have increased production, improved quality, reduced worker complaints and increased worker efficiency. The Rainforest Alliance Certified seal of approval gives the farmers more leverage at the time of sale, product differentiation, premium prices and improved access to credit.
• More collaboration between farmers and conservationists — parks alone cannot save the world’s biodiversity; we have to ensure that wild flora and fauna find refuge outside of protected areas. Because farmers control the fate of so much land and so many critical habitats, their ideas and willing participation are essential to any local or regional conservation strategy.

Most of the world’s coffee beans are produced by small-scale farmers in developing countries. Because they have little bargaining power in an industry dominated by a few large and powerful international coffee companies, they are forced to put up with low and unstable prices for their beans.

During the past decade coffee farmers have faced a crisis. Prices fell to a 30-year low with as little as 3 cents from a $3 cup of coffee reaching the farmers who grew the beans. This affected 25 million small-scale farmers and their families, resulting in poor nutrition and children being taken out of school.

Buying Fairtrade coffee helps ensure farmers get a fair deal. It’s a way that you can take action to make a real difference to people’s lives.

World coffee prices have improved recently which has provided some relief for farmers and coffee workers. But the dynamics of the coffee market have not shifted in ways that guarantee long-term stability for those at the bottom of the supply chain.

By purchasing Fairtrade coffee, you can help to overcome these problems.  Fairtrade aims for everyone in the supply chain to get their fair share.

There are three main types of coffee cherry processing – ‘natural’, ‘pulped-natural’ and ‘washed’. Despite the method of process, it is important to wash-separate the cherries (in countries where water is freely available), to eliminate rocks and impurities along with over and under-ripe cherries before processing begins.

‘Natural or Dry Process’ – here the whole coffee cherry, made up of bean, mucilage, pulp and skin, are placed outside to dry naturally. Often dried on large ground-based patios or on raised racks covered with cloth, cherries are left out under the sun to dry-down by moisture evaporation. Turned daily to afford even drying, this process produces a good coffee with excellent body, maintained fruit character and solid aroma.

‘Washed or Wet Process’ – this mechanical process requires even-ripe cherries for best result. The mechanical pulper removes the beans from the skin and fleshy pulp, leaving a bean covered in slimy mucilage. The parchment bean is now placed in fermentation tanks where, covered with water and an enzyme accelerator, the sticky mucilage ferments and is easily washed-off. The resultant clean and wet bean is them mechanically or sun dried, down to around 11 – 12% moisture. Wet processed beans generally are more delicate and ‘clean’ flavoured, with less body and fruit characteristics than the natural process.

‘Pulped-Natural Process’ – this is an intermediate process between the natural and washed methods. Here the coffee cherries are mechanically pulped, resulting in the retention of the slimy mucilage. These parchment beans are subsequently dried-down to 11 – 12% moisture, with the mucilage still in place. Later hulling of the beans to remove the parchment covering, results in a bean with more body and natural fruit character, than the washed process delivers. Many plantations utilize several different processes to produce variable cupping characteristics from the one source. This offers the roaster a huge portfolio of beans to roast and blend with.

Defects in coffee beans are classified into five classes -
1 – Non coffee defects – stones, sticks, earthen particles
2 – Non bean defects – parchment, husks, dried cherry skin
3 – Irregularly formed beans – broken, processed nipped, shell beans, insect affected
4 – Irregular visual bean appearance – black beans, light green/immature beans, spongy, etc.
5 – Off-tastes – found only by cup testing, once roasted and brewed

While the world’s coffee growing regions vary in their classification terminology, the green bean purchasers have learnt their craft and are aware of the label system discrepancies and variables. The overall rule remaining is that higher grade beans produce a finer cup for the consumer – A very good reason to qualify your purchase from your supplier.