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Serving all countries in South East Asia
Q A H W A H   A P P R E C I A T I O N   R I C E R C A   R Y O O S H I T S U
©2006, The QARR Coffee, All Rights Reserved.
To make a good cup of coffee, one may relate it to a good fully automatic coffee machine that grinds coffee
beans and brew the cup of coffee topped with a layer of crema, all at the press of a button.  And this
machine is also capable of frothing milk to make cappuccino and latte.  Depending on one's expectation and
preference, such machine may suffice.  But the truth is that such home-grade coffee maker usually falls
short of producing quality coffee as compared to the commercial machine, even though they are normally
not cheap.  You may be surprise that a simple pour-over filter coffee maker can make a better cup than
these supposedly high-end machines.  To be fair, the key benefits of such machines are convenience,
hassle-free, style and the capability to make a variety of gourmet coffee.  But these machines are easily
priced in the range of 1 to 3 thousand dollars.  And for the prosumer models that may match the commercial
machines in quality, their prices start from three thousands and above.

The fact is, one can enjoy a very good cup of coffee without burning the pocket, and the quality can be
even better and consistent if not as good as best cafe in town.  So what are the factors and methods to
make that perfect cup?

1.        Good quality raw coffee beans
2.        Beans are craft-roasted to extract the favorable characteristics
3.        Beans are roasted for specific brewing method
4.        Beans are freshly roasted only for weekly consumption
5.        Proper storage of roasted beans
6.        Beans are only grinded just before brewing
7.        Clean brewing equipment
8.        Proper brewing procedure
9.        Correct serving and tasting

To appreciate good coffee, in-depth knowledge of the above factors are important.   To get started, a brief
explanation of each factor is provided in the above links.  Detail coverage will be highlighted in the monthly
newsletter.


Quality Coffee Raw Beans

Coffee beans cleared of defects are considered good quality beans.  Defects include foreign matters (eg.
stones, twigs, wood fragments, etc), husks, irregular formed beans (eg. shells, ears, nipped beans, broken
beans, insect-damaged beans, etc), irregular appearance and off-taste beans (eg. black beans, rioy
beans, stinker beans, etc).

So how do consumers know if the roasted coffee beans that they get are of good quality.  More likely than
not, they do not know.  Most of the coffee beans sold originate from the “C” market, or commodity market.  
Raw coffee beans are graded based on industry standards and consolidated for trading in the commodity
market.  Depending on the grades, such coffee beans usually contain defectives within the limits of the
grading system.  And due to consolidation, there is no unique taste profile, but they are generalized on a
country level.  

Specialty-grade coffee beans, on the other hand, usually come from a particular farm or estate within a
country, and are graded by a panel of coffee experts who will handpick exemplary coffee with well
developed body, pleasant aroma and a lively sweetness that only extremely high quality specialty coffees
contain.  Such coffee beans contain minimal defects and possess distinct taste profile. Their quality also
reflects the hardwork put in and the knowledge acquired by the farmers.  These efforts are paid off
through the recognitions awarded by the panel of coffee experts in coffee competitions.  Organizations
such as Coffee Quality Institute and Cup of Excellence are well known for organizing auctions and
competitions to select these best coffee beans around the world.


Craft-roasted coffee beans

This factor of determining the quality of coffee is subjective, depending on the coffee culture of the
countries concern.  Most of the time, we believe that the roasted coffee beans produced from the well
known establishments taste good, or at least the advertisement says so.  As long as we personally like the
taste, it is considered good.  For example, in places where dark roasted beans are preferred, the taste
spectrum covered is similar to the lower bass as in music.  So are these beans crafted roasted?  Yes and
not so.  Yes, because they are roasted by roast masters according to the taste preference of the target
customers.  The keyword is customers.  Personally, I'm still an advocate of coffee being an acquired taste.  
So, I would say that a lot of roasted beans are not truly crafted roasted because they are not roasted to
bring out the best and distinct flavor within the beans.  To be fair, it takes quality raw coffee beans to
produce quality roasted coffee, otherwise it is the blends that will compensate the difference.


Beans are roasted for specific brewing method

If you use espresso coffee beans to make a cup using French press, you will find that it will taste more
bitter than if the same beans go through the espresso machine.  Conversely, light-roasted beans will taste
much more acidic in an espresso machine than a drip or French press.

Reason for this phenomenon is that the short percolation time taken for the pressurized water to pass
through the coffee cake does not allow much caffeine to go into the cup, except for the volatile compounds
that form the aroma and flavor of the espresso.  That is why coffee beans are roasted a tart darker
towards city and full city to achieve a balance of flavor without highlighting the acidity or bitterness of the
beans.

French press or drip method, on the other hand, requires a steeping time of around 4-5 minutes to extract
the same compounds and at the same time, the water soluble caffeine.  Since more caffeine goes into the
cup, this will help to balance off the higher acidic note of the relatively light-roasted beans.

Therefore, depending on the brewing method, coffee beans should be roasted accordingly to bring out the
taste profile of the bean origin or blend.


Beans are freshly roasted only for weekly consumption

Freshness is especially important in making a good cup of coffee, because all the positive characteristics
of the coffee are derived from the volatile compounds found within the bean cells and fatty acids or lipds.  
From the time the beans come out from the roaster, oxidation starts and slowly “erodes” away the distinct
flavors of the beans.  What left behind in the cup brewed from old coffee grounds is a stale and rancid
taste coffee.

So how do we know if the coffee beans are fresh?  Simple.  In espresso, the rate of flow of espresso
from the spout of the portafilter is a good indication of the freshness of the beans.  Another observation is
that the amount of crema formed in the cup of espresso.  Of course, this is relative and even subjective
depending on whether robusta beans are used in the espresso blend.  In the case of French press or drip
method, one will notice the formation of foam or bubbles when hot water pours over the coffee grounds.  
Hot water accelerates the release of carbon dioxide still trapped within the cell walls of the coffee
grounds.  The more the foam or bubbles, the fresher the coffee beans used.

So, ideally, roasted coffee beans should be kept and consumed within a week of roasting.


Proper storage of roasted beans

From the moment coffee beans are roasted, oxidation will start and continue until it has exhausted all the
aromatic volatile compounds in the beans.  The rate of oxidation is steep initially but taper off as time goes
by.  So it is important to prevent or minimize the amount of oxidation by storing the roasted beans in cool,
dark and air-tight if not vacuum container.  


Beans are only grinded just before brewing

As we know, oxidation is the number one enemy of roasted coffee beans.  Carbon dioxide,  trapped within
the already brittle cell walls of the beans, slowly gets released into the air.  When  the beans are grinded,
they are broken down into tiny chunks, thus exposing even larger surface area and more openings for the
carbon dioxide to be oxidized.  As such, it is of utmost importance to grind coffee beans just before
brewing.  Due to convenience and ignorance, the need for a grinder is grossly undermined.

Personally, I will rate a good coffee grinder as essential if not more important than the brewing equipment
itself.


Clean brewing equipment

As we know, coffee contains a substantial amount of fatty acids or lipids that produce the flavor of the
cup.  After drinking the cup of freshly brewed coffee, if the cup is not thoroughly washed, this oil will stay
on the wall of the cup, turned rancid and finally affects the taste of the subsequent cup.  This cleanliness
of the cup is also extended to all equipments used in the coffee making process, including the grinder,
plunger, portafilter of espresso machine and the parts within the espresso machine where the coffee
passes through.  If you notice, that is why it takes around a half to an hour for the employees of a coffee
outlet to clean all the equipments before the day ends.


Proper brewing procedure

Making coffee can be as simple as a 1 button operation from the fully automatic machine, or can be a
meticulous process of grinding, dosing, packing and tamping before making a demitasse of espresso,
analogous to the grand Japanese tea ceremony.

Coffee brewing methods:
·        Turkish method
·        French press or plunger
·        Drip method – manual pour over or electric drip
·        Vacuum pot
·        Espresso
·        Moka pot or Neopolitan

Depending on the brewing method, the grind size of the coffee beans is crucial because it determines the
extraction rate of the coffee.  Granularity can range from the fineness Turkish and espresso method to the
coarse grinds used in the French press.

Apart from the above method and grind size, the following points will enable you to make a decent cup of
coffee:



Correct serving and tasting

Just as different sizes and shapes of wine glasses match different types of wines, there are also different
types of serving cups or demitasses depending on the coffee culture within each country.  For example,
the Americans are big coffee drinkers, so coffee is usually served in 6 to 12-ounce cups.  Small drinker
Asians will serve their coffee in 4 to 6 ounce-cups instead.  Espresso, crowned as the elixir or king of
coffee, comes in single (1 ounce) or double shot and is served in small 70ml of demitasse.

Apart from the size of cups, heat retention is necessary so that coffee lovers can slowly savor the cup of
exquisite brew before the coffee turns sour due to oxidation.  China cup retains heat with thick wall while
stainless steel cup comes in double wall to slow down the reduction in temperature.  Recent research and
development has also enabled glassware manufacturer to produce double-walled thermal glass made from
borosilicate glass that not only keeps the coffee warm, but also easy on the hand – the glass is light and
one can easily hold it even when the coffee is at 80-90 degree Celsius, due to the vacuum created
between the glass walls.

In general,
appreciation