REAL COFFEE: PURCHASING, (HOME-)ROASTING, GRINDING, BREWING

1. REAL COFFEE: PURCHASING, (HOME-)ROASTING, GRINDING, BREWING LIBRARIANS FORUM13 DECEMBER 2006

2. EARLY COFFEE HISTORY • Qahwah (“coffee”) is an Arabic word of uncertain etymology and is the origin of the usual words for coffee in various languages. It was originally a name for wine, attested already in ancient poetry. The word was transferred towards the end of the 8th/14th century in Yemen to the beverage made from the berry of the coffee tree. Another theory holds it a word of African origin and seeks to connect it with the alleged home of the coffee tree, Kaffa, in Ethiopia, although the word bun (Arabic al-bunn) for tree, berry and beverage is used there. The coffee tree was not indigenous to South Arabia and was probably introduced from the highlands of Ethiopia. • The earliest known mention of coffee is found in Arabic writings of the 10th/16th century, in an essay by Ahmad Ibn `Abd al-Ghaffar, quoted by `Abd al-Qadir ibn Muhammad al-Jaziri , fl. 1568 in his `Umdat al-safwah fi hall al-qahwah. • Legends hold that the consumption of coffee in Arabia first began among Yemeni Sufis. They were particularly fond of the beverage because its effect facilitated the performance of their religious ceremonies.

3. COFFEE HISTORY • In Mecca, according to the `Umdat al-safwah, the drinking of coffee in one form or other first appeared towards the end of the 9th/15th century. Drinking coffee established itself, and people drank coffee even in the mosque. Coffee-houses (buyut al-qahwah) were soon opened, where men and women met to listen to music or where they played chess or other games. This activity aroused the indignation of the ultra-pious, many of whom were always against the beverage as an objectionable innovation. It was often banned by religious authorities. But bans evaporated, and the consumption of coffee increased and spread. Coffee experienced similar sporadic bans in Cairo and elsewhere. • Commerce among Mecca and Medina with Egypt brought coffee to Syria, Persia, and Turkey. Later bans came and went in various other cities: In religious circles, it was found that the coffee-house was bad for the mosque, and the `ulama' considered the coffee-house even worse than the wine-room. Preachers were especially eager for the prohibition of coffee and the way was paved for them by the muftis with an opinion that (roasted) coffee was to be considered as carbonized and therefore forbidden. The habit of coffee drinking spread to Europe and other parts of the world during the 17th and 18th centuries. (based in the article “kawha in the Encyclopaedia of Islam)

4. O Coffee! • Ya qahwatu tudhhibu hamma al-fita | O Coffee you dispel all care • anta li-hawi al-ilm ni`ma al-murad | You are the object of desire to the scholar • sharabu ahl Allahi fi-ha al-shifa | This is the drink of the friends of God. It gives health • li-talibi al-hikmati bayna al-`ibad | To those among humanity who seek wisdom يا قهوة تذهب هم الفتا انت لحاوي العلم نعم المراد شراب اهل الله فيها الشفا لطالب الحكمة بين العباد `Abd al-Qadir ibn Muhammad al-Jaziri , fl. 1568, `Umdat al-safwah fi hall al-qahwah.

5. ESPRÈSSOConcentrated coffee beverage brewed by forcing very hot, but not boiling, water under high pressure through coffee that has been finely ground

6. CAFFELATTE/CAFÉ AU LAIT/LATTE - Steamed milk with coffee

7. CAPPUCCINO Esprèsso with steamed/frothed milk

8. CAPPUCCINO AS IT MIGHT BE ENJOYED

9. FRENCH PRESS • French press or press pot, coffee plunger or cafetière, is a coffee brewing device popularized by the French. Its operation is simple and, despite coarse grounds, it produces a fuller flavor coffee than drip pots.

10. REAL COFFEE • What is real coffee? Not the canned or bagged stuff that comes from the grocery store; maybe not the bags of ground coffee or beans from specialty stores or coffee houses. • All that stuff is very likely either stale when you buy it or will be before you consume it. • Real Coffee is freshly (home-) roasted and ground just before brewing. • NOT

11. $TARBUCKS • This show and tell will not bash $tarbucks : Starbucks sells and brews very good coffee, perhaps a bit over-roasted ("Charbucks"). There are several very good coffee houses in Ann Arbor and beyond (among them, Espresso Royale, Zou Zou's, Pierce's Pastries Plus, etc.)

12. How to Brew Coffee • I will show you how to brew real coffee: home roasted in very small batches (<1/2 lb. per week?), ground in a burr grinder (not a blade grinder), and brewed in a drip pot (not a percolator!), French press, vacuum pot, Ibrik, or espresso machine (not a steam-toy). • NOT

13. For a modest investment, you can enjoy real coffee

14. BURR GRINDERS • Burr grinders ($100-$150), inexpensive to moderate (Rancilio Rocky, Baratza, Capresso, Solis Maestro (Plus) • NOT a blade grinder—they cut the coffee beans into uneven chips and powder. Burr grinders crush into even grounds.

15. COFFEE BEANS • Coffee beans, either green or very fresh roasted (mail order or locally available at Whole Foods)

16. HOME ROASTING • Coffee roasters $0-$450): Air Popcorn Popper, iron frying pan, Hearthware iRoast, Zach & Dani's (best deal), FreshRoast Plus, HotTop Drum Roaster, Gene Cafe Drum Roaster, Stovetop Popcorn Popper (Whirley Pop)

17. ARABICA or ROBUSTA • Arabica beans are the best; Robusta are not so good but serve a purpose as they are blended in small quantities with Arabica to produce richer “crèma” in espresso. They are cheap and widely used in supermarket coffee to keep the cost down, and they have higher caffeine content. • Arabica is distinctly milder and more aromatic. It possesses fewer sharp and bitter tastes than Robusta, and it is therefore considered the superior species by those who cultivate specialty coffees, single estates and varietals. • http://www.wholelattelove.com/articles/arabica_coffee.cfm

18. CRÈMA! • Crèma, a reddish-brown foam which floats on the surface of well brewed espresso, is composed of vegetable oils, proteins and sugars. Crèma has elements of both emulsion and foam colloid. Some beans produce more copious amounts of crèma, e.g., Indian monsooned Malabar.

19. CRÈMA!

20. ROASTING DEGREES • http://www.sweetmarias.com/roasting-VisualGuideV2.html • From Green to Conflagration!

21. ROASTING DEGREES: GREEN TO FIRE • Green un-roasted coffee • Starting to pale -- Early yellow stage -- Yellow-Tan stage • Light Brown stage -- Brown Stage -- 1st crack begins • 1st crack under way -- 1st crack finishes -- This is considered a City Roast • City+ roast: The stage between the first and second crack • Full City roast: On the verge of 2nd crack • Full City+ roast: First audible snaps of 2nd crack • Vienna - Light French roast: 2nd crack is under way • Full French roast 2nd crack is very rapid, nearing its end (caution! Starbucks’ roast) • Fully carbonized: Some call this Italian or Spanish roast, an insult to either! • At this stage, the coffee can be over 25% ash; it is carbonized, dead, charcoal –imminentfire

22. COFFEE ORIGINS • Coffee origins: Indonesia, New Guinea, India, Vietnam; Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Zambia, Zimbabwe; Yemen; Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Columbia, Brazil, Peru, México, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama

23. COFFEE BREWING UTENSILS • Coffee brewing utensil or machine ($40-125): Saeco Renaissance, Capresso, Technivorm, Chemex, Starbucks, Zojirushi, Melitta, Bodum French Press, Ibrik, Briki, Jesvah, Pannikin, etc.

24. Esprèsso Machines • Esprèsso machines ($100-$8,000) for the home: Rancilio Silvia, Gaggia Classic or Carezza, La Pavoni, Starbucks Barista, Capresso, Saeco

25. GREEN COFFEE IS ½ THE PRICE • El SalvadorCup of Excellence #2 - Los Planes $21.90 lb (green) • Ethiopia Yirgacheffe - Moledina 3993 $4.90 lb (green) • Willoughby's roasted: Ethiopia Yrgacheffe $10.99 lb • Espresso Vivace roasted: Vita Blend $13.00 lb

26. INFORMATION, REVIEWS, ETC. • CoffeeGeek: http://www.coffeegeek.com/ • Dave Bayer's personal web page: http://www.math.columbia.edu/~bayer/coffee.html • alt.coffee Newsgroup: http://groups.google.com/group/alt.coffee?lnk=oa • Espresso! My Espresso! An Ongoing Internet Novelette: http://home.surewest.net/frcn/Coffee/Coffee.html • Epresso Top 50: http://www.espressotop50.com/

27. EQUIPMENT, BEANS • 1st Line: http://www.1st-line.com/ • Wholelattelove: http://www.wholelattelove.com/ • Sweet Maria's: http://www.sweetmarias.com/

28. COFFEE (ROASTED & GREEN) • Armeno: http://www.armeno.com/ • Fresh Coffee: http://www.FreshCoffeeBeans.com/Beans.asp • Espresso Vivace: http://www.espressovivace.com/intro.html • Willoughby's: http://www.willoughbyscoffee.com/ • Peet's: http://www.peets.com/ • Tully's: http://www.tullys.com/ • Starbuck's: http://www.starbucks.com/ • Illy: http://www.illy.com/Illy2006/ • Lavazza: http://www.lavazza.com/default/channel/index_eng.jsp • Whole Foods Market: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/products/coffee/index.html • Espresso Royale Caffe: http://www.espressoroyale.com/ • Intelligentsia Coffee: http://www.intelligentsiacoffee.com/

29. COFFEE HOUSES ALL OVER • Caffé Paradiso 1 Eliot St Cambridge MA • Willoughby’s New Haven and Branford • Espresso Royale Caffé: Ann Arbor • Starbucks everywhere • Beaner's Ann Arbor • Bear Claw Coffee Co • Hatcher Graduate Library (coming soon to the wind tunnel?)

30. More Coffee Links • http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jrodgers/coffee/CoffeeBookmarks.html • This presentation: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jrodgers/coffee/LIBRARIANS FORUM Coffee.ppt Bar Ragno d'Oro Massaua, Eritrea