Coffee : The Changing and New Waves

 First, Coffee was a beverage, second it became a social thing - lot can happen over a cup of coffee, third wave - is about specialty coffee (eg with jasmine, almond and chocolate) (Passion fruit and honey) mango. Third wave is to celebrate the taste of coffee. 

There are three parts to coffee, before it comes to your cup. Coffee is more like wine or whiskey. Tea is more like a vodka where you can infuse things into it post distilling. It is believed that coffee first was found in Ethiopia. 

P.C https://www.aromasofcoorg.com/

Where it comes from?

3000-6000 level about sea level. Multiple variety. It draws a lot from the soil, unlike tea. The altitude it is grown - high altitude coffee are more delicate, take more time to mature. Low grown coffee, mature soon. What you pick out of the plant is the cherry. 

There are three ways to pull the bean out of cherry

• Sun dried: Dry Rot and wash off the  pulp - sweeter as it takes sweet from the pulp. 
• Washed: Deep pulp it putting into water. - sweet is removed.
• Honey wash - where you keep the pulp only remove the skin. - sweeter. 

Cooking or roosting the bean? 

Once you have the bean, it goes to the roaster. We have different shades based on where it is grown, how it is pulled. Once you cook the bean, everything changes - there is smell of coffee, until then there is no smell.

What you want to get out of the bean is in control of the roster. It can be light roast, medium roast or heavy roast. 

There is no good or bad coffee, it is extremely subjective. There are multiple things that come in its way, before it comes into your cup. 

How can we brew the coffee? 

Two ways to brew the coffee. 

• Let water pass, only take the outer part of the coffee - it just passes through the coffee - how long and how fast, makes difference
• Boil the coffee and take the full of it. 

There are variables that go into a coffee and it changes everything about a coffee. 

Third wave - People experimenting. Collaboration between the above three and how the coffee is being processed. A lovely journey. 

 Some say best coffee is Luba coffee where animal pic and from its extract   coffee is made. But it is objective.  

You can use French press or pour over, they taste drastically different - what bean we use and how you grind, and let it sit are all important. 

• For Fruity and floral - will use pour over,
• Want dark use French press

Personal thought - a coffee should not sit for more than three weeks. Coffee is like apples, if you live it open, it will get oxidized and the taste would change. 

Every variable change the taste of the coffee. 

Working with coffee, is like film making . Writing, collaborate with 100 odd people - artists, actors, until finally it is made. 

This is true about anything and everything in life. It's great journey, who understands everybody's point of view. 

A collaborative journey. Do your piece and fitting into a larger puzzle. 

South India - Chicory is used for filter coffee, which cut the bitter. 

Caffeine level - how determined? - may be altitude. 

Filter coffee has a respect - it is the only coffee  good with milk and sugar. 

But coffees - without milk , sugar, and cream - is  completely different way of consuming a coffee. There is a market for it. 

Courtesy: Raghu Muthiah @ TTK Road Chennai