by blackice » Mon Jan 09, 2006 6:21 pm
I talked to a very experienced coffee business man today. He's a walking encyclopedia. He had coffee plants in Uganda but he lost everything when war started there. He learned me many things. I tasted his espresso (he now imports green beans from Brazil Ipanema, Uganda, and Brazil). It was interesting. What I remembered today is never to trust what I read...
Some data: Washed method--> Uniform colour, consistency, more acidity, less body, less chaff (all these are the norm-the usual thing). He didn't agree that washed coffee means less crema in the espresso.
Dry-Natural: If done correctly--> Less uniform colour and costistency than washed, more interesting flavour characteristics (exotic???), more body, less acidity.
Semi-Washed: Difficult to correctly implement. Mixed characteristics. Preferrable to washed for espresso IMHO
Better machines-->better and more cosistent quality. Less rotten, underdeveoped beans, stones!!!
Peaberry is nothing special (2 parts developped together as one mass)
Elephant beans --> maybe interesting
Brazil santos maybe beans of any quality. Doesn't mean anything except from the port. It maybe Brazil Minas Rio...
Most importers in Greece only search for cheap beans of not good quality (I don't know anything about other EU countries). Countries important for coffee business Germany, Switzerland, UK.
Jamaica Blue Mountain sucks!!! Kopi Lowak LOL!!! Hawai Kona--> what is this LOL
He'd never add robusta to his espresso.
Coffees for Epresso according to a site:
Always proceed the same way. If you have a favorite coffee that seems to lack something, combine it with a coffee that provides what your favorite lacks.
* For brightness, briskness, and acidity, add a Costa Rica, Colombia, Guatemala, or any high-grown Central America coffee.
* For body and richness, add a dry-processed Brazil Santos or estate coffee or a good Sumatra Mandheling.
* For body and sweetness, add a dry-processed Brazil Santos or a high grade India.
* For flavor and aroma, add a Kenya, Guatemala, New Guinea, Yemen Mocha, or Zimbabwe.
* To add aromatic intrigue at the top of the profile, add an Ethiopia Yirgacheffe or Kenya. To add complexity near the bottom of the profile add a Sumatra Mandheling or traditionally processed Sulawesi.
* To add wine or fruit notes, make the acidy/highlight coffee a Yemen, an Ethiopia Harrar, or a Kenya.
The only real mistake you can make blending is to combine two coffees that are distinctive or extreme in the same way. Two coffees with similar bright, winy acidity, such as a Kenya and a Zimbabwe, might produce a pointless blend. On the other hand, coffees such as Brazil Santos are so congenially understated that they get along with everything. Others, such as Yemen Mocha, wet-processed Ethiopias and most good Central America coffees, are like easy going individualists who manage to mix with almost everybody, yet still maintain their distinction.
(source:coffeereview)
Olympia Cremina
Mazzer Super Jolly
Turbo Crazy