Page 9 - The Noise November 2016

Coffea Arabica Not Typical
By John Bianchini
irst wave coffee saw burnt and stale colonial exploits dumped cheap into diner drip pots across the nation in the 1980s. Second wave brought better options through European-style coffee houses, and then, Starbucks. Third wave coffee has now come to light. This culinary movement focuses more on the source and variety of the bean, roasted lighter than usual and conscientiously prepared.
Third wave in Northern Arizona began with Firecreek in the Village of Oak Creek, spread to Indian Gardens in Oak Creek Canyon, then to Flagstaff and what is now 111 Roasting Works.
“The idea here is to do 10-minute, single-cup preparations with six methods to choose from, featuring one single-origin varietal at a time from Africa, Indonesia and Latin America,” said Mike Funk, owner of Firecreek and 111 Roasting Works. “Coffee is going to where the wine, food and beer movements have gone, as there is an evolution of taste going on in this country.”
He compares this new quality of coffee production to a chef trying to cook the perfect egg as opposed to a cook slamming-out 1000 eggs an hour.
Firecreek said above all else they created the 111 to support independent coffee houses in the area, offering coffee training for those interested; aiming to create an educational coffee experience for the public.
Indian Gardens has taken much care in offering the best possible coffee too. Dylan Jung of IG works closely with Firecreek roasters to home-in on the characteristics they are looking for from their coffee sources and roasting methods. His experience goes back 12 years to Random Acts of Coffee, a literal underground coffee house found in the basement of a Sedona shopping plaza.
He compares the idea of a light roast — known as city roast — to steak, saying poor quality steak is cooked a long time, while high quality steaks are typically enjoyed rare.
Usually coffee is best extracted in expensive espresso machines, but most people will not afford to buy the smallest La Marzocco for exquisite coffee at home, so Mr. Jung recommends the pour-over coffee method. The pour over is the basic, easy, do-it-yourself path to a satisfying cup at home.
Costs for a pour over cone range from $10 - $50, with high-end being Chemex, while Hario is more affordable and just as good. Natural filters are ideal. A good gooseneck kettle will help here too. Stovetop is fine, but electric is easier. For grinders you can get a blade grinder for $10 that is quick and cheap, but not greatly consistent. Hario hand grinders are cheap and consistent, but too slow to make a cup for two. And if coffee is truly your ritual habit, there is the Baraka Encore grinder for $130.
Some important factors: Don’t let the grounds sit around. Grind only what you need per brewing session. Try to keep your beans sealed. Keeping the bean oils around is the crucial element to good savory coffee.
Once the beans are roasted, there is a minimum two-week period before they start to decay and lose flavor. Sealed bags may last a little longer, but once opened, then expect about a week of shelf-life.
A way to ensure freshness and a satisfying product is to roast your own coffee beans. Green beans can be ordered online. Shipping is expensive. Home roasting can be done in an iron skillet, stirring with a spoon for 10 minutes. A popcorn maker is much quicker and more consistent, but may burn out from oil build-up.
Good roasting equipment can cost thousands of dollars and will provide the best results but maintaining a regular roasting schedule will provide a steady supply of freshness. It is good to have a local roaster and know when the beans were roasted.
It is all a bit complicated and takes time to come to your own understanding and preferences. It may seem like much, but it is a pursuit like any other, where we get out what we put in.
To get a good idea of what local big city pros are doing, checkout Cartel or Lux in Phoenix or EXO Roast in Tucson. Over in Prescott, see Method Coffee or The Raven Cafe. Jerome makes a good cup at Caduceus Cellars and The Flatiron, which was the original location of Macy’s, Flagstaff’s epic coffee institution. Village of Oak Creek has Oak Creek Espresso, and there also will be a Firecreek location in VOC again soon.
According to our local Northern Arizona experts, the future of coffee is going to be in the farming and technique. The coffee movement is continuing to refine itself through recorded shared experiences called cupping, where experienced palates taste sometimes over 100 coffees in one sitting and compare and rate their characteristics. Through cupping,
people are getting an idea of what they like and what coffee regions or varietal taste like. Ethiopian Gesha coffee is one of the most ideal. Having drank espresso for years – one day the Indian Gardens manager sees me when I came into their café and said, “Instead of
your usual, let me suggest something different: a Gesha done through a pour over.”
Never having heard of either, yet trusting their taste, I agreed. What I had was better than most espresso I had ever had before. I soon went and picked up my first ceramic pour over
and have been trying to replicate some approximation of it ever since.
Monthly Indian Gardens free cupping and coffee demo every last Friday of the month; 10AM – 11AM.
Dylan Jung
Pour Over Directions:
- Use recently roasted beans ground slightly coarser than espresso.
- Grind just before making each cup.
- 195-205°F water is ideal.
- Try to measure about one part coffee to 15 parts water.
-Scantly wet the grounds with hot water and let it sit for 45 seconds.
-Pour the rest of the 15 parts water.
Anyone want to go in co-op style on an order of raw of beans? contact info@thenoise.us
9 • NOVEMBER 2016