On Silence and Acids

Before diving into a discussion that stirs up memories of agony (high school science classes), I’m going to start with a quote from The Phantom Tollbooth by Norman Juster. The Phantom Tollbooth, by the way, is an excellent book—my Dad first read it to us many years ago, and I remember learning, among others, the words “lethargic,” “dodecahedron,” and “unabridged.” It is about a boy, Milo, who is always bored, until one day a mysterious box appears in his room: the Phantom Tollbooth. He drives through it, and adventure—and a growing love for learning—follow. The quote comes from the time Milo visits the Valley of Sound, which is completely silent because the Soundkeeper took away all sound as it became evident that the Valley’s population had quit caring about sound, and only were interested in the ugly noises of economy, destruction, etc. He visits the Soundkeeper, and finds her sitting in front of a radio. She says: “Isn’t that lovely?...It’s my favorite program—fifteen minutes of silence—and after that there’s a half hour of quiet and then an interlude of lull. Why, did you know that there are almost as many kinds of stillness as there are sounds? But, sadly enough, no one pays any attention to them these days. Have you ever heard the wonderful silence just before the dawn?...Or the quiet and calm just as a storm ends? Or perhaps you know the silence when you haven’t the answer to a question you’ve been asked, or the hush of a country road at night…or, most beautiful of all, the moment after the door closes and you’re all alone in the whole house? Each one is different, you know, and all very beautiful, if you listen carefully.”

Lovely. And now for the chemistry part. Did you know that there are a ridiculous number of acids, and that the taste of coffee is quite dependent on them? And that these same acids are found in other natural edibles—such as apples or citrus—which explains why, when you sip your coffee, you may detect the flavor of lemons or berries--? I may be completely out of my depth here, but am going to try to make sense out of the “Coffee Acidity” section of Ted Lingle’s The Coffee Cupper’s Handbook.

Here are the first two points: 1) Coffee is actually less acidic than most alcoholic beverages (gin and vodka are exceptions), juices, and sodas—really, anything you’d typically drink other than water, milk, or tea (though tea is close to coffee in acid content). Which is interesting, because I think coffee’s reputation suggests otherwise.
2) “Acidy” and “Acidity” are not the same things. “Acidy” refers to a sweet taste sensation, and relates to how sugars in the coffee combine with certain acids. Other acids, however, interact with other components and may produce sour, salty, or bitter taste sensations. (Sweet, sour, salt, and bitter are the four basic tastes).

Here is the outline version of Coffee Acids:

I. Amino Acids—influence sweet sensations

II. Phenolic Acids—influence bitter sensations, includes caffeic acids
*Chlorogenic Acids—it is the decomposition of these acids that results in the
unpleasant (overly bitter/sour) taste of coffee that has been sitting around
too long. So, when you enjoy a cup of fresh-brewed coffee, thank the
chlorogenic acids.

III. Aliphatic Acids—influence sour sensations—and others
*Tartaric
*Citric--citrusy
*Malic—apple-like
*Lactic--buttery
*Acetic—fruity—also, too much acetic acid results in a fermented taste. (Acetic
acid is not inherent to the bean, but is formed when the beans for a wet-
processed coffee are fermented. Fermentation is one step in the process
of separating the coffee bean from the fruit of the coffee cherry.)


Again, the word “Chemistry” is one that I typically think of with horror or disinterest. The words “chlorogenic” and “aliphatic” have no meaning for me—yet—but, thanks to coffee, it has become a personal goal to be able to drink a cup and identify, “oh, an apple sensation—malic acid” or “this coffee must have more citric acid, and reminds me of grapefruit.”

Why? Think of all the citrus fruits, the different varieties of apples, different butters, berries, etc—and how each time you taste one of these, you’ll have a flavor memory that a future cup of coffee may bring to mind! And these are just tastes that came up because we were talking about acids! If we talked about sugars, think of all the different kinds of chocolates or caramels—or aromas, flowers like jasmine and lavender, spices—cinnamon, vanilla, cloves—it is incredible how all these organisms relate to one another, and I must grudgingly owe a debt of gratitude to chemistry and things like chlorogenic acids. And happily go to the grocery store to buy a pineapple, so as not to miss a potential pineapple note in my next cup of coffee :) Hooray for flavor!

So that’s acids--I know I left some holes in the explanation, so if you have any questions…or corrections…let me know, and I’ll see what I can find out!

Colombia Stories

Isaiah and I had a great, productive, educational trip to Colombia.  We returned Tuesday night, excited to be out of the cool mountain air and back to this fantastic heat.

We will be discussing the trip, showing our pictures, and divulging what we learned on Thursday, July 9 at 7p here at the DoubleShot.  Of course, we'll be brewing the San Rafael, Alfredo's coffee.  Please plan to come and invite friends you think might be interested.

Some Answered Questions, and a Coffee Book Review!

Thank you to everyone who came to the Illuminati event on Thursday! I emailed Mary at La Marzocco with the unanswered questions: How many machines does La Marzocco produce per year? and How long does it take to produce a single machine? She replied:

“Lead time varies according to the type of machine, eventual special colored panels etc. But excluding lead time issues, if we begin a machine on Monday, it will be ready by Friday.

We produce 2800 machines a year. Indeed, La Marzocco is a very small factory in comparison to other Italian brands.”

So…approximately 5 days/machine, 2800 machines/year. Maybe I’ll try to find out the numbers for other Italian brands…

On another note, starting with some biographical information: I have a degree in literature. No, I do not want to teach. I want to work in the coffee industry. However, I love to read and one of the best ways to satisfy both a love for reading and a love for coffee is to read books about coffee…obviously accompanied by a cup of Doubleshot coffee.

It’s time for a book review.

Today’s book is The Devil’s Cup: A History of the World According to Coffee, written by Stewart Lee Allen around 1999. It is a fabulously entertaining and informative read. Basically, the book chronicles Allen’s travels from Ethiopia to the United States—his route is determined by the route that coffee took in its spread from Africa to the rest of the world. You will learn about coffee’s role in ancient religious ceremonies, key figures in coffee’s expansion—like DeClieu, who risked death-by-dehydration in order to smuggle a coffee seedling to South America (his ship was becalmed, but he shared his scant water ration with the seedling)—other ways of consuming the coffee plant, etc. Oh, and how the introduction of coffee into a culture often coincides with periods of enlightenment (!). Allen is adventurous and has a good sense of humor—so this really is a fun book to read. It ends with a quest through the United States via Route 66 (go Oklahoma!) to find the worst cup of percolated diner coffee possible. Gross. The Devil’s Cup can be bought on amazon for about $11.00. I think Tulsa’s Central Library has a copy, and I believe it’s on the shelves at Doubleshot.

That’s all for now…feel free to comment, share reading recommendations, ask questions, etc!

Colombia

Isaiah and I are headed to Colombia on Tuesday.  We'll leave that morning and arrive back here the following Tuesday night.  So one week.

We'll be flying into Medellin and visiting Concordia again.  Cristina Garces is helping us so much.  It should be a really great trip- Isaiah's first trip to origin.  There isn't much coffee being harvested right now, but Alfredo (Finca San Rafael) is holding off on some of his harvesting so we can see his mill working while we're there.  I think we'll stay with Guillermo again at his farmhouse, which is an amazing place.  Hopefully we'll go on a horseback ride through the coffee fields.  Probably get some pictures of coffee flowers blooming.  I hope we learn a lot and are able to bring that back to share with you.

I also hope we find more amazing coffee.  I'm really enjoying the San Rafael from the last trip, and I hope you are too.

Cristina told me about a project going on in Concordia right now that we might be able to help with.  They're building a school and playroom for the kids while their mothers work in the coffee fields.  It's being built in the poorest part of Concordia.  We'll see it while we are there, and I'll bring back as much info as I can attain.

I'm also hoping to meet up with a girl I met before who works for The Federation, overseeing the building of houses for poor coffee pickers.  

I'm pretty excited.  We'll have another Illuminati meeting when Isaiah and I return, and we'll tell you all about the trip.

Espresso Machines!

Hello!--this is Tara. This Thursday at Doubleshot, at 7 pm, we're going to have an event focusing on espresso machines--the La Marzocco company in particular. I returned from a trip to Italy a couple weeks ago, and the best thing about the trip was getting to visit the La Marzocco factory outside of Florence. So we are going to be talking about that, hopefully seeing some pictures of espresso machines-in-progress, and finally (!) Ely, who is a wonderful machine technician and has taken La Marzocco's class on machine maintenance, is going to open up the Doubleshot machine so we can all get an insider's view on what, from an electrical-technical perspective, is happening in order to produce your perfect espresso, latte, etc.

OK, here's a preview on why it's so important to have a great espresso machine. This passage comes from David Schomer's book "Espresso Coffee: Professional Techniques." His book is very helpful in that it breaks down the factors that affect the quality of the espresso, explaining how each factor may go wrong, and what to do about it. His broad categories are: 1)Environmental Factors (like the weather) 2)Equipment Factors (the machine!, etc) 3) Ingredient Factors (not just the espresso blend but water quality, etc) and 4) Barista Techniques. Under each of these categories come many sub-categories, so it is obvious that pulling a perfect shot of espresso is a very precise process, and never as simple as just pushing a button. In chapter 7 of his book, Brewing Water Temperature, Schomer writes:

"The better you become at making espresso, the more that the factor of brewing water temperature will emerge as the final vexing problem. Brewing water temperature is a very difficult factor to control. But its control is essential to quality espresso making, because water temperature plays such an integral role in the preservation of coffee's volatile flavor compounds. Water temperature is responsible for the quality and quantity of flavors in the espresso coffee."

Reading Schomer's book is fairly daunting, because there are so many things that can go wrong...that is just one example of what your espresso machine needs to do--maintain a stable, optimal water temperature. If the temperature is off but just a couple degrees, the espresso will start to taste sour, flat, or burnt...gross. All that to say, the espresso machine is important! So, come to Doubleshot Thursday, June 11 at 7 pm to learn more about them! Hope to see you there!

Tara Bowen

Hey everyone.  Or whoever reads this blog, anyway.  I know I've been a slacker lately, but I'm just so busy with this and that, I haven't made appropriate time to work the Illuminati group.  So.  I have asked Tara Bowen if she will help and she has accepted.  She's going to help plan events, get the word out, expand our coffee knowledge, and make sure you know about it all.  I've put her on the write-list for this blog, so she can post info about events and stuff we should know about coffee.  So thank you Tara for picking up the ball I dropped.  

The first event under Tara's new tutelage will be next Thursday June 11.  It'll be an informative session about espresso machines.  I'll let her tell you the details.

Another Trip to Colombia

I just bought tickets for Isaiah and I to fly to Colombia on June 16.  We'll come home the 23rd.  I originally planned to see Narino on this trip, but that doesn't seem so cut and dried.  So I decided to take Cristina Garces up on her generosity and kindness and go back to Medellin and Concordia.  I'm hoping we can take a short one-day trip to Jardin, where La Minita was building the mill.  It should be completed and it would be nice to see it in operation.  

This will be Isaiah's first trip to origin, so that's pretty exciting.  I think it will change the way he thinks about coffee.  I know it did for me.  And hopefully we'll both learn a lot during the trip.

I'll keep you posted.