Johnson - How to make coffee before youve had coffee : Ristretto Roasters spectacularly simple guide to brewing at home / by Din Johnson

Coffee Chemistry

Really craving that first cup of coffee in the morning? Youre not alone. More than 2.25 billion cups of coffee are consumed daily, making coffee one of the top three commodities in the world, jockeying for position with water and oil.

Clearly, we love coffee. But what engenders that love, that daily need? Sure, its the caffeine, a naturally occurring stimulant that is present in the bean. Its also because coffee is good for you: its terrifically high in antioxidants, it boosts your metabolism, and every month theres a new study showing coffees health benefits. Seriously, have some coffee. It tastes good, and is good for you.

We all feel marvelous after drinking a great cup of coffee, and thats because some pretty marvelous things are happening in the bean. Here are a few:

Wetting: You grind your coffee, you wet the grounds look at that: its puffing up! Thats called a bloom, and it occurs as the bean fibers absorb hot water and gas is driven from the coffee particles and the small spaces inside the grounds. This prepares the grounds for the extraction of soluble elements. Note that only freshly roasted coffee will bloom.

Extraction: During this second phase, the water-soluble flavoring compounds dissolve, rapidly moving out of the bean fibers and entering the water.

Hydrolysis: In this last stage, large molecules of water-soluble carbohydrates break down into smaller molecules that only then become water-soluble. These are mostly sugars, but also include some proteins.

Roast Levels

That bin of ink-black glossy beams in your neighborhood market may seem powerfully alluring, maybe its a French roast, and you are sure that the deep, rich, glossy sheen of oil on the surface must mean that a bold, rich, flavorful cup awaits.

Entirely a myth, so lets dispel it: those ebony beans have been over-roasted to a fare-thee-well, annihilating the delicate flavors they once possessed. All of that furious charring action has caused the bean itself to turn to carbon, and all of the beans precious oils to leach to the surface, where, exposed to oxygen, they quickly begin to turn rancid. Those oils are where the flavor of the coffee reside. Your eye may see richness in the surface gloss, but that is only because the richness that makes for complex flavor and a robust mouth feel has been removed from the coffee bean itself.

The keepers of the great caffeine-industrial complex have led us to believe the carbonized flavors of over-roasted coffee are what connoisseurs mean when they use words like robust or full-bodied. Not true! A truly robust and flavorful bean is about substance, not flashit will appear matte and dry to the eyeas the oils are still held within the bean, to be released only upon grinding and brewing.

Light

On the lighter end of the spectrum, beans can be the color of cinnamon. A light roast is usually chosen to highlight the acidity or piquancy characteristics found in coffeethink crisp white wine. A light roast usually yields a brew with a tea-like mouth feel.

Medium

Once you move into a medium roast, the sugars naturally present in the coffee start to caramelize, leading to a greater sense of weight on the tongue, i.e., body and sweetness. To continue the wine analogy, we are moving into red territory.

Dark

Dark roasted coffee is that black, oily bean that makes most serious coffee lovers cringe. Have you ever seen someone order a filet mignon well done, then watched them saw through the brick of meat every bit as appetizing as a charcoal briquette? Does the thought make you shudder? Thats how coffee geeks feel when you order French roast (which isnt a type of coffee bean, but a roasting level).

Extra-Dark

No.... just, no.

Storing Coffee

Lets dispel another myth: coffee should never be stored in either the refrigerator or the freezer. Coffee is very sensitive to moisture and temperature, and any foods you have in your fridge or freezer will impart flavors to the coffee. Nobody wants frozen lima bean-flavored coffee!

Coffees enemies also include air, heat and light. The best way to store coffee is in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. Even if you live in Miami, you have a dark cupboard (and hopefully air-conditioning). Keep your coffee there.