Craft Coffee

by Jessica Easto

  DECAFFEINATION

  Most craft coffee roasters offer a high-quality decaf option for those of us who want to cut back on caffeine or limit our caffeine intake after a certain point in the day. To be clear, decaffeinated coffee is not caffeine-free. It still contains some caffeine: typically three to six milligrams per six ounces of coffee. For some perspective, a regular cup of drip arabica coffee normally contains 75 to 130 milligrams per six ounces, and green tea packs 12 to 30 milligrams into six ounces. So decaf contains relatively little caffeine, but it’s an amount that can add up with multiple cups.

  A few plants naturally produce caffeine-free beans, but as far as I can tell, they are not widely cultivated. That means most decaf is green coffee from which the caffeine was extracted. Today, there are four main ways to remove caffeine from coffee beans. All methods first soak the beans in water and then use some kind of additive to extract the caffeine. Water, as you may have guessed, can’t do the job alone—yes it will extract caffeine, but it will also extract flavor molecules, which would leave you with tasteless beans. Coffee with no caffeine and no taste? There is no point. Some decaffeination methods involve chemical solvents (like methylene chloride, which some suspect is carcinogenic) to remove the caffeine. Craft coffee roasters would likely never choose beans that had been subject to any chemicals because they can diminish flavors and leave a chemical residue—on top of the speculation that some of these solvents could be harmful to human health. The following are two more preferable methods for removing caffeine, the Swiss water process being the most common.

  A Note on Caffeination

  In scientific terms, caffeine is a naturally occurring, odorless, bitter alkaloid found in coffee beans and other plant products, such as tea, yerba mate, and cocoa. It’s technically a psychoactive drug because it stimulates the central nervous system and the autonomic nervous system. And that’s why people tend to like it—it can, among other things, temporarily block the receptors that make you feel tired as well as boost your ability to focus.

  A six-ounce cup of coffee has about 100 to 200 milligrams of caffeine. Despite what you may have heard, roast doesn’t have any bearing on how much caffeine is in a coffee bean, because caffeine is neither created nor destroyed during the roasting process. Bean to bean, the caffeine content is largely stable regardless of the roast level. What can affect the caffeine content of your cup is twofold:

  •Species/Varietal. Robusta has about twice as much caffeine as arabica: arabica beans have about 100 milligrams per six-ounce cup and robusta beans have closer to 200 milligrams per six-ounce cup. The level of caffeine can also vary slightly among arabica plants depending on the varietal, but the differences aren’t all that significant.

  •Roast level. What? I just said roast doesn’t matter! It doesn’t on a bean-to-bean level, but in practice, you must take weight into consideration. Lighter beans weigh more than darker beans. (A pound of dark roast coffee can have about 90 more beans in it than a pound of light roast coffee.) Therefore, if you measure your beans by weight, a 20-gram dose of dark-roast beans would have more caffeine than a 20-gram dose of light-roast beans—but only because there would be more beans in the dose. On the flip side, light beans are smaller than dark beans, as they don’t expand as much during the roasting process. So, if you measure your coffee in scoops, there will be more light beans per scoop than dark beans, which means there will be slightly more caffeine in your light-roast cup than your dark-roast cup. Science!

  Carbon Dioxide Process

  Carbon dioxide can be used to rid coffee of most of its caffeine. When compressed, carbon dioxide takes on the properties of both a gas and a liquid. It also has the convenient ability to bind with caffeine molecules, and the carbon dioxide process takes advantage of this ability. First, the beans are soaked in hot water. The heat opens up the beans’ pores, which gives the caffeine a way out. The soaked beans are transferred out of the water and into a separate vessel, where they are mixed with compressed carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide pulls the caffeine from the beans but does not attract the flavor molecules. The carbon dioxide is then removed, leaving the decaffeinated beans. The caffeine can be removed from the carbon dioxide and used for other purposes (like caffeinating soda pop), and the carbon dioxide can be recycled and used again. One advantage that the carbon dioxide process has over the Swiss water process is that the flavor molecules stay in the beans the entire time, which, in theory, lessens the chance that any flavor molecules will be lost or destroyed. However, the equipment for this method is quite expensive, so it’s not used very much outside of giant commercial operations. For specialty coffee, the Swiss water process is used most often.

  Swiss Water Process

  The Swiss water process was developed for the explicit purpose of decaffeinating coffee without using any chemicals—not even carbon dioxide. Instead, this method removes the caffeine through SCIENCE (aka solubility and osmosis). Like in the carbon dioxide process, the green coffee beans are placed in a tank of hot water. They stay there for several hours and essentially start brewing: flavors, oils, and caffeine leach into the water. The coffee water then passes through a carbon filter that is designed to capture only the caffeine molecules. The result is a pile of flavorless caffeine-free beans and a tank of flavored, caffeine-free water. This water is called green coffee extract, or GCE. The GCE is composed of the same oils and other flavor molecules as regular green beans—just without the caffeine.

  Here’s where osmosis comes in. The flavorless beans are thrown away. New beans (full of flavor) are brought in and dumped into the GCE. Through osmosis, the caffeine is drawn out of the new beans and into the water. Because the beans and the water are in balance with regard to their flavor molecules, only the caffeine is lost. This means that the beans lose the caffeine but retain much of their flavor.

  Look for bags of decaffeinated coffee that say “Swiss water process,” and you’ll know that the coffee was processed without potentially harmful chemical solvents. You may also notice that decaffeinated beans may cost a bit more than their caffeinated counterparts, which is due to the extra processing involved.

  CHAPTER 4

  Buying the Coffee

  WHEN YOU ARE BEGINNING your craft coffee journey, simply getting your hands on a bag of the good stuff can be a challenge—deciphering all of the jargon on the label is another story. In this chapter, I explore how to identify a bag of craft coffee, where to purchase it, how to read the label, and how to keep it fresh once you get it home.

  WHERE TO FIND CRAFT COFFEE

  Craft coffee has never been more accessible than it is right now. If you live in a city, you likely have access to several craft coffee vendors with a multitude of readily available options to choose from. If you live in a more rural area, you may need to rely on the internet instead of a brick-and-mortar store, but you still have plenty of choices. There are hundreds of craft coffee roasters around the country, and you can find their high-quality coffee if you know where to look and what to look for.

  If you are unfamiliar with the roasters in your area (or if there aren’t any), it can be difficult to differentiate a bag of craft coffee from the other bags on the shelf. A little research can go a long way, but keep in mind that the kinds of roasters I’m talking about likely don’t refer to themselves as “craft roasters.” You can determine whether or not a roaster qualifies as a craft roaster based on the values they describe on their website and, to some extent, the language they use on their packaging. In general, craft roasters:

  •Are small and (usually) independently owned. The biggest craft roasters are sometimes referred to as the Big Four: Stumptown (based in Portland, Oregon), Intelligentsia (based in Chicago, Illinois), Blue Bottle (based in Oakland, California), and Counter Culture (based in Durham, North Carolina). These are the brands credited with leading the craft coffee movement. They may be the biggest names in craft coffee, but collectively, they are still dwarfed by the likes of specialty coffee chains like Starbuc
ks. In 2015, the conglomerate that owns Peet’s and Caribou purchased a majority stake in both Stumptown and Intelligentsia, although both companies have pledged to uphold quality as they expand. The purchases likely mean these two craft brands will proliferate much more quickly than they would have otherwise. Most other craft roasters are a lot smaller than the Big Four, although you may find that one or two local roasters dominate your market—craft roasters are very much like craft beer in that way.

  •Are explicitly interested in quality. The website and packaging of a craft roaster is likely to clearly state that quality is important. It might also provide philosophies related to sourcing, buying, roasting, and/or selling coffee. Look for terms like specialty coffee, fostering relationships, seed to cup, transparency, precision roasting, partnerships, respect, ethically grown and purchased, responsibly sourced, artisanal, and similar.

  •Are interested in coffee’s story. A craft roaster usually includes a lot of information on their website about where their coffee comes from. They almost certainly will discuss the origin of their coffee, and they might even provide detailed information about the washing station, cooperative, farm, or producer that harvested or processed the coffee. They might also talk about their importers.

  •Provide a lot of information on the bag. The more information that’s on a bag of coffee—particularly about when the coffee was roasted and where it came from—the more likely the bag is from a craft roaster (although not all roasters put a bunch of info on their bags). Learn more about how to decipher a coffee bag and what to look out for on page 163.

  In order to find craft coffee, you should start by finding the roaster. Roasters often own their own coffee shops—although the roaster and the shop do not always go by the same name—and they also sell their beans wholesale to other cafés as well as grocery stores. In other words, if there are no roasters near your town, it doesn’t mean you are out of luck.

  Grocery Stores

  If you don’t live near any craft roasters, the first place to look for craft coffee is your local grocery store. The selection there will vary greatly depending on where you live. One good thing about grocery stores is that virtually all of them follow the same basic organization no matter where they’re located. The lowest-quality commodity coffee, usually sold in large canisters or tins, tends to be grouped together. Similarly, specialty coffee, such as Starbucks, Peet’s, and Caribou, as well as the brands that are trying to compete with them, such as Dunkin’ Donuts, Panera, and the higher-end “gourmet” or “select” versions of the commodity brands, are commonly bunched together, usually in clusters. If your grocery store sells craft coffee, it is most likely to be near the specialty coffee. I’ve noticed, however, that a single coffee brand (especially if it’s one of the big ones) can span multiple shelves—grocery stores are not necessarily set up like liquor stores where the cheap stuff is on the bottom shelf and the good stuff is up top.

  The easiest way to make sure you are purchasing craft coffee is to familiarize yourself with the biggest names in craft coffee, along with the names of your local and regional roasters, as those are the brands your grocery store is most likely to carry. The closer you live to a city, the more selection you likely will have, both in terms of brands and types of coffee. Here in Chicago, my local grocery chain has a surprising selection of craft coffee, although most of the small roasters featured there are from Chicago or nearby midwestern cities. But when I visit my smallish hometown in Indiana, it’s difficult to find even whole-bean specialty coffee at the grocery store, let alone craft coffee brands. If your store carries craft coffee but doesn’t have a big selection, you are most likely to see one or more of the Big Four. If you’re lucky, you’ll have a few local roasters thrown into the mix as well. However, roasters are popping up all over the place, even in small cities, so you may be surprised by what you find.

  If you aren’t familiar with the roasters in your area, you can look out for these sure signs that you’re not dealing with craft coffee and avoid them:

  •Canisters. A craft coffee shop will always package their coffee in bags, not canisters. Usually the bags will have a little plastic contraption that looks like a belly button. That’s a one-way valve that releases carbon dioxide while keeping out oxygen, and most craft coffee roasters use them to help keep their coffee fresh.

  •Flavored coffee. While packages of craft coffee often include flavor notes (see page 176), craft roasters most certainly will not sell coffee with added flavor. Avoid these coffees like the plague.

  •Vague origin. Craft coffee roasters tend to be very specific about where their coffee comes from, usually indicated by a country and a region within that country. It’s a point of pride for the roaster to communicate this information. If a coffee package includes absolutely no information about origin, that is suspect, as is an ambiguous origin like “Island Blend” (unless there is more specific information listed with it). The words “Colombia” and “Brazil” appear frequently, even on lower-grade coffee, so they don’t necessarily mean anything.

  •Heavy focus on dark roast. Any coffee labeled “French Roast” is likely not craft coffee. Actually, if the bag makes any reference to darker roasts (e.g., French or Italian), it’s likely not from a craft roaster (some craft roasters do offer darker roasts, but they probably would not use the aforementioned terms). If a coffee’s packaging emphasizes words like bold, full-bodied, or dark, it’s also unlikely to be craft coffee.

  •Emphasis on organic or fair trade. A few brands at the grocery store put more effort into promoting the organic and/or fair-trade aspects of their coffee rather than the coffee itself. These qualities aren’t necessarily bad, but they aren’t the primary focus of most craft coffee packaging.

  To some extent, you may have more luck at certain grocery stores than others. Whole Foods and similar stores may be more likely to carry craft coffee than other local or regional grocery chains, especially because they often offer opportunities to buy local. However, it can still be hard for small roasters to get shelf space at chain stores, so be sure to check out independent stores and co-ops in your area, too.

  Cafés/Coffee Shops and Roasters

  Craft coffee roasters often operate cafés or shops where they sell drinks, bags of their coffee, and equipment. If a small roaster owns a shop, you’ll certainly be able to purchase their coffee directly from them at that shop. As a bonus, the people working behind the counter will be able to answer your questions about the coffee and how to brew it before you make a purchase.

  Many independent cafés and coffee shops are not directly owned by a roaster. However, these shops may exclusively use coffee from one particular roaster (usually one of the Big Four or a nearby roaster) or from multiple roasters. Normally, these independent specialty shops sell bags of coffee in addition to drinks. If you add up all of the independent specialty shops in the United States, there are more of them than there are Starbucks stores, so there is a good chance you don’t live too far away from one and can fulfill all of your craft coffee needs there. To be clear, not all independent specialty shops are craft coffee shops—with highly trained baristas that are deeply invested in their skills and techniques—though they are a step in the right direction and may still carry and use craft coffee. How do you know whether your local coffee shop is a craft coffee shop? Look out for:

  •Knowledgeable baristas. If you are at a true craft coffee shop, the baristas behind the counter should be able to answer any questions you have about where the coffee comes from, how it tastes, and how it should be brewed. If they have no idea, it’s probably not a craft coffee shop.

  •Manual brewing methods. You might see a Chemex or V60 hanging out on the brew bar. Also, if there is any kind of giant, scientific-looking contraption behind the counter or taking up a wall somewhere, you are probably in a craft coffee shop (it’s used to make cold brew).

  •Inscrutable signage. Craft coffee shops usually have a small menu board by the counter with a list of the
day’s coffees. They are typically named according to their country of origin, the device, or both—like Guatemala AeroPress, which may have seemed like gibberish before you read this book. If it’s a café that’s not associated with a roaster, they might list the coffees with more emphasis on the roaster’s name.

  •A retail space. Craft coffee shops usually have a small retail space—sometimes just a few shelves—where they sell devices and other coffee equipment.

  •Latte art. Baristas at craft coffee shops often pour designs and shapes such as hearts and flowers into lattes and other espresso drinks.

  Another recent feature of the craft coffee movement is the emergence of non–coffee shops that sell craft coffee. Back in that small hometown of mine, there are at least two stores that are not dedicated to coffee (one is a frozen yogurt café and one is a doughnut/comic shop) where I can purchase bags from prominent Chicago roasters. This shows just how easy it is to find bags of craft coffee for sale even outside of a craft coffee shop.

  Online

  Even if you live in a place with no craft coffee vendors, there is still hope. Almost every craft roaster has a website with an online shop and most provide a lot of details about their coffees so you know exactly what you’re buying. Most roasters handle their own shipments to ensure that they are sending out only the freshest coffee, so you can be confident that your coffee won’t be stale by the time it gets to you. You can try coffee from any roaster in the country this way—there are a lot of options (I provide a very short list of some of my favorites in the Resources section on page 259). Some might say there are too many options. Because of this, several online services offer coffee subscriptions. These services send you curated selections of coffee on a regular basis in exchange for a monthly fee. Subscription programs are often a bit more expensive than individual purchases, and they don’t make sense unless you drink enough coffee to keep up with the pace of the shipments. But they are a convenient way to get a lot of different kinds of coffee delivered right to your doorstep.