Iced coffee?

This summer has passed (pretty much... feeling very fall-like these days), but I would be remiss if I didn't mention the newest trend in coffee brewing - cold coffee brewing.

Now, I know what you are thinking, and yes, ice coffee has been around for a long time. But it seems that brewing coffee cold has finally come of age. While for most people, they will brew coffee hot as usual, then pour it over a pitcher full of ice. Sure, this works, but Coffee Snob offers a very stylish, albeit extremely slow way to cold brew ice coffee - the cold drip coffee maker.

Essentially, it brews as the ice melts. The drips fall through the coffee grounds through a spiral tube into a pitcher at the bottom. You are left with a concentrated coffee that you add water or milk and sugar when serving. It's a beautiful way to brew, but slooooooow. Basically by filling a pitcher with ice and waiting for it to melt, you could be waiting for 6-7 hours to cold brew the coffee. Fun, but slow.

I've cold brewed with a french press, with mixed results. Consistency is a major challenge when doing it this way (I don't think I've ever been able to make the same brew twice). Fill your french press with about twice as much coffee as you would normally use. Add cold water, stir, wait. Stir, wait. Repeat. It takes a loooong time - I've left it overnight before, but its better if you can periodically stir the concoction.

Holdridge Trails

Kudos to the folks who maintain the Holdridge mountain bike trails out at Holly Rec Area... I was out there twice this week and they are a fantastic set of trails. They are great for both beginners and advanced riders with a special technical loop that offers some unique challenges. Those MMBA members who maintain it do an outstanding job. Thanks folks!!

Despite all the rain we've had recently the trails were pretty dry with only a few muddy spots. The Wall kicked my ass. Twice. But don't worry, I'll be back and will beat it.

Anyway, great trail. Check it out.

My other favorite beverage...

Just finished loading two fermenters with some homebrew.

The carboy on the left has an American wheat beer, which I have to admit I got a little lazy with. Didn't do too much hoping or adding specialty grains or extracts... just a straight wheat extract with liberty hops. Hopefully, it isn't too boring.

The white bucket on the right has a new version of my Orange Juice Beer. It should be a nice light amber ale with a strong orange flavor. I've done a couple different varieties of this beer for the summer in the past it always works out well.

If you are picking up coffee towards the end of May, ask me about it and we'll split a bottle!

Speaking of coffee- I have a couple new coffees on their way! A new variety of Sumatra Gayo Mountain and a Tanzanian Peaberry. They should be in stock by the end of the week and, of course, more details will follow shortly... But I can tell you that the samples I had were outstanding!

Fundraising fun...

Last night was the fundraiser for the Precision Concrete Mountain Bike team. Rouge Roastery donated some swag and sold some coffee. Bryan and Brian took good care of RR, and I got several comments from folks who have ordered and enjoyed the coffee. All I can say is, keep ordering!

The Allies (an accoustic band centered I believe in Westland) rocked, while Julie & I enjoyed a few glasses of Sacred Cow IPA and Oberon.

It was a great evening and hopefully the fundraising was successful!!

Good luck at Bloomer today, team! Go kick some kiester!

Earth Day ponderings

To honor Earth Day, I plan to bike to work, use CFL bulbs, recycle my paper and plastic waste, and clean up a local park. Pretty much everything I do on a regular basis already. So, why blog about that?

Well, I've been looking for more environmentally friendly ways to roast coffee as well. Roasting coffee throws off a lot of smoke and uses a lot of natural gas. I have been debating about a switch to propane from NG because of its higher thermal capacity, thereby perhaps using less gas overall. But switching to propane doesn't help solve the fact that when you roast beans, they are throwing off carbon. There are a few solutions to this problem, though they seem to go from the slightly unreasonable to the ridiculous...

1. an afterburner installed on the roaster essentially incinerates the smokes - a weird concept, but the data I've seen shows it works. The downside to this is additional gas and energy consumed to basically burn up smoke (which does produce smoke, but far, far less)
   
2. a solar powered roaster - which requires a move to a sunnier and warmer climate (or stop roasting for 6 months out of the year). Neither of these seem likely any time soon.
3. Build my own roaster that captures heat from the afterburner to roast the coffee faster and with less gas. Hopefully, that new, freshly incinerated flavor won't draw too much attention away from the beans.
   

On the home front, my wife and I have been talking about new and better ways to serve the environment as well. My latest crazy scheme (which frankly won't ever get off the ground) is to buy a diesel car and start making my own biodiesel for it. It's not much of stretch, since I already brew beer, but I could tell from the eye-roll that I got when I revealed that plan, that it was DOA. I suppose that I probably should start more simply with something that doesn't require buying a new car first....

Oh well.

What are you doing for Earth Day?

Happy Earth Day, everyone!

Big Dave

More coffee marketing babble...

I find the challenge facing Starbucks to be fascinating. Declining sales, slowing growth of stores, and slumping stock prices.

Starbucks has approached these challenges with basically an eye towards marketing:
1) New products - a new line of espresso and single cup machines are on the way; a new energy drink is on the way; new health drinks are being tested; a new coffee blend that will be standard in all stores
2) Customer experience - retraining of their baristas; grinding beans in the store so stores smell like coffee; reducing store introductions to avoid being "McDonalds" of the coffee world (too late)
3) Rebuild customer loyalty - a new frequent user card is being introduced

Essentially, Starbucks is fighting to again become the "local" coffee shop. The real interesting thing is that they have a huge leg up on the competition with built in loyal following that I firmly believe Starbucks could only turn off by hitting them with sticks as they enter... maybe not even then. Of course the local coffee shop has huge advantages as well: they are underdog (never under estimate the power of being the underdog, just ask John McCain), they are often higher quality, and they are usually run by friendly, nice, folks who are engaged in the community. They may not be able to compete with Starbucks on marketing power, but they sure as hell can compete on the customer experience.

Awareness Test

This is a good awareness test... keep alert!

How much does your cup of coffee cost?

I recently "met" a local sustainable coffee writer and she has an excellent article on the cost of a cup of coffee. I have always approached coffee from basically two perspectives: where is it from and how fresh it is. In actuality, both are essentially the same basic question - how's it taste? This guideline has rarely steered me wrong (particularly since I can get coffee at the peak of freshness... oh and hey, so can you!) I've been fortunate enough that I don't concern myself with price as much as I do with the taste of it. But I recognize that there are many who do not (or can not) approach coffee with such a disregard for cost, and that's where my "professional side" kicks in (who knew I even had a professional side?!?).

As a marketing expert in my other life, I recognize that the price of coffee, while affected by variable and fixed costs obviously, is also driven by your perceptions of the product. What I mean by that is there is a point at which coffee becomes too cheap. If I offered you a pound of coffee for $4, yeah, some would jump on it, but many would look at me like I had a third head wondering, what the h kind of dirt coffee am I trying to push for four bucks a pound?! (interesting side note, I would lose money at $4/lb, so don't even bother to ask) But there is also a point at which coffee becomes too expensive. Even I wince when I shell out what amounts to about $65-70 for a pound of coffee. At that price, it BETTER be damn good and damn fresh coffee... (don't worry it almost alway is).

So, the optimal price for my coffee is somewhere between $4 and $70. There are a lot of statistical tools for figuring out that sweet spot, but I won't bore you with that...

The real question posed is: Why, then, is the cheap, unsustainable coffee still so much in demand? Wouldn't the price alone make people question the quality of the coffee? Well, yes and no. I doubt many folks are buying Folgers or Eight O'Clock coffee because they think it has outstanding freshness or unsurpassed flavor. But the Folgers and Eight O'Clock brands do have value to some people, and the convenience factor is huge (note that by convenience I'm not referring coffee shops... still just talking about the pound of roasted coffee). They are located everywhere you look and that, people will pay for. Plus the power of brands should not be underestimated - people are loyal to brands for a reason and those perceptions (right or wrong) will drive a lot of demand. I could spend hours writing about branding at this point, but don't worry I won't.

As I've always said, a fresh pound of RR coffee will ruin your tastebuds for your regular brand no matter what the price... Again, its a quality that people pay for.

Big Dave!

Photo credit to shine_dorydevlin Thank you!

Birds and Coffee

I have been hearing more and more recently about the relationship between birds and coffee (no I'm not talking about a bird variety of civet coffee), and so I thought I would expand on what this relationship is, and why it's important.

Shade grown coffee is grown in the shade of canopy trees. The trees provide protection for the coffee from the (often) heavy rains, while providing soil moisture retention (very important in coffee growth) , helps maintain the correct nitrogen level in the soil, reduces erosion, and even reduces the need for weeding around the plants. This reduces the needs for fertilizers and it's why many of your organic coffees are also often shade grown - it's just easier and often cheaper! Chemicals required for growing coffee in full sun

The shade trees on coffee farms have proven to be an excellent habitat for migratory birds. In fact, there have been as many as 150 different species of migratory birds have found in one coffee farm. So, with so many pluses why would anyone choose to grow coffee in full sun?

Well, there are essentially three main reasons:

• Production - coffee production in sun filled fields is substantially higher than in forests. Recovery of the coffee can also be mechanized, which is not possible in shade farms.
• Politics - of course politics is going to be in here somewhere - in the late 1980's/early 1990's coffee prices plunged as a result of the collapse of an agreement by coffee producing countries. This drove some countries (like Columbia) to modernize their coffee production and drove smaller farms out of business.
• Cash Crops - this relates again to the price that coffee draws. As crop prices for other crops like wheat and corn that require full sun climbs, and as these become more profitable, forest is converted to fields in order to capitalize on this profit - this is particularly a danger as bio-fuel demand grows.
  

Shaded coffee plantations are often the last refuge for migratory birds, but birds are only one indicator of the role that coffee plays in protecting biological diversity. Shaded coffee plantations offer refuges for insect, tree, and other animal species as well. I'll be doing more due diligence to make sure that Rouge Roastery has shade grown coffees, and I'll post shortly which of our current offerings are shade grown.

Big Dave!

The Science of Oily Beans

I've been often asked "Hey, why are my beans all oily?"

Well, there are a few reasons for this, but before I get to the science of it, here's some basics about coffee:

Coffee beans essentially have three components to them (note this is a HIGHLY simplified explanation): the fibrous woody material, fats and protiens, and moisture (which comes from the woody material). When a bean is unroasted or green it is mostly this dense woody material with all the oils and moisture trapped inside. As it is roasted, the cells break down and release the moisture and oils.

That's the basics, but here's the details (I do believe that's where the devil might be) of what happens when you roast a bean. As the bean heats up, the cellular material of the bean breaks down. This releases the coffee oil (sometimes called coffeol - I don't know why) and leaves the woody material. Now, it takes a lot of heat over a longer period of time to pull the oils to the "top" of the bean, and that's why the darker roasts seem oily. As a bean is roasted even further, the sugars are caramelizing, or worse yet cooked right out of the bean (these dark roasts are called Vienna or Italian or the particularly dark and flat, Spanish roast). All that you are left with is essentially a flat tasting oil and wood.

This is why I don't do Italian or Spanish roasts - there are very, very few beans (arguably, perhaps none) that will take that dark a roast and remain tasty.

Interesting side note to all this, as you roast a bean darker, it cooks the caffeine out of it too. So, a darkly roasted "espresso" bean will have LESS caffeine than a properly roasted lighter brown espresso bean.

Let's dig a little deeper into the science of this to better explain why the perfect roast is so important.

When a bean is put in the roaster, the first thing that happens is the roaster heats the bean up past the boiling point of water, that cooks the moisture out of the bean , and starts to change the color of the bean. As the temperature inside the bean climbs from about 170 to 200 Celsius, the sugars in the bean start to caramelize. This reduces the sweetness of the bean, as uncaramelized sugar is much sweeter tasting than caramelized sugar. As the bean caramelizes, the sucrose (sugar) is essentially cooked brown inside the bean. When the bean hits 205C (by the way, that's 401 Fahrenheit), it has its "first crack" - which is just what it sounds like, a cracking sound as the cells of the beans are rupturing (city or city+ roast level).

From here, the longer the bean is roasted, the more the sugars are caramelized reducing the sweetness. However, at the same time, the more the you roast, more of the bitter tasting compounds are broken up and cooked out of the bean. The key to the perfect roast is a balance between not too sweet, but not too bitter either. There is a "second crack" as the bean breaks down further which occurs when the bean hits about 220-230C (Full City or Full City+). We should all think of this as the limit for a bean. Typically, RR won't roast past the second crack (about 225-230C) - this is a good French roast level and is pretty dark.

This is particularly true of espresso. When roasting espresso, many companies tend to focus on roasting the beans very dark to remove the bitterness of the espresso.
But... (now let's see if you have been paying attention) What happens when roast a coffee bean longer?
You're right! The sugars caramelize and remove all sweetness from the bean, leaving a flat, almost stale-tasting, uninteresting espresso.

(Note that a lot of the specifics of this info came from coffeeresearch.org)

I've heard it a thousand times, customers tell me that they prefer my beans (hopefully!) or X brand (unfortunately) coffee to Starbucks because "Starbucks tastes burnt." Why is that? There are two things going on here to give it that burnt taste. First, Starbucks tends to roast their coffees on the dark side - some of them take this very well, many don't, but all seem to be roasted the same regardless. Second, when they make their espresso, they scald the grounds which burns them further. The final step is to add milk or creme and/or sugar to put the sweetness back in, but if you just order espresso it lacks that sweetness. In Starbucks defense (I can't believe I'm defending them!), they did just announce that their baristas were not as focused on the product and customer as they were in their heyday (duh. Ya' think??). Management will close every Starbucks to do a training session with their baristas - so who knows, perhaps their espresso will be good again. I refuse to believe they'd be as big as they are if their espresso was always as craptastic as it is now.

Well, there you go, the science behind coffee roasting and how that relates to Starbucks (who knew this post would end up there!).

Big Dave!

Routiki's Ukulele!!

I almost completely forgot to mention in my last post about new products, we've got a limited edition ukulele designed by artist, Steve Sholtes!! Our little tiki god of outstanding coffee, Routiki, finally has a tribute befitting a tiki god of his stature... a ukulele!




Yep, while this one was a birthday present to me (I'm so lucky), these are available to you as well through the RR coffee shop.

There's nothing at all that goes as well as a ukulele with your hot cup of java!

Big Dave!

New Products coming soon.......

I've already mentioned the coffee of the month that starting in March, but be on the lookout for some other new things kicking around the old shop. I'll officially be selling select Bodum products soon, which I chose mainly because they have a great combination of high style and high quality. More to come on this...

Also, coming soon, RR t-shirts! Yep, you'll be stylin' in our all-organic cotton shirts. Again more to come on this, as I'm hoping to have these in stock in March!

And finally, YES FINALLY, I'll be starting up the Beanmail email newsletter again to keep you all apprised of what's coming up with RR!! I mentioned this clear back in Dec., but never got around to it. Plus, I think I've been talking about starting Beanmail up again for almost all of 2007, well, March is it! Look for the first Beanmail to come very soon (this week, even perhaps?!?)... and drop me a line if you've not already signed up on our website!

Shout out to pals...

You know, I thought it was high time I give a shout out to one of my newest customers and friend...

Jazzy Espresso Cafe at 212 E. Grand River in Harmonie Park (just east of Broadway)

It's a fantastic little cafe and they have started to carry Rouge Roastery coffees. Check them out next time you're hanging out in the D!

Coffee of the month! (with a crazy tangent into a pricing discussion)

Starting in March, I will begin to off a new variety of coffee every month (a coffee of the month!). Basically, each month, I'll be bringing in something new for all-ya-all to try from various spots around the globe (those who are or aspire to be our CaffeiNation subscribers, you may or may not receive the coffee of the month, depending on what else I have up my sleeve that month!).

Well, I've got March's coffee and as a special to our readers, I'm going to spill the beans now... It's an Ethiopian Harrar. It's got a lot of character to it, and its more of a spicy and winey Ethiopian than the Yirg that I stock (which has strong floral and citric flavors to it). It's a limited supply, as the weather last year did not cooperate with the Harrars... The very wet season meant that drying the beans was next to impossible for many farms and lots of beans were left to rot, rather than dry. This has driven the prices up for the Harrars, so I didn't end up investing a lot into it, so get 'em while you can!

Speaking of prices, there's been lots of news recently about coffee prices climbing. I've been largely shielded from this because I bought big enough quantities of my standard coffee's to have lower cost beans in stock. When I price my new coffee of the month, I find that I get asked often why its so expensive (even my stock prices have climbed as I'm starting cycle through what I have). I don't have a nice, neat, and clean answer for you on this, but here's my attempt:

1) The weak dollar compared to other world currencies is adding to the cost I pay for coffee, as my importers are having to pay more to get the same amount. Doesn't seem like it should make that much difference, but trust me, it does.

2) The weather in 2006 and 2007 in many regions (note the Harrar limited availability described above) has substantially impacted the supply of good coffee - I can probably still get crap coffee in abundance, but why?!?

3) Hurricane Katrina actually had a pretty substantial impact on coffee prices in the Eastern US in 2007 as ports went closed and sources were re-routed. While it seems like we shouldn't be feeling the affects of Katrina in the coffee market now, it is my opinion (not really many facts to go with it in this case, just an opinion) that once prices climb, they never return to the previous level - as evidence, consider how much are you paying for gas now versus a year ago.

I'm doing my best to keep prices steady, but as I rotate in new coffees every month, I'm afraid they won't be my lowest priced varieties.

Well, there you go, a hodge-podge of new coffee and pricing thoughts for you.

Drink on, my friends!
Big Dave!

MMBA Expo

Today was the MMBA (MI Mtn Bike Assoc) expo today in Davisburg. Rouge Roastery was well represented with Trails-Edge brewing and giving away espresso shots of our Hammerin' Espresso Blend (Thanks, Mike!!). It was the perfect blend of outstanding coffee, great people, and covet-worthy bikes!

I was in heaven, as I sat next to a shiny red new Trek 9.9 carbon fiber bike. The thing was beautiful and it only weighed in at a hair under 22lbs. Let's put some perspective around that for those of you who not are giant bike geeks like me...

I ride a 1994 GT Karakoram with a rack on the back, shocks on the front, and slicks for riding on pavement (I use it commute)... this sucker weighs in at just over 30lbs (guessing about 31-32). My (almost) new hardtail Felt that I got last year, weighs in at 26lbs.
My Cannondale road bike from 2001, weighs in at about 20.
So, does 22 vs. 26 lbs really make that much difference when you ride it?

Oh yeah. This bike will be FAST and should be very aggressive up hills (combination of low weight and stiff frame translates into a lot of your power from your pedal stroke going straight into the back wheel).

Of course there is a downside. This shiny red, carbon fiber, dream machine was marked down to $3,995.00.

Ouch. But that's ok, I love my Felt and I'm not fast enough on a bike to justify a $4K carbon fiber frame anyway.

Besides, just down the isle a bit from that sat the Rocky Mountain stand (I'm a big fan of the Element series!)... One thing for sure, this expo sure made me want to get out ride. Wish it wasn't 1 degree out.

Big Dave!

Espresso machines

I had someone ask me if I had any espresso machine recommendations. While I have to admit that I don't have a wide variety of experience with a variety of machines, I do have some and I have a current favorite. So, here's a rundown on my experience and recommendations:

Gaggia Coffee de Lux – this is the machine I currently own and I’ve been very pleased with it. It heats well and never burns the espresso. It is well built and stands up to frequent use with consistent water heating, and great crème. A couple years ago these went for about $300, a tremendous value in my opinion. My only three complaints are it is not the quietest of machines, when you use the steamer it can take a while to cycle because it all comes from the same boiler, and it is definitely not the most stylish of machines. However, I'm lucky because my brother painted flames on mine and replaced the front panel so that it now IS the most stylish of machines!

Krups – the machine I have used is no longer made, but that’s ok, it won’t be missed. I’m sure the new batch of Krups for about $200 are similar. This machine did not heat evenly during repeated use. The first batch was always good, but if you did 2 cups or more, it always seemed to scald the beans on the second or third batch. Plus I had pressure problems a couple times because the grounds were too fine (I think). I’ve never had that with my Gaggia.

Starbucks Barista – as much as I hate the idea of recommending anything with Starbucks name on it, I have used this machine and am ashamed to say I was pretty impressed. It makes great espresso with no fuss. I have not had a lot of experience with them, but from what I’ve seen, they are definitely worth take a look at. I’ve read online about some folks having mechanical trouble with them (bad gaskets), but the one that I’ve used has never had a problem. I would guess that it is quieter than my Gaggia, and it seemed to cycle through for frothing milk or your second shot pretty quickly. I would expect these to be priced between $300-$400. The only thing I’m not sure of is if the Barista require the use of Pods (self-enclosed espresso shots). I believe some machines do and some don’t.

Ala di Vittoria La Valentina Levetta – this is the machine that I’m lusting after... I have not used it, but desperately want to get my hands on one. This features a pressure gauge to ensure that you’re getting the proper pressure, pre-infusion chamber to saturate the grounds before steaming, rapid heat exchanger to allow milk frothing immediately after brewing, everything is completely adjustable so you are always sure to get the correct temperature and pressure. And, its got a nice cup warmer on the top! Not to mention that its extremely cool looking. :) It also sells for about $1500-$1700, which is why I have not had a chance to use it personally.

Bottom line:
If you have the means, then go for the La Valentina Lavetta. It's the closest to a professional machine (without actually buying a professional machine) that you'll get at home.
Second best option is the Gaggia Coffee de Lux - great value, great espresso, very few downsides
If you have to, look at the Starbucks Barista - great espresso, a little overpriced perhaps, but a solid performer.
Krups - don't bother, there are better options.

Keep in mind regardless of what machine you get, the best espresso only comes from a good grind. Without a good grinder, there's no point in buying a nice espresso machine. Check out Baratza grinders - beautiful functioning grinder.

Happy espresso!
Big Dave!

We're back!

I've successful repaired the roaster and have roasted several batched to perfection. We're back!

Rouge Roastery sponsors Mountain Bike Race Team

Rouge Roastery is the proud sponsor of a new mountain bike race team, Team Precision Concrete Screeding.

The team is made up of about 13 riders in several different classes, including our pal, Andy Staub of Beat the Train in Detroit fame. We had our first meeting a couple weeks ago and I got to meet most of the team. They seem like a great bunch and I'm looking forward to watching them compete. Their first chance to show off will be at a time trial on April 20th at Yankee Springs in Middleville, MI. On Saturday, April 26th there is a fundraiser for the team in Ypsilanti, we are providing tickets for the event here.

We are looking forward to their first big race on June 1st at Hanson Hills Challenge in Grayling.

Kick some keister folks!

Yelling Fire in Crowded Coffee House

GAAH! The roaster is down! A a small fire broke out while roasting last night. But thanksto some quick thinking by Big Dave, it's not too bad. We will be out-o-commission for about a week. I apologize for the inconvenience. All orders will be fulfilled as soon as we are back. If you have any questions or advice for what to do with our downtime as we wait for parts, drop us an email.

2008 ... we're movin' on up!

Happy 2008! Made any resolutions?

I'm working on one, fun, stressful, challenging, freakin' huge, and ultimately rewarding, resolution for the year. Get the roastery out of the basement and into the light of day!

There are a few things that have been in the hopper and continue to be, but basically, I've got to do three tasks to get Rouge Roastery working for me...

1) Line up space (anyone know of any 1000 sq ft retail space for less than $1000/month in Detroit near Campus Martius, in Mid-town, or maybe near Indian Village???)

2) Complete the financing (it's started, but waiting on final numbers from item 1)

3) Nail down the marketing and grow the business (after all, I have to justify the move out of the basement, don't I??)

2008 should be a pretty exciting year. So grab a cup of joe and come along for the ride...