For any barista, home enthusiast or the more common decaffeinated and slightly grumpy state we find ourselves in on a morning, we all are looking for the 'God Shot' as Caffeine's industry insider describes it:
'the near-mythical collision of provenance, product and preparation to create an espresso shot that was, well, heavenly'.
They talk in their Bitter Barista article of the barista science concept which has only arisen in the recent past and how to produce this has become so essential to routinely create the 'God Shot'. With this in mind maybe it is time I invested in scales and a timer before my quest into Barrister Science can begin? I suppose the inner engineer/OCD/nerd inside me wants to use precise measuring.
Can it really make that much difference? or can the quality in the coffee bean prevail against the maths of brewing.
From my recent coffee tasting of a local roastery The Blending Room I would say the Jury's out.
After being introduced to this local-based roastery and given a variety of different blends to try and experience from one of my also enthusiastic and generous coffee friends, I saw it fit to insist on testing each batch (honestly I don't mind).
The Blending Room is a small Hull-based roaster which is owned by a guy called James. He has many years, experience in the coffee industry and really does know how to make great coffee.
Let's start with a bit about him - he first stepped into the coffee scene in 2000 as a barista in a Hull cafe. Pre-speciality coffee and pre-coffee culture across the UK. James began being involved in roasting in 2003 when his dad purchased a Diedrich IR-3 to start his coffee company. In 2009 James created 'The Blending Room' using the Diedrich. Since then he has invested in a Probate P12 and has never looked back!
As for the beans, they are sourced through Falcon Speciality who trade coffee from 18 countries and build 'collaborative supply chains for mutual profit and positive social impact' which is awesome!
James sells through trading at local and farmers markets and always has done. He says 'They are a great way to get your product to people on a face-to-face basis.'
I was given 4 different types of coffee to try out but I have decided to embark on (attempting) to describe the taste and quality of 2 -
Both very different in taste, roast type and aroma. I think it is best to try the two ends of the spectrum with these coffees, these being dark roast and light roast.
Now I'm sure you are thinking how different can it be, coffee is coffee right? Wrong. Try these beans for yourself and you will undoubtably be able to distinguish the vivid differences.
I started with 'Docker' - this is a mixed blend dark roast bean. It is described as follows -
'Docker does exactly what the name suggests; be fit for those who work on the docks! Joke.' and is a traditional blend with a very common taste in the speciality world. With a strong bold taste you get a dark chocolate hint. A well balanced increased body for that 'pick me up'. It is a wonderful example of what you should expect from a speciality bean. Roasted with care and caution to achieve the prominent taste shot after shot. This is perfect for those milky type coffees such as Flat White and Cortado.
The other coffee I tasted was Ethiopia Kayon Mountain and it was at the other end of the scale.
Firstly it was a light roast. (see the photo for the comparison between the two) The shade of the bean is determined by the roasting method. As different chemical reactions happen at certain temperatures within the bean, for example the water and carbon dioxide pressure releases at roughly 10-11 minutes into roasting causing the crack in the beans' cell structure.
Oh I am rambling on now, have I bored you yet? Maybe I'll leave roasting for another day.... Essentially this influences the taste and fragrance emitted by the bean and can change considerably depending on the roasting.
If you are considering a new roaster to try, go out to The Blending Room and get yourself a bag. They are small, local, and love making quality coffee! I'd like to thank James for sharing his world with me.
Here is his website: http://www.theblendingroom.co.uk
I have a lot lined up for my next few posts and cannot wait to get it out there so thank you all again for reading. So much is coming!
Another great article Matthew! I think I would prefer Docker since it's bold and has the chocolate hints (yum!).
ReplyDeleteYes this is definitely one of my more popular ones especially for my morning coffee!
Delete