Archive for September 12th, 2009
What is gourmet coffee?
It’s a term bandied about by everyone. But how do we distinguish the acceptable coffee from the gourmet coffee?
It all starts with the beans . . .
A comparative analog often used with coffee is that of fine wine. The distinct difference is that while the wine may be handled by one agent from growing the grape to bottling the wine, coffee will be handled by multiple parties.
The different parties responsible for a gourmet coffee can be roughly broken into the following:
- The Farmer
- The Wet Mill, where the skin and pulp of the coffee cherry is removed. Followed by drying and hulling the coffee bean.
- The Roasting House, the coffee may be ground at this level or just prior to preparation.
- The Brewing Process, at your home or the coffee house.
- Your Cup
Each step of this process can destroy the potential of a gourmet coffee. A gourmet coffee is therefore a coffee that starts with a superior coffee bean, handled with meticulous care, brewed with the finest water, that results in the gustatory pleasure that makes you go, “hmmmmm”.
In the next blog we’ll examine the institutions that set the standards for gourmet coffee. In the meantime, get your grinder out and make yourself a great cup of gourmet coffee.
Don’t forget to thank the farmer for starting it out right.