Did we mention that we are serving coffee now? On this occasion, we have decided to write a blog post about coffee. We are really serious about it - we want to deliver the best possible quality and taste. That’s why we partnered with Curve Coffee Roasters from Margate - they treat coffee seriously too. And if you like the beverage that we prepared for you, you can buy the same beans in our shop. Easy!
There are many steps between picking coffee beans and preparing a perfect espresso and the route from the tree to the cup is a complicated and fascinating one. What you first need to know, is that unprocessed coffee beans are practically inedible because of their grassy and raw smell and taste - you can’t brew coffee with them. What’s interesting is that beans from different places look differently - their size and colour vary quite a lot, from little green ones to ones that are large and brownish. Coffee is grown almost uniquely in the zone called the “Bean Belt” - the area between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. The origin of the coffee beans is very important and coffee from different parts of the world will have different dominant notes - generally speaking, coffees from South America taste more citrussy and nutty while the African ones have berry notes. These aren’t all notes that coffee can have - there’s a myriad of coffee notes including tobacco, spice, cocoa and vanilla.
There’s over ten steps of the way the coffee makes between the bean and the cup - we are going to discuss pulping the coffee bean and roasting, as they have a big impact on how the coffee tastes.
Pulping is the name given to the process of removing the skin and the pulped fruit that surrounds the beans and it can be done in a few different ways. In the wet process the skin and the pulp are removed from around the beans through pressing the fruit in water through a screen. At this point, the layer of mucilage is still on the bean and is removed through fermentation which can give a slight wine-like taste. The beans are then dried in the sun. The dry process is the traditional way of processing the coffee beans where they are left in the sun before removing the skin and the pulp. It creates a very fruity coffee with a full body.
Roasting is another incredibly important step as it can greatly change the taste of the coffee. Processed coffee has to be roasted. A skilled roaster knows which notes should be brought out of the beans and how to highlight their natural features. The duration and temperature of the roast will result in different flavours. The light roast is done in the lowest temperature and gives a light brown colour of the beans with a weaker taste but with more caffeine. Medium and medium dark roasts are done in higher temperatures and their taste is more intense but still more acidic. The medium roast is perfect for the pour-over coffee methods. Lastly, a dark roast uses the highest temperature and it’s not uncommon to see smoke coming out of the roaster. A dark roast gives an almost smokey and heavy taste and a very dark, almost black colour.
So why did we partner with Curve Coffee roasters from Margate? At Foras, our values are important to us - we love supporting local economy and we love nature. Curve Coffee comes in fully recyclable bags and their mission is to to give us delicious coffees whilst looking after people and the planet. That’s a purpose we can get behind! So come to Foras and try our delicious coffee!