Appendix E-J

At Everyday Joe’s, we proudly and gladly and exuberantly brew the beans roasted by Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea out of Chi-town (Chicago, for those not in the “know”). Each week or so their VP of Coffee, Geoff Watts, sends out a message concerning something in his coffee-obsessed mind. This week, it is chemistry. 

Hola:

I’ve been thinking a lot about roast chemistry lately. As you may or may not already know, green coffee contains hundreds of volatile organic compounds that are responsible for its many flavors and aromas. To complicate things further, the roasting process involves a massive amount of chemical change and transformation…polysaccharides breaking down, sucrose reducing to simpler sugars, caramelization and Maillard reactions, acid chains breaking and reforming…my goodness. It’s a lot to wrap your head around. Small variations in the application of heat during the roast will lead to profound differences in the cup.

There are some things that are very well known with others crying out for further study. A lot of the research into coffee quality is fairly recent, and compared to other beverages, our collective understanding of what gives coffee its unique tastes is still in its infancy.

But let’s begin at the top. Stand back lest ye become blinded by the science. (Just kidding.) I’m no chemist, maybe in another life. Still, I’ve had to learn a lot about what is going on in during the roasts, and while there is admittedly plenty that the industry has yet to discover and quantify, there is some fundamental knowledge that guides our efforts…and it’s about to drop on you.

Step One:

We take the green coffee, which has been selected based on its positive organoleptic traits. (For the laymen in the audience, this is a fancy way of saying that we bought it because it tastes delicious.) Before roasting we need to establish some basic understandings about the physical properties of the coffee that will guide our approach to it. So we take measurements of the bulk density. We measure the moisture content of the bean. We can run it through screens to determine the size of the beans and their uniformity. Those things give us some basic ideas about how the coffee will respond once it gets put into the roaster.

Beyond the physicals, we also need to have some targets with regard to roast degree. Every coffee is different, and a singular approach to roast profiling will not give each individual coffee the kind of articulation it needs to reach its true potential in the cup. So upon receipt of a coffee we test it in our sample roaster and spend time evaluating and discussing it before deciding what to do in the production roast.

Some coffees (like a great Kenya) excel on the basis of their profound cane-like sweetness, lively and confident acids that yield various tropical fruit flavors, their captivating and powerful aromatics, and graceful floral traits. Others (like a great El Salvador) succeed on the basis of deep and slightly syrupy ripe cherry notes, chocolatey undertones, and brown sugar or molasses-style sweetness. So the goal must be to identify what it is that makes a certain coffee tick (to see what is under the hood, so to speak) and then figure out how to maximize and accentuate those traits through the roast. Not an easy task, believe me.

Step Two:

Once the targets are acquired, the roaster takes on the challenge of executing the perfect transformation of acids and sugars that bring the coffee to life. It can take a while to get it right. Since every coffee responds a bit differently to heat, the roaster must “get to know” the coffee over time and learn about its particular idiosyncrasies. As mentioned, some things can be anticipated based on knowledge of the physical specs, but many things cannot be known until the bean is in the machine.

First, we weigh out the appropriate amount of coffee. Every machine has an “ideal” batch size, usually about 70% of its listed capacity. Once the coffee is weighed out, the machine is brought up to pre-selected temperature. When it hits temp, the coffee is loaded into the drum and the roast begins.

During the first 4 minutes or so the bean doesn’t change color very visibly. It retains its green color and looks relatively similar to how it started out. Beans start at about 11% humidity, and in this stage, the moisture in the bean is heated and driven out. Once the free water is released, the color of the bean begins to change as the chlorophyll degrades and the sugar browning processes kick into gear.

Around 5 or 6 minutes the beans take on a deep yellow hue. Now the chemistry is heating up. Two processes modify the sugar, and the first is caramelization, which is essentially the melting of sugars which begins to occur at around 160 degrees C. The compounds in the sugar change, leading to changes in aroma and color as well as the formation of various organic acids.

Meanwhile, the Maillard reaction is going on full-bore. Any foodies out there are certainly well familiar with this as it is essential to the creation of many key aromas and flavors in chocolate, caramels, toasted breads, roasted meats, malted barley in beer, and many other culinary delights. It is a bit complex, but here’s a quick explanation, courtesy of my friend Joseph:

1. Amino acids combine with sugars to form several N-glucosamine compounds during roasting.
2. These unstable compounds undergo Amadori or Heynes reactions to form several other intermediates.
3. Strecker Degradation sets in, where N-glucosamine with double bonds react with other amino acids to form Pyrazines and Pyridines, along with other compounds
4. All remaining intermediates combine to form long chains of brown-colored melanoidins, which are responsible for coffee color.

Yipes. Lots of stuff going on here. Keep in mind that, as mentioned, there are hundreds of compounds in coffee that are all doing somersaults during the roasting process. Some land on their feet, some do not. Some become conjoined with others, some disappear into the atmosphere.

But that’s not all. Lipids (fats in the coffee bean) are degrading, there is on-going pyrolysis (the breakdown of organic materials that, if continued indefinitely, would leave nothing but carbon), and oils are migrating. It’s a massive circus of activity. And it is happening at a frantic pace, every second that goes by bringing substantial change to the coffee. It takes an experienced hand to monitor this process and guide the coffee to its crescendo.

Since a drum roast applies heat to the coffee in several different ways simultaneously via conductive, radiant, and convective thermal transfer, it becomes a challenge to get the optimal heat transfer environment. Drum speed, airflow velocity, drum materials, and the type of heat source all have an impact and small changes can easily change the way in which the coffees absorb heat and transform. Since we use atmospheric burners, the conditions on a given day can have an impact. Barometric pressure and ambient air temperature modify the heat transfer equations, so roasting in July is dramatically different than roasting in November. And since the raw coffees themselves change over time as a result of natural aging and oxidation, the roaster must always be adjusting to compensate.

Even the cooling is critical. Coffee cooled too slowly can lead to lots of problems, including the cross-linking of sugar molecules that makes them less soluble in water, leading to brewed coffees with less sweetness.

It is a lot to think about. I think that’s enough for now.

I would invite you to enjoy a cup of our Rwanda Zirikana, easily my favorite coffee in our current lineup. As you sip, imagine all the chemistry collaborating to yield the tastes and aromas you are experiencing. And if you get dizzy, just take a deep breath, clear your head, and allow the seductive sweetness of the Zirikana ease you into serenity.

As always, find our Nods at:
http://www.intelligentsiacoffee.com/origin/offerings.

Good luck to all of us,

Geoff Watts
VP of Coffee
Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea

Further:

• Intelligentsia Official Site

• Watts Works 

Popularity: 8% [?]

At Everyday Joe’s, we brew the beans of Intelligentsia Coffee out of Chicago. We made the switch to them about 9 months ago, and haven’t regretted a minute of it. Much of our delight is due to their beliefs about the way coffee farmers should be treated. Read below for more in this short essay by Geoff Watts, Intelligentsia’s VP of coffee.Hola:

With all the activity in the coffee marketplace these last weeks, I think it is a good time to reflect a little bit on the industry and coffee valuation.

Let’s start with a quick history. Coffee has long been an important crop for international trade as far back as the 19th century, and many countries around the world still depend on coffee as their principle source of agricultural export income. By the early 1900′s coffee had come to represent more than half of the total exports in places like Brazil, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua. Today, it is one of the most heavily traded commodities on world markets.

The way coffee has been valued over the years, however, has changed dramatically. In recognition of the importance of this product, a commodity exchange was set up to trade coffee futures in the early 1800′s. From the early Arabic coffee monopolies in the 17th century to the Brazilian land barons of the 19th century, there have always been individuals or organizations on the supply-side whose activities have had a huge global impact on pricing, but the tension between supply and demand generally kept it in balance. This situation continued unimpeded until the 1950′s when a huge and unprecedented price spike led to an over-planting of coffee trees. This excess supply then caused a major shift in the supply-demand equation. Prices dropped because of over-production, and in 1963 the International Coffee Organization came into being as a way to regulate the trade.

In the early sixties a quota system was established that induced producing countries to withhold supplies and limit production whenever volumes rose. The idea was to keep prices relatively stable and to avoid years of massive over-supply that could cripple the economies of the developing nations who relied on export income from coffee. Some say that US participation in the agreement (at the time the most important coffee-consuming country in the world) was motivated in part by Cold War fears and the belief that economically struggling Latin American countries could be pushed towards communism. There could be some truth to this as the US coincidentally withdrew its support for the agreement in 1989, just after the fall of the Berlin wall and the “end” of the Cold War.

The quota system did help keep the market fairly stable, but it was still subject to some significant ups and downs despite the price regulation mechanisms. In 1973 prices rose dramatically, and the quota system collapsed in the face of a rising market. In 1975 the famous Brazilian “black frost” drove prices through the roof, again leading to more intense planting in the following years. Predictably, supply went up again several years later and the market crashed, leading to a reintroduction of quotas in the eighties. At that point a trigger system was established whereby the quotas would turn on and off at certain pre-selected world production volumes. In 1986 the upper level trigger went off and quotas were again dropped, only to be reintroduced at the end of the year. They stayed in place until the US withdrawal in ’89.

Here’s a look at the International Coffee Agreement from 1983:

“…a system of export quotas operated when necessary to secure price stability within ranges agreed annually by exporting and importing Members at meetings of the International Coffee Council. Quotas were suspended if prices rose above certain levels and subsequently reintroduced if prices fell. The quota system operated in such a way that consideration was given, in setting individual quotas, to past export performance and to the stocks of coffee held in exporting Member countries. The export quota system was supported by an obligatory system of controls.

Each export by a Member was covered by a Certificate of Origin. Importing Members did not admit coffee from Members unless the Certificate was validated by coffee export stamps issued by the Organization. When quotas were in effect, importing Members were required to limit their imports from non-members and exports to non-members were closely monitored. Carry-over stocks of coffee in each exporting Member country were verified annually, involving the physical counting of stocks in many hundreds of warehouses scattered throughout the territories of producing countries.

The verification took place at the end of the crop year of each country. The Council was required to coordinate national production policies to achieve a reasonable balance between world supply and demand, and there was a Fund for the promotion of consumption financed by exporting Members. Promotional campaigns were conducted in the major importing countries in cooperation with the trade and the resources of the Fund were used to sponsor research and studies related to the consumption of coffee, especially in the United States of America and Europe. The Promotion Fund financed coffee centers, scientific research and training programs to help improve the quality of coffee and its general image. In the 20 years during which promotion activities were financed by a Fund, exporting Members contributed some US$100 million.”

You can see that everything revolves around supply and demand issues and price controls. A lot changed in the ensuing years, and here’s a look at the 1994 version of the agreement that came into being after the quota system was abandoned completely:

“…encouraging Members to develop a sustainable coffee economy promoting coffee consumption; promoting quality of coffee; providing a forum for the private sector; promoting training and information programs designed to assist the transfer of technology relevant to Member countries; analyzing and advising on the preparation of projects to the benefit of the world coffee economy.”

The coffee trade moved along in the 90′s and the market began to change dramatically as Specialty coffee took off and the world got to know Starbucks. Prices went up and down a lot as the market became more volatile during a period of changing consumption patterns and changing political economies at origin. Then in 1999 the collapse came, known today as the “Coffee Crisis”. Ups and downs had become normal, but this was the first time the depression was sustained for so many consecutive years. It crippled the industry. Many farms went out of business, coffee quality diminished, and we saw all sorts of reactions from the increasing popularity of certification systems like Fair Trade to new hedging strategies and increased interest in the futures market on the part of fund speculators.

For four more years the prices stayed in the gutter and producers scrambled to survive. Many abandoned their farms and moved to the cities. Bank foreclosures were common. It was a terrible time to be a coffee grower. A big part of the problem was the introduction of cheap Vietnamese Robusta coffees. That country received a lot of donor money and loans to rebuild after the war, and it invested hugely in coffee production. The US lifted their trade embargo in 1994, and the flood of cheap, low-quality coffee started to arrive. The supply-demand ratio tipped over completely and things got weird.

Intelligentsia was still very young at the time, and we saw both the highest and lowest markets in centuries within the space of a couple of years. It became very clear, very quickly that something had to change—and that the relationship between coffee quality and coffee prices would have to be radically redefined if there would be any hope for great coffee in the future. If quality is to be maximized, producers need stability and profit. It costs more to produce better coffees, yet as I’ve mentioned a hundred times, it is a long-term process. Investment in quality on the producer’s side starts a whole year before the coffee is ready to sell, and so it becomes a risky proposition to spend cash on trying to improve the coffee if there is no guarantee that it will come back to the grower in the form of higher coffee prices that reward the better quality.

We’ve been evolving our Direct Trade buying model every year in response to producer feedback and impact analysis. It can be complicated. We must always push forward, driving prices to a level where they are legitimately enough to encourage and pay for maximum attention to detail at the farm level. You get what you pay for…that’s the mantra. If quality is expected, it must be awarded prices based on its real costs of production and its value as a Specialty coffee, not as dictated by a global commodities market that can drive prices up and down in an almost whimsical fashion. Escape from the New York “C” is the name of the game, and it is what most producers of high quality coffees really want.

Interestingly, as I write this the “C” is reaching its highest sustained level in the last decade. Some say this is due to increased activity among fund traders and speculators who have started gambling on commodity futures including coffee, wheat, and corn. Some say it is increasing consumption in Asia and Eastern Europe, combined with low productivity from many coffee farms due to minimal inputs and erratic weather patterns. Most likely it is all of the above. The good news for growers is that most signs point to sustained levels of higher market prices, which will drive prices upward across the board for both commercial and Specialty coffees.

I like a market like this one because it makes it much harder to get great coffee at a bargain basement price. Roasters and importers can really take advantage of producers in low market periods and get decent to good qualities for less than what they really should as measured by costs of production. It puts growers in a terrible position, with little bargaining power and with limited options. Once the market goes up a bit, the whole system gets healthier as the bargain shoppers get priced out of the marketplace and end up reducing their quality, exposing their purchasing models as opportunistic and inequitable in the face of a more balanced market scenario where producers have some chips to work with. The high-quality buyers find more competition for the top lots since growers tend to consolidate coffees and ship in bulk at the earliest opportunity in good markets. The good get better, the bad get worse, and the ugly find themselves with nowhere to turn.

Just as a point of interest, here is a look at the ICO’s current mission statement, as of 2007:

“…enabling government representatives to exchange views and coordinate coffee policies and priorities at regular high-level meetings; improving coffee quality through the Coffee Quality-Improvement Programs and specific projects; increasing world coffee consumption through innovative market development activities; initiating coffee development projects to improve quality; marketing encouraging a sustainable world coffee economy; working closely with the private sector through a 16-strong Private Sector Consultative Board, which tackles issues such as food safety; providing objective and comprehensive information on the world coffee market; and ensuring transparency in the coffee market through statistics.”

Sounds like some good strategy. No matter what the next 10 years look like for world coffee markets, I am certain that greater separation between “commercial” and “Specialty” coffees, in terms of both taste and value, is the key to success for the producing world. That’s why we’re so obsessive about quality in our selection process and so proactive with regard to paying growers prices that reflect what the coffee SHOULD be worth, regardless of what happens with the commodity markets.

Whew, that was a long one this week. If you would like more reading, check out the information on Tres Santos, our Direct Trade Offering from Colombia.

As always, find our Nods at:
http://www.intelligentsiacoffee.com/origin/offerings.

Good luck to all of us,

Geoff Watts
VP of Coffee
Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea

Further:

• Tres Santos
• Intelligentisa official site 

Popularity: 18% [?]

More from Geoff Watts, the roastmaster and green bean buyer for Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea, whose beans we brew with pride and love. Read more about Zirikana, Rwanda here.

Hola:

Just back to Chicago after a quick trip to Uganda and Kenya. My backyard is covered by a sheet of ice, reminding me that the equator is a long ways from here.

On the plane ride home I learned how to say “the president of the soy sauce factory is President Kang and the president of the bean-paste factory is President Kong” in Korean. Here goes: Kan-jang-kong-jang kong-jang-jang-eun kang kong-jang-jang-ee-go, dwen-jang-kong-jang kong-jang-jang-eun kong kong-jang-jang-ee-da. Now that is just plain great and a sure contender in the tongue-twisting Olympics.

The 5th Annual East African Fine Coffee Association Conference took place this past weekend. Kampala, Uganda hosted the conference this year, and it rotates annually among the member countries. Last year it was Ethiopia and in ’09 it will move to Rwanda, to my great delight. (Kigali has started to feel like a second home after all the time I’ve spent there in the last four years.) The organization is an important one, for the simple reason that it is the first multinational institution focused on improving coffee quality and disseminating knowledge about Specialty Coffees in Africa.

Africa holds the future of Specialty Coffee, no doubt about it. Ethiopia, the birthplace of Arabica coffee, is home to a treasure trove of genetic diversity within the species. CIRAD, a French agro-science group, has been working at the Djimma research station (western Ethiopia, Kaffa area, probably the origin of the now famous Geisha coffee) to collect and begin to catalog as many different varieties as possible for future consideration. Who knows what might be discovered? No one has ever done a thorough enough investigation, and there is a great chance that some previously unheralded coffee types with unique and thrilling tastes and aromas will be identified. It will likely be decades before we see any real commercialization result from these efforts, but it is comforting to know that there is some effort underway to preserve these wild species that are disappearing at an alarming rate along with the forests.

In Latin America, rising land values that are a natural result of economic development and urbanization are making coffee farming less viable every year. Costa Rica is the best example of this as there are new shopping malls and residential communities now sitting on land that just three years ago was filled with coffee plants. Farmers in Panama are selling off parts of their coffee farms left and right to developers who are building condominiums and resorts. Labor is getting difficult to find as people emigrate to the cities and abroad.

These trends look to continue and accelerate, which bodes well for investment in coffee in other parts of the world. As the Specialty market keeps growing and becoming a larger and more meaningful percentage of overall coffee consumption, the efforts to find new coffee varieties and new sources for quality will get more intense.

Africa already grows a lot of Arabica coffee, but most of it goes into the commercial market because the quality is poor. It doesn’t need to be this way. There are just a few ingredients missing in the quality recipe, most importantly transportation infrastructure and access to technical assistance and capital resources… not to mention political stability. Very little can grow in the face of corrupt governments and ongoing civil unrest. Growers need more information about quality practices, they need sources of affordable credit, and they need reliable delivery systems in place. These things will improve and coffee may well become an important catalyst in East African economic development as both local businesses and governments recognize the potential that exists to transform their crippled coffee industries into major players in the increasingly attractive Specialty market.

I’m super-excited about what the future holds for African producers. It won’t be easy to reshape the coffee industries there, but necessity is a fairly reliable and time-tested driver of change. And reform there is most definitely necessary, more so each passing day.

We released it last week, and I am again asking you to read up on Zirikana, our Direct Trade offering from Rwanda. Truly an African success story.

Popularity: 22% [?]