Evenness p84
Extraction p86
Nutate p161
Temperature | HOT AND COLD
The impact of temperature can be seen and tasted at varying points throughout the seed-to-cup journey. At the farm, or terroir, level, changes in temperature will change the growing conditions of the coffee plant and can be critical during the drying part of the processing of the coffee, too. Temperature affects the storage of coffee and its life-span. Roasting is pretty much all about applying varying amounts of temperature in different ways. Most of us experience the impact of temperature during the brewing of coffee – the temperature of the water we use to make the coffee affects the flavour. You have probably heard that one should not use boiling water to brew with, because this will “burn” the coffee. Good advice, although potentially misleading. When brewing we are dissolving, not cooking, coffee, and as such the temperature of the water alters which compounds, and therein which flavours, are released by the coffee. If the coffee has been burnt, this will have happened during the roasting process.
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Freezing p98
Terroir p214
Terroir | GROWING
Terroir is a French term most often applied to wine, and derived from the French word terre, meaning “land”. It refers to the many environmental factors that constitute a crop’s growing conditions and may be used to encompass other diverse elements that influence the crop at its source, including human influences. Terroir is effectively the story of a particular lot of any crop. I think the term is particularly pertinent in coffee and is a great example of a word from which many things can be inferred. A great confluence of different elements at origin all hugely impact and shape a coffee’s flavour before it goes off to be roasted and brewed. In this case, terroir would include the variety of coffee grown, the soil, the climate, the picking, and the processing. Each element has its own inner world of complexity, but none of them is acting independently.
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Agronomy p15
Altitude p16
Climate change p56
Soil p201
Variety p228
Thermodynamics | SCIENCE
My work with a chemist on a couple of coffee projects is the reason for this entry appearing in this dictionary. I think it is fair to say that an absurd amount of what happens in coffee is down to thermodynamics. One example of thermodynamics in action is the nature of how physical changes in temperature can result in so-called phase changes. But thermodynamics is more broadly the movement of energy, and it includes every physical process in the universe. Human beings enact a lot of phase changes by either applying heat or cooling things down. There are many examples in coffee. Freezing green coffee is using thermodynamics to elongate the life of coffee. Roasting is thermodynamics in action and in a pretty complex way, with compounds breaking down and creating lots of flavoursome by-products. Then there is brewing, where we utilize heat to alter extraction. Pretty cool, really.
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Green p109
Third place | COFFEE CULTURE
Home is the “first place”, and work the “second”. The “third place” has been written about by a number of authors, most influentially the American urban sociologist Ray Oldenburg in his book The Great Good Place (1989). Oldenburg argues that third places are important for civil society, democracy, and a sense of place. A third place should be a levelling space (where role or status in society does not matter) in which conversation is the main activity, and is easy to access by regulars and newcomers alike. Coffee shops can be very effective third places. Other examples are gyms, parks, and pubs. It is tempting to categorize the “coffee shop” as a singular, monolithic thing. Coffee-driven spaces, however, are extremely diverse and there are many different interpretations. I think many coffee shops offer a natural third space, while others blend into the second space (the workplace); a few are more product-oriented or culinary in the experiences they offer.
Third wave | COFFEE CULTURE
The concept of the “third wave” in coffee culture is a slightly contentious one – trying to sum up a complex phenomenon with a catchall phrase is usually doomed to failure. The term “third wave” was coined by industry expert Trish Rothgeb and has been widely explored by others. The term is US-centric, but the main ideas behind the concept, which describe a changing approach to coffee, can be applied to cultures around the world. The “first wave” was the commercialization of coffee, mainly defined by mass-market instant coffee. The “second wave” was the emergence of the coffee shops that now dominate the high street, such as Starbucks. This phenomenon occurred in the 1960s in the United States and represented the adoption of the Italian espresso-based drinks culture that drove these businesses. The “third wave” refers to the higher culinary appreciation of coffee and all that this entails: a focus on subtleties of flavour, provenance, and process. There is often talk of what the “fourth wave” is or will be. In all honesty, I think all future movements within speciality coffee will be more specific explorations within the parameters of the third wave. The problem with using any of these definitions too literally is that the third wave now acts as a label for the whole of the independent coffee shop movement. However, large numbers of independent coffee shops focus on “fresh” or artisanal concepts, but are not truly exploring the culinary appreciation of coffee.
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Espresso p79
Independent coffee shops p124
Origin p166
Turkish coffee | BREWING; COFFEE CULTURE
Sometimes termed “ibrik coffee”, Turkish coffee refers to a typical style of coffee preparation that originates from that country. This is a method that uses a finer grind than any other, with the coffee pounded to achieve a powder-like result. There are many variations to the exact recipe used, but the main principle is to simmer the coffee in water using a cezve (a coffee pot; known in the West as an ibrik), often with sugar added, but not always. The coffee may be brought to a simmer more than once, depending on what is customary. The coffee is then poured from a height to achieve a foamy surface and the fine grounds allowed to settle to the bottom of the cup. This is one of the few coffee preparation methods that utilizes no filter. It is not a common method for preparing speciality coffee, but that is not to say it could not be done. With correct understanding and control of temperature, the method is capable of producing extremely good extractions and full-bodied complex flavour profiles.
Typica | VARIETY
The grandfather of modern coffee varieties, Typica was the variety shipped around the world by the Dutch as coffee production began to take hold in the seventeenth century. Modern mutations and genetically selected varieties stem from Typica. Many of these developed varieties produce a higher yield than Typica, but you will still find the variety among crops all over the world yielding a top-notch cup quality. The variety tends to produce round, clean, sweet cups of coffee.
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Clean p56
U
Umami | TASTING
Umami is one of the five basic tastes, along with sweet, sour, salt, and bitter. These tastes are the domain of the mouth (gustatory system) as opposed to the nose (olfactory system). The word has Japanese origins, courtesy of the chemist Kikunae Ikeda (1864–1936), and directly translates as “delicious taste”. Umami has its own specific taste receptors, which has led scientists to label umami a distinct taste. Umami can be described as a pleasant savoury taste with a long aftertaste. It is, however, unpleasant when isolated or when tasted in too high concentration, without enough salt to balance. Umami has been shown to improve the taste of low-sodium foods such as soup, and many food producers have played with adding umami in the form of glutamate (which is the source of umami flavour) to improve their products. This savoury note is not an element we expect to see a lot of in a good coffee. When it is too strong, umami is generally experienced as meaty or brothy, but a small amount can add complexity and richness.
; SEE ALSO
Gustatory p113
Olfactory p163
United States of America | COFFEE CULTURE
The United States is, by volume, the largest consumer of coffee in the world (Finland is the largest consumer per capita). Coffee offerings and experiences range across the full spectrum from a quick, easy, and cheap refill diner coffee through to speciality quality-driven coffee meccas. It is therefore hard to pigeonhole the country’s coffee culture into a little dictionary post. Perhaps it is best to speak of a bunch of individual coffee cultures that all link together across the country. Seattle is the home of Starbucks and the coffee shop model that has spread across the world and had such a wide influence. The concepts of the third wave and the third place were both formulated here. And there is certainly no doubt that since the fateful days of the Boston Tea Party, coffee has become integral to the culture of the country.
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Boston Tea Party p32
Third place p217
Third wave p218
V
V60 | BREWING
The brewing products of the Japanese company Hario are evidently very successful. Like the Syphon vacuum pot, the V60 pour-over has come to be the best known of its type. Most V60-type devices are essentially just a cone of some kind with a hole at the bottom. A paper filter sits inside and the device sits atop a vessel or cup. Ground coffee is placed in the filter and water is poured atop the coffee, which then makes its way through the coffee and the paper filter. The method is quite simple and very manual, but technique, especially how the water is applied, is key. The V60 has unique swirling ridges, though what really makes the difference are the V60 papers, as they taste nicer than other papers.
SEE ALSO
Chemex p55
Full immersion p103
Vacuum pot p227
Vacuum pot | BREWING
The vacuum pot – “vac pot” for short – is most commonly encountered under the trade name Syphon. The Syphon is actually a specific design of the vacuum pot made by the Japanese company Hario, but, like the Hoover vacuum cleaner in the UK and Ireland, the name has come to represent the device itself. There is no more dramatic brewing method for filter coffee. The most common comparisons heard are those of a school science experiment and, more recently, something off the hit TV show Breaking Bad.
Visually, the vac pot consists of two glass bulbs, one sitting atop the other, with a heat source beneath. Water is placed in the bottom bulb, and, depending on the design, there is either a paper, cloth, or glass filter between the two chambers. As heat is applied, the water heats up and pressure is created in the bottom chamber, forcing the water up to the top chamber at a critical point. Coffee is then added to the top chamber and is steeped for as long as the user desires. When the heat source is taken away a vacuum is created, sucking the brew into the bottom chamber, while the grounds remain up top. This method has a reverse temperature curve, meaning that the heat of the brew rises throughout; this is due to the insulating effect of the coffee on the water. This has the downside that vacuum-pot-brewed coffee can often overextract when brewed for too long. Used well, however, the method can produce delightful coffee, all while providing a mesmerizing, theatrical show.
SEE ALSO
Extraction p86
Pressure p179
Variety | GROWING
Variety is the spice of life and coffee has it in abundance. The term “variety” in coffee refers to subspecies of the two main coffee species that we grow to make coffee from – Coffea robusta and Coffea arabica. There is a vast number of subspecies of Arabica, each of which has its own flavour tendencies. There is a distinction to be made between varieties that are naturally occurring subspecies of Arabica and cultivars that have been developed by agricultural or horticultural means. In reality, nearly all coffee varieties grown are cultivars, though the two terms get used interchangeably. It remains fascinating to taste the same variety of coffee plant grown in two very different countries. This once again highlights how many factors impact on a cup of coffee’s flavour.
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Bourbon p35
Castillo p51
Geisha p105
Origin p166
Pacamara p169
Sudan Rume p209
Typica p221
Vietnam | ORIGIN
Vietnam is a massive coffee producer, second only to Brazil as the largest coffee producer in the world. Almost all of the production in Vietnam is comprised of the Robusta species. Catimor – an Arabica hybrid – is also grown, and there are increasing amounts of Arabica being planted to explore higher-quality yields. Like Brazil, production in Vietnam has a big impact on coffee prices worldwide. As a visitor to the country,
I found the most unique aspect of the country’s coffee to be the way it is prepared and consumed. Coffee is made using a small single-serve metal pour-over called a phin that steeps the coffee and then filters down into the cup. It is customary for condensed milk to be added to the coffee, which is then usually served over ice. The resulting coffee is often a very sweet, rich, and strong brew.
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Brazil p35
C market p41
Species p202
Volatiles | TASTING
The flavour of coffee is made up of a collection of volatile and nonvolatile compounds. A lot of aromas are volatile, which essentially means that they are more likely to pack up and leave. Volatiles are released by the roasted coffee, a process that is accelerated when you grind coffee and get that intense aroma, which is still more dramatic if the coffee is ground hot. The addition of hot water releases even more volatiles. These aromatics, along with oxidation, are a huge part of why freshness in coffee plays such a pivotal role. A lot of clever research and packaging design are about capturing and keeping these volatiles from escaping.
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Freezing p98
Le Nez du Café p140
Volumetrics | BREWING
A volumetric machine is one that has the ability to dispense a set amount of water when making coffee. This is a function of most semiautomatic espresso machines. The mechanism does not work by time but by volume, which is counted by a little paddle-like device that sits in the machine. Water being dispensed has to pass this paddle, and so setting a volumetric means that you are setting a number of turns of the paddle. This system can be very accurate, but this will not necessarily correspond to a consistent length of espresso shot. You are setting the water before it passes though the coffee, so the amount of water that the coffee will hold has to be taken into consideration. If the ground dose is either not weighed or is of an inconsistent grind, then volumetrics will not give you a consistent shot length. Gravimetrics is a newer term used to describe machines that have scales built into the drip tray and can therefore weigh the shot for you. Both systems can aid the production of consistent espresso if handled well.
SEE ALSO
Espresso p79
W
Washed process | HARVESTING
In the world of speciality coffee, the washed method dominates. So named due to the large amount of water used, the process, like all others, varies widely. Broadly, though, the method comprises the following stages. First, the freshly harvested cherries are de-pulped, with the cherries passing through a cog-like rolling mechanism that pulls the skin and most of the flesh off the bean. At this point, the beans are still covered in a layer of mucilage. The coffee is then fermented in a trough of water to remove the remaining mucilage. During this stage, “bad” beans float to the top and are removed. Finally, the coffee beans are dried. This can be achieved in a number of ways, such as sun drying or mechanical drying. The regulated fermentation and drying can give a producer more control over quality and defects compared to the natural process. Washed coffee often presents a more prominent and defined acidity. Changes in the fermentation have a big impact on the coffee. Kenyan coffees undergo a second fermentation, which is thought to be part of the reason they tend to have such vibra
nt fruit and complex acidity. The tiniest alterations in processing can have startling results and are still being explored.
SEE ALSO
Defects p67
Fermentation p90
Mechanical drying p145
Mucilage p151
Natural process p156
Raised beds p186
Water | BREWING
Water is the quiet and elusive partner of coffee. You cannot make coffee without it, and unfortunately subtle differences in water composition drastically alter the favour of a coffee. In recent years there has been a renewed focus on the importance of water, as the whole community seeks to understand more and more about coffee. It has long been understood that water quality matters, but now we are looking to see exactly how it affects flavour. A key notion to take on board is that good-tasting water does not necessarily make good-tasting coffee. The bicarbonate content that makes a branded bottled water a very smooth water to drink is responsible for removing acidity and sweetness in coffee. The key is to think about water as a solvent and to consider how it does that job. The three most important elements as far as flavour in coffee is concerned are calcium, magnesium, and bicarbonate. All coffee is actually roasted to suit a given water – that is, whichever water is used to taste and quality-control the roast/ coffee. This means different roasts and coffees are likely to be suited to different waters. If you are really into the geekery, you can buy minerals and “manufacture” your own water. Playing with bottled waters is also popular, while better coffee-centric filtration systems are likely to emerge in the near future. The other aspect of water is its impact on equipment. Scale buildup is a common problem in medium to hard water areas, and this wreaks havoc on the tiny parts in espresso machines. Less common but also problematic is the potential for acidic waters to corrode metals. All in all, water is a mighty big part of the coffee equation, but one that is surprisingly easy to forget about.
The Coffee Dictionary Page 11
