The Roasts

Roasting & Colour

 

 

 

 

 

Coffee roasting is a lot like popping popcorn. When the inside of the corn kernel reaches a certain temperature the shell pops open and viola, popcorn. With coffee, there are two shells to split, one on the surface of the green coffee bean and the second on the inside of the bean. During roasting the audible splitting of the shells is called a “crack”. I can hear the second crack about 3 minutes after the first crack.

It is hard to find consensus on what to call the different degrees and colours of roasted coffee. It seems that across the world different coffee roasting associations have a different name for a specific colour of roast. Even across North America there are different opinions of what the names should be. The Pacific coast tends to like darker coffees that the east coast and so the common names of the roasts mean different things. The names range from Cinnamon for a very light brown roast to Dark French/Neapolitan/Spanish for a very dark brown colour. My roast styles begin at a full city roast and gos to the Dark French roast. With my roaster, the Full City roast happens to co-inside with the second crack of the coffee beans, so it is a good process control point.

The Coffees

 

The following are the green coffee beans currently in stock here at Coffeys Coffee. These are reasonably priced high quality coffee beans that suit my style of roasting. Other beans will be purchased and added to the list as they are available and if they meet my standards. I can accommodate special orders if requested, but there will be a minimum purchase required.

Classifications

As I purchase coffees from different brokers there are different classifications of green beans. Coffees marked as UTZ certified are responsible coffees which are similar to Fair Trade coffees just from a competing certification body. Those coffees marked as FTO mean they are certified as Fair Trade and Organic.

Jamaican Blue Mountain Blue Baron Estate

Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee is a single source of origin gourmet coffee grown only at high elevations by small family-run plantations in Jamaica.

Grown in thehighest mountains of Jamaica, the Blue Mountain Blue Baron Estate is a gem. Its incredible fragrance, its sweetness and delicate aroma makes this a rare and sought after coffee that only a minority of consumers can still afford.

Hawaii Mocha

This exceptionally small bean grown on Maui has been be compared to Yemen Mokha, but not quite. In my tasting I found it to have a bright acidity and light body with a hint of caramel in the finish.

Australia Skybury

The Skybury is a full-bodied coffee, quite intense and very nicely balanced with rich aromatic notes of cocoa and spices. When roasted properly, you will be marveled by its sweet chocolaty flavour. A very rare coffee considering Australia is not a large producer of coffee, the Australian Skybury is one that must be tried.

Colombian Hacienda Venecia – UTZ Certified

Freshly roasted Colombian coffee is rich in flavor, heavy bodied, has a bright acidity, and is intensely aromatic. Colombia produces about 12% of the coffee in the world, second only to Brazil. Grown in the Andes mountains and probably the most popular in the world. This It’s perfect for drinking morning, afternoon, or evening.

Dominican Republic Ocoa AA – UTZ Certified

Dominican coffee, along with its Caribbean counterparts, is described by coffee connoisseurs as “full-bodied with moderate acidity and uncomplicated flavors”.

This Ocoa bean from the Dominican Republic in particular displays citrus notes, elegant body and dark chocolate aroma, with bright acidity and a smooth finish.

“IT IS A WONDERFUL COFFEE WITH A SMOOTH AND BRIGHT CUP. ITS BODY IS SOFT AND VELVETY. ACIDITY IS LIGHT AND DELICATE. THE COFFEE IS INCREDIBLY FRAGRANT WITH A LOVELY AROMA. CHOCOLATE, CITRUS AND MALTY NOTES TO BE UNCOVERED.” – supplier cupping notes.

Ethiopian Harrar

 

Sun-dried Harrar is one of the world’s finest premium coffees. Grown at an altitude of 2000 meters to 2750 meters, this longish bean with a yellowy golden tinge has medium acidity, full body and an oh so distinctive deep mocca flavor. Because it produces a foamy “tigretto” type cream, Ethiopian coffee growers have begun touting it for espresso coffee. Some also blend it, for the wild and fruity acidity it brings. Harrar is produced in the Ethiopia’s eastern highlands and exported from the town of Dire Dawa.

 

Guatemala Antigua Iglesias

This complex and aromatic gourmet coffee is grown high up in Antigua’s premier mountain growing area, where the beans ripen slowly. Its bright, smooth cup, enhanced by its chocolate note, can be mistaken for its Central American neighbor, Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee.

Peru Selva Virgen

In my evaluation it is a delicious clean Peruvian coffee with a medium body, a hint of acid, a very smooth finish and a slight note of Molasses. According to my suppliers notes the Selva Virgen, cultivated in the shade of guavas and old walnut trees, is perfectly balanced and offers beautiful subtle notes of pear and papaya.

Sumatran Mandheling GR1

Natural milling slowly dries and hardens the ripe cherries, giving this coffee an earthy flavor with low acidity and an earthy herbal aroma. Due to Sumatra Mandheling’s syrupy body and low acidity it continues to be one of the more popular coffees.

Tanzanian Peaberry
Tanzania’s premium beans, grown on the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro near the Kenyan border, produce an unusually rich coffee with a lighter, winy acidity and medium body. The peaberry – only 5% of Tanzanian coffee – occurs when the coffee fruit develops a single oval bean rather than the usual pair of flat-sided beans. The round peaberries are then separated from the flatter beans in the same crop to achieve this gourmet coffee. Peaberry grade coffee is prized by coffee connoisseurs for their uniform roasts.

Mythology has it that the peaberry is male, and often associated with virility.

 

Colombian Excelso CO2 DECAF – UTZ Certified

 

Freshly roasted Colombian coffee is rich in flavor, heavy bodied, has a bright acidity, and is intensely aromatic. Colombia produces about 12% of the coffee in the world, second only to Brazil. Grown in the Andes mountains and probably the most popular in the world. This It’s perfect for drinking morning, afternoon, or evening.  The caffeine is removed by using liquid carbon dioxide method. I believe that this method of decaffeination leaves the most flavor of all methods with no chemical residue.

Espresso Mediterranean Blend

A classic Mediterranean style espresso.

House Blend

A blend of Colombian, Ethiopian and Guatemalan coffees roasted to complement each other and create a unique tasting full bodied coffee.

Low Caf Blends

For coffee drinkers who are trying to limit their consumption of caffeine but not totally eliminate the good coffee flavour. This is a blend of the Colombian decaf and whatever coffee you want, at whatever level decaf you want. Popular blends are 50 % decaf or 25% decaf blended with Tanzanian Peaberry or 33% decaf blended with Colombian Supremo.

Cooley Roast

This is a popular roast named for friends who, with constructive criticism, guided me to produce this special product. Those who enjoy this type of fully roasted coffee are very loyal and frequent customers. Specifically, it is Ethiopian Harrar roasted to the darkest edge of the dark side that I would dare to tread.

 

Fair Trade & Organic Green Coffee Beans

 

Ethiopia Wild Forest 

A washed organic coffee that is harvested from trees growing in the forest, with virtually no management of the surrounding forest or vegetation, except perhaps some removal of undergrowth to facilitate access to the coffee trees. It has the bright acidity and light body expected from a washed Ethiopian coffee with the acidity coming across as an apple note.

Galapagos Island San Cristobal FTO

Imported directly from the Islands of Galapagos, this precious coffee is organically cultivated in ideal climates. The beans are hand-picked, sun-dried and washed. Delicious full-bodied cup with a strong aroma. Not to be missed !

Peru Fair Trade Organic DECAF Swiss Water Process

Peru Fair Trade Organic is grown in the mountain regions of northern Peru and possesses a rather intense and rich flavour that is less acidic than other blends. The 100% chemical free Swiss Water® decaffeination process ensures taste is preserved.