TEA & COFFEE MASTERCLASSES Coffee Guide

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www.taylorsoutofhome.co.uk

TEA & COFFEE

MASTERCLASSES

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ABOUT TAYLORS Taylors of Harrogate is a Yorkshire family business devoted to the craft of outstanding coffee and tea. We do things properly, without shortcuts, and we show care and respect to everyone along the way, from the people who grow it to the people who sell it and the people who drink it. Those relationships have been right at the heart of our company since it was founded in 1886.

Coffee doesn’t need to be complicated. The sheer wealth of origins, roasts, brewing methods and serving styles can seem unapproachable, but the truth is that giving your customers superb coffee just takes a few simple steps.

These skills aren’t exclusive to big chains and career baristas. It’s about brilliant basics – making sure your coffee tastes fresh and consistent.

This masterclass starts with a potted guide to coffee history and the life of a coffee bean, then takes you through storage, grinding, preparation and flavour. There’s a page-by-page guide to our range, and some troubleshooting and hints to help your coffee service.

The aim is simple – to give you everything you need to know to make coffee that keeps customers coming back. Once you’ve mastered the essentials, the subject of coffee goes as deep as you want to take it. So if this guide leaves you hungry to delve into the intricacies of espresso pressure graphs, bean varietals and barista championships, we’ve also recommended some further reading.

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DEHULL GRIND PACK ROAST BLEND TRANSPORT DRY Mid 14th century

Yemen starts drinking coffee too.

1550 to 1800

Mocha in Yemen becomes the world coffee trade hub.

1580 (ish)

Coffee first available in England.

1675

There are now 3,000 coffee houses in England.

1710 to 1720

Plants arrive in the Americas, grown on French and Dutch colonies.

19th/early 20th century

Brazil monopolises coffee production.

Mid to late 20th century

More nations become major producers: like Colombia, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Indonesia

GROW

PICK

... and enjoy!

14th century

Ethiopia - first written references to coffee consumption.

1500

The rest of the Middle East catches on, as does North Africa.

1554

The first ever coffeehouse opens! It’s in Constantinople.

1645

Venice becomes home to Europe’s first coffeehouse.

1700s

South East Asia begins production, using plants exported by the Dutch.

1800

Huge harvests in Brazil turn coffee into a drink for the masses.

1886

Taylors of Harrogate begins trading (that’s us)!

SOAK BAG WASH ROLL FERMENT COFFEE

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INDONESIA KENYA BRAZIL COLOMBIA ETHIOPIA GUATEMALA MEXICO PERU RWANDA CENTRAL AMERICA tropic of cancer tropic of capricorn

OUR COFFEE IS GROWN

IN THESE COUNTRIES

SOUTH AMERICA

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Use soft water if you can. Mineral content can affect the flavour – so if you’re in a hard water area, you should consider using

a water filter. The Speciality Coffee Association of America recommends brewing with water which has these values:

pH value – between 6.5 and 7.5

Calcium hardness – between 1 and 5 grains (between 17mg/l and 85mg/l).

TDS (total dissolved solids) – between 75mg/l and 250mg/l.

Odour, colour and chlorine free.

Kits to measure them aren’t very expensive – litmus paper, for example, measures pH and costs just a couple of pounds. If a supplier fits a water filter for you, make sure to share these values with them.

Use clean

equipment. A few

stale grounds can hugely affect the flavour, so you really can’t be too meticulous about cleaning. Check filters too (cafetière filters, for example, are designed to be unscrewed, taken apart and rinsed).

How to Make a Perfect Coffee:

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Use clean equipment.

It’s so important we’ve listed it twice.

Coffee always tastes better fresher – so try to serve it as soon as possible rather than letting it stand.

When storing, there are four things that make coffee lose freshness faster: light, heat, moisture and oxygen. Keep the beans and grounds away from all of these and they’ll stay fresher longer. An airtight container in the fridge or freezer is perfect.

Make sure you’re using the right grind size for your chosen brewing method. The bigger the grind size, the longer the brew time.

Only heat the water once. Oxygen escapes when it’s heated, so reheating can make it taste a bit “flat”.

HOW TO MAKE A

PERFECT COFFEE

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HINTS & TROUBLESHOOTING

Shot too fast?

Use a finer grind size or more coffee.

Shot too slow?

Use a coarser grind size or less coffee.

Get to know your peak hours and

grinder speed.

If there’s a lunchtime rush and you know your grinder will not keep up, pre-grind a batch of beans just before to keep customer waiting times down. To speed things up even more, buy lots of small tins and grind a double espresso dose into each one before the rush hits.

Aim for consistency

with dosing and tamping – among all of your staff. That way you can replicate results, and make sure customers are always getting great coffee.

Avoid single shot doses

– they’re a false economy, because the water passes through too fast and the coffee isn’t very drinkable. So use a double dose even when you only need one shot; and aim to make two orders at once when that’s possible, so the second shot isn’t wasted.

Grinders need tuning more than once

a day.

Even if it’s producing the perfect espresso grind in the morning, changes in temperature during the day can make them expand and contract. The best way to judge is by extraction time – if that changes, and everything else is the same, adjust your grinder.

You can keep your cups

on top of the espresso machine to warm them up.

If you can grind fresh to order, do

– it will always taste best freshly ground.

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STORING

GRINDING

Like most foods, coffee loses freshness when it’s exposed to light, heat, moisture and oxygen. So the best way to keep beans and grounds away from all four is an airtight container in a cool, dark place.

Does that mean fridge or freezer? Absolutely! The volatile aromatics which give coffee much of its flavour deteriorate more slowly at lower temperatures.

It’s a common misconception that fridges and freezers are moist environments which are bad for storing coffee. On the contrary, the cooler air is, the less moisture it can hold (that’s the Theory of Relative Humidity) so it’s drier inside these appliances than outside.

Condensation might build on the outside of the container, but as long as it’s airtight the contents won’t be affected. We recommend taking the amount of coffee you need each time straight out of the fridge or freezer.

Coffee’s flavour is at its very best when the beans have just been ground. Grind the beans to order if you can – and see the hints section in our guide for advice on anticipating a rush of customers, and adjusting your grinder.

At Taylors, our pre-ground coffee is packed in 20 seconds into bags with the oxygen flushed out – so any flavour deterioration is minimised.

Here’s our guide

to grind size:

Aeropress:

fine, like fine sand

Filter/Chemex/

V60:

medium, between fine sand and table salt

Cafetière:

coarse,

coarser than table salt

Espresso:

very fine, like flour

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RECIPES

EQUIPMENT RECIPES

Espresso

16-18g dry coffee

To produce 30-40ml wet coffee 20-30 second extraction time

Latte

1 shot espresso

Add steamed milk to top

Cappuccino

Double shot espresso Fill to top with half milk, half foam

Americano

2/3 hot water

Pour in double shot espresso

Aeropress

Fine grind 14-17g coffee 250ml water 1 min brew time Plunge

Chemex

Medium grind 60g per litre (or equivalent)

3-4 minute brew time

Cafetière

Coarse grind 60g per litre (or equivalent)

4-5 minute brew time Plunge

V60

Medium grind 60g per litre (or equivalent)

3-4 minute brew time

ESPRESSO ESPRESSO STEAMED MILK ESPRESSO MILK FOAM ESPRESSO HOT WATER

Based on a standard 285ml/10oz cup

Coffee

15g 30g 45g

Ratio cheat sheet

Water 250ml 500ml 750ml Coffee 48g 54g 60g Water 800ml 900ml 1l Espresso machines

These vary hugely, so please follow your manufacturer’s instructions. Use the espresso figures on the opposite page for dry coffee, wet coffee and extraction time to help you calibrate.

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COFFEE TASTING WHEEL

STRENGTH & BITTERNESS

Coffee tasting wheel

A guide to the types of tastes and aromas in coffee - reproduced with permission of the Specialty Coffee Association of America.

Coffee too strong or too weak? Don’t adjust the brewing time.

Brew time doesn’t affect strength, but flavour. If you don’t brew for long enough, the flavour will be underdeveloped; brew for too long and the flavour becomes bitter.

So to change the strength of your coffee, simply adjust the ‘dose’ by increasing or lowering the amount of grounds you use.

You can also make lighter coffee by brewing normally, then diluting with a little hot water at the end (e.g. four parts brewed coffee to one part water). This is known as the ‘bypass’ method.

Don’t adjust

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CLARITY VS BODY

ROASTING EXPLAINED

CLARITY

Chemex / V60 / Pourover

Siphon

Paper filter

Aeropress

Cloth filter

Metal filter

Cafetière

Stovepot

Turkish

BODY

Before roasting, coffee beans are small, green and dense. Applying rapid heat causes changes at the chemical level, turning them dark and fragrant. They’re then quickly cooled.

Very broadly speaking, a shorter roast can

emphasise fruity, acidic aromas and a longer roast can bring out darker, more toasted notes – although there is endless variation, determined by everything from the speed at which the heat is accelerated to the soil in which the beans were grown.

There’s no common scale of roast darkness, but most generally fall into the categories of light, medium, medium-dark and dark. It’s this darkness which our 1-6 scale refers to, rather than strength or caffeine content.

1 2 3 4 5 6

light medium medium-dark dark

The presence of dissolved solids in brewed coffee determines how heavy it tastes. This chart shows how different brewing methods filter out more or less of those solids - from the clarity of Chemex to thick, full-bodied Turkish coffee.

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Kenya, Central America and South America

Café Imperial is our most treasured coffee. This crisp medium roast was first served in the tea rooms of our sister company Bettys more than 40 years ago, and the blend recipe has been passed down through generations of our coffee buyers

Medium

Lively, crisp, milk chocolate, citrus

From Rainforest Alliance Certified™ farms

Central America and Brazil

We select beans which don’t lose their flavour during decaffeination, and we gently remove their caffeine using the Pure Water Process - a method which uses mineral-enriched water instead of chemical solvents

Medium dark

Smooth, sweet, malt, caramel

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Africa, Central America and Brazil

France’s historic colonies in West Africa grew lots of robusta coffee – which is harsh, cheap, strong and often best when roasted very dark. Our French Roast uses high quality arabica, hitting the same intense dark notes more smoothly and without bitterness

Dark

Full-bodied, smooth, dark

Africa and Central America

A smooth, medium-roasted coffee designed for all-day drinking. The African beans in the blend give it notes of juicy, sweet citrus, while the beans from Central America bring an indulgent, nutty character

Medium

Smooth, hazelnut, citrus

FRENCH ROAST

LAZY SUNDAY

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East Africa, Latin America, Indonesia

Six coffees from across the globe make up this blend, designed especially for espresso. Brazil provides a soft, chocolaty base flavour, then we add the lively, citric acidity of East Africa, nutty flavours from Latin America and intense, dark chocolate notes from Indonesia

Dark

Balanced, complex, nuts, dark chocolate

East Africa, Brazil and Central America

In southern Italy, gutsy blends are more common; heavy on the robusta, they are often dark roasted and quite harsh. So our Rich Italian takes its cues from northern Italy, where the smooth, elegant, finessed flavours of pure arabica blends are more popular

Medium dark

Rich, full-bodied, chocolate, almonds

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Minas Gerais, south Brazil

A finely balanced, smooth coffee produced using the special “pulped natural” method made famous by Brazilian producers. The beans are dried with part of the ripe cherry still attached, which gives the coffee a delicate, fruity sweetness

Medium dark

Rich, smooth, nuts, cocoa

Latin America and East Africa

This very popular limited edition blend is only available for a few months each year. Latin American beans give it a balanced nuttiness, and beans from East Africa bring a crisp acidity, with notes of lemon and orange. It’s complex and smooth with a delicate sweetness

Medium dark

Crisp, sweet, silky, orange, nuts

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Jimma, Ethiopian highlands

This coffee is grown at altitudes of over 4,000 feet by a group of farmers known as the Haro Cooperative – and the price we pay includes a social premium which benefits the surrounding community. Roasted medium dark, it’s a rich and chocolaty coffee with a winey sweetness

Medium dark

Rich, sweet, chocolate, wine

Grown on Fairtrade farms Andes foothills, Colombia

Colombia is world famous for the quality of its coffee, and the nutrient-rich volcanic soil at the

foothills of the Andes offer some of the country’s best growing conditions. This is a complex, well-balanced coffee with hints of sweet tropical fruits, a creamy body and a buttery finish

Medium dark

Balanced, buttery, tropical fruit, caramel

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Smallholder co-operatives, Guatemala

Guatemala boasts rich, volcanic soils and unique micro-climates which are perfect for coffee-growing. Roasted to medium, the beans offer up an excellent balance of bright citric acidity and honeyed sweetness. A smooth note of milk chocolate ties them together

Medium

Balanced, buttery, tropical fruit, caramel

Grown on Fairtrade farms

Jampit estate, Java, Indonesia

We consider this to be one of the very finest coffees from Indonesia. It’s sourced from a famous group of coffee estates in Java’s eastern highlands, where the soil is extremely fertile and very well drained. Dark roasted, the beans develop intense and full-bodied aromas, a sumptuous, velvety mouthfeel and a deep, rich finish

Dark

Intense, velvety, dark chocolate, tobacco

Grown on UTZ Certified farms

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Nyeri, Kenya

Kenyan coffee is regarded by many as the best in the world. Our Kenyan origin coffee grows at 6,000ft on the slopes of Mount Kenya in Nyeri, north of Nairobi, where the cool temperatures let the coffee cherries grow slowly, developing a complex and intense flavour

Medium

Complex, intense, blackcurrant, citrus

Finca Muxbal, south Mexico

Grown on the slopes of the active Tacaná volcano, this is a blend of three species of arabica coffee – catuai, caturra and mundo novo. At a medium dark roast, it’s wonderfully aromatic with a lively citric acidity and exceptional sweetness

Medium dark

Sweet, aromatic, citrus

3

4

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Central Amazon region, Peru

This coffee is grown by a small group of indigenous farmers called the Pangoa cooperative, in an area just east of the Andes mountain range. The cooperative promotes education, gender equality and sustainable farming among its members, and also produces cocoa, honey and honey-wine

Medium dark

Rich, chocolate, nuts

Lake Kivu, western Rwanda

Rwanda is home to some of the greatest emerging coffees in the world. We joined forces with the UK Government to help 8,000 farmers reach Rainforest Alliance Certification, increasing their coffee quality, yield and income using simple, environmentally-conscious farming methods. The flavour is elegant and complex, with sweet berry notes, crisp acidity and a butter toffee finish

Medium

Balanced, complex, berry, toffee

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A

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TALKING COFFEE

A-Z

Acidity

The part of the flavour profile which is sharp, sour and lively. A key trait of many East African coffees.

Aroma

More than just the ‘smell’ – this is the bit detected by the olfactory system in the nose, and it’s a big contributor to flavour.

Balance

Harmony of flavours and characteristics with none too dominant. Great coffee should balance sweetness against acidity and bitterness.

Body

Heaviness or richness in the mouth. Think of the difference between full fat and semi-skimmed milk.

Brewing ratio

The ratio of dry coffee grounds to water.

Brew strength

In brewed coffee, this refers to the concentration of solubles. Less technically, that means how watery or concentrated the coffee is.

Clarity

How easy it is to detect flavours in coffee – something which is made harder the heavier the body is.

Espresso

Brewed by forcing a small amount of nearly boiling water under pressure through finely ground coffee beans. Not a kind of blend.

Flavour

The combination of taste and aroma.

Mouthfeel

The tactile part of the flavour profile; the sensation of texture in the mouth.

Taste

The parts of the flavour profile sensed by the tongue. Combine that with the aromas detected by the olfactory system, and you’ve got the

‘flavour’.

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YOUR TASTING NOTES

David C Schomer

Espresso Coffee: Professional Techniques

Scott Rao

The Professional Barista’s Handbook

Scott Rao

Everything But Espresso

Ted R Lingle

The Basics of Brewing Coffee