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We use gas fired, slow roasting ovens that create an especially good tasting coffee. Very little flavor nuance develops when coffee is roasted quickly. We have converted our equipment to run slowly and at lower temperatures than modern quick roast ovens. Our open flame roasters produce a flavor that many people prefer to that of coffee roasted by electric heat. We don't roast to the maximum dark West Coast roast. Instead we prefer the roast we have been perfecting for 125 years; a full roasted but not burned European or Midwest roast. We cool our oven hot coffee in a relatively unusual manner by using very little water during the quenching stage. We use just enough water to seal in a lively flavor but not so much as to add weight and freshness killing oxygen to the coffee. Cooling with lots of water would cut our cost but leave us with a product like so many other "gourmet" coffees - stale as soon as it is roasted. Fresh bad coffee is still bad coffee. On the other extreme, cooling with no water at all, as some well intentioned roasters boast, produces an uninspiring, overcooked coffee taste. Most brands of coffee are blended and then roasted. We roast estate blends separately in small batches, with different timing and technique for each. Most coffee is roasted automatically with fancy dials, guages and controls but little or no input from an experienced roaster. Most blends are created to hide deficiencies in the component coffees. Our blends are crafted to enhance the strengths of coffees selected to harmonize with each other. Our roasters are among the most experienced in the trade. We have made simple choices and commitments that taken together raise our costs and our level of quality. |
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Carefully stored coffee releases freshness slowly but more rapidly at high temperatures. Airtight storage keeps moisture and oxygen away from coffee beans. Freezer storage does even better - for several months. Remember to thaw before grinding. Be careful to grind your coffee to suit your coffee maker. Espresso makers take a very fine grind, nearly a powder. Cone filters take fine grind, like sugar. Drip or basket filters take drip grind, like beach sand. Press and brewers use regular grind, a bit coarser. Be careful as you portion your coffee. Coffee flavor extraction is by weight, not volume. Some coffees and some roasts are denser than others. For example, dark roasts weigh less per scoop than standard roasts and Columbian coffee is less dense than Costa Rica. You should test coffee/water ratios to find your preference. Coffee makers need fresh, cold, oxygenated water to start with and very hot, near boiling water (185-195 degrees) to make the brew. Coffee brewed with flat water tastes flat. Low temperature means less flavor. Filtered or off the shelf water may be necessary if the local water is unhealthy or has off flavors of its own. |
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Catalog 2006 www.nwcoffeemills.com |