What's Happening at the George Howell Coffee Company

Guatemala Cup of Excellence 2006 - First Place, El Injerto special lot: El Injerto put a lot of attention into producing a very special tiny lot for Cup of Excellence this year and commandingly took 1st prize for its effort. The cup is simply pristine. Refined acidity, hints of sweet jasmine, peach, sweet lime and tropical fruit. You can read more about it on the Cup of Excellence website. We will roast this for special occasions only during the course of the year. The first offering will be roasted Monday, November 13. Those wanting to savor it on Thanksgiving should not open the bag until then. Price: $49.95 – 12 oz. roasted; $45.00 lb. green (can be ordered in one lb. increments). You can place a reservation for this coffee by calling (866) GHH-JAVA. The El Injerto will be available online for purchase on Friday, November 10th.

Nicaragua, Las Termopilas - Unfortunately we will be selling the last of this fine coffee on Monday, October 30. We have a very small amount left, so order now while supplies last! Entwined notes of soft citrus and apple over a subtly smoky base of nuts, coconut and a dash of persisting sweet chocolate. Full bodied with medium acidity. $22.50 per 12oz Roasted. You can order this fine coffee from our online store!

New Grinder: the Virtuoso. We have replaced the Maestro Plus with the sleek Virtuoso, made by the same folks and dramatically improved. This is by far the best all-purpose coffee grinder in its price range that we know of. It has 40 grind settings, from true coarse to near-perfect Turkish. It is easy to clean, has a powerful motor and uses slow spinning conical burrs to keep the coffee from heating. It is solidly built. One caveat: static cling causes a slight mess when opening the coffee-grounds receptacle, which has no cover of its own, after grinding. This direct openness, however, assures that virtually no grounds are stuck to stale away in the grinder after use. A great gift! You can order this grinder now on our online store. $199.00.

Open House - We are pleased to announce that we will be hosting another open house! We invite you to come visit our warehouse on December 1st, Friday at 9 AM to noon for coffee tastings and discussion with George and the Terroir Staff!

The Fine Art and Precise Science of Roasting Part 3 (of 3)

The Coffee Roaster’s Palette

There are three key roasts. Each roast covers a certain range suited for different tasting purposes.

1. Full Flavor Roast

A few minutes after the first popping the beans reach their maximum aromatic development, ideal for the unique floral-and-fruit expressions of fine single origin coffees. The cellular structure of the beans is intact with no oils bleeding to the surface. The beans can show a slight irregularity of tone. The range of what we call Full Flavor roast has been traditionally referred to as City to Full City roasts. The lighter end of this spectrum is ideal for drip and vacuum coffeemakers while slightly darker-hued beans offer deeper caramel notes, working well with French Press machines.

These coffees, roasted lightly, are meant to be savored as they cool in the cup, approximating the intensity of wine only as they reach room temperature, when our tastes buds are fully receptive. These roasts are too light for espresso brewing with one exception: softer coffees with low acidity, such as certain Brazils, can be roasted to this color for a North Italian style espresso, giving wonderfully sweet flavors without hint of bitterness or excessive acidity.

2. Vienna Roast

As the beans darken still further a second popping occurs, sounding more like a sizzling. Now the actual cellular structure begins to crack, allowing the oils enveloping the aromatics to gradually bleed to the surface, imparting a nice even sheen to the beans. A light Vienna roast is achieved just as the second popping commences – and can go all the way to full second “crack”, releasing still more oils and their precious volatile perfumes. Vienna roast coffee brewed in a drip coffeemaker is characterized by a semi-sweet caramel roastiness coupled with dramatic dulling of acidity – or liveliness - with a rise in bitter flavors towards the far-back of the tongue. It is commonly served in many quality restaurants these days because of its safe character, offering a certain generic richness, neither offending with any assertiveness nor particularly inspiring. Nevertheless, the right beans, roasted to a light Vienna, can make a fine French Press or a particularly rich espresso, where, through high-pressure percolation, enough acidity is squeezed out to make a complex, balanced demitasse delight.

3. French Roast

As the roaster goes beyond the second popping thick smoke begins oozing out of every opening and the coffee veers towards its version of a heavy Lapsang Souchong. Any remaining aromatics are now burned off, replaced by carbony smoke leaving a strong bitter aftertaste. Such coffees are best drunk hot when a certain cutting yet elegant bitterness can cut through the rich aftertaste of a heavy meal or dessert. When the cup cools coarser flavors come into play.

Hot French-roasted beans spill into the cooling tray, shining with thick bright oil. This quickly evaporates and the coffee stays a dull blackened-brown for the next dozen or so hours. Then the oils reappear in such profusion that the beans stick together. Rancidity can easily set in.

Back in the early days of The Coffee Connection, in the late 1970’s, before we knew much, we roasted one coffee beyond French to what we called Italian Roast, which was as close to jet-black as we could get. Italian Roast turned to Pompeii Roast once too often with the Fire Department converging on a mini inferno. We survived and over time evolved towards subtler pleasures.