From Bean to Brew

FROM BEAN FROM BEAN TO BREW TO BREW

What goes into brewing the perfect cup of coffee?

The short answer is ‘a lot’. By MONIQUE CECCATO

ORIGIN, FARMING CONDITIONS, roast, blend, temperature, and freshness; there’s so much more to the perfect cup of coffee than meets the eye. Beneath that pretty latte art heart is a complex beverage that, through its flavour, tells a story of its journey from farm to cup. By the time a bag of coffee beans has made its way from the source to the roaster and, finally, into the hands of your local barista, it’s come up against an infinite number of variables that all impart their characteristics on the coffee’s flavour profile.

“The tricky thing about coffee is that every process has the ability to affect the final flavour,” says Alistair Ingram, general manager at Yahava Koffeeworks in West Swan. When a bag of green beans arrives in the Yahava warehouse, there’s no improving on the raw product, he says, just preserving and showcasing their inherent quality.

For Lindsay Davies, head roaster at FiORi Coffee at Oakoaver Grounds, coffee is at its best and most pure when it’s sitting ripe on the tree. According to him, the bean at that stage is the truest show of the way coffee is supposed to be. “There are all these different chains for the coffee beans to get through to get to you as a consumer, and everyone that does their job so the product can still remain

As a barista, you have the ability to screw up the coffee, or you can really make the beans shine.”

~ LINDSAY DAVIES, Head Roaster at FiORI as close to that 100 per cent as possible,” he explains. “You’re trying to help the coffee and present the coffee in the way that it’s supposed to be”.

In the pursuit of the highest quality beans for FiORi’s roasts, Lindsay gets involved with the product from the very beginning. He’s travelled to Ethiopia, Brazil, Colombia, and Papua New Guinea to meet with the coffee farmers and establish mutually beneficial working relationships. “We don’t have any control over the beans unless we can go to origin and help them,” he says. “Setting up direct lines like that and helping with the processing methods can definitely help with the quality.

“Roasting wise, we obviously have a massive impact on the coffee,” says Lindsay, who currently roasts upwards of 10 different styles of coffee from nine different origins. FiORI sources the bulk of their beans from Colombia - one of the world’s most recognised coffee producing regions. Lindsay also likes to work in some more

sweet, floral beans from Ethiopia and funky Papa New Guinean beans with wild stone fruit notes to them.

Yahava’s resources are plucked from even further afield, with their signature range of coffees consisting of beans from more than 10 different regions. “Each year, we would source coffee from anywhere between 12-15 different countries,” says Alistair Ingram, general manager. “Our head roaster, Ryan Munyard, and head of quality control, Gary Sawyer, spend a long time searching, tasting and discussing the merits of new coffees to bring in to Yahava.” But, Yahava don’t stop at just their 12 signature brews. “We also bring in a further 12 single origins as part of our Specialty Estate program, at least three Grand Cru coffees - the most sought-after coffees in the world - and a few more for our Regional Blend offerings.”

“There are a few fundamentals with roasting that, as long as you know how to

“The biggest mistake I see across cafes and home baristas is either starting with dirty equipment - especially coffee machines - or not using fresh coffee,” says Alistair. “Coffee can ‘last’ for a really long time, but the flavour profile tends to be tastiest about five days out from roasting. People often have a bit of an awakening when they try locally roasted fresh coffee for the first time; they feel like they’re trying actual coffee for the first time ever, it’s pretty cool to watch.”

The key to really showcasing the beans and making an A-grade cup, says Lindsay, is to know exactly how to use it. That means knowing when to use milk and when to go without. For baristas, knowing the flavour profiles of each coffee bean they work with is second nature. For everyday coffee drinkers, making these distinctions mightn’t be so easy. Lindsay’s suggestion is simple: just take the tasting notes of the coffee and imagine those flavours paired with dairy.

“If you’ve got beans with caramel, chocolate, and nutty notes, think about pairing those flavours with dairy. They work together,” he explains. “Your Central American beans, like beans from Brazil, are heavily used in your Italian style roasts and darker roast because they’re just heavy, heavy chocolate that can cut through milk usage.” On the other hand, beans with a distinct floral and lemon flavour profile, for example, aren’t at their best when mixed with dairy.

“People are increasingly particular about their coffee and the average level of coffee knowledge in the past few years has skyrocketed, so baristas, cafe owners, even home enthusiasts kind of need to stay on top of their game to continue to impress. Small mistakes can’t be concealed as easily as they once were,” explains Alistair.

When all is said and done, and every measure is taken to roast and brew the highest quality cup of coffee, the ‘perfect cup’ is always going to be subjective. “We’ve always found that people’s idea of a perfect coffee tends to be really individual,” says Alastair. “So, as a business, we try to discover what the customer wants in their cup and then we’ll have a good old crack at making that for them – even if it has five sugars and a blend of different kinds of milk.” SV

GOOD BREWS Above, Yahava uses coffee beans from 10 different regions. Opposite, FiORI’s head roaster, Lindsay Davies knows a thing or two about the perfect cup of joe.

use everything required in the process, you can still make coffee taste good,” Lindsay says, noting that there are umpteen ways a roaster can work with the beans to enhance them. “I do think the barista has the biggest impact, though. As a barista, you have the ability to screw up the coffee, or you can really make the beans shine.”

SPECIALTY COFFEE STOPS

WILLING COFFEE

110 Terrace Road, Guildford Tucked away in a leafy Guildford street, this very pink, very trendy cafe serves up cups of their house roast as well as featured local and international roasters. Go for the laid-back Italo-vibes, stay for their shortbread crostata.

CAFE POSTE

24 Stirling Street, Guildford Part garden centre, part cafe, this green spot in Guildford is the perfect place for a peaceful morning brew. They’re pouring coffees by the Perth-based Leftfield Coffee Roasters and pairing them with their house-made treats.

GUERRILLA HUB

Dulwich Road, Whiteman Park First Ave, Woodbridge Preface your morning walk with a pitstop at one of Guerrilla Hub’s two takeaway kiosks. Grab a cup of locally roasted Grand Central Coffee for yourself, and grab your walking buddy one of their gourmet dog treats.