Coffee news and miscellany

My year in beans 2008: The cost of coffee

At the beginning of 2008, I started keeping track of all the coffee I purchased. Since I drink (and share) a lot of coffee — all specialty coffee and some quite expensive — I was curious how many kinds I went through in a year and what I spent.

After a year of enjoying a wide variety of beans, my final tally really surprised me — especially how little it cost to truly enjoy this great beverage.

The cost of all the coffee I drank in 2008, including shipping charges and the retail price of some coffee that I was given free, was $987.03. Not a small piece of change, but it works out to a piddling $2.70 a day. Every day, that’s a full pot for my husband and I. Two or three times a week I make a French press in the afternoon. Once a month or more, I share coffee at work with a group to do coffee reviews (or just hang out). I give away a half-dozen bags or so in a year. A lot of indulgence for less than $3 a day!

How much indulgence? My list consisted of 63 different coffees — only two were blends, the rest were single origin coffees. I had around a dozen selections more than once. Some I just liked so much I bought them again. Sometimes I tried the same coffee by two different roasters, or the same coffee but different crops. The coffees came from 22 countries and from 23 roasters.

Unfortunately, I kept track by order and not by bag, so I can’t tell you what the cheapest and most expensive coffees were. Most were 12-oz. bags, and I don’t think I paid less than $8 for a bag. I paid over $20 fairly often, with the most expensive about $35. Because I didn’t keep track of each bag, I am also unable to calculate a price per cup using the nifty tool that I provided here earlier this year. I’ve already set up the 2009 spreadsheet to include these variable so I can provide more detail next year.

I think this is insanely cheap for what can be one of life’s most satisfying daily luxuries. If you drink less coffee than we do, have a good roaster nearby and can avoid shipping costs, or splurge less often on really expensive beans, you’ll spend much less. If you still think it’s too expensive to drink only decent, sustainably-grown coffee, then you are probably only drinking it for the kick. Try NoDoz, and you won’t be destroying the environment and impoverishing farmers for your caffeine fix.

Half cup photo by MissBeckles.

Coffee reviews / Coffee-related products

Not-quite-coffee review: Finca Mauritania Cascara

Just to end the year on a unique note, we decided to try an interesting and unique coffee product, cascara. This is dried coffee cherry, and can be prepared as an infusion like tea.

Something old is new again
Although unfamiliar to most Westerners, this is an ancient beverage in Yemen — it may have even pre-dated the actual roasting and brewing of coffee beans. There, and in a few other countries where it is prepared, it’s known as qishar (or qishr, quishar, quishr, keshir, etc.). In Yemen qishar is often made with ginger, sugar, and cinnamon (although many recipes you’ll find will substitute the coffee “husks” with ground coffee).

Enter Aida Batlle!
If anybody in the New World was going to produce and market qishar to the specialty coffee world, it was going to be Aida Batlle, proprietor of three outstanding El Salvador coffee farms — Los Alpes, Finca Kilimanjaro, and Finca Mauritania. She’s committed to quality, sustainability, and innovation.

Coffee is rarely dry processed in Central America due to the damp climate which is so much in contrast with the arid origins of most dry processed beans. But Aida has been experimenting with both dry process and pulped naturals for some time. For her dry process coffee, which she calls “pasa” (“raisin” in Spanish), she leaves the cherries on the tree after they ripen until they dry out and look like raisins. The beans are hulled from the cherries. Normally coffee pulp and skins — from either wet or dry processing — are composted and used for fertilizer. In this case, the dried cherry is used for cascara.

Aida produced around 225 pounds of cascara from her Finca Mauritania harvest. I obtained my cascara from James Hoffman‘s Square Mile Coffee Roasters in the UK, and from Counter Culture Coffee. Square Mile is sold out for the year; I don’t think Counter Culture offered it for sale but used it at tastings and as gifts.

During a visit to Yemen last year, Thom Owen of Sweet Maria’s took a photo of some qishar. It appeared not very uniform, with hunks of hulls and crusty pulp, and it looked dry and flaky. The Finca Mauritania cascara looks much like tree bark, was a rich reddish-brown color, and had a pliable texture.

This bark-like appearance no doubt gave this product its name, as “cascara” refers to tree bark in Spanish. This coffee cascara should not be confused with cascara sagrada, the dried bark of the California buckthorn tree, Rhamnus purshiana. Nearly all Rhamnus have phytochemicals that act as laxatives, and Rhamnus purshiana has long been used as an herbal laxative. Be forewarned that at least in North America, if you Google “cascara” you get lots of hits on the constipation cure, not the coffee tea!

Preparation and taste
The aroma of the raw cascara is powerful and intoxicating. Nearly every person who stuck their nose in the bag said “Wow!” Two descriptions for the smell of the raw cascara came up frequently: raisins and pipe tobacco. The latter aroma sent me back 40 years to sitting on my grandfather’s lap as he smoked a fragrant pipe. Both my husband and I, the only ones from our tasting group that had ever been near coffee mills at harvest time, also recognized the familiar sweet smell of slightly fermented coffee pulp. Licorice came up a couple times, and others detected wine, apple chips, or dried cherries. A few of us tried just chewing on a pinch of the stuff. I thought it was quite good, and the flavor lasted until the chips were well masticated. (This might be the non-liquid solution to a caffeine fix in the field. Bonus: fiber!)

Cascara is brewed like tea. No additional prep is needed — just use the cascara straight from the package. Square Mile recommends a ratio of 20 to 25 grams per liter of water and a 4-minute steep time. Sweet Maria’s advised using the same proportions as brewing coffee, with a steeping time of 4 to 12 minutes, with 8 to 10 minutes being best. Experiment! Your mileage may vary.

Upon brewing, the first thing you’ll notice is that the aroma of the beverage is not like the aroma of the raw material. It has a sort of vaguely grassy smell. One person thought it smelled like wet dog. Nor does it taste like it smells. With lesser quantities or shorter steep times, it is very lightly sweet; all flavors intensify if more cascara is used or it steeps longer.

The first, hottest sip has a citrusy tang; several people said it was orange-toned. Overall, the flavor is somewhat rustic or earthy. It reminded two people of rooibos (except cascara does have caffeine). Rose petal or rose hip tea was also mentioned more than once. If you’ve ever tasted a ripe coffee cherry, that mild sweetness was, as you might expect, there as well. Everybody could find some sort of grassy, green vegetative taste. For me, it was celery. One person said it was like sweetened water from a can of bean sprouts or bamboo shoots!  A couple of us thought it had a sort of odd, syrupy aftertaste (it reminded me of sticky coffee pulp). After it had steeped to the color of strong coffee, one person thought it was robust enough to remind them of beef bouillon.

There was some experimentation with milk or sugar, but nobody said additives made a huge difference in how they felt about it. Some people took to the cascara right away, especially if they were regular drinkers of herbal teas. I prefer refined black teas such as darjeelings, but I liked the cascara better after drinking it a few times, so it may be an acquired taste for some people. Everyone was anxious to try it and glad they did, even if they weren’t coffee drinkers — it was just that singular an experience. If you have an opportunity to try some, let me know what you tasted and how you liked it!

And with this last review, I’ll close out 2008. Happy New Year to all C&C readers!

Research on coffee growing

Research: Shade coffee promotes genetic diversity of native trees

Shade coffee farms promote genetic diversity of native trees. 2008. Jha, S. and C. W. Dick. Current Biology 18:R1126-1128.

Chestnut-sided Warbler in winter plumage.

This study looked at genetic differences and gene flow in an understory shrub, Miconia affinis, in a 1200  ha matrix of forest and shade coffee farms in Nueva Alemania, Chiapas, Mexico. Birds are extremely important as agents of seed dispersal in tropical ecosystems. The authors wanted to explore how shade coffee farms — with their attendant suite of vertebrate seed dispersers such as birds, bats, and mammals — might act as corridors or reservoirs promoting healthy gene flow in trees. Other studies have indicated that limited seed dispersal in fragmented landscapes results in inbreeding and demographic declines in tree populations.

Clay-colored Thrush.

Genetic analyses showed that the Miconia in the coffee farms were genetically diverse, and came from multiple source populations. Clusters of Miconia in the forest were actually more closely related to each other than the clusters on coffee farms. The authors speculated that this may be due to the short foraging ranges of birds that specialize in forest habitats, versus the birds found in shade coffee, which are often wide-ranging generalists. [Note that the interpretation of this aspect in the Science Daily article is somewhat misleading. The paper stated that Miconia seeds are spread by birds such as the resident Clay-colored Robin (Turdus grayi) and the migrant Chestnut-sided Warbler (Dendroica pensylvanica), a North American breeder than winters in the tropics. The SD article said that the warbler is a short-ranging forest specialist responsible for limited seed dispersal in forests; this was not stated in the paper.]

The authors conclude that “[S]hade coffee farms support extensive dispersal processes crucial for the connectivity of remnant forest and agricultural habitats…[and they play a role] as potential foci of native forest regeneration.”

Chestnut-sided Warbler by Jerry Oldenettel. Clay-colored Robin by Arthur Chapman.

S. Jha, C. Dick. (2008). Shade coffee farms promote genetic diversity of native trees. Current Biology, 18 (24) DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2008.11.017

Retail and specialty roasters

Coffee at Panera Bread

Update April 2024: For those of you visiting from Chowhound, welcome. I offer a word of caution regarding the sustainability of coffee at Panera. The post below was written before the chain was purchased by JAB Holding — the private German company that began swallowing up coffee companies 12 years ago, including Caribou Coffee, Peet’s, Keurig, and others. As a private entity, JAB does little to truly disclose details on sourcing; my post on the lack of real transparency at Caribou provides detail. I used to be able to slice and dice sourcing data from the major coffee buyers and frequently updated the information — but the consolidation of corporate coffee, in particular companies that are not publicly-traded, has made this effort futile. I would never make the assertion that Panera’s coffee is or is likely to be “100% sustainably grown.” That term alone is loaded and unstandardized; you can learn more about it here on Coffee & Conservation.

Panera Bread is a chain of over 1,200 bakery-cafes in the U.S. and Canada; stores in the St. Louis area operate as the St. Louis Bread Company. Panera started out as Au Bon Pain Co., but by 1999 Au Bon Pain divested itself of other brands to concentrate on the Panera concept. Personally, I love the food at Panera. But despite my obvious love of coffee, I rarely drink it at restaurants because it’s either lousy, unsustainable, or both. At Panera, I noted that urns at their coffee station are marked with brew times to indicate freshness, and each of the three daily offerings actually notes an origin and source that were more specific than generic. After a bit of digging, I discovered that Panera serves coffee that is roasted and sourced in a way that is far more transparent and responsible than any other non-specialty coffee chain I’ve encountered.

Panera’s roaster
Way back when, Au Bon Pain’s coffee was roasted by the Coffee Connection,which was George Howell’s gig at the time. You know him now from my reviews of his great coffees at his Terroir Coffee Company. George was and is a pioneer in specialty coffee, and has had a long relationship with another trailblazer, Bill McAlpin, best known for his model Costa Rican coffee farm, La Minita. La Minita was the main bean at Au Bon Pain. After George sold Coffee Connection to Starbucks, Au Bon Pain changed roasters until they settled on Distant Lands Coffee in Tyler, Texas — whose chairman is Bill McAlpin.
In addition to La Minita, McAlpin now owns, manages, or partners with a number of other farms and mills in Costa Rica and other countries. Therefore, Distant Lands is able to grow/source, process, and roast, providing clients with quality coffee at very competitive prices.

Understand McAlpin and La Minita, and you understand the philosophy of Distant Lands, and much about the coffee Panera serves. On the environmental side, La Minita is a large estate in the Terrazu region — over 500 ha — but nearly 20% is set aside in forest reserves, including primary forest and forested corridors for wildlife movement. The production areas are shaded, in typical Costa Rican style, with pruned PorÁ³ (Erythrina poeppigiana) trees. No pesticides or herbicides are used. Some fertilizers and fungicides are applied, so the farm is not certified organic. On-site generated hydroelectric power is used in the mill, and coffee parchment is recycled for use in fueling dryers. La Minita workers are extremely well provided for, in pay, benefits, and amenities. This successful model has been used in other McAlpin farms and mills. You can read more about Distant Lands sustainability efforts here.

McAlpin has what is said to be an obsessive attention to detail and quality, so his coffees are meticulously harvested and processed. Only 15-25% of the production is exported with the La Minita name. Other beans from the farm, as well as other farms and mills managed by McAlpin, are marketed under other “marks” or brands. McAlpin’s style of careful processing of beans from other farms often goes by the moniker “La Minita prep.”

Panera’s coffees
Panera typically offers three coffees daily, often a light or medium roast, a decaf, and either a dark roast or flavored coffee. The coffees within each category are not static — a good sign that the company wishes to use beans that are seasonal. The urns are not merely labeled “light roast” or “Costa Rican” but provide a more specific source; they were what helped me track down Distant Lands. Here are a few of the La Minita/Distant Lands sourced coffees I’ve seen offered at my local Panera recently (some included in blends).

Costa Rica El Indio Terrazu. El Indio is the mark used by CoopeTarrazu located in San Marcos. In past years, most of this went to European roasters, but I’ve seen it with increasing frequency here in the U.S.

Guatemala Arte Maya, El Oriente. A blend of beans sourced from Antigua and Huehuetenango. No doubt carefully processed at Distant Lands/McAlpin supervised partner mill, Beneficio de Cafe Pastores.

Colombia Reserva del Patron. Selected beans (larger than 18 screen size, I believe; slightly smaller are marketed under McAlpin’s Narino Del Abuelo brand) from one of McAlpin’s mills processing coffee from small farms in the Narino region. Mostly typica and caturra.

Brazil La Minita prep. I know Distant Lands has Brazilian partners, but I don’t have any more specific information. From what I gather, I am pretty sure this originates in the cerrado region.

Conclusion
Most big bakery/restaurant/fast food chains (Wendy’s, Dunkin Donuts) source coffee from one of the big multinational corporate coffee giants, or don’t disclose their sources at all (Tim Hortons). They tend to use cheap beans — and we know cheap means poverty, environmental destruction, and low quality. Panera has apparently made a decision to stick with a coffee provider that is committed to quality and sustainability. This in spite of the fact that in 2001, coffee only made up 4% of Panera sales and the company admitted that they could not compete with the likes of Starbucks or Caribou. In 2009, they plan to further upgrade their coffee menu.

Yes — I tried their coffee, the light roast. I was really pleased. No surprises, just a fresh, nicely sweet, very well balanced, bright cup of coffee with a classic Central American profile. Plus free refills and wireless Internet in their stores.

Kudos to Panera!