In this article we will illustrate the potential of this new wave of coffee by trying to give you some advice on the essential steps to improve your coffee offer:

1. • Learn more about coffee as a raw material
   • Analise the market
   • Selection of the coffee and brewing methods
   • How to offer the new coffee menu

1. Learn more about coffee

Coffee is a daily life product that has become a commodity, but precisely, for this reason, it is often underestimated or taken for granted. It is an indispensable product for every bar or café, always present in restaurants and hotels, it would be unthinkable not to have it available for our customers. And it is for this reason, that it is important to give the right weight to this product and to obtain a deeper knowledge to be able to adequately offer it to your customers.

2. Analise the market

To differentiate your business correctly, it is important to identify the level sophistication of your clients in order to offer them the most suitable product at the right price.

GET TO KNOW YOUR TARGET MARKET

A deep understanding of your target and business strategy can suggest the right actions and the key points to be exploited. With regard to the coffee proposal, different solutions can be identified depending on whether your clientele is consolidated and who regularly visits your premises but who may be looking for a different experience, maybe you want to attract new customers or increase your slice of the market. It is important to ask yourself what the values ​​of your guests are and how much they can value in a product such as high-quality coffee (which is increasingly giving importance to ​​the right remuneration of all the players in the supply chain and the protection of the environment), but also the potential implications that this product may need to implement for it to complete your proposal.

3. Selection of the coffee and brewing methods

THE BREWING METHODS

Adequate knowledge of the different brewing methods and their results in the cup is essential to choose the method that best suits your business. To accompany an afternoon dessert, we can consider an aromatic infusion with the French Press rather than the clean and juicy extraction of the Pour-Over or even an intense cup of coffee extracted with the Moka. We can find the former as an excellent end to a meal as an alternative to the more traditional espresso. We could also replace it with a spectacular preparation with the Syphon or the Chemex if these better enhance the previous courses.

Photocredit: Rene Porter

THE COFFEE SELECTION

The selection of the coffees to be featured in your business, must go hand in hand, and always be based on the analysis of your target. The proposal of a coffee menu, like the wine or dessert list, can prove very successful. In fact, it allows you to satisfy a variety of requests as well as offering a new sensory experience for many. Another example of professionalism is to propose a variable offer that follows the seasonality of coffee (as an agricultural product). Furthermore, selecting coffees among the numerous artisan roasters can be an additional advantage, especially to strengthen the loyalty of their customers.
With such a wide range of possibilities, the fundamental task of our consultants is extremely valuable, who by listening to your needs and framing the context you have analysed, can help you choose the offer of coffee and extraction methods best suited to your structure. (Contact us to find out more)

4. How to insert the coffee menu in your offer

Even the best planning can be made in vain if enough care is not put into practice. For this reason, it is important to devote the right attention to the correct training of personnel and effective communication of the new offer. It is very useful to have the most suitable tools: a coffee list, in the physical sense of the term, which illustrates the offer clearly and completely, outlining the differences between the various coffees. This can provide valuable help for your customer for making the choice, but above all, the stimulus to think outside the box by trying something new. Even the coffee cards, like the collectible ones that accompany the coffees of our selection, can be the ideal companion to guide the tasting and lead your guest on a journey along the entire supply chain for a 360 ° sensory experience.

Most important, is the added value that you can give in first person by giving the best coffee recommendation based on your customer preferences or in the combination of your other dishes, as well as the product’s storytelling by guiding the guests in their tasting in search of incredible notes that range from sweet, fruity or floral, that at times are unexpected to be found in coffee.

Having this offer in your menu comes with many benefits if well executed, that range from profitability all the way to giving a more complete experience and helping your customers discover the wonderful world of coffee!

I’M NOT A BARISTA was founded by Micky Wang, that used to work in the coffee industry as a marketing director and who often received requests to sponsor baristas but who unfortunately, often had to decline because of budget restrictions.

This awareness that many baristas needed help to pursue their dreams was what ultimately inspired him to establish this NPO.

Photo credit: I’m not a barista

In his own words, Micky describes what he’s aiming to achieve with I’M NOT A BARISTA:
“I want to connect all the dots and help baristas in need by spreading awareness of the barista profession worldwide and supporting baristas in their dreams to participate in coffee competitions.”
–Micky Wang

I’M NOT A BARISTA is intended an icebreaker because many times, baristas are either really busy or don’t know how to approach their customers. It is a friendly way to convey an important mission and create a deep connection,  ideally it will push customers to take the first step by curiously asking “so.. are you not a barista”?

WHAT EXACTLY IS THE #BREWATHOME MOVEMENT?

The #brewathome movement is a global social campaign that aims to support the coffee community during the current global pandemic by connecting coffee companies and baristas with consumers through social media.

The goal is to transmit culture and raise the level of knowledge by encouraging coffee lovers to brew at home as a way to pass time and stay safe, as well as to promote the online purchases from local coffee roasters & equipment merchants.

All this is done through the sharing of tutorials, tips, online events & conferences, and giveaways.

As the campaing slogan points out:

“Alone, we are strong; together, we are stronger”

Between roasters, importers, coffee gear manufacturers & coffee shops More than 100 coffee-related companies have already joined the movement, and it is just getting bigger & stronger.

The #brewathome campaign is a great example of how challenging times can bring the best out of us, in specific, the coffee industry.

HOW CAN YOU GET INVOLVED?

If you are a roaster, barista or a coffee lover, you can always pitch in and help this movement grow stronger and there are lots of ways:

• Register as a partner company here.
• Register as a volunteer here.
• Share pictures or videos of your brewing sessions with the hashtag #brewathome.
• Support your local roasters. Check the roaster’s map

For more info, visit I’M NOT A BARISTA’S website.

HOW ARE WE AT ESSENSE SUPPORTING THE CAMPAIGN?

We are very proud to be an official partner of the #brewathome campaign and we thank @specialty_pal for letting us know about it!

Being an official partner of the #brewathome movement and are offering free shipping and a 15% discount on all orders, so if you need coffee or brewing gear use the BREWATHOME coupon in our e-shop.

Furthermore, we are improving our website with video tutorials and other interesting content, but our main channel is certainly our Instagram account @essense.coffee together with our other social profiles. There you can find brewing tips, details on coffee and the entire supply chain, and many other curiosities, both ours and other actors of this fantastic movement. We also love to share and give visibility to third party contributions because after all we are all one big family: the big #brewathome family!

WHAT EXACTLY IS A SHADOW PLANTATION?

Shadow planting is a form of planting coffee trees together with different types of shade trees*. This cultivation system incorporates many ecological principles, and coffee grown in this way is marketed as “shade-grown”.

*Shade trees are large trees whose primary role is to provide protection to the surrounding plants due to its spreading canopy and crown.

In these types of plantation, coffee plants are grown under a canopy of shade trees. And since this cultivation method integrates the principles of ecology to promote natural symbiotic relationships, coffees grown in the shade can be considered a by-product of permaculture.

This planting configuration of the coffee tree is formed by a sophisticated agroforestry system, in which coffee is associated with other species in different levels. This cultivation method contributes to a more sustainable use of resources and to an interaction of the ecosystem and more natural breeding because it promotes greater animal and vegetable biodiversity.

The dense vegetation needed to produce shade-grown coffee helps to purify the air and filter the water, improving the quality of both.

In the next image you can see an example of a Shadow Plantation:

WHAT IS FULL-SUN PLANTING?

The “full sun coffee” or coffee grown in the sun is a configuration of the plantation which is inspired in the methodology of intensive agricultural practices.

In the 1970s, the idea of ​​growing coffee in the sun was introduced to coffee farmers with the intention of increasing production. While coffee grown in the sun produces higher yields and subsequently offers farmers a higher profit, it has a negative impact on the ecosystem and the quality of the coffee.

In Guatemala for example, coffee is traditionally grown in the shade, so it has not been a major cause of deforestation in the country. However, throughout Central America, sun coffee cultivation has resulted in a loss of 1 million hectares of forest. And since coffee is the second most traded commodity in the world, the ways in which coffee is grown really count.

In the next image you can see an example of a full-sun plantation:

BENEFITS OF THE SHADOW PLANTATIONS

In a study in 2010, birds were excluded from a coffee plantation and resulted in a 70% increase in the percentage of coffee fruit infected by the “coffee borer bettle”, a parasitic species of insects. It is among the most harmful pests for coffee crops in the world.

Birds tend to go away when they cannot longer find bigger trees to build their nests on, so this gives us light of the importance of a balanced ecosystem in coffee farming and this has been demonstrated with shadow plantations.

The high diversity of species found in shadow plantations allows the formation of relatively complex food networks. Both birds and mammals play an important role in pest control by eating many herbivorous insects such as the coffee borer.

This helps farmers to avoid the use of pesticides that are harmful to agricultural workers but also to the ecosystem and those who consume coffee.

What is good for coffee, benefits people too.

Other benefits that shade-grown brings to the “cup”:

• Helps increase the longevity of the plant
• Protects the tree from the sun and wind.
• Less water required because there is less perspiration.
• It improves soil fertility.
• Reduction of erosion.
• The ripening is slower, therefore, the harvest is better.
• Increased production thanks to bee pollination.

Our first experience with Shade-grown coffee was the Tanzania Kilimanjaro, it gave us a new perspective on the qualities of this type of coffee.

CURRENT SITUATION

The trend of most coffee plantations goes towards the non-use of this form of cultivation. The method that’s being most adopted the full-sun (use of pesticides, fertilizers, lots of irrigation) especially where the increase in biodiversity and respect for the environment is not a priority.

This is most pronounced by the way the coffee sector has worked in recent years. coffee producers are not being paid what they deserve, so they have to focus on being more profitable just to make ends meet. 

But all is not lost, there are many initiatives that are working to solve this problem by bringing greater awareness to the entire supply chain; from the importer to the end user on how a small price adjustment can positively impact a farmer’s life and, in return, give them the opportunity to grow a much better coffee.

This is a win-win situation, don’t you think?

A few examples of the initiatives are:

• Bird Friendly
• Rainforest Alliance
• Fair Trade Coffee

The shadow plantations have already demonstrated their great benefits for the environment and many farmers who have implemented it, mainly in rural areas and at high altitudes, where maintaining a good level of biodiversity is essential for cultivation, have found that the benefits can also be found in the cup.

This result in the cup comes thanks to the shading that guarantees constant humidity and reduces the temperature, thus the maturation of the cherry gets prolonged. This in turn, promotes a greater development of the sugars, thus obtaining a more aromatic and full-bodied coffee.

CONCLUSION

So the answer to the question “is shade-grown better than full-sun?” seems obvious, but for it to become a reality, there must be the participation of all those involved in the supply chain, from the bean to the cup, from the farmer to the drinker as some might say.

Shade-grown coffee is much better in terms of quality and environment, but we should also think about the well-being of the farmers who grow it before saying that it is better in every respect.

Have you ever tried a Shade-grown coffee? please let us know in the comments your thoughts! We will be more than happy to start a caffeine-filled conversation.

Sources:

• Rice, Robert (2010). “The Ecological Benefits of Shade-Grown Coffee: The Case for Going Bird Friendly”. Smithsonian.
• Shade Grown Coffee Movie
• Permaculture Principles

OUR PARTICIPATION

It was an amazing experience as we got to connect with people from all over the world who are passionate about fine culinary products.

Much to our surprise, we found that many more people than we imagined were fascinated by the diverse brewing methods as well as the origins of the coffee they are currently drinking, which sometimes is hard to figure out.

These kinds of events are a big opportunity to show people the true qualities of coffee and all of the great characteristics that can be potentially discovered when the quality is high enough.

Many people showed their interest in GROUNDtoENJOY which is a single-dose coffee that’s optimized for a great result in the cup.

GROUNDtoENJOY is a coffee lover’s favourite as we take special care of the grind levels depending on the brewing method and keep it fresh for a long time because of our cutting-edge packaging technology.

THE BEST OF

As a measure for the upcoming trends in fine food, the Gourmet Selection “Best Of” awards award products offering genuine added value.

The judging panel, made up of experts and professionals selected for their love of good products and expertise, try the products and inspect them from all angles to single out the “must-have” stars of the show.

Products are selected for their organoleptic qualities: visual appeal, texture, taste, smell, flavours. Non-food products are judged on criteria such as innovation, eco-friendliness etc.

BRRREWER our Cold Brew coffee maker won the non-food category because of its focus on usability, great design and sustainability.

You can check out the other winners here.

After our successful campaign on Kickstarter, BRRREWER has been giving us lots of satisfactions. But it has to be noted that it was a joint effort with the Be a Taster community, which is a project that involves hundreds of coffee enthusiasts from all over the world , and its main goal is to collaborate with people with a passion for coffee to create amazing products.

We will surely be attending next year, and hopefully we will get another award for some amazing product!

You can check out our step by step Brewing Guide for more detailed info.

Do you have any questions or doubts? please do let us know in the comments, we will be glad to respond!

COMPETITION FORMAT

To decide who will be the world’s best barista there are three judging stages held over two days. This year’s first round will consist of 42 participants from all over the world who will have to advance to the semifinals round (16 participants)  and then to the finals which will comprise the top 6 scoring baristas who will compete on the last day.

In every round, the participants will perform a 15-minute drill in which they have to serve a total of 12 beverages to each of the four judges:

• 4 Espressos
• 4 milk-based beverages
• 4 Original Signature drinks

There are two types of judges; Sensory and Technical. Sensory judges will award points based on different factors such as presentation, flavor, and the drink’s balance. Technical Judges will award points based on the techniques used by the baristas and the cleanliness of the process. Baristas usually will perform the same routine in all of the rounds that they compete, this is because normally these routines have taken months of preparation and are well studied, so it makes sense that the barista feels comfortable and sure that the result will be positive.

The judges awarded points are then added to produce a final qualification at the end of each round, thus eliminating those with the lower scores. The baristas with the higher scores will advance from the first and second rounds to finally decide who will be the year’s champion.

2019 WBC COMPETITORS

SEEN IN COMPETITIONS…

Conclusion

The world of coffee competitions is really exciting and growing every year, more and more people are starting to recognize coffee as a premium beverage rather than just an uplifting drink. These kinds of competitions show us how sophisticated and delicious coffee beverages can be, the Essense team is really excited to watch this year’s Championship, what about you? If you have any comments please share your thoughts with us, we are eager to hear what you have to say!

The Tree

As previously stated, the coffee bean is actually a seed. When it is processed (pulped, roasted and ground) it is used to brew coffee, otherwise, it is like every other seed and it can be used to grow coffee trees.

Coffee plants usually start as seedlings in shaded nurseries, with specifical conditions to help them grow healthy and strong. They will be watered and kept safe from the elements until they are strong enough to be planted. Coffee seedlings will remain up to 15 months in a nursery before they are ready to be taken to their permanent setting.

Planting normally takes place during the rainy season, so the earth it is planted in remains wet and soft while the plant’s roots get firmly set. It usually takes up to 4 years before a newly planted coffee tree starts bearing fruits (Coffee Cherry).

The Cherry

As you can see in the image below, the coffee cherry is a complex fruit made up of different parts, eventually arriving all the way to the green coffee bean that is utilized for brewing coffee.

Flowers will come and fall off the coffee tree before the cherries start developing. It takes a total of 9 months for coffee cherries to be fully mature and ready for harvesting

Coffee cherries start out green and turn bright red, orange or yellow when fully mature depending on the variety.

Ever wondered how a coffee cherry tastes like? Just a hint, it does not taste like the beverage. Although experienced farmers can tell the variety just by tasting the cherry, the flavor is very different from the beverage because of all of the processes that the coffee bean goes through.

Its flavor depends on the variety, but a common trait is that all of them are sweet as honey. Some of them taste like mangoes, other like berries and other more herbal-like, and if the process is well done, some of the traits will be transferred to the beverage. 

The Harvest

There are two main types of harvesting: Selective picking and Stripping.

Selective picking is the most used method in high-quality coffees, this kind of picking is done exclusively by hand. Experienced farmers choose only the perfectly mature cherries and leave the other ones to let them mature further.

Stripping can be done either manually, with mechanical strippers or with large-scale harvesting machines. Contrary to the selective picking, this method does not give importance to the maturation state of the cherries, it focuses on speed/low-cost rather than quality, the results will be cherries in all stages of maturation that will have to be divided in order to avoid mixing them up.

The processes

There are three main methods for processing the coffee cherries after they have been harvested: Washed, Dry (Natural) and Honey.

WASHED

The washed method consists of separating the fruit from the bean as cleanly as possible utilizing water as a cleaning agent. In this method, the main protagonist is the bean, by separating the fruit from the bean, this method is a great way to appreciate the true characteristics of a single origin coffee.

One drawback of this method is that it produces a lot of water-wastage, although many producers are experimenting with new techniques which highly reduces the water usage and optimizes productivity.

Some Washed coffee to taste…

DRY / NATURAL

This process, also known as the natural process, is the traditional method that has been used for centuries and it was first used in Ethiopia.

In this method, coffee cherries are left to dry in the sun before separating the fruit from the bean.

One of the problems with this method is that low-quality producers mix unripe fruits alongside ripe ones, it creates an inconsistency in the flavor, and that is why this method is being considered a low-quality one.

This method is cost effective as it doesn’t need any investment such as the washed method. The only condition is that there has to be enough sunlight during this period for achieving a successful drying.

The dry method can achieve, if well done, very interesting notes of flavors and aromas because the beans with the drying process manage to absorb some of the sweet and fruity qualities of the cherry.

Another positive trait of this method is that it is the most eco-friendly one of the processes, as it only utilizes sunlight and no other raw materials.

Some Natural coffee to taste…

HONEY

This is a half-way method between dry and washed because it uses water to remove must of the fruit, but it leaves the mucilage or “honey” and then it is left out to dry in the sunlight.

In this process, a balance can be achieved between the sweetness of the fruit and the original properties of the bean.

The honey method is used a lot in coffees from Costa Rica and some subcategories have been developed (Yellow, red, golden, black and white).

Some Honey coffee to taste…

WHAT IS THE BEST METHOD?

The correct answer should be; the one you like the most, as each method has a set of different characteristics that can please all types of palates.

But sometimes coffee producers cannot choose the method, for example: if there is not a lot of water available because it wasn’t a rainy year, then they will have to go with the dry method or on the contrary, if there is a lot of rain and humidity it will be impossible to dry in the sunlight so they will have to choose a washed method.

And when you can’t choose…

The Roast

It is thanks to the roasting process that we get that distinctive dark color of our beloved drink

This process, in our opinion, is 50% art and 50% science as roast masters have to experiment but also have a great sense of how each coffee will behave with the different temperatures.

This step is crucial for achieving a great beverage, as a difference of a few seconds or a few degrees can separate an exceptional coffee from a mediocre one, so that’s why we at Essense only work with real artisans that are the best of their kind.

To be able to make a perfect roast you need a lot of experience, you need to have a flawless time and temperature control, and you must be able to recognise how to bring out the best of coffee.

TYPES OF ROASTS

There are three main types of roasts: light, medium and dark, these have many subcategories.

LIGHT ROASTSight roasts

Light roasts are achieved through a roasting temperature that ranges from 180°c to 210°C. Around 205°C, coffee beans will pop much like popcorn, this “pop” is called the first crack, and light roasts usually don’t go beyond this first crack.

Light roasts have more acidity than the other roasts, they have a light-brown color and conserve much of the bean’s caffeine.

MEDIUM ROASTS

Medium roasts are achieved through a roasting temperature that ranges from 210°C to 230°C. In the darker spectrum of the medium roasts, there will be a second crack, but they tend not to go beyond that.

Medium roasts have a balance between the body and the flavors, they have a medium-brown color and have less caffeine than lighter roasts.

DARK ROASTS

Dark roasts are achieved through a roasting temperature that ranges from 230°C to 250°C. They usually go beyond the second crack.

These kinds of roasts have a fuller body and a smokey taste, they have an almost black color and have less caffeine than the other types of roasts.

In the next image you can observe the different types of roasts starting from a green coffee bean all the way to a full dark roast.

The Grind

There are three main types of Coffee Grind: Coarse, medium and fine, these have many subcategories.

The type of grind will vary depending on the brewing method being used, so if you ask your trusted barista, he or she will tell you what type of grind is needed for your beverage.

Remember that if you are brewing at home, you should make sure to purchase the right kind of grind. Otherwise, you could buy whole-bean coffee and grind it yourself, this way you will be sure that is the right grind for your coffee-maker and you will be able to experiment with different grind variations to find the right one for you.

The Brew

There are many different brewing methods which you can choose depending on the beverage you desire, there are four brewing categories:

POUR-OVER

This method consists of passing hot or cold water through coffee while being filtered at the same time. The coffee makers that work with this method are:

• V60
• Chemex
• Cold Dripper
• Electric Percolator

STEEPING

Also known as the immersion method, it consists of mixing hot water and coffee and separating the wet coffee grinds from the coffee. The coffee makers that work with this method are:

• French Press
• Clever Dripper
• Coffee Bag
• Cold immersion

PRESSURE

This method utilizes air pressure to brew coffee. The coffee makers that work with this method are:

• Aeropress
• Syphon
• Moka Pot
• Espresso Machine

BOILING

This method is the oldest one in the book, and it consists as you may have guessed, on boiling water with coffee to obtain the beverage. The coffee makers that work with this method are:

• Café de Olla
• Cowboy Method
• Turkish Coffee

Well there you have it, a thorough guide in the journey of coffee from the seed to your cup, next time you enjoy a cup of coffee remember that it is a product that has come a long way, distance and process-wise.

If you have any questions or comments please leave a comment below! We are more than happy to answer to each and every one of you.

FAIR TRADE FACTS

FairTrade coffee

FairTrade coffee was born in the Netherlands in 1988 after a “coffee crisis” in which the supply was higher than the demand, thus creating a lot of economic issues, especially for coffee farmers.

Certified FairTrade coffee producers have the guarantee that they will be paid the FairTrade minimum price, which aims to cover their production costs and help them when market prices fall below a sustainable amount. Through the organization, coffee farmers receive a premium to invest in their business and their communities, thus giving them a chance for a better lifestyle.

Why Choose FairTrade coffee?

Here in this video made by the IFT you can get more in depth information:

Conclusion

Coffee is consumed all over the globe, it is one of the most popular beverages and the second most traded commodity in the world. So it is logical that we should be concerned about the living conditions of the people behind this great beverage that makes the world go round.

Approximately 125 million people around the world depend on coffee for their livelihoods, from farmers to baristas. Choosing certified Fair Trade Coffee or Coffee that we know its actual origins and how it is being produced is beneficial for a lot of people. In a way, choosing to purchase FairTrade products help to make this world a better place.