Seattle Coffee Gear: Blog

How Green is Your Coffee?

As the national obsession with greening our lives grows, examining how the things we love impact the environment has become a common topic of discussion. Up now: How green are different coffee beans?

The folks over at Greenopia devised a Leaf Awards rating system that is used to evaluate a coffee company's overall greenness by gauging its percentage of organic, ethically sourced, naturally decaffeinated, eco-friendly packaged and efficiently produced and transported  beans. They also looked for sustainability and environmental impact reporting. They then assessed 25 different brands from all over the US to determine how they measure up.

We can't help but feel the findings a bit disheartening: Of the brands they evaluated, nearly half of them didn't rank at all! Coffee that we love by the likes of Illy or Lavazza didn't get a single leaf, while large American brands like Starbucks or Stumptown got just a couple of leaves.

One ranking that shined was Bellevue-based Kalani Organica, coming in at 3 leaves! We have a personal connection to this truly lovely coffee: In the mid-to-late '90's, we cut our barista teeth slinging java at the Speakeasy Cafe in Seattle's Belltown district. The cafe was a devout supporter and server of Kalani Organica until the cafe was closed by a fire in 2002 -- despite the fact that we regularly had small competitive roasters try to convince us to switch. We stuck with Kalani because of the founder Karen's commitment to organic, ethically-sourced coffee -- something that is talked about a lot these days but wasn't seen as particularly important 15 years ago. We're thrilled that her work is getting recognized and hope that a rating like this will help expand Kalani's availability around the country.

New! Seattle Coffee Gear's Commercial Espresso Equipment

We have a deep love for and commitment to the home espresso enthusiast, but as our passion for making excellent espresso at home has grown, we have been exploring commercial-grade equipment, too. Obviously, comparatively few of us can afford to drop $15k on an espresso machine for our homes, but if you're looking to either upgrade your business' existing setup or thinking about launching a new espresso-based business, we have a wide selection of machines that is going to continue to grow.

Currently featuring primarily Faema and Rancilio commercial-class espresso machines & grinders, we've also included a few of the prosumer class of machines that could work well in a smaller-scale business that has espresso as a complementary service -- such as a bookstore or an art gallery. We also have tons of quantity discounts on accessories and wholesale pricing on coffee and syrups, so just ask.

We're excited to venture into a new realm within the coffee world and look forward to talking with you more about it! This blog will also expand as a resource and start offering up information that may be of interest to cafes and other small coffee businesses, so stay tuned.

Crew Review: Lavazze Blue Superautomatic Capsule Espresso Machine

If that stained Mr. Coffee from 1987 is spending more time baking coffee than brewing it and you find that visitors to your business are less than impressed by the caffeinated offerings from your office kitchen, it might be time to upgrade. We vote for eschewing the world of drip coffee for the exceptional flavor, performance and per-cup customization that is the Lavazza Blue superautomatic capsule espresso machine.

Featuring several styles of espresso, tea and even chicken soup, this machine is a perfect fit for a small business' kitchen, and can even be configured for coin operation to help balance the cost of the capsules. Watch Gail as she talks about the features of this machine and brews up some delicious espresso.

Using the Aeropress

Recently featured in an NPR story, the Aeropress has really taken off in the past couple of months. It's considered the 'next generation' of French Presses and really does make a delicious cup of coffee.

Watch Gail use the Aeropress to make the beginning of a cup of coffee -- you could add hot water to the brew for an Americano or warmed/frothed milk for a latte or cappuccino.

Brew Tip: Half Double Decaf in a Half Caf (with a Twist of Lime)

He may have been poking fun at the overly complex ordering practices of his fellow Angelenos, but Steve Martin's humorous cafe scene in LA Story is a (semi-)appropriate backdrop for our tip today: Brewing rich, delicious espresso with just a bit of a kick.

When we're craving the taste of coffee but still need to get to bed before 2am, we meld together a blend of 1/2 Lavazza Super Crema and 1/2 Lavazza DEK espresso. Mixing the caffeinated with the decaffeinated takes things up a notch, but not the full whammy we usually find at the bottom of our cup. And while Lavazza's DEK is some of the tastiest decaffeinated coffee out there, we love the added creamy dimension of the Super Crema.

Fresh n' Puffy

We carry a diverse selection of Lavazza's whole bean coffees, and sometimes the bags are puffier than others, so we asked our importer to give us the lowdown on bean packaging.

It's fundamental to their freshness that they are packed in manner that will give them a long shelf life -- if they're allowed to oxidize, flavor compounds and aromatic properties will slowly degrade. To preserve freshness, Lavazza immediately packs their beans directly after roasting in high-barrier multilayer material that guarantees perfect vacuum packaging.

The roasting process, however, allows for the release of carbon dioxide and this represents 90% of the gas that forms inside of the package. To keep the bag from bursting, one-way valves are sealed into the package to allow the gas to escape without letting any air in. This one-way valve system guarantees vacuum packaging, even though the bag may sometimes be "puffy" and not compact.

Decaf Coffee Secrets

If you're like us, you might regard decaffeinated coffee as a disturbingly man-made mutation on the bland side of the flavor spectrum. Not that we've ever actually tasted it -- we're working largely from gross assumption here -- but we often get raving reviews of Lavazza's DEK decaffeinated coffee, so our interest was piqued: How is the caffeine removed from the bean, without it losing all it's flavor?

We found that there are three different methods for decaffeinating coffee: Organic solvents, water or carbon dioxide. The roaster often performs each method before they begin the roasting process.

Holiday Fund Drive: Lavazza Tierra! & Coffee Kids

We love working with you and we love coffee, so it's important to us that what we love doing helps others do what they love as well. Sustainability in the coffee industry will keep us all in delicious cups of coffee for years to come, and while we've written before about our support of the non-profit organization Coffee Kids, as well as about Lavazza's Tierra! coffee, we decided to put our money where our mouth is this holiday season and launch a fund drive!

Now through 1/15/09, we're donating 5% of all sales of Lavazza's Tierra! coffee to Coffee Kids! Featuring smoky molasses aromas and flavor undertones of floral and bittersweet chocolate, Tierra! is a tasty gift for anyone you love that loves coffee -- and, yes, that includes you!

Caffeination Time -- Come On! (It's Time for Caffeination)

OK, so it might not necessarily be as age-old as the chicken vs. the egg debate (wait, didn't they solve that?), but the argument over which has more caffeine -- drip coffee or a shot of espresso -- is often kicked around the ol' coffee shop. Obviously, like any good debate, the answer varies almost as widely as the number of preparations for caffeine-carrying plants around the world.

The first thing to keep in mind in this discussion is the plant: Are we talking Robusta or Arabica? Arabica has less caffeine than Robusta, so the bean blend is important to know before you guesstimate your caffeine intake. Secondly, what's the roast look like? A super dark roast eliminates a large portion of the caffeine content, sending those molecules up in smoke. Lastly, take a look at how much you're consuming, because quantity matters: If you're drinking 4 oz. of espresso vs. 7 oz. cup of drip, your intake will be a lot different  than these standards:

• Percolated (7 oz): 140mg
• Drip (7 oz): 115 - 175mg
• Espresso (1.5 - 2 oz): 100mg
• Brewed (7 oz): 80 - 135mg
• Instant (7 oz): 65 - 100mg
• Decaf, brewed (6 oz): 5mg
• Decaf, instant (6 oz): 3mg

In general, the longer the coffee grounds are in contact with water, the more caffeine will be extracted into your brew. Caffeine is largely responsible for coffee's bitter taste, which was one of the motivations behind the development of espresso: The relatively short brew time results in a significantly less concentration of caffeine, allowing you to taste other flavors in the coffee.

(Caffeine concentration amounts and molecular image courtesy of Erowid)

Rain in India Could Storm Your Wallet

"...all for the price of a cup of coffee." The Christian Children's Fund might have to change their pitch-line in the coming months, as India reports their Robusta coffee crops are down due to the excessive rain they've been experiencing -- a drop which may result in an increase in coffee prices around the world.

India's highest producing region, Karnataka, experienced intense rains during coffee's blossom season, which will likely impact the amount of beans they are able to harvest. While this news story focuses on the fact that Robusta is primarily used in instant coffees, it is also very often used in high-end gourmet brands (such as Lavazza or Illy) in their espresso blends to create a thicker crema and a bolder body. Robusta is bitter due to it's higher caffeine content, so it's not used in high quantities, but the increase in prices could have an impact on the cost of your favorite coffee beans -- whether or not you'll see this passed on to you remains to be seen.

However, coffee's global commodities pricing has dropped significantly over the past several months, due to the economic issues seen in Europe and the US, so perhaps these environmental and economic issues will balance each other out.