Beans and Water
If you like the idea of getting in on coffee culture but have only had bad coffee experiences, or you find coffee to be “tolerable” rather than “enjoyable,” you’ve probably just not found the right combination of elements.
There is probably a perfect bean with a perfect roast, a perfect recipe, and a perfect brewing method for you. The joy is in the journey.
The perfect cup is subjective. You and I probably don’t have the same exact preferences. These posts are designed to equip you with knowledge and inspiration for your journey, not to tell you which bean or recipe or brewing method is the one to guarantee you a pinnacle drinking experience. We’ll talk about recipes and brewing methods in the future.
For now, we are talking about the foundation of your peak experience. Finding that takes time and patience. I love that part of the journey. It forces me to slow down and pay attention to details. It requires that I try something new now and then. I find that even if some of the experiences I have aren’t perfect, they can be pretty darn good.
Garbage in, garbage out. It’s an old computer term that means bad inputs equal bad outputs. It’s the same with coffee. If you use poor-quality ingredients, you won’t get a high-quality product. The two basic elements for you to consider on your coffee journey are the bean itself and the water.
Water is the easiest to address. If your water is contaminated with pollutants and chemicals, it doesn’t matter how great your beans are; you will have significantly less than perfect coffee. Nobody likes tasting chlorine (or worse), even masked by coffee.
We use drinking water, which combines distilled and spring water. Spring water is good because it contains natural minerals that enhance the drinking experience. Besides, minerals are better for you than the toxins found in many municipal water supplies.
According to my 8th-grade science teacher, water is a “colorless, odorless, tasteless liquid.” If your water smells bad, looks weird, and tastes “funny,” it is, by definition, something other than water. Check out your city’s water report and consider a professional supplier.
Our friends at Hempy Water take care of Ole Dog’s Coffee Culture. Check out their website and see if they service your area (and tell them we sent you.)
Finding the right bean is more complex. There are high-quality beans and poor ones. Then, there are matters of personal preference. A bean is a crop grown in the ground, impacted by soil content, altitude, weather patterns, sunlight, etc.
I’ve heard it said that “coffee is coffee,” which is like saying that “ice cream is ice cream.” Vanilla tastes different depending on your brand and never tastes the same as chocolate.
Beyond chocolate and vanilla are Rocky Road, Moose Tracks, Cherry Jubilee, and a million other flavors. There are even several variants of coffee-themed ice cream. There is only one conclusion we can draw: they aren’t all the same.
It’s the same with coffee beans. They aren’t the same. Different varieties are grown in over 70 countries worldwide by farmers of varying skill sets and motivations. Each bean is different based on many variables. Don’t give up on coffee because you’ve not found your preferred one.
Right now, I’m enjoying a premium Brazilian arabica bean. It’s my go-to. It’s an organic, medium-roasted bean with tasting notes of cocoa and caramel. (FYI- tasting notes aren’t additives; they are simply flavor characteristics of the bean.)
When picking a bean for enjoyment, I recommend 100% arabica beans. Arabica and robusta are the two most common beans. Arabica is generally considered a higher quality, better tasting bean, while robusta is cheaper, easier to grow, and typically contains more caffeine. This goes back to the previous post… are you drinking for effect or enjoyment?
“Blends” can combine high-quality beans in various proportions and roasts to give unique and signature flavors. At Ole Dog’s, we have a premium bean from Uganda mixed with a premium bean from Brazil, producing a great combination of smoothness and boldness.
On the other hand, some blends contain a mix of arabica and robusta beans or a small percentage of a high-quality exotic bean with a high percentage of lower-quality beans. Some are blends based on flavor profiles and consumer preferences and others are based on how to make the most money from the cheapest product. On your journey, you will want to know what exactly is in your bag of beans.
Read the labels. If it says “100% Coffee,” it doesn’t necessarily mean 100% high-quality coffee. Also, “100% Arabica Coffee” and “Contains Arabica Coffee” aren’t the same things. Labels are tricky, like statistics; you can pretty much get them to paint whatever picture you want to paint.
On your journey, explore beans from different regions. As I mentioned, it’s grown in many countries, primarily South America, Africa, and Asia. Hawaii is known for some great coffee beans as well.
Even within a country, farms on opposite ends or at different altitudes aren’t going to taste the same. Think about it like this: fruit grown in Florida tastes different than the same fruit grown in Ohio. Two farmers in Ohio can grow corn that tastes differently from each other. And just like any other crop, soil changes over the years will introduce subtle flavor changes.
Try beans with different roasts. Just because you tried a light roast and didn’t like it doesn’t mean all light roasts are bad. Medium roasted beans from Brazil aren’t going to taste the same as medium roasted beans from Indonesia. Dark roasted beans from Uganda will taste different than dark roasted ones from Kenya.
The bottom line is that an endless number of variables impact the flavor profile of a simple little coffee bean. Part of the journey is to discover which ones you like or not. That process is made all the more interesting when you factor in roasting, ratios, brewing methods, and more.
As you can see, we are just getting started on the quest to find the perfect cup. There is enough involved that this blog should last a while. I hope you have subscribed and will continue on this journey with me.
By the way, for those unaware, I’m hosting an in-person, coffee-making class on Saturday, March 2. The cost is only $35, and if you register by February 24, you’ll save $10. It’s a hands-on experience, about two hours of instruction, and includes a great box of goodies and a special shopping excursion at Ole Dog’s. Click here to register or to learn more.
In the meantime, be well, do good, and brew on!
