Coffee and I

        After eight weeks of blog sharing, I've shared some basic knowledge about coffee to you guys. 
This week, my blog post will be a bit different. I'm going to tell you what coffee means to me ,   the goals I want to achieve, and my dream - being a WBC champion.

       Six months ago , I began to study this attractive drink , and it had influenced me a lot before long. It has become a daily routine that I make myself a cup of black coffee every morning, every moment when I have free time.  Moreover , as I pass through some places and see the word "coffee" on somethings, they always make me pause to take a look at them.   Walking into a bookstore, I often find the corner where the books about coffee located , and read them . There are so many things that generate my passions about coffee.
  
     I also participated in  the seminar that Berg Wu, the 2016 World Barista Championship winner, shared his journey of becoming the first Taiwanese who won the competition , I learned that the key point is not missing every tiny part of coffee brewing.  Last weekend , I went to the Taiwan International Coffee Expo, where every well-known companies exhibited their product.  It did broaden my horizons and I realized how small I am in the world of coffee. 

    Every now and then, I visit coffee shops, ordering a cup of black pour over coffee and chatting with the owners when they're not busy.  I learned a great deal from their experiences of running shops. 

   Recently, I've decided to turn my interest into a business .  I've started to sell coffee beans to my parents' friends this summer .  Now, I'm going to do it bigger , establishing my own brand.  Besides, I'll keep learning, cumulativing my strength.  One day, I will probably win the WBC , just as Berg did.    

                          
   
  

The trademark of my brand , designed by a friend of mine.
 "59" is the house number of my home . 

Roast

       For me , Coffee roasting is the most difficult but the most interesting process.   To learn roasting well , we need not only knowledge but lots of experiences. For instance, to get a professional Batista license , it required everyone to roast more than 800 times . This week , I am going to tell you that coffee roasting is more than putting beans in the machine , it's a process of several chemical changes.

We can separate the process by the temperature .

source

1. Under 160 ℃

During this period of time , the beans absorb heat , lose about 10% of water , and the color shifts to yellow when the temperature is near 160~165℃

2. 160~190℃

 .  Beans are usually heated up about 10℃ per minutes. In these three minutes , it need more heat source to enhance the Maillard reaction (梅鈉反應) and the Cancellation reaction (焦糖化反應).  We'll see the beans turn into the color of light brown .

3. Around 200℃

     "First Crack " will happen at this time ,  the obvious "first crack sound " means that the moisture of the beans are being evaporated and we'll see the size of them getting larger .  If we want the light-roasted coffee with more fruity flavors , roasting usually end after 45 seconds to 2 minutes of first crack.

4. Around 220℃

Second crack , the sound represents the structure of coffee starting to collapse. Not only the color will become black but the oil will appear , making the beans looks shiny .  The well-known Mandheling and the other Italian coffee are often roasted to this degree. All of the coffee shouldn't be roasted after 2 minutes of second cracks , or they'll get carbonized, even combust. 

In fact , the words above is just the basic  knowledge above . To master  roasting , experiences play an important part . Because the weather , the temperature , the humidity at the moment we roast matter a lot. 

Next week , I'll give a brief introduction of each degrees of roasting .

Coffee Brewing II

      After introducing three famous methods to brew a cup of coffee, I'll keep showing more different kinds of ways. The approaches of making coffee that I'm going to introduce are more special.

1. Aeropress
    I've bought a set of Aeropress coffee maker months ago . The slogan of this product is ' Quick and easy,  the best coffee maker I've ever owned .' Indeed, after a few times of experiences, it did worth the compliment. Just need less than 5 minutes and press the coffee into the cup, we can enjoy the completed-brewed coffee with balanced flavors.

2. Clever Dripper
   Clever Dripper makes producing coffee more easily. All we need to do is to pour water in it and soak with coffee for 3 minutes, and a fantastic cup of coffee is done. The advantage of it is that it standardizes every cup because not  special skill is needed.  The shop that the 2016 World Barista Championship winner - Berg Wu runs  uses this tool as well!

Coffee Brewing

This week's topic is about the process from coffee beans to a cup of beverage ready to be served.

Before brewing coffee, we should choose the appropriate type of grind . From course to fine , a tiny change will make a big difference to the coffee we drink . This is what we should be aware of.
Next , I will introduce several ways to brew coffee.

1.Pour Over Coffee
      This is the method that I'm good at.  Pouring  85C to 95C hot water with the swan neck kettle(細口壺), we can see the coffee drip into the pot slowly.  This method allows us to enjoy the original flavors of coffee, and it takes a lot of skills to make it perfect . I'm still learning about it.

The Pour Over Coffee Equipment in my house 

2.Espresso
       Most of the coffee shops brew coffee in this way because espresso machine can quickly make a shot of coffee by forcing steam under the 9 atm pressure. What's more, the famous Cappuccino , Macchiato, and Latte are all espresso-based coffee.

3. Syphon
     Every time when I am making coffee with Syphon, it seems that I'm performing a incredible show because the flare , the coffee , and the Syphon pot build a fabulous picture. The video below will show you how the Syphon works.