Paul Newbold, a coffee roaster with Ozone, in New Plymouth, was in Dunedin last week holding a coffee tasting at Rhubarb, in Roslyn. I caught up with him the following morning to taste four single-origin coffees and learn how to make a good cup.
Cupping is the method of evaluating batches of coffee (or tea) by brokers, buyers and roasters. They taste for clarity, acidity, body and mouthfeel, sweetness, flavour, balance, aftertaste and overall impression.
Newbold put a measured amount of medium-ground coffee in each cup and poured over hot, but not boiling, water. He left them to brew for exactly four minutes, then I was allowed to break the crust with a spoon and smell the various aromas. They varied from fruity to mineral and spicy and even nutty.
Then he scooped off the foam and we tasted with a spoon.
The tastes were remarkably varied, something you don't notice when you are tasting one at a time. One, from Tanzania, was minerally and darkly flavoured; the two from Guatemala were sweeter and fruitier with hints of nuts; and the one from Honduras, which had been No1 in the Cup of Excellence this year, was beautifully balanced and harmonious.
None was bitter and I would happily have drunk any of them without milk, because the flavours were so varied and delicious. It was like tasting a fine, single-vineyard wine after a diet of supermarket cheapies.
The Cup of Excellence programme evaluates coffee from small growers in various countries, and sells them at auction. Those selected are harvested when ripe and carefully handled, Newbold says, and represent some of the best coffees in the world. He has been a member of two international juries for the programme.
Most coffees on sale are blends of various origins. Espresso blends such as cafes use offer everything you want - body, flavour, balance - in coffees made in espresso machines, but it's a harsh method of brewing, with the heat and pressure and the fine grind.
It's not the best way to show a single-origin coffee, he says.
For those, he prefers a pour-over method such as a filter or a plunger or French press, which allow the flavours to come through.
Some New Zealanders have bad memories of filter or cona coffee but there's a resurgence of filter coffee-making among cognoscenti, and many classic pieces of equipment, such as the Chemex glass coffeemaker and other drip brewers, are being revived.
In making coffee, it's important to have the right weight of coffee, the right grind, the right volume of water and the right brewing time, he says.
To make a good filter coffee with a simple over-cup drip filter, he warms the cup, holder and filter paper (or permanent gold filter) with hot water, then puts in a measured amount of freshly ground, medium-grind coffee.
He says 10g, or two tablespoons, is a very rough guide but he used 18g.
Grinding coffee beans, preferably with a burr grinder, just before brewing is essential for good coffee.
Then he pours some hot, but not boiling, water around over the top and allows the coffee to "bloom" - bubble and expand. If you pour it all in the middle, it will go right through, he says. After a few moments, he pours more water over, making several pours until the cup is full.
Coffee is best fresh. Newly harvested, it tastes bright, vibrant and alive. For best results, buy freshly roasted coffee beans weekly and grind them with a burr grinder just before brewing.
