Crafting a Masterpiece in a Cup

Just that first taste of the world’s favorite dark, steaming, aromatic elixir equals rejuvenation for many. While a multitude of humans partake in a coffee ritual daily, many don’t know much about the series of craft endeavors that lead to what’s contained in their cup.

More details on the process from crop to cup will be shared in proceeding blogs, but today we’re speaking on the crafting of a coffee masterpiece with Owner-Roaster Tim Curry of Wood-Fire Roasted Coffee Co. (WFRC).

First Steps in Coffee Crafting
Merriam-Webster defines the word “Craft” as:
1) Skill in planning, making, or executing: Dexterity
2) An occupation or trade requiring manual dexterity or artistic skill

Coffee is crafted through multiple, mutually exclusive steps that eventually intertwine to produce the plethora of types on the market. Each affects the finished product in its own way. Here’s an outline of those steps.

Beginning with farmers planting coffee trees, the many crafts involved in getting to that cup of Joe includes harvesting, processing, milling, roasting, grinding and brewing. One common denominator exists, though: a person manipulates a thing in their pursuit to find glory in the cup.

“Sleep is Overrated”
A phrase muttered many times over by WFRC’s Tim Curry, learned while first experimenting with coffee roasting. For roasters and other artisans the world over, sleep is overrated while pursuing perfection of their passion and craft.

Tim’s coffee roasting pursuit began over his kitchen stove, formed from a love of coffee and a curiosity about how he could create it himself. After finding and ordering green Ethiopian beans, he set about experimenting with roasting them in a pot he still keeps in the roastery today. It serves to remind him of his humble beginnings.

That first batch of beans he roasted proved inspirational. Not only did he revel in the flavors he coaxed from the beans, he exclaimed, “Wow, that’s what coffee is supposed to taste like!”

Seventeen years of experimentation and learning how coffee behaves later, Tim’s expertise has increased while the humbleness remains. Turns out, learning the craft of coffee roasting is an ongoing process that may never be truly perfected, as others’ palates are an ever-present and variable factor…one of myriad variables and factors, actually.

His novice status was the perfect starting point, however. “I learned more about roasting by not knowing what I was doing,” Tim shares.

Coffee’s Canvas
Coffee roasting is an experimental artistry—the beans are the paint brush, while the roasting technique is the paint. Once the bean-producing regions and bean’s typical traits are learned, for example Ethiopian beans are renowned for their earthy characteristics, there are many different roasting methods used to encourage particular flavor profiles out of them.

While all are ultimately controlled by a human, some rely more on a machine’s consistency than a person’s level of artistry.

It’s like buying an original work of art instead of a lithograph. An artist’s hand-painted works will always be entirely unique—brushstrokes may vary slightly, and some colors may be a shade different from one version to the next, if reproduced, but the overall skill level is foundational.

When lithographs of an artwork are created, identical replicas can be easily produced by pushing buttons on a machine, artistry isn’t as big a factor.

Some roast beans using easily regulated and temperature-controlled gas roasters, which does little to influence the coffee’s flavor profiles…this is seen as a benefit by roasters who focus more on bringing out the beans’ regional flavor characteristics.

A bit of the art and potential unique qualities can be lost during this process, however. Think about cooking a steak on a gas grill versus a wood-fired one. Some aficionados find added depth and flavor in the wood-fired fare versus the gas-cooked. The same applies to coffee. Wood-roasting coffee increases the variables as well as the flavor profiles.

Old-World Craft
Manipulating a natural element like fire to produce a delicacy like coffee is an art; fire adds a temperamental biological factor to the roast, while consistency can usually be found where the beans are sourced.

Roasting is singularly the most impactful step in creating an outstanding coffee. Tim Curry has been called the “Coffee Whisperer” by food writers for his knack of listening closely for the cracking beans to tell him precisely when they’re ready.

He notes that underdeveloped, green coffee is steely tasting. But there’s no room for metal in a coffee’s flavor when a bounty of other enjoyable ones can be coaxed from the beans. And smoke is not one of them, even when talking about roasting over a fire.

Here is where chemistry meets art in this particular craft. The longer you roast, the more the process drives the flavor profiles. Based on the type of roast desired for particular beans, knowing when to start cooling the beans is part of the science. For a wood-roaster, many factors come into play that can influence the final coffee flavor, from the choice of wood and beans, to the length of the roast and even the possibility of aging beans in whiskey or wine barrels. This is the art.

Well-rounded, balanced coffee is the goal. The whole mouth welcomes the flavor and depth of a well-rounded coffee, versus the sharp, almost-pointy sourness that can stab a palate. When all characters—like the beloved fruity, floral, chocolate and earthy notes—are equal in their presentation, an idyllic coffee has been crafted.

And the crafter sets about creating his next masterpiece.