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The
planet
NEWS FROM THE PLANET BEAN COFFEE ROASTERY
FRESHLY ROASTED EDITION
guelph · spring 2009
WE ROAST COFFEE
by bill barrett
M
agic beans. They come to
us green, hard, tasteless.
They are shipped from
countries like Ethiopia,
Guatemala, Peru, Mexico, and
East Timor. Shipped in 132 pound
sacks. The green beans smell like
grass, hay or the earth. Like Jack’s
famous beanstalk bean, they are
unassuming, dense, even boring.
But then, if you add fire…
CENTURIES-OLD TRADITION PRACTISED IN GUELPH
Elijah Lederman is our
brewmaster and can be contacted
at [email protected]
Mastering
The Daily
Grind
The origin of the bean
Let’s go to the mountains first. A
coffee bean is one of two halves of
a seed that is found in a cherry that
grows on a bush with dark green
leaves. The sweet, jasmine-like
aroma from the plant’s ephemeral
white flowers signal the start of a
new round of the growth of the
fruit. As the cherry ages, it changes
from a small, green, hard-fleshed
fruit to a deep red, sweet, soft, ripe
cherry. These are then gently handharvested by small-scale farmer
families (in the case of our coffee).
On average, a bush will produce
around 2,000 cherries, leading to
4,000 beans. There are 4,000 beans
in a pound of roasted coffee. The
beans are removed from the cherries, then dried in the sun.
Our coffee is organically grown
in the shade of mountain forests.
It is all high-quality Arabica
coffee, grown 600–2,700 meters
This often-overlooked
element is essential for
a great cup of coffee
Roastmaster Dave practises the strange alchemy of coffee roasting.
above sea level. Coffee originated
in Ethiopia but is now grown in
tropical regions around the globe.
From harvest, it takes three to
four months before the green
coffee makes its appearance on
our roastery floor.
As Antony Wild writes in Coffee,
A Dark History, roasted coffee is
“perhaps one of the most dramatic
transformations of a natural plant
product that human intervention
has yet devised solely for pleasure.”
And further, “Roasted coffee contains
did dancing
goats give
humans coffee?
PAGE 3
Roasted coffee contains
over 800 separate
flavour and aroma
components
The alchemy of coffee
Now for the fire ...
Alchemy can be described as
being part science, part art, part
magic. Roasting certainly shares
these characteristics.
over 800 separate flavour and aroma
Our Probat uses the same basic
components, most of which form design that has been used for
in the crucible of the roaster. This centuries of coffee roasting. The
strange alchemy accounts in part for roaster is essentially a horizontal
the hold that coffee exerts over our drum with an axel through the
imagination.”
centre. Fire-breathing jets heat
The magician in this “strange the sides of the drum as it rotates.
alchemy” is our roastmaster, Dave,
The coffee enters the drum
with his apprentices Maria and through a hopper at the top, does
Mike. The machine we use is a several thousand heated laps
German-made Probat L25 gas- inside and exits through a large
fired roaster. This falls under the door at the front. It falls onto a
small artisanal category of roasting spinning tray with thousands of
machines, big enough to provide little holes.
healthy volume and consistency,
small enough to enable experimentation and customization.
PLEASE SEE roast, PAGE 2
B
rewing coffee is a delicate
procedure. The slightest mistake in preparation can result
in dramatic impacts on the
flavour.
There are several key components for brewing a great cup of
coffee, one of which is grinding.
These are essential things to
consider when grinding:
• Grind immediately before
brewing your coffee. Coffee
begins to degrade the moment
it is roasted; this process is sped
up tenfold by grinding. Once
ground, the coffee begins to lose
the precious aroma’s that are so
critical to a great cup.
• Use a burr grinder, never
a blade grinder. Burr grinders crush the coffee beans into
the uniform sized and shaped
particles that enable proper
extraction. Unfortunately blade
grinders rip and shred the coffee
PLEASE SEE grind, PAGE 2
sense and sensibility key
to coaxing great flavour
beans will lose up to
25 percent of their
weight but will also
nearly double in size
ture in the beans becomes steam,
starches become sugars and the
sugars caramelize. The oils in the
beans move towards the surface.
This oil, caffeol, represents a small
component of the bean, but is the
source of most of coffee’s flavour
and aroma. At the end of all this,
the beans will lose up to 25 percent of their weight but will also
nearly double in size.
The way a roast is replicated is
through a recipe called a Roast
Profile. Whenever a new bean
origin arrives at Planet Bean, a
new Roast Profile must be created. An origin relates to the specific and singular characteristics
of a bean. It includes the country
of origin, the area it is grown in,
Sources
the altitude of the coffee bushes
and the coffee’s family history.
Single origin coffees are unique.
This uniqueness can even vary in
the beans from same bush, from
harvest to harvest. Our alchemists find the point in the roast
at which each single origin is at
its peak flavour. We also create
blended coffees by putting various amounts of complimentary
single origins together. We like
to say it is like the difference
between a brilliant musical solo
and a rousing ensemble – both
equally enjoyable.
The art of roasting revolves primarily around the use of human
senses. Our roasters spend a
great deal of time revealing the
flavourful truth of each coffee
origin. If you visit our roastery
at the Grange Plaza location, you
can watch the roasting process
through a window. You will see
Dave, Maria or Mike pulling small
samples from the roaster with the
“tryer” as the beans cook.
They observe the changing
colour of the beans, smell them,
and listen as they make different
popping or cracking noises at different stages in the roast.
“The first crack signifies the
release of pressure that has built up
inside the bean, and the only way
for the pressure to be released is for
the beans to physically split open”
explains Dave. “The first crack is
rather loud and sounds like corn
popping in a popper. The second
crack begins when the heat applied
to the beans begins to force the
caramelized sugars to the surface
through the pores of the beans. Of
course, there is also the dreaded
third crack … something that no
roaster wants to hear.”
“Throughout the roasting
process, the beans go through
massive aroma changes,” says
Uncommon Grounds, The History Of Coffee And How It Transformed Our World, Mark
Pendergrast, Basic Books 1999
Coffee, A Dark History, Antony Wild, W.W. Norton 2004
The Coffee Book, Nina Luttinger & Gregory Dicum, The New Press 2006
God in A Cup, The Obsessive Quest For The Perfect Coffee, Michaele Weissman,
Wiley 2008
The
planet
NEWS FROM THE PLANET BEAN COFFEE ROASTERY
April 2008
Headquarters Roastery & Coffee Bar
259 Grange Road, Unit 2, Guelph n1e 6r5
519.837.1040
Downtown Coffee Bar
51 Macdonell Street, Guelph
519.823.9253
Wholesale 519-837-3242
planetbeancoffee.com
[email protected]
To comment on this flyer:
[email protected]
Dave Barrett with his apprentice Maria Olaya stand next to
Planet Bean’s German-made Probat L25 gas-fired roaster:
big enough to provide healthy volume and consistency, small
enough to enable experimentation and customization.
Dave. “At the start of the roast, in God in A Cup, “Throughout
moisture is being driven from the the nineteenth century, most
beans, which results in a grassy/ American homemakers purgrainy-like fragrance. When the chased freshly roasted coffee.
beans enter the first crack stage, Grocers often roasted their own,
the aroma changes to something and most towns and cities of any
more like bread or even a toasty size were home to one or more
aroma. As the second crack draws coffee roasteries. In the first half
near, sugars are caramelizing in of the twentieth century, however,
coffee, like other foodstuffs, fell
victim to the industrialization
of the food supply. Consolidation. Technological innovations.
Standardization. They all led to
one outcome: heavily advertised
a rapid fashion, and the aromas national brands of coffee sold in
change very quickly. Dark choco- supermarkets in vacuum-sealed
late, caramel and also some very cans.”
fruity aromas begin to materialWe would like to add that these
ize, especially in our sun-dried stale, mass-produced coffees
coffees.”
brought flavour standards to an
As for the magic of coffee roast- all-time low.
ing, come in to Planet Bean and
The key for flavourful coffee is
you can taste it.
to make your brew with beans
At Planet Bean we are proud that are freshly roasted. Planet
to be Guelph’s coffee company, Bean provides you with the bestbringing back the tradition of tasting coffee possible, grown
local coffee roasting to our city. without chemicals and paid for in
As Michaele Weissman writes a way that is fair to farmers.
stale, mass-produced
coffees brought
flavour standards
to an all-time low
Our Vision
At Planet Bean we are:
Planet Bean is an innovative
business model that is fair,
sustainable and passionate.
Ethical We believe our
success is grounded in a
moral economy informed by
the principles of fair trade for
our producers, our workers,
our shareholders and our
customers.
Our Mission
Planet Bean creates the
best tasting coffee and
through Fair Trade, links
producers and consumers in
a meaningful way.
100% Fair Trade Certified
Coffee
100% Certified Organic
Coffee
100% Gourmet Coffee
Passionate We have a
passion for excellent coffee
and this is reflected in our
knowledge and advancement
of gourmet coffee creation.
Respectful We are respectful
to the many hands that touch
our coffee, from the farmers
who grow and harvest it, the
grind, from page 1
into random sized and shaped
coffee particles. Because the
particle sizes are different, each
tiny grind brews differently.
Some particles brew too long
which results in over extraction.
This leaves bitter, astringent and
medicinal flavours in your cup.
For household use we recommend a Baratza burr grinder
which we sell in our coffee bars.
• Use the proper grind for
your brew method. Each type
of brewing method has its own
corresponding grind size. The
grind size relates to the amount
of time the coffee will be exposed
to the water and the turbulence
it will undergo while exposed.
The finer you grind coffee, the
more surface area is exposed to
the water. The more surface area
exposed to water, the quicker
the extraction occurs. Therefore,
in general, quick brew times are
paired with finer ground coffee
particles and slower brew times
are paired with coarser ground
coffee particles. Espresso is a
fast way to make a coffee and
thus has one of the finest grind
requirements.
A burr grinder’s blades
create uniform particles.
As always, experimentation is
a great way to determine what
grind will work best for your
brewing method. Try making
minor adjustments to the grind
and comparing results in the
cup – you’ll be surprised at how
large the difference can be. And
once you get it just right, the cup
will come alive with the aromas
and flavours that are held captive
inside every great bean.
roasters who roast it, the
Baristas who brew it to those
who drink it.
Ecologically Sustainable
We believe our success as a
business is measured not only
by our financial earnings but
also our ability to reduce our
ecological footprint, improve
the health of the planet and
advance organic production.
Co‑operatively Driven
We believe a democratic
work place based on the
international principles of
co‑operation is the way to
create a model for a people
centred economy.
Planet Bean is owned
and operated by the
Sumac Community Worker
Co‑operative.
linddesign.ca
roast, from page 1
Air is sucked around the beans
through the holes to enable rapid
cooling of the beans – otherwise they will keep on roasting
themselves.
A big part of the science of
roasting involves temperature and
time. The drum needs to be hot
when the beans are dumped in.
They quickly absorb that heat and
as a result the drum temperature
decreases. The job of the roaster
is to keep the temperature at the
appropriate levels throughout
the roast. Temperature probes
penetrate different spots in the
roaster, the data flow is monitored and the machine is adjusted
as needed.
The timing of the temperature
changes is key as is the duration
of the roast. The longer the roast,
the darker the coffee.
As the coffee is roasted, mois-
match grind to brew
journey to the centre of planet coffee
L
egend has it we learned about
coffee from goats. We will get
to the goats momentarily.
In 1999, Tadesse Meskele
began organizing Ethiopian
coffee farmers into co‑operatives.
Using a borrowed truck he travelled south from the capital Addis
Ababa to the mountainous coffee
growing regions.
Tadesse had a challenge on his
hands. The farmers were used
to the way co‑operatives were
controlled by the past communist regime. Those co‑ops were
not controlled by or managed
for the benefit of the farmers.
Tadesse told the farmers about
the democratic co‑ops he had
learned about in Japan, where the
members owned and controlled
the organization.
By working in democratic
co‑ops, coffee farmers can access
the market directly, bypassing
coffee traders, and get a higher
price. They can also use the co‑ops
to collectively improve their communities. These new co‑ops are
part of the international co‑operative movement and follow the
principles of co‑operation, which
include voluntary membership,
one member one vote, education
and concern for community.
At the end of his organizing
efforts in 1999, Tadesse had 34
co‑operatives with 22,503 members. By 2008, this number had
grown to 129 co‑operatives with
128,500 members. Each membership is held by a family, so the
number of people involved is
close to half a million.
Tadesse is the manager of
the OROMIA Coffee Farmers
Co‑operative Union, which is
a union of these co‑ops. One of
his main efforts is to increase
the amount of coffee they sell
through Fair Trade Certified and
organic channels.
Planet Bean Coffee was one of
the first Canadian coffee companies to purchase OROMIA’s Fair
Trade Certified coffee.
Ethiopia faces
immense challenges:
• Life expectancy is 44
years.
• About half the population
is under 16 years.
• Only 5% of the population
has secondary or higher
education.
• Most Ethiopians earn
about $2 per day.
• 15 million families
depend on coffee for
income.
• The farmgate price of
coffee is well below the
cost of production.
• Farmers get one third the
price they got 10 years
ago.
Abyssinian dancing goats
Now back to those goats.
The legend goes like this: Kaldi
was in the highlands minding his
father’s goats. This was in ancient
Abyssinia, the land we now call
Ethiopia. The occasional nap was
part of the goat herder’s afternoon,
and one day Kaldi awoke to find
his goats had disappeared.
After a frantic search he spotted his charges atop a hill in the
distance. As he got closer to them,
he noticed some strange goat
behaviour. Some of them seemed
to be dancing!
The goats were munching on
the leaves and red cherries of an
unfamiliar plant. Inside the red
cherry were two green seeds.
Ethiopians eventually invented
the slow process of roasting these
seeds, which transforms them
The process of roasting
used around the world
today is based on
the Ethiopian Coffee
Ceremony
into one of the most amazing
drinks on earth – coffee. Worth
dancing about!
The Coffee Ceremony, where
coffee is roasted, ground and
brewed, is central to the Ethiopian lifestyle. Several times a day
Ethiopians will gather to drink
freshly roasted coffee.
The process of roasting used
around the world today is based on
the Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony.
The OROMIA coffee farmers have invested in education,
clean water and health care with the proceeds of the fair
trade price they receive.
Farmers learn about governing their organizations and are
responsible for keeping the
finances of the co‑ops in order.
The
creation of this new village“I prefer to sell my product to small roasters like Planet Bean.
based social infrastructure is one
Small roasters care much. The price they give us is beyond
of the exciting developments that
the fair trade price – far higher than the multinationals.”
– Tadesse Meskele, General Manager, fair trade certification brings to
OROMIA Coffee Farmers Union communities.
The coffee ceremony
First the coffee, which has been
naturally dried, has any bits of
the cherry or outer husk removed.
The beans are then washed. Next
the coffee is placed on a flat
pan on a fire. The flavour of the
roasted coffee can be fine tuned
by varying the temperature or
length of time it is roasted.
The remote mountain regions of
Ethiopia are filled with the aroma
of coffee roasting. The scent is
an invitation to any passer-by to
drop in for a cup of coffee.
The traditional prayer at the
end of the coffee ceremony is:
on the shelves of a supermarket.
Tadesse explained how difficult it
is for individual Ethiopian farmers
to get a good price for their coffee
and much work goes into producing a pound of coffee. Each cherry
is picked from the tree when it
is red ripe, which means several
trips to the same tree over the harvest. The coffee is then processed,
cleaned and sorted by hand. Only
the best beans make to Planet
Bean’s roastery.
But now, OROMIA’s members
selling in the Fair Trade Certified
market have been able to make
improvements to their families’
lives and their communities.
Some farmers have changed their
grass roofs to corrugated metal.
Many families are now able to
send their children to school.
Birds benefit too
Our Ethiopian coffee is grown in
the shade of forests. Ethiopia has
the greatest bird diversity on the
continent of Africa. These forests
preserve habitat for birds and
other creatures. Shaded forests
also aid in water cycling and soil
conservation. Farmers gather
firewood and grow crops for food
or medicine in them.
This important legacy of
biodiversity should not only be
explored but also protected.
Ethiopia: the birthplace
of coffee
Ethiopia produces some of the
Let your family live and your
finest coffees in the world. They
house stay in peace,
have unique flavours and aromas
let your children grow well,
that not only make them different
and let God give you the grace
from the coffee grown in other
He has accorded to coffee.
countries, but there is also a great
Fair Trade coffee
variety amongst the coffees within
improves lives
An Ethiopian visitor
Ethiopia. Harar™, Yirgacheffe™ and
In 2007, Tadesse Meskele visited A major problem in rural areas is Sidamo™ are the most famous of
Planet Bean Coffee. He watched access to clean water.
these unique coffees.
OROMIA has already created
as his OROMIA co‑operative
In order to protect these origins,
union’s coffee was roasted. He 36 clean water supply stations.
Ethiopia has initiated an intellecOther community projects tual property protection strategy
also cupped the Ethiopian coffees
include
15 schools, five health through a trade mark.
with Planet Bean coffee tasters.
Planet Bean buys three fine posts, one bridge and one electric
Now people can be assured
coffee origins from OROMIA: installation.
that the coffee they purchase
Forty new projects have been under the trademark program
Ethiopian™ Yirgacheffe™, Sidamo™
initiated
including a new school, is authentic, and that the added
and Harar™. They are all Fair Trade
18 additional classrooms, two kin- value of these unique origins is
Certified and organic.
Tadesse visited some of Planet dergartens and two flour mills.
benefiting Ethiopia.
Investment is also being
Bean’s supporters, including stuIn 2007, Planet Bean was the
made
toward
improving
coffee
dent groups, churches and cafes.
first Canadian coffee company to
He was also able to find his coffee production.
sign the agreement.
spring into energy efficiency
Want to know how to make your home more energy
efficient and save money in the process?
Join us March 7, 10 am · workshops at 1 pm
P
ut your money into something secure:
creating lasting effects on your home’s
energy efficiency and saving money – in
grants and by keeping energy where it
will best be used, inside your house.
A local Certified Energy Advisor from
the Elora Environment Centre will be on
hand March 7th to help unravel the world of
energy efficiency for your home. Come out
Community groups will be on hand to talk
about their energy related projects
after 10 am. For more information contact
[email protected]
and ask Matt Vermeulen, a Guelph resident
and energy advisor servicing the Grange area,
about air quality and sealing, ventilation and
other questions about how to make your
house more energy efficient as we transition
from winter to a new season and a greener
world. The workshop will start at 1 pm.
The Elora Centre will also host a display
with staff on hand to answer questions about
the ecoENERGY Retrofit – Homes program,
and how you can have an energy audit for
your home while saving money and earning
grants in the process.
We look forward to helping you invest in
something of real benefit and long-term
gain.
new
baked
goods
Steve Cutts shows off
some of our new baked
goods from Sheri Andrews’
Get Baked company – a
sour cherry cheese bun
and a vanilla current scone.
Check out our new take-out cups! Our research concluded
that this was the best option from both ecological and coffee
quality perspectives. We are also excited about the new design
by our favourite designer Gareth Lind.
congratulations randalin!
U
niversity of Guelph Masters student (and former Planet Bean
worker) Randalin Ellery is one of two Canadians being recognized for their commitment to international development by
the Ontario Council for International Co-operation (OCIC).
Randalin spent last summer in Peru meeting with Andean indigenous women from Cafe Femenino. She learned about the project
while working at Planet Bean. “The project has enabled these
women, whose lives have been previously filled with sexual abuse,
isolation, poverty and violence,
to prosper and become trailblazers in fair trade. They have
collectively turned their lives
around through the marketing
and sales of their own fair trade
organic coffee,” says Ellery.
The Cafe Femenino project
is just one of many fair trade
initiatives Ellery has successfully championed both on the
University of Guelph Campus
and in the community.
OCIC has created the
Global Voices: Profiles of
Leaders in Development to celebrate International Development
Week. Two people were chosen from Ontario and three from the
Global South. “Through Randalin’s story we understand that
we have the individual and collective power to support safe and
sustainable livelihoods for individuals, families and communities here in Canada and internationally,” commented Kimberly
Gibbons, OCIC Co-ordinator. Ms. Ellery was nominated for the
award by Oxfam Canada. OCIC is a coalition of organizations
working globally for social justice, the Global Voices awards are
supported by the Canadian International Development Agency
(CIDA).
“I know Randalin got a few bruises bouncing through the Andes,
but her passion for fair trade, I’m sure, heals all wounds”, said
Planet Bean’s Bill Barrett. “She is a fair trade rock’n’roller par
excellence, and she is providing us with the kind of information
we need to know that projects like Cafe Femenino are working on
the ground.”
“Randalin inspired us as a young leader that is taking initiative
to bring about lasting institutional change at the University of
Guelph, she understands the impact this can have on communities – particularly women – in Peru and other parts of the world,”
concluded Gibbons.
Randalin will be doing a
talk about her experiences
in Peru on March 25,
7 pm at Planet Bean’s
Grange location.
Everyone is invited!