Pittsburg, CA will soon have it’s own coffee house that cares with the opening of Steeltown Coffee & Tea. They will be serving fresh roasted Pacific Bay Coffee. Adrian is doing a great job keeping local coffee fans up to date about the progress of his cafe and you can sign up for his newsletter and check on his progress at:

http://www.steeltowncoffee.com/Steeltown_Coffee/info.html

Bean there, done that…Roasting done right

by Adrian Badger, Steeltown Coffee & Tea, Pittsburg, CA – May 23, 2009

Earlier this month I was extremely fortunate to spend an evening roasting coffee with John Laird, the local roastmaster who will be supplying Steeltown Coffee & Tea with his exquisitely roasted coffee beans to be used in our espresso and coffee drinks. John is a charming man with a sparkle in his eye who followed his dream several years ago and began roasting coffee for his own coffeehouse, Pacific Bay. Since opening, John has been dedicated to roasting his coffees in a way that brings out the very finest flavors and aroma of each carefully roasted batch of coffee beans.  

I already had a general understanding of the coffee roasting process when John offered to show me how he works, but after spending several hours perspiring in the heat of the roaster (which, incidentally, is a beautiful work of art itself) I have a new respect for both the green coffee bean, and the roasting process. John’s roasting machine has all the computerized bells and whistles on it but, for John, they are but a tool with which he masterfully sculpts every roast by hand. 

Over the course of the evening I was able to witness the skill of an artist combined with the precision of an engineer. During every minute of the

 roasting period John carefully and accurately adjusted the roaster’s temperature in order to achieve the perfect roast “profile” for the specific beans being roasted. The appropriate roasting time of any given batch of coffee beans varies depending on many factors including the species, the country of origin, the age, and the desired darkness of roast. With many years of experience behind him, John is able to coax the optimal flavor from the beans

 by tweaking time and temperature to reach his goal for that particular batch. While constantly monitoring these variables, John also periodically samples the “darkness” of the batch to ensure things progress as planned and that the aroma, for lack of a better word, “matures” as expected. 

After spending the evening with John I clearly see a parallel between the art of fine wine making and artisanal coffee roasting. A difference, however, is that while wine ages over time in cellars, coffee “ages” during the relatively brief roasting process. Wine makers have a lot more time and flexibility to determine when their product has reached its prime. Coffee roasters must make the same determination within minutes or seconds rather than weeks or months. 

Artisanal, small-batch roasters like John bring something unique to the specialty coffee industry that you can’t find in mass-produced coffee beans; a respect for the bean that translates into a miniature masterpiece in every cup. Steeltown Coffee & Tea is fortunate to be able to offer John’s works of art and I look forward to sharing the enjoyment of his meticulously roasted coffees with you.

From the March 2009 issue of Diablo Magazine:

Local Roast

The East Bay’s coffee cup overflows with home-grown roasters.

By Julie Miller Dowling

"HEY, YOU. Yeah, you. Drop that venti half-caf toffee-nut latte, and slowly back away from the counter.

It’s time to go local.

From all-over-the-East Bay roasters like Peet’s, to neighborhood favorites like Pacific Bay , to up-and-comers like Catahoula, Diabloland java proves that Seattle isn’t the only place that can roast up a good batch of beans.

All of these locally roasted coffees can be ordered and sent to your home."

….

"PACIFIC BAY
Where: Pacific Bay’s Walnut Creek café, Havana, and Blakes.
Top seller: Espresso Obsesso.
Taste: Rich, sweet, and smooth, with pronounced bittersweet chocolate.
Check this out: Pacific Bay roasts in its café, so customers can watch."

Just a few thoughts regarding our current listing of coffees: first, if you haven’t tried our new Rwanda “Musasa” (Fair Trade) you must! The reason for this special bean is in honor of this month’s Western Regional Barista Competition which presents us with the opportunity to support our friends in Rwanda with better transportation: new bikes!

Anyhow, Bikes for Rwanda and Baristas for Bikes are working together to help raise support for this worthy cause. In fact, a 25 cents from pound  sold of our Rwanda coffee sold goes directly to making this possibility a reality. If you have more questions about how you can help, ask a barista or take a look at the display near the espresso bar.

 Now, about the coffee itself … It is a light/medium roast, clean with pleasant acidity, hints of apricot and pineapple, milk chocolate undertones, soupy and rich. This coffee definitely stands out as unique and we will only be offering it through the end of this month… So give it a try!

Now, on the note of passing on good energy … Be kind and rewind. And remember to eat your veggies.
Happy Day,

Your Vegan Roaster,

 Sarah

I recently acquired a West Bend Poppery II from Ebay in order to finally begin roasting coffee out of my house. The great thing about home roasting is that not only are you able to have hands-on involvement with every step of preparing your coffee, but you also have a huge smorgasbord of exotic green bean offerings to choose from. Lately I’ve been interested in some of the more exotic flavor coffee profiles, such as a musty Monsoon Malabar from India, Aged Sumatra, and of course, Cup of Excellence.

The West Bend Poppery II is definitely set up for lighter roast profiles because I can’t get the temperature past 425 degrees, and most often pull out my roasts at around that temp, before second crack. Stopping the roast before second crack is allowing my beans to really stand naked and exposed for what they truly are. Light roasting some sample beans from Anacafe, from Antigua, Guatemala, produced a wonderfully juicy, soupy cup. On the other hand, the inability to roast out some of the funk or develop much body in my Aged Sumatra left it tasting kind of flat and sweaty. The Sumatra can handle a much darker roast, but even when I left it in for an eternity (16 mins, when others are pulled out at 6-8) I still could get it hot enough to push it through second crack. A Costa Rica Horqueta Top 50, which is features coffee cherries from picked from only the top 50 meters where coffee is the mos.

This weekend our roaster, Sarah, and I are going to work on modifying the machine a bit more and hopefully I’ll be able to tap into her knowledge in order to produce better roasts. This whole experience really drives home the level of expertise it takes to consistently roast great coffee like we have in the shop.

Another great day of roasting and food for thought, literally. First, a brief story worth telling because it reflects the sanctity in the small things, such as 3 organic apples in a bag brought to me by a special customer having overheard my craving for one. (What kindness!) Which brings me back to roasting post Wed’s cupping. The Papua New Guinea “Kimel A”  has been a favorite recently for this reasons: it’s amazing resemblance to a cup of my favorite vegetable soup. This amazing bean is juicy, med bodied, pleasantly acidic, with light citrus notes and a mild sweetness underneath. So please do give it a try if you haven’t already … And remember your grandmother’s minestrone soup! (She was vegan, right??)

Also, from today’s roast I recommend giving the Mexican “Oaxaca” a try. It’s been remarkably complex, sweet and spicy, with nice acidity and chocolate undertones. Nice body, vegan body.

Lastly, FYI: We are now carrying a single origin DECAF COLOMBIA so grab a bag while it lasts!

 Cheers!

Shortly after we opened in February 2004, we started hearing many stories about where our customers are taking their fresh roasted Pacific Bay Coffee Co. beans so they can enjoy a good cup when they travel.

So we started a photo album on where the beans have been traveled to- Europe? Camping? Australia? The Beach? Disneyland?…wherever…heck, your backyard is nice! The photo shown is in Honduras.

If you send a digital file we’ll post it on our Flickr account or you can post it in the Flick Pacific Bay Coffee Group album. Photos can also be sent to info@pacificbaycoffee.com. Be sure to include yourself in the photo along with some of the scenery and the bag of Pacific Bay Coffee Co. beans or you in some Pacific Bay gear.

Is genetically modified coffee in the future for your morning cup? Recent developments in genetic engineering have yielded some interesting results. Researchers have been able to effect changes in enzyme production within coffee seedlings with results ranging from simultaneous ripening for more efficient harvesting to decreasing caffeine content up to 70 percent. Research is new and will primarily benefit the large commercial grade producers. Coffee drinkers who place a premium on organic practices have little to worry about, however, as selective breeding and hybridization may provide organic alternatives. Although organic methods take much longer to develop it is almost certain that the specialty coffees that we have grown to love will remain genetically unmodified, hand-tended and harvested by growers who take great pride in producing the best coffees the world has to offer.

Published in the Contra Costa Times, January 18, 2006

Many people want to know the best way to store roasted coffee. Ideally, coffee should be stored in an airtight container such as a crockery or dark glass jar. Keep it in a cool dark place. Buy enough fresh roasted coffee to last about a week. If you won’t have access to fresh coffee and want to preserve the some for an extended period of time, there is an answer. Freezing works only on fresh roasted coffee to extend the initial freshness. Once you remove it from the freezer, keep it out and treat it as though it were fresh. Returning it will freeze condensation on to the beans, which will ruin the flavor and aromatic compounds.

Published in the Contra Costa Times, October 26, 2005

It takes roughly four years from germination before a coffee plant begins to produce fruit. A mature coffee plant will then produce only 1 – 1 1/2 pounds of green coffee per year. It takes approximately 3,200 handpicked green beans to result in one pound of roasted coffee which will yield an average of 56, 6-ounce cups of brewed coffee.

Published in the Contra Costa Times newspaper, June 8, 2005

Before a coffee importer ever distributes beans, the beans are scrutinzed in a series of sampling procedures. First various product samples are cupped (think wine tasting) to determine if a particular coffee is desirable. Once it is ordered, the exporter delivers a “preshipment” sample to verify consistency with the earlier sample. Finally when a large shipment arrives, 10% of the delivered bags are sampled to determine if the desired coffee was actually delivered.

Published in the Contra Costa Times, April 27, 2005