Second Phase of the Reno - Cafe and Gallery

photo from: espressotec.com - a great source for all things coffee.

I guess I needed a spring project. We had 1500 square feet of undeveloped space in the new paddling shop just sitting there.
Over the past year we tossed a few ideas around and decided to turn the space into a cafe/gallery. The gallery aspect will feature quality work by local artists and the cafe... well it's going to be a cafe. As simple as a cafe might sound, it take a lot of elements done very well to put together something that will be a success.

I have learned over the years that there is a simple rule of 3's when it come to any project: it takes three times longer than you think it will, it costs three times as much as you expect, and everthing ends up having a complication factor to the power of 3.

In this posting I'll just focus on coffee. I've learned a lot about coffee over the last few months and figuring out all the factors that go into producing a really good cup, has been an ongoing education. Here is a bit of what I have gleaned.

1. The types of factors that go into producing good beans are the same types of factors that go into producing good wine. In the case of coffee these include (but are not limited to!) the varietal, the soil, country of origin, the elevation and climate, how the plants are grown (organic, shade grown, etc...), freshness, how the beans are processed to remove the flesh, and how the beans are packed when still green, then how they transported and stored.


2. Roasting is the next critical area. The choice of fuels used to roast, (such as whether gas or electric are used) can have an effect on the flavour. As well the ramping profile of the roasting has a big effect on the final flavour - the rate of temperature rise to acheive the target heat and the degree of roast desired. How quickly the beans are cooled is also important! Roasted coffee beans are best consumed within a week or two of roasting, so being able to get beans that are properly roasted and delivered in a short period of time is also critical to good coffee.


3. The grind - it sounds simple! Not so. The texture of the grind and how fresh the grind is are only part of the equation. Again more elements involved than you might expect; the temperatures generated by grinding burrs can have an adverse affect if they grind too hot.

I haven't even gotten into the area of brewing here. I'll leave that for another day...