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Crème de la crema

because for a perfect crema you need

15 bar, not a small fortune

The quality of the crema depends on various factors:

including temperature, grind and at least 12 bar of pressure.

The S2+'s patented brewing unit's 15 bar

of water pressure provides a professional quality crema.

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Harvest
Processing
Milk foam

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History

The word "coffee" is derived from the Arabic word "kahwah" or "qehwa". Which, translated, means vitality or strength. The origins of coffee farming, on the other hand, are no longer very clear. The plant genus "coffea" originates in the African tropics and there is mention of it in this region in the 9th century.

According to legend, shepherds in the Kaffa province of Ethiopia's Abyssinian highlands were the first to become aware of coffee cherries. Their goats never tired and found it impossible to rest. The shepherds sought advice from local monks who investigated the area where the goats had been grazing. They found a dark-green plant with green, yellow and red berries resembling cherries. The monks took the fruit and brewed up an infusion which left them wide-eyed all night having animated discussions.

It was not until the 16th and 17th centuries that coffee became established in Europe, too. Enjoying a cup of coffee was initially the domain of the nobility and the well-off before spreading to the working class as a pick-me-up. It is now impossible to imagine society without coffee, which has enjoyed cult drink status for a long time.

Farming

The botanical name for coffee is "coffea". Only two varieties of "coffea" are important economically. Coffea arabica and coffea canephora, known as robusta.

Coffee cultivation areas are situated in the belt between the northern and southern tropics. These regions offer the balanced climate coffee bushes or coffee trees need: average temperatures of between 18 and 25°C, no frost, annual rainfall of ca. 1,500 to 2,000 mm and not too much sunshine.

Bean development

When ripe, coffee cherries have a cherry-red skin. The coffee bean is nestled inside the berry's pulp, sheathed in a silver skin. This, in turn, is covered in a parchment skin with a layer of mucus. The coffee cherries grow on stems on the coffee trees.

Tasting

The specific character and quality of coffee is determined by tasting. It is however difficult to use all of the necessary senses to discover, and to name, a coffee's aromas and flavours. Three of the sensory organs are of particular importance when tasting coffee. The eyes take in the consistency of the crema and thus the coffee's aesthetic quality. Olfactory quality, or fragrance, is judged by sense of smell. Coffee poses a major challenge to the nose as it features more than 800 aromas, more than almost any other food product. The last sensory organ is the tongue. This organ can differentiate tastes from the four categories of sweet, salty, bitter and sour.

When tasting, the impact of the cup itself should not be underestimated. Its shape and size influence taste perception. This is because the coffee comes into contact with the tongue at a specific angle. Try it out yourself at home by drinking the same coffee from different cups. You will be surprised!

Physiological effect

Following a number of scientific studies, coffee is now counted as a liquid, refuting the legend that coffee reduces water in the body. The natural antioxidants in coffee bind free radicals in the body supporting its cell defences. In general, coffee stimulates the metabolism and has an uplifting and anti-depressive effect. However, if timed properly, coffee can also be calming. Blood flows more strongly through the brain's sleep centre right after drinking a cup of coffee. But, if you want to fall asleep, make sure you are in bed within 15 minutes after a cup of coffee. Otherwise, you will find it much harder to doze off.

Espresso

The classic with full-aroma crema

6 to 8 grams of coffee powder
20 to 35 ml water

Espresso Macchiato

The classic with full-aroma crema

6 to 8 grams of coffee powder
20 to 35 ml water
Fill the cup with milk foam until it forms a small cap

Cappuccino

One of the most popular varieties of Italian coffee

6 to 8 grams of coffee powder
20 to 35 ml water
Fill the cappuccino cup with milk foam until it forms a small cap

Latte Macchiato

6 to 8 grams of coffee powder
20 to 35 ml water
Served in a tall glass. Fill 1/3 of the glass with warm milk. Then fill the glass with warm milk foam until it reaches 2cm below the rim. Finally, around 15 seconds later, pour the espresso in slowly.

Coffea arabica

"Coffea arabica" is the oldest and best-known sort of coffee with around 600 different varieties. It grows on plateaux at an altitude of ca. 600 to 1,200 meters above sea level. These areas are blessed with lower average temperatures, allowing the plant to grow more slowly giving the cherries more time – a total of between 9 and 11 months – to develop their aroma. For this reason it is considered the highest-grade variety on the market. Its beans are longer and have an S-shaped groove. Moreover, it has only half the caffeine content of coffea canephora and has a pleasant, mild, rounded aroma with a refined, fruity acidity.

Coffea canephora (robusta)

"Coffea canephora" is also known as "robusta" and was first discovered in 18th century Congo. It grows at altitudes between 300 and 800 meters above sea level. As the name indicates, this variety of coffee is more resistant – both against wetter conditions and higher temperatures. However, this leads to a shorter ripening season of just 6 to 9 months, which can be detrimental to the aroma. Unlike arabica flowers and cherries, which grow evenly distributed along the branch, robusta grows in little bunches. The beans are characterised by being rounder and wider in appearance with a straight groove. They have a powerful, intense aroma and almost no acidity.

Harvest

Coffee can be harvested all year round. However, harvesting times vary by growing area. While harvesting can take place any time of year in growing areas close to the equator, it takes place between July and December in areas to the north, and between April and August to the south. Harvesting can take up to 12 weeks, because even cherries on a single stem ripen at different rates. Harvesting methods include picking, stripping, mechanical harvesting, late picking and selective picking.

Picking

Picking, or hand picking, is the most expensive and traditional harvesting method and, nowadays, is only used for premium coffee roasts. It is an extremely time and labour intensive method as only ripe cherries are picked by hand. As a result of differing ripening times, selective hand picking is repeated every 8 to 10 days. During the final harvest, pickers separate ripe coffee cherries from over-ripe ones, which must also be removed from the trees. After picking, the beans are sorted by hand again to ensure only optimally ripe beans are processed. The result is a homogenous harvest of the highest quality coffee.

Stripping

Stripping is a fast and considerably cheaper harvesting method. The branches are manually stripped at the optimal time, i.e. when the highest number of ripe cherries are on the coffee plant. But this process does not take the ripeness of individual cherries into account. The stripped cherries fall onto a sheet on the ground along with leaves and small twigs. The leaves and twigs are then removed by hand and the cherries put into sacks. Comb-like equipment is now also used to an extent in stripping for the harvest of coffee cherries. However, the use of such a tool entails the danger of damaging the coffee plant and, in turn, reducing the yield.

Mechanical

Mechanical harvesting involves heavy harvesting machinery used on large plantations. However, this requires a flat harvesting area and a large gap between individual plants. The harvesting machines shake the coffee cherries off the plants through vibration and then throw them onto the conveyor belt located inside the machine. This method is fast, inexpensive and ensures independence from harvesting workers. However, a homogenous harvesting result cannot be achieved and the coffee plants are damaged. Consequently, the cherries must be very carefully processed after harvesting: damaged cherries must be removed and ripe cherries separated from unripe and over-ripe ones. Thanks to post-processing, these machines can be used for both mass production and high quality coffees.

Late harvesting

Late harvesting involves purposefully inducing changes in flavour. The coffee cherries are left on the coffee plant after attaining optimal ripeness. As a result, the coffee cherries are affected by a desired noble rot, which lends the coffee beans a certain sweetness.

Selective picking

Selective picking is a very special, very seldom used harvesting method. Different members of the animal kingdom – e.g. the jacu bird or the viverridae – eat the ripest coffee cherries. However, because only the fruit's pulp can be digested, the beans are discarded. The beans are wet fermented by special enzymes in the viverridae's intestines, changing their flavour characteristics. However, the coffee's special taste is more closely linked to the animal's "personal mix", because it does not just eat cherries from a single coffee plant. Rather, it picks and chooses from different plants, depending on its personal preference, as it were. Plantation workers collect the excrement for further processing. The effort and extravagance required to produce this coffee make it the most expensive of all, with prices of up to 1,200 euros per kilo.

Preparation

In order to prevent premature rotting, preparation must be conducted quickly after harvest A difference is drawn between dry and wet preparation.

Dry preparation

Dry preparation is also known as "natural" preparation. It is an old and inexpensive process whereby the entire cherry, with its pulp, is sundried for around two weeks. Mechanical quick drying is also possible but highly expensive. In order to prevent the coffee cherries from fermenting they have to be turned during drying. Drying increases the sweetness of the coffee cherries and, thus, that of the beans. The cherries lose around 12% of their moisture after around four weeks. The dried coffee cherries are shelled and the hardened pulp removed. The shelled beans are then stored for a time in special silos to further reduce their moisture content.

Wet preparation

Wet preparation involves water, power and machines and is considerably costlier. 150 litres of water are required for just one kilo of raw coffee. Great care must be taken with this method but it also better protects the coffee beans' quality. Impurities are removed from the cherries through washing and sieving. The pulper then squeezes the fruit's flesh from the cherries. After that, the coffee beans are dried immediately. Next, the remaining pulp, which produces a higher basic sweetness, is removed from the beans by mechanical cleaning. This is done in fermentation basins before the raw coffee loses its remaining mucus, which sticks to the parchment skin. Fermentation may not last longer than 72 hours. The process lends the coffee a strong fruitiness and higher acidity. The coffee is then washed again and dried for between 10 and 15 days.

Drying

After preparation, the raw coffee must be dried before any further processing can take place. This can be conducted naturally or mechanically.
Natural drying either takes place in kilns – drying patios with different soil conditions– or in suspended nets, allowing air to circulate through the beans from below.

There are also different methods of mechanical drying. Either using a vertical drier, which sucks the coffee beans upwards and before they fall to the side into drying channels. Or drum dryers can be used. These machines dry the beans in large, revolving drums filled with hot air.

The roast

Both pure origin and blended coffees are roasted to give them their typical flavour and aroma. The essential elements required for good roasting are duration and temperature. In traditional, gentle slow roasting, depending on the desired roasting result, the beans are roasted at around 230°C for between 12 and 20 minutes. Fast roasting, on the other hand, is carried out at 500°C for two minutes. The different roasting grades are discernable by colour: a light roast means a milder coffee, a dark roast means a stronger coffee (e.g. espresso roast). The perfect coffee blend comes from a balance of acidity, bitterness, sweetness and body.

The grind

How finely a coffee is ground is essential to flavour. That is why the right sort of preparation should always be used. It is essential to know that: the shorter the contact time between the water and the ground coffee, the finer the coffee should be ground. As the coffee's grinding level is decisive for extraction time. For example, take an espresso with a short 20 to 30 second extraction time. The grind must be accordingly fine to achieve as large a surface area as possible and, therefore, as much resistance as possible. And because aromas are released at different times, the extraction time is also key to an optimal result in terms of flavour.

Milk

Many coffee-lovers say the perfect milk foam makes the perfect coffee. But one question comes up time and again: "What milk should you use to achieve that perfect foam?" The answer lies not in the milk's fat content, but in its protein. The fat simply adds flavour. Feel free to choose any milk with a fat content between 0.3% and 3.8%. But it must have a protein content of 3.3% to 3.8%! Nor is it important whether you prefer cow's, goat's, sheep's milk, or even lactose-free soy milk. During foaming, do not let the milk go above 60°C, and never over 68°C, or the protein will congeal. Once it has been foamed, milk should never be foamed again.