Monday, June 18, 2012

Raul Rodas's routine was largely about bringing out the sweetness of his coffee from La Soledad, using a unique (to Guatemala) processing technique of pulping the coffee, then letting it ferment for 14 hours dry (with no water), then placing it on raised drying beds for 15 days (instead of the standard patios, common in Guatemala). The result is a sweet yet clean cup. He created an interesting beverage (two, actually, shared among the judges) featuring cascara (the dried remains of the coffee bean's outer layer), and mucilage (what's under the outer layer), and then brewing coffee with an extremely lightly-roasted bean. This part is interesting to me. Raul implied that because of the processing, the coffee would be sweet, so what this part of the signature drink highlights was how sweet the coffee was, even before it was roasted to bring out the sugars of the bean (see maillard reaction). Also interesting was Raul's duel drink components. He pulled his first espressos using 17 grams, and his second set at 18 grams, featuring different taste components that make up his two beverages. Hmmmm. complex, eh? I admire the experimentation that went on with the farmer's processing, as well as the experimentation with brewing/tasting. It seems that 2012 is definitely the year of processing, and using different fermentation/processing methods to bring out unique tastes. Neato.

1 comment:

  1. This part is interesting to me .delonghi espresso machines Raul implied that because of the processing, the coffee would be sweet, so what this part of the signature drink highlights was how sweet the coffee was, even before it was roasted to bring out the sugars of the bean (see maillard reaction).

    ReplyDelete