Tea Processing

Jaime has been talking a lot lately about the processing involved with coffee. It is interesting to apply this to Tea. Essentially when you roast coffee, you are bringing out the flavor; making it palatable. When you get to a certain point however, you start to kill the flavors by bringing the oils to the surface and scorching them. When you do this with a very flavorful coffee you are simply scorching the flavor, but when you do this with a less flavorful coffee you create a taste with the roast, simply because the bean has little inherent flavor.



Now the question I am posing in regards to tea is this: Does processing a tea, whether withering, oxidation, or firing, impart bad flavors, take away flavors, or add additional pleasant flavors without killing the flavors inherent in the tea leaf? Is it only certain processes such as heavy firing that impart or take away flavors in an extreme way? Do they shorten the life of the tea? Obviously the flavor is heavily affected by the processing and the degree to which it is taken, but at what point are you taking away from the flavor or manipulating it to a point where it has become less desirable? This is a hard question to answer, because there are so many different tastes and opinions on what tastes good. This is a way in which tea is different than coffee. Tea is steeped in so much tradition and ages of thought, that it is hard to say exactly what is good and bad from an objective stand point. When you take an opinion however, you could be simply ruling out a whole different world of taste different than yours. If you processed all the different varietals from the different places that fine quality tea is grown into white tea, would get the “true flavor” of the tea leaf, or would you just get a single expression of that tea?


Processing tea is an art and a science, as is coffee roasting, so is it my job as a taster to judge and simply express my opinion and expression by selecting teas that I like? Is my job to choose teas based on the criteria for that single type of tea? As a tea server is my job to serve tea in a way I think is correct or is my job to serve tea as a way of expressing the taste of the person to whom I am serving?


I think the key to understanding the flavor in tea, is what type of processing is done as opposed to how much is done. The taste of green tea is dependent on the way it is processed, but also on the varietal used. The main difference in taste regarding tea processing can be highlighted in the difference between Japanese and Chinese green tea. The Longjing green tea is the same varietal as the green tea in Japan, but they are processed very differently. Longjing is pan fired; whereas Japanese greens are typically steamed. Japanese green teas are usually very fresh, grassy, and sometimes sweet, whereas Longjing is more fruity, nutty and a much smoother flavor overall.


The best teas that I have ever tried are Oolongs. They are processed just enough to bring out the flavor without changing it too drastically. Oolongs are very specific and often complicated in processing. The truth though is that white, green, yellow, and Oolong teas all have their specific tastes and are all good in their own right. Black and Pu-erh teas usually have their fair share of flaws because they are processed so heavily. Because of this they have created a certain taste based on their flaw, much like coffee that is too darkly roasted or coffee that is fermented in processing the green bean.



-Silas

Dose variance...

I was thinking of dose variance numbers and what it means when you say acceptable variance. I have always thought of +-0.5 grams as being the ideal. It isn't until you get the scale out and really measure your variance that you can really grasp consistency in your dose. It's an issue right now because of a conversation I was having with a new friend from the west coast who discussed how some of his coworkers rather than tweak the grind would make small adjustments to the dose. I was shocked.. well not really...

First of all, lower doses mean you have more variance as a percentage of the whole. This does not mean a lower dose is worse but that it is harder to pull consistently. It is, look at the numbers! Even so, any consistent variation over 0.5 grams should be unacceptable.

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I'm not advocating changing coffees to fit doses. I believe there are defined sweet spots for coffees at certain doses and sometimes we are just stuck with tricky doses. Barismo!

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The lower your dose, the wider the variation in your shots. Sure we are talking a tiny amout but if anyone wants to do the numbers and see what those variances translate in volume changes and you realize how difficult you are making your life as a barista. But wait, I'm not advocating higher doses... well maybe just a little when you can get away with it. The higher doses meant that you could have a slightly greater variance and get away with it. Q:What is the difference between a 1 gram variation on a 22gram dose and a .5 gram variation on a 14 gram dose? A: 1 percent.

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Imagine a 1 gram variation on 14 gram dose and the change that would have on the cup. That's a %7.14 plus or minus change in the cup. For a shot that is under 2 oz, that's a lot of change.

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The thing I am really thinking about is how you can't measure your doses except when learning and so you have to have that feel for consistent dosing. It's fun when training when you can call your shots gram weight and then nail it for trainee but the truth is that you can show a person and show a person and they may not get it until they pull a thousand shots. You have to develop a feel for the coffee. Then there is the problem that arises from having the feel down for one coffee then being presented with another coffee of different density... Everything is turned on it's head.

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Barista don't have scales to weigh every shot nor the time to do extended tamping routines with a line waiting. They have to have a routine based on feel.

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I guess all that is in it's very essence why I believe in a dosing methodology where you keep your leveling methods the same but change to different volume baskets. It is all in the feel but if you want to leave the scale on the sidelines you gotta use different baskets so you don't have to alter your ritual.


Take the time to feel the grinds and weigh your dose a few times next time you pull shots.


-Jaime "I hate ridged baskets!!!" v.
Update Dosing video

There is no standard!

Ppl just DON'T GET IT!!



Ristretto is NOT automatically better than a Normale. In fact, I HATE those two words. The dosage and resulting liquid is much much more meaningful than putting label on drinks. Who cares what you call it... just have good espresso. Each bean/blend has an optimum range of flavor that the roaster wanted to express. It's up to the Barista to choose what he/she wanted to present, from that range of flavor, to the customer. This is what makes this brewing method interesting.



Using a singular apporach is just plain wrong!



So many ppl are polluted by what are presented in the media/online forums to think that ristretto = good. Well, why is that? Because most of the bean/blends are CRAP! They are usually over-roasted to cover up the off-flavor and defects from the junk beans in it. In this case, pulling a "ristretto" helps to make it pallatable because when you up the dose and pull it short, you kill the overwhelming roast flavor (think burnt stench). And because it's a duller coffee (due to the darker roast), flavor gets amplified enough to be notice w/out being over-bearing. The result is a mellow (or dull, depends on your definition) shot that is somewhat muddy (from the roast) but viscous and enjoyable.



But if you take the same approach to a light roast premium bean (such as the SOE Yirg from Terroir), you are going to have some "Terroiry" shots (yes, there is such term being thrown around). The shot will be VERY astringent and flavors will be painfully over-whelming. The beautiful aromatics will be killed and the sweetness will not be able to show thru. Those shots usually resemble stomach bile and have cause me to vomit in the past. But when it's done right, the shot smell and taste like the fresh ground coffee. Aromatic, sweet, fruity, clean-ripe acidity, and enough roast to balance things out.



I am not saying if one style of pull is better than another. I enjoyed both, DEPENDS ON THE COFFEE. But if ppl keep having the idea that ristretto is the only way to go, the roasters will continue to cater to that style (over roasted dull beans). And we might never see the true beauty of the uber premium beans that are becoming more available in the markets. I have tasted a DARK ROAST COE bean marketed as SOE. Let me tell you, it's so dull and burnt that make me weep. And that is why SOE gets all the misunderstanding it recieves simply because the ppl (roaster and consumers) just don't get it.



Do not be satisfy with one way of doing things. The preparation should be a tool to express what is in the bean and not the other way around. And please do not ask for a ristretto shot... just ask for a GOOD shot and trust your barista.




-Ben

Quality

Does the quality we talk about in the industry for espresso lie in the execution or the inputs? Perfect execution with poor inputs or perfect inputs with poor execution are the two situations I am thinking over right now. In both cases it seems like a why bother, but yet both are very common(if not the majority beyond the double clutch shops) circumstances for shop owners to be in. Opinions welcome.


-Jaime

The honeymoon is over I guess...

It only seemed a matter of time before the back patting was over for Cho. I really don't have much of anything to say besides why did he compete anyway? Congrats to winning but I woulda rooted for Berlin all the way! j/k Competitions aren't fair unless you have the backing of a large company behind you. That's like all competitions and excuses don't change that. The strange thing about the competitions this last year has been the large amounts of rumbling/complaining online/offline. It would be great to muck rake, but really it's just trying to deny the truth of the competitions. They aren't fair and here in the US, they are a tool for businesses as much as a stage for barista. I make no bones about any of it nor do I really care enough to call out unfair.

Anyway, I will go to competition and take a shot at Regionals. My friends will go and try to place. We make no complaints about what the competitions are and who is favored. We will represent as best we can and that's all we can do. Winning and all the politics aren't as important so much as representing myself, standing up for what I believe, the roasters I use, and most importantly representing my friends... well. I want to get on stage and say what I have to say and then feel proud and that's all that matters.

Maybe it's time for discussion about a Barista Cup(think NordicBC) in the US that is not tied to the SCAA? No more politics, no more egos, and just about having fun and advocating for barista? It's a thought.


-Jaime