Our Coffees

Roasting Process
Achieving Just the Right Blend

We believe coffee roasting is an art only learned over many years. Yet we take advantage of modern roaster controls and scientific instrumentation to measure our progress, allowing us to consistently maintain strict quality standards. Our Roastmaster is a member of the Roasters Guild of the SCAA. In addition to his in house training from someone who has roasted for many years, he attends Roasters Guild retreats and workshops yearly in order to constantly hone his skills and knowledge.

We micro roast our coffee in small, individually controlled batches, using three different size drum roasters, depending on the demand for a particular coffee. It is our opinion drum roasters are more flexible, not only allowing more variation and tighter controls in the roasts, but the coffees are more fully developed, bringing out the individual characteristics of body, acidity, and flavor of the coffee.

Our roasting operation consists of a 15, 30, and a 120 kilo roasters. We use different size roasters in order to roast only enough coffee to meet our immediate needs. The 30 kilo is a 50 + year old Italian Vittoria which we refurbished. Our newest roasters, of 15 and 120 kilo capacity were manufactured by STA Impianti of Bologna, Italy and are state of the art. STA Impianti uses a patented process of heat generation using both conduction and convection principals of heat. Convection air is pulled through the roasting coffee rather than pushed, resulting in a more uniform roast, all the while our Roastmaster monitors each roast, bringing his artisan skills into play. The roast temperatures are lower than are possible with most other roasters, giving more uniform roasts, while fully developing the flavor of the coffee. It took us several years of research and visiting various operations to choose a roaster that we felt would give us the best and most consistent roasts. The benefit to our customers is consistent quality. Modern equipment costs more, but the results and finished product are far worth the price.

Where possible, most of our coffees are individually roasted before blending. We feel each coffee has its optimum and individual roasting point that is best for that particular coffee. Due to the harvesting and processing, climatic growing conditions, moisture content of the green coffee bean, and other factors, each coffee has its own profile which should be treated differently in the roasting process to best maintain the individual coffee characteristic and balance. When blended after roasting, the individual coffee profile will be maximized and the coffee characteristic will contribute to a blend. This not only requires technical skill, but artistic talents and knowledge that can only be achieved with time and experience.

Roasts
A Wide Range of Tastes

Coffee is said to be comprised of over 700 identifiable compounds, most of which are volatile organic compounds. In roasting, we try to develop and retain the characteristics of each coffee. We want our customers to taste the coffee and not just the roast. We roast our coffee to four different degrees of roasts, though not all individual coffees or blends are available in every roast. As coffees are roasted longer and darker, many of the individual characteristics that give a coffee its unique taste are not only changed, but often destroyed. The pleasures of the individual tastes and characteristics of coffees are undetectable in the very dark coffees, as you mainly taste the roast, which is a smoky or burned taste. As a note of caution, dark roast coffees deteriorate and lose their flavor quicker than lighter roasts. When a coffee bean is dark and oily, it is losing the essential oils, which are responsible for the taste and flavor. When coffee is roasted too dark, it is comparable to burned toast or an over cooked steak. Many restaurants commonly disclaim responsibility for food cooked beyond medium because they know the flavor of the food is destroyed. Coffee is no different.

Though every roaster has his own definition, we roast our coffee, going from lighter to darker, beginning with Medium Roast (City), to Full City, to French Roast, to the darkest, which is Italian Roast. Our espresso roasts vary from slightly more than “Medium Roast” to slightly darker than French Roast. Most of our coffees are done in a Medium Roast unless otherwise noted or specified.

To really experience the taste and flavor differences of the various individual coffee and blends, we would suggest the Medium or at most, the Full City roast. We can suggest the best roast or mix of roasts for a particular clientele or area preference.

Chauvin Degree of Roasts

Medium	Our standard roast, where the beans are reddish brown in color without visible oil on the surface. This roast best characterizes the balance of acidity, flavor and taste of the coffee itself. The taste has an immediate bright, clean character.
Full City	We also call this dark roast or Viennese. Roasted darker than our Medium roast, the coffee is roasted just enough to where the natural oils are just beginning to appear on the surface of the bean. The flavor and body is more intense than the medium roast. This coffee is excellent for either drip or French press methods.
French	Definitely a heavy roast with a caramelized taste. Much of the individual varietals and bright acidity characteristic of coffee has been replaced with a heavy taste that stays on the palate. The coffee is roasted to where the natural oils develop shortly after roasting.
Italian	Our darkest roast that is heavy with an intense flavor, the taste is almost smoky. The coffee is roasted longer to where the coffee oils appear on the beans at the end of the roast cycle. The flavor lingers.

About our Coffees

Refining to Perfection

Quality is not guaranteed simply because a coffee is labeled “gourmet” or because it is “whole bean.” Nor do names, classifications or descriptions guarantee quality. The public, and particularly the newer coffee drinkers are more demanding and discriminating. They realize they can drink some of the world’s best coffees for only a few cents more per cup. With this in mind, our care to detail and our experience allows us to offer the highest quality products to our customers, and by offering our coffee to your customers, you can be assured you are offering the highest quality coffee.

With our many years of experience and knowledge, we have been able to establish long standing relationships with our suppliers, ensuring a constant source of the finest coffees available from around the world. Because of our buying relations with suppliers, we pay a premium to obtain our coffee. Prices are often set by the producers themselves, which means they receive a fair and equitable price to make a profit, sustain their farms, pay their workers a fair wage, provide medical services and sustain and protect the environment.

In order to maintain consistency and our high standards, we contract well in advance for many of our coffees. Prior to accepting coffee for shipment to our warehouse, we require samples so we can “cup” each and every one of our primary coffees. This is an extremely important procedure not often followed by many roasters.

We make yearly trips to different countries to visit new farms as well as those which we have dealt with for years. We personally know or have contact with some of the farmers and Coffee Mill operators, and we make every effort to obtain Shade Grown and Rainforest Alliance coffees where possible, as long as they meet our quality standards. These coffees not only protect the environment, but they support the bio-diversity of wildlife and local eco-systems. Not all coffee producing countries have specific Shade Grown coffees. Additionally, we support farms and farming methods, which adhere to safe and acceptable farming methods and promote a safe environment for the workers.

Characteristics of Coffee
Coffees can be described by the following main characteristics:

Acidity	A sharp, clean, zesty, snap; almost a dryness, like some white wines.
Body	A heaviness or richness. This can be described as a fullness, similar to the qualities of many red wines.
Aroma	An important quality, since you smell the aroma before you actually taste the Coffee. Aroma can range from acidic or sharp, through spicy and sweet, to Earthy to musty to smoky.
Flavor	Flavor can be described as the taste of coffee. Flavor distinguishes the differences in coffees. It should be pleasing. Flavor is a combination of everything that encompasses the body, aroma, and taste. Since coffee will take on the characteristics of the soil in which it is grown, it will hint of other plants, fruits, and spices.
Finish	This is the overall perception one has of the coffee. Does it leave a satisfying aftertaste, or does it seem sour or bitter, or is there not much of an aftertaste? The finish should be slightly lingering, but not too long and should not dominate.