From coffee beans and milk foam

7. June 2023

From coffee beans and milk foam

id you know the phrase "cold coffee makes you beautiful" goes back to the time when the hot drink arrived in Europe? The hot coffee steam ruined the make up. Therefore the advice to drink cold coffee was actually helpful. And even today, you should definitely follow the advice to drink it cold: preferably as a specialty, the so-called "Cold Brew". In this process, the ground coffee is poured over with cold water and then steeped for 12-18 hours. The result is a drink with a particularly high caffeine content: if you want to stay awake for longer than usual - this should be your energy drink!

Valerie shared a lot of information with our service teams from Teltow and Potsdamer Platz at the Dallmayr coffee training. From the degree of grinding to the number of grams, there are many decisive factors that determine the (good) taste of coffee.

„I had a farm in Africa, at the foot of the Ngong Hills“

„I had a farm in Africa, at the foot of the Ngong Hills“ –

…with this sentence begins one of the most famous works of world literature – meaning Tanja Blixen’s farm, filmed to Oscar standard with Meryl Streep and Robert Redford in leading roles and playing on a coffee farm in Africa…

At Grimm’s Hotels, we use the best coffees from Tanzania. They are from sustainable cultivation, grown in the Gombe National Park in Tanzania. With every cup of coffee we support projects of the British behavioral scientist Jane Goodall, who has not only researched a lot of interesting facts about the animals through her work with chimpanzees, but also makes a great contribution to the protection of the species through the attention she has gained. In 1977, the Jane Goodall Institute for Wildlife Research, Education and Conservation was founded for this purpose, which is dedicated to the protection of the endangered chimpanzees and, among other things, has initiated a protection program for orphaned apes.

The largest growing regions and coffee producers are usually Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia and Indonesia. Coffee from Africa is generally rarer as the plants need a special climate to thrive. The higher the growing area, the more sustainable is the coffee cultivation because the fewer pesticides are used. Due to the “harsher” climate there are also fewer pests at all against the coffee plants need to be protected.

Coffee is one of the most popular beverages and coffee consumption continues to rise worldwide. On average, it takes about 7.6 coffee plants per person per year. The coffee berries of a plant vary between 2.5-10 kg per harvest, depending on the area, variety and growing conditions.

Only about 2 kg of coffee can be obtained from about 15 kg of coffee berries. The actual coffee bean is separated from the pulp of the coffee cherry. What remains is the kernel: the coffee bean. Coffee beans have been traded on the Hamburg Stock Exchange since 1887. Depending on exclusivity and variety, the price is calculated per kilogram or per ton.

To ensure that the beans remain fresh for a long time, they are transported in bags to the countries where the untreated beans are later roasted and packed in aroma-sealed packaging. It is not the degree of roasting that determines whether the coffee may end up tasting “too” bitter. Whether coffee develops a bitter aftertaste depends on how long the brewing process was and how finely the coffee beans were ground. The longer the coffee powder has been exposed to the brewing process, the more bitter substances are released from the coffee bean and the stronger and, above all, more bitter the coffee tastes in the end.

Valerie told many more interesting facts: For example the “seal” that everyone knows from their own coffee packaging ensures that the CO₂ can escape after roasting, but that no oxygen gets into the bag, because oxygen damages the aroma. CO₂ should, however, be able to escape in any case, so that the bag does not burst and the roasted beans can be packed without being completely outgassed. So the beans develop their incomparable coffee taste and aroma. When storing at home, always keep the coffee in a dry place and when opened be sure to roll the bag down as far as possible towards the coffee beans, so that the beans offer as little surface for oxygen to attack as possible and remain fresh for a long time.