Freshly Roasted Coffee & Solubles

It is accepted that Freshly Roasted Coffee Beans are essential to a great coffee experience.

This is a preliminary exploration of two brewing methods; modified Turkish and espresso.  The hypothesis is that it is possible to increase the G forces on the brew for accelerated sedimentation of the coffee fines.  The accumulation of solids in the bottom would support the idea that it is possible to quantify the coffee strength for various brewing methods.  For now, it is assumed that the amount of solubles is directly related to the strength of the coffee.

At the top is a modified Turkish brew without the addition of Cardamon and Cinnamon.  Essentially it is coffee made with a very fine grind which remains in the cup.  Of course if the drinker insists on consuming the proverbial last drop he/she will also have a 10 g breakfast.  For this comparison the water to coffee ground ratio of 10:1 was used.  The brew decanted for approximately 2 minutes before 14 ml were removed and placed into the vial or tube.

 The espresso was made with 15 g of coffee which was pulled in 29 seconds to yield two ounces or 60 ml.  Again, 14 ml was transferred to a tube for further processing or accelerated decantation.

The espresso grind is tamped in the porta-filter which only allows smaller particles to pass through with the water.

The fine grind, brew in a cup on the other hand is initially separated by gravity alone.  Since it is not filtered it is possible that the larger grounds are decanted in the first 2 minutes.  The larger the grind the longer it takes to decant but since this is an extra fine grind it is possible that the 2 minutes was sufficient to decant even the largest particles.  Smaller particles may be held in suspension in the liquid whether by turbulence, Brownian forces, or magic.

Both brews were initially opaque when held in front of a light.

The results above are open to interpretation until further experiments are done.  All three vials show signs of sedimentation but the Turkish Grind had significantly more grinds in the bottom.  It may be possible to conclude that the particles were larger than those in the espresso.  The increased transparency does support the premise that the previous opaqueness was due to the larger particles.

The espresso remained largely unchanged.  It is difficult to establish with precision that .25 ml of fines were decanted.  The opaqueness of the processed espresso does support the idea that extremely fine particles are held in suspension.

The experiment did not support the hoped for conclusion where the amount of solubles could be measured and even categorized.  It appears that a greater G force will be required to compare drip coffee, to say, a brew done in a French Press.  Or to compare the brew of large chains to that of a K cup.

Hopefully, another iteration of this test will allow the measurement of a solubles so that  brewing can be optimized.  Without measurement it is difficult to optimize so many variables.

Now, a cup of coffee is needed to start the process.

NXT Fluidized Bed Roaster

AT NXT ROASTERS INC. WE USE THE WORD “INNOVATIVE” AS DISTINCT FROM “IMITATIVE” TO DESCRIBE OUR APPROACH TO DESIGN.

 

The NXT Roaster Design

We selected the fluidized bed technology for our roasting process because it provides even heat distribution, which results in product uniformity. The bean chaff is continually removed from the roasting chamber, eliminating the fire potential. 

To increase roaster efficiency we re-circulate hot air, reducing power consumption by about 75 percent.  To prevent tar deposits on roasted beans (from circulated air), we incorporate a primary afterburner, which burns away the smoke every time the air is reheated.  This arrangement increases the temperature of circulating air, which further reduces overall power consumption.

By circulating hot air in the roaster, we are open to the atmosphere only thirty seconds at the end of the roasting cycle when hot coffee beans are quenched by a blast of cool air, which is vented through our “SmokEater”.  (As an option, we deliver a roasting system that can vent to a room/space.) Loading green beans and unloading of roasted beans is done pneumatically.

The Roasting Process

Roasting requires considerable control of the process to continually achieve a given degree of roast.  In any chemical engineering, operation controls address heat requirements, actual heat balances in roasting, and various heat transfer factors to determine the time required for roasting.   Many of the variables are beyond the control, of the Roast Master but it is possible to tame the process and reliably produce consistent roasts.

The NXT Roaster and its Roasting Process Controls include features that optimize process parameters such that the quality of roasted coffee delivered remains on target and is unaffected by factors beyond one’s control.

Roaster Description

The NXT Fluidized Bed 3 kg Roaster, is now in it's third generation.  The complete system comprises of: process controls, a primary after-burner, a SmokEater, Heating and Roasting Chambers, a chaff removal Cyclone and a pneumatic control system to operate the valves, which automatically load green beans, and transport roasted beans to the Packaging Silo at the end of the roasting process.

 Sequence of Operation

The Roasting Chamber is a cylindrical vessel that has at the chamber’s bottom a Butterfly Valve with Perforated Gate. Air enters the roasting chamber and simultaneously fluidizes and heats, or cools the coffee beans.  When roasting is finished, a blast of ambient air stops the pyrolysis by cooling the beans to below 150º C (320º F). When this temperature is reached, the Butterfly Valve opens and discharges roasted beans through the Poppet Valve and beans are then pneumatically transported to a Packaging Silo.

After-Burner System

The roaster is equipped with a primary after-burner and a secondary “SmokEater”.  The primary after-burner scrubs the hot air of volatiles and tar before these enter the Roasting Chamber.

The “SmokEater” is used at the end of the roasting process to scrub the smoke-laden cooling air from the roasted beans before it is vented to the atmosphere.

Comparing NXT Roaster roasteries with  and Drum Roasters 

		NXT    Roaster		Drum               Roaster
Batch capacity	kg	3		5
Hourly output	kg	18		14.7
Average time per batch	min	10		20
Power consumption with afterburners	kW/hour	6		64.5
Air required for roasting  process	CFM	80		300
Exhaust gas vented per batch	Cubic Feet	40		6000
Exhaust gas vented per hour	Cubic Feet	240		18000
Annual output
Roasting days per year	300	16200		13230
Roasting hours per day	3
Power consumption	kWh	5400		58050
Exhaust gas vented to atmosphere Annually	Cubic Feet	216,000		16,200,000

NXT Generation III Roaster

 

NXTRoasters Inc. is introducing its third generation advanced roasting system, which protects the purchaser’s investment, consumes the lowest possible energy, and exceed strictest air pollution standards Training time to roast is finished in days instead of months!  Its two-step roasted coffee bean cooling system provides outstanding repeatability of roast degree.

The System combines in a single unit:

• A roasting and a heating chamber,
• A chaff catcher,
• Two afterburners,
• Pneumatic conveyor to load green beans into roasting chamber, and transfer roasted beans to the packaging hopper

The NXT roaster is practically maintenance free, with threat of fire nonexistent!  Chaff from the air stream is separated prior air entering the heating chamber.  Roaster develops no tar deposits.

Specifications:

Batch capacity: 3 kg (green beans)

14.4 kg/Hr (roasted coffee beans)

Motor horsepower:

Main blower:                         2.2 kW

Pneumatic conveyor:             1.5 kW

Temperatures: Adjustable

Roasting: 235°C – 265°C

Heating:

Main heater:                           10 kW

Smoke Eater:                         1.5 kW  

Power consumption:      6.0 kW / Hr.

Including Built-in Afterburners!

Cycle Times: 8 – 12 minutes

Dimensions: 50” x 36” x 80

French Press Grind

The picture links were removed because Photobucket decided to change the terms of usage in mid stream, so to say,  It is inconvenient for viewers but it is better to rid yourself of such people as soon as possible.  It is the attitude as much as the action.   We will try to repair that mess at NXTroasters.com

The French Press is a classical brewer that has garnered many comments.  Often it is used for comparisons when authors are promoting a new device.   Many instructions and guides have been published yet there are recurring themes i.e. the medium grind with less than boiling temperature water.

Of course these demonstrations use freshly roasted coffee, otherwise what is the point of drinking coffee.

To the left the coffee beans were ground with a blade type grinder which is unable to attain the finer grinds.  The larger particles initially contain a lot of CO2 hence the large amount of foam.  I hesitate to call this crema because it is a mixture of foam and coffee grounds.

The foam develops very quickly when the nearly boiling water (that point will be argued later) is poured into the container.  Much of that is likely due to the sudden rise in temperature which causes the CO2 and other gases to rapidly expand, in the bean, when immersed in the hot water.

In the first minutes much of the coffee grounds are buoyed by the foam therefore they do not absorb sufficient liquid to decant.

Relying on the Mesh Plunger to do the solids / liquid separation will not give satisfactory results. Either the screen will plug with grounds and/or the screen  will deflect inwards let the ground migrate to the top of the mesh.

The argument that the grind has to be sufficiently coarse that the Mesh Plunger is not plugged ignores the importance of the extraction.  I maintain that the purpose of the Mesh Plunger is to keep the decanted coffee grounds on the bottom of the container when the coffee is poured into the cups.  The aim is to drink coffee not to have coffee grounds for breakfast.

The picture to the right was taken 1.5 minutes later.  We can see that the liquid line has risen but that more water will have to be added if the vessel needs to be full.  Very likely it will have to be filled twice to prevent the foam from overflowing.

In this case the Mesh Plunger was depressed 4 minutes after pouring the water.

                   
To the left is a coffee  ground with a  burr grinder using  a very fine setting which usually makes a variation of in the cup Turkish coffee.  The Mesh Plunger  only comes into play once the grounds have decanted.  The settling process is greatly accelerated by the fine grind which  yields grounds that have a high ratio of surface area to volume, hence a rapid and thorough extraction.

The crema, discerned from foam by the size of the gas bubbles, is similar to an espresso shot.  The brewing was well behaved therefore no water had to be added.  The brew decanted within seconds and was served sooner than the coarser grind.

The water was brought to a boil then poured over the coffee.  The comments about near boiling water scalding the beans must originate with manufacturers and distributors of machines that are unable to heat water over 85°C.  

The roasting chemical process is halted when the beans are cooled below approximately 150°C which hardly supports the claims that 90°C water scalds the beans.  On the contrary experiments show that the extraction is better developed at higher temperatures. 

Do your own experiments and note the observations.  If possible measure the temperature of the water for different extractions so that you can optimize your procedure.  In the meantime enjoy the fruits of your experiments.

Aeropress - Well Designed & Good Value

NXT Roasters has a Coffee and Aeropress bundle in limited quantities available at our Roastery.

The picture links were removed because Photobucket decided to change the terms of usage in mid stream, so to say,  It is inconvenient for viewers but it is better to rid yourself of such people as soon as possible.  It is the attitude as much as the action.

Freshly Roasted coffee enhances the Aeropress and vis versa.   This brewer does not require an electric brewer which may bring you better coffee since all decent kettles can boil water but not all electric brewers can deliver water at 90°C or higher.

The coffee is Freshly Roasted On-Site in a roaster of our design that has achieved new levels of consistency and pollution controls.  We are very proud of the taste.



 This is the Aeropress package which consists of the brewer and some handy accessories.  The previous blog links to two videos that demonstrate how to prepare coffee with this unit.

We have found that a fine grind enhances the extraction and quite likely gives you a better exercise.  It is difficult to establish if more calories are "burnt off" during the press.

There has been some controversy about paper filters versus perforated stainless steel discs in the domains of tasted and environment.  The stainless steel discs are nearly the price of the entire unit therefore we opted to make the bundle more affordable rather than a high end offer that would cause many to hesitate.

The coffee is less "strong" than an espresso but stronger than drip.  People adjust to their preference by adding water to the final brew and call it an Americano.

There is a challenge for those who appreciate the espresso because the Aeropress cannot be placed on a demi-tasse, well not yet.  Extracting a small volume into a large cup is not satisfactory so we must accept some limits.  However, before discounting the unit try what it does best which is a smaller cup of coffee.

Scoop:

The Scoop contains about 12 grams of coffee depending on how the coffee is scooped and packed.  The preparation of coffee depends more on consistency than an absolute number because other variables often compensate.  Just don't consistently use stale coffee - nothing compensates for that.

Funnel:
Might also be useful in the kitchen but in this case it helps assure that the caffeine deprived person gets most of the coffee grind inside the brewing chamber.

Stirrer:
This is used to be certain that the grind is dispersed in the hot water (remember the key word is hot).  The top has "wings" which prevent the blade from reaching the bottom and tearing the Paper Filter.  Of course this is a moot point when using the Inverted Method.



 Paper Filter:
This is placed inside the Cap to stop the sediment from reaching your cup.  The Paper Filter can be replaced by a stainless steel perforated disc for the people who feel that the paper absorbs essential oils that rightfully should be in their cup.















                          Brewing Chamber et al.:

                       Brewing Chamber                     Plunger                    Filter Cap                    Paper Filter

Inverted style brewing: This is mentioned first because everyone reads the instructions which illustrate the conventional way of using the brewer.

 Place the Plunger inside the Brewing Chamber. 

The internal volume increases approximately 60cc for every number the Plunger is pulled down. Therefore for those without a calculator:
- 60cc X 4 units X .03519 = 8.4 Canadian ounces
- 60cc X 4 units X .03381 = 8.1 US ounces

Unless you know all about compensating for the meniscus let's call it 8 ounces no matter where you live is the maximum capacity.

For a good Plunger seal keep both components vertical.  We cannot accept responsibility for spillage and "accidents" so we count on your diligence in keeping the hole towards the top.

Pour in the ground coffee without resting on the containers. Use one or two Scoops depending on the concentration your body requires.

Add the hot water without resting on the Brewing Chamber.

NOTE:  If there is unsteadiness or it is a challenge to manipulate these devices when they are full of scaldingly hot water you should resort to the conventional method.  Leave this method to the adventurous who thrive on danger.

Mix the water and coffee with the Stirrer to facilitate the extraction.

Place the Filter Paper in the Filter Cap (it will hold better if wet) and screw it to the top of the Brewing Chamber.  Hold the top of the Brewing Chamber.  Just remember the caveats - the liquid is very hot but bliss is now near.

Turn over the Aeropress and place it on a cup (please use a cup that is big enough for the contents). 

Push down on the Plunger.

It should now look something like the photo to the right.

Most people will now drink the coffee before extruding the Coffee Puck which is visible after removing the Filter Cap.

NXT Roasters has the Aeropress brewer

There are several brewing options available to the consumer but only a few have a "freshly roasted" priority mostly because they cannot deliver their coffee in a timely manner.

We searched  the Internet and wrote many emails to source the brewer that would give the best value to our customers.  The Aeropress is a well designed and built device which does not require an expensive electric brewer.

There are countless videos that address brewing with the Aeropress but most of them are not worth a mention because they exhort what I consider a faux pas i.e.
- advocating coffee is ok up to 40 days after roasting
- coffee should be used within 10 days of grinding
- a presenter attempts to explain how they defy the laws of physics by building unbelievable pressure
- another has concluded that the pressure pushing out the coffee is a vacuum
- for some reason some equate hot water with bitterness rather than improper roasting and staleness
Critical thinking is required on the Internet.  Yes, even now!

The Aeropress is versatile and has well designed accessories.  It can be used in two ways which are best explained by way of videos followed by pictures and explanations.

The KPCC Radio video demonstrates the Filter Down Method (photo to the left).  The temperature is important, it affects the extraction and should be above 90°C  (194°F).  The low temperature advocates probably make or sell machines that are unable to serve hot water.  The simplicity of the electric kettle is not to be scoffed at.  In an anecdotal observation a few tablespoons of coffee are placed on the bottom of your sink (especially appropriate experiment for those that have weeks old coffee but want to move to freshly roasted delights).  Allow some warm water to flow gently against the mini mound (gently - don't power wash it away) then increase the temperature.  You will find that the hot water dissolves while warm water agglomerates.

The Atomic Way video demonstrates the Inverted Method (photo below) which eliminates the dripping into the cup while mixing.

THE GRIND.  We often drink a modified Turkish style coffee where all the ingredients are mixed in the cup.  The finely ground coffee is only produced by a burr style grinder.  A finely ground coffee has a large surface area proportional to its volume which means a rapid extraction and that the grains soak up the water and decant quickly.  A fine grind like this creates a mini disaster in the gravity drained brewers because the water is poured onto the grind faster than the permeability allows it to go through, resulting in the dreaded overflow.  The plunger pressure in the Aeropress appears to circumvent that problem and yields a better extraction.

The end user has to determine the grind by experimentation.   A coarse grind will under extract and the water will be pushed through too quickly.

The Aeropress is then flipped over and placed

on a cup and the process continues as in the

conventional method.

FRESHNESS IS #1  The staling process starts after
roasting and begins to be detected at the end of one week.  Grinding the coffee accelerates the staling process.  The high surface area proportional to the content of a coffee ground means that it is more rapidly affected by oxygen and moisture.  Grind at the last minute.

More will follow shortly when the pictures of the various Aeropress components are taken or downloaded.

When Price is #1 Criteria ! (Who really pays ?)

A Purchaser is able to impose a price importance by choosing what is purchased based uniquely on the monetary cost.  Sellers quickly realize when a low selling price is required to make the sales.  Typically, "quality" is sacrificed to reduce the sellers cost while meeting a few important criteria such as appearance to a non critical eye.

Coffee beans do not visually change when way past their prime apart from having a little more surface oil.   That creates an opportunity for marketing spin that is analogous to a magic act.  The Purchaser may decide the price but the Seller decides everything else including the message that is crafted to give the Purchaser assurance that they received a premium product even when it is not.  In a magic show the spectator's attention is skillfully guided to the advantage of the magician so that the impossible is viewed as real.   The spectator does not suspend disbelief because they know that it is a performance.  Most spectators try to figure out how the magic was carried out.  For some reason low price marketing is not often subjected to the same analysis.

Economies of scale, low quality, and a magic presentation are fundamental to selling many products at low prices.  Foods with low or no nutritional value outsell fresh organic vegetables and are designed for the supply chain rather than the consumer.  The buying criteria are satisfied while other possible benefits are only implied.

Economy of scale can only be achieved with a wide network that can store and distribute a uniform product.  The supply chain optimized product, usually produced in one highly automated factory, to specifications that favour longevity or visual aspects .  The processing or transformation technology is optimized to fulfill the goals of the seller based on the buying criteria of the clients.  A great deal of research is undertaken to understand the buying decision and what common "markers" are used in reaching that decision.

The volume of imported roasted coffee is staggering.  This "Warehouse Coffee" does not reach the client while fresh but it does reach the end user while it is cheap.

My mantra is "Buy from a small batch roaster".   I prefer the freshest coffee over the exotic varietal that was roasted two or more weeks ago.

Maturing Espresso

The Espresso Transformation

Few people see the Espresso when it is all Crema.  You could be tricked into believing that it is an "air head".        Perhaps the roasting method deserves consideration but for now let's say that Freshly Roasted Coffee is the key which of course has to be supported by a well adjusted Espresso Machine.  This topic was also mentioned in a previous post.   The evolution is followed more closely this time. 

The first picture was taken 26 seconds into the extraction which continued for another two seconds.  The coffee is Cocamu (COCAMU is a coffee growers cooperative located in the district of Kirehe in the eastern province of Rwanda) roasted three days earlier.  The picture to the left was taken at the 4 second mark (after extraction).

 The Crema transforms into the liquid elixir.  The glorious description often depends on how badly the observer requires that first coffee.  The third photo, taken at the 11 second mark, is an indicator of the Crema to liquid conversion.  Unfortunately the graduated glass has rather coarse markings but they can be overcome by overlaying a grid on a printed picture.

 

Photo #4 is from the 20 second mark.  This is about when the client first sees the "magic potion".  Some may opine that a blend with a healthy Sumatran representation would be more appropriate.  That may be but it is outside the scope of this post.

 Photo #5, taken at the 34 second mark, is reasonably close to the typical serving time unless you yanked it out of the hands of the Barista which would only gain you three seconds and a frown. 

When are you served your Espresso?

This is Crema !

Crema !!
There are few "honest" ways to get great Crema.  The first one is Freshly Roasted Coffee in a tuned Espresso Machine.  Of course that is also how you maximize the sweetness of high quality Arabica beans.

The quantity of Crema rapidly decreases as the roasted coffee ages.  The taste is also greatly affected by the staling that begins to make itself noticeable within one week after roasting.

In the first two pictures the Arabica beans were roasted four days previously.

The crema to liquid coffee conversion starts towards the end of the brewing process it is not so fast that the client would be deprived of a significant amount of Crema.

Crema has been viewed by many as an indicator of freshness.  Unfortunately some people think that it is clever to deliver Crema without the freshness.  Common techniques are to add chemical foamers or to add Robusta beans to a blend of Arabica beans because the Robusta beans yield a greater amount of Crema even when it is stale.  At one time the Robusta beans were considerably cheaper but the price increased when too many people started to add Robusta to the Arabica beans.   Adding bitterness for the sake of looks is not a good trade - for the client.  

Though it is possible for anyone to add Robusta beans it is less likely when a roaster is serving freshly roasted coffee, because their brew will naturally have the great indicator of freshness.  After all, a local roaster does not have a long supply chain which requires months to complete the distribution process.

Do yourself a great "flavour" by sourcing beans from a local roaster or someone who can deliver them within 2-3 days from the roasting date.

The brew in this French Press was prepared two days after Roasting.  It is also significant that the beans were ground with a blade type grinder which yields a coarser ground that yields  impressive results but is inconvenient because water will have to be added and the particles take longer to decant.  If the Plunger is pushed too quickly the Screen will plug and a hydraulic lock will occur.                                                        

A burr style grinder yields finer and more consistent results.  The finer grounds will infuse more quickly and will decant reasonably quickly.  The screen is then pushed down to prevent the grounds from being poured into the cup.  The solids do not add to the pleasant experience.                                   

Develop a personal coffee ceremony to consistently get great results.  If the results are not the best then try one thing differently and note if it is better or worse.

Hopefully there will be many improvements because well prepared freshly roasted coffee is so sublime.

 

 

The Roastaire™ visits Canadian Coffee & Tea Show

The Roastaire™ was the only functioning coffee roaster at the Canadian Coffee & Tea Show in Toronto.

The booth was near the Canadian Barista Championships but we were so busy that it was impossible to attend the skill demonstrations.

The Roastaire™ booth was designed to emulate the look of a Roastaire, coffee roaster, in a roastery café.  This layout favours the Theatre of Roasting which invites clients to observe the roasting process.  The clientele is able to pose questions to the Roastmaster without having the liability of having someone brush against hot surfaces.

 

The "roast is arrested" in the Roasting Chamber within seconds then is pneumatically conveyed to the Packaging Area where the beans are cooled for an additional three minutes while the Roastaire™ roasts another batch of beans.

In the picture below Mel, the Roastmaster, is removing the roasted beans from the Cooling Hopper (usually located in the packaging area).  The beans are cooled while another batch is roasting.  Many people dropped in to view the only functioning Coffee Roaster at the Coffee & Tea Show.

So very close now to a Freshly Roasted cup of coffee.

 The tiff to jpg conversion is off which emulates working before enjoying a Freshly Roasted cup of coffee.

After a Freshly Roasted cup of coffee everything just works better.   Even technology is receptive!

Does Extreme Processing Enhance Food visually or nutritionally ?

AKA - Does Processing make it a Lesser Food ?

There is an older blog that has largely gone unread, yet this is a very important topic that affects every ones health.  Is it a lack of interest, poor title, or is it not showing up in the Search Engines ?

The distilled opinion is "the more you process the less the consumer receives".

For various reasons the most common vehicle for food delivery has been perverted.  In response to "manufactured food", fresh food advocates are informing the public about  real food and real food costs.  My assumption is that to benefit from processing the end user must have the same objectives as the processor.  Very often they will share the visual objective but that is often irrelevant to nutrition if not detrimental.

Living on the 100-Mile Diet , Revisiting Carrying Capacity:, Natural Foods, Organic Foods, etc.  It appears that greater "inputs" yield less nutrition.  Large marketing budgets promote convenience and "filling the belly" instead of feeding the body for growth and health.  Increased time spent transporting food means, as well, increased food degradation time.  Industry will typically attempt to address product appearance indicators that influence a consumer.  Unfortunately nutrition is sacrificed for the sake of colour and appearance.  

Before focusing on one product not usually covered in the fresh food debates I would like to add that I believe that the movement advocating quality food is gaining membership.  

My interest is the freshness of coffee.  Of course people do not live by freshness of coffee alone.  That would be silly because it mostly feeds the soul, the well being, the disposition, etc.   Well there have been countless studies about the benefits ...   Coffee has undergone a centralizing process which exchanged convenience for quality.  Bigger is not better if the product is lessened.  We have not developed Star Trek transporters to move food instantly to the consumer while maintaining the product integrity.  If the past is any indicator this futuristic device would further degrade the food.  Warehousing roasted coffee decreases the value to the end user.

I advocate that the coffee roaster, grinder, espresso machine, and brewer should be at the same site.  Nothing gives more credibility to the freshness of the product as when the consumer can observe the preparation.  To this end Jim Townley uses the moniker of "the Theatre of Roasting".  It encourages clients to learn about the process while it reinforces the artisanal qualities of freshness and caring preparation.  Small batch roasting, in our case 3 kg batches, allows the RoastMaster to roast the requirements of the next few days.  Most likely more than one batch of each coffee will be roasted but that is a choice based on sales.

This is a simple food preparation model even though it appears to counter the produced locally mantra of some of the above links.  We are not blessed with local coffee plantations but because the coffee bean is a seed which is designed by nature for long term storage it may be consumed at a distance from its origins with a certain proviso.  So where is the Freshness Challenge?  Roasting transforms the bean and creates havoc with the storage capability of the bean.  Roasted Coffee degrades quickly despite touted storage "solutions".   Freshly ground stale beans is an advertising distraction which offers no benefit to the consumer.  The analogy of the weak chain link is true.  Nothing will resurrect stale coffee not even a marketing campaign.  

For the best cup of coffee start with a freshly roasted high mountain grown Arabica bean that is ground just before brewing.

Does Food Processing reduce nutrition ?

The distilled opinion is "the more you process the less the consumer receives".

For various reasons the most common vehicle for food delivery has been perverted.  Perhaps "Extra Virginity"  The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil by Tom Mueller shows that number cruncher executives care not a wit about their product, the well being of their customers, and sometimes the law.   People that are passionate about their product will bring the best to the customers sometimes at a great sacrifice.

Reuters had an article, a few days ago, to this effect: ...Coffee roasters quietly pulled off a financial feat last year that went unnoticed by most customers: Adding a higher proportion of cheaper, lower-grade robusta to their grounds as the price of top-notch arabica beans surged...  Not only are the beans cheaper but Robusta creates substantial crema even when it is stale therefore it gives a visual indicator of freshness even when it is not.

In response to "manufactured food", fresh food advocates are informing the public about  real food and real food costs.  

Living on the 100-Mile Diet , Revisiting Carrying Capacity:, Natural Foods, Organic Foods, etc.  It appears that greater "inputs" yield less nutrition.  Large marketing budgets promote convenience and "filling the belly" instead of feeding the body for growth and health.  Increased time spent transporting food means, as well, increased food degradation time.  Industry will typically attempt to address product appearance indicators that influence a consumer.  Unfortunately nutrition is sacrificed for the sake of colour and appearance.  

Before focusing on one product not usually covered in the fresh food debates I would like to add that I believe that the movement advocating quality food is gaining membership.  

My interest is the freshness of coffee.  Of course people do not live by freshness of coffee alone.  That would be silly because it mostly feeds the soul, the well being, the disposition, etc. Coffee has undergone a centralizing process which exchanged convenience for quality.  Bigger is not better if the product is lessened.  We have not developed Star Trek transporters to move food instantly to the consumer while maintaining the product integrity.  If the past is any indicator this futuristic device would further degrade the food.  Warehousing roasted coffee decreases the value to the end user.

I advocate that the coffee roaster, grinder, espresso machine, and brewer should be at the same site.  Nothing gives more credibility to the freshness of the product as when the consumer can observe the preparation.  To this end Jim Townley uses the moniker of "the Theatre of Roasting".  It encourages clients to learn about the process while it reinforces the artisanal qualities of freshness and caring preparation.  Small batch roasting, in our case 2 to 3 kg batches, allows the RoastMaster to roast the requirements of the next few days.  Most likely more than one batch of each coffee will be roasted but that is a choice based on sales.

This is a simple food preparation model even though it appears to counter the produced locally mantra of some of the above links.  We are not blessed with local coffee plantations but because the coffee bean is a seed which is designed by nature for long term storage it may be consumed at a distance from its origins with a certain proviso.  So where is the Freshness Challenge?  Roasting transforms the bean and creates havoc with the storage capability of the bean.  Roasted Coffee degrades quickly despite touted storage "solutions".   Freshly ground stale beans is an advertising distraction which offers no benefit to the consumer.  The analogy of the weak chain link is true.  Nothing will resurrect stale coffee, not milk, not sugar, not artificial liquids, not even a marketing campaign.  

For the best cup of coffee start with a freshly roasted high mountain grown Arabica bean that is ground just before brewing.