In her piece, author JoNel Aleccia cites recent results from the largest-ever analysis of the link between coffee consumption and mortality that coffee consumption may lead to a living a longer life. The [...]]]> Coffee Analysts’ own Spencer Turer was quoted earlier this week in an MSNBC article about coffee and its effects on living a long life.

In her piece, author JoNel Aleccia cites recent results from the largest-ever analysis of the link between coffee consumption and mortality that coffee consumption may lead to a living a longer life. The research, which was recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that during a 14-year study period “men who drank at least six cups of coffee a day had a 10 percent lower chance of dying during the 14-year study period than those who drank none. For women, the risk was 15 percent lower.”

This is where Spencer came in:

Reassuring, indeed, for hard-core coffee drinkers like Spencer Turer, who guzzles four to six cups of coffee every day for personal consumption — and sips between 75 and 300 cups more as part of his job as a professional coffee taster.

“It’s good news for all coffee drinkers because we can feel really good about the decisions we’re making,” said Turer, director of coffee operations for the firm Coffee Analysts, which provides unbiased scientific review of coffee products. “People concerned about the health effects may choose to drink more coffee.”

Nice! Click here to read the full article.

Since MSNBC ran this post, a few other news outlets picked up the piece and quoted Spencer:

http://www.ryanmews.com/tag/coffee-analysts/
http://www.kcentv.com/story/18496649/coffee-lovers-less-likely-to-die-study-finds
http://www.counselheal.com/articles/1831/20120517/regular-coffee-drinkers-less-die-early.htm

Orange sweet pastry shell, traditional vanilla pastry cream – milk, eggs, sugar, bourbon vanilla beans and a small amount of cornstarch. Topped with fresh berries and kiwi, finished with Grand Marnier infused glaze.

City-roast coffee (48-50 Agtron) to complement the dessert of super-sweet characters, medium acidity, and slight nuttiness: Brasil NY2 Strictly-soft, fine [...]]]>

CLASSIC FRESH FRUIT TART

Orange sweet pastry shell, traditional vanilla pastry cream – milk, eggs, sugar, bourbon vanilla beans and a small amount of cornstarch. Topped with fresh berries and kiwi, finished with Grand Marnier infused glaze.

COFFEE

City-roast coffee (48-50 Agtron) to complement the dessert of super-sweet characters, medium acidity, and slight nuttiness: Brasil NY2 Strictly-soft, fine cup 100% Cerrado with sweet, creamy nutty characters and soft, mild finish will allow the fruit characters of the tart to dominate, or Costa Rica Strictly Hard Bean European Preparation Honeyed, or El Salvador Strictly High Grown Honeyed coffees, both will present a syrupy, floral and slightly wild sweetness, with rich-creamy body and bright, crisp acidity.  The coffee character will compliment the creamy custard and ripe fruit characters to make a harmonious pairing.

A Medium roasted Fair Trade Organic coffee has sweet aroma, winy-orange/apricot acidity, and medium body with milk chocolate, toasted nuts, and light caramel smooth finish.  The sweetness of the fresh fruit in the tart will draw out the floral-fruity sweetness of the coffee, without overpowering the character or intensity.

WINE / SPIRITS

Crisp, clean sweet wine to compliment the fruit acidity, and balance the cream and pastry.

• Ice Wine – dessert wine produced from grapes that have been frozen while still on the vine, the water is dissolved and the sugars are concentrated. – Pure, fresh, sweet and nicely acidic characters would lift the fruit flavors and compliments the pastry cream.
• Late Harvest Riesling – sweet, aromatic German dessert wine
• Sauternes – French sweet wine of the Graves section in Bordeaux – Both LH Riesling and Sauternes are fairly complex wines with typical floral aroma, fresh/stone fruit characters, honey, apricots and peaches, may be spicy and mineral-like with underlying sweetness and crisp acidity.
• Marenco Bracchetto d’Aqcui “Pineto”  - Dessert wine from Piedmont, Italy from 100% Brachetto grapes – This is a softly sparkling dessert red wine that adds an elegant sweet-tart balance of cherry and berry fruit with medium acidity.

Classic ingredients: eggs, sugar, dark corn syrup, butter, pecans and Jim Beam Kentucky bourbon. Coffee cuts the sweetness of this dessert and pairs well with the buttery caramel pecan filling. The Pastry Chef makes the pie dough using bourbon in the dough, to add flavor and [...]]]>

From Flickr: Oceana Grill New Orleans

KENTUCKY BOURBON PECAN PIE

Classic ingredients: eggs, sugar, dark corn syrup, butter, pecans and Jim Beam Kentucky bourbon. Coffee cuts the sweetness of this dessert and pairs well with the buttery caramel pecan filling. The Pastry Chef makes the pie dough using bourbon in the dough, to add flavor and reduce the development of gluten which toughens the pastry. The salted caramel sauce mirrors the flavors of the pie.

COFFEE

Full-city roast coffee (Agtron 44-46) with acidity and fruity/floral to contrast the rich creamy dessert: Ethiopia Yirgacheffe (bright, citric and floral with clean lingering finish) or Guatemala Antigua Strictly Hard Bean, European Preparation, Fancy (winy acidity, tart-sweetness, with rich body and spicy finish) will provide enough contrast to the sticky sweetness of the Pecan Pie without overpowering the toasted nutty characters.

The complex flavors of this dessert and heavy sweetness require an intense coffee to pair.  Slightly similar with enough contradicting characters help keep each item separate on ones palette: sweet, clean coffee with low acidity, dark chocolate and molasses characters, hint of sweet ripe berry, medium to full body, with a toasty, dark caramel lingering finish.

WINE / SPIRITS

• Paired with classic, sweet dessert wine, slightly sweeter then the dessert.
• Malmsey or Bual Madeira – sweetest 2 of the 4 major Madeira grape varieties. Portuguese wine fortified with grape spirits.
• Oloroso Sherry – “Scented” sherry. Aged to produce a smoother and sweeter wine.
• PX Sherry – (Pedro Jimenez) a white grape from Spain producing an intensely sweet, dark, dessert wine.
• Bual Madeira and Oloroso Sherry both have the nuttiness to compliment the pecans and the acidity to balance the sweetness of the sugar.  The Malmsey and PX are very rich and dark, with dried fruit flavors which would enhance the chocolate.
• High quality Madeira will work very well, exhibiting toffee, molasses, pecan and nut flavors, with good acidity.

The SCAA Event is almost here, and Coffee Analysts will be there.

If you’re in Portland, look for Spencer Turer, Director of Coffee Operations, as a Station Instructor for the following classes:

Spencer will also be [...]]]>

Look for Spencer at SCAA

The SCAA Event is almost here, and Coffee Analysts will be there.

If you’re in Portland, look for Spencer Turer, Director of Coffee Operations, as a Station Instructor for the following classes:

• GE201 The SCAA Cupping Form and Peer Calibration
• GE202 Comparative Cupping
• GE255 Organic Acids and the Chemistry of Coffee

Spencer will also be a judge for the “Best New Products – Coffee or Tea Preparation and Servicing Equipment (Consumer).”

Vincent Caloiero, Coffee Analysts Coffee Technologist, will also be attending the conferences as a porter at the Roasters Guild Coffee of the Year Competition.

Ingredients in tested Devil’s Food Cake: Panama Volcan Beru Coffee, buttermilk, Cocao Barry Extra Brut (100% cocoa, 24% cocoa butter) dark cocoa powder, sugar, cake flour. The cake is finished with Italian butter cream infused with the same coffee and Crème Anglaise made with the Panama Volcan Beru coffee as well. The cake [...]]]>

DEVIL’S FOOD CAKE

Ingredients in tested Devil’s Food Cake: Panama Volcan Beru Coffee, buttermilk, Cocao Barry Extra Brut (100% cocoa, 24% cocoa butter) dark cocoa powder, sugar, cake flour. The cake is finished with Italian butter cream infused with the same coffee and Crème Anglaise made with the Panama Volcan Beru coffee as well. The cake on its own demonstrates how well chocolate and coffee pair.

COFFEE

Vienna Roast coffee (Agtron 40-42) with big, bold coffee flavor with low-winy acidity, super-rich body, chocolate and dark caramel notes, and red berry sweetness will compliment nicely with Devil’s Food Cake intense chocolate richness. Sumatra Mandheling or Lintong, Grade 1 Double-Pick (berry, rich, sweet, slightly earthy) or 100% Colombia from Bucaramanga region (rich, sweet, winy body, clean, floral with molasses finish)

The richness of deep chocolate flavors in this dessert will pair well with a complimentary coffee of similar character.  The coffee has medium citric acidity, medium to rich body, slight herbal, cedar, and chocolate characters, with dry cocoa, molasses finish.

WINE / SPIRITS

Chocolate is tricky, the dessert wine should be at least as sweet as the cake, or sweeter.

• Banyuls  – an appellation for the unique sweet wines made in an eastern corner of France near its border with Spain. These wines are produced from about 2500 acres (1000ha) of sun-baked, terraced vineyards looking out over the western Mediterranean – Classic pairing, lush rich, full bodied dessert wine to stand up to the cake powerful richness, with plenty of caramel, cherry, chocolate, coffee, nut, and dried fruit characters.
• Port (LBV: Late Bottle Vintage, Tawny) – Portuguese fortified wine. LBV aged in the barrel for 4 to 6 years and ready to drink when released. Tawny Port is wood aged and exposed to gradual oxidation and evaporation – LBV Port will compliment well with chocolate, sweet and fruity characters, while the Tawny Port will be nutty
• Avery Russian Imperial Stout “The Czar” – Yes, Beer! Avery Brewing Company in Boulder Colorado – Inky black color and thick rich brew.  Hallertau hops make the beer spicy and floral, with malty favors of toffee, dark coffee, molasses, currants, and a hint of anise.

The presentation detailed the sensory attributes, both aromatic and flavor, used to compare desserts and coffee to better understand complimentary and contradictory attributes [...]]]> Pairing and Food – Spencer Turer, Director of Coffee Operations at Coffee Analysts, presented “Pairing Coffee & Dessert” business luncheon at the recent National Coffee Association annual convention held in Charleston, South Carolina.

The presentation detailed the sensory attributes, both aromatic and flavor, used to compare desserts and coffee to better understand complimentary and contradictory attributes which will affect the guest experiences.

Today wine menus are more than red or white; beer selections are more than just light and dark; and even soda selections are more than regular and diet.

So, why is food service still offering just regular and decaf?

The coffee consumer is more knowledgeable and sophisticated than ever before, and with the right time and attention paid to the coffee menus as restaurants, cafes, and food service establishments, pairing the right coffee with desserts or other food items will enhance  the guests’ dining experience.

Coffee professional participated in a pairing exercise with desserts prepared exclusively for the event by Charleston Place Executive Pastry Chef Christopher Ryan and specialty coffees courtesy of H.C. Valentine coffee company.

We will post coffee / dessert pairings for some popular desserts. Stay tuned!

Coffee Analysts Director of Coffee Operations Spencer Turer successfully completed the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s Instructor Development Program in Portland, OR.  This dynamic and extensive training program is for Coffee Subject Matter Experts to learn about applied adult learning concepts and instructional design to become a certified [...]]]>

Spencer during a cupping at Coffee Analysts

Coffee Analysts Director of Coffee Operations Spencer Turer successfully completed the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s Instructor Development Program in Portland, OR.  This dynamic and extensive training program is for Coffee Subject Matter Experts to learn about applied adult learning concepts and instructional design to become a certified SCAA Lead Instructor.

Spencer Turer is a SCAA Subject Matter Expert in coffee quality, cupping/tasting, and green coffee trading.  At the upcoming SCAA Event, an annual conference and exposition in April, Spencer will be a station instructor at GE255 Organic Acids and Chemistry of Coffee, GE202 Comparative Cupping, and GE201 The SCAA Cupping Form & Peer Calibration.

Evaluating Quality The quality of the coffee consumers drink depends on numerous factors, such as the [...]]]> In its January Volume, the Institute of Food Technologist featured an in-depth article titled Coffee Quality Testing. After explaining the coffee basics, the author relies on the expertize of our own Spencer Turer to explain how and why coffee is tested:

Evaluating Quality
The quality of the coffee consumers drink depends on numerous factors, such as the cultivar, growing altitude, climate, soil chemistry, harvesting and processing conditions, drying method, storage conditions (temperature, humidity), transportation method (container type and size), roasting conditions, grind size, packaging, age, and brewing method. Spencer Turer, Director of Coffee Operations at the independent coffee-testing company Coffee Analysts (www.coffeeanalysts.com), said that testing is conducted throughout the supply chain, but the amount of testing changes. Exporters and importers usually use basic sensory and physical evaluations to determine whether the product meets their quality standards for grade and are free of sensory defects. At the roaster, the testing becomes a lot more rigorous, and the regional, national, and multinational coffee companies become much more involved in dynamic quality control, using a variety of instrumental analyses as well as sensory evaluation. Turer said that although many strides have been made in instrumentation for flavor and aroma detection and identification, the simplest, least expensive, and most replicable results in coffee testing are obtained by sensory analysis, specifically the cupping method for flavor and aroma.

In this method, which is used at all stages of production, the taster or “cupper” first evaluates the overall visual quality of the beans (grading the beans for defects, size, moisture, aroma, and color), then roasts a sample in a laboratory roaster, grinds the roasted beans, and evaluates the roasted coffee fragrance. The cupper then adds boiling water to a standard amount of the ground coffee and allows the coffee to steep in the cup for about four minutes, smells the aroma, breaks the crust of grounds to complete the aroma evaluation, and then skims the floating grounds and oils from the top of the cup. After allowing the coffee to cool, the cupper tastes the beverage by forcefully slurping a spoonful to see if it meets expected standards, and then spits it out.

Using this procedure, the cupper can evaluate the coffee sample quality and blend different beans for product development or to determine the proper roast for specific flavor characteristics. According to the NCA, an expert cupper can taste hundreds of samples of coffee a day and still taste the subtle differences between them. Turer pointed out that the cupping process follows scientific protocols to ensure that the only variable in the test is the coffee being sampled. All aspects of the process are strictly controlled, including coffee roast parameter, time between roasting and cupping, grind size, coffee portion weight, water quality, water temperature, cupping vessels, and so on. The cupper records the intensity and quality of the dry bean fragrance and the aroma, acidity, body, flavor, and finish of the beverage.

Turer said that the physical laboratory tests that may be conducted on green coffee are density, moisture content and water activity, bean size, grade (defect counts), and color. Tests for roasted coffee are residual oxygen and carbon dioxide within packages, moisture content and water activity, roast color, grind particle size or broken bean counts, brewed coffee dissolved solids, pH, and Brix/refractive index. Chemical testing for coffee includes ochratoxin A, caffeine, nutrient analysis, microbiological analysis, and pesticides. Other tests that may be performed on roasted coffee are caffeine, chlorogenic acids, lipids, carbohydrates, total polyphenols, total proteins, and mycotoxins. Standard analytical methods for coffee have been published by AOAC International (see table), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and other organizations.

View the entire article: HERE
Or download the PDF