Kenyan Coffee Part 1

Glen: Hi Ron welcome back to Le Gourmet.TV we’re at Merchants of Green again with Derek and we’re going to work our way through Africa, so last time we talk to with Ethiopia? Derek: Right. Glen: We’re we going today? Derek: Kenya. Glen: Kenya. Kenya is just right beside Ethiopia? Derek: Right beside Ethiopia but, the history passed that it comes not just across the border from Ethiopia which is what everybody would expect but, essentially the trees had worked away all around the world and we’re shipped in from the Central South America region to then be planted in Kenya. Glen: So it’s taking a long way round. Derek: It took a very long way round. Glen: And how does affect the flavor? Derek: We’ll really stir it’s a soil of the trees are the trees and yes there is some sort of high breed component to coffee and you will find many different or the sub easies that are there, but essentially they’re coming from two or three main species of trees. In the case there’s still a Bourbon Tree which is one of the more popular through history and it basically grown in a different region, give exhibits to different flavor in the cup. Glen: So again the climate of the soil— Derek: Was the climate of the soil and processing. Glen: Okay. Derek: So processing always has to be added because you can have great coffees that weren’t processed that well essentially spoiled before their—in the green beans state and ship there in the world. Glen: So should we expect from this one then? Derek: Well the one thing that we did is we chose one of the brightest of the Ethiopian coffees the last time. This is still an African coffee so it’s going to end up being a bright coffee, but, there’s quite a bit more body that comes out of the Kenyan cup then you would find in some of the other regions. Glen: Okay. Derek: So, we go to the roast and again our way just like when we brewed coffee, we don’t really worry about measurements so much, we just simply put the coffee in the roaster and to the beans almost stop moving because we don’t have control over a fancy bid here we just want to, we can only control the amount that we’re putting in that. Glen: So we’re going to take this one to a medium roast. Derek: Same thing. Glen: Is that okay. Derek: Now one thing that’s very important in this is about again the processing of coffee is that coffee has a different moisture level and some coffees will have a higher moisture content and typically they range between same nine and sort of 12, 13%, anything pass that you risk mold and that developing on the beans. So this is back to the idea that you have the soil and the region and all of that contributes so much to the flavor, how that bean is cared for from the time at least that region to the time that’s actually roasted also contribute to a deal of flavor. Glen: So where do they store it? Derek: Where they store it. Glen: Along they’ve taken between the Kenyan and the processing and packaging. Derek: And picking and processing is incredibly important because just as the fruit is still along the cherry or on the bean, this cherry will start to ferment and so it actually creates a different flavor to the bean. Now, this is not something that’s necessary bad because in some regions you process the coffee with the cherry on it and this is where they really is the split in two types of processing, dry processing or wet processing. Dry processing is where you would just simply take the cherry off the tree and literally lay it on the ground and let it just dry in the open sun. Wet processing is where you’re removing the bean from the cherry, washing the bean and then drying the bean on the ground. Glen: And that affects the flavor. Derek: In a very big way. Glen: Is the processing method mentioned when you buy the beans? Derek: If you’re buying it from merchants of green coffee no question all the beans are identified because its again an important part to it but, some people kind of get to know our region and realize that yes this is universally the way they would process their coffee in that region. Glen: Okay. Derek: Now again I’d left the lead of just to kind of show you that the skin that I started to remove itself from the bean during roasting, that lead will catch it all so it’s not getting over your counter. Glen: Is that all over my kitchen? Derek: Exactly. Glen: First crop. Derek: Yeah. Now, notice the first cracked it longer in this bean, so, that’s another thing that you’ll find it’s different by region is that you’re not only sorting the bean by region. You’re also getting different one’s its sorted you’re getting different roasting times, you’re getting it more sort of density to the bean in some case and in some case the bean is very, very light and roasting reveals most of that.