Hand-Roasted. Perfect Brewed. By the Cup.

After returning from an eight day trip of fun and exploration in Japan, once again, I am amazed by the level of quality in the independent shop hiding in the streets of Japan. For many shops, "hand-roasted" coffee is the norm, and although only a few shops have an offering list that goes beyond the norm, what they do with their coffee produces fantastic results.

My wife, Yiching, spent many hours searching out and locating good coffee houses for us to try and while there were not any outright disappointments, there were some revelations and quite a few winners. And they were winners for the same reason quality shops here are: Quality fresh roasted coffee, and an understanding and control of the brewing process.

I will make a longer post later regarding the various shops, but the winner of the trip was a small coffee bar called "Rivage" in Osaka. Fresh Roasted coffee, weighed and fresh ground for each cup, fresh brewed with precise timing and flame control using siphon (vacuum) brewers. Yiching and I had four cups between us, all were excellent. The thing that stuck out the most for me was the weighing of beans, and after tasting the cup (in comparison to other shops) knowing that the barista understood the proper grind to bring out the flavor, rather than just having a grinder and tossing the beans in and returning a poor result due to an incorrect grind. The more control over the cup, from bean to barista, the better the cup... and it's proved accurate everywhere I've been.

I'm looking forward to the upcoming changes in the caffe, and the continued challenge of making each cup better than the last.

The Wizardry of Great Coffee

Correct Roast.
Correct Grind.
Correct Temperature.
Complete Saturation.
Correct Brew Time.

These are elements that must all come together to produce a cup that will mesmerize your tastebuds. If any of these aspects is off you will end up with something amiss in your cup.

Lately, I have been experimenting with vacuum (siphon) coffee brewing and concentrating on the perfection of this brewing method. What looks like a crazy experiment put on by "Mr. Wizard" is one of the best methods for brewing coffee.



After the water approaches boiling in the bottom chamber it begins to create water vapor, which having nowhere else to go, seeks to expand within the confined space and pushes the liquid into the top chamber. The liquid cools slightly while in the top chamber and the continual expansion and condensation of the gas in the lower chamber creates a slightly fluctuating pressure which results in a turbulence in the top chamber. This turbulence, although it looks like boiling water, is not, and I suspect it is one of the primary reasons you can use a short steep/brew time, yet still extract amazing flavors in the cup.

A good butane burner with an adjustable flame will allow you to precisely control the brewing temperature, so rather than a declining temperature, you can maintain a flat line temperature--much like that done in the Synesso Cyncra and Lamarzocco GB5 espresso machines. The theory being that a flat line temperature can more easily extract consistent flavors every time and the ability to adjust the temperature by raising or lowering the flame allows to you find the 'sweet spot' for your particular coffee at hand.

The siphon brewer does its best highlighting the complex, flavorful and bright coffees, and it tends to bring transparency to the deeper flavors. It's like cupping on steroids because once you understand your brew temperature you are given the gift of a multi-dimensional cup that sings with complexity, yet displays an undeniable clarity in each progressive sip.

I will be seeking out several siphon shops in Japan during our visit this December, such as Hanafusa, the first siphon shop in Kyoto.

But until then, I will continue to conjour up some magical brews.