To Grind or not to Grind, that is the question...

One common question at Chazzano Coffee Roasters is, "Should I grind the beans at home, or should we have you grind them?" I then ask, "How are you brewing the coffee?" And then, "What kind of grinder do you have, a burr or whirly blade?" Who should grind your fresh roasted coffee? The answers are found below.

Grind them at home if:

• You brew espresso. It is difficult to get an awesome shot if the espresso is not absolutely freshly ground immediately before extraction. Before you buy an expensive espresso machine, make sure you have a quality burr grinder.
• You enjoy the aroma of freshly ground coffee filling your home with the sweet smell of freshly roasted coffee and....
• You have a burr grinder that can grind the beans perfectly to the proper consistency for your particular brewing method.

Burr blades grind the coffee bean consistently and do not heat up the grounds. They are more expensive than the whirly blade grinders, but a great grinder is a must for a coffee fanatic.

Whirly blade grinders are cheaply priced, but you get what you pay for. The ground coffee is course on the top, fine on the bottom, and the grounds are warm to the touch. The warmth of the beans is a sign that they are cooking a bit, and therefore there is a chance for a change of flavor profile. Not good for espresso or French Press- not fine or coarse enough!

Let us grind your coffee if:

• You brew your coffee using either French Press, Pourover, or Drip and your pound of freshly roasted Chazzano Coffee is consumed within 1.5 weeks.
• You have a whirly blade grinder and the flavor of your coffee will be compromised if you grind it.
• You're unsure about how to properly grind your coffee at home and fear making a less than perfect cup of coffee.
• You live with a light sleeper and you don't want to wake them up.

"Is the coffee fresher if I grind it at home or if you grind it for me?" This question also gets asked with this one, "Do the beans need to degas for 1,2,3 days...or can you use them immediately?"

The interesting aspect about freshly roasted coffee is that the flavor profile changes constantly, not wildly, from the time that it is roasted until it's staling after 2 1/2  to 3 weeks. So, bring home a pound of freshly roasted Chazzano Coffee, brew it one way (French Press, Pourover, Espresso) for 7-10 days afterwards and you may enjoy a slightly different cup of coffee each day. The natural flavor components of the coffee continue to break down and morph into different combinations throughout its short, fresh life. Some coffee lovers experience a complete break down of flavor after just one week, others prefer their beans three days after roasting. Do the beans need to degas (expel carbon dioxide) for a few days after roasting? It depends on your palate. In my opinion, not with medium roasted coffee. There are some extremely light roasts that I've felt needed to "breathe" a bit before brewing, but that is rare. My advice is to use the coffee immediately unless you believe that the flavor is preferred after a certain number of days. If you have strong opinions either way, please comment below. Let's discuss it.

Chazzano Kickstarter Project

Chazzano Coffee was born in Cranford, New Jersey in 2002.  My love for coffee, however, was born well before. There was something about coffee that captured my senses…and my imagination. Yet, most of the coffee I could find left me…without the proper melody. So, while my kids played in the yard and my wife rolled her eyes, I began my journey to create the perfect cup of coffee.

Soon, I began to fill my neighborhood with the sweet aroma of fresh, home-roasted coffee. I was happy…and so were the neighbors. Our friends and neighbors enjoyed my coffee as we gathered, talked and played games. They came in as acquaintances, neighbors, even strangers…but they always left as friends. 

In 2007, we moved to Michigan. In October 2009, Chazzano Coffee Roasters and Cafe opened in Ferndale. Michigan. From the beginning, we knew that Chazzano was about more than just great coffee.  Chazzano has become a meeting place...not just a place to meet your friends, but a place to meet new friends.  The beauty of an incredible cup of coffee is shared by people from all walks of life and, through the coffee, connections are made. 

What makes our coffee so spectacular is the freshness.  Two and a half weeks after the date it is roasted, we donate our coffee to homeless shelters and community organizations.  Our coffee grounds go to local community gardens that help the residents of Detroit.

Over the last two and a half years, Chazzano has grown rapidly.  In addition to our retail customers, we have gone from just 3 wholesale accounts in 2009 to over 110 today.  Restaurants, specialty stores and offices are now serving our coffee. Their customers and clients appreciate that the coffee that they drink is as special as the food that they have enjoyed.  We ship our coffee to customers all over the United States.

With your help, Chazzano can continue to grow.  We plan to use this money to buy green, unroasted coffee beans from around the world. We buy our coffee in 132-150 pound bags from farms in countries like Ethiopia, Mexico, Nicaragua and Sumatra.  All of our beans are fair trade and organic.  Often, our beans come from small farms that, through our purchases, are able to keep their businesses growing.  One of the lots we bought last year was from a cooperative run solely by women-Nicaragua Las Nubes.  Being able to help small farmers is one of the great joys of being a specialty coffee roaster.  

Thank you,
Frank

Chazzano Coffee Kickstarter Project

Being Mindful

Find a teacher or spend time with people who are smarter than you.

The beginning of the 6 orders of the Jewish Book The Mishnah (commentary on the 5 books of Moses) teaches us to find for yourself a teacher (k'nei l'cha rav). Find someone who is smarter or wiser and figuratively sit at their feet. Professional singers have voice teachers throughout their career. Psychiatrists see psychiatrists. I have been blessed in my life to have many people, including my wife, Lisa, who have filled my life with wisdom. Recently, I have been introduced to Chef George Vutetakis, who wrote a brilliant book, The Vegetarian Guy (www.thevegetarianguy.com or twitter @thevegguy). Chef George owned the great Inn Season Restaurant in Royal Oak for 20 years.

The following is what I've begun to learn from Chef George:

Chef George discusses how your mood when you cook (or roast coffee) changes how the food tastes. I was discussing this with Melissa and Dave Bihl at my cafe while another lovely customer, Genevieve listened patiently. She then volunteered that her husband makes Love Toast every day for her. However, she knows when he's angry or upset, when the Love Toast doesn't taste the same. This is just a reminder that whatever we create, we need to do it with love, passion, and with a smile on our faces. I hope that every time that you walk into Chazzano Coffee Roasters that you feel that joy that we do...

Guatemalan Trio

We (Frank, Klaire, and Talia) just cupped three coffees right now:

1. Guatemala FTO

2. Guatemala COMAL

3. Guatemala Finca Sabanetas

Guatemala FTO: This has tremendous acidity, creamy and milky mouthfeel, oatmeal and maple sweetness. When it cools down, there is an explosion of chocolate that takes over the fragrance and flavor.

Guatemala COMAL: This is a limited edition coffee that is a huge favorite at Chazzano Coffee. There is a pronounced honey sweetness, oak-like woodiness, chocolate bark, chocolate mousse smoothness. This is a crazy bright coffee where there is a great amount of dancing on your tongue.

Guatemala Finca Sabanetas: The fragrance while still hot has every winter spice imaginable: cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg. There is low acidity (brightness) in this Guatemalan. When it cools it you'll experience malted milk balls and licorice notes.

I just cupped the Guatemala FTO as an iced pourover. It has a Kahlua and milk syrupy sweetness. We're going to try a 12-hour Cold Brew of the Guatemala. Come in and try it tomorrow.

Chazzano Coffee Roasters Opening Soon!

Here is the new building on 1737 E. Nine Mile Rd. in Ferndale. All of the building plans have been submitted to the MDA and the Ferndale Building Department. This is truly a dream come true. I just hope that the dream happens quickly. I would love to be up and running at the new site in September.

About Chazzano Coffee

About 5 years ago, my mother-in-law asked me what I wanted to for my birthday. I had been searching about coffee on the web and I spotted a Fresh Roast home coffee roaster and a few pounds of beans for $65. I was used to ordering through Starbucks Encore program several pounds of coffee every month. After the first roast using the Fresh Roast roaster, I was hooked. Up to that point, that was the best cup of coffee that I had ever tasted. Throughout the years, I used the Fresh Roast Plus, Fresh Roast Plus 8, Cafe Rosta, Nesco (formerly Zach & Dani's) and then the I-Roast and I-Roast 2 with great success. After several years of roasting for myself, I needed a larger roaster so that I could share my passion for specialty coffee with my friends.

I began to use the AeroRost which roasts about 2 lbs of beans. When I was working in Chicago for two years, about 30 people came over to my house to drink my coffee. It became an incredible time to spend quality time with friends, an easy cupping party and a way to experiment with different blends. During my first year in Chicago, a great friend, Eric Diamond, designed the Chazzano logo for me as a present. The logo and graphics were so clever and connected to my personality. That was when Chazzano Coffee LLC was born. (The "ch" in Chazzano is pronounced like the "ch" in "Bach" or "Loch.") The logo provided the impetus for me to found Chazzano Coffee (tm). I invested in a 4lb roaster from cafecoffees.com called the MicroTosta Cafe and then the 8lb Tosta Caffe. I have over 300 lbs of green coffee from different countries throughout the world. I am enjoying the adventure in the world of coffee roasting and specialty coffee.

The Art and Science of Roasting Coffee

For the past two years, I have been roasting with the Micro TostaCaffe from cafecoffees.com. I can roast up to 4lbs. with excellent results. It comes with a puffer module that blows the smoke away from the beans and away from the house. A thermometer is easily used to determine the temperature of the beans. I purchased a Data Acquisition Module that Don Hudson of Cafecoffees developed that allows me to collect data about the roast on my laptop computer with either spreadsheet or graph capabilities. This last piece of equipment has allowed me to repeat favorite roasts more accurately. I prefer this roaster to other excellent roasters on the market because of the large capacity of the drum. It is easy to see the development of the roast both by hearing the cracks (1st and 2nd crack), by the color, and by the smell. Before I attempt to duplicate a favorite roast, I examine my meticulous notes.

Coffee roasting combines both science and art. Each roasting batch has different flavor potentials depending on the temperature- the speed at which it reaches that temperature and the duration of roast at that temperature. If the beans are roasted light, I am sometimes surprised at the complexity of the cup. If the beans are roasted towards full city, the beans now have a different flavor profile. The length of time that the beans degas (release CO2) changes the bouquet (smell of freshly roasted beans) and the aroma (the smell of the brewed coffee). Sometimes coffee beans are best if consumed within 3 days. Sometimes, I forget about a roast and let it sit in vacuum sealed bags for 1 week and I am surprised at how mature the coffee smells. By mature, I mean that the coffee has begun to develop new interesting flavor characteristics. Like wine, coffee can remind you of flavors as diverse as tobacco, flowers, fruit, leather, chocolate, caramel, medicinal (bad), or herbs. In fact, coffee has double the amount of flavor characteristics as wine: 1500 to 750.

There are a plethora of steps to an outstanding cup of coffee. 1. The science of planting the coffee trees with the optimal levels of nutrients in the soil. 2. The care by which the pickers choose the best batch of beans and separate the defects(moldy, insects, debris, unripe, etc.) from the rest of the batch. 3. Shipping the green beans quickly to the coffee roaster. 4. The art of the coffee roaster that brings the freshest and most interesting flavor profile to the coffee. 5. The science of brewing the coffee at 190-195 degrees Fahrenheit with the proper amount of coffee to make sure that the coffee is neither over or under- extracted. 6. Serving the coffee quickly after brewing. There are over 100 steps from the coffee plant to the coffee cup.

Blending different coffees is also an art form. Coffee roasters (people) need to cup their single origin coffees at different degree of roasts to determine what are the characteristics of the particular bean. Beans from Ethiopia, Guatemala, Brazil, Panama, India, Rwanda, Hawaii, Kenya, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Sumatra, Indonesia, etc. all have different potential. From one year to the next the quality of the beans from a particular region can increase or decrease. Roasters (people) know what to expect from each of their different beans but there is still a great deal of guesswork and experimentation involved to create an interesting and delicious blend.