Consumer Report Rates Coffee
The best they could say was "Good."
I just read the Consumer Report March 2010 Coffee Ratings. They got much of it right, but lacked the sophisticated cupping and chemical testing that are needed. Not mentioned either were the organic, environmental, fair trade or high altitude issues.
A scientific cupping process would test coffee in a systematic way including source, composition of the beans and in some cases chemical analysis.
Consumer Report concluded that blends are generally not good. The best rating they could give Starbucks and Green Mountain was “Good;” that sounds about right. One captioned insert suggested that ground coffee goes stale faster than whole beans. I think most Americans know that coffee is perishable. Time is of the essence. Starbucks gives it six months. I would say three and consider the fourth month questionable.
Quality packaging and a good valve help extend shelf life. Vacuum pack and nitrogen extend freshness too. After the roast, coffee continues to produce CO2. If left out in the open during this period, coffee looses its freshness rapidly. That is why most producers choose a foil bag with a valve, so the off-gassing lets CO2 out but keeps oxygen from getting in. We use to warehouse our coffee in a cold locker at 28⁰ F. We since learned that any temperature change resulted in condensation, which is not good either. A cool dry constant temperature may be best.
Consumer Report goes on to explain that a single source coffee is better than blends that Arabica is better than Robusta and that most of the lower cost grocery store brands rate only “Fair.” I do not agree with all of the rankings. Although Starbucks does sell some very good single source organic mountain coffee, many of their offerings are blends, some over cooked. Peet’s and Dunkin Donuts In my opinion are better. There are a number of other better coffees not tested, like Kaladi Brothers, and Peaberry. Additionally, a myriad of local roasters, like some microbreweries, do an outstanding job.
Consumer Report does make an issue of cost, stating that the price of a bag of coffee does not correlate with the cost per cup. Different coffees require different amounts of coffee per brew. --- I remember an old Boy Scout Master, who threw coffee into the tall tapered camp pot by the hand full, never removing the grounds. --- Consumer Report calculates the actual cost per cup of Starbucks at 26 cents a cup, Green Mountain at 23 cents, and Peet’s at 29 cents. I did a calculation on our own coffee brewer and came out 22 cents for a sixteen-dollar 16 oz dark roast. We use 1.2 oz for a 5 1/2-cup brew with filter.
While most Americans know that whole beans have a longer shelf life and grind fresher, it surprises me that many disregard the variation in package content: between ten, twelve and sixteen ounce bags.
Consumer Reports only mentions Organic in passing for Allegro’s decaf. If quality concerns you at all, the chemical-free processing of coffee should be at the top of your list of considerations. Coffee, like carbon, absorbs chemicals and odors like a sponge. Low altitude cultivated fields require fertilizers and insecticides. The chemicals are absorbed. This contamination is inescapable due both to insects and disease. High altitude, in the forest growth, however, produces coffee trees virtually free of both disease and insects. Coffee must come from mountain sides above 5,000 ft, among other things, for it to earn the designation SHB.
With hand picking, the harvesters can, by picking only the completely ripe cherries, return two or three times for repeat harvests, taking only the ripe beans each time around. By contrast, a single stripping takes place in the cultivated fields of the estates below in the valley. So, do not let the claim of Estate Grown Coffee fool you into believing it equates to quality.
The only reliable quality designation is SHB, strictly hard bean. Then it is up to the milling, the processing, the screening and the roast with attention to detail, quality and the environment. The only taste designations are the cupping numbers. The only cost criteria is the cost per cup. The only measure of social justice is Fair Trade, but quality too must become a requirement in order to achieve outstanding coffee in your cup and sustainability for the coffee that would come out better than "Good" with testing.
I just read the Consumer Report March 2010 Coffee Ratings. They got much of it right, but lacked the sophisticated cupping and chemical testing that are needed. Not mentioned either were the organic, environmental, fair trade or high altitude issues.
A scientific cupping process would test coffee in a systematic way including source, composition of the beans and in some cases chemical analysis.
Consumer Report concluded that blends are generally not good. The best rating they could give Starbucks and Green Mountain was “Good;” that sounds about right. One captioned insert suggested that ground coffee goes stale faster than whole beans. I think most Americans know that coffee is perishable. Time is of the essence. Starbucks gives it six months. I would say three and consider the fourth month questionable.
Quality packaging and a good valve help extend shelf life. Vacuum pack and nitrogen extend freshness too. After the roast, coffee continues to produce CO2. If left out in the open during this period, coffee looses its freshness rapidly. That is why most producers choose a foil bag with a valve, so the off-gassing lets CO2 out but keeps oxygen from getting in. We use to warehouse our coffee in a cold locker at 28⁰ F. We since learned that any temperature change resulted in condensation, which is not good either. A cool dry constant temperature may be best.
Consumer Report goes on to explain that a single source coffee is better than blends that Arabica is better than Robusta and that most of the lower cost grocery store brands rate only “Fair.” I do not agree with all of the rankings. Although Starbucks does sell some very good single source organic mountain coffee, many of their offerings are blends, some over cooked. Peet’s and Dunkin Donuts In my opinion are better. There are a number of other better coffees not tested, like Kaladi Brothers, and Peaberry. Additionally, a myriad of local roasters, like some microbreweries, do an outstanding job.
Consumer Report does make an issue of cost, stating that the price of a bag of coffee does not correlate with the cost per cup. Different coffees require different amounts of coffee per brew. --- I remember an old Boy Scout Master, who threw coffee into the tall tapered camp pot by the hand full, never removing the grounds. --- Consumer Report calculates the actual cost per cup of Starbucks at 26 cents a cup, Green Mountain at 23 cents, and Peet’s at 29 cents. I did a calculation on our own coffee brewer and came out 22 cents for a sixteen-dollar 16 oz dark roast. We use 1.2 oz for a 5 1/2-cup brew with filter.
While most Americans know that whole beans have a longer shelf life and grind fresher, it surprises me that many disregard the variation in package content: between ten, twelve and sixteen ounce bags.
Consumer Reports only mentions Organic in passing for Allegro’s decaf. If quality concerns you at all, the chemical-free processing of coffee should be at the top of your list of considerations. Coffee, like carbon, absorbs chemicals and odors like a sponge. Low altitude cultivated fields require fertilizers and insecticides. The chemicals are absorbed. This contamination is inescapable due both to insects and disease. High altitude, in the forest growth, however, produces coffee trees virtually free of both disease and insects. Coffee must come from mountain sides above 5,000 ft, among other things, for it to earn the designation SHB.
With hand picking, the harvesters can, by picking only the completely ripe cherries, return two or three times for repeat harvests, taking only the ripe beans each time around. By contrast, a single stripping takes place in the cultivated fields of the estates below in the valley. So, do not let the claim of Estate Grown Coffee fool you into believing it equates to quality.
The only reliable quality designation is SHB, strictly hard bean. Then it is up to the milling, the processing, the screening and the roast with attention to detail, quality and the environment. The only taste designations are the cupping numbers. The only cost criteria is the cost per cup. The only measure of social justice is Fair Trade, but quality too must become a requirement in order to achieve outstanding coffee in your cup and sustainability for the coffee that would come out better than "Good" with testing.
Labels: Fair Trade Coffee
posted by Clancy Hughes | 3/12/2010 08:06:00 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home