Ideology
Many of the coffees we have are either produced by ourselves imported by ourselves. That is administrative work - work that nobody else can see. Also, a customer does not see the work of the producer. Work that takes time, energy and dedication. If so, each coffee would have to cost “much more". However, nobody wants to pay that amount - because “there is always someone who offers cheaper coffee”. Especially today in the year of 2020 when there seems to be new “roasters” being announced each and every day. When we finished our work on farms in Kenya, we bought a roasting machine in Norway the year of 2009. Then, there was only a couple of “roasters” in Norway. Now, by having someone take care of the import, bring coffee to their door and “just roast” coffee, you can reduce the cost. Also, you don’t have to worry about if a pallet or container is damaged during transport from the country of origin/farms while “roasters order coffee from local green bean providers” - they don’t have to care about the import procedures.
Investment
You can read more about similar thinking and reasoning for our most recent processing project in Kenya, Ruby Batian Natural:
https://coffeacirculor.com/collections/championship-collection/products/kenya-ruby-batian-natural
This is more than just coffee. It is a project to develop a region that has only been refining coffee by washing it. This is an isolated Batian-only variety, first time ever done I believe in Kenya. I have followed the Batian variety personally from 2010 when one of the first seeds were planted in Kenya. This Batian is processed by me and my friend Macho by a unique formula. Also, the customer - if wanting to try the coffee - has the option to buy it with two prices: The "Expected price because everybody else sells Kenya-coffee for 15-something-Euro" and the "Real Development cost”-price which is what it actually costs to make a project like this happen. Same coffee, two prices. Obviously, very few people “will pay the more expensive price”. But again, we are not here to only roast coffee. We are here to share those important things that nobody else wants to do - because it requires so much (extra) work and costs a lot of money.
A celebration like this can not be measured in "money will be earned". However, with this celebration, we also would like to state the importance of people being patient, understanding and grateful for the craft that goes into (our) work. We are not just a “roaster” has been said many times now. Unfortunately, we have to “live” in a world where people think that “we are a coffee roaster”. Many ask why some coffees and services are “more expensive”. We could have offered a generic “Ethiopia Guji”, “Colombia Huila”, … but guess what… There are always “roasters” around the corner who can do that and everybody are free to chose. Especially in the year of 2020.
Responsibilty
As you can see from the above, it is important that we can be efficient when we work. We have here worked with a potential “8 EUR-profit". We take a very, very high risk roasting high quality coffee, coffee that is imported by ourselves, coffee where we help specific farms/communities. Therefore, it is also your responsibility to learn how to brew the coffee. There is a reason for why “Variety”, “Altitude” and other details are specified for the coffee. Actually, in 2020, many “roasters” are putting these things on their coffee labels because “it is a standard and looks good on a coffee label” - everyone is doing. However, what many really do not know is that the specific details are there to help you and improve you knowledge about the coffee, the region, the preparation, etc. We have had questions in the past where people have said “This coffee does not taste good”. Well - how do you brew it. What water do you use? What does it say on the label? 2,150 MASL. What water temperature did you use? 90C. Well, you have to use a high energy brewing technique, meaning to at least increase the temperature to 95C in order to extract components from the coffee that you will not be able to do with 90C. This is at least one thing that I mean when saying “each and everyone has a responsibility” - just as much I have a responsibility to provide the most optimal roasting algorithm for each coffee at a given time.
Water recommendations
Regarding water, this is something that we have been working on for a long time. This will also be shared in future articles on our web. For example, Norway and especially Oslo is about 100 for its mineral content (TDS) and unfortunately "disintegrates" the brew. In Sweden, Gothenburg, we have a water that ranges between 10-20 TDS and provides expected results.
We have calibrated the coffee particularly for a low mineral content water because we believe that is where the true power of the coffee, the terroir, processing formula and roasting algorithm can emerge. Many tests show that using water values close to the following is advantageous:
Calcium: 0.9 mg/l
Na: 1.7 mg/l
SiO2 1.4 mg/l
K 0.3 mg/l
Magnesium 0.2 mg/l
Sulfat <7.0 mg/l
Chloride 2.5 mg/l
Nitrate 0.1 mg/l
Fluoride < 0.1 mg/l
pH 6.2
I have recommended customers and friends to try various water. From Norway, unless finding water with above values, you can try ’Imsdal’ if you have it in some shops. Again, this is not a must and we do not want to disturb any creative brewing. Of course, we can not recommend that you 'buy water that can be expensive' just to have a 'good cup of coffee'. But - maybe once in a lifetime it is worth it.
If you have a Brita or similar filter, it can be used as well. However, the experience is mixed and not always empirical due to not knowing what values will be presented per mineral from the selected water - which most likely comes from your tap in your home.
Brewing recommendations
Feel free to try our World Brewers Cup recipe, 1:1:1. Again, you do not have to but it can change your perspective on the structure, dynamics and elegance in coffee. You can read more about it here:
https://coffeacirculor.com/blogs/news/brewer-profile-jan-junglas
Remember, all of the above are recommendations and should not restrict you own imagination, competence and goals. Of course, you can use your previous experience to modify and explore.
Communication
Regarding communication, during the last couple of days, I have personally not been able to reply to emails that some of you have sent. There are questions about packaging, tracking, “when is the coffee ready”, undervaluing the packages, …
Therefore, I would like to take the opportunity to write to all.
For tax, or “undervaluing”, yes we can arrange this and we have done so. I can report that each package is defined as 150 kr, approximately 14 EUR. However, you are advised to read the below. Undervaluing is nothing we do and it is not recommended by law and taxing authorities. In addition, in the event the package is lost, it is likely that no refund can be made from the shipping company (PostNord). Any amounts (if any at all) are charged to you personally, it is beyond our control. We can not control that even if we want. This is the same for us when we import goods.
