S4:EP2: COFFEE SMARTER
Topic: Refractometers as a tool for creating a better brewed coffee.
Guest: Chris O’Brien, Coffee Cycle Roasting
Title: Founder/Head Roaster
Instagram: @coffeecycleroasting
Website: www.coffeecycleroasting
I’ve heard people casually talking about refractometers while sitting outside Coffee Cycle.
Actually, I don’t know that you can talk casually about a refractometer, so let’s just say that there was some science talk going on, and I heard it. During this episode, Chris taught me that refractometers are scientific tools designed to measure light refraction through liquids.
For coffee, in particular, they are often used on the brewing side of an operation to measure two things:
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), meaning the amount of ground coffee that has fully dissolved into the water added during the brewing process.
Brix (BX) which is total amount of sucrose or sugar content.
Measuring how the light is being bent or refracted through the liquid helps determine the purity of the liquid, and the BX scale measurement is specific to sugars. In home brewing, a refractometer is used to determine the amount of fermentable sugars which will potentially be converted to alcohol.
The refractometer at the Coffee Cycle cafe is an Atago PAL-Coffee refractometer that measures both Brix (BX) and Total Dissolved Solids (TDS). Chris confirmed he bought it for about $300. I couldn’t find it for less than $600, and that was through a real sketchy website.
According to Atago, they no longer sell the PAL-Coffee version in the United States. They recommend using the PAL-Tea version instead. On the show, Chris mentions VST branded coffee refractometers as being the gold standard. They should be since you could probably buy a used hatchback for about the same price.
Luckily, we live in a golden age where there are dozens of consumer-branded refractometers ranging in price from $15-1500 available online. If you are the type of coffee drink who thinks they want to get into this kind of data collection, I’d recommend checking with a professional, or at least double-checking the product specs to make sure you buy the right refractometer for testing coffee. There are a lot of different kinds designed to test different liquids, and not all are amenable to coffee.
FROM THE SHOW
Yeah…so, as you can see above, having a beard makes the whole masking to protect yourself against covid thing a little bit more difficult. So I wear an N95 (or K95), and then wear another mask over the top to hold it in place. I’m lucky that my awesome wife sews. She hand made a bunch of masks with adjustable ear straps that can fit over my mask holding the N95 squarely in place.
It’s a bit of a pain but worth it. I feel much more comfortable in public with it on, and knowing that I am unlikely to be a spreader if I unknowingly have the coronavirus.
In case you missed it, the first interview of S4 dropped this week. I spoke to Dani Riggins, the Founder/Head Roaster of Ultreya Coffee & Tea. Check it out asap. Click this link.
I have been encouraging Chris to expand Coffee Cycle for purely selfish reasons. It is a 35m drive or 90m bike ride for me to get there to buy a cup of coffee. If he expanded—obviously, closer to my home—it would be easier for me to order a mug of Sumatra roast.
This morning I put 25g of coffee into a pour over. When I measured the wet grounds afterwards they were 70g. I did not have the patience to let them dry.
The Expanse is a series of science fiction books that has also been turned into an Amazon TV series. It is set in a (near) future in which we’ve colonized the solar system. Divisions have been growing between those still on Earth and the growing populations of Mars, the Belt, and the worlds beyond. There is also a mysterious substance that causes havoc and a bunch of crazy twists.
I’m partial to the books because the show’s characters don’t look the same onscreen as the do in my head, but now that they are six seasons in, I’m going to give it another chance.
NOT FROM THE SHOW
Starbucks is raising prices after their earnings in the 4th quarter only hit 18% growth. Some coffees will raise an estimated 20-30 cents. This story in The Street about the prices changes has a lot of interesting numbers in it and it is easy to extrapolate plenty of theories about American consumers and inflation and corporate profit margins. I mostly came away thinking, if a company with 33,000+ stores is thinking about raising prices…I wonder what challenges the local shops are facing?
ROAST! INDUSTRY PARTNERS
Chris is hosting Coffee Smarter 101 coffee education classes at Coffee Cycle. If you are in the San Diego-area and would like to learn more about the chemistry, economy, and history of coffee this is the class for you. The classes are small with plenty of time for question and answers. The last two have sold out so don’t wait if you’re thinking of getting tickets. Click here to buy tickets-$35.
Leap Coffee is hosting “Night At the Roastery.” A date night twist on the tradition coffee cupping and roasting classes. Get all the details and enter to win tickets on the @leapcoffee Instagram page.
The R!WC Industry Partners are awesome. Click these links. Drink their coffees and whiskeys. Visit their cafes. Support local coffee shops. You won’t be disappointed.
Zumbar Coffee & Tea • First Light Coffee Whiskey • Leap Coffee • Steady State Roasting • CAFÉ LaTERRE • Mostra Coffee • Cape Horn Coffee Importers • Marea Coffee • Coffee Cycle • Camp Coffee Company • Ignite Coffee Company
Listen to the show on these platforms!
APPLE PODCASTS • SPOTIFY • ANCHOR.FM • GOOGLE PODCASTS • AMAZON MUSIC • THE COAST NEWS • TUNEIN RADIO • I HEART RADIO • POCKETCASTS • BREAKER • RADIO PUBLIC • OVERCAST • YOUTUBE • STITCHER
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Roast! Coffee Smarter: Refractometers