OUR COFFEE
THE JOURNEY
At Harrison Coffee Co., we love coffee! We love coffee so much that we decided to focus on it and become a specialty coffee roaster, meaning we only roast and serve the highest grade coffees available. Our love of coffee comes from understanding and appreciating all the love, attention, and lives affected before the coffee gets into your cup.
THE FARMER
From the 6th generation farmer that does nothing but focus on growing the best possible fruit in some of the toughest, steepest terrains in the world to the harvester that picks between 100–200lbs of cherries per day by hand that will ultimately produce between 20–40lbs of coffee beans. And that is just the beginning...
The farmer then analyzes the different available processes to remove the skin and pulp (dry or wet, which includes some fermentation) to reveal and complement the delicate seed, and the subtle flavors of the bean. From there the beans are dried to a moisture level of between 8–12% by laying them out on drying tables or floors, and are turned regularly by hand to ensure consistency. These dried beans are known as parchment coffee and are stored until they are prepared for export.
THE EXPORT
When the beans are being prepared for export, they are hulled when needed, which is where the dried skin and endocarp (fleshy insides) are removed by machines, then polished if the farmer or importer requires.
From there, the coffee beans are then sorted and graded by size, weight, colour, and quality. Any beans that are defective are removed by both machinery and hand to ensure only the best quality beans are being shipped.
Now, the coffee is referred to as Green Coffee and is shipped across the ocean by boat in various styles of bags and or containers.
Coffee is sampled in small batches at one of several checkpoints throughout its journey to ensure only the best are making their way into your cup. This process is called cupping, in which a sample size of green coffee is roasted, ground, brewed, and, finally, sampled. The coffee is given a score from 1-100 based on flavour profile and quality. Only coffee given a score above 80 is considered specialty coffee and can be roasted by a specialty coffee roaster. We do not serve any coffee that is lower than 84 on that scale and are laser-focused on raising the quality of coffee you drink.
THE ROASTING
We believe it is the roaster's job to respect the Green Coffee by accentuating the flavours and the processes chosen by the farmer (and Mother Nature) while ensuring that the ultimate balance of sweetness, body, and acidity is achieved, resulting in the perfect cup.
THE PREPARATION
The barista selects the perfect beans and the perfect method of brewing (taking into account the ground consistency, water temperature, and brew time) to make you a cup of coffee that is perfect till the last drop.
TYPE OF BEAN
Well, type of plant, actually. Coffee beans are the seeds of a coffee cherry!
Each variety of coffee seed will have different characteristics that come through in the final product. Varieties like Benguet, Catuai, Bonifieur, and Geisha to name a few.
THE TERROIR
Terroir is a French word that means "from land" and is used to describe the environment in which the coffee was produced: the soil in which the plant was grown, the elevation (MASL), the weather,
the amount of sun it gets, and so on. The terroir is one of the deciding factors that can be the difference between a good year and a great year for coffee.
THE PROCESSING
This is the way that the seed is removed from the cherry. There are two main ways this is completed: wet and dry.
Wet processing uses water to wash the skin and the pulp from the coffee bean and
then lets the beans ferment to remove the last bits of fruit.
The beans are then dried, milled and polished. This process results in a clean and well-balanced cup.
Dry processing is the original way coffee was processed and is still done this way about 50% of the time.
Coffee cherries are laid out to dry, and after about a month, the fruit is removed in one piece.
This process results in a sweeter, full-bodied roast.
THE ROASTING
This is where different roasters will stand out. This is where they take the farmers' (and Mother Nature’s) hard work and bring it to life. This is where we take into account the terroir and decide if the bean should be light, medium or dark roasted in order to best bring out the flavours of the coffee.
THE PREPARATION
Everything from water temperature to brewing method to how long the water is in contact with the ground coffee plays a part in the flavour of the finished coffee. These are all controlled by you, the home enthusiast, or by the barista if you choose to enjoy a cup at one of our coffee houses.
Taste is very personal, and we would love to help you discover the right coffee for your pallet
(and introduce you to some new ones as well).
Now get out there, and get serious (but have fun) with your coffee.
THE TASTE
The flavour of coffee is affected by 5 things:
BREW GUIDE
We know that coffee enthusiasts are particular about how they prepare their coffee, so this is a guide to get you started.
