by Emily King
There’s something a little different about Village Coffee Roastery. One of my first observations is that it’s just 10 o’clock in the morning and the joint is packed with people pounding coffee-rubbed short-rib sandwiches along with their cappuccinos. I pull up a barstool next to an older gentleman; he has a kind smile and a little bit of grease running down his chin.
“It’s that good, huh?” I say.
“It’s THAT good,” he confirms.
I’m not much of a coffee drinker, but something about this place makes my mouth water and my taste buds itch for a latte. The aromas of caramelized sugar and rich, earthy notes of fresh coffee linger in the air and head straight to my olfactory factory. This is how a café should smell.
Owner Lisa Stroud passes off her last order to another barista and we grab the only empty table in sight. It’s appropriate (or is it ironic?) that we’re sitting in the shadow of a large, blue, Sasa Samiac Roaster. Our topic of conversation today is, you guessed it, coffee-roasting; and I can’t seem to shake the feeling that this machine is looking over my shoulder, double checking my fact sheet.
“Sasa” Fierce
Lisa begins by showing me the different parts of the beautiful drum roaster imported from France. The raw beans are poured into a wide funnel-like piece that is connected to the drum. Hot gasses heat the drum and the drum begins to spin. The beans roast as they tumble around in the spinning drum. When the roasting process is complete, the beans are quickly removed from the drum and completely cooled within two minutes. Lisa emphasizes that this is one of the most important steps of the procedure; if the beans are not cooled immediately, they will continue to roast in their residual heat and the batch will be ruined.
Drum Roaster (Top View)
All of the beans at Village Coffee are medium-roasted except for the espresso beans (a slightly darker roast). I ask her why she doesn’t offer the fancy-sounding “French Roast” or “Italian Roast” like I see at some chain-coffee spots. She explains that at Village Coffee, “The roaster isn’t the star, the coffee is the star.” She pays top-dollar for the best shade-grown, high-altitude beans she can find and dark roasts destroy their innate flavors and antioxidant properties. In a medium roast, the sugar is gently caramelized—not burnt, resulting in a coffee that is sweetened naturally.
So how do they achieve this perfect medium roast? Well, that’s the scientific part of the process! Before the Village Coffee experts begin roasting, they plug many factors into their top-secret equation, including the weight of the batch to be roasted, humidity, outside temperature, and altitude. Based on this information, they determine the optimal temperature and roasting time for the beans.
While many roasters rely on “first crack” (the popping of the beans as they heat) or color (which can be affected by the age of the beans), the experts at Village Coffee use a mass spectrometer to ensure a consistent product. The mass spectrometer reads the reflectivity of the beans as opposed to variable characteristics like cracking and color. The beans are then allowed to rest for 72 hours before they are ground and brewed. As it turns out, freshly ground beans do NOT produce the best cup o’ joe!
According to Lisa, the quality of the beans begins to deteriorate after 7 days and they should not be kept (or used) beyond day 14. Of course, filtered water is another must when brewing great coffee. Even the best beans cannot stand up to the harsh minerals in Arizona tap water. Village Coffee is equipped with a phenomenal filtration system which is strictly maintained.
Stroud and her team run a tight ship. Espresso machines are calibrated constantly and the chimneys are cleared of soot every other day. They do everything in their power to make sure that their customers get a premium brew with every visit, and judging by the constant flow of people into Village Coffee Roastery, their efforts are most appreciated.
Click here to see Heidi and Jason of Village Coffee Roastery make coffee-rubbed prime rib.
Still thirsty for more? Click here to see Julie and Emily get their caffeine fix at Village Coffee Roastery in Scottsdale.
For More Coffee 101, click here
Brought to you by Village Coffee Roastery, turning Science into Art
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