Making Coffee with Lucia Solis

This week I want to talk to you about where native coffee yeast come from.  If you are concerned about coffee flavor manipulation by yeast, I hope by the end of the episode you have a broader understanding of where "native" yeast originally came from.To help illustrate the point, we start with non traditional coffee growing regions like Southern California.In the episode I will also be sharing research from Dr. Amiee Dudley.I met Dr. Aimee Dudley in 2017 during SCA EXPO in Seattle when we were on a Re:CO Panel together talking about yeast. I was offering the perspective of practical application of yeast, how coffee producers in situ could use it and Dr. Dudley was presenting her research on yeast genetics. She runs a lab at Pacific North West Research Institute and she is an expert on yeast genetics.Support the show on Patreon and get access to research papers.Sign up for the newsletter for new podcast releases.Cover Art by: Nick HafnerInto song: Elijah BisbeeMentioned in the Episode:The Coffee Podcast: Jay RuskeyFrinj CoffeeDr. Aimee Dudley's Research LabSupport the show

Aurora is back for another tea chat.Unfortunately I think coffee and tea are often lumped together in similar categories but they have very different histories and I think it’s worth trying to de-couple these beverages.Join us as we discuss how:-tea is largely consumed in it's botanical origins and coffee is not. -the different flavors of stress (positive and negative)-over extraction and the role of color-my thoughts on Cascara teaMentioned in the Podcast:Support the show on Patreon and get Aurora's curated tea flights and download the research paper on Leafhoppers and Oriental Beauty oolong tea.Aurora's WebsiteTea Reading List 2020 located at worldcat.org, curated by Aurora PrehnHow to Taste by Becky SelengutSupport the show

What happens when the best in the world can't tell if a wine comes from the Willamette Valley in Oregon or Burgundy, France? What happens when the experts can't tell if the bubbles are from Champagne or California.Does a place really have a taste? Can we find it in the glass?That is the premise of terroir, tasting the land, localizing the product. But often, when put "terroir" to the test it cannot be found. Today's episode starts with the story of the 1976 Judgement of Paris tasting, a famous part of wine history that pitted French terroir-driven wines against terroir-less California wines. The competition had a blind tasting for red wine and for white wines. The red wines were predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon and the white wines were the Chardonnay variety.We are also going to see what happens when Terroir is used as a basis for certifications. I'll share with you some of the limitations of the "geographic protectionism" and the Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) system.Certifications are usually protective tools but sometimes they can work against the producers they are meant to protect.How can such a romantic and noble concept, tasting the land, respecting nature - work against producers?To pick future podcast topics, get access to the scientific papers, ask questions that I answer on the podcast, and help me continue making episodes: consider supporting the show by Joining Patreon HereMentioned on the podcast:The historical origins are from the book Terroir and Other Myths of Winegrowing by Mark A Matthews.Bottle Shock MovieA CougarRacist ChampagneSupport the show

Welcome to the next installment of terroir in coffee.This one little word contains a whole world of history and has an important role in the economic viability of certain agricultural products.After the last episode I heard from some of you who wished I had talked about soil minerals and plant nutrition from soil. Others also asked about the wine making regions like Bordeaux where Terroir is regulated by french law. I cover both of these concerns in todays episode before we get to discuss what I really wanted the episode to be about: microbes and morality.There is an unspoken understanding that products that express terroir are more moral than others.I wanted to give you an episode that focused on microbiology, that talked about the yeast and bacteria that contribute to a "taste of place" but I couldn't do it without including the human perception that products that express terroir, products that are "transparent" are superior.  I think we need to be really careful because science doesn't support this view. Any moral component of terroir is a choice to see it through a religious and political lens.I want to challenge your views on "transparency" and "intrinsic quality".To pick future podcast topics, get access to the scientific papers, ask questions that I answer on the podcast, and help me continue making episodes: consider supporting the show by Joining Patreon HereMentioned on the podcast:The historical origins are from the book Terroir and Other Myths of Winegrowing by Mark A Matthews.How to Use a Pressure ChamberDemeter Fragrance LibrarySupport the show

This podcast explores the concept of terroir in the coffee industry, discussing its relevance and potential pitfalls. It delves into the debate surrounding the definition of terroir and whether or not it should include the human element. The episode also examines the historical roots of terroir and its application in marketing. Additionally, it challenges the conventional belief about fruit ripening and discusses the conflict between Old World and New World labels in the wine industry. The discussion also explores the expanding definition of terroir beyond soil elements.

In this podcast, the host answers listener questions about coffee fermentation, post-harvest processes, and introducing foreign yeast to coffee farms. They discuss the effects of temperature and time on fermentation, the relationship between coffee processing methods and density, and the risks of introducing foreign yeast. The host also explores the differences between yeast in breadmaking and coffee fermentation, as well as sourcing green coffee and partnering for small quantities.

For those who know, it may not come as a surprise when I share how much I love tea. But professionally, today is the day I come out of the tea closet. I drink logarithmic levels of tea compared to coffee, and the more I confess that, the more other coffee professionals share with me that they too love specialty teas.Unfortunately I think coffee and tea are often lumped together in similar categories but they have very different histories and I think it’s worth trying to de-couple these beverages.Today's episode serves as an introduction the basics of specialty tea and will be the first of many episodes exploring the processing and history of this beverage.Our guide through the world of tea is my friend Aurora Prehn. She is a researcher of people and plants. Her undergraduate work was a double major in Anthropology and environmental studies. She worked at Rishi Tea and Botanicals as a tea educator. In 2018 she then left to do a masters in ethnobotany in Canterbury, England, which she finished last fall. Support the show on Patreon and get Aurora's curated tea flights.If you are inspired to learn more about tea check out the following resources:Tea Reading List 2020 located at worldcat.org, curated by Aurora PrehnThe True History of Tea, Victor H. Mair & Erling HohThe Tale of Tea: A Comprehensive History of Tea from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day, George L. Van DriemThe Soul & Spirit of Tea, Phil Cousineau & Scott Chamberlin Hoyt (Editors)Tea: History, Terroirs, Varieties, Kevin Gascoyne, Francois Marchand, and Jasmin DesharnaisPlants, Health and Healing: On the Interface of Ethnobotany and Medical Anthropology, Elisabeth Hsu & Stephen Harris (Editors)Rishi Tea & Botanicals’s Lookbook https://journal.rishi-tea.com/catalogs/How to Store Tea, Tea Epicure https://teaepicure.com/how-to-store-tea/US Grown Tea, Specialty Tea Alliance https://specialtyteaalliance.org/world-of-tea/us-grown-tea/Support the show

In this podcast, the host discusses the confusion and misuse of terminology surrounding anaerobic fermentation in the specialty coffee industry. They explore the complexity of language in describing coffee processes and the need for standardized definitions. The speaker proposes an alternative term, 'microbial demucillegination', to accurately describe the process. They also emphasize the importance of understanding fermentation's role in coffee production and challenging misconceptions about achieving specific flavors. Lastly, they highlight the importance of education and avoiding commoditization in the coffee industry.

Today's Making Coffee Podcast episode is a continuation of the theme of coffee pickers and their role in quality.In the previous episode I shared my surprisingly difficult experience trying to source red ripe coffee cherry. It was surprisingly difficult to pay the farmers more for a different quality than they were used to picking because of the established system, a system that developed over decades as a response to chronically low coffee prices.It's important for me to share this with you because I don’t believe enough of us who enjoy drinking coffee realize how fragile our coffee supply is. Coffee is such a staple in our daily lives that I believe we simultaneously revere it for making our mornings more enjoyable and take it for granted. For example, many businesses offer free coffee, free coffee refills or free coffee with food. If you look around hotels, restaurants and gatherings you can often find more than 1 “FREE Coffee” sign. We expect that there will always be coffee. It seems so abundant that there is a real disconnect between the effort it takes to get that cup into our hands and what we are willing to pay for that work. Many of us would be turned off by a $5 cup of coffee but have also likely paid $15 to $20 for a glass of wine. Additionally, it's a lot less common to expect free wine.To Support this Podcast and become a Patron CLICK HERESupport the show

Today's episode is part 1 of a 2 part series talking about the people who pick our coffee.In episode 15 we went deeply into how a molecule of sucrose in the coffee cherry pulp becomes a flavor compound like banana or peach and gets into the coffee seed.Flavor is an accessible entry point for specialness.However, I don’t like talking about flavor and coffee too much.  I don’t think coffee flavor is what’s going to help the industry move closer towards long term stability. I think it’s most often a distraction of the larger picture. My concern is the coffee farmers, the people at the source of the value chain. I think focusing on flavor distracts us from the larger threats to coffee, like climate change, pests and diseases and—what I want to talk about specifically today—availability of labor.Sitting down to collect these interactions is possible through the support of Patreon. I’m grateful for the 31 individuals who currently support this podcast and it’s through their generosity that I can make it available to you all. As a thank you, I create additional resources on the Patreon account.To Support this Podcast and become a Patron CLICK HERESupport the show