Business Talk
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Business Talk
Ever wondered why coffee smells so heavenly when you first open the bag?
Ever wondered why coffee smells so heavenly when you first open the bag? Or what makes some cups taste like blueberries and others like chocolate? Karen, the passionate owner of Rosso Coffee Bar, pulls back the curtain on the fascinating world of coffee in this enlightening conversation.
Karen's unexpected journey began in South Korea in 2011, where she discovered the art of roasting and developed her tasting skills. She describes her coffee awakening—that magical moment tasting freshly roasted Ethiopian Yirgacheffe that revealed coffee could be smooth, complex, and reminiscent of blueberries and citrus rather than bitter and harsh.
With the precision of a scientist and the passion of an artist, Karen demystifies the roasting process, explaining how she treats it as cooking: "For myself, being a roaster, for me to cook coffee green coffee beans, I have to roast it. It's either cooking in the oven or cooking coffee beans in the roaster." She exclusively crafts medium roasts, believing they capture the perfect balance of flavor development without the potential harshness of darker profiles.
The conversation delves into terroir—how altitude, volcanic soil, and climate fundamentally shape coffee's character. "Higher altitude the better," Karen explains, "because then the plants cannot ripen coffee cherries too fast and it has to work harder." For those looking to elevate their coffee appreciation, Karen offers a masterclass in tasting terminology, breaking down acidity (the bright, vibrant qualities), body (the silky mouthfeel from oil content), and finish (how pleasantly flavors linger).
Whether you're a casual coffee drinker or aspiring connoisseur, this episode will transform how you experience your next cup. Ready to deepen your coffee knowledge? Subscribe to our podcast for more insightful conversations with industry experts who are passionate about their craft.
Welcome back everybody to Business Talk, the show, where we dive deep into the industries that keep our world moving. I'm your host, didier, and in today's episode we got another great episode. Actually, I'll be speaking with Karen. She is the owner of Rosso Coffee Bar. How are you doing, karen?
Speaker 2:I'm good. Thank you, sir. How are you?
Speaker 1:I am doing awesome. Thanks for asking so, listeners. In each episode, our guests share practical tips and valuable advice that can help you navigate life and stay ahead in your own journey, as well as educate you, too, as well. If you're enjoying this content, make sure to like this video and subscribe to the channel and stick around, because we've got a lot of great information. We're going to be talking about the origin, the roasting process of coffee beans, the bean origins and flavor, as I mentioned earlier, and we're going to also talk a little bit about the tasting and profiles. Karen's going to enlighten us on the coffee bean and her business as well. So again, karen, take it away. Let's start off by, if you don't mind, what got you into the world of coffee roasting.
Speaker 2:I was in South Korea in 2011, and I had to be there for lengthy months, so I happened to, went to my friend's roasting facility and started to learn how to roast coffee there and also how to brew coffee there, and it actually led me to become a coffee taster as well.
Speaker 1:So going into tasting coffee back then, right, it was a journey for you. Can you remember the first time when you tasted a roast? That was just wow. You know this is very good tasting. What made it so special?
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. Actually, that was right after we roasted Ethiopian Yerge Chef from Ethiopia. That's one of the very famous reasons coffee regions in Ethiopia and it was right after we roasted. You usually taste, you usually taste and it just blew my mind because it has so much blueberries and lemons and orange zest kind of flavors, and not to mention the coffee wasn't bitter at all, it was very, very smooth and it almost felt like a drinking tea instead of coffee. Yeah, that was the wow moment for me.
Speaker 1:I can tell. Let me off topic here. Why does coffee smell so good when you open it up? You know what? Do you know why that aroma is just it smells so good? I always was curious about that.
Speaker 2:Well, coffee has a lot of chemistries. You know, coffee is what we are utilizing as a drink is seed of coffee cherry, so it has a lot of chemistries. And also we cook it, we roast it. In that process there is a lot of chemical reactions within coffee beans, so it has a little bit of acidity, it has a little bit of water content. As we cook it, a little bit of sugar content will start to caramelize and it seems like a simple. You know, coffee is coffee to a lot of people, but for us to have just coffee cup of coffee, there goes a lot into it and that's why coffee smells. That's why coffee smells If it's a good coffee.
Speaker 1:You will get this woof of good flavors and dry aromas. I love that. That's very well stated.
Speaker 2:What do most people not know about what goes into roasting coffee beans? First of all, a lot of customers don't put cooking and roasting together. So in other words, for myself, being a roaster, for me to cook coffee green coffee beans I have to roast it. So it's either cooking in the oven or cooking coffee beans in the roaster. It's the same mechanism, but they don't link those two together.
Speaker 2:So what I do? I mean what roasters do? We just cook coffee beans, green beans, in a very high atmosphere temperature. Then you know everybody has different recipes. It's different for everybody. But the way I do it, I only do medium roast compared to light or dark roast.
Speaker 1:Well, that interesting, you know. Talking about the roasting process which you kind of hit on right now, briefly, how do different roast levels, like you said, light, medium and dark affect the flavor and the caffeine content?
Speaker 2:Well, I mean, I always compare cooking with a coffee roasting process. If it's not well cooked, I mean if it's too well cooked, overcooked, then what we get out of the oven is very dry and tough and not much, you know, flavor.
Speaker 1:Flavor.
Speaker 2:Food right. So same thing goes with a coffee roasting process. If I prolong the roasting process too long, then coffee beans will lose the water contents, as it happens, and then it will start to pop. That's the most sensational action in the in the roaster. Once it start to start to pop, then it will release the water content, will start to evaporate with those components of flavors, and you have to know when to stop. You know due to your preferred level of roasting. Otherwise, if you just carry on, that water content will start to bring all the things up in the vent. Then what we have left is almost no flavors left, coffee beans, but by then it will be very dark, oily and big, because it's like a popcorn you know like yes pop, it pops more.
Speaker 2:So same thing with the light roast. I don't personally prefer light roasting, so I don't serve light roast in my shop.
Speaker 2:But if it's not fully cooked and roasted, then there will be not enough flavors for the coffee beans to offer. It has not been developed. So to me the ultimate level of coffee roasting is medium level. That's my personal choice and personal preference, but then you know, it could be different for everybody. I was told in Northern Europe they like light roast. One day I will definitely visit and try it, but that hasn't happened yet.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow, that's very interesting. I would have never known all that. So good information, thank you. So we talk about the bean origins and flavor. How do factors like altitude, soil and climate impact the flavor of the bean itself, or does it?
Speaker 2:It plays a lot into the flavors of coffee beans. To make it simple, you know, everybody knows about wine, how wine tastes, different from different regions.
Speaker 1:Correct.
Speaker 2:Right. The only reason why it differs is because you know climate has to be suitable and altitude has to be suitable. The water you know water level goes with a climate condition. Same thing it's, in my opinion, higher altitude the better, because then the plants cannot ripe coffee cherries too fast and it has to work harder to make sure that the seeds have everything to reproduce. But if it's a lower level, life is not too hard for plants in my opinion.
Speaker 2:Same thing it has to have a certain soil, preferably volcanic soil soil, and that's why you know in Central Africa and Colombia, all those countries, that they, they produce excellent coffee. For that reason, because it's all sitting on, coffee Farms usually sit on volcanic soil. So volcano, volcanic soil has a lot of minerals and a lot of nutrition for any plant, not only for coffee plants. So it does matter that climate is absolutely important. Soil, kind of soil, absolutely important. How much sun comes shining down on coffee beans and coffee plants really matters. So every little bit you know clicks in until we get a good cup of coffee.
Speaker 1:Wow, very well stated. That's very interesting. I'm sure our listeners are enjoying this as well. By the way, listeners, if you are enjoying this, please leave a a comment. Please also feel free to like and subscribe to the channel as well, so I can bring you more content like this in the future. Can you explain the difference between acidity, body and finish and a finish in coffee? Is there a difference?
Speaker 2:absolutely first of acidity sounds very harsh right. The word itself is harsh, but the coffee industry decided to use that term, for you know the bright taste in our mouth. In other words, when you think about lemon or lime, any kind of citrus fruit, we have our mouth start to become watery, right.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:That's because of the acidity in the citrus fruit and personally I prefer high acidity because I believe, in my opinion, acidity is the one actually actually gives a vibrant coffee taste.
Speaker 1:That's a good word.
Speaker 2:So I really enjoy high acidity level of coffee, but it's not for everybody and a lot of times customers are confused, in my opinion, because acidity is it's around your palate, not not down your suffocate so our. Our stomach is much more acidic right so that wouldn't really affect your stomach. However, something really um bothers their um, their stomach after they have coffee. Most of the time it's more of from the dark roast. To you you will get a lot of smoky flavors and you know those can really not upsetting your stomach.
Speaker 1:But make, enhance it, enhance it right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. And body in coffee is a level of oil in coffee. So the way you taste test level of oil in your coffee is that's how we actually practice. Let's say, your front teeth is right there and your palace starts right there mm-hmm and with the tip of your tongue, drop it against your beginning of your palate.
Speaker 2:Then if it moves, if it moves smooth and silky, that means it has more oil, that means it's a high body. And if it's kind of water, like you know, it doesn't move fast and and smooth, that means it doesn't have enough oil and therefore you can say it's a low body. In coffee you can taste it with a full milk and water and just to feel the difference, then you will definitely feel the sensations in your mouth. Um, and and what was the last time?
Speaker 1:um, the last one was the fin, the yeah, the finish in the coffee itself. We talked about the body, yeah to.
Speaker 2:To me what plays in that is more of um, it's it's everything you know to acidity. When it comes to your, into your mouth, then it hits a front and body will last if it's a higher body and it will last longer and it's all linger into your palate how long it lasts longer in pleasant way. That's the I would say. That's a direct measurement that you could say oh, this is a good coffee versus a bad coffee. If it's an aftertaste, it's kind of bitter and stays inside at the back of your, in your mouth and gives you kind of unpleasant bitterness, then you're not drinking a good coffee.
Speaker 2:Usually good coffee lasts longer, very smooth and doesn't really have to have bitterness. But coffee beans has a little bit of bitterness, for sure, but if it comes from coffee itself it usually very pleasant, not unpleasant bitterness from you know defects. Or or overly roasted, like dark roast wow karen, this, this was a great information, wow.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much for being able to share your insight on the coffee process itself. Very intriguing. Love being able to speak with you and allowing you to share this with our listeners. So, as we wrap up, could you provide our listeners with a phone number, maybe to get a hold of you, uh, as as well as other ways to get a hold of you?
Speaker 2:um, of course, um, my, our phone number is a 407-687-8128. You can text or call to that any time and we are just about to launch our um website. Um, that will be rosso cbcom and it will be launched in next few days and you will carry things awesome.
Speaker 1:well, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk with us about the roasting process in your business, and hopefully we can have you back again in the near future.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much for having me and have a wonderful day, thanks.
Speaker 1:You as well. You're very welcome. Thank you for tuning in to First Media Consulting Podcast. If you enjoyed the podcast, subscribe today podcast. If you enjoyed the podcast, subscribe today To nominate a business you would like to recommend to be on our show. Go to firstmediaconsultingcom or call. Thank you for listening.