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Comptoirs Richard
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

France’s first Fête de la Gastronomie was held on Friday, September 23. Among the events that were organized around this theme were presentations and tastings of cheese, chocolate, tea, beer, and coffee. I chose to attend the beer and coffee events.

In Part I of “Celebrating Coffee during the Fête de la Gastronomie” I wrote about the coffee-roasting demonstration that was held at Comptoirs Richard in the 15th arrondissement. Today, I present my observations on the presentation and coffee tasting that was held at the company’s shop in the 6th arrondissement.

Before the tasting, the manager, Jérémie, gave a presentation on the history of coffee. He mentioned the legend of the Yemenite goat herder Kaldi (some place him in Ethiopia) who is credited with discovering coffee after noticing one day that his goats were rather frisky after eating the red berry of the coffee tree.

Jérémie - Manager of Comptoirs Richard
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

Jérémie went on to trace the trade route of coffee from Ethiopia to Yemen and then to Europe. From Europe, the French took it to Martinique in the Caribbean.

He talked about two different kinds of coffee, Arabica and Robusta, whose beans come from different species of plants. Arabica grows at high altitudes, while Robusta grows at low elevations. Arabica is the preferred coffee; its taste ranges from sweet and soft to sharp and tangy. It represents 70% of the world’s annual coffee production. Robusta has a limited range of taste and is considered to be an inferior coffee. The top producer of Robusta is Vietnam, which exports 12% of the world’s annual coffee production. The top producer of both types of coffee is Brazil, which exports 35% of the world’s annual coffee production.

Jérémie mentioned that the top importer of coffee is the United States (20 million sacks of coffee per year), followed by Germany (10 million), Japan (7 million), Italy (5.4 million), and France (5.4 million). Although the U.S. is the top importer of coffee, it is not the top consumer in terms of number of kilos per coffee drinker per year. That honor goes to the Norwegians, whose coffee drinkers each consume 10 to 11 kilos of coffee per year.

Jérémie then turned to the details of coffee production itself, including where it is grown (in the sun or in the shade), how it is harvested (machine picked or handpicked), how it is prepared (wet process or dry process) and how it is sorted (mechanically or manually). The production of coffee, he explained, is a complex process. Mishandling at any point, including the final phases (roasting, grinding, and brewing), can adversely affect the flavor of the product.

To help its customers choose which coffee they might like to purchase, Comptoirs Richard provides the following information about each product:

• The continent from which it comes
• The country
• The region
• The plantation
• The method of harvesting
• The method of drying
• The method of sorting

Following Jérémie’s presentation, we repaired to the coffee bar where we tasted Costa Rica (country) Tarrazu (region) “La Pantera” (plantation) coffee brewed in three different ways: drip-brewed with a filter; steeped in a French press; and pressure-forced in an espresso machine. I found that the filtered coffee had a mild fruity flavor, but at the same time tasted bitter; the flavor of the steeped coffee was stronger but less bitter; and the espresso the strongest flavor with the least bitterness.

Espresso Coffee at Comptoirs Richard
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

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France’s first Fête de la Gastronomie was held on September 23. Among the events at the festival were presentations on and tastings of cheese, chocolate, tea, beer, and coffee.

I wrote about the beer tasting in an earlier blog. In this article, I present my experience at one of the two coffee presentations that I attended. Both were given by Comptoirs Richard, a purveyor of fresh-roasted coffee with seven shops in Paris.

Comtoirs Richard 73, rue Lecourbe Paris
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

On the morning of the 23rd of September I went to the shop at 73, rue Lecourbe, located in the 15th arrondissement. There, I saw Yoann Linares load a 4kg batch of Guatemala Antigua coffee into his SASA SAMIAC coffee roaster. While the drum turned, Linares explained that when green coffee beans are received from the distributor, they contain about 12% to 15% humidity. It is the humidity in the beans during the roasting process that causes them to expand (they double in volume) and “crack” (make a cracking sound). The escaping hot water transforms the sugar and acids in the beans into aroma, a process called the Maillard reaction (named after the French chemist Louis-Camille Maillard, who discovered the phenomenon).

Yohann Linares Standing next to Sasa Samiac Roaster
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

Coffee roasting requires roughly twenty minutes, but that is only an estimate. During the process, Linares checks the quality of the roast by means of a scoop that catches the beans as they tumble in the drum. He withdraws the scoop and inspects the coffee. He explained to me that coffee will crack three times during the roasting process. For his coffee, he stops the roast after the second crack.

Checking the Quality of the Roast
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

After he determined that the roast was about ready, he turned off the heat and let the drum turn awhile. Then he opened a chute, allowing the hot beans to spill onto a cooling tray. Blades in the tray churned the coffee while a fan underneath forced cool air through the beans. The coffee was almost finished! He let the beans cool down and then placed them in a special bag with a valve that allows gasses to escape. After resting 24 to 48 hours, the coffee will be ready to sell to customers.

The Roasted Beans Spill onto the Cooling Tray
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

Linares showed me one of the roasted beans and pointed out the caramel-colored stripe that runs down the middle. This is a membrane (called, I believe, chaff or silverskin), and if the coffee is roasted correctly, the membrane has a golden color.

Roasted Coffee Beans Showing Silverskin in Crease
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

Linares broke open a bean and showed me the interior. I could see the golden membrane wrapped within.

Cross Section of Roasted Coffee Bean
Photo courtesy of Willem J Boot - www.bootcoffee.com

At the end of the roasting demonstration, Linares showed me a scoop of green beans next to a scoop of the roasted ones.

Before and After
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

I left the shop impressed by the careful attention that Comptoirs Richard gives to its coffee. It is especially notable that the coffee is roasted in small batches, a process that distinguishes it as a quality artisanal product.

As I was leaving, Linares mentioned that if I would look up at the façade next door, I would see the name of the original owner: J. Ladoux. It seems that one of the heirs of the Richard coffee company married a daughter of the Ladoux family (the owners of the Ladoux coffee company), thereby fusing the two companies into one. It was a matrimonial alliance worthy of royalty!

Façade of J. Ladoux
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

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