I'll be doing a post wrapping up "2017 in Coffee," so stay tuned!

It goes without saying that coffee is a complex product. Coffee brewing is truly a practice of chemistry - a science in optimization, comprehensive control, pursuit of perfection. Modern brewing devices - the Aeropress, French Press, espresso machines, among other - all seek to maximize quality by unique combinations of four core variables in brewing. These variables directly contribute to the rate of extraction of coffee particulates in water, essentially varying the solubility of the coffee-water 'slurry.' No device or machine has yet been able to capture these four key variables and alter them intimately in a consistent way that allows users to capture the best cup of coffee for them. 

Attached here is an infographic displaying five core variables essential to brewing coffee. Feel free to copy, share, or print it!

Here are a few of my favorites. As usual, feel free to share, save, or repost any of these images, and/or any currently in the gallery; make sure to tag @reddytobrew and hashtag #reddytobrew. Thanks for reading, everyone, and brew on!

As you can see, I'm digging the little wax seal on the Brandywine bags. Super unique, subtle touch to set their designs apart. 

in the decaffeination process; having researched the process, I'm still not 100% that the majority of the original profile is maintained. However, Swiss Water (swisswater.com), one of the few (possibly the only) specialty coffee decaffeinating companies out there today, thrives on its claim that its process removes 99.9% of caffeine from processed coffees. I did drink an Aeropress of Relevant's SW-processed Ethiopia late in the afternoon and was surprised that I was able to sleep as normally as usual. 
​
A few people have commented asking how the Swiss Water process works. My best recommendation would be to head over to swisswater.com; they have a video that will interest you, whether or not it contains all of the information you could want. Here's a passage from their website that attempts to clear it up:

"Our internally developed Green Coffee Extract (GCE) is introduced to the beans and caffeine removal begins. Caffeine ventures out on it's own, away from the coffee beans into the GCE until the ratio of soluble compounds in the GCE to the compounds in the coffee reach the point of equilibrium. Caffeine and GCE flow continuously through our proprietary carbon filters until all the caffeine is trapped and separated from the GCE. Then the GCE is refreshed so that it can be used again and again to remove more caffeine."

So it seems that the mixture of green coffee extract into the coffee beans causes caffeine to flow out of the beans into the extra-coffee-ular space, following which it is filtered out by a patented carbon sieve. There are definitely some details missing here; after looking over their website, its impossible to grasp how green coffee extract, a seemingly simple product, is able to magically extract a complex chemical from organic material with 99.9% natural efficiency. From how SW makes it sound, mix GCE into your cup of espresso, push the mixture through a filter, and your espresso is precisely the same excepting its lack of caffeine. 

Thoughts? Doubts? Concerns? Thanks again for reading, everyone; brew on!

- Shan Reddy, Daily Brew

Usually, if I drink coffee past 3pm, sleeping will not be an option. However, Relevant Roasters' decaf coffee did its job, and for the first time, I was able to cup and review a coffee in the afternoon! The possibility that third-wave coffees of the future could be decaffeinated without any effects to the taste and quality of the cup is an welcome and compelling one. 

I brewed Supercrown's Rwanda Gitesi again with a spinoff of Lukas Zahradnik's 2015 World Aeropress Championship recipe; the key here is the fifteen second 'turbulent wiggle,' which I've found really helps to even out extraction and build a great espresso-esque crema. My brewing temperature has been more like 85 Celsius instead of the 79 Zahradnik used, and I'm grinding a medium-fine on my home grinder (much less accurate than the Mahlkonig they use at the WAC). 
This coffee is the first Rwandan I have tried of the season, and it did not disappoint. Intense brightness reminiscent of lemon drops was the first noticeable feature; as the cup cooled, citrus and cane sugar were prominent. 

I'll have a full review and photoshoot of this coffee up soon. Thanks for reading today's Daily Brew; brew on!

​Shan Reddy, Daily Brew

Relevant Roasters has some great looking coffees, including a Papua New Guinean roast that looks particularly interesting (Washed Process: Hazelnut, Red Fruit, Balanced), but if you scroll to the bottom of their Coffee page, you will find an interesting addition that is quite uncommon among specialty coffee roasters: Swiss Water Process Decaf Ethiopia. Sourced from Sidamo, a popular coffee producing region in southern Ethiopia, the coffee has the characteristic qualities you look for in a top-notch third wave coffee, quality origin, medium roast, etc. However, this coffee is the first decaf ever featured on Reddy to Brew; after brewing a few cups, I can't definitively say this will be the last one, either.

Relevant's website advertises this coffee with a flavor profile of 'Milk chocolate, caramel, medium body.' To be honest, before researching the Swiss Water process of decaffeination this coffee uses, I was very skeptical of the flavor profile I would receive of a coffee processed in any way outside of origin (excepting roasting). I started with a V60, hoping to extract as much nuanced flavor that I could and was surprised to pick up on light notes of cacao and eucalyptus. I brewed the second time with my Bodum press and was not as pleasantly surprised; a lack of flavor in general was accompanied by wateriness. I found best overall results with my Aeropress, getting slightly less flavor but more body in the cup. 

According to swisswater.com, the patented Swiss Water decaffeination process removes 99.9% of caffeine from processed coffees. I will be testing this tonight; I'm planning on brewing another Aeropress around 6pm. I'll post again tomorrow morning to tell you how I sleep with a cup of coffee in my system. 

Thanks for reading, guys. I know this post was a long one; brew on!

Shan Reddy, Daily Brew

​based on Lukas Zahradnik's World Aeropress Championship winning recipe (https://worldaeropresschampionship.com/recipes/). This one doesn't involve too many crazy additions (some involve strange types of water, grinders, etc.). I'd definitely recommend tweaking these recipes to your personal taste if you do use them; who would have known how much fun you can have with a device as seemingly primitive as the Aeropress! 

​I will be putting together a full review soon (check out the upcoming coffees page for updates!). I'm really digging the design and color schemes Supercrown's got, with a bright yellow that reflects the highlights of this Rwanda's flavor profile. ​As of today, the Daily Brew will be true to its name; expect to see daily posts and coffee updates on the feed on the front page!

Thanks for reading all. Check out more info from Supercrown here. They've got a great subscription service that's well worth looking into. 

I tried a fun new iced coffee brew method with this pour over; I'll probably do another post detailing it on a later date. (Spoiler alert: tons of foamy crema!!!)

Unfortunately, D'Origen doesn't sell this guy anymore, but definitely check out some of their other coffees. I love seeing a roaster carrying Dominican coffee; D'Origen is one of the few! ​http://dorigencoffee.es/page/homepage
​