Espresso Tasting Lessons at Wood-Fire Roasted in Reno

Coffee, much like wine, is very nuanced. There are many, complex elements that separate good coffee from the bad: textures, flavors, acidity levels. And a heavy burden rests on the roaster to churn consistently orgasmic cuppas given all these complicated elements.

I spent the morning with Tim Curry of Wood-Fire Roasted who has spent the last fourteen years learning, understanding, experimenting, and studying the delineation between outstanding coffee from terrible. In 2011, Coffee Review gave one of his coffees a 97 rating (out of 100), which, in the world of coffee snobbery, is a standing ovation. He must be doing something good.

I watched as Tim fired up the wood oven to start a roasting batch of coffee, and there it became very clear to me what separates a dollar coffee at the gas station from a Starbucks cup from artisanal coffee. It's a whole blend of science and alchemy, of heart and soul, of stroke of luck and of stroke of genius.

Espresso Tasting Lessons from a Wood-Fire Roaster (Also: My Clothes Smell of Coffee and Firewood #notcomplaining)

1. Single Origin vs. Blends. Single origin means that the beans in your cuppa come from a single source, a single farm. The good about single source is its honesty. There is no hiding its flaws. Blends, on the other hand, are a mix of beans whose properties, when blended, work to enchance its beauty and downplay its flaws.

2. Espresso has less caffeine content than regular brewed coffee. If you think about it, an espresso machine only needs to run approximately 27 seconds. A pot of coffee brews for far longer.

3. Wood-fire roasting is an old world style of roasting coffee. If you are fascinated by throwbacks and bringing art forms from centuries ago back, you would love this roasting style and the interesting properties it brings out in coffee. Tim uses oak to feed a wood oven to roast his coffee.

4. There are only nine wood fire roasters in America (that Tim Curry knows about). It's a specialized art and one of the nine is right here in our backyard!

5. Intuition is key in roasting coffee. Small batch roasting is a very engaged process. I asked Tim how he knows when coffee is done roasting. His answer? "You can hear it. It pops, like popcorn, twice." Of course he would have to look at it and smell it, but there are no timers going off, no robotics, no computers telling him it's done.

6. The pressure in an espresso machine (that brrrrrrrr noise your espresso machine makes) is responsible for extracting the oil from the espresso. These oils give it that crema layer, which is espresso's raison d'etre.

7. If you're a roaster, you don't have a single favorite coffee. You wake up in the morning with an entire reportoire of coffee at your fingertips. #luxuryproblems

8. Espresso Tasting is a wonderful experiment in the senses. It engages your olfactory senses first (much like wine tasting) and then your taste buds, and eventually, your brain. Because the layers and depth of espresso are subtle, it is natural that you become hyper-aware of what is in that cup and what your tongue is communicating to you.

9. Espresso Tasting does something in the brain that makes us conjure up shapes in our head. Now, this is a rad mental process. We tasted bold, dark roasts first and we went light. It's interesting how sharp and jagged versus rounded apply to how our brains perceive taste. Now that would be a scientific study I would love to follow! (Sorry, my inner geek got carried away.)

10. I like bold red wines and I find it natural to gravitate to dark roasts. My favorite at this tasting was the American Espresso, an organically grown blend with hints of dark chocolate. But Wood Fire also has medium and light roasts with subtle notes of citrus, fruit, and caramel.

Wood-Fire Roasted is located at 30 Ohm Place, Suite #2, Reno, NV. Wood Fire Roasted coffee is available for sale at Great Basin Coop and Whole Foods. Wood-Fire Roasted is also served in many local restaurants - although a word of caution: A good espresso or cappuccino needs to be entrusted into very capable hands. Well roasted coffee is only as good the barista.

Bonus: A Food Event Alert

Wood Fire Roasted is hosting a Coffee Tasting and Food Paring Event on May 16 from 10AM to 12noon. A 3 course pairing with Wood Fire Roasted coffees to perk up your Saturday! Food will be prepared by a local chef with a menu carefully selected to complement Wood-Fire Roasted coffees. Fees are by donation to sponsor a child to attend Washoe County 4H summer camp this year. More details can be found here.

#renotahoe #food #welcome