Quality coffee? There are many things you don’t know

The time for the year-end review is approaching again. During this year, we have met many friends who love coffee and shared many wonderful times with coffee: the wildness of sun-dried beans, the freshness and elegance of washed beans, and the soft floral aroma of yellow honey-processed beans. These coffees with infinite flavor variations have added many little happiness to our lives.

The forgotten story of coffee

The magic of a cup of coffee lies not only in the connection between the coffee itself and nature, but also in the people and stories behind it.

A coffee tree needs to grow for more than five years before it can produce high-quality red coffee berries. Every beautiful coffee bean is first of all a gift from nature.

The watering, pruning and maintenance of each coffee forest, the harvesting and picking of each red coffee fruit, and the processing of each coffee bean are all done by coffee farmers who are willing to protect the growth and harvest of coffee trees. The coffee beans that have been carefully processed and selected guarantee the flavor of the coffee after roasting. From this step on, coffee becomes a gift from working people to the world.

But nature does not speak, and the hard workers are always unknown behind the coffee.

Their memories cannot enter the public's field of vision. Millions of tons of coffee are consumed every year around the world, but there is still a lack of storytellers with enough voice. Who can travel thousands of miles to find these good coffees, and then tell the stories of nature, land and coffee farmers, so that they can be known to the world?

A vocal communicator

When people mention Starbucks, they always think of words like "big brand", "ordinary", "available everywhere", etc. But do they really understand Starbucks? Or in other words, do they really understand coffee?

In fact, Starbucks has always been pursuing "quality coffee". Starbucks is behind those who work hard to find rare and precious coffee beans with unique flavors, study and roast good coffee all night, and tell the stories of coffee farmers around the world.

Among them, we have to mention Starbucks' Reserve ™ coffee series . It is said that Starbucks has a team of five bean hunters who travel to different continents every year and go deep into various coffee producing areas to find unique and extremely rare high-quality coffee beans. After repeated attempts by Starbucks coffee roasting masters, the inherent flavor attributes of each type of coffee are analyzed and presented in different brewing methods in Starbucks Reserve™ stores. In early 2018, Joyce also met Starbucks' green bean experts when she visited coffee farms in Ethiopia. Their rigorous selection of green beans and the fineness of their processing are amazing.

Starbucks Reserve™ coffee will launch a new series in each different production season. Designers will make bean cards for each Reserve™ coffee bean, making full use of different colors and various design elements to present the natural climate, local conditions and customs of each production area. Each bean card records the unknown story of this coffee bean. Through the bean cards, we can feel the "secrets" of different production areas while drinking coffee, listen to the nature's narration and the voices of the growers. Each well-made bean card can even be kept as a bookmark or notebook material, which is very valuable for collection.

I remember seeing this sentence on the wall of a Starbucks Reserve™ store: " Coffee to me , is a labor of love. " Different from ordinary stores, the original intention of Starbucks Reserve™ coffee also includes reinterpreting the nature and humanity behind coffee, and truly conveying the spirit of "quality" to consumers through face-to-face communication and different brewing methods. Starbucks not only cares about the quality of coffee and the development of the boutique coffee industry, but also hopes to convey a new lifestyle and meaning to consumers from "Reserve Coffee".

They have something to say about quality

This time, we found 5 coffee lovers from different industries and talked with them from "liking coffee" to "what is good coffee", as well as their different interpretations of Starbucks Reserve™ coffee. What did they find?

Mr. Whale

Food blogger, drinks 3-4 cups of coffee a day

Q: What is the most challenging part of being a food blogger?

A: The process of "searching" is like finding a good place, the right place, which is half the battle. I drink 3-4 cups of coffee a day and have certain requirements for the quality. So it is not an exaggeration to say that I "search for a cup of good coffee like searching for gourmet food" .

Q: Where have you had good coffee?

A : This is quite interesting. I used to resist so-called "big brands" and liked to explore more niche and less well-known places. As a result, by chance , a friend took me to a Starbucks Reserve™ store. At that time, Jamaica Blue Mountain had just come out. I was completely surprised. It turns out that Starbucks has hidden quality coffee that I didn't know about. I am ashamed, haha.

Q: I know that Starbucks Reserve™ coffee is paired with different bean cards. Do you have any collections?

A : Of course. I like to collect all kinds of things, menus, toys, and bean cards are no exception. I have a fondness for things that have a mark and a sense of design . One of the bean cards that left a deep impression on me is the [Nicaraguan Dipirtomarucara] bean card. Because the coffee beans are large, the bean card was hand-painted with the comparison of their size with ordinary coffee beans. The technique is exaggerated and interesting.

★The coffee beans selected to become Starbucks Reserve™ coffee are often rare and unique in flavor. They may come from very small coffee plantations or have very low yields. They are often sold out within a few weeks of release. It can be said that they are once in a lifetime. Among them, there are many micro-batch series with more excellent quality, such as the yellow honey method processed coffee beans from Yunnan, China. Due to the complex processing method and extremely small yield, they can be called "the rarest of the rare" .

Simon He

Starbucks Reserve™ Shanghai Roastery roaster drinks countless cups of coffee every day

Q: In your opinion, what is the difference between Starbucks Reserve™ coffee and other "specialty coffees"?

A : According to the information provided by our green bean purchasing team, the green beans of Starbucks Reserve™ coffee are all above 85 points in the COE scoring system . From the perspective of green bean quality scoring alone, this series of coffee is actually "specialty coffee". However, with the development of the market, it is difficult to simply define "specialty coffee" as "coffee with a certain score or above", and we would like to highlight the characteristics and advantages of Reserve™ coffee.

Q: What effects do different roasting methods have on the flavor of coffee beans?

A : Coffee roasting has an artistic level of fun: roasting the same color at different times will give completely different flavors; roasting different colors at the same time will give completely different flavors, not to mention using different times to combine different colors. At Starbucks, each Reserve™ coffee has been rigorously revised with a roasting plan, with the goal of maximizing the taste characteristics of different Reserve™ coffees. For example, this season's sun- dried Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Sherbet has a charming fruity aroma and delicate sweetness, so we will choose a lighter roast to highlight its personality. For another example, this season, the Gravita blend coffee beans that are only available at the Shanghai Roastery, we hope to highlight a balanced and heavy sense of weight, so we will choose a slightly darker color to show it.

★Each Starbucks Reserve™ coffee bean comes from the world's top 3% high-quality Arabica coffee beans. In Starbucks' tasting department, professional tasters taste more than 250,000 cups of coffee every year , select several rare and unique types for repeated testing, and analyze the inherent flavor of each coffee in detail. These coffee beans will eventually be named "Starbucks Reserve™ Coffee".

Ryan

Manager of Mr. R Dessert Baking Studio

Graduated from Le Cordon Bleu desserts, needs coffee every day

Q: What is the most important first step when starting to make a dessert?

A: After you have an idea in mind, the most important first step is definitely the selection of ingredients , which directly affects the final taste and texture . Just like the coffee we talked about today, I would rather know where these beans come from, how they come from, what different tastes they can bring, what stimulation they have on the taste buds , etc.

Q: Have you heard of Starbucks Reserve™ coffee beans?

A: Although many people don’t understand, I am one of the first people to know that Starbucks is committed to quality (laughs). In addition to buying their Reserve™ coffee beans, I also like to go to Starbucks Reserve™ stores. Just like you like dessert bakers making desserts, I also like to watch the process of Starbucks partners brewing coffee . They use different brewing methods according to different beans, and then different flavors are born. This often gives me a lot of inspiration . After all, I also have such considerations when making desserts.

Q: Which Starbucks Reserve™ coffee bean has left a deep impression on you?

A: I personally often drink coffee beans from Ethiopia and Colombia, and I also like blended coffee beans. But the coffee that impressed me the most was of course the "glory of Chinese coffee", Yunnan coffee, which amazed me with its taste. There is a coffee called Yunnan Qingkai Farm , which not only has an unforgettable flavor, but also has an interesting bean card design. It uses Chinese red as an element, and the interlaced colors symbolize the local soil and water, which is very beautiful. This kind of impressive experience from all senses is something that all of us who are dedicated to "food" should pay attention to.

fayeating

Internet company manager, Weibo food expert, average 1-2 cups of coffee a day

Q: What flavor and taste of coffee do you like? Where are the coffee beans you often drink produced?

A : I am very busy at work, and I drink 1-2 cups of coffee a day on average. I like medium-light roasts with a fruity and sour flavor. Of course, I like to try new and interesting flavors. For example, the wine-like beans are very popular recently. My favorite production area is Ethiopia... Although it sounds very popular, it is the most common coffee I drink, and I don’t easily make mistakes.

Q: How do you choose coffee?

A: I still believe in brands , so I often drink new-season Ethiopian coffee in Starbucks Reserve™ stores. Even in traditional large-scale production areas such as Ethiopia and Libya, Reserve™ coffee still gives people surprises because there are many micro-batches and small production areas . After this tweet came out, more people discovered that Starbucks has high-quality coffee. Will micro-batch coffee beans be harder to get? (Laughs)

Q: Do you have the habit of keeping (collecting) Douka? Can you share the Douka design that impressed you the most?

A: I really like the bean card design of Starbucks Reserve™ coffee. Whether I am an Internet manager or a food blogger, I need to impress people with stories . This is very touching to me about Starbucks Reserve™ coffee. Each bean card has a different design inspiration. I will even be attracted by the design and taste a certain bean. The most impressive bean card? I remember one called "Sun-dried Ethiopian Yirgacheffe". Its bean card does not focus on describing the coffee, but chooses the totems and textiles of the local people in the coffee producing area as the main design elements, which is very novel.

★There are no two identical Starbucks Reserve™ coffee beans in the world. Behind each bean is a story about family, farmers and community. The design of each bean card is full of inspiration, hoping to convey the local customs and human feelings more vividly in the form of visual expression, and restore the appearance of land and nature.

Lulu

The founder of "Gulu Fitness Food Kitchen" and VLOG blogger, he drinks 1-2 cups a day. Sometimes he drinks 3 cups a day when he is in a good mood. If he works outside, then one of the three cups will definitely be Starbucks.

Q: What flavor and taste of coffee do you like? Where are the coffee beans you often drink produced?

A : I like cocoa and nut flavors! I like American coffee with a little milk, so I care about the richness of the coffee. It will be better with a little milk. In fact, I don’t really care about the production area (to be precise, I don’t know much about the production area). Usually, if I drink the beans or coffee I like, I will keep buying it. I care more about the flavor and taste .

Q: Which type of beans do you like in Starbucks Reserve™ coffee? Why?

A: Because I am not someone who really knows coffee, it is difficult for me to say which one I particularly like. I just like the taste and flavor that I like. But Starbucks Reserve™ coffee itself is enough for me to like it very much. As a fitness blogger, "perseverance" is a high-frequency word for me. And the Reserve™ coffee is also made by Starbucks' dedicated team who persevere in finding high-quality coffee beans in various places around the world every year. I am very impressed by this and I agree with it.

Q: Have you ever had coffee at a Starbucks Reserve™ store?

A: Yes! I have been to a Starbucks Reserve™ store, and the store clerk recommended two types of coffee to me. I also tried different brewing methods . I was quite surprised when I went there for the first time. I didn’t expect that Reserve stores have so many hand brewing equipment. The barista would also recommend brewing methods based on the characteristics of coffee beans and explain them to me during the brewing process. The interaction and participation were very strong, and the experience was very good.

★For these coffee lovers, the Starbucks brand means a guarantee of quality. They trust Starbucks' "Reserve" coffee beans, and Starbucks Reserve™ never disappoints them. This trust gives every cup of coffee a better meaning.

The story continues

When rare good coffee is found, when good coffee is presented with exquisite craftsmanship, when the touching stories behind the coffee are praised, and when good stories are expressed with wonderful designs and words, those that have been forgotten will eventually be remembered, in our taste buds, minds and deep in our hearts.

In the chat with these five friends, they talked about themselves, coffee, good coffee, and even a good "café experience". We also clearly felt the complete expression of the four characteristics of Starbucks Reserve™ coffee : rare varieties, strict quality, stories and feelings, and Reserve experience . And these deeply touched consumers will inevitably become secondary disseminators of these stories, leading more people to understand the connection between coffee itself and nature, and the people and stories behind it.

Time is a magical medicine. Spring goes and autumn comes, brewing beautiful coffee fruits. A new round of exploration has arrived. Starbucks' "bean-hunting experts" have already set out on the road, either negotiating with coffee farmers in the mountains, tasting coffee in coffee laboratories around the world, or looking for new possibilities in Yunnan, South America, or an island in the Pacific Ocean. There will also be more wonderful bean cards with stories, one by one.

The red coffee berries are gradually ripening, turning from green to red, and the dew on the berries is shining in the sun.

The story of Starbucks Reserve™ coffee continues and becomes even more exciting.