What is Third Wave Coffee?We have moved back to the handcraft of real coffee and carefully extracting all the aromas from the beans. From the First Wave where coffee felt more like it was “manufactured” rather than “farmed”, throughout the Second Wave of cheap Starbucks blends and instant Nespresso shots, to third wave of now finally supporting the right conditions for the farmers. When talking about third wave coffee, the entire supply chain is equally important. The farmers are ensuring a natural yield and deeply care for their plaintation. The roasters carefully sample different profiles for different coffee varieties. The baristas experiement with different brew techniqies for different coffee varieites, from different origins, from different roast profiles. The final step - but arguably equally important - is the appreciation of all the above by the end consumer. This is what is known as Third Wave Coffee.View All Collection
The next movementThird Wave
The location of the Coffee farms are essential to the quality of the beans. coffee grown at lower altitudes have nutty and chocolate aromas with beans grown at the highest altitudes typically being characterised as floral and fruity, to the lower altitude coffee having less acidity and therefor less significant characteristics.
The farmers are now also starting to experiemnt with various process of the coffee cherry, which includes Natural Sundrying, Anaerobic Fermentation and Carbonic Maceration. The increased knowledge among the coffee farmers have pushed the quality of the exported coffee tremendously within just a few years.
The bean’s normal loss of carbon dioxide and other gasses begins as soon as it is roasted, and carries on for only a couple of weeks following the roast. Many of the volatile compounds found within the gasses are what brings flavor to our coffee, why we want to contain them as long as possible. That’s why freshly roasted coffee is so important!
Furthermore, it is equally important that the grinding of the beans happens within seconds of extraction. The grinding process instantly breaks the cells within the coffee bean and releases all the beautiful aromas you picked the bean for. Up to 80% of the aromas will be released within just 60 seconds from grinding. This is why any home barista and cafe will not grind until right before they are brewing.
The quality and freshness of the roast and grind can not only be tasted but also seen. When using coffee roasted inside of a ten day window and grinded within seconds before use, the coffee retains the carbon dioxide along with other volatile compounds. When the coffee grounds are exposed to hot water, the emission of these gasses are intensified, and they create what is called the “bloom.” A rich and lively bloom indicates that the coffee still has all its fresh aromas and carbon dioxide bound inside it.
