What is the connection between the VW beetle trunk lid for our sign and coffee?
Armando and I might be accused of being the type to leap first, and look second in our enthusiasm to get things done, and sometimes our passion for new ideas rule our motivations.
The sign was just such an idea. I saw the beetle hood for sale and it reminded me of Mexico , which got me thinking of Armando and the factory. We had to have it, not sure what we were going do with it, but I thought it would be cool somehow. Sometimes cool wins out over practical. Being that we import coffee from all over Latin America and the VW beetle in prevalent throughout, it seemed there was a connection. I saw it, it was dropped off and 10 minutes later after much laughter we thought of the sign idea outside. While it was painted we ordered the license plate and rewired the light with an LED light. We made up a bracket and there you go.
I think it exemplifies our willingness to take chances, do it ourselves, make things happen and all the time maintaining a connection to where our coffee comes from and the stories that come our way. Wait ‘til you see the new sign we are working on!
We always love visitors to come to our factory and try our coffees but now with COVID protocol we ask that you make an appointment on our “contact” section of the website or Facebook. We limit visitors to 3 people for safety but also to have enough time to ask all your coffee questions without feeling rushed. Welcome to Las Fincas Coffee.
One visit to our factory will let you in on our coffee world. We have mixed a workable space with an inviting atmosphere where we are always willing to stop and talk coffee. What you notice first is our variety of specialty coffees from every corner of the globe. We have always chosen our coffees based on quality of cupping notes and the traceability to the farmers that grow it. We are drawn to unique harvesting methods, washing and drying techniques and sometimes simply the characters themselves that tell us about their coffee.
Our goal is to respect all those that have a hand in that coffee from the time it’s grown to the time it poured into the cup. Once we receive our coffee at our factory that’s when our aspirations shine through. At first glance our larger coffee roaster looks much like any other drum style roaster. But here is where “our way” takes root and stands out from the others.
While our roaster has a 70 kg capacity, we found that half batches produce a consistent roast and allows us to monitor all our sensors more precisely. If you come by, and we strongly suggest you do, we will show you how we have modified our roaster to suit the results we are looking for. Every bean, depending on origin, elevation and variety can have different sizes and densities and this in turn effects our roasting methods. With this in mind we have modified the size of the burners we use, in fact Armando’s love of bread making lead to the research on our specific burners. Our burners are similar to those used in large bakeries when baking baguettes. Las Fincas worked with a company in France to design and supply the correct burners so that the heat produced could be manipulated easily throughout the roast. Equally important is the quality of heat they produce that allows us to extend roasting times allowing the full flavors of each roast the be extracted without going to a dark, over-roasted or burnt coffee. In addition to the burners we have added turbo chargers to each burner that ensures the proper ratio of propane and air is available no mater how intense the heat required. Sensors that monitor bean temperature, air and exhaust temperature all contribute to being able to replicate identical roasts for each blend. These might be considered little things to some but it is all in an effort to produce the best results for each origin or blend of coffee we roast. Our efforts to respect the process from beginning to end drives us to be unique in our approach to the craft of roasting coffee. We are always looking for ways to improve with every roast. Our own custom roaster is just one of those ways that makes us stand out. When people ask what is our best cup of coffee is, we always answer “ the next one”.
It never stops to amaze me when I open a bag of green coffee and see thousands of rock like, emerald, translucent green seeds. In such state they really don’t possess much more than a vegetable smell that ranges from fruity to spices depending on their process and where they came from. As you may know the soil where coffee beans were grown and their varietal will influence their flavor character and aromas. Of course, the real magic happens when coffee beans are finally roasted and they bring out all their organoleptic characteristics which can vary from chocolate like to savory, fruity, etc., you get the idea. As coffee is roasted there are many physical and chemical changes that perhaps you already know about. These changes allow coffee to deliver somewhere around 800 flavor compounds in the form of taste and aromas. Imagine, just to compare, wine is considered a very complex beverage with its 300 about flavor compounds. So all of this is really incredible, how can a simple lifeless seed produce such a complex and delicious nectar of pure joy. While coffee is in its green form flavor deterioration is really slow compared to when it has been roasted. A well stored green coffee will lose its freshness in quite some time. While a freshly roasted coffee really depending on how it is stored and how it was roasted loses its flavor peak very quickly, surely within 45 days.
Ingenious as we humans are, we discover amazing things (like coffee) and invent ways to process them to make the best use out of them. While at the same time creating new conundrums that keep us mind-boggling about solutions. Yes… materials are invented as protective barriers and putting a one way valve is proposed to release the CO2 build up produced at roasting. However, the solution allows us to extend the shelf life of our precious roasted coffee, but not for much longer. I apologize, you have been reading already way to many words and I don’t want to bore you much longer with all the technicalities of materials and processes. You have probably heard it all by now, and you are rushing through this words to get to my point. Ok, well I will try to be short and explain you the theory behind our pressurized aluminum coffee cans.
So, what if instead of releasing all the CO2 contained in freshly roasted coffee beans we where to use it to our advantage? Oxygen is coffee’s ultimate enemy along with the moisture in the environment. CO2 gas also needs to be released from the coffee beans to make our beverage stable in flavor. The release of the gas contained in the roasted coffee will drag out some essential aromas and lipids that are important for a flavorful cup. Also the pressure that the gas exerts in the internal wall of each coffee bean pushes these fatty and tasty oils to its exterior surface. Perhaps, you have noticed on some medium roast coffees that at times they inhibit droplets of oil like a drop of water on their surface. When coffee gets crushed during grinding, these oily substances will end up in some particles but not evenly distributed in the crushed coffee bean. With our unique controlled packing method we are using the CO2 that is usually forced out of coffee and containing it inside the can. This keeps oxygen out of contact with the roasted coffee, while the aluminum container makes a complete anti-moisture barrier protecting the coffee aromas from deterioration. Best of all, the lipids and aromatic compounds are distributed evenly within all the internal walls of the roasted coffee. There is no external exposure of them and this will make for a more structured and defined flavor in the final stage, your cup. Finally, we are capable of extending the shelf life for up to a year from the roasting and packing date. Basically, we create a complete protective negative pressure vault that helps age coffee if the term could apply, resulting in a more intense and unique cup of coffee. An added bonus to our coffee cans is that you still get to enjoy the coffee within the next 45 days from opening, even if that would be a year later from its original roasting date.
