Kittel Coffee Company: roasted here for the barista in you

We know. "Local" coffee in Quebec (or North America...) doesn't exist. We just can't grow it. Nevertheless, what we do have in Montreal (and all of us coffee drinkers and locavores are so lucky that we do) is a local roaster as concerned about the quality of its coffee as we are of our vegetables at Lufa Farms. It's Guillaume Kittel.

For a while now, we've been thinking about the introduction of coffee in our baskets. It's a product embedded in our culture and our lives, and, although it's not a product grown and harvested here, the coffee roasting (the last step before consumption) makes a huge difference in quality. What unites us to Guillaume Kittel, among other things, is the way he roasts the coffee beans with such special care and the greatest attention to quality.

A free sample in the Marketplace to discover Kittel's coffee

JOY! In the Marketplace next week, you'll find:

  • 50g of Cachoeira da Grama, a Brazilian UTZ certified coffee 
  • Origin: Brazil Sul de Minas (1000-1200 m)
  • Notes: chocolate, nuts, black cherry
  • Acidity: soft

Guillaume and his team are roasting right now!

Barista 101: quick steps to make the best cup of coffee

Whether you are a beginner at the art of making a good cofee or an expert barista, I suggest you follow Guillaume Kittel's advice to make the most of this amazing Brazilian and locally roasted coffee.

  • The sample is prepared to brew a coffee filter. We recommend to infuse the 50g sample in 835 ml of water (3.5 cups). The beans were ground for a filter coffee machine or a paper cone (melita type).
  • You can use a Bodum, but given the finer grind, the infusion time should not exceed 3 minutes.
  • As with any coffee, it is preferable to use water that is slightly below the boiling point (96 Celsius). My tip: when the water has boiled and you cannot hear the sound of boiling, it means it's ready to pour!

So is it good? Different, right? Especially if you are not used to brown coffee, but so tasty and not bitter!

Know your coffee producer

The Carvalho family has been growing coffee for 5 generations. Their story begins in 1890 when their great-grandmother bought their first farm. The plantation is established in the valley of Sao Sebastiao da Grama at 1200m altitude in a rich volcanic soil.

Gabriel Carvalho, the current owner and his family have found a way to grow coffee in a way that incorporates both the traditional and modern methods. They now combine their expertise with technology to grow some of the finest coffees in Brazil.

Respect for nature is one of the major concerns of Carvalho. They designed their farm to respect and protect the surrounding forests, and farm waste is composted and reused.

See where their farm is on Google Maps

Know your local roaster

Guillaume Kittel has been roasting coffee for nearly two years (same age as Lufa Farms!) in his workshop on Fullum street in Montreal. The got bitten by the coffee bug while working in finance and drinking delicious espresso prepared by a renowned Montreal-based barista, Maude. After roasting coffee with a small machine in his own apartment for some time, he acquired his famous Diedrich which he now uses to roast coffees of the highest quality.

Are you a coffee "geek" ?

At home, my boyfriend (who does not drink coffee) and my roommate (who drinks instant coffee) look at me strangely when I start grinding my coffee using a small manual ceramic mill. I frantically crank this thing for 2-3 minutes, put the coffee in my Bodum and slowly pour boiled water until a specific level...it's a ritual. According to Guillaume, there are different levels of  coffee "geekiness". Do you weight your water (sterilized?) and coffee? Is your coffee machine worth more than a month's rent? Do you avoid putting sugar in your coffee?

In all cases, if you are still reading, your level of "geekiness" is probably quite high and you may be interested in the following details.

  • The machine

  • Before roasting, coffee beans are bright green

  • About 20 pounds of coffee are roasted at once
  • Roasting takes a dozen minutes. Every minute or so, Guillaume takes note of the temperature and adjusts if necessary

  • Once out of the roaster, it smells like popcorn and roasted nuts. The beans cool down for several minutes.

  • After grinding the coffee, Chris identifies different coffees and rounds of roasting to have a first test: the smell
  • Water is then poured and allowed to steep for 4 minutes
  • Then you push the crust formed on top and you immediately smell
  • Last, the "slurping" in which you project the coffee throughout your mouth to taste all its subtleties...blueberries? nuts? chocolate?

Verdict? I love it. Cachoeira da Grama coffee will soon be available on the Marketplace, freshly roasted for you by Guillaume and his team. Enjoy your coffee & give us your feedback via the weekly survey, accessible from your Lufa Farms account!

Kittel Compagnie de café
5500 rue Fullum
Facebook
?(514) 303-2244
ventes@kittelcoffee.com
http://www.kittelcoffee.com (under construction)