Putting the W.O.W. Back into Coffee... W.O.W. (Word Of the Week): Bloom

From time to time I will change up the blog posts to cover a term or some jargon we commonly use. As with all industries, the coffee industry has its own language. I have been compiling a list for some time now. It has words included on it like: specialty coffee, cupping, bold, strong, roast level, micro lot, mélange and bloom. I’ll be honest, I really do not like tasting flowers. Some are lovely to smell, others not so much. The coffee blossom has an amazing fragrance I will never forget. None of these refer to the bloom of coffee.

What is the bloom? What makes coffee bloom? Why is this important to you? Excellent questions! Here’s what it looks like:

When hot water is poured over or into fresh roasted coffee, there should be some expansion and bubbling up of the coffee. Or rather the carbon dioxide (CO2) in the coffee. What happens during the bloom is the CO2 is being released from the coffee grounds and replaced with water so you can enjoy the extraction or brewing of the coffee. This is important because that’s where the flavor of the coffee is being held and needs to be released for your maximum drinking pleasure. The greater the bloom, the fresher the coffee, for the most part.

There a few reasons coffee doesn’t bloom. One, it’s not fresh. Two, it wasn’t packaged or stored to protect again staling. Three, it’s decaf coffee. Freshness: Generally speaking, the fresher the coffee, the greater the bloom. Coffees roasted on the lighter side tend not to bloom as vigorously as darker roasts. Remember, here at Lamppost, we recommend you buy the amount of coffee you can consume in two weeks. Packaging: If coffee is stored in a bag, it should be a foil or heavier plastic bag with a one-way valve that is resealable and left as whole beans. The one-way valve allows the initial de-gassing that occurs in all roasted coffee to escape without letting air come into contact with the coffee, as well as using a barrier type of bag, and speeding up the staling (oxidizing) process. When coffee is pre-ground ahead of brewing, this also accelerates the staling process because you have smaller coffee particles coming into contact with air. Here at Lamppost, we use specially lined paper bags that are recyclable. We actually do not recommend long term storage in these bags. Once you get your whole bean coffee home, transfer it to an airtight container and store it in a cool dark place, like a cupboard but not the fridge or freezer. We also strongly recommend that you grind your coffee right before you brew it. Again, this give you the maximum opportunity to brew and enjoy amazing coffee at home. Grinding right before you brew gives you greater control over freshness and increased natural flavors in your coffee. Decaf: Decaf coffee has already had a chemical reaction forced upon it to decaffeinate. The process of decaffeination is anothers day blog. Here at Lamppost, we only buy and roast coffee that has been decaffeinated using a water process. In short, water has already been pushed through the beans to remove the caffeine particles. So it will not bloom like regular coffee. As I mentioned earlier, coffee roasted darker usually blooms a little more. There is also some variation in the blooming process naturally from coffee to coffee.

This week, when you grind your coffee and begin the brewing process, watch for the bloom! Thank you for joining us on our coffee adventure. Now it’s your turn to venture into coffee…

#brewing #grind #fresh #WOW