What We Are Brewing: Black & White Coffee
Coffee is so much more than a drink enjoyed in the morning or an afternoon pick-me-up. A cup of coffee has the ability to bring people closer together through conversation and laughter, foster new relationships, or rekindle old ones. So often, coffee is accompanied by more than a taste, but a feeling.
Here at Prima, we love coffee. We love the taste, the mouthfeel, the art of brewing, but above all else, we can vouch that coffee has a remarkable way of bringing people closer together. Our best conversations are ones standing around a server of freshly brewed coffee, discussing the coffee itself, our plans, our dreams. It’s through coffee that we became more than coworkers, but a family.
So, we are back again with a new What We Are Brewing, ready to share with you a new coffee, a new roaster, and a new recipe that has brought us great joy recently here in the Prima office. So let’s get to brewing!
This month's roaster is Black & White Coffee Roasters out of North Carolina, and now have three locations spanning across the Raleigh area. They were founded in 2017 by U.S. Barista Champions Kyle Ramage and Lem Butler who have years of experience spanning across all sectors of specialty coffee. Their mission is to create opportunities for coffee professionals, help expand their careers and to make specialty coffee more approachable to the masses.
Our featured coffee of the month is a gorgeous washed single-origin Colombian coffee, Robert Pillume - Alto del Carmen Cauca, Colombia. Robert Pillume is a member of the Martír group. Martír is a made up of 18 members that are passionate about environmentally friendly, sustainable, organic farming that spans across southwestern Colombia. They strive to produce truly beautiful beans that bring about exceptional yields in every cup.
Our brewer today is the Walküre Bayreuth. Although we do not currently have them in stock due to being discontinued in 2019, we are excited to announce they are projected to become available again in winter 2021. The Bayreuth is made by Walküre porcelain — a 120 year old German porcelain company. It has a beautiful, almost artistic appearance and produces a full-bodied, yet clean brew. It doesn’t require paper filters and uses a very simple and forgiving brew method that doesn't call for a gooseneck kettle or fancy pouring technique.
B&W describes this coffee as having notes of hibiscus, toffee, and plum. When we brewed it, we got a pleasant melony taste — very sweet and nicely balanced.
| Roaster: | B&W Coffee Roasters |
|---|---|
| Coffee: | Robert Pillume - Alto del Carmen Cauca, Colombia |
| Process: | Washed |
| Brewing Device: | Walküre Bayreuth |
| Grind: | Medium coarse |
| Dose: | 30 grams |
| Water: | 350 grams at 210°F |
| Time: | 4:00 |
Before you begin brewing, make sure you’ve done all the tedious work like heating the water, grinding the coffee, pre-heating the brewer, and making sure your scale is charged.
- Pre-heat the brewer by pouring hot water through it and along the sides of it.
- Wet the filter — this creates a vacuum. Pour 30 grams of coffee into the filter.
- Pour a pre-infusion of 100 grams and wait 30 seconds.
- During your second pour, keep an eye on the circle that forms from the water pouring on the porcelain. Pour high and watch until the circle contracts, at that point, stop pouring to prevent the grounds from overflowing. This should occur at around 450 grams.
- It should finish around 4 minutes
Now time for the taste test! Do you pick up on some of the flavor notes we did? You will notice that with the Walküre you get a clean cup of coffee with a fuller body than you get with a paper filter. If the coffee is not quite to your liking, try, try again. Afterall, it really is a matter of preference! Keep testing, keep tasting, and keep brewing!
