Cuvee Coffee

May of 1998 is when it all began. Cuvee Coffee started as a hobby, then turned into a part time specialty coffee business. In January 2007 the dream became a reality as Cuvee was a full time enterprise. Since then we have seen a lot of great things.

When I started this business, I had the silly idea that I could build a coffee culture in the great state of Texas. That idea is now a reality. The foundation is here and the continued development is happening. We still have a lot to do and a long way to go, but it won't take 12 years this time.

I love Top Chef, Iron Chef and the Food Network. This was where I first saw Chef John Besh. I remember avidly rooting for him to win. The reason was simple, his personality. I have never had the pleasure of eating at one of his restaurants and all of the chefs were very talented, but I could totally relate to his humor. Rashelle makes fun of me and calls it a “man crush”, but the reality is that I found his personality to be similar to my own. This past weekend, I had the opportunity to serve coffee at an event for Mr. Besh, here in Austin, Texas. The event was at Parkside (another great restaurant) and there were about 75 people in attendance. I had the opportunity to meet John in person and I have to say that he was no different in person than he was on T.V. He was friendly, funny and extremely approachable. I admit that I was a bit nervous as most of the celebrity-type folks (and particularly chefs) that I have met in the past have been borderline arrogant and left me disappointed. Chef John Besh was the exception to my previous experiences. We chatted about coffee and he mentioned his interest in specialty coffee and “chasing the perfect cup.” I was super impressed with him and his business partner and can say with all certainty that next time I make it to New Orleans (which unfortunately is not very often) I will be making a reservation at one or two of his restaurants!

Last summer, I took two trips to Brazil in search of a specialty coffee and a farm that we could fall in love with and start to build a relationship. Our first coffee will be arriving sometime in October and should be nothing short of spectacular. The varietal is yellow bourbon and I was blown away with what I tasted and saw. Historically, this particular coffee goes straight to buyers in Japan and never sees the light of North America. This year, that all changes. I will send out more information and updates as I plan for my trips to South America this summer. In the mean time, here is some information from a newsletter that I received, talking about the yellow bourbon in Brazil.

The first time a person saw a yellow coffee fruit here and registered the discovery was in 1871, in the city of Botucatu in the interior of the São Paulo State. According to the Instituto Agronômico de Campinas (IAC), at that time "it was a huge sensation" and that unique fruit, of the Arabica species, was named the Botocatu Yellow. Production was low, but the news spread all over the world because it proved to be a different and sweeter beverage.

With increased coffee production in Brazil and the expansion of productive areas, natural mutations and genetic recombination took place within the coffee plantations. Out of these difficult events (one in every 1 million) came the Yellow Bourbon, a natural hybridization of the Yellow Botucatu and the Red Bourbon.

This culture was first found in 1930, in the interior of the State of São Paulo, in Pederneiras. Several researches later, the IAC worked on improving the Yellow Bourbon and realized that it adapts better to higher regions, above 3,200 feet, and it matures earlier than other cultures.

SWEETNESS AND CITRIC NOTES

This coffee drew attention from many Brazilian producers. But it was in Sul de Minas, more specifically in the Serra da Mantiqueira micro region, that the culture found its spot, and with the proper management, could demonstrate its full potential in the beverage.

The largest distinction of these beans is the balance between body, acidity and sweetness. According to experts, the Yellow Bourbon must be harvested when it reaches an orange to almost golden color. At this stage it is fully mature. The pulp does not have a larger quantity of fructose (fruit sugar), which allows for large scale enzymatic reactions at the time maturation peaks and right after harvest. These reactions are responsible for, among other, the floral note aromas such as jasmine and orange blossoms.

According to Marcia Yoko Shimosaka, coffee taster for AMSH Consultoria Agrícola, the Yellow Bourbon variety, in general, is a delicate, sweet beverage, with medium acidity, high lemon critic notes and a smooth but persistent aftertaste.

While at cupping, the result is floral aromatic notes arising when the crust is formed as the hot water contacts the coffee powder. The acidity, usually citric and sweet, can be higher or lower, depending on where the coffee is produced. The coffee has full body and is well balanced. One of the trademarks of the flavor is the presence of fruity notes, such as Italy grapes, always present in coffees produced in high altitude areas such as Poços de Caldas or Cristina, Minas Gerais.

In case of the espresso there can be a higher presence of sweetened citric acidity due to the high pressure extraction. The drink has the usual body that can be better noticed when it starts to cool. The more delicate fruity notes are slightly lost, and replaced by notes such as caramel and dried fruit as almonds. The fruit notes are more accentuated if they are combined with milk, in machiatto or caffè latte type of drinks.

In the case of filtered coffee, it is possible to extract the best the bean has to offer. Because the aroma and flavor notes are very volatile, in a friendlier extraction process they are enhanced to intensify the taste. Finalization is very pleasing and almost always fast but silky. Using this preparation process the balance is practically perfect.

My recent travel schedule has been pretty intense lately. After my time in El Salvador, I hopped the bus over to Guatemala where I caught up with the Roasters Guild Origin Trip (a blog and video are currently in the works). I got home on Thursday and had 4 days to catch up with my family before hitting the road again. I had some work to do and our washing machine was broken, but Connor and Cole wanted to play baseball so I set aside time to do that. Rashelle came down with a cold which made leaving again tough, but I made a commitment.

So now it is 4:00 am in Taiwan and my sleep schedule is obviously off right now. I am here to support my friend, Silence Huang, as he prepares to launch his coffee house and barista training center. Silence and I have known each other three years now. We have shared and learned about coffee and I am honored that he invited Cuvee Coffee to participate at the Ugly Duckling grand opening on Friday.

Today, we visited 3 specialty coffee shops in Taipei. It is a magical time here right now. Even though the weather is rainy and cold, it is the New Year and people are out and about all over the city. Every shop we visit, I am immediately greeted with a cheerful, “happy new year.” I have learned some very basic Chinese, but my teacher (Silence) is so good that when I meet and greet someone, they think that I speak the language and are quickly disappointed that I only have 3 sentences in my vocabulary. The shops were all very pleasant experiences. I was prepared for some very bad coffee (based on what I have been told), but I have been pleasantly surprised so far. Don’t get me wrong, there is still much room for improvement just like in the U.S. but so far I have had some great coffee. The highlights have been a very skillfully crafted pour over tasting of 5 different specialty coffees and a stellar shot of espresso from the 2007 Taiwanese Barista Champion.

The night ended with a visit to Eason’s family owned restaurant where we feasted on noodles, fish, crab, lobster, beer and cognac. Silence’s parents and two brothers where there along with Eason’s parents. The night was magical with everyone welcoming me to Taiwan by hoisting their glasses of cognac and wishing me wealth and happiness in the New Year.

I just woke up and I am not able to get back to sleep, but as I check email and catch up on work I am reminded how important and valuable family time can be. I will have been on the road just over 3 weeks by the time I get home. February will nearly be over and I will have slept in my own bed a grand total of about 8 days the entire month. This is family time that I can never recapture. I know that my family loves and supports me, but one of the things that really drove this home was the look on Connor’s face when he opened the office door last Thursday. I was sitting with Rashelle, at here desk, catching up on the previous 2 weeks when the door opened and I saw the most beautiful, excited, happy expression that I have ever seen. Connor did not expect to see me, but when he did he light up and ran to me for a huge hug. It was a moment that I will never forget.

I am building a business and there are times that require difficult decisions. There are sacrifices and I will need to choose them wisely, but I am constantly reminded that my decisions must be made with purpose. I stumbled across this video and as I watched it, my eyes welled up with tears. I love my work and have goals for my business. I am making a positive impact in other parts of the world and in my own community, but every once in a while I am given a gentle reminder of what is most important.

This past week has been great. I am in El Salvador with 3 friends who have never visited a coffee farm. Robby Grubbs, from Local Coffee in San Antonio, Matt Spillars and Stacey from Enos Pizza Tavern in Dallas Texas. We spent the last 3 days visiting coffee farms and processing plants in several regions of El Salvador. I remember my first trip to a coffee farm, what I learned and the feeling I had discovering how coffee is grown, havested and processed. It has been great watching Robby, Matt and Stacey discover this for themselves. We have had some really great discussions and I am looking forward to bringing more customers to visit the coffee growers that Cuvee Coffee is working with.

This morning we did a marathon cupping of specialty coffees with different processing methods, different varietals, and different forms of fertelizer. The highligts of todays cupping was the Pacamara and the Orange Bourbon. These coffees were something special and I am looking forward to their arrival at our Texas roasting plant.

After the cupping, we headed down from the mountains to the coast. We ate seafood at a beautiful restaurant right on the beach. Then we stopped in to grab some coffee at Viva Espresso. We have been staying at the Las Cruces processing mill, but everyone is departing early in the morning so we are staying in San Salvador tonight. Matt, Stacey and Robby all have to catch a flight at 7:45 am to head home. I am jumping on a bus at 6:45 and heading to Guatemala for the next 10 days. I will be visiting some regions that I have never seen so I am very excited about that.