Learning the Art of Coffee on Wickenden

Ben Gaul is the main roaster at the Coffee Exchange. Once a chef, he got his first taste of the coffee world at a roaster in western Mass. He learned the tricks of a barista and about flavor profiles, and landed an opportune roasting position at the Wickenden Street Cafe. Ben hasn’t stopped roasting since.

What makes the coffee tasting experience different from say, wine?
Ninety percent of all coffee is aromatic. The difference between wine and coffee is where you experience the flavor. You experience wine on your palate; most of the flavor notes you experience with coffee are through your nose.

How much of a coffee bean’s flavor comes from the bean itself versus roasting?
Beans, like anything else you cook, have inherent aromas. Where the bean was grown – the soil, the water and the air – compose the inherent flavors. Roasting adds new flavor to the bean. Roasting typically adds sugar browning flavors. Any inherent fruit flavors will intensify with roasting, plus other flavors you didn’t expect.

What are the main aromatic and flavor differences in a light versus a dark roast?
Light roasts tend to be sweeter and fruitier. They also cool well. Some of the sour, acidic and fruit notes still come through. Light roasts maintain the innate quality of the beans. Dark roasts tend to be saltier and more bitter. They don’t cool very well and are better hot. The prevalent taste is the roast; it doesn’t matter as much where the bean came from.

Because the coffee experience is so aromatic, are there special ways to describe those aromas?
Absolutely. At first you will perceive some fruit/vegetable notes such as stone fruit, berry, coffee blossom, etc. Then you perceive notes of sugar browning from the roasting process such as malt, vanilla, chocolate, toasted nuts and honey. Lastly you taste those spicy after flavor notes such as thyme and pepper. A stranger aroma is mowed grass – usually from an Indian bean.

Are there beans grown and roasted specifically for espresso?
There are not necessarily “espresso” beans; it is the extraction process that makes the end product espresso. It’s the combination of a small dose (amount in weight) of coffee, the water running through it and the addition of pressure to get flavors out. There are flavors you may not know existed otherwise and you need some sort of external force to get it through. Espresso can also be a dark or light roast.

Where do you get your beans from?
All coffee here is sourced through Cooperative Coffees – our co-op of about 23 members. The co-op does the sourcing and the evaluations and was designed to be a Fair Trade Organic co-op. We pay the farmers more than the Fair Trade premium.

Just how involved does Coffee Exchange become in coffee bean farms?
We are interested in both economic and environmental sustainability. With regards to economic sustainability, for example, we would recommend that the farmer plant banana trees as shade on the farm versus a manmade structure. The trees could also provide enough fruit to sell. For environmental sustainability, bringing those banana trees in may increase wildlife diversity. We have a responsibility to the farm; they give me the beans and it’s my job to represent that farm the best I can.