What is Oak Barrel Coffee? What flavor does oak barrel processed coffee have? Oak Barrel Coffee

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"Barrel processing" refers to placing green coffee beans in used wine or spirit barrels for several weeks, during which time they are manually turned. Green coffee beans are affected by the taste of wine or spirits remaining in the barrel, and these newly produced flavors are further modified during roasting.

San Jose Manor has been actively experimenting with various coffee treatments in the trend of fine coffee in recent years.

Monsalve Botero, owner of the estate, was accompanying her husband (who makes lime oak barrels and makes lime wine) when filling lime distillate. Would it be possible to ferment green coffee beans in oak barrels to produce different flavor presentations? For this reason, since 2013, the owner of the estate has tried to carry out wine-making low-temperature fermentation with different fermentation times in Colombia oak barrels of different aging times. Finally, in this year's batch, created a different from the general traditional washing delicate washing!

The first rule of coffee is "fresh." The shorter the time between the plantation and the coffee cup, the better. But now some coffee roasters are doing the opposite, trying to create new coffee flavors by placing green coffee beans in oak barrels that may have been used to store wine, whiskey and even absinthe. Coffee beans are stored in barrels for easy transportation and have a long history in the coffee trade. There were no special requirements for barrels at that time, and basically what was available was used. "Oak barrel processed" coffee has a special aroma after brewing, and some even call it a revival of "dessert-coffee".

"Anything with strong odors in the coffee storage environment imparts its own smell to the green beans, so we envision putting coffee in oak barrels to add flavor to the coffee." Ronnie Haas, Director of Sales at Ceremony Coffee Aannapolis Maryland. Hass has been experimenting with "oak barrel processed" coffee since 2012.

Friends at Goose Island Beer Company gave them two bourbon oak barrels. The Dark Matter coffee team experimented with Mexican sun-dried Typica beans in one of the barrels, and a month later the batch of coconut, vanilla and grape flavors became a hit on the market.

"We haven't invented anything new, but the use of barrels is an old thing with historical roots," Diaz points out, noting that in the 17th and 18th centuries, the Dutch East India Company shipped coffee beans in barrels that might have previously been used to hold salt, pickles, rum or brandy.

Among the new products Dark Matter Coffee plans to bring to market: Ethiopian coffee beans treated with absinthe barrels, with lemon and licorice flavors. In the future, oak barrels filled with gin, rye whiskey and cider are also considered.

Used oak barrels are not cheap at all, although coffee roasters can get free or cheap oak barrels from well-connected wineries. The market price of an oak barrel is $500 and can hold 150 pounds of coffee beans, which is about $1000 per experiment. So roasters must understand their coffee beans and understand the characteristics of different types of oak barrels. Diza points out that "working with breweries is very important, you have to learn their products and combine that knowledge with coffee to create unique flavors."

It is also important to select coffee beans that fit the barrel, requiring careful planning, continuous monitoring, and multiple team cupping tests. Haas recalled that Ceremony coffee had "wasted" a whole barrel of coffee beans in an early experiment: "We put the beans in the barrel too early, when the whiskey oak barrel was not completely dry, and we could clearly smell the coffee stinking during the monitoring process." Now we are starting to use hygrometers to monitor the moisture content of coffee beans and roast colorimeters during roast testing."

The moisture content of coffee beans is an important variable in roasting, especially when roasting "oak barrel processed" coffee. During the storage of coffee beans in oak barrels, the moisture content of coffee beans increases, approaching the moisture state of coffee beans when they complete the farm processing stage and are ready for export.

oak barrel processing flavor| Lime, Muscat, Cherry, Bouquet Chocolate

roasting degree| light baking

producing areas| Caldas

altitude| 1,650-1,850 m

varieties| Castillo Naranjal

approach| lime barrel washing

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