Comments on: Japanese consumer fad of the minute?: Newly harvested coffee beans attracting attentions

By: TheShot

TheShot — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 01:54:25 +0000

Well, not knowing a direct answer, let’s do some math.

According to this research, there are about 3,423 coffee beans in a pound:
http://edhat.com/site/tidbit.cfm?id=79

And per the Istituto Nazionale Espresso Italiano’s standard for Certified Italian Espresso:
http://www.espressoitaliano.org/doc/EIC%20-%20Eng%20-%20LQ.pdf [pdf]
an espresso should have 7g (±0.5) of ground coffee.

And we know that there are about 453.59 grams to a pound.

7 ÷ 453.59 = .0154 pounds of ground coffee per espresso
× 3,423 = 52.8, or about 53 beans.

Now remember that we’re excluding for the fact that some ground coffee doesn’t make it from the bag through the grinder and into the portafilter basket for various reasons. Or that different bean varietals can vary in density and bean size, thus affecting the beans-per-pound ratio, etc. But that should get you started.

And yes — use a local roaster if possible. But in Canada, you’d be in heaven if you lived near 49th Parallel Roasters. They deliver within 48 hours of ordering (yes, that includes roasting!) for anywhere in North America too.

By: Len Phillips

Len Phillips — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 00:41:43 +0000

My question is how many beans does it take to make one espresso…….I live in Canada and where would I buy the most fresh beans, I am assuming from a locla roaster.

Thanks,

Len Phillips

By: TheShot

TheShot — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 19:33:44 +0000

I have to believe you’re right about that, Tonx. I’ve always associated the early main harvest stuff as better than some of the fly crop that might otherwise get tossed in some regions, but not by a whole lot. Like the first strawberries of the season. And the early harvest stuff is more likely to sit longer before an isotainer gets filled for first shipment.

I gotta believe it all has to come down to prompt shipping relative to the prime harvesting times.

By: t o n x

t o n x — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 17:59:42 +0000

I think there is some confusion in that article between the idea of “early” harvest versus merely fresh crop coffees. Its unlikely that any coffee buyers are particularly seeking out the first lots out of the mills. On the contrary, the earliest parts of the harvest in most coffee regions are typically from the lower elevations and therefore lower in quality. The real distinction would be between coffees that are freshly arrived versus coffees that have been loitering in a warehouse becoming dead and baggy. Its not clear to me from the article whether the Japanese are taking some liberties in their marketing or if the author misunderstands their premise. Or maybe something is lost in the translation between “fresh”, “new”, and “early”.

Many roasters in the US have been shifting to further embrace the seasonality of coffee, running particular origins only during their peak of flavor, changing offering lists more frequently. More a welcome development than a fad.