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All About Coffee with Madeleine Pengelley of Birds and Beans.

by Stephanie

All About Coffee with Madeleine Pengelley of Birds and Beans.

Ceramic Mug via Ceramic Sense


Do you like coffee?

I love coffee. I’m always trying to quit drinking it though because I find I’m pretty sensitive to caffeine, but man do I love drinking it.

It’s likely a sentiment many of you share with me.

But just like many things we consume—not all coffee is created equal. I figure if we’re going to drink coffee, we should be drinking the best dang cup of coffee we can afford.

So what makes a good quality cup of coffee?

I reached out to Madeleine Pengelley, Owner of Birds & Beans to get her take on coffee and why quality is so important.

1. Why is the quality of coffee that we drink important?

Quality coffee is an amazing beverage with more flavour molecules than wine! Quality coffee is an affordable way to delight our pallets. Simple pleasures are great!
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2. What should we look for when buying coffee either at a coffee shop or to make at home?
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​To take home, freshness is important. It is best to purchase beans that have been roasted in the last week or two and grind just prior to brewing. This yields the most flavour in the cup.

When purchasing coffee by the cup, the cafe should have a policy for how long the coffee stands prior to serving. Cleanliness of the brewing equipment is important so that the rancid oils of old coffee do not cumulate and transfer into the cup.

For espresso drinks, I always make sure they keep the porta filters hot in the machine, ​​that the milk is never reheated, and that the barista is tamping the coffee with a tamper.

3. What’s the difference between instant coffee, a coffee like Folgers and organic, fair trade coffee?

​Instant coffee is an industrial process that can be done to any coffee. It loses most of the good flavour in the process, but in recent years it has become possible to purchase Fair Trade Organic instant coffee.

“Canned” coffees and low-priced packaged coffees typically have a high proportion of low quality Robusta coffee. Robusta is unpleasant in flavour, but is easier to grow and has higher yield. Its only advantage is that it is cheap. In recent years it has become possible to purchase Fair Trade Robusta coffee.

All high-quality, flavourful coffee is Arabica, which is available in several grades. All grades are available in Fair Trade and Organic. The highest grade is Strictly High Grown specialty grade arabica coffee.

Note that Fair Trade Organic does not actually indicate quality. However, it is usually the higher grade coffees that can command the Fair Trade and Organic premiums, so there tends to be a loose correlation.

Birds and Beans purchases only High Grown or Strictly High Grown, Certified Organic, Certified Bird Friendly fairly traded Arabica coffees.

4. What is the best way to prepare and store coffee?

​The best way to store coffee is not to store it long!

There is no way to keep coffee fresh more than about 6-8 weeks after roasting. Never store coffee near anything with an odour as it will absorb them and pass them to the cup. For this reason, refrigerators are a bad place for coffee.

Freezers are even worse because frost free freezers (all home freezers) cycle to above freezing to below. This cycling temperature brings the moisture and the flavour molecules to the surface of the bean where they stale more easily.

The best place to store coffee is in a sealed container at room temperature.

Preparing coffee could be several blog posts! The most important thing in preparing coffee is to start with high-quality freshly roasted beans and grind them just prior to brewing (within four hours according to the Specialty Coffee Association of America). The correct temperature is very important: between 195F and 205F.

Maintaining clean equipment is important as is using the correct grind for the preparation method and using the most beneficial quantity of coffee for the particular roast and blend.

​5. What’s the difference between a light and dark roast?

This one is deeper than is generally understood. They are not as deterministic as is generally believed. The colour of a roast is most closely correlated with the final temperature of a roast… how hot it gets. But it is as important how the coffee arrives at its end temperature as what the end temperature is.

Some of us recall a decade ago dark roast was popular. All the independent roasters charred their beans and they tasted burnt… because they were burnt. Now it is popular to roast blond roasts. This has tended to swing in the opposite direction and now many coffees are sour and undeveloped.

An expertly roasted coffee is “right roasted.” It spends the right amount of time at each temperature during its roast profile to develop the most interesting and balanced flavours available in the bean. Flavours like chocolate, caramel, spice, berry, and nut. These correlate little with a colour of roast. That is why we post our “bold” coffee instead of a “dark” coffee.
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6. Now a personal question: how do you take your coffee?

Unspoiled of course!

Thanks so much Madeleine! If you’re in the area check out Birds & Beans cafe and take a walk down by the beautiful waterfront in Mimico.


How to make a healthier latte at home.
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Filed Under: Lifestyle Tagged With: coffee

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My brother-in-law Steve spent a large portion of o My brother-in-law Steve spent a large portion of our Christmas dinner sharpening my knives. I was so grateful, but also hesitant that I would cut myself.⁠
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When I started cooking with my newly-sharpened knives, I was in awe.⁠
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Sharp knives make all the difference when it comes to enjoying cooking. It's also safer if you can believe it.⁠
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With a sharp knife, you're less likely to push down harder on the knife trying to get it through an onion, for example.⁠
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It just slices through with little pressure. ⁠
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Dull knives leave room for error and slicing fingers (listen, I've cut a few fingers over the years...).⁠
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If you're having trouble enjoying cooking at home, I encourage you to either get a new knife (it doesn't have to be expensive), or get someone to sharpen your knives for you (call a Steve in your area!).⁠
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Take care of them with a little holder and treat them kindly. Having a sharp knife will bring you one step closer to love cooking at home.⁠
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xo⁠
Steph⁠
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#kitchenskills #cookingtips #easycooking #enjoycooking #inthekitchen
Keep Meals Simple Friends! I’ve said this befor Keep Meals Simple Friends!

I’ve said this before: keep your meals simple. 

Pick meals that take fewer than 20 minutes or less to cook so you’re not scrambling during the week to make dinner and keep the elaborate meals for the weekend.

Another idea is to choose a couple of veggies to roast on Sunday that you can use for various meals during the week. 

Roasted sweet potatoes are great with chicken thighs, but also taste fantastic in a frittata or taco. 

Cook once, eat twice (or three times).

Meal planning doesn’t have to be complicated. Keep it simple and nourishing and it get easier over time.

I’m accepting new clients at @onehealthservices! DM me if you’re looking for meal planning and prep help. 

#mealprephelp #mealplanhelp #springrefresh #
Mondays are our busy nights. I have tennis (so fun Mondays are our busy nights. I have tennis (so fun!) and my son has soccer. ⁠
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That's why I make sure to make Mondays an easier night for dinner. ⁠
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Enter salads and bowls!⁠
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Last Monday, I made a salad bowl with arugula, leftover rice, olives, tomatoes, chicken, and feta, and wowee it was yummers!⁠
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By prepping ingredients, the kids can take what they want and leave what they don't want (eh-hem, tomatoes) and we have a meal full of elements that will keep us satisfied and nourished.⁠
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Need meal prep and meal plan help?⁠
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I'm currently accepting new clients @onehealthservices! DM me or visit the link in my profile here @lealoucooks to chat about custom meal plans.⁠
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#mealprep #mealplanning #health #naturopath #virtualappointments #realfood #wholefood #foodmatters #holistichealth #culinarynutrition
Do you like eating salad?

According to my hig Do you like eating salad?

According to my highly unscientific research, there are two types of people who don’t like to eat salad:

1. Those who think eating salad is boring.
2. Those who think that salad isn’t filling enough for a full meal.
3. Ok, one more… those who don’t like eating vegetables!

If you fall into one of the first two categories, I’m here to tell you that maybe… just maybe… you’ve been making salads wrong.

I know. People don’t like to be told that what they’ve been doing is wrong (I don’t like to be told that either) but I can guarantee you that salads can be fun and filling and it’s all in how we put them together.

We can do so much more to jazz up a salad and my favourite way to do this is to think of your salad bowl as a rainbow.

When you add the colours of the rainbow to your salad bowl it’s visually more appealing to eat.

The sky is the limit in terms of the colourful foods you can add to a salad.

Not only will you feel more energized by your colourful bowl (and you’ll want to eat it), you’ll be more energized because each of those colourful vegetables has its own set of nutrients that our bodies love and crave. 

Colourful produce = Energy!

If you’re looking for fun and nourishing meal ideas I’m accepting new clients with @onehealthservices. Book a session through the link in my profile here @lealoucooks

Happy Cooking!

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About Stephanie

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Hey! I'm Stephanie. I'm a Writer, Culinary Nutrition Expert and Cooking Instructor helping families cook nourishing meals. Read more about me {here}.

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