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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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Follow me on Instagram • @lealoulemonade

From what I’ve heard so far, our property used t From what I’ve heard so far, our property used to be an apple orchard called Hope Farms in the 1800s. That’s all I really know (oh and that there’s a ghost we’ve yet to experience).

I was so excited to learn there were still 3 apple trees. But when we moved here no apples came.

The former owners must have trimmed them because truthfully they can be a bit of a pain when they fall and the animals and bugs get at them.

This year we started to see apples and then more apples and now all three trees are full of them. 

Many of them are wonky or blemished but they taste good! 

I picked this one today. It looks like I bought it from a store. 

‘Is that from *our* tree?’ The kids asked.

How cool and rewarding it is to pick food from your own yard. ❤️🍎🍏
Fun garden stuff! 🌱I picked some bush beans! M Fun garden stuff!

🌱I picked some bush beans! Most of them didn’t take. I think I have a furry little muncher eating the leaves…

🌱I harvested my garlic! I planted 16 cloves in November and now I have 16 bulbs! Pretty sweet return right there.

🌱My cauliflower is coming along! Almost there. 

🌱Not pictured are my mini watermelons! They’re so cute!

I’m learning lots and already thinking of what I’d do differently next summer.
Well, guess what? Our wellness retreat was cance Well, guess what? 

Our wellness retreat was canceled on June 24 because it was calling for thunderstorms all day - we had to make a call and guess what else? It barely rained! 

Such is life!

We managed to move most of the attendees to Sunday, July 16 and we'd love to open it up one more time to see if you would like to attend with them.

We'd love to see you!

As a reminder, here is the plan for the day:

❤️Welcome Circle
❤️Yoga + Group Reiki Class with Sonya Brar
❤️Cooking Class with me!
❤️Lunch together
❤️Meditation
❤️Closing Circle

I'm finalizing the yummy recipes we'll be cooking and eating. Fresh and local ingredients as much as possible. 

I'm also keeping the recipes simple because you're coming to recharge right? 

Join us on July 16! Link is in my bio @lealoucooks 
—-
@soar_wellness
Eat the rainbow(ish). 🌈 I find kids (and adult Eat the rainbow(ish). 🌈

I find kids (and adults) are more likely to eat veggies when we offer them like this. 

Sounds simple, but I find my kids eat more like this than when I put them in lunches or directly on their plates at dinner. 

Plus, it’s pretty on the table! 

I’m serving this with pulled chicken sandwiches for dinner tonight! 

Soccer night! ⚽️

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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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