A Nice Cuppa

How are television channels trying to gain market share in an increasingly competitive market? The answer is Webisodes. Generally in the 5-10 minute range, Webisodes are short versions of existing shows, or original, web-only series. Jumping on this trend is the Food Network, with Dave Does. And this week???s Webisode has host Dave Lieberman doing coffee.

In the just under 7 minute show, Dave begins with a quick piece about home-rigging a popcorn maker to roast his own green coffee beans in one cup batches. The idea looked intriguing. As a newcomer to the coffee world, I???ve been looking for ways to, in terribly clich??d terms, take it the next level. I had hoped Dave would give a little more info, (what better way to use a popcorn machine?) but sadly, a quick glimpse of the beans whirling around and a shot of an electrical panel was all Dave gave.

Dave spends a few minutes with a gourmet coffee buyer. The buyer gives a quick overview of what he looks for when buying new beans for his shop. In such a short time, not much can be said, so the buyer sticks to the big ones for him: sustainable farming, slave-free labor, and darn good flavor.

We???re given a short demonstration on ???cupping,??? the preferred method of coffee tasting for buyers. In this process, a bit of the roasted, ground coffee is poured into a cup, followed by steaming water. The ground coffee creates a crust at the top of the cup. After a few minutes, the crust is broken, allowing a full bouquet of aroma to be released. Dave and the buyer go through a line of different coffees, mentioning things like ???you can really smell the tobacco??? and ???the lemon herbal-ness really comes out.??? After the host gets to smell them all, the crust is pushed aside, and a spoonful of the coffee is slurped for tasting. ???The idea is to spray the coffee all over the palate for a full taste,??? explains the buyer.

An interesting segment on this episode entailed visiting George Howell of Terroir Coffee Company, a coffee connoisseur who is always on the forefront of coffee trends. In fact, he invented the frappucino (his company was then bought by Starbucks who trademarked the name of the drink). George explained the evolution of coffee-fanatics: first the hot topic was where are the beans from, and then came the obsession over how beans are roasted. He claims the next big thing is: how are the green beans treated. ???Since beans are only harvested once per year, storage and shipping of green, un-roasted beans is very important. Too many companies just leave them to sit in mesh bags, allowing the beans to oxidize.??? George???s solution? All his beans are frozen to 40 degrees below zero. And they stay that way until it???s roasting time. Interesting concept. It will be interesting to see if this trend gains momentum. Perhaps in the coming months, we???ll be hearing about Starbucks??? freezers.

Overall, this was a cute Webisode giving a brief overview of coffee for the newcomers. I can definitely see more advanced coffee-fanatics being frustrated at the lack of detailed info, however.