For my Beverage Production Experiential Learning Analysis instead of visiting a winery like most people, I decided to go to a coffee roaster. The reason why I decided to visit a coffee roaster instead of a winery is because I work at a coffee shop and I wanted to have more knowledge of how coffees make that flavor they make. So the coffee roaster I decided to visit is East One Coffee Roaster. It is located at 384 Court St, Brooklyn, NY 11231. To get here you can take the F train to Carroll St and walk up to Carroll St and Court Street. It took me a while to get there because I was traveling down from Flushing. Before going to the place I did some research to make sure that they roasted coffees and I found out that they aren’t only a roaster, they are also a coffee shop, and an eatery. On google they got they got a 4.6 Star Rating, on yelp they have a 4 Star Rating, on trip advisor is 3.5 Star Rating, and on Facebook they have a 5 Star Rating. On Monday-Friday they are opened from 7AM to 7PM and on Saturday-Sundays they are opened from 8AM to 7PM. At this café they also have a eatery and a coffee roaster. The eatery hours are Monday-Friday they are opened from 8AM to 4PM and on Saturday-Sundays they are opened from 9AM to 4PM.

The owners of East One Coffee Roaster is Morten Tjelum and Tom Cummings. They have found NewRow and FreeState Coffee in London. So now they came to New York and made East One Coffee Roaster. The coffees aren’t roasted every day. They are roasted twice a week which are in the beginning of the week and the end of the week, which is Monday and Friday. You must make reservations to come see them roast the coffee, it is a private thing that they do. They also specialize in light to medium roast styles. For the coffee beans that they use to sell are from five main countries, which are Kenya, Ethiopia, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Guatemala.

So I asked why are the coffee beans green aren’t they supposed to be dark brown? The worker told me that the reason why its green is because that’s the color it is before it is roasted. Then I asked why is it so important to roast coffee, the worker told me that the roasting brings out the flavor and the aroma that was locked inside the coffee bean that is green. The beans are left at the color green so that they wont lose their taste or quality. A coffee bean that is roasted and not roasted weights different. The one that isn’t would be heavy while the one that is roasted isn’t heavy because the moisture was taken out during the roasting process. The beans that have been roasted should be used a quickly as possible so it can still be fresh. The longer you wait the flavors of the coffee will change.

There are four color categories which are light, medium, medium-dark and dark. The light roast is a light brown color it is preferred for milder coffee there is no oil on the surface because it hasn’t been roasted long for the oils to come out. The medium roast is a medium brown color it has a strong flavor and a non-oily surface. Medium dark roast is a dark in rich color there is some oils on the surface but when drinking there is a little bittersweet aftertaste. Dark roast is a shiny black been with a surface that is oily and is very bitter. The darker the roast is the less acidity could be found in the drink.

So I was curious of how a coffee is grown so I did a little research and found that it takes them about 3-4 years to become a newly planted coffee tree to have bear fruit, it is named coffee cherry. The coffee cherry will turn bright and it’ll turn dark red once it is ripped and ready to be harvest. There are two different ways for the coffee cherries to be picked, it is either strip picked, or selectively picked. For stripped picked all the cherries are stripped off the branch at once, either by hand or a machine. Selectively Picked is when only the ripped cherries are harvested, and they are picked by hand. The pickers rotate from tree to tree every 8-10 days, to only pick the cherries that are ripped. Once the coffee is picked they must begin to process right away so prevent any fruit from spoiling. The way coffee is processed into two ways which are dry method and wet method. The Dry Method is an age-old method, it is still used in many countries where water is very limited. The freshly picked cherries are spread out on a dry surface so it can dry in the sun. In order to make sure the coffee doesn’t spoil, it will be turned throughout the day, and at night or if it rains it will get covered to prevent the coffee from getting wet. All depending on the weather, will help the coffee to be ready with the moisture.

What The Wet Method does is it removes the pulp from the coffee cherry once they are harvested. So that the bean could be dried only with the parchment skin left on. The freshly harvested cherries would pass through a pulping machine to separate the pulp and skin from the bean. While going through a water channel the beans are separated by weight while they are passing through. The heavier beans will sink to the bottom while the lighter beans will float to the top. After they are passed through multiple rotating drums to separate them from their sizes. Once they are separated they are then transported to a large water-filled fermentation tanks. Depending on where the beans condition are, the climate, and the altitude the beans will remain in the tanks from 12-48 hours to remove the slick layer of mucilage (called the parenchyma) that can still be attached to the parchment. While the beans are still resting in the tanks, it naturally occurring enzymes will cause the layer to dissolve. When the beans are done fermenting it feels rough, they are rinsed once more and then dried after. If the beans when through the wet method, the pulp and fermented beans has to be dried to 11% so the moisture is properly prepared from them to be stored. Before they get exported they go through a hulling machine, polished, graded and sorted.

Strumph, C. (n.d.). East One Coffee Roasters. Retrieved from http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/east-one-coffee-roasters/

Coffee Archives. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.eastonecoffee.com/product-category/coffee/

McCart, M. (2017, August 25). Coffee Roasters Are Opening in New York Faster Than Ever. Retrieved from https://ny.eater.com/2017/8/25/16202348/coffee-roasters-new-york-brooklyn

National Coffee Association of USA. Retrieved from http://www.ncausa.org/about-coffee/10-steps-from-seed-to-cup

East One Coffee Roasters Opens Ambitious Roastery Café in Brooklyn. (2017, September 21). Retrieved from https://dailycoffeenews.com/2017/04/11/east-one-coffee-roasters-opens ambitious-roastery-cafe-in-brooklyn/

Home. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.eastonecoffee.com/

Retrieved from https://www.123rf.com/photo_21709243_different-type-of-roasted-coffee-beans-very-light-light-light-medium-medium-moderately-dark-dark-and.html

The name of the vineyard I went called  Brotherhood winery and vineyard is located in 100 Brotherhood Plaza Drive Washingtonville, NY 10992. This vineyard is located within an AVA. Brotherhood, America’s Oldest Winery have been open since 1839, so it has a rich historical past with the modern day present.

What can you find in the Brotherhood winery? In the winery, there are several parts that you can visit. They have a museum & cellar(that you can join the tour to visit their historical history), the Vinum Cafe, the wine garden, and varietals vineyard. In their wine garden, they are selling variety wines of their own brand. Most of their 750ml bottle wine cost around 12 to 20 dollars.  The wine they sell included sparking, white, red, traditional and dessert wine. In sparkling wines, the grapes they use included Grand Monarque, Blanc de Blancs, Carpe Diem Spumante. The white wine grapes have Chardonnay, dry Riesling, White Zinfandel, and Riesling. The red grapes included Pinot Noir, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. At the end of the wine garden, they also have a wine tasting and tour registration. The tour and tasting with glass will be 10 dollars. If only doing one, that will be 7 dollars. The tours will be available several time a day and tours takes about 35-40 minutes.

When I went to the Brotherhood winery, it was during mid-November and the weather was very cold that day. I was kind of disappointed about what I saw there because when I first get inside their gate, I expect to see a large area of the vineyard, but nothing was over there. After I join the tour, I understand why there is no grape at all. Back into the years ago, they did have a huge area of land for planting the grapes. But now, they had sold off most of the vineyard and only a small piece of land left.

During the tour, I got to visit their museum & cellar, that you can “… get a glimpse into brotherhood’s legendary history, wine winemaking techniques and barrel aging methods.” When we first got into the underground museum, 6 -7 posters are on the wall and is about their history since 1839 to now. After we walking deeper in, we saw some huge barrels and a lot of small barrels. The large barrels are not used anymore, only the small one are still using. Some barrels with the CS161117, ME160618, RPort0517,  and PN170118 on it. The letters mean the name of the grape; CS(cabernet sauvignon) and the letters mean the data. Also, there is a room that has a thousand bottles of champagne aging in bottle. I learned from the tour guide, all of the champagne is ferment in the bottle. some champagne is sitting in the riddling rad, those bottles will turn twice a day with ⅛ turn and tap on the back and that goes on two weeks. Then they will put that champagne with a cap on it and put in the solution of dry ice, so only freeze the bottom bottle. Take out the cap and there is about an inch of sediment, take it out and put more champagne. Cork and wash the bottle. That is how their way of making the champagne. 

The Brotherhood winery and vineyard

The wine Garden

The museum and cellar

Part of the small barrels

Champagne that is still aging in bottle

For my Beverage Production Experiential Learning Analysis I visited Torne Valley Vineyards, which is in the New York AVA. I truly enjoyed the day. Although we had some trouble getting there, needing a jump-start from another car was worth it. I went with my mom and my grandma and it was a nice bonding experience. The Torne Valley Vineyard is a family run business. The family’s last name is France, which I think fit perfect for their business. Debbie France greeted us as we walked in. She let us know about their wine tasting and also let us know they had great lunch specials with wine pairing to the meal. Linda France was our wine master

We had a tasting of nine wines. The first was a Chardonnay. It was a classic golden color, with vibrant overtones of melon, grass, and vanilla. It would go great with a creamed sauce over poultry or fish. The second was a Traminette. It had a lovely balance of sweet and dry. It had a honey, apricot and citrus trait with a subtle, fragrant aroma. It would go great with seafood. Seyval Blanc. Followed the Traminette. It was very clean with a crisp taste. It was very summery and would pair nicely with a fruit salad. Next was the Riesling, which I liked a lot, but my mother thought was too sweet. It had subtle notes of apples, peaches, and honey. We also tried the Sweet Summertime, which was a well blend of Cayuga, Vidal Blanc and Vignoles grape varieties. It was crisp, clean, and refreshing with notes of peaches and citrus. The Gewurztraminer was the sixth wine we tasted. It was sweet with notes of cantaloupe. I would good nice with tuna. The Cabernet Franc was fruity. It had raspberry and violets note. It would pair nicely with pasta. Lastly there was the Kimmie’s Crush. This wine is named after the winemakers’ wife. It’s a classic Bordeaux style with a touch of Catawba, this unique marriage of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon gives off strong flavors of plum, cherry, and blueberries. All of the wines were made in their barn.

Torne Valley Vineyards was founded in 2009 and has the proud distinction of becoming the first fully functioning winery in Rockland County New York. It is seated on an historic 19th century country estate, the property and its’ Victorian mansion have been lovingly restored to provide visitors with a profoundly “retro” experience. From the iconic stone gate, which makes you to want to explore their beautiful landscaped grounds, to the incredible Ramapo River views, to the warmth and elegance of their period, interior event space, I felt as if I have stepped back in time, yet it is just forty miles from New York City.  They get most of the other grapes from the Finger Lakes. The family is still working on the vineyard and they let me know that their grapes will not be ready for another three to five years. The wine that they do serve is aged, bottled, and labeled in their barn. A special attribute about the vineyard was their wine has very low sulfites. Meaning you most likely will not get a headache after drinking too much of their wines. Currently the grape variation grown in the vineyard is Gewurztraminer and Syrah.

I got a chance to talk to the winemaker briefly and asked him about his viniculture and vinification practices. He simply told me he followed standard methods. He informed me the previous owner of the property was a wine master and taught him everything he knows. Overall I really enjoyed this project. Although we were not able to see exactly how the wine is made at this location, it was still very informative. My mother and I ended up buying four bottles.

My lovely Grandma that drove me and my mother there

The House

Debbie France Getting us ready

The Winery Lunch Menu

The Tasting!

More tasting

Tasting

The Vineyards

AND ME!

The vineyard I decided to visit was Paumanok Vineyard which is located on 1074 Main Rd, Aquebogue, NY. This vineyard is located within an AVA (American Viticulture Area); which is called North Fork. North Fork is a 30-mile-long peninsula in the northeast part of Suffolk County, NY; all vineyards are located at that location of Long Island, NY. This AVA is a great location for vineyard because of the soil and climate that this location gives. The soil is a prevailing soil and the climate is known to be Maritime. Also, the AVA requires that a minimum of 85% of the fruit is used in the wine grown within the borders of the region. Paumanok vineyard was founded in the spring of 1983, they have a 127 acre of land. The grape varieties that are grown here are Chardonnay, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot. The way they manage their vineyards is that they do 1100 to 1400 vines per acre and that way they know that they’re producing a more concentrated and higher quality grape for their wines.

When I went to visit Paumanok, I did go in mid-November. Not the best choice because as I went to look at the vineyard, they have harvested all grapes. But I wasn’t disappointed because I saw the way the owner or manager prepared the vineyard for the next harvest. The way they decided to organize the cords in straight and some cords were going down or up, for the fruit to grow in that direction. I did a self-guide of the place, decided that I didn’t want a guide. But the gentlemen was very helpful with answering any questions I had. In the barn house, there is a see-through glass of their stainless-steel tanks. So, I asked the guy who was working at that time if all their wines are made in steel tanks? He responded saying that only the white wines are held in the tanks, the red wines are held in oak barrels. Then I went to try a glass of wine, I decided to try the 2018 semi-dry Riesling. It had a very similar taste to a German Riesling wine.

Overall, even though it was a short visit, I had a pleasant experience looking through a glass where the tanks are located, walking through the vineyard and seeing how they manage their cords for next spring, and having to taste one of the wines that they produce. I would come back to this location around August to October when it’s a more appropriate visit to a vineyard. And hope to try more of their other wines.

References:

https://www.paumanok.com/history.html

http://www.lisustainablewine.org/viticultural-areas/

Terroir

The Vineyard

Stainless-steel tanks, where white wine is being held.

A decoration display in the room, how in the older times they use to make wine.

Wine menu

Me holding a glass of 2018 semi-dry riesling, which was empty by the time I took the picture.