Have you ever wondered about the journey coffee takes from bean to cup?
First of all, I'd like you to know that "green beans" in the coffee language are NOT the green beans used for the local dessert - green bean soup. Though both produce piping hot comfort foods, suitable for any rainy day - both emotional and literal rain.
Alright, I'm getting hungry here. Back to the main topic shall we?
Here at Generation, our beans are sourced from various parts of the world, from Brazil, to Ethiopia, to even somewhere closer to home - Vietnam.
When the importer sends us The List - a comprehensive list of coffee beans from every origin and tasting notes you can think of, we'll select a few suitable beans. The criteria for selection? You!
Yes, you, our customers and fellow coffee lovers!
We are committed to serving you the best cup of coffee we can. And to do that, it all starts with these cute little green coffee beans we select from The List, of which we receive samples from the importer.
These batches of samples are ultra important, because now the real work starts.
Our very own roasting experts Kenneth and Victor sets about roasting these samples to different roast profiles. If you don't know who is the power duo is, where have you been? Time to catch up on who the star players are on the Generation team!
Great, now we're all up to steam. Let's see how our green beans have been roasting.
Oh wait, except they're not green beans anymore!
After being roasted, the beans will now resemble the perfectly brown coffee beans we all know and love.
I can already imagine the aroma wafting up my nostril *deep inhales* Aaah~ I'll never get tired of the fragrance of freshly roasted beans.
Next up, the cupping and tasting!
Together, the team puts their taste buds to the test. Well, the coffee beans are being put to the test too, but, you get the idea.
Anyway, Zender describes this as a super interesting experience, as the team gets to taste so many different types of beans from so many places. All with their own unique notes and flavours.
He recalls fondly that one time he tasted this amazing coffee from Colombia that reminds him of strawberry jam, but that's a story for another day. Today, the coffee beans we just freshly roasted are calling for our attention.
Sometimes, the cupping and tasting can be a challenging process.
Here's why.
As a everyday coffee drinkers, we do know that everything form the water pressure in the coffee machine to the frothing of the milk affects how the coffee will taste.
What we may not realise is, that's not all! Not even close.
There are still so many factors involved in preparing that one cuppa. For example, the roasting profile, the grind size, the brew time, etc.
And Generation Coffee is determined to get all these subtle (but crucial) aspects of coffee-making right.
So the back and forth begins, for Victor and Kenneth to roast the beans for the whole team to taste and profile each sample. Then, we'll exchange thoughts on the beans, and decide whether to process, or to re-roast the beans.
When we find something we all agreed on, the next phase commences.
Here's a little secret to how we ensure that our goal of serving you the perfect cup every single time can be achieved. We actually prepare every single espresso-based order available on our menu, and taste them all.
Yup, that's not a typo. Every single one of them.
We can't have beans that bring out the best of their tasting notes in long black, but perform blandly in a latte right?
After this arduous yet fulfilling process from green beans to cup, we are ready to introduce the new beans in our store!
This is usually a fun process, and also a great educating process. It gives our customers an opportunity to learn about the new beans, and adds an exciting new layer to the coffee-drinking experience too.
From bean, to cup, to serving coffee in-store, it's always a learning journey, for us and also our customers as well. That's why we are constantly exploring and on the lookout for amazing beans.
Also, we always love to take into account feedbacks or comments from you, our lovely customers. What you love, what you prefer, etc. It really helps us to select more beans in the future which you will love and enjoy.
If you're reading this and would love to purchase some beans for yourself, here's our current range of mindfully curated coffee beans.
We roast your beans to order, every Friday and Saturday. This way, you can rest assured that when they arrived at your doorstep, the beans will be freshly roasted and ready to be brewed however you wish to. Yup, we can help you grind them too, if you want.
As we humbly and steadily grow Generation Coffee, we hope to one day have a flagship store to roast our beans and supply them to other fledgling cafes as well.
For now, we're fully dedicated to continue serving you the best cup of coffee we can, and bringing coffee lovers of all generations together.
As our resident business expert Boon Tong often says, "What matters most in life is how we impact others in a positive way."
We're definitely keeping our aspirations in sight, but what's more important is that we achieve our mission of bridging the gap between traditional and specialty coffee. Now, today, and for every day that will come.
Oh before I forget, did you know that you can purchase whole beans from our physical store too?
Stop by during our opening hours and treat yourself to a fragrant cup of your favourite coffee. And hopefully, you'll walk away with a pack of your favourite beans too!
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Thanks for following along on our journey as Generation Coffee!
This is a part of 5-post blog series on The Story of Generation Coffee. Subscribe to our newsletter, so you won't miss out when the next post is launched. And click here to catch up on our past blog posts
We hope you enjoy journeying behind the scenes from bean to cup with us!