A Better Coffee #4

Adventures in Des Moines Part 2

Featuring Zanzibar’s Coffee Adventure, Filter Prewetting, Air Damper Control

This week, we're continuing our Des Moines Coffee journey with a visit to Zanzibar’s Coffee Adventure before a Gray’s Lake kayak trip. As always, we are sharing a home brewing and coffee roasting tip where we discuss the importance of prewetting coffee filters before brewing and the current air damper settings I use when roasting.

Getting to Know the Coffee Community. One Cup at a Time. 

Zanzibar’s Coffee Adventure – Des Moines, Iowa 

For those who have never visited Des Moines, Iowa, you're missing out on a brilliant fusion of city and nature. Just as developers have seamlessly integrated parks, trails, and lakes into the urban setting, Zanzibar's Coffee has masterfully merged their roasting operation into their café.

We arrived early that morning, seeking our caffeine fix before kayaking at Gray's Lake. We were immediately greeted by Zanzibar's roasting operation on full display. The centerpiece drum roaster was surrounded by bags of green coffee, each labeled with its origin and processing type - a special treat for anyone wanting to see green coffee up close.

Seated at the bar, we listened to soft piano music playing in the background while soaking up the scene of people streaming in for their morning brew. The barista delivered our substantial order: an Americano, drip coffee, Zanzibar Special, vanilla and peppermint flavored milk, a plain bagel with cream cheese, and a cinnamon roll.

I started with the drip coffee, and the freshness of the roast was a delightful surprise. Notes of dark cherry and cinnamon reminded me of home, sharing similarities with a Colombian coffee I've been roasting. The Americano carried rich dark chocolate flavors without any fruit notes - just what I needed to kickstart our kayaking adventure. While I didn't try the Zanzibar Special, its aesthetics earned it the picture prize for this visit. The house-mixed flavored milk didn't disappoint either; I had to politely request a small taste from my kids.

For anyone looking to step outside the typical coffee shop experience for a brew or fresh breakfast, don't pass up Zanzibar's. This was some of the freshest coffee I've had in a café to date, and I'm already anticipating my next visit. Zanzibar's perfectly embodies Des Moines' spirit of seamlessly blending the urban with the natural, offering a unique coffee experience that mirrors the city's charm.

Check Out Zanzibar’s Website and follow their Facebook Page

Home Brewing Techniques 

Filter Prewetting

Achieving optimal coffee extraction is the primary goal in making a great cup of coffee, and there are countless nuanced techniques to accomplish this. I first discovered coffee filter prewetting when I delved into Pour Over Coffee, and now I'm getting excellent results applying this technique to drip coffee as well. Here are some benefits of prewetting the coffee filter:

1.When using hot water (recommended), it creates a more stable brewing temperature by preheating the dripper.

2.It washes away any potential paper taste from the filter.

3.It improves extraction by reducing water channeling.

One of the biggest challenges when prewetting the filter for drip coffee is preventing the filter from folding over and allowing coffee grounds to escape into the pot. Using two filters can help mitigate this issue and will also slightly slow the drip, which can increase extraction.

Coffee Roasting: What I’ve Learned 

Mastering Airflow: The Art of Damper Control in Coffee Roasting

In my journey with the Buckeye BC-2 drum roaster, I've discovered the crucial role of airflow management in achieving the perfect roast. This roaster features a manual dial damper, a key tool in controlling airflow. After much experimentation, I've found that setting the damper at 2 consistently yields the best results for my roasting style.

Initially, I used a "set and forget" approach with the fan speed at 100% and the damper around 3½ to 4, increasing to 5 or 6 towards the end of the roast. However, this led to a common pitfall in roasting: the Rate of Rise (ROR) approaching zero, indicating a stall in the roasting process.

The problem was excessive airflow. Counter-intuitively, increasing the damper setting only exacerbated this issue by allowing more air through the system. As a result, my roasts would stall during the critical first crack phase, and I struggled to achieve the desired development time due to insufficient energy in the roasting environment.

To combat this energy deficiency, I had to incrementally increase either the drop temperature or the initial gas input after the soak period. This adjustment helped maintain the energy needed for a proper roast development.

Understanding the Damper's Role:

The damper is essentially an airflow regulator in the roasting system. It affects several crucial aspects of the roast:

1. Heat Transfer: By controlling airflow, the damper influences how heat is distributed throughout the coffee beans.

2. Smoke Management: The damper aids in controlling the amount of smoke in the roasting chamber, which can impact flavor development.

3. Roast Profile Control: Adjusting the damper allows for fine-tuning of the roast profile, especially during critical phases like first crack.

In roasters without adjustable fans, the damper becomes the primary tool for airflow control. Even in systems with fan control, the damper offers an additional layer of precision in managing the roasting environment.

Advanced Damper Techniques:

1. Dynamic Adjustment: Some roasters adjust the damper throughout the roast to manage different stages more precisely.

2. Profile Matching: Experienced roasters often use specific damper settings to replicate or adjust roast profiles.

3. Bean Density Consideration: Denser beans may require different damper settings to ensure proper heat penetration.

Remember, every roaster is unique, and finding the optimal damper setting often requires experimentation and careful observation of how it affects your specific roasts. Keep detailed logs of your damper settings and corresponding roast outcomes to refine your technique over time.

By mastering damper control, you're not just managing airflow; you're fine-tuning the entire roasting process, leading to more consistent and higher-quality roasts.

This newsletter publication is brought to you by Go West Coffee Company. Small batch roasting at its finest. Use code ABETTERCOFFEE for free shipping on your first order.

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West