Specialty coffee shops are joining the artisanal food and beer boom in Dallas. These shops aim for a better bean, and Liz Goulding explored the local craft coffee scene in last week’s Dallas Observer cover story.
Interview Highlights: Liz Goulding…
…On the difference between specialty coffee shops versus a typical coffee shop:
“In the big picture, it’s quality over quantity. Everything from the way the bean is grown and processed at the point of origin in another country to the way the roaster spends time and effort roasting, and then the way that the barista spends time to prepare it.”
…On a roaster’s approach to roasting a superior coffee bean:
“That’s really about getting out of the way. When they’re roasting, [the roaster] is thinking about not only temperature, but the smell and the color of the bean as its roasting and how those things change over time. Depending on the roasting curve, you can end up with a dramatically different bean flavor.”
…On the difference in coffee from specialty shops versus a cup of Folgers:
“I think if you taste [coffee] black, you really can tell the difference. It’s kind of like people who drink wine or beer; the more you drink it, the more you kind of practice, the more you’re able to taste those differences.”