S4: Episode 8: It’s White Coffee Jim, But Not As You Know It...
In a detour from our usual deep dives into specialty coffee we are taking a look at one of the more fringe coffee trends out there as we investigate the curious case of white coffee - and no, it’s not coffee with milk! From its unusual light roast level to its health claims and grassy flavour profile, we unpack what white coffee really is, how to brew it without breaking your espresso machine and why it tastes nothing like your usual cup of joe. This weeks FACQ explores the fundamental difference between this version of white coffee and Malaysian white coffee.
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Hello and welcome to The Coffee Drinker’s Guide, a podcast for the coffee curious where I explore and explain the world of specialty coffee to make your daily coffee better and more satisfying.
I’m Angela Holder a coffee roaster and writer on a mission to fight back against bad coffee by giving you the knowledge you need to help you get good coffee and a happier (coffee) life in coffee-break sized episodes. So grab your coffee, pull up a chair and take a break…
In this week's episode we are stepping away from our usual exploration of specialty coffee and taking a look at something on its fringes that is called white coffee…and later I’ll be answering a question about Malaysian white coffee so stay tuned for that…
It is perhaps inevitable that where there is a demand for a product that can command a good price there will be someone looking for an angle to get in on the action and make it their own. So in the area of “Here’s something you never needed so we are going to make it a Thing” I present ‘white coffee’ - not coffee with milk as you probably immediately thought but something else entirely….
Firstly White coffee and the bean
In a nutshell, white coffee is coffee that is par-cooked. This means that the roast is taken to the point where the beans look beige in colour at which point the cooking is stopped before the beans caramelise and turn brown. Essentially white coffee is green beans that have been dehydrated a bit. Why would anyone do this? Well, its known that green coffee beans contain high levels of chlorogenic acid. This is a compound with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties which some people seem to feel they need to consume in large amounts to be healthier. Why they would want to get this from green coffee rather than say, blueberries, is beyond me. But let’s put a pin in that. The amount of chlorogenic acid present in coffee is reduced during roasting and the longer you roast the beans the less there is of it. Enterprising roasters saw a gap in the market. Green beans are extremely hard to grind without damaging your grinder, but if you cook them a little bit they become marginally easier to grind while retaining a relatively high quantity of chlorogenic acid. It should be noted that producing white coffee uses less energy to cook the beans and they also weigh more, making it more profitable than roasting normal coffee. Cha-ching!
Next White coffee and the brew
White coffee can be brewed by any coffee brewing method. But something to be aware of if brewing through espresso is that the grounds will expand much more than your usual espresso roast does. To prevent coffee grounds clogging up your machine it's recommended to use much less coffee in the portafilter than you usually would and don't tamp it down at all. The extraction is also likely to finish much more quickly than usual, so keep an eye on it and stop the pour when the water runs clear. Because white coffee has a higher moisture content than a usual roast and the beans are much harder it's best to buy pre-ground coffee to save damaging your grinder burrs. This does mean that you necessarily give up some control over the brewing process and will have to work with the grind size that arrives. Ordinarily buying pre-ground coffee limits your chances of getting the best tasting brew and means that it will go stale much more quickly, but somehow I don't think these factors matter so much with white coffee grounds!
Finally White coffee and the taste
As you may suspect, cutting short the cooking process does impact on the taste of the coffee and not in a good way. The point of roasting coffee the way we usually do is to break down organic acids and caramelise sugars to develop the flavour. If you stop the cooking process before any of this begins to happen the coffee will essentially be raw. This means that it tastes as it smells when raw: grassy and cereally. At best the flavour of brewed white coffee could be described as green-tea like and in fact the colour of the brewed coffee is a pale green with perhaps a tinge of light brown. If you are into green teas and wheatgrass drinks, you may find white coffee palatable. If those aren't your thing then I suggest you give this particular coffee incarnation a wide berth!
And now its time for a Frequently Asked Coffee Question…
And this episode’s question is…
When I google ‘white coffee’ something called Malaysian white coffee comes up - is it the same thing?
No - in fact Malaysian white coffee is actually double roasted, rather than barely roasted. The details about its production are a little sketchy - and perhaps a listener from that part of the world can confirm this - but it appears to be twice roasted to reduce the harsh acidity of the Liberica and Robusta beans they normally use. The second roast of the beans is usually done in margarine and sugar to impart a caramelised flavour. A variant of Malaysian white coffee known as Ipoh White Coffee after the town where it was invented, forgoes the sugar and only uses margarine for the second roast. Whatever the actual method the roasted beans are brown and the resulting brew is brown. The brewed coffee is served with sweetened condensed milk giving the coffee its pale colour and - presumably - its name.
Thank you for listening to this episode of The Coffee Drinker’s Guide and that was all about white coffee. If you have ever tried white coffee I’d love to get your thoughts on it. Let me know on Instagram @thecoffeedrinkersguide, email me at thecoffeedrinkersguide@gmail.com or leave me a text message using the link in the show notes. In the next episode we continue our exploration of the fringes of specialty coffee as we navigate the world of flavoured coffee. If you want to know if maple bacon flavoured coffee is really a thing be sure to hit follow so that you don’t miss it, if you haven’t already. If you want to support the show or are looking for a gift for a coffee friend how about giving them my puzzle book Wordsearch for the Coffee Curious? The link is in the show notes to grab your copy. And as always please rate and review this podcast wherever you listen to your podcasts to help other coffee curious people find the show too. Thanks to my executive producer Viel Richardson at Lusona Publishing and Media Limited. You can find him at lusonapub.co.uk. Until next time I’m Angela Holder thanks for taking your coffee break with me - the best way to tackle life is one coffee at a time and here’s to better coffee!
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