El Arte del Café (Source Summary)
Sources: El Arte del Café by Sébastien Racineux & Chung-Leng Tran (Lunwerg, 2017)
Authors: Sébastien Racineux (engineering professor, barista trainer, Brewers Cup France vice-champion 2012 and 2014; founded Expresologie® 2011; co-founded Hexagone Café, Paris) and Chung-Leng Tran (photographer turned barista, Brewers Cup France champion 2012).
Original title: Le café, c’est pas sorcier (Hachette/Marabout, 2016). Spanish translation by Marta García García; publisher Lunwerg (Editorial Planeta), 2017. Illustrated by Yannis Varoutsikos.
Structure (194 pages):
- Miscelánea sobre el café (p.7) — coffee cultures, botany, specialty market, supply chain
- Hacer un café (p.25) — grinding, espresso, milk/latte art, filter methods, cold brew
- Tostar (p.111) — roast profiles, single origin vs. blend, cupping, decaf, storage, packaging
- Cultivar (p.131) — cherry anatomy, growing conditions, varieties, processing methods, producing countries
- Anexos (p.179) — venue directory, café recipes, index
Key Takeaways
El Salvador (p.166)
- ~20,000 cultivators with medium-sized plantations; 60%+ Bourbon
- Developed Pacas (1949, natural Bourbon mutation) and Pacamara (1958, Pacas × Maragogype, with French/CIRAD collaboration) locally
- Shade-grown predominates; plays an important anti-deforestation and soil-erosion role
- The Consejo Salvadoreño del Café (CSC) promotes quality, volcanic soil, and the Bourbon variety
- Infrastructure and traceability are noted as good; other growing regions beyond Apaneca-Ilamatepec: El Bálsamo-Quezaltepeque, Tecapa-Chinameca, Cacahuatique, Alotepec-Metapán
- Cup profile: full body, creamy, soft acidity, balanced
- Harvest: November–March; both wet and dry drying methods used
Altitude and Flavour (p.137)
Higher altitude → slower maturation → denser beans → more acidity, depth, and complexity.
| Altitude | Cup character |
|---|---|
| 1,500–2,000 m | Floral, spiced, fruity, acid — maximum complexity |
| 1,200–1,500 m | Acidity develops, more aromas |
| 1,000–1,200 m | Scarce acidity, round |
| 800–1,000 m | Acid, low complexity |
Kaiserblick’s farms (1,200–1,800 masl) sit in the top two bands. See Apaneca-Ilamatepec.
Variety Profiles (p.138–139, 168–169)
Detailed profiles for varieties Kaiserblick grows — see Coffee Varieties for full agronomic detail. Key highlights:
- Bourbon: benchmark variety; fine, light body, smooth. Red for espresso, yellow for filter/cold brew.
- Pacas: Bourbon mutation (El Salvador, 1949); smaller, better disease resistance; similar cup to Bourbon.
- Pacamara: Pacas × Maragogype (El Salvador, 1958, CIRAD); large beans, vigorous; complex aromatics and good acidity at high altitude; best for filter.
- Geisha: SW Ethiopia origin; introduced Panama 1963; floral, tea body, citrus and berries, very refined; 1,500 m+; filter only; premium pricing.
- Typica: oldest arabica; complex aromatics; low productivity; parent of Bourbon.
- Caturra: Bourbon mutation (Brazil, 1937); smaller shrub; better productivity; slightly inferior cup.
- Catuai: Mundo Novo × Caturra (Brazil, 1968); wind resistant; standard quality; espresso.
- Catimor: Híbrido de Timor × Caturra (Portugal); roya resistant; productive; cup quality debatable.
Processing Methods (p.142–145)
Full treatment of the five main methods — see Coffee Processing. Key distinctions:
- Natural: whole cherries dried; intense fruit, full body, winey risk. Brazil, Ethiopia, Panama.
- Washed: depulped + fermented 6–72h; clean, bright, pronounced acidity (pH <5). El Salvador, Kenya, Colombia.
- Honey process: Central American variant of pulped natural; grades by mucilage left (White/Yellow/Red/Black); intermediate profile.
- Pulped natural: Brazilian 1990s; wet selection + dry fermentation; intermediate.
- Giling basah: Indonesia only; wet-hulled; very full body, very low acidity.
El Salvador primarily uses washed processing, consistent with the region’s climate and Kaiserblick’s operations.
Roasting (p.112–120)
Full treatment — see Roasting. Key principles:
- Roast profile ≠ roast level: two coffees with identical start and end temperature but different temperature curves will taste completely different. The profile is the path, not the endpoint.
- Development time ratio (DTR): time from first crack to drop, as % of total roast. A key quality variable.
- Light roast: acidity (citric, malic) peaks at light roast then declines. Chlorogenic acids (polyphenols) break down into astringent quinic and caffeic acids as roast darkens. Only light roast preserves origin character.
- Caffeine: stable across roast levels (~10% loss maximum); perception of “stronger” dark coffee is a bitterness illusion.
- Filter vs. espresso roast: filter benefits from lighter roast (long extraction amplifies acidity/subtlety); espresso benefits from slightly darker (short extraction amplifies acidity from light roast).
- Central American coffees: “aromatic complexity and acidity — the best lots don’t need to be blended.” Suited to single-origin filter.
Single Origin vs. Blend (p.118)
- Single origin: unique character; reveals terroir, variety, processing, producer work. Ideal for filter methods.
- Blend: consistency and accessibility; compensates for espresso’s extraction variability. Max 3–4 origins.
- The strictest single-origin definition (one farm + one variety) is agronomically debatable — mixing varieties from different altitudes on one farm is rational (disease risk diversification, flavour complexity).
Cupping Protocol (p.124–125)
Standardised evaluation used by producers, green buyers, and roasters — see Cupping (Cata). Parameters: 12g, filter grind, 92–95°C water, 20cl bowl, 4-minute infusion. Evaluated from dry aroma through multiple tasting temperatures. SCA score 80+ = specialty. The SCA/WCR Flavor Wheel provides shared vocabulary.
Green Coffee Selection and Export (p.146–147)
Post-drying dry milling covers four selection stages: density, size calibration, automated colour sorting, and manual finishing. Export packaging: jute sacks (commodity), vacuum packs (premium/microlots), GrainPro multilayer bags (best aromatic preservation). See Green Coffee Selection and Export Preparation.
Freshness: green coffee is a seasonal fresh product. “Past crop” (old harvest) beans develop woody taste and loss of acidity. A coffee can turn past crop through poor drying, bad storage, long transport, or delay before roasting — not only through age.
Specialty Coffee Market Context (p.17–21)
- Specialty coffee: ~1% of world production (c.2016 estimate); SCA score 80+
- Supply chain roles: producer → green buyer (cupping, lot selection, purchasing) → roaster (profile development) → barista (extraction)
- Cup of Excellence: national competition created 1999; best lots auctioned online; guarantees quality and gives producers recognition. El Salvador participates. See Apaneca-Ilamatepec (2025 CoE results).
Organic Coffee Note (p.137)
The book states that from a taste perspective, organic certification does not modify cup quality. In Ethiopia, many small farmers are effectively organic without certification simply because inputs are too expensive. This is a stated opinion; it is contested in specialty coffee circles where farming practice is increasingly linked to terroir expression and soil health. See Organic Farming.
Key Claims and Their Status
| Claim | Status |
|---|---|
| El Salvador 60%+ Bourbon | Consistent with wiki |
| Apaneca-Ilamatepec as key region | Consistent with wiki |
| Pacamara developed in El Salvador 1958 with CIRAD | New detail — plausible, unverified |
| Organic certification does not improve cup quality | Stated opinion — contested |
| 1,500–2,000 m: floral, spicy, fruity, acid | Industry consensus |
| Specialty coffee ~1% of world production | Market estimate (c.2016) |
| El Salvador harvest November–March | Consistent with wiki |
Pages Created or Updated from This Source
New pages:
- Coffee Processing — washed, natural, honey/pulped natural, giling basah
- Roasting — roast profiles, development time, light roast rationale, storage
- Cupping (Cata) — standardised tasting protocol, flavour wheel
- Green Coffee Selection and Export Preparation — dry milling, 4-stage selection, export packaging
- Coffee Cherry — cherry anatomy, lifecycle, altitude-flavour, propagation
Updated pages:
- Coffee Varieties — added detailed variety profiles (Bourbon, Typica, Pacas, Pacamara, Geisha, Caturra, Catuai, Catimor)
- Apaneca-Ilamatepec — added El Salvador country profile and altitude-flavour table