The most with the roast Maine’s specialty roasters elevate coffee to an art form

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The aroma is the first thing that hits you – sweet and nutty, with a little smoke at the end. It wraps around you like a blanket as soon as you open your car door.

Walk into Rock City Coffee Roasters in Rockland, and another thing catches your attention: Dozens of burlap sacks full of green coffee beans huddle against the brick wall like a bunch of extras in a play.

But the roaster, a tall, shiny, enameled model by Diedrich, is the star of this show. It’s hot and loud, and it attracts an audience as the drama unfolds.

Its drum turns like a dryer and master roaster Patrick Reilley watches as a sample scoop of beans for Rock City’s Dark Star blend emerges. They’re not ready yet, and a half-minute later, they’re still not quite right. A few more seconds pass and then a scene from a coffee lover’s dream plays out on this small stage. All at once, the roaster’s door opens, unleashing a cascade of dark beans that flows into a circular metal tray, crackling and smoking, while a mechanical arm whisks them around as they cool.

“It’s a matter of seconds, a couple of degrees,” Reilley explained. “The beans are different. If all the beans were roasted the same they’d still taste different. … How it’s done and to what extent is our call. There’s no gold standard. It’s all very subjective.”

Subjectivity is what makes Rock City rock. It’s what makes restaurateurs meet rigorous standards so they can brew coffee from Rooster Brother in Ellsworth. It’s why Benbows Nutty Fisherman is the Bar Harbor roaster’s most beloved bean. And why Portland-based Coffee By Design turns out a Sumatran that tastes nothing like another roaster’s.

In the last five years, the popularity of specialty coffee – in which the highest-quality green coffee beans are craft-roasted in small batches (this stuff doesn’t come in a can in the grocery store) – has percolated nationwide. According to the Specialty Coffee Association of America, an international trade group, 16 percent of the adult population in the United States consumed specialty coffee daily in 2004, up from 9 percent in 2000.

But for Maine roasters, this affinity for pristine beans is nothing new. Take Ron Greenberg of Benbows, who began roasting more than 20 years ago because he couldn’t find coffee he wanted to sell at his retail shop, the Alternative Market in Bar Harbor. Then there’s George Elias, who began roasting shortly after he and his wife, Pamela, opened Rooster Brother, their Ellsworth cookware and foods store, in 1987.

“Coffee is a very complex product,” Elias said on a recent afternoon. “If you want to sell really good coffee, you have to roast it yourself.”

Many of the state’s roasters got into the business because they owned a cafe or a retail store and wanted good coffee. But they stayed in it for one reason: passion – for quality, flavor, sustainability and the challenge of an ever-changing product.

“For Mary Allen and I, it’s more than just coffee roasting, it’s connecting to the world community,” said Alan Spear, who owns and operates Coffee By Design with his wife, Mary Allen Lindemann. “We can make a difference in somebody’s life around the world, our life locally and our local community.”

Spear and Lindemann are about to leave for a tour of Ethiopian coffee plantations, and in the 10 years since they started roasting, they have developed friendships with many of the farmers who supply their beans. In their Washington Avenue cafe, framed pictures on the wall tell the story of “going to origin,” as roasters call it.

A world of coffee

There are dozens of countries that produce coffee, and each region, each microclimate, yields a distinct flavor profile. Like any agricultural product, soil conditions, rain, shade, elevation and sunlight all play a part in the makeup of a coffee bean, but the way they are harvested also makes a difference.

At the plantations and small farms that produce specialty coffee, workers hand-pick only ripe, blemish-free “cherries.” They are shucked from their red or yellow husks, cleaned by hand, dried and then screened again. By the time they’re packaged in 156-pound burlap sacks and sold to brokers or at auction, only the best beans have made the cut.

“What always strikes me about the magic of coffee is that there are so many people involved in bringing you this bag of beans,” said Elias, who also travels to origin as often as possible. “There are literally hundreds of people involved.”

Twenty-five million people make a living off coffee. Many of those people live in third-world countries, where the income from coffee provides workers and plantation owners the currency they need. In recent years, there has been much talk about fair trade coffee and organic standards, which is a bone of contention among small-batch roasters.

A plantation such as La Minita, owned by Bar Harbor summer resident William McAlpin, provides quality housing, medical care, social services and educational facilities for its workers. Yet because of its size, it cannot be part of a fair trade collective and thus can’t carry the fair trade label. Ethiopian coffee is organic by nature, mainly because the farmers can’t afford fertilizers or pesticides, but it isn’t certified organic, thus it can’t be labeled as such.

“We don’t want a label to dictate quality,” Alan Spear said. “We want quality to dictate quality. Just because it has a label that says organic or fair trade doesn’t mean it’s high quality.”

That said, there are organic and fair trade varieties that are, and most Maine roasters offer them as part of their lineup. But they say focusing on labels doesn’t emphasize the quality of the coffee, which is their main concern.

“When the quality is high, the price is high, and when the price is high, people prosper,” Elias said.

There’s a reason why a bag of Benbows costs more than a can of Folgers. The raw beans cost substantially more, because they’ve been heavily screened. There are no twigs, animal matter, cracked or blemished beans or other unsavory extras in a sack of specialty coffee. There’s just coffee, and it’s ready to roast.

The perfect cup

Choosing the right bean to roast is a science in and of itself. That’s where “cupping” comes in. Farmers and brokers send samples of green beans, which are then lightly roasted, ground and brewed. The light roast, which would taste gross to most coffee lovers, allows samplers to taste any flaws in the beans.

In a ritual that is similar to a wine tasting, a group of seasoned cuppers aspirate the coffee, a combination of breathing and sipping that sprays the liquid evenly over the tongue. They evaluate the acidity, or brightness, of the coffee, the fragrance and aroma, the body, the flavor, the aftertaste, and the balance. It’s incredibly complex, and the subtleties are acquired over time.

During a recent cupping at Benbows, Greenberg and master roaster Dan Vashon discussed the acidity, the spicy undertones, the flavors of strong, dry wine and the round richness of their Organic Mountain blend and their Nutty Fisherman. A novice cupper detected a hint of spice and a little caramel.

“For good cuppers like Dan, it takes about 10 years to learn all that,” Greenberg said.

The right roast

Similarly, roasting is an acquired skill. The process varies from batch to batch, even when using the same beans. It requires constant, obsessive supervision, a good eye and a really good nose.

On roasting day at Rooster Brother, master roaster Gene Pellerano is a man in motion, constantly adjusting the flame, checking the beans, monitoring the temperature and adjusting the air flow for a full city roast. He smells the bready aroma as the beans begin to turn yellow. He knows the characteristics of each variety, knows how to roast them to their full potential. Every minute or so, he checks the clock.

“I keep track of the time, but it’s not the primary driving force,” Pellerano said. “If it’s not done yet, it’s not done yet.”

Rooster Brother uses a Diedrich machine that’s similar to Rock City’s, while some of the state’s larger-volume roasters are experimenting with new technology. Greenberg recently unveiled an “eco-roaster,” a highly efficient, custom-made machine that cuts emissions and operates like a hot-air popcorn popper. Spear and Lindemann are in the process of installing a prototype water-scrubbing exhaust system that reduces their smoke and odor emissions by 75 percent.

Even with a larger-capacity roaster, none of these companies is even remotely in the same league as, say, Green Mountain Coffee or Starbucks. And they don’t want to be.

“We will never go mass-market,” Greenberg said.

Small batch, big flavor

Staying small allows each roaster to control the flavor, and flavor is what makes specialty coffee unique. Like fine wine, a good cup of coffee unfolds on the tongue. It has layers. It’s complicated and interesting, and if you’re attuned to the nuances, you’ll discover that the difference between a Sumatran and a Monsoon Malabar is as distinct as the difference between hazelnut and vanilla spice.

“Complexity and intensity are two words I would think of,” Elias said.

That’s part of the appeal for specialty coffee consumers, who are fiercely loyal to their roasters. For restaurateurs who consider coffee a key part of the dining experience, local brews are a way to set themselves apart.

“I didn’t want something that everyone else was carrying in town,” said Carmen Montes of Montes International Catering in Bangor, which carries coffee by Carpe Diem of North Berwick and Carrabassett Coffee of Kingfield. “The bottom line is we’d rather just support local businesses. We prefer to use Maine-made products whenever possible.”

Coffee beans wouldn’t make it through a Maine winter, but coffee truly does build community. It’s about sharing, whether in the roasting room, in a cafe, or in the kitchen while reading the morning paper. And a good cup of coffee is a small luxury.

“It’s nice to put out something that gives people pleasure,” Reilley of Rock City said, taking a break from the day’s roasting to enjoy a cup of Dark Star. “You can feel good about doing it. There’s not a lot of that around.”

Maine roasters

Benbows, Bar Harbor, (800) 4-BENBOWS, www.benbows.com

Carpe Diem, North Berwick, (888) 676-2233, http://carpe.zoovy.com/

Carrabassett Coffee Co., Kingfield, (888) 292-BEAN, www.carrabassettcoffee.com

Coffee by Design, Portland, 879-2233, www.coffeebydesign.com

Maine Roasters, Portland, (877) 207-2100, www.maineroasters.com

Rock City Coffee Roasters, Rockland, (877) 280-5688, www.rockcitycoffee.com

Rooster Brother, Ellsworth, (800) 866-0054, www.roosterbrother.com

Home brew tips

The following tips, adapted from Rooster Brother, will help you brew the perfect cup of coffee at home:

1. Start with good quality water and good quality coffee. If your tap water tastes good plain, then it will probably make good coffee. Avoid spring water, which can have a high acidity that sours the brew.

2. Coffee beans are highly perishable and are at their peak for only a week after they are roasted. Store beans in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Ground coffee loses most of its flavor within 24 hours, so grind coffee just before you brew it.

3. In most brewing techniques, especially drip, the grind determines the time and quality of the water’s contact with the grounds. French press and cone-style brewers will need a coarser grind than a drip brewer.

4. For drip coffee, use 2 level tablespoons for 8 ounces of water. If your coffee is too strong, a little cold water added to your cup can make a big difference.

5. The ideal brewing temperature is 200 degrees. To achieve this in a French press or cone-style brewer, bring water to a boil, remove it from the flame and then brew. Automatic brewers vary in their ability to heat water to the right temperature. Check the water in the brewing basket with a thermometer to be sure your coffeemaker reaches the correct temperature.

6. All coffee equipment should be kept scrupulously clean. This includes your pot, filter, cones and grinder. The pot and cones should be cleaned regularly to remove coffee oil residues that can give off-flavors to your coffee. Unplug your grinder before cleaning.

7. Sometimes, the simplest, least expensive solution is the best – basic, electricity-free cone-style brewers, placed over a thermal carafe, produce a full-flavored cup of coffee, as do French press coffee makers.