I love coffee. When I say I love coffee, I mean I LOVE coffee. There is something about the intricacies of the taste experience dependent on the bean region and the preparation that just intrigues me and delights my mind for detail.

To celebrate coffee I wanted to give you a special experience through bean selection, roasting, and then crafting a drink. To achieve this, I was very fortunate to be able to interview Lori Slager Wenzel (Founder and Owner) and Cody Gallagher (Head Roaster) of The Sparrows Coffee, Tea, and Newsstand in Grand Rapids, MI while Cody roasted a batch of coffee. The Sparrows is a gem of Grand Rapids and a truly wonderful place to go alone or gather with others. The environment they have built is relaxed and open to all. I frequently stop in for a drink and chat with others or read. If you ever find yourself in this city, do yourself a favor and stop in!

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Let’s start by talking about The Sparrows, what type of space are you trying to create?

Lori: We wanted to create a space that was safe for the community, inclusive, and kind. That was actually our number one goal and the coffee obviously brings people in with a good product. That was where we were when we started roasting and we were trying to give people a really good product that they would enjoy and bring them into the shape and bring people together.

As a company, what values are important to y’all?

Lori: Oh interesting, well when we were just The Sparrows, before we had our wholesale over here…our values were basically community kindness. Obviously serving a good product too and making sure the product is ethically sourced.

I think what you are hoping to create is fantastic. I have a lot of respect for companies that embrace that. We need more companies that embrace creating safe and open spaces. What made you want to get involved in coffee and making The Sparrows?

Lori: It was 2007 and I had an art degree and their weren’t a whole lot of jobs (laughs). We were able to get a very small business loan and get it going. Throughout the recession, coffee was a thing that people didn’t give up or it was cheaper for them to buy a coffee than it was to buy internet so they would come to the cafe to get work done. We managed to make it through the recession. 2014-2016 were our best years and then other cafes started opening and we have been doing our best to adapt.

What would you say has been the secret to your success?

Lori: Not quitting (laughs). There have been times where I have been like “I just don’t want to do this anymore.” Every problem has a solution. Like when I met Tim from Schuil’s and told him about our situation with the second location closing I was not feeling awesome but I was trying to stay open to any possibility. I feel like it has worked out really well for us, and it was a really good solution. If I was like, “I can do it myself” then we wouldn’t be here right now. You have to try to find the solution and things will work out.

Let’s talk coffee, Cody, can you explain the different ways that coffee beans are processed?

Cody: For sure, there are basically two types of primary ways to process coffee, washed and natural. In washed processing the cherry surrounding the coffee bean is pulped and completely removed and the beans are fermented in water for some time. Natural processing is where the coffee cherries are first washed and then left to dry in the sun with the fruit still on. Once dried the green seeds from the cherries are removed from the fermented, dried cherry. There are actually a few steps of coffee processing between washed and natural that leave varying degrees of the pulp of the cherry behind to ferment with the bean.

Earlier you mentioned that the newsstand blend is also your espresso blend. Are they roasted the same and it is a matter of how it’s pulled?

Cody: Yep, basically the preparation is the only thing that is different between drip and espresso coffee. There is a more traditional level and style of roast that is used for espresso but that doesn’t dictate if a coffee can be an espresso or not. For the most part here we are looking for espresso flavors that will pair well with milk but that are also nice and nuanced on their own if you do just a shot.

Are you involved in the picking of the coffee beans that you use for your blends?

Cody: Yeah we kind of do that as a team. We have a team of 5 members at this point. The two full time members of the team are Lori and myself. Lori is more involved with business facing and operations side whereas I am more involved in the core coffee side of roasting, sourcing, education, what have you. We have 2 consulting members of the team. Tim has come on as a consultant for product development and quality control. Every batch I roast he does a cupping, analytical tasting of it, and gives feedback. David does a lot of green coffee purchasing consulting and making connections to different importers and farms. He is the one organizing for me to go to Columbia in a few weeks. Then we have Tim Volkema, who is the owner of Schuil’s, is ultimate say in things in a not top down way but he is in the room with us as we make a decision. We will get together and do cuppings with 15-20 different coffees that we get in and bring on 1 or 2 typically. A lot of coffee purchasing is actually done a year or so in advance and you will contract with farms.

Of all of the current green coffees that you are using for your blends, do you have one that is your favorite?

Cody: I really like, for myself, kind of pretty sweet, clean and balanced coffees. I think that Columbian coffees are the ones that best fit this profile. My favorite coffee is actually the one that we are getting from the region I will be traveling to which is called Cauca. I think that the flavor profile is like milk chocolate, sweet cherry, dried fruit, and citrus. No one of those flavors really overpowers the others. It is sweet, clean, and balanced filling everything I want in a coffee.

Beyond your typical preferred for making a cup of coffee, do you have a preferred coffee-centric drink?

Cody: To get very specific I would say an oat milk cappuccino. Basically anything oat milk right now most millenials in America would say is their favorite.

Lori: I guess it would be an espresso. When I am traveling I will typically do a batch brew or pour over and an espresso. If I am going to totally treat myself I will do an iced coffee with oat milk and sometimes even a syrup in it.

During the time that I was chatting with Lori and Cody, Cody roasted a special request batch of coffee for someone local and let me get a sneak peek at his process and how roasting works. While I do not begin to understand it as well as he does, he worked like a master adjusting different variables that would ultimately effect how the roast turned out and after about 10-15 minutes had freshly roasted beans pouring out of the roaster and filling the air with their delicious fragrance.

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I can’t speak highly enough about The Sparrows Coffee, Tea, and Newsstand and the people that own and operate it. Please do give them some love and order coffee if you are not in the area or make your way over there. Let them know I sent you!

Now let’s talk pour over coffee.

I stopped by The Sparrows and had a wonderful barista named Sam help me out and model making a pour over for pictures to accompany my explanation. While parts of making a cup of coffee can by pretty forgiving, to get the perfect cup you do need precision in measurements and process.

First things first, you need to get the right tools. I would recommend something like a Chemex or Hario V60 (Disclaimer: I do not receive royalties or sponsorship for these products, they are just my product of choice). Each of these will have their accessories that you need like filters, just make sure you get the right ones otherwise you will struggle and get frustrated if you are anything like me. Beyond that you need a scale and a gooseneck kettle. Scales allow you to weigh out your coffee grounds and water while the gooseneck kettle allows you to control water flow and circulation.

The next variables that you will want to control and measure are your coffee and your water. I recommend that you ALWAYS use freshly ground coffee beans. This will help you to ensure freshness and the best tasting cup. For 15 ounces of coffee I typically use between 23-25 grams of fresh ground coffee or 15/16th of an ounce if your scale doesn’t measure in grams. You will want your water to be the right temperature otherwise you will get to much or too little of certain flavors from your coffee. Usually I see water towers at cafes in the 205 degrees Fahrenheit range. If you are warming up your water on the stove, get it to a good boil and then remove it from heat. Grab your kitchen thermometer and start pouring when the temperature is in that ballpark.

Now let’s make a cup, get your water going however you plan to heat it and grind your coffee beans. If your brewing apparatus uses a filter, give it a good soak with the prepared water before adding your coffee grounds. Pour in your coffee and get it on the scale. Begin to slowly swirl water in with your gooseneck kettle. If done right you should see the grounds begin to almost balloon or bloom up. Once this starts, take a pause from pouring and let those gases come off the coffee. The volume of coffee you are making will decide what weight to aim for as you add water and how much coffee to use but slowly swirl coffee around the bed of grounds until you reach your desired volume and let the water filter through. Once done brewing, dispose of your grounds as you choose, pour a cup, sit back, and enjoy a delicious cup of coffee!

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That’s it folks, it is a pretty simple process to achieve a great pour over at home, just do your best to get precise and you won’t be disappointed!