Made On Delmarva: Amity Coffee
Amity Coffee is putting a local taste to a classic cup of joe.
"It's been pretty cool to see people kind of come from different towns and our town and gather here over coffee," says Marie Miller.
Miller says the idea of opening up a coffee shop had been brewing for some time and eventually she just decided to give up the daily grind for a more literal meaning of daily grind. She and her brother-in-law decided to put both of their expertise together and give the coffee roasting business a shot.
"It worked out perfectly that he was already roasting coffee a little bit and I wanted to start a cafe and so we collaborated and started Amity Coffee Roasters and Aafe," says Miller.
Miller tells us the coffee beans they use come from all over the world.
"Actually a lot of people don't know but coffee beans look like a berry or cherry when they are picked, and through different drying processes they become almost a green looking bean and that's actually how they come to us," says Miller.
Although the beans are shipped, one of the most important steps to get to that perfect cup of coffee happens here, the roasting.
The roasting is what gives the coffee it's unique bold flavor. Marie roasts the beans in the back of the cafe and shows us how it's done. She first uses a computer that her brother-in-law has programmed different coffee profiles. The profiles determine the temperature and air flow that will roast the beans.
"Basically you set it up for the different beans that you want to roast. Like a Brazil bean would roast differently than an Ethiopian bean," says Miller.
Once the profile is setup the roaster begins to pre-heat. Miller then weighs out a batch.
"Our biggest roaster only roasts 10 pounds at a time, but what happens with the roasting process you actually lose about 20 percent of your bean. So what we're going to do is weigh out 12 pounds and that will yield us 10 pounds of roasted coffee," says Miller.
When the roaster is ready, the beans are loaded in. Miller then drops the beans down to the bottom of the roaster.
The drum begins to turn to make sure each bean is baked evenly.
Miller says each roast takes anywhere from from 10 to 15 minutes, and every so often she checks on them to make sure everything is on track.
Once the beans reach their peak heat the roasting complete. Miller then turns on the stirrers and cooler.
The beans cool down and sit for a day, and then are ready to be brewed and enjoyed!
