Coffey's Coffee

Article by Francis Racine
Le Journal, Cornwall
24 February 2016

As you open the front door of Reginald "Reg" Coffey's house, you are instantly enveloped by the sweet odour of coffee. In his kitchen, the man brews two fresh
cups of coffee. The black liquid, made from Nicaragua Maracaturra beans, is quite
tasteful and yet has a hint of boldness.

"I had to learn how to become a coffee lover" Coffey said. "I started off with tea. I still drink tea, mind you, but I really love coffee."

Once the owner of a motorcycle, the man used to travel with a group of bikers. "They were really tough looking guys,'' he said. "We'd often stop at Tim Hortons. I just didn't feel right ordering a tea, so I would drink what they would take, coffee.''

His love of coffee has transformed the man from a simple roaster to the owner
of Coffey's Coffee. "I started roasting coffee beans when 1 lived in Hershey,
Pennsylvania,'' he explained. "The coffee over there was horrendous, so I started
roasting beans for myself."

Soon enough, some of his friends and colleagues started asking for the rich, black beans. "Next thing you know, I'm roasting for a lot of people.'' he continued, smiling. But roasting coffee beans isn't as easy as it seems. "Sometimes, you either over roast them or you under roast them.'' he said."When you under roast them, you often get a sour taste.''

Fast forwards some years and Coffey is now the proud owner of two coffee bean
roasters. Following him through his house, the man stops before a door. "This is where
it all happens."

He opens the white door to reveal a small room filled with extraordinary aromas. On the right is a shelf holding several containers of green beans. "I don't keep a stock of
roasted coffee beans,'' he said. "I stock green beans only. After coffee is roasted, the flavor starts to deteriorate almost immediately."

In front of him are his pride and joy; two roasters. The machines, which might very well be props for a science fiction movie, are utilized quite often by Coffey. "I weigh a certain amount of beans.'' he said, pointing at a small scale. "I then put them in the machine and set time and temperature."

Coffey pulls out a container of green and opens the top. "I simply love the smell they have,'' he said, taking in a big breath.

Each container has a big label, displayed its front, identifying what kind of coffee
are stored in them.

His company specializes in dark coffee. "I believe in developing the natural flavor coffee by fully caramelizing the natural sugars to give a dark rich bittersweet flavor that some coffee drinkers are looking for," as described on his website. "Some of the more expensive coffees of the world brag about the qualities of the coffee when roasted to a light city or cinnamon toast. I say if you want tea-like qualities then drink tea, If you looking for a cup of coffee that is rich, black and bittersweet then you are in the right place."

In his little workshop, Coffey has everything he needs to fill a variety of orders. "Most of my buyers are from Ingleside or Cornwall, but I do have some in the United States and even out West.''

The man also caters to several local restaurants. "I could start selling my coffee to several more establishments, but I'm not equipped to roast that much coffee. I'd rather
keep it small.''

To further his coffee roasting knowledge, he attended the Coffee Training Institute in San Francisco. "They told me some things I already knew, but they taught me ways I had never even heard of."

With that, he quietly exits his workshop and makes his way towards another small room. Through a big window, a beam of hot sunlight illuminates the room, much to the
delight of two tiresome looking felines lying on a couch.

Next to the window is an odd-looking plant, one you certainly can't find it in your
backyard or in a nearby forest. It measures around 5 feet tall, bearing small red cherry
looking fruits.

"These are coffee cherries.'' Coffey explained, grabbing a hold of them. "The
coffee beans come from this fruit. I've always been fascinated as to why coffee in itself is
so cheap, considering the amount of labor that is used to make it.''

According to the coffee connoisseur, only about two countries utilize machinery to process the fruit. "I believe only Brazil and Jamaica use machines to separate the fruit
from the bean.'' he said, pondering. "The rest of the countries use actual labor, meaning
someone is in the fields and picking only the ripe fruits, one by one.''

Always been in the food industry

The food industry sure isn't a new thing for Coffey. Born and raised in Cornwall and a graduate from St. Lawrence College in 1975, he was recruited right out of college
by the federal government and moved to Toronto to work in the lab at the Health
Protection Branch of the Department of Health and Welfare, now called Health
Canada. Over 30 some odd years, he has been employed in a wide variety of roles
in the food industry: process development project leader, research scientist, analytical
chemist, quality assurance manager and regulatory affairs manager, to mention a few.

"I was a food technologist at one point," he explained. "What I can say about the food industry is that it's not about the product anymore. It's about the marketing and the
costs.

So what does the coffee expert think of the Keurig cups? "Well, I think you'll never be able to put enough coffee in there to make a great tasting cup! I always put too much, it gives it a great taste.''