He Opened A Matchmaking Agency In 18Th Century London [EN]: Chapter 94

< The Process for Special Coffee >

◈ Jamaica Blue Mountain, Theo Coffee Farm.

After several days of collecting coffee cherries, the full-scale processing began.

However, Mr. Spencer was processing the cherries in a way that differed from typical coffee farms.

Usually, coffee farms wash the harvested coffee cherries in water to remove foreign substances and then immediately dry them in the sun.

But Mr. Spencer said he would remove the skin and pulp first.

When Theo asked why, he only received a vague answer that he would soon find out.

Mr. Spencer looked for Sampson.

“Sampson! Sampson! Huh? Why isn’t Sampson here?”

Noah approached him as he looked around.

“Mr. Spencer, are you looking for Sampson?”

“Yes, where is Sampson?”

“Sampson is out on the farm. He’s repairing the broken fence.”

“He’s fixing fences at this important time?”

“If we don’t fix it quickly, animals keep coming over and ruining the farm.”

“That guy with the bad leg, why does he have to make such a hard life for himself? Tsk, tsk.”

Clicking his tongue, Mr. Spencer then shouted at Peter, who was moving sacks of fruit in the distance.

“Peter! Peter!”

“Yes!”

“Where did you put the pulp remover that Sampson and I made?”

“It’s in the warehouse!”

“Bring it here right now!”

Peter struggled to carry something out of the warehouse with another colleague.

What Peter brought was a large cylindrical machine made of wood and metal.

When Theo looked inside, he saw numerous holes and sharp blades, and the side was divided into complex layers with various plates and rods.

He vaguely remembered them making it last time; it seemed that it had already been completed and test-run.

As the surrounding slaves looked at the machine with curious eyes, Mr. Spencer said proudly.

“This is a machine that removes the skin and pulp of the fruit, leaving only the coffee beans. It’s a machine that none of you have ever seen before.”

Noah, who had worked on a coffee farm before, spoke up.

“Yes, it’s the first time I’ve ever seen a machine like this. Other coffee farms wash the fruit once and then dry it in the sun; they don’t go through this troublesome process. Do they use machines like that in Saint-Domingue [now Haiti]?”

Mr. Spencer shook his head.

“No. They also use the method of washing and then drying in the sun there.”

Theo asked with a puzzled look.

“Then why are you using this method?”

“The method of removing the skin and pulp and leaving only the beans is the core of my research and development secret. However, if I were to remove the pulp one by one by hand, it would take too much time. Besides, there is also the risk of damaging the coffee beans.”

Mr. Spencer tapped the machine and said.

“But I only mentioned the pulp remover in passing, and Peter and Sampson managed to make this machine.

I wondered if it would be possible as I imagined, but when I tried running it as a test, it worked quite well. So, this is the machine that has been reinforced for several weeks.

If today’s demonstration is successful, it seems that it can be used very usefully to peel the skin and pulp of the fruit.”

Several months ago, Mr. Spencer mentioned the pulp remover to Peter, who was very good at handling machines, just in case, and Peter and Sampson worked on it for several weeks to create this machine.

The operating principle of the machine was simple.

When coffee cherries are poured into the cylinder and the top handle is turned, only well-ripened coffee cherries are placed on the holes inside, and small or other foreign substances naturally fall out through the holes, leaving only the desired size of cherries.

After that, when the lower handle is turned, the skin and pulp of the selected cherries are cut off by sharp blades.

“Peter, let’s turn it on.”

“Yes.”

To demonstrate, Peter poured coffee cherries from a basket into the cylinder.

Thump, thump, thump-

“First, open the top lid and pour in the coffee cherries like this. And when you turn this top handle…”

Drrrrrr-

As Peter turned the handle vigorously, the sound of the heavy machine turning and something falling below continued to be heard.

Peter then turned the handle on the bottom.

“Now, we remove the pulp of the selected cherries by turning this handle at the bottom. You can adjust the thickness of the cutting blade by pulling or inserting the small pins here.”

Three small pins were attached side by side next to the lower handle.

Tada-dang-

Not long after turning the handle, coffee cherries that were small or not well-ripened fell into one of the two containers outside the machine, and coffee cherries with a considerable amount of pulp removed fell into the other.

Mr. Spencer, who took out the cherries that had fallen into the container and put them on his hand, exclaimed.

“Oh, Peter. Yes, this is it! This is the machine I wanted! How can you peel it so easily and quickly?

It’s more elaborate and faster than when I tried it a few weeks ago! Hahaha—amazing, really amazing!”

Peter scratched his head and smiled at Mr. Spencer’s praise.

“Well… the principle is nothing special. It’s just that the cherries that get caught depending on the size are cut by the blades.”

Mr. Spencer asked with a satisfied face.

“Hey, Peter? You said you can adjust the thickness of the blade? Then, can you remove more pulp than the current state?”

Peter nodded.

“Yes, of course. If you increase the stage, you can remove more pulp than the current state. The current stage is the least peeled state.”

“Oh—really? Then try to remove as much as possible!”

“Yes.”

As Peter adjusted the pin next to the lower handle, there was a sound of something moving.

And when he turned the lower handle hard, coffee cherries with the skin and pulp tightly peeled fell into the basket on the right with a loud noise.

At the same time, small-sized cherries or foreign substances that were not peeled were separated and fell into the left basket.

Mr. Spencer, who approached the right basket, picked up the fallen cherries and turned them around.

Even Theo could see that the pulp was more cleanly peeled than before.

A happy smile spread across Mr. Spencer’s face.

“Amazing, amazing! The pulp of the cherries is properly peeled, leaving only the bean-shaped coffee beans! You’re a genius! A genius! Hehe.”

Mr. Spencer, who was smiling happily and patting Peter on the back, showed Theo the coffee beans and said.

“Mr. Sanderson! Thanks to Peter, it seems that we are ready to make golden eggs and flatten the noses of those Saint-Domingue French guys. This is going to be no joke, so be prepared! Hahaha—.”

Mr. Spencer’s hearty laughter was filled with anticipation, passion, and satisfaction.

Then Peter said shyly.

“Actually, I only thought about the principle, but Sampson did all the work on the machine itself. It’s all thanks to Sampson more than me.”

Mr. Spencer nodded his head greatly.

“Yes, yes. You and Sampson are the treasures of our coffee farm. Yes, that’s right. Hehe.”

Mr. Spencer always had nagging on his lips, but recently, as good results related to coffee have come out, praise for the slaves has increased significantly.

Last time he praised Juba, and today it seemed that Peter and Sampson were the targets.

‘Peter and Sampson, who were discarded as useless on the sugarcane farm, are now indispensable and precious existences on the coffee farm….’

Theo, who was watching with a satisfied smile, saw Juba’s face standing on the opposite side.

She looked at the machine with curious eyes, and when Mr. Spencer praised Sampson, her eyes twinkled and a faint smile appeared on her lips.

But that smile quickly disappeared.

‘It seems like an emotional reaction to Sampson, but it also doesn’t seem like it….’

The change in micro-expression was so instantaneous that he couldn’t read her emotions properly.

People usually have more interest in the work or stories of their favorite person, and as such, various micro-expressions and emotions are captured.

But that was not clearly visible in Juba. In a way, it was like listening to the story of someone she didn’t care much about.

If Theo was like this, it would have been even more difficult for Sampson to recognize Juba’s feelings.

‘Hmm… Is Juba really not interested or is she thinking about someone else, as Sampson said? I can’t figure out her heart at all.’

Drrrrrr-

Mr. Spencer, who was watching the fruit being processed through the newly developed pulp remover, explained his coffee processing method to Theo.

“Mr. Sanderson, watch carefully. If you remove the skin and fruit part of this fruit with a pulp remover, the part that surrounds the coffee bean comes out.”

Mr. Spencer showed Theo a normal coffee cherry and then held up a coffee cherry with the outer skin and pulp removed through the pulp remover.

Mr. Spencer continued, fiddling with the sticky, viscous substance with his fingers.

“The problem is that even though the pulp has been removed, this sticky mucilage [a slimy substance] still sticks to the surface in this state.

These leftover pulp scraps are stickier than you think, so if you try to peel them off forcibly while they are attached, the coffee beans inside are easily damaged.

So, to properly remove this sticky mucilage, we will soak it in water and go through a fermentation process.”

“Fermentation in water?”

“That’s right. To put it simply, we put the peeled coffee cherries in specially treated water to remove the sticky mucilage.

And we ferment it in water for less than a day to remove as much of this sticky mucilage as possible and get clean coffee cherries.”

Mr. Spencer’s coffee processing method was very unfamiliar to Theo, who had looked at many other coffee farms.

“Mr. Spencer. But is there any reason why the pulp of the coffee cherries needs to be removed so cleanly? It’s very laborious, and I think the taste will decrease as much as the skin is peeled off?”

He had heard that coffee cherries have a small amount of pulp, so they have the sweetness of fruit.

Therefore, most of the coffee farms that Theo had looked at collected coffee cherries, washed them once, and then dried them in the sun without peeling the skin until the cherries became wrinkled.

Then, of course, the sticky mucilage remaining inside the skin is not removed and is dried together as it is.

Coffee beans that are naturally dried in this way can have a rich and exotic flavor as the sweetness of the fruit and various plant flavors permeate the coffee beans.

But Mr. Spencer was removing a lot of the pulp on the surface of the coffee beans, which plays this role, so he had doubts.

“It’s very different from the process I’ve seen at other coffee farms so far.”

“Hehe… that’s understandable.”

Mr. Spencer asked again with a meaningful smile.

“Mr. Sanderson, have you ever tasted coffee at other farms?”

Theo nodded.

“Yes, I’ve had it several times.”

“Then you must have felt the subtle woody aroma that permeates the sweetness when you drink it?”

“Yes. Some farms had so much of that woody aroma and sweetness that it felt like it was ruining the coffee flavor, and other farms had a subtle sweetness and woody aroma that made the coffee flavor more mellow.”

The heavy and *teopteophan* [a Korean onomatopoeia describing a dry, rough, and slightly unpleasant mouthfeel] taste compared to the drip coffee he used to drink in modern times didn’t really suit Theo’s taste.

“You felt it properly. Mr. Sanderson’s assessment is accurate.

But did you know that those woody aromas are actually the product of decay that comes from inconsistent natural drying methods?”

“The product of… decay?”

“That’s right. When drying naturally, you have to be very careful about the moisture content, but this is what happens when you dry it roughly.

If the moisture content exceeds about 15%, it will ferment on its own and mold will grow, causing an unpleasant earthy smell.

Conversely, if it is dried too much and the moisture content falls below 10%, the woody aroma will be very strong.”

“······.”

“In addition, coffee cherries have more sugar and mucilage than you think, so it takes a long time to dry even if you dry them.

So, if there is not enough sunlight, you have to dry it for that much longer, and since that process is different, it becomes difficult to guarantee a consistent coffee taste.”

“Ah—so that’s why you’re trying to remove as much pulp as possible?”

“That’s exactly it. If the skin and pulp are removed cleanly like this with a pulp remover, the drying time is much faster and the taste can be more uniform.”

Theo nodded at Mr. Spencer’s explanation.

After listening to his explanation, he felt like he finally understood why the taste of the beans from the same farm was so different.

“So, Mr. Spencer’s coffee doesn’t have that sweetness of the fruit and heavy woody aroma? But if that happens… won’t the taste of the coffee be too light?”

Theo thought that the Turkish coffee and other farm coffees he had tasted for the first time in the 18th century had a heavy feel to them, as dark as their color.

So he thought that such heaviness was the flavor and popularity of coffee in this era.

He was worried that if he removed that taste, it would deviate too much from the popular coffee taste that 18th century people had been used to.

It could play a role in leading the trend, but if he was not careful, it could become a taste that was too ahead of its time and be rejected by the public.

“Hehe. As expected, Mr. Sanderson is no ordinary person. You have grasped it very well.”

Mr. Spencer continued to explain, fiddling with the coffee cherries he was holding.

“If I apply my developed processing method to ordinary coffee beans, it will taste too light, as Mr. Sanderson said. Like plain water with a strong coffee flavor, not coffee.

Then, even if it has the clean and refreshing feel that I want, it will be impossible to compete with other existing coffees with that weak taste.

After much deliberation, the conclusion I came to was that I needed really good coffee beans.”

“Ah… yes.”

Theo finally understood why Mr. Spencer was so engrossed in finding good coffee beans.

“Even if the pulp is completely removed, high-quality coffee beans guarantee the aroma and taste from the coffee bean itself.

I was convinced that if I found such beans and applied my own processing method, I could create a truly luxurious coffee that would give you a smooth, clean taste and aroma, and a refreshing feel all at once.”

Theo didn’t know much about coffee processing, but he felt like he understood a little bit about the smooth and clean taste and aroma that Mr. Spencer was talking about.

The coffees of the 18th century that Theo had tasted so far were, to put it nicely, rich and heavy, but to put it badly, they were unpleasantly *teopteophan* [a Korean onomatopoeia describing a dry, rough, and slightly unpleasant mouthfeel] and bitter.

Theo didn’t really enjoy drip coffee in modern times. However, after drinking 18th century coffee a few times, he missed the clean taste of modern drip coffee.

If it was as Mr. Spencer intended, he wondered if he could taste the taste of modern drip coffee in this 18th century as well.

Mr. Spencer smiled brightly and held up a coffee cherry.

“But it seems that fate is really interesting. Now that I’ve given up and let go, this golden fruit that will make my dreams come true was in Jamaica.

Of course, I won’t know exactly until I actually go through the coffee processing process and roast it, but I can be sure just by looking at this fruit.

Rather, I’m worried about how great this thing will become, and even I’m scared. Hehehe.”

“Is it that good?”

“Mr. Sanderson. Even if it’s only half as good as the taste of coffee I’ve dreamed of all my life, or the taste I’ve imagined, we’ll make a lot of money. Mr. Sanderson, aren’t you really curious? What kind of taste will come out of here?”

In fact, Theo was also very curious.

That’s why he was postponing his return to London.

He wondered what it would taste like, and he was excited about how great the taste would be that Mr. Spencer was so excited about.

But on the other hand, he wondered if taste was such a subjective thing, could it really bring such great success?

‘I hope, I really hope that the taste that Mr. Spencer said will come out….’

Theo looked down at the peeled coffee cherries with a desperate heart.