Fresh coffee daily

Press, 24 March 1988, Page 37

Fresh coffee daily

Standing outside Robert Harris Tea and Coffee Specialists [ Ltd in Sockbum, 1 is a small coffee shrub., j Inj its' wild sta :e the coffee shrub is ar evergreen bush measuring eight to ten metres high. Its branches carry bouquets of ■ small white ' powers with a jasminelike | scent A ' This particular coffee ... shrub, though, is of a much tamer variety, and looks unlikely to pose any grave threat to theicoffee-' producing plantations' of. [Kenya, New Guinea ’ and Colombia. ( ;; | According to the South Island regional manager of Robert Harris, 'Mr 1 Nigel ,Windelburn, the Auckland branch’s plant did much better, and was able to be harvested of a hand'ful bf beans. | {' ) I Robert Harris Tea and ! Coffee Specialists was founded in Hamilton in the 11930 s iwhen Mr! Harris began blending coffee and). teas in a T small shop. ( . I A move to Auckland a few! years later meant a considerable ! growth; in business, and some in the; South Island may [still re-! member his mail order service, f | After : his death, the shop was bought by Murray and'Vai Connally who continued to build ! the business, providing business outlets and the public with a i wide ! range of i i quality coffee teas.; Today (Robert Harris is a ! multi-million ; dollar company, with branches in I Hamilton, Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. f ■ ' i'' ' 1 Because (the qiality of green beans, (their state before roasting), is so important ;to i produce good

coffee, i! Robert | Harris choose beans from Kenya, Tanzania, ! New Guinea, Colombia and Costa Rica. The : green beans are then roasted to create in-! dividual flavours : for a variety! of i occasions and ! tastes. Once.the coffee is! roasted it is important to; protect the! freshness. As a ; fresh food jprpduct, coffee; deteriorates ;on contact' with heat and air.’ It was in' oi;der to maintain its high standards of quality!and freshness Robert : Harris set up its own roasting!plant in the; South | Island, allowing! Christchurch and outlying! areas to get {the freshest! coffee {available. ; { | Robert ! Harris bought the roasting)! division of. Browne and Heaton in 1987. This included the electric roasting machine, believed !to be the i only one -of its type in New Zealand. I i The [ green beans are placed! in the machine, and travel through a tube into the rotating roasting drum. There They tumble about at 200 [degrees Celcius for ! about half -an hour or so, depending on the beans and the ; roast required. { { Samples are taken [from the drum at! short intervals, and the checking relies on an | experienced eye rather than any scientific method, j Robert I Harris' roasting plant [in [Sockburn roasts beans every Iday, and the machine ; can handle 30 kilos of green beans for each roast. i'{ Coffee is drunk by one third of the world’s population,! in .an amount larger than | any other beverage! except tea. 111 . The| difference between instant coffee! and freshly roasted coffee is appar-

ently enormous. “Roughly speaking,” said Mr Windlebum, “Instant coffee is i roasted cheap beans, [ placed under hot jets whicfi evaporate all the moisture. What is left is instant coffee.” 'I • I i|; Decaffeinated | coffee has become increasingly popular in New Zealand, but apparently we have a long way to go before we catch up : with decaffeinated coffee drinkers overseas. |( “There are two ways to decaffeinate coffee,” said Mr Windleburn, {‘One using chemicals and one using a natural steam method. Bo ( th remove the caffeine, but the chemical method leaves the chemicals ... which are probably just as bad.” The i Robert Harris range of [lthree decaffeinated coffees, Decaf Lite, Harris Special Decaf and Rapport Decaf, is the result of ; green coffee beans, grown in Central America, shipped to West Germany j| [ and decaffeinated in| a patented process using only water. The green beans are then imported into New Zealand and roasted and blended by Robert Harris. The decaffeinating process {removes approximately 97 per cent of the caffeine. Robert Harris is the first company |in New Zealand to supply natur-ally-processed fresh decaffeinated coffee. ' .![■[■'!' North Islanders already enjoy the iißobert Harris Tea and Coffee 'shops, which are owned and operated under franchise, where people can sit and enjoy fine coffees and' teas. '[if