Manufacturing
Manufacturing
Each cup of L'OR coffee tells a fascinating story of flavors. From the selection of the beans to their roasting and blending, every step of our process is aimed at providing you with the ultimate pleasure in terms of coffee tasting. Everything is carefully created, controlled and supervised by our experts who are passionate about coffee.
The richness of the exceptional L'OR coffee you enjoy at home is directly related to the quality of the beans harvested. And it all starts with a little coffee cherry.
Every aspect of production, from the type of coffee tree to where it is grown and how the beans are harvested, has an influence on the taste and aroma of your cup of L'OR coffee.
- Judith de Boer, L'OR coffee expert
In tropical regions, small shrubs called coffee trees produce a white flower similar to jasmine. It only blooms for two days before giving way to a fruit that matures 6 to 11 months later. Once ripe, this fruit takes on a bright red color and is called "cherry." It is then ready to be harvested.
Each cherry contains two beautiful coffee beans. Cherries are harvested once or twice a year, from September to December in the northern hemisphere and from April to August in the southern hemisphere. Depending on the coffee plantation, the coffee cherries (and the beans they contain) are harvested by hand or by machine.
Every aspect of production, from the type of coffee tree to where it is grown and how the beans are harvested, has an influence on the taste and aroma of your cup of L'OR coffee.
What is Arabica Coffee?
Arabica coffee is obtained from the beans of the coffea arabica, an exotic plant. Arabica coffee was discovered in Abyssinia (Ethiopia) around the 6th century. At the time, this area was one of the only ones where coffee was popular. The plant was therefore given the name 'arabica' because of its connection to 'Arabia', the region.
L'OR blends are made with different types of coffee, each carefully selected to offer the best possible taste profile. Some L'OR blends are 100% Arabica and others are a blend of Arabica and Robusta coffee beans. There are even differences between coffee beans from different Arabica plants and you can enjoy these different tastes via the L'OR range of coffees.
Some information about Arabica coffee
- Aroma: Fragrant, rich and aromatic, Arabica develops subtle fruity notes.
- Grain: Elongated, smooth, regular and rather yellow or green in colour.
- Plant: Arabica is between 8 and 10 metres tall and its leaves are smaller than those of robusta.
- Culture: Grown at an altitude of 600 to 2000 meters, in temperate or tropical climates.
From cherry to coffee bean
Not many people know that our exceptional coffee beans begin their journey inside a ripe coffee cherry. Once the coffee cherries have been harvested, the beans must be extracted from the fruit carefully, which can be done in a variety of ways.
The wet or "cleansing" method, in which the pulp is first removed from the cherries before immersing them in water for 24 to 48 hours so that the skin comes off naturally. Once dried, the green coffee beans can be extracted. This results in coffee beans that are said to be "cleaned" or "washed".
In the case of the "dry" method, the cherries dry in the sun for 20 days so that their skin comes off naturally. The coffee beans obtained in this way are said to be "unwashed".
While it is true that washed coffee beans result in coffee with a stronger aroma, there are specific reasons to use either washed or unwashed coffee beans. We blend the best grains of both types to achieve a complex taste, characterized by an exceptional finesse and balance specific to L'OR.
Before the carefully selected grains can be used, it is necessary to remove the parchment, a dry shell that covers them. This is called shelling. The beans are then polished in order to remove any remaining pieces of skin and ensure that they are pure and clean.
We then carry out a final check to ensure that we only choose the highest quality beans before transporting them to be roasted, ground and packaged. It's this attention to detail that allows us to deliver exceptional taste and aroma, cup after cup.
Taste tested by our experts
Once the green coffee beans arrive, they are tested by L'OR coffee experts. The purpose of this step is to verify the quality and characteristics of each grain arrival.
The green beans are roasted and immediately ground, then mixed with boiling water, before being tested by our coffee experts. This is a first tasting that is sometimes referred to as "cupping".
These experts have trained their senses and have a very deep knowledge of coffee, allowing them to identify more than 800 different aromas and flavors in coffee. They use this expertise to blend coffee beans and create exquisite taste profiles, but also identify any beans that don't meet their quality standards.
It's this passionate expertise that makes L'OR truly unique, gives you optimal taste and makes every cup an unparalleled experience.
A roast for a golden coffee
Once the coffee beans have passed the taste test, they are roasted to perfection at very precise temperatures, ranging from 180°C to 250°C, in order to acquire different taste profiles.
The purpose of this roasting is to release the oils present at the heart of each of the beans. This will transform the grain and cause it to change color, giving it a nice shiny look. As these oils are released, a unique flavor and taste develops, layer after layer, and the grain changes from green to gold, to beige, to brown, and finally to a rich, deep chocolate brown.
The intensity, acidity, sweetness and roundness that is unique to each distinct blend of L'OR is determined by the roasting time of the beans.
A grind that releases flavour and aroma
After being roasted to perfection, the coffee beans are ground and packaged immediately to preserve their freshness and richness. The quick packaging of freshly ground coffee is what allows you to enjoy a unique coffee in your cup. Simply add hot water to release unique layers of flavour and aroma. An irregular grind can lead to unpredictable variations in taste and often lead to you not getting the best of the grain. In the case of a grind that is too thick or coarse, you won't enjoy the full flavor of the bean and the coffee will be bland.
If the grind is too fine, on the other hand, it will result in over-extraction and an unpleasant taste. The quality of the grind is therefore essential, which is why we pay a lot of attention to it. Our coffee experts fully understand the importance of a beautiful, homogeneous grind for the final product. Their expertise ensures that each blend is ground to perfection to achieve that elaborate taste of L'OR, cup after cup.
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