Agricultural sites in the same region share similar soil, weather conditions, and farming techniques, and many would argue that this contributes to the unique qualities of the final product …this is called terroir. Originally used to describe grape regions for wine and the appellation system in France, terroir provides a sense of place and time…a moment that lends flavor and depth. It’s why sometimes we’ll use the exact same recipe, the exact same technique, the exact same process and yet your scone turns out differently one day out of three.
Expand that understanding and realize that sometimes everything changes the outcome. I just made blueberry muffins in a silicone baking pan and I promise you, I seldom bake in those pans that were everywhere a couple years ago but when you’re packing for vacation nothing beats a pan that you can fold up and crush into the bottom of your grocery bag. But I’m reminded of why I don’t like them…because I think the texture and the flavor of whatever you’re baking changes when you use them…the terroir.
Sourdough bread is a perfect example of how terroir impacts the final product. Bread junkies will tell you that the reason sourdough tastes so different on the West Coast is because of the quality of the water and the elements in the air…and they’re right, it does taste different. And sometimes our coffee at Moxie tastes different from week to week…the same blend, the same small batch, and the same roaster but if the beans were harvested just a couple of weeks earlier in the season, you may taste a difference.
Coffee is a crop, just like wheat for flour, just like sugar cane, just like grapes for wine, and just like vanilla beans. And when there’s a variation in temperature from one year to the next, when the rain falls a couple inches more, when the soil is turned one week later this year than last, it can change the outcome more than you would think.
Our Moxie blend is locally roasted fresh every week by Dublin Roasters Coffee in New Market and we use a combination of Guatema Antigua and organic Tanzania Peaberry. We chose these beans as our signature because it gives us the rich complexity of African soil and the lighter smokiness of South American terroir. It’s dark and delicious with just a hint of acidity to balance things out.
When summer gets here, we’ll bring back our sourdough for the farmers’ markets and when you come back from your vacation in San Francisco, you can compare the two…and dream of terroir.