All images courtesy of Caffeine Control Coffee.
A new roasting company called Caffeine Control Coffee is launching with a slate of blends created not only for deliciousness, but for precise control of coffee’s pick-me-up power.
Launched in Australia by 2013 World Barista Champion Pete Licata and seasoned coffee competitor Maria Licata, Caffeine Control commenced direct-to-consumer sales this month with four blends: Full Speed, a fully caffeinated option; Slow Burn, described as moderately caffeinated; Low Impact, described as lightly caffeinated; and the Smooth Sailing decaf.
Packaging on all four blends indicates the volume of each coffee used in the blend, by percentage, as well as milligrams of caffeine per serving, as recommended by the company’s brew recipes. Caffeine Control said that recipe testing involves the use of a Lighttells CA-700 caffeine and chlorogenic acid analyzer.
Caffeine Control Coffee Co-Founder Pete Licata.
The current Full Speed comprises a 50/50 blend of “Kenya-process,” sometimes called “double-washed,” coffee from El Salvador, and a natural-process coffee from Brazil. The Slow Burn and Low Impact comprise different ratios of the El Salvador plus an EA-decaf-process coffee from Colombia, while the Smooth Sailing is the decaf Colombia as a single-origin offering.
Pete Licata told Daily Coffee News that the coffees and ratios may change over time, depending on seasonality and the quality assessments of Caffeine Control’s married founders.
“I want to evolve them over time to add complexity and distinction,” Licata told DCN. “The Full Speed will likely be a three-bean blend in the future, and Smooth Sailing will become a blend of different decaf methods and processes to make an even more interesting product. Low Impact and Slow Burn will likely stay as a mirrored image of each other to keep the caffeine levels at similar amounts, currently 50 and 90 milligrams per serving.”
Caffeine Control Coffee Co-Founder Maria Licata.
A fifth option is what the company calls its 4-Week Reduction Plan Box, containing smaller portions of all four products, designed for people seeking to gradually ramp down their caffeine intake.
“It comes down to a number of factors including genetics, age, hormones and liver function, including caffeine metabolism rate,” Pete Licata said. “Some people can process caffeine very quickly, so they don’t have much trouble at night, while others are very sensitive and even one cup could keep them up. Most of us are moderate metabolizers, but we can overdo it easily.”
From their home base in Melbourne, The Licatas currently purchase green coffees through Australian importers FTA Coffee and Condesa Co.Lab. Production occurs on Diedrich roasters at the Melbourne co-roastery Criteria Coffee.
“I think there will always be a bit of hero bean through the blends. So [we look for] a great arabica and a great decaf, then blends will get built around them,” Licata said of the sourcing efforts. “But we are open to changing beans around to make sure we get, first, a great-tasting blend, and secondarily, the target caffeine levels.”
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Howard Bryman
Howard Bryman is the associate editor of Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine. He is based in Portland, Oregon.
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