The process of canning coffee at Dark Matter’s Chocolate City Coffee Palace and Bodega on Grand Avenue feels surprising yet familiar. There’s a giant paper filter. Fresh roasted and ground coffee beans go in.
Then 200-degree water is added. It’s all dialed-in, at a giant size. Science and engineering come knocking at every step after: The coffee is rapidly chilled via a system of parallel tubes, counterflow and heat exchange.
This is not “cold brew” — increasingly, some top coffee producers argue that the best beans require hot water to get the most precious flavor compounds. Technically speaking, Dark Matter does not serve cold brew in any form at its cafes in Chicago; it’s “coffee cold,” a bit of linguistic gymnastics. Once it’s brewed and briefly stored in a 50-gallon refrigerated kettle, the coffee moves to the canning line.
Labels for different roasts or brewing styles must be firmly attached to the correct can. Negative space must be filled by nitrogen. Why nitrogen? Don’t worry about it, honestly.
The seal must be good. Canning facilities must be sanitized and sanitized and sanitized. By the end of the day, it smells wonderfully roasty, but the equipment has been washed and cleaned so much, it also evokes a fresh shower.
It’s an industrial effort. I drink coffee every single day, but late-night drives are the only time I justify purchasing a can for its convenience. I wondered: Who is the customer for black coffee in single-serving cans? Dark Ma.