I am pleased to introduce a very special coffee from two of my father’s farms in Nicaragua: Placeres and Limoncillo. Not only is this coffee a Pacamara varietal, it is also comprised of the peaberries from the plant.
What is a peaberry? A coffee cherry typically contains two seeds. When only one seed develops, it is a peaberry, which accounts for less than five percent of a coffee tree’s production. When the efforts of the plant are concentrated on one seed, it concentrates the flavors that were originally destined for two.
What is a Pacamara varietal? Pacamara is a naturally occurring hybrid from El Salvador and a subtype of the Maragogype (“elephant” or “giant bean”) and Pacas varietal. Like the Maragogype, it is a low yielding plant, which means less fruit per tree. My father planted acres of this varietal on his farm in Nicaragua seven years ago.
Why has this coffee arrived so late in the season? If you have been paying attention to Intelligentsia’s dedication to seasonality, you might be wondering about the launch of a coffee from Nicaragua in October. The main reason is the manner in which peaberries are processed.
The final stages before exporting a coffee occur at the dry mill. The coffee seeds are de-husked and then travel through screens with holes that sort by size. Next, the coffee travels to gravity tables that sort by density and then down conveyor belts where workers carefully hand-sort the coffee and pick out the defects. Peaberries have traditionally been lumped in with these inferior coffees. More recently, this type of coffee has been separated, roasted, and cupped with surprising results. Far from inferior, peaberries demonstrate unique and desirable flavors on the cupping table.
Given that 1.) peaberry is 5% of all coffee produced, 2.) the Pacamara is a scarce varietal, and 3.) the required processing, it took the full milling season to accumulate enough coffee to send to Intelligentsia. Since the milling ended in August, an October launch seems just about right.
This coffee is truly special. Assembling a Pacamara requires an extensive amount of work. It is the result of good planning in cultivation, careful lot separation during both wet and dry milling, and great care in the separation and storage of the final beans. This coffee comes from a number of plantios, or lots, which range in elevation from 1050-1250 meters. It was harvested over a three-month period between January and March, after which it was processed using the washing method at the wet mill. After this time, the coffee began its process of sun bathing and resting. The coffee was then milled from July to August and was shipped on August 17th.
Since the coffee comes from two farms, we chose to name it for the mill that processed it. My father’s mill is named for his father-in-law, “Beneficio Don Esteban” and I am proud to offer a coffee named after my grandfather. We, both Intelligentsia and my family, hope you enjoy the coffee.
OCTOBER 2009 | STEVE MIERISCH IS AN EAST COAST SALES REPRESENTATIVE
FOR INTELLIGENTSIA. HE LIVES AND WORKS IN NEW YORK CITY.
DON ESTEBAN PACAMARA PEABERRY, Nicaragua
CHARACTERISTICS
STEVE’S NOTES
FLAVOR............................Floral, honey, caramel
ACIDITY � � �.......................Balanced, citron
MOUTHFEEL.................Silky
FINISH � � � � � � �.......................Cedar, white grapefruit, pecan
LOCATION......................Matagalpa
FARMER...............................Erwin Mierisch
FARM....................................Limoncillo, Placeres
VARIETAL........................Pacamara
ALTITUDE........................1050 - 1250 m
HARVEST.........................January - March 2009
COFFEE
INTELLIGENTSIA COFFEE PRESENTS
TASTING NOTES
Forthright notes of acacia blossom and honeysuckle combine with a balanced citron acidity and buckwheat honey to make a most tranquil cup. The silky mouthfeel drifts into a lingering finish of white grapefruit, roasted pecans and a hint of fresh cedar.
info source http://www.intelligentsiacoffee.com/files/Pacamara_Peaberry_nic_1009.pdf
Do you enjoy having a whiff of your favorite coffee brand every morning? Do you savor every sip from your coffee mug at any time of the day? Then you are one of those interesting people who think coffee-drinking should not just be an everyday habit but should be a great experience as well
Drinking coffee is such a common experience that people have decided to enhance the experience. If you happen to love drinking coffee, you would have heard of organic coffee beans by now. If you haven’t, then you came to the right place.
The first question you probably want to ask is what are organic coffee beans? To answer that, we have to distinguish this type of beans from other coffee beans.
Organic coffee beans have a rich and tasty flavor as compared to ordinary coffee beans, which are heavily sprayed with chemicals. This is because these coffee beans are grown by environmentally-friendly ways which means nasty pesticides and harmful fertilizers weren’t used. They are grown using natural processes or methods.
Coffee bean farmers simply use what nature has provided for them. What would that be? The use of different shade trees, of course!
The various shade trees used act as protective coverings for coffee beans as they grow. These trees also do what they do best: purify the soil. This allows coffee plants to flourish without any hindrance.
These trees also attract birds and provide nesting areas for them. These birds in turn eat their natural food – bugs that may harm plants. This leads to the reduction in the use of pesticides.
In the United States, for coffee to be certified as organic, it must be produced in compliance with U.S. standards. Pesticides or other prohibited substances must not have been used on land where the beans will be grown for about three years. There should also be enough buffer space between the organic coffee beans and the nearest conventional crop. Crop rotation plans are also implemented so as to prevent soil depletion and erosion. Pest control becomes possible through this method.
Organic coffee beans are grown all over the world. Countries that lead in organic coffee production are Peru, Ethiopia and Mexico. Other than these countries, organic coffee can also be found in Bolivia, Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Cuba, India, Kenya, Philippines and other Asian countries.
People nowadays are more health-conscious and prefer foods that are not only grown organically, but also without preservatives. It comes as no surprise then that the global market for organic coffee beans is steadily increasing. As of 2006, 148 million pounds of coffee were sold all over the world. Forty-four percent of the total was consumed in the United States alone. Since 2003, global sales have increased by 56 percent.
Organic coffee beans are sold in different kinds in the market. These include caffeinated or decaffeinated, instant and flavored. People have even become more creative and now organic coffee ice cream and yogurt are available. And if you have a sweet tooth, you’d love them in hard candies or you can even have them chocolate-covered. Not bad for a simple coffee bean!
original article found at http://www.coffeebeanqueen.com/coffee-beans/
Green coffee beans are berries from the Arabica plant or robusta plant, which have been processed for roasting. Coffee aficionados would never call the green coffee beans, “beans” since they are actually twin seeds of a plant; much like the cherry. We'll call them beans for all extensive purposes.
Green coffee beans go through a vast processing system before they reach the customer. There are two main coffee bean processes:
The most popular method for processing green coffee beans:
* The coffee fruit is red and is picked as it ripens. * The coffee plant's fruit is stripped down to a pulp and all the debris is removed. * The beans are fermented to remove the pulp. * The beans are dried and the peanut-like skin is stripped; * The fruit is now a green coffee bean.
The alternate method for processing green coffee beans:
* The coffee's fruit, leaves, twigs, undesirable unripe fruit and sometimes insects and dirt are thrown to the ground. * The mélange is left to dry and is stripped, revealing the green coffee bean. * Resulting in a completely different taste due to the addition of other material. The coffee may taste may be like compost.
Another interesting fact to consider.coffee trees are grown between the Tropic of Cancer & The Tropic of Capricorn (perhaps, Henry Miller was drinking coffee when he wrote those books).
In North America, it is becoming trendy to not only buy whole coffee beans, but to home roast the green coffee beans as well. Home coffee bean roasters are decreasing in price and green coffee beans can be ordered online or at a Sono Coffee Beans.
Coffee beans are the roasted seeds that coffee comes from. It was first exported to Ethiopia from Yemen.
Coffee beans are distinguished by distinctive flavor, caffeine content, and acidity. These characteristics, in turn, are dependent on the local growth environment, method of processing, and the genetic subspecies or varieties.
Two coffee bean varieties are often blended for more flavor and variety. Among the most popular variety of traditional blends is the Mocha-Java, a combination of beans of the same name. The popular chocolate-inspired beverage called Café Mocha is believed to have been invented due to the unavailability of mocha.
A lot of processes and human labor are needed before coffee berries and their seeds can be processed and turned into fresh roasted coffee beans. These include picking, wherein laborers picked coffee berries by hand and in turn received payment by the basket. Up to seven baskets a day can be picked by an experienced coffee picker. Defruiting involves soaking, scouring the flesh of the coffee berry.
Drying is the process whereby coffee beans are spread over a wide concrete surface and then dried by air and sunlight. The beans are then sorted by color and size. Another process is called aging; some believe that green coffee improves over time, while others dispute this belief saying that it loses its flavor as it ages. The roasting process is an integral part of a great-tasting coffee. The green coffee bean expands its size and changes color and texture when roasted.
On the other hand, the process involved in producing coffee grounds prior to brewing are grinding, chopping, and pounding. Grinding involves tearing the coffee bean. Coffee experts consider burr grinders to be the best way to grind coffee. Chopping the bean into pieces through blade grinders that smash the beans with a high-speed blade is another method. The third process is called pounding, whereby beans are pounded by the use of mortar and pestle.
So the next time you see a coffee bean, you know the exciting journey it went through before finding its way into our mug.
original article found at http://www.beantrends.com/articles/2006/06/09/coffee-beans/
Wonderfull coffee presses and fresh roasted coffee beans to Buy at Sono Coffee Beans
Sono Coffee is the coffee shop with the most unique gifts. Did someone say Unique? Well here is a coffee press that fits that description. The La Cafetiere "Unique" Coffee Press.
La Cafetiere Unique
The Unique thermal cafetière features a double-walled 18/8 stainless steel body and lid, which means that it keeps coffee hot for three times as long as standard cafetière. Practical and elegant, it comes in an 8 cup size.
La Cafetiere Unique Product Features
* Classic styling * French press * Thermal carafe * Safe to use in the dishwasher * 8 Cup capacity Product Details
* Product Dimensions: 5 x 4 x 7.5 inches * Shipping Weight: 3 pounds * Item model number: UQ080200 Be sure to use fresh roasted coffee beans
Sono Coffee Beans and Josh Schrock welcome you to try our coffee beans that are always Fresh Roasted On site.
Coffee Gifts for Coffee Lovers What a Perfect Match
Coffee gifts and coffee gift sets are perfect if your recipient loves coffee. I personally love when people send me gifts of various coffee related items. There are many choices out there and we'll explore the options.
When giving any gift, you should at know at least something about the person you are giving the gift to. If they love coffee, that's great, but what else do you know about them? What kind of coffee maker do they have? Do they buy fresh roasted coffee beans? How about things that go with coffee? I could think of lots of things I eat with my coffee. Here are a few suggestions: biscotti, chocolate, cookies.
Coffee gifts are perfect seasonal gifts. During the holidays each year, It is pretty safe to give the gift of coffee, since most house holds in the U.S. have one or more people who love coffee.
With Christmas just around the corner let me show you some coffee gift ideas form Sono Coffee Beans.
Lets start with the La Cafetiere Wave Gift Set it comes with a nice coffee press and 2 matching cups and pairs nicely with fresh roasted Sono coffee beans.
For something a little more unique that will add color and flair to any kitchen why not check out the La Cafetiere "Rainbow Polka Dot" Gift Set.
If the complete package is what you want then what you must have is the handmade Sono Gift Basket. 1- La Cafetiere "Classic " Coffee Press 1- Set of 2 La Cafetiere "Oscar" coffee or tea cups 2- 1lb. Bags of fresh roasted Sono coffee beans 3- Biscotti
And this all comes neatly packed inside a Handmade red cedar gift box.
For many more fantastic Christmas Coffee gift ideas go to our online shop. or Click Here Sono Coffee Beans where coffee beans are roasted fresh just before thier sent to you.
Across the Ocean in our sister land Europe, Coffee was all the rage in the 1600's. The little coffee bean was causing an uproar over it's sudden popularity. By the 1700's, Coffee shops made their way , from Turkey to France, Germany, Italy, and England. As you may fully be aware, the Revolutionary War was also in that era.
When more and more wealthy families, seeking to enlarge the family title, brought over their teas, they also brought along their coffee beans, even though it was not used as much. It hadn't become as popular as it was over in Europe .
But when King George raised the taxes on tea, there was a great uproar as the colonists protested by having the "Boston Tea Party". Of course the King then responded by closing the harbor and not allowing trade to flow through. As more and more colonists refused to drink the English tea, more and more of them found coffee a satisfying a substitute.
Fresh Roasted Coffee Beans are available anytime @ Sono Coffee Beans
Article taken from midwest coffee company wordpress blog.
I met a fellow blogger (Elisha) recently that has some of the same passions I have, well I didn’t really meet her, she lives in California and live in Indiana. So I don’t think we will be going for coffee any time soon, but maybe we can drink some at the same time and have an internet girls coffee night. Any way she loves the idea of cooking with coffee and likes to experiment with combining them to create something wonderful and unique. She found my Chocolate Cookie recipe during an internet search, she loved it so much she contacted me to see if she could post it on her blog. I told her, well of course, just give me credit for this wonderful creation and all the profits for the mega company she could start in California just from this cookie alone. Kidding about the mega company part. Elisha shared several cookies that night with friends under the stars in LA, read what she has to say at her Hands Down article. Don’t stop there, read the whole blog, it is good.
We agree that the cookies need to have a rich, full body coffee in them and we both used a Kenyan coffee.
On with what I wanted to share with you. Elisha has started a really cool blog. It is call The Caffeinated Culinarian. She has started collect recipes that use coffee and tea, that is where the caffeine comes into play. She has an Earl Grey Shortbread Cookies I would love to try, even though it doesn’t include chocolate.
Last weeks coffee cooking experiment. We had friends over to try one of our new coffee experiments, a marinate made with coffee. We put chicken breast, pork tenderloin and beef in the marinate for 24 hours and then grilled it. Everyone thought the chicken and pork was great, the beef was just ok. We are still working on the recipe. We will post it when we are happy with what we have created.
Today’s coffee cooking experiment. I took a chocolate chip muffin mix, I don’t usually use box mixes but I was in a hurry, I replaced the water for a cup of strong brewed Mocha Java, added a few white chocolate chips for looks, 2 tablespoons of flaxseed meal to pretend the muffins are healthy, put it in paper lined muffin tins and sprinkled a few almond slices on top before baking. Baked them per the box instructions. When they where done I sprinkled them with a little powdered sugar. I will serve them to some late night guess that are coming in from Chicago. If they think I work hard on the muffins, I will let them. Did you notice, chocolate and coffee, it is not dessert to me if it doesn’t have chocolate.
Thanks S. Boultbee for a great article - Josh Schrock - Sono Coffee Beans
BREWING: You can make from one to four cups per pressing. Each pressing only takes about a minute, so you can serve a houseful of guests in a few minutes. Just follow these easy steps.
1. Remove the plunger and the cap from the chamber.
2. Put a micro-filter inside the cap and twist the cap onto the chamber.
3. Stand the chamber on a sturdy mug. A glass mug is fun. It lets you watch the process.
4. Put ground coffee into the chamber - one scoop for each espresso or five ounce American cup, up to a maximum of four scoops.
Grinding Coffee: We recommend drip grind when using two or more scoops because it's easy to push and yields rich flavor. For single-scoop pressings, espresso grind will yield more flavor yet still be easy to push.
A funnel is provided for use with a coffee bean grinder. Use the scoop to measure the coffee beans into the grinder. Grind only the scoops you need for each pressing. Then use the funnel to empty the coffee bean grinder into the AeroPress chamber.
Coffee lovers agree that grinding just before brewing is important for great flavor. Remember too, that freshly roasted coffee beans yield a richer flavor.
5. Pour heated water slowly into the chamber. Water Temperature: Everyone we tested, from coffee lovers to professional coffee tasters, preferred coffee brewed with the water temperature between 165 and 175o F (75 to 80o C). Lower temperature water makes a smoother brew. If you have instant hot water in your kitchen, spend a few minutes adjusting the temperature to 175o F (80oC). That's also the best temperature for tea. Be careful, hot liquids can cause serious injury. If you heat the water in a microwave or kettle, experiment with time. About three-quarters of the time to the first bubbles will yield the ideal temperature.
Measuring and Pouring the Water: The chamber is marked 1, 2, 3, and 4 for the number of scoops of coffee which corresponds to the number of servings. With 1 or 4 scoops, just fill with hot water to the number 1 or 4 on the chamber. With 2 or 3 scoops you can choose from the bottom of the ovals marked 2 or 3 for a richer brew to the top of the ovals for an average strength brew. If American coffee is your goal, use the top of the ovals. For espresso, adjust the quantity of water to brew the strength desired. For latte, use the bottom of the ovals. A richer brew makes the best tasting latte.
Dribble the water slowly into the chamber for the first few seconds to wet the grounds. Then fill to the desired level. Never fill higher than number 4. The plunger can be used to measure water. Just fill to the appropriate number. You can also use the plunger to heat water in a microwave oven. 165 - 175oF water tastes best. Do not use boiling water.
6. Stir the water and coffee together with the paddle for about ten seconds.
7. Wet the rubber seal and insert the plunger into the chamber. Press the plunger downward. After the plunger has moved a short distance, you will feel the air pushing back at you. Continue pressing gently to maintain pressure and the air will push the brew through the grounds. The plunger will sink slowly and reach the grounds in about twenty seconds for a double, slightly less for a single or slightly more for a triple or quadruple. Then let the coffee drip a few seconds. Invert the AeroPress as you lift it off the cup. Pressing slowly is the key to a rich brew and an easy push. If it feels too stiff, just press more gently.
8. If espresso is your goal, you're done. Remember that you can make up to four single servings with each pressing. An easy way to divide multiple servings is with the scoop. Each scoop holds a typical single espresso (about 36 cc).
9. For American coffee, add about four ounces of hot water to each single espresso or eight ounces to each double espresso.
We included a years supply of micro-filters with your AeroPress so you are set for a long time. When you need more filters, visit www.sonocoffeebeans.com.
CLEANUP: 10. Remove the cap, hold the AeroPress over a wastebasket, and press the plunger to eject the "puck" of spent grounds.
11. Leave the plunger pushed fully in and rinse the rubber seal. Brush or wipe it to remove the coffee oils. Always store the AeroPress with the plunger pushed all the way in, or completely removed, to avoid compressing the seal. Never put the AeroPress in a dishwasher
LATTE: When a latte is your goal, make a richer espresso by filling the water to the bottom of the appropriate bar. You can also try slightly hotter water to extract more edge from the coffee. Add the espresso to milk and enjoy it cold or warm the mix in the microwave. CAPPUCCINO: Cappuccino is simply espresso capped with a layer of foamed milk. The traditional way of foaming milk is with hot steam. But those who have tried foaming mixers agree that they do a great job and are much easier to use. STEEPING TIME: If you've used a French Press, you may be tempted to let the mix steep for several minutes before pressing. But long steeping only adds bitterness and acidity.
RE-USING MICRO-FI LTERS: Two thousand filters use about as much paper as one city newspaper, so you needn't feel guilty about discarding filters. But you can also re-use each filter many times just by brushing it off under running water. The choice is up to you. When re-using a filter, remove the plunger and twist the cap containing the wet filter onto the chamber. This will keep it flat as it dries and you'll be ready for the next pressing.
TIP: THE KEY TO A SMOOTH AMERICAN CUP: Brewing espresso and then diluting it with hot water makes a smoother American cup of coffee than pressing an entire cup of water through the grounds. Pushing too much water through the grounds produces bitterness and acidity. You can store espresso as concentrate for use several days later. The flavor will remain smooth because the micro filtering removes all coffee grounds. Aeropress is a trademark of Aerobie, Inc.
If you are like me and you love coffee, you are probably consistently searching for that perfect cup. Well, the perfect cup starts with the perfect bean. And the perfect bean is largely based upon the combination of soil quality and climate. So when you think of the perfect country for coffee bean growth what comes to mind? Probably, somewhere tropical. A place with regular rain and sun. If you are like most people you will undoubtedly say "Brazil". It's true, Brazil is the biggest dog on the block accounting for a whopping one-third of all coffee bean production. Its climate is ideal for coffee bean production. It's no wonder they hold top spot. But, do they make the best bean?
Ironically, coffee bean production did not start in Brazil. It actually began in Ethiopia. Even though they can still be seen there they're popularity has spread. Today you can find coffee beans being produced in many countries throughout the free world. Matter of fact, there are now about seventy some countries officially growing coffee beans. Unfortunately, only a few of these countries actually have the most ideal situation for producing beans of a high quality. Aside from Brazil, some of the most popular destinations for coffee bean production are Columbia, Indonesia, Hawaii and Mexico.
We must not forget that aside from climate and soil quality, the altitude at which beans are grown has a significant impact on their quality. The higher they are grown the better. With this in mind we must give some attention to Columbia. They certainly produce some of the best beans in the world. However, its poor economy and underdeveloped infrastructure makes transport to processing plants difficult. Therefore, I am sure we are not seeing the best that that country has to offer.
If you have ever had Hawaiian coffee, you probably will swear up and down that it is the best in the world. Well you could be right. Even though they don't produce large quantities Hawaii's volcanic ash, large amounts of rainfall and hot sweltering sun create the perfect environment for production. There is, also, probably something to the small quantities they produce. The small crafted feel no doubt enhances Hawaii's mystic as a supreme coffee bean producer. Much like we see here in the states with regards to small-batch Bourbons.
Lastly, a very popular place that could possibly win the best coffee bean award would have to be Indonesia. The countries humid climate is ripe for perfect growth. Also, they have taken the production of coffee beans to new heights. They use very advanced technologies that help them grow beans in remote places like Java and Sulawesi. Coffee is so popular from this area that we often euphemistically refer to our coffee as a "Cup of Java".
Thank you for spending your time reading our articles, Josh Schrock :)
We drink coffee and seem to get the same typical question, "Regular or decaf?" But when we talk about Coffee Beans, A different question should be asked, "Robusta or arabica?" That's because robusta coffee beans and arabica coffee beans are the two most common coffee beans types roasted in the United States and through out the world.
The history of coffee beans began in the ninth century, when it was first discovered in Ethiopia by a goat herder. Coffee Beanslater made their way across the Red Sea to be grown as an agricultural crop in Yemen.
Arabica coffee beans are grown at high elevations. They produce coffees with more palatable tastes and less caffeine than robusta beans, which are grown at lower elevations and will usually bring a more astringent flavor with the some extra caffeine.
Sites like Coffee Beans 101, CoffeeSage and Sono Coffee Beans make an excelent source for coffee bean news and basic knowledge about coffee beans, coffee bean grinder, coffee makers and related products.
The Internet provides coffee lovers the ability to try more than big-roaster brands like Starbucks and Maxwell House. Specialty fresh roasted coffee beans from fair-trade roasters like Sono Coffee Beans are available for purchase online.
Thank you for reading. We enjoy sharing with all coffee lovers. Josh Schrock , Sarah Schrock and Jeremiah Reynolds, Kassandra Reynolds owners of Sono Coffee Beans and enthusiastic coffee lovers
Cupping is one of the coffee tasting techniques used by cuppers to profile coffee aroma and flavor of coffee beans. To understand the differences between coffee bean growing regions, it is important to cup coffee from around the world side-by-side. Cupping is also used to evaluate a defective coffee or to create coffee blends.
Cupping Coffee
Setting Up the Coffee Table
I prefer to set up the coffee cupping table with 6 to 10 cups per coffee. These are set up in a triangular manner. At the top of this triangle you should place a small sample of the roasted coffee beans and a small sample of the green coffee beans. In the center of the table place a cup of room temperature water and an empty cup containing the coffee cupping spoons. Cover both the green coffee beans sample and roasted coffee beans sample until the cupping session is over and the coffee aroma, fragrance, and flavor profile have been written. After this time, the coffee samples should be uncovered and additional comments can be documented on appearance.
Preparing the Coffee Samples
Place 2 tablespoons of freshly roasted and freshly ground coffee in a 6 oz cup. Ideally one should use 55g of coffee per liter of water. The grind should be medium (between a French press size and a drip coffee size). The coffee should be roasted light. Roast about 30 seconds into the first crack long before the start of the second crack. This allows you to compleatly evaluate the coffee for defects, sweetness and aroma that are burned off at darker roasts. The roast should be similar for all coffee beans being cupped. During each coffee cupping the roasts should be similar, this can be verified visually by grinding a portion of each coffee beans sample and lining the ground coffee bean samples up next to each other on a black sheet of paper.
Analysis of Coffee Fragrance and Aroma
Smell the coffee grounds and write down your observations. The smell of the grounds is referred to as the fragrance.
Next add fresh hot filtered water (just off the boil) to each cup. So that the spoons stay at the same temperature as the coffee add hot water to the cup containing the spoons also. Smell each cup without disturbing it and write down your first observations of the coffee aroma.
Wait 1-2 minutes then Put your nose directly over the cup and break the crust of the coffee with one of the preheated coffee cupping spoons by pushing the coffee down . This is the most potent burst of aroma you will have during cupping and is the best time to evaluate the coffee aroma. Now stir the cup a little to make sure all of the coffee is emersed in water this will help the coffee sink to the bottom of the cup. Write down any further description of the aroma that you notice at this point.
Rinse the spoon in hot water before going to the next coffee sample. After evaluating the aroma of all of the samples, scoop out any grounds that continue to float. Most of the lightly roasted coffee grounds will sink to the bottom of the cup Due to thier high density.
Analysis of Coffee Flavor
When the coffee has cooled enough to taste, spoon up some cooffee and slurp the coffee strongly to aspirate it over the entire tongue. It is important to aspirate strongly since you are trying to cover the entire tongue evenly. Aspirating strongly will also cause some coffee to be distributed into the throat and nasal passage. The nose is another powerful tasting tool. Most of the flavor observed in a coffee is a result of aromatic compounds present in the coffee. This can be experienced by plugging your nose while drinking coffee. While your nose is blocked, the coffee will likely taste similar to instant coffee due to its lack of aroma. When the nasal passage is opened, a full rainbow of flavors will immediately become evident.
After every time you taste each coffee, document your observations of coffee taste, acidity, aftertaste, and body. Move to the next cup and try to compare the different cups. As the coffee in each cup cools, it is often possible to detect new flavors. Therefore, it is important to cup a coffee when it is both warm and when it has cooled to just above room temperature. The best coffees will have positive characteristics at both ranges of temperature.
If you're cupping more than two or three coffees, it is recommended you spit out the coffee after abserving it. When cupping several coffees it's possible to get too much caffeine, which can adversely alter your ability to properly taste the coffee.
Conclusions of Coffee Cupping
One of the keys to cupping coffee is practice and humility. Some of the best cuppers I know are modest and always want to learn more. Even some of the best cuppers in the world do not always agree. The beauty is that they agree to disagree while respecting and trying to identify the characteristics that other people find.
Do not be intimidated by people that try to impress you with some abstract description of a coffee. This is more of a romantic tribute to a coffee rather than a reality. Cupping coffee should be fun and interesting, but not a contest of who is more articulate. However, your evaluation should be more in depth than a reiteration of a textbook definition of a coffee.
Coffee cupping may seem strict and scientific, but the method followed in the coffee industry is quite varied and most good coffee cuppers have thier own permutation. Cup under standards you are comfortable with, but try to stay close to the industry standards in case you cup with other people.
Becoming a good coffee cupper is not hard. Trust yourself by practicing regularly and be humble enough to continue to learn from others.
The conection between your dailly cup of coffee and the sweet melody of morning songbirds.
New, or conventional coffee plantations are replacing wildlife habitat at an astounding rate. The significant decline in the number of songbirds across North and South America has been widely noticed. Shade grown organic coffee bean farming is recognized as a promising alternative.
History In the past all coffee was shade grown.
Most varieties of coffee are naturally intolerant of direct sunlight, and grow better with a canopy of shade trees. The trees not only filter sun light, they also mulch the soil with their fallen leaves which helps retain soil moisture.
The nitrogen-fixing shade trees enhance the soil, and also provide habitat for birds. The birds provide natural insect control with their constant foraging which enables this sustainable method of farming to use little or no chemical fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides.
In 1972, new hybrid varieties of coffee beans were developed to help increase production of the coffee crop. These new varieties produced significantly more coffee beans, were smaller and easier to harvest, and produced best in direct sunlight.
A big majority of growers cut their shade trees and switched to the new hybrid varieties. Out of the 6 million acres of coffee lands, 60% have been stripped of shade trees since 1972. Only the smaller farms preserved their shade trees.
Unfortunately, the new varieties of "sun" coffee came with an additional cost: the hybrids were dependent on high doses of pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Soil erosion, water runoff and soil depletion caused coffee bean growers to clear vast tracts of rainforest for new field land to plant thier coffee bean crop, and it became apparent that this new method of growing coffee beans was unsustainable.
The loss of shade trees on such a large scale caused an estimated 20% decline in migratory bird populations in the last decade, due to loss of habitat.
The declined songbird population has been noted as far away as 1500 miles from the coffee growing regions.
In 1996, the movement to support shade grown coffee was sparked by the Smithsonian Institute's Migratory Bird Center, which gathered environmentalists, farmers and coffee companies to address the problem and promote awareness of shade grown coffee.
Sales of Organic, Shade Grown Coffee are Increasing Recent sales of organically grown, shade coffee represent about 1%, or $30 million, of the U.S. market for coffee beans.
The best way to encourage organic, shade grown coffee bean farming is to buy the organic, shade grown coffee beans. Production follows demand, and many farmers are switching back to shade grown methods as consumer awareness and demand increases.
To take a virtual tour of a shade-grown coffee farm which is committed to sustainable coffee farming, Click Here
Cost and Selection How do I know if my coffee is organic, shade grown:
Look for coffee plantations which state in their literature, or on their website, that they produce "shade-grown" coffee and use no pesticides or herbicides.
Country of origin is an indicator. Although there are exceptions, coffee produced from southern Mexico, El Salvador, Peru, Panama, Nicaragua and Guatemala are primarily shade grown. Coffee from Sumatra, Timor, New Guinea and Ethiopia are mostly shade grown. Coffees from Colombia, Brazil and Costa Rica are more likely to be "sun" coffees, but there are some shade producers from these regions.
Cost: Shade grown coffee ranges in price from $8 - 12 per pound for roasted blends. Although more expensive than regular coffee (because less coffee beans are produced for the same amount of labor), there is far less cost to the environment.
Benefits Taste. As the coffee beans mature more slowly in the shade, natural sugars increase and enhance the flavor of the coffee.
Healthier. Next to tobacco, coffee is sprayed with more chemicals than any other product consumed by humans. Shade grown coffee is most often organically grown, free of chemical use.
Promotes healthy environment. Shade grown coffee requires little or no chemical fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides. The shade trees filter carbon dioxide which causes global warming, and aid in soil moisture retention which minimizes erosion.
Provides bird friendly habitat and greater biodiversity. Migrating bird populations have been in rapid decent since the introduction of "sun" coffee and the consequent destruction of rainforest for more coffee bean plantations. As many as 150 species of birds have been identified on shade coffee farms.
Helps sustain rainforests. Coffee plantations which are chemically dependent suffer from soil depletion and increased erosion.
Rainforest is stripped to provide more field land. Most shade coffee farms are organic and sustainable.
Reverses the trend to chemicals. Shade coffee farms traditionally use little or no chemical fertilizer. If they are also organic there is no chemical fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides used.
Find your organic, shade grown, fair trade coffee beans at www.sonocoffeebeans.com or Click Here
Sono Coffee owners and Coffee Aficianados Jeremiah & Kasandra Reynolds and Josh & Sarah Schrock thank you for your support to organic, shade grown coffee bean farmers.
Original article can be found at http://www.eartheasy.com/eat_shadegrown_coffee.htm
Each year coffee beans are harvested in the dry season when the red coffee cherries are bright, glossy, and firm.
The Way Coffee Beans are Harvested
Ripe red coffee cherries are harvested either by hand, stripped from the trees with both unripe and overripe beans, or all the coffee beans are gathered using a harvesting machine. These procedures are called selective picking, stripping, and mechanical harvesting. To maximize the amount of ripe coffee harvested, it is necessary to selectively pick the ripe coffee beans from the tree by hand and leave behind unripe, green beans to be harvested at a later time.
There are some books that will give you more info. on coffee beans harvesting and equipment. I will recommend some in a blog at a later date. The book that comes to mind is the "Coffee Harvest" by Michael Clark, but I'm not sure that is the correct name I'll have to check and get back to you.
Brazil's Procedures to Harvest Coffee Beans
Harvesting the same coffee tree several times is less cost effective than separating and discarding the unripe or overripe cherries. Therefore, Brazil typically harvests using the stripping method when 75% of the coffee crop is perfectly ripe. Stripping is cost effective in Brazil due to the uniform maturation of Brazilian coffees. When harvested by stripping, the coffee beans are removed from the tree and fall to the ground where they are caught by sheets. The coffee beans are seperated from unwanted debris by tossing the coffee beans in the air allowing the wind to carry away sticks and leaves. The coffee is then put in 60 L baskets, which is the tool of measurement used by coffee producers to determine wages. Some coffee estates, such as Fazenda Monte Alegre in Sul de Minas Brazil, have a computerized system to determine wages for harvesting coffee beans. This system accounts for the amount of coffee collected from each person, the difficulty of the coffee harvesting conditions, and the production of the region being harvested.
The Weight of Coffee Beans
About 12-20 kg of export ready coffee beans will be produced from every 100 kg of coffee cherries harvested.
For information about fresh roasted coffee beans, Click Here.
You sure can. Anecdotally, there are several stories: Monks used to eat coffee beans before long prayer sessions, African tribesmen used to eat coffee beans before going on long hunts. Keep in mind that thirty five to forty coffee beans is all you use for just one cup of coffee, and you're getting it in its pure form - 100% vs. the cafiene that is extracted as the water moves through the coffee grounds-- So coffee beans pack a good strong punch.
If you decide to try this you may prefer the taste of chocolate covered coffee beans.
There are many different kinds of roasted coffee beans. The darkness simply denotes the degree to which the coffee bean has been roasted. Roasting begins with green coffee beans, or in other words unroasted coffee beans, when roasted thecoffee beans eventually turn, first into yellow and then on to various shades of brown. During the initial stages of roasting, the beans tend to stay dry, then when roasted darker they develop an oily sheen on thier surface.
Lighter roasted coffee beans tend to retain more of their original flavor. By original flavor, I am talking about the distinctive taste of a coffee bean which is largely affected by the quality of the weather and soil where the coffee bean was grown. Darker roasted beans retain less of their original flavor, due to the roasting process.
Light roasted coffee beans are characterized by a flavor that is light-bodied and with more acidity. They have less roast flavor. This is the preferred type of bean by American commercial roasted coffee bean producers. This type of roasted coffee bean is also characterized by the stage in roasting referred to as first crack. The bean is removed from the roaster when it has increased in size and has cracked. New England, half city and cinnamon roast are some examples of this type of coffee bean roast.
Medium roasted coffee beans are preferred by specialty coffee shops in the United States. In terms of flavor they are sweeter, and they show a greater and more balanced aroma, and complexity of taste than light roasted coffee beans. Examples of medium roasted coffee beans are full city, breakfast, regular, American, and brown.
Dark roast coffee beans are coffee beans that have reached that point in roasting called second crack. By this time, the bean cracks once more, and the coffee beans start to show oils an the surface. The flavor of dark roast coffee beans show less complexity of taste. However, there is a notably increased roast flavor and aroma, with a heavier body. Examples of dark roast coffee are full, espresso, Italian and High.
Double roast coffee beans are made with even longer roasting of the coffee beans, to the point of the beans starting to smoke. At this time the sugars of the bean have begun to carbonize, and you will notice the surface to be oily. In terms of flavor, it is quite bitter and smoky, retaining much less of the original flavor of the coffee beans. It also has a charcoal aroma. An example of such is French roast.
Coffee beans will show you to what degree they need to be roasted, if you pay attention. When roasting coffee beans you will notice the beans consistently getting darker, up to a certain point. Then they will hold that color for awhile and to get the coffee beans any darker you have to force them by turning up the heat on the roaster or roasting them longer than normal. www.sonocoffeebeans.com
Just like a connoisseur of fine wine can quickly distinguish between different types of wines, a coffee aficionado can also differentiate between several types of coffee and can astound you with their quick decision about their origin. It all depends on their ability to recognize the distinctive character of different varieties of coffee beans. This article briefly explains the important role of coffee beans in rendering distinct color, texture and aroma to your cup of coffee.
Ever noticed how the taste of franchise coffee shops greatly differs from that of your local coffee shop? Next time when you visit a big coffee shop, just take notice of the range of coffee beans in display there and you will know the answer - it is the different kinds of coffee beans that are freshly roasted on a daily basis in the coffee shops that make for the distinguished taste and aroma of the beverage that you come to enjoy in different coffee shops.
It is the coffee beans that shape up your drink the way you like it It is the working of different quality coffee beans that help coffee shops serve up the coffee you adore most.
But the matter does not end with the places where the coffee beans are roasted, but the quality also depends on where the coffee beans are grown.
In fact, the taste of your drink can even be influenced by each single-origin bean that comes with its unique tenets which in turn are conditioned by the farm where it was grown.
What are coffee beans? A coffee plant will generally take three to four years to mature fully; it is the time when the plants bear clusters of fruits of deep red color.
These red fruits called coffee cherries contain two stones like pits with their flat sides together - these are the coffee beans. They are actually seeds of the coffee plant.
Endosperm is the main substance making coffee beans. Endosperm on the other hand contains 0.8 - 2.5 % caffeine.
You can find endless types of coffee beans After researching and learning you can now sip the caffeinated drink and know the diference between the diverse species that go by the general term of coffee. Taste of the coffee differs with the coffee beans and the characteristics of the coffee beans differ with the different species of coffee plants they grow from.
Different types of coffee plants include Arabica, Benghalensis, Canephora, Congensis, Excelsa, Gallienii, Bonnieri, Mogeneti, Liberica, and Coffea stenophylla. Arabica varieties are believed to produce the highest quality beans.
The long proccess between the coffee fruits and the drink. The seeds or coffee beans are extracted from the fruit through a forced manual process. The coffee beans, fter being removed from the fuit are first soaked in cool water and then are dried in the open sun.
The connoisseurs often insist on buying green coffee beans and roasting them at home for the freshest aroma. Today most of the manufacturers possess appropriate equipment for roasting the coffee beans and sell coffee as roasted whole coffee beans.
The envigorating taste you experience with every sip of your coffee is actually the combination of such factors as aroma, level of acidity, body and flavor. The stronger and more aromatic the drink, the more it is appreciated by the connoisseurs. If you want to enjoy your cup like a connoisseur then do some background checking and make sure of the coffee beans you are using. www.sonocoffeebeans.com
Other factors of coffee taste include the grind of the coffee beans and the method or machine used to extract the coffee from the coffee beans.
www.sonocoffeebeans.com always fresh roasted and top quality. Josh Schrock and Jeremiah Reynolds.
Coffee is a popular any time drink and one whose taste can vary depending on how the coffee is brewed and the type of coffee beans used. If you want to control the taste of your coffee, you may want to consider roasting your own coffee at home. This is a simple proccess that requires minimal equipment. However, you may need to try a few times first in order to obtain the coffee taste that you desire.
To roast coffee beans at home without a coffee roaster you will need a standard frying pan. The size of the pan varies depending on how many beans you are roasting. Also, you will need dry, unroasted (green) beans that you can purchase from sonocoffeebeans.com. Put the coffee beans in the pan and turn your stove on to medium-high heat. while the beans roast you must turn them constantly to avoid burning. Normal roasting time is approximately 15 minutes. During the roasting process you will notice the beans changing color from light green/brown to a darker brown. In addition, a coffee aroma will be generated from the pan. It is very important that the beans be turned constantly as they roast. This preserves the beans aroma and flavor.
When the beans have roasted for a few minutes, you will notice that they will become oily. This occurs as the natural oils within the beans are released during the roasting process. Once the oils appear on all the beans, the roasting process is finished. At this time, if you like a stronger or more bold coffee taste, continue to roast the beans an additional 5-7 minutes. After the beans are roasted, remove them from the pan and place them on a plate that is covered with a paper towel or cloth. Keep the beans on the plate until they are cool to the touch. Once cooled, you can ground them for use or move them to a coffee bean storage container. The beans are at peak freshnes 24 to 48 hours after roasting.
Choosing beans to roast depends entirely on the taste that you want your coffee to have. Besides the country where coffee bean are grown, coffee beans differ in quality depending on the altitude at which they are grown. Lowland, high altitude, and higher altitude beans all have different tastes; the higher altitude beans have more flavor and aroma than the lower altitude coffee beans. It is important to note the blend type of the coffee. For example, Arabica is a mixture of beans that were originally grown in the Middle East but which are now grown worldwide. This coffee type produces a strong coffee with a harsher taste and is typically used in espresso and Turkish coffee. Meanwhile, mountain-grown blends are milder, more flavorful, and are popular as general all-purpose coffees.
Because coffee companies produce many variations on coffee blends you may want to inquire first about the types of beans used in a blend before you purchase them for roasting. Additionally, if you are willing to experiment, purchase bean types separately and make your own mix for roasting.
At Sono Coffee Beans we take time to choose only the highest quatity coffee beans. We micro roast each batch of coffee beans with an enthusiastic attention. We want only the best coffee experiance for you. All Coffee bean order from Sono Coffee Beans are roasted and shipped the same day. Jeremiah & Kassandra Reynolds and Josh & Sarah Schrock www.sonocoffeebeans.com
Coffee is one of the most common beverages, and is the favorite of many. The smell itself means a lot to coffee lovers, as one cup of coffee can really take all your worries off, and get you back to work with more vigor and a fresh attitude. Here are few tips for you to grind coffee beans to get the best coffee. If you are a coffee lover, these tips are sure to help you to make your coffee the best it can be.
To grind coffee you need to have the right grinding machine for the task.
The grinding period is considered directly proportional to the brewing period. For instance, the finest ground coffee is called espresso which takes about 27 seconds to extract (brew). On the other hand, a drip coffee pot requires water for brewing the coffee beans. If your coffee beans are ground well, it will greatly influence the quality of brew. When grinding coffee beans, it's better not to use cheaper grinders as they will give you a coarse grind. Rather go for a good quality burr grinder that can grind you fresh coffee beans from coarse to a fine powder or anything in between.
How to distinguish the grind and acknowledge the right level.
A coarse grind is likely to give you a view of distinct thick particles, or in other words, they would appear more like salt particles. A medium grind is one that may resemble more like sand particles. Fine grind can be felt with the touch of the hand, where extra-fine particles will be like talcum powder.
There are two main types of coffee grinders.
One is a normal blade grinder and the other is called a burr grinder. Blade grinders use metal blades to grind the coffee beans(similer to a blender). You can control the fineness of the coffee beans by grinding them for a longer period. If you use a blade grinder make sure you do not grind for a long period to get a fine cut, as it will produce heat in the grinder. So grind the coffee beans for a few seconds then take a few seconds break then grind a few seconds and so on until you reach the grind you desire. It helps to shake the blade grinder while grinding the coffee beans.
With burr grinders, you need adjust the position of the grinding blades to get the desired fineness. In burr grinders itself, there are two types of blades for the user to choose. They are called wheel burr and conical burr.
Wheel burr grinders are less expensive than the conical burr variety. Wheel burrs are the fastest spinners, which make a lot of noise while grinding. They can mess up grinding if their rotation speed is increased.
Conical burrs are the best blades, which spin slowly and are less noisy than wheel burrs. Conical burrs are the best for oily coffee beans or the ones which can clog while grinding. You can get a conical burr grinder with stainless steel or cast iron blades.
To understand what coffee is, we must start at the beginning. The coffee plant is a tropical evergreen shrub that grows about 15ft tall, with branches that grow broad, waxy, green leaves. The coffee beans are actually the seeds from the fruit, which is round and red like a cherry, and grows in clusters. In addition, the shrub produces an abundance of jasmine scented flowers. There are usually two seeds, or coffee beans, in each fruit, which grow nestled against each other. If one of the seeds does not develop properly, the other one will grow extra large, and more rounded. These are called peaberrys. The coffee shrub has been used for more than just our favorite beverage. There have been liquors made from the tangy coffee fruit, tea has been made from the leaves, and the beans have been rolled with animal fat to form a sort of early energy bar. Since its discovery in Arabia in the ninth century, it has become one of the most popular agricultural products, and ranks second only to oil in volume of trade. It is one of the most labor intensive food products, needing 17 different processing steps on the way to your cup. We hope you enjoy www.sonocoffeebeans.com
Organic fair trade coffee is coffee beans that are grown organically, and also by a farmer who receives a fair price for the time and effort required to produce quality coffee beans.
Organic coffee beans is coffee grown without the use of pesticides, herbicides or artificial fertilizers. Choosing organic coffee beans frees farmers from working with harmful chemicals, and protects fragile mountain ecosystems and water supplies.
The issue of fair trade coffee is a little more complex.
Fair Trade Coffee and Social Conscience
Fair trade is about paying farmers a fair price for their labor.
There are two reasons to consider organic coffee in the context of fair trade.
1. Coffee is the most traded commodity on the planet, second only to oil. This means that its price is determined in significant part by traders on Wall Street and other large trading centers. The farmers themselves have no control over the price they need, or can ask for.
Even though you and I have been paying about the same price for coffee over the last few years, the actual amount the farmers recieve has been falling most of that period.
2. Coffee plants have to be grown in sub-tropical or tropical environments. Hence, certain areas of the world dominate coffee production and output. Currently, Columbia, Brazil, Indonesia, India, Vietnam, Puerto Rico and Mexico top in coffee production. Yes, it is grown in developing countries.
In fact approximately 60% of the world's coffee is grown by small farmers, many of whom are paid less that it costs them to grow the beans.
As discomforting as it may feel, the coffee we enjoy in our homes is grown and harvested by farmers in the South who are often caught in a cycle of poverty, debt and desperation.
This is where Fair Trade comes in...
To become Fair Trade certified, an importer must meet a number of strict international standards.
They must pay a minimum price per pound of $1.26 and provide credit to farmers. And if the fair trade coffee is grown organically, the amount paid increases to $1.41.
In addition, they are obliged to provide helpful assistance, such as helping farmers switch to sustainable farming practices.
It’s worth contemplating. When you buy organic fair trade coffee you are actively suporting and contributing to the betterment of someone’s life, and to thier family and the community they live in.
At SonoCoffeeBeans.com we strongly support buying organic fair trade coffee beans, and believe it’s worth paying a little more to ensure that each cup of coffee we drink is doing some good for our bodies and the farmers who grow it.
If you are looking for some organic and fair trade coffees, try FTO Sumatra Coffee beans or one of our other fair trade coffee bean selections found at www.sonocoffeebeans.com.
Coffee beans part of a living plant, and as such, have a limited shelf life. Like most organic products, you can increase coffee beans life by storing them properly. More importantly - at least to most coffee enthusiasts - proper coffee storage preserves the flavor of the coffee. Coffee beans contain volatile oils - chemicals that give coffee its characteristic flavor. Those oils are released by the roasting process, and decay quickly once the coffee beans have been roasted. Grinding the coffee beans speeds up the flavor loss expedentialy. Because of the difference in the way that those oils behave, there are different methods of coffee storage that are best for coffee at the different times in its life.
To get the absolute best flavor from your coffee, it should be brewed within two weeks after roasting, and immediately after grinding. In fact, coffee beans are at there peak flavor about 48 hours after being roasted. This gives the oils time to come to the surface of the coffee beans. If you buy your coffee as fresh whole roasted coffee beans, you can make a point of looking for the date that the coffee was roasted - but you’ll seldom find it (at www.sonocoffeebeans.com we only roast your coffee the day we ship it to you so when you recieve it the coffee beans are at there peak freshness).
Coffee Beans Storage
Coffee roasters frequently are asked questions about coffee storage. Should coffee beans be stored in the The freezer? Away from sunlight? In a sealed container?
The truth is that there are many myths about coffee storage, some of them repeated often enough that they’ve been percieved as truth. The truths about coffee storage may surprise you.
Common Myths about Coffee Storage
What do you do with that two pounds of coffee that you just bought? If you ask that question most groups of people and usually at least one person will talk about storing your coffee in the freezer. Another will tell you to leave it in the vacuum stored bag it was bought in. A third will probably tell you to keep it in a glass container, and a fourth is sure to tell you that it really doesn’t matter at all. The truth is that each of these methods of coffee storage is the right answer - in certain conditions. Here are some tips on coffee buying and coffee storage from sono coffee and other coffee experts that will help you get a great tasting, fresh cup of coffee every time.
Coffee Buying Tips
The first rules of proper coffee storage have nothing to do with containers or temperatures. They have to do with how you buy your coffee.
1. If you can, buy from a local roaster who will tell you when the coffee was roasted. Then you know that you’re starting with fresh coffee.
2. Buy coffee in vacuum sealed bags or cans. Those lovely self serve coffee bean displays with a dozen different varieties of coffee beans are pretty to look at - but the bins allow air to attack the coffee beans, and you have no idea how long the beans have stood there.
3. Buy only a two week supply of coffee beans at a time if possible. After two weeks, even freshly roasted coffee will begin to lose its flavor, but will still be pretty good for 30 days.
Coffee Storage Tips
When considering coffee storage, keep in mind the two main enemies of fresh coffee flavor - air and moisture. Your coffee storage solutions should prevent either from getting at your coffee beans.
1. Don’t store ground coffee. Buy your whole coffee beans, and grind it when you’re ready to brew. If you do buy ground coffee for the convenience, store it at room temperature in an airtight container after it’s been opened. A ceramic canister with a vacuum seal is a good choice - but avoid clear glass. Sunlight and heat are not good for your coffee. If you store your coffee in a bag make sure it has a one way degassing valve because fresh coffee will degass and cause the bag to blow up and possible burst.
2. Store up to a one week supply of whole coffee beans in an airtight canister at room temperature. You can use those pretty ceramic canisters, but they’re really not necessary. Any canister that you can seal with an airtight seal is fine, including the can that you bought it in.
3. If you find yourself with more coffee than you’ll use in one week, you can store up to another week’s supply in the freezer - but you should take some precautions to keep the air and moisture away from it first. Here’s how to store coffee safely in your freezer:
- Put the beans in an airtight canister. - Or - put the beans in a zippered plastic storage back. Whoosh out all the extra air, or use a straw to suck it out. Then wrap the bag in one or two layers of plastic wrap and finish up with a layer of aluminum foil.
- Either way, once you take the canister or package out of the freezer, don’t put it back in. Refreezing your coffee will only dehydrate it and hasten the flavor decay.
To your best coffee experience, Josh Schrock www.sonocoffeeshop.com
Scientists at the University of Nevada, Reno, researching the prospect of extracting oil from used coffee grounds report that the process is not that difficult. The cheap and environmentally friendly biofuel is abundant enough to potentially manufacture several hundred million gallons a year to power cars and trucks.
The idea was formed by accident says the chief researcher. “I had left my coffee out one night, and the next morning, I noticed that there was a kind of oil around the edge of the cup,” Mano Misra, a professor of engineering said. “Every cup of coffee has it. I decided to do some tests on the oil.”
The analysis proved that the grounds contained roughly 10 to 15 percent oil by weight. The researchers then extracted the oil with standard chemistry techniques and converted it to biodiesel.
For the study, the team collected leftover grounds of espressos, cappuccinos and other coffee preparations from the Starbucks coffee chain.
Being that the process is not particularly energy intensive, the researchers estimated that biodiesel could be produced for about a dollar a gallon.
According to the Department of Agriculture, the world’s coffee production is more than 7.2 million tons per year.
The study was first reported toward the end of last year in The Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
Fill 'er up with an unleaded cappuccino?
The resulting coffee-based fuel –which smells like java– is more stable than traditional biodiesel due to coffee’s high antioxidant content, according to the researchers.
“We have found that biodiesel created from spent coffee bean grounds is stable over a longer period of time than other forms of biodiesel that have been created from feed stocks such as soy and corn,” Misra said. “Biodiesel from spent coffee bean grounds is a low-cost ‘green’ form of fuel that shows a significant reduction of carbon dioxide emission. It’s an excellent source for biodiesel.”
One hurdle, Dr. Misra said, is in the organized collection of the spent coffee beans. Therefore, the researchers plan on setting up a pilot operation this year using waste from a local bulk roaster.
It won’t be a complete fix for reducing America’s dependence on oil, but it can be a help while at the same time providing a nice aroma for those in the vicinity. The researchers report that the exhaust actually smells like coffee.
“It won’t solve the world’s energy problem,” Dr. Misra said of his work. “But our objective is to take waste material and convert it to fuel.”
More About Coffee Tasting (Cupping). Coffee Cupping at Home.
Cupping is how coffee tasters evaluate a coffees characteristics. If you are serious and want to learn more about the different traits of different coffees, here is an excellent way learn.
Just the fact that you are willing to learn means you’re well on your way to becoming a true coffee aficiando! So let’s get started.
First, you will need the following:
*
A few kinds of fresh, whole coffee beans. These can be found on our site @ www.sonocoffeebeans.com *
Grinder(we highly recomend a burr grinder) *
Tea kettle for near boiling water *
Tablespoon *
Porcelain cups (8 oz.) for each coffee *
Silver cuppers spoon (not neccessary but more precise) *
A cup (for spitting the coffee out)
Aroma is a major component of taste, do your cupping where there are no strong, perfume-like smells in the air. Here are the procedures for cupping :
1. Grind each different coffee beans to a medium-course ground similar to course sand or raw sugar. Do not grind coffee too fine or it will become over-extracted and taste bitter. 2. Fill cup with 2 heaping tablespoons of the ground coffee. 3. Add 6 oz. of nearly boiling water (about 200 degrees) 4. Steep for 2-3 minutes. The coffee should form a crust or “cap” on top of the water. While steeping, check the coffee for any sour smells. Sour smells are bad and could indicate old or rancid coffee. 5. Gently break the crust with your spoon by pushing the grounds back exposing the water. You should notice a fine-celled foam. If there is no foam, the coffee may not be fresh. Again smell the coffee because much of the fragrance is trapped under this crust. Pay extra attention to the fragrance because it is so important to the taste. As you continue to break the crust, the grounds will sink to the bottom of the cup. 6. Fill your spoon with the brewed coffee avoiding the floating grounds. 7. Slurp the coffee into your mouth with some force. This will mix air with the coffee and disperse it evenly throughout your mouth. 8. Swirl the coffee around your mouth to get a good feel for the overall flavor. 9. Spit the coffee out and rinse mouth with water before tasting another.
While you are tasting the coffee, here are the major characteristics you should be paying attention to:
Acidity - The sensation of dryness in the back and under the edges of your mouth. This is a desirable quality and not to be confused with sour (which is considered a bad quality of coffee). Acidity creates a lively, bright taste which without it, the coffee would taste flat.
Aroma – Without aroma, we could only taste sweet, sour, bitter and salty. This is where we get the subtle differences such as floral, nutty or fruity.
Body – The way the coffee feels in your mouth, its viscosity or heaviness. The best way to describe it is the comparison to how whole milk feels in your mouth compared to water. If you are unsure as to the level of body in the different coffees, add an equal amount of milk to each one and the one with the heavier body will retain more of its flavor when diluted.
Flavor – This is the overall perception of the three characteristics above. Flavor can be rich (full bodied), complex (multi-flavored), or balanced (no one characteristic over powers the other.
Here are some terms used to describe DESIRABLE flavor qualities:
Bright or dry – highly acidic leaving a dry aftertaste Caramelly – caramel like or syrupy Chocolaty – aftertaste similar to unsweetened chocolate or vanilla Earthy – a soily-like quality (sometimes unfavorable) Fragrant – an aroma ranging from floral to nutty to spicy, etc. Fruity – having a citrus or berry scent Mellow – a smooth taste lacking acidity but not flat Nutty – similar to roasted nuts Spicy – an exotic aroma of various spices Sweet – a lack of harshness Wild – a gamey flavor rarely, but sometimes considered favorable Winy – aftertaste resembling a mature wine
Here are some terms used to describe UNDESIRABLE flavor qualities:
Bitter – aftertaste perceived on the back of the tongue Bland – neutral in flavor Carbony – burnt charcoal flavors Earthy – a musty, soily-like quality Flat – lacking aroma, acidity, and aftertaste Grassy – aroma and taste of grass Harsh – a caustic, raspy quality Muddy – thick and flat Musty – slightly stuffy smell (sometimes desirable in aged coffees) Rubbery – a smell of burnt rubber Sour – a tart flavor such as unripe fruit Turpeny – a flavor resembling turpentine Watery – a lack of body Wild – a gamey flavor
Tasting the different coffee bean roasts
As coffee beans are roasted, they go from a sharper, more acidic taste, to a smoother more full bodied taste, and finally to a full bodied, almost charred taste. Here is a breakdown of the typical roasts followed by the flavor characteristics.
*
Light Roast (Light brown and dry surface): a bright, acidic taste. *
Medium or Regular Roast (Milk chocolate brown with a dry surface): acidic and bright. *
Full City or Dark Roast (Darker brown with a satin appearance): Slight bittersweet tang with less acidity. *
French, Italian, or Espresso Roast (Dark chocolate with patches of oil): Very little acidity and noticeably bittersweet. *
Dark French or Heavy (Almost black and very oily): Almost no acidity and very bittersweet.
We enjoy sharing with you. For more info visit our blog @ http://www.sonocoffeebeans.com/Blog/main.html
Related article http://www.coffeeresearch.org/coffee/cupping.htm
Doctors have concluded that, if you find the man in 3 seconds, then the Right half of your brain is better developed than most people.
If you find the man between 3 seconds and one minute, then your right Half of the brain is developed normally.
If you find the man between one minute and 3 minutes, then the right Half of your brain is functioning slowly and you need to Eat more protein.
If you have not found the man after 3 minutes, the right half of your Brain is a mess, and the only advice is to look for more of these types of exercises to make that part of the brain stronger.
The man is really there. Keep looking in the coffee beans!
Sono Coffee supports the fair trade movement by promoting fair trade coffee beans and teas.
Fair trade (FT) is an organized social movement and market-based approach to empowering developing country producers and promoting sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a fair price as well as social and environmental standards in areas related to the production of coffee beans, handicrafts, cocoa, sugar, tea, bananas, honey, cotton, wine, fresh fruit, chocolate and flowers. FT mainly focuses on exports from developing countries to developed countries,
Fair trade's strategic intent is to deliberately work with marginalized producers and workers in order to help them move from a position of vulnerability to one of security and economic self-sufficiency. It also aims at empowering them to become stakeholders in their own organizations and actively play a wider role in the global arena to achieve greater equity in international trade. Fair trade proponents include a wide array of international development aid, social, religious and environmental organizations such as SERRV International, Oxfam, Amnesty International, Catholic Relief Services, and Caritas International.
In 2007, Fair trade certified sales amounted to approximately €2.3 billion (US $3.62 billion) worldwide, a 47% year-to-year increase. While this represents a tiny fraction of world trade in physical merchandise, fair trade products generally account for 1-20% of all sales in their product categories in Europe and North America. In June 2008, it was estimated that over 7.5 million disadvantaged producers and their families were benefiting from fair trade funded infrastructure, technical assistance and community development projects.
At Sono Coffee Beans we offer a variety of fair trade organic (FTO) coffee beans and teas. www.sonocoffeebeans.com
Thank you for your support, Josh Schrock and Jeremiah Reynolds @ www.sonocoffeebeans.com
This is the story of how the humble coffee becomes a world celebrity. It's not about the Labrador named Coffee Beans attached to the Sheriff's Department sniffing drugs and bombs. It's about "the" coffee beans we are familiar with. It's about the fragrant aroma that stimulates our senses in the morning. The tingling sensation we get when we take the first sip in the morning. How we manage to get an extra boost of energy whenever we feel tired and sleepy. Let us take some time to ponder the processes the coffee beans have to go through before it can be marketed.
Processing The Coffee Beans
After the coffee berries have been harvested, it needs to undergo a process where the flesh of the coffee berries is removed. The coffee berries are placed in special machines separating the flesh from the seed. This coffee seed is commonly called "coffee beans". The coffee beans will now undergo a fermentation process for a period of time. This process is done in order to remove the slimy mucilage coating the coffee beans.
After the coffee beans have undergone the mandatory fermentation, they are thoroughly flushed with clean water. This process is to remove the foul smelling residue due to the fermentation process and the waste water is a main cause of pollutant.
The coffee beans are then dried under the sun or by machines, until the moisture level is about 10% before they can be packed for storage.
Another method of getting to the coffee beans without undergoing the fermentation process is to dry the whole berry in the sun. It normally takes about 10 to 14 days to complete the process with constant raking of the coffee beans to prevent mildew from forming. This method is popular and widely used by coffee producers where water is scarce. The dried flesh is then physically removed leaving only the coffee beans.
The dried coffee beans is then sorted and graded before they can be stored or shipped to buyers. At this stage, the coffee bean is called green coffee beans.
Sometimes the coffee beans will undergo an additional aging process. The reason for this is because when coffee was first introduced into Europe, the coffee beans have undergone a journey of about six months. Europeans have already developed a preference for this taste and therefore to simulate the taste, the coffee beans are further aged.
Roasting The Coffee Beans
Roasting is the final process the coffee beans have to undergo before they are commercially marketed. It is also possible to purchase un-roasted coffee beans that you can personally roast them yourself.
When the coffee beans are subjected to heat, there's a chemical reaction happening within the coffee beans where the sugar and acid will begin to react releasing its aroma. The coffee beans will turn darker due to caramelized sucrose. When this happens, the coffee beans are quickly cooled to prevent damage to the coffee beans.
When roasting the green coffee beans, a lot of carbon dioxide is released as a by-product. The carbon dioxide helps to "seal" the coffee beans from loosing its flavor and aroma. Depending on how the coffee beans are stored, it may take some time before the optimum peak flavor. After reaching its peak, it will start loosing its flavor again.
If you are trying to roast your own coffee beans at home, be aware that you may not be successful during the first few times. You might over-burn your coffee beans during your first few tries. Never be discouraged, but try until you get the taste and flavor that appeals to you. Remember to process in small amounts to maintain freshness of your coffee.
Grinding The Coffee Beans
Before the roasted coffee beans can be used, you need to grind the coffee beans first. The coarseness of your coffee depends on your preference and the type of coffee-brewing method. It can range from coarse to very fine as in the Turkish grind. For example, if you're using a percolator, a course coffee powder is suitable but if you are using an Espresso machines, an extra fine coffee powder is required.
Conclusion
The coffee beans have to undergo a string of processes before it can be consumed. The final flavor of the coffee depends on the journey the coffee beans take in order to reach its final form. Different methods and different techniques will give rise to a varied coffee flavor. This is the reason why there are so many flavors to the simple coffee bean.
Many flavored and origin coffee beans are available @ Sono Coffee. We might be bias but we think our coffee beans are the best.
Coffee is a brewed beverage prepared from roasted beans (seeds), commonly called coffee beans, of the coffee plant. Caffeinated coffee has a stimulating effect in humans. Today, coffee is one of the most popular beverages worldwide.
Coffee was first consumed in the ninth century, when it was discovered in the highlands of Ethiopia. From there, it spread to Egypt and Yemen, and by the 15th century, had reached Azerbaijan, Persia, Turkey, and northern Africa. From the Muslim world, coffee spread to Italy, then to the rest of Europe, to Indonesia, and to the Americas.
Coffee berries, which contain the coffee bean, are produced by several species of small evergreen bush of the genus Coffea.The two most commonly grown species are robusta coffee beans and arabica coffee beans. These are cultivated in Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Africa. Once ripe, coffee berries are picked, processed, and dried. The coffee beans are then roasted, undergoing several physical and chemical changes. They are roasted to varying degrees, depending on the desired flavor. The coffee beans are then ground and brewed to create the drink we call coffee. Coffee can be prepared and presented in a variety of ways.
Coffee has played an important role in many societies throughout modern history. In Africa and Yemen, it was used in religious ceremonies. As a result, the Ethiopian Church banned its secular consumption until the reign of Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia. It was banned in Ottoman Turkey in the 17th century for political reasons, and was associated with rebellious political activities in Europe.
Coffee beans are an important export commodity. In 2004, coffee was the top agricultural export for 12 countries, and in 2005, it was the world's seventh-largest legal agricultural export by value.
Some controversy is associated with coffee cultivation and its impact on the environment. Many studies have examined the relationship between coffee consumption and certain medical conditions; whether the overall effects of coffee are positive or negative is still disputed.
If you think coffee connoisseurs have come up with the strangest ideas, wait till you this one. It will leave you holding your breath! I introduce to you Kopi Luwak. An extremely rare coffee due to the fact that the beans are first processed through the intestinal track of a palm civet. This cat or weasel like animal has a sickly-sweet odor reminiscent of a striped skunk and loves the cherry like fruit that covers the coffee bean. Yes, ingested and deposited shortly thereafter, the beans are ripe for the picking. Once thought as a pest to the crop, these civits are now welcomed friends. Coffee pickers comb the civet's droppings for the berries and remove the husk. These yummy, choice beans are thoroughly washed, in other words, decrappinated, then light roasted and ready for brewing. What an aromatic brew it would be.
More Seriously:
Kopi Luwak or Civet coffee is coffee made from coffee berries which have been eaten by and passed through the digestive tract of the Asian Palm Civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus). The civets eat the berries, but the beans inside pass through their system undigested. This process takes place on the islands of Sumatra, Java and Sulawesi in the Indonesian Archipelago, in the Philippines (where the product is called Kape Alamid) and in East Timor (locally called kafé-laku). Vietnam has a similar type of coffee, called weasel coffee, which is made from coffee berries which have been regurgitated by local weasels. In actuality the "weasel" is just the local version of the Asian Palm Civet.
Origin and Production
Kopi is the Indonesian word for coffee, and luwak is a local name of the Asian Palm Civet. The raw, red coffee berries are part of its normal diet, along with insects, small mammals, small reptiles, eggs and nestlings of birds, and other fruit. The inner bean of the berry is not digested, but it has been proposed that enzymes in the stomach of the civet add to the coffee's flavor by breaking down the proteins that give coffee its bitter taste. The beans are defecated, still covered in some inner layers of the berry. The beans are washed, and given only a light roast so as to not destroy the complex flavors that develop through the process. Some sources claim that the beans may be regurgitated instead of defecated.
In early days, the beans would be collected in the wild from a "latrine," or a specific place where the civet would defecate as a means to mark its territory, and these latrines would be a predictable place for local gatherers to find the beans. More commonly today, captured civets are fed raw berries, the feces produced are then processed and the coffee beans offered for sale.
Economics
Kopi Luwak is the most expensive coffee in the world, selling for between $120 and $600 USD per pound, and is sold mainly in Japan and the United States. It is increasingly becoming available elsewhere, though supplies are limited; only 1,000 pounds (450 kg) at most make it into the world market each year. One small cafe, the Heritage Tea Rooms, in the hills outside Townsville in Queensland, Australia, has Kopi Luwak coffee on the menu at A$50.00 (=US$33.00) per cup, selling approximately four cups a week, which has gained nationwide Australian press.[2] In April 2008, the brasserie of Peter Jones department store in London's Sloane Square started selling a blend of Kopi Luwak peanut and Blue Mountain called Caffe Raro for £50 (=US$99.00) a cup.
A popular and intuitive hypothesis to justify this coffee's reputation proposes that the beans are of superior quality before they are even ingested.[citation needed] At any given point during a harvest, some coffee berries are not quite ripe or overripe, while others are just right. The palm civet evolved as an omnivore that naturally eats fruit and passes undigested material as a natural link to disperse seeds in a forest ecosystem. Where coffee plants have been introduced into their habitat, civets only forage on the most ripe berries, digest the fleshy outer layer, and later excrete the seeds eventually used for human consumption. Thus, when the fruit is at its peak, the seeds (or beans) within are equally so, with the expectation that this will come through in the taste of a freshly brewed cup. As this may be true for the beans derived from wild-collected civet feces, farm-raised civets are likely fed beans of varying quality and ripeness, so one would expect the taste of farm-raised beans to be less.
Further research by Dr. Massimo Marcone at the University of Guelph (CA) has shown that the digestive juices of the civet actually penetrate the beans and change the proteins, resulting in their unique flavor.
Coffee has long been considered as a stimulant. It is due to this reason that it is consumed while the body tires itself and in the mornings. However, its other health benefits have hardly been noticed.
Current research has unearthed several stimulating coffee effects not related to the caffeine content. However, scientists are yet to find the chemical agent that stimulates the production of adrenaline and cortisone – two stimulating hormones.
For those who want to enjoy coffee and its flavors without any stimulation, a decaffeinated version of coffee called decaffeinated coffee is also available. In this form of coffee, most of the caffeine is removed with a unique procedure called the Swiss water process. This involves the use of methylene chloride or trichloroethylene.
Below mentioned are some of the health benefits of coffee:-
Reduced risk of Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease – Numerous studies that compare light coffee drinkers (less than a cup per day) with moderate coffee drinkers (about 2 cups a day) observed that the people who drank excess coffee had fewer chances of development of Alzheimer’s disease. Studies conducted in 2009 have found out that moderate drinker of coffee (3-5 cups of each day). Reduced gallstone disease
In two studies performed by Harvard School of Public Health, continuous consumption of caffeinated coffee has resulted in lower incidence of gallbladder and gallstone disease in both women and men.
Reduced risk of Parkinson’s disease
A study that compared non-drinkers with heavy coffee drinkers (3.5 cups per day) observed that coffee drinkers had fewer chances of contracting Parkinson’s disease. In the same way, a second study observed an inverse relationship between the likelihood of development of Parkinson’s disease and the amount of coffee regularly drunk.
Analgesic enhancement
Coffee has caffeine, which increases the pain killer’s effectiveness, especially headache medications and migraine. This is the main reason why numerous headache drugs contain caffeine.
Antidiabetic
Intake of coffee reduces chances of type 2 diabetes by 50 %. Though this was initially noticed in those patients who took high quantities of coffee (seven cups each day), the relationship was later observed to be linear.
Quit Drinking Coffee?
You might see this as a direct contradiction to my website (sonocoffeebeans.com), but hear me out. I am also a bit of a health nut and believe this should be taken in moderation.
I think coffee is very good and good for you, but in healthy doses. Take a look at the article below and enjoy your coffee responsibly!
