For a number of years there has been a war among coffee gurus over the best way to store roasted coffee. There are pro-freezer proponents, pro- refrigerator proponents and dark cabinet proponents. The proponents are all dogmatic and have no respect for each other's opinion. Periodically, a new opinion appears and the war erupts again. Humans use two methods of decision making, intuition and …
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Coffee By the Numbers
Walk into any wine store and there will be bottles of wine tagged with numbers from 80 to 100. The numbers reflect wine reviews either from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate or from Wine Spectator. Go into a coffee store and there will be coffees with some flavor descriptors but rarely are their review scores. However, higher end roasters are beginning to see the value in letting their customers see …
Grinding Changes Coffee Flavor
Brewing coffee is about extracting flavor from the beans. Extract too much and the coffee is bitter and acidic, extract too little and the coffee is thin and sour. Coffee extraction is a function of three things; the temperature, the brew time and the size of the grounds. "How to brew" coffee articles focus on temperature and brew time. So we know that brew water should be 200 +/- 5 F degrees. …
Where Did My Kona Coffee Come From?
When we brew a cup of Kona coffee it is the last step in a tale of theft, intrigue, and sex. All Arabica coffees originated from trees in Ethiopia. There are hundreds of varieties of coffee trees growing wild in Ethiopia but only two varieties make up almost all of today's Arabica coffee consumption. In the fifteenth century Arab traders purchased coffee beans from farmers in Abyssinia …
Why You Can’t Get a Good Cup of Coffee on an Airplane
Everyone knows that airplane coffee tastes bad, but few people ever ask why. Here are the reasons. Water You know that coffee is 98% water. At home you use high quality filtered water or bottled water to brew your beans. Airlines get their water from large mobile tanks that pull up to the plane and pump it into the plane's holding tanks. The holding tank water is used for all water on the …
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Blend Your Own Personal Coffee
If you walk into any high end tea shop they will create a personal tea blend just for you. However, it is almost impossible to get a coffee roaster to create a personal roast just for you. However, you can do it yourself Coffee roasters blend coffee beans for a number of reasons: Consistency The most common reason for blending coffee beans is create a recognized profile. Yuban coffee this …
Are the Coffee Beans Really Fresh II?
Almost all of the coffee sold in cafes and stores is old. It is not uncommon for coffee bags to sit in tropical warehouses for months or even years, You can't tell old coffee from fresh coffee by looking at the bag. Coffee bags often say "Fresh" or "Fresh Roasted." Marketing slogans won't help you sort out the good coffee. Some consumers think that fresh coffee beans are dark and oily. They …
Hotel Survival Kit
We checked into a boutique hotel recently that advertised a French press coffee in each room. When we got to the room there was a French press, a hot pot and a sealed jar of ground coffee. We tried the coffee and knew instantly where it came from. It was burned and over-roasted. It was probably good that it was over-roasted because the next day we saw the maid topping off each jar from an open …
Before You Buy Gourmet Coffee – Read the Label
All gourmet coffees are not alike. There are amazing, good, average, poor and bad coffee beans that are sold as specialty gourmet coffee. If you are seeking great coffee beans you can rely on expert evaluations, like Coffee Review, but if there is no published evaluation there are some things you should consider: Origin Marketing slogans like “Breakfast Delight" don’t mean anything. Coffee …
Processing Changes Coffee Flavor
Processing coffee from the ripe fruit to a roastable bean is a complex process. One mistake and the coffee is ruined. Coffee farmers and millers have choices to make about how to process their beans. The same bean processed using different methods will taste differently. Picking the method that brings out the best flavors of the bean is an art. Wet Process In the fruit the coffee bean is …
