Coffee

There is so much more to drinking coffee than just knowing whether you want a cappuccino or a shot of espresso. What really makes the drink are the beans, and the art of growing good beans is akin to the difference between a bottle of cheap wine and the finest Brunello from Montalcino.

Furthermore, coffee beans are a bit of a mystery to a lot people since they only grow in specific regions, due to their finicky nature and need for specific weather patterns. Here is a break-down of some of the most popular beans, and why they make such great coffee.

Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee
Ever enjoyed a drink at a bar that included Tia Maria? Then you know the secret of Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee, which is known for its surprisingly mild flavor and serious lack of bitter aftertaste. In addition to flavoring one of the tastiest coffee liqueurs around, Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee also is brewed as regular coffee. The coffee beans grow between Kingston and Port Maria in the Blue Mountains, where a cool and misty climate with a huge annual rainfall ensures the soil is just right to grow these special beans.

Colombian Coffee
One of the biggest producers of coffee beans is Columbia, a country with a perfect environment for growing different varieties of Arabica beans, like Caturra, Typica, and Bourbon. The coffee grown in Columbia is imported by many countries around the world, like Japan, The United States, Australia, and Holland. Initially, harvested beans were roasted with charcoal in saucepans at the very beginning of Columbia’s long-going historical trade and harvesting.

Aloha Island Coffee Pods
Some of the best coffee in the world comes from Hawaii, really the only place in the States where coffee beans thrive. The type of beans, Kona, come in many varieties, but the absolute best are produced at a private coffee plantation on the Big Island of Hawaii, located right on the slopes of Mauna Loa, the famous volcano. It is the volcanic soil, coupled with rainfall and tropical sunshine, that makes these beans grow so well here, resulting in a cup of coffee that is incredibly smooth and not at all acidic.

Kopi Luwak
Always wanted to try a coffee made from beans that have already been eaten and digested? Well, you might have done that inadvertently, with Kopi Luwak coffee beans. Grown in Java, the coffee is some of the most popular around, all thanks to Asian Palm Civits, which love the coffee beans, eat them, and then digest them in a remarkable process that adds more flavor for us humans later. Apologies in advance if coffee was just ruined for you forever.

Remember, while different countries all produce different types of beans, it does not mean that the names on this list are the only type of coffee bean grown in that particular country. Furthermore, it is possible that many of these beans have shown up in different names and varieties through United States importers.

For socially-conscious consumers, one of the best things you can do, before deciding you absolutely must try a type of coffee bean, is to see if there’s an organization that produces and imports said beans in a fair-trade way. Harvesting coffee is tough work, and it is a shame how unfairly paid a number of these production countries are, especially considering how much the beans draw around the world.

Damian Papworth has always loved to start the day with a coffee. He recently purchased an 8 cup coffee maker which he wrote about on his website, One Cup Coffee Makers.

Author: Damian Papworth
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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You may know about which coffee beans taste best and maybe even about roasting and grinding beans, but here are ten coffee beans facts, some of which you may have never heard before!

1. Colossal Coffee Beans – The largest coffee bean is the Nicaragua Maragogipe, a variety of the Arabica species.
2. Good Things Come to Those Who Wait – With just the right amount of shade, sun, rain, and the right climate, coffee plants will begin producing coffee berries containing the “beans.”
3. Coffee Bean Not a Native of Costa Rica – The Spanish traveller, Navarro, introduced Cuban coffee to Costa Rica in 1779.
4. Not Really “Beans” – Believe it or not, coffee beans are not really beans at all. They are not in the legume family, but rather they are the pits found inside of the coffee berries.
5. Making the Grade – Coffee beans are graded in various ways. Columbian beans are graded from highest to lowest as: “Supremo” “Excelso”, “Extra” and “Pasilla”. Kenyan beans are graded with letter grades AA, AB, PB, C, E, TT, and T and the grades simply refer to the size, shape, and density of the coffee bean. For coffee beans, size does matter because larger coffee beans contain more of the oil that makes coffee so tasty. Costa Rican coffee beans are graded as Strictly Hard Bean, Good Hard Bean, Hard Bean, Medium Hard Bean, High Grown Atlantic, Medium Grown Atlantic, and Low Grown Atlantic, from highest to lowest, respectively, and these grades refer to the heights at which the beans were grown – Strictly Hard Bean, accounting for nearly 40 percent of the Costa Rica coffee crop is the top grade grown above 3,900 feet.
6. Hand-Picked – Even to this day, most coffee is still picked by hand, and a coffee worker can pick from 100 to 200 pounds of coffee berries a day!
7. An Acre of Coffee – How much coffee would you guess to get out of an acre of coffee plants? One acre typically yields about 10,000 pounds of coffee fruits or coffee cherries – which comes to around 2,000 pounds of coffee beans.
8. Imported Coffee – As much as Americans adore coffee, no coffee is grown in the Continental U.S.; the only American places that produce coffee are Hawaii and Puerto Rico.
9. The Most Expensive Coffee – The most expensive coffee in the world is Kopi Luwak, selling for between $100 and $600 USD per pound (2009)
10. Also the Most Unusual Coffee – The most expensive coffee is also quite possibly the most unusual coffee in the world – since the coffee berries go through the digestive tract of the Kopi Luwak (a small cat-sized Indonesian animal), are then harvested from the animal’s waste, and then the beans removed, cleaned (hopefully!), roasted, and sold.

That’s right, believe it or not, it takes 3-5 years for a coffee plant to produce coffee, and only if the conditions are perfect; coffee beans aren’t really beans at all; and the most expensive coffee comes from digested coffee gathered from animal feces!

Jennifer Hall enjoys spending her days in coffee shops writing articles and trying out different blends and offers tips and information on coffee beans for Coffee Beans 101 – the premier coffee bean site on the web!

Author: Jennifer Hall
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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1. Coffee beans from many of the popular local coffee shops are just plain bitter and over roasted. Darker doesn’t necessarily mean better, many times just bitter.

Don’t believe me? Just ask Consumer Reports. In February 2007, a panel of trained testers put a cup of Starbucks up against some STRONG competition: McDonald’s, Dunkin’ Donuts, and Burger King. McDonald’s wins with their Premium Roast being labeled ‘cheapest and best.’ Starbucks finishes dead last after being judged as “strong, but burnt and bitter enough to make your eyes water instead of open.” I guess most expensive doesn’t always mean best.

2. Save money. More than you realize. Really!

On average, a cup at a shop is going to run you about two bucks. Two cups a day, 6 days a week(let’s pretend your religion doesn’t allow you to drink coffee on Sundays) comes to nearly $1250 a year! Now suppose you’re a college kid spending the money from student loans that will accrue interest over the next 20 years. I don’t even want to go there(no one told me about this when I was going to college.) Brew your own and put that 4 bucks a day into a compound interest savings, and you’ll have a balance of over $55,000 by the time you’re 40. Try it out for yourself: Interestcalculator.turbo-traffic.com

3. Two bucks for a supposedly “TALL” cup of coffee? (and just by what standards do they consider what they serve “TALL”?)

An average pound of gourmet coffee beans runs anywhere from around $10 to about $20. The average home brewer can make around 10 pots of coffee from a single pound of gourmet coffee beans, which in turn should give you around 10 cups of coffee for each pot. That’s 100 6 oz. cups of coffee from one pound of coffee beans. Ok, now what does that mean? Coffee chains are making astounding profits from every pound of beans they roast, grind and sell. Makes you want to go into the coffee business doesn’t it? Ok. So brew at home, and you end up paying about 10 to 25 CENTS per cup of coffee. Brew at home and even the most expensive, rare coffee you can find (such as the Kopi Luwak bean) and it’ll still only cost you under 4 bucks for a 12 oz. cup. (by the way, if you don’t know where Kopi Lowak comes from, I won’t tell you about that now. I don’t want to be the ‘butt’ end of a joke, especially one that will run you around $150-$180 per pound!) This all sounds much better to me, doesn’t it to you, too? And guess what? It will all TASTE MUCH MUCH BETTER!

4. Shouldn’t most people want FRESH coffee?

Coffee bean’s two greatest enemies are air and moisture. How long has that cup of java been sitting there warming before you get it? The only way to know you’re truly getting fresh ground coffee is to buy the beans online where they are roasted and shipped the same day and grind yourself. It is best to buy fresh-roasted gourmet coffee beans in amounts that you will use within 7 to 10 days. I personally recommend grinding only what you need and storing the rest of the whole beans in an airtight container. I used to think storing the remaining coffee beans in the freezer or fridge was best to keep them fresh. I discovered the worst thing for beans is any extreme temperature, or exposure to air, light, moisture or strong odors.

5. Impress your date with your homemade brew!

Ok, coffee may not be the best thing to sip before that first good-night kiss, but the knowledge you can share about how you made the perfect cup of joe can be perfect first date conversation! Imagine what might happen if you tell her that you even roasted your own beans? Just make sure to make a prior investment in a good sugarless gum or mint to follow up the cupping(the coffee tasting…what were you thinking?)

6. It really doesn’t make you cooler than you already are.

Ok. Call me crazy, but do you think that a large portion of those that are hooked on Starbucks could possibly just be hooked on the pretentiousness associated with the whole idea of being a coffee drinker? That might upset a few people, but we’re being honest here, right? Forget what people think and just make your own. Drink what tastes best to you, period. Then, create a fancy label with your logo and slap it on the side of your coffee cup. You’ll be impressed with your own branding. Hey, you own the company, right? And no one has to repeat back to you what you just ordered…unless you just want to stand in the mirror and impress yourself.

7. Grinding, brewing, even roasting your own coffee can be fun.

The investments you make in the beginning in coffee equipment(whatever matches your budget) can last you a lifetime and become quite a great hobby. People LOVE to talk about coffee(especially the Kopi Lowak I’ve found.) Just how much can you go into depth about how they poured and served you that last cup of coffee at Starbucks. That story might last you all of say…30 seconds? Learning about the history of coffee can lead to great conversations with friends, family, or even to share to the world in an article like this!

8. No waiting in line.

The only waiting you’ll be doing is when you’re grinding and brewing. But then, you’ll be grinding and brewing, so that’s not really considered waiting is it?

9. Conserve energy, help fight global warming, and support charities.

Ok, grinding and brewing your own coffee at home probably won’t achieve any of these things, but you should do them anyway. I just wanted to mention that.

10. Did I mention it will TASTE BETTER?

I guarantee it! If you’re not completely amazed with the difference you’ll see between you’re own freshly ground and brewed coffee and the bitter, awful stuff you’ll be exposed to commercially, I will…well, I’ll be really shocked. And sad. And probably feel really bad. But I’d feel worse if I had to start drinking bitter coffee, so now I feel so better again. Really though, I think you’ll be glad you did. I personally recommend trying Kona blend gourmet coffee beans. I absolutely love pure Kona coffee, but it’s a bit expensive, and a Kona blend still gives you a great taste that’s easily affordable. Then pick up the best coffee maker you can afford and enjoy!

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William Thompson has been working as an artist for most of his life. Working many late nights drinking coffee to stay awake motivated him to find another source of income, the perfect work at home eBay Affiliate Business Building Niche eBay Affiliate websites proved to be a success, so he found a team and built a monthly membership niche website builder for anyone to earn affiliate income from home.

Author: Will Thompson
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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