Coffee

The superior flavor that Arabica coffee beans produce in a cup of coffee is well known. Robusta and Arabica coffee beans are the two principal classifications of java that are offered for sale. Coffee connoisseurs travel to their favorite coffee shops to get a mug of tasty Arabica coffee, however, what is found in a typical office building break room that has been sitting on the burner for hours in probably a pot of bitter Robusta coffee.

You can experience the great taste of Arabica coffee beans at home instead of having to trudge down to your local coffee hour and cafe. These kinds of beans are raised in an organic fashion meaning that they are not sprayed with synthetic fertilizers or pesticides which gives them quite a superior taste.

Chic coffee shops that retail coffee beans, espresso machines, and perhaps a mug of cafe latte will only sell Arabica beans. On the other hand, the major commercial coffee labels sell ground Robusta beans mixed with other tasteless filler or at best a mix of both Arabica and Robusta. The reason why this is the case is it makes the coffee that they sell considerably cheaper for the wholesaler and eventually for you the consumer. This is where the common church potluck cups of coffee come from. Arabica coffee beans are known for their well-defined savory flavor that many coffee lovers prefer but these kinds of beans actually have a lower caffeine content than Robusta beans.

Most people think that all the beans are grown in Columbia, but actually there are more than 80 countries around the world where coffee is grown for commercial purposes. The tropical climates around the equator are the best places to grow coffee and the beans have a richer flavor in high elevations compared to the low elevations where they can also be grown.

Back twenty years ago, in order to buy wholesale coffee beans, you would have to use mail-order catalogs. Now, there are numerous sites all over the World Wide Web where you are able to purchase Arabica coffee beans. You can also buy them in bulk at some retail shops but be prepared to pay a lot more because their prices will be considerably higher than what you might find online.

By purchasing your beans wholesale you are getting coffee beans that are much fresher because they have not been kept for as long. The best way to guarantee the freshness of your coffee is to buy green coffee beans.

In closing, the next time you are wanting to buy some gourmet beans to make a cup of coffee be sure to pick up some Arabica beans.

Steve writes about coffee beans and buying coffee online.

Author: Steve Turley
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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You can be a coffee lover without knowing much about coffee beans, but learning a little bit about the different types of coffee can help you get the perfect cup every time. There are many types of gourmet coffee beans. The way they have been grown in processed has a huge effect on their taste. Here’s a little bit of information for getting the best from your gourmet coffee beans.

Coffee is a common agricultural product of many tropical countries. There are two main species of coffee plant – Arabica and Robusta. Gourmet coffee beans are mostly Arabica because of their superior flavor and smoothness. Many blends, however, include Robusta coffee beans to give an edge to the coffee.

After the coffee is picked, it must be roasted. Roasting makes the green coffee beans expand in size and changes their color to a light to dark brown. Lighter roasts reveal more of the flavor of gourmet coffee beans, while darker roasts take on the flavor of the roasting process itself. After roasting the coffee should be kept in vacuum packed containers to minimize flavor loss.

Gourmet coffee beans must be ground to the correct fineness to bring out the most taste. Generally speaking, a fine grind will result in a full-bodied cup of coffee, but coarse grinds are used when making coffee with coarse filters like the French cafetiere.

Once the coffee has been ground, there are many ways to brew a cup of coffee. No matter whether you prefer espresso, drip, perked, or pressed, you need to start with high-quality gourmet coffee beans to get a good cup of coffee.

You can buy gourmet coffee beans in many types of blends. Most blends are a mixture of dark and light roast coffee beans and can be ground to suit the type of coffee maker you use. Freshness is important when making good-quality coffee. Fresh ground coffee beans will give you the best tasting cup of coffee.

Hans is author of the Coffee Specials and Gourmet Basket section at http://www.steaks-guide.com

Author: Hans Dekker
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Supply your employees with high quality gourmet coffee blends, Folgers coffee, and Maxwell House coffee to boost their mood as well as their productivity. Are you the discerning office manager that watches as employees listlessly move around the office drinking low quality coffee? Are you are worried, concerned, and have a strong desire to keep everyone happy and productive? Have you tried bringing in special treats, throwing office happy hours, EVERYTHING? Well these days it seems that everyone has a love affair with rich, bold and delicious gourmet coffee and other quality brands like Folgers coffee, Maxwell House coffee and Green Mountain coffee. Wouldn’t bringing a variety of these blends into the office help improve workplace productivity?

It used to be that a select group of people would consider themselves coffee connoisseurs. Now with every fast food place and coffee shop nationwide pushing consumers to believe that their product is the best, everyone has seemingly developed an intense opinion surrounding their choice survival beverage. People are as devoted to their gourmet coffee, Starbucks coffee, Folgers coffee, Maxwell House coffee or Caribou coffee as super fans are to a sports team.

As an office manager, a morale-conscious office manager at that, you are constantly trying to ensure that your employees are satisfied with the work environment. If the employees are rushing all over town to buy their gourmet coffee at local shops each morning or spending extra time at home to brew their own Folgers coffee, Maxwell House coffee and Green Mountain coffee, how much more at ease would they be knowing that when they walked into the office beverages would already be brewing?

Market researchers, Harris Interactive, recently presented the findings of a study analyzing beverage consumption in workplaces at the National Automatic Merchandising Association Coffee Service Education Summit. The results demonstrated that employees who are provided coffee in the workplace feel that they are appreciated and that their employer cares about them. The study also demonstrated that employees use coffee to manage their mental state and boost their energy level or their mood at the office. They even use a cup as an excuse to take a break from today’s heavy workload. Most employers know that the ability of an employee to improve their mood at work and their satisfaction level with the work environment is directly related to an increase in productivity.

Harris Interactive found that 48 percent of heavy coffee drinkers, 45 percent of daily drinkers and 99 percent of occasional drinkers brought their coffee in to the office because those beverages are “superior” to those available to them at the office. About 25 percent stated that they brought it into work because it wasn’t “readily available in the office.” The study also revealed that 25 percent of coffee drinkers, especially those that drink it often, consider the availability of the beverage in the workplace to be “extremely important”.

This goes back to the importance of gourmet coffee and high quality Folgers coffee, Maxwell House coffee or Starbucks coffee in the workplace. As an office manager you should not only be providing employees with more than one type of coffee choice, but a higher quality beverage as well. They are asking for it! An astounding 65 percent of survey participants indicated that they have no access to specialty coffee at work. The Harris Interactive research also indicates that coffee drinkers would prefer more variety in the blends available in the office.

Gourmet coffee blends and other national brands ordered in pre-measured packages through online suppliers can help you offer your employees high quality coffee at a low price. You can stock your break room with many varieties like Folgers coffee, Green Mountain coffee, Caribou coffee, Maxwell House coffee and Starbucks coffee at a similar cost to the current coffee you may provide.

Help your employees out! Start buying gourmet coffee and other quality national brands to help them manage their mood and, in turn, increase their productivity. It is also important to note that gourmet coffee blends are stronger than their more generic counterparts, and increased caffeine can also mean increased productivity.

With over 40 years of office coffee experience we are a Preferred Starbucks Distributor, Authorized Keurig K-Cup Distributor, Caribou and Green Mountain Distributor coffee distributors. We can provide you everything you need at wholesale prices to keep your break-room stocked. Orders are shipped the same day when they are placed by 1 p.m. EST. Live operators are available 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST. Please visit: http://cheapercoffee.com/ or call 888-779-3952

Author: Jenn Weesies
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Gourmet coffee gift baskets are perfect for those coffee lovers. These gift baskets have an array of coffees that anyone will like. Choosing gourmet coffee gift baskets is a wonderful gift.

The gourmet coffee gift basket doesn’t have to be just coffee. It can be a mixture of coffee and tea, coffee and cookies or coffee and chocolate. The gourmet coffee gift basked should have a fresh selection of coffees, including flavored coffee choices. Add to that some vanilla, chocolate or cinnamon flavoring and you’ll be set!

You can select different type of cookies to blend in with your gourmet coffee selection. Why not have gourmet cookies with gourmet coffee? If not that, you may want to include a coffee mug or two, a small espresso machine, with cups and espresso coffee. Add some scrumptious biscuits or biscotti to the mix for a tasty treat. In addition to that, you can add hot chocolate mix or tea bags. Decorate it with colored napkins to bring it out. They might even appreciate a notepad or calendar with a coffee-like design.

If you’re buying for a coffee lover who’s into coffee beans, you can learn about it yourself if you don’t know what to get. Gourmet coffee beans, in particular, are of two different kinds, Arabica and Robusta. The majority of the coffee beans are Arabica bred due to the exquisite flavor. Other blends are Robusta and they help gourmet coffee have a kick to it.

The coffee has to be picked and roasted. The color usually turns light brown or dark brown. The lighter colors expound on the flavor, while the darker colors deal with the roasting process. To keep the flavor, the coffee should be in vacuum packed bags.

In order to get the right taste for gourmet coffee, the beans must have a very fine texture and ground up well. Once the coffee has been ground, there are many ways to brew a cup of coffee. No matter whether you prefer espresso, drip, perked, or pressed, you need to start with high-quality gourmet coffee beans to get a good cup of coffee.

You have your choice of having perked, drip or espresso coffee made. In order for the coffee to brew just right, the grounded gourmet beans must be top notch. Gourmet coffee comes in many different blends or dark and light roast coffee. It is also important that the coffee beans are fresh in order to get the best flavor for your coffee.

If you’re not sure about the types of gourmet coffee and beans that can be used, consult with a coffee shop that specializes in this or check online with a company that is knowledgeable with gourmet coffee. Learning information about gourmet coffee and beans will help you greatly when looking for a gift basket.

Gourmet coffee can be enjoyed anytime, during breakfast, lunch, dinner, or anytime. A gourmet coffee gift basket is just the right gift for a coffee lover. They will be pleased and grateful that you thought about getting that for them.

One Source Gift Baskets [http://www.onesourcegiftbaskets.com] has a complete line of Coffee and Tea Gift Baskets [http://www.onesourcegiftbaskets.com/coffee-gift-baskets.html] for all of your gift needs.

Author: Jon Sherwood
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Having difficulty choosing the “best” coffee roast? Are the coffee roast names confusing you?

The assigning of names to coffee roasts can seem a bit illogical if not confusing at times, but when coffee roast names first began to emerge within the coffee industry, their application was based, to a small degree, on fact. For example, both the French and Italians had (and still have) a tendency to roast their coffee very dark, thus the emergence of the French and Italian Roasts. But, in today’s marketplace, standard coffee roast names (if you can call them standard) seem to be giving way to individual roasters offering catchy, private label, brand names that don’t really communicate to the consumer what the actual roast style is. And to throw more confusion into the mix, often times the roast style names vary by geographic region. An American roast in one region of the U.S. may not be of the same degree of roast as in another region, or the same degree of roast in one region may have a totally different name in another region. Are we confused yet?

The variety of names used to describe coffee roasts include: French, Italian, Viennese, Turkish, American, regular, regular city, half-city, full city, cinnamon, light-cinnamon, just to name a few. It all seems soooooo confusing — how does one make sense of it all? Simply by associating the flavor of the coffee, with the color and/or appearance of the coffee beans, rather than relying on the roast name alone.

High-grown Arabica beans are chock full of complex, aromatic flavors that are just waiting to be released by the roasting process. Other than the origin of the bean, the degree of roast is the next most important factor in the flavor of a high-quality, gourmet coffee. The degree of roast is determined by the roaster, based on the origin and type of bean. Roasters try to emphasize those qualities of the bean that they feel are most desirable. But since everyone has different perceptions and tastes, including roasters, coffee roasts can vary to a large degree even when using the same coffee beans. Thus, the end result is that you wind up with a variety of very different tasting coffees.

When choosing a coffee roast, there really is no such thing as the “best” roast. Many factors affect one’s choice in a coffee roast, the most important being your own personal taste preferences. What time of day you intend on drinking your cup of joe, or what type of food you will be eating it with, are other important considerations. A good rule of thumb is to follow the sunlight in your day — lighter roasts go well in the morning with breakfast, medium roasts in the afternoon, and darker roasts in the evening, especially after a rich, spicy meal. But again, your own personal taste preferences will prevail!

Light Coffee Roasts

Light roast coffees are of course light brown in color and the beans’ surface is dry. Light roasts often preserve a coffee’s origin or flavor characteristics specific to that coffee’s growing region. Light roast coffees tend to emphasize the more subtle, complex flavors of a coffee, often floral and citrusy or fruity notes that denote a high acidity. These roasts are light-bodied, somewhat sour, and are characterized as “snappy.”

• Light Cinnamon — the beans are very light in color and dry with no coffee oils visible on the surface. The coffee usually has little body and there are noticeable sour notes. There’s also a baked or bready taste to the coffee.
• Cinnamon — the beans are still light brown and dry with no coffee oils visible. The hints of toasted grain remain and there are distinct sour, acidic notes.
• New England or Half City — the beans are a little darker than the cinnamon. The taste is still sour but not bready. This style is not as frequently used as other roast styles, but is common in the eastern U.S..
• American or Light — the beans are medium light brown in color. This is the roast used mainly in the eastern U.S. and is the roast style most often used for cupping or professional coffee tasting.

Medium Coffee Roasts

Medium roast coffees are a dark brown color and may have some oily spots on the surface of the beans. The acidity factor, or sour-citrusy flavors are decreased in this roast and the more caramel-like, spicy and or nutty notes are accentuated. Most coffees reach their peak of flavor and complexity with this roast, and it is probably the most common roast used by today’s roasters.

• Medium or City — the beans are a medium brown color. This roast style is most common in the western U.S. and is the recommended degree of roast for tasting the different origin flavors in a coffee.
• Full City — the beans are medium dark brown in color and show some coffee oils on the surface. This is also a good roast for tasting origin characteristics of the coffee. The taste is slightly bittersweet with caramel and/or chocolate undertones.
• Light French, Viennese, Light Espresso or Continental — the beans are a dark brown color and are shiny with light surface oil. There’s less acidity in this roast and the taste is more bittersweet. There are caramel-like flavors with burnt undertones. This roast is often used for espresso.

Dark Coffee Roasts

Dark roast coffees have slightly less caffeine and are less acidic than lighter roast coffees. In dark roasts, the oils within the beans have been driven to the surface making the beans appear quite shiny. Some of the more subtle, complex flavors of lighter roast coffees are significantly reduced and/or destroyed with dark roasts. These flavors are replaced by more pungent, bittersweet sometimes tangy, dark roasted flavors that include chocolate and caramel notes.

• French, Espresso, Turkish or Dark — the beans are dark brown in color and they are somewhat shiny with surface oil. They have burnt undertones and their acidity is quite diminished. This is the most popular roast for espresso.
• Italian, Dark French or Heavy — the beans are a very dark brown color and the surface is very shiny or oily. There’s a stronger burnt flavor to the bean and the acidity is almost gone.
• Spanish — this is the darkest roast of all. The beans are nearly black and very shiny. Burnt undertones dominate and the flavor has been reduced to a few weak, sweet notes. The taste can sometimes be flat, and the body of the coffee thin.

This plethora of roast names just scratches the surface, and often times some of the darker roasts included in the light and medium categories could easily fall into the subsequent category. There’s a very fine line that separates one roast category from another — and again, it’s all very subjective, and we can only approximate the categories and the roast names that fall within them.

So if you’re still not sure which coffee roast to choose — take the plunge! Purchase a few coffee samplers from your favorite gourmet coffee retailer and start testing. Look for the degree of roast that brings out the best flavor and aromatic characteristics of the coffee bean. Also keep in mind the type of brewing method you will be using on your coffee — select darker roasts for espresso, and light to medium roasts for your automatic drip.

While there are many factors to consider when selecting the “best” coffee roast, once you understand the differences in the degrees of roast, and the flavor characteristics associated with each roast style, and you try to ignore those catchy brand names, you will have a much easier time choosing that perfect roast.

Mary E. MacDonald is the owner of The JavaPot, an online tea and coffee shop that offers a premium line of gourmet tea and coffee, with an emphasis on organic products. You will also find more great articles, some unique coffee and tea -related gift items, delicious recipes, and product reviews.

Check out The JavaPot for more details about current gourmet whole bean coffee and specialty loose leaf tea offerings.

Author: Mary E. MacDonald
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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