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Try Flavored Whole Bean Coffee For A Quality Coffee Drink

April 4th, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

The secret of a delightful coffee comes from the quality of the flavored whole bean coffee that later becomes that coffee drink. It holds a lot of stories as to their origin, preparation, and the portion that they hold in the wide market of coffee.

Flavored whole bean coffee comes from many parts of the globe. It comes from the tropic regions of Cancer and Capricorn, from the Pacific Islands, Africa, Arabia and Latin America. Each coffee from different parts of the world holds unique characteristics, each of them special in their own right.

While we are contented to a certain degree as to the taste of the coffee we prepare at home, coffee experts are not. They continuously search for what is the best from around the world. Not being contented by this, though, others resort to blending. This blending process means that they combine certain types of whole bean coffee. They are careful in putting just the right amount to come up with that heavenly taste that would later become their legacies. Established coffee chains participated in this process. This is the very secret of the luscious coffee that they sell on the market.

This process does not, however, stop in the blending of the different types of coffee alone. Coffee moguls search for the best coffee beans in the world and blend them together, carefully selecting the top quality beans among the lot; they do a lot of taste testing to accomplish this.

The roasting process is another secret. They roast the blended whole bean coffee to perfection, so that it will complement each other’s taste and texture. The proper amount of roasting arrives at a certain unique character of coffee drink that is delightful to the taste.

No wonders the coffee that we drink from coffee chains is heavenly in taste. Not worries, though, because these especially delightful coffees are offered in packages that can be prepared at home. You need not always be in the coffee chains to enjoy a great cup. Just purchase the freshly packed flavored whole bean coffee and take them home for your own convenience.

Searching Out The Best Espresso Coffee Beans…The Bean Grader’s Art

March 14th, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

Ever wonder why one bean makes it to your local specialty shop and another doesn’t?

Long before you sip a delicious cup of dark espresso, coffee graders make hot and tiring journeys, face insects and hostile governments and endure weeks of frustration and danger to find the best espresso coffee beans.

Ok, maybe it’s not quite as adventurous as that, but graders do lead interesting lives.

The search for the best espresso coffee beans is graded long before it makes it to the loading dock. Someone called a ‘Green Coffee seller’ carries out the task. No, that job has nothing to do with any environmental movement. It’s simply a reflection of the fact that beans are ‘green’ or fresh, before they’re made brown by roasting.

The best espresso coffee beans are carefully examined for a number of traits.

They need to be fairly uniform in size and similarly shaped. This is important to help ensure an even roast. Smaller beans roast differently than larger ones. When the size of the bean differs the roasting time can’t be adjusted properly, since some will pop and brown before others.

Graders look for similarity of color, as well. Uneven coloring suggests that beans have dried at different rates. It also indicates that beans may have been mixed from different cultivars, again leading to inconsistency in roasting and flavor.

Beans have to be separated by geographic region grown and by cultivar in order to achieve the appropriate final result. They need to be harvested, processed and dried separately for the final product to be a fine brew.

Beans are best when they’re processed soon after harvesting. Coffee beans undergo a kind of fermenting process that will initiate after harvesting. The process isn’t like fermenting wine - turning sugars into alcohol, but it nevertheless produces unwanted compounds. Drying prevents this from beginning.

Many processors will float the beans in water to separate out defective beans, since different density beans will float at different levels. But finer beans result from a more time-consuming process called ‘dry processing’.

Dry processed beans have a brown ’silverskin’, called a fox bean in Brazil. If the silverskin can be removed by simple rubbing, it’s not a defect, but evidence of this dry process. Under ripe beans, though can also have a silverskin, which can’t be removed by rubbing. Such beans will result in a coffee with a sour taste.

Drying beans is an art all by itself. Estates often boast proudly of the skill and care taken during the process. As well they might. Improper drying often shows. Economics sometimes encourages processors to use harsh mechanical drying techniques. Drying the beans too rapidly or failing to turn them frequently enough can result in beans with an uneven, mottled appearance.

Beans that have been properly dried will first spend time on a ‘patio’, to dry the skin, before they’re fed to the mechanical dryer. Truly superior beans will have spent several short stints in the dryer at around 40°C (104°F), rather than one long one. The result is an even color and just the right moisture content.

There are a few other aspects graders will look for.

Beans can have a white edge as the result of inadequate drying or being stored in too humid conditions. The result will be a bland cup and graders are on the lookout for it.

Good Arabica coffee beans, the type used in fine coffees, will have an even, bright appearance.

Lastly, they smell the beans. Good beans will have a fresh aroma, but they also try to detect what’s absent along with what’s present. Any improper processing will add a smoky or musty tinge that you don’t want in your cup.

So before you sip that fine brew, take a moment to sense the fine aroma and lift a cup in thanks to bean graders for searching out the best espresso coffee beans for you to enjoy.

Coffee Freshness Tips… How To Keep Coffee Fresh!

March 11th, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

If you want to learn how to keep coffee fresh the ideal is to obtain unroasted beans, then roast and grind on the same day you plan to brew.

Roasting beans is, however, something of a ‘cooking’ specialty. Unless you’re willing to invest in a fairly expensive piece of equipment, the results are often less than satisfactory. Not to mention that - even when done correctly - it can fill the house with odors that take time to dissipate and can become annoying. Learning how to keep coffee fresh takes a little work.

Beans, even after roasting, will stay fresh for a while. Freshly roasted beans naturally release small amounts of carbon dioxide that helps to keep oxygen away from the bean, delaying spoilage. If stored in an airtight container, especially with a drying agent, they’ll retain their good flavor and aroma for up to a week.

Naturally, the closer to roasting they’re ground and consumed the fresher they’ll be. But even after a few days they can still produce a stellar grind and a superior brew. After two weeks the flavor may still be acceptable, even though aroma will no longer be first rate. Whole bean coffee stored at even optimum conditions will be dull after a month.

The Key to knowing how to keep coffee fresh from purchased roasted beans is to ensure that the skin is unbroken. When that happens, all bets are off. Oils underneath the skin and inside the bean will deteriorate unless frozen, in which case the brew will never be first rate.

When storing beans, be sure to use an airtight container. A glass jar of the type used for instant tea grounds is tempting, but inadequate - there is still too much leakage around the lid. A good glass jar with a rubber seal is best. Many online vendors sell just the ticket. Be sure to store the jar in a cool, dark place since not only air, but also heat and light can contribute to spoiling beans.

Even better, but more expensive, are containers that flush air with an inert gas, then inject the coffee beans that then give off CO2, providing natural protection against spoilage. Beans stored in this way can keep their freshness for several weeks.

The next best thing to home roasting, and an option open even to those with less than stellar cooking skills is grinding at home.

Good grinders are available at moderate prices, are generally easy to use and are not difficult to clean. Many are automated to the point that with very minor experimentation, it’s possible to arrive at consistently good grinds.

Since grinding necessarily breaks the bean skin the same ‘oil spoilage’ problem can arise if the grind isn’t used within a few days. Like roasted beans, only more so, any grounds not consumed within a day should be packed in a desiccating canister. Those canisters contain a drying agent, usually beneath a mesh at the bottom, which keeps moisture from introducing mold or excess oxygen into the grounds.

If not stored in a desiccating canister, grounds will lose much flavor within a few hours. Oils will evaporate and, exposed to the air and moisture within the jar, the grounds will deteriorate.

For a superior cup, grind only what you intend to brew and drink everything brewed within an hour. You now understand how to keep coffee fresh. With modern, moderate cost machines there’s no longer any reason to suffer second-rate coffee.

Copyright © 2007 Coffee Bean 101…. Coffee and Espresso Information

Credits: Make Money Online | Matteo Turchetto | Andreas Viklund