Buying Green Coffee Beans

Everyone knows that coffee is only as good as the beans that were used. When selecting green coffee beans, there are a few things to look for. The first is to notice their overall appearance. They should all be around the size, shape and color. This would indicate the presence of quality control. It also tells you that the coffee producer is serious about the beans and went the extra step to inspect the green coffee beans before packing them.

Most importantly, the color of these beans should all be similar. This tells you that they have all been dried to the same level and that they are all from the same batch. Yes, this makes a tremendous difference when you bring them home and roast them. Don’t be afraid to pick up a handful of these green coffee beans. Trust what your eyes and nose tells you about them.

Before purchasing green coffee beans, you may want to do a little research about where the beans come from. Different environments produce different tasting coffee. Coffee plants derive their taste from the soil and the growing conditions. Coffee from Hawaii tastes differently than coffee grown in Jamaica.

Read up on the various tastes that are available and then search for coffee that was grown in the region of your choice. At this point, you may be wondering where to buy green coffee beans. You can search online for reputable sellers or you can start by asking friends, family or co-workers. Look for a store that sells a sampler pack that will allow you to taste and choose the types you most enjoy.

Other Benefits

Besides a more flavor-filled cup of coffee, roasting your own green beans has other benefits. You can safely preserve and store them for more than one year. This could allow you the opportunity to buy in larger quantities and therefore save some money. And let’s not forget how popular you will become once word gets out that you roast your own coffee!

What is Gourmet Coffee?

Gourmet coffee can also be referred to as premium or specialty coffee. What separates it from supermarket brands are the gourmet coffee beans. These beans get their unique flavor from the place in which they are grown. Most coffee experts agree that the best beans grow in the rich soil on the slopes of volcanic mountains. A high altitude and moist climate are also factors in producing the best gourmet coffee beans. These beans actually get their distinctive taste and aroma from these special growing conditions, drawing out the best of the soil and environment in which they are planted. What that means to you is a superior taste.

Perhaps at this point an explanation is needed about coffee blends. Most of the traditional coffee you will find on supermarket shelves is really a blend of different coffee beans plus some additives to improve the taste. Gourmet coffee beans are pure, taken directly from the plants that have received the best of nature and that were grown in the most ideal conditions upon earth. Gourmet coffee beans from Hawaii, Costa Rica and Jamaica are among the most notable.

Yes, these beans are more expensive than a store-bought brand, but they are worth the extra price. In fact, some coffee manufacturers are trying to lure the true coffee connoisseur with imitations of Hawaii’s Kona coffee. But one sip of the imposter will be enough for a coffee lover to spot the difference. The gourmet coffee beans from Hawaii have a rich taste that is also low in acid.

The Blue Mountain Coffee from Jamaica is prized among many coffee drinkers. These gourmet coffee beans have an intense taste with a fruity flavor. One cup of this coffee will convince you of its superior and matchless quality. As with any product, you get what you pay for. And with these coffee beans, you get the richness of Mother Nature in every cup. Gourmet coffee beans are a treat that you shouldn’t pass up. These beans will enhance your coffee drinking experience and take your taste buds to the next level of excellence.

Fresh Coffee Beans Company

If you are looking for the finest fresh coffee beans, you should definitely check out the Fresh Coffee Beans Company. They are a company that wants to ensure that their customers will all be enjoying great coffee every day. Coffee is their passion and they are proud to offer home coffee roasters for a range of different budgets and a variety of needs.

They never keep coffee beans longer than a week so you are always ensured the newest, freshest beans on the market.

Misty Ridge Coffee Beans

Another company offering fine, fresh coffee beans is the Misty Ridge Coffee Roasting Company. If you appreciate excellent coffee made from fresh roasted coffee beans in local coffee houses then you will definitely want to visit the Misty Ridge Company. They offer a fantastic variety of premium coffee and coffee blends direct from the source.

They actually only roast enough coffee beans to sell fresh every week so you know that you are getting the best possible coffee, each and every time.

The Mad Roaster

Another great company for coffee beans is The Mad Roaster. They are all about fresh coffee, and what makes them so different from most other coffee companies is that they do small batch roasting. By roasting in small batches they are able to make minute adjustments as needed to temperature, roasting time, heating rate, and so on.

This means that they make the highest quality brews of coffee, each and every time. They roast in small batches so that the best taste of each single bean comes out.

They offer a wide selection of gourmet coffee beans, and even advice and tips on how to brew your coffee and some great coffee recipes that you can use right at home.

The important of using fresh coffee beans is undeniable, and whether you are brewing coffee for a group of people or just a cup for yourself at home, you will want to make sure that you come up with the finest, freshest tasting coffee, which can only be done by using the freshest coffee beans you can find.

1000 years ago, with coffee trees growing in southwest Arabia the Arabs, came up with the idea of roasting the beans found inside the sweet tasting coffee cherries. It was then that the coffee bean drink was born.

How Flavored Coffee Beans Came to be

Most people think that flavored coffee beans are a modern discovery. In reality however, the tradition of flavoring one’s coffee is as old as time immemorial. Some hundred years back coffee in the middle east was not just black or white. The Middle Eastern would flavor their coffee with nuts and spices to give its flavor an added boost.

Companies have capitalized on the modern world’s clamor and dependence on coffee. Brilliant marketers preyed upon the consumer’s craving for every single flavor that nature can offer. Before, coffee was spiced up by adding different flavored syrup imaginable. The usual syrup flavors are strawberry, dulce de leche, hazelnut, amaretto, Irish crème, almond, French vanilla and a whole lot more.

Today, with all the technological advances flavored coffee beans are made by coating the coffee with the desired flavor during the roasting process. Because it is coated, the flavors actually extend the bean’s shelf life. As pointed out, flavoring ones coffee is not a new trend, but the boom in gourmet coffee has increased the popularity and hungry for the most exotic flavored coffee beans.

The Perfect Bean

To make a great tasting flavored coffee bean, the right kind of bean used is crucial. A single bean is flavored by compounds such as aromatic oils, sugars, organic acids, mineral salts, carbohydrates, and other chemicals that include caffeine. Those mentioned are just a few of the 800 diverse compounds which lend coffee beans its intoxicating taste and aroma.

The essence of the bean’s taste is an evidence of the region it was grown in and the roasting process it underwent. Generally Arabica coffee beans are used to make flavored coffee beans due to its bitterness and low levels of acidity.

Incidentally the Arabica is also considered as the best coffee variety that ever existed. The Arabica is highly prized and the earliest type of coffee that was cultivated by man. The Arabica is used and not the Robusta bean because Robusta is harsher, not as mild, not as aromatic, and not as enticingly tasty. There are some coffee manufacturers who aim for a more interesting mix; they combine different kinds of beans from different regions to create a highly individualized blend.

Adding Flavor to Coffee

Thus coffee was discovered and developed. The flavored coffee bean is not as recent a development as you might think. In earlier times, adding nuts and spices to the coffee beverage was a norm in some cultures in the Middle East. Some even steeped the coffee beans in some flavored liquid to integrate the desired flavor instead of adding the flavor just before or while the coffee was brewed.

These days, people have developed many different ways of achieving flavored coffee beans. Usually, the flavored coffee bean is introduced to the flavor right after it has been roasted to the satisfaction of the roaster. The kind of coffee bean used for the flavored coffee bean is usually the Arabica. This is because it is milder and less acidic than other species of coffee. It is also not as bitter as the Robusta species of coffee which can be the fuller bodied coffee between the two.

Flavoring oils are usually what is used to add flavor to the flavored coffee bean. These can be any synthetic or organic flavoring oil that exist today. Which to use is dependent on the company that currently manufactures the flavored coffee bean. Due to the popularity of designer coffee and flavored coffee, having flavored coffee beans and grinding them on your own has become a novelty for many.

The more popular kinds of flavored coffee beans are those which are sweet and creamy. Examples of these are Amaretto, Hazelnut, Irish Crème, French Vanilla and many more. These flavored coffee beans can actually help manufacturers by masking the stronger flavors of the coffee that is used for most commercial items. Many manufacturers use Robusta coffee instead of the more expensive Arabica and the flavor them to mask the stronger, bitter taste. The flavored coffee bean has come a long way and is definitely here to stay.

Several of these small coffee farmers live in hinterland areas where development is very slow and life is often very hard. Since farming is the only way of life that most of these people knew, most members of the family work in the family’s coffee farm tending to trees and handpicking coffee beans off the tress from sunrise to sunset.

What is Fairtrade Organic Coffee?

Small coffee farmers often find it very hand to compete with those giant coffee producers. To help these small farmers to compete with bigger and more powerful coffee farmers, international development organizations such Amnesty International, The United Nations, Caritas International and others organized these small farmers into groups and educate them on fair trade strategies.

The idea here is to unite the small coffee farmers and empower them to play a wider influence in the coffee industry. As a result of these efforts made by many international development organizations, the fairtrade organic coffee industry was born. Small farmers from different parts of the world pool their harvest together and sell their produce at a fair price.

Why Does Fairtrade Organic Coffee Cost Higher Than Most Types of Coffee?

Fairtrade organic coffee is a premium product which is produced without the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers. The farmers who are producing fairtrade organic coffee products follow strict rules and regulations when it comes to using organic fertilizer in their farms. Since organic products are more difficult to produce, it is but natural that they should cost more compared to conventionally produced products.

Moreover, since fairtrade organic coffee comes from several small farms from all over the world, it is but fitting that we pay more money for this product to help these small farmers survive. Just come to think of it, every time you buy fairtrade organic coffee, you are able to help some needy coffee farmer in the mountains to support his or her family. When you drink fairtrade coffee, you put food of the table of some needy farmer. Isn’t that a good enough reason to shell out a few extra dollars for a bag of coffee beans?

The Coffee Bean Connection

Espresso coffee is all about hot water and coffee beans. But it’s the way these two ingredients are put together that spells the success of this drink. Espresso coffee needs hot water, around 90 degrees centigrade. The temperature of the water is critical, because if it’s too hot, the resulting drink will be bitter, and if it’s too cold it will be sour. When the temperature is just right, the hot water is forced through the ground espresso coffee. This beverage is thicker than drip coffee because of the way it’s made. With drip coffee, there is no pressurized water; rather, the water is made to drip slowly into the ground coffee and is then passed through a filter.

Now let’s get back to the type of coffee beans needed for espresso. You can really use any type of coffee beans to make espresso; it’s all a matter of personal taste and enjoyment. However, certain types of coffee beans have become popular with espresso drinkers. Currently, this beverage is associated with darker beans, probably because of the popularity inspired by name-brand coffee shops across the country. Some people prefer to match the roast level to the bean type for a more specialized taste. This makes good coffee sense and is catching on among some of the more serious espresso drinkers.

Besides the Beans…

The taste of espresso coffee is also associated with how well the coffee beans were ground. Finer particles result in a richer and more robust taste. You may also want to remember that espresso coffee has a lot more caffeine than a traditional cup. This is because of the pressurized brewing process involved in making espresso. Although you can use any type of coffee bean, choose the best because the type you use will determine the overall taste and quality of the espresso. You can also experiment by mixing espresso with mocha or cappuccino. Only you can decide what makes a great espresso.

Do you plan to buy or make chocolate covered coffee beans? Read on to find out what you should do to get the best there is.

When you plan to buy chocolate covered coffee beans you need to be careful so that you get the best that money can buy. There are three very critical aspects to which you should pay attention when you buy this type of coffee, i.e. the quality of the coffee beans, the quality of the chocolate and the quality of cooking.

The Quality of the Coffee Beans

If you want the best possible chocolate covered coffee beans; you need to start from scratch. The basic ingredient is coffee; unless the quality of the coffee beans you choose is high you cannot expect the end product to be qualitative. The best would be to choose the type of coffee beans you normally use for this purpose. In case you have no preference, take a few beans of whatever coffee is available and test each type separately with the chocolate to find out which one gives you the most delightful taste.

The Quality of the Chocolate

Milk chocolate is the most popular choice for chocolate covered coffee beans today, but you could experiment with other types of chocolate such as white chocolate, dark chocolate, bitter chocolate and so on. Whatever type you choose ensure that you get the best quality there is for best results.

The Quality of Cooking

You have the best beans and the best chocolate and now all you need to do is cook it. A lot depends on the way you cook it, so be careful. The temperature of the chocolate should be just right so it would not get stuck to the bottom and burn for which purpose you need to be very vigilant when you cook it, especially when you do it in a microwave oven. Your aim should be to get the chocolate just soft enough so you could roll the beans in it.

If you are doing it for the first time, take care that you do not burn your hands when you roll the beans in chocolate. This is another reason why the cooking temperature should be just right.

Roasting Your Own Beans

Roasted coffee beans are achieved by exposing the green coffee beans to heat and waiting for the sugars in the beans to come out. The first step to having your very own roasted coffee beans is to pick the beans that you wish to home roast. There are actually just a few kinds of coffee that are quite popular. Arabica is one of the most highly utilized coffees because of the flavor.

After choosing the beans that you wish to make roasted coffee beans with, you have the option of choosing when to roast your beans and how many to roast. You can actually roast the whole lot and then store the roasted coffee beans somewhere cool and dry. Do not grind them all at once because grinding the coffee releases the natural flavors. It is better to grind them in batches for your brewing pleasure because freshly ground beans have more flavor compared to those which have already been ground and stored.

To make tour own roasted coffee beans, pick an appropriately sized pan for roasting the beans. Make sure that there is still some space left for turning the beans for an even roasting. Unevenly roasted coffee beans will create a weird flavor of green, unroasted beans and fully roasted beans. Turn on the heat at low to medium and start to continuously move the coffee beans around the pan to promote even cooking or roasting.

At around 15 minutes, your roasted coffee beans will have a glazed or greasy look. This is because of the oils and sugars that have been released by the exposure to heat. The roasted coffee beans can no be safely transferred to a flat surface covered with tissue to absorb any excess oils or moisture. When the roasted coffee beans are cool enough to touch, you can place them in an airtight container for storage although some people don’t mind if their roasted coffee beans are exposed to the air. This is because the flavor is locked in due to the roasting. The process of grinding the coffee beans will release the flavor and make it ready for brewing.

Buying a Tassimo Coffee Maker

Tassimo coffee makers are not exactly cheap so you need to consult your budget first before you splurge on it. Yes, you do need a good old Tassimo coffee maker to get you going through the night but if your budget is quite tight at the moment, you might want to do a rain check on that coffee maker. To determine how much money you can afford to invest in a good Tassimo coffee maker, do the math.

First, you need to list down all your sources of income. If you work online and you have multiple streams income, list all these things down and determine how much money you can make out these income sources each month. Be realistic in your estimates. Always keep your figures conservative. For instance, if you think that you can make about $500 in our income source, you can write $400 as your most realistic income for that particular income source.

After listing all your income sources, do the math on your monthly expenses. You can trace your monthly expenses by adding up all your bills for the month. You should also include an allowance for some contingent expenses. Compare your list of expenses to your monthly income.

See to it that your monthly expenses do not exceed your projected income each month. The amount of money that you have left in your income column after deducting your projected monthly expenses is your projected amount of savings. You can use this money to buy your Tassimo coffee maker. If this amount is not enough to buy your Tassimo coffee maker, use your credit card to purchase one and then use your monthly savings to pay for your credit card bills.