Coffee Info Center

I love gourmet flavored coffee. Actually, I love anything about coffee. I love coffee candy, coffee gifts, coffee mugs, coffee paraphernalia, you name it, I love it. Whew, I’m glad I got that out of the way. If you love coffee, gourmet is the way to go. There are so many flavors to choose, I can go on and on an on. Let’s talk gourmet flavors.

OK, if you thought that there would be a shortage of flavors, you would be wrong. One of my favorite online stores has the following flavors: almond, amaretto, butter cream, butter rum, butter scotch cream, cherry bomb, cherry cobbler, chocolate almond, chocolate cherry, chocolate, chocolate Irish cream, chocolate marshmallow, chocolate mint, chocolate raspberry, cinnamon hazelnut, orange, pumpkin spice, vanilla almond, vanilla nut, and on and on. A good gourmet flavored coffee starts with a solid base like Colombian Supremo, carefully selected and then pure flavorings are added without sugars or any other chemical additives. The result is an extremely flavorful coffee experience. Flavored coffees can be addictive and there are so many to choose from. Personally, I go from loving added flavors to just savoring the coffee without any added flavorings.

Any type of coffee you choose will taste better if you take the time to prepare it correctly. Always keep your coffee press, coffee maker, etc. as clean as you can. Residues left from coffees, especially flavored ones can make the next batch taste a little off. I always clean everything every time I make coffee immediately after making the coffee. This may seem a little obsessive, but when I go somewhere and see a brown glass carafe, I know I shouldn’t be drinking coffee there, especially if it’s gourmet flavored coffee. Water is important too, so always use cold, filtered water so that your water does not add any of its own flavor to the final product. I also recommend that you buy your coffee in bean form rather than already ground. It will last longer and the flavor will remain more consistent. Measure out just the right amount of coffee and grind only what you need. Freshly roasted, freshly ground coffee is simply out of this world.

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Should you buy organic coffee beans? Well, there are many reasons for buying organic products and coffee is no exception. Organic growers are the future of agriculture in my opinion. Sustainable farming methods without the use of harmful pesticides, chemical fertilizers and other potentially carcinogenic materials should be supported whenever possible. Coffee grown organically for sale in the USA must undergo a rigorous certification by an agency accredited by the US Department of Agriculture. Some of the requirements of organic coffee growing include a minimum 3 year growing without synthetic pesticides and other prohibited chemicals as well as a crop rotation plan that is sustainable and prevents soil depletion and erosion and controls pests.

As anyone will tell you, organic products can be found more and more on your supermarket shelves, and in other places. Organic milk products, organic meats and eggs, etc. should all be a part of your diet. Anything you can do to lower your intake of chemicals and pesticides should be considered. Organic coffee beans should also play a part in your organic lifestyle. If you think that going organic will be expensive, guess what, you would be wrong. There are many places online that sell organic coffee for about the same price as coffee grown with pesticides and other chemicals. Some growers go the extra mile and their coffees are grown under rainforest-preserving shade trees and are hosts to diverse bird life.

Even if you don’t care about rainforests, endangered birds, fragile ecosystems, etc., you should still consider buying organic coffee beans because they are good for you and taste great. After all, most companies don’t charge a premium and the coffee is not overly expensive anyway. There are plenty of exotic coffees which are much more expensive. Contamination of the planet and destruction of our fragile ecosystems is something that we should discourage. The fact that it won’t cost us an arm and a leg is only one more reason to do so. Make sure that the company you get the coffee from is certified organic by a third party certification company.

I am an avid coffee lover. What better way to enjoy coffee than by getting a coffee espresso machine? There are so many to choose from, the choice is bewildering. We can separate the various espresso machines into three categories. The first category is what I like to call fully automatic. The fully automatic machine does everything for you. You load it with coffee, water, etc. and just push the button. The second category is partly automatic. This requires your intervention and some of the process is automated. The benefit to these type of machines is that they allow you to have more control over how you want the coffee extraction to go. Last, but not least is the manual machine. This is my favorite. I don’t need any automation, just give me a machine with a handle press and I’m ready to go!

Who makes a good coffee espresso machine? There are many specialty manufacturers and the price can go into the thousands of dollars. Even the mainstream coffee machine manufacturers have offerings that are reasonable. Krups, Bosch, Capresso and others make great coffee machines. What are the features to look for? If we are talking fully automatic, it should have an integrated burr grinder, high-capacity bean hopper, high-wattage heater, high-pressure pump and automated cleaning cycles. It should also have an integrated frother for lattes. If we are looking at the semi-automatic models, then look for high-quality components, large boilers, stainless steel components, high-quality portafilters, etc. The manual models are my favorite for many reasons. I like simplicity and quality. Choose a model with stainless steel or chrome plated parts for maximum durability and minimal interaction with the coffee and water. I simply do not like any plastic components coming in contact with very hot water and/or the coffee. Plastic parts should be avoided if you are an avid espresso coffee fan.

If you are an avid coffee consumer and only the very best will do, then do yourself a favor and get the best coffee espresso machine that you can afford. The investment will be well worth it as you’ll enjoy the very best espresso coffee for years to come.

Coffee gifts are perfect if you know your intended recipient loves coffee. I personally would love it if people sent me gifts of various coffees and such. There is a huge variety out there and we’ll explore the options.

When giving any gift, you should at least know something about the person you are giving the gift to. If they love coffee, that’s great, but what else do you know about them? Do they have one of those instant coffee machines like the Keurig coffee maker? If they do, great, you can get them coffee gifts with an assortment of the various cartridges in them. How about things that go with coffee? I could think of lots of things I eat with my coffee. Here are a few suggestions: biscotti, chocolate, cookies, biscuits. Hmmm… I love biscotti with my coffee. Presentation is important as nothing ruins a nice surprise like a poorly presented gift. If you are shopping online for your coffee surprise, make sure they have pictures of the final product to assure it is up to snuff. If you are getting chocolate to go with that coffee, then I highly suggest dark chocolate. Dark chocolate is high in antioxidants and is actually good for you. Another side benefit to giving chocolate is that it does not expire immediately so you don’t have to worry about spoilage.

Coffee gifts are perfect seasonal gifts. During the holidays each year, it is pretty safe to give the gift of coffee. You could also give a fruit basket and a cheese basket to cover all the bases. There are many things you could give and it is easy to go crazy. Fortunately, coffee lasts longer than cheese or steak, so keep this in mind if your intended recipient is out of town a lot and/or doesn’t eat at home that much. Now that I think of it, Valentine’s Day is a great holiday to give chocolate and coffee gifts. Women love chocolate so what better accompaniment is there than coffee? Need I say more?

Bulk coffee is available online at a significant discount. Keep in mind that shipping costs are a factor since the coffee beans are shipped in 5-25 pound bags. Make sure that the coffee distributor you choose to order your coffee from is located near you. This will help cut down on delivery costs and delivery times. I usually like to get my coffee order the next day. That cuts down my available choices, but I would not want to pay overnight shipping fees on 25 pound bags of coffee.

There are many bulk coffee programs out there. You can usually save if you join a plan where a certain amount of coffee is shipped to you each month. How much coffee you have to order varies by company so be sure to check the terms of each plan. Most house blend coffees that are up for sale come from various vendors. Expect to see a blend of coffee from Kenya, Sumatra, South America and Central America. You should test the quality of the coffee by buying the lowest quantity you can. Personally, I like to buy coffee in small amounts and I only buy the best. If you have a coffee house, diner or restaurant, then you will probably have need of lots of coffee.

As I said before, you probably own a restaurant or large office if you are buying bulk coffee. It is a good idea to get a commercial grade coffee machine if you are going to make large amounts of coffee. Regular home coffee makers are very slow at making coffee and they don’t make the water hot enough to extract the optimum flavor from the coffee bean. If you are wondering why your home brewed coffee does not taste the same as it does in the store, this is one of the reasons why. Water temperature during brewing matters a lot. If you don’t need lots of coffee, don’t buy large bags. Yes, you can save money if you buy a 25 pound bag, but if it takes a year to use up so much coffee then don’t do it. The last cup will be totally devoid of any flavor. Only buy as much coffee as you’ll be using in the next month maximum.

Kona coffee is one of my favorite coffees. I could go on and on, but you really have to taste it to understand why people love it so much. This coffee comes from the Big Island of Hawaii. The coffee plant was brought to the island in the nineteenth century and was Brazilian in origin. Today, there are many small farms on Hawaii that grow this wonderful type of coffee. My favorite is the peaberry version, the one with the small coffee beans.

If you are going to go through the expense of having Kona coffee delivered to you, you might as well do it right. First off, buy the beans, don’t buy the coffee already ground. Grind only as much coffee as you will consume in a day. I have measured how much it takes to fill my coffee press and I only grind one press full at a time. Oh, by the way, I don’t use a coffee maker. I use a coffee press. Basically, a coffee press is a glass jar with a top piece that is attached to a plunger with a screen attached to it. You put the coffee in the bottom, pour hot water into the jar, let it brew for at least 4 minutes and then push down on the plunger which strains the coffee and keeps the coffee grounds on the bottom. This method of making coffee blows away my $200 Capresso coffee maker. Really, this $30 device makes the best coffee I’ve ever tasted.

Enough with the coffee brewing lesson already. If you buy Kona coffee, make sure it is 100% Kona coffee. Do not buy a blend. Usually blends will have as much as 90% cheap coffee mixed in and you should not pay a premium for that. I would recommend you try the smallest size available, usually an 8oz. bag of coffee to start. If you like it, by all means, save money by ordering several pounds of coffee beans at a time. Personally, I like to buy my coffee beans fresh every month despite the higher cost. For me, freshness is the top consideration.

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