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What does organic mean? Why buy Fair Trade?
Answers to these questions and many more… Check our links section for other web sites with more great information!

As with most things in life you will find varying information on most aspects of coffee on the web. Through our years of experience and broad research we have put together information we believe in, here you can find:

Organic: What does organic mean? Why buy organic? Is our coffee organic?

Fair Trade: What is Fair Trade? Who does Fair Trade benefit?

Shade Grown: What does it mean man?

Smithsonian Bird Friendly: I assume this is for the birds…?

Roast degrees: differences from light to dark roasted coffees

Caffeine: How much is in coffee? Are light roasts really higher in caffeine?

Swiss Water Process Decaf: Why is it different? Are there any chemicals used?

Brewing and storing coffee: How long is coffee fresh? How much do I use?

Roast degrees
Quick basic notes on roasts:
The longer coffee beans are roasted the darker the bean… Caffeine is cooked out of the bean as it is roasted, lighter roasts have more caffeine. Lighter roasts will have a more mellow body and distinctions between beans are more noticeable.

Temp: if the roast is too light (not allowing time for the starches to become sugars) and the roast will be bitter, a good light roast will not be bitter, the sugars will not have begun to caramelize and the distinctive flavors of different varieties and regions of coffee are most prevalent.

Caffeine
I included information on caffeine mostly to clear up one common misconception; dark roasted coffee, while stronger in flavor does not have more caffeine. A French roast has less caffeine than a light roast coffee such as a Breakfast blend. As the coffee beans are roasted the caffeine is being roasted out of them. On average a light roast will have 10% more caffeine than a dark roast.

Caffeine content is coffee varies greatly, depending on bean, roast and brew.

Average Caffeine by beverage (in milligrams): Brewed coffee (8oz) 100-150mg

Organic
Organic is a term people are familiar with today. Many coffee lovers do not know the single most important thing you can have organic is coffee. Coffee is the second largest agricultural crop in the world and the third most heavily chemically sprayed. Three quarters of the coffee grown around the world is sprayed with chemicals that are banned in developed countries for their toxicity to people. Organic coffee tastes better because it is grown without harmful chemicals or pesticides allowing you to taste the natural flavors of the bean. All of our organics are shade grown. Coffee naturally grows under a canopy of shade trees; creating a balanced ecosystem and providing farmers with added economic security from the wood, additional crops such as banana or mangos, and lack of dependence on expensive chemicals. Shade trees also provide migration stops for birds and homes for many animals.

For more information please look under the Organic section of our Links page.

Fair Trade
We can make a difference. Americans drink one fifth of the world’s coffee but few of us realize the crisis coffee farmers’ face today. 70% of coffee today is grown on small farms and many farmers receive prices for their beans that are much lower than the cost of production, forcing them into a cycle of poverty and debt. Children are pulled from school to help pick beans, dropping prices mean less focus on quality; perpetuating the cycle, farms change to another crop or close entirely. The fair trade movement is based on the idea that producers in developing countries are capable of achieving economic success provided they receive fair prices in international markets for what they produce. When you buy Fair Trade you are giving coffee farmers means community development, health, education, and environmental stewardship.

For more information please look under the Fair Trade section of Links at the bottom of the page.

Brewing and storing:
The best way to appreciate coffee is:

1) Buy what you will use within two to four weeks.

2) Store coffee as whole beans and grind it as you use it.

3) Coffee keeps best in a cool, dry dark place like a cupboard or canister on the counter, out of the sun. Do not store it in the fridge, too moist.

If you want to keep beans for longer periods of time (longer than 1 month after roasted) put them in the freezer in an airtight container. Take out of the freezer to thaw for many hours before grinding and brewing.

Grinding your beans at home… We would always recommend you grind at home versus pre-ground coffee. If you prefer to purchase ground coffee only keep enough to use within a week to two at the most. Home grinding is not expensive. The cheapest style of home grinders, mill grinders (whirling blade) are good if you are brewing drip method, we do not recommend them for French press or espresso. Course grinds in a whirling blade grinder tend to very uneven in size and very fine grinds such as espresso are hard to get right and it is easy to scorch the grounds with the heat of the motor.

The other type of grinder is a burr grinder. A cheap burr grinder will work well for French press, drip, percolator, and most other methods short of very fine grinds, espresso or Turkish, the reason again being heat created by the motor of the grinder potentially scorching the grounds. A better quality burr grinder using conical burrs should be used for home espresso, they will produce a more even grind, less mess and do not create as much heat (effecting the flavor of the brew, if the grounds are heated too much your espresso can taste burnt).

The more common methods for brewing coffee at home are drip method (automatic or hand pour), French Press, percolator, Automatic drip machine (typical home pot brewer):

Most homes are equipped with an Automatic drip coffee brewer, usually brew about 6-10 cup pots of coffee and

Hand pour/melita drip