Archive for January, 2009

If you are looking for specialty coffee that is smooth with a fruity, nutty taste, or even a smoky heaviness then you can find what you need. A nice specialty coffee blends to compliment our regular roasts. You will want to try French Mocha, African Pride, Mocha Java, or West Coast Dark roasts. Specialty gourmet coffee and tea is made from a lot of trial and error to create the perfect blend. Can you imagine what you would do if you did not have the perfect cup of coffee to wake up to?

Roasting process is like no other and the careful measurements of perfect timing and bean quality. If you prefer our specialty gourmet coffee selections you will find heavy fruity notes with French mocha or a full bodied spicy finish with Mocha Java. The process is a secret. To brew a specialty coffee that is dark but without the heavy burnt or carbon notes that most dark roasts have is truly amazing. You will be able to feel and smell the taste. One of the favorites is African Pride Dark. This coffee is made from beans imported from Kenya, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. This specialty coffee is medium to light bodied with intense acidic motes ranging from wine flavored to fruity. Almost like Beaujolais disguised as specialty gourmet coffee. Definitely give this one a try you will be amazed at the difference with Joffees.

Welcome to the neighborhood - why don’t you come over for coffee? Sound familiar? You bet! Can you entertain around a terrific cup of coffee - yes, indeed!

Of course, your superb coffee must be accompanied by something that might include a wedge of your sinfully rich cheesecake, or a fresh, just from the oven cherry pie. Even doughnuts are a great “come together” with coffee.

If you really want to get elegant, try demitasse and Petits Four - sure fire elegance in a tiny way. You can serve your coffee any time of day. In the morning delight your uests with a French flair such as Cafe-au-lait. Just pass around some freshly baked sweet rolls, croissants, or hot brioche. But what about evening coffee? Cocoa Coffee Brazilian or smooth, flavorful Vanilla Cream are suitable to everyone’s taste buds. You can also try the more exotic flavors, such as Hawaiian or Spiced Rum.

In hot weather try serving iced coffee or a layered coffee Cooler. If you don’t want to server flavored coffee, try regular coffee with flavored creamers in a variety of flavors for guests to pick and choose. A really elegant touch is serving flavored “spoons.” These special spoons are your ordinary spoons with flavored chocolates on the bowl part of the spoon. When your guests stir their coffee, they are adding a subtle touch of flavor, such as mint, or caramel. They are easy to make and are a wonderful surprise for your guests. Just melt your favorite chocolate, even white chocolate. Dip your spoons into the melted chocolate, cool on waxed paper, and server with your coffee. Now, that entertaining!

Here are a few recipes for adding a touch of “different” when you serve coffee.

Iced Coffee:

Make your usual coffee, but double strength. Pour 3/4 cup of hot, steaming coffee over your ice cubes. Add additional ice cubes if desired. Serve with confectioner’s sugar and whipped cream. Try adding a little maple syrup to your whipped topping. You can dust with cinnamon, if you like. Now this is almost as good as an ice cream sundae.

Coffee Cooler:

3/4 cup chocolate syrup, such as Hershey’s

1 quart of plain vanilla ice cream, not ice milk

1-1/2 cups milk

1 tbs. of your favorite instant coffee

Chill your glasses in a freezer for about 15 mins. Spoon 3 tbs. chocolate syrup into each glass. Add some ice cream that is slightly softened. Quickly blend in the coffee crystals into warm milk. Do not boil the milk but it must be sufficiently warm to mix well with the instant coffee. Let this mixture cool. Pour your milk mixture over the ice cream and use shaved chocolate sprinkles to add extra flavor.

Serve with a straw and a dollop of whipped cream.

Demitasse:

Measure 3 tbs. instant coffee, or to taste, into your coffee server. Add 2 cups boiling hot water. Serve your coffee in tiny cups with cream and sugar on the side.

(Fruit flavor) Add 1 tsp. orange juice for each cup of coffee in your server. Or if you are not sure your guests prefer a fruit flavor, pass twists of orange rind.

Cafe-au-lait:

1 cup milk

1 cup light cream

3 tbs. instant coffee

2 cups boiling water

Warm the milk and cream over low heat until hot - but never to boiling. Beat with an electric mixer until foamy and pour immediately into a warmed pitcher. Dissolve the instant coffee in the boiling water. Pour into a separate pitcher.

When serving, fill cups from both pitchers at the same time. This joins the two together to blend to just the right consistency.

Serve and enjoy.

Cardamom Coffee:

Place two crushed cardamom seeds in the bottom of each coffee cup. Fill with hot coffee, a little on the strong side.

This gives your coffee a wonderfully warming spicy aroma.

When you invite guests over for coffee, they are expecting not only a great cup of coffee and a special something to go with it, but warm hospitality and friendly conversation. So get together with friends and family and invite them to “come over for coffee” and give them something they don’t expect by using any of the special coffees above.
Drink up and enjoy!

Flavored coffee syrup is a popular addition to any coffee beverage and a welcome change for any regular coffee drinker. Whether you are looking to satisfy a sweet tooth or just want something different, flavored coffee syrups put a great kick into any drink. If you own a coffee business, these syrups are another great way to attract customers, allowing them to customize their own drinks so they can enjoy exactly the flavors that their taste buds desire.

Coffee, of course, has a wonderful taste itself, but it also acts as a catalyst for many other flavors. The growth in popularity of flavored coffee is testament to coffee’s versatility and strength. People today have come to expect variety and certainly flavored coffee offers them a choice. Flavored syrups means that coffee drinkers can enjoy their beverage all day in a host of different ways.

The best flavored coffee syrups are made from all natural ingredients. The chemical additives and preservatives found in some syrups can distort or hide the flavor of the coffee, while all natural flavors will simply enhance a beverage. Although all natural syrups are more expensive, they are worth the investment as your customers will surely taste the difference and come back time after time for more.

There are four different groups of syrups. The most popular syrups are the vanilla based, which include nut and creme flavors like Irish creme and hazelnut. These flavors go well with just about any type of coffee, and can even be used to sweeten a cappuccino or latte. Chocolate is the next most popular flavoring group, followed by the fruit and spice flavors. It is always a good idea to have an offering from each group so your customers can experience different flavors (and spend more!)

Today, more than 100 different and delicious flavorings lace the coffees, espressos, cappuccinos, and frappes. To say the least, flavored coffee has become an interesting and fast growing area of the coffee market. Blends such as Irish Creme, French Vanilla, Hazelnut and even Macadamia Nut grace the shelves of both coffee specialty shops and home kitchens alike.

The concept of adding flavors to enhance the taste of coffee is, by no means, a new craze. Arabs began flavoring their coffee with cardamom hundreds of years ago, Africans experimented with citrus flavors, and South Americans enjoyed a hint of cinnamon in their cups.

Flavored coffee syrups are highly concentrated, so a little goes quite a long way this makes it very cost effective for the cafe owner. One half-ounce shot of syrup is usually adequate to flavor an entire coffee drink. These syrups are available from most coffee suppliers; if you are a new retail or business customer, they will often send you samples to allow you to taste them for yourself; this way you can choose the best tasting syrup product for your customers. This is the fun part then you have to sell them!

Coffee pods are what make an excellent cup of coffee. Coffee is the world’s most popular beverage after water, with over 400 billion cups consumed annually. The coffee bean comes from an evergreen tree grown in a narrow subtropical belt around the world. Coffee beans are not beans at all in a botanical sense. They are the twin seeds of a red (sometimes yellow) fruit that grows to about the size of the tip of your little finger. Growers call these coffee fruit coffee cherries or pods. Coffee has two main varieties: arabica and robusta. Unless they are decaffeinated, coffee beverages all contain caffeine. Full-bodied, dark-roast coffee may contain less caffeine than coffee made from milder, more lightly-roasted beans. In general, arabica beans tend to have less caffeine but milder and more aromatic flavor than robusta beans. There are 10 steps through which a coffee bean passes from seed to cup: Harvesting, Processing, Drying, Hulling, Polishing, Grading and sorting, Exporting, Tasting, Roasting and Grinding of coffee pods. Of these, connoisseurs of pod coffee have the option of indulging in the last two steps themselves!

Be your own Barista.

There is no single best way to make coffee; each of us prefers one method to the rest. The importance of the coffee pod however, cannot be over emphasized. Of the many ways to prepare coffee, the espresso method is perhaps the highest expression of true coffee lovers. But the beauty of making pod coffee is that it allows you to be your own barista! Making pod coffee is both a ritual and a practical part of life although it is now possible to have coffee pod machines that brew individual cups of either filter or expresso pod coffee in seconds. All these methods share the basic principle which is to use hot water, to extract from the ground beans the natural essential oils, the caffeol, that give coffee its wonderful aroma and flavor. The resulting brew, or liquor, is a coffee infusion. Sadly, in this electronic age, pod coffee drinkers form a pathetic minority due to the time and effort it takes before you can actually savor a cup. But, if you are one, don’t be nonplussed if your special guest takes the first option to your question - Coffee, tea or me?

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.

Gourmet coffee lovers have been seeing a few new terms in the
local premium coffee shop as they file past the seasonal retail
displays of roasted whole bean bagged coffees. Phrases include
eco-friendly, organic, shade grown, fair trade and certified
sustainable. Most often those beans seem to the casual buyer to
be simply more expensive than the corporate mega-brands.

But these few phrases represent far more than at first glance,
including economic and social gains for the growing regions and
farmers, harvesters and processors of green coffee beans at the
local level. Sustainable coffee means premium prices and quality
coffee due to organic farming practices, fair market payment for
beans to local growers and quality controls being adopted by the
“certified” coffee brands.

Those premium coffee prices reflect growing concerns worldwide
of paying fair wages to growers, using more expensive
ecologically friendly organic farming practices, better pay for
traditionally underpaid harvesters and processing workers and
strict quality controls being adopted for “certified sustainable
coffees.”

Daniele Giovannucci consults with governments, international
agencies, and businesses on coffee markets and production
strategies to improve competitiveness and support innovative
environmental and rural poverty reduction work. Giovannucci has
authored exhaustive studies, including the 2003, “The State of
Sustainable Coffee Report - A Study of Twelve Major Markets.”

http://www.cec.org/files/PDF/ECONOMY/CoffeeSurvey_EN.pdf

This study discusses coffee market forces in Europe and Japan
and the growth of sustainable coffee around the world,
estimating that fair trade, organic, and eco-friendly coffees
represent less than 2 percent of coffee consumption in developed
markets.

Another Giovannucci authored study, “Sustainable Coffee Survey
of the North American Specialty Coffee Industry,” he estimates
the Global market for sustainable coffee to be approximately
$565 million retail for over a million 60 kilo (about 132
pounds) bags of green coffee beans.

http://www.eftafairtrade.org/Document.asp?DocID=391&tod=21534

It is estimated that growers of certified sustainable coffees
can nearly double their income from otherwise depressed coffee
prices. So economically challenged third world countries see
small farmers adopting organic growing techniques as a ticket
out of poverty and subsistence. Corporate buyers are attracted
to sustainable growers by consumer goodwill and health concerns
related to those organically grown coffees. This leads to
dubious claims by some of the corporate coffee representatives
and has lead to the need for certification authorities.

One group, Fairtrade Labeling Organizations International (FLO)
has been active in monitoring and certifying, auditing and
verifying standards for sustainable coffees. Another, named
Transfair USA, carries on similar activities in the American
coffee market. Consumers are justifiably confused when many
terms are applied to sustainable coffees and fail to
differentiate between organic, eco-friendly, fair trade and
sustainable terms.

Premium prices are sometimes supported by certification,
labeling and monitoring by third-party organizations and
sometimes by local governments such as the “Jamaica Coffee
Industry Board.” But some labeling is simply slick sales and PR
by greedy corporations seeking premium prices for average coffee
beans, so support for labeling initiatives and independent
certification is growing.

Fair Trade and sustainable coffees are seeing increasing
production in Central and South American growing regions, most
notably in Mexico and Peru. Columbia has seen some pressure and
attempts to divert production of cocaine with coffee crops for
the fair trade market with little major success to report so
far. Uganda, Tanzania and Ethiopia are big participants in
sustainable coffees in Africa while East Timor, India and
Indonesia are major supporters of sustainable coffee in Asia.

With the North American coffee market dominated by multinational
giants Sara Lee, Kraft and Procter & Gamble, little interest has
been shown in adopting sustainable coffee by major corporate
coffee producers. Meanwhile, Brazil and Vietnam, the world’s No.
1 and No. 2 coffee producers, respectively are flooding the
market with poor quality beans and driving down coffee prices.

But major grocery chains are seeing demand for sustainable
coffee and may adopt fair trade and organic coffees to sell
nationwide at Safeway, Kroger and Albertson’s stores. Increases
in availability, demand and awareness of sustainable coffee are
leading to more of the same in a spiraling increase for fair
trade organic and shade coffees in premium markets. Some
sustainable coffees are even finding their way into instant
coffees, but the vast majority of the sustainable market is in
premium and specialty markets.

As the great composer Johann Sebastian Bach once said, ‘”Ah! How sweet coffee tastes! Lovelier than a thousand kisses, sweeter far than muscatel wine!”

Since its introduction to Paris in the late 17th century, romance has surrounded the coffee bean. Whether it was served to two lovers on a cobblestone street or enjoyed in front of an evening fire at home, coffee has stood the test of time as a luxury and comfort to couples around the world.

Jean de la Roque once wrote, “I had long been fascinated by the stories of my father who brought home to Marseilles some of the first coffee ever seen there … and by the enticingly exotic services used in entertaining guests — tiny Finjan cups of ancient China, the little silk napkins embroidered in gold, the delicate silver spoons and the laquered serving tray.”

Coffee has woven its way through many channels of our economic, agricultural and social history. It has become a form of art, perfected over many years of roasting, blending, brewing and serving, that has inspired stimulating conversation, friendships and the occasional romance.

The coffee in your cup, like the wine in your glass, starts in the field, says Jim Stewart, founder of Seattle’s Best Coffee, who purchases coffee from small experienced farmers in various regions of Central and South America. Beginning as a cherry flower, coffee goes through many stages and processes before reaching your cup.

Cultivated on the mountain slopes of the world’s coffee-growing regions, the coffee bean originates from a tree that produces a single white flower. This flower creates a fruit, or cherry, that signifies its ripeness by turning a deep crimson color. Inside the cherry is a seed, commonly known as the coffee bean, which is retrieved from the flower and sent to a roasting facility. Roasts vary from light brown, medium brown, darker brown, dark brown to almost black, to suit individual tastes.

“We produce this coffee with such love,” says Stewart, “we hate to see it leave.”

What better way to begin a day devoted to the art of love than with the inviting aroma of coffee and a good morning kiss from your very own valentine? With this simple recipe, you can treat your loved one to a relaxing and indulgent Valentine’s Day morning in the comforts and privacy of your own home.

A decadent blend of sweet raspberry and bittersweet chocolate, the Raspberry Mocha Kiss(R) from Seattle’s Best Coffee is a romantic and luxurious gesture that is sure to warm the heart of your loved one and spark the passion of your Valentine’s Day morning.

To prepare a similar version of this heartwarming beverage for your sweetheart, you will need one large, pre-heated mug, 5 ounces. of fresh-brewed coffee, 1/4 ounce of raspberry syrup, 1/4 ounce of bittersweet chocolate sauce, 1 and 1/2 ounces of cold milk, homemade whipped cream and a decorative, heart-shaped chocolate. Pour the raspberry syrup and chocolate sauce into the mug. Fill the mug with hot coffee and milk and top it off with a dollop of homemade whipped cream. To add the finishing touch, drizzle a “kiss” of raspberry syrup on top of the whipped cream and set the chocolate alongside the cup.

With a heightened appreciation of the enchantment of coffee and a recipe to arouse your sweetheart’s senses, sit back, relax and enjoy a day of coffee-inspired romance.

Espresso coffee is a precise art form of coffee making. There are several factors that must take place to make a quality cup of Espresso. First the fresh roasting of the coffee bean to bring out the truly gourmet coffee flavor that you expect. The grinding is the next procedure that must be done right in order to give you 20-25 seconds of extraction time. Espresso brewing requires the ground beans to be very fine in order to reach that perfect state for brewing. The next important step is the proper temperature of the filtered water that must be passed through the coffee at the specific pressure and timing that is critical to your espresso coffee.

The perfect espresso is created when:

Recipe directions: 1 ½ oz (45 ml) filtered water at the temperature of 195 oF (90oC) passes through ¼ - 1/3 oz (7-9 g) finely ground quality Espresso coffee. This water is forced through the fine coffee grounds by the espresso machine at 900 kilopascals atmospheric pressure (around 132 pounds/60kg per sq in/2.5cm2), with the water being in direct contact with the coffee for approximately 25 seconds.

What should your espresso taste like?

When you are ready to take a drink from your espresso cup, it should leave a pleasant not bitter aftertaste. The flavor should linger for about 10 minutes rolling into an almost nutty flavor.

The crown on your cup of Espresso

The topping on the espresso is know as “Crema”, which is the floating dark golden cream free of any white or light brown patches. That is the crown of the perfect espresso coffee. The Crema is formed when the emulsified oils from the coffee are released (because of the high pressure that is put on the ground coffee beans) and mixed with the oxygen in the air. The resulting finish is perfect crema that floats on top of the espresso coffee.

Choosing a good coffee maker is not a decision to be taken for granted. If you are going to spend money on your favorite coffee, you will want to make sure the coffee maker you choose is of good quality and has the features you want. The majority of coffee makers are generally quite good and you will notice no difference in the taste of your coffee from one brand to another. There are some basic features to look for when choosing a coffee maker and some luxury features that may give you a better tasting cup of coffee

The first decision you must make in choosing a coffee maker is what type of filter you would prefer. You can choose a basket type filter or a cone shaped filter, the difference in the two being different contact times between the coffee grounds and the water. A basket type filter seems to provide a longer contact time between the water and the coffee grounds, so if a basket filter is your preference, make sure you use coffee grounds that are fairly large. Cone type filters are generally less prone to spillage. If you are considering a gold tone filter, it will give your coffee a richer taste, but the upkeep may not be worth the small difference.

The color of your coffee maker is not a major concern, but keep in mind that if you choose a color that is pleasing to you, your coffee will seem to taste better. The only real issue involved in the color of your coffee maker is to remember that white stains easily and tends to look old rapidly. A dark color will look new a lot longer than a white coffee maker. Coffee makers with a pot that has a long neck will be harder to clean. If you cannot easily wash the coffee pot with soap and water, your coffee will taste stale over time due to the build up of residue that cannot be cleaned easily. Make sure your entire hand can fit inside the coffee pot to make cleaning easy.

Other than the basic features, which include color, filter, ease of cleaning, etc., there are some additional features that you may want to consider. If you don’t mind your

coffee grounds being exposed to air overnight, a timer is a wonderful thing to have. Timers will allow you extra time in the mornings and if you choose a coffee maker with an attached grinder, the noise would probably eliminate your need for an alarm clock. A feature that is often overlooked is the shape of the housing around the coffee pot. Many manufacturers are making the housing larger so that the coffee in the pot stays hotter. The housing area in any good coffee maker should cover at least half of the coffee pot, the keep heat in.

In general, coffee that is freshly ground tastes better. Grinders that are attached to coffee makers are a bit of a hassle. They make the coffee maker harder to clean and the coffee beans are not always ground uniformly. If you want a coffee maker with an attached grinder, look for a burr grinder rather than a blade grinder. You may also want to look into a coffee maker with a built in water filtration system. Filtered water does tend to make the coffee taste better, but purchasing distilled or purified water can serve the purpose just as well as a built in water filtration system.

For the perfect pot of coffee, the water temperature needs to be around 200 degrees Fahrenheit. In general, the less expensive coffee makers do not reach this temperature. Most of the better brand names will advertise the temperature you can expect your coffee to reach while brewing. Choosing the right coffee maker is not easy. Make sure you purchase from well-known manufacturers. You will be able to find replacement parts and will be assured of an acceptable level of quality. Choose a coffee maker that meets your basic needs and any has additional features you desire.

Just imagine the old days in Havana where old men dressed in white linens playing dominos and sipping some of the finest espresso in the world, while cigar smoke and guitar music linger in the air. When one round of espresso is finished, women in beautifully woven dresses gladly deliver more. Relive these Cuban glory days in your own home with your do-it-yourself Cuban expresso coffee recipes. Cuban cigars may be illegal, but great coffee made from these Cuban expresso coffee recipes definitely isn’t. It isn’t even that difficult to make.

Cuban expresso coffee recipes - making the beverage on your stovetop

Start with one ounce of good water per serving and heat it over a low flame in a small pot. Add one rounded tablespoonful of coffee per ounce of water when the water boils. Stir briefly. It’s finished when it boils again. The tricky part comes now at the end. Filter the expresso by using a Cuban flannel strainer, which you can find at Cuban or exotic markets. Your typical paper coffee, on the other hand, won’t work. They will clog up instead.

Cuban expresso coffee recipes - utilized from the aluminum stove-top espresso makers

These sort of look like steel tea kettles and are available at Latin, European, or specialty markets and coffee shops. To make the espresso in one of these pressurized

contraptions, add water to it up to the brass safety valve in the bottom chamber.

Place the filter basket, or funnel piece, in the bottom chamber. Add enough ground to coffee to make it level to the brim, if not rounded in the center. Seal the upper chamber with the lower chamber. Then heat over low to medium heat. It’s done when you the coffee starts to make bubbling sounds in the top chamber. Take the coffee maker off the stove.

Whatever Cuban expresso coffee recipes you use, try adding a big teaspoon of sugar to your serving. Or boil milk for a moment and add it for caf’ with milk. However you have your Cuban espresso, it’s as close to Cuba as you can get without breaking the embargo! If you do it right, you won’t be disappointed with the morning cup of the Cuban Expresso.