What's asked the most:
Q. What's the difference between specialty coffee and why does it cost more than regular coffee?
A. Specialty coffee is a different species of coffee called Arabica. Arabica beans are picked and processed by hand, then freshly roasted to ensure consistent top quality. As a result of the special care and time required to harvest and process Arabica beans, the coffee is more expensive than the lower quality commercial beans. Commercial-grade coffee is usually machine picked and processed, and made from lower grades of coffee called Robusta.
Q. What's the difference between French Roast and regular coffee?
A. French Roast is a particular style of dark roasting that results in a dark , oily bean. French Roast is stronger and more flavorful than regular coffee.
Q. Which coffees have the least amount of caffeine?
A. Dark roast have less caffeine than light roast. That's because as coffee beans are heated at high temperatures, the caffeine evaporates. The longer the beans are roasted, the less caffeine they have (although the difference in caffeine content between roast is relatively slight). I f you want to cut down on your caffeine consumption but don't like the taste of decaffeinated coffee, try a dark brew. Or try a split shot espresso drink or a half decaf/half regular brewed coffee. NOTE: Arabica beans contain approximately half the caffeine of the lower-grade commercial coffees made from Robusta beans.
Q. Is drinking decaffeinated coffee harmful to your health?
A. There is no proven health risk associated with drinking decaf coffee. Methylene chloride, the chemical used to decaffeinate coffee, vaporizes at 104 degrees Fahrenheit. Since temperatures in the roaster reach in excess of 400 degrees Fahrenheit for several minutes, it is safe to assume that any residue burns off during this process. If you're still concerned, you can order a Swiss Water Process decaff, which is not treated with any chemicals.
Q. Is coffee fattening?
A. Coffee is 98% water and therefore has virtually no calories. Calories and fat come from the sugar and milk you add.
Q. How is coffee harvested and processed?
A. Coffee trees produce fruit known as coffee cherries. Inside the sweet, gummy pulp of each cherry are two flat, green coffee beans that lay against each other. Once the coffee cherries have been picked, the outer hull of the fruit must be removed to get to the beans. There are two methods used to extract the beans: the wet method and the dry method. The wet method requires a large supply of fresh water. A machine strips away the outer layers of skin and cherry, leaving the beans enclosed in a sticky inner pulp. The beans then are soaked for 24 to 72 hours in fermentation tanks to remove any remaining pulp. Coffees processed through the dry method generally have lower acidity and deeper, more complex flavors.
Q. How is coffee roasted?
A. Roasting is a fine art, requiring a delicate hand, split-second timing and an ability to judge when the coffee bean is at its peak of flavor. First, the roaster drops the green beans into a drum filled with hot air, causing the temperature inside the drum to drop. Then the roaster heats the beans until the water in the beans begins to steam, making the beans swell and audibly pop. The heat causes complex polysaccharides to break down into starches and then sugars, which caramelize. Aromatic oils within the beans boil to the surface, giving them an oily appearance. The expansion of oils causes a second audible "crack". Along the way, the beans darken from their original green to a rich chestnut brown. The longer the beans are roasted, the darker they become. Roasts are classified as light, medium, dark and darkest. Despite the current vogue for dark roast, they are not necessarily better. Some single origins are better suited to a light or medium roast.
The most significant points of the roasts are:
Turn-Around - The point where the temperature stops falling and starts rising again.
Yellow - The beans have lost all of their green coloration and have taken on an intense yellow color.
First Pop - The beans make a popping sound similar to popcorn and double in size. This is the lightest usable roast level and is called the called the Cinnamon Roast because of the color. Most canned supermarket coffee is roasted to this level. This coffee can be used, but the only flavor that has developed is an intense, sour acidity.
Second Pop - The beans begin popping again and the oils come to the surface of the bean. This is when most of the body, mouth feel and desirable single origin characteristics are developed.
Finish - After one or two additional minutes, the color and oil development have reached just the right point and the roaster discharges the coffee into the cooling tray. The cooling tray has a powerful fan that draws cold air through the coffee so that it cools evenly.
Q. How is the caffeine removed from the bean?
A. The specialty coffee industry uses three methods to extract caffeine from coffee: The Direct Methylene Chloride method, the Indirect Methylene Chloride method and the Swiss Water Process (SWP).
In the direct methylene chloride method of decaffienation, green coffee beans are placed in a rotating drum and soften by steam for about 30 minutes. Then they are repeatedly rinsed for 10 hours with methylene chloride, which removes the caffeine from the beans. The beans are steamed again for 8 to 12 hours to allow any remaining solvent to evaporate. Finally, the beans are vacuum-dried to remove any excess moisture.
In the indirect methylene chloride method , green beans are soaked for several hours in a water/coffee solution at near boiling temperatures. The caffeine, flavor elements and bean oils are all drawn out of the bean at this stage. Next, the caffeine water solution is treated with methylene chloride to eliminate the caffeine from the solution. The solution then is heated to evaporate the methylene chloride; at this point, the beans are reintroduced to the solution. Finally, the beans are allowed to soak until they have regained most of the flavor elements and oils that were stripped away by the first stage of the process. Using this process, the methylene chloride never makes direct contact with the beans.
The Swiss Water Process is a patented method in which green beans are submerged in heated water that is saturated with coffee flavor known as "flavor-charged" water. The flavor-charged water prevents much of the coffee's flavor from dissolving during decaffeination. The caffeine that is extracted from the beans is removed from the flavor-charged water using special carbon filters. These filters selectively remove the caffeine, leaving most of the coffee's characteristics intact.
All three methods described are viable options for decaffeinating coffee. Some people are concerned about the use of chemicals such as methylene chloride to achieve decaffeination. Using the chemical is considered acceptable because any residue that is left on the beans is theoretically burned off during the roasting process.
Regardless of the process, all three methods create excellent coffee that is at least 97% caffeine free.
Q. How is coffee flavored?
A. We make our flavored coffees using light-roasted 100% Colombian beans, which are coated with highly concentrated extracts in a specialized mixer. After the beans have been coated with the appropriate flavors, they are held for 24 hours and then packaged for distribution. We prepare all our flavored coffees in a completely separate room equipped with its own ventilation and packaging systems to safeguard against contamination with unflavored coffee.
Q. What’s the difference between a single origin and a blend?
A. Coffee identified by its growing region is called a varietal or single origin. Every single origin has its own unique flavor. When two or more single origins are combined, the resulting mixture is a blend.
Much of a coffee's taste and characteristics can be attributed to the region where it is grown. Even if you have never tried a particular coffee before, its origin will tell you a lot about it. Although there are many different single origins from all over the world, coffee can be broken down into three major geographic families:
Africa: Coffees from this continent are generally bright and whiney and have a sparkling acidity with a medium to full body.
Indonesia and the Pacific: Coffees from this region are often smooth tasting or "earthy" in flavor, exotic, low in acidity and full-bodied.
The Americas: Coffees from this region are grown in Latin and South America with the exception of Kona, a Hawaiian coffee that is the only coffee grown in North America. They have a clean, crisp taste with high acidity.
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