The Reading Room

Guatemala City, November 8th. 2009. The National Growers Association's, ANACAFE, officials announced yesterday that Raul Rodas was the three time winner of the Guatemala Barista Competition. Noe Castro, representing Café San Lucas and Barista Champion in 2006, and Pablo Bobadilla...

Sumatra coffee is grown on the slopes of volcanic mountains in Indonesia and processed using a method called wet-hulling (giling basah) that exists nowhere else in the world. This unique process is the primary reason Sumatra coffee tastes the way it does , heavy body, low acidity, earthy and herbal flavors, dark chocolate, and sometimes tobacco or cedar. This guide covers the 3 key Sumatra coffee regions, the wet-hulling process, and how to brew this distinctive origin at home.

Last week, I had the great pleasure of co-hosting the Specialty Coffee Association of Europe's (SCAE) origin tour to Hawai‘i.  Ok, I wasn't really hosting; rather, I was giving moral support.  Andrew Hetzel of Cafemakers did all the hard work...

Java gave coffee one of its most famous nicknames. Here is the history behind the word, how Dutch colonialism shaped the Indonesian coffee industry, and what Java coffee actually tastes like.

As a new member of the roaste.com site, I am looking forward to sharing my knowledge about Indonesian coffee with all the members here. I have been living here in Indonesia working with farmers throughout Java, Sumatra, Sulawesi, Flores, Bali...

Our customers can now purchase coffee direct from Costa Rica, shipped direct to your home, by Cafe Paradiso in San Jose, Costa Rica. We've been negotiating for months with this innovative roaster in Costa Rica coffee/wp/wp-content/uploads/files/uploads/paradiso_shadegrown_sticker.jpg" alt="Cafe Paradiso Shadegrown /...

/files/u143/SanGuayabapeq.jpg" alt="Guatemala coffee Finca El Socorro y Anexos, located in Palencia municipality, Guatemala department" title="Guatemala coffee Finca El Socorro y Anexos, located in Palencia municipality, Guatemala department" height="336" width="448" /> Guatemala coffee Finca El Socorro y Anexos, located in Palencia...

I was born and spent my pre-teen years on the island of Trinidad, in the Caribbean, and I have fond memories of coffee.  Not the beans, the fruit.For some reason, we never had real coffee in the house.  My mom...

Our roasters make small batches of exceptional coffee. It will arrive to your home fresher than anything you've purchased before. It won't be overroasted like Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts and other supermarket brands. It will be half the price of Starbucks...

Buy micro-lot coffees.  These premium coffees can be traced to a specific crop and season.  They taste better. Or buy a single origin coffee for a unique taste. Store in an airtight container in your panty, not in the refrigerator...

Coffee is as complex and interesting as wine.  It's also 1/10th the cost. And if you're like me, you drink 5-10x more coffee during a typical week than wine. So it's time to appreciate coffee more! Properly brewed, coffee has...

You can enjoy the largest collection anywhere of coffee micro-roasters on ROASTe.com.  And a lot of our micro-roasters are unique finds.  They're well worth trying.  They're worlds apart from the bitter swill served at places like Starbucks and McDonalds.  Here's...

Puerto Rico coffee is one of only two commercially produced coffees grown under the US flag , the other is Hawaiian Kona. Grown in the western and central mountain ranges at 1,000 to 3,500 feet, Puerto Rico's coffee was once the preferred supply of the Vatican and European royalty. Hurricane Maria in 2017 devastated the island's coffee farms. The recovery has been ongoing since. This guide covers the 3 key growing regions, the flavor profile, the history, and how to find and brew Puerto Rican coffee today.

Like many of our customers, I probably drink 1 or 2 glasses of wine (or beer) a week but I drink 1-2 cups of coffee a day.  Yet what do I know more about?  Wine and beer! What about coffee,...

Initially, the hacienda was named Cafetal El Porvenir and in the exquisitely preserved original house (see photo in the first part of this blog), Orlando has kept in mint condition several of the accounting books, the harvest logs and a...

Smooth is just one way to describe the delicious taste of Fitger's Coffees! Those who experience this coffee describe the same accolades. Unbelievably Smooth, Full of Big flavor... and if that isn't enough... No Bitterness or Aftertaste! Fitger's on the Lake, ( Lake Superior in...

A ginger snap macchiato layers a double espresso shot over steamed milk with homemade ginger snap syrup , spiced with ginger, cinnamon, molasses, and brown sugar. The result tastes like a ginger snap cookie dissolved into a macchiato. This post covers the full recipe, how to make the ginger snap syrup from scratch in 10 minutes, the iced version, and dairy-free alternatives.

Colombian coffee became the world's most recognized origin through geography, government policy, and one of history's most effective marketing campaigns. Here are the 5 moments that shaped it.

A ferociously-kept secret guarded by the Ricci family for more than 70 years of business, a single recipe is the lynchpin of one of Italy’s finest caffès.  Tucked between the Pantheon and Piazza Navona and situated just across from the...

Can’t get enough coffee?  Satisfy your sweet tooth with a luscious coffee-infused treat.  This delicious and easy Chocolate Chip Coffee Cookies recipe variation on the all-time cookie favorite is a sneak peek from Coffee: More than 65 Delicious and Healthy...

If you travel South of Guatemala, your senses will be surprised with many and different experiences. Beginning with rare and strange aromas that if combined with pouring rain, become even more indescribable.  Processing rubber, sugar, banana leaves, wet soil are...