The Reading Room

Nothing makes the noses turn up of artisanal coffee roasters than the names of the large national private label coffee roasters.  It's companies like Royal Cup, Paramount Coffee, Dillano's, and Magnum Coffee, among others.They're usually invisible to you and me...

The hottest new thing in coffee is...chocolate. Here at the Fancy Food Show in New York, chocolatiers were as excited about ROASTe.com as are coffee roasters. The reason is that chocolatiers are increasingly pairing their chocolates with coffees. You've probably...

Hi from the Fancy Food Show in New York City! Mixed in among the hundreds of vendors of charcuterie, smoothie drinks, chocolate, and every manner of food and beverage at America's largest food show were many coffee & tea suppliers....

Coffee tasting is the skill of identifying specific flavors , acidity, sweetness, bitterness, body, and finish , in a cup of coffee. This guide covers the 5 core tasting attributes, what supertasters are and why most people are not one, and how to improve your coffee tasting skills without special equipment.

I attended a fascinating talk given by a green coffee expert at Dillano's Coffee.  (They're a large national wholesale and private label roaster). He said something amazing:  there are 150 different steps between sprouting a coffee plant and when it...

When we have over 100 -- and someday 500 -- coffees for sale on ROASTe.com, how do you choose the right coffee? I've tried over 125 different coffees and I'll explain how I choose. First, I think about the country...

It’s been almost two months since our stealth-mode beta went live and we are ready to go prime-time. So hopefully you will find us, starting this weekend, on our main internet address www.ROASTe.com. We have already had tens of orders...

What type of grind should you buy from ROASTe.com's roasters?They've definitely made many types of grinds available-- whole bean, drip grind, espresso grind, fine, medium, etc. Here's my suggestion based on drinking over 100 different coffees so far this year:Buy WHOLE...

      This content first appeared as a response letter to Hawai‘i State senators concerning a proposed bill (HB 931) to increase the blend content minimum of a Hawaiian blend from 10% to  51%.  The bill also stipulated that the origins...

Today is a special day for us at ROASTe.com. After brewing for many months we are finally bringing the site up. Yes, it’s only a beta, and yes we only invite a few of our friends to begin with, but...

A few months ago, I had a conversation with a friend about whether the Hawai‘i coffee industry was diverse and dynamic. I had mostly forgotten about it until this weekend when I was at the 2009 Specialty Coffee Association of...

 Launching ROASTe.com, I just got back from the annual SCAA show. For the coffeegentsia, that's the biggest annual trade show of the Specialty Coffee Association of America. They had the World Barista Championship going on.  Totally incredible.  Competitors from around the...

Considering how much gourmet coffee I go through, I've calculated how inexpensive it is.Would you believe that you can brew at home the best coffees in America for over 85% less than a latte at Starbucks?  That's just 40 cents...

Treviso, just northwest of Venice, in the northeastern province of Veneto, is best known for its canals, frescoes and . . . Tiramisu. The famous Italian gastronome Giuseppe Maffioli wrote in an article in 1981: “Tiramisu was born recently, just...

The coffee flavor wheel lists over 110 terms to describe what you taste in your cup. Here is how it works and how to use it at home.

I’ve met a lot of coffee folk who are very concerned that a coffee from a certain region should fit a flavor profile for that region. I can see how this made sense even 10 years ago. However, much has...

Every once in a while a coffee grabs you by the palate and says "Notice me!"IronBrew's Gold is one of them.From the first sip of IronBrew's Brazilian coffee, it's strong, powerful, dark, and rich. It is kind of like what...

I'm always trying to reduce the amount of sugar in my diet. Maybe you are too. Coffee is one of the places where I use the most sugar. (That and the huge piece of pie that I have most nights...)....

This coffee from Paradise Roasters is AWESOME.It highlights exactly how gourmet coffee from a high quality coffee roaster from a single-origin farm differs from your corner Starbucks or supermarket Maxwell House. When I poured boiling water over the ground coffee...

You've got to see this new video on CNN about Latte Art.For those who don't know, latte art means creating designs on the top of a latte.And there is a whole segment of professional baristas that take tremendous pride in...

Fair trade coffee certification guarantees a minimum price floor for coffee cooperatives and a social premium paid into community development funds. This guide covers what fair trade certification actually requires, what the premium pays for, 3 honest criticisms of the model, and how it compares to direct trade and specialty coffee sourcing.