The Reading Room

/files/k-cup_cross_section.gif" title="extraction method" alt="extraction method" align="left" />If you read my first blog post you know I spoke about automatic drip brewers as a way of coffee extraction. Another option in this method is a single cup brewer. The Keurig system...

The Bunn My Cafe is one of the best all around pod brewers on the market.  The unit allows for an excellent water temperature of 200 F from the stainless steel boiler.  The cup size is adjustable from 4 oz to 12...

Recently on the Roaste Facebook page an article was posted about making iced coffee the "cold" way. This  intrigued me. The formula given is 1/3 cup ground coffee beans to 1 1/2 cups of water (can be doubled or tripled)....

Over the years I've expanded my knowledge of coffee and have explored both various blends from many roasters and with that several different brewing methods.    My initial thoughts for this blog post were to discuss the various brewing methods I...

After learning about Lorie Obra’s covert “Drunken Coffee” project in our roaster interview last week, biscotti’s Spidey Sense was tingling off the charts when we learned our assignment this week was to interview Josh Kelly, co-founder of Higher Ground Roasters. ...

For the last few years, some roasters have been actively establishing relationships with farmers.  These direct trade relationships bypass many parties that typically exist between the farmer and roaster, thereby bringing the roaster closer to a coffee’s origin (think Slow...

Ka'u coffee grows on the volcanic slopes of Mauna Loa in Hawaii at 1,500 to 2,100 feet above sea level. Most coffee lovers have never heard of it. Those who have seek it out. Here is what makes it exceptional.

Guatemala coffee is grown on volcanic soil at high altitude across four distinct regions, producing some of the most full-bodied, complex cups in Central America. Antigua is the benchmark , dark chocolate, brown sugar, and mild spice. Huehuetenango produces the highest-altitude and most complex Guatemala coffee, with bright acidity and floral notes unusual for the origin. This guide covers the 4 key regions, the regional flavor differences, and how to brew Guatemala coffee at home.

This week, biscotti talked to Jim Cannell, owner of Jim’s Organic Coffee.  Based in West Wareham, MA, Jim’s is a wholesale roasting company, founded in 1996. But we didn’t say it was his *first* roasting company, because – well, it...

Coffee roasting transforms raw green beans into the flavorful coffee in your cup. Learn the three stages, what the Maillard reaction does, and how roast level changes flavor.

Without question, going into this week’s “roasterpost,” biscotti was on a roll.  Two roaster interviews down – one via email, the other via phone interview, thirty-three thirty-five (two more added this week!) to go.  So, we connected w/ Gary Strawn,...

Brazil is the world's largest coffee producer, supplying roughly 40% of global output. Brazil coffee is the foundation of most espresso blends , low acidity, full body, dark chocolate, hazelnut, and caramel are its defining characteristics. It is not a complex, high-altitude origin. It is a consistent, reliable base that makes blended coffee taste the way most people expect coffee to taste. This guide covers the key growing regions, natural and pulped natural processing, and how to brew Brazilian coffee at home.

/files/u707/chazzano_logo_14.jpg" vspace="3" width="150" align="left" border="0" height="116" hspace="3" />biscotti has been on a siesta the last few weeks, but we are back now, launching a new feature.  Since ROASTe carries more than 700 different coffees from thirty-three micro-roasters (and counting), we...

At ROASTe we brew A LOT of espresso.Here are some espresso tips for you to brew better espresso coffeeEspresso Tip 1: Use an espresso blend rather than a single-origin coffee.   Single-origin coffees from Panama, Hawaii, Colombia etc. might be...

Last weekend (May 1-2), the sleepy town of Pahala, on the southeast side of the Big Island, woke up.  For the second year, it celebrated its increasingly famous crop: coffee.   The Ka‘u Coffee Festival was a small affair with...

Drinking gourmet coffee from great coffee roasters like ours, you'll experience a much wider variety of aromas and flavors than when drinking a standard cup of Joe from your neighborhood bodega. Keep your tastebuds tuned to 5 specific tastes in...

No collection of great coffee would be complete without a representative from the epicenter: Seattle. At Caffe D’arte, supreme coffees prepared with a wood-fired roaster not only preserve an Italian art form, we also set a standard of excellence that...

OBDULIA PEÑA This courageous woman, widowed many years ago, raised and educated four children who are now active professionals. She runs 1.5 HA Finca La Isla near the tidy village of Pueblo Nuevo in the Guayabal de Síquima municipality, where...

Traditionally, the fermentation process for pulping coffee beans has been used. It begins by soaking the beans and then removing the water, which carries the hydrolyzed mucilage; this is a natural process in which the flora in the coffee bean...

A coffee blend combines beans from two or more origins to produce a flavor profile that no single origin can deliver on its own. Most coffee sold commercially is a blend. Most espresso is a blend. The goal is consistency, complexity, and balance , characteristics that vary too much in any single-origin lot to guarantee across harvests. This guide covers why roasters blend, what makes a good coffee blend, how to read a blend, and the logic behind Blackout's three house blends.

/files/u3/iStock_000007628238XSmall_0.jpg" width="283" align="right" height="387" />"When she returned with the steaming coffee, I had just read the last page. Isabella sat down opposite me. I smiled and slowly sipped the delicious brew. The girl wrung her hands and gritted her teeth,...