Coffee Beans Evaluated For Use      

    Coffee Beans of high quality are available in many excellent brand names. Do not get too involved in the hype of advertising about which is best. Blind taste tests surprise many people who are unable to distinguish one brand from another. If you want superb coffee, you'll find a brand which you prefer.  Evaluate several brands.  Do not depend on the advice of a slick 'marketeer' telling you what is best.  Only you can determine what tastes best to you.

    For exceptional high quality coffee, both roasted and as a souce of 'green-coffee-beans' (unroasted less $3.00/lb USD), I get mine from and highly recommend the Leopard Forest Coffee Company.  Their Zimbabwe Estate AA+ properly roasted in my Cafe Rosto always gets me a compliment of "about the best cup of coffee I've ever tasted."  I'm very fortunate they opened their Company and Coffee Shop about ten minutes from my residence.  To obtain truly Superb Coffee, visit their Web Site.
To: Leopard Forest Coffee Company

    The VERY BEST in Roasted Coffee with natural sweetness of being roasted to the "Bright-Spot" or "Sweet-Spot" usually requires Home Roasting.  Once you've tasted coffee roasted to the bright-spot you'll then understand.
    Here's how I Home Roast

    May I suggest you try a 'Light Breakfast Blend' which will ensure you get the real flavor of coffee and not the taste of 'burnt fiber.'  Only use very fresh roast.

    The real flavor of coffee from a 'lighter roast' is obtained by using a 'strong receipe';  ie... by adding some extra grounds for each cupful.

    What I refer to as a "lighter roast" is very close to what many sources will refer to as a "medium or medium dark roast."  Some things are very 'relative.'

    What really disgusts me, is to open a bag of "quote" gourmet coffee, stick my nose into the top of the bag to smell, and it chokes me with a smell like urea.  It's like opening a diaper pail half full of urine soaked diapers.  Why roasters try to push this off on people escapes me, especially when a so-called "cinnamon = very light roast" is used by many coffee buyers - testers (in cupping) to evaluate quality and taste.  What comes across as charcoal from a fire put out by a group of little boys wee-weeing on it, makes me wonder about their credibility.

    Why do they burn beans to 'crispy-critter'?  To disguise their bad judgment in selections of beans and methods of roasting?  Or, because some supposed so-called famous expert with damaged (burnt-out) smell and taste buds, like a 'liquored-up' celebrity writer with a bad hang-over wrote an article and numerous news organizations - publishers repeat it?  Because people are cheap, the darker the roast, the less the amount required per cup.  More bang per buck.  Reminds me of the old Detroit Automotive Syndrome, "you'll have to take this", never mind about whether it's good quality or not, it's what we provide.

    Another thing which bothers me is to hear an average grade micro-roaster bash StarBucks.  I acknowledge some places their coffee is not all that great, but StarBucks has done more for speciality coffee than all the micro-roasters combined in my opinion.  It's not what's said, but the proof is in paying customers.  Especially, repeat paying customers.  Try their Light Breakfast Blend with about two teaspoons of half-&-half for "Saddle Brown" as us coffee gulpers call it.  Coffee sippers seem to not be able to understand large cup drinkers - gulpers.  There is a definite difference between "Saddle Brown" and "Dirt Brown."

    Have you ever had an egotistical coffee shop server "barista" or "roaster" tell you theirs is like old world European, then find out the joker has never had a passport.  Prove it for yourself.

    A very simple method to Test for Oils is to brew a fresh cup, using a white cup shine a light source at an angle on the surface of the coffee and look for an oil slick - sheen. The prism effect of a circular white cup will make the oil visible. Do this before stirring the coffee or adding anything such as cream or sugar. If you're not getting the oils into the coffee in the cup you're missing out on Superb Coffee.

    The Time to Grind the Coffee Beans is while the water is heating to a boil. Once beans are ground the oils evaporate much faster and flavor is lost. A very fine grind, referred to as "Turkish Grind" allows oils to be released more readily, producing truly Superb Coffee.

    Without a doubt, the handling-processing of the WATER is the CRITICAL item for best approach to Superb Coffee brewing.
    Hopefully the background color of these pages will be a reminder to you of this most important phase.

    To an Abbreviated - Condensed   Printer Friendly  Text Version of these pages.

    If you don't mind the clean-up, another method to brew great tasting coffee is the use of a "Bag Filter" type process.   The Chorreador de cafe  by Ana Isabel Herrera Sotillo for Brewing a Great Cup of Costa Rican Coffee the traditional way.  Also produces great texture and body with a wonderful 'feel'.

    Special roast/blend I use is from a Micro-Roaster in my home town.
I use it because I know I'm getting 'fresh-roasted' which goes into an air-tight C02 expelling one way valved package as soon as the roast has cooled sufficiently,  and I receive delivery the next day via UPS.  It's one 'Brand' I will recommend every coffee lover should try.

Blue Ridge Blend by: West End Coffee Company, Greenville SC
www.westendcoffee.com

    Suggest you find a good 'Coffee Roaster' in your area.
Not a supermarket shelf, nor open bin dispensers, avoid month(s) old coffee.
Roasted beans to me start losing their flavor and taste after about 4 days.
Start with Fresh Roast about twice a week to obtain the best in Superb Coffee.

    When I grind and brew beans on the same day they are roasted, I get a lot of bubbles on top of the brewing mixture as it drips out of the filter.  Actually it more closely resembles a frothy foam.  Then as the beans approach one week after roasting (7-days) the foam seems to diminish greatly and soon virtually disappears.  That means the beans are no longer capable of producing my desired "crema."  Note: Some people say let roast age for 24 hours prior to brewing.  Why 24 and not 18 or 12 hours must have something to do with an unexplained earth revolution - lunar exposure, prove it for yourself.  I prefer 36 hours degassing.  It's probably something you'll have to see and experience to believe, but as a suggestion, if you know a knowledgable coffee roaster in your area ask him to explain "bubbles - crema" and "de-gassed beans."

    Good "crema" visible by open brewing is an excellent indicator of whether the grounds are fresh or not.  Lots of big bubbles swelling up with light colored edges.  Flat surface very small dark bubbles indicates the grounds are probably stale.  Some folks claim it is the brewing action releasing oxygen - carbon dioxide from the carmelized sugars created during proper roasting.  The older the roast, the more oxidation - escaped gas prior to brewing.

    With eight (8) ounces (240ml) of water and one-eighth (1/8) cup of very fine coffee grounds (30ml) this single cup brewing is a very good method to determine whether the beans are fresh or stale.  Nothing complicated - exotic - or magic, just the look of the top of the brewing mixture as the liquid drips out.

    Or best, roast your own, next best pick-up from a local roaster twice per week -or- join a good delivery type Coffee Club.  Use only very fresh.

   To:  My Home Roasting Method with a modified Caffé Rosto