Coffee Info

Specialty Coffee -- Descriptions and Info

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AMARETTO
ANGEL'S KISS discontinued
APRICOT CREAM discontinued
BREAKFAST BLEND
CAFE' CARAMEL
CAFE CINNAMON
COLOMBIAN SUPREMO (single origin)
Cool Coffee and Tea Drinks
CREME BRULEE
EGG NOG Holiday Coffee - discontinued
ETHIOPIAN Yirgacheffe (single origin)
FRENCH ROAST (single origin)
FRENCH VANILLA
GUATEMALAN ANTIGUA (single origin)
HAZELNUT CREAM
IRISH CREAM SUPREME
JAMAICAN BLUE MOUNTAIN 100% (single origin)
KENYA AA (single origin)
KONA FANCY 100% (single origin)
LA MINITA (single origin)
MEXICAN ALTURA (single origin)
MOCHA MINT Holiday Coffee- discontinued
SEATTLE STYLE
SNICKER ROO
TIRAMISU
TOASTED ALMOND CREAM

ARABICA vs. ROBUSTA COFFEE

Coffea arabica is the botanical variety of coffee plant which produces the world's greatest coffees. There are sub-types of this species which also produce great coffee. Some good examples are the Central and South American "milds" from Costa Rica, Colombia, Guatemala and from Eastern Africa, like Kenya and Ethiopia or Sumatra Mandheling from the Indonesian archipelago. Arabica coffee is difficult to produce. It is subject to pest and disease damage, grows best in high mountainous areas with volcanic soil and specific weather conditions, making it rare and more expensive than other types. When arabica coffee is produced in an ideal location and weather conditions, is properly tended, processed and roasted, it is unequaled by any other type for great flavor and aroma. Now, we hasten to add that all arabica coffees are not the same. They too can be low grown, picked immature, improperly processed, roasted and so on. So just saying "this is arabica" does not magically confer upon a coffee the title of "great coffee". Truly great arabica and its sub-types account for a small fraction of all coffee produced and are the basis for all true Specialty Coffee. Coffee Classics coffee is all Specialty Coffee, all high grade arabica.

Coffea robusta is the most common botanical variety of coffee. Robusta is disease and freeze resistant, produces vast quantities of low cost coffee, grows well at lower altitudes and is the primary coffee in most low cost coffee blends. Robusta, unfortunately, lacks good flavor characteristics. It contains a lot of not so great tasting oil which may cause stomach upset in some users. Robusta is not used in Coffee Classics coffee.

BREWING GREAT COFFEE
Follow these tips to brew great coffee:

1. It is impossible to make great coffee without great coffee! Coffee Classics provides many wonderful specialty coffees. (See top of this page) Your coffee must be fresh. A fresh coffee bean can generally be broken between your forefinger and thumb with moderate pressure. Canned is rarely fresh.

3. You must have fresh, clean, good tasting water. Since coffee brew is mostly water (about 98%) it is imperative that this component is not tainted in anyway. If your water has "funny" tastes, consider a water filter having activated charcoal plus a micro filter to take out excess chlorine and micro-particles including micro spores. These are available in home centers and at water treatment specialists like Culligan. Water processed in this way will improve the taste of everything you prepare using water.

4. Measure your coffee accurately. Start by using one to two level tablespoons per 6 ounces of cold water. Adjust the amount of coffee to obtain a strength to suit your taste.

5. If possible grind your coffee just before brewing it. Don't grind your coffee too finely. Very finely ground coffee will produce bitter coffee. It is best to err toward grinding too coarse, then using more coffee to obtain the strength brew you want. Burr grinders are better than blade grinders. In brewing good coffee, we never want to extract more than 20% of the soluble solids, this is true for drip coffee and espresso. That is why the grind of your coffee is so important. Too finely ground coffee tends to over extract and produce bitter tasting brew. Too coarse grind produces weak, thin tasting brew.

6. Always use clean equipment. Oils can accumulate in carafes and filter baskets that cause off tastes. If your brewer seems to be brewing slowly or the temperature is not as high as when your brewer was new, consider Better Brew coffee maker cleaner. After brewing, give your coffee brew a quick stir to get maximum flavor and aroma.

7. Water temperature is very important. Heating your water over 200 degrees F or allowing the water to stay on the coffee too long, tends to produce bitter brew. A brewing temperature of about 190 degrees F. works well for brewing great coffee.

Iced Coffee and Tea Recipes

INSTANT COFFEE

Instant coffee is known as soluble coffee in the coffee trade. It accounts for a significant part of the world's coffee consumption because of low price and convenience. Soluble coffee is produced by extracting the soluble solids from roast and ground coffee. This extraction removes as much as 80% of the solids taking with it bitter tasting components. The extraction is then dehydrated leaving the solids. These solids are reduced to powder and the product, when reconstituted to a beverage is in fact 100% coffee but it is a far cry from fresh brewed, properly extracted coffee!!

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