How To Find and Make The Best Choice on a Gourmet Coffee Supplier
Gourmet coffee drinking in many ways is an art in much the same way wine tasting can be. For a person to be able to make an accurate assessment of coffee they must first know what they prefer. Do they prefer a bold, deep roasted flavor or perhaps a more light roasted flavor with a hint of vanilla? Often it is better to either get coffee roasted closer to home, or to roast it yourself.
The reason a person might want to roast the coffee themselves is because the Maillard reaction, that is, the reaction that transforms green coffee beans into their dark equivalents, reduces the shelf-life of coffee. Roasting enables a person to have greater control over the freshness and flavor profile of the beans themselves. A light, medium, full roast, or double roast are the varying levels of roast that exist for coffee.
Roasting the beans bring out the flavor of coffee. Coffee without a good roast tastes quite bland, and would not be something most people would enjoy. One way to make sure that you're able to get a good roast that has not exceeded its shelf-life is to get your coffee from a local farmer's market! Almost all farmer's markets have at least one regionally known coffee roaster, and getting your coffee close to home ensures quality.
Once you have found your preferred roast and flavor there are many companies that now offer coffee by subscription! This means that you don't have to remember to buy your coffee, but can instead have it automatically delivered to you each day. This is radically different from how things used to be. In fact, many small-time coffee roasters are even offering this service because technology has made it easier to do so.
If you are new to coffee it might be a good idea to go to a local, non-chain coffee house and ask them to give you a sampling of the various types of coffee available. Have them suggest to you a good brand based on your choice, because chances are they will know who the local gourmet coffee roasters are and be able to point you in the direction of ones that will actually sell you something worth your time and money.
Just as an aside, coffee houses are also excellent places to meet new folks. Coffee is one of those few drinks that crosses over cultural barriers and can connect almost any human on the planet. It is that ubiquitous.
The reason a person might want to roast the coffee themselves is because the Maillard reaction, that is, the reaction that transforms green coffee beans into their dark equivalents, reduces the shelf-life of coffee. Roasting enables a person to have greater control over the freshness and flavor profile of the beans themselves. A light, medium, full roast, or double roast are the varying levels of roast that exist for coffee.
Roasting the beans bring out the flavor of coffee. Coffee without a good roast tastes quite bland, and would not be something most people would enjoy. One way to make sure that you're able to get a good roast that has not exceeded its shelf-life is to get your coffee from a local farmer's market! Almost all farmer's markets have at least one regionally known coffee roaster, and getting your coffee close to home ensures quality.
Once you have found your preferred roast and flavor there are many companies that now offer coffee by subscription! This means that you don't have to remember to buy your coffee, but can instead have it automatically delivered to you each day. This is radically different from how things used to be. In fact, many small-time coffee roasters are even offering this service because technology has made it easier to do so.
If you are new to coffee it might be a good idea to go to a local, non-chain coffee house and ask them to give you a sampling of the various types of coffee available. Have them suggest to you a good brand based on your choice, because chances are they will know who the local gourmet coffee roasters are and be able to point you in the direction of ones that will actually sell you something worth your time and money.
Just as an aside, coffee houses are also excellent places to meet new folks. Coffee is one of those few drinks that crosses over cultural barriers and can connect almost any human on the planet. It is that ubiquitous.
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