Fair Trade to the rescue. Fair Trade certified importers must pay a minimum price per pound that provides help to farmers. The farmers also receive assistance in switching to organic farming.

However I also like trying smaller local owned places. One of my barometers is to try straight espresso. I judge the coffee shop by this and I was pleasantly surprised by the taste at …geez just turned 41 and can’t remember the name of the shop.

Anyway the espresso they served was made by Illy Caffe. And it was probably the best I have tried. I have seen this sold in a few places like World Market and some local Italian grocers.

Don’t know if I would drink espresso at home but this machine looks awfully tempting:

Enjoy illy espresso the world’s finest espresso.

The ‘green coffee
beans’ that are collected from the coffee plantations are
sent to special places where they are roasted, ground, and
then finely crushed to make coffee powder.

Depending on the quality of the coffee bean will then depend
on how it is packaged and where it is sent to. The green
coffee bean must be picked normally by hand from the coffee
plantations. This is done by laborers who get paid by the
bucketfuls. Since coffee beans are a type of drupe, with
fruit flesh directly wrapping the coffee bean, they first
gather the coffee beans and then the flesh of the coffee
bean must be promptly removed by soaking, scouring and
rubbing the bean. The de-fruited coffee bean is then cleaned
with water which removes the sticking fruit and additional
sugars. It is only then left ready for the drying process.
The green coffee beans are then spread over a large concrete
or rock plane, where they are dried by air and sunlight.

Coffee beans are given a categorization of the beans. This
is done by color and size. Discolored, decayed and damaged
beans are removed at this point and thrown away.

The process of going from the Coffee Berry to the dry green
coffee bean can be relatively long and may even involve some
fermentation.Once this has been completed the green coffee
beans should be stored in some sort of container that will
allow it to breathe and not impart another flavor to the
beans: burlap bags, paper bags, etc. Plastic containers are
never used for obvious reasons. The coffee beans are stored
at room temperature and out of direct light. They may be
kept for a long period of time. Because of their light
weight they are easy to ship abroad.

There are polyphenols in green coffee beans which act to
help reduce free oxygen radicals in the body. The bean
extract is sometimes standardized to more than 50%
chlorogenic acid.

Coffee is a drink loved by millions, and the green coffee
bean is the start of the production line. There are many
ways to produce the coffee, and depending what you do with
the green coffee bean and where it comes from will determine
the taste and the outcome of the coffee.

The Roasting Process. Depending on how log the coffee beans
are exposed to the sun will depend on what the flavour or
strength will be. The bean contains a wide variety of
chemical compounds including proteins, fats, sugars,
dextrin, cellulose, caffeine, and organic acids.

Some of these compounds volatise, oxidize, or decompose as
part of the roasting process.The roasting process is very
important in producing an aromatic cup of coffee. When
roasted, the green coffee bean expands to nearly twice its
initial size, changing in color and density.

At this point in the roasting process, the coffee beans will
start cracking, quite like popping popcorn. The bean also
expels moisture, and, upon reaching 400 degrees Fahrenheit,
the color changes to yellow and then to a light ‘cinnamon’
brown, and oil is released from its interior.

This oil gives coffee its distinct flavor. The greater the
amount of oil released, the stronger the flavor.

The coffee
beans will crack during the roasting process, which guides
roasters as to how to gauge the progression of the roast.
The bean will then continue to expel more oil while
darkening its color, until such time it is removed from the
heat. The final product can be crushed into savoury coffee
powder.

Papua New Guinea is just one region that grows the coffee
berry. This is mainly grown in the Highland regions rich
volcanic soils between the altitudes of 4,000 and 6,000 feet
above sea level. Just this fact alone will make the coffee
taste different from other areas of growth. It is believed
that every factor that comes into play has a bearing on the
outcome of the coffee bean. The altitude, the soil, the
length of time it is left unpicked, all contribute to the
production.

Papua New Guinea coffee is well regarded by consumers for
its uniqueness, consistency and special flavor
characteristics. They export approximately 2% of the annual
world green coffee bean production.

Papua New Guinea coffee beans are highly sought, as they
produce a distinct floral and citric flavor and nutty body,
and are frequently used to blend with other coffees to
produce unique gourmet coffees. Take a look at this website
which specialises in the green coffee bean from Papa New
Guinea. Visit Coffee Pacifica.

Brazil – continues to be the largest coffee exporter,
although the green coffee market has recently been flooded
with large amount of Robusta beans from Vietnam.

Robusta
coffees, which were traded in London at a cheaper price
compared to New York’s Arabica, are the choice of large
industrial clients consisting of multinational roasters and
instant coffee producers; they favor these coffees because
of the less expensive price. A rare and costly variety of
Robusta is the Indonesian Kopi Luwak and the Philippine Kape
Alamid. Owing to the indirect pressure exerted by the World
Bank to the French government, experts believe that the
influx of cheap green coffee resulted from the crisis in
pricing that started in 2001, and continues to the present.

Robusta is the cheap stuff. It packs lots of caffeine jolt,
but offers only one-dimensional, front-of-mouth flavour.
Much of it goes for instant, but a surprising amount becomes
the filler in blends. Most industrial espresso roasters say
it gives a better crema, or head, but this is rot – robusta
is just a way to keep costs down and drinkers’ nerves
jangled. Vietnam is the major robusta exporter, and has
flooded the market with cheap beans. Most “espresso roasts”
now include them, their blunt flavour hidden by roasting
beans almost to the point of incineration.

Arabica beans have finer, more complex flavours and are less
highly-caffeinated. As with wine grapes, they include many
sub-varieties and variations in terroir, and different
skills in picking, de-fruiting, drying, sorting, ageing,
roasting and packing the beans offer a coffee lover endless
opportunities for subtlety and surprise.

Gourmet coffee is nothing like wine. With wine, the longer you leave (some wine, anyway), the better the taste, the higher the quality and the pricier it is. But with gourmet coffee, freshness says a lot. If possible, get coffee beans that have been roasted no more than 1 week before. And if you?re going to learn how to appreciate gourmet coffee, only buy 100% Arabica coffee.

It?s pretty hard to find freshly roasted coffee bean on the shelves of the local supermarket. Chances are, the coffee beans that you?re consuming today have been roasted at least 3 months back. One way to counter this problem is to buy the whole bean in batches and grind them with a home-coffee grinding machine as and when you need it. It?s really easy with the kind of machines they have today, so, if you want to learn how to appreciate gourmet coffee, grind it when you need it.

Once you?ve purchased the gourmet coffee beans, don?t just leave out there in room temperature. What you should do with gourmet coffee beans is to store them in an air-tight container in the fridge if you?re planning to use it soon. However, if you?re going to keep it, store the gourmet coffee beans in an air-tight container and keep it in the FREEZER.

You need the right grinder for the right brewer. Generally speaking, you can use about 2 tablespoons of gourmet coffee powder for 6 oz of water. Adjust the way you make your cup of gourmet coffee according to the way you like to drink your gourmet coffee.

With wine, the country where the grapes are grown makes a difference. With gourmet coffee, not only is the country of origin for the gourmet coffee bean makes a difference, the company that sells the gourmet coffee beans matters too. Buy only from reputable companies for gourmet coffee.

And one last thing about gourmet coffee is this ? learn to enjoy it, appreciate the smell, love the taste, experiment with it and you?ll soon see the wonder of gourmet coffee. If you?re hurrying off for work in the morning, forget about gourmet coffee! During the morning rush, just stick to instant coffee.