coffee beans

[randy41]

does anyone buy beans online? and if so, where are the best prices to be found?

 

[MikePA]

does anyone buy beans online? and if so, where are the best prices to be found?

While we have switched from beans to K-cups, we still buy all our coffee at Green Mountain Coffee. Beans were nice, but nothing beats popping in a K-Cup and having a cup of fresh brewed coffee in less than 1 minute.

 

[shaley]

Morning Randy, Has it quit raining there, we got about 5" since Tues.

Here is a post http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...me-coffee-roasters-here.html?highlight=coffee
I use Sweet Maria's and the Green Coffee bean company.

 

[jbrumberg]

Green Mountain Coffee is very good you should also check into Shelburne Falls Coffee Roasters @ Shelburne Falls Coffee Roasters - organic coffee and gourmet coffee. I recommend their Sumatran bean which I am currently ingesting ! Jay

 

[LMTC]

Coffee needs 24-36 hours to de-gas after roasting. More than that becomes detrimental. Of course, the stuff at the grocery store in cans is generally MONTHS post-roasting, so even week old coffee is an improvement. Sweet Marias is a good place to do business. I have probably had well over 100 varietals in the past 5 -7 years, and here is my advice.

First, find a bean you like, and understand it will change with each crop, and even a tiny bit with each batch roasted. Then try to find a supplier who will ship the same day as roasting (bags have a one-way valve to allow de-gassing), who is no more than 3 days shipping from you, and never ship when the beans might sit in a hot truck (I tend not to order about May-September). You will find connoseuirs who will insist on roasting green beans daily, and that freezing is intolerable. I have pretty discriminating taste buds, and I freeze roasted beans, grinding almost daily what I need. I have talked with others who I think are just as particular about their coffee, and most agree with me that freezing the roasted bean works very well.

I have three basic beans I use, and blend in different proportions depending on what I want....2-3 more types of beans I buy from time to time for variety. I have never found a single bean that I enjoy as much as I do the blends I can make. Most great espresso is made from blended beans....some beans have better aroma, some finish better, some make a better initial presentation.

I order Blue Mountain from a grower in Kauai (Kauai Coffee Company) ....I find it infinitely smoother than the Blue Mountain from Jamaica, but it has a very bold full finish. It is roasted on a Friday in most cases, and shipped air, arriving on Monday. I order Kona extra fancy from a supplier on Maui (superbeans.com), and I order Guatamelan organic (fantastic dark chocolate overtones) from Coffee Break Roasters in Cincinnati (http://www.coffeebreakroasting.com/). I also get a columbian bean (viennese roast) from Coffee Break Roasters, and a couple others. They ship UPS the day of roasting in the valved bag. Look for a local roaster....fresher is better. Many of the large suppliers will ship stuff roasted days ago...I believe Sweet Marias is an exception to that.

Start slowly, so you can process over time what you really enjoy the most. The variations and variables are nearly endless. Coffee is an excellent source of antioxidants (yes, it's good for you!) and the number of flavonoids (the little things that create flavors) in coffee far exceeds those in wine......i.e., there are more possibilities for flavors in coffee than virtually anything else we ingest. Feel free to email for any information, and enjoy the journey. Coffee is one of my favorite things, and it is a true pleasure for me each day.

 

[jbrumberg]

I agree that local roasters have the freshest coffee beans. I am lucky that Shelburne Falls Coffee Roasters is just a few miles from my home . Freshly ground coffee beans starts my day every day. I used to freeze my beans until a chef friend told me that freezing the beans tends to dry them out so I now keep my beans in a sealed canister until use. I have not noticed a difference between frozen and non-frozen beans, but I usually buy beans in small quantity (except when I go to Costa Rica- the last time there I brought back 14 kilos of coffee beans ) and have high use so comparison is difficult. Blue Mountain/Kauai is awesome coffee ! Coffee and martinis are the two vices I will not give up . Jay

 

[randy41]

Morning Randy, Has it quit raining there, we got about 5" since Tues.

Here is a post http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...me-coffee-roasters-here.html?highlight=coffee
I use Sweet Maria's and the Green Coffee bean company.

yeah...it quit raining after we got 4 1/2" of much needed rain. now its sunny and pleasant with the colder weather on the way.

i brew my coffee in a senseo but i make my own 'pods'.

thanks for all the advice everyone.

 

[LMTC]

I agree that local roasters have the freshest coffee beans. I am lucky that Shelburne Falls Coffee Roasters is just a few miles from my home . Freshly ground coffee beans starts my day every day. I used to freeze my beans until a chef friend told me that freezing the beans tends to dry them out so I now keep my beans in a sealed canister until use. I have not noticed a difference between frozen and non-frozen beans, but I usually buy beans in small quantity (except when I go to Costa Rica- the last time there I brought back 14 kilos of coffee beans ) and have high use so comparison is difficult. Blue Mountain/Kauai is awesome coffee ! Coffee and martinis are the two vices I will not give up . Jay

Jay, I have been told the same thing, but I have been told lots of things in my life that either proved to be untrue, or just didn't matter to me. Freezing will cause a "freezer burn" to most things, but only if openly exposed to the air in a freezer. Roasted coffee beans have no significant moisture content anyway...it goes almost completely with the second crack as I understand it. I keep my beans in the original bags, fold them down tightly, and seal them with rubberbands after I take out what I'm going to grind. Sometimes I grind for a couple days....and I store the ground coffee in very small ziplock hard plastic containers....very small, so there is little to no extra air in the container. Oxygen is the killer, not freezing IMO.

I have compared fresh ground new beans (36-48 hours post roast) to fresh ground frozen beans (sometimes frozen for several months post roast, but frozen quickly....within 48-72 hours of roast) and I cannot tell the difference by the second cup. I will allow there might be a 2% difference on the first cup. I know that I have very discriminating taste buds by comparison to the people I know and I find the freezing to be my best option, and quite acceptable. Interestingly, one of the roasters I buy from is vehemently opposed to freezing, but admits he has never tried it. The others concur with me that freezing the way I do it is a very viable option.

Bottom line....it works well for me, and I do consider myself a coffee connoseuir.

 

[jbrumberg]

I had not thought about dry roasted beans and minimal moisture content; so drying out in the freezer should not pose a problem. I agree about the oxygen. I do like those valved coffee bags. I am lucky that I can buy in small quantity from a local roaster. When I worked in Costa Rica my local colleagues would call me the cafe junkie. I as you do truly appreciate a fine cup of coffee in the morning . It is too bad my body does not like coffee later in the day . Jay