How would you know that your cup of coffee is perfect? Is there such a thing as perfect coffee? That is the critique labeled on Costa Rican coffees. They categorized their type of coffee as the classic cup, the traditional balanced coffee that has no defects or flaws. But there’s more to a Costa Rican coffee, for they are prized for their exceptionality- bright citrus or berry-like flavors in the acidity and in the best cups they fade into chocolate or spice flavors in the aftertaste.

Costa Rica sets the standards for fine wet-processed coffee for the rest of Central and South America. The most famous Costa Rican coffees by region are Tarrazú, Tres Rios, Herediá, and Alajuela. Most Costa Rican coffees come from a hybrid called caturra, a mutation of Bourbon discovered in Brazil, and is characterized as bright and full bodied. Other popular varieties are Mondo Novo and Catuai. The best coffees that are grown above 3, 900 feet are designated or classified as strictly hard bean, while the good hard bean are those grown from 3, 300 to 3, 900 feet.

The Tres Rios region near the pacific coast produces coffees that are mild sweet and bright. The Tarrazú region, which is situated in the interior mountains of Costa Rica, produces a fairly heavy coffee with more aromatic complexity. The La Minita estate is the most much loved coffee in all Costa Rica. What about the kinds of coffees that Costa Rica is so proud of?

The different kinds of coffee in Costa Rica are characterized by their type and from what zone they are harvested from. Let’s take a look at the different kinds of Costa Rican Coffee:

Cafe La Carpentira- This coffee is strictly classified as hard beans grown in La Carpentira Hill, Tres Rios, where perfect for producing the best quality coffee possible.

Cafe Atarazu- This bean comes from the volcanic mountains of Dota off the Great Mountain Range named Talamanca with rocky ladders and fertile valleys. It is classified as strictly hard beans from Tarrazú region.

Cafe El Gran Vito- This coffee has a string taste, and at the same times it is light and grateful like the mountains and forests that surround the city. It is classified as medium hard bean for Coto Brus region.

Cafe Zurqui- This coffee is cropped in one of the oldest plantation areas due to kindness of the soil and the excellent bean quality that it produces. On the slopes of Zurqui Hills is where this unique coffee with high acidity, very good body and aroma in produced. It is strictly hard bean from Herediá.

Cafe Ujarraci- This coffee grew on a beautiful landscape, fertile valley, and a lake with crystal clear waters near the zone of Cachí in the reventazón River Basin. This type of Costa Rican coffee is classified as High grown Atlantic from Cachí zone.

Cafe Buena Vista- This coffee has good aroma and body with a delightful acidity form San Isidro Del General and is a medium hard bean type.

What could be more perfect than a cup of coffee in the morning? Coffee lovers would want to wake up and spend the morning with their best buddy- the coffee maker. You don’t have to go to cafes or restaurants just to have a quick shot of caffeine. You can have it right in your kitchen courtesy of your coffee maker. Coffee makers come in different brands, designs, features, and capacity. The many brands of coffee makers available in the market include Braun Coffee Maker and it is one of the distinguished.

Braun coffee makers also have different designs and features. For instance, Braun Impression Design Collection, this stylish Braun coffee maker KF 600, is designed for ultimate coffee enjoyment- delivering up to 10 cups of hot, fully extracted and aromatic coffee. It has exclusive Brita water filter which further enhance the flavor by reducing chlorine or iron taste, but also prevents calcification. For more satisfaction, the coffee flows directly into the stainless steel thermal carafe keeping your coffee hot for hours due to its double wall vacuum insulation. As an added feature, this Braun coffee maker automatically shuts off after the brewing is finished for your convenience and safety. This feature would best serve to those who tend to forget to shut the down the machine, maybe because they can’t wait to have a sip with their coffee. What do you think?

Cooking.com features 3 Braun coffee makers that come in black and white colors with distinct features for you to choose from whatever suits your taste. All of the modern designs of Braun coffee makers will definitely fit with today’s contemporary stainless kitchen. The KF 600 is also featured on this website along with four more, which are: AromaDeluxe Coffee Maker in black and white color and AromaDeluxe Timecontrol Coffee Maker also in black and white.

The Braun AromaDeluxe Coffee Maker is the perfect combination of design and ease of function. Its open, soft touch, non-slip handle allows unmatched easy poring. The filter release function is designed to facilitate the filling of ground coffee, a useful feature in everyday life. The fast brewing system allows brewing hot, fully extracted and aromatic coffee. It also comes with Brita water filter to help improve the flavor by reducing chlorine and other impurities to perfect the coffee taste.

AromaDeluxe Timecontrol Coffee Maker has a classy and stylish design offering innovative features and unique appointments like metallic accents. The 10-cup carafe features a matchless, cushioned handles that’s extra wide and slip-free. It has a smooth-touch buttons that let you preset the 24-hour digital clock and timer so your coffee is ready by the time you wake up. Now, isn’t that impressive? I would love to have a coffee maker like that for myself. In addition to the already amazing features, this model of Braun coffee maker has an auto shut off anywhere from 10 minutes to four hours after brewing. Additional features also include Brita water filter dial alerts, which tells you when to change it; easy-to-use automatic filter basket release button, pause and serve feature, reusable gold screen filter, side view water level indicator, and convenient cord storage area.
From the choices you have above, pick the one that gives you the convenience to fully enjoy every cup of coffee you need. Any Braun coffee maker you’ll choose surely gives you the ultimate coffeehouse experience.

The Italians have all sorts of names for it – espresso, caffe normale, cappuccino, caffe corretto, granite di caffe con panna, among others. How many types of pastas are there in Italy? That’s how many different names one small tazza of Italian coffee has.

Certainly, Italian coffee is more than just a beverage for the passionate Italian. A cup of Italian coffee is a form of art and for every occasion, for every mood, you are guaranteed to get one that fits perfectly.

In Search of the Perfect Tazza

The possibilities of Italian coffee are enough to bewilder anyone who has the taste for coffee but not the tongue for its numerously confusing names. So what kind of Italian coffee should you order in a caffe? Here is a list of some of the most popular caffeine-laden drinks that you will typically find in an Italian caffe:

* Caffe – generally a small cup of very strong coffee; often referred to as espresso but be sure to pronounce it with an ‘s’ instead of expresso.
* Caffe Americano – this is American-style coffee but stronger
* Caffe corretto – coffee “corrected” with a shot of grappa, cognac, or other spirits
* Caffe fredo – iced coffee drink
* Caffe hag – decaffeinated coffee
* Caffe latte – coffee mixed with hot milk; usually served in a glass for breakfast
* Caffe macchiato – espresso “stained” with a drop of steamed milk; really a small version of cappuccino
* Cappuccino – espresso infused with steamed milk and drunk in the mornings; never ever order this after lunch or dinner
* Granitadi di caffe con panne – iced coffee with whipped cream

Italians don’t drink coffee with any meal. In that regard, they are much like the French. The only exception is during breakfast when cappuccino is served with brioche and other breakfast treats. Most of the time, Italian coffee is only ordered after a meal and only the unwitting tourist orders cappuccino in a restaurant after lunch or dinner.

When you do order for Italian coffee after a meal, don’t ask for an espresso. Ask for un caffe, per favore.

How Italian Coffee is Made

There as many espresso machines in Italy as there are Italian coffee. From fully automatic espresso machines to lever piston espresso machines to even the classic aluminum espresso coffee maker, the choices are widely varied.

And just when you think you’ve got everything down, there are also the debates regarding the specific bean type to use. Italian coffee is often a heated battle between blade and burr grinders and factors like tamp pressure, water temperature, and humidity.

Lovers of Italian coffee even have their favorite caffeine haunts in the form of local torrefazione or coffee houses and barista who are valued for their ability to deliver a perfect caffe espresso.

Alto Grande Decaf Gourmet Coffee was founded in Puerto Rico back 1839. It has been grown and processed at the Alto Grande Hacienda in Lares, Puerto Rico. Lares is a town located in the central mountains of Puerto Rico which has a climate perfect to growing coffee. Alto Grande decaf gourmet coffee consists of only the finest Grade A Arabica coffee beans and uses the Swiss water decaffeination process. Its quality is the direct result of the time and attention Garrido has devoted to every single Alto Grande coffee bean. There are only three Super Premium Coffees in the world and Alto Grande, in regular and decaf, is one of them.

Alto Grande Decaf Gourmet coffee is recognized by the most prestigious and demanding coffee companies in the world. Its outstanding quality is the result of the time and attention that have been devoted to the carefully harvested selected Arabica coffee beans. Also, the processing begins with the careful selection of the finest beans which are used only in Alto Grande Decaf Gourmet coffee. These future Alto Grande decaf coffee beans are grown at an altitude of up to 3, 000 ft. and need eight days to process. Remember that most specialty coffees take a couple of days to process.

Once the beans are picked, they are sent to the hacienda. Only fresh ripe coffee cherries that have been picked within the last eight hours will be accepted. They will then be put in a specially designed float tank. The coffee cherries that rise to the top will be rejected immediately. Those that sink have the properties required to become Alto Grande coffee. This is how strict the process can be, suited only for the best.

Each future Alto Grande Decaf Gourmet coffee bean has its pulp removed and goes into a second float and wash cycle. Next, the beans will then be moved to special pools, where they are removed and washed every three hours with fresh water. The constant exposure to water is critical to the product, ensuring the beans perfectly washed. Even the water source is carefully selected. It should come from a well 600 ft deep, exceeding the purity level standard for bottled water. Once used for washing, the water is never reused and should be discarded.

After the completion of wash process, the dry process starts. The beans are rotated every 45 seconds and dried slowly at specific temperature similar to sunlight. It takes at least 5 days for the coffee beans to dry. Once dry, beans will be laced in a parchment to protect from humidity while waiting its turn to become part of the legend. Now that you know how the process goes, I think I saw a big question on your forehead saying: how does it taste? Well, Alto Grande Decaf Gourmet Coffee is described to have a bright sparkling flavor, heavy body flavor with a fragrant aroma and a pleasant aftertaste. Yes, it’s truly a perfectly balanced cup of coffee- your kind of cup of coffee.

For most people, that morning cup of coffee is the staple of life. The day just wouldn’t be the same without the needed jolt that you can only get from coffee.

But other than knowing that it is a stimulant drink, what other miscellaneous coffee facts do you know? For instance, where does coffee grow? What is a coffee cherry? And how is coffee decaffeinated?

Believe it or not, there is more to your regular cup of java than you realize, and in this article, we’ll be discussing a few of these coffee facts, so the next time you do your morning coffee routine, you know better.

Coffee Facts: How a Goat Started the Coffee Revolution

Okay, that might be going a bit overboard, but legend says that, indeed, the history of coffee began with a goat. Kaldi, an Ethiopian goatherd, noticed one day that his goats turned hyperactive after eating a certain shrub. Curious about this shrub, he took some of the berries and ate them, surprised to experience the same hyperactive feeling as his goats did.

And that, at least according to legend, is how coffee came to be.

But one coffee fact that not everyone knows is that coffee wasn’t always a drink. Originally, it was a food that early East African tribes mixed with animal fat in order to form large berry-fat balls that they used as a source of energy when they went out to raid other tribes.

In short, coffee mixed with animal fat was the primitive power bar.

Then the Arabs came and they transplanted the coffee tree in the Arabian Peninsula. It was here that coffee was first developed into a hot drink. By the 13th century, the Muslim Arabs were drinking coffee fervently to the point that the “whirling devishes” of early Islam were attributed to the effects of coffee.

Coffee Facts: How Coffee Went to Europe

For years, the Arabs were the only ones who knew the secret workings behind the wondrously stimulating drink, called coffee. But the Arabs liked to travel and when they traveled, they liked to bring coffee with them. The more they traveled, the more coffee facts were revealed to the rest of the world.

But it was the Turks who were responsible for revealing much of the coffee facts to Europeans. When European traders came to this exotic locale, they learned of coffee and brought this news with them wherever they went.

With the rise of the Dutch colony came the establishment of the first European coffee estate. It was there on the island of Java, then a Dutch colony (now a part of Indonesia) that coffee was known worldwide as a precious commodity.

Want to taste a highly European coffee? If so, then the best option for you would be Gevalia coffee.

Gevalia is a famous European coffee brand name. This European coffee is produced by Gevalia Kaffe that has been satisfying the tastes of coffee aficionados for decades now. The company has actually been the business for almost a century and they have been offering more than 30 varieties of coffee, including 13 varieties of tea. It is this selection of coffee varieties that makes Gevalia capable of satisfying every taste and desire of every coffee lover, even those who are highly discriminating.

The Gevalia coffee is produced from a number of coffee farms around the world. The company purchases the coffee beans from the trusted coffee farms, and they produce the coffee with strong dedication to quality and taste. They even pay a premium over the prevailing market prices of today.

As mentioned earlier, the Gevalia coffee comes in a number of types and varieties. All of the varieties are designed to suit every customer’s need. The Gevalia coffees are produced with the customers’ taste and level of satisfaction in mind. And, perhaps this is one of the factors that make Gevalia coffee best.

Currently, the coffee produced by Gevalia includes the following:

* Kenya – This coffee variety is noted for its being full bodied. Many of those who tasted it have claimed that this product has a delicate floral aroma with berry like undertones. This is actually one of Gevalia’s bestsellers.

* Hazelnut – Just like Kenya, this coffee product has a delicate aroma and taste. It is a mellow coffee with a hazelnut flavor, hence the name. Also notable in this variety is its vanilla flavor.

* Colombia – Known in the market as a smooth and invigorating coffee, the Gevalia Colombia has a rich and vibrant flavor. It is also noted for the complexity of its taste.

* Dark Roast – Roasting plays a very vital role in coffee production. With that, it’s no wonder that Gevalia accepts the idea of roasting. Well, the Gevalia coffee now varies in the degree of roast, and one of the widely marketed varieties of the company’s coffee is the Dark Roast. According to some reviews, this type is a full flavored coffee that possesses an enticing aroma. What’s best about Dark Roast is that it has no burnt or bitter taste.

* Medium Roast – This variety is obviously a counterpart of the Dark Roast. This coffee is deemed smooth and full bodied. It has a deeper darker taste, but is perfect for those who love a delicate, mild coffee with a heavenly aroma.

Note that all of the above mentioned Gevalia coffees are now available in the market in delicious caffeinated and decaffeinated varieties. These products come in 2.5 oz. frac packs in 24 case counts. The Gevalia coffee also includes a number of gourmet kinds.

A coffee maker is one of the coffee aficionados’ necessities. Yes, many of those who are dependent on caffeine are always looking for a coffee maker that will suit their specific needs. Fortunately, a number of options are available on the market for them to choose from. Each option possesses features and capabilities that are to some degree unique from the others.

Now if you are one of those who love coffee and are currently wondering what type of coffee maker to obtain, I have a list below of the different types of coffee makers. Just find your best option and make your decision based on what you’ve learned about them. Consider the following:

Percolator: As you may know, percolators are one of the most popular and widely marketed types of coffee maker. This tool is basically designed to create a good cup of coffee by filtering the boiling water through the coffee grounds repeatedly. The percolator is actually the old favorite and many of those who live in earlier eras have used this to brew mild coffees. The downside of using this coffee maker is that because of the repeated boiling, it tends to provide bitterness in the coffee. The longer it boils the water through the coffee ground, the higher the degree of bitterness released, then overpowering the distinct taste and flavor of your blends.

French Press: The French Press is also known as the Plunger Pots and is often used for brewing the hottest coffee. Well, this type of coffee maker is so versatile and that it is often used at professional coffee tastings for the reason that French Press provides the best taste and aroma possible. Unlike the other methods of brewing coffee, this coffee maker allows a full contact between the boiling water and the coffee. This full contact is what actually creates an extract of richer flavors. Aside from that, controlling the proper temperature of the water for brewing coffee is as easy as pie with the French Press. You are actually in full control in brining the water to its proper temperature for a full extraction and a good hot cup.

Automatic Drip: This type of coffee maker is designed specifically to lessen the hassles of brewing a good cup of coffee. All you need to do with this method is to pour cold water into a reservoir and the machine will automatically heat the water to the proper temperature. Also, it automatically pulses the water through the ground coffee. What’s best is that many of the automatic drips have controls that slow the pulsing of the water. With a touch of it, a rich brew can be made.

Manual Drip: Obviously, the manual drip is the counterpart of the automatic drip. Well, this coffee maker comes in a number of types, and two of the most popular are the Chemex and the Melitta. Several reviews have noted that both of these manual drips use a paper filter cone that is actually similar to that of the automatic drips. They brew coffee by heating the water separately from the ground coffee. The water is poured to the grounds little by little, allowing the coffee to release its flavors. Once the flavors are released, a balance amount of water is poured over the grounds to drip through. That’s basically how this type of coffee maker works.

There are lot more types of coffee makers available on the market nowadays. The best way to find the right product is to note what you really want and need. Look for the features and the design. Most of all, consider the proper brewing temperature, which is unfortunately achieved only by a few brands of coffee makers. So be careful when choosing the right option.

Choosing good coffee beans has a lot more to do with art than with science. And those who know how to, will spare nothing just to find the best coffee beans that money can buy. But why should you care? Coffee beans are just coffee beans, right? And coffee is just…coffee. What’s the big deal?

Well, if you’re fond of the common supermarket variety of coffee beans, then chances are that you’re right. It isn’t such a big deal. But once you have tried the real good coffee beans you will understand why so many people go to such lengths just to find the perfect beans for the perfect cup of coffee.

So where do you start?

When it comes to good coffee, there’s no better place to start than what the experts say is a good place to start. But make no mistake. Their words are no bible. However, they do give you some idea on how to go about taking your first tentative step towards genuinely good coffee.

First, you need to learn that freshly roasted and ground coffee beans are what make a superior cup of coffee. You can never go wrong with fresh beans. In fact, the underlying philosophy is: the fresher the beans, the better. Just try it and you’ll be surprised to find how a few fresh coffee beans can transform your favorite cup of java into a fantastic gastronomic experience.

Next, where do you find fresh coffee beans? You may get lucky and stumble upon a few bags in the supermarket. But if you want to be certain that you are getting fresh, good quality beans, then start at your local specialty or gourmet stores. The salespeople at these stores are usually very knowledgeable about coffee and helpful to the extent that they may allow you to taste before buying anything.

But how do you know if they’re good?

Well, for one thing good coffee beans are never splintered or broken. They should be whole and well-shaped. If you encounter a bin or bag of splintered or broken beans, then put it right back where you found it and look for another.

It’s quite possible that you won’t find any helpful salesperson around, especially if you’re doing your shopping at a supermarket. If that’s the case, then you have to learn to trust your own eyes and nose.

Okay, so now you know that good coffee beans are whole and well-shaped, but what about the smell? They smell good, period. That’s all you need to know. It has to do with gut instinct, similar to how you’d know right away that the milk has gone sour when you smell it.

Coffee beans that have gone bad will smell just a bit off and you’ll recognize that smell, even if you’re a novice.

Thinking of an inexpensive, low-maintenance benefit to offer your employees? Then, why not try coffee vending machines? What’s more, they can even double up as an instant profit center for your business.

All You Need for Coffee Service

Coffee vending machines can dispense purely coffee, or a wide range of hot beverages, like hot chocolate, cappuccinos, assorted teas, espressos, and even soup and broths. With a single vending machine dispensing up to 1,000 single serve cups per day, you can offer a variety of drinks from top name brands to organic and gourmet blends.

All you need is a water line connection an outlet for electricity and you’ll be ready to offer coffee vending machines to employees. For equipment, you can have a coffee service vendor handle that. The coffee vendor will be the one to supply your office with a variety of hot beverages, brewing equipment, and even the services of technicians who will clean and maintain the equipment.

Why Coffee Vending Machines?

The two-fold benefit of coffee vending machines provides you with an excellent service that your employees will not only enjoy but also help them get motivated to do a better job. According to a 2006 study by the National Automatic Merchandising Association (NAMA), 79% of office employees with access to complimentary coffee and other hot beverages are more productive and feel more appreciated by their employers.

Add to that the fact that you can actually reduce down time and lost labor since instead of keeping long lines at coffee shops, your employees now have their own coffee vending machines right at the pantry or office canteen.

How to Choose a Coffee Vendor

There are many coffee vendors that service large businesses and smaller companies with at least 20 employees. The larger coffee services have a lot more years of experience and can offer you advice on what optional set up you should try for your business.

But for a more personable relationship with your coffee vendor, you may want to try setting up coffee vending machines from smaller “mom and pop” outfits. Their community-based presence could lend your office coffee service a personal touch. Moreover, they could also offer coffee at much lower prices.

But regardless of which coffee vendor you choose to work with in the end, the order of the day is prompt and friendly service with flexible service terms. Since every vendor differs in what they offer, it is important that you speak with several vendors first before deciding on the price, quality, and service that are just right for you.

In addition to overall service, the taste of your coffee is also vital. Quality of the coffee you serve should be your top priority when it comes to office coffee service so it’s best that you sample the various coffee blends before making a decision.

You are familiar with that feeling. You wake up one morning only to discover that you’ve run out of coffee. Close to panicking, you blame your spouse or roommate the same time you leaf through the yellow pages for the nearest espresso drive-thru so you can go there while still in your pajamas!

By joining a coffee club, you can now say goodbye to your pajama-clad, coffee running days forever. Below are a few coffee clubs that you may want to considering joining to avoid any emergencies and potential embarrassment like the above-mentioned situation:

BwanaBobsKonaCoffee.com

Joining Bwana Bob’s Kona Coffee Club is a win-win situation. Imagine having an endless supply of fresh Bwana Bob’s Kona coffee without need of placing orders. What’s more, Bwana Bob’s Kona Coffee club members get 10% on every product made from 100% Kona coffee.

Shipments may be arranged at your convenience. Bwana Bob’s automatically makes coffee deliveries right to your home or office. The minimum shipment is two pounds so even if you’re not a big coffee drinker but still need that vital shot of caffeine every morning, joining Bwana Bob’s Kona Coffee club is a sure treat.

KonaMountainCoffee.com

Another great coffee club to join is the Kona Mountain Coffee club. With coffee deliveries every 30 days after your first order date but flexible enough to be changed at your convenience, the Kona Mountain Coffee club delivers excellent 100% Kona coffee at a price lower than what you usually get from specialty stores.

In addition to 100% Kona coffee, this coffee club also allows you order roasted Kona coffee, Organic Kona coffee, and Green Kona Coffee.

PeerlessCoffee.com

Free shipping, Peerless perks rewards, and more, this is what membership to the Peerless Coffee Club offers. Joining a coffee club has two functions: it takes the hassle out of ordering and at the same time you can have the good quality coffee delivered right to your doorstep.

If you decide to join the Peerless Coffee club, you may choose between top selling coffees, decaffeinated coffees, and flavored coffees. Plus, depending on how many pounds of coffee you order, you stand to receive the following items: free Peerless 1924 replica tin, free Peerless to-go mug, free pound of Kona Fancy.

TiCAfe.com
Offering to deliver your favorite coffee automatically to your doorstep, this Coast Rican coffee club also offers an automatic 25% off every future shipment when you join. Becoming a member is easy. All you have to do is select your favorite coffee from the selection of quality coffee products by TiCafe and then proceed to checkout. Make sure you turn on the Automatic Delivery option and select the delivery frequency. The TiCafe Coffee club offers to deliver your coffee at your convenience without need of placing orders.