Is your coffee fresh?
The act of brewing coffee is something that can be continuously varied; water temperature, fineness of grind (or lack thereof), origin of coffee beans, brewing method, and all of the contraptions, gizmos, and apparatuses used to control each of these factors are candidates for tweaking. Coffee beans need to be high quality, properly picked and washed, etc…
The Problem. All of these particulars can be in place, but in the end you can still have a horrible cup of coffee if the beans aren’t fresh. As soon as coffee is roasted it begins dying, losing its precious flavor. One of the largest battle that the coffee connoisseur will fight is that of freshness. It’s hard to find a decently fresh bag of coffee at “specialty” stores like Starbucks or Caribou, not to mention a more easily accessible outlet like a grocery store.
Recently, I’m starting to think I’ve found a solution the freshness problem. Aside from home roasting (which I would like to get into) what one needs is a local roaster. This roaster needs to be close enough, inexpensive enough, and the coffee has to be delicious to be economically viable. Enter Whole Foods. Read the rest of this entry »