Choosing A Great Coffee Variety Or Blend

Coffee lovers are blessed with a large variety of coffee blends and flavors. Choosing a blend and flavor can be quite daunting when you consider the range available. How do you choose from over 30 varieties and flavors on the shelves at your grocery store?

Specialty coffee stores may have an even larger range of flavors and blends available. A lot of blends are imported from France, Italy, Austria and Holland. Typically European varieties are made from darker beans - however these beans are seldom grown in Europe. The names of the coffee varieties come from the roasting process and the length of time that the beans were roasted. Italian roasts are darker as they have been roasted for longer that a typical Viennese coffee.

While European names are derived from the roasting period, other regions name the coffee after the origin of the bean. A good example being a Mexican roast originating from Mexico.

There are often other names on coffee labels. The more exclusive brands are Estate name brands. These have been grown, harvested and roasted on a single estate and then packaged for sale to customers. Think of estate coffee as the single malt of the coffee world. Estate coffees never blend their beans with other varieties or coffee from other estates. One of the more popular brands is the Wallenford Blue Mountain brand which is grown in Jamaica.

There is a large variety of flavored coffees available as well. These are less expensive than Estate products, but offer a great flavor. Typically, flavored coffees have an extension in their name - creme, chocolate, vanilla or any nut or fruit variety. Flavored coffees are usually roasted medium brown instead of black. The various flavors are added in a liquid form.

Blends are a mix of two or more coffee varieties. Like blended whiskeys it is important that the various varieties are able to compliment each other. The taste and aroma should be a harmony of the various blended varieties without dominating the overall flavor. There are several popular house blends that have tried and tested blended components.

How To Select A Coffee Gift This Holiday Season

A coffee gift might just be the perfect present for this holiday season. Why you ask? Think about it...

1. Almost everyone loves great coffee
2. A coffee gift is reasonable priced...so you're not going to break the bank
3. You can show someone you care without going broke
4. You can purchase a coffee gift online and have it shipped directly to your friend or family member
5. It's easy to ship so last minute so a coffee gifts should arrive on-time

Here is some more food for thought. Everyone is talking about "going green" and supporting your local economy. We all know this to be true. So why not support these principles and apply them to your gift giving. Just as important these new trends have helped spark the economy as a whole. One of the benefactors of these growing trends is the small batch coffee industry. More and more you see local coffee shops sprouting up offering premium organic and fair trade coffees. These shops are usually crowd favorites for those of us that are tired of the usual suspects ie; the big chains that mass produce and prefer quantity over quality. These local coffee shops typically offer a range of organic and fair trade coffees. Organic and fair trade embodies certain standards that support quality natural products and fair labor ethics.

As you get started with your online shopping this holiday season here are a couple of tips to help with your coffee gift search:

1. Use the search terms coffee gift, organic coffee, organic and fair trade coffee, coffee of the month and buy coffee online. This will produce plenty of good results in google
2. Pricing - for organic & fair trade coffee - look to pay between $10.99 - $14.99 per pound
3. Product Options - We recommend you purchase whole bean coffee because it preserves the quality and freshness of the flavor better than ground
4. Coffee of the Month Club - consider a membership to a coffee of the month club as your coffee gift. This offers your friend or family member the opportunity to try a number of premium and specialty blends. And..they will be thinking of you every month when that package arrives.
5. Accessories - consider including an accessory as part of your coffee gift. Maybe a nice serving set, a storage container or grinder make the perfect complement to the perfect gift.

Online shopping is expected to grow in popularity this holiday season and gifts such as coffee are convenient, easy to ship and practical which makes them such as great choice. But, shoppers beware...there has been an increase in fraud and online theft. Make sure the sites you purchase from have a high quality look and feel to them. And look for things such as secure shopping and Better Business Bureau accredited logos. I always suggest calling the contact number listed on the site beforehand to ensure they are a legitimate business.

A coffee gift makes a perfect present for the holidays, a birthday or special occasion. It's a gift that works any time of year and is unique and special. Enjoy!

Best Coffee Brewing Techniques The Top 4

Coffee is very popular anywhere in the world. Drinking coffee has also been seen as a socializing activity. This has become a venue to meet up with old friends catch up with each other over a hot mug of coffee. Each place has their own way of making their favourite cup. It changes all over the world. Here are some of the best coffee brewing techniques.

1. Middle Eastern. This is the simple way. Coffee grounded to dust is mixed in boiling water. This is usually brewed with sugar but could also be done with none. Spices could also be added to the mixture. The resulting texture is usually thick and muddy.

2. Concentrate brewing. This is popular in Latin America. Coffee is brewed in large amounts with just a little water in order to form a concentrate. When one would like to have their own cup, they get a small portion of the concentrate and add water to it. This could be used either for a hot cup or a cold drink. This results in a mild flavoured coffee.

3. Vacuum brewing. This uses a device made of glass globes that are joined in an air tight seal. The method might be a little complicated but the gist is that coffee ground and water is separated into each globe. The water is the heated until the pressure goes up to the globe containing the coffee. After some time, the water is allowed to cool down and the decrease in pressure causes the coffee to go down the seal into the water. This is one of popular types of making coffee. However, it is not the best tasting. Making the coffee is more fun than drinking it if this method is utilized.

4. Autodrip. This is one of the most popular methods in the United States. It simply means pouring hot water into a filter containing the coffee. The result from the filter is a very good cup. Some argue that this may not meet the desired temperature of the water but some machines were developed to calibrate the temperature of water before it is poured. The paper filter may also add a different taste to the coffee that is why gold plated reusable filter are also available in the market.

Choose from the best coffee brewing techniques and enjoy your cup now.