Bean Hunters Happenings

Well this mornings cupping was not as amazing as yesterdays…Decafs on the table, but surprisingly there were some really complex flavors of ripe fruit, vanilla and currant working together to really make some of them really memorable. It was an exciting morning overall as we were hosting some of our friends from The Arbor Day Foundation for a tour of our facilities and some tasting of their coffees. They sure were a fun and inquisitive group and that always makes for some great interaction, they even brought us some Blue Spruce’s , although I’m not sure but hoping that mine will grow inside my loft. After a fun and rewarding morning we said our goodbyes and I then made my transition from coffee taster to ice cream maker. I made a few batches of our secretly famous Super Tuscan Espresso Ice Cream for the soft opening of our café on Monday, so if you have not been lucky enough to get your hands on some yet. Make sure you make your way to our newest location at 119th and Roe, just 2 store fronts to the east the Apple store.

Paul Massard- Bean Hunter

Daily Report from the Bean Hunter

We started the day off with a mind-blowing cupping session this morning with Normy. The first set we had were some pre-shipment samples of new crop Papua New Guineas and man, there were some beautiful coffees mixed in there: extremely fragrant, sweet and fruity, with an amazing and unique date and fig earthiness. It makes my mouth water just thinking about them again. I’m really looking look forward to those arriving in early December.

Next on the table were our Costa Rica and Panama micro lots, and it was great cup after great cup. Our washed Costa Rican Geisha shined like it has since she came in, but the Peaberry-- which you will find at our café within the next few weeks-- was also amazing. I also have to say that the Costa Rican Don Quijote that was in the mix was as good as I have ever tasted. Morning cuppings like that are one of the many reasons I love working here.

We then had a great educational tour and cupping today with the KC Hopps gang and after much deliberation we came up with 2 different blends that they will now take to their monthly meeting to conduct a blind tasting. There they will decide which one will grace your tables during your next visit to one of their many amazing restaurants. I will tell you that they have a difficult choice ahead of them as they were both amazing coffees.

-Paul Massard AKA The Bean Hunter

Health Benefits of Coffee

A coffee a day can also keep the doctor away! New studies are showing that the negative assumptions about coffee, regarding health, are false. Coffee, in fact, can have some very positive effects on one's health. Here are a couple of highlights:

• Provides a large amount of a unique antioxidant that helps to reduce sugar absorbtion and therefore links to a reduced risk of diabetes.
• Can help prevent oxidative damage to DNA by 12 percent.
• Contains other antioxidants and acids which have a variety of positive health properties.

Aren't you glad you love coffee? For more information, view the complete article: click here.

How to Properly Store Coffee

Quality, freshness, education. That's what The Roasterie is all about. Here are some usefull tips on how to store your coffee so that it is fresh and ready to brew when you are.

•Make sure that you have the right grind for your coffee, as well as the right filter for your brewer.

•We suggest not pre-grinding any coffee. Coffee contains CO2 which keeps it fresh. As soon as the coffee is ground it immediately loses its CO2, causing it to become stale. This is especially true for espresso grind.

•Oxygen breaks down the flavor profile of ground coffee within 48 hours

•Once a bag of coffee has been opened, it should be stored in an air-tight container at room temperature.

•Avoid extreme temperature changes, such as storing coffee in the refrigerator or freezer as moisture will attach itself to the coffee and deteriorate the beans.

•Coffee absorbs odors that are around it. Be careful not to store your coffee near anything that may be absorbed by the coffee.