CoffeeBeans - Articles and Posts from Slashfood

Posts with tag CoffeeBeans

Getting Robust(a) with the CoffeeMeister

Posted Nov 3rd 2009 3:00PM by Erin Meister
Filed under: Coffee

Robusta vs. Arabica beans, unripened on a coffee bush.
Photo: INeedCoffee / CoffeeHero, Flickr.

Erin Meister trains baristas for North Carolina-based Counter Culture Coffee and sporadically maintains the blog Meet the Press Pot from her home in New York City. This is part of a series for the caffeine-addicted.

I know you thought we were through with the genus-species-kingdom stuff after high-school biology, but did you know there are two different species of coffee plant? Well, there are: Arabica, or high-altitude grown gourmet coffee, and Robusta, or the more environmentally tolerant (and much cheaper) sort of coffee often found in instant crystals and behind bodega counters around the world.

But is the latter really more "robust" than the haute Arabica? Find out after the jump.

Continue reading Getting Robust(a) with the CoffeeMeister

Coffee (and Vino!) Varieties with the CoffeeMeister

Posted Oct 13th 2009 3:00PM by Erin Meister
Filed under: Coffee

Wine labels on coffee bags. Photo: biskuit, Flickr.

Erin Meister trains baristas for North Carolina-based Counter Culture Coffee and sporadically maintains the blog Meet the Press Pot from her home in New York City. This is part of a series for the caffeine-addicted.

As oenophiles know, variety is everything.

OK, not everything, but definitely something. And the same goes for coffee.

Much as wine grapes come in different cultivars (as anyone who prefers a Cabernet Franc to a Cabernet Sauvignon can tell you), coffee can be born to one of thousands of types, both heirloom and hybrid, which can have an impact on a coffee's productivity, appearance and, certainly, flavor.

While much is made of the variety of a particular grape (or apple, for fruit fans; or rose, for gardeners; or rice, for starch lovers), a large percentage of coffee farmers don't grow any one single type on their land, and many can't even be sure how much of their farm is one variety or another. Largely for this reason, any coffee that can be identified, with certainty, by its type is often cause for celebration among bean heads. The famous Esmeralda coffee I mentioned last week, for instance, is special in part because it comprises an exotic, transplanted Ethiopian variety called Gesha or Geisha (likely named for a spot in Ethiopia -- many African coffee varieties are christened for their proximity to certain villages or regions, such as Harrar and Sidamo).

Read more about coffee varieties after the jump.

Continue reading Coffee (and Vino!) Varieties with the CoffeeMeister

Tip of the Day: Grind your coffee to maximize its flavor

Posted Aug 24th 2008 11:03AM by Max Shrem
Filed under: Coffee, How To, Tip of the Day

Coffee usually tastes better with freshly ground beans. But, if it's not ground appropriately the coffee will taste off. The key to understanding how to grind coffee has to do with knowing how you're going to brew it. The grinding and brewing processes are connected.

Continue reading Tip of the Day: Grind your coffee to maximize its flavor

New ties of caffeine to miscarriage potential scare tactics?

Posted Jan 21st 2008 2:00PM by Ellen Slattery
Filed under: Teas, Coffee, Science, America, Health & Medical

Thanks to the huge role the media plays in our daily lives, pregnant women now have way more to worry about than even ten years ago. Getting pregnant means you are suddenly victim to tons of fear-inducing claims and studies, each new one seeming to contract the last. Exercise! Don't over-burden yourself! Eat chocolate! Go easy on the fat!

And now, claims that a little bit of caffeine probably won't hurt you are challenged by a recent study in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology that suggests that women who consume more than 200 mg of caffeine (one small cup of coffee) a day are at a greater risk for miscarrying.

In the study, documented in a NY Times article, 1,063 pregnant women were interviewed about their caffeine intake. Out of the total, 172 women had previously miscarried. The rate of miscarriages was higher in those who consumed 200 mg or more per day (24.5% out of 164) compared to those who drank no caffeine during their pregnancy (12.5% out of 264 women).

But of course, miscarriage occurs for reasons other than caffeine, some which can't be explained away through a study. But I'd love to hear from women who were once or are currently pregnant (or their significant others) to get their take on this news. Do reports like this make you nervous? Do you drink caffeine now? If so, would this study make you think twice? Or do you eschew science in place of good ol' common sense?

Panama Duran coffee from Trader Joe's: cheap, and good too

Posted Apr 15th 2006 8:03PM by Sarah Gilbert
Filed under: Coffee, Raves & Reviews, Stores & Shopping, New Products, America

panama cafe duran trader joe's - photo sarah gilbert I'm a coffee aficionado (or as they might say it in Panama, aficionado de café), but I'm also on a budget. And although I'd love to drink nothing but that lyrical Stumptown Sidamo or the deep, dark, delicious Thundermuck, well, $10 a pound is a but much for every day.

Thus I was delighted to see a new 12-ounce can of coffee for only $3.99 at Trader Joe's last week: Panama Café Duran. My little sister Jenny lives in Panama and I've drunk Duran before; it's the everyday coffee found in every Panamanian supermarket. I know it's decent, and in the hands of Trader Joe's it is fresh, balanced, and just dark enough to satisfy that part of me that longs for those polished mucky beans so revered here in Portland.

Yesterday I picked up another can and as I was reaching for it another woman was looking at the green-and-yellow can, considering. "It's good!" I said, "and cheap!" I know you're going to be in Trader Joe's, and you'll be wondering, too. Go for it.

#	Blogger	Posts	Cmts
1	Slashfood Editor	87	0
2	Alexa Weibel	51	2
3	Sarah LeTrent	35	0
4	Hanna Raskin	29	0
5	Emily Farris	19	0
6	Jennifer Lawinski	16	0
7	Sara Bonisteel	15	0
8	Michael Thomas Hastings	11	0
9	Jennifer Iserloh	8	0
10	David Koeppel	7	0
11	Joshua M. Bernstein	6	2
12	Jose Ralat Maldonado	6	1
13	Erin Meister	5	0
14	Max Shrem	5	0
15	Mike Pomranz	5	1
16	Kristine Hansen	4	0
17	John Devore	4	0
18	LeNell Smothers	4	0
19	Monika Bartyzel	3	0
20	Lisa Schweitzer	3	0

Blogger

Posts

Cmts

Michael Thomas Hastings

Warming Trend Recall: Children's Hooded Sweatshirts and Jackets With Various Logos Recall: Yayita Baby Hammocks from Three Sisters Toys	Should Yoga Qualify as an Olympic Sport? Thanksgiving: Pick Your Poison Holiday Diet Destroyers: This Week on AOL Health
Lindsay Lohan Staying at Emanuel Ungaro Celebrities in Coral Lipstick Win a $500 Shopping Spree from Norma Kamali	Video: 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon' Midnight Mania Anna Torv Loves 'Fringe' Scientists... But Hates Their Milkshakes Buff Taylor Talks 'Moon' Romance Woes
Thanksgiving Crafts: Leaf-Wrapped Hurricanes Decorating in One Color: Boring or Bold? Edward Cullen's Twilight: New Moon House for Sale	Emergency Workers Find Puppy Trapped in a Cooler Paw Nation at the National Dog Show Pug Nation Captures Pug Mugs In The Best Light

Getting Robust(a) with the CoffeeMeister

Coffee (and Vino!) Varieties with the CoffeeMeister

Tip of the Day: Grind your coffee to maximize its flavor

New ties of caffeine to miscarriage potential scare tactics?

Panama Duran coffee from Trader Joe's: cheap, and good too

Tip of the Day

Slashfood Features

RESOURCES

Featured Stories

Slashfood bloggers (30 days)

Most Commented On (60 days)

Updates From

Sites We Love