There is nothing like a cup of coffee that has been freshly roasted, ground and brewed to perfection. There are a growing number of enthusiasts who are roasting their own coffee beans and enjoying the benefits of truly fresh coffee at about one-third of the price of beans from your local coffee shop. A recent article touts that roasting your own coffee is one of the fastest growing hobbies in the USA today. A gift of freshly roasted coffee which you have roasted yourself is sure to be a hit and amaze the receiver of the hand made gift.

The actual roasting of the coffee beans may be the easiest and most fun part. The packaging of your thoughtful gift will be the most challenging as you prepare the package with as much care as you have roasted the coffee. Coffee which will be kept for any length of time should be kept in an airtight container out of sunlight. For the trip from roasting to the airtight container is where the creation of fun ideas comes in. Coffee is traditionally shipped in burlap sacks. You can buy some burlap at a craft store and sew up bags that will be great for packaging.

At the same craft store you can buy pre-cut stencils with flowers, Lions, Elephants, Crocodiles etc and stencil your bags with animals, plants or other landmarks from a country of origin. A Lion on a bag of Kenya or Malawi, Palm tree from Costa Rica, Coffee cherries from Colombia, etc. Plain brown bags work well also and can be decorated in many ways with a coffee theme, re: cups, saucers, coffee pots etc. Another idea, with the ease in which art can be produced and printed on stickers with the help of a computer, is to make your own labels.

YOUR NAME’s special blend or a blend for an event. How about a wedding gift with the bride and groom’s picture and call it the “Perfect Blend”. The possibilities are endless on how you can package the coffee you have roasted yourself with your own signature. All that is needed to roast your own coffee beans at home is green coffee beans, available from a number of sources, an oven, cookie sheet, oven mitt, metal colander and a wooden spoon. Preheat your oven to 500F, spread raw beans evenly one layer deep on a cookie sheet, place on middle rack of preheated oven and watch them roast. In about 8-10 minutes there will be a crackling noise and smoke with a coffee essence. At this point the roast moves quickly and you need to pay close attention.

About 2-3 minutes after the crackling, your coffee beans should be at the shade you like them. Carefully (using the oven mitt) remove the cookie sheet from the oven and pour the beans into the metal colander. Stir the beans with the wooden spoon to help cool quickly. Do this over a sink or outside, as there is chaff that comes off the beans during roasting. And remember; NEVER leave your roasting coffee beans unattended.

Almost any appliance used to pop popcorn can be used to roast coffee beans. The hot air poppers are great, however, you may want to roast outside or in your garage as they blow the chaff out and can be messy. There are a number of manufacturers of home coffee roaster, including several that use a gas grill and rotisserie. The internet is full of sources to purchase raw beans, but you want to make sure that the supplier you use knows their beans and “cups” their coffee before selling it to you. One of the most reputable sources for green coffee beans is U-Roast-Em, Inc., a high quality, no frills supplier with 30 years in the industry. They can be found at www.u-roast-em.com on the web. Many other sources can be found using your favorite search engine. If you’re interested in using a gas grill to roast your beans, check out www.rkdrums.com or www.buzzroasters.com. For electric, countertop-type coffee roasters, visit www.freshbeansinc.com.

Green, raw coffee beans last for years when properly stored. This allows you to build a collection of fine coffees to choose from as well as buy larger amounts of the great coffees and save more money. Keep your bean collection in a cool, dry place out of any direct sun light and they will last until you roast them. As coffee ages it loses acidity and becomes more mellow. Many like the rich mild cup of a coffee that has had a couple years to rest and mellow. More important than the year of the crop is the quality of the bean, the preparation at origin, transportation and warehousing in country of consumption.

If all of these things are done correctly, your green coffee will last for years. Suppliers who know how to cup samples of coffee beans are able to determine if all of these criteria are done correctly before they purchase the beans. Now all you have to worry about is your friends beating down your door to get some more of that wonderful coffee you roasted for them. I guess at that point you just get them started roasting their own, they’ll be forever grateful.

If you haven’t tried coffee ice cream, you have missed one of the most delicious and delightful uses to which this wondrous bean can be put. If you thought coffee was only a hot drink for perking yourself up, then you need to think again. Coffee is a very versatile thing, and lends itself equally well to drinks and to desserts, and even has medicinal uses.

Worldwide, coffee is one the most popular flavors for ice cream. All the top-selling ice cream brands sell the flavor, and now you can enjoy some without running to your nearest Baskin-Robbins outlet! Make some coffee ice cream in your home – here’s how. First, be sure to select quality coffee beans only, because any compromise on this is likely to ruin the flavor of your coffee ice cream. Arabica beans are preferred over Robusta. Take about half a cup and roast it in the microwave at 400deg Fahrenheit for 10 minutes or so. Then crush them fine and store them in an airtight container. Add about two cups of milk to two cups of heavy cream, and mix in the crushed beans. Pour the mixture in a saucepan over the fire and bring it to just under a boil, stirring all the while.

Then take it off the fire and wait for an hour or so, while it cools and the coffee spreads its flavor throughout. Coffee ice cream must be evenly flavored, and concentrations of coffee in particular spots can only harm the overall effect. Collect the yolks of 8 eggs, and add slightly less than a cup of sugar to them. Pour the milk-and-cream mixture into the eggs-and-sugar, and whisk thoroughly till the whole thing is quite blended together.

Put the new mixture into the saucepan and cook it over a medium heat. You should use a wooden spoon to stir it constantly, because metal can react and destroy the flavor of coffee ice cream. You’ll know it’s done when the broth thickens slightly, and begins to coat the backside of the wooden spoon. Take it off the fire and pass it through a fine-meshed strainer, to take out the coarser coffee bean remnants and possible eggshell bits. Pour the custard-like stuff into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Adding some home-made coffee brittles at this point would be a nice touch, both as garnish and flavoring agent. You can easily make some with espresso beans, sugar and butter, but that is the subject of another article. If you intend to do this, then don’t wait till the coffee ice cream is totally frozen, but pour it semi-soft into another container and stir the brittles in. Then use plastic wrap to cover it tightly, before freezing. The leftover brittles, if any, would be a nice touch if sprinkled on top before serving. These measures yield about a litre of coffee ice cream; if you need more, adjust according to ratio.

If you are at all aware of health and environmental issues, organic coffee is a product that should be interesting to you. Do you like to wake up in the morning, feel the sun’s rays on your face and savor the rich aroma of your favorite drink brewing? Do you like to spend rainy afternoons at the window, a cup smoking in your hand? Or to sit up late at night, watching a classic movie, the cheery pot resting at your elbow within easy reach? Then you will also want to ensure that you do not consume lots of harmful chemicals with the drink that you love so much.

Then organic coffee beans are just what you need for your daily cup of coffee. It’s a sad truth that modern agricultural practice greatly depends on the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. In order to supply the growing worldwide demand for popular crops, farmers don’t have a choice but to use harmful substances that boost production and minimize loss. Unfortunately, these substances persist in the finished product, though in residual quantities. Coffee is not an exception to this. As a partial solution to this problem of slow poisoning through toxic residue, many people all over the world have chosen only to consume produce that has been grown using traditional methods and without the use of chemicals. Many organic farms have sprung up to supply their needs.

Organic coffee is grown on all continents, but predominantly in South America, where the traditional low-tech methods are perhaps least different from modern techniques. Organic coffee is produced under strict certification guidelines, and growers do their best to ensure that the methods are as environmental-friendly as possible. It is very often shade-grown, which means that large shade trees are used to shelter to coffee plants during critical periods of their growing season. In terms of environmental protection, this is superior to the high-tech method of clearing out wide regions around coffee plantations. It also means that the soil is protected from erosion, and the habitat and food-sources of birds and wildlife remain intact.

Coffee tastes great by itself, but for an extra special taste sensation, try gourmet flavored coffee. There are many flavoring substances which can be added to coffee to give your daily cup of Java an out of the ordinary flavor experience.

Some flavors are natural enhancers that go together with coffee like bees and honey. Rum and chocolate have been added to coffee for almost as long as coffee has been produced. Some of the newest gourmet flavored coffee includes vanilla, macadamia, and even peanut butter!

Not all these flavors are everyone’s “cup of tea”, but the taste sensations of gourmet flavored coffee give you a new outlook on Java juice. Try out some of these special flavors — you may find a favorite that you always come back to.

Just look at some of these types of gourmet flavored coffee — apricot cream, Black Forest cake, Cafe Napoleon, chocolate raspberry, Jamaican rum, Southern pecan and vanilla hazelnut. The names by themselves makes your mouth water.

Coffee is flavored by adding flavoring substances after it is roasted. The flavoring substances are highly concentrated and only a small amount is used in gourmet flavored coffee. Be careful when buying flavored coffee — be sure to buy from a reputable company. Some companies use the flavoring process to hide the taste of inferior quality coffee.

The flavoring used in gourmet flavored coffee loses its strength when exposed to air. Always keep the coffee beans in a tightly sealed container for maximum flavor. For the best cup of coffee, grind the beans right before brewing.

You can make your own special blends by combining various gourmet flavored coffee. Adding a touch of flavored coffee to your regular coffee beans adds a special taste that is uniquely yours. The sky is the limit! You can have a new flavor of coffee every day!

With a gourmet cup of coffee costing almost as much as a luncheon sandwich these days, more and more people are making their coffee at home from an “old fashioned” drip coffee machine. Thanks to Starbucks and the other vendors out there, coffee from a can or a jar just doesn’t work anymore. Coffee has become the second most valuable item of international trade, just behind petroleum. Worldwide, coffee lovers drink 2.25 billion cups a DAY! To satisfy that thirst, the world’s coffee growers, each year, produce about 6 million tons of green coffee beans and ship them to thousands of coffee roasters around the globe. People who drink coffee range from those interested only in the caffeine “buzz,” to the true aficionado, who, like wine connieseurs, are concerned with color, taste, quality and aroma.

Whether you order a cup a “joe”, some hot “java” or a caffe macchiato, the primary ingredient remains the coffee bean. Coffee begins on a tree in a warm climate where rainfall is about 50 inches a year, the soil is well drained and preferably volcanic (this is why Hawaiian Kona coffee is so highly prized). The fruit of the coffee plant is called a “cherry” and is appropriately red in color. The heart of the cherry, generally two beans, is separated from the husk by hand and then air and sun dried. Separating the bean from its outer husk, called “hulling” is done either mechanically or by hand. These green beans, as they are now known, have a shelf life of about two years.

The mythical story on the discovery of coffee and its use by human beings, involves an Ethiopian goatherd named Kaldi. Kaldi watched in awe and amusement as his flock behaved very strangely each time they ate the bright red fruit from a special plant. He tried the berries and found himself suddenly alert and full of energy. The following day Kaldi reported his experience to a Muslim holy man at a nearby monastery who later gathered some berries which he found to have a bitter taste. Hoping to improve their flavor he roasted them in a fire, crushed them with a stone and boiled them in water. Almost immediately after trying his new concoction, his brain became more active and he was able to stay awake all night without being tired in the morning. News of this miracle berry drink spread rapidly throughout the Middle East and by the 16th century, European travelers were praising the drink in their journals. The secret was out!

Most gourmet coffee is produced from Arabica beans which results in a coffee rich and full, providing an intense and fulfilling taste experience. Unlike Robusa coffee, which is considered inferior in taste, aroma and body, Arabica beans grow at higher elevations which means that they take longer to mature thus allowing the beans to produce more of the oils which give coffee its remarkable flavor. With tastes including caramel, chocolate, nutty, earthy, spicy or even floral, gourmet coffee has something for nearly every palate.

It is the roasting process, however, correctly described as both an art and a science, that is essential to the outcome of any coffee. Roasting gives coffee beans their characteristic dark color and intense aroma. The heat cracks the beans, releasing the rich oils hidden inside. Roast at a temperature that is too low, and the bean becomes sour. Roast at too high a temperature and the bean is burnt with a the taste of wood ash. The darker roasts produce the espressos, while the lighter roasts yield the more mellow morning coffees.

Grinding the coffee, another critical phase in preparing the “perfect” cup, should be done at the last possible moment, just before brewing. Utensils should be clean and the water cold and untreated. A good rule of thumb is a ratio of about one tablespoon of ground coffee to every six ounces of water. Of course individual tastes vary, so adjust accordingly.

The Internet is a tremendous source for the refined drinker of gourmet coffee. In addition to buying the world’s greatest beans online, there is easy access to the miscellaneous accessories necessary to prepare the ideal beverage. Coffee can be both a food and a pleasure and with a little online help the perfect ingredients can be easily gathered.

P.S. In Italy, espresso is considered so essential to daily life that the price is regulated by the government.

Could there be anything better than a hot, fresh brewed cup of coffee? As you open that can of pre-ground Maxwell House Coffee, did you even know that coffee comes in different roasts? Did you know that you can roast your own coffee beans at home? If you think that the aroma of your fresh ground coffee beans can’t be beat, get a home coffee roaster, you’ll be in Java Heaven. Roasting the coffee beans is what imparts flavor. Similar to the making of a fine wine or a hand rolled cigar, some consider the roasting of coffee beans as an art. Those that describe coffee use some of the same vocabulary they use to describe wine.

Depending on the roast level chosen the beans take on different flavor characteristics. The lighter the coffee bean the less flavor it will have, the darker the coffee bean the stronger the flavor it will have. There are generally four different categories of roast. A light roast (American) , a medium roast (Breakfast), a dark roast (French), and darkest roast (Italian or espresso). Each type of roast imparts a different appearance to the coffee beans. When a coffee bean is roasted to an American roast the beans will have a very light color to them and they will appear dry.

A medium roasted bean, or Breakfast roast will have a rich brown color and will be oily in appearance. A French roasted coffee bean will have a very oily appearance with the beans appearing very dark brown. The darkest roasted beans or Espresso beans will appear black. Coffee roasting can easily be done in your home. Depending on the roast that you desire you can roast coffee in five to fifteen minutes. Green beans are available online from a number of sellers, as are coffee roasters.

Choose different types of green coffees to sample. Drum roasters are very popular for use in the home. It’s best to consider purchasing a roaster as it will give you the most consistent finish to your beans. Some try to roast beans in frying pans, some use hot air popcorn poppers. While each of these techniques will work, as mentioned above they don’t give a consistent finish to all the beans and you will most likely be disappointed in the result. Enjoy!