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Those recipes look very tasty, except for the GT one personally. I've never been more experimental than just adding whipped cream on top. I have been a lover/addict of coffee forever, but only consume 1 pot/day. A few weeks ago I bought my own home espresso/capuccino maker and it works well. Now I can also treat myself, and friends, to capuccinos, cafe au laits, etc.
For the past 5 years, I have been roasting and grinding my own raw green beans, here in Costa Rica. I thought I had died and gone to Heaven when I tried out my little "Fresh Roast Plus 8" roaster the very first time! What an incredible difference and you can also roast according to your own taste. I prefer a dark roast and can easily achieve this with my roaster. It only takes about 5 minutes and the beans come out almost black and very shiny/oily, just the way I like them. In Canada, you can get all your coffee gear here: http://www.greenbeanery.ca/bean/home.php In the U.S., this place is great: http://www.sweetmarias.com/
I hope it's ok to mention those 2 businesses. I'm sure there are others and I do not have a vested interest in either one! They're just the 2 I know about. I didn't know Sept. 29 was "Coffee Day". I guess for me everyday is "Coffee Day", but I will certainly check out what will be going on here, lol!
I have heard this comment twice in the past couple of months regarding roasting your own coffee beans: "What an incredible difference and you can also roast according to your own taste."
My VitaMix will grind coffee beans, but I had never thought about roasting it myself. Is it true that a lot of the bitter flavor is gone when they are freshly roasted?
When my DH drinks his black coffee, it helps him burn weight off. When I finish doctoring up my coffee, maybe the caffine helps me burn off the extra calories. :-)
Thanks for reading and commenting.
April
vanillaman San Gerardo de Rivas Costa Rica (Zone 11)
April: I don't think home roasting removes the bitter flavour but I'm not sure. Maybe I'll look into that. I never acquired a taste for drinking it black, so always use a little sugar and cream in mine. Of course now I'll be adding ice cream, cocoa, whipped cream etc. A little cinnamon would be nice as well, and I plan to try your peppermint suggestion soon. I have a very minty-tasting bush in the front and I could put a leaf in my coffee for a few seconds and then take it out. It is very strong and is commonly used here in herbal remedies. I'll have to experiment with it, but I'm sure if I left the leaf in too long, it would end up overpowering the coffee. Perhaps putting the leaf in with the coffee beans before grinding them would work, but then the entire pot would be "minty".
Great ideas about the mint! If you find out about the bitter, please let me know. Do you know a source for raw coffee beans that would ship here and still be a reasonable price?
:-)
Thanks again.
April
vanillaman San Gerardo de Rivas Costa Rica (Zone 11)
I think there are several companies in the U.S. but I'm only slightly familiar with "Sweet Maria's". The link is in my first message. That site is a little frustrating. They carry a lot of green beans from most of the coffee-producing countries, but you have to click on each one to read up about it AND get the price. I did notice that they really get quite detailed and also include a rating for acidity, which might help you out if you decide to try some. Their prices go down considerably when you buy in 2 or 5 lb. lots, etc. I think I once stumbled across someone up in Washington or Oregon who was also importing and selling unroasted beans online. You'd have to do some Googling to shop around, but I would suggest that anyway. I don't think anyone should just buy from the first place they find or someone (like me) mentions. It's just like buying seeds!
Good luck - sounds like you're considering starting to roast your own, lol!
vm
vanillaman San Gerardo de Rivas Costa Rica (Zone 11)
True. The year is 3/4 over. How did that happen? After "THE" Tsnuami, the world is spinning a tiny bit faster...but really, how much faster can the year go?
LOL
Roasting your own coffee, if done right, gives you the best coffee. It is so fresh, you'll never be able to drink anything else. It does help with the bitter taste, as long as you don't roast too much on a bean or brew too long.
Unfortunately, it is all complicated -- not all beans are good for light roasts, nor for dark roasts. Then there's how you brew that can affect a cup. Reading a lot between Sweet Maria's and Coffee Geek will educate you as much as you can handle.
If you can find a good local roaster, that may be just as good. I used to roast my own beans until I started drinking more coffee, and then it became a chore. Luckily, Fresh Coffee Now is local to me and they use good packaging. Nothing is a fresh as your own, but they are closest I can find for me, and it is worth the $ (and they are not much more $ and sometimes the same).
Freshly roasted coffee really does make a difference. Not enough for me to go black, but it goes from needing the caffeine to actually liking what you're drinking (and sometimes wanting more just for the flavor).
And, no, I don't think those bins in the supermarket where you get as much beans as you want counts as fresh. Unless they are replacing it every day. Beans go stale in regular air, and you don't know how long those beans have been sitting there!
