About Coffee
The history of coffee goes at least as far back as the thirteenth century with a number of myths surrounding its first use.
The original native population of coffee could have come from Ethiopia, Sudan or Kenya. The earliest credible evidence of either coffee drinking or knowledge of the coffee tree appears in the middle of the fifteenth century, in the Sufi monasteries of Yemen. By the 16th century, it had reached the rest of the Middle East, Persia, Turkey and Northern Africa. Coffee then spread to Balkans, Italy and to the rest of Europe, and Indonesia and then to the Americas.
There are several legendary accounts of the origin of the drink itself. One account involves a Yemenite Sufi mystic. When traveling in Ethiopia, the legend goes, he observed birds of unusual vitality, and, upon trying the berries that the birds had been eating, experienced the same vitality.
Another possibly account involves a 9th-century Ethiopian goat-herder named Kaldi who noticed that his flock nibbled on the bright red berries of a certain bush and was affected. He then chewed on the fruit himself and experienced an exhilarating affect. His exhilaration prompted him to bring the berries to a Monk in a nearby monastery. But the monk disapproved of their use and threw them into the fire, from which an enticing aroma billowed and the monks came out to investigate. The roasted beans were quickly raked from the embers, ground up and dissolved in hot water, yielding the world's first cup of coffee.
THE MILLING PROCESS
At the coffee mills the coffee goes through an extensive process that includes mechanically removing the outer fruit, and away sticky film (Parchment) surrounding the beans. The coffee is fermenting then washed and either dried under the sun or slow dried in large heated dryers for about twenty hours until the internal humidity reaches about 11%. The outer parchment is then removed mechanically before the coffee is then sorted and graded by size, weight and even color. Finally the finished green coffee is bagged to be delivered to coffee merchants or coffee roasters.
ROASTING PROCESS
Roasting is one of the most important steps in coffee production and great attention to detail is given to produce high quality coffee. Our coffees are packaged as soon as the coffee leaves the roaster's cooling bin to protect its freshness.
Light Roast – Sometimes referred to as cinnamon roast. The flavor is fully developed where origin characteristics of coffee are predominant.The bean surface is a light brown color and looks quite dry. It often has a very bright character. Mild flavors with highest acidity with high octane caffeine. Roasted about 13 Minutes.
Medium Roast – Sweeter then the light roast this roast is medium brown, the norm for most of the U.S.. Origin characteristics are still predominant, with roast characteristics beginning to emerge. The beans may have a slight sheen of oil. Roasted about 14 Minutes just at second crack.
Dark Roast – Darker roast than our Medium roast and lighter than the French Roast. A perfect balance between the two. This roast brings the oil to the surface but it discharges just before caramelizing begins so you get a rich dark roasted character without any hint of carbonizing (burnt). Cup is rich smooth with a hint of acidity. Roasted about 15 minutes.
French Roast – A good French roasted coffee will have a strong dark roasted character. This roast brings the coffee oils heavily to the surface of the bean and then caramelizes on the surface to create an almost carbonizing character (slightly burnt character) that is tangy to the taste. Roasted for about 16 minutes.
