Coffee is a healthy beverage that provides certain benefits to regular drinkers of the aromatic liquid. That’s why Home Grounds is so keen to share their thoughts and feelings about all things related to coffee. Believe it or not, if you drink coffee regularly you will increase your intake of fiber, protect your liver against cirrhosis, lower your risk for Alzheimer’s disease and type II diabetes, reduce your risk for depression and suicide, experience less risk of heart disease, and even protect yourself against Parkinson’s disease. Clearly, coffee is amazing in many ways and everyone should drink it. Guess what? It’s possible to make coffee even more beneficial by adding superfoods to give it an additional boost. But which superfoods are worth adding? Which ones go great with high-powered caffeinated beverages? If you’ve ever asked yourself these questions, you’d benefit from sticking around to learn these valuable answers below.
Many of us think about the negatives in regards to eating or drinking great tasting chocolate. They think about gaining weight, or how it contains too much sugar, and potential allergies if they happen to be allergic to dairy. If it’s prepared wrong, chocolate certainly does possess many certain qualities.
Here’s the thing…
We wouldn’t tell you to go to your favourite convenience or grocery store and buy Mars bars or Milky Ways or Snickers bars and melt them into your coffee. That would be foolish and incredibly unproductive. It would not benefit your health whatsoever.
On the other hand, unsweetened cocoa contains amazing properties and antioxidants that are very beneficial to your health. Unsweetened cocoa powder has antioxidants, anti-inflammatory properties, it helps lower blood pressure and blood sugar, and it’s even going to help you balance your cholesterol levels.
How does chocolate sound now? If you’ve been paying attention, you'll realise that chocolate in its purest form contains many benefits to protect your health and helps you thrive.
Jitter juice tastes absolutely amazing when you add sweetened creamers to the mix. At the same time, these creamers are typically loaded with artificial sweeteners, way too much sugar, and loads of other unhealthy ingredients. They may taste amazing but they certainly aren’t doing anything to protect your health. On the contrary, they may be hurting it from a long-term perspective.
It’s possible to enjoy sweet tasting coffee without loading it up with artificial flavors and heavy creams filled with sugar. You can add a tablespoon of healthy coconut oil instead and still have sweet tasting coffee that also provides a number of excellent health benefits.
Did you know that coconut oil is connected to weight loss? So if you’re struggling to lose weight, adding a tablespoon of coconut oil to your coffee may help prevent additional weight gain and give you the added boost you need to start dropping those unwanted pounds.
Coconut oil also has a connection with preventing Alzheimer’s disease. So if you know Alzheimer’s runs in your family, it’s probably a good idea to start adding a tablespoon of coconut oil to your coffee every day to have the best chance at avoiding Alzheimer’s as you get older.
As you can see, adding coconut oil to your coffee is certainly a good idea. The health benefits are tremendous and it even adds additional sweet flavor to make your cup of Joe taste great too.
Cardamom is so potent and powerful that many people in the world of health call it the queen of spices. For starters, it has a warm and rich taste which makes it an excellent addition to your cup of Java. But that’s not the only reason why it is referred to as the queen of the mountain of health.
In the past during ancient times, medical practitioners used this potent spice to treat all sorts of unhealthy and unexpected diseases. Cardamom was a stable medical treatment for serious diseases like tuberculosis and gum infections. It also contains antimicrobial properties, which is great if you’re looking to fight off a bacterial infection like E. coli or scarlet fever.
From a social standpoint, the queen of spices also has your back. Believe it or not, cardamom contains properties that can help improve the freshness of your breath. As a natural breath freshener added to your morning coffee, you’ll be a lot more pleasant to be around once you’ve finished your morning cup of Joe. It’s still a good idea to brush your teeth in the morning too to really fresh in your breath.
Visit our store for great coffee, all freshly roasted to order just for you.
]]>Learn about the key stages of coffee roasting and discover why you're coffee can taste so different from roaster to roaster. The speed at which the coffee beans pass through each stage is called the roast profile. Roasters try to keep the coffee consistent by ensuring the roast profile for each bean is kept exactly the same each time. There are really only two variables important to coffee roasting - temperature and time. By careful variation of these two important factors it is possible to bring out different qualities of the coffee bean that each roaster wishes to accentuate.
So what are the basic stages that the coffee bean goes through during the coffee roasting process? Here they are...
The raw coffee bean starts off containing around 10 - 12 percent moisture. The coffee roaster is usually preheated when the raw bean is first loaded in and during the initial few minutes it looks like nothing is happening. During this stage the bean is warming up and the water contained inside is beginning to evaporate. A large amount of energy is required for this first part.
So the beans have dried out and they now begin to brown. In some cases the coffee beans go quite a bright yellow before turning brown. The aroma at this stage resembles cooked rice. The browning reactions going on inside the coffee bean cause it to expand and it begins to shed it's thin papery skin (the chaff). This chaff is a fire hazard so hot air is constantly passed over the beans inside the roaster to blow it away into a special chaff collector, which is attached to the exhaust of the roasting machine. At this stage the smoke starts (although most of it may still be steam).
Once the so-called first crack stage has been reached, gases and water vapour have been building up inside the coffee bean and it begins to emit an audible cracking sound when the pressure is finally released. The sound is very similar to that of pop-corn, although a little quieter. At this stage the coffee bean has been roasted enough to be used to make coffee. Although it's up to the roaster to decide at what point the roasting stops. They may continue a little longer.
Light roasted coffee is usually stopped on or just after the first crack stage and you'll usually get the real flavour of the bean at this point. Although it is generally true that the acidity will be quite high and you may get a lot of sourness - especially when making an espresso.
Here is where the delicate art of coffee roasting comes into it's own and much of it boils down to the opinion of the roaster. The flavour of the end result is mainly governed by how long the coffee bean is subjected to heat after the first crack stage. The longer the time, the less the acidity and sweetness as the sugars and acids are caramelised. Think about the sweetness of sugar syrup compared to caramel and even molasses (treacle). As the heat is applied to sugar, the less sweetness is present. The same is true inside the coffee bean.
The coffee bean becomes browner and the surface smoother. There are various terms to describe the roast level during this phase: from "cinnamon" to "city" to "full city" - it's essentially the medium roasted phase and the coffee undergoes a transformation into something wonderful!
At the end of the development stage the beans begin to crack again. This time it's a quieter more crackly sound and signifies that the structure of the bean is beginning to break down. They become darker, oils will appear on the surface and they start to look a lot more shiny. Beyond second crack is the French or Italian roast stage and, essentially, the original and unique flavour of the coffee has been lost. The bitterness is high because the coffee has essentially been burnt.
If you want to explore the different flavours of each origin then these dark roasts are not for you. The uniqueness has gone and a coffee from Brazil will taste very similar to one from Ethiopia.
Sorry, did I say 5 stages? Of course, this is the bonus stage!
If you'd like to try out some of our lovely freshly roasted coffee beans, visit our coffee bean shop.
]]>Check out these 10 coffee facts you may or may not know and discover more about the humble bean. It's truly amazing!
Yes, legend has it that purely by chance an Ethiopian goat herder called Kaldi discovered that his goats were more energetic than normal after eating the fruit of a particular shrub. Some local monks then began using it to stay awake through the night while they were studying.
We thank you, Kaldi, for discovering the truly wonderful coffee bean!
The coffee bean isn't a bean at all but a seed of the cherry fruit of the coffee tree (actually a shrub) of the genus caffea. There are actually two beans inside the cherry - as each "bean" is one half of the seed. The cherries are produced by the plant usually once per year and typically harvested by hand - certainly speciality coffee beans are - because they don't all ripen on the plant at the same time. The outer pulp is removed by washing or air-drying and the resulting coffee seeds are dried out until they have a moisture content of about 12%.
Arabica is the most common coffee bean and has the better flavour. Robusta is, as the name suggests, much more tolerant of pests and diseases, but is not as nice to taste. Robusta contains a much higher level of caffeine than Arabica and is commonly used in instant coffee. It is also contained in some espresso blends because it increases the amount of crema (froth) on the head of your Italian style espresso and gives it more body. Here at Pebble & Pine we only serve you Arabica beans because they just taste better.
The coffee growing region is between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. The coffee plant prefers a stable climate with plenty of rainfall and reasonably constant temperature. The plants die if the temperature drops below freezing point. However, although they like plenty of water they also require a lot of drainage. Coffee trees are therefore planted on mountainsides and at high altitude, where the slope allows the rain to run off and it's not too hot.
The Arabic name is translated as "wine of the bean" and is certainly a good name for it. Coffee is like wine in many ways, in that there are so many variations and origins to choose from. It really is a diverse beverage. So how did it get from this Arabic name to the word coffee of today?
Water is used a lot in the production of green coffee beans (in the raw, un-roasted form they are called "green"). Not only is it used to keep the plants alive but it's used a lot in the process to remove the fruit pulp. Some countries, such as Brazil, have developed techniques that preserve precious water supplies. The pulped natural and honey processing techniques use much less water but have to be monitored much more carefully to ensure the beans don't rot.
With about 30% of the world's total output, Brazil is by far the largest exporter of coffee. However, it's only in recent times that they've started producing high quality speciality coffee beans. They now produce some truly stunning coffee. They also tend to use the natural process, which is particularly good for espresso coffee. Therefore Brazilian coffee beans have been used a lot as the basis for many espresso blends.
At the last count I think it was 2.25 billion. That is a truly astonishing figure and a lot of coffee! Just in the USA alone over 400 million cups of coffee are consumed daily. In the UK it's a more conservative 55 million cups, but it's growing and is fast displacing tea as the beverage of choice in the UK.
Well, news just in (well almost). It used to be the Netherlands but they've dropped down the rankings a bit since the last study. So who drinks the most coffee per head of population? Actually it's (drum roll)... Finland!
Yes the caffeine loving Finns consume a hefty 12kg of coffee beans per person each and every year. They are closely (well, not actually that close) followed by Norway with 9.9kg and Iceland with 9kg. It must be down to those long nights in the winter!
If you're still, vaguely, interested, the US comes in at number 26 in the rankings and the UK at 45.
The raw coffee beans contain caffeine. There's no getting round it (although some are working on a caffeine-free type of coffee bean). So, in order for you to get your skinny decaf latte, somebody has to go and remove the caffeine. This is actually a simple process that involves (a) chemicals and (b) time. Decaf coffee used to be made by infusing the bean with toxic chemicals, but they don't tend to do that now. Pesky food standard regulations! (although in actual fact, chemicals such as Dichloromethane that are mildly toxic and carcinogenic are still allowed under US regulations).
A new technique, called Swiss Water decaffeination, was invented to solve this problem. This technique involves soaking the beans in green coffee extract. This water-based extract is essentially a liquid form of coffee bean but without the caffeine. By a process of osmosis the caffeine molecules migrate from the bean to the extract but everything else inside the bean stays the same.
Of course, given enough time all the molecules may transfer across. But nobody has that amount of time so some caffeine is always left behind. The European regulations are much stricter than the US regulations for the amount of caffeine in decaf coffee. In Europe, the amount of residual caffeine should be no higher than 0.1% of the original caffeine content. In the US it is 0.3%.
]]>From a few days after it is roasted, coffee begins to go stale. If you've been buying pre-ground coffee from the supermarket then it is highly likely that it has lost a lot of its original flavour and character by the time you pick it up off the shelf. It could actually have been several months since it was roasted.
You should always use coffee within a month of its roasting date to make sure you get the best flavour. Why do you think that the large coffee producers don't include a roasting date on the packet?
Whole bean coffee lasts longer. Once it's ground, it should be used within a few hours for maximum freshness. Always buy whole coffee beans and grind them yourself when you need them.
You can buy freshly roasted coffee in our online shop.
If you've bought freshly roasted coffee beans, then make sure it lasts as long as possible by storing it properly. Choose a container with an airtight seal - preferably one with a one-way valve that allows air out but not in. If your container doesn't have a valve, just make sure it's not overfilled so that the pressure doesn't build up. Freshly roasted coffee gives off small amounts of trapped Carbon Dioxide, which is why a lot of coffee packaging has an in-built valve.
Fortunately, all our coffees are sold in resealable bags with an in-built valve - so you can keep the coffee for longer. It's not necessary to keep it in the fridge or freezer to preserve it's freshness - just make sure you drink it within a month of roasting. If you love our coffee then worrying about how long it will last is not usually a problem!
Hopefully you've taken the advice from our first tip and bought whole bean coffee. As I said earlier, it lasts for about a month after roasting. However, once it's ground up some experts believe that it only retains its freshness for about thirty minutes! The reason is that once the coffee has been ground up the surface area exposed to the air is dramatically increased.
For best results, grind the beans using a burr grinder. These types of coffee grinder produce a very even grind, unlike the cheaper ones that chop up the beans a bit like a mini food processor. If the grind is not even then you lose control over the level of extraction you get from the coffee and you'll get inconsistent results.
The way the coffee is roasted has a big impact on its volume. As the coffee beans are roasted, the size of the bean increases and it becomes lighter in weight. Therefore to get a more consistent result, weigh the coffee out rather than use a measuring scoop. The best way to do this is to buy some scales that have a "tare" function (a reset button that sets the weight back to zero after you've put something on them).
Using a manual dripper (otherwise referred to as a pour-over coffee dripper) enables you to pour a little of the hot water over the grounds to start the process off. This is sometimes referred to as the "bloom" - the sudden release of Carbon Dioxide on contact with hot water. The bloom is important for better extraction when you add the remaining water. The short video below shows the bloom in action...
Boil the kettle and wait for 30 seconds before pouring it on the coffee grounds. The perfect water temperature for brewing is between 90 and 95 degrees Celsius. If it's hotter then there is a danger that the hot water will burn the coffee and affect its taste.
To achieve the best brewed coffee, use a manual coffee dripper (or pour-over) that gives you ultimate control over the process. The Hario V60 is the perfect way to get a lovely coffee without having the extra cost of an automatic machine.
Shop for Hario V60 coffee dripper set.
So there you have it. Why not browse our online coffee bean shop.
]]>This is the first part of a series of posts on the journey of the coffee bean from the farmer all the way through to the point where it ends up in your cup as a lovely, tasty cup of coffee.
Let's start with a simple fact that you may or may not know. The bean we refer to is not a bean at all. In fact it's the seed of a cherry. To be more specific, the cherry of the coffee tree (coffea arabica to be precise).
Coffee cherries are ripe when they turn red and can then be harvested. The problem with harvesting the fruit is that they don't all ripen at the same time, even on the same branch of a tree.
This means that, unfortunately for the farmer, all cherries have to be picked carefully by hand. It's a time-consuming, laborious and therefore expensive process. The cost of harvesting represents about half the overall annual costs of a farm.
Coffee requires a specific set of conditions in order for it to grow. These conditions are generally found only in the Tropics where there is plenty of rainfall and sunshine. Although the plants need a lot of rain, they don't like it too hot. In fact, the coffee tree likes the temperature to be fairly constant throughout the year. They actually also like a bit of shade.
You therefore find most coffee plantations at a reasonably high altitude, where the conditions are cooler. However, it must not be too cool - the trees die if the temperature drops below freezing point.
New coffee trees are grown from seed in nurseries and are ready to harvest their first fruit after 3 to 4 years. They then continue to bear fruit for between 20 and 30 years. The coffee cherry takes about 6 to 8 months to ripen so there can only really be one harvest per year.
Depending on their location in the world, of course, harvesting occurs at different times of the year. North of the Equator - in Ethiopia and Central America, for instance - the harvest takes place between September and December. South of the Equator the main harvest is in April or May. Equatorial countries, such as Colombia, can harvest fruit all year round.
As I said earlier, the "coffee bean" as we refer to it is actually the seed of the cherry. It's a pretty big seed, though. It takes up most of the size of the cherry.
This is the cherry split in two so you can see the size of the coffee bean inside. The outer part (red) is the pulp, which is removed whilst processing the bean. The inner part (grey) is what makes our lovely cup of coffee.
There are generally two methods to process the coffee bean. The dry, or natural, method and the wet (washed) method. The whole aim of both methods is to remove the cherry pulp and get the overall moisture content of the bean down to about 12%.
This was the original way of processing the coffee bean and is still carried out in parts of the coffee growing world today, particularly where there may be a shortage of the copious amounts of water required for the wet method.
The natural method involves spreading the coffee cherries out in a thin layer to dry in the sun. To prevent the cherries from rotting or getting mouldy, they are frequently turned. It is therefore a very labour intensive process but doesn't require as much machinery or any water.
Once dry, the outer husk of skin and fruit is removed mechanically in a mill before being stored ready for export.
This is the more mechanical method of processing the coffee bean, and is therefore more expensive. However there is less chance of something going wrong during the process resulting in a coffee bean that is generally worth more, with fewer defects.
After picking, the coffee cherry has its outer skin and most of the flesh removed using a machine called a de-pulper. It is then moved to a water tank where the rest of the flesh is removed by fermentation. The remaining flesh can then be easily washed off.
The coffee bean is then dried out, usually in the sun, by spreading it out on brick patios or raised drying tables.
Some producers utilise other methods that are hybrid approaches of the two main methods described above. These methods include:
When they leave the mill, the coffee beans are usually still covered with a layer of parchment. The moisture content is now low enough for the beans to be stored without risk of rotting. At this stage the coffee is stored at rest (in reposo) for up to sixty days to mature.
Shipping is obviously a costly exercise. In order to reduce the costs of shipping, the final layer of parchment is removed from the bean in a dry mill to reduce the weight as much as possible.
It is then examined for defects and graded/sorted, usually according to size. Checking for defects is another time-consuming, and therefore costly, process but results in a much higher quality coffee bean.
Photo credit: Pressicko.sk
The coffee is then bagged into either 60kg or 69kg jute bags before being transported from its country of origin in shipping containers. Transporting coffee by sea is still the cheapest and most environmentally friendly method of shipping. However, it does take time and risks the coffee being exposed to heat and moisture during the journey that may affect its quality. It can be a risky, and somewhat frustrating, business!
So if you wonder why high quality speciality coffee is much more expensive, now you know why.
If you want to try out some of our coffee beans, then please visit our shop. You'll notice the difference in quality compared with the cheaper varieties bought from the supermarket. The coffee is only roasted once we receive your order, so it will be as fresh as possible when it arrives at your door.
Watch out for the next post on the coffee roasting process and the final one on brewing.
]]>Why bother with all of this nonsense and instead just set up a coffee subscription, safe in the knowledge that you'll get your coffee when you need it.
If you're still unsure, here are six reasons why you should set up your subscription now...
Try out our coffee subscription plan now - it's definitely worth it.
]]>The Hario V60 is a great method of brewing fresh coffee. Because of the fine filter, the resulting cup of coffee is clean tasting with no slushy sediment (unlike a cafetiere). Check out this great video showing the method in action...
If you'd like to try out this method, we have some Hario V60 one-cup pour over drippers in stock. Our coffee starter set is the perfect option as you'll get a Hario V60 size 01 dripper, some filter papers and a bag of freshly roasted coffee all-in for £13.99. Start your speciality coffee experience now with the perfect starter set.
]]>This aptly named blog is a goldmine of information on all things coffee related. It's run by Kev (yes nobody seems to know his surname) who posts quite regularly and is full of useful information about how coffee is produced, the roasting process and brewing among other things. Definitely worth a look.
Another great coffee resource. This one is very nicely laid out, has regular updates and they have a very active Facebook page also (@LoveCoffeeCommunity). This is my go-to site for a different perspective on the coffee industry. Lots of different coffee-related subjects are covered by several in-house bloggers. I particularly like the '6 ways coffee makes you beautiful' article - as if we needed any more reasons!
If you like general coffee industry news and updates on coffee culture around the world, then you can do a lot worse than Sprudge. It's a huge site with regular articles that'll keep you busy reading for a long time. From new coffee bar openings to reviews of the latest gear to the latest developments in the world of coffee, this site has pretty much everything.
The blog by James Hoffman, a coffee industry veteran. He's a former barista champion and founder of a London-based coffee roasters among other things. He also wrote the book 'The World Atlas of Coffee' and is currently writing another one that will be released in the near future. One of the leading coffee experts in the country so his articles are extremely well informed.
This blog and news site is run by Roast magazine and features articles geared towards the coffee professional. It's still an interesting resource with lots of information on industry related topics.
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The monthly payment option is always the most flexible one (and that's why we call it the "flexi" subscription!) because you only pay according to the frequency of coffee deliveries that you've set. Each time a delivery is due a new order is generated, payment for that order is taken and then we roast the coffee and send it out to you.
The main benefits of the flexible coffee subscription are:
With the fixed up-front payment option you still get a regular supply of fresh coffee, chosen by our expert roaster, but instead of paying in instalments you pay for the subscription ahead of time. This is the more cost-effective option than the flexible plan and is ideal as a gift for a friend or loved one.
Whatever your preference, we hope that we have the right subscription option for you. If not, you can always drop us a line to our email address and we'd be happy to discuss any specific needs you have.
You can visit our coffee subscription page for details of all of our options.
]]>This is a question I get asked all the time and the answer is: it depends.
I know you're probably thinking that it's not a very good answer, but let me explain...
Coffee starts out as the seed of a cherry fruit from the coffee plant. The seed is dried out until its moisture content is roughly 12%. In its green form, the coffee bean is not much use for producing a cup of coffee. In fact the main flavour characteristic is grass!
So to bring out the coffee flavour, we have to roast the bean. When we roast it, the coffee bean undergoes changes in its chemistry that affect its flavour. Sugars are slowly caramelised, which means that sweetness decreases and the coffee becomes more bitter. Smoke is released along with the carbon dioxide so essentially the weight of the coffee bean decreases and its volume increases. It becomes less dense.
Caffeine, however, tends to stick around. It isn't affected by the roasting process and therefore remains in the same quantities throughout. Since during the roasting process the total volume increases and the weight decreases then if you're measuring coffee out by weight there is more caffeine per gram in dark roasted coffee than there is in a light or medium roast. However, if you're measuring your coffee out by volume (e.g. by using a scoop) then there is less caffeine per millilitre in darker roasted coffee.
So there you go. As I said, it depends on how you're measuring your coffee out.
p.s. A lot of commercial espresso blends contain a mixture of Arabica and Robusta coffee beans. The Robusta coffee bean contains a lot more caffeine than Arabica so an espresso blend containing Robusta will naturally contain more caffeine. This is also true for instant coffee, which is also made with the inferior Robusta bean. Cheaper, but definitely not as nice.
Check out our range of dark and medium Arabica roasted coffees available to buy online now.
]]>Never run out of fresh coffee again with our very easy to use coffee subscription plan. Pebble and Pine is all about bringing you the best coffee, specially selected from around the world, freshly roasted and delivered to your doorstep so that you can enjoy it as much as we do. If you sign up to the coffee subscription plan then we can make sure you're always topped up with the best coffee we have to offer.
Signing up is simple: Click on the subscribe now button below, choose the grind (or whole beans), the number of bags you want in each shipment and the frequency of delivery. Then add it to your cart and checkout in the normal way. Your subscription will then be active and you'll start receiving great tasting, freshly roasted coffee directly through your letterbox.
We source the best coffees from around the world and deliver them to you fresh and full of flavour.
Coffee is delivered to you according to your chosen schedule. You can add, amend, pause and cancel at any time.
Claim 50% off your first delivery.
No commitment required.
Subscribe now with absolutely no obligation and no long term commitment and get a regular supply of freshly roasted coffee delivered directly from the roaster through your letterbox.
Within the coffee subscription all bags of coffee cost £6.50, including shipping. Don't worry, you can amend, pause or cancel your subscription at any time.
I tried Pebble and Pine's new Colombian roast today and loved it!!!! It's dark and rich with just a perfect touch of bitterness for an early morning or after dinner brew. 100% recommend.
Harriet
A great start to the weekend sat sipping Kenya AA ground coffee for the first time, certainly not the last. A smooth aromatic blend used in a Delonghi coffee maker, mellow flavour and real depth. Lovely! Definitely one to try.
Jane
You can manage your coffee subscription account by logging in to Your Account.
]]>We now offer free delivery on all orders over £14 so if you feel the need for some wonderful fresh roasted coffee beans or ground coffee then you can just add 3 or more products to your shopping cart to get your postage paid by us.
Once you place your order, we'll fire up the roaster and prepare your coffee just for you. We then package it up and send it out by Royal Mail to arrive at your door within 3 to 5 days. By the time it arrives your coffee beans will have rested and be perfect to use straight away.
Don't buy supermarket coffee that could have been roasted months ago. All our bags of coffee show a roasting date so you can be sure how fresh they really are.
]]>They would never, ever, dream of starting the day without their favourite coffee to get them going.
And who can blame them when they know how to make it just right?!
A day out usually involves stopping somewhere for coffee.
You tend to buy them coffee related presents.
The spend ages 'Googling' great coffee.
Their local coffee shop knows them by name.
If you’re married to a coffee lover – just like I am. How about buying them a coffee subscription as a gift or even for yourself.
]]>Ethiopia is almost universally known as the birthplace of the coffee bean, although it's probable that the plant (latin name: Coffea arabica) originally migrated from the Sudan and only flourished once it reached Ethiopia due to the more favourable conditions. Coffee production back then would have mainly been the harvest of wild coffee trees in the districts of Kaffa and Buno, and this is possibly where the term "coffee bean" originated. As we know, it is not really a bean at all but the seed of a fruit and at least this origin story contains some plausibility. We will never know whether it is true or not.
Coffees from Ethiopia include the very well known Yirgacheffe and Sidamo. Both are high quality coffees and recommended for those who appreciate the fruity and almost floral qualities inherent in beans from this origin. Ethiopian coffee beans have an almost tea-like quality that is unique to this region.
Most of the beans in Ethiopia are of the washed variety, which results in a clean tasting cup with very few defects. The washing process is relatively quick, affording the beans very little time to rot.
Such is their love for coffee that the Ethiopians have their own ceremony that they ritualistically perform three times a day. It is a long process where the Ethiopian coffee beans are roasted and then brewed in a special pot called a 'jebena' along with some spices. The coffee is served and then more hot water added for a second brew. This process is repeated for a third time to result in a weaker brew at each stage. It is said that the transformation of spirit takes place during the ceremony, with each round being given a name: 'Abol' for the first round, 'Tona' for the second and 'Baraka' for the third.
Ethiopian coffee beans benefit from a light or medium roast and are perfect if brewed using a V60 or similar conical filter or maybe a French Press (cafetiere to you and me). If you want to try some out, we have a great Ethiopian Yirgacheffe in stock.
Photo By Steve Evans (Flickr: Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony 001) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
]]>Brazilian Coffee Beans - Ipanema Estate Yellow Bourbon
A pulped natural processed coffee bean with a sweet flavour. The beans are dry processed in order to retain a fuller body and then medium roasted so that all the flavour is released without the bitterness. The taste that comes through is stone fruit and raisins with a chocolate and hazelnut finish.
If you like your coffee with a full body and bags of flavour, this one is definitely worth a try. Hurry though, we only have a limited supply.
Colombian Coffee Beans - Excelso
Citrusy with a medium body, rich acidity and a sweet finish. This coffee is the perfect after-dinner drink.
Colombia is the second largest producer of coffee in the world and the largest producer of washed and Arabica coffee. The Colombians are proficient in producing an abundance of truly delicious and sought after coffee. This coffee is available in a medium and a dark roast.
Ethiopian Coffee Beans - Yirgacheffe
This is a flowery aromatic coffee like no other, with notes of fresh berries, lemon zest and chocolate.
This coffee is highly recommended and is a strong favourite of ours. It is medium roasted to bring out the fruity nature of the coffee bean and is therefore best brewed in a cafetiere or filter/drip coffee maker such as a Chemex or V60.
It is made from beans sourced from the Yirgacheffe region of Ethiopia, widely considered to be the birthplace of coffee. This coffee is produced using passively organic agricultural methods and is a wet-processed, or washed, coffee bean and therefore retains its fruity acidic flavour, with a light body. Perfectly smooth with no bitterness.
Honduran Coffee Beans - Finca Altos de Erapuca
This Honduran coffee has a lively pointed acidity. In tasting, the distinct lemony character comes through along with good sweetness and hints of caramel and orange.
Perfect for cafetiere or filter/drip coffee makers, this speciality coffee is medium roasted to bring out the character of this single origin bean.
The coffee comes from the Finca Altos de Erapuca farm, which is relatively new - only shipping its first batch of coffee beans in 2014 and is organically grown and certified Rain-forest Alliance.
Kenyan Coffee Beans - Double A
The "Double A" variety is the highest grade coffee bean from Kenya. Sharp acidity, good body and smooth winey flavour characterise this single origin coffee.
Retains a smooth body with very little bitterness. These coffee beans are available in a medium or a dark roast.
Nicaraguan Coffee Beans - SHG Jinotega
Our Nicaragua SHG Jinotega is a coffee that comes from the mountainous northwest region of Nicaragua. It is a Strictly High Grown coffee, meaning that the coffee was grown at high altitudes, which allows the bean to develop slower, resulting in a denser high quality coffee bean. In addition, the bean is EP or European Preparation - a further sorting of the green coffee before it is exported, so only the finest green beans are bagged and exported. This Nicaraguan coffee is harvested and exported from Asociacion Aldea Global.
Aldea Global began in 1992 with 22 farmers. Today, the Association assists over 1000 families, most of which are Chorotega Indigenous Communities. Aldea Global offers organic speciality coffees, which have provided the association with small farm loans, women's solidarity groups and the ability to produce other agriculture products such as fresh produce and beans. The association promotes sustainable management of natural resources, rural health clinics, installation of potable water filters and integrated pest management programs. The Association of small farmers facilitates the growth of profitable and sustainable businesses, promoting efficient commercialisation and alternative credit services. Aldea Global helps farmers stay in harmony with their environment, while producing a profitable product for the marketplace.
Expect chocolate, a sweet aroma, citrus tones, honeyed, bright medium acidity and a well rounded cup.
These coffee beans are available in a medium or dark roast.
Peru Coffee Beans - MCM Fairtrade
Spicy and floral notes, good body and strong sweet flavour. This coffee really packs a punch.
This bean comes from northern Peru and is grown under a canopy of shade. Most shade-grown coffees mature at a slower rate which allows the natural sugar present in beans to develop more fully and, as a result, more intense and rich flavors are produced. The Peru Organic Fair Trade MCM, in line with this tradition, offers a smooth medium coffee distinguished by a pleasing sweetness. These coffee beans are available in a medium or dark roast.
We've just added a new guide to get the best results from your speciality coffee beans if you're using a pour over dripper. The pour over method results in a very clean and complex brew that really delivers the full flavours of the coffee bean.
You can read it here: Pour Over Dripper Brewing Guide
]]>A by-product of this process is the production of Carbon Dioxide inside the bean. This CO2 is trapped inside and is gradually released over time. This slow release of gas is called "de-gassing" and typically occurs over the space of two to three weeks after the coffee beans have been roasted.
Grinding the beans increases the total surface area and encourages the coffee to de-gas quicker. So if you want to maintain the freshness of your coffee for longer, buy them in whole bean form and grind only when needed. Then use the ground coffee immediately.
Now, you may ask, what is this "bloom" that is the subject of this blog post?
Well, this gas is released rapidly when the coffee beans come into contact with hot water. You can see this very easily if you're using a conical dripper, such as a V60, and pour a small amount of hot water onto the coffee grounds inside the cone of filter paper. Check out this short video demonstrating the bloom in action...
You can see why using freshly roasted coffee is extremely important. This release of gas when starting to brew your coffee brings out the full flavour and ensures you get a cup bursting with flavour.
]]>There are seven simple rules to observe if you want to make a good cup of our speciality coffee every time.
So what are you talking about? Hyper goats? Praying Monks?
Well, Yirgacheffe is a small village in the southern part of Ethiopia and belongs to the much larger coffee producing region of Sidama.
Ethiopia is widely considered to be the birthplace of coffee. As legend has it a local goat herd named Kaldi discovered that his goats became hyper after eating the cherries from the coffee tree. A monk approached him and took some of the cherry fruits back to his monastery, whereby he roasted the beans and brewed the first coffee. The brew was then used by the monks to keep them awake during long periods of prayer and so the stimulant we now call coffee was discovered.
It is even thought that the word coffee is derived from the name of the southern Ethiopian district Kaffa, which is close to Sidama.
Yirgacheffe coffee beans are of the Heirloom varietal and are grown at altitudes up to 2,200 metres and are typically wet-processed after harvesting. This technique of washing removes the pulp of the fruit efficiently thus ensuring the beans are not subject to mould and disease.
Yirgacheffe is widely considered to be one of the best highland grown coffees, prized for its medium body and fruity flavour with almost a tea-like characteristic. Blueberries and chocolate my wife would say!
It's a lovely coffee and highly recommended. It is medium roasted to allow the distinctive flavours of the bean to come through and is therefore best brewed in a cafetiere or filter coffee maker.
Why not visit our shop and try it out.
]]>Here at Pebble and Pine we like to ensure our fans get the most out of their speciality coffee beans.
To that end we are publishing a set of brewing guides that will help you achieve the best results from your preferred brewing method.
First up is the cafetiere brewing guide.
]]>We are finally launching Pebble and Pine.
The mission: to bring the true flavour of coffee to everyone with fresh roasted coffee beans delivered direct to your door.
Coffee is a bit like wine. There are so many factors that contribute to its taste that you can get a wonderful variation in taste and aroma. From the choice of bean, the way it's grown, the method of processing, the way it's roasted and ultimately the grind and how it's brewed. Each step along the route can change the flavour of coffee for good or bad.
Instead of choosing a supermarket coffee that's been sitting on the shelf too long or a well known coffee chain's espresso that has been nuked beyond recognition, try one of our smooth origin coffees that retains the bean's original character and flavour.
Savour the taste of properly roasted to order coffee.
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