Gourmet Coffee Beans

Lately I have been drinking a new coffee and I am convinced it is the best tasting coffee for the money. It is a relatively new one called Sulawesi Coffee. For only $15.99 you get a high quality coffee from Indonesia near where Kopi Luwak Coffee originates. This is comparable to other high priced coffees costing upwards of $40.

We started carrying this coffee last April on a request from a customer and the response has been remarkable. Give it a try and you will not be dissappointed.

Coffee can also freshen the smell of your refrigerator. According to this month’s issue of Health Magazine coffee grounds neutralizes the air by sucking up stinky moisture while at the same time giving off the nice coffee aroma. Just like we use to do back in the day with a box of Arm & Hammer baking soda, simply put a small bowl of coffee grounds in the rear of your refrigerator or freezer. Another method is to fill a cheese cloth sack with coffee. You can also do this in your cabinets or other areas that have odors. After a few months toss out the old grounds and put in new one to keep it smelling fresh.

My daughter stumbled across a quick and easy Eggnog Coffee recipe. Thinking that she was pouring half and half into her coffee she accidentally poured eggnog. When I pointed it out to her she thought it was tragic and was about to pour out her coffee into the sink. I stopped her and asked her to taste it and she loved it. Ever since every coffee that she drinks is topped with eggnog.

Now we sell eggnog coffee but I have to say this is a very good alternative to brewing eggnog flavored coffee. Try it and you may like it.

Try to figure out what this picture is made from.

Artist assistants stand next to 3,604 cups of coffee which have been made into a giant Mona Lisa in Sydney , Australia . The 3,604 cups of coffee were each filled with different amounts of milk to create the different shades!

The most expensive coffee in the world is also the one that has a lot of controversy surrounding it. The most expensive coffee is Kopi Luwak Coffee which sells for $349.99 per pound.

Where the Most Expensive Coffee Originates

The Kopi Luwak Coffee beans are actually excreted from an animal called the palm civet. It turns out that palm civets , which are a type of cat, like to consume the red coffee cherries which contain coffee beans. The cats carefully select only the ripest, reddest cherries so in a sense they are naturally refined coffee bean pickers for the most expensive coffee in the world. In the digestive process, the inner seeds of the berries which are the actual coffee beans are not consumed and are passed through their system. The stomach enzyme of the cat on the coffee bean gives it a bitter, complex taste which can be considered a natural fermentation process. After the civet  defecates the local pickers will collect the beans from the dung and send them to be washed to remove the impurities. The supplies are limited which also contributes to making this the most expensive coffee.

The green coffee beans are then packed and sent to specialty roasters such as Volcanica Gourmet Coffee. The roasting process significantly reduces the bitterness of the bean and retains the complex flavors. The beans are safe for consumption since they have undergone thorough processing and washing prior to packing.

Tasting the Most Expensive Coffee

The Kopi Luwak Coffee is rich and exotic in flavor. It also possesses a musty, earthy taste with a slight hint of syrupy smoothness. It contains an aroma that is rich and strong and the most expensive coffee is incredibly full bodied, almost syrupy. It’s thick with a hint of chocolate, and lingers on the tongue with a long, clean aftertaste.

Another good question from a customer.

Question:

Are real hazelnuts used in the flavoring or just a flavoring substitute? The reason why I ask is because my allergy doctor informed me that I am allergic to hazelnuts and to stay away. I am wondering if the hazelnut flavoring is something I should avoid.

Answer:

We do not use real hazelnuts in our flavoring. We only use natural substitute ingredients for our coffee flavoring. All of our gourmet flavored coffees are all made with all natural ingredients and have no sugar, no calories and no allergens. For me information and to order please visit our Hazelnut Flavored Coffee page.

Another good question received from a customer.

Question:
Does flavored coffee have sugar? What are the ingredients in flavored coffee?

Answer:
Our Volcanica gourmet flavored coffees are all made with all natural ingredients and have no sugar, no calories and no allergens. The ingredients are just fine fresh roasted coffee beans and the particular coffee flavor additive that is sprayed over the beans and then mixed in by tumbling them in a special container.

We have had some questions  and confusion from customers regarding Celebes Kalossi Coffee and how it relates to Sulawesi Coffee. Simply put Celebes Kalossi Coffee is another name for Sulawesi Coffee.

Sulawesi or Celebes Kalossi Coffee is grown by the very old Toraja region coffee trees on the island of Sulawesi located located in Indonesia. Celebes Kalossi Coffee is named from the Island of Celebes which was the old Dutch name for the island.

You can find Costa Rican coffee in many places across the country. The easiest is the local supermarket but it will not be that fresh since that bags have been sitting there for weeks just like in the U.S. You can try to tourist shops such as the ones in the airport but expect to pay premium prices and it also is not that fresh.

The best place to buy coffee fresh roasted coffee in San Jose, Costa Rica is also one of the cheapest and entails somewhat of an adventure to the what real Costa Rica is all about.

Take a trip to downtown San Jose and go the the Mercado Central (Central Market). Everyone knows where is is located but the address if you need it is Avenidas Central y 1, Calles 6 y 8. It is an indoor flea market where you can find fresh meats, cheese, leather goods, spices, souvenirs and of course fresh roasted coffee. This is the best place where to buy coffee in Costa Rica. You can eat a decent lunch of breakfast there as well. Understand that this is a flea market and there are no luxuries.

Near the northwest corner inside of the Mercado Central is a coffee roaster with a store front. They fresh roast coffee right there and pack it for you for taking it back to the state. Try the Costa Rica Peaberry Coffee which is the one of the best coffees in the world in my opinion which in Spanish is called Caracolillo. I suggest you load up with as many kilos as you can stuff in your suit case and of course only get whole bean to preserve the freshness.

Their phone number is (506 ) 2222-1769. The only precaution for the Mercado Central is that you do not where your fine jewelry and dress down so that you do not become a target of any thieves. It also is not a custom for males to wear shorts and if you do your are shouting out TOURIST!

Pura Vida!

Another good question from a customer.

Question:
Say I have a question that I hope you may be able to answer for me: I will be going camping – what would be the best way to make my coffee?  No electricity or propane, just camp fire.  I’m thinking maybe a french press?

Answer:
You got it. I go camping often as well and the French Press is the way to go. Boil the water over a camp fire then four minutes over your coffee in the French Press. Don’t forget to grind your coffee beans before you leave.

We live in South Florida and grinding a week’s worth of coffee is also on our hurricane preparedness check list. I learned after one storm that left us without power for a couple of days and no coffee.  It was almost as bad as not having water.