Bay Islands Coffee Gainesville Florida

At Bay Islands Coffee Gainesville Florida we realize you have many choices when it comes to coffee shops. We strive to offer our valued customers awesome coffee, smoothies & gourmet foods. We also pride ourselves in our personal, friendly service (something that is certainly lacking at all of the corporate coffee chain stores). We appreciate your business, and thank you sincerely for choosing Bay Island Coffee Gainesville Florida.

Sadly we will never be able to grow coffee in Gainesville Florida. Coffee only thrives in a small band of 1.000 miles north or south of the equator. There are 2 basic types of coffee arabica and robusta. Robusta coffee is grown at lower altitudes and the coffee beans stay on the tree after they ripen. Robusta coffee can have nearly twice the amount of caffeine as arabica but generally have considerably less taste. Some brand name coffees use arabica but most use robusta. Arabica coffee fruit falls to the ground when they are ripe and will quickly spoil. Each coffee bean is monitored closely and hand picked, steep high altitude terrain prohibits the use of machinery to harvest arabica coffee beans. As our theme suggests here at Bay Islands Coffee Gainesville Florida we feature coffees from Honduras as well as Guatemala, Costa Rica and other Central Latin American regions. Coffees from Honduras are noted for being medium bodied and sharp acidity which gives them their bright flavor. The volcanic soil, climate and altitude are ideal from growing good quality coffee. The predictable dry weather durring harvest time allows much of this coffee to be sun dried, kiln drying tends to mute the flavor of green coffee beans. Once the cherry skin and pulp are removed the green coffee beans are spread out on large mats to dry. Durring this drying process the green coffee beans are turned by hand every 6 hours to prevent mildew growth and insure even drying. Once their water content is down to 10% they become stable and are ready to ship. When properly stored green coffee beans can be kept for up to a year, however at Bay Islands Coffee Gainesville Florida we do not keep a large inventory of green coffee beans on hand so that we can always give our customers the freshest tasting possible. This also allows us to offer a wide varity of coffee from many regions to suit everyones tastes.

Once the green coffee beans arrive at Bay Islands Coffee Gainesville Florida our expert artisan coffee roaster carefully inspects every coffee bean for defects. We air roast the green coffee beans in small 3 ounce batches, which is why every coffee bean has to be the highest quality and a uniform size so that all every coffee bean is roasted evenly yeilding a consistant taste. The artisan roaster must constantly monitor every stage of the roasting process. Green coffee beans change dramatically durring the roasting process. Water is forced out of the beans causing them to become 18% lighter and 50 to 100% larger. As the coffee beans expand they fracture making an audible "cracking" sound called "first crack", and occurs at a temperature of between 380 to 400 degrees f. Further roasting will cause this to happen again called "second crack" and happens around 415 to 435 degrees f. Caramelized sugars form the complex flavor essences that give coffee its distintive flavor, while some of the natural sugars are turned into Carbon dioxide gas. Of course the most obvious change is the color and color is a important indicator of when the desired level of roast is achieved. Once the the roasting is complete the roasted coffee beans must be cooled quickly to get rid of the excess heat and to stop the coffee beans from over roasting. At Bay Islands coffee Gainesville Florida we believe that freshly roasted coffee beans don't reach their peak of flavor until it has rested for about 24 hours after roasting. This gives the coffee beans enough time to expel excess carbon dioxide gases and allows the flavors and aroma to fully develope and stabalize the chemistry of the coffee bean. After the coffee beans. are roasted they must be used quickly because within in a week the beans will start to lose their flavor and aroma. Coffee beans. need to be protected from air and moisture by storing them in a air tight container, in a dark place at room temperature. We do not recommend refrigerating or freezing any coffee beans. green or roasted. The things that adversely affect coffee the most are light, strong odors, air, moisture, and extreme temperatures cold or hot. At Bay Islands Coffee Gainesville Florida . we serve nothing but fresh roasted coffee.

Every one of our baristas at Bay Islands Coffee Gainesville Florida are trained to know all the important factors of brewing great coffee. All coffee drinks start with grinding the coffee beans. After roasted coffee beans have rested they are ready to be ground and made into your morning brew. There are 3 common levels of grind, fine, medium, and corse. French press method should use a corse grind, medium grinds for drip or vac pot methods, and fine for espresso. The 2 most common types of coffee grinders are blade and burr. Blade type grinders are the least expensive and works well for most drip coffee makers. Burr grinders are usually more expensive but they will give you a much more consistant grind. Once coffee is ground it should be used within 7 days because grinding the bean exposes more surface area to air and moisture and will lose their flavor and aroma much faster than in bean form. At Bay Islands Coffee Gainesville Florida we never grind our coffee beans until we're ready to use them. The correct ratio of water to coffee is about 1 to 2 ounces of coffee to 6 ounces of water. The main ingrediant in coffee, water has trace minerals in it that reacts with the natural oils in coffee and enhance the flavor. This is the reason distilled water should never be used to make coffee. Maintaining the correct temperature through out the whole brewing process is very important to proper extraction and a great cup of coffee. The best temperature for optimal extraction is between 195 to 205 degrees Fahrenheit. The amount of time of the extraction is the final factor in making great coffee. French press or press pot methods should brew for about 2 to 4 minutes. Drip coffee systems should take no more than 5 minutes. If your home system has slowed down and is taking 20 minutes to finish brewing, not only are you having to wait longer but your are getting a inferior over extracted brew. Espresso as the name implies should only brew for 20 to 30 seconds. At Bay Islands Coffee Gainesville Florida we strive for the best in every step of the coffee making process from the green coffee bean high in the mountains to your morning cup.

Bay Islands Coffee Gainesville Florida refers to Bay Islands, Honduras. Honduras is a relative newbie to the speciality coffee market. The rich volcanic soil, altitude, and weather are all perfect for growing some of the finest coffee in the world. The best coffee from this area are grown at very high altitudes and recieve the highest grade of SHG (Strictly High Grown). High altitudes slows the growth, makes the green coffee beans denser and concentrates the flavors. This area is further blessed with a consistent dry weather durring the harvest season allowing the coffee beans to be sun dried. Many farms in other regions around the world can't sun dry their beans due to weather or available space and are kiln dried which can mute the flavor. Recomended roast for these green coffee beans is city to full city. Honduras coffees are known to have medium acidity, medium body and bright flavors. This is one of Bay Islands Coffee Gainesville Florida favorite and we serve it when ever possible.