Gourmet Coffee - What makes it so special

For anyone to really savor a good cup of gourmet coffee, it would help if they knew a few things about it. You really need not be an expert to enjoy it but it deffinitely will help you appreciate the taste more if you knew the sheer difference between a gourmet coffee and your regular coffee.

How to purchase and make Gourmet Coffee

For the best possible flavor Gourmet coffee should be tasted fresh. Most local stores and supermarkets will not be able to provide you with the freshly roasted coffee beans that you will require as their beans are as much as 2 to 3 months old. If you do have a local store which can provide you with great frehly roasted coffee then nothing like it, however be sure that they are selling you gourmet and not the regular coffee. Purchase a coffee grinding machine and the whole coffee bean can also help tremendously as this will allow you to grind them whenever you need them.

It is recommended that the Gourmet Coffee be stored in airtight containers and placed in the fridge so that they may retain most of their freshness. For the Gourmet Coffee that you plan to use over a period of time, place the airtight container in the freezer.

Also make sure that the coffee maker is clean because it makes a world of the difference in the taste of your coffee. The best way to do this is to run water and vinegar through your coffee maker once a month. After you have run the vinegar through your coffee maker be sure to run some water thrugh it to as this will get rid of the smell of the vinegar. When making gourmet coffee, use approximately two heaping tablespoons per six ounces of clean, filtered water. This gives you a starting point. Now adjust the amount of coffee until you have the strength you enjoy. Buy your gourmet coffee beans from reputable companies, as it does make a difference.

Since the 1990's, specialty gourmet coffee has been consistently getting more popular and is now renowned as one of the fastest growing markets in the world. Regular coffee is fine but gourmet coffee is fantastic and not forget the flavored gourmet coffee whose smell and taste is simply unforgetable. When it comes to Gourmet Coffee there is definitely something for everyone's taste.

High quality blends consist of 100% Arabica beans while lower quality and cheaper blends may have some proportion of Robusta beans, or they may even consist entirely of Robusta. Arabica beans have a noticeably superior taste, and is more flavorful and complex than Robusta. Robusta on the other hand tends to make a more bitter brew. You should now see why the high quality Gourmet Coffee requires Arabica beans in it.

If Arabica is superior then it comes to mind why people drink Robusta Coffee at all. The answer simply lies in the economics of it all. Firstly, Robusta coffee trees will produce their crops within two to three years as against the Arabica trees which take upto 4 to 5 years. Obviously more faster crops means more coffee beans which in turn will mean quicker sales. Also, the Robusta coffee tree can grow under all sorts of environmental conditions, however Arabica coffee trees are a lot more choosy and will grow only in relatively cool climates in tempratures ranging from 15 to 20 degrees Centigrade. Secondly, roasters will prefer to buy the Robusta beans because they are a lot cheaper than the Arabica beans. They can be sold to the average consumers in canned formats in supermarkets and department stores. Robusta coffee can also be brewed to make instant coffee. Another technique that roasters use is that they mix Arabica with Robusta Coffee so that they can still get the rich Arabica flavor in the brew. Lastly, Robusta beans have a higher concentrate of caffeine as compared to Arabica beans and is responsible for the addiction to caffine which is so common these days.

In fact it has been experimentally proven that there is a direct relationship between extremes of day and nighttime temperatures and coffee quality. A large gap between day and nighttime temperatures is known to add flavor to the fruits. Since a coffee cherry is a fruit, the benefits that are obtained from the temperal difference will be passed onto the seed and therefore will add flavor to the cup.

Different variety of Arabica beans are grown all throughout the world and each region is known to produce a variety that is distinct from the rest. These can range from the strong tasting Columbian Arabica Coffee which has a strong, bold taste to it, to the milder flavored varieties. If you want to try something a little out of the ordinary then you can try some of the flavored varieties. Flavor can vary within a growing region due to factors such as weather, altitude, soil type, soil richness and whether there are shade trees on the plantation.

Also an interesting fact is that a coffee's flavor can be greatly affected by the method used to separate the bean from the fruit. It is these varietal characteristics of the Arabica bean that makes it such a sought after product and many of the finer small roasters cup (that is, roast and taste) batches of coffee before purchasing it. For all of these reasons, the Arabica bean is good coffee and is hence the best kind for Gourmet Coffee.

Why would anyone call Gourmet Coffee a marketing ploy is interesting. Firstly when ever it comes to anything that is sold there is always a quantity vs quality debate. The product either comes in the high quantity low quality format (generally speaking) or a low quantity high quality format. In this respect coffee is no different. When we call something "gourmet" we are simply referring to its higher quality aspect. In fact many people even stake their reputation on what they consider as gourmet.

You might as well debate on about the difference between Starbucks coffee and the locally available coffee at your supermarket. Gourmet coffee is a very personal thing for most people. What some may consider to be premium, and tasty or gourmet may be not worthwhile for others.

Here are some good tips on how to identify quality gourmet coffee..

Are there any frank reviews of the company and its products available elsewhere?
Does the company offer you fresh roasted coffee?
Does the company focus more on the price than the quality of their coffee?
Does the comapny give you all the information you are looking for as far as the types of coffee and how they ground it is concerned?
Does the company reveal what type of bean they are using in their coffee, i.e. Arabica or Rousta?
Does the company offer you whole bean or grounded bean?
Is their coffee vacuum sealed?

Keeping these things will be pivotal when it comes to deciding which Gourmet selection will be best for you. The definition of Gourmet is a fine food or drink that an expert considers to be of excellent quality. If an expert thinks a product is good then it has to be good right? Well, it should be but we live in an imperfect world, but fear not Gourmet Coffee is legitimate. Most people who ground their coffee take great pride in what they make. Gourmet Coffee costs a lot more than regular coffee however it is also a lot more of an experience. Most people who taste genuine gourmet will testify to this fact and hence gourmet is the choice for most connoisseurs also.

If you have never tried gourmet coffee before then you are definitely recommended to. I can guarantee that you will be left enchanted by the aroma and taste that you will experience!

Have you ever wondered about the benefits of drinking coffee.

Yea I know coffee is really bad for you, it makes you dark, grows hair on your palm, gives you a heart attack etc etc.

However believe it or not drinking coffee also has many advantages. Even if most of the sources do say that drinking coffee is bad, they sometimes miss out on the fact that it usually if it is consumed in large quantities (say 5 to 6 cups every day, day after day), and people who are sensitive to caffeine such as those with stomach ulcers, and pregnant women are the ones who should seriously stay away from it.

For instance did you know that Caffeine is possibly the most potent source of antioxidants we know. In fact coffee is seen to stop a few kinds of cancers such as hepatocellular (liver cancer), and cirrhosis as it has an anti-cancer substance known as methylpyridinium.

Another positive benefit of drinking coffee is that it is anti-diabetic and can reduce the risk of diabetes in a person by half.

Coffee can also protect you from heart disease.

The caffeine in coffee is a natural pain killer and analgesic which is why people usually drink coffee to deal when they have headaches. It is also a good laxative and can help against constipation.

With so many benefits of consuming coffee, you can be rest assured that that cup of fine brewed caffeine will not put you in jeopardy any time soon!