Gourmet Coffee Beans

Gourmet coffee beans should be roasted to order. This will ensure that they are as fresh as possible when you receive them. While green (unroasted) coffee can be stored a long time, coffee beans lose their flavor quickly after roasting. Whole bean gourmet coffee beans will only keep for a few weeks. If they are ground, they will begin to lose their flavor within a matter of hours.

Exploring Gourmet Coffee Beans

If you really have a sense of adventure when it comes to tasting coffee, try cupping. This is the art of coffee tasting, much like wine tasting. There are rules to follow to ensure that you can distinguish all the subtleties of different coffee varieties, their acidity and aromas.

Many retailers that sell gourmet coffee beans also offer cupping classes or events. If you cannot get to one, you can learn about it online. You can also do it at home by yourself or with friends. Have a cupping party and let your friends and relatives explore different varieties of coffee with you.

You will soon learn the difference between origins of coffee, be able to distinguish between decaf and regular, and appreciate the various weights of coffee bodies. Once you experience the satisfaction of gourmet coffee, you will not go back to drinking freeze dried instant coffee or vacuum packed coffee that was stale before it was even packaged.