Most coffee brewing systems have an optimum brewing capacity. It is almost always necessary to use a bit more coffee in relationship to water when brewing smaller amounts. The basic recipe is 2 level tbsp. of coffee for each 6 ounces of brewing water. The ratio may seem strong, but that amount develops the proper taste and a balanced brew. If overpowering to the individual taster, the brew can easily be diluted with hot water in the cup.

Whole bean coffee has a shelf life of two to three weeks after roasting. As beans age, they become tough and rubbery. If fresh, you can easily crack them between two fingernails. The fresh, vibrant aroma of whole bean coffee is unmistakable. Old coffee will exude a flat smell and in some dark roasts will even give off a distinctly rancid odor. Ground coffee begins losing its valued properties the moment it's ground and therefore should be consumed within one week to 10 days after grinding.

Store ground coffee in an airtight, sealed container (preferably glass) in the refrigerator. Store whole beans the same way. If you use them up in less than a week after purchase, the refrigerator is not necessary. Remember: Refrigeration only slows down spoilage; it does not prevent spoilage. The freezer can prolong storage, but rewrap the coffee in smaller units so you don't contaminate the whole portion when extracting what you need. Coffee is a food - much like a side of beef - and needs to be cut and wrapped for freezer storage.

Always grind coffee fresh just before you use it. Whole beans' natural protection against staling is destroyed when they're ground. Roasting coffee at home can be fun - but messy. Several home roasting devices are marketed, but a professional roaster can produce better results, without contest.

The price differences between decaffeinated and regular coffees are a result of the costs incurred in the decaffeination process, which is quite expensive, and in the weight loss that occurs as a result of this process.

Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee is more expensive because of its elevation and soil conditions. Historically, it has always been a benchmark in the industry, like fine vintage wine. Grown in unique conditions, its rare supply cannot meet the high demand.

Gourmet coffee costs more than regular coffee because of the careful selection and use of only the finest grades of Arabica coffees. High-quality grades need prime growing and harvesting conditions and have limited availability. (However, these exquisite gourmet coffees cost only pennies per cup more than regular coffee.)

Shiny beans are normally the result of flavor oils and lipids that have risen to the surface from inside the beans' cellular structure during the roasting process. Normally, in darker roast coffees, more oil develops and rises to the surface shortly after roasting. In an oxygen environment, these oils will evaporate on lighter roasted beans, which rarely look oily. Very dark-roasted beans will produce more oil on the surface that can evaporate quickly, so they appear shiny. Note: An airtight package will not allow the oil to evaporate when it comes to the surface. Also, a very dark-roasted bean may appear dull or dry, not shiny, for one of three reasons:

- The bean has just come out of the roaster and has not yet begun to form oils on the surface.
- The bean is old, and all the oils have evaporated.
- The bean was "baked" slowly for such a long period that all the oils left the bean during the roasting process.

It is a matter of individual taste. Some people prefer heavier-bodied coffees and lighter-roasted coffees because of their distinctive flavors and higher caffeine content. Note: While espresso is not yet widely preferred for morning consumption by the U.S. consumer, it offers a robust, flavorful, and uplifting experience to start the day.

Espresso is any coffee that is brewed quickly under pressure to create a concentrated, flavorful, and heavy-bodied cup. Although dark-roasted coffees are often used, lighter roasted coffees or blends may also yield an excellent cup of espresso.

Yes, espresso can be brewed at home; however, good espresso requires:

- Fresh, uniformly fine-ground coffee.
- An espresso brewer having a very fine filter, which subjects the coffee to high-pressure extraction.

Unfortunately, many machines on the consumer market carrying the name "espresso maker" produce low pressure, and the final product often lacks the characteristic creme (creamy foam) on top. Such machines will produce a poor example of the flavor that made espresso famous in Europe.

Every coffee roaster's technique for flavoring whole bean coffee will vary. In general, liquid or solid flavoring is added to the beans immediately after the roasting process.

The better quality high-grown coffees from each producing country have distinctive flavor, body, and aroma characteristics that many people prefer to enjoy straight. Blending coffee, however, is the practice of mixing these characteristics to create a "well-rounded" cup that offers the best of several coffees. Blending increases your options, allowing you to create a personalized, well-balanced coffee that pleases a wide variety of consumers.

"Body" describes the tactile sensation of thickness or texture on the tongue and other inner surfaces of the mouth. "Light", "medium", and "full-bodied" refer to the intensity of this sensation.

Coffee is decaffeinated by removing 97% or more of the naturally existing caffeine from the green beans before roasting. Some common methods of extracting caffeine are:

- Direct Contact Method. After softening by steam, the green beans are flushed with methalyne chloride, which draws off the caffeine. The beans are steamed a second time, heated, and blown dry. This removes almost all traces of the solvent.

- Indirect Contact Method. The green beans soak in hot water, which draws out the caffeine. The water is separated from the beans and treated with either methylene chloride or ethyl acetate- the solvents absorb the caffeine through a steaming process and evaporation. The water, now caffeine-free, is reunited with the beans because it still carries natural oils and flavor components.

- Water Process. After the beans soak for several hours, the water is drawn off and passed through activated charcoal or carbon filters to remove the caffeine. The water, still containing other flavor elements, is added back to the beans. This is often called the "Swiss Water Process".

The species of the plant and the geographic region and altitude of growth determine a coffee's caffeine content. Robusta coffees, for example, normally have twice the caffeine content of Arabica coffees. A five-ounce cup of coffee will contain 75 to 155 milligrams of caffeine. Informational Note: Normally the denser beans grown at high altitudes have a lower caffeine content, as do darker roasted coffees. It is important to note that all Arabica coffees are naturally about 98.5% caffeine-free because they contain 1-1.5% caffeine by weight. To qualify as decaffeinated, however, they must have 97% of this 1-1.5% removed.

Less than one calorie per 8-ounce serving, without cream or sugar.

In some areas, chemicals are needed to control certain diseases. Generally speaking, however, the higher the altitude, the less need for insect control. Higher grown Arabicas, therefore, have less potential for chemical treatment. After the coffee is picked, it goes through multiple procedures that would wash off or disintigrate any chemicals.

Yes, organically grown coffees are available in limited supply. By federal and state laws, an organically grown coffee cannot have been exposed to herbicides, pesticides, insecticides, or commercially produced fertilizers.

The differences lie primarily in their country or region of origin and their quality of grade. Coffees from different regions have distinct and delicate flavors and characteristics, which are influenced further by the time of harvesting, method of processing, and ultimately the degree of roast.

Arabica coffee is the seed from the fruit of the Arabica species of coffee tree. Arabica trees produce a fine quality coffee and require special soil conditions, high altitudes (4,000 - 6,000 feet above) and just the right balance of warmth and moisture. Because Arabica trees are susceptible to disease, frost, and drought, they require careful labor-intensive cultivation and produce only 1 to 1.5 pounds of beans per year. Arabica coffee beans are selected as gourmet coffee because of their unique, delicate flavor and aroma.

HOW IS COFFEE GROWN

Most high-grown Arabica coffee plants begin their life as seeds, carefully cultivated in nurseries. The very best of the saplings are brought out to be planted on the estates.

It takes four to five years for a coffee tree to begin commercially producing coffee. The first visible sign of a coffee tree's maturity are the emergence of small white blossoms which seemingly fill the air with the aroma of jasmine and oranges. These blossoms develop into the coffee cherry. Each cranberry-sized cherry produces two coffee beans.

Coffee cherries begin with a green color and develop to yellow, orange, red and eventually a ripe dark crimson. The cherries must be harvested at their peak of ripeness to yield the best coffee. Fine coffees must be picked by hand, because a single branch will have cherries at varying degrees of ripeness. It takes 2,000 hand-picked Arabica coffee cherries to make a roasted pound of coffee, or approximately 4,000 beans.

The seeds within the coffee cherries are the coffee beans. The outer layers of skin are picked off, and the beans are soaked until the pulp is fermented from the beans. Each seed is covered by two layers called the silverskin and the parchment. As long as these two layers are not removed, the beans can be stored indefinitely; these beans are called "pergamino" beans, or literally "parchment" beans.

Eventually, the parchment and silverskin are tumbled off of the beans, which are then graded and bagged, and exported for roasting.

WHICH COFFEE TO SERVE

Serving the perfect wine with a special meal is an art that is required for today's entertaining. But what about the coffee you are serving? Your coffee should compliment your food in the same way wine would. A Kenya coffee that sizzles with your breakfast bacon will fizzle when paired with a rich and sweet dessert.

As a general rule of thumb, South American and Hawaiian coffees are mild and smooth in flavor. These coffees pair well with lighter meals, light desserts and seasonal meals of Spring and Summer. African coffees are generally richer and more full bodied which lend themselves to hearty, but not heavy meals and desserts that are rich, but not chocolatey or gooey sweet. Indonesian coffees are the perfect fit for those sinfully rich or extra sweet desserts that need a very full bodied and deep flavored coffee to match the intensity of such a dessert. Dark roasted coffees like French Roast, Full City Roast and Espresso are not only ideal, but necessary for anything that is chocolate.

Breakfast is a special time for coffee and the one you drink will set your mood for the rest of the day. With traditional bacon and eggs, we recommend a Kenya AA or Colombian Supremo. These coffees have full flavor and snappy acidity needed to "finish" the eggs and bacon. Lighter breakfast foods like muffins, fruit or waffles will taste even better with a cup of Guatemala.

Desserts are the important finalé to any great meal; selecting the right coffee will enhance your dessert and bring a satisfying conclusion to a very special evening. Light desserts, such as simple cakes, cookies, soufflés or fruit-filled pies will be complimented by well balanced and medium bodied South American coffees such as Guatemala, Brazil Santos or Mexican Altura Coatepec.

Sumatra Mandheling and Ethiopian Harrar are the perfect partners for your Holiday desserts like pumpkin pie, pecan pie, mincemeat pie or plum pudding. Any dessert with a liquor in it like tiramisu, Italian rum cake or Irish whiskey cake will be also enhanced with Sumatra Mandheling, Ethiopia Yirgacheffe or Celebes Kalossi. These coffees additionally have the interesting and unusual taste profile to detract your guests from noticing that they are eating that much-maligned fruitcake.

Any form of chocolate is the richest and most decadent form of dessert. For these type of desserts, you need a coffee with a strong, powerful flavor. Dark roasted coffees and dark roast blends are a must for any kind of chocolate dessert. The more chocolate a dessert has, the stronger the coffee you should serve. A light chocolate drizzled eclair would pair nicely with a blend of 1/2 French Roast and 1/2 Mocha Java Harrar. However, for killer chocolate cake, nothing but espresso could stand up to such intense flavors. Chocolate truffle cakes and tortes are complimented perfectly by a full city or cafe roast Sumatra. Slightly lighter chocolate desserts like a Mousse or chocolate soufflé would be enhanced by a lighter French Roast.

Coffee can be a dessert by itself by adding liquors, spices, cream and whipped cream. We suggest that you always use at least a full bodied African or Indonesian coffee with the ideal coffee for these recipes being a dark roast or dark roast blend. Liquors will automatically water down the flavor of any coffee so be sure to brew whatever coffee you use to an extra strong strength.

Whatever coffee you decide to buy to accompany your meals and desserts, be sure you store it properly in an airtight container in the refrigerator, grind it just before brewing and never let your brewed coffee sit on the warming plate for more than 20 minutes. Use the proper amount of coffee; at least 1 tablespoon for each cup. This amount will give you the rich, full flavor experience each coffee has to offer, and your evening of wonderful gestation will linger in the memories of your guests with that last, wonderful cup of coffee.