For those who love coffee, a day without it just would not be a complete fruitful day. Coffee as we know it today is much different than when it was first discovered. These days there are so many varieties of gourmet coffee available that for those who are just beginning to enjoy coffee, maneuvering through the different types available can be a little intimidating.
Defining Gourmet Coffee
The movement to gourmet coffee is a relatively new concept. Gourmet coffee is usually only made from Arabica beans, which are usually the most flavorful variety of coffee bean. Generally, commercial pre-ground coffees that are the most widely available are composed of a mixture of Arabica beans, Robusta beans and low grade Brazilian beans. The Robusta and Brazilian beans make up the majority of pre-ground commercial coffee, and they usually add a smaller amount of Arabica beans for better flavor. Interestingly, the Robusta beans usually contain 30-40% more caffeine than the Arabica beans.
Commercial coffee is also usually not as fresh. Commercial coffee is pre-ground before it is packaged. After packaging it can take several weeks to actually make it to a grocery store. Usually, the longer pre-ground commercial coffee sits on a shelf waiting to be purchased, the staler and bitter it will become. Generally, the biggest advantage of commercial coffee is that it is cheap compared to some types of gourmet coffee.
Usually, gourmet coffee is roasted at the plant and makes it into the consumer’s hands within a week. You can buy pre-ground gourmet coffee, but the preferred way to buy it is while it is still in its bean form. The beans can usually be ground at the store you buy them from.
Even though there are different varieties of commercial coffee available, the only way to find true variety is with gourmet coffee. Not only can you decide on where the beans were grown (places such as Sumatra and Kona) but also how it has been roasted (Light, Italian, French). There are two major selling points when it comes to gourmet coffee: flavor and freshness.
If you haven’t ventured into the world of gourmet coffee, give it a try. You can find small bags so that if you decide you don’t like that particular variety, you don’t have a 10 pound can in your kitchen still full of coffee. So give gourmet coffee a try, especially if you are already a big coffee fan.