Flavored coffee beans have become quite popular in recent years. Vanilla, hazelnut, and other flavored coffee bean favorites definitely bring a number of customers in the door for many specialty coffee retailers.

And flavored coffee beans account for a meaningful number of online orders for specialty coffee beans.

But for coffee connoisseurs, flavored coffee beans can pose a bit of a dilemma. These strong flavorings added to the coffee beans really over-power and mask the distinctive and subtle flavor nuances of the coffee underneath.

You typically won’t find these flavorings added to the many premium single-origin coffees. Obviously, there’s not much point or value in going to all the painstaking effort to cultivate, process, and carefully roast an exquisite origin such as a Sulawesi, only to obliterate the coffee with an over-powering vanilla, hazelnut or chocolate flavoring additive.

For those that enjoy the wonderful and enticing aroma of fresh-roasted coffee beans, the flavored coffee beans are typically completely overwhelming. When I walk into a coffee store that has flavored coffee beans on display for sale, I’m usually overcome by the powerful perfume-like aroma of vanilla or hazelnut. All I can smell are the flavored coffee beans. And even more confusing and distracting if there are several different coffee bean flavorings competing for the aroma air waves in the store.

This can be a dilemma for the specialty coffee retailer committed to providing a premium gourmet coffee experience for their customers. It’s difficult to manage an environment inside the store that supports the full range of both robust and subtle coffee aromas while at the same time trying to compete with the dominant and over-powering perfume smells of the flavored coffee beans. But, understandably, against their personal preferences, store owners may still feel the pressure to satisfy customer demand and offer the flavored coffee beans.

And the challenge is not only the contentious aroma. The flavored beans will also completely overwhelm the coffee grinders, storage containers and coffee brewing equipment. The flavoring chemicals added to the coffee beans will stick to the blades, grinding wheels, and internal components of the coffee grinder. Once you put flavored coffee beans through a grinder, it’s almost impossible to eliminate or remove the lingering remnants of the flavoring additives. If you’re going to grind flavored coffee beans, you really need to maintain separate grinders and keep things isolated.

And once you put flavored coffee beans in a storage container, you’ll almost never be able to get the favoring smell out of the container. Add another dedicated French vanilla coffee bean container to your stockpile.

And, there’s nothing exactly natural about these coffee bean flavorings. In order for the flavor additives to survive the roasting process, the packaging and shelf-storage time frame that could be months for product distributed through the grocery stores, and ultimately make it through the coffee brewing process with enough flavor punch remaining in the cup, these flavor additives need to be sufficiently strong and potent. Yes, coffee bean flavorings are actually a sophisticated modern chemical engineering accomplishment. Not much natural about it at all.

At the Gourmet Coffee Zone, we advocate and promote the enjoyment of the many exciting, subtle, unique and truly satisfying flavor and taste qualities of the natural coffee beans themselves. The variety of flavor from chocolate, to vanilla, to spice and nuttiness is there in the natural coffees without the need for intrusive chemical additives. It’s just a bit more subtle, but definitely much more interesting and balanced in the great premium coffee origins.

But we also understand if you enjoy the flavored coffees. We do hope we can contribute, even in a small way, to expanding your coffee horizons. If you’re interested in exploring for new flavors and experiencing some different coffee tastes, try an Ethiopia Yirgacheffe, or a superbly crafted Mocha-Java blend. You might be pleasantly surprised.

And if you still like the idea of flavored coffees, but you’re leery of the chemical additives, how about a more natural approach. Brew your coffee, and then add the flavorings to the cup. For example, brew a nice French roast blend, and then add a few drops of vanilla extract to the cup. You’ll probably find this a better flavoring than the artificial chemical additives anyway. Orange peel or a twist of lemon peel is nice. Or place a fresh cinnamon stick in the cup. These are all natural but effective flavorings that are a better alternative to the chemicals.

For many, the mention of the term barista conjures up a familiar image of that person behind the counter at a Starbucks who prepares the various espresso drinks including lattes, cappuccinos, macchiatos, and such.

And there are some who have a problem classifying the folks at Starbucks as baristas, reserving the distinction of barista for a more skillful and prestigious calling.

In the general and literal sense, a barista is someone who has achieved some level of skill in the preparation of espresso drinks. The operative qualifier is “some level” of skill. And in fairness to the hard working folks at Starbucks, I think it’s more than reasonable to refer to the partners behind the counter as baristas (see Starbucks Barista Bashing). And if you’re interested in the most literal definition of the term barista (plural), the word derives from the Italian baristi (masculine) and bariste (feminine) meaning bartender.

But for those of us that pursue a passion for a more extreme coffee experience, the notion of a barista takes on a broader meaning and more honorable distinction.

For me, I’m humbled and inspired by the barista professional who is highly trained and practiced in the skill of espresso and coffee preparation. To achieve barista greatness requires a depth of knowledge, technique and skill that covers many aspects of coffee preparation including coffee beans and origins, espresso equipment, grinding beans, blending beans, developing a sophisticated tasting palette for coffee, coffee roast levels, latte art, and more.

In the same sense that we recognize and acknowledge great chefs in the creative and artistic achievement of extraordinary food preparation, a barista at the top of the game is worthy of outstanding and uncommon achievement.

In fact, it may come as a surprise to some that there are baristas that actually achieve celebrity for their talents and accomplishments.

With the level of skill, training and creativity necessary to achieve barista greatness, it’s no surprise that this is a highly competitive domain. In fact, there are barista contests and championships at many levels including regional, national and of course, the ultimate distinction of world barista champion.

To get a sense of what these baristas are about, let’s explore the world of the barista for a moment.

James Hoffmann, of the UK, is the current reigning World Barista Champion. Have a look at the following interview by Sarah Allen of Barista Magazine conducted at the last Nordic Barista Cup. As with many people who are really good at what they do, James Hoffmann exhibits a humility that underplays his achievements.

James Hoffmann, current 2007 World Barista Champion, interviewed by Sarah Allen of Barista Magazine at the 2007 Nordic Barista Cup.

Here’s a fun barista documentary. A behind-the-scenes look at a recent barista competition in the Northwest US. Interviews with Kyle Larson of Stumptown Roasters, Dan and Kyle, a couple of baristas from Victrola Coffee Roasters in Seattle, and Jen Prince of Zoka Roasters in Seattle (now that’s the kind of passion I’m talking about).

Incidentally, the note on Youtube says the producers of this documentary would be interested in some small-time investors to help finish the film. With over 20,000 views on Youtube, maybe they have a hit in its current unfinished state … see, this stuff actually does create a little buzz, and it’s not just the caffeine.

Behind the scenes look at the world of the barista – short documentary.

And of course, we can’t forget the Latte Art

I’ve always been fascinated by the special talents of the barista who can produce Latte art, those marvelous patterns out of swirls a-top the milk foam in a latte.

Now, we were always taught not to play with our food, or blow bubbles in our milk, but latte art takes it to another level. Think of this as the creative and artistic expression when the dessert chef arranges an attractive display on your plate out of chocolate swirls and such (and that’s playing with your food in my book).

Latte art talent also involves the one-handed approach without a lot of fuss and and re-attempts to push the pattern into submission. Hey, these guys make it look easy, but it’s harder than it looks ….

A barista from Greece demonstrates Latte Art – The Classic Rosetta

And here’s a latte art twist that adds a dimension to the design with a little chocolate sauce. Now some barista purists will argue that adding the chocolate sauce and arranging the swirl patterns with the aid of a pointed tool is a little bit of cheating. But give me a break – this very creative and impressive to say the least. Notice the use of the milk thermometer as a drawing stylus in this artistic application.

Antonios Argiropoulos demonstrates his version of Latte Art

So visit a espresso cafe in your area, or better yet, see if you can track down a barista competition. It’s great fun, and the coffee can truly be amazing.

It’s a constant lament, almost a monotonous drone, actually. How often do we hear that “Starbucks competition is going to drive all the independent coffee houses out of business”?

I also continue to hear lots of complaining about Starbucks quality lately. Mediocre coffee, uninspiring espresso shots coming off the automatic push-button Verismo machines, baristas that could use more training, breakfast sandwiches that overpower the smell of fresh coffee in the stores, over-roasted coffee beans, coffee drinks are too expensive, and the list goes on ….

Even if some of this Starbucks criticism is a little overdone, something doesn’t add up here. How is it possible that Starbucks has become the target of so much criticism, yet local coffee houses have no chance or prayer to compete. Honestly, you can’t have it both ways.

There is no question that Starbucks has been influential in creating and expanding a more sophisticated coffee culture in the United States. The millions of customers that grab a daily coffee fix from Starbucks comprise a market that simply didn’t exist thirty years ago. And as a result of this expansive market, consumer demand for specialty coffee drives significant business to the many independent coffee houses as well.

Starbucks may have started out years ago delivering a more authentic gourmet coffee experience, but with 15,000 stores globally today, they have, deliberately by design, become more of a fast-food operation than a specialty coffee chain. By necessity, many of the characteristics required for Starbucks to run a large, scaled up retail operation simply no longer align with the hand-crafted artisan coffee vision.

There will always be instances where a local coffee house may not survive as the larger coffee chains like Starbucks seem to inundate an area. And when it happens to one of your favorite coffee hang outs, it can be particularly painful. A store may not survive due to specific customer demographics and preferences in the area. And the possibility exists that an independent coffee house is not able to effectively differentiate itself from the competition and bring the customers through the door.

The hard reality remains, if you want to successfully compete, you have to work hard to provide a better product, offer a better service, provide a more appealing store, or offer some compelling reason for customers to come in to your establishment.

Let’s be honest. Not all local independent coffee houses are great. Most definitely, I’ve been in independent stores that define great specialty coffee in every way. I’ve also experienced my share of coffee houses that truly did not serve a good product and I would never return.

If an independent coffee house is willing to apply a little creativity, there are many opportunities to compete against Starbucks. Here are just a few ideas …

• Hire a trained and skillful barista with real passion for producing sublime shots of espresso.
• Outfit the store with a decent espresso machine, not hard to beat Starbucks on this one.
• Hold a barista contest once a month in the local area. This is great fun for the customers. You may even find a few Starbucks baristas in attendance.
• Offer a higher quality and more interesting variety of coffee beans than Starbucks.
• Hold coffee tasting classes in the evening once a week. Educate your customers to appreciate the varieties and options for fine specialty coffee from around the world. Come on, this is fun stuff to share your passion for great coffee with your customers. And you’ll be surprised how many customers are interested in learning more about it.
• Do some product demos on the weekend. Espresso machines, burr grinders, coffee presses …. you might sell some extra coffee equipment.
• Advertise and market your local coffee house brand. Why are you different and why should your customers care? Come on, every business has to get the word out. Customers don’t fall into your store by accident (well, OK, once in a while they do).
• Hold your employees accountable and make sure they are delivering excellent service.
• Train your employees if you expect them to deliver a superior coffee product.
• Offer some coffee products and coffee drinks that Starbucks doesn’t offer. Can’t think of anything? Really? Maybe that’s part of the problem. And when you do come up with something different, be sure to get the word out.
• Here’s the least creative idea, but its probably not too difficult to compete on drink prices with Starbucks.

Bottom line, competition is good. Where there’s competition, there’s a market, and it keeps businesses on their toes, and forces companies improve their products and to pay attention to their customers.  Starbucks has expanded their retail business from about 2500 stores in 2000 to over 15,000 today, and still growing. And along with the business expansion that Starbucks has been driving, the fact of the matter is that there are more independent coffee houses in operation today than ever. The tide rises all boats.

Starbucks does create opportunity for independent coffee houses to compete because Starbucks, with their scaled up massive formula driven operation today, is not that hard to beat.

The future looks bright for independent coffee houses. Here’s a good example of what I’m talking about. Let me share a story about one of my favorite independents.

Polly’s Gourmet Coffee in Long Beach, California has been a local tradition in the Belmont Shore area on second street for almost forty years. The store is about an hour and half ride from where we are in Southern California. Not exactly in our local neighborhood, but when ever I’m down in the Long Beach area, I make it a point to stop in for a visit.

Polly’s is the coffee passion of owner Mike Sheldrake. Mike is a bonafide coffee expert and among his many talents, he definitely knows coffee beans, and he’s a wonderful specialty coffee roaster. Polly’s fires up the roaster almost every day, so the place smells heavenly. In fact, real estate agents selling houses in the vicinity claim that the tantalizing coffee aromas emanating from Polly’s has helped them close a deal or two. At Polly’s, you can always count on the freshest roast coffee and find out about the best beans they’ve been roasting that week.

In the late ’90s, Starbucks showed up with their first Belmont Shores store, and then within another year or so, opened a second store in the area. Sheldrake was positive this spelled the demise for Polly’s Gourmet Coffee. No question, it was a wake-up call.

Initially, after the arrival of Starbucks nearby, business fell off 15% or more for Polly’s, which is disastrous for a small single store operation. But Sheldrake took stock, and with the advice of a local customer and business advisor, tightened up his business and figured out how to compete effectively. Today, business is better than ever. And Mike Sheldrake will tell you he’s glad Starbucks has come to Second Street.

Read an account of this triumphant story of competition between Polly’s Gourmet Coffee and Starbucks, published over nine years ago in 1999.

Whole Foods Market is a leading retailer of fresh, natural and organic foods, with over 265 stores in North America and the United Kingdom.  And if you haven’t already discovered, Whole Foods Stores are a natural choice for premium fresh roasted coffee beans.

Whole Foods Market features Allegro Coffee, a prominent national specialty coffee importer, roaster and distributor.  The Allegro Coffee Company, of Boulder Colorado, was founded by Jeffrey Cohn in 1985.  Whole Foods was one of Allegro’s early customers, and in 1995, Whole Foods acquired the company. 

Allegro continues to provide specialty premium coffee through wholesale distribution to many national accounts including coffeehouses, cafés and fine dining establishments.  For retail to the consumer, Allegro coffee is now exclusively distributed through Whole Foods Markets, the parent company.

Allegro sources the highest quality coffee beans from around the world.  As you would expect of Whole Foods, with a reputation for the best in natural and organic food products, Allegro partners with coffee growers who practice environmentally friendly and sustainable growing, harvesting and processing methods.

Allegro roasts the coffee beans in small batches to bring out the finest characteristics and flavors.  At roast completion, coffees are vacuum packed in oxygen-impermeable bags.  To preserve freshness, the residual oxygen is removed and replaced with nitrogen prior to heat sealing the bag. 

These techniques maintain freshness for distribution to the Whole Foods Stores where the fresh roasted coffee is placed in bins for convenient display.  Shoppers can easily choose from an enticing variety of single origin coffees and blends.  The roasting date is clearly marked and displayed on each bin.  Typically, in the stores that I visit, the roasted coffee beans in the bins are not older than one week.

Customers help themselves scooping the beans they wish to buy into the provided coffee bags, marking on the bag the PLU (product look up code), and other information such as description and roast date if desired.

Some of the Whole Foods Stores offer in-store roasted Allegro coffee.  While perhaps enticing and a bit high-tech, in my experience, these smaller hot air roasting machines don’t produce a result that compares in taste and flavor to the coffees roasted by Allegro and packaged for distribution to the stores.

One of the conveniences I enjoy when buying coffee at Whole Foods is the opportunity to sample the variety.  It’s easy to pickup a small quantity, say an 1/8 pound of beans. I take the sample home and if I like the coffee and favor the roast, I can pickup a full 1/2 pound or more the next time I’m in the store.  We shop at Whole Foods frequently enough for other items, and it’s quick and easy to stop by the Allegro coffee section and see if there is something new to try, or pickup a recently roasted coffee that we already prefer.

For espresso, we’ve been enjoying the Organic Espresso Sierra.  A medium-dark roast blend with origins from Latin America and the Pacific Rim.  A nice, rich, full-bodied coffee with some chocolate and caramel tones.  With the fresh beans, I get a nice and consistent crema most of the time.

For drip, the Sulawesi Toraja is a favorite Indonesian that we particularly enjoy.  In my opinion, Indonesian coffees including Sulawesi and Sumatra are often over roasted.  I prefer the lighter medium roast for this coffee to bring out the best inherant characteristics.  A nice well-balanced acidity, rich body, and unique earthy overtones.  And hints of a sweet, caramel finish lingers nicely on the pallete.

See if there are any Whole Foods Stores located in your area.  Stop by and try some of the fresh roasted coffee.  I think you’ll be pleased.

Starbucks is reputed to be testing the Clover coffee brewing system in several stores.

The Clover is described as an automated reverse French press. Although, at around $11,000 a pop, this innovative coffee brewing system is a bit more expensive than a typical coffee press.

The invention of Zander Nosler, co-founder and president of the Coffee Equipment Company which manufacturers the machines, the Clover was first introduced about four years ago. There are now about 200 in use at specialty coffee houses in the US and Canada.

Clover Coffee Machine Demonstration

The Clover is a single cup brewing system that automates the function of a French press, and gives the barista precise control over all four variables of the brewing process; water temperature, coffee grind, coffee to water ratio, and the brew time.

Intended for commercial use, the full cycle time to produce a cup of coffee is about 75 seconds. The result is a precisely controlled, near perfect coffee extraction, similar to a French press, but in much less time.

A French press will take, on average, about 4 to 5 minutes to steep and brew several cups of coffee, and is not a very practical method for a busy commercial establishment to produce a brewed-to-order single cup of coffee. Another important efficiency factor for a commercial operation, cleanup of the expelled coffee grounds after brewing with a Clover is much easier and faster than with a French press.

If you like to dump milk and sugar into your coffee, the refinement of the Clover brewing system is a nuance that will most likely escape your appreciation. And, at between $2.50 and $3.00 for a cup of coffee brewed with a Clover, you’re not likely to see the value in spending the extra money.

But for coffee drinkers that are refining their palates, the Clover is an effective and complimentary brewing method that can really bring out the unique and distinctive tastes and flavors of the more exotic specialty coffees increasing in popularity today.

Starbucks has an initiative underway to renew the higher-end quality coffee experience and attempt to recapture some of the customers who have begun to stray. An effort to refocus on the core business and make it “more about the coffee”.

Apparently, deploying the Clover coffee machines at several pilot stores, including a few stores in Seattle, is some of this current testing underway. Supposedly, the stores with a Clover will also offer more exclusive beans than what is normally available at a standard Starbucks store.

Of course, as we would expect from Starbucks, they have coined another Starbucks-ism and will refer to the Clover machines as a “Fresh Press“.

Whether or not the Clover will draw the customers in, good for Starbucks for making the effort to raise the bar.

I know I’ll be curious to try a cup from a Clover when it comes to a Starbucks in my neighborhood.

Starbucks barista bashing, and Starbucks bashing in general, seems to be a popular activity lately.  And I’m not talking about the Starbucks Barista  espresso machines for sale. I’m referring to the human variety, the baristas preparing espresso drinks behind the counter.

There are some espresso aficionados not even willing to call these folks baristas.  In defense of honorable and worthy baristas where ever we are lucky enough to find them, I concede that we’re not typically going to find highly skilled artisans behind the counter at Starbucks.

But let’s be fair. Preparing espresso drinks, for better or for worse, with automatic espresso machines, manual, semi-automatic or otherwise, takes some level of skill and training. And what these folks do at Starbucks, whether or not it matches the highest expression of blissful espresso, does fall under the role of a barista.

To keep this in perspective, Starbucks is not really about sublime straight shots of espresso.  Truthfully, anyone who heads over to Starbucks for a nirvana shot of espresso is only setting themselves up for disappointment.

The espresso preparation at Starbucks is much more intended as the basis for the lattes, cappuccinos, macchiatos, and so forth.  By the time you add the foam, the milk, and the syrup, the caliber of the espresso shot isn’t going to make nearly as much difference.

Whether the connoisseurs consider the drinks at Starbucks authentic or not, it’s not really the point.  Starbucks delivers a style and version of espresso drinks that clearly satsifies the customer demand.    That is key for any successful business.  The proof is in the numbers.  That’s millions of customers and billions of dollars.  Hard to argue with numbers like that.  True, Starbucks had a lot to do with shaping the customer demand for their style of drinks, but all the power to them.

As for my personal preference, I don’t go into a Starbucks for a shot of espresso.  And I’m not a fan of all the milk, the foam, the syrup and the sugar.   But neither do I despise Starbucks as many espresso connoisseurs seem to do.  I’m fine with a cup of drip, and I generally enjoy stepping into a Starbucks and find it a pleasant experience.

Is there a higher barista calling than what we can expect to find at Starbucks?  Of course.  Let’s see, 15,000 Starbucks stores times 5 baristas per store is 75,000 baristas.  We don’t honestly expect to encounter a legion of 75,000 master baristas at Starbucks?  That would suggest that anyone can easily achieve black belt barista status.  Which would diminish and dilute the true accomplishment that an expert barista achieves.

And there is always room for improvement.  This year, in 2008, Starbucks is undertaking an initiative to improve the coffee experience at their stores.  This includes upgrades to the Verismo machines (I know, there are those that will never forgive Starbucks for moving from the LaMarzocco machines to the Verismo Automatics) and barista retraining.  At least Starbucks recognizes that there is need for improvement and I commend the effort.  See the lively discussion at Starbucks Gossip.

So let’s give the baristas at Starbucks a break.  Let’s lighten up on the Starbucks barista bashing.  There’s a place for Starbucks in my world, and no need to disrespect the folks that are working hard at Starbucks to please the customers. 

Yes, I will continue to enjoy my visits to Starbucks, and still remain free to seek out great espresso elsewhere.  And honor the barista master whenever and wherever I can.

For the true coffee lover who has a keen passion for preparing great espresso, who wouldn’t jump at the chance to train for a day with a world class expert barista? Yep, “Barista for a Day”.

Well, if you’re lucky enough to live in the Columbus, Ohio area, premier coffee roaster CrimsonCup is offering just an opportunity. See the press release – Local Specialty Coffee Shop Offers Chance to Learn from Espresso Expert Armando.

And who is Armando? Armando Escobar is the CEO of CrimsonCup, but not the type of CEO you might be thinking. He is CrimsonCup’s Chief Espresso Officer. Now that’s a very respectable title! According to his bio, Armando Escobar has spent the last 28 years training over 500 coffee house owners across the country how how to open a successful coffee business.

And some lucky contest winner will get to spend a day with Armando and learn some of the tricks and techniques from a true master. What great fun!

This is exactly the kind of interaction and engagement with customers that is too often missing in the specialty coffee business. And I think premium coffee houses are missing an opportunity to expand business, attract customers and create some loyal fans.

How often do you find a local coffee house or specialty roaster that is willing to put on classes, conduct coffee tastings with the customers, put on coffee roasting seminars, offer barista training, … Coffee house proprietors that have true coffee passion and experience have much to give and share. And I jump at the chance to expand my knowledge this way. Unfortunately, the opportunity doesn’t come up very often.

I think CrimsonCup has the right idea and should get some good mileage out of this contest promotion. And some lucky coffee lover will have a lot of fun spending a day with Armando Escobar, I’m sure!

For coffee freshness, premium quality and some of our favorite artisan coffee roasters, we prefer to buy most of our coffee beans online. But when it comes to filling in our every day coffee supply with coffee beans from the local store, we like Trader Joe’s.

A unique, health oriented gourmet grocery store, there are now over 230 Trader Joe’s locations in more than 23 states in the US. For gourmet food lovers looking for a healthful range of interesting and tasty food products, shopping at Trader Joe’s is always a rewarding food adventure. And for your every day coffee supply, they have a respectable lineup of coffee beans. At very reasonable coffee prices.

Trader Joe’s most popular coffees are:

French Roast – number one seller, sweet-pungent taste, smoky aroma, medium body.

Bay Blend – ultra roast, a style of roasting that burns off the acid to bring out the sweetness with a smoky aroma.

House Blend – blend of Sumatra and Colombian beans, highly aromatic, a nice all around coffee at a full-city roast.

Colombian Supremo – rich aroma, full body, full-city roast, smoky overtones. One of the most popular coffee origins in the US.

Kona- 100% certified island grown Kona coffee (Kona, Hawaii), rich aroma, medium body and nice smooth flavor.

Moka Java – the classic blend of bright, chocolatey Ethiopian beans with sweet, smooth Java beans produces a smooth and balanced flavor. Mocha Java is one of the oldest and traditional blends of Arabian and Indonesian beans popular world wide for over 400 years.

Kauai Coffee – another popular Hawaiian grown coffee, slightly darker roast, sweet earthy aroma, delicate taste.

Organic Coffee Blend – 100% certified organic Peruvian coffee beans – a bit spicy, blended with more mild 100% certified Mexican beans, creates a complex aroma, medium body, good flavor

Italian Roast- blend of spicy Costa Rican beans, pungent New-Guinea beans and full-bodied Colombian Excelso beans, brought to a full dark Italian roast. Popular for making espresso, remember that the darkest roasts yield more a more carbonized bean that can over-shadow the underlying coffee characteristics and flavors. You are often tasting more of the roast flavor and less of the coffee bean flavor.

I always like to encourage everyone to reach a little, and expand your enjoyment of different coffees. While you’ll always gravitate toward your favorites and preferences, sample the variety of coffees out there. It’s part of the gourmet coffee adventure.

We were in a Trader Joe’s recently and found a fun little sample pack of four coffees. The package is called the “Coffee House Collection”. These little 2.5 oz packs of whole bean coffees are perfect for sampling the Trader Joes brand. 2.5 ounces of coffee beans is enough to brew about 4 to 8 cups of coffee, depending on the strength you prefer. The suggested 10 cup yield is probably on the weak side. Try them first and see if you like ‘em before you buy the full can.

The Coffee House Collection includes:

French Roast- the standard Trader Joe’s dark French roast. (see notes above)

Colombian Peaberry – a tiny bean prized for it’s remarkable concentration of flavor. Normally, the coffee berry (the fruit as is picked from a coffee plant) yields two coffee beans, but the Peaberry yields only a single coffee bean per berry. A medium roast, smooth with a nutty, well-balanced taste.

Organic Peruvian Cafe Femenino – organic, fair-trade certified coffee, produced by an all women (femenino) group in Peru. Medium roast, nutty and slightly sweet, chocolate tones.

Bay Blend- combination of Colombian Excelso and Mexican Arabica beans, deeply roasted, one of Trader Joe’s darker roasts, medium body, full flavor. (see notes above)

If there’s a Trader Joe’s location in your area, give them a try. Not a bad choice at all for your everyday supply of coffee beans.

Here’s a current list of Trader Joe’s Locations. See if there’s one near you?

You can definitely classify me as a coffee geek today. I’m not sure when it happened.

As a teenager I didn’t even drink coffee. And trust me, that was many, many years ago. At the time, I may have been mildly aware of the negative message from the medical community maligning daily coffee drinking. Of course, as a teenager, I don’t think I was particularly influenced by the medical community and the doctors, based on the other substances I was willing to put in my body.

No, back then it was more that I just didn’t care for the taste of coffee all that much. I do recall at about the age of sixteen or so, in our family household, we were just transitioning off of the electric percolator to a Mr. Coffee drip machine. OK, now I’m really dating myself. Does anyone even have a percolator anymore? Even with the drip coffee maker, I do remember we were still brewing mostly Yuban, and occasionally Folgers and Maxwell House ground coffee in a can. Maybe the Yuban coffee just wasn’t doing anything for me back then.

Remember Yuban with the Juan Valdez TV commercials? Had to be 100% Colombian grown coffee if Juan Valdez showed up in your bedroom with his burro (somehow, that doesn’t sound right). I seem to recall someone telling me Juan Valdez was actually from Puerto Rico, not Colombia. But hey, Americans won’t be able to tell the difference. Come on, its a marketing campaign.

Juan Valdez – 100% Colombian Coffee

Now, many years later, I’m an incorrigible coffee geek, a veritable coffee fanatic. I’m not sure when and how it happened exactly. And don’t worry, I’ll only bore you with a few of the tedious details of my life, step by step.

But quickly, I think it happened something like this …

• Discovered the value of caffeine to survive the late night “finish the paper” cram sessions in college.

• I admit, Starbucks had some influence along the way.

• Purchased a blade grinder, started grinding my own beans. Switched to whole beans. It just felt right.

• And then I discovered espresso. I’m pretty sure it was one of the local Italian restaurants. A double espresso with desert. Hey, this stuff is pretty good!

• For years, it had to be dark French roast beans. Didn’t pay much attention to the coffee origin. Just had to be a dark roast. Then I discovered there are some other options, at least thirty different coffee origins from around the world. Wow, there are some different tasting coffees out there.

• Someone gave me a French press. Now there’s a great way to brew coffee and get a full extraction. I’m starting to pay more attention to the coffee ritual and the experience, and I’m getting pulled in. It’s not just a cup of coffee anymore.

• Don’t ask me when I started adding words like “extraction” to my coffee vocabulary. But I think these may be some of the telltale indicators of coffee geek-hood.

• I suppose another coffee geek “right of passage” occurs the moment you decide you have to have an espresso machine at home. After all, wouldn’t it be great to crank out great espresso shots anytime you want. Then you find out it’s “pulling shots” not cranking out shots. More coffee geek vocabulary.

• So now one of the clear dividing line emerges. Is it going to be a manual or piston style machine, a semi-automatic, or a super-automatic fully computerized, one-button espresso machine? Let’s see, anything computerized is pretty geeky, but what would a real barista choose? I’m afraid if you go for the fully computerized, super-automatic, push the easy button espresso machine, you’re probably not a true coffee geek. You may have the bucks, but come on, you didn’t think you can just buy your way into geek-hood?

• When you do a little soul searching, and you find out you somehow identify with that barista inside, and you decide that there must be honor and valor in mastering the full technique and artistry of espresso coffee preparation, you’re probably a coffee geek.

• And then it seems, you’re past the point of no return. This espresso thing’s a bit harder than it looks. So you study, and you learn, and you practice. And at least several hundred shots later, and an expensive burr grinder so you can finally get the grind right, you’re pulling pretty respectable shots.

• You’ve arrived! There is no denying, you are a full-fledged coffee geek. And proud of it!

Now let me clarify something. Please don’t confuse a coffee geek with a coffee snob. I can’t speak for all coffee geeks, but I would never think I’m better than somebody just because I love everything about coffee. In fact, I think a coffee geek is much more of a coffee evangelist than a snob. You know, an obsession. Can’t stop talking about coffee, and has the desire to share with anyone who will listen.

For the many folks out there that don’t share the calling, I get it. Coffee is no big deal. Any regular cup of coffee in the morning is just fine.

But for a coffee geek like me, there’s a richer and more rewarding coffee experience out there, and I’m going to make it happen.

OK, I don’t expect this to make sense to everyone.

But if it does, maybe you’re a little bit of a coffee geek too?

Ernesto Illy, the legendary chairman of the Illy Caffe coffee company, died Sunday, Feb 3rd, at the age of 82 in his home town of Trieste, Italy.

If you have any interest in espresso coffee, you are most likely familiar with Illy. Perhaps you’re even a big fan of this world famous premium espresso coffee.

The familiar Illy coffee container and distinctive logo is a classic example of true Italian style.

For many first-time home baristas, Illy is the first coffee that you try out in your new espresso machine. When you struggle at the beginning trying to figure out how to get the grind right, a can of pre-ground Illy coffee beans saves the day and sets the reference point. Oh, so that’s what a fine grind is supposed to look like, as you discover your blade grinder isn’t going to get you there.

Ernesto Illy’s wonderful description of his favorite drink, “fine espresso paints the tongue …“, sums up his bigger than life passion for espresso coffee. He devoted his entire career to bringing the art and science of espresso to new levels.

Illy, formally a chemist by training, headed up the company between 1963 and 2004. The Illy company was originally founded in 1933 by his father, Francesco Illy. The senior Illy established the company in the port city of Trieste on the Adriatic sea which had become a strategic import hub to bring in coffee beans from Africa and South America. Trieste was a natural choice for Francesco Illy to setup shop.

By the early 1960′s, it was under Ernesto Illy’s leadership that the company grew in prominence as a premium espresso coffee brand. During his reign, leveraging his chemistry background, he merged the world of science and sophisticated technology with the traditional artisan craft of coffee selection and roasting to produce the highest quality premium coffee worthy of the Illy brand.

Today, every step of the manufacturing process is monitored by computers. There are 114 quality control check points from the time the raw beans arrive on the Illy docks to the time the finished roasted beans are packaged and ready to ship in the distinctive Illy sealed cans.

If you love espresso, you have to appreciate Illy’s commitment to the coffee’s purest expression. He was critical of standard sized coffee cups in favor of the espresso demitazza and was particularly disdainful of popular coffee additives such as milk and sugar which he viewed as mere cover-ups for inferior, poorly roasted coffee beans.

Ernesto Illy was truly a giant ambassador for premium espresso coffee. In a large way, Illy was influential in expanding the flourishing espresso coffee culture that is widespread and immensely popular throughout the world today.