Videos For The Week Of October 24, 2011

More Methods For Roasting Your Own Green Coffee Beans

I found three additional methods for roasting your own Dark Roast Coffee. I am finding that a lot of folks out there are very inventive when it comes to making devices to make their own dark roasted blend. I hope you will find these as interesting as I have. I don't recommend two of them for the obvious safety issues they have. Do these at your own risk - I don't want to be responsible for anyone burning down their home.

As Always, may your next cup be your best.

I-Roaster

Another home roasting machine - it is fairly automatic and seems to work well. The Australian machine is designed to run on 220-240 volts. If you can set up the correct electrical power for it, it will run you around $424.95, in Australian Dollars. The information on the web site says that those wanting it for international use should contact them about it.

Using A Bread Maker To Roast Coffee

In this method, the roaster uses a bread making machine to stir the beans and uses a hot air gun to roast the beans. If you don't mind having chaff all over your kitchen, I guess it is a great way to roast your beans. I don't endorse this one for safety reasons!

Coffee Roasting African Style

This contraption uses an old computer case as a power supply, an electric screwdriver to spin the basket full of beans over a burner. It is messy and looks like a really big fire hazard - do this at your own risk!!

Café Solano by Peet's Coffee - Review

Peet's Coffee Café Solano

With the very first taste of this coffee, you can tell it's a medium roast. It has a pleasant mouth feel, and some good depth to the flavor. (I know, I am supposed to stick to dark roast coffee for the blog, but wait this is good stuff - read on!)

I tasted this coffee as an Americano. This blend has no noticeable bitterness and is very pleasant as an unsweetened coffee; the roasters at Peet's Coffee have been very successful in bringing out the best in these particular coffee beans.

As the coffee cools you notice a slight amount of bitterness - this coffee is very smooth.

This is an excellent coffee for sipping all day and would also be excellent with almost any meal.

If you have a guest that prefers the more traditional coffee such as Folgers or other commercial brands I would recommend this for them. This coffee is not overpowering and not excessively strong. It just has a great taste and smoothness that almost anyone can appreciate.

Upon sweetening, this coffee shows it's smooth character even further. This would be a great coffee for after dinner as a desert by itself. A good pairing with this would be a slice of apple pie or even just some freshly sliced apples.

This is a quality coffee that will not disappoint. On a scale of one to ten, I would rate this at 9.3 - the quality of this coffee is obvious from the very first sip.

I hope this will help you in your search for a great cup of coffee. And, as always, may your next cup be your best!

Video For The Week Of October 10, 2011

The Swiss Water Process for Decaffeination

In an earlier blog I discussed decaffeinating of coffee. I would like to go back to this subject with this video. It shows, with simple illustration, how your dark roast coffee is decaffeinated. The green coffee beans are carefully selected, then processed using carbon filters and water. The thing that is unique is that the water is saturated with the extract of green coffee beans, minus the caffeine. This allows the water to remove ONLY the caffeine from the green beans.

I think this is a very informative video and I hope you will enjoy it.



As always, may your next cup be your best!

Videos For The Weeks Of September 19 and 26, 2011

I failed to get my video of the week post out last week, so I decided to give you a complete set of videos on Home Coffee Roasting. With a few simple tools, and some green coffee beans, you too, can roast your own coffee.

Disclaimer - roasting your own coffee can be hazardous, due to the high temperatures involved and the fact that the chaff that is released from the beans is highly flammable - do this at your own risk!

Simple Pan Roasting Coffee

In this video, you discover that all you need is a pan, some green coffee beans, and a colander to make your own dark roasted blend.

Roasting Coffee In a Hot Air Popper

This method uses a modified hot air popper to roast your own dark roast coffee. This is much simpler than using the pan method and disposes of the chaff automatically - into the sink.

Roasting With the Gene Cafe Roaster

For those who can afford it, there is the commercially-built hot air roaster. It comes complete with automated temperature control, a countdown timer to track roast time, and an automated cool-down system. My only complaint on this ready-made system is that it won't cool the beans down quickly - which is key to optimum coffee roasting.



I hope these videos have helped you see that you can roast your own coffee - with a little time and effort.

As always, thanks for stopping by and may your next cup be your best!

Starbucks Anniversary Blend - Review

Starbucks Anniversary Blend

The first taste of this coffee has a lot of depth. This is an extremely smooth dark roast blend with a really great mouth feel. The unsweetened brew is very enjoyable with no noticeable bitterness. Starbucks rates this as an "Extra Bold" coffee, which definitely classifies it as a dark roast coffee.

Coffee drinkers that don't normally drink a coffee without sweetener could probably drink this very easily as it is such a mild blend. As the coffee cools you notice a definite bitterness that hits the tip your tongue. Even though that bitterness becomes a little more noticeable as the coffee cools further, it is still a great coffee for those who normally take sweetener in their Joe.

When this coffee is sweetened, it takes on a very friendly character. It is such a smooth blend that one would consider having it as a desert by itself.

On a scale of one to ten, I would rate this at 9.8 as it is such an excellent blend. The folks at Starbucks did an excellent job of getting the most out of these coffee beans. My complements to them for a really top-notch coffee.

Since this is a limited-edition coffee, I recommend that you go to Starbucks or go online and order some Anniversary Blend - you won't be disappointed.

Thanks for stopping by and as always, may your next cup be your best!

Blended Coffee

Why Is Coffee Blended?

You may have noticed some of your dark roast coffee says that is a particular blend of coffee. Coffee is blended for various reasons. It is often blended to get flavors and characteristics from different coffees, thus creating a cup that has the best characteristics of each of the coffees that have been blended together.

Another reason for blending is to get a flavor that fits a signature coffee type such as Starbucks, Folgers, Seattle's Best, Izzy or any other well-known brand.

Sometimes blends are used to make a coffee if that is fairly low-grade taste better than it actually is by putting in some better grade beams with the lower grade ones, producing a better cup.

One thing that must be decided when making a blend is whether to put all the green coffee beans together and roast them or to roast them separately and then blend them together.

One type of blended roast is in called a melange. In this type of blend you have some beans dark roasted, some medium, and some light roasted to get the best characteristics out of each of the different coffees in the blend. You may be trying for the boldness of the dark roast the smoothness of the medium roast and perhaps even some of the higher flavor tones from a light roasted coffee.

Blended coffees offer us a greater variety of coffee choices and give us many opportunities to experience more of our favorite brew.

One school of thought on blending is that you have signature blends in which you want to produce a consistent flavor to be sold exclusively at a particular chain store or Café - Starbucks and Gloria Jean's are in this category. There are consistency blends which have a very large number of bean sources in them - this makes it possible to substitute another kind of bean in place of one that is not available without the consumers noticing the change. Low cost beans - basically you're adding robusta beans or cheaper arabica beans to produce coffee at a lower price. Then there are single origin blends - they will get coffee from different parts of a certain region and put them into a blend.

In most cases, blending gives you a coffee that brings out favorable characteristics that are not available in an unblended one.

I hope you found this information useful and thank you for stopping by.

Feel free to comment, and as always, may your next cup be your best!

Videos For The Week Of September 12, 2011

Roasting Stages and Using a Homemade Coffee Roaster Videos

Sometimes you just can't make up your mind. That was my problem when I was trying to choose a video for this week, so I chose two distinctly different videos. The first one shows some of the color changes that coffee goes through in the roasting process. It gives you information on how the coffee beans develop in color and how their chemistry changes as they are brought to your favorite roast - be it light roasted coffee or dark roast coffee.

Coffee roasting is something that can be done at home, and there are several methods of doing it - roasting in a pan, roasting in a popcorn popper (don't laugh, its good stuff), or building and roasting in a "custom" homemade coffee roaster - using an old gas grill for the heat source. One disclaimer - if you do your own roasting, I am not responsible for your injuries you may incur - you are supposed to use common sense in handling hot stuff. Enough said, enjoy the videos, and as always, may your next cup be your best!

Roast Development Stages For Coffee Video

Watch for the second time he samples the roast in the first crack stage - one of the beans actually pops out of the sampler!!

Using a Homemade Coffee Roaster Video

Video For The Week Of August 29, 2011

Light Roast Coffee versus Dark Roast Coffee

I got to thinking - what is it about coffee that most of us don't know much about - my answer - roasts and roasting. What happens to turn green coffee beans into a dark roasted blend?

So I looked around and found several great videos about the topic of roasts and roasting. This video covered some basics that you should know to understand more about your favorite dark roast coffee blend - or ANY coffee you consume.

The video is short, but informative - enjoy!




And as always, may your next cup be your best!

Peet's Café Domingo - Review

Review Of Café Domingo By Peet's Coffee

I don't blog on medium roasts often, but Peet's Coffee always seems to have some great roasts, so I thought I would give Café Domingo a try.


These coffee beans have only a little oil on them, so I was uncertain about the level of depth this coffee would have. A taste of the unsweetened brew yielded a smooth mouth feel with only a slight bitterness. There is also a hint of earthiness in the brew, but I think it would not be noticed by a casual drinker.


After several more sips the coffee still gives you a pleasant taste on your tongue. For this reason i think this is an ideal coffee if you have a guest that prefers Folgers or some other coffee that is for the general market. It isn't overpowering, nor is it as strong as most premium blends. It is the kind of coffee you would have at breakfast, then sip on all day. In my opinion, Peet's has once again created an excellent coffee that would easily be accepted by the average consumer and the coffee gourmet alike.

My personal rating on this coffee would be a 8.9 out of 10. This is based on my personal tastes, since I prefer the darker roasts. (Yes, I am a fanatic for dark roast coffee!) I would gladly purchase this if I were going to have a guest that doesn't care for my "fancy" coffee. This way, I could have a really nice cup and enjoy it with my guest.

As always, may your next cup be your best!

Video For The Week Of August 8, 2011

Coffee Health Benefits Video

I have been out for a couple of weeks, enjoying the summer while I can. I kept trying to decide what might be good for this week, and I thought that it would be good to put out my video pick for the week.

I found this an interesting video as it covers some of the things that coffee does to our body, and more specifically, our minds. Coffee beans contain caffeine, along with antioxidants, so your morning cup of dark roast coffee affects you physically and mentally as well. I believe that it is always important to look at what we eat and drink and how it may effect our health.

I hope you find this video informative. Please feel free to comment and let me know what you think of it.





Thanks for coming by and, as always, may your next cup be your best!

Video For The Week Of July 25, 2011

Coffee: The Greatest Addiction Ever

The featured video for Dark Roast Coffee this week is filled with trivia and interesting facts about our favorite beverage. It is enlightening and funny. The video gives you some interesting facts that you may or not be aware of, so pour up a cup of your favorite dark roast blend and watch it. I hope you enjoy it.



Thanks for stopping by and may your next cup be your best!

Boyer's French Roast Dark Roast Coffee - Review

French Roast by Boyer's

The first taste of this coffee puts a pleasant bitterness on the tip of your tongue. As you sip more of this brew and you get more familiar with it, the flavor grows on you. It has a slightly earthy quality that is very subtle. This is one coffee that is very easy to drink without any sweetener. It doesn't have the depth of French Roast from Starbucks of Seattle's Best, but it is a very pleasant brew to drink, indeed.


Boyer's has traditionally made very good coffee, and I have drank it several times and have always been very satisfied with their offerings. I purchased this particular coffee at a Sam's Club and got it for a very good price.

On a Scale of one to 10, I would rate this coffee about an 8.8 - this coffee is very dependable and it gives you excellent value for the money spent.

With the addition of sweetener this coffee gets even better. I've had this coffee with milk chocolate and it is wonderful stuff.

Thanks for coming by and may your next cup be your best!

Video For The Week Of July 18, 2011

This Is Coffee - Video

I am starting a new addition to Dark Roast Coffee. Each week, I will find a video for your pleasure and information.

This week's choice is a video from 1961, titled "This is Coffee." It has some interesting information, including video of coffee beans being harvested and processed.

I hope you will enjoy it. Comment and let me know what you want to see videos of, or just leave me your opinion of the week's video.

Thanks for coming by and may your next cup be your best!

Oxo Stainless Steel LiquiSeal Travel Mug Review

Review of Oxo Stainless Steel LiquiSeal Travel Mug

Several months ago I reviewed a plastic travel mug manufactured by Oxo. It is an excellent mug but it has a couple of drawbacks:

• It only keeps coffee hot for a couple of hours
• The lid can fill up with grime that cannot be cleaned out

The good folks at Oxo Softworks have a vacuum insulated stainless version of this mug that can be opened up for cleaning and can keep coffee drinkable for over 4 hours (see temperature chart).

I used this mug for a few days and one morning it disappeared - I discovered my wife had grabbed it for her use. Both of us were impressed by the mug. The triple silicone seals in the
OXO Stainless Steel Mug work as well as they do in the plastic mug, and it has the advantage of having an easy to clean lid. The inner seal has an arrow showing you how to loosen it for clean up. It isn't a perfect solution, but it is a vast improvement.

The mug has a 13.5 ounce capacity and a very comfortable non-slip grip just below the lid. Like the previously reviewed mug, it opens and closes with a press of its push button seal.


The downside to this mug is that it is supposed to be hand washed and because it is stainless, you can not reheat your coffee in the microwave. Because of the ability to keep the coffee temperature for so long, this should not pose a problem if you put in coffee that is good and hot. I would rate this as a 9.5 on a scale of 10 - this is a great mug for taking your dark roast coffee along with you.


Click HERE to get an OXO Stainless Steel Mug

Choosing A Quality Coffee Cup

The Importance Of A Quality Coffee Cup

I had an awesome Father's Day this year. My wife fixed me a great breakfast, I went to church after eating breakfast with my family. My youngest kids were better than usual, and I got to have a long phone conversation with my eldest daughter.

The day was awesome and one item that made it that way was my gift - a box of sugar-free chocolates, a pound of Starbucks Cafe Estima coffee beans and a new coffee cup.

This brought to mind something I have not blogged on - the importance of a quality cup. I cannot stress how important a good, quality cup is in your search for a perfect cup of coffee. Let's say you have a metal cup. A stainless mug looks nice and will not alter the flavor of the brew, but it could burn your lips if the coffee is very hot from a French Press. This also applies to the porcelain-covered cups you use when camping - these cups require that you use something as an insulator on the handle - go to a place that serves "chuckwagon" dinners if you doubt me on this.

Use of glass or Pyrex cups is good, but there is always the danger of chipping them. You can have a small chip that can cut you - so always inspect this type of cup before use. In addition, a thicker glass cup helps keep the coffee hot longer, so you may want to consider this when purchasing one.

Insulated mugs are great for keeping your coffee hot. Unfortunately the first few mugs seem to have a plastic or metal taste to them. I suggest you "sacrifice" one strong cup that you let sit in the mug for an hour or so. This seems to lessen the number of times you have before the mug has no artificial taste. I also recommend that you just rinse this type of cup with hot water and never scrub it with soap - unless you want to waste another mug full to break it in again.

If you are going to be someplace where your cup can be broken, you need to look for a good plastic cup. Get one with thick walls as these are more durable and will hold the heat for a longer time. Break this type in as described for insulated mugs to get the best flavor from the coffee.

My favorite cup is a nice, large ceramic cup. Stoneware cups are fine, but a ceramic cup is just so much better for getting the most out of your cup of Java. Over the years I have received several great ceramic cups and this year's cup is a really great one (see photo). A good ceramic mug will seem light for its size, and it will ring when you thump on it with your finger. A good stoneware mug will seem heavy for its size and will have a duller ring when you thump on it. The ringing sound indicates that the ceramic or stoneware is tightly bound together - thus insuring no leakage and good insulating qualities. This type of cup, if clean, will not alter the flavor of the dark roast coffee you put into it.

If you don't have a good ceramic or stoneware cup, I suggest you treat yourself and get one - you won't regret it.

You can pick up a nice ceramic travel coffee cup with a silicone lid by DCI Decor here.


Get a dozen Carlisle Food Service 8 Ounce Stone Double-Wall Insulated Coffee Mugs here.


Get a Set of 6 Anchor Hocking Mocha Color 16 oz Cafe Mugs here.

I hope this information has helped you, and as always, may your next cup be your best!

Caribou Coffee Daybreak Morning Blend Review

Review Of Daybreak By Caribou Coffee

Although I normally blog on dark roast coffee, in the interest of being fair, this time I decided to take on a lighter roast. Even I will break from my regimen of dark roast coffee to sample some of the other great coffees out there.

When I opened the bag, the aroma reminded me a lot of Gevalia Coffee.

The coffee beans are fairly light in color and have little oil on them.

My first taste of this lighter roast blend is impressive. The flavor is very much like a medium roast - more so than the light roast that it actually is. There is some great depth of flavor to this coffee. It has, as I assumed, a similar flavor to some of the Gevalia offerings.

It would be an excellent offering as a breakfast coffee. In addition it would work well as a midday coffee with a slice of cake or some chocolate.

As is typical of most light roasts, there is no excessive amount of bitterness. This coffee works out so well you don't need any sweetener for it.

As the coffee cools, I noticed some earthiness, and the level of bitterness did not increase.
This is definitely a great coffee to have around your house. It is especially good for those who do not like dark roast coffee and prefer a lighter roast.

On a scale of one to 10, I would rate this blend at about a 8.8 to a 9.3 - it definitely is a coffee worth having in your house.

I hope this review has helped you in your search for the perfect cup of coffee and as always, may your next cup be your best!

Peet's Columbia - Review

Columbia by Peet's Coffee

This coffee was already ground, but I had to grind it down to espresso grind for my Americano. The ground coffee is almost black in color. After grinding, the coffee has a very sweet rich aroma that is hard to describe.

The first taste of this coffee has some earthiness to it. The bitterness of the coffee hits right at the tip of the tongue very quickly and then dissipates just as quickly as it came. It definitely has a very clean finish.


This roast is very typical of Peet's Coffee in the fact that it has a very smooth mouth feel and isn't overpowering in its flavor. The one thing I can say about the roasters at Peet’s – they give you a consistent, great coffee every time.

As the coffee cools the bitterness of the coffee doesn't increase noticeably. This would be an excellent coffee to have if you're going to be somewhere and cannot reheat your coffee.

I added sweetener to the coffee and realized I added too much. This blend does not require a lot of sweetener. Be careful if you drink sweetener in your coffee - don't add too much. Add a little, taste and add a little more if needed.

This dark roast coffee would be great for after dinner. It has a very dessert-like flavor when sweetener is added - it definitely would complement just about any dessert you might have with it. This would include any good chocolate recipe - such as the ones in Chocolate Lovers Recipes.

I would rate this coffee at 9.4 to 9.5 on a 10 point scale.

I hope this coffee review will help you in your search for that perfect cup of coffee and as always, may your next cup be your best.

How To Find A Really Good Coffee Grinder Part 2

The Search For An Affordable Quality Coffee Grinder Continues

Step two in purchasing a coffee grinder should always be research. Be realistic when doing this. Stick to your budget and your needs to find the right grinder for your coffee beans.

I decided upon a price point of $100 or less – as this fits my budget best. No, I am not getting rich on this blog – if you want to help, click on the donate button on the left, or buy one of my sponsored products on the blog. (No charge for this Public Service Announcement.)

You should always base your coffee grinder choice upon your needs. Since I grind coffee for French Press, Drip and Espresso, I need coffee a grinder that will do all grinds equally well. Unfortunately, this cuts out a lot of the low cost coffee grinders on the market. One drawback to most low cost coffee grinders is that there is a lot of static in the ground coffee – which can make a big mess on your counter if you aren’t careful. What follows below is a brief selection of some the coffee grinders I looked at in my research for the ideal grinder for my dark roast coffee.

I thought of purchasing another Cuisinart DBM-8 coffee grinder, but based upon my experience with it, I knew that it would not grind coffee well for espresso. This grinder does great on coarse and it is really great on drip grinds, so if you have need for only these type of grinds, it's perfect. I personally recommend it for those that do drip and french press only. You can buy a
Cuisinart DBM-8 grinder here.

I looked at the Kitchenaid Pro Line grinder and was not really happy with the price - after all I'm trying to keep this under $100 and the Pro Line ranges in the $200 price range. According to most of the reviews I read, it is an excellent choice if you have the cash. The entire unit is metal and glass with few plastic parts in it. It is designed to last. You can buy a KitchenAid Pro Line Grinder here.

Another candidate was the Nesco BG-88 Burr Mill - the price is very good, but according to the user reviews, this coffee grinder seems to have a fairly high failure rate.

The Black & Decker CBM210 burr mill has an excellent price - around $30, unfortunately, I saw a few negative reviews and some users said that the finest grind is too big for espresso - so that leaves this one out of my possible selections. If you want a low-cost grinder for drip or french press, You can buy a
CBM210 grinder here.

I looked at the Krups GVX1–14 grinder - this one is a little bit higher-priced. It usually sells for $50. It seems to have some problems with failure rate, static build up in the coffee grounds and overall reliability.

Another grinder I considered was the Cuisinart CBM–18 burr mill.burr mill. The downside to this particular grinder, according to a lot of folks, is the noise level. It is very noisy and so therefore it might not be a great choice if you want to keep your house quiet. The grinder seems to be of reasonable quality - some reviews are saying it grinds great coffee. I don't know how it does on espresso since none of the users said anything about the espresso grind. The noise level is still something you have to consider unless you live alone. If noise is not an issue, you can buy a
Cuisinart CBM-18 grinder here.

I also considered the DeLonghi KG79 burr grinder - at $50 it's a good buy. The thing is that I can't find very many reviews on it so I'm not really sure if it's a really great grinder or if there are just not that many people buying it. You can buy a DeLonghi KG79 grinder here.

Another grinder I'm considering is the Bodum Bistro Burr Grinder. This grinder has a glass receiving container which cuts out the static problem that most of the lower end grinders have. It does have several grind settings and a timer to be able to set the grinding time.The only negative thing I found so far was from one reviewer that said that it does not grind a extremely fine espresso grind for the higher end machines. Since I don't have a higher end machine this is still a possible grinder for my selection – it sells for under $100 online. You can buy a
Bodum® Bistro Burr Coffee Grinder here.

So now I have found several candidates, but most of them have been knocked out of the running because of problems in their manufacturing or the quality of their components.

In the next blog in this series, I will let you know which grinder I chose, why I chose it and my review of it as a match to my criteria.

Thanks for reading, and as always, may your next cup be your best!

How To Find A Really Good Coffee Grinder

The Search For An Affordable Quality Coffee Grinder

My Cuisinart DBM-8 Burr Mill Coffee Grinder is dying. It has produced very nice drip and french press coffee, and with a little help, espresso. The reason I say a little help is that you must run the coffee through the grinder as many as 5 times to achieve an acceptable espresso grind. I even tried to modify the grinder - with some success - it now only takes 2 passes to make espresso ground coffee. It now only runs when you press down on the bean hopper - the safety switches are somehow messed up, so it doesn't run unless you play around with it a lot. Sometimes I just take the second-pass ground coffee and run it through my old Braun push-button blade grinder just to get the job done. For this reason I am shopping for a replacement grinder for my dark roast coffee. I have got to find an excellent low-cost grinder for my coffee beans.

The quality and consistency of the coffee grind is critical to successful coffee preparation. See my blog post on the importance of grind in coffee making here. Although blade grinder may do the job, but for a more consistent grind, you need to use a burr mill grinder. This type of grinder runs slower than a blade type and heats up the coffee less as it grinds, retaining more of the coffee flavor.

There are a few common problems with the low-cost burr grinders:

• Because they are mostly plastic, the ground coffee builds up static in it and tends to spill everywhere


• The low-cost grinders range from around $50 to $200 - a lot more than the blade units


• The failure rate on some of these units seems to be fairly high - read the reviews people give for this info


• Quite a few of them don't produce a very uniform grind - which is why you are trying to buy this kind of grinder in the first place


• If you do find a really good one for the price - it always seems to be out of stock (I wonder why...)


• Finding one that does excellent french press and espresso grind is difficult, at best

In the last week I have discovered several possible replacements - and some really bad ones. In my next post, I will detail what my findings are, and what I am going to use as a new replacement grinder.

I hope this information helps you in your search for great coffee, and as always, may your next cup be the best!

Breakfast Blend by Archer Farms - Review

Review of Archer Farms Breakfast Blend

First taste:
This is supposed to be a milder roast - not even a medium roast, but it has definitely got a bite to it. My first taste of this blend has a definite bitterness to it that is very noticeable. The coffee also has a got a noticeable amount of oil on top of the finished brew. It does not have the flavor depth of a dark roast or medium roast and it is very true to what archer Farms says this roast is.

The flavor is good but it is not as excellent as some of the other coffees I have tasted and reviewed in this blog. This coffee has a smooth mouth feel and a clean finish.


The flavor of the unsweetened blend is definitely okay for the average consumer and it's good enough to keep on hand as a spare coffee in your cabinet.

I would rate this coffee about an 8.4 to 8.5 on a 10 point scale. I would not make it my main coffee just because the flavor doesn't have a great deal of depth.

Since I tend to like dark roast coffee I might be a little bit critical of this particular blend, but It isn't as impressive as some of the other archer coffees that I have drank.

You could do a whole lot worse than this particular blend. It is definitely better than some of the rank-and-file commercial coffees that are out there but it is not to be confused with the top of the top-of-the-line Starbucks, Gevalia or Seattle's Best blends. A is definitely better than traditional Folgers, Maxwell House or other coffees in that genre.

Below is a photo that has some Breakfast Blend next to Starbucks Sumatra for comparison of the roasts - note the difference in color.


Archer Farms has a lot of really nice products, including their coffees. Breakfast Blend is not one of Archer’s best coffees, but it would be good if you are on the road and all you have in a small town is a local Target store.

I hope this review has helped you in the search for that truly good cup of coffee. As always, may your next cup be your best!

Review - Caribou Coffee Mahogany

Mahogany by Caribou Coffee

This roast is a medium dark roast. I tasted this coffee as an Americano. The coffee I purchased was already ground, so I can’t tell you anything about the coffee beans themselves. I can state that when I re-ground it to get it to espresso grind, the coffee stuck together quite well – this indicates a lot of good, quality oils being present in it.

There's a definite earthiness with this blend and the flavor has a pronounced bitterness that has a little bit of a bite to it.
The flavor lingers in your mouth for several seconds - it has a very smooth mouth feel. Due to the earthiness of the coffee, the finish of the coffee comes off a little bit dry.


Since this is my first Caribou Coffee, I didn't quite know what to expect. I will state that I'm pleasantly surprised by the excellence of this coffee. The folks at Caribou Coffee really know what they're doing.

Without sweetener, this coffee has a very pleasant taste and aroma. It is very comforting and relaxing. Despite this being classified as a medium dark roast coffee the flavor comes off more like a true dark roast.

Upon adding adding sweetener to it, I found that the flavor of the coffee became very desert like - almost like drinking a chocolate bar. As I am not a trained coffee taster this is the best way I can describe it.

I'm scale of 9 to 10, I would rate this between 9.1 and 9.2 - it is definitely a coffee that will please almost anyone.

This is a brew that will please almost anyone, even very picky coffee drinkers. If your guests are very picky, add a little sweetener and let them drink it as a dessert coffee.

I hope you found this review beneficial and as always be your next cup be your best!

Review – Peet’s House Blend

House Blend by Peet’s Coffee

When you first open the bag, this coffee fills the room with its aroma.

The beans of this dark roast coffee have a very nice sheen of oil on them and they have small oily spots where it pools up on each bean - see the photo.



I made up the coffee I tasted in a French Press. The beauty of French Press coffee is that it is unfiltered so you get the true coffee flavors from the brew with nothing lost.

With the first taste of this coffee I noticed a very smooth mouth feel.

Despite this coffee being a very definite dark roast, the flavor was not exceptionally strong or overpowering.

As the coffee cooled I noticed a slight bitterness. This is exceptional as I brewed a very strong French Press of it.

The flavor of this coffee definitely hits the back of your tongue and has a very nice pleasant flavor. I can see this as a really great coffee to serve at a bed and breakfast or even a high-end bistro. If you want to impress your guests, brew up some of this and let them enjoy this pleasant experience.

This is a very good dark roast coffee that I would definitely rate in the mid-nine range probably about 9.3 to 9.5 out of 10. It is very comparable to the top offerings from Starbucks, Seattle’s Best or Gevalia. It can stand on its own against almost any top quality blend.

Thank you for reading and have a great day.

May your next cup be your best.

Review - Thermos CSS1010 Stainless Steel Tumbler

CSS1010 Stainless Steel Tumbler by Thermos

Thermos Travel Tumbler

This mug is made by Thermos. The mug is stainless steel with a black handgrip and a sliding cover on the top. It holds 16 ounces of liquid and it uses Thermos' TherMax vacuum insulation technology.

The cover seals relatively well although there is a slight amount of leakage when you tip the mug or shake it vigorously. My only complaint about the seal is that it tends to keep you from getting very much liquid out at a time. There is a side benefit in this in the fact that if you have very hot coffee in it you will not burn yourself by getting a large swallow of the hot liquid.

I have used this mug for the last three days and have been very pleased with the results of it holding temperature and quality of construction.

I had it outside on a windy day with it about half full of coffee and it did not blow over. This surprised me as most stainless mugs are usually very top-heavy.

For my temperature tests I used some coffee that I had French Pressed. The starting temperature of the coffee that was poured into the mug stabilized at 171°F - this is rather surprising since it is an all stainless cup. I assumed that I would lose more than the 20° I lost when I poured it in. If you preheat this cup with hot water before putting coffee into it you probably will not have this problem.

The results of my temperature tests are in the chart below.









This tumbler keeps coffee warm enough to keep it drinkable for over 4 hours - definitiely a winner in my book!

Overall I think this is a very good product and I would personally endorse it as being a good purchase.

Click here to purchase your own Thermos Stainless Steel Travel Tumbler.


I hope this review has helped you in your search for a great mug for your dark roast coffee.

Have a great day and may your next cup be your best!

Review - Colombian Supremo by Safeway Select Gourmet Coffee

Safeway Select Colombian Supremo

The first taste of this coffee is somewhat earthy and definitely tastes similar to some of the dark roast coffee produced by Gevalia or the special roast used by McDonalds. This is surprising for some stuff off the grocery store shelf.

Colombian Supremo is a medium roast that is one of Safeway's Select store branded products. It has some of the depth of a dark roasted blend. I tasted the coffee brewed with my drip coffee maker. It was pre-ground coffee so there may have been some flavor lost due to it not being whole bean.

I can’t find the exact words to use to describe it, but this coffee has a definite sharpness to the flavor. It is probably due to the roasting process used. There is a light bitterness that hits the back of your tongue. This roast has got a spicy initial flavor. It is a very good coffee for breakfast or early morning drinking.

Sometimes you're very surprised by what you find on a grocery store shelf versus what you find in a coffee shop. The quality is definitely here - it is a coffee that shouldn't be turned down whenever you can't get your regular roast. This can easily happen if you are on the road and you are in a small town. A Safeway store may be available to you when a Starbucks or other brand-name coffee shop is not.

This coffee definitely gets more bitter as it gets colder. The bitterness is more noticeable as it gets close to room temperature. I think it is still a very good coffee but definitely one that you want to drink warm versus drinking it cold - unless you like the bitterness of the cold coffee.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate this between 8.3 and 8.5 - it is definitely a quality coffee and one that should not be overlooked when you're shopping the supermarket shelves at Safeway.

As always, may your next cup be your best

Starbucks Sumatra Coffee - Review

Sumatra Coffee by Starbucks

My first impression of this coffee was when I was grinding it. This coffee has a wonderful slightly smoky sweet smell when it's being ground. The beans are nice and oily. They have a nice little sheen on them but they are not excessively oily. It is a fairly dark roast. Starbucks rating of this coffee is extra bold. If the aroma is any indication of the flavor, it should be really awesome.

Sumatra is one of the largest of the thousands of islands that make up Indonesia. Almost 90 percent of the coffee grown there is robusta, so finding high quality arabica beans is difficult to do. Most of the growers are independent farmers who grow this coffee close to their homes. This certainly makes for better quality control of the growing beans.


Buy Some Starbucks Sumatra Single Origin Coffee Here


I brewed this coffee as a Americano. The first taste of this blend is very rich - it has a lot of depth and dark roast coffee flavor. This coffee isn't very bitter despite it's extra bold designation by Starbucks.

It has a smooth flavor and very clean finish. This is arguably one of Starbucks better coffees. I have not drank it before and I am really impressed with the overall flavor and taste of this coffee.

After sweetening, I noticed a distinct earthiness in the coffee. The flavor of this coffee lingers in the mouth considerably longer after you sweeten it. It has a definite chocolate taste after sweetening as well.

On a flavor scale of one to 10, I would rate this somewhere between a 8.8 to a 9.2 - is definitely a real winner and is good for almost any coffee drinker. It has a really likable flavor, even when it is made up as a strong brew. According to one source, this is Starbucks best selling single origin coffee.

As always, may your next cup be the best.

How To Keep Your Dark Roast Coffee Hot And Tasting Good

The Best Ways To Keep Coffee Hot and Tasting Good

Keeping our coffee fresh and hot is a major item for some of us coffee drinkers. There is nothing worse than a tepid mouthful of stale coffee. How you keep your coffee hot depends a little on where you are and what you're doing. What happens to coffee as we keep it warm? Are there things I should never do to keep my coffee warm? Knowing a little more about coffee will help you understand how to keep it hot and tasting great.

The following set of points should help to insure better tasting coffee:

• Use a thermal cup or mug for commuting or to keep it hot for short periods of time


• Glass and stainless steel thermos style bottles barely effect coffee taste at all


• French Press brewers (like Bodum) are not good for keeping coffee hot. They continue to brew and can produce very bitter coffee


• Try to not use direct heat from an element or hotplate if possible


• A sealed or closed container slows the loss of essential aromas that influence coffee flavor.


• You get the best flavor from coffee that is kept at least 170° F.
  

There are a number of taste related components in a cup of coffee that change or degrade over time. This means that the taste of a cup of coffee will continue to change, for the worse most would say, just because time passes. The best way to manage this problem is to simply brew smaller amounts of coffee more frequently. As we all know, the best cup of coffee is a freshly brewed cup of coffee.

One Starbucks employee said that in a training session they were told to not let the shot sit for more than 15 seconds before mixing it in the milk mixture, and about 20 seconds is the “optimal” brewing time for a shot of espresso.

So as you get your next pot of coffee ready, think about how you are going to consume it. If you plan on having it right away, no problem. But if you are thinking about drinking it over a longer period of time, keep the points we made above in your mind. Plan out how you will keep it hot and tasting fresh. Only then start the brew.

Now That My Espresso Is Made - What To Do With The Milk?

How To Froth Milk For A Cappuccino

I did all of the right things to make espresso at home. I bought myself a good espresso machine. I learned which dark roast espresso beans have the best taste and how to grind them to the correct fineness. I managed to insert the gadget with the grinds, known as a portafilter, into the espresso machine, lock it into place, turn on the machine and let her rip. Great espresso!

But I wanted a cappuccino. Sue wanted a latte. I guess it's time to figure out how to steam the milk.

Image: nuchylee / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Sue is always dieting, so she wants nonfat milk. I found out that low fat and nonfat milk foam really easily. Whole milk takes more practice. Same thing with half and half if you want a breve.

Some espresso machines have a built in steam nozzle and some don't. You may need to buy a separate steamer. I recommend getting an espresso machine with one built in - it saves space.

The first thing to do is to put that stainless steel pitcher and milk into the refrigerator and get it cold. Always start with them cold - this will give you the best results. The next critical success factor is to fill the pitcher about a third to a half full. Milk expands really well when it's steamed. It takes only once for it to foam up, overflow and hit the floor to remember to start with a pitcher no more than half full.

Start by putting the nozzle on the surface of the milk and turning the steam on full. The milk is going to begin to foam, so keep lowering the pitcher so that the nozzle is just under the surface of the milk. About a half inch will do fine. You can turn down the pressure when the foam really begins to rise, or just take the pitcher away. Now the milk is just about at the boiling point.

Now here is another important tip. Don't let the milk boil. This is a sure way to get the milk to overflow the pitcher - or even worse, it will taste burnt - not good.

Your steamed milk should have little bubbles all the way through it, and there should be a light foam on the top. There you are. That's it. Now you go make whatever espresso drink you want. Next up, you can start learning how to make all those fancy designs in the top.

I hope this will help you to make an awesome cappuccino, latte or breve.

As always, May Your Next Cup Be The Best!

Seattle’s Best Henry's Blend - Review

Henry's Blend by Seattle’s Best

I've always enjoyed Henry's Blend from Seattle's Best. Although I have drank this blend for years, this is the first time I have written a blog on it. Henry's Blend has always been one of my favorites. It is a well-rounded coffee that is an excellent dark roast blend. It is rated as a Level 4 coffee. There is more information about the "Level" system HERE.

For this review, I tasted the coffee as an Americano. The unsweetened coffee hits the tip of the tongue with a definite bitterness that you won't forget. The finish of this coffee is very clean – it does not linger long in your mouth.

This coffee has always been one of my favorites from Seattle's best in fact it was one of the first Seattle's Best coffees I have drank.


After sweetening the brew is more like a desert than a coffee I would recommend that if you drink it with sweetener that you don't even bother to eat any sweets or any kind of cake with it because it is an excellent sweet treat all by itself.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I would easily rate this at 9.5 - it is arguably one of the best coffees on the market and I think that it's one that you will find very enjoyable - no matter how picky you are

You should go out and get some Henry's Blend. Just click on the link that follows and get yourself some great coffee.


Click here to get Henry's Blend.

As always, I want to thank you for coming by and may your next cup be your best!

Seattle's Best Breakfast Blend - Review

Breakfast Blend by Seattle's Best

I prepared this coffee as an Americano, and did my first taste test on the unsweetened brew. This coffee is a Level 4 coffee in their new coffee rating system - dark roast, but one step below their darkest roast which is Level 5. In additon to the standard Breakfast Blend, they also offer an Organic Breakfast Blend that is Certified Organic. This blend comes from organic plantations in Costa Rica, Sumatra, Guatemala and Peru.

The first taste of Seattle's Best Breakfast Blendhas a pleasant bitterness that hits the tip of the tongue and works its way to the middle. This is a very good coffee for serving with breakfast or any meal. There is a certain earthy quality to this blend along with a very pleasant mouth feel. The flavor doesn't linger very long and clears out of the mouth within about three or 4 seconds. The folks at Seattle's best have done a very good job of coming up with a coffee that has universal appeal.

After sweetening the taste is very pleasant with no noticeable bitterness to speak of. There is a slight sweetness in the flavor that is very similar to that of peaches. This would be a great coffee to sip in the afternoon or evening while sitting on the porch watching the sunset. It is obvious why Seattle's best has kept this particular coffee in their lineup for a number of years. It is a very pleasant coffee that is ideal for breakfast. This is one dark roast coffee that you should not miss out on. The reason that this particular coffee is a dark roasted blend and not a single origin is pretty obvious - there are flavors that are being created that can only be made by combining coffee beans with different qualities.

On a 1 to 10 scale I would easily rate this coffee at a very solid 9.3 points. It isn't the very best coffee on the shelf but it is among the top choices I would make.

I hope you have found this review helpful. Thanks for stopping by and as always, may your next cup be your best!

Storing Your Coffee - Should You Freeze Your Coffee?

Is It Good To Freeze Your Favorite Dark Roast Coffee To Keep It Fresh?

There are many different ways to store coffee in order to maintain freshness. One of the suggested methods is to put your ground coffee or coffee beans in the freezer. Is storing coffee in the freezer a good way to maintain freshness? Let’s look at the pros and cons.

Freezing has been used for centuries as a way to extend the life of many foods. A diverse selection of foods can be frozen. Bread, meat, fruits, vegetables and even butter can be successfully stored in your freezer. Freezing even maintains many of the vitamins and nutritional value of a wide variety of foods. But is your dark roasted blend a candidate for storage in the freezer?

Coffee has four main enemies against freshness: air, heat, light and moisture. At first, freezing doesn’t seem to contain many of the offending enemies. However, appearances can be deceiving.

Coffee beans have been roasted in order to enhance flavor. The beans are also porous. Your freezer can contain many other foods which have odors. The porous beans can absorb the flavors of many other frozen foods. Flavored coffees can be pleasant, but no one wants to drink seafood or garlic flavored coffee.

Moisture can also be absorbed by the coffee beans. Moisture can cause deterioration and loss of flavor. The more often you take coffee out of the freezer and put it back in, the more moisture absorption takes place into the bean. If you absolutely need to freeze some coffee because you have a large excess you would like to keep, only freeze it once, or freeze it in small containers. The more you take it in and out of the freezer, the more damage you do.

Image: markuso / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Freezing also breaks down the oils in the beans. The oils contribute to the flavor of the coffee. Breaking down the oils means taking away flavor, and let’s face it, a large part of a good cup of coffee is the flavor.

When it comes down to it, freezing is not the best way to store your coffee. Keep coffee stored in a cool, dry, airtight container away from light. Freezing coffee is possible, and is best if you only freeze it once. The resulting loss of flavor and quality from repetitive freezing makes it a method of storage you should avoid.

Your best bet is to purchase only enough beans or ground coffee to supply you for 1-2 weeks. If possible, you should only grind enough for immediate consumption to retain all the great flavor in your coffee. Enjoy your coffee at its freshest!

Thanks for coming by and may your next cup be your best!

Can Coffee Reduce The Risk of Type 2 Diabetes?

Coffee May Reduce The Risk of Diabetes

Here at Dark Roast Coffee, we try to give you information on coffee, especially information on dark roasted blends. There is a lot of information about diabetes and coffee. It is hard to say what is true and what is not, as there are so many sources of information. We hope the following information helps you or your loved ones and friends who have diabetes.

Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy needed for daily life. The cause of diabetes continues to be a mystery, although both genetics and environmental factors such as obesity and lack of exercise appear to play roles. Another element that may be part of the problem is consumption of a diet that is high in refined carbohydrates.

Coffee reduces risk of diabetes
Research suggests that people who drink coffee are less likely to get type 2 diabetes. It isn't known whether the caffeine or some other ingredient in coffee is responsible for its protective effects.

The researchers wanted to see whether there is a link between diabetes and drinking coffee and green, black, and oolong tea. Participants completed a detailed questionnaire about their health, lifestyle habits, and how much coffee and tea they drank. The questionnaire was repeated at the end of the 5-year follow-up period.

When other factors were accounted for, researchers found that the more green tea and coffee participants drank, the less likely they were to get diabetes. People who drank six cups or more of green tea or three or more cups of coffee each day were about one-third less likely to get diabetes. The link was stronger in women than in men. No pattern was seen with black or oolong tea. (see Diabetes Symptoms)

Vitamin D and Calcium May Lower the Risk for Type 2 Diabetes in Women
A lack of vitamin D and calcium may be linked to getting type 2 diabetes. More than 80,000 women who took part in the Nurses' Health Study. Over the course of 20 years, over 4,800 women developed type 2 diabetes. The researchers found that a combined intake of over 1,200 milligrams of calcium and over 800 units of vitamin D was linked with a 33% lower risk for type 2 diabetes (as compared to women who took much smaller amounts of calcium and vitamin D). The results show that consuming higher amounts of vitamin D and calcium help lower the risk for type 2 diabetes in women.

Diabetes is a disorder characterized by hyperglycemia or elevated blood glucose (blood sugar). Our bodies function best at a certain level of sugar in the bloodstream. If the amount of sugar in our blood runs too high or too low, then we typically feel bad. Diabetes is the name of the condition where the blood sugar level consistently runs too high. Diabetes is the most common endocrine disorder.

For those seeking information about Diabetes and things to help diabetics and those who care for diabetics, go to my website: Helping Diabetics.

Thanks for coming by and may your next cup be your best!

Seven Steps To World Class Gourmet Coffee

Seven Simple Steps For Top Notch Coffee

A good, quality cup of coffee is always nice to have. It does take some time and some energy to find a great cup of gourmet coffee these days. If you do know of a good coffee shop, you are one of the lucky ones. But, did you know that you can also make a nice cup of coffee on your own at home?

Here are seven simple steps that you can take to produce the perfect cup of coffee every time.

Image: winnond / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Start with quality. One of the most critical aspects of coffee drinking is the grade of the coffee that you start off with. If you love dark roast coffee, or a dark roasted blend, get the best and freshest you can. If you have a favorite flavor, then purchase whole beans in that flavor. In doing this, you get the freshest coffee available.

Grind away. Purchase a quality coffee grinder. Some of the best grinders available today are easy to use and easy to clean up. By grinding your own coffee beans, youll be able to grind only what you need, meaning that you will have complete freshness in your coffee. Always match the grind to the coffee maker being used.

Store It Right And Tight. It is very fundamental to store your coffee tightly. Air oxidizes the coffee and can make it to get bitter quickly. Metal canisters can also enable a metal taste to get into the coffee, making it taste bad. The best solution is to use a plastic or ceramic air tight container for your coffee and coffee beans. Store it at room temperature because the moisture in the fridge or freezer can make it go bad at a faster rate.

Getting To The Coffee

The Maker. The coffee maker that you use is also critical. No matter what style that you go with, you can get a good cup of coffee out of it if you take the time to prepare the coffee and the machine correctly. You should insure that the coffee maker is cleaned after each use. You should detail clean it, with the assistance of vinegar, every so often as well. Your preferences will ultimately determine which style of coffee maker you will use. Make sure that it uses a permanent filter in it.

The Water. Even the water that you use is central to the quality of the coffee you will get from it. It is essential that you use water that is free from chlorine and minerals. Using bottled water rather than tap water will improve the quality of the coffee. It also helps to keep the water nice and hot. A good temperature for brewing coffee is about 200 degrees Fahrenheit.

Use The Right Amount Of Coffee. It is also central for you to use the right quantity of coffee beans and coffee grounds in the maker. Too many and you will have a very strong cup of coffee and too few will make it to be too weak. Follow the directions provided by the coffee producer for the best cup of coffee.

Lastly and probably the most vital aspect of getting a great cup of gourmet coffee is to make sure to enjoy your coffee when it is hot and fresh. Most restaurants are told to keep coffee for less than thirty minutes, but at home, the best coffee is the coffee that hasn't sat for more than twenty minutes.