5 Tips For Selecting A Coffee Of The Month Club
Article by Ray Forrest
Coffee of the Month Clubs are a great way to experience high quality, specialty coffees from all around the world at an affordable price. The recent demand in popularity for “coffee of the month” clubs has opened up a new channel for local coffee shops to showcase their flavorful blends on the internet. Most organic and fair trade coffee is roasted by local shops or micro-roasters that import beans from different regions globally. These coffee producers focus on roasting beans that are mostly organic, fair trade and shade grown to produce high quality, gourmet coffees that are rich in flavor with a mild touch on the palette that lacks the bitterness associated with lower grade coffees.
Demand for organic and fair trade products coupled with growth in online shopping means it makes good business sense for the savvy owner of a coffee shop to create a new sales channel using the web to distribute their specialty coffee products on a global basis. Today more than ever, establishing an e-commerce presence is a relatively easy task and the benefits of getting product online make it a worthwhile effort.
What does this mean for coffee lovers you might be asking? Now instead of having to settle for the “usual suspects” or big brand coffee producers, consumers have a wide variety or high quality, specialty coffees to choose from. Coffees of the Month Clubs are designed to offer shoppers the opportunity to experience a variety of specialty coffees on a monthly basis at an affordable price. As you start your search for a Coffee of the Month Club here are several tips on what to look for and how to find the best deal for yourself.
1. How much should I pay? Most organic and fair trade coffees range in price from .99 to per pound. This excludes ultra premium coffees such as Kona and Jamaican Blue Mountain. These two particular coffees range in price between and per pound.
2. Quality – Look for products that are certified organic and fair trade. These coffees are produced based on high quality standards that are free from harmful herbicides and pesticides and promote ethical and financial practices that support the local farmers and surrounding communities.
3. How to find? – Coffee producers big and small have moved onto the internet. You can find a variety of options available by doing a web search. Type in words and phrases such as – “coffee of the month club”, “coffee club”, or “organic coffee club” and you will find plenty of companies to choose from.
4. What should I buy? – Most companies offer a subscription to their coffee clubs ranging from 3-12 months in duration with orders shipping 1-2 times per month depending on when you make your purchase. If you can, purchase whole bean since it preserves freshness better than ground coffee.
5. How much should I buy? – Most two person households go through about 2lbs per month.
Once you’ve narrowed down your search make sure that the website you decide to purchase from looks credible and displays logos ensuring secure transactions. You can take it one step further and call the contact number on the website to validate their identity and protect yourself against fraud.
For all of you coffee lovers out there, there is nothing quite like the anticipation of receiving that special package in the mail every month and experiencing a new flavorful blend of coffee.
Ray Forrest, the author, is the marketing manager for Coastal Roasters, a coffee shop and micro-roaster of organic and fair trade coffees located in Tiverton, RI.
Find out more about Coffee of the Month Clubs and organic, fair trade coffees at http://www.coastalroasters.com
Selecting the Correct Bean to Cup Coffee Machine for You
Article by Tom Bryan
With a bean to cup coffee machine, you can savor fresh ground, flawlessly brewed coffee each time you need it. Whether you own your own enterprise and wish to offer some thing unique for the customers or possibly desire a luxurious product to use in your residence, this can be the ultimate way for getting high quality quality java on demand.
All you have to do to help make this type of coffeemaker do the trick is choose the coffee beans of your choice and put them back into the appropriate holder around the machine. Starting the controls is frequently completed by push button operations that can be easy and quick. A short time later, your beans shall be ground along with your coffee seamlessly brewed and awaiting you or your clients.
The most significant concern most of us have when choosing bean to cup coffee machines are the dimensions. A lot of the devices are quite large, which is often a good or bad thing depending on the volume of room you’ll have to dedicate to this specific item.
If you have plenty of area to spare, consider purchasing an appliance which includes room in order to stack cups, creamer, along with other frequently needed condiments when making a mug of coffee. This will store everything in one location therefore it’s much easier and much quicker to grab a cup while on the move.
Without having a great deal of space or maybe wish to work it right into a populated room with other equipment, give consideration to one of the more efficient versions made for saving space. They will not provide that much room with regards to mugs and various condiments, nonetheless they will provide flawlessly ground and made coffee each time.
You could expect a coffee machine for this style to brew not less than hundred or so cups per day. Lots of larger models could easily double or triple this number. This is not announcing you will have to make this much gourmet coffee every single day, nevertheless it reveals just what a specialized strength machine is capable of doing.
In the event you own your own small business and wish to offer coffee for your customers or have it constantly hot and ready to serve for whenever a client could enter, then a larger sized unit which usually brews an abundance of servings a day could very well be exactly what you need.
For the purpose of home use or in a lighter use setting, you might get by with a scaled-down product that is only capable of brewing 100 or so cups a day. It is very important that you evaluate exactly how much coffee you may want and exactly how much you could potentially require in the future before starting shopping around. This can stop you from investing in a system which may be more than you actually need.
Price ranges for this sort of model will understandably run you higher than a small, simpler coffee machine. Any additional cost arises from the additional process of breaking down the coffee beans directly into ground form that can be used automatically for refreshing brewed coffee.
Despite the additional expense, some products may now be located at relatively good prices for businesses as well as homeowners who want a little more luxury within their environment. The ideal way to find a bean to cup coffee machine that fits your requirements would be to shop online to ascertain specifically what this reasonably limited market is now providing.
You can find out more about bean to cup coffee machines, and author Tom Bryan at www.coffeemachinesbeantocup.com
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Tips For Selecting Quality Coffee Beans
Article by Harvey J. Sharp
Coffee is one of the most widely distributed commodities in the world, usually sitting #2 behind oil. It is the most consumed beverage in North America and the third most consumed beverage in most other parts of the world, behind water and tea. Considered a specialty product due to the delicate growing conditions that are needed by coffee farmers, coffee comes in a variety if different qualities, ranging from inexpensive (instant coffee blends) to expensive (pure beans, special roasts). Here is a breakdown of how to select quality coffee beans for your next cup of java.
Aroma
Arguably one of the most attractive qualities of coffee is that aroma that comes from the beans as well as the fresh grounds. Your first element that should guide you to buying beans is to choose a bean or bean blend that has a pleasing aroma. Don’t be afraid to stick your head in the bag and take a deep breath. Fresher roasts will have distinct aromatic notes that older roasts won’t. In fact, freshly roasted beans will have no trouble filling a room with its goodness. Tip; go for the beans that smell the best.
Storage
While not always possible, it is important to ask your coffee bean seller how the beans are stored. Beans generally stay fresh longer in cool, dark locations, such as a cellar or a windowless room. They should not be kept in the refrigerator or even in the freezer, as these two areas are too cold.
Look
Beans should always be examined before being purchased. Some beans are quite oily, while others are relatively dry. Purchasing oily beans, rather then dried ones generally means there will be slightly more acidity to the coffee after its roasted and the roast is likely a dark one.
Taste
Some stores will go the extra mile and allow you to try a sample of the coffee before making a purchase. You can always ask the employee to make you a small espresso and give it the true taste test to see if it measures up in the coffee mug . If the coffee is an espresso, let it sit for a minute first before consuming. The flavors will often balance within this period and give you a truer coffee flavor.
All these tips are meant as guidelines for your purchase. Ultimately, you should be asking the coffee store employee lots of questions and telling him or her what kind of coffee you enjoy. They’ll often be able to pair you with something of your liking.
About the Author
Harvey J. Sharp is an avid traveler and writer, who spends little time in the United States, preferring South America, India and parts of Asia. His interests are in art, design, photography and sculpture.