Posts Tagged ‘Flavored Coffee’
For as long as they can remember, the farmers who grow coffee between the steep volcanic peaks here started the annual harvest in late September — until this year An erratic rainy season forced the farmers of the Santa Anita La Union Cooperative in this small town in Guatemala’s highlands to start picking coffee in the final days of August.
“Instead of raining constantly and slowly, it is raining very hard for short periods of time. And the temperatures are hotter, so that means the fruit, the coffee, is ripening very fast,” said Mynor Huerta, who provides technical assistance to the cooperative, as rain clouds gurgled overhead. While this year’s early harvest may prove to be a climatic anomaly, researchers say that it could be a forecast for coffee in the region.
The same conditions that have made Central America home to some of the world’s finest coffees also make it susceptible to the effects of climate change. Its moderate temperatures are already rising, its predictable rainy season is becoming irregular, and pests and fungi could invade altitudes where they previously couldn’t live. Although seemingly minor, small increases in temperature and slight changes in rainfall are predicted to have major consequences in coffee growing areas. While the conditions might make high-quality coffees more abundant and cheaper for a few years, the price will eventually rise as availability sinks in the long term, researchers said.
As a result of climate change, Central America farmers might have to move their crops to higher elevations, where less land is less available.
“Farmers are going to have to try to squeeze onto that land,” said Rafael A. Diaz, a Costa Rican economist who is part of a four-country research project aimed at documenting the effects of climate change on small coffee farmers.
The changes could be devastating for farmers, who will eventually be forced to replace their coffee trees with another crop to survive. Coffee, the world’s second-largest traded commodity behind petroleum, supports around 25 million growers and 100 million people around the globe once family members are added.
At the Santa Anita Cooperative, farmers said they have already felt a change. Climatic evidence is supporting them. The weather center nearest their farms has recorded a .5 degree Celsius increase in temperatures and a 14 percent increase in average rainfall from the 1990s to the 2000s, according to data from the country’s weather ministry.
A recent study by the Center for Tropical Agricultural Research said just a 1 degree Celsius rise in Brazil’s Sao Paulo growing region, for instance, would cause a drop in coffee production worth more than $113 million.
Central America is one of the regions likely to get both hotter and drier in coming decades. In the short term, that could actually help the few farmers growing high-quality coffees at high altitudes.
“As a scientist it pains me to say it, but the conditions for coffee growing in many of the highland areas, where the best coffee is grown, could be better for coffee in the coming years,” said Edwin Castellanos, a scientist for Guatemala’s Universidad Del Valle, who is part of a team conducting the regional study.
Governments in the region have long urged coffee growers to move to higher elevations, where finer coffee can be grown.
“The coffee grown at those altitudes could have higher yields and it’s likely that the producers will be able to take advantage in the short term by growing those high quality coffees more abundantly,” he said.
However, less land is available at those altitudes. According to Anacafe, the Guatemalan coffee-growing association, only 2.5 percent of Guatemalan land is suitable for growing coffee, producing some 495 million pounds of beans. About 150 million pounds of that coffee was grown at elevations of lower than 4,500 feet above sea level, lands that are likely to be hit by climate change.
The farmers at Santa Anita, which sits about 4,000 feet above sea level, consider the changing temperatures a serious threat to their way of life.
“If we have to pick all the coffee in October and November, we won’t have enough help because our children will still be in school,” said Mariola Cifuentes, a coffee grower in the cooperative. “And if we can’t pick the coffee, it will fall [off the plant]. And we can’t afford that.” Cifuentes said the increase in temperatures has led to the spread of pests and of a fungus known as koleroga. As a result, the farmers — who raise Fair
Trade- and organic-certified coffee — have had to spray fungicides and pesticides more frequently.
“Dealing with these changes by spraying more fungicides or pesticides, because they are organic, is already costing these farmers more,” Huerta said.Scientists said the problem could be worse in the long-term. Farmers could combat some of the changes in humidity and temperature by using shade trees. In some cases, the trees could be trimmed to release trapped humidity. In others, more shade trees could be planted to cut down on the sun and heat that reaches the beans, Castellanos said.
But adapting their farms to the changing climate will only last so long. “It’s a problem of increased extremes,” Castellanos said. “Farmers in these regions will see hotter temperatures, longer periods of drought, more heavy downfalls, which can damage crops, and more storms.”
Well another summer is slipping by faster than I care to see happen, but with that comes a new round of special flavors that we have created. This month we are releasing 4 new flavored coffees to add to our never ending list of flavors.
The four all fall into that Fall season flavors but are certainly good anytime of the year.
Toasted Marshmellow Flavored Coffee – WOW.. ever put a marshmellow in your cup of coffee? If you haven’t you should it is awesome. But you can never find a toasted one. Somehow we have come up with the flavor of a finely toasted marshmellow and mixed it into the cup of coffee. No more waiting for the marshmellow to melt, its in there.
Caramelized Pralines Flavored Coffee – Caramel with Pralines make for a perfect cup of coffee while sitting on the deck watching the sunset.
Farmhouse Apple Flavored Coffee – Apples fresh from the tree placed in your cup of coffee. A marvalous taste treat.
Caramel Toddy Flavored Coffee – Another caramel flavored coffee, is there anything that caramel doesn’t taste good with? If so we have not found it yet… look out for new caramel flavored coffees.
We keep comeing up with more and more flavored coffees. It simply astounds me. They go out for sample tastings where people with a taste for coffee hang out, and each month we come up with a few new flavors to add to the growing list of coffees we offer.
As always our flavored coffees are made with the same gourmet coffee we offer for sale elsewhere on our site, we do not use second rate beans in any of our coffees. So you get the Greatness of Hand selected gourmet beans and flavors that are made from all natural ingredients. Can it be any better?
Have a Great Cup of Coffee
Sparky
Cappuccinos & Espressos In order to make sure that you are able to taste both the milk and the coffee together in the cup, as opposed to that odd “broth with a froth” that unfortunately too many coffee shops tend to pass off as an Italian cappuccino, the barista must check the milk temperature by keeping a hand on the jug throughout the steaming process and be so experienced as to make sure that the jug itself does not get over 72 centigrade degrees. Indeed, if the temperature is any higher that this, the overheated milk instantly loses its proteins and taste.
Besides this, the milk must be frothed up until it becomes creamy as opposed to thin and airy: the core ability of the barista lies in allowing no air bubbles to form inside it, so that the milk does not go flat within seconds as it typically does if the cappuccino is not prepared properly. The coffee can be layered with chocolate, hazelnut, custard, or zabaglione-themed creams, or else with a liqueur base of either Limoncino, Amaretto or Marsala. All of them are the result of sheer hand skill, tradition and flair.
Mariano Semino, who has won the much prized Italian championship in cappuccino- making, is working for the Ca’puccino branch at Harrods. He is an expert in creating any taste nuance of cappuccino and espresso you can wish for and is set to bring his expertise to the Westfield branch. Apart from making a big point of cleaning the steamer properly each time, so that milk can never curdle on it and spoil your cappuccino, he jealously guards his secret recipes for the creams he prepares on site to spike his special espressos.
You can find espresso coffees ready in our gourmet coffee roasts section.
Hope you find a new joy in how to make a proper espresso
Sparky
They are still at it… The crazy people in my flavoring department are still just going nuts with the possibilities of the various flavors that can be added to coffee.. I think they think it’s endless, and maybe it is, but if there is an end to it, they have to run into it sooner or later.
New- Spooky Boos Flavored Coffee – sounds more like something for halloween but it’s really a blend of blueberries and dark milk chocolate. I have to admit this is a very addictive flavor so please only drink in moderation.
New- Chocolate Chip Cookie Flavored Coffee – this is like a chocolate cookie in a cup of coffee. You get the best of both without the calories of the cookie, though a chocolate chip cookie with this coffee would be simply heaven.
New- Golden Maple Syrup – this is an astounding flavored coffee. Maple Syrup and a hint of brown sugar make this something you think you should pour on pancakes.
New- Pumpkin Cheesecake – I am not sure where they came up with the idea of mixing pumpkin pie with cheesecake, but they did and frankly its pretty interesting flavored coffee. I am sure that those that like our other pumpkin flavored coffees are going to love this addition.
So We are adding more and more flavored coffees all the time and keep up with it as we put them on the front of the site, and report about them here in our blog.
Enjoy your summer… fall will soon be upon us
Sparky
For those that have been here in the past you will notice a new look to the site. Instead of our menu along the side we have it as buttons along the top. Hope this makes it easier to navigate the site and looks better than the old format. You will still find a few pages that are in older formats from the history of the site, so if you look around enough you will find bits and pieces of the site as it changed over time.
There are more changes in store as we move forward with some other design elements to make it easier to find what your looking for.
We have also opened up a new testimonial system on the site. This way you can leave your comments there about our gourmet coffee, flavored coffee, or the site.
Well I hope the old time customers are not shocked by the changes in the site, we still have the same great gourmet coffee, flavored coffee, green beans, coffee blends and all the great coffee you have come to enjoy and rely on we just put on some new makeup LOL
Sparky
A new study is out that says it is not the gourmet coffee that causes coffee breath but rather it is the milk and cream people use in their drinks. Cup of coffee a day keeps bad breath at bay
Apparently the cream and milk products produce and environment that the bacteria loves and that causes your bad breath, The study also says that coffee actually helps to reduce those nasty things that give you bad breath.
So now you know you drink your gourmet coffee, or flavored coffee, and your breath is better than if you didn’t. But if you add milk or cream look out coffee breath.
Hope everyone is enjoying the great summer we have had so far. While it could have been better up here in Minnesota, not much rain and not as warm as it normally is, but it has still been a great time to enjoy the great coffee.
Have a good one and now you have another reason to drink that cup a coffee each and every day.
Sparky
The wonders of modern technology now we have it so that as soon as the server indexs our blog and creates the files, the ability to HEAR our blog rather than read it. Also a great tool for children to learn to read, they can read and hear our blog at the same time.
Hope you like the new feature.
Sparky
Well sales tell the whole story. When it comes to flavored coffee people really enjoy them. So here at Coffee-n-Caffeine we are constantly finding new flavors that simply rock your world.
This month alone we have added 6 new flavored coffees and the three newest ones are. Drum Roll Please
Sugar Daddy – Its a combination of Chocolate and English Caramel. Talk about a tasty treat that can’t be beat.
Blueberry Crisp – is the taste of Fresh Blueberries and cinnamon that make a flavor that is very much like the great desert Blueberry Crisp. You will enjoy this flavored coffee
Ooey Goey Caramel – Like the name implies this is Caramel with some added flavor of vanilla cream. Another perfect after dinner drink, or while sitting on the deck enjoying the day.
So if you like flavored coffee, and who doesn’t, then you will like our Ever Growing selection of them. We are adding new flavors every month and look to add more and more as the months go on. If you have a flavor you think would be good feel free to contact us and we would be interested in checking it out.
You can be assured that unlike others, we use the same gourmet coffee we sell to make our flavored coffee. We do not use second hand beans (they are not allowed in our warehouse) we use only first rate top quality gourmet coffee to make our flavored coffee. Often we find that a blend of coffee makes a better flavor than just a straight bean, but even then we use GREAT GOURMET COFFEE.
Have a safe summer, enjoy it while it’s here cause soon enough winter will be upon us and then we will really need the gourmet coffee.
Sparky
Well, I have to say our team of flavor experts are continuing to astound me with the kinds of new flavor combination’s.
This month we roll out three new flavored coffees to delight the taste buds. These new flavors are going to be a wonderful delight for you and your guests.
PB & J Flavored Coffee – Is just like your old favorite PB & J Sandwich. Made up of a great taste of Peanuts and Grape Jelly flavor make this a great flavored coffee.
Coco Mango Splash Flavored Coffee – Mangos with a dose of coconut are gonna make you want to hit the beach and just relax and enjoy life. This is a perfect afternoon or early morning coffee.
Rum Royale Cappuccino Flavored Coffee – A perfect after dinner flavored coffee. While it contains no rum, the flavor of a rich cappuccino blend of coffee with a splash of a good Jamaican Rum make this perfect for that dessert drink.
All of our flavors are rigorously tested before we offer them up for sale. We have had consumers taste our flavored coffees and rate their taste. ONLY the best ones make it to you through what we offer. Our flavor team is making up new flavors by the dozen, but only a select few actually make it to market. Frankly I think they are a little on the crazy side and in need of some therapy as they come up with ever more different flavor combination’s each month. Where they come up with some of the concoctions they design I am not sure, and many do not make it past the taste tests we do in house. From those we take the winners out to the public and let them taste them and tell us which ones are the best.
Have a good Month and till next month… Happy Taste Testing.
Sparky
We just added three more flavored coffees to our growing inventory of coffee flavors. We have probably one of the widest selection of coffee flavors available and it’s growning every month. Right now we offer over 60 different flavors and are adding new flavors every time we come up with something that is good, and what we added this month are beyond good, they are GREAT.
First is our previously announced Chocolate Orange flavored coffee. This one was so good we had to rush it out to you ahead of the other three.
Reggae Splash flavored coffee - this is like a tropical treat of flavors that is best described as coconut and fresh, sliced oranges with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Bubbling Butterscotch Sundae flavored coffee – Creamy, rich and just plain yummy. This tastes exactly like the hot butterscotch you put on top of your sundae. This is a must have for all you ice cream lovers. This will also make a perfect Iced Coffee.
Peaches-n-Cream flavored coffee – Plump, juicy, ripened georgia peaches topped with luscious, creamy whipped cream is the only way to describe this coffee. Another Perfect coffee that could be served over ice and make a perfect smoothy kind of drink.
So to everyone I hope you have a GREAT summer, and enjoy your coffee that you get from us. Remember we have a money back satisfaction guarantee on our coffee, if you don’t like it you can send it back.
Sparky