You may have noticed our on our site or in the recent newsletter that we’ve acquired some of the famous Kona coffee beans.

And then if you’ve checked the prices, and thought, “Whoa! That’s expensive coffee!”, you’d be right.

So what makes this coffee so good and high priced?

Let’s start with the growing location.
Kona coffee is cultivated in both the north and south Kona districts on the Big Island of Hawaii. This coffee-growing region, known as the “Kona Coffee Belt”, is located along the cool, fertile, and green western slopes of the volcanoes Hualalai and Mauna Loa.

This prime coffee-growing area is small: only about 1 mile wide by 30 miles long at elevations ranging from about 500 feet – 2,500 feet, and receives about 60 inches of rain during the rainy season. Only coffee grown in this region may be called Kona Coffee.

Yeah, yeah, so it’s grown in a wet place. Big deal, right?
Well, kinda. That, coupled with mild year-round temps, good drainage in the porous dark volcanic soil, low PH (slightly acidic) and high nitrogen conditions, few diseases and pests that can harm the coffee trees AND extremely great care taken in hand-picking produce something special!

So what is the exquisite flavor?
Roasting provides variations but here’s the basics.

Aroma: classified as floral, fruity, nutty, caramel-like, or chocolaty (depending on the roasting process)

Taste: considered sweet, and may have various subtleties such as being mellow or piquant (pleasantly pungent or tart in taste, spicy)

Acidity: generally considered bright and vibrant, yet mild. Gives coffee the needed bite, as well as the Body, which is noticed in the lingering aftertaste (also somewhat dependent upon the roast)

Body: full, even buttery, on the palate

Sound intriguing? It should. Give it a try while you have the chance! Kona is in stock and 10% for a limited time!

Have you started following us on Twitter yet? We have special deals and give-aways that are only available to our followers!

Here’s where to find us: http://twitter.com/TheUnseenBean! Free giveaway for today – sign in and follow right away to take advantage of it!

New podcast interview: Frank Eriksen from All Things Boulder sits down for a chat with Gerry at the cafe! Check it out
here!

I don’t drink coffee every single morning. I usually do, but there are days when I just don’t think about it or I don’t have time . . . or I just plainly don’t have a taste for it.

Now I don’t feel the effects of not jolting my system with caffeine. In fact, I’m one of the lucky few who just doesn’t get addicted to things. But this doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate a good cup of the black stuff.

A few weeks ago, I was visiting my sister on the east coast. She doesn’t drink coffee and I opted NOT to have the dusty maker pulled from the bottom cabinet and the rubber-banded pack pulled from its lifelong place in the freezer just for the caffeine fix.

Of my 5 day visit, I grabbed a up to-go cup from Einstein’s one morning and the other, I stood in a line-out-the-door-far-into-the-farmer’s-market for what seemed to be the primo stuff.

I don’t want to bad-mouth any other coffee shop so I won’t mention the name, but I was a little concerned when I saw the diner-like pots sitting on burners. Undaunted tho – for the crowd told me otherwise, I put in my order and anxiously awaited. I guess my gut-level for coffee has been improved though, and it’s the only cup I’ve ever set back down and walked away from.

Undoubtedly, they don’t roast their own coffee and undoubtedly, poor patrons need to raise the level of their bar. For me, it was a wake-up call . . . and an appreciation.

The lesson of this story is . . . once you go gourmet, you can’t go back. And coffee is coffee is . . . not so much. I’m not saying the Bean is the only good stuff – you can find it all over. Look for Arabica beans and gourmet roasting, proper storage of newly brewed matters and: Support your local roaster.

Espresso is not a type of bean used to make the more-popular-than-ever drink. In fact, any type of bean can be used for espresso and good roasters will test their beans and level of roast and recommend ones best used in espresso makers.

So what is it exactly? Espresso coffee is a small 1 to 2 oz. shot of coffee brewed under pressure, finely ground and densely packed (or tamped) down into the portafilter. To get the best quality espresso, brewing should takes about 26 to 30 seconds – less means the grounds were not tamped and evened well enough and the end product will certainly suffer. A master brewer will produce an espresso that features a layer of rich dark golden cream, called crema on the surface. This crema is one indicator of a quality espresso and is pointed out in the video below. Making a great espresso is truly an art form – as well as a science.

Rose, who manages our coffee shop near the Pearl St. Mall, took the time to show us, step-by-step, the process to making an espresso shot.