Even the best coffee beans in the world need to be roasted. Raw coffee beans taste like grass with a vaguely herbal note, not something you'd want to taste first thing in the morning. Roasting the beans brings out the coffee flavors we love. The trick is, we don't all agree on which flavors we like best, Different coffee beans need to be roasted at different levels, and different levels have a huge impact on the flavor in your cup. There's a chart on our Roasting Coffee page that summarizes the different roast levels' impact on flavor.
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The process coffee roasters use to check the flavors in coffee beans is called “cupping.” First, the beans are lightly roasted to highlight topnotes and any flaws. In traditional cupping, the coffee is ground and put in the bottom of a cup. Since aroma determines much of the flavor of any coffee, sniffing the ground coffee is the first step.
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Coffee is the most popular beverage in the world. It is also the most complex. Scientists have identified over 1200 different flavor compounds in coffee, chemical substances that contribute to coffee's taste or aroma. To put that number into perspective, wine has about 800 flavor compounds. But what does that complexity mean when it comes to the flavor of your coffee?
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It's almost August and the hottest days of summer are approaching. Keep your cool with coffee! Whether you agree with the Chinese and sip it hot to cool off, or prefer it frosty and iced, the Dog Days of Summer are a great time to enjoy your favorite coffee.
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What is taste? The easy answer: It's one of our five senses, the one centered in the mouth that helps us understand, and enjoy, the things we eat and drink. Sweet or salty often equal good, bitter may be poison and sour warns of under-ripe fruit. Savory promises something rich in protein. Bring on that rich broth!
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