Thursday, June 26, 2008

How Long Does Coffee Last

Whole bean coffee that is not roasted does not have a shelf life. Once it is roasted the expectancy begins. Many coffee fanatics will give you different opinions on how long coffee will last once it has been roasted. I have heard that it can last as long as 2-3 months before it is ground. However, ground coffee only has a 2-2 1/2 week life expectancy.

My own research on this subject is that whole bean coffee taste the best 1 day after it’s roasted date and up to 2 weeks before it begins to loose its flavors. However, flavors begin to evaporate from the time it is roasted. My tip is to purchase 1/2 lb to 1 lb at a time and make sure you drink it within the first week. Otherwise, it just does not taste the same. If you are use to Folders or Maxwell House coffee and never been introduced to quality coffee, then even the store bought Starbucks off the shelf (2 month roast most likely) will taste good to you. If you want to try my coffee or any coffee and drink it the first week, you’ll be hooked!

One quick piece of advice: never freeze your coffee? If you want to know why, post a comment and I’ll explain. 

Thursday, June 12, 2008

A Sweet Offering

“No coffee can be good in the mouth that does not first send a sweet offering of odor to the nostrils.” ~Henry Ward Beecher (quotegarden.com)

How true! I just wish those who don’t like coffee but love the smell of it would be lured into trying a cup of quality coffee! I think people who don’t like the stuff have never tried the good stuff!

Monday, December 17, 2007

Tipped Coffee Quote

“Good conversation is as stimulating as black coffee, and just as hard to sleep after.” (-Anne Morrow Lindberg)

borrowed from my famous Uncle Damien Howard: View The Most Amazing Blog Ever

Saturday, November 03, 2007

Tips on Making Good Espresso

One of the key factors for making good espresso is making sure you first have the right machine. A good espresso machine for your home should have at least 15 pumps of pressure and heats the water to a perfect temperature (does not boil water, which will destroy good coffee).

If you have the right machine, the process of making a good espresso or americano is simple. Grind freshly roasted beans right before you make your cup (fresh up to 2 weeks). The final step is to time the brewing process for 15 seconds. If you turn off the espresso filter valve after 15 seconds, those first 15 seconds of espresso in your cup will be perfect, not bitter.

Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Monday, October 01, 2007

Blending Your Beans

Try something new when ordering your freshly roasted coffee beans! Try mixing a darker with a medium or lighter roast. I think you’ll be surprised at the unique (but good) taste. If you need a suggestion, just send me an email. 

Saturday, August 18, 2007

Bean Wear Blend

If you have not tried our Bean Wear Blend, your missing out. Remember, we are a marketing company, not a roaster. However, what we do well is provide or direct you with the best of quality we can find. Our Bean Wear blend is our suggestion to our local roaster. When you order from us, the coffee is then roasted and shipped within a 24 hour period (once the order has been placed).

It is amazing how freshly roasted coffee taste compared to the supposedly fresh coffee you get at your local supermarket such as Vons or Safeway. Buying from us or a local roaster is the only way to go to get the best flavor and taste. 

Saturday, July 07, 2007

Coffee Shop Marketing

One of the things Bean Wear is in the planning stages is helping Coffee Shops around the U.S. market their businesses. The new website is in the making, and we will be offering advertising opportunities and also personal marketing assistance. In other words, if you are a coffee shop owner in need of ideas to grow your business, stay tune for help. In the mean time, we are here to help. We can help create a website, logos, marketing advice, etc.

If you have comments, questions or ideas of how we can help you, let us know as well!

Sunday, July 01, 2007

Dunkin Donuts

I just returned from a family vacation in the Northeast: Boston, New Hampshire and Maine. There is still one major coffee shop that rules the Northeast, and it is NOT Starbucks. Dunkin Donuts reign up and down each highway I drove. Most of my east coast friends who live in my city, San Diego, have talked positively about the Dunkin Coffee. When I go back east, I make it a point to try it. During my 10 day trip, I had Dunkin coffee twice!

My conclusion about Dunkin Donuts coffee is quite simple: 1) It taste great if you eat a donut and sip your coffee together. 2) It is better than Starbucks (for what it’s worth) 3) It taste terrible without a donut 4) It taste even worse when it is lukewarm. I experienced all four conclusions during my two trips to Dunkin!

One last thing that disturbed my east coast visit this time was that there did not seem to be a lot of locals that really knew a lot about a perfect cup of coffee. The ones I met enjoyed the stuff but just did not have much to compare besides Starbucks and Dunkin. We need to market independent coffee shops in the northeast more than ever before!

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Coffee Comic Strip For 2nd Week of June

We just received this great coffee comic strip that we thought we would post on our website. After you read it, I’m sure you will just roll your eyeballs!

View Strip

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Bean Wear Coffee Hats

We just received the first shipment of our new Bean Wear Coffee Hats.

They are fun and simple with our bean logo on the front and the website on the side. The price is only $14.95.

Get them while they are hot! Order Now

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Bean Wear Blend

We are in the process of creating a unique blend of coffee for our customers. In the near future, we will not be marketing to sell whole bean coffee, because our goal is to help roasters and the local coffee shop grow! However, we will still have 1 roast available, which we will call the Bean Wear Blend. If you would like to find out more about this blend of a dark and medium roast (Senior Bean’s Favorite), please email us. 

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Garfield Coffee Humor

A good friend sent me this link about Garfield’s experience with coffee. Thanks, Pastor Parker.

View Comic

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Painting Company Gives Out Coffee To Clients

Instead of giving potential clients a key chain or a magnet with their company logo on it for homeowners just to throw away or stuff in a drawer, Chism Brothers Painting in San Diego gives out 1/2 bags of freshly roasted coffee! It is amazing the response they get from the public. Even if a homeowner does not go with their company, they sometimes get thank you notes and emails praising them for such quality coffee. It leaves a good taste (literally) in their mouth that Chism Brothers is a quality company! As a thank you gift to those who have used them, they typically give whole bean coffee and a flavored coffee mix.

Visit Chism Brothers Painting if you are in need of a quality paint job in the San Diego area: View Site

Sunday, May 20, 2007

A New Additon to Bean Wear

Since the beginning of Bean Wear, our desire was to promote fun coffee t-shirts and to support the local coffee shops. We did not create Bean Wear for Starbucks lovers but for those who enjoy their own unique coffee house. Therefore, we are in the process of designing a shirt that will hopefully accomplish our mission. The idea is rather quite simple. We will create a simple design of Bean Wear shirts that have a location on the front, San Diego, CA / Atlanta, GA, etc. On the back will be the name of the local coffee shop that wants to promote their business. The hope is to start a grass root of these shirts to independent coffee houses around the country and begin to promote it on our website as well. Therefore, if you are traveling to San Diego from New York, and you want to know of a quality independent coffee house to go to, you can go to our site, click on the zip code area, and you will find a list of those who are behind our bean wear idea. We will be picky on who gets the shirts. We want this to still be driven by our friends and fellow coffee lovers. So we will need your help in finding the best coffee shops in America.

That is the idea in a nutshell. If you have further thoughts and ideas, please respond or email us. 

Monday, May 14, 2007

A Note About Grinders

Most homeowners tend to not think much about the type of grinder he or she uses for coffee. However, the type of grinder is very important in maintaining a consistent brew or cup of coffee. The best type of grinder is a burr grinder. You can typically find a burr grinder for as little as $35 at Costco. I have had good success with the Krups’ brand. It is consistent and easy to use. If you decide to stick with a blade grinder, you will continue to have an inconsistent cup of coffee. You can find blade grinders probably between $10-30 just about anywhere. The Krups brand runs about $60 from William Sonoma, and it is well worth the cost. The top of the line burr grinders are not worth the investment unless you are in the business. I saw one the other day for $1,000!