From its humble beginnings back in the 1970's, Starbucks coffee has become a world renowned coffee giant of epic proportions. What started as a small shop in Seattle, Washington, geared to sell high quality coffee beans, has now become the most widely recognizable brand of gourmet coffee in the world today. Test your Starbucks coffee knowledge to see just how well you know your favorite coffee brand.

Where It All Began

When two teachers and a writer were inspired to open their first store in the Pike Place Market in Seattle, they had no idea that their baby would become what it is today. The very first Starbucks coffee shop opened in 1971, and was created to sell gourmet coffee, just not in the sense that it does today. The founders of Starbucks coffee began buying raw coffee beans from suppliers, then roasting them themselves to gourmet perfection.

The store was an instant hit, but an innovative entrepreneur, Howard Schultz, felt that it wasn't quite living up to its full potential. When the owners rejected the idea of selling coffee made in the store, believing that it would never catch on; Schultz branched off on his own by opening his own chain of coffee shops, which became an instant hit.

In 1987, Starbucks coffee sold to Schultz who immediately changed the name of his coffee shop chain. He started to branch out from the Seattle area into Vancouver, British Columbia, and Chicago; and by the time Starbucks coffee went national in 1992, the chain consisted of more than 150 stores. Now, Starbucks coffee consists of more than 15,000 stores in more than 40 different countries.

Not Just Your Average Cup Of Joe

Don't walk into a Starbucks coffee thinking that you'll just grab a cup of coffee. Starbucks has more than 20 different varieties of coffee to choose from, and almost as many flavors. Coming in sizes that reflect that Italian influence, you can choose from a tall, grande, or venti cup of your favorite beverage; and can even choose one of their many varieties of tea now available. And don't forget the ultra-gourmet bagels and biscotti that you can purchase on the side!

In all, the Starbucks coffee chain has become a thousand times what the original owners once dreamed it could be. Well on its way to its ultimate goal of 40,000 stores worldwide, Starbucks coffee has become the international giant of coffee in a way that no one could have possibly imagined.

There is some confusion about the meaning of the term specialty coffee with some believing it is the way the coffee was brewed or that a particular barista has prepared the blend. While all of these may have some role in the quality of the finished product, achieving a product qualifying as specialty coffee begins with the soil in the region in which it was grown. These coffees are made from top quality beans grown ideal conditions and are usually hand-picked at their peak of ripening.

Due to the exacting conditions under which they are grown, specialty coffee beans tend to be more expensive than most others. They are often referred to as gourmet coffees or premium and often have the distinctive flavor of the area in which they were grown. These coffee are beans grown in climates micro-managed for optimal conditions and the after-harvest process is very strict to better manage the processing of the bean.

The term specialty coffee may have lost some of its luster in the 1990s with the rapid growth of coffee shops and the industry's growth to a $10 billion a year business. Despite marketing and advertising efforts to the contrary, special flavorings added to the ground coffee by one particular retailer does not accurately produce specialty coffee unless the beans are grown under ideal conditions.

Specialty Roasting Has Time Honored Tradition

Roasting procedures used for specialty coffee beans is much the same as for non-specialty beans, except the roasters are more exact in their time and temperature ranges. Coffee beans will begin to crack when they reach about 320-degrees internally due to the chemical reactions taking place inside the beans. As they begin to roast they will swell to almost double their original size and being to take on a reddish brown exterior tone.

Depending on the type of specialty coffee being roasted, it can take from 10 to 30 minutes to complete the roasting process. The more of the original coffee bean's flavor that is desired, the less time the bean is roasted. The same specialty coffee beans can be roasted for regular brewing or for espresso by adjusting the time and temperature of the roaster as well as the type of grind and brewing techniques.

Once the roasting process is ended the specialty coffee beans are cooled rapidly by blasting them with cooled air or water. Once they are cooled they are cleaned and dried before packaging or ground. Freshly roasted specialty coffee beans can be safely stored for about 30 days. Grounds should be used within 24 hours to realize the full flavor of the coffee.

If you have decided to buy roasted coffee beans to grind at home, then you are halfway to getting amazing coffee. First, you need to find amazing coffee beans to get that amazing coffee. Just as you would get the freshest and best ingredients you can to make a meal the same goes for selecting coffee beans.

 There are a couple of things that you can do to make sure that you are getting the best roasted coffee beans. Most of it will seem like common sense, but you'll realize that finding coffee beans are a very subjective thing. What one person likes, another might hate. So if you are not experienced, prepare for some trial and error.

Following Your Nose

Looking for the perfect roasted coffee beans is very much a sensory experience. Use your nose and eyes to judge coffee beans. If the coffee beans don't look or smell good then it will make bad coffee. The beans should also be whole and well formed. If they are broken and split in two then you should avoid these beans. The coffee from these types of beans will be awful.

The best place to find good roasted coffee beans is definitely not your local supermarket. The coffee here is probably not stored properly and might not be as fresh as you would like. The best place to go is a gourmet or specialty shop. A great advantage of going somewhere small that specializes in coffee is that the staff will be able to help you out and give you advice on selecting the right beans.

You want to have the freshest roasted coffee beans. Ask when the coffee was roasted and try and buy beans that have been roasted on the day itself. Anything older than five days is no good. Get to know the roasting schedule and try and get a bag as soon as you can. An alternative is to find a place that will roast coffee for you, purchase beans and get them to roast the beans for you.

Coffee like all foods is a very subjective thing. Some people love their coffee strong while others prefer something milder. The darker the roast the stronger the flavor. If you have no idea what your preferences are then experiment with different roasts. Start with lighter roasts and if you find this too light you can up the amount of coffee to get a stronger taste and then try a darker roast next time.

Many coffee drinkers cite health concerns in their choice of only drinking organic coffee in spite of the higher cost associated with the product. Many coffee producers in various parts of the world use traditional as well as organic growing methods to produce the beans that make up less than one percent of the world's consumption of organic coffee. In the United States, only Hawaii growers offer coffee that meets the criteria for being certified organic.

In order to carry the label of organic, the tress must be grown in fields that have been free of chemical fertilizers and pesticides for a minimum of three years and a sufficient buffer between the organic coffee bean fields and other fields to prevent and conflict between the two crops. Additionally, the farmers have to present a plan for sustainable crop growth without depletion of the ground's nutrients and natural pesticide in order to be certified organic.

Labeling for organic coffee is an issue also faced by other food industries as a product that can be certified as using 95 percent all-organic materials can carry the organic certified label. Other labels include 100 percent organic or simply organic. Products that are labeled as made with organic ingredients may contain as much as 20 percent of the products that are not certified organic.

Difference In Flavor Not The Real Issue

For most coffee drinkers there is no noticeable difference in the flavor of organic coffee and that made from uncertified products. The major difference is the use of chemicals during the production process. From growing the beans in clean soil and processing, it in equipment certified chemical free is a major health bonus for those wanting organic coffee.

However, all this can be lost if they add flavorings or even cream and sugar from sources that are not certified organic. Even the decaffeination process used in organic coffee is different from in regular coffee. The traditional method uses methylene chloride but in order for coffee to be certified organic, it requires a process that is certified organic. Most companies simply use pure water to help rinse the caffeine out of their coffee beans prior to roasting.

Despite all the measures taken to insure certified organic coffee contains no harmful chemicals, some of the plantations in other countries have been found to be in violation of the certification process. Consumers wanting to insure they receive only organic coffee should research which companies produce and sell only the best product they find.

Micro roasted coffee is some of the best coffee in the world. It is coffee that has been roasted to the right temperature for the right amount of time to bring out the right flavors. Having micro roasted coffee, you might realize that there are very complex flavors in the coffee instead of just getting that caffeine kick. If you can't tell the difference between micro roasted coffee and regular coffee when you first start to drink it, you will definitely tell the difference when you go back to generic coffee. You might be so hooked that ordinary store bought coffee is unbearable.

What Sets It Apart

Technology has brought us many things, including great big factories with machines that produce and package large batches of coffee beans for mass consumption. This type of coffee is easy to make and cheap. There's a reason for the difference in price between micro roasted coffee and ordinary coffee. Micro roasted coffee is roasted with a machine controlled by a roast master.

 A highly skilled artisan who relies on his or her five senses to tell when a batch of coffee beans has achieved the perfect degree of roasting. Just as a wine connoisseur can tell a good wine from its color, smell and taste, so can a coffee connoisseur. The human element involved in making micro roasted coffee beats the machine made stuff any day.

The machine used to produce micro roasted coffee has a drum that turns continuously to ensure that all beans are roasted evenly. Not one bean is less roasted than the rest. The cooling process also utilizes air rather than water which is used in conventional coffee production. Using water in the cooling process can alter the taste of the coffee and add weight to the beans. Added weight translates into you, the customer, paying more for less.

Micro roasted coffee benefits greatly from this attention to detail. Not all coffee beans require the same amount of roasting and micro roasting allows the roast master to ensure that each batch is correctly roasted. Roasting only small batches of coffee also ensures that quality is upheld. Because of these factors, micro roasted coffee is more expensive than regular coffee. But, once you have tasted micro roasted coffee, you won't be able to go back to your regular coffee. Anyway, why would you want to give up something that is so good?

The Kona coffee is a special type of coffee grown exclusively in Hawaii. It has a very distinct smell and taste that makes it a hot favorite all over the world. Hawaii is the only place from where this type of coffee is grown and exported world wide. In the recent past a number of spurious brands are circulating in the market under the brand of Kona coffee which is slowly undermining the popularity of this wonderful type of coffee.

How Is Kona Coffee Grown?

This coffee is grown organically in the shade for which much hard work and care is required. The flowers of the coffee plant usually develop somewhere around March give and take couple of weeks.. The flowers get pollinated and very soon in their stead you would find the green coffee berries which would be harvested from mid August to mid January.  Each plant would give something around thirty pounds of coffee berries

The berries that have been removed from the Kona coffee plant need to be processed within 24 hours or it would loose its delicate flavor. The processing involves a number of steps starting from classifying each berry according to its color and freshness to pulping and fermentation. The by product obtained after the pulping (removing the pulp from the berry) is used as a fertilizer.

The beans obtained after pulping are run through fermentation process for up to 20 hours in air tight massive tanks after which the beans are carefully cleaned and dried. The drying process is slow and very precarious as it requires constant turning and watching lest the beans get affected by mildew which could spoil the whole crop. It takes about ten to (maximum) fourteen days for this process to be completed before you could have a sealed packet of Kona coffee in your hand.

Once the beans are dried, they would be once again classified – this time to have them graded by their size (and weight) as well as shape. The larger ones are the best and cost the most, though the smaller beans are excellent as well.

The Gold Of Hawaii

This coffee was baptized as the Gold of Hawaii because of the high returns it brings the farmers – as good as gold. The only draw back is that the Kona coffee is not trademarked and hence there are many spurious organizations that mix this excellent coffee with cheaper varieties coffee beans and sell it as the original for high profits.

It is not easy to fight this battle of supremacy but with the support of millions of fans all over the world, hopefully Hawaii would come up with some laws that would prevent any type of duplication.

Probably the most popular beverage in the world is hot coffee and it is available in many flavors and styles. Despite marketing efforts by dozens of companies for drinks of varying temperatures, hot coffee remains the choice of a large portion of the population for breakfast, lunch, dinner and while driving in their vehicle. For most drinkers, coffee is coffee, made by soaking ground up dried beans in hot water and some take some amazing steps to make sure it is just right.

Despite all of the hype over iced coffee, the vast majority of coffee drinkers prefer it to be hot. Coffee that is served in chilled glasses with ice may be a part of a few menus, but overall drinking it at temperatures over 160-degrees remains the preference. There are numerous products on the market to enable people to coax the best flavor out of their coffee grounds. Everything from home roasters and grinders to elaborate systems for making hot coffee.

Many connoisseurs insist the temperature of the water has to be just short of boiling temperature and the fresh grounds may to be soaked by the water for a specified time before the hot coffee has the optimal flavor. For some others, making it hot is all that matters and they are going to change the flavor with whitener and sweetener so how it tastes out of the pot is irrelevant.

Danger Lurks In Cup Of Hot Beverage

There have been a few instances where people have learned a valuable lesson about the dangers of hot coffee. While the beverage may not be boiling when they attempt to drink it, the temperature of the water may be hot enough to scald their skin or lips, if they attempts to drink it while it is still hot.

There are a few that appreciate the taste of hot coffee, but will drop in an ice cube to bring it down to palatable temperature before pouring it into their mouth. Others prefer to let it cool naturally while they sip on their hot coffee until it reaches a lower temperature.

Cooling coffee in a cup is the most common, and the wider the mouth of the cup, the faster it cools down. How much surface area of the coffee is exposed to the air determines how fast the heat dissipates and cups with a smaller mouth will hold the temperature of hot coffee a lot longer than those with wide mouths.

The history of growing coffee in Hawaii is a short one with the first known plants not arriving on the islands until 1825 when coffee tress were imported from Brazil. With the tropical climate and a growing season that extends from September through January, Hawaiian coffee is the only coffee produced in the United States. Many of the brands of coffee are named for the area of the state in which the beans are grown, but currently the state produces about six and a half million pounds of green Hawaiian coffee beans a year.

Considering that using coffee as a beverage has been around for hundreds of years, the popularity of Hawaiian coffee has grown tremendously in less than 200 years. The first plantation on the island of Kauai was quickly joined by smaller farms on other islands, but a coffee blight nearly wiped out the industry in 1858. Today, farms smaller than five acres join commercial growers in revitalizing the industry and production continued to grow at a remarkable rate.

While coffee grown in the Kona region may be the most well-known and respected brand of Hawaiian coffee, the Arabica blends produced by many other smaller plantations are broadening the appeal of coffee grown on this island state.

Coffee Not Necessarily A Tourist Attraction

While Hawaiian coffee is known for its rich, robust flavor it is not necessarily on top of the list of tourist attractions in the state. Many visitors do venture out to the plantations to see how coffee goes from bean to cup and have a chance to experience the freshest coffee available anywhere in the world. Beans are picked by hand on all but the largest commercial farms and there are personal inspections performed along every step of the process.

Choosing the beans based on size, color and their degree of being ripe as well as the length of the roasting process and the type of heat generated all have a major role in determining the flavor of the finished brew. Hawaiian coffee is often sold as a roasted bean instead of in grounds form to enable consumers to experience their coffee in the freshest mood possible.

In spite of all of the modern techniques in packaging, coffee will begin to go stale as soon as the beans are plucked from the tree. Hawaiian coffee growers understand the need to get the product processed and on the market as quick as possible and many will pick the beans on a daily basis throughout the season, using only the ripe beans on a daily schedule.

The Green Mountain Coffee is not a type of coffee; rather it is the name of a large and highly committed non-profit organization that actively promotes the organic growing of coffee in order to preserve the rapidly deteriorating environment.  Founded about two decades ago, in 1981 the Green Mountain Coffee Roasters or GMRC as it is better known is headquartered at Vermont. The organization purchases, roasts organic coffee beans, packages and sells it. It does such as good job that it has won accolades from the famous Forbes Magazine that listed it among the '200 Best Small Companies in America'.

The Role Of The Green Mountain Coffee Roasters

Recently the GMRC has joined hands with another like minded non-profit institution, the TransFair which is a certifier of Fair Trade products. Certification would mean that the farmer gets the best deal possible though fair price as well as many other facilities such as timely credit for sowing the crop on time, direct trade eliminating the middle man and hence reducing the scope of abuse and financial exploitation and supporting the eco-system through the active promotion of sustainable and organic style of farming.

As a result of the role the Green Mountain Coffee Roasters played here, today the organic coffee farmers are getting about six times more the price they would have got had they used any other channel. Such is the trust of the customers on every product endorsed by Green Mountain Coffee Roasters that in the first year itself the sales of the coffee exceeded 900 thousand pounds which is huge by any standards.

The main role of GMRC is to work as a facilitator and catalyst for economic empowerment of the farmers who not only get better returns from their crop, but also gives them ready access to credit when they want it, as well as free advertising, marketing and selling.

The Success Story Of The Green Mountain Coffee Roasters

The GMRC has grown into a mammoth from a seedling by sheer hard work and commitment to a better life for the farmer and environment friendly techniques. Its single minded drive has resulted in earning many awards that easily reflect it success. The GMRC has been ranked number one in 2006and 2007 as 'The Best Corporate Citizens'.

The latest acquisition is Keurig Inc which was previously manufacturing single cup coffee pots called K-Cups. The coffee sold under this brand already exceeded the expectations of both GMRC and the customers.

For most coffee drinkers, green coffee beans are something they are not accustomed to seeing or considering when they are looking for a cup of their favorite brew. Yet, it is the quality of the green coffee beans that are at the heart of the drink's flavor. Although unusable at brewing coffee until roasted, the ripened beans can have a storage life of about a year, significantly longer than roasted beans and much longer than ground coffee.

With the price of some coffee it may be hard to believe it grows on trees, but the process of coffee production is labor intensive. Beans are usually picked by hand by selecting only the ripe cherries off the tree or by stripping all of the fruit at one time. The cherries have to be processed to produce the green coffee beans that are sold and shipped for further processing.

Methods of removing the outer hull and the inner parchment surrounding the beans can be a long process, and many smaller companies leave the beans lying in the sun to dry before washing off the inner materials. Once the green coffee beans have been cleaned and dried, they are bagged for shipment to coffee roasters. The price of the beans reflect not only their appearance and size, but also the plantations on which they were grown and the region in which they were produced.

Coffee Roasting Is Tedious Process

To prepare green coffee beans to make coffee, they have to be roasted and the amount of time they are exposed to the heat, determines the overall flavor of the coffee. When beans are lightly roasted they exhibit the flavor of the area in which they were grown. For example, the beans drown in Kona, Hawaii or in Java are usually lightly roasted and maintain the flavor of the soil in which they grew, which is often distinct.

As the green coffee beans are roasted longer, they turn color and often have a coating of oil on the outer part of the bean. Roasting removes most of the inherent flavoring of the growing region making it virtually impossible to determine where in the world dark roasted beans may have been grown.

The type of heat source will also affect the flavor of roasted green coffee beans and the temperature of the roasters can change the taste as well. Additionally, the quality of the beans will begin to deteriorate at the time of roasting and until vacuum packaging of roasted coffee was developed, most roasted beans were discarded if not used in about two weeks.