Gourmet Coffee

Coffee beans are roasted to bring out their inherent flavor, and the beans will yield different flavors at various levels of roasting.  The first level, a light roast, is often called a cinnamon roast, and occurs after a few minutes of roasting when the beans start to pop or crack.  The medium roast, also known as a city roast, has a sweeter taste than the light roast, and occurs a short minute or two afterwards.  The full roast, also called an Italian roast, occurs again a few minutes later as the oil of the coffee bean will begin to rise to the surface and give the bean a soft glisten.  The full roast is a spicier flavor, and exhibits the full aroma and flavor of the roast and the beans.  The final roast, called the French roast, gives the beans a more bitter flavor. 

French roast coffee tends to be common in the country of its naming, but less so in the United States.  However, French Roast beans are available for those who like them.  The lightest roasts are common in brands like Folger’s, while the darker roasts are more reserved for specialty coffees.

Gone are the days when coffee was just straight black with cream or sugar.  In our modern world most coffee drinks seem to contain more sugars and foam than coffee, and as such, people are not used to drinking black coffee.  Though a brewed coffee can be good for your health, drinking too much coffee can be harmful to your body.  One option to get your caffeine fix before a switch to decaffeinated coffee is tea.  Most teas have about half or a third of the amount of caffeine as coffee, but are infinitely better for your body, and certain teas, like green tea, have proven health benefits. 

If you’re more interested in the flavor than the caffeine fix, decaf coffee maintains the flavor but won’t make you jumpy; great for drinking right before bed or other occasions when you don’t need the ‘wake up’ effect of caffeine.