Historic Cafe’s of Italy
Italy’s importance, to the entry of coffee into Western Europe, is without challenge. Due to its geographic position in the Mediterranean, supported by some of the most aggressive maritime trading powers – Venice, Genoa, Pisa, Naples, Amalfi etc. – coffee was a natural product to be added to the existing trade.
Reputed to have first entered [...]
From the early days of brewing coffee, makers were confronted with three main challenges – particle size, water temperature and brewing time. Inventors increasingly structured coffee pots to attempt to force water through the ground coffee, to overcome the reluctance of water to filter-out more flavour then osmosis will allow.
Soon inventors toiled with boiler pressure [...]
Enjoy a Great Cup of Green Bean Coffee, Without the Guilt
Coffee may not be so bad for you after all. In fact, it’s been linked to a variety of health benefits. Did you know that one study shows even one cup of coffee each day can cut your risk of some diseases in half?
Coffee is full of healthy components such as magnesium, potassium and vitamin [...]
Green Bean is proud to promote and supply coffee beans that carry the Rainforest Alliance Seal.
This means that these beans are produced with:
Less water pollution as all sources of contamination (pesticides and fertilizers, sediment, wastewaters, garbage, fuels and so on) are controlled.
Less soil erosion as farms implement soil conservation practices [...]
Green Bean is passionate about promoting the sale of beans whose sales support farmers in developing nations. We hope that you will promote Fairtrade coffees as a key element of your coffee menu.
Most of the world’s coffee beans are produced by small-scale farmers in developing countries. Because they have little bargaining power in an industry [...]
Despite the method of harvesting (hand-pick, hand strip, and mechanical), the processing of the coffee cherry must start on the same day as the harvest. This prompt action avoids undesirable fermentation and mould contamination, affecting the fruit pulp surrounding the coffee beans.
There are three main types of coffee cherry processing – ‘natural’, ‘pulped-natural’ and ‘washed’. [...]
It is important to the global buyers of coffee beans, that the recognized grading standards apply to both size and quality, being relevant to the measure of the number of defects found present in a sample of 300 gram. Coffee beans are considered ‘normal’ when they produce an agreeable or satisfying product for the consumer. [...]
Coffee Blending – ‘A Science of Flavours’
Just like an artist, with tubes of paint and pallet can create all the subtle colour changes of the spectrum, so too can coffee blenders have a similar ‘tool base’ to create shades of flavours. Blending is a very serious business, where blend recipes hold high value and the science is exacting. Though the majority [...]
Roasted Coffee – ‘Fresh is Best’
The late 20th Century saw the world embrace espresso coffee in unprecedented numbers. Cafe espresso bar numbers grew, spread nationally and for some, internationally. At the same time the increase in affordable domestic espresso machines, has prompted a new growth industry sector, while the consumer strives to replicate the cafe experience in their own life-style [...]
Green Coffee Beans – ‘The Plantation Story’
Domestic coffee makers and the commercial espresso machine operators, seldom come in contact with the process of the coffee bean. Behind each bag of roasted beans, lies an industry that is only second to oil, as a global traded commodity. Due to its importance in international finance and trading industries, those at the other end [...]
Coffee Roasting – ‘A Flavour in Motion’
Unlike its complimentary beverage, green tea, the green coffee bean (un-roasted bean) has little flavour and is not consumed in its natural state. Coffee beans require roasting to bring out their flavours and aromas, and this usually takes place at high temperatures within a coffee roaster, where the necessary internal chemical reactions can occur within [...]
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