Barista Guy's Coffee

New Website...New Look...New Feel at Barista Guy's Coffee!

2010-08-06T08:15:00.000-05:00

Barista Guy's Coffee has completed the transfer of our Domain name to GoDaddy.com in order to bring you faster more reliable service via our website. We have also altered the look and feel of our website and incorporated our blog into the website for a more streamlined experience while offering all of the same content you expect to see...Look for future upgrades to include video tutorials & how to's on the in's & out's of the coffee roasting and specialty coffee business, along with more exciting merchandise via our store widget.

Do you really know your coffee?

2010-08-02T17:42:00.000-05:00

A coffee bean is the seed of the coffee plant (the pit inside the red or purple fruit). The fruits, coffee cherries or coffee berries, most commonly contain two stones with their flat sides together. Coffee beans consist mostly of endosperm that contains 0.8 – 2.5 % caffeine, which is one of the main reasons the plants are cultivated. As coffee is one of the world’s most widely consumed beverages, coffee beans are a major cash crop, and an important export product for some countries.

Species of coffee plant include Coffea arabica, Coffea benghalensis, Coffea canephora, Coffea congensis, Coffea excelsa, Coffea gallienii, Coffea bonnieri, Coffea mogeneti, Coffea liberica, and Coffea stenophylla. The seeds of different species produce coffee with slightly different characteristics.

Coffea arabica accounts for about 75% of the world’s coffee trade, while Coffea canephora (syn. Coffea robusta) is cultivated where Coffea arabica does not thrive, and Coffea liberica and Coffea excelsa are grown in limited areas across the globe. In a crop of coffee, a small percentage of cherries contain a single bean, instead of the usual two. This is called a peaberry.

A brief History of Coffee

2010-07-29T18:05:00.002-05:00

As beverages go coffee in it’s present form has only been around for about six centuries, while tea and wine go back several thousand years. The tradition of flavoring and sweetening coffee goes back to the era when coffee was first drunk in the Middle East and Europe, for instance Cafe au Vin, a recipe of which dared to blend port wine and french roast coffee was one of the ways in which coffee was first savored. At the time, the only sweetener used was Cardamon. Cardamon comes from the seeds of a ginger-like plant which imparts it’s sweet, spicy flavor to the coffee. The original Arabic word for coffee was in fact the same word used for wine ” Qahwah”. Cafe au Vin brings out the fruity complexity of the coffee and the coffee adds a full bodied yet silken texture to the amazing taste.

In Vienna, coffee’s first stop in Europe, shopkeepers served complex coffee drinks which included steamed milk, whipped cream, cinnamon, vanilla, and chocolate. Which gives us the present day incarnations of our espresso based drinks.

On-Line Coffee Store Now Open

2010-02-13T14:40:00.001-06:00

Barista Guy's new On-Line Store is now open for business. We had a major restructuring of our website and found that the old system was to cumbersome for our vistors to use as well as for our team to manage. We have gone exclusively with Google Checkout for payment processing, which when combined with the new Google Store Gadget provides for a very seamless buying experience. This very same store gadget has been exported to our Blog as well, giving the customer the option of buying from either location with the same service and turn around time that you would experience through our main website. You will find a variety of coffee, gifts, and equipment located all in one convenient place, no need to search, simply scroll down the page and buy. We also offer a monthly coffee subscription service which brings fresh roasted coffee to your door twice a month at a discounted rate off our already low prices.

You can also visit our Barista Guy's Cafe Press store for T-shirts, Hats, Aprons, and mugs.

Coffee varietals have arrived!

2010-01-31T13:52:00.000-06:00

Barista Guy's coffee has ordered a special mix of varietals from across the globe, and will be hand roasting these artisan coffees at various roast levels to perfect the ultimate cup of coffee. We have Tanzania Peaberry - Mt. Meru, Brazillian (Santos),Sumatra Mandheling - Balige Estate, Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, Kenyan AA (fancy),DECAF Costa Rican SHB, DECAF Guatemalan SHB, and DECAFFEINATED Colombian. These single origin and decaf green coffee beans were purchased from some the finest coffee plantations from around the world. It took Barista Guy's Coffee countless hours of searching to bring these coffees to the american public. These coffees can be purchased in either whole bean or ground to order. We will also be taking these and other single origins for the creation of special offering blends that will be for a limited time only, more info to follow. Join us on Facebook and our website

The Coffee Grinders have arrived!!!

2010-01-31T13:12:00.000-06:00

Baristia Guy's Coffee has purchased two Classic Grindmaster 500 Series coffee grinders that have been refurbished internally to factory specs so that can provide optimum service when grinding roasted coffee for our customers. These units feature several grind setttings that will give our customers the perfect size grind for automatic drip, espresso, or french press.

From Barista guy's Photos

We will be adding more of these classic coffee grinders in the future to better server out customers...

We fired up the Sonofresco roaster this morning...first test batch.

2009-11-28T19:39:00.000-06:00

We picked up the 40lb bottle of propane this morning, came home made some minor modifications to the roaster's propane inlet, added a shut-off valve for safety, and then fired up the roaster for our first test batch of Alaskan Wilderness blend....

From Barista guy's Photos

The Roast went well, as we temporarily set the roaster up outside on a cart for safety concerns, and as you can see once the unit was powered on the unit worked flawlessly.

From Barista guy's Photos

Here the bean are just starting to roast.

From Barista guy's Photos

and in this photo you can see that the coffee beans are starting to turn brown.

From Barista guy's Photos

and then several minutes later, first crack..it was a beautiful sound.

From Barista guy's Photos

Then the beans approached the desired roast level and "Wham" second crack appeared..."crackin, crackin, crackin, get them beans ah crackin, raw beans", or something like that.

From Barista guy's Photos

Once the desired roast level was attained the unit gracefully shut down the heat and went into cool down mode...from start to finish a mere 18 minutes worth of time had elasped and I was blessed with 2.4LB's of the best Full city roast I had ever witnessed.

From Barista guy's Photos

Barista Guy's Coffee is still looking for space from which to offer a wide variety of roasted coffee and we hope to be set-up by years end...I will keep you updated on any new developments. Roast on!

Pics of the new 2LB Sonofresco Roaster

2009-11-25T22:17:00.000-06:00

The Sonofresco 2Lb Roaster has arrived and been unpacked, and she's a beauty.

From Barista guy's Photos

We are still trying to decide on the size of LG propane tank to use for roasting our beans, perhaps a couple of 40LB bottles, or maybe a 50LB and 100LB. We are still doing our research to see which is more cost effective. The Sonofresco is compact and light weight, just what we need for any mobile roasting we may do at Flea and Farmer's Markets in the DFW area. That way we can bring our fresh roasted coffee to you, our valued customers.

From Barista guy's Photos

We are aiming for this Friday on the propane purchase with Barista Guy's Coffee to start actual business beginning January 1st of 2010. We will keep you updated on the progress of our 1st roast. Hope to see you soon.

Coming to a Flea & Farmer's market near you...

2009-11-22T11:01:00.000-06:00

Barista Guy's coffee will soon be available at area Flea & Farmer's markets in the DFW market, and we are considering offering our coffee at one of the largest, Canton's once a month first Monday trader days beginning in 2010, this flea market is touted as the largest in the world, with some 6000 vendors, including food, artisan, craftsman, etc. It is sure to be a great venue for promoting our product. We will be traveling to the Dec 1-3 weekend event to scope it out and see if it will be a viable marketing alternative. We will keep you updated as details develop.

New sample roaster on the way.....

2009-11-07T12:31:00.000-06:00

The decision has been made to purchase a sample roaster in order to perfect our coffee blends which we will then offer to you, our loyal customer base...This will be a fluid air, counter top based roaster, that uses both electric and propane. There have even been discussion of mounting this baby on a truck and using it to demo our product at flea and farmer's markets, along with any other special events located within our area....I will post pics of the roaster once it arrives to give you a heads up. Viva la Barista Guy's Coffee, where we make the best coffee delivered fresh to you.

Roast & Grinds

2009-10-05T23:40:00.000-05:00

Roasting coffee transforms the chemical and physical properties of green coffee beans into roasted coffee products. The roasting process is what produces the characteristic flavor of coffee by causing the green coffee beans to expand and to change in color, taste, smell, and density. Unroasted beans contain similar acids, protein, and caffeine as those that have been roasted, but lack the taste. It takes heat to speed up the Maillard and other chemical reactions that develop and enhance the flavour.

Roasting levels:

City Roast
This is a very light roast. It is about the light brown color of milk chocolate. Few coffees are well suited to this light a roast; however, there are some blends that are much better suited to the lighter roasting level.

City+ Roast
Slightly darker than the City roast. It is also a milk chocolate color. This is an excellent roast for a light flavor bean that won't be made into flavored drinks (lattes and the like). It's best for those who like to drink lighter coffees without anything added. The coffee flavor of lighter beans that are roasted to the City or City + level won't cut through cream and milk in coffee drinks, leaving these drinks tasting somewhat flat.

Full City Roast
This is the most common roasting level. It is a dark brown color, typically used medium to full-bodied coffees. This roast with a good, strong bean will work very well in flavored drinks or with flavored syrups.

Full City+ Roast
A very dark chocolaty roast. This will really bring out the spicy or "earthy" flavor of robust beans. This roast level is often used for espresso and cappuccinos.

French Roast
This is a very dark almost black bean. Sometimes called Italian roast, this is a good roast for many espressos. (Interesting side note: there is no such thing as "espresso roast" - espresso beans are designated by the flavor of the bean and the level of the grind. Some beans make very good espresso at a lighter roasting level, of Full City or Full City+)

Grinding

We grind to basically three levels:

Coarse - good for french presses and cowboy coffee.

Medium - good for automatic coffee makers and vacuum coffee makers (default grind, unless you request otherwise)

Espresso - (fine) good for ... um... well, espresso. obviously.
The Perfect Cup of Coffee

: Our favorite morning brew...Ahhh!

Here's a few hints for brewing the perfect cup of coffee at home:
Alright my first recommendation is to always use a French press. It's the best way to get a great cup of coffee and its relatively easy, fast, economical and simple to clean. Ok, that being said, here's a few other items for your consideration:
- Use clear, purified or filtered water. Coffee is about 98% water, so if you're water tastes funny, your coffee will taste funny. Fortunately, Detroit is lucky to have astoundingly good, clean water. If you get Detroit City water, you probably don't need to filter it. If you get well water, you'll want to filter it or use bottled water.
- Use approximately 1 Tablespoon of ground coffee to every 6 oz. of water. Basically, this means you are using about 14 Tablespoons for a 10 cup automatic coffee maker. If you like your coffee a little stronger, add a little more. If its too strong for you, scale it back a little. It's coffee - make it how you like it. How do I like it? I just use a giant serving spoon and spoon in about 2.5 to 3 big spoonfuls for my 12 cup coffee maker. But I've got it all figured out to match my own personal tastes.

: Coffee stored in an air tight container

- Store your beans in an airtight container - do not store them in the freezer or Refrigerator. There are a bunch of scientific mumbo-jumbo reasons why, and lots of debate about whether you should or shouldn’t, but it all comes down to the beans’ porous-ness. The chemicals don’t break down as fast and the beans absorb bad flavors from your freezer/frig. Store them in a cool dry place away from light, heat, moisture.
CLEAN YOUR COFFEE MAKER! I can't tell you how many times I've heard from people that they never clean their coffee maker (another good reason to use a coffee press - clean up is much easier).

: Uugh!!...Clean that Coffee PotCoffee "residue"

For a good roast go to Barista Guy's Coffee

2009-10-05T10:16:00.000-05:00

When you want a good cup of coffee go to the source for fresh roasted coffee delivered to your door. Barista Guy's Coffee is your one stop source for all things coffee. We carry the best hand chosen beans from around the globe, from Kenya to Bolvia, you can bet you will get quality roasted beans with a consistent aromatic, full bodied flavor every time.