Our coffees are divided up into six broad categories:

Medium, Medium Dark,

 Dark,   Decaffeinated,

  Flavoured,  Fair Trade Organic.

The roast column on the tables below rates coffee on a scale of one to six. One is a very mild coffee and six is the darkest available.

For more information on the different types of roasts click here.

For Brewing and Storage tips click here.  

For information about coffee, its history and characteristics follow this link:
Coffee Association of Canada
http://www.coffeeassoc.com/aboutcoffee.htm

Medium Coffees  

Medium Dark Coffees

Dark Coffees

Decaffeinated  Coffees

In order for coffee to qualify as decaffeinated, it must have at least 97 % of its caffeine removed. Coffee beans are decaffeinated by softening the beans with water and using a substance to extract the caffeine. The goal is to extract the caffeine with minimal loss of flavour. Substances used to remove the caffeine may directly or indirectly come in contact with the beans and so the processes are referred to as direct or indirect.

Some of our coffees are decaffeinated using the chemical-free French or Swiss Water Process (WP). During the process green beans are soaked in hot water for several hours to remove the caffeine. The beans are then removed and the remaining water is passed through a carbon filter which extracts the caffeine. The same decaffeinated water is reintroduced to the beans to allow re-absorption of the flavour components and the result is that caffeine is the only material removed and no strength or flavour is lost.

Coffee	certifications	Roast	Flavour/Acidity	Body	Region
Chocolate Truffle	-	2	Rich/Mild	Medium	Colombia.
Colombia Bogota	-	2	Rich, Winey/Mild	Full	Colombia.
Water Process Colombian Supremo		2	Rich, Winey/Mild	Full	Colombia.
WP Dark French		4	Full & Heavy/Low	Heavy	Colombia, Costa Rica, Brazil.
Fair Trade Organic WP Dark Roast		5	Rich/Low	Full, Heavy	Mexico, Peru.
Fair Trade Organic WP Thailand		2	Fruity, Sweet/Moderate	Medium	Nicaragua, Peru.
Hazelnut Cream		2	Tangy/Moderate	Medium	Nicargua, Peru.
Click here to return to top of page.

 Flavoured Coffees

The act of flavouring coffee can be traced back as far as the original coffee brewing methods of Arabia and turkey. It was common for the Turkish to add spices and/or dried fruit to their coffee to enhance the flavour. This practice has continued for thousands of years, and occurs within virtually every coffee-drinking society throughout the world. All of our flavoured coffees use a medium roasted Colombian bean.  Flavouring syrup is added to them at the end of the roasting process. For peoples with allergies, the coffee and syrups used are free of cereals containing gluten, egg, fish, milk products, nuts, peanuts and soybeans.

The list below comprises the flavoured coffees that are kept in stock regularly.

Fair Trade Organic Coffees

Coffee	Roast	Flavour/Acidity	Body	CERTIFICATION	Region
Colombian Dark	3	Spicey, Rich/Low	Full		Colombia
Dark Roast Blend	4	Full, Rich/Mild	Full/Heavy		Nicaragua, Peru, Thailand.
Ethiopian	2	Winey/Moderate	Medium		Yirga Cheffe
Guatemala	2	Complex/High	Medium		Guatemala
Honduras Dark	3	Sweet, Spicy/Moderate	Medium		Honduras
Mexican	2	Rich Floral/Moderate	Medium/Full		Mexico
Peru	2	Fruity, Winey/Moderate	Medium		Peru
Spice Islands	4	Rich, Spicy/Low	Very Heavy/ Syrupy		Brazil, Peru, Indonesia.
Sumatra	3	Rich, Earthy/Low	Full		Sumatra
Thailand	2	Fruity, Sweet/Moderate	Medium		Thailand
Thailand Dark	3	Bold, Earthy/Low	Heavy		Thailand
Click here to return to top of page.

Click on the image to return to the main page.

Types of Roasts

Return to top of page.

Light	1	A "city" or "light"roast preserves the acidic quality of the coffee and creates a medium body and mild flavour.
Light/Medium	2	A "full-city" or "medium" roast is as dark as possible without the beans showing any oil.  This type of roast will reduce the acidic quality of coffee while creating a much richer flavour and a medium to full body.
Medium	3	A "full-city" roast is a roast colour typical of espresso and Viennese type coffees.  The acidic quality is further reduced with a much darker brown colour and a light oil sheen apparent on the beans.
Medium Dark	4	A "dark or French" roast is where the beans are fully oiled but are not carbonized.  The acidic quality of the coffee in now gone and the flavour is dominated by a bitter-sweet flavour and heavy body.
Dark	5	A "dark French or Italian style" roast is where the beans are very oiled and slightly carbonized.  The bitter-sweet flavour has a carbony influence and the body becomes very heavy.
Darkest	6	"Special Dark" is the darkest roast available. The beans are allowed to fully oil and carbonize in the roaster.  The flavour is dominated by  the carbony effect of this style of roast and it has a very heavy body.
Even when the colour of the coffee appears to be the same, the coffees may have entirely different flavours.  The types of beans selected, how and when applied, and the length of time in the roaster are invisible but critical factors in creating the ultimate flavour of beans.

Brewing Tips

Proper brewing enhances the taste of coffee by allowing you to extract the proper amount of flavour from the bean.  Here are five essential elements of good brewing.

1.  Correct coffee-to-water ratio: The generally accepted ratio is 1-1.5 tablespoons of     coffee for each cup (6 oz) of water.

2.  Coffee Grind: The grind style you choose will also affect the strength of your coffee.  Too fine a grind will result in a strong and bitter cup and too coarse of a grind will result in a weak cup.  The grind must also match the design and speed of your maker.

3.  Water: A cup of coffee is 98% water.  The quality of the water that goes in determines the quality of coffee that comes out.  Always use freshly drawn cold water, ideally filtered.  Avoid artificially softened water which will result in a "flat" tasting cup.

4.  Brew Levels: To achieve optimum flavour and extraction brew at least half of your coffee brewer's capacity.  For example, brew at least five cups of coffee in a 10 cup brewer.

5.  Use Freshly Ground Coffee: Also, make sure that the grind of your coffee is consistent.  Blade grinders cannot attain consistent particle size so have your coffee ground at your local coffee house using commercial burr grinders or purchase a home style burr grinder.

Storage Tips

It is important to properly store your coffee, both before and after it's been prepared.

1.  To ensure the freshness of your coffee, exposure to oxygen, moisture, and outside odors must be eliminated.

2.  Freshness is optimized by purchasing quantities that can be consumed within 7 to 10 days after opening.

3.  After opening your package, be sure to transfer coffee to the proper storage container.  To ensure coffee maintains its full flavour characteristics, use an airtight, glass container, stored in a cool dry environment.  Minimize empty "head space" in the container.

4.  A good rule to follow is not to leave coffee on a warming element longer than 20 minutes.  Prolonged exposure to heat will cause coffee to burn.

5.  To store brewed coffee for longer periods of time, transfer it to a thermal container, which has been preheated with hot water.  This will maintain coffee's flavour and temperature.
 

   Return to top of page.

References:  Canterbury Coffee Corporation

                   The Coffee Association of Canada

                  Specialty Coffee Association of America