The term "single origin" refers to coffee beans sourced from a specific geographical location, typically from a particular country, region, or a single farm.
In a similar way to how different grapes and regions affect the taste of wine, single origin coffee celebrates the uniqueness and specific terroir (climate, elevation, soil etc.) of a particular location, allowing the distinct flavours that result from the environmental conditions to shine through.
One of our most popular single origin coffees is our Finca El Mango from Costa Rica, which comes from a small, sustainable, family owned farm.
Blended coffee involves combining beans from different origins to create a balanced flavour profile. Blending is an art that requires skill and expertise to achieve the desired taste, and it allows roasters to create a consistent product that may not be achievable with single origin beans alone.
Our most popular signature blend is Sanctuary. Roasted perfectly for both espresso and filter, it's superbly balanced and loved by all.
Choosing between single origins and blends is a matter of personal preference and appreciation for the diverse offerings each brings to the table. New single origins come around each harvest so are perfect for experimenting with new coffees. And blends are consistent, so you can choose a favourite and it should always be there for your morning cup.
So next time you savour that cup of coffee, take a moment to appreciate the artistry and craftsmanship behind the beans that make your daily ritual truly exceptional.
]]>Washed coffee, also known as wet-processed or fully washed coffee, is a method that involves meticulous attention to detail from harvest to drying. The process begins with selective picking of ripe coffee cherries. These cherries are then pulped to remove the outer skin, leaving the beans surrounded by mucilage, a sticky, sugary substance.
The next step is fermentation, where the beans are left to soak in water for a period, typically 12 to 36 hours. During this time, enzymes break down the remaining mucilage. After fermentation, the beans are thoroughly washed again to remove any residue. Finally, the washed beans are spread out to dry under the sun or using mechanical dryers.
Natural processing, also known as dry processing, takes a different approach. Instead of removing the mucilage immediately after pulping, the whole cherry is laid out in the sun to dry. The drying process can take several weeks, during which the cherries ferment naturally.
Once the cherries are completely dried, they are mechanically or manually hulled to reveal the coffee beans. This method allows the beans to absorb the sugars and fruity flavors from the surrounding pulp during the extended drying period.
The choice between washed and natural processed beans is a matter of taste and preference. Whether you savor the clean acidity of a washed Ethiopian Yirgacheffe or indulge in the rich, fruity notes of a natural processed Brazilian coffee, understanding the processing techniques adds a layer of appreciation to every sip. So, the next time you savor your cup of coffee, take a moment to reflect on the journey of those beans, from the plantation to your favorite mug.
]]>The reason for this question is usually that a customer has bought a super automatic home espresso machine from a reputable brand like Jura, Gaggia, Philips, or DeLonghi, and they have read in the manual that oily beans can jam up the machine. So is this true, and what beans are best for automatic espresso machines?
Not all coffee beans (or blends) are created equal, and choosing the right beans can make a significant difference in the quality of your coffee, and the longevity of your espresso machine. In this article, we will explore why less oily coffee beans are the best choice for automatic espresso machines at home.
The main benefit of using a super automatic machine at home is that you just fill it with coffee beans and it does the rest. This is a very popular option over the more expensive manual machines and a separate grinder, as it's faster and cheaper. Your morning ritual involves nothing more than a push of a button, and your espresso machine will measure, grind, and tamp the coffee, extract a great espresso, and then dispose of the puck into a bin. These machines can produce great results for less cost and more convenience than more expensive options.
The downside to fully automatic machines is that due to the complexity of having all of the processes contained in one machine, they are more difficult to service and can go wrong fairly easily. The complicated cleaning and maintenance routines can put people off espresso altogether.
Every roaster has a different opinion on roast degree, here's an example of our different roast levels, from light, to medium, to dark.
Have a look at our article on how roasting affects flavour for a guide on roasting temperature and oiliness. At Black Creek Coffee we tend to roast light to medium for most of our coffees, and only have one truly dark roast, Halton House.
For espresso, most people want a smooth, chocolaty type coffee, with lots of crema (foam), body, and low acidity. Therefore 'espresso roasts' are usually roasted slightly longer and darker, as this helps to achieve the typical taste profile that customers expect. The darker roast also helps the finely ground coffee become more soluble, to be extracted better, and to produce a strong coffee with 'roasty' notes and great crema.
The problem with shopping for 'espresso roast', is that many of the well known brands you see in grocery stores, roast very dark, and the coffee sits on the shelf for a long time becoming stale. They can also include lower quality beans in the blend as the roast is so dark that's all you will taste, not the origin of the beans. The supply chains for large superstores are long, and the coffee they sell can be up to 12 months old, impacting freshness, and increasing the amount of oils present.
Avoid anything that says 'French' or 'Italian' roast, as this is generally a sign of dark, oily beans.
In a nutshell, yes. Oily coffee beans will cause problems for automatic espresso machines. The oils build up inside the machine, clogging the mechanisms and causing the machine to malfunction over time. This can lead to costly repairs or even the need to replace the machine entirely.
In addition to causing mechanical problems, oily coffee beans can also affect the taste of your coffee. Oils become rancid over time, so coffee made with oily beans may have a bitter or unpleasant taste. Less oily coffee beans, on the other hand, produce a cleaner, smoother taste with a more consistent flavor profile.
Another benefit of using less oily coffee beans in an automatic espresso machine is that they produce a better crema. Crema is the layer of foam that forms on top of the espresso shot, and it is a sign of a well-made espresso.
When coffee beans are too oily, the crema can be thin and weak, which can impact the overall taste and texture of the coffee. Now whether you drink the crema, remove it, or mix it in is a whole other debate!
Finally, less oily coffee beans are easier to grind, which is important for automatic espresso machines. These machines require finely ground coffee in order to extract the full flavor from the beans. When coffee beans are too oily, they can be difficult to grind evenly, leading to an inconsistent extraction and a subpar cup of coffee. Lots of oils mixed with finely ground coffee create a build up of old, rancid coffee inside your automatic machine that can be very hard to remove.
When choosing beans for your home automatic espresso machine, look for an espresso roast that is also dry or less oily than supermarket bought coffee. Not only will this prevent problems with your machine, it will also produce a much better-tasting espresso.
We currently have two espresso blends that are perfect for home machines:
Yellow Lab, which is a medium roast, full of flavour and very smooth
and our best selling
Sanctuary Espresso Premium Blend, which is medium/dark, but still perfectly dry enough for home machines. We use it as our standard espresso at our Espresso Bar in Georgetown, and the lack of oils help keep our grinders clean and maintenance free.
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The best known source of caffeine is coffee. People drink coffee because they love the taste, for better health, or to relieve drowsiness and improve cognitive performance. Too much caffeine can cause sleep disruption or anxiety, so knowing how much you are drinking can be very useful.
In this article, we will take a look at the amount of caffeine in different types of coffee drinks and compare them to other popular beverages such as tea.
Espresso is a concentrated coffee drink that is made by forcing hot water under pressure through finely ground coffee. It's a strong and flavorful drink that's often consumed in small portions, or mixed with milk to create larger drinks. A single shot of espresso contains approximately 60 milligrams of caffeine, but in North America people normally consume a double shot of espresso, so this would be 120mg of caffeine.
Because most espresso based drinks are made with a double shot, the caffeine content stays the same when making a macchiato, cortado, cappuccino, latte, americano, or anything with milk or water added to espresso.
Drip coffee is made by pouring hot water over medium ground coffee in a filter. The water drips through the coffee grounds and into a carafe, producing a smooth, flavorful and rich coffee. The caffeine content of drip coffee can vary widely depending on the strength of the brew and the type of coffee beans used. On average, a 8-ounce cup of drip coffee contains around 95 milligrams of caffeine, so slightly less than (double) espresso based drinks.
Cold brew coffee is made by steeping coffee grounds in cold water for 18-24 hours. This produces a very smooth and less acidic coffee that is often consumed over ice. Cold brew coffee tends to have a higher caffeine content than other types of coffee due to the amount of time the grounds are in contact with the water. An 8-ounce cup of cold brew coffee contains around 200 milligrams of caffeine.
Decaffeinated coffee is made by removing most of the caffeine from the coffee beans prior to roasting, using a chemical solvent or a water-based process. Decaf coffee still contains a very small amount of caffeine, usually around 2-5 milligrams per 8-ounce cup.
Tea is another popular drink that contains caffeine. Green tea, black tea, and matcha tea are all made from the leaves of the Camellia Sinensis plant, the final colour depending on how much the leaves oxidize during the drying process. The caffeine content of tea can vary depending on the type of tea and how it's brewed. On average, an 8-ounce cup of green tea contains around 30-40 milligrams of caffeine, while an 8-ounce cup of black tea contains around 50-80 milligrams of caffeine.
Matcha tea, which is made from ground tea leaves, contains around 30-60 milligrams of caffeine per 8-ounce cup. Matcha is very high in antioxidants and other plant based compounds. This combined with the low amount of caffeine makes it a perfectly healthy drink day or night.
Surprisingly, dark chocolate also contains a significant amount of caffeine. The amount of caffeine in dark chocolate can vary depending on the brand and the percentage of cocoa used. On average, a 100g bar of dark chocolate will contains around 80mg of caffeine, nearly as much as a cup of drip coffee. Milk chocolate only contains a small amount of caffeine.
In conclusion, the amount of caffeine in coffee can vary depending on the type of coffee and the brewing method used. Robusta beans contain about double the amount of caffeine as Arabica, but the vast majority of specialty coffee is arabica, due to the higher quality and better flavour.
Cold brew contains the most amount of caffeine due to the longer brewing time. Then comes drip, and then espresso. Albeit, most people in Canada drink a double shot of espresso in their drinks so these can contain more caffeine than a drip coffee. Black tea tends to have more caffeine than green tea. Fruit and herbal based teas usually contain no caffeine. Dark chocolate contains caffeine, but in smaller amounts compared to coffee, as long as you don't eat the whole bar in one go.
The generally regarded safe limit is 400mg per day for adults, so consume caffeine wisely.
And remember, roast colour does not equal caffeine content!
]]>Caffeine is a naturally occurring stimulant found in coffee, which is enjoyed by millions of people worldwide for its energizing effects, increasing alertness and attentional performance. While coffee is known for its caffeine content, the amount of caffeine in your cup can vary depending on several factors. Is the roast level one of them? Well, yes and no.
Dark roasts are assumed to have more caffeine mainly due to their bold, bitter taste and darker colour. However you can't taste caffeine in coffee, and the colour of coffee after it's roasted does not indicate the amount of caffeine either. So is this a myth?
During roasting, many chemical reactions take place, browning the beans, and creating hundreds of new aroma and taste compounds. Most of the water content in the green coffee bean escapes as steam, and the finished roasted coffee bean is now brittle and pourous enough to grind and brew as coffee.
Caffeine is a stable compound at typical roasting temperatures, so levels are virtually unchanged by roasting. Therefore roasting lighter or darker does not change the amount of caffeine in coffee. BUT, the way you measure your coffee for brewing might impact the caffeine content.
Using the same coffee (species and variety), a lighter roast will produce denser, smaller beans due to there being slightly more water content left in the bean. A darker roast of the same bean will have less water content, and each bean will be lighter, and larger.
So if you weigh out 20g of coffee for pour over / filter brewing, you will have less light roast beans than you will dark roast, because they are more dense. And if the caffeine content is the same per bean, then you will have more caffeine in the dark roast, only due to the fact that you have more beans in 20g of coffee.
Alternatively, if you measure using a scoop, you will get the opposite effect. Darker roasts create larger beans, so you will get less beans (and less caffeine) per scoop. For a lighter roast, you will fit more of the smaller beans in a scoop and therefore get more caffeine.
So there you have it, dark roast coffee does not contain more caffeine than light roast coffee, but if you are brewing by weight (recommended), then you will get very slightly more caffeine in your cup using a darker roast, as you will be using more beans.
How you brew your coffee also makes a difference to the amount of caffeine in your drink. Read more here: Which Coffee Drink Has The Most Caffeine?
]]>It's getting close to Christmas, let's dive right in to our top ten coffee gifts this year. Order soon to avoid stock outs or shipping delays.
So you know they love great coffee, but you don't know what kind? Our Black Creek Coffee Sampler Packs let you take a journey all around the world, tasting the best specialty coffees from each region. There are three sample packs to choose from, Regular & Speciale, which have four bags each. And the MEGA Sampler which is all eight together! These are whole bean only when ordered online, or you can purchase whole bean or ground (for filter) from our café in Georgetown. Every coffee lover will definitely find a new favourite in this selection.
Treat yourself or a loved one with one of our handmade mugs. We have a wide selection of mugs available, all of which are dishwasher safe and microwaveable. There's nothing better than snuggling up with a big hot mug of coffee, a good book, and preferably a dog too!
We now have physical gift cards for use at the Espresso Bar in Georgetown (available to purchase at the Espresso Bar), and we also have our Digital Gift Cards for use on our online store.
The quality of your grinder has the most impact on the quality of your cup of coffee. There are two grinders that we recommend. The Timemore Chestnut C2 Hand Grinder, for those that want a very well made hand grinder, which is also great for travel/camping. And the Baratza Encore Burr Grinder, which is the best entry level electric coffee grinder.
Both grinders are available in multiple colours, both online, or at the Espresso Bar in Georgetown.
This cheap, simple method, is arguably the best way to make excellent coffee, and to truly taste all of those flavour notes written on the label. The Hario V60 Kit has everything you need to get started, and at just over $30 is a bargain!
Every coffee lover will agree that a well made pour over is truly wonderful. Come down to our Espresso Bar in Georgetown to experience our featured single origin pour over. And learn how to make one at home!
There is something to be said for exceptionally good specialty coffee, flavours that you just can't experience elsewhere. Our current 'most special' coffee is the Limited Edition Kenya Nyeri 'AA' Gatomboya. This is a top cupping microlot that has a unique and complex flavour profile. Light roasted, it shines bright with exotic citrus fruit notes upfront (grapefruit/cranberry/lemon/lime) and a classic and super clean chocolate undertone. This would make a great gift, and is sure to excite any coffee aficionado.
Do you know someone who loves spending time in the garage? Well we have the perfect coffee for them! We've put together this special caffeine and machine coffee selection in conjunction with Vicarious Magazine, Canada's #1 automotive and motorcycle adventure lifestyle magazine.
In this awesome selection pack we have three automotive inspired coffees, Overboost, Ground Effect, and Save The Manuals. Or if you prefer you can choose 3 x bags of your favourite, and whole bean or ground. Either way, we think you're going to love these smooth but powerful coffees, perfect fuel for some quality garage time. (Only available online)
A classic design that is in the Museum of Modern Art, so it also looks amazing on your counter. If you want to make great coffee for multiple people at once, then this is where the Chemex shines, and has the advantage over the Hario V60. We have three size of Chemex available, 6 cup, 8 Cup, and 10 Cup.
All of our coffees are available as subscriptions, but this one is different. This is a Prepaid Subscription Box, where you receive nine amazing coffees, shipped three at a time, each month for three months. From our stunning light roasted Kenyan, to the super smooth Costa Rica Finca El Mango, this subscription box will take you on a coffee adventure. A truly great gift for the coffee lover, that will keep them (or you) stocked up into 2023!
A classic brewing method that is very easy for anyone to make. But this isn't any old French press. This is the best French Press we could find. Double walled stainless steel, and a double filter, keeps your coffee hot and sediment free. Available in 18oz or 32oz, we don't have many in stock, so don't wait long!
We hope this guide helps And don't forget that Canada Post shipping can get delayed in early to mid December, so order early to avoid disappointment.
]]>Making a great cup of coffee while camping can elevate your outdoors experience and make it one to remember. There’s nothing more peaceful than waking up to the sound of chickadees and woodpeckers, and the smell of a campfire. While everyone is sleeping, you set the kettle over the crackling fire. You crank the coffee grinder as the water comes to a boil, enjoying its aroma. By the time the coffee is brewed, everyone is slowly waking up, and grateful for your efforts.
You might think that making a great coffee while camping is destined to fail, with too many moving parts. But it’s simply a question of good preparation. You don’t have to settle for instant coffee or pre-ground stale coffee, you can enjoy a seriously good cup of coffee while camping. Roughin’ it is great, but one thing you never want to rough is your coffee!
When making coffee while camping, it’s easy to forget a key piece of equipment. To make sure you don’t get all the way to your campsite before realizing you forgot to bring your pour over dripper, have a look at these 5 crucial elements of making coffee, and be sure to double-check the list before you hit the road.
Will there be a fire pit at your campsite? And if so, are there any fire bans in place at the time of your camping trip that will prevent you from using the fire pit? Is there going to be a rain storm that will prevent your fire from starting? If you’re not sure or you have no way of knowing, make sure to pack a small camping stove or propane burner, which can be purchased at outdoor recreational stores and home improvement stores.
If your heart is set on making coffee over a campfire, be sure to pack some matches, kindling, and fire-starters.
We don’t recommend pre-ground coffee ever, even on a camping trip. Don’t compromise on quality, bring a manual hand grinder with you! The Timemore Chestnut C2 Grinder travels beautifully, and is perfect for making coffee while camping. It also comes in four colours! This grinder can grind anything from French press to espresso, and it's also really fast, so you won't be grinding for long.
Here I set it to 14 clicks from 0, which is medium fine, perfect for aeropress!
You’ll want to bring a lightweight, durable kettle on your trip, and we recommend a gooseneck kettle for best brewing results. The Hario Buono Drip Coffee Kettle is perfect for making coffee over a stove or campfire, and it’s also a beautiful tool that will take your coffee to the next level. (Matte Black Edition)
Figure out what coffee brewing method works best for you in a camp setting. The Hario V60 Craft Coffee Maker is perfect if you’re flying solo and want an exquisite cup of coffee. You can leave the glass carafe at home and brew straight into your cup.
The Chemex Classic 10 Cup is suitable for 2-6 people, but because it’s made of glass, it might not be the best option if you have limited space or if there are children involved. Probably best saved for a travel trailer.
The AeroPress Go is made of hard plastic, eliminating the possibility of breakage. It’s perfect for travel, however it only makes one coffee at a time, so your friends and family will have to arm wrestle each other for the first cup. (Or get them one as a gift hint hint!)
Personally we'd recommend the AeroPress for camping, as it's made specifically for travel. It's light, portable, virtually indestructible, and makes a great cup of coffee. Follow our detailed brew guide here.
Don't forget to take some great coffee with you! I recommend our Yellow Lab Blonde Espresso Blend, which is roasted perfectly to suit all brewing methods.
You can see all of our brewing guides here, for AeroPress, we followed the simple recipe below. If you don’t want to tote your weight scale along with you to your campsite (and we don’t blame you), you can either weigh your beans at home and store them in small containers, or figure out how many scoops makes your ideal cup of coffee beforehand, and go from there. Don't forget to measure your water out too.
We hope this coffee guide makes your camping trip one for the books, you'll be the envy of the campsite! One thing we're missing is a proper Black Creek Coffee enamel camp mug, what do you think, should we make one?
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Adopting a rescue dog can be one of the most rewarding endeavours of your life. You’re giving a dog a second chance, and you’re forging the bond of a lifetime. But you may be feeling nervous and apprehensive about the whole process. There are a lot of unknowns about adopting a rescue dog, as each dog has a unique personality and history. You may be asking yourself several questions. Will my new rescue dog feel comfortable in my home? How will they interact with my children? Will they gel with my cat, or will they exhibit aggressive, hostile behaviour?
If you’re adopting a rescue dog, chances are your dog will come with some anxiety issues. Most rescue dogs have a history of neglect, so you may be exposing them to common anxiety triggers without even realizing it. But don’t fret. With a bit of patience and a little knowledge on canine behaviour, you can ease your new best friend into your home and develop a bond right from day one.
When you adopt a rescue dog, you’re essentially saving a dog’s life, transforming their life from one of loneliness and neglect to one of joy and longevity. You’re also helping to keep the unwanted pet population down. It’s a win-win situation: a rescue dog brings you companionship, exercise, and a sense of community engagement, while you provide the dog with care, contentment, and a forever home.
An added benefit of adopting a rescue dog is that the dog is likely already past the very early puppy phase, saving you from at least some of the potty-training mishaps, chewed-up sofa legs, etc. If your heart is set on a dachshund or a labradoodle, you’ll be pleased to know that there are many dog rescue agencies dedicated to particular breeds.
Adopting a rescue dog is no small feat. Your dog may be difficult to handle as a result of anxiety. Put yourself in their paws. To go from being disowned, to settling in a shelter, to being moved out of the shelter (maybe more than once), can be confusing and scary. The responsibility rests on you to make the situation as comfortable as possible for them.
If you want to gain the trust of your rescue dog from day 1 and develop a strong bond, follow these 7 tips to make an easy transition for your rescue dog.
One of the biggest anxiety triggers for dogs is loud noises. While your new rescue dog will be anxious about entering a new space no matter how tranquil, you can reduce their stress by eliminating loud noises. That means no loud music, no loud phone conversations, and no leaving the radio on full blast.
Whether you have a family with kids or you live with roommates, make sure everyone in the household is on board with adopting a rescue dog, and brief everyone on how to act around the dog. Children (and even adults) will have the urge to play with the new dog, and may naturally become excited around it. After all, it’s exciting to get a new dog! But it’s important to give the dog some space and let them become acquainted with their new home. Get everyone on the same page about reducing noise in the home, limits on petting and playing, feeding schedules, etc.
While it’s okay to leave a dog alone for a few minutes to do a household task, avoid leaving the rescue dog alone in the home as much as possible for the first few weeks. Being alone is a common anxiety trigger for rescue dogs. If possible, take the first few days off work to be with your dog, or make sure a person in your household can be with them. Conversely, if your rescue dog whimpers in the night, avoid the urge to stay up with them all night to soothe them. You can pet them once, but it’s important for rescue dogs to learn how to self-soothe.
While it may be tempting to show off your adorable new rescue dog to your friends and family, avoid overwhelming your dog with strangers. Confine the social circle to those in your household for the first few weeks. In addition, avoid walking the dog on routes where they may encounter lots of people and noises. Avoid dog parks at first as other dogs may be an anxiety trigger.
Dogs tend to respond to positive reinforcement much better than they do to punishment. Communicating to your dog that their actions are good with rewards is a powerful training technique. People tend to only point out bad behaviour in dogs, leading to confusion. Rescue dogs may come with lots of quirks and bad habits, so it’s essential that you learn to communicate with your dog. Make sure to have lots of treats on hand to reward good behaviour, such as not pulling on the leash, lying quietly, coming when called, etc. And remember, lots of affection can be just as rewarding as a treat.
Make sure you have everything you need before bringing a dog into your home. Purchase a leash, collar, water and food bowl, a kennel, and the proper dog food. In addition, dog-proof your house to make it safe for them. Store away any harmful chemicals, make sure your breakables are out of the way, and close any gaps in your fence. Don't forget to have fun, buy your dog some nice clothes, and maybe booties to protect their paws in Winter.
Give your new rescue dog lots of space in the first few weeks. Let your rescue dog come to you for playtime and attention when they feel comfortable. Don’t ignore your dog, but don’t overwhelm them with hugs and kisses, either. To understand how they feel, acquaint yourself with the 3-3-3 rule. Just like children in a new school or adults in a new job, dogs pass critical milestones of comfort after 3 days, 3 weeks, and 3 months. Help the process along by creating a predictable routine for your dog. Always have a time of day for meals, walks, quiet time, and play time.
Did you know that at Black Creek Coffee we donate 20% of our profits to dog rescues in Canada? Animal welfare is baked into our business model, and we want to use our profits to do good. Take a look at the long list of great organizations we donate to as a result of your amazing support. And don't forget to nominate your favourite rescue!
If you order some freshly roasted coffee from our coffee collection, we can continue to grow our donations to these amazing charities. We hope you join the rescue dog community!
]]>It’s World Bee Day on Friday, May 20th, and we in the coffee community are making a bee-line for the honey jar. As an ode to these hard-working pollinators, we’re drizzling the golden nectar into our cups on this special day. For without bees, there would be no coffee.
Bees are essential to coffee plant health, along with migratory birds and other plants and trees. We’re celebrating with our Honeyed Cold Brew recipe below, perfect for the warmer weather. But first, let’s examine what the birds and the bees have to do with coffee.
Several studies show that birds and bees contribute to better coffee tree health, better harvest yields, and thus, better incomes for coffee producers. They almost act as a team: bees pollinate coffee plants, and birds are natural pest control, eating detrimental insects. It’s these wild, biodiverse settings that allow every living organism to play their role. Take one of them out, and the whole ecosystem is in trouble.
Monocropping (growing exclusively corn, wheat, etc. on a large commercial plot of land) is not a sustainable farming practice. A less diverse environment excludes the type of birds and insects that are beneficial to the crop, including bees. Additionally, monocrops starve the soil of nutrients due to their high yield.
It’s no wonder bees are in decline worldwide. If there were no more bees, it would mean disastrous consequences for the global food supply. That’s why it’s imperative that we change our farming practices to encourage our fuzzy friends to stick around.
Aside from pollinating coffee trees, bees do other great things for coffee farmers. Beekeeping and honey production as a secondary income has saved many smallholder farmers from economic ruin. In the months when there is no coffee harvest, many farmers and their families run out of money, experiencing seasonal malnutrition. Food 4 Farmers is a non-profit dedicated to helping coffee farmers in Central and South America stay afloat. They offer beekeeping programs and supply coffee farmers with equipment and microloans to help them produce and sell honey.
On May 20, Food 4 Farmers is calling on coffee shops and retailers to donate $1 per honey-added drink to raise funds for their beekeeping programs. Black Creek Coffee will be donating $2 from every sale from May 19th to May 20th to Food 4 Farmers! So make sure to browse our coffee collection and add a spot of honey to your cup.
What better way to celebrate World Bee Day than with our honeyed fizzy cold brew? If you’re new to cold brew, you’re in for a silky surprise. Ground coffee is immersed in cold water and refrigerated for 18-20 hours, resulting in a smooth, yet rich and velvety flavour profile. The colder temperatures slow the extraction rate, and many of the acidic and/or bitter compounds found in hot brewed coffee are left behind with the cold brew method.
Check out our cold brew guide using the convenient Hario Mizudashi cold brewer, and make sure to use medium or dark roast beans. We recommend our Costa Rica Finca El Mango, a medium roast with notes of honey and blackberry jam. Extra-ripe cherries undergo the black honey process, wherein much of the flesh is left on before drying. The sugars from the mucilage alter the flavour of the beans, resulting in a sweet, fruity cup. You can also try it with our Guatemala Huehuetenango, a medium roast with chocolate notes that bears the Smithsonian Bird Friendly certification. This certification is perhaps the best eco-friendly certification that exists, with strict guidelines pertaining to canopy height and plant diversity.
Serves 4
What you’ll need:
Bee image by Meggyn Pomerleau
]]>Are you wondering why craft coffee is such a big deal? Scratching your head about why folks pay more when they can buy an extra-large double-double at Tim’s for $2.19? The reason why is a bit complicated, but it will soon become clear to you.
Craft coffee is about a lot of things. It isn’t just about that caffeine fix. And it isn’t just about supporting small business and coffee farmers. Coffee is a meditative ritual, a thought-provoking, creative diversion from your day-to-day. You squeeze the bag and smell the aroma of the whole beans. You read the label and learn where the beans come from, picturing the people who produced them. You weigh them, grind them, and brew them with attention and care. Then, you savour the cup, trying to put exciting flavours into words - “plum”, “floral”, “molasses”. There’s a sense of excitement and wonder every time a new origin comes in!
Once you’ve tried the good stuff, you can’t go back. Here are 4 excellent reasons to drink craft coffee.
People who’ve never tried great coffee have no idea what we’re talking about when we gush about craft coffee. If you’ve tried great coffee, you know those tasting notes printed on the bag are no joke. It’s mysterious and magical how Ethiopian coffees can taste like a strawberry milkshake, or how Mexican coffees can taste like pure cocoa. Like wine and whisky, great craft coffee has a complex flavour profile, with several flavours happening at once.
The climate, soil composition, and processing have a huge effect on the flavour of the coffee. Read about coffee flavour here
There would be no craft coffee without coffee farmers and producers. These are the people who grow the coffee in the country of origin. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of inequality in the world of coffee. A lot of the world’s coffee gets sold to importers at such a low price that the farmers can barely get by. On top of this, stressed-out farmers are forced to carry out environmentally damaging farming practises to improve crop yield. Many craft coffee roasters are different in that they source Fair Trade and Rainforest Alliance certified coffee, or have some manner of direct trade relationship with their producers, where they pay significantly higher than Fair Trade prices. In this sense, purchasing high-quality coffee has an environmental and social impact. If you’re feeling helpless about the state of the world, being a conscious consumer is one of the best ways you can make a positive impact.
Just a reminder, folks, that Tim Hortons may not exactly be Canadian anymore. Want to support the local economy? Then buy local! When you purchase local products, you have an economic, social, and environmental impact. Your money goes back into the local economy. This supports infrastructure, helps your community members stay employed, and encourages less transportation of goods. Local businesses also tend to support each other, benefitting the whole community. Don’t forget to support local small business! As the saying goes, “Buy local, or it’s ‘bye local.’”
Coffee contains the antioxidants hydroxycinnamic acid and polyphenols, the same antioxidants found in berries and other fresh fruit. Antioxidants are responsible for fighting free radicals in the body, which can alter our DNA and proteins. This is what leads to diseases such as cancer. In addition, studies show that coffee may reduce the risk of Alzeihmers, Parkinson’s disease, and type 2 diabetes. You can read more details on the health benefits of coffee here.
So what are you waiting for? Browse the Black Creek Coffee Collection, and join the movement!
If you're not sure which coffee you might like, try one of our Sampler Packs. And if you subscribe to our newsletter using the form on the homepage, you will get notified of new coffee releases and exclusive discounts!
]]>So your coffee is tasting a little “off,” and your coffee maker isn’t running as fast as it usually does. You know you have to clean the thing, but you have no idea how. You might think you have to run out and buy a host of different chemicals, but you probably already have exactly what you need in your home to clean your machine and go back to great tasting coffee.
Here’s how to clean your automatic drip coffee maker–with household ingredients–in 5 steps.
Determine the maximum amount of liquid that will fit into your carafe. For a standard sized machine, it’s 8 cups; for smaller machines, it’s 4 cups. Make a 50/50 solution of water and white vinegar directly into your carafe. If it’s a standard size, that’s 4 cups each of vinegar and water. If it’s a smaller machine, that’ll be 2 cups each of water and vinegar. Pour the solution into the water reservoir of your drip machine.
Turn your coffee maker on. Let your vinegar-water solution brew half way, and then turn the machine off. Now, let the other half of the solution sit in the reservoir for 30 mins. Now that the machine is heated, the heat will help the vinegar break up the deposits. After 30 mins, turn the machine back on, and brew the rest of your solution. Once it’s done brewing, discard the brewed vinegar-water solution.
Rinse out your carafe well, and fill to the top with fresh water. Pour the fresh water into the reservoir and brew the entire pot. Discard the water once brewed. If you’re worried about the vinegar flavour lingering, you can repeat this step one more time.
Remove your filter basket, carafe lid, and permanent filter (if you have one) and hand-wash well with dish soap and warm water. Set aside to air dry. Meanwhile, wipe down the entire coffee maker with a clean, damp cloth. Grinds tend to accumulate around the dripper because the basket is right underneath, and the grinds can come in contact.
Rinse your carafe with warm water, and fill halfway with fresh warm water. Add in 2 teaspoons of baking soda, stir well, and leave to sit overnight. In the morning, discard the water, and clean with dish soap and warm water. Allow to air dry.
Over time, automatic drip coffee makers accumulate lime and mineral buildup in the water reservoir, especially in municipalities with well water (hard water). Vinegar is a natural, food-safe acid that breaks up these deposits.
Mineral deposits can leave an aftertaste in your coffee. In addition, they can build up in the intake water spout, leading to slower brew times. Plus, if you don’t clean your coffee maker regularly (as in every 2 months), you run the risk of getting sick from mould growth. Why take the risk?
Coffee’s still not tasting perfect even after cleaning? Check out our Brew Guides and Recommended Grinder Settings for more helpful tips to improve your home brew!
Coffee has been brewed using many different methods for hundreds of years, you can read a brief history here. Initially coffee was brewed Turkish style with finely ground coffee mixed in with the boiling water. In the 19th century it was made by boiling the coffee grounds in a cloth bag, which had to be cleaned each day. Modern filter, or drip coffee didn't take off until the early 20th century.
It was a German Housewife called Melitta Bentz that invented the first paper filter coffee system. In the early 1900's she grew tired of the various coffee brewing methods that always left grounds in the cup and started experimenting.
She ended up using a punctured brass pot with blotting paper covering the holes. This produced a full flavoured clean cup that was met with great enthusiasm, so in 1908 she started a business, and the rest is Melitta history!
Generally unbleached paper is light brown in colour, so to produce paper that is white, it has to be bleached. This can be done using chlorine, or oxygen bleaching (hydrogen peroxide).
Chlorine bleaching is effective, and doesn't leave any residual flavours, but is more harmful for the environment, so many filter manufacturers have switched over to oxygen bleaching.
Unbleached coffee filters are brown in colour, and require less chemicals in their manufacture, so are kinder to the environment. Like many things in coffee, the arguments for bleached vs unbleached has created a lot of debate about the impact on taste.
As you can see in our Brew Guides for both Chemex and V60 Pour Over, the first step in the process is to rinse the paper filter, and to discard the water.
This process ensures that you don't get any residual papery taste in your coffee, and it also warms up your brewer, which will keep your coffee hot for longer.
If you are 100% all about the environment impact, then you have to go with unbleached. It's better for the environment, even though the bleaching process is getting more environmentally friendly all the time.
Personally, I have never been able to get a good flavour from unbleached paper filters, so I choose to use the white oxygen bleached ones. Just check that they are oxygen bleached, and not processed using chlorine, it should say TCF (Totally Chlorine Free) on the packaging.
If you want to test the performance yourself, just pour hot water through both, let it cool, and taste it. Sounds disgusting I know, but it will tell you exactly what flavours you are imparting into your cup that don't come from the coffee.
If you want to be really fancy, you could try using the Hario Bird Filters! No change to the taste/performance, but they look funky!
]]>Like you, we love the environment, nature, and the green things around us. This is why we are on a quest to implement sustainable and environmentally friendly business practices, which can be a tough learning curve, especially for a small and growing business.
In this blog post we will focus on packaging, but there are many parts of the coffee supply chain that can be made more sustainable and ecologically friendly. It starts at the coffee farms themselves, the way the farms are managed, and how much the workers are paid. Also training and educating people on growing higher quality varieties so that the additional revenue can be invested back into the local community.
Sustainability certifications like Fair Trade and Rain Forest Alliance have certainly helped over the years, ensuring that fair prices are paid for coffee all around the world. Roasters can also help by building direct relationships with small farmers to ensure that the farms are well managed, and that fair prices are paid to and passed on to workers in the field.
Anyway, back to packaging.
When coffee is roasted, it goes through a complex series of chemical reactions (more on that here), where the end product is freshly roasted coffee. Some of these compounds that are formed during roasting, are inherently unstable, and therefore without good packaging to keep them from oxidizing, will go stale.
Proper coffee packaging will keep your coffee fresh for longer.
Great for the environment, terrible for keeping coffee fresh. If you were getting very freshly roasted beans, and could use them within a couple of days, then paper bags might be ok. Otherwise, not recommended.
Recyclable and Reusable for sure, but only really available to big organizations who can mass produce large volumes. Oh, and beware of beans jumping out of the can! (Blue Bottle Recall)
Again, perfectly recyclable and reusable, but also fragile and heavy, which adds significant cost (and more packaging) to shipping. Coffee beans are also susceptible to photodegradation, which means that some of the flavour compounds are broken down by light. So if you are storing coffee at home in jars, make sure you keep it in a dark place.
Some sort of laminated plastic bag with a valve is how the vast majority of roasted coffee is packed. The reason for this, even though it's not very environmentally friendly, is that is keeps the coffee the freshest, for longest, and is easy to produce and light to transport.
Similar to the millions of coffee cups given out by large chains, and the tube that your Pringles come in, coffee packaging is made up of layers of material that are stuck together. You'll have noticed with certain foods like coffee and tea, that a metal foil layer is generally used to enhance freshness. So a typical coffee bag is a laminate of plastic-foil-plastic.
This makes any recycling process, although technically possible, in reality very difficult. So even if the packaging manufacturer claims that their packaging is recyclable, most local authorities have not implemented the complex processes involved, and will instruct you to put it in the garbage.
Seeing as recycling coffee packaging is difficult at best, the ideal solution for us is to find a fully compostable coffee bag. One that keeps the coffee as fresh as possible, but is also home compostable so that you don't have to rely on your local authority rules.
We've reached out to a few manufacturers in our quest, and they are all making strides to develop a fully plant based approach, certified by a 3rd party, and with all layers, zipper seals, and valves being compostable.
It's important to us for our chosen packaging to be Home Compostable rather than just 'Compostable'. The 'Compostable' certification usually refers to an Industrial Composting process, which involves specific waste collection routines (not available everywhere) and higher temperatures to break down the materials. You can learn more here.
Also, many municipalities will remove anything that looks like plastic regardless of what it is made from, and put it in landfill. From Halton Region's website:
Compostable plastics, such as compostable cups, straws and cutlery must be thrown in the garbage. If the compostable item looks and feels like plastic, throw it in the garbage. This material has been tested in a Central Compost Facility and does not break down in the current process. Help keep our compost clean!
Toronto is the same.
There are also other packaging solutions out there, companies like Terracycle that collect and process difficult to recycle products, but they require multiple waste drop off points, and are prohibitively expensive for anything other than large organizations.
Our goal is to work with the manufacturers, and to hopefully have a solution in place by the end of this year. Nothing that we have looked at so far has met all of our requirements, but the technology is getting better all the time, and hopefully we will see truly home compostable coffee packaging in the very near future.
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We've written a couple of articles on the health benefits of coffee, Is Coffee Good For You? and The Health & Fitness Benefits of Drinking Coffee, but I'm not sure I can say there is any scientific proof behind this one.
Among the many other pools, caves and waterfalls to relax in at the Yunessun Spa in Japan, there is a hot spring bath dedicated to coffee! The coffee is brewed using the hot spring water, and then drip fed into the pool. Although drinking from the pool 'Augustus Gloop' style is absolutely not advised.
The coffee spa is said to 'reduce fatigue' and 'beautify skin', although I'm not sure how it compares to just drinking coffee (which is definitely good for you), or exfoliating with coffee grounds. I sort of want to try it, but then it also reminds me of that watery diner style coffee too.
If bathing in coffee isn't your thing, then they also have pools of wine, green tea, and sake! And for special occassions, they also had a ramen bath, and a maple syrup bath! [shudder]
So even though I'm coffee obsessed, and Japan is very high on my travel list, I'm not sure I'll be visiting Yunessun Spa, it might just be a bit to weird for me...
Would you jump in? Comment below!
]]>Yes and no. It's owner, RBI, is an American-Canadian company, with its majority shareholder (3G Capital) based in Brazil. The main reason that 3G acquired Tim Hortons was to save over $1B in tax, by moving the combined company headquarters to Canada from the U.S., where they were paying a higher rate of corporation tax. Tim Hortons was (and still is) a money making machine, so they also saw an opportunity to implement the well known 3G strategy of aggressive cost cutting to drive profitability.
After years of being the quintessential Canadian brand, renowned for its coffee, and community relations, opinions about the company, and the coffee, started to change after the Burger King deal. People started asking online if the coffee recipe had changed, is it weaker, is it too dark, is it burnt tasting?
Once upon a time, many years ago, Tim Hortons used to be supplied by large scale roaster, Mother Parkers, a 100+ year old family run company. They knew how to roast coffee back then, and they still do now.
In 2009 Tim Hortons opened its own roasting facility in Ancaster, to go along with its facility in Rochester, NY, to enable it to roast the majority of its coffee inhouse.
Around the same time, Mother Parkers was supplying coffee to McDonald's restaurants for use in house and for bagged coffee.
So yes, some of those rumours are true...
Prior to all of the changes in the business, Tim Hortons was seen as THE Canadian Coffee Experience, i.e. there wasn't much competition. Starbucks had 7% market share, Tim Hortons had 62%. Since then, as Tim Hortons' reputation took a dive, the specialty coffee market exploded, and Timmies was seen less as a Canadian icon, and more as just another coffee shop, with inevitable comparisons being made against better quality coffee.
Even though Timmies sells a few flavoured coffees, there are only really two basic blends on offer, Original, and Dark. Oh, and there is also Bold, which is err.. darker?
Now as discussed in our article on roasting, when you roast coffee dark, it all starts to taste the same, as you lose the important qualities of the origin (i.e. where it's grown, the altitude, the processing etc). And when compared to specialty coffee, Tim Hortons roasts its 'medium' coffee quite dark, and its dark/bold coffee really dark. The effect of this is to create a coffee so dark and bitter that many customers need to add cream and sugar to make it palatable. Hence the infamous 'Double Double'. (Now added to the Canadian Oxford Dictionary)
As a result of the Double-Double's popularity, many people think that black coffee is supposed to be bitter, and refuse to drink it without cream or sugar, or both. Convincing people to try good quality coffee, just black, can be difficult.
Here at Black Creek Coffee we're on a journey to educate people about the amazing different flavours of coffee, and how it can be selected, roasted and brewed to make a wonderfully smooth and flavourful drink. I've used this analogy before, but it's like whisky. Cheap whisky needs a mixer, good whisky has an abundance of smooth flavour, neat or with a little water.
The other benefit to switching to good quality, specialty coffee are the health and fitness benefits too. Black coffee is zero calorie, and boosts energy. In contrast, a Double-Double has a chocolate bar's worth of sugar in it.
You can still be a hockey playing, snow shoveling, poutine eating, chest thumping Canadian, while drinking great coffee! So put down the double double and the Beiber balls, and buy great coffee like our Sanctuary Premium Blend fresh from small, independent, Canadian owned roasters.
Over 100 research studies have scientifically proven that drinking coffee is good for you. To summarize, the natural antioxidants consumed during coffee consumption can reduce the risk of Cancer, Type 2 Diabetes, Parkinson's, various Heart Diseases and the risk of a Stroke. (I wrote about that here).
But are there other ways that coffee can boost your physical health, mental health, and even athletic performance?
Even though Decaf still contains many of the health benefits of regular coffee, caffeine gives your metabolism a boost, which increases your body's ability to burn fat both during, and a few hours after exercise.
Caffeine enters your bloodstream about 15 minutes after consumption, and the peak effect is around an hour afterwards. Your blood pressure and heart rate will increase slightly, fat stores are broken down, and fatty acids are released into the bloodstream. This will give you a wonderful energetic feeling, and is perfect for starting a workout!
Caffeine can also suppress your appetite, albeit for a short time (although this hasn't been scientifically proven). Which can mean that you consume less calories during the day. And while you are not eating, it is also helping to burn calories at a higher rate, even during rest.
OK, here's where it gets really interesting (and personal).
Intermittent Fasting is where you split your 24 hours in a day into time you are allowed to eat, and time that you fast. Many people start with a 16:8 split and go from there. Here is a good article about it: What is IF and how does it work?
During the times where you are not eating, you are allowed water, and zero-calorie beverages such as black coffee and tea. This is where good quality coffee really shines, as many people have used cream and sugar to make bad coffee palatable. So if you want to participate in IF, you need good black coffee!
For me, I was having trouble eating breakfast. After years of cereal, toast, and trying other healthier options, my stomach just decided it didn't like breakfast at all. Eating anything in the morning made me feel ill. But then I was also hungry and miserable if I didn't. After experimenting with a few different options, I've found the perfect solution for me. Between 8am - 9am I have a large black coffee, and then I'm not hungry again until about midday, so have lunch and dinner as usual. I have happily fallen into a 16:8 Intermittent Fasting Plan, and feel so much better for it.
OMAD (One Meal A Day) is just an extension of intermittent fasting. Think about it as a 23:1 plan where you fast for 23 hours and eat for 1. It's a more extreme eating plan, difficult to start and maintain, and can be hard to get the right amount of nutrients in a short timespan.
Whilst studies have shown significant benefits from IF (better cognitive performance, better cardiovascular health, stronger physical performance, lower risk of diabetes and obesity, and improved surgical outcomes), I can't find anything that strongly supports OMAD.
Caffeine consumption can also increase athletic performance. The International society of sports nutrition found that, "Caffeine is effective for enhancing various types of performance when consumed in low-to-moderate doses". Their studies also found that Caffeine is an effective aid for sustained endurance activity, and has also been shown to be very effective for enhancing time trial performance.
The best benefits were for sports that were high intensity and long duration, like soccer, hockey, rugby etc. And especially good for anything involving extended, exhausting exercise like time trials, triathlons, Ironman etc.
Alongside its well-established effects on physical performance, caffeine also exerts acute cognitive benefits, especially when tired. This has been explored in military personnel, with caffeine demonstrated to improve cognitive aspects such as vigilance, memory, and mood, along with physical performance, both during overnight operations and following sleep restriction.
Too much coffee can give you the jitters and cause anxiety, but studies have shown that coffee drinkers are significantly less likely to be depressed than non-coffee drinkers.
My favourite example of a mental health benefit, and something I've learned during this pandemic, is Fika. Fika is a Swedish term (Sweden being 6th on our Coffee Consumption list!) for 'coffee and a cake break', but means so much more than that. It means slow down, appreciate what you have, and make time for friends. Take the time to focus on having a coffee, relax, meditate, whatever makes you feel good for 5 minutes.
Fika (savouring the moment) is a simple, deliberate activity, that helps separate work life from home life if you're working from home. It allows you to enjoy your coffee, and not just 'grab a coffee to go'.
I reached out to a few of my favourite food and fitness people to hear what they had to say about how coffee has impacted their health.
Nelson from Photos & Food
"When I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes three years ago, I made some drastic changes to my lifestyle. I wanted to be around for a very long time and ideally not needs meds. I cut out foods with sugar, added whole foods to my diet and started moving more. I’ve dropped 60lbs and I’ve never needed meds to control my blood sugar so far."
"I’m resourceful in the kitchen, so I came up with lots of new food and beverage options to keep me happy. Coffee is definitely close to the top of my faves when it comes to flavours I can keep enjoying without impacting my blood sugar. It took me a few weeks, but now I don’t need sugar in any of my coffee beverages. Plus, I get to enjoy the unmasked real flavour of delicious coffee by local roasters like Black Creek Coffee."
"My go to's are espressos, americanos, lattes and more recently pour over coffee."
Antonietta from Nourished Insideout
"My morning always starts with an espresso, as coffee plays a huge role in my health regime."
"Before I leave for work where mental function is so necessary for me in order to do a great job, my cup of Java is totally necessary. Coffee gives me that extra boost to stay on task and get it all done."
"I look forward to my second coffee before my workout since it significantly helps improves my physical performance. It increases my energy level before and during my workout. It definitely is my go-to and with its health benefits, different vitamins and minerals, and it helps to burn fat and improves memory. I couldn’t do without it!"
In summary, coffee is scientifically proven to be good for you, can help enhance athletic performance, can boost mental health, and can help with healthy eating plans such as intermittent fasting.
So you know they love great coffee, but which one? The Black Creek Coffee Sampler Packs let you take a journey all around the world, tasting the best specialty coffees from each region. There are three sample packs to choose from, Regular, Speciale, and the MEGA Sampler which is all eight together! Every coffee lover will definitely find a new favourite in this selection.
If you want to make great coffee at home, whilst travelling, or at the office, the AeroPress Go does it all. It's compact, easy to use, and can brew delicious tasting coffee absolutely anywhere. Every coffee lover should own an AeroPress. Don't forget to follow our AeroPress Brew Guide for the perfect cup!
Everyone has a favourite coffee mug. So whether it's a premium travel mug, or our hand-thrown custom made stoneware, treat someone to a big hot mug of coffee to snuggle up to, preferably with a dog too! (WE HAVE NEW MUGS ARRIVING ANY DAY NOW!!)
As I've mentioned before, the quality of your grinder has the most impact on the quality of your cup of coffee. Other than the amazing Porlex Manual Grinder (for those that want to grind by hand or while travelling), the lowest cost electric grinder that I can heartily recommend is the Baratza Encore, which starts at around $200 (see links below). Blade grinders and cheaper burr grinders don't get the best out of specialty coffee. Yes you can spend over $1,000 on a really good grinder, but the Encore is the perfect entry level grinder for the coffee aficionado!
Baratza's entire line up is award winning, loved by barista's everywhere, and their customer service is exceptional if you need parts, upgrades, or repairs. We are currently out of stock, but these are the grinders we would recommend:
Making great coffee is all about the brew ratio, i.e. the coffee to water ratio. When making a pour over, AeroPress, French press, or cold brew, you need to be able to accurately measure both your coffee grounds, and your water. We have a range of coffee scales available from the basic models from Hario, to the truly outstanding, professional grade Acaia Pearl Model S.
A proper kettle makes a world of difference to making great coffee. Not only is it fast to heat up, but you can set the correct temperature for perfect coffee extraction every time (between 195°F and 205°F). The gooseneck spout also means you can control the pour much more effectively than with a regular kettle. We also stock the Hario Buono Drip Kettle in silver and matte black.
What better way to show that you love Black Creek Coffee, than with a T-Shirt or Hoodie! Our Hoodies are ultra premium, super warm, and currently on sale with 15% off! And our luxurious T's are also on sale with 30% off! Made locally in Hamilton, and printed with our paw logo, show your support for small businesses everywhere.
There is something to be said for exceptionally good specialty coffee, flavours that you just can't experience elsewhere. Our current 'most special' coffee is the Limited Edition Kenya Nyeri 'AA' Gatomboya. This is a top cupping microlot that has a unique and complex flavour profile. Light roasted, it shines bright with exotic citrus fruit notes upfront (grapefruit/cranberry/lemon/lime) and a classic and super clean chocolate undertone. This would make a great gift, and is sure to excite any coffee aficionado.
All of our coffees are available as subscriptions. You choose the coffee, the frequency of delivery, and the grind type, and then leave the rest up to us! Your freshly roasted coffee will be shipped or delivered locally on schedule, without you having to worry about running out ever again! This is the gift that keeps on giving. You can easily log in to your account and change or cancel your subscription at any time.
Still can't decide what to get the coffee lover in your life? Then get them a Black Creek Coffee Gift Card and let them choose something wonderful. Available from $10 to $100. Gift cards are delivered digitally.
We hope this guide helps! And don't forget that Canada Post shipping can get delayed in early to mid December, so order early to avoid disappointment.
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The first wave of coffee was a dark time indeed. Since the Boston Tea Party in 1773, the United States had started to favour coffee as its hot beverage of choice. As consumption grew, the focus was on quantity, not quality. Coffee was a commodity, and from 1800 to the 1970's, became a staple in most households. Coffee was cheap, convenient, and accessible for most people, the flavour and origins did not matter. Think Folgers and Maxwell House.
In the late 60's and early 70's companies like Peet's and Starbucks started to sell higher quality coffee (although still roasted pretty dark), and to focus more on the individual flavours coming from each origin. The new wave of coffee companies also started creating new drinks with flavoured syrups, and coffee shops started springing up in many communities. Coffee drinking became a more relaxed, social activity.
Third wave coffee started in the 80's with roasters, cafés and baristas focusing on the quality and source of the beans, and lighter roasts to bring out more flavourful characteristics of each origin. The Specialty Coffee Association of America was founded, and this quality first approach grew significantly in Australia and Scandinavia.
Third wave consumers are much more interested in the many flavours of coffee, than just getting a caffeine hit. Coffee started to resemble the craft movements of beer and whisky, customers were interested in the farm processes, the sustainability of the supply chain, and how the coffee was roasted.
The profession of the barista has also come on leaps and bounds in the past few decades. Baristas are now expected to know all about the origins of each coffee, TDS and extraction yields, and also need to be skilled in latte art. A great barista is what makes a great café!
In an ever warming climate, sustainability and responsibility are also key to the Third Wave movement. Both Fairtrade and Rain Forest Alliance certifications create sustainable supply chains, and ensure that farm workers are paid fairly. And more environmentally planting methods such as shade growing amongst other trees and bird friendly coffees are becoming more popular.
Today we generally refer to the third wave market as just 'Specialty Coffee'.
As well as learning about the farm origins, the bean processing, and the interesting flavour notes, the specialty coffee industry is also coming up with innovative and exciting ways to brew and enjoy coffee too.
This 'Fourth Wave' is all about the science and attention to detail when brewing. If you don't know what I mean, take a look at Diego Campos and his 2021 World Barista Championship winning concoctions. An exciting coffee genius at work.
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Sanctuary Espresso is our best selling premium blend, designed specifically to produce a wonderful espresso experience. Here's how we came up with it.
Espresso is a coffee brewing method, made by forcing very hot water through finely ground, compacted coffee. This high pressure method emulsifies the oils in the coffee into the creamy, caramel coloured 'crema' that floats on top. Angelo Moriondo from Turin invented the first 'bulk' espresso machine in 1884, with later 'single serving' machines being developed in the early 1900's. Espresso bars, café culture, and the growing popularity of cappuccino and latte style drinks have accelerated the demand for espresso around the world.
Just like every other method of coffee brewing, there are lots of variables, and lots of opinions on how to make it best. But generally accepted rules for espresso are:
Size: Can be a single, double, or triple depending on the amount of coffee used and the basket size. In Italy people generally order single shots of espresso, un caffè 'normale'! Whereas in North America, a double shot is the norm due to the large size of most milk based drinks. A double shot of finely ground coffee usually weighs between 14g and 20g, depending on the coffee itself, and your particular machine, basket size, and water pressure. For our machine at home, I find that 18g is the sweet spot.
Length: The length of the shot (how long it is pulled) can be Ristretto (restricted), Normale (normal), or Lungo (long). A ristretto is about half the size of a regular espresso, and slightly sweeter, a lungo is about 50% larger than an espresso. Although to get a true Ristretto or Lungo, ideally you would adjust the grind size too, finer for ristretto, coarser for lungo. Given how long it takes to properly calibrate an espresso grinder, most cafés use the same espresso grind, and just pull the shot shorter or longer. Most espressos are 'pulled' for about 25 seconds.
Ratio: This is the ratio of coffee in the cup, to coffee grounds used. Generally speaking (and there are millions of webpages with opinions on this) an espresso is brewed using a ratio of 1:2 - 1:2.5. So if you use 18g of coffee, you will end up with 36g - 45g of espresso. It's important to note that the final espresso is measured by weight (g) and not volume (ml), as the amount of crema will affect the volume measurement.
A coffee's aromatics, flavour notes, acidity, and body all peak at different times during the roasting process, and the bean's structure also changes. As the inside of a coffee bean gets hot and releases steam, this weakens the bean's cellulose structure and makes it more porous and brittle. The darker and more brittle the inner beans are, the easier they are to grind finer, and the higher the extraction when brewing.
What this means is that 'espresso roasts' are generally roasted a little longer, and to a higher temperature than filter or pour-over roasts, because they extract better under high pressure due to being more soluble. The longer, hotter roast also produces less acidity, and more body (creaminess).
You can use an espresso roast for filter coffee, but it can be challenging to use a lighter filter roast in an espresso machine. It can be done, it just takes more work to calibrate and keep consistent.
If you would like to learn more about roast degree, check out our blog article here.
Much of the available espresso coffee in supermarkets is French or Italian roast, which is roasted to 450F-470F. By roasting to such a degree (burnt, smoky, and rancid), coffee companies can hide very poor quality beans in their blends, and then roast to such a degree that you can't taste the origins. This has been many people's staple coffee for years, not knowing that there are much nicer espresso roasts out there.
These over roasted blends are also extremely oily, which not only makes the coffee degrade faster as the oils oxidize, but also clog up grinders and automatic espresso machines quickly. This can ruin a machine without regular maintenance, and the old oils can also affect flavour.
When we developed Sanctuary, we wanted to roast lighter than store bought espresso beans, to really bring out the flavours in the blend, and we also wanted the beans to be less oily, to stay fresher for longer. So after a lot of roasting and cupping, we finalized on a blend of beans from:
These three coffees combined and roasted to perfection is what makes Sanctuary such a wonderfully smooth, flavourful espresso. All of the beans are premium Arabica coffee, with no low quality fillers or Robusta.
Two reasons.
Human: Because a hot coffee on a cool morning is something to snuggle up with. It's a break from the grind, a chance for some 'me time', a place of refuge from the chaos around us. Sanctuary is a good book, a great coffee, and a sleepy dog.
Animal: Because it does exactly that. It provides sanctuary to rescue dogs, which is part of our mission. We donate 20% of our profits to help rescue dogs across Canada, and seeing that all of our single origin coffees are named after their origins, when you create a blend, you get to name it! So we named it after what we do.
So there you go, now you know a bit more about Espresso, and why Sanctuary is such an amazing coffee, enjoy!
P.S. If you haven't tried it yet, buy some here!
]]>It wasn't until the late 18th century that North Americans really started drinking coffee, 300 years after Africa and the Middle East. And in Canada specifically, it was William Cooper that opened the first coffee house in Toronto, in 1801.
So as you look across the Canadian landscape, you will undoubtedly see a coffee shop on nearly every corner, Canadians drink a lot of coffee. But how do we fair against other nations?
Coffee consumption is measured as pounds consumed nationally, divided by total population. So the 'per person per year' stat includes non-coffee drinkers too.
Eight or nine cups a day is the norm in this frigid, Northern country. Where temperatures can get to -40C/-40F regularly, you can understand why everyone needs warming up multiple times a day. Coffee is a very social activity in Finland, and it is often served with cake.
Like many of the Nordic countries, Finns have a strong preference for very light roasts, from Cinnamon to City roast, and have only recently started to adopt espresso based drinks. Finland is also the home of the Moomins, and has been voted the Happiest Country in The World multiple times!
I chatted with David Nakkila, arguably Halton Hills' best known Finn, to get his thoughts:
"I grew up noticing that coffee was a big part of my family. Any family gathering of any kind, no matter how short, always included coffee. I think that the amount of coffee consumed in Finland relates back to the lack of sunlight during the Winter. Some days they may not get any sun, but most days they only have a few hours, and that is typically when they are at work or in school. So naturally, drinking a lot of coffee helps to keep them up.
Coffee to me personally though is something that I had to grow into. Because it was around me so much at a young age, I almost felt like I didn’t want to drink it. As I got older though I started to appreciate and enjoy coffee for it’s taste and enjoyment and now I have 2-3 cups a day on average."
The birthplace of the World Barista Championships, Norway comes in second. Although with some similarities to Finland regarding geography and climate, coffee drinking didn't really take off until the late 19th century. Being ruled by Denmark at the time, Norway could get its expensive coffee supply duty free due to Denmark's control of the Virgin Islands. Heavy taxation on alcohol also helped make coffee the social drink of choice.
I think I'm starting to see a trend. Long, dark, cold days make me want multiple cups of coffee too. Iceland's coffee industry is focused on small independent coffee shops, supplied by small, local roasters. Espresso and milk based drinks are more popular in Iceland than in Finland or Norway, and decaf is rarely served in cafes.
By fourth place, we are down to ~3.5 cups per person per day. In Denmark, coffee is an essential part of the day, as there is always time for a "kaffepause", whether spontaneous or organized. Danes are also focused on health and wellness concerns, as coffee is also consumed for its therapeutic qualities.
The Dutch have been involved in the coffee business for a very long time, starting in 1616, when Dutch merchant Pieter van den Broecke managed to obtain (possibly stole) some live coffee plants from Yemen. After the plants thrived in the botanical gardens in Amsterdam, the Dutch used them to begin coffee cultivation across their colonies, and became the main suppliers of coffee to Europe.
The Dutch also have their own method of making cold brew, which is like a very slow drip coffee, vs the steeped method most Western cultures use.
Coffee in Sweden is more of a concept, than just a drink. "Fika", as it's known, roughly translates as, "a coffee and a cake break". It is considered essential to make time for fika every day, including making time for friends and colleagues.
Like the coffee culture in other Nordic countries, coffee is a social activity, consumed many times a day, and usually with a sweet, baked treat. I think we can all agree that taking time to slow down and appreciate the good things in life is a great idea!
Taking a break from all the filter coffee loved in the Nordics, the Swiss tend to prefer espresso based drinks, darker roasts, and drinks with low acidity. They also love ‘caffè crema’, which is made using a long pull espresso using a coarser grind.
Like the Dutch, another colonial power with access to coffee from Africa was Belgium. Unfortunately a century of exploitation and violence has scarred the Democratic Republic of Congo deeply, and the coffee industry there is only just recovering.
After WWII, coffee was very expensive in Germany, so was smuggled across the Belgian border, where it was much cheaper. Many people died smuggling coffee through the Aachen Forest.
There is even a statue to commemorate the smugglers.
Luxembourg may only be 1,000 sq miles, but it is one of the richest countries in the world, with a very high quality of life. A questionable banking industry and myriad of tax loopholes don't stop the locals from enjoying the best coffees around!
And here we are, in the Top 10! In fact, the only non-European country in the top 10. Is it because we share a climate with the Nordic countries? Who knows.
Canadian coffee drinkers tend to drink about 2-3 cups per day, which even though we make the list, is significantly lower than Finland's 8-9 cups a day.
Some facts about Canadian Coffee Consumption:
When it comes to coffee consumption per person, apart from the USA in 25th place, other notable absentees are Italy, in 13th place, Brazil (the world's largest coffee producer) in 14th place, and France in 18th place.
Coffee sales generally go up in the winter months, so there is a definite correlation with colder weather and hot drinks consumption. This could be why the USA lags behind Canada, with Southern states opting for soft drinks over coffee, and also why we have more in common with our Nordic friends.
For this article I tried to work out my own consumption. Here goes:
Interesting! Bear in mind that the per capita numbers in the top ten are national averages, and therefore include people who don't drink coffee. Phew!
Happy drinking!
In this article we'll go through the various different levels you can roast coffee to, and how that impacts the flavour. As discussed in our previous article on coffee flavour, coffee beans are really the seeds from the coffee cherry. Once processed, they are generally a light green colour. The green bean colour will vary based on variety, origin, processing, moisture level, age etc.
As you roast coffee beans, they change colour, lose moisture, expand, and become brittle (more suitable for grinding). The colour changes are what most people associate with roast degrees (light, medium, dark etc.), but there isn't a universally accepted naming convention that coffee roasters use. Which means what one roaster calls their light roast, may be another roaster's medium.
Hopefully this guide will help you choose roast degrees to suit your tastes.
I've used some Brazilian beans for this example, here they are straight out of the sack.
In the first few minutes of roasting, the beans lose moisture, and start to turn from green to yellow. Here they are after four minutes. You can see some of the silver skin (chaff) layer starting to peel away.
After five minutes you can really start to see the colour change. At this point the aroma given off is 'grassy' and 'bready'.
As the roast progresses, the beans will turn from yellow to light brown.
The Maillard reaction is a chemical reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars that gives browned food its distinctive flavour. That's right, the chemical changes to coffee as it's being roasted are the same chemical changes that occur in seared steak, toasted marshmallows, cookies, and breads.
It is named after the French chemist Louis Camille Maillard who first described it in 1912.
As the bean temperature gets towards 380F, the beans will start to emit a popping noise that sounds like popcorn. This is the 'first crack'. The beans will expand, and expel water vapour and CO2, and also some chaff (silver skin).
Right around first crack is when 'Cinnamon' Roasts are dropped, this is the first point at which the coffee is drinkable. These very light roasts are popular with some coffee aficionados, but are not favoured by most coffee drinkers. Coffee roasted this light will exhibit grassy and peanutty flavours, with very high acidity.
We don't currently roast any coffee to this level.
Coffee dropped during the last stages, or just after first crack, will be visibly dry, with no oil on the bean's surface. The 400F to 410F temperature range covers a variety of common roast names:
City Roast / New England Roast: 400F - 405F
American Roast: 410F
These roasts produce light bodied coffee with high acidity, and are most popular amongst third or fourth wave roasters. Light roasts really bring out the origins of each bean, as there are very little 'roasty' elements affecting the flavour. Our Light roasted coffees are acidic, sweet, with hints of caramel, and floral, fruity aromatics. Best brewed using a pour over or filter/drip method.
You can browse our Light Roasted coffees here.
Roasts dropped between first and second crack are known as Full City. This is the 'crowd pleaser' roast level for most people, although it verges on the lighter end of large coffee companies like Starbucks. Our Full City (Medium) roast would be the equivalent of their 'Blonde' roast. The larger roasters don't really do a true 'light roast', they just do a slightly less burnt version of their normal coffee.
Full City roasted beans haven't yet formed surface oils, and have a wonderful balance of acidity, body, and smooth caramels and chocolate flavours.
You can browse our Medium Roasted coffees here.
After Full City, there is a second release of CO2 (second crack), which also pushes oils to the surface of the bean. Coffee roasted to second crack exhibit low acidity, less of the origin flavours, and more smoky notes.
Our Dark roasted coffees are roasted to this level, and are caramelly, nutty, and spicy, with a heavy body; great for espresso and milk based drinks.
You can browse our Dark Roasted coffees here.
After the Viennese roast, you then have French (~460F) and Italian (~475F) roast levels. We don't roast any of our coffees to this level, as you lose the origin flavours of the beans, and replace them with burnt and bitter notes. Many larger roasters will roast this dark, and use lower quality beans due to that fact you can't actually taste the beans themselves, just the remnants of the roasting process.
Coffee roasted this dark and oily goes rancid very quickly, due to the fact the bean structure is completely carbonized, therefore it oxidizes very rapidly.
Also, using very dark, oily roasts can clog up your grinder/espresso machine over time, as they require more frequent cleaning with these types of beans.
I hope this article is helpful in understanding roast levels. As I said at the beginning, there isn't one universally accepted standard for roast degree, every coffee roastery is different. At Black Creek Coffee we roast from City (400F) to Viennese (450F), with each of the roast levels (Light, Medium, or Dark) in the product description.
The final temperature that coffee is roasted to is only one part of the roasting process. The shape of the overall roast profile (temperature change over time) also determines a large part of the coffee's flavour and development characteristics. Happy drinking!
]]>I couldn't find my favourite type of coffee drink on all of the coffee charts! What is it called?
There are many different ways of drinking coffee. And if you've read our Brief History, you'll know that coffee lovers have been inventing new ways of drinking it for hundreds of years.
Every good coffee shop will have a menu of different types of coffees to choose from, as well as brewing methods. From regular filter/drip coffees, to espresso based drinks, nitros and cold brews, and the less common orders like a Macchiato or Cortado.
The amount of options can be overwhelming, so if you really struggle to choose from the 30-40 different ways of making a coffee, you can always default to the no nonsense coffee menu.
Anyway, without delving deep into all of the various types of coffee drinks, I was surprised to find out recently that one of my favourite ways of drinking coffee didn't have a name! Now before I say exactly what it is, I'll admit I'm a bit of a coffee snob (which is handy given that I run a roastery). But that goes more for the quality of the coffee than it does for how it is prepared. I'm happy to try any way of imbibing my favourite drink, although to truly experience the best coffee flavour, a pour over (black) or espresso is still the best way.
I looked through some books, furiously searched my jigsaw (below), but could only find some references to it online (amongst the 200,000,000 results for 'types of coffee drinks').
It's a small Americano! Like really small. You start with a double shot of espresso which makes about 60ml of coffee. And then add the same amount of hot water, so a 1:1 espresso-to-water ratio.
A traditional sized Americano made with a double espresso uses about 200-400ml of hot water, producing a milder version of the original flavour. This 'mini Americano' sits bang in the middle of the strong, creamy espresso experience, and the milder Americano. It's a wonderful type of coffee brewing method that maintains the crema and thick viscosity of an espresso, whilst also providing enough volume for good flavour separation. And it also makes your drink last a little longer!
This is different from just passing more water through the same coffee grounds, which produces a Lungo (Italian for long). A Lungo is extracted for longer which can add unpleasant bitter flavours.
What's in a name?
So is it a Long Black? Could be. That seems to be the name given to it in Australia or New Zealand, as long as the coffee-to-water ratio is kept at 1:1.
Is it a Montreal Allongé? Nope, that is just another name for a Lungo.
Other names I've found are: a 'Little Buddy', a 'Spanish American War', a 'Mini-cano', a 'Tom Cruise' (short American with a punch), a 'Danny DeVito', an 'Italiano', a 'Roaster's Americano', a 'Schlongo' (short long black) and on and on, depending on where you're from.
So, just like every other regional custom, whereby the local slang takes over the more well known nomenclature, this drink sits neatly in that area where it's best to let your barista know exactly what you want, and they'll probably say, "Oh, you mean a Minicano?"
One last point. I don't think it actually makes any difference which goes in the cup first, but I prefer to put the hot (not boiling) water in first, and pull the espresso shot over the top. It keeps the crema looking amazing!
And even though the Americano is gently mocked as a drink not for coffee snobs, for me, the Minicano is the perfect balance of flavour and texture. Enjoy!
]]>Coffee dates back to around 850 CE and maybe earlier, with a number of legends surrounding its first use. It is most likely to have originated in Ethiopia and Yemen, where a story about a farmer (Kaldi) and his energized goats has become the stuff of legend.
As well as Kaldi's apocryphal story, there are stories of a Moroccan monk eating coffee berries, a starving Sheikh roasting the beans in a desert cave, and other ancient tales.
The earliest evidence of people trading and drinking coffee appears in the late 15th century, as coffee began to be exported from Ethiopia to Yemen and Somalia. It was primarily consumed in the Islamic world where it originated, and and was directly linked to religious practices, helping drinkers fast in the day and stay awake at night during Ramadan.
By the early to mid 1500's, coffee houses had spread to Egypt, Syria, and Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire. During this period it was banned (from 1511-1524) due to its stimulating effect, by conservative imams in Mecca, and similarly in Cairo in 1532.
During the 16th century, coffee consumption spread throughout the Middle East, then on to Italy, and then the rest of Europe. Coffee plants were exported by the Dutch to South East Asia, and the Americas.
The first European coffeehouse opened in Venice in 1645 after being introduced to Malta through imprisoned Turkish slaves. News of coffee also came to Europe through travelers returning from the Middle East. The German physician and botanist Leonhard Rauwolf in 1573 described coffee as, "a very good drink they call Chaube that is almost as black as ink and very good in illness, especially of the stomach. This they drink in the morning early in open places before everybody, without any fear or regard, out of China cups, as hot as they can, sipping it a little at a time."
The first coffeehouse in England opened in St Michael's Abbey in 1652 by Pasqua Rosée, the servant of a trader in Turkish goods. Queen's Lane coffeehouse in Oxford, England, is the oldest continually working coffeehouse in Europe. Founded in 1654, it has been serving coffee prior to the naming of New York, the Great Plague and the Fire of London, and is still going strong today.
In 1720, coffee seedlings were brought to the Caribbean by Gabriel de Clieu, a French naval officer. The success of growing coffee in this climate mean that 50 years later, coffee cultivation had spread to Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and other parts of Latin America. Coffee cultivation in Brazil didn't take off until after independence in 1822, and it became the largest coffee producer in the world by 1852. Currently Brazil produces about 7.8 billion pounds of coffee a year, a third of the world's supply.
After the Boston Tea Party of 1773, large numbers of Americans switched to drinking coffee, because drinking tea had become unpatriotic. This event led to escalating tensions, and two years later the American Revolutionary War broke out.
Coffee was introduced to India around 1670 by Babu Budan, a 16th century Sufi (Islamic Mystic), who brought beans from Yemen. Plantations are now well established in southern India, with Arabica grown in the upper hills, and Robusta grown at lower levels.
The Dutch introduced coffee to Japan in the 17th century, but the first European style coffeehouse didn't open until in Tokyo in 1888. They also brought coffee to Indonesia during the same period, and it is now the fourth largest coffee producing country in the world.
The coffee plant was introduced to the Philippines in 1740 by a Spanish Franciscan Friar, and it is one of the few countries that grows all four main varieties, Arabica, Robusta, and the lesser known Liberica, and Excelsa.
Vietnam has also become a significant producer of coffee, since it's introduction by the French in 1857. It is now the second largest producer in the world.
So coffee has been around for a very long time, and has been instrumental in creating a culture of discussion and community around the world. If there's one thing I miss during this pandemic, it's that warm and inviting coffeehouse atmosphere.
Share your thoughts and leave a comment.
]]>An expert review of over 100 research studies has concluded that yes, coffee is generally good for you, and has specific, very measurable health benefits. It can fight disease, and make you live longer, but you have to drink it the right way to get all of the benefits.
Two separate meta-analyses in the UK and Italy, looked at the findings from multiple studies and randomized controlled trials to determine the health effects of drinking lots of coffee vs a small amount of coffee, vs no coffee at all. They found that:
Similar to how a Mediterranean diet, rich in olive oil and fresh fruit and vegetables, can increase lifespan and reduce illness. Roasted coffee is a complex mixture of over 1,000 bioactive compounds, some with therapeutic antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antifibrotic, and anticancer effects. The natural antioxidants help to repair your DNA, calm stress-related inflammation, and improve the efficiency of the enzymes that regulate insulin and glucose.
Ideally you should brew your coffee black for the most health benefits. Take a look at our Pour Over Guide to learn how to brew the best coffee. Other methods such as French Press or Espresso are just as good for you. But you do start to lose some of the health benefits when you start to add creamers, artificial flavours, and sugar.
The reason that people add so many flavourings and sweeteners to coffee is because they start with poor quality coffee in the first place. Freshly roasted coffee like Black Creek, has so much flavour and sweetness, you don't need to add anything at all!
Yes. For 'all cause mortality', i.e. all causes of death, drinking coffee was associated with an average of 10% reduction in ALL causes. The results were also similar for decaffeinated coffee, showing that the effects are from the many compounds found within coffee, rather than caffeine. The largest benefit to lifespan was from three cups per day.
On average, coffee drinkers live longer than non-coffee drinkers. In contrast, a similar meta-analysis of tea didn't produce similar results, with negligible health benefits.
So in conclusion, yes, coffee is a superfood. It's good for your physical health, and can also reduce the risk of neurological diseases and depression. So drink more, live long and prosper.
There are many different elements that determine the flavour and aroma of fresh coffee. Here we'll give you a brief summary of what those are, and how to choose one of our coffees to suit your particular tastes.
Coffee varieties are derived through selective breeding of plants or natural selection. There are around 40-50 current commercial varieties, bred by farmers to yield coffee plants with better disease resistance, and higher cup quality. These are split into two main species, Arabica and Robusta.
Arabica tends to have a smoother, sweeter taste, with flavour notes of chocolate and sugar, but is harder to grow and more susceptible to coffee leaf rust, a disease which can decimate crops. Currently all of our coffees are Arabica due to the higher cup quality.
Coffee is grown in a centralized 'coffee belt' area around the equatorial regions of the world, shown below. The top four coffee producing countries are Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia, and Indonesia.
These countries grow coffee plants at various altitudes, soil types and climates, which greatly affect the final taste. If you've ever been to a wine tasting and tried different wines of the same grape, from different elevations, then you'll know what we mean.
Terroir is a French wine-making term that describes how the collective profile of the growing environment affects the taste of the final product, so altitude, climate, soil, temperature, humidity and so on. These factors are the reason that it is easier to produce exceptional coffee in some countries than others. Countries with high elevations such as Costa Rica, Colombia, and Ethiopia, can produce excellent coffees easier than say Brazil, which generally produces more affordable beans.
Other environmental factors also help produce wonderful coffees. Volcanic soil is rich in nutrients, distinct wet and dry seasons help with harvesting and can determine processing methods, and higher altitudes produce more complex, dense flavours. This is why single origin coffees are so flavourful and interesting, and also make the basis for great blends too.
Coffee plantations range from single smallholder farms, to family estates, to larger plantations that have been around for over 100 years. The best coffee farmers will have the goal of producing the highest quality coffee within the constraints of their terrior (above) and helping the local economy. This may include working with other producers in a cooperative, ensuring coffee plants are planted in an eco-friendly way such as growing them in the shade of other trees, and also ensuring that coffee is produced to certain certifications such as Rain Forest Alliance, Fair Trade, or Organic.
There is also the picking method to consider. Hand picked coffee cherries are likely to be more ripe, which results in sweeter, more complex flavours. More mechanized picking methods are more efficient for larger farms, but also result in lower overall quality and consistency, as unripe cherries can add unpleasant flavours to the cup. This is partly why specialty coffee costs more to produce than commodity coffees.
By focusing on all of these quality measures, coffee farmers can conserve ecosystems, protect biodiversity and waterways, reduce agrochemical use, and safeguard the well-being of workers and local communities.
Coffee beans are the seeds of the coffee cherry, and need to be removed from the fruit and 'processed' before being dried and stored, ready for export. There are several layers of skin, fruit flesh (mucilage), and parchment on a coffee bean, and the various ways of removing these can give coffee very different flavours.
With Natural or 'Dry Processed' coffees, the beans are dried with all of the fruit still attached. This results in a sweet, fruity taste, with low acidity. In Ethiopia this is done on raised beds, and takes around 10-15 days. Our Kayon Mountain is a great example of a Natural processed coffee, with amazingly bright fruit notes.
Washed or 'Wet Processed' coffees have all of the fruit flesh (mucilage) removed using water. Usually the cherries are pulped, and then fermented in tanks for up to 24 hours to help break down the remaining fruit. After fermentation the beans are washed to remove any remaining mucilage, and then laid out on beds to dry, either in the sun or in a dryer.
Washed coffee tends to have a very clean taste, with higher acidity, and more chocolate and caramel flavours, vs fruit with natural processing. With a washed coffee, you are focused on tasting the bean variety, the terroir, and not the processing method.
Our Costa Rican Grand Peaberry is a great example of a clean, classic, washed coffee.
Honey processed coffee is somewhere in the middle of Natural (Dry Processed) and Washed (Wet Processed). The outer skin is removed, but some of the sticky, sweet cherry flesh is left on the bean to dry. There are various grades of honey processing:
Our Costa Rican Finca El Mango is a wonderful example of a Black Honey processed coffee.
As you can see, coffees from many different origins can have significantly different flavours. Whilst single origins are very popular, allowing that farm-to-cup tasting experience, developing unique blends is also a way of creating exciting new flavours and consistency across harvest periods.
For example, some Brazilian coffees are the perfect base for espresso based drinks, with low acidity, good body, and consistent cocoa notes. But they can also be a bit neutral or bland on their own. With our Sanctuary Espresso we added both Colombian and Ethiopian beans to the Brazilian based blend, to add even more toffee notes, and also the creaminess of the Ethiopian Yirgacheffe.
Each of these topics easily deserves a full blog post, none more so than the roasting process itself. As a coffee roastery, we at Black Creek Coffee import the green coffee beans from all around the world, and roast them to perfection at our roastery in Acton, Ontario. Each bean or blend has a specific roast profile to ensure proper inner-bean development, and to highlight the best characteristics of that particular coffee.
As you apply more heat and longer roasting times, acidity starts to reduce, and body increases. We'll write a more detailed article on this in future, but for simplicity we'll group our roast profiles into:
We want our customers to be able to fully appreciate the flavours imparted from each origin or blend of beans, and therefore don't produce any bitter and burnt dark roasts.
Other things to take into account that will affect the quality of your coffee are:
Here is a chart showing the various coffees that we currently roast and how to compare the different flavour and roast profiles. Feel free to reach out to us using our contact page if you need any help in selecting a coffee, or try our sample pack to taste a selection from around the world. We hope you've enjoyed this guide!
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