Let me count the ways to serve you coffee.

There is an almost overwhelming number of ways that the ‘black gold in a cup’ can be served up these days.  From highly trained baristas only one class away from a Masters in chemistry and commercial cookery!  

Seriously.

As the ‘third wave’ of coffee flows upon us like the proverbial storm in a teacup, the options, and offerings from the best coffee servers available has grown out of its primary Italian espresso production, gone on to re-visit the past and then been brought back, with re-invented techniques and modes of production.  

In this age of the golden bean, we the consumer are kings. 

So how can you, the latte drinker for the last eight years adapt?  With all these options, which one should you try?  Follow me please, as I’ll explain a few.

The Pour Over:  This little diddy says a lot for two simple words.  The pour over is a means by which the ground coffee and heated water filter through paper, metal or cloth to produce a clean, natural flavor enhancing black cup of coffee.  This method of coffee services allows you to sit and be immersed in the experience and show that the barista will put on for you.  The pour over method is then broken down into brand and equipment categories like the Chemex, V60, Cafeor and the Nel Drip.  So just ask your local barista for a pour over, and they will lead you on the journey.

The Aeropress: A space saving travel must-have accessory, this is a go-to for any self-respecting traveling barista.  It is a unique filter style brew .  It works with push pressure and produces a mild black cup of coffee.  This inventive method of coffee production did put filter coffee styling on the lips of the customer as it is as great to watch the barista prepare for you as much as it is to do yourself.

Cold Brew:  Perfect for summer the cold brew method will put an all day spring in your step.  Produced by a slow drip method (this is the best way) top cafes will be seen using higher grade beans as the taste profiling is enhanced through the slow drip process allows for a flavourful black cup, always served with lots of ice and though it need not be (for shame!) comes offered with sides of vanilla, cinnamon, and milk. 

Now you can confidently strut into the next hipster coffee bar that opens near you and boldly ask how they serve up the filter and alternate coffee brews and then sit down and enjoy the surprise.   

The rise of the Internet café.

As with any significant new change in society the advent of the Internet café had aided in the enhancement of societal relationships and increased the ability for most to find a way to connect to others.

Starting in 1988 in the tech wonderland of South Korea at Hongik University and with the name of ‘Electronic Café International,' (so apt!) it was humble in its offerings, with only two computers, but outspoken with its dream of social connectivity.

Blowing up throughout the early 90’s in San Francisco, New York, London and Finland the Internet café was doing a fantastic job of promoting the image of the internet as cool.  As gamers and workers continued to increase the time spent in these cafes; as it was cheaper than owning an at-home personal computer at the time, along came the stimulant we love, caffeine.

The merging of the internet into the coffee scene has had a very natural feel of real class progression.  The modern café had slipped away from its early days as the English coffeehouse or even the Turkish coffee bar in the local bazaar where poor local merchants and rich business folk would gather to talk news and politics, as well as consuming coffee from all over the world.  Today we still travel the globe to source our coffee and news but through local avenues though gone is the feeling of equanimity between all stratum of society.

With the internet café, they had somewhat superseded some of the divisiveness within nations in that whoever wants to ‘surf’ can buy a coffee and surf.

Should you join in and offer complimentary Wi-Fi with any purchase?  Why not?  If you can include the cost of unlimited Wi-Fi at your café, then password protect it and share it with your patrons.  It’s a great look to have students, mothers, and business folk all within the same space, comfortable, sipping on filter coffee, lattes, and espressos.  It’s not the heated debates on society and economics that once took place in the coffeehouse of old, but it is a symbiotic relationship that does have the effect of drawing many others from varying fields into one safe space.  

Now if only you could just get them to look up from their devices and chat with each other, good luck!

Perhaps you should join a coffee association.

The ever-expansive world of espresso and filter coffee continues to swarm across the globe, having made an immediate impact in the developed nations of the world, and with that, its reach is stretching far into the least developed growing regions. 

With top espresso bars and cafes opening up in South Africa – Truth Coffee and Central America – Refuge Coffee Bar, it’s hard to picture how this industries growth is currently monitored and perhaps, patrolled, to ensure that the coffee bean consumers are keeping the high quality and standards of the growing regions.

At the very least, how are the standards being maintained in the United States?

Enter the National Coffee Association USA.  Sure they have the power equivalent of the United Nations but knowing they are there can be enough to keep the farming regions of the world feeling safe that someone is monitoring the best practices within each nation.  The NCA is one of the oldest trade associations, having it roots in the coffee business since 1911.  They have a deep well of information on American legislation and are always paying attention to the latest coffee and health research.   Membership to such an association connects you to a committed organization that promotes a professional and sustainable future for the development of coffee in the United States.

The Specialty Coffee Association of America follows in the same footsteps as the NCA.  Offering educational pathways in coffee and business as well as highlighting the developments of the coffee industry through awards hosting.  They are a veritable cornucopia of all things coffee, highlighting the developments of rural coffee growing regions and sustainable developments also.

So if you love your coffee and not just the latte every morning, but the deep love that draws you to understand further the journey the coffee cherry takes going from crop to cup, then start a membership with a well-respected coffee association.  You will get lost in the wonders of this global commodity as you sit to read and sip your way through a coffee adventure.

Why storage of coffee in a warehouse is safe.

With an increasingly high demand for caffeine extracted from the small coffee cherry, be it for freeze dried coffee, pod coffee, coffee concentrate for food services or as an espresso, (75% of caffeine consumed is through coffee consumption)  the number of distributors within this chain has rapidly increased.  

The growth of the coffee distributor is a reflective development alongside the expansion of espresso drinking regions (into the cities of the under-developed coffee growing nations).  Alternate sales options by large fast food chain (McCafe at MacDonalds) and the profit driven, high volume growth of coffee chains such as Starbucks, Tim Hortons, and Dunkin Donuts also contribute.

Throughout the USA, Europe, Asia and Australia the number of merchants is on the rise, only to maintain the demand from big business and the consumer.  Within this expansive period, as farmers also attempt to keep up with demand, it is the merchants who can look to alter best practice regimens.  They can affect such practices like maximum warehouse storage times, as they look to take ahold of as much market share as possible as well protect future profits from fluctuations in the commodity pricing and to disease at the farming level.

So how can you, as a buyer of unroasted green beans be sure the product delivered to you from the merchant warehouses has been stored and taken care of properly?  Fortunately, the expectations have been nicely laid out for you by the specialists at coffeeresearch.org.  This detailed explanation of the best practices that you should, if not demand, be aware of, hold the merchant accountable for the product that they sell.  Read through their website, and you will be fully versed on the modes for coffee processing and dry as well as contributing information that is supported by the governing body of coffee in America the Specialty Coffee Association of America, SCAA.

The role of the SCAA is to uphold a crop to cup commitment to quality and respect for the regions, processes, and peoples involved in the past, present and future of the coffee bean supply chain. 

Most merchants will act as a highly professional business and will support that claim through best practices such as “Rainforest Alliance,” and “Fair Trade.”  That shows that they have a vested interest in the sustainable growth of the coffee farming industry, and as they invest in these modes they improve their stead in a booming market that cannot afford to have sloppy practices allowed to seep in.

These roasters use only the best fresh coffee beans, so should you.

Whether you’re looking for coffee for the café, for your home or the office, fresh is best.  Are you looking for the perfect gift of coffee beans for your family over the Christmas break or just as a surprise to the hubby with the biggest heart, buying the best fresh product is giving a gift that produces a warm smile from the lucky recipient.

Who can be trusted in today’s coffee market, to supply you with ethically sourced, top-grade and quality roasted fresh beans for you to use, take a quick look at the list below for a few of America's favorites.  You may have heard of a few of the big names, but I’m sure a couple of fresh faces will pop up.  Follow the links to their websites and check out their wholesale and subscription sections that way no matter what time of day you are chasing your fix, you’ll have a good chance of having coffee ready to go as they drop it to your door.

Grounds for Change are a family owned and operated business specializing in sustainable coffee production.  They are involved in some progressive ecological and social programs and only roast 100% Fair Trade and Organic coffees.  It is not just coffee beans that they have either, as a full range of tea, chocolate, and gifts, such as baskets of coffee goodies, are available also.  With full support for the farmers and the environment that the beans are grown and processed in, Grounds for Change is really at the forefront of the full immersion eco-coffee experience.

Mt. Whitney Coffee Roasters are another group of dedicated coffee heroes that run their business as a non-profit with all their benefits making its way through to fund schools, community water wells, and feeding programs within the farming regions that they have access.  They do not miss a beat when it comes to fresh roasting as they have their Q grader and master roaster working from the foothills of Mt. Whitney, CA. 

Chocolate Fish Coffee Roasters are the Kiwi entrant on this humbling list.  Based in Sacramento, CA they view quality and integrity as hand in hand and act accordingly through community engagement in both America and the land of the long white cloud.  They source direct trade from the farmers and take a stroll along their website you will see they also have a top selection of teas, equipment and even New Zealand’s famed chocolate.  If you’re yet to try it, I cannot recommend enough.

Fresh is best and not just because it is fresh but because a price was not paid for its production.  

With the superstars on this list, you can sip contentedly knowing that your small investment has gone a long way to helping a larger whole.