I recently started a thread on the Central American Chat Board about bringing home coffee from our favorite destinations. Several guys out up some good info that I thought was worth preserving, so I am copying it over here.

Posted by Gitano on April 21, 2002 - 10:06 am

I am a bit of a java junkie. Usually when I am in Central America I pick up a few bags of coffee (grano lleno) to bring home with me. I toss them in the freezer and enjoy them over the next few months. In addition to the better grade of coffee, they usually carry some other pleasant memories.

In San Jose, I usually by the Cafe Britt at the airport. It's good, but I am looking for other options. The shade grown stuff I picked up in San Salvador was superior. Ant tips one where and what to buy in San Jose.

Posted by Laz__long on April 21, 2002 - 10:25 am

In Reply to: Off Topic - Central American Coffee posted by Gitano on April 21, 2002 - 10:06 am

Stayed in the San Jose area for about 3 months. All of the locals that I met considered Britt to be tourist coffee and priced accordingly. I always bought Rey and was very happy with it. Great stuff and much better priced. Just finished the last bag and wish I had brought home more.

Also, while everybody has their own opinion, I've never liked keeping the beans in the freezer. It seems to dry them out more than keeping them in the fridge.

Posted by Dongordo on April 21, 2002 - 11:17 am

In Reply to: Re: Off Topic - Central American Coffee posted by Laz__long on April 21, 2002 - 10:25 am:

There are several brands of coffee grown and marketed in Costa Rica and most of them are HALF PRICE compared to Brit. My personal favorites are 1820, la Montana, and Volio. They are all available at the local supermarkets for approximately $2 per pound. I always buy several bags to bring home as gifts.
DG

Posted by Hombrecito1 on April 21, 2002 - 13:48 pm

In Reply to: Off Topic - Central American Coffee posted by Gitano on April 21, 2002 - 10:06 am

I prefer Rey or one of the off brands like 1820. Dongordo is right that the cost of these brands is ½ that of Britt. I don’t really have a favorite-I just try to bring back at least one of each.

I usually buy it at Mas x Menos or another grocery store. You’ll find the prices are cheaper than at the airport, even for Britt.

Pura Vida,

HC1

Posted by Ace00 on April 21, 2002 - 16:19 pm

In Reply to: Off Topic - Central American Coffee posted by Gitano on April 21, 2002 - 10:06 am

I too am a coffee nut. REY brand produces an organic gourmet type called tipo TARRAZU. It is in a black bag and cost me C935 for 500 grams or 1/2 kilo which is about $2.75 a pound. The local markets sell it. It is great stuff. Look it up on the net using a search engine and read about the rave reviews and farmer's efforts to market the unique product.

There is also a gourmet type called Tres Rios which is widely liked and also organic.
I agree it appears that Cafe Brit is priced and packaged for tourist trade.

Posted by Dongordo on April 21, 2002 - 19:45 pm

In Reply to: Off Topic - Central American Coffee posted by Gitano on April 21, 2002 - 10:06 am

Costa Ricans use a chorreador de cafe to make their coffee. I have been using one for several years. It is great.
Check out the following link:

http://www.zurqui.com/crinfocus/cr/coffee.html

DG

Posted by TampaGringo on April 22, 2002 - 16:46 pm

In Reply to: Off Topic - Central American Coffee posted by Gitano on April 21, 2002 - 10:06 am

I'm also a cofee fan and agree with most of the above comments and recommendations. Cafe Rey is one of my supermarket brands of choice - they have several varietals and all are fine.

R. F. Meseta also has excellent varietal coffees and is available in supermarkets. They have an office and plant in Calle Blancos, just north of downtown SJ with a store on premises which I've never gotten around to visiting, but I suspect would be worth the trip. They also have a website: http://www.rfmeseta.com/ with information about their different varieties.

However, my personal recommendation, and where I buy most of my coffee, is Cafe Moka in the NE corner of the Mercado Central. They sell two grades. The better grade is 1,200 colones per kilo (approx. $1.55/lb) and the coffe is always fresh and is of excellent quality. A cab driver took me there 10 or 15 years ago, claiming it was the best coffee in SJ, and I've been buying from them and recommending them to my friends ever since.

My advice is to only buy grano entero (whole bean) and store it unrefrigerated. If you refrigerate or freeze it, you must let it warm to room temperature before opening the sealed bag or the moisture will destroy the flavor very rapidly.

Cafe Moka has recently changed their packaging to airtight bags, and there is one minor problem. The coffee is so fresh that is hasn't let off the gasses (which are a natural result of the roasting process) when you buy it and there is no gas valve in the bag. As a result a few days later, the bags begin to swell. You may need to prick a small hole in the bags to let the gasses escape if they begin to swell too much.

Posted by Tight_Fit on April 23, 2002 - 17:37 pm

In Reply to: Off Topic - Central American Coffee posted by Gitano on April 21, 2002 - 10:06 am

HOW TO PURCHASE COFFEE BEANS
THERE ARE MANY factors which influence the quality and flavor of a cup of coffee and many of them have to do with the beans: type, origin, quality, time of harvest, and roasting method and degree. At Cook’s Illustrated, we taste-tested different brands of French roast and found that tasters were not responding to the quality of the beans but were expressing a preference as to the degree the beans were roasted.

The two extremes of roasts are an American roast, where the coffee will be light and the subtle flavors of the beans will shine through, and then a Viennese or French Roast in which the beans are almost burned. The types of roasts, “French Roast” for example, do not always mean the same thing among different distributors.

Our findings showed that many of the brands we tested were not true French roasts. According to common industry standards, some of our “French roast” brands would really be qualified as Italian and Viennese roasts. Therefore, brand does make a difference. Coffee drinkers who favor heavily roasted flavor should buy Starbucks, which is often referred to in the industry as “Charbucks” because they deeply roast most of their beans. If you enjoy a more subtle, lighter cup of coffee, buy Chock Full o’ Nuts or Eight O’Clock. Chock Full o’ Nuts rated about as well as Starbucks (costing more than twice as much) in two separate tastings.

HOW TO STORE BEANS
The best beans and roasting techniques mean little if coffee is not absolutely fresh. Grinding speeds up oxidation and should not be done until the coffee is needed for brewing. Even whole beans begin to deteriorate noticeably several weeks after they are roasted. Therefore, beans sold in bins at a gourmet shop or supermarket may in fact be inferior to vacuum-packed ground coffee unless there is enough turnover to keep the bins replenished with freshly roasted beans.

The best way to guarantee consistently good coffee is to buy from a source that only sells freshly roasted beans. Oxygen causes the flavor in the beans to deteriorate so beans must be stored in an airtight container. Storing beans at room temperature away from sunlight is ideal (light also deteriorates the beans) since room temperature beans make more flavorful coffee than refrigerated/frozen beans. However, room temperature beans’ flavor starts to go downhill within a week or two as exposure to oxygen takes its toll. Storing beans in the freezer (more protection without the additional risk of the refrigerator) will slow down this process and is recommended for long-term storage.

CHOOSING AND USING A COFFEE GRINDER
Since coffee tastes best when ground fresh before brewed, it is imperative to have a decent coffee grinder. At Cook’s Illustrated, we encountered grinders that produced uneven grounds, too much superfine coffee dust, and friction which overheated the coffee grounds. We could improve the evenness of the blade grind by shaking the grinder as it ground (as you would a martini in a cocktail shaker).

We found that burr grinders (beans are ground a few at a time between two grooved disks, one stationary and the other rotating above it) produced a more even grind, but that did not translate to improved flavor. The coffee tended to taste slightly bitter because the fine, even grind meant greater exposure to and prolonged contact with the water in the coffee maker resulting in over extraction. We were less likely to encounter over extraction if the coffee was ground coarsely although even the coarsest setting on the burr grinders produced relatively bitter coffee. Coffee brewed with blade-ground beans was less likely to be bitter and we could improve the body of the coffee by grinding the beans longer, 20 to 25 seconds (longer than the recommended 10 to 15 seconds). Our recommendations, therefore, are for the blade grinders, Capresso Cool Grind, Model 510 and the Krups Fast-Touch Coffee Mill Model 203.

THE BREWING METHOD
We tested six different coffee brewing methods.
Our findings showed that:
Each method required a different type of grind — fine through coarse.
The best coffee was brewed when the temperature of the water was between 195-205 degrees, making the most full, round, and balanced coffee flavor. (Most electric machines don’t produce water that hot.)
Extraction time should be 6 minutes. (Many coffee makers have varying extraction times depending on how much coffee one is brewing.)
Longer brewing times or hotter water (212-degree boil) will likely cause over-extraction where undesirable flavor compounds are released into the liquid.
The filter basket should be large enough to accommodate grounds swollen by hot water. If they compress, the drip time is lengthened.
Coffee left on electric burner plates on automatic machines will deteriorate rapidly, tasting either flat or burned.
If coffee is being drunk over a period of time, coffee stored in a thermal carafe is the best pick.

Best to Worst
Manual Drip (Melitta-Style)
Simple, fast, and convenient, plus makes terrific coffee that stays hot for hours. Best to use a thermal carafe
Best Grind: Fine
Vacuum
The most spectacular way to make coffee. These are sold at Starbucks among other places. Tastes great since the water is at just the right temperature, there is no sediment, and the extraction time is right. (They’re fun to watch too!)
Best Grind: Fine
Automatic Drip into Insulated Thermos
Better than dripping into a carafe on a burner, but coffee is only average.
Best Grind: Fine (for cone filter)
Percolater
The hottest, fastest coffee, but it tends to be weak and thin since hot water is sprayed over grounds and then quickly drains through.
Best Grind: Coarse
Plunger (French Press)
Easy to use but even the best models cannot filter out all the bitter sediment; coffee tends to be rather cool unless container is preheated with hot tap water.
Best Grind: Coarse
Automatic Drip into Glass Carafe on Burner
Coffee develops a cooked flavor in minutes; usually takes too long (10 minutes or longer) to brew a pot of coffee which results in over-extraction and bitterness; coffee “cooks” while sitting on the hot plate.
Best Grind: Medium (for basket filter

Coffee, like wine, is a somewhat subjective experience and, therefore, opinions vary. I disagree with much of what is reported above, but nonetheless appreciate the info. In the original post, Tightfit noted that this was copied from the MSNBC website, so this is certainly not an attempt to flame him.

Inexpensive blade type grinders work fine. Burr grinders produce a more even grind when new, but are more expensive, harder to find, and after a year or two of use are generally not as good as the blade grinders, unless you buy a commercial grinder (which are very large and very expensive). Also, they are very vulnerable to damage if you happen to get any small stones, or even sticks, mixed in with the coffee - which isn't uncommon.

There are differences of opinion about storage methods, but whole bean coffee stored in an airtight container at room temperature will keep without appreciable loss of flavor for a couple of months. If you buy Cafe Moka and follow my advice about pricking a hole in the package to let the gasses escape, don't do so unless and until the bags swell, then put a piece of tape over the hole after it vents for a few hours.

If you are going to store coffee for several months, freeze it if you like. Just be sure the container is absolutely airtight and don't open it until the coffee has warmed to room temperature, at least overnight. Moisture will kill the flavor faster than oxygen.

As to brewing methods, standard auto-drip coffeemakers are fine if they brew at the correct water temperature and for the correct period of time. Water should be about 190 to 200 degrees. My coffeemaker brews 8 cups in about six minutes. It's a cheap Proctor-Silex model (less than $20). If you aren't going to drink all of it within 20 minutes or so, put it in a thermos or simply turn off the coffeemaker and reheat the coffee in the microwave.

I also have a Saeco Super-Automatic Espresso machine (which my son is safeguarding and using in the States). I highly recommend this machine to true coffee-lovers who can afford the $450 pricetag. It makes wonderful coffee as well as espresso and cappuccino. You can buy this machine over the internet. Just plug the name into your search engine and you'll fine several sources.

I hate vacuum extraction coffeemakers. They are slow and a pain in the ass to use. I agree with the article about percolators. They generally make terrible coffee. I also don't care for french press cofeemakers for the same reasons cited in the article. The Melita manual drip coffee cones make okay coffee but I don't like Melita filters much. They over-filter, for my taste, and they brew too slowly. Much better, in my opinion, are the chorreadores recommended by DonGordo. They are sold here in the Mercado Central for a couple of dollars and make very good coffee. They are nothing but a felt bag with a wire stand (buy extra bags - they're cheap). The coffee needs to be ground very finely, almost an espresso grind, to use them though. Wash the bag with warm water only, not soap. When it begins to accumulate too much oil and affects the flavor of the coffee, change bags. You can also make very good coffee in a plain open pot. Most of the grounds will settle out and you can pour off the cofee into a thermos through a common kitchen strainer.

Good, fresh coffee is loaded with aromatic oils. They produce much of the flavor and are very fragile and perishable, so you want to try to preserve them. This is why freshness, brewing time and temperature, and not over-filtering are so important to brewing a good cup of coffee.

Pura Vida,
TG

Guys this is one thread that I can relate to. I too used to bring back gangs of that fine coffee. One thing that I found from the store version was that you had to add about a third more coffee to get the same flavor.

Also the small Costa Rican bottles of Tabasco sauce are great.