Featured K-Cup: Green Mountain's Island Coconut

A quick trip to paradise. A tropical blend of sweet, creamy coconut.

Indulge your senses with this delightfully fragrant, tropical taste treat.

We've captured the lush aroma of freshly grated coconut — fruity, fresh, exotic — and blended it with the subtle sweetness of a lightly-roasted, Central American coffee. The result is as refreshing as it is unexpected.

Be transported to your own private island paradise with our Fair Trade Island Coconut... it's one sweet destination!

Green Mountain Island Coconut, available for a limited time only! Try it today:
25ct Box - $10.39; 100ct Case - $40.00!

Deliciously Combustible

"Gas prices are really high in the US, and over the next few Summer months expected to climb higher. We're starting to see a lot of innovation in the world of the combustion engine, with hybrid models of cars that use electric and gas, and also diesel cars converting over to run on vegetable oil. Given the variety of different methods you could pick to power your automobile, we never thought we'd see a truck powered by coffee grinds.

"The truck above is powered by a wood gas generator, and this one runs on coffee grounds. The Cafe Racer is a 1975 GMC pickup that burns up used coffee to create a combustible gas. This method of powering a vehicle is called "gasification", and the article below has lots of cool info on how gasification can be used, and pros and cons of the method.

"Sure a tank of 'coffee grounds' is going to require a lot of used K Cups or coffee pods, but in the end you'll be not only drinking 'Fair Trade Organic' coffee, but also helping out the environment when you drive to work."
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Read on...

The Story of Coffee: Iced Coffee

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters

Hot times! Summer's finally here and we can't help but think of swimming holes, shady porch-swings and a tall cup of coffee.

Coffee?
Sure! Coffee's not just for breakfast any more... or the blustery days of winter, either. When the mercury climbs – or whatever that stuff is they put in thermometers today – all you need are a few handy tools and a little know-how and you can make easy and refreshing treats to see you through the summer heat.

The tools.
You may think you need a fancy blender to make a smooth iced coffee drink. Not so! Our favorite drinks require little more than ice, coffee and some kind of leak proof container to shake ‘em up. Of course, there's really no better tool for the job than a cocktail shaker... We like those that are made of durable, dishwasher-safe stainless steel, and feature a built-in strainer.

For drinks that are stirred, not shaken, you might also consider ice-cube trays. Even if you've got one of those automatic ice-maker gadgets in your freezer, the humble ice-cube tray has its uses... and one of those is to freeze coffee into cubes so that as the ice melts it doesn't dilute your lovely iced coffee beverage.

The ingredients.
We like our iced coffee with a little bit of creamy dairy goodness (Vermont is a dairy state, after all!) and a little bit of sweetener. Having said that, you've got a lot of options... you can use skim milk, or heavy cream, or anything in-between. (Heavy cream often has carrageenan, a natural thickener, added to it to give it added body – this is especially nice in frozen coffee drinks!) As for the sweet stuff: sugar is fine, honey is heavenly, but calorie and carb-neutral sweetening products will work as well – sometimes better. (More about that in a moment.)

The basic technique.
Brew fresh coffee. This is important! Who wants to drink coffee that's been left to cool (and loose its aromatics and flavor?) We like coffee that's to be iced brewed strong... even double-strength.

If you're adding sweetener, add it to the just-brewed, hot coffee and stir to dissolve. Neither sugar nor honey are soluble in cold liquids (but many sugar substitutes are, and can be added directly to your cocktail shaker.)

Fill your cocktail shaker with ice. Don't skimp... too little ice will leave you with a luke-warm, watery mix.

If you're adding dairy products, pour them over the ice in the cocktail shaker. It's a good idea all around to keep cold with cold until we're ready to bring them all together.

Shake, shake, shake! Add your hot coffee to your cocktail shaker, top with its lid and shake vigorously, all at once rapidly chilling the hot coffee, mixing coffee, sweetener and dairy, and frothing the whole mixture. Shake for no less than ten seconds and rarely more than twenty. Shaking done, simply strain your coffee concoction into a tall, cold glass – maybe even a classy martini glass or two – and enjoy.

With the basics in-hand, you can make iced coffee treats tailored to your tastes. To help you get started, here are some of our favorite coffee cocktail recipes.

Here's to a sweet summer!

Read on...

Health Benefits of Coffee

Plenty of health benefits are brewing in America's beloved beverage.

Want a drug that could lower your risk of diabetes, Parkinson's disease, and colon cancer? That could lift your mood and treat headaches? That could lower your risk of cavities?

If it sounds too good to be true, think again.

Coffee, the much maligned but undoubtedly beloved beverage, just made headlines for possibly cutting the risk of the latest disease epidemic, type 2 diabetes. And the real news seems to be that the more you drink, the better.

Read On:
http://men.webmd.com/features/coffee-new-health-food

Finally, a diet you can raise a cup to

Study says coffee consumption, in moderation, can perk up health

By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID
Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Coffee not only helps clear the mind and perk up the energy, it also provides more healthful antioxidants than any other food or beverage in the American diet, according to a study released Sunday.

Of course, too much coffee can make people jittery and even raise cholesterol levels, so food experts stress moderation.

The findings by Joe A. Vinson, a chemistry professor at the University of Scranton, in Pennsylvania, give a healthy boost to the warming beverage.

"The point is, people are getting the most antioxidants from beverages, as opposed to what you might think," Vinson said.

Antioxidants, which are thought to help battle cancer and provide other health benefits, are abundant in grains, tomatoes and many other fruits and vegetables.

Vinson's team analyzed the antioxidant content of more than 100 different food items, including vegetables, fruits, nuts, spices, oils and common beverages. They then used Agriculture Department data on typical food consumption patterns to calculate how much antioxidant each food contributes to a person's diet.

They concluded that the average adult consumes 1,299 milligrams of antioxidants daily from coffee. The closest competitor was tea at 294 milligrams. Rounding out the top five sources were bananas, 76 milligrams; dry beans, 72 milligrams; and corn, 48 milligrams. According to the Agriculture Department, the typical adult American drinks 1.64 cups of coffee daily.

That does not mean coffee is a substitute for fruit and vegetables.

"Unfortunately, consumers are still not eating enough fruits and vegetables, which are better for you from an overall nutritional point of view due to their higher content of vitamins, minerals and fiber," Vinson said.

Dates, cranberries and red grapes are among the leading fruit sources of antioxidants, he said.

In February, a team of Japanese researchers reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute that people who drank coffee daily, or nearly every day, had half the liver cancer risk of those who never drank it. The protective effect occurred in people who drank one to two cups a day and increased at three to four cups.

Last year, researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health found that drinking coffee cut the risk of developing the most common form of diabetes.

Men who drank more than six 8-ounce cups of caffeinated coffee per day lowered their risk of Type 2 diabetes by about half, and women reduced their risk by nearly 30 percent, compared with people who did not drink coffee, according to the study in Annals of Internal Medicine.

U.S. Coffee Roasters See Summer Sales Perk

NEW YORK - Summer is no longer a string of dog days for U.S. coffee roasters, who have abandoned the phrase "see you in September" as demand starts to even out year-round.

An old rule of thumb among commodity traders was that coffee drinking declines during summer's warmth, while gasoline demand rises during the vacation season. But that doesn't apply much to coffee these days.

"Our business is down about 10 percent in July and August compared with the winter, but back in the 1960s it was down as much as 40 percent," said Donald Schoenholt, president of Gillies Coffee Co., roasters in Brooklyn, New York. "After air conditioning spread from movie theaters to office buildings and then to homes, people for the first time could sit cool at home and drink a hot cup of coffee."

Americans aren't like the British "who like a hot drink, mainly tea, on a hot day," he said.

More recently, chilled drinks like iced cappuccino offered by Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts and other chains, along with ready-to-drink brews sold by several small regional companies and Starbucks have helped U.S. summer sales, Schoenholt said.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. in Waterbury, Vt., has suffered little in the summertime, according to spokesman Rick Peyser. Sales of the company's specialty beans are growing at 17 percent to 18 percent annually and are strong year round, accelerating a little in the year-end holiday season, he said. Green Mountain customers make iced coffee, and chilled latte and cappuccino, keeping company sales afloat in the traditional dog days.

Ted Lingle, director of the Specialty Coffee Association of America observes, "coffee is a morning beverage and a cold weather beverage, so U.S. sales decline in the summer, but exceptions are areas like the far northeastern U.S., where it's still cool in the morning, and resorts with a lots of tourists."

"Meanwhile, we're very excited about recent growth in iced and cold-coffee drinks," which have tempered the summer downturn, Lingle said.

At Gillies and other roasters, "sales are still down a little in July and August and a restaurant normally buying 50 pounds, might only buy 20," Schoenholt observed. "But you still have to offer fresh product and pay your staff, rent and electricity bill. It's a time for maintenance and planning, and if you're moving, doing that."

Most roasters' sales "are strongest from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31 when the weather's cooler and winter's coming," said Schoenholt, adding that he "used to wish every month was October and every day was cold and damp."

The United States is the largest coffee-consuming country, drinking a fifth of the world's java. But today's iced and chilled coffee craze owes a lot to Italy, where cracked- or chipped-ice coffee called "granita" has been sold for decades, spreading through Europe and to America, Schoenholt said.

On-the-go Americans sometimes don't like the steps it takes to make iced coffee at home - brewing a fresh pot, letting it cool, and ensuring that ice cubes are on hand, roasters said.

But that process is only slightly more involved than preparing iced tea, the more popular U.S. summer beverage. And since some drinkers complain that ice dilutes their java, Peyser at Green Mountain recommends making coffee ice cubes and pouring a room-temperature brew over them.

Sonora Roasters imports coffee beans from around the world

CoffeeGIANT.com proudly partners with Sonora Coffee Roasters brand coffee. Sonora Coffee Roaster imports their green coffee beans from around the world in order to offer the finest fresh roasted coffee available. But just where do those beans come from...

Coffees produced in the Caribbean, Latin, Central and South America are distinguished by light body, simplicity and sharp acidity. You’ll enjoy these coffees’ pleasant flavors and clean, crisp finish.

The largest country in South America, Brazil is the leading supplier of coffee to the world and home to the world's largest rainforest, the Amazon, which spans much of the North. The finer coffee-growing regions of Brazil are found in the southeast of the country and ship through the ports of Vitoria, Santos, and Rio de Janeiro. The state of Minas Gerais accounts for over half of the coffee produced in Brazil. The climate conditions here are unlike other parts of Brazil. The seasons are very distinct which provides almost ideal conditions in which to grow fine coffees.

Neighboring Panama in northwestern South America, Colombia is the only country on the continent with both an Atlantic and Pacific Coast. The coffee growing regions of Colombia start just above the Equatorial line and stretch north for more than 750 miles across the Andean Mountains. With geography encompassing the Amazon jungle to the east, the Pacific Tropical Rain Forest to the west, and the Caribbean Sea to the north, the climate and topography in this country are as unique as its coffee. Over 500,000 Colombian coffee farmers, known as cafeteros, tend to small farms that spread over 900,000 hectares of mostly shaded mountainous areas. These growers are represented internationally by the non-profit National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia. The Federation's goal is to help the growers develop agronomic expertise, improve their living conditions and promote Colombian Coffee to the world through activities like the "100% Colombian Coffee Program."

Costa Rica - Small and mountainous, this country is bordered by the countries of Panama and Nicaragua and the Caribbean Sea and North Pacific Ocean. Rugged mountains, referred to as cordilleras, separate coastal plains. The cordilleras divide the country into three land regions. One of which is Meseta Central, the country's main coffee-growing region, with soil rich from the active volcanoes nearby.

Guatemala is the southern neighbor of Mexico. Coffee is the #1 employer accounting for 40% of the jobs in agriculture. In this area of the economy people across different ethnic groups and social classes are involved. Guatemala has traditionally grown coffee under the shade of trees. These coffee-growing land areas are positive contributors to the global ecosystem. The coffee forest is a seasonal home to migrating birds, enjoyed by many North Americans. These birds fly thousands of miles in search of suitable habitats during the winter months.

Lying about 500 miles south of Florida, Jamaica is the third largest island in the Caribbean Sea. Mountains cover four-fifths of the country, with the Blue Mountains in the east peaking at 7,402 feet. Coffee is planted on terraces on the mountain slopes typically under the shade of avocado and banana trees. The mountainous terrain and cultivation methods require the ripe coffee cherries to be handpicked. Cultivation is an art in Jamaica, supervised at every stage of development. To uphold the reputation and quality that has been built over the years, certified tasters on the Coffee Industry Board test each export shipment.

Just south of the United States and north of Guatemala, diverse topography with varying altitudes and climate covers the Mexican terrain. Only a small percentage of Mexico's land is suitable for agriculture, although there are over 100,000 small coffee farms, mainly in the south, the east and west coastal areas. On the western coast, volcanic soil is rich and winds from the nearby Pacific Ocean form moisture laden clouds that sustain a high-altitude, rainforest environment. This area, where many of the trees grow naturally under the canopy of shade provided by the native forest trees, is home to some of the world's best coffee.

Panama is located on a narrow strip of land that connects North and South America in Central America. As a land bridge between two continents, Panama has plant and animal life more diverse than almost anywhere else on Earth. Panama lies within the tropics, and about one-third of its area is covered with rainforest. Along each coast are low-lying areas, but inland are mountains that divide the country into north and south facing slopes. In the southwest, the province of Chiriquí has mountain slopes covered with rich volcanic soil. Due to a temperate tropical climate, coffees in this region can be grown at high altitudes over 5,000 feet.

Beans grown in Venezuela are classified as Maracaibo, Caracas and Puerto Cabello - the first and last taking the name of their shipping ports. Caracas coffee, named after the nation’s capital, is shipped through nearby La Guaira. Each notation can be subdivided further by the districts in which its principal plantations lie. Coffee farms are found at levels from 1,000 to 5,000 feet, with the better coffees generally hailing from the higher altitudes.

Caracas growths are generally light and winy, with a peculiar flavor that many educated palates find pleasing. Puerto Cabello coffees are rated just below Caracas, grown at a lower altitude and correspondingly inferior in flavor. Táchira and Mérida coffees are considered the best of the Maracaibo. They tend toward sharp acidity when new, but mellow and take on body with age.

Sonora Roasters Roast takes pride in offering a full array of fine coffees created to meet the tastes of every coffee lover. All of their coffees are fresh-roasted daily. Whether blended or single origin, Sonora Roasters’ premiere coffees are made with fine Arabican beans for the ultimate flavor. When you drink Sonora coffee you can always enjoy another delicious cup of fresh roasted Sonora Roasters Coffee! Visit www.coffeegiant.com for a complete line up of the coffees available from Sonora Roasters.

Coffee and the caffeine factor

An average cup of coffee contains about 80 to 150 milligrams of caffeine. For comparison, cola drinks contain about 30 to 50 mg per can. Although an ounce of tea leaves contains more caffeine than an ounce of ground coffee, an average cup of coffee has more caffeine because it takes more ground coffee to make a cup of java than it to make a cup of tea. While Espresso has a higher concentration of caffeine than regular coffee, the average serving is typically only 1.5 to 2 ounces – so the caffeine dose is about equal to that of a regular cup of coffee.
The type of coffee, the kind of roast, the level of grind, and the method of brewing all affect how much caffeine you drink with each cup. Robustas can have up to twice the amount of caffeine of finer specialty arabicas. Although they taste stronger, darker roasted beans actually have less caffeine than lighter roasts, as the longer roasting time breaks down more of it. Because of the larger surface area per unit volume, finer grinds increase the dose of caffeine extracted from the beans. (Dicum & Luttinger, 1999)

At CoffeeGIANT.com we offer both regular and decaf coffees in the single cup options as well as fresh ground from our own onsite roaster, Sonora Roasters. What ever you coffee needs or questions we can help you at CoffeeGIANT.com, 1-800-480-8071.

What makes different coffee taste differently?

While tasting the coffee, you should try to discern whether the flavor, body, acidity and aroma of the coffee are pleasant. Here are the criteria that most tasters use to judge coffee:

ACIDITY
Acidity is a desirable characteristic in coffee. It is the sensation of dryness that the coffee produces under the edges of your tongue and on the back of your palate. The role acidity plays in coffee is not unlike its role as related to the flavor of wine. It provides a sharp, bright, vibrant quality. With out sufficient acidity, the coffee will tend to taste flat. Acidity should not be confused with sour, which is an unpleasant, negative flavor characteristic.

AROMA
Aroma is a sensation, which is difficult to separate from flavor. Without our sense of smell, our only taste sensations would be: sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. The aroma contributes to the flavors we discern on our palates. Subtle nuances, such as “floral” or “winy” characteristics, are derived from the aroma of the brewed coffee.

BODY
Body is the feeling that the coffee has in your mouth. It is the viscosity, heaviness, thickness, or richness that is perceived on the tongue. A good example of body would be that of the feeling of whole milk in your mouth, as compared to water. Your perception of the body of a coffee is related to the oils and solids extracted during brewing. Typically, Indonesian coffees will possess greater body than South and Central American coffees. If you are unsure of the level of body when comparing several coffees, try adding an equal amount of milk to each. Coffees with a heavier body will maintain more of their flavor when diluted.

FLAVOR
Flavor is the overall perception of the coffee in your mouth. Acidity, aroma, and body are all components of flavor. It is the balance and homogenization of these senses that create your overall perception of flavor.

At CoffeeGIANT.com we feature our own in house coffee roaster, Sonora Roasters. Sonora Roasters takes pride in offering a full array of fine coffees created to meet the tastes of every coffee lover. All of their coffees are roasted to perfection. Whether blended or single-origin, these premier coffees are made with the finest Arabican beans for flavor.

What are the different types of coffee?

There are about 25 major species of coffee beans within the Coffea genus, but the typical coffee drinker will probably be familiar with the arabicas (species Coffea Arabica) and robustas (species Coffea canephora var. robusta).

Arabica coffee is a high-grown coffee with medium body, good acidity and a mild taste; it is produced primarily in Central and South America. Robusta coffee has good body, moderate acidity and a more aggressive taste; it is grown in tropical regions around the world such as West and Central Africa, Southeast Asia and parts of South America.

How are coffee beans decaffeinated?

The green (unroasted) coffee beans are placed into a rotating drum and softened by steam and water. They are then repeatedly rinsed with a decaffeinating agent, which removes the caffeine from the beans. Typically 97% or more of the caffeine contained in the green coffee is removed. The caffeine-laden solution is drained away and the beans are steamed a second time to evaporate the remaining decaffeinating agent. Finally, the beans are dried to remove excess moisture from the decaffeinated coffee.

What are the new Pod Coffee makers all about?

Pod coffee makers are fairly new to the market place, and the concept is great, a universal one-cup coffee maker. By using a small filter pack you can make a single cup of freshly brewed coffee or tea quickly and conveniently. The goal of the machine and pod manufactures is to make a universal pod that will fit all of the different machines to give the consumer the choice that they currently have with the 12 and 4 cup coffee makers but the luxury of the one cup coffee maker. The development has been a slow process and the machines lag behind the pods themselves but it’s starting to all come together and it’s really a great single cup option.

Green Mountains supply of Sumatran coffee following tsunami devastation

Good news from Green Mountain Coffee Roasters regarding the supply of coffee from Sumatra. Despite the massive earthquake and tsunami that recently devastated the region, their partners at the Gayo Organic Coffee Farmers Association are making fast progress towards rebuilding their capacity to produce high quality coffee for Green Mountain, and their customers.

As you can imagine, life is far from back to normal in Southeast Asia. With approximately 5 million people left homeless in the region, it will take years to recover from this disaster. Green Mountain is doing what they can to help stabilize the area and get their partners back to their livelihood of growing coffee. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters and its employees have thus far donated over $45,000 to relief efforts and will continue to work with non-profit organizations such as Coffee Kids to offer emergency assistance.

Green Mountain thank everyone who purchases their fresh roasted coffee and wants to let you know that with every purchase of Organic Sumatran Reserve coffee you will help the people of Sumatra to rebuild their homes and communities.