Daily Coffee Tip::Dark or Light?

It seems there is a fair amount of misconception out there in the coffee drinking world about the differences between dark and light roasted coffees so lets explore the myths and the facts.
First of all, what is the difference between light and dark roast? Of course, a lot depends on the type of bean but in general, a dark roast is roasted longer than a light roast.
Now, what does that mean for our cup of coffee?

Most people associate a dark roasted coffee to a strong cup of coffee and it is assumed that the strong cup of coffee will wake you up and get you going because it is obviously chock full of caffeine. This is myth number one. The longer a coffee bean spends in the roaster, the more natural caffeine burns off and the less is left in your cup. I like to compare dark coffee to dark beer like Guinness; it has a huge flavor and a relatively weak punch. On the other side of that coin, however, is the notion that mentally, a big, dark and flavorful cup of coffee is such a burst that it still tends to wake you up by shear force.

Another misconception is that dark roasted coffee is higher in acid. Though this is a sweeping generalization and depends heavily on the natural acid content of each coffee bean, it is most often the case that darker roasted coffee has less acidity than lighter roasted coffee for the same reason as above; a longer roast burns away more acid. Still, people often notice that dark roasted coffee is hard on their stomach; this is likely due the type of bean or higher levels of carbon, not acidity due to roasting process.

Lighter roasted coffee often highlights more of the natural flavor nuances of the specific coffee bean which come from the oils, acids and fibers inside. Each variety of coffee bean can be best highlighted with different roast levels but in general, the darker the roast-the less nuance and the more "smokiness". Choosing coffee strictly by dark or light roast leaves out a lot of important characteristics that might lead to a more enjoyable cup. Ask your barista or your roaster to help guide you to a coffee that fits all of your coffee needs--for my cup, I like a medium roast, full bodied, medium acidity coffee with fruit forward flavors and a cocoa mouth-feel; this usually ends up being a central or eastern African bean such as the Blanchard's Ethiopian Harrar.

Daily Coffee Tip::Honey

I am a coffee purest--some have even said I'm a fundamentalist (but that just gives me the willies). It is all true though; you'll find that most seasoned coffee industry folks prefer to keep the milk and sugar out of their coffee unless they're working on latte craft, inventing some complicated elixir with an arduous ingredient list that still, somehow, evokes the nature of the foundational coffee. Yes, outside of those circumstances, I like a nice ristretto espresso or a well-extracted cup of drip coffee with no frills or additions. I do not, however, criticize those of you who do like to add cream and sugar (because I'm a purest, not a snob). You're drinking coffee, however you like to do it, and when someone loves coffee they're on my team, no matter what they do with it.

I will admit, every once in a while, I get a craving for some sweetness in my coffee; I think it goes back to my college days when I became obsessed with Thai coffee. I was finding that when I got these cravings and started dosing my brew with regular sugar or raw sugar it never got to the sweetness or flavor I was looking for. I would then end up disappointed and annoyed, wondering why I gave in to a craving I knew would end badly. Because of this, I figured out a different way to sweeten my coffee that met my craving and turns out to be much more healthy, in many ways, than plain old sugar; honey.

People always associate honey with tea, like when you have a sore throat, but not as often with coffee. Well, I'm here to tell you honey and coffee go together swimmingly. Honey has the ability to be very sweet without being cloyingly sweet. Honey has lots of vitamins, enzymes, antioxidents and the like that help with allergies, hangovers, digestion and all sorts of other things; plus, honey is natural and sustainable and especially good if you get some that is locally produced. So if you're a sweetened coffee addict or just an occasional dabbler like me, try it with honey in your next cup and let me know what you think!

Blanchard's and the VMFA

Did you know that soon Blanchard's coffee will be available at all of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts locations? Well Gay RVA does and Stephen Robertson wrote up a great post a part of which is below.

Blanchard’s coffee maintains a constant commitment to local businesses and organizations making the VMFA a natural fit. “We are very excited to be providing coffee to the VMFA. Clearly they are committed to excellence and creating a ‘third space’ for Richmond to enjoy not only art, but community to its fullest” commented Blanchard after our walk through the museum grounds. He went on to cite Danny Ayers’ obvious passion for both the culinary and visual arts as proof that great coffee and great art share the simple trait of fostering conversation which, in turn, builds community.

Check out the full post at the link above or more of Stephen's words of wisdom at his coffee blog, RVA Coffee.