Who is Flakey Jake? We may never know. He is known, however, for these amazing coffee cookies!
We enjoyed a batch of these delicious mocha coffee cookies at the roasting facility yesterday (and some of us, at home). Not only are these cookies great on their own, they’re also great when dipped in a cup of coffee. Personally, I french pressed some Ethiopia Coffee and used these coffee cookies for dipping. It was a delicious, mouth-watering experience. I even ate a second but stopped myself short of a third and held off well for about an hour before giving in — again!
This coffee infographic of coffee statistics was made available by the (unfortunately) now defunct website, coffeemash.com. It doesn’t have a lot of details but the graphic provides a fun way to present a few coffee statistics on our favorite hot beverage.
Coffee storage is easy when you know exactly how to store it for optimal flavor. Unfortunately, many people live with the misconception that the best way to store coffee is in the refrigerator or freezer. While that is kind of true if you’re storing coffee for long periods of time (6 months or more), it’s not the best way to store coffee that is fresh and will be consumed within a couple months.
Coffee’s flavor is defeated by 3 things: Light, Oxygen, and Temperature
When coffee is roasted, it’s roasted with the knowledge that those beans will be ground, added to a coffee maker, and will have near-boiling water poured over them. That is the next – and last – time that your coffee should see a drastic temperature change if you want to enjoy the absolute optimal flavor possible. Constant exposure to light actually “fades” the beans and their flavor “fades” (for lack of a better word) with them too.
Finally, Oxygen is the biggest thing to watch out for if you want to store your coffee. Many people go to the extreme of vacum-packing the coffee with one of those devices that suck the air out while they seal it shut. That works great but if you’re like most people, you want a quick and easy way to keep your coffee fresh. We recommend that you leave the coffee in it’s original package and roll down the top while squeezing out the air. After that, tape down the top. If you’d still like further measures to ensure freshness, a ziplock freezer bag works great!
If you ask us, the best way to store coffee is in a sealed bag or container up in a cupboard that you don’t access very often – but is near your coffee maker. Only open the package to get what you need out of it and immediately seal the package when you’re finished.
The 4 Best Gifts This Holiday Season (and why they matter)
With each Holiday season that approaches, I find it increasingly hard to figure out that perfect gift for the people that mean the most in my life (my wife, my mother, my family…). Professionally, there are many I do business with and I want these people to know how much I appreciate them too. So, this year, I built a list of the things that matter most to me when giving a gift to my loved ones. I thought you might be able to use this list for your gift-giving too.
1. Give Something That’s Good for Them
When someone gives me a gift of scrumptious junk food, my reaction is almost polarizing. On one hand, that chocolate, peppermint bark tastes amazing and I thoroughly enjoy it (typically eating it all on the same day I receive it). On the other hand, I know that with each bite of that sugary delight, I’m putting something in my body that may not be healthy to consume. When I give a gift, I want to make sure that it is both delicious and perfectly healthy for the person that will receive it.
2. Give Something That Actually Works
Of course, with each Holiday, I want to make sure my gift is the best possible quality. When I purchase that special necklace for my wife only to find out it broke a month later because the chain was low quality, I am embarrassed and feel like I failed her. I want my gift to show there is more than a passing thought; I want it to be perfect!
3. Give Something This Is Enjoyable AND Makes a Difference
Often times, members of my family will purchase a ‘donation’ in the name of a family member. I think I’ve given a group of goats to someone at least once and a few cans of worms. The problem is that the gift – although meaningful and necessary – can be easily forgotten. For me, the perfect gift would be a combination of changing the world and something for your loved one to enjoy.
4. Give Something That Will Last Past the Holidays
This may be something many don’t think about. Why should we spend a lot of money up front on that friend or family member and then forget about them through the rest of the year? I’d rather send a gift that continues to give my love throughout the year. Giving a subscription will remind that loved one of how much they mean to you year-round.
At Camano Island Coffee, it’s imperative that your gift is perfect because honestly, it’s important to us too. We hand package the top 1% of the world’s available coffee and ship it JUST after roasting to ensure your loved one is receiving fresh coffee beans that make the best coffee in the world. Our USDA certified organic coffee guarantees healthy coffee that’s also full of antioxidants. With the Coffee Lover’s Club you can also give back because, with every shipment, our company donates a dollar back to the farmers who cultivate our coffee. This helps to create sustainability while breaking the generational bonds of poverty. On top of all of that, a gift of our Coffee Lover’s Club coffee subscription will continue to shower that important person in your life with love long after the Holidays have ended.
I honestly believe our Coffee Lover’s Club will be the best gift your loved one has ever received as it combines all four of the aspects of perfect gifts above into one amazingly great package. This is why I say that our Coffee Lover’s Club is the 4 best gifts this holiday season… all in one package.
We have two options available for Coffee Lover’s Club gift orders:
As the Holidays are upon us and whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah or any of the other holidays – many of you are probably scrambling to find that perfect gift for your loved one. You want that gift to say, “I’m thinking about you and I want to give you something that shows that thoughtfulness!”
Here’s why a gift of the Top 1% of the world’s coffee is not only thoughtful, but one of the best possible holiday coffee gifts to give during the holiday season…
It’s the BEST tasting coffee your loved one will have ever tasted. Yes, this is a bold claim. We whole-heartedly believe and back it.
It’s the HEALTHIEST coffee you can buy.
Our Coffee Lover’s Club gives a gift BEYOND a one time Holiday coffee gift. In other words, with our Coffee Lover’s Club, you can buy a gift now and have that gift continue on long after the Holidays are over because it is subscription coffee. Your recipient will receive: The Top 1% of coffee, fresh roasted, shipped to their door! You’ll receive special “Member Direct Pricing” that includes Free Shipping as well as piece of mind in knowing that your gift will be well-received.
You’re doing something GREAT for others. As always, our coffee supports a greater cause – helping third-world coffee farmers achieve sustainability through our commitment to ethical coffee. Not only do we commit to paying fair prices for our beans, but our support of Agros International takes it to a completely different level!
A gift of the best, healthy coffee that is lasting due to the coffee club can mean a lot. Ultimately, the gift’s value is in the thoughtfulness behind the reasons you purchased it. How many coffee drinkers do you know? Chances are, quite a few.
So setup a Coffee Lover’s Club order for your loved one – it comes with FREE SHIPPING through December 15th!
The holidays are just around the corner and this year we’re celebrating the 10th Anniversary of our Holiday Gift Shop!
We will be featuring over 40 local artists and vendors and we’ll also be sampling specialty food items, the best coffee in Seattle — Camano Island Coffee Roasters — of course, cocoa and more! Whether you’re shopping for friends, family or co-workers, we have something for everyone on your list! The Holiday Gift Shop will open on Thursday, October 27th at 10:00am!
If you’re looking for that perfect gift to send to friends and family, check out our new holiday gift boxes! Visit our website where you can choose from a variety of gift boxes, ethical coffee, our coffee club, tea, and more!
Our delightful new “Winter Drinks” gift box has something for the whole family! Cuddle up by the fire and enjoy sipping Holiday Blend Coffee, Island Select Dark Hot Chocolate, or soothing English Breakfast Black Tea.
If you’re a chocolate lover, be sure to stop by and taste the new Pirates Fudge! We also will have our famous Shipwreck S’mores, Dark Chocolate Truffles, Choc-O-Pop’s, Karamel Stickz, and Salted Caramel Shells.
We look forward to seeing all of you this year at the Holiday House gift shop! Our hours will be extended Monday-Wednesday from 8am-6pm, Thursday-Saturday from 10am-7pm, and Sunday from 12pm-5pm.
Our Boo Brew is back for October! This delicious dark roast is the perfect complement to a blustery fall day.
Bean Notes: Our Brazilian roasts are some of our best selling coffees. With bright, caramel tones and rich flavors, this coffee is a delicious addition to the daily routine.
Roast Notes: When our Brazilian Cerrado coffee is roasted to a darker level, the bean develops into a beautiful, dark chocolate color. Our Brazilian coffee is roasted at a higher temperature, allowing for a rich, smoky flavor to rise to the surface of each bean. This provides a similar brightness in the flavor, which also brings out rich, nutty tones.
Country Notes: This month our Boo Brew comes from the Cerrado region of Brazil. Cerrado means “closed” or “inaccessible”, and has earned its nickname from the closed canopy of the rainforest. This region has earned a unique reputation as being one of the few areas in the world where fire and the surrounding environment have found a way to co-exist. Fire is constantly purging the land and putting nutrients back into the soil, while the rest of the area continues to flourish.
This month we are excited to offer a delicious blend of Guatemala Coffee Medium and Light roasts. This blend is my personal favorite and is a delightful addition to any occasion. From the village of Trapichitos in Guatemala, comes this wonderfully rich, full flavored, original Guatemala coffee bean. We carry Guatemala all year but for the month of September we’re blending the light and medium roasts of this exquisite bean.The result is a mellow, yet medium/full bodied coffee with slight hints of citrus.
Bean Notes: Sweet, tangy citrus tones give this organic coffee a very distinct yet distinguished flavor and aroma. One of our best morning coffees, this Guatemala coffee bean has both the aromatic qualities and taste complexity to set it apart from many coffees worldwide. It is often considered by coffee experts to be among the best coffees in the world.
Roast Notes: The blend of light and medium roasts brings together the complexity of the light roast with the depth and smokiness of the medium roast. Our Guatemala Medium Roast is our darkest medium roast while our Guatemala light is a fairly light roast.
Country Notes: Our wonderful Guatemala Trapichitos bean has more than a great flavor to it. It’s the first coffee CICR has carried that has a direct connection to our relationship with Agros. Check out this link to read about Agros’ work in Trapichitos. The country of Guatemala is bordered by Mexico to the north, Belize to the northeast, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast. It is known for having some of the most desirable coffees in the Americas, producing dense beans from high elevations.
Our Original Beach Brew is back! This coffee of the month is a combination of our Papua New Guinea in light roast coffee and medium roast coffee. For those that love our Holiday Blend coffee (only available in November and December each year), this is the closest you can get to it! Get these fresh coffee beans while you still can!
Our Papua New Guinea Coffee:
Our Papua New Guinea coffee (PNG) is one of our most popular coffees which is entirely understandable given its undertones that provide hints of cocoa. It has a medium to full body and is considered by many to be among the finest coffees in the world. Most of PNG’s arabica coffee comes from trees that were uprooted in Jamaica (Blue Mountain) and replanted in PNG.
How to taste this coffee:
Available individually in both a light roast coffee and a medium roast coffee, our Papua New Guinea’s best flavors come to the front when not going too dark with the roast. The chocolaty tones become more pronounced as the bean is roasted lighter. This blend of roasts provides your tastebuds with just the right amount of chocolate tone while introducing a very slight hint of spice developed mainly by the blend of the two roast levels.
More about our Papua New Guinea coffee:
According to the Department of State’s website (click the link if you’d like to read all the in-depth details on PNG), PNG is roughly the size of the state of California and has around 6.3 million people. It has three official languages (English, Tok Pisin, and Motu) as well as close to 860 other languages which plays a huge part in the overall fragmentation of the country and its people. Another topic of note is that PNG only has 49.3% literacy. PNG is known as a country ripped in pieces by civil war, lawlessness and poverty. Yet in the last few years, thanks to many factors including sustainable coffee purchasing, Papua New Guinea has started down the road to recovering its economy. It’s a long road ahead, but we have helped immensely and can continue to help just through responsible purchasing.
Get this coffee of the month while you still can!
Update: if you’re seeing after August 2011 don’t fear! You can still recreate this Coffee of the Month in your own kitchen! Simply order our Papua New Guinea coffee in both light roast and medium roast and mix them yourself.
For the Month of July, we wanted to offer a Reserve that we haven’t offered in over 5 years to our customers. Camano Island Coffee Roasters only has 2 reserves in stock currently and it’s rare we are able to get the quantity necessary to offer one of them as our “Coffee of the Month” to our prosumers. This month, we were able to secure enough supply of our Colombia Reserve coffee.
Bean Notes: As one of Camano Island Coffee Roasters’ “Roaster’s Reserve” coffees, the Colombian Excelso is the perfect combination of nuttiness, sweet caramel tones, along with a touch of spice on the undertone. Specifically, the nuttiness shines through. If you’re one of the many that love nutty coffee’s, this coffee will quickly become one of your favorites!
Country Notes: Colombia has around 46 million people and is the third most populated country in Latin America. It is bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil, to the south by Ecuador and Peru, to the north by the Caribbean Sea, and to the west by Panama and the Pacific Ocean. Colombia is one of the world’s 17 “megadiverse countries” (most biodiverse per unit area). (see Colombia’s entry on Wikipedia for more information)
Roast Notes: Our Colombian coffee beans are roasted to a medium/light color. A lot of people equate Colombian beans with some of the darker roasts around but we’ve found that the flavor is best when roasted to this level.
Bean Notes:
Country Notes: