Coffee Mornings: A Few More Cups

Anyone following this blog knows that I'm a coffee drinker. See Coffee Mornings entry number one to see what I'm referring to. I've recently purchased a few half-pound bags from Peet's and bought an "old favorite" (read: bought it about four months ago when I first started learning about coffee types and origins), La Minita Tarrazu from Coffee Bean. I also brought out a bag of Coffee Bean's Tierra Natural (the company's organic blend) to compare with the other coffees I've had recently. So, here are my taste observations on two coffees I've tried recently along with some related commentary.

Peet's Arabian Mocha Java: Good, medium roast coffee. Mellower than Peet's Colombian and Las Hermanas. Peet's offers a free guide to their coffee (as does Coffee Bean; I think Starbucks does but I'll have to check) and I basically agree with their assessment of this blend as having "chocolate" overtones. Arabian Mocha Java is a blend, or mixture of two types of coffee beans, in this case Arabian mocha beans and Indonesian beans from Java. The two beans complement each other well, as they should considering the fact that this blend has been around for more than 200 years. The Pacific beans mellow the stronger "wine-like" flavors of the Arabian mocha beans. Apparently, Arabian Mocha Sanani (which are the mocha beans that Peet's uses) make for pretty full-bodied, strong coffee.
Interesting fact: Anyone who orders drinks at Starbucks, Peet's, Diedrich's, Coffee Bean, et al, knows that a mocha is coffee with chocolate and milk added, and by the same token if you want plain coffee you wouldn't order a mocha. According to Peet's, when coffee was first served in Europe back in the day, when people thought of a mocha, they thought of coffee from Yemen, not chocolate. Once chocolate was refined and sold in Europe people thought it reminded them of coffee, thus the two tastes were linked.
I think the term "blended mocha" is the origin of the modern coffee drinker's misuse of the term mocha. The original blended mocha was Arabian Mocha Sanani or Mocha Java blend coffee mixed with chocolate and milk (probably because the chocolate and coffee tastes complemented each other, possibly because of the long association of mocha coffees with chocolate flavors). People shortened the name to "mocha" instead of blended mocha, and the name came to mean what most Americans assume it means today: a coffee, chocolate and milk drink.

Coffee Bean's Tierra Natural Organic: The first thing I noticed about this coffee is that you can actually see the difference in the color of the coffee grounds. They're much lighter than Peet's Mocha Java and have a sweeter, more subtle scent to them when freshly ground. Tierra Natural is, according to Coffee Bean, a blend of beans from the Andes and Mexico. It makes a light, almost sweet cup with pretty low acidity. Personally, I prefer Coffee Bean's La Minita Tarrazu over this blend, but for organic certified coffee it's pretty good. Leaps in quality better than what you'd get at most diners.
I admit that part of the reason I bought the coffee was due to the "organic" label. What does this label really mean? Well, according to Coffee Bean, the coffee is certified by the Organic Crop Improvement Association, which is " a member-owned, nonprofit organization, provides research, education and certification services to thousands of organic growers, processors and handlers in North, Central and South America, Africa, Europe and Pacific Rim" according to the site. It's somewhat tough to tell how legit this certification is, but the fact that it's a third party conducting the certification is a good sign.
That said, I'm going to get up on my soapbox about a coffee-related issue. Something I've heard is that coffee retailers have a tough time finding coffees that are organic and Fair Trade certified that meet their quality standards. Although I understand that running a business is tough, the push for more certified products (that are actually certified by third parties and aren't just slapping a label on to get attention from coffee buyers) is a good thing. People often scoff at the concept of sustainable development, often because they view it as a pointless or unreasonable goal (read: more expensive, despite the eventual economies of scale that could result), but if the entire world is moving toward a capitalist system, I'm going to exercise my right to influence manufacturers to do what I believe is the right thing via my purchasing power. Okay, I'm off my soapbox now.

Oh yeah, I bought another pound of Coffee Bean's La Minita Tarrazu. It's a limited edition so I figured I'd drink the brew while I've got the chance. If anyone reading this has any comments regarding coffee recommendations or educational info, let me know via the comments button below.

Peace out.