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A few types of our many beans...
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IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING YOUR COFFEE
We roast every coffee bean to order. Please remember that coffee is a food. The taste will change from crop to crop, from day to day depending on factors like humidity etc. We purchase our beans from only the best plantations, and we purchase only the finest grade. Our roasting techniques are extremely strict (read below), using proper attention and care from start to finish. This ensures that you receive only the best and freshest possible product.
If you are not accustomed to grinding your own coffee beans, you will create a very inconsistent grind, which will brew a very disappointing cup of coffee. Improper grinding will brew a cup of coffee that tastes too strong or too mild, without much flavor. Please ensure that you have invested in a high quality grinder and coffee brewer. If that is not the case, please ask us to custom grind your coffee beans when you finalize your transaction, and be sure to indicate the type of grind you require (i.e. automatic drip, French press, etc.). Please note: Custom grinding is subject to a fee of $1.00 per pound.
OUR COFFEE PROMOTION: WHY IS THIS COFFEE SO INEXPENSIVE WHEN OTHERS ARE SELLING IT FOR MORE?
Other sellers of this coffee are asking how we can possibly offer this product at such an amazing price. Our question to them is: How is it possible for a middleman, who is purchasing this coffee at retail cost, to sell their product for nearly the same price as us, a company that directly imports green beans from coffee plantations around the world?
IMPORTANT!!! Some eBay sellers have practically copied our promotion and ad wording in order to promote their product. We've purchased some of our competitors "100% Blue Mountain" coffee and had it shipped for official cupping. Most sellers are selling blends and we encourage buyers to be cautious.
We purchase green beans (hundreds of pounds at a time) directly from the source - there are no middlemen involved. The reason behind the price fluctuation between our product and that of the competition is this: Most sellers purchase coffee beans at retail prices (and in smaller quantities) from an estate that has already roasted and packaged the beans. The middleman then marks up the retail price for profit. Please keep in mind that our company normally sells this coffee at a higher price. We thought of spending a great deal of money on huge ad campaigns, but prospective clients are not able to sample our great coffee this way. By selling this coffee without making a profit, we have discovered a wonderful marketing campaign that allows clients to personally experience our roasting methods, using exceptional coffee beans, at a more than exceptional price. In turn, the exposure we have received from this promotion has tempted hundreds of new clients to try one of our many other coffee types at regular prices.
ORDER PROCESSING AND TURNAROUND TIMES
We would like to inform our new and existing clients of our order, roasting and shipping process. Once your coffee order is placed, we require 2 business days to process the order, custom roast your coffee beans and prepare for shipping. We feel that the wait involved to receive the freshest possible product is definitely worth it!
All other orders not including coffee will ship in 1 business day.
Please remember that orders placed during evenings (after 5 pm, MST), weekends and holidays will not be processed until the following business day.
TRANSIT TIME
While we are aware that shipping complications are rare, they are inevitable at times. With this in mind, we would like to inform our clients of what is classified as "normal" shipping time.
From the day your coffee is shipped, your package is expected to arrive within 7 BUSINESS DAYS (within North America, excluding Alaska, Hawaii & the Canadian Territories). This means you cannot include the day it was picked up by FedEx, and you cannot include weekends and holidays.
ABOUT US
It is our intention to continue the tradition that began many years ago of providing you, our valued client, with a superior product of the highest quality, freshly packaged and shipped to meet your highest expectations. We will not change a single thing about how we roast our coffee, or manufacture our products, except where it improves the taste or offers you the variety you demand. We would like to extend our appreciation to our repeat clients for their continued support. It has truly been our pleasure serving you! We would also like to welcome new clients and hope that we can establish a solid business relationship for many years to come.
ABOUT OUR COFFEE
Every batch of coffee is roasted to order. What this means is that you are GUARANTEED to have the freshest coffee delivered right to your door! Your coffee will be shipped within 48 hours of roasting. Now that's a guarantee of freshness that most retailers cannot promise. With products sitting upon shelves for weeks on end (especially those products with expiry dates), it is very unlikely that you're receiving the freshest possible product. We invite you to taste the quality and freshness in our coffee!
Choosing what coffee to purchase can be an intimidating experience. As there are many retailers of coffee to consider, your challenge will be to distinguish the benefits, differences and advantages of each supplier. The purpose of this information is to outline some of the general differences of our company, as compared to others in the market.
SO WHAT MAKES OUR COFFEE SO DIFFERENT?
First, our specialty roaster roasts in small batches of 30 - 70 pounds a time. All roasting is still done by hand, not through an automated machine. This allows the art/craft of coffee roasting to be present in all our coffees. Competitors offering the same coffee have their product roasted in large batches of up to 1000 pounds at a time, and use automated roasting techniques. This can create an inconsistent coffee. Remember that coffee is a food. The taste will change from crop to crop, from day to day depending on factors like humidity etc. This brings us to the advantage of roasting in small batches; only by roasting by hand, and in small batches, can you achieve the highest level of consistency.
HIGHEST QUALITY BEANS
Second, our roaster uses only the highest quality Arabica beans - NOT ROBUSTA. There are many grades of coffees available from countries all over the world. For example, you can buy 10 different grades of beans from a single small area. The difference in quality is due to the care the farmer takes in growing, harvesting and processing the coffees. It is similar to a cattle rancher and the way he looks after his herd of cows. It will directly affect the quality and taste of the final product. Our roaster prides itself on only buying from the best farms, estates and plantations, no exceptions. This fluctuation in quality is the reason you will see such a large range or discrepancy in prices for coffees (ex. Colombian). Most competitors buy lower quality beans to offer the lowest price.
ROASTING AND PROCESSING TECHNIQUES
The majority of roasters use various processing and roasting techniques which are designed to save money instead of producing the best quality. We do not practice any of these methods.
Water quenching
Water quenching is the method used to cool off the beans once they leave the roaster. As the coffee beans come out of the roaster, they must be cooled quickly so they do not continue to cook. All beans have "pores" which are wide open when hot. When water is added to cool the coffee, it is trapped in the bean, thus increasing its weight.
Comparatively, our coffee beans are cooled by forcing compressed air over them. This adds no water or weight to the finished product. The most significant drawback of adding water to coffee is that it will accelerate the staling process dramatically. The same effect will happen when your coffee is exposed to open air. Therefore, the less your coffee is in contact with oxygen and water, the longer the coffee will stay fresh after roasting.
Chaff
Chaff is on every GREEN coffee bean. It is similar to the skin on a peanut. As you roast, the chaff comes off, and is thrown to the outside of the roaster and collected in a chamber. Some suppliers have a machine that will compress this chaff into a "pellet" form. After this, they will mix it into the coffee beans and grind it up together. Again, the benefit to the roaster is in that both this process and water quenching adds weight. We consider chaff garbage, and therefore dispose of it.
The result of the first two processes is to turn 100 lb. of coffee into approximately 115 lb. of coffee. When our roaster starts with 100 lb. of coffee, there is approximately 85 lb. remaining. This happens as the natural moisture in the green beans are evaporated (for the most part) during the roasting process the bean becomes less dense. This is called 'Shrinkage'. Commercial roasters try to reduce the shrinkage as much as possible. Unfortunately, it does nothing for the taste of the finished product!
Blending Techniques - How to Distinguish 100% Pure Coffee vs. a Coffee Blend
There is a quick way and a slow way of blending your coffee. The quick way is to take all of your different green beans you are going to use, blend them together and then roast. This poses a problem, as every 'geographical' type of bean requires a different roasting method to reach its full potential in flavor. When the beans are all mixed together (in order to keep the color the same and pass the coffee off as 100% pure), they are being roasted at the same temperature and same length of time. This causes dramatic inconsistencies, as some beans are roasted too long and some not long enough. This method of blending would create a very poor tasting coffee.
If we are blending coffee, each of type of our coffee beans are roasted SEPARATELY, and then blended once they have cooled. You can tell that we use this method by looking at our coffee after it has been roasted, and you will notice a variety of colors in the blend. The other method of blending would be like a chef cooking a stir-fry and adding all the vegetables and meats together at the same time. You need to cook them separately. With this in mind, the best way to tell if your coffee is 100% pure, you will look for 2 things: a smooth and non-bitter tasting coffee and a batch of coffee that is uniform in color.
Roasting Speed
If you start to roast at a high temperature your beans will reach its final bean temperature (FBT) quicker. Large commercial roasters will roast very quickly to increase their production / hour. Let us explain how this can affect the taste of the coffee. The FBT lets you know when your roast is done. Just because your FBT (or the outside temperature) is ready, does not mean that the inside temperature of the bean will match the outside. If you were to cut the bean in half, you would see that the outside was darker than the inside. Therefore, when ground, the result will be a bitter and acidic taste. You will find that people drinking coffee roasted this way will have to add lots of sugar and cream, and drink it only while it is hot. Our coffee beans are roasted slower. This ensures that the beans are roasted consistently right to the core, giving flavor and aroma in the coffee time to develop properly. It also ensures that the delicate sugars and oils in the coffee are not burnt.
The "Cool Down" Test - The Ultimate Test for Coffee!
One of the best ways to tell if you are drinking a good cup of coffee is to let it cool down and then drink it. A properly roasted coffee will actually taste better as it cools. In addition, a properly roasted coffee will stay fresher longer on the burner or in the air pot. This leads to less wastage and greater coffee enjoyment.
We are confident that if you experiment with our coffees, taking note of what we have outlined, our quality will stand above all the rest.
HOW TO PROPERLY STORE YOUR COFFEE
The best way to store coffee is to store in roasted, but whole bean form. Grinding your own beans is pretty simple, and will be worth the effort. Roasted whole bean will last 1 to 2 weeks, when stored at room temperature. You should keep it in an airtight container that blocks the light. Plastic or metal containers may contaminate the taste of your coffee, so try to use ceramic if possible. If you must use clear glass, then store in a dark cupboard.
One other thing to consider is gas. Roasted beans create a lot of gas (carbon dioxide to be specific). For the first few days, you should open up your coffee container each day to vent out extra gas.
If you can't use up your whole bean coffee in 2 weeks, then you should freeze it. Coffee stored this way will last about a month, maybe two. Wrap it up in several layers of plastic wrap, or use an airtight container with as much air removed as you can manage. Once your beans have been frozen and thawed, do not refreeze. Thaw your beans before grinding. Frozen beans are brittle and will not grind evenly, giving you an inconsistent coffee brew.
Don't try to compromise the quality of your coffee beans by storing them in the refrigerator. That is the worst place for your coffee because it's just not cold enough to prevent your coffee from going stale. With all the other foods in your refrigerator, your coffee is likely to pick up flavors and odors too, which is not good for the overall taste of your coffee.
The last kind of coffee would be roasted and ground. This is the most volatile form, and isn't good for storage beyond a few days. Again, use an air-tight and light-proof container. Don't bother trying to freeze ground coffee - it's going to go stale anyway.
The bottom line is that good coffee is fresh coffee. Only buy what you can use up quickly.
PROPER GRINDING
Grinding is an important element that is often overlooked. Purchasing a high-quality grinder is imperative for brewing a great pot of coffee. You must keep in mind that grinding your coffee beans for too long, or not long enough, has a huge impact on the overall taste of your coffee. Example: Coffee beans that have been ground to an almost powder consistency will create a strong, intense, Turkish style taste. The same coffee beans will taste weak and watered-down if they are coarsely ground. Based on your taste preference, it is important to invest in a quality grinder that will provide a consistent grind.
GIFT BASKETS
Since our early days, we've continued to grow bigger and better at finding new and inspired specialty items, packing them tastefully, and delivering them all over the world. Elegant yet practical, our gift collection contains carefully chosen products designed to convey the right message for any occasion. View our amazing selection at www.linaepicure.com.
We look forward to helping you choose the gifts that give great pleasure to special and important people in your life.
SATISFACTION GUARANTEE
As well, ALL our products are 100% guaranteed. If, for any reason, you are not satisfied with your purchase, you MUST send it back for a FULL refund. Our clients are our first priority. If there is a problem with your order, please do not hesitate to inform us. We know it can be intimidating to purchase a product over the internet. Rest assured that we will be more than happy to assist you with your purchase or answer any questions or concerns that you may have.
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