Why drink Better Coffee?

It doesn't take much to meet a total coffee nerd in Portland. You might even be one too. If your home brewing equipment rivals that of the local cafe and you choose St. Johns Coffee over any other brand, you probably already are a coffee genius.

Or maybe you’re on the opposite side and really don't have a clue about coffee and a cup of joe is a cup of joe. You're one of those people who don’t make a fuss about what your coffee tastes like, as long as it gets you to work in the morning.

Newb or connoisseur, this week’s post is just for you. Here we will demystify current coffee pop culture and expose the real truth to great coffee and provide you with the knowledge to create the perfect cup, all the time everywhere.

Is there really any difference between gas station sludge and our coffee blends? Here we will tell you why there is, and why you should care.

First of all, let’s tackle the age-old question: What is coffee?

Ask most people, and most have no idea what coffee is other than a bitter-tasting dark bean that magically turns into a beverage when put through a machine. You might already know this from experience, but coffee is by far the most popular drink on earth besides water. In many cultures, coffee plays a main role in everyday rituals. It second biggest commodity in the world besides oil.

So we get it, people love coffee, but there still exists many misconceptions about what makes for a good cup.

So do we really know what coffee is?

Coffee is a seed from the ripened fruit of a shrub tree native to Africa. Before the roasting process, the seeds look like little red berries. The two species which are of most commercial interest are Coffea Arabica (arabica) and Coffea canephora (robusta). Within arabica there are many subtypes with various flavor characteristics.

People in the “specialty coffee” trade such as us at St. Johns Coffee Roasters are concerned about the seed to cup chain, which is the extremely intense process gone through to ensure that your coffee takes like paradise, not poo. We select the cultivar, ensure that the land on which our purchased beans for the coffees is good quality, the climate, the care required in harvesting the beans, the meticulous processing process, the travel of export, and the competency of the roaster, which in our case is in the magical hands of the owner, Mount Burns.

So no wonder there’s been a great revolution in coffee over that past few years as new microroasters appear and baristas have become more serious about what it takes to make a great cup of coffee. There’s an art to all of it, and many people are continuously searching for the next best coffee or coffee equipment.

But for all the noise and hype surrounding coffee these days, most people are still ending up with mediocre and tasteless brews. For most people, coffee still remains something mysterious and intimidating, and we believe that there needs to be changes regarding that. There’s nothing wrong about wanting to drink good coffee, just as much as there’s nothing wrong with someone wanting clean clothes.

So why drink good coffee?

Good coffee goes BEYOND the corporation and commodity system. Most coffee companies like Starbucks and Folgers trade coffee with little regard for environmental damages and no concern for the farmers who produce it. The growing specialty coffee market has changed this game, and businesses like St. Johns Coffee Roasters play a role in creating new ways of economic sustainability regarding the coffee trade. Good coffee is good for everyone- from farmer to consumer.

So why else should you choose good coffee?

A quite obvious reason is that making a delicious cup of coffee is easy when you have good coffee to make it with. The serious baristas at the coffee shops sporting the latest trends in coffee gear may be intimidating, but behind all that expensive technology there is the simple truth that once you learn the basics, a good brew is isn't any more difficult to prepare than a box of pancake mix. (And it’s quite a bit faster).

The one and ONLY case against good coffee is that once you make yourself a cup, it’s impossible to go back to that 7-Eleven sludge which tastes like dirty water..

So let’s all raise our mugs for the good stuff- we at St. Johns make sure you only drink the best coffee available on the market. Real Good Coffee is what we believe in, from farm to roastery we know we do good throughout the entire coffee chain until the moment when the goodness pours into your mug in the morning.

(•) photo by kuda