Jamaica Blue Mountain

Good Morning, Coffee Crew,

I am enjoying my second cup of Jamaica Blue Mountain this morning.  Have you tried this one?  Yum…  It is a light bodied coffee, hazelnut notes, sweet like honey, and finishes like flower petals.  Now, admittedly this is an expensive coffee at $38.95/lb wholesale.  May I suggest Brazil for the nuttiness, Honduras for the brisk finish, or light roasted Guatemala for the sweetness and lighter body if you prefer coffee at ‘regular’ prices?

How long can you keep an unopened bag of coffee on your shelf at home?  I know you frequently get this question from your customers.  I recommend to my retail customers to purchase what they can use within a month.  That is the correct answer.  The reality is many people stock up, drink it slowly, or save ‘the good stuff’.

I keep a sampling of several coffees at all times in my kitchen to test them at various ages of development.  I will share with you that my coffee this morning has been in an unopened bag for 2 months.  It is very fresh with just a hint of oil on the surface of the beans.  The beans are clearly fully developed and still fresh, so they have passed the test.

Coffee beans need several days to ‘degas’ and develop.  As you know, we package our beans in the foil bags with the one way valves as soon as they are cool after roasting.  This allows for the beans to degas while preserving the flavors for you and your customers to enjoy in your cup of coffee.

The topic of packaging and bean development came up at a training I did last weekend.  We were preparing our coffees at the roastery for a group coming in and we were experiencing the ‘flood’.  The flood happens when the coffee is so very fresh when you brew it.  Because we roast to order, we have very little aged coffee at the roastery.  So, regardless of how far away you are from our roastery, you are probably getting your coffee and espresso when it is nearly ready for brewing.  Back to the ‘flood’ and how you might prevent it.  Bring out your Field Guide training manual and read the section under Brewing.  Tony has addressed this issue with the suggestion of grinding your coffee beans ahead of brewing to allow for the degassing process.  The coffee beans are still quite lively until this process is complete and the beans are fully developed.

Customer service/marketing idea:  Do you have a bulletin board or ‘coffee corner’?  Your Coffee Corner needs to be fresh with new tips, ideas, and information.  An addition to consider is a ‘Job Seekers’ section.  By allowing employers and job seekers to post their opportunities you will have a compelling reason for people to come into your shop or drive thru kiosk to see what’s new in addition to your great coffee and smiling faces.

Request:  Send an email to me with your marketing tips or ideas and I will share them with everyone in a future email and newsletter.

Have a great weekend!

Peggy Sue Ennenga