Jose Rarael Fine Coffee

Q: What is Single Origin coffee?

A: With regards to coffee, it means pure, unblended coffee originating from a single growing region. Similar to wine, single origin coffees are shaped by plant variety, soil type and altitude and vary greatly in taste from region to region. It is a descriptive term referring to a coffee variety with a single known geographical origin. Sometimes this is a single farm, or a specific collection of beans from a single country.. The name of the coffee is then usually the place it was grown to whatever degree available. Single-origins are viewed by some as a way to get a specific taste, and it’s a way to give our customer’s value added on their coffee experience and their money.

While we love serving blends as much as single origin coffees, we place emphasis on the single origin of coffees for a few different reasons; firstly, they allow you to experience the taste and characteristics and regional nuances of the world’s coffee, and secondly, we like to keep our customers informed about the farming conditions surrounding each origins; is the bean organic, fair trade or forest-friendly, what harvest is it, what process is it and so on.

Q: What and Why is Coffee Blended?

A: Coffees from different origins are blended together for several reasons.

• To make a coffee that is higher in cup quality than any of the ingredients individually. But high quality arabica coffee should be able to stand alone; it should have good clean flavor, good aromatics, body and aftertaste. So one reason coffees are blended in the commercial world might be the use of lower-quality coffee in the blend.
• To create a proprietary or signature blend that leads consumers to equate a particular coffee profile with a particular brand image; consumers don't often call an international coffee chain store coffee by the origin names used in the coffee but simply as "a cup of ___________" as if the dark carbony roast tastes were somehow exclusive to that brand.
• Coffees are also blended to attain consistency from month to month and crop year to year. This is done with major brands that do not want to be dependent on any specific origin flavor so they can source coffee from the least expensive sources and attain a consistent flavor. Such blends generally reduce all the coffees included to the lowest common denominator.
• But let's put aside the less-than-noble reasons that coffee is blended and focus on details that concern the quality-oriented roaster.

Q: Why is your coffee so good?

A: We roast it our selves (except for the Premium Italian Blend which is batch roasted in Sydney when we place our order and air-shipped to Davao). We only roast only what we need and when we need it. That’s why it would be hard to find a fresher cup of high quality coffee anywhere

Yes you can. Whether you’re using counter-top roaster orciooking up your beans using a home made device, you’re welcome to buy green beans from us.

Q: Can I buy roasted beans from you?

A: Yes you can. We want or customers to also enjoy our coffees at the comfort of their own at home.

Q: How should I have my coffee ground?

A: Different methods of coffee preparation require your coffee to be ground to a different size granule. If the coffee is ground incorrectly, the coffee will be either very strong and thick or very weak and thin.

Here’s rundown on the different grinds required for different coffee preparation methods:

French Press Grind: A French Press is a cylindrical glass coffee pot that steeps ground coffee in hot water and then filters it with a metal filter plunger that presses the grounds to the bottom of the pot, trapping the grounds under the filter so the coffee is served from the top. Because it’s a longer brewing process that requires a slower extraction, the grind needs to be very coarse.

Automatic Drip Grind: This grind is for the standard coffee pot found in most kitchens and offices. These coffee brewers automatically heat the water and filter it through the coffee. It’s a medium grind (and definitely the most widely used).

Espresso Grind: Espresso machines (whether they use a pump or piston actions) use a special espresso grind. Coffee to be used in an espresso machine must be ground finely for proper extraction.

Turkish Coffee Grind: This grind is the finest grind setting that most coffee grinders will perform Coffee that is ground on this setting is extra-fine and almost a powder. It needs to be as fine as possible because Turkish coffee is served with the grounds in it. (Traditionally, Turkish Coffee is made with an equal ratio of coffee and sugar in a special pot called an ibriq, boiled and removed from the heat 3 times to achieve a thick beverage with a distinctive taste.)

Q: How should I store my coffee?

A: The enemies of fresh coffee are oxygen, light and moisture. Therefore, a dark, airtight container is the best place for coffee beans or grounds. Because of the moisture, we don’t recommend storing coffee in the refrigerator or freezer unless it’s sealed or in an airtight container. Also, coffee stored in the refrigerator or freezer can absorb odors from your food.

Q: How coffee should I use when brewing my coffee?

A: The Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) recommends 2 tablespoons (10 grams) of coffee for every 6 oz. cup of coffee that you’re going to produce. Some coffee makers measure their “cup” lines in 6 oz. cups, while others use 8 oz. cups. So, the best thing to do is to measure the water as you’re putting it in for the first time (just to see what line you should actually be filling it up to in the future). If you find that coffee brewed using these proportions is too strong for your taste, then add hot water to your cup of brewed coffee. This will weaken the coffee without making it bitter. We DON’T recommend using less coffee or more water when brewing because that will just cause the coffee to become over-extracted (basically, the coffee gets all the goodness squeezed out of it…then all the bitterness too…ruining anything good in the pot!)

Q: How do I achieve the perfect cup of coffee at home?

A: The elements involved in creating a great quality cup of coffee are as follows: The Water Coffee is 98% water, so clean water that isn’t too hard is the best start The Coffee (Freshness and Grind) Most coffees “peak” within 2-5 days from when they are roasted, so that’s when you want to get that goodness in you. It’s pretty much downhill from there. Coffee doesn’t really age like fine wine. ;) As far as grind, obviously it’s important to have the appropriate grind for the brewing device you’re using (See “How should I have my coffee ground?”), but the coffee will be the freshest if you grind it right before you brew it. So only grind as much as you need to brew at a time. The Proportions See “How much coffee should I use when brewing my coffee?”