Awesome Coffee: It’s All About the Beans!

At Crimson Cup, we know that awesome coffee begins with awesome coffee beans. We source the top grade of specialty gourmet coffee beans from around the world, and then carefully roast them in small batches to bring you consistently fresh, awesome-tasting coffee. The delicious beverage you enjoy is the product of a complex dance that began on a coffee plantation thousands of miles away.

It all begins with the bean, which is actually the seed of the coffee tree. Coffee beans mature inside the tree’s fruit, known as the coffee cherry because it turns bright crimson red to purple when ripe and ready to pick.

Two primary varieties of coffee tree are grown: Robusta and Arabica. Robusta trees are easier to grow and produce more beans, but their harsh, bitter flavor makes them suitable only for lower-quality coffee blends. The more delicate Arabica plants require a mountainous habitat with rich soil, mild temperatures, shaded sunlight and plenty of rain. Only the very best of these flavorful beans are destined to become specialty coffee.

Coffee trees grow best in a zone known as the Bean Belt that extends around the earth between the Tropics of Capricorn and Cancer. Differences in soil, climate and altitude produce unique flavors in beans grown in various regions and countries. Top coffee-producing countries include Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Uganda and Vietnam. Hawaii is the only state in the U.S. with the right conditions for growing coffee, but its delicious Kona variety is among the best in the world.

Because cherries on the same plant ripen at different times, they must be picked by hand – one of the many factors that make coffee a labor-intensive luxury. After picking, the cherries are processed using water-washing or by drying in the sun. The beans are then hulled, polished and, finally, sorted to remove imperfections and separate the beans into grades.

The processed but unroasted beans are called green coffee. We import green coffee in 150-pound burlap bags.

Roasting coffee to the perfect roast and balance is a craft that takes years of practice to master. Here at Crimson Cup Coffee and Tea, we have more than 30 years of experience roasting coffee. Whether you choose one of our signature blends, single origin coffees, fair trade coffees, or flavored coffees, you’ll enjoy a consistently awesome, aromatic beverage roasted from some of the finest beans in the world.