The Advantages of Shamrock’s Coffee Program, Filmed at Coffee Reserve Youtube Video

The trips that we take to coffee producing countries play an important role in establishing relationships with coffee growers and ensuring that we have a consistent supply and quality.   Even more important is the batch roasting process and experienced roastmasters to bring out the best flavor from each origin and blend. According to Chef Bryan, that’s what sets Shamrock Foods and Trescerro Coffees from Coffee Reserve apart from the rest.

We roast each batch to order, and offer proprietary blends and a variety of packaging and labeling options.  We agree with Chef Bryan that consumers today are more and more discerning when it comes to their coffee. We owe it to our customers to provide the highest-quality, best tasting coffee to represent their brand.

When she’s not immersed in the world of coffee, you can find Deborah rolling up her sleeves and tackling her love of renovating older homes.  She and her two Labrador retrievers are currently living in her most recent project.

David Schomer, owner of Seattle’s Espresso Vivace is credited with bringing latte art to the forefront of coffee culture.  He first became intrigued with the “velvet foam” crafted at Uptown Espresso in 1988.  He worked on his technique of free-pouring the textured milk using the sides of the cup to form swirls and waves, and perfected the heart pattern by 1989.  He learned to create concentric rings around the heart by using a method of shaking the pitcher, which he learned from a barista in Milano.

Schomer saw the now popular Rosetta pattern (fernlike waves that form a floral design in the cup) first in a photo from another Italian café in 1992. He was smitten with the beautiful pattern and worked for about six months perfecting the technique.  Once the heart and Rosetta patterns are mastered, a creative barista can expand his or her repertoire into swans, rabbits, elaborate geometric designs, birds and other animals.

In the last few years, latte art throwdowns have become increasingly popular competitive events in the coffee world.  As in all culinary disciplines, presentation is a vital component of a successful creation.  In Schomer’s words, “The intent is to promote respect for caffe espresso as a culinary art that emphasizes flavor, a silky feel, and stunning presentation possibilities.”   As specialty coffee roasters, we love the history and dedication behind this growing art.

1. Use Great Water - a great cup of coffee is over 98% water. If you don’t start with great water, you won’t finish with great coffee. We work with water experts to analyze your water and recommend the filtration that is right for you.
2. Use Great Coffee - buy coffee only from a roaster dedicated to finding, roasting, and packaging great coffee beans. We are passionate about our coffee, and love to share that passion with you and your staff.
3. Use Great Equipment - great coffee is brewed within tight parameters of time and temperature. Be sure that your brewing equipment can meet the requirements of a great cup. We specify and test commercial brewing equipment that can meet the exacting requirements of great coffee.
4. Use Enough Coffee - a great cup of coffee depends on an ideal intersection of coffee and water. We ensure that the right ration of coffee to water is combined with the perfect grind to get a great cup of coffee.
5. Serve It Fresh - great coffee is always fresh coffee – freshly roasted and freshly brewed. We roast fresh daily, package in nitrogen flushed barrier packaging, and encourage you to serve coffee within twenty minutes of brewing.
6. Keep It Clean - great coffee comes from clean brewers, clean serving carafes and cups. We recommend a strict hygiene regimen to keep your coffee at its best.

Hopefully this was helpful for you as you try to make the perfect cup of coffee.  If you are able to combine the 6 keys to making a great cup of coffee above, you will notice a huge difference.  Let us know if we can answer any questions for you!

That’s why we’re pointing out the frog. Maybe you’ve seen the little green guy on packaging but aren’t really sure what it stands for. Since 1990, the Rainforest Alliance has been transforming tropical agriculture and now certifies over 100 types of crops, including coffee, cocoa, tea, sugarcane, flower and fruit. More than 2 million people, including farmers, farm workers and their families benefit directly from Rainforest Alliance certification, as certified farms provide a better future for people while conserving nature and protecting wildlife.

The Rainforest Alliance has worked within the communities and with experts in science, agriculture and the environment to develop farm-management guidelines that maintain important traditions and eco-friendly practices, while maintaining a growing awareness of social responsibility and ensuring economic sustainability.

Rainforest Alliance Week was created to bring awareness to the brands and products that support the mission of the Alliance, and to let consumers know that by purchasing goods showing that little green frog, you are making a difference in the world. So, the next time you are shopping, just follow the frog! Learn more about how the Rainforest Alliance is supporting a brighter future for people and the planet at www.rainforest-alliance.org.

Clouding can be caused by using hard water which contains high concentrations of minerals.  The minerals can take the form of visible solids that don’t dissolve at cooler temperatures.  Simply brewing your tea with water treated with a reverse osmosis and re-mineralization system can alleviate the cloudy appearance.  Clouding can also be caused by a component of tea known as theaflavins. Theaflavins remain evenly suspended in tea when kept at a higher temperature or cooled slowly.  If the tea is cooled quickly, the theaflavins will cause the tea to cloud.

Further studies have tried to determine why certain teas contain more theaflavins and thus are more prone to clouding. There are theories about teas from certain regions or those  grown at high altitudes being more likely to cloud, but the Sri Lanka Tea Research Institute has concluded that clouding can take place in either high or low quality teas.  Theaflavin content can change from harvest to harvest, making it difficult to predict a tea’s propensity toward clouding based on region.

A cloudy iced tea can be cleared up by something as simple as adding a very small amount of hot water, which demonstrates that the clouding is unrelated to flavor.  Try tasting the cloudy tea before and after adding a splash of hot water – just don’t dilute it in the process.  The simple discovery that clouding doesn’t affect the taste of iced tea may just open up a whole new world of great tasting teas to you.

Hacienda la Esmeralda is not only dedicated to sustainable farming techniques, but to sustaining the health and well being of the harvest workers.  Hacienda la Esmeralda has committed to providing daycare for workers’ children, along with a focus on nutrition and medical care.  Hacienda la Esmeralda provides food designed to boost nutrition daily, as well as weekly visits from a physician, dentist and mobile pharmacy.  Additionally, they provide all adults in the family with packages of rice and beans, or rice and sardines.

Hacienda la Esmeralda also developed a program in which they supply lunch and all didactic materials to two local elementary schools, also entitling every child associated with the farm to a scholarship to not only elementary and secondary school, but to the University of Panama as well.

The workers are not forgotten as they return “home” after the harvest season is over.  Hacienda la Esmeralda visits the mountains in June or July when the workers will have little or no money left and are awaiting the harvest of the few crops they may have planted.  Depending on the coffee sales for the year, an additional bonus of 10 to 20 percent of the earnings is given to the workers to help sustain them until their own crops come in.

Coffee Reserve is committed to working with coffee producers like Hacienda la Esmeralda who are working not only to sustain the growing conditions for the coffee crop, but to improve the lives and health of workers and their families.

Thirty-two Southwest baristas will showcase their skills, have the opportunity to interact and compete on looks alone (the lattes, not the baristas) as they embellish their foamy espresso creations with a traditional Rosetta and then an original design of their own in the bracket-style competition.  Designs will be judged on balance, symmetry, presentation and originality.  Clarity of design and execution will be key in the competition.  If you’ve ever gazed down at a feathery heart delicately gracing your Sunday morning latte, you will appreciate attending the Competition with your admission to Phoenix Cooks.

Even better, the judging panel will not let the beautiful lattes go to waste – after judging the drinks will be given to lucky attendees to taste. Come cheer on these hardworking, skilled artisans as they show off their creative side.  The first prize winner will receive a $500 prize. Also new to Phoenix Cooks this year – The Brew Bar. Sidle up to this 16 foot coffee bar showcasing local Arizona Coffee Roasters. Coffee Reserve Brands will be one of the featured roasters with its El Salvador San Emilio Pulp Natural coffee. Retail bags of this coffee will be offered at the Brew Bar. The Brew Bar will be staffed by a Volunteer Barista Crew including the methods of V60, Siphon, Chemex, & Clever.

The company provides initiatives in education, healthcare and nutrition for workers and their families, while maintaining shade grown plantations to benefit the environment.  Shade trees allow for a more natural habitat for animals and birds, and provide growing conditions that produce an exceptional coffee. Additionally, the company uses the coffee parchment and dried pulp as fuel for the operations, as well as maintaining a 10-acre water treatment retention ponds, turning waste water into nutrient irrigation water.

The company has been recognized for its environmentally friendly guiding principals, receiving the 2004 National Environmental Award in the “Entrepreneurial Effort” category for the high standards of operation in the water treatment facility.