J. Martinez & Company Coffee

Green coffee beans are usually shipped in 132lb bags, (60 Kilograms) and world-wide production statistics are compiled on the number of bags.

World production for 2012 includes 88,818 bags of Arabica and 62,440 of Robusta.

To give you perspective on worldwide coffee production and the rarity of some highly prized regional coffees like Hawaiian Kona and Jamaican Blue Mountain that make up a tiny fraction of all coffees, here are statistics for 2012 compiled by the US Department of Agriculture.

Brazil leads the world in total production again in 2012 with 40,200 bags of Arabica and 15,700 of Robusta for a total of 55,900 bags or 7,378,800 lb.

Vietnam is second for total production with 850 bags of Arabica and 24,150 of Robusta for a total of 25,000 bags or 3,300,000 lb.

 

The United States, mostly Hawaii, (100/0) and Mexico (4,500/200) make up North American production of 4,600 bags of Arabica and 200 bags of Robusta.

Central America produces 14,605 bags of Arabica and 10 bags of Robusta from: Costa Rica (1,600/0), El Salvador (1,475/0), Guatemala (3,840/10), Honduras (5,800/0), Nicaragua (1,800/0) and Panama (90/0).

 

South American countries including Bolivia (4/150), Brazil (40,200/15,700), Colombia (7,500/0), Ecuador (415/190), Paraguay (25/0), Peru (4,800/0) and Venezuela (880/0) combined to produce 53,970 bags of Arabica and 15,890 bags of Robusta.

Caribbean countries produce 920 bags of Arabica from: Cuba (125), Dominican Republic (475), Haiti (300) and Jamaica (20).

 

Middle East coffee comes from Yemen at 150 bags of Arabica.

Papua New Guinea, 1,100 bags of Arabica and 50 bags of Robusta, represents Oceania’s total production.

South Asia contributes 1,650 bags of Arabica and 3,685 bags of Robusta from: India (1,640/3,660) and Sri Lanka (10/25).

 

Southeast Asia contributes 2,580 bags of Arabica and 35,025 bags of Robusta from: Indonesia (1,700/8,000), Laos (0/575), Malaysia (0/1,000), Philippines (30/400), Thailand (0/900) and Vietnam (850/24,150).

 

Sub-Saharan Africa contributes 9,243 bags of Arabica and 7,580 bags of Robusta from: Angola (0/30), Burundi (225/0), Cameroon (100/700), Central African Republic (0/15), Kinshasa (200/165), Cote d'Ivoire (0/1,800), Ethiopia (6,500/0), Ghana (0/90), Guinea (0/425), Kenya (850/0), Liberia (0/5), Madagascar (25/500), Malawi (25/0), Nigeria (0/30), Rwanda (250/0), Sierra Leone (0/70), Tanzania (500/300), Togo (0/650), Uganda (650/2,800), Zambia 10/0) and Zimbabwe (8/0).

 

Most espresso lovers are open to experimenting with different blends, various grinds, tamp pressure and more in pursuit of the perfect beverage. But, few are actually brave enough to attempt roasting a custom coffee at home.

Unlike brewing, frothing, tamping and grinding techniques, much of the roasting process is shrouded in secrecy. As a chef may guard a prized recipe, many roasters consider their particular roasting method a trade secret. The knowledge used to transform a green bean into premium coffee is often guarded under lock and key. That's not to say you're doomed to be shut out of the roasting world. If you want to try your hand at creating a custom coffee, keep in mind that the roasting process is rooted in hard science. Understanding a few key concepts and exercising a little patience can get you well on your way to being a home roaster.

The Process
You'll need most of your five senses in order to create a successful batch of roasted coffee—hearing, sight and smell in particular. Before you begin, take a moment to make note of the color of your un-roasted beans.

It takes quite a bit of heat to transform the average green bean; we're talking 460°F -530°F. Heating virtually anything at these temperatures will generate a certain amount of smoke and odor, so it's best to roast by an open window or an otherwise well-ventilated area.

As they are introduced to heat, your beans will first turn yellow and then begin to brown. Listen carefully, a few minutes after your green beans being to roast, you'll hear a cracking sound. At this point, the natural sugars found in the beans are starting to caramelize and you have achieved a light roast. The steam being emitted will also begin take on a roasted coffee scent.

Keep roasting, if you want a medium or dark roast. If you leave the beans exposed to heat beyond a medium roast, you'll hear a second crack. At this point, you should have a very dark roast. Do not venture much beyond this point, your beans will begin to burn and the natural sugars will all be gone, leaving you with very bitter coffee.

After your beans are done roasting, they will need to be cooled before they can be stored. If you like the results, set aside some of the beans so that you will have a reference point for the next batch. Otherwise, keep experimenting!

The Equipment
I've heard of people roasting coffee in everything from a popcorn popper to a skillet and even a cookie tray in the oven. The popcorn popper seems to be the most popular improvised coffee roaster. However, it is important to keep in mind that using your popcorn popper to roast coffee will most likely void the warranty as it is certainly outside its intended use. At proper roasting temperatures, 460°F -530°F, you will be pushing the limits of the popper to the max. Don't be surprised if it burns out within a few short months.

My advice? Use the popcorn popper as it was intended; invest in a coffee roaster if you want to make coffee at home. Makeshift methods may not yield the proper results and could pose serious safety risks.

If the goal is to create a semi-professional roast, a coffee roaster is definitely the way to go. Not only are coffee roasters designed to deliver an even roast, they also offer greater heat control. The Nesco Professional Coffee Bean Roaster, available on our Website, goes above and beyond; it is the only home roaster with a catalytic converter to eliminate unpleasant smoke and odor generated by the roasting process. This model also has a dedicated roasting chamber and auger to mix your beans and ensure an even roast.

Roasting is very straightforward with this Nesco model. It has a 1/3-pound capacity, which should yield enough beans for approximately 36 cups of coffee. There's a powerful heating element and two-speed fan to direct heated or cooled air through your coffee as necessary. The Nesco Professional Roaster's most convenient feature is arguably the recall option, which will let you store and recall the roasting duration. This feature makes it easy to replicate previous results.
Priced under $250, the Nesco coffee roaster is an affordable way to create fresh, custom coffee. If you're a true espresso lover, roasting your own coffee at home is an experience worth exploring.

If you're tired of the same old drinks, break out of the rut with a creative latte. This month's recipe is perfect for the adventurous latte lovers out there.

Ingredients
- 3 shots of espresso
- 6 oz of milk
- ½ oz of Monin Dark Chocolate Syrup
- ½ oz of Monin Caramel Syrup
- ¼ oz of Monin Hazelnut Syrup
- Ice

Preparation
In a tall 16oz glass, combine the espresso, syrup and milk. Stir the contents and add ice. Garnish with whipped cream, if desired, and enjoy!

With St. Patrick's Day right around the corner, may the luck...and drinks, of the Irish be with you. Given the upcoming festivities, now is as good a time as any to take a look at the history of one of the most (in)famous, drinks in the world—the Irish Coffee.

In true Celtic fashion, think Leprechauns and pots of gold, the origins of the Irish Coffee begins with a local folklore...Legend has it that the drink was invented in a cafe at the now-defunct Foynes Airport. In 1943, on a particularly nasty winter evening, a flight bound for Botwood, Newfoundland made the critical decision to return to Foynes after several hours in the air. Consider that 1943 was during WWII and commercial air travel was really in its infancy—think well-heeled men and women on a flying-boat voyage. The circumstances of the diverted flight were trying at best and left passengers a little bit more than peeved.

Upon making the decision to head back to Foynes, the captain reportedly sent a Morse-code message to the control tower, alerting ground operations personnel of the impending return. At the terminal, preparations were made to welcome back the crew and passengers. I know, you're skeptical already; but keep in mind, this was the 1940s...flying was a glitzy affair.

Back to the regularly scheduled story...Head chef Joe Sheridan of the airport restaurant was hastily asked to make something to warm the passengers and lift their spirits. He decided to...well...add a little spirit to their drinks. After all what could keep you warmer and happier than a hot coffee and some good old Irish whiskey? As the night progressed and everybody had been served, one of the passengers approached Sheridan to thank him for the hospitality. Making small talk, the passenger asked if Brazilian coffee had been used to prepare the drink...To which Sheridan responded "No, that was Irish Coffee." The rest is history.

From that night forward, Irish Coffee was served to all passengers going through Foynes Airport. The tradition continues to this day; dignitaries arriving at Shannon Airport are still welcomed with a warm cup of Irish Coffee. Want to celebrate St. Patrick's Day in style? Try this authentic Irish Coffee Recipe:

Joe Sheridan's Original Irish Coffee

• 30ml Irish Whiskey
• Freshly brewed coffee
• 2 teaspooons of  sugar
• 2 teaspoons fresh whipping cream or double cream

Preparation
Preheat an Irish Coffee Mug using hot water. Try our Stout, Classic or Pedestal version of the mug. Pour freshly brewed coffee into the mug; add sugar and whiskey. Top with cream.

A few months ago, we got a very special shipment of J Martinez Jamaica Blue Mountain whole bean coffee. For a limited time only, the brand’s signature medium roast is available with rare peaberry beans for more a fragrant, concentrated flavor. In honor of this unique coffee, we’d like to give you a closer look at J.Martinez & Company as a whole and explore the unique taste profiles that have made this roaster famous.

Founded in 1988 by Jamaican native John Martinez, the company introduced the public to a whole new way of experiencing coffee. J. Martinez began offering estate coffees at its inception, allowing buyers to find out exactly where their coffee came from. Pinpointing the origin of whole bean coffee lets espresso connoisseurs better understand, appreciate and predict the flavor profile of their beverages. John Martinez’s passion and his company’s rich heritage continue to thrive today, as more and more people seek out the brand's elite coffees.

J.Martinez is your ticket to a diverse, adventurous coffee experience. Its collection of fine coffees spans the globe, representing exotic locales from Jamaica, Hawaii, and Yemen to India, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Kenya. Pay tribute to the country that discovered coffee with the spicy, tangy and fruity flavors of J. Martinez Ethiopian Harrar Horse or stop in for a taste of the bright, medium-bodied of Kenya AA (available in medium and dark dark roasts). Also, if you love African beans, consider J. Martinez’s Tanzania Kilimanjaro Peaberry, harvested from the base of the continent’s highest mountain, this coffee features intricate flavors, reminiscent of fine wine.

Venture towards the Arabian Peninsula and you’ll discover luxurious chocolate overtones courtesy of the company’s prized dark-roast Yemen Mattari. Equally as intriguing is the J. Martinez India Monsooned Malabar, a mellow, smooth coffee that delivers vibrant espressos. For a nutty, clean coffee, go for the Hawaiian Kona Whole Bean, available in your choice of medium and dark roasts. Otherwise, swing back to John Martinez’s native Jamaica and indulge in the sweet, delicate flavors of Blue Mountain Coffee (also available in medium and dark roasts).

The earliest credible evidence of coffee drinking originated in Africa in the middle of the fifteenth century. The energizing effect of the coffee bean was first discovered by natives of Ethiopia. Today, there are four major regions in Africa known for growing coffee: Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia and, to a lesser, extent Yemen. Each region has its own altitude, soil type, climate, and method of harvesting which produces coffee that has its own unique flavor. In general, a good coffee growing climate offers moderate sunshine and rain, as well as a steady temperature around 70° F.

Known as the birth place of coffee, Ethiopia is Africa’s leading exporter of Arabica beans. The Harrar bean is the most widely produced bean and comes from small farms in the Eastern part of the country. The first-known wild Arabica coffee tree was discovered in Ethiopia and even today, many coffee drinkers describe Ethiopian coffee as having a wild potency and strong aroma. Ethiopian coffee can have a heavy body, winey or fruit-like acidity, and a wild or earthy taste in the cup. I would recommend anybody that wants to have a natural coffee tasting experience to try Ethiopian coffee. The J Martinez Ethiopian Harrar Horse is a great example of a good coffee produced from this region.

Most coffee drinkers are familiar with Kenyan coffee. The high plateaus throughout Kenya, plus the stable climate and acidic soil, provide excellent coffee growing conditions that produce very intriguing flavor characteristics. Although there are some variance in the flavor characteristics of Kenyan coffee, most will agree that coffee coming from this region has bright acidity with a distinctive dry, winey aftertaste. Some Kenyan coffee also has detectable citrus tones to it. For a good Kenyan coffee, try Kenya AA by J Martinez .

An up-and-coming coffee, Tanzania beans are starting to rival Kenyan coffee in popularity. Tanzania coffee displays many of the same qualities as its Kenyan counterpart. Most of the Tanzanian Arabica coffee, such as the prized Tanzania Peaberry coffee is grown on Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Meru. In general, a good Tanzania coffee will have bright acidity and strong flavors. Most Tanzanian coffee share the characteristically sharp, winey acidity typical of Kenyan coffee. It also tends to be medium to full-bodied and fairly rich in flavor. A great example of a quality Tanzanian coffee is J Martinez Tanzania Kilimanjaro Peaberry . This coffee has a fruity taste and heavy body.

Not to be confused with mocha flavored coffee, the Yemen Mocha coffee is one of the oldest beans in the world. Yemen coffee does indeed have its own natural “mocha” characteristics and the stronger you make the coffee, the more clearly you will taste the "chocolate" flavors. I often use Yemen Mocha Java by Supreme Bean as an espresso base for lattes. Yemen Mattari is another great alternative and along with the chocolate overtones this coffee offers a wine-like brightness.

Since the coffee tree originated in Africa, many people consider coffee from this region to be true coffee tasting experience. Whether it is the wild flavor of a true Ethiopian coffee or the natural chocolate tones of a good Yemen coffee you should try an African coffee in your morning cup of Joe. Please feel free to share your experiences with African coffee by commenting on this blog. Also please feel free to comment on my blog about the South American coffee region .

Darren Ruffell

Sales Manager

Called Peaberry in English and Caracoli in Spanish, these beans are often separated from normal-shaped beans and sold as a separate grade of the same coffee. Peaberry grades are considered superior to normal grades from the same crop, on the basis that, in Peaberries, all the flavor compounds that ordinarily goes into a double bean goes into only one bean. Typically, the Peaberry is more buoyant and more brightly acidic, more complex in the upper aromatic ranges of the profile but somewhat lighter in body, than normally shaped beans.

The Peaberry beans are widely known to roast better than regular flat coffee beans. Peaberries roast more evenly since they don’t have sharp edges. They roll around in the roasting chamber easier resulting in a more even roast. They also have a higher bean density which improves the heat transfer in the roasting process.

As a coffee roaster of 7 years, I had the opportunity to purchase some really good peaberry coffee. One particular peaberry coffee I’ve been fond of is the Tanzanian Peaberry. The Peaberry that I roasted had some really bold flavors, with chocolate notes and some hints of spices. When working with peaberry I roast the beans to a dark roast to unsure that I’d get the full flavors out of the bean. One particular peaberry coffee comes to mind is a Tanzian Peaberry. I slow roasted the coffee at a lower temperature for the first stage of the roasting process, this allowes the coffee to be roasted from the inside out. For the second stage of the roasting process, I turned up the roaster to a higher temperature and roasted the coffee to the second crack.

Coffee will crack just like popcorn. The first crack starts out at around 400°F and the second crack at around 450°F. Most medium coffees are dumped out of the roaster before the second crack. How long you roast the coffee after the second crack determines how dark the roast will be.

After the coffee comes out of the roaster, it will need to degas for at least 24 hours. This process changes the taste of the coffee since it releases the gases that are trapped in the bean.

So there, we now know what Peaberry is. Have you had Peaberry coffee? If so, how does the taste differ from “normal” coffee?

We carry a peaberry here at Whole Latte Love that you really need to try, J Martinez Tanzania Lilimanjaro Peaberry.

My wonderful wife Karolyn gets to travel to some pretty cool places for her corporate training position. When she told me she has heading to Honolulu for a training gig and asked if there was anything that I wanted her to bring me back as a souvenir, believe me I wasn’t thinking about a multi-colored shirt with flowers and surfboards all over it…I wanted coffee, specifically 100% Kona Coffee. In anticipation for this aromatic souvenir arriving I figured that it might be appropriate to do a little research and learn the history of this world renowned coffee. Here is what I found out….

Kona coffee, which has developed a reputation that has made it one of the most expensive and sought-after coffees in the world, is cultivated on the slopes of Hualalai and Mauna Loa in the North and South Kona Districts of the big island of Hawaii. Only the beans from these districts can be legally described as true "Kona" beans. The sunny mornings, cloud cover or rain in the afternoons, little wind and mild nights combined with porous, volcanic soil creates favorable coffee growing conditions.

The first coffee plant from Brazilian cuttings was originally brought to Kona by Reverend Samuel Ruggles in 1828. It was not until many yeas later that it would become a crop that would be grown consistently enough that it would be worthwhile to take to market. It was grown on large plantations, but a world coffee market crash in 1899 caused plantation owners to have to lease out their land to their laborers. Most of these workers were originally brought in to work on the sugarcane plantations. They worked their leased parcels of up to twelve acres as family businesses, harvesting large, quality coffee crops.

The tradition of running family farms has continued throughout Kona. Most of these are Japanese families, but also mainland Americans, Filipinos, and Europeans. There are approximately eight hundred Kona coffee farms with an average farm size of less than five acres. In the late 1990’s the approximate Kona green coffee production was just over two million pounds from an area of around 2,300 acres. Each tree is picked several times between the months of August and January, and provides around 20-30 pounds of cherries.

Immediately after the cherry is picked, the beans are separated from the pulp and then get fermented in a tank. The fermentation time depends on the temperature and the elevation. Higher elevations get fermented for 24 hours, Lower elevations for 12 hours. The beans are then rinsed with water and spread out to dry on a drying rack called a hoshidana. They are then dried to a moisture level that the Hawaii Department of Agriculture has set between 9.5-12.5%, which takes one to two weeks. At this point the parchment is milled off the green bean and it is sold at wholesale or roasted for resale. These are sold as either Type I beans which have two beans per cherry or Type II which is better known as peaberry.

The State of Hawaii requires that for Kona beans to be considered truly authentic Kona coffee, they must specifically say the words “100% Kona Coffee” on their packaging. Because of the high price and small supply of Kona beans, it is possible to buy Kona blends, which are a blend of at least 10% Kona combined with Brazilian, Colombian, or a number of other imported coffees, but labeling laws in the State of Hawaii require the roasters to state the exact percentage of Kona coffee along with the balance of the blend.

The excitement for me is that I will get to try a 100% Kona coffee that is a signature mix of Type I beans and Type II peaberry beans. The song “Anticipation” keeps popping into my head. What will this coffee drinking experience be like? Watch for my follow-up blog to find out……

Have you ever traveled to Hawaii and seen the Kona plantations first hand?

Have you ever tried 100% Kona Coffee or a Kona Blend yourself? What did you like about it?