OK, Coffee… I will admit, I love coffee. My whole family is into coffee. In fact we have fights over what’s the best cup of coffee, where to get the best cup… what’s the best way to have it? (I know, we have problems). Anyway… here is some interesting stuff about coffee. 

its all about the bean. and if you’re hardcore about your joe, you grind your own beans. the thing is though… how do you pick a good bean?

there are a number of factors that affect the flavor of a coffee bean. in my opinion, the two most important are climate and roasting.

Coffee plants are really picky…. if things arent just right then they wont do well. coffee plants hate direct sunlight, so you will see them planted often underneath tall trees (we have a bunch planted underneath some teaks. My mother is gonna check on them in a few weeks, so I’ll let you guys know how they are coming along.)

Climate
anywayz… you always hear this stuff about mountain grown coffee? like mountain grown is for some reason better than coffee grown other places. well, this iznt entirely inaccurate. if coffee is grown in an elevated climate, this actually reduces the size of the coffee beans because its cooler. bad for the grower, cuz you get less bean per plant, but smaller beans are much more flavorful. It’s all about bean density. a heavy, dense bean packs much more punch then a lighter bean. Makes sense, right?

So the next time you go to a supermarket, grab a handful of beans and let them drop slowly back in the bag. Do this a few times to some different types of beans and you’ll be able to get a good feel as to which is the heavier, denser bean. Go with that one.

To find the freshest beans… look for the ones that have a slightly oily film on them they will appear a bit shinier than the rest. It’s tough to find a good fresh bean in this city though.

Roasting
Now the roasting is all about personal preference. Some people prefer different roasts than others and coffee plantations have their own roasting secrets, which are guarded like Coca-Cola’s secret formula. The only think I can say is try them and pick what you like. You'll notice different regions of the world are know for different roasts. France, Cuba, Indonesia, Turkey are some examples of regions whose roasting is so distinct its almost a national claim to fame.

Now there are a number of other factors that also makes a big difference when it comes to the perfect cup. Some include:

• How it’s made: percolator, filter-coffee maker, or just with a saucepan….
• Soil it’s grown in.
• Water used.

My mother was born in Panama and I have traveled there a countless times to visit my family. Every time I come back, I bring 80lbs of coffee beans with me… Yes, the coffee is THAT good!

Why is the coffee in Panama so superior to other regions?

The major coffee-producing region in Panama (Boquete, they have an incredible festival every year) is a mountainous region made up of extinct volcanoes. Now its cool in this region (mountains) and it’s steamy, humid, lots of vegetation. The soil is so rich in volcanic ash that the topsoil is 100ft deep and it gives a flavor to the coffee that is so rich and smooth its amazing (im having a cup right now so im projecting good coffee vibes).

There are lots of coffee companies in Panama. In my opinion, the best cup of coffee comes from a brand called Duran. You can actually get Café Duran in Stop and Shop buts it’s not the same. Whoever imports the coffee doesn’t buy Café Duran from Boquete (Duran has plantations all over Panama).

I’m a purist, so I take my coffee black. That’s the best way to really taste the coffee and if it’s a fresh cup of coffee from a high quality bean, it should have almost no aftertaste.

If you must put something in your coffee, use cream/milk or sugar. DON’T EVER MIX THEM! This is just a crime. Most people don’t know but the lactose in the milk actually reacts with the sugar producing a bitter, nasty aftertaste. Those people with nasty coffee breath in the morning use both cream / milk and sugar.

Fresh coffee is also a must. Coffee oxidizes (like apples) only instead of changing color it changes flavor becoming more bitter.

So in conclusion to this coffee saga, the best place for a cup of coffee? My house! that’s cuz I bring in 80lbs of coffee into this country every year. That reminds me of a funny story. I was like 22 and I was on my way back home from visiting family in Panama.

Now I have a suitcase filled with coffee, ketchup (they have really good ketchup) and other stuff like candy and soup (don’t ask). and that’s all I was bringing with me. a suitcase filled with coffee and food. Now security in Panama at the airport is super strict (for good reason). You have to get there two hours before your flight so they can check your bags.

The way it works (or worked, it may have changed) you give your luggage to the security area, make the line for check-in to get your boarding pass, and by the time your through the line they will have checked your bag and it will be waiting at the front of the line. (does that make sense?) Anyway… if there is a problem with your luggage, a Panamanian soldier (its all military at the airport) pulls you aside and they inspect the bags… in front of everyone!

So I'm waiting in line, and all of a sudden 2 soldiers carrying machine guns tap me on the shoulder and pull me out if the line. So they bring me to my bags right in the middle of the airport… and this bag REAKS of coffee. Imagine, a 22 year old guy, about to leave the country, they open the suitcase and they see 80 lbs of coffee. The look that they gave me, I thought I was getting locked up right then and there (for those of you that don’t know, coffee is often used when packaging cocaine to throw off the dogs). I wish they had dogs. Instead, they start pulling out all the bags of coffee and they started shaking each individual coffee bag. after a while it was just comical. They started cracking jokes like if I was gonna open a store back at home or something.

Anyway… they, of course, didn’t find anything but they took a random sample and cut open some bags of coffee. I lost about 5 lbs and believe me I shed a tear.