PerkyBox

This story starts with the farmer picking beans from the bush.  When they are initially picked, the coffee beans look like little red berries that you would never dare eat from fear of dying - thanks for scaring us mom! Once picked, the outer skin is pulped and out comes the star - a small green coffee bean... It’s technically a seed, but we’ll leave that for an entirely separate post.

When roasters or coffee shops offering in-house roasting order bulk coffee, they receive dried, green, dense beans. When purchasing the virgin beans, roasters plan their roast to compliment the bean.

So what’s the deference between light, medium and dark roasts?

Light

Beans are roasted until the internal temperature of the bean reaches 180C - 205C. The lighter roast leave the beans a light brown in colour, are more acidic and have a distinct grainy flavour. The benefit of light roasts is that you can distinguish some of the more subtle characteristics that various bean producing regions or crops offer.

Medium

Beans are roasted until the internal temperature of the bean reaches 210C - 225C. The medium roast beans have experienced their first crack, as the bean expands from the heat. This kind of coffee provides a nice balance between light and dark roasts. It allows the drinker to taste some of the beans' natural profile and is accompanied by a fuller body that a dark roast brings.

Dark

Beans are roasted until the internal temperature of the bean reaches 210C - 225C. The dark roast beans are a dark brown/black and have gone through a second crack. They now possess a sheen which can often be spotted in the brewed coffee. The subtleties of the beans in this blend are virtually indistinguishable and the coffee tastes smoky - almost burnt.

All of this is very interesting to know but let’s be honest… Unless you are a true aficionado, coffee is coffee. And why do the vast majority of people drink coffee? Caffeine of course! What coffee do you need to order on a Monday morning to get your work-week hustle started?

We know its a little early to start thinking about iced coffee but we’re ONLY 4 months until summer! And who’s to say you can’t drink an iced coffee next to a warm fireplace anyways?!

When you’ve grown tired of regular boring cold brew, pour over iced coffee or frappuccinos, you have to start looking at bigger, better ways of having cold coffee. Nitro coffee, is the newest, coolest way to have refreshing coffee!

Although it doesn’t have its own wikipedia dedication, it’s quickly growing in popularity. What started out as  a quick, convenient way to serve out cold coffee on tap has now been re-invented with the introduction of nitrogen.

The coffee is infused with nitrogen (or co2), cooled in a keg and then served on tap. Reminiscent of a draught Guinness beer, the coffee is slightly bubbly which gives it a rich and creamy mouth-feel.

Some drinkers report feeling a bigger rush than just a standard cup of iced joe. There may be some truth to it but there’s only one way to find out.. you’ve got to try it! Don’t worry if you cant find it locally, a few companies offer canned versions so that we can all indulge in a better cold coffee.