Coffee, like wine or cheese or chocolate, is a matter of individual taste. The way you handle your coffee is as individual a matter as the bean or blend you prefer. But with ever more coffee connoisseurs refining the enjoyment of this versatile beverage, a few guidelines may be useful. Take the opportunity to try the different brews — as many as eight choices on any given day — offered in our stores, so you can compare and discover what you like best. Experiment and enjoy! Roasting (see below) is what coaxes character out of the initially bland bean. In choosing coffee, consider the following: Aroma: Does it smell good to you? The fragrance of coffee is what stimulates your taste buds. Does it evoke butter, flowers, nuts, honey, earth, leather, spice? The smell of coffee, developed by roasting, is liberated by brewing. Body: How does the coffee feel in your mouth? Typically, the "weight" — the body — of a given coffee may be described as light, heavy, rough, thin and so on. Acidity: In coffee, this is a desirable quality, particularly in central American coffees and some from East Africa. (Note that it’s offset by the use of milk or cream.) Without tipping over into sourness, acidity is a matter of taste, balanced in some brews by a touch of bitterness. Roasting is a progressive process, not unlike caramelizing vegetables, that requires temperature and time factors, coupled with the skill and attention of the roaster. Medium: The lightest we offer, suitable for customers who like a bright but less heavy cup of coffee. Some roasters may call this "half city" or "New England." Full City: Slightly darker than medium and adaptable to different foods. A Full City roast produces beans that are at their most complex and most flavorful." Some may call this "American," "breakfast," or "brown" roast. Vienna: This is darker still than Full City, with the oils of the beans emerging more. The result is a bit spicy, with rich, chocolate-inflected body. Sometimes called "high" or "Continental" roast. French: Our darkest roast. A bold, intense coffee, with bean oils fully emerged, low acidity and full body. The freshest coffee, made with clean-tasting, fresh water, is likely to be the most enjoyable. Start with cold water. The type of grind you choose depends on what brewing system you use. We recommend drip-style, French press or an espresso-maker. Two tablespoons of ground coffee to six ounces of water is a typical ratio, but the strength of coffee you like is a matter of preference. To assure freshness, buy your beans in small quantities and grind only what you will use in a day. At home, store them in an airtight container, out of direct light and in a cool, dry place. While it’s not ideal, fresh-roasted coffee can be stored in the freezer (not the refrigerator) if you take care to make the container as airtight as possible. There’s no need to thaw your beans before grinding, but if they do thaw out, don’t refreeze them. Varietals As with wine, a varietal coffee is one made from a single type of bean and named for its country or region of origin. Varietal wines are mostly made with the grapes they’re named for, but the percentage, while high, can vary, by law. Each of our varietal coffees, on the other hand, is 100 percent a single type of bean. You can pick them out by the orange cards. Blends Our blended coffees consist of a mix of beans or roasts carefully orchestrated to result in a delicious original coffee. As its name states, our very popular house brew — One World Blend — is such a coffee, concocted of Latin American beans, from Mexico, Nicaragua and Peru. Mind, Body & Soul is another, made of all Mexican beans but incorporating two different roasts. Look for the blue cards. Flavored Flavoring is applied to coffee beans right after roasting. Hazelnut is probably the most well-known flavored coffee. The other one we carry is French Vanilla. When you want something a little special, try one of these excellent coffees. You’ll find these coffees with gold label cards. Decaffeinated Our decaf coffees are processed naturally, using a state-of-the-art method. Semi-liquid carbon dioxide and a small amount of water is applied to the beans so that the caffeine is removed but the flavor remains. Decaffeinated beans are marked by a green label card.