Hand-Roasted Coffee Beans from New England

It is an indisputable fact for most of us that we spend a major portion of our life at the workplace, and I am one of those who has the attitude, but also the luxury, of making my workplace as much of a comfortable place as possible. That level of comfort, besides photos of my wife and son plus the Moody Blues station on Pandora, includes several cups of good coffee in the morning. I admit, I am a snob when it comes to the matters of coffee (Okay, it’s the same with tea. We only drink Barry’s Irish Tea at breakfast.), and I use only whole beans of the best quality. Best quality includes buying coffee beans freshly roasted in the neighborhood, namely the Shelburne Falls Coffee Roasters. Their roasting operation is only a few miles from our house, and their local Greenfield (Massachusetts) coffee store is even closer.

Nestled in the foothills of New England’s Berkshires, the Shelburne Falls coffee roastery hearkens back to an earlier America, a time and place where fine things were produced by village craftspeople who nurtured their products from start to finish. You will find that their hand roasted coffee beans, whether organic coffee, decaffeinated coffee, or the rich assortment of flavored coffees — are as fresh and delicious as coffee can be.

And, honestly, while I am writing this post I have a steaming cup of their Costa Rican Tarrazu right next to me. I love my coffee the French style, meaning with a lot of milk, similar to a cafe au lait. It’s just regular whole milk; my snobbiness does not include a steamer at the workplace or even at home.

This Light Roast version of the Costa Rican Tarrazu coffee classic is an excellent morning coffee! Brew it through your drip machine like I do, and you can experience all its flavors. This full-bodied coffee is delightfully smooth with a sweet, fruited aroma. In flavor, subtle chocolate nuances pair beautifully with notes of sweet citrus. The cup distinctly brightens toward the finish with a sweetly dry, lemon-like citrus nuance that pleasantly lingers. At its best prepared as a drip brew, while the French press produces a somewhat brighter cup with the more pronounced citrus nuances.

The Shelburne Falls Coffee Roasters product line of coffees includes Colombian Supremo, Guatemalan Antigua, Organic Coffees (Mexican, Peruvian, and Sumatran), Flavored Coffees (Hazelnut, Toasted Coconut Cream, French Vanilla, and Roasted Chestnut), and, of course, a large variety of decaffeinated coffees.

If you are in the neighborhood, please take the time to visit one of their stores in Shelburne Falls, Northampton, Greenfield, or Hadley, Massachusetts. The service is always friendly, and you might even learn a few things about coffee as I did during the years.

For example, did you know that their Decaf French Roast is close to having an espresso flavor, but is a quite a bit smoother (in fact, some customers prefer to use this bean as their espresso)? It is also a little known fact that French Vanilla is not a vanilla flavor at all, but a term used to describe the French method of making ice cream using egg yolks, cream, and vanilla pods. The unique flavor and aroma came to be called French Vanilla by perfume and specialty product companies, and has been in use ever since.

Well, if you live in another corner of the country, you can still try and enjoy their coffee by ordering online through the Copperhill Store, a website dedicated to products from New England, including those of the Shelburne Falls Coffee Roasters. Their web site is http://www.copperhillstore.com. Regardless of where you live, their coffee is the freshest thing to having the roastery in your neighborhood. Their coffee beans are slow-roasted to bring out a fuller, more even flavor. The coffee is roasted fresh immediately prior to packaging and shipping, and the the beans are packaged to ensure optimal freshness.

Enjoy!