Life is too short for instant coffee

Had a delivery of coffee today. I know some of you  have already noted and indeed used the link at the very bottom of this blog to a company called Hasbean.  I heartily recommend the unstuffy, no-nonsense approach they have and the customer care is great. Best of all are the beans themselves.

I remember the day I decided I would never again drink instant coffee.  Given the pleasure available from freshly roast, freshly ground coffee, to drink Nescafe seemed like a betrayal. I get  tremendous satisfaction from opening the sealed pouches of beans from Hasbean, that may have been roasted less than 24 hours before, and breathing in deeply.  Another deep inhale awaits when the beans are ground. And then there’s the pleasure of pouring water on the grounds in a cafetiere and seeing the foaming head that appears – almost like the crema on an espresso. You only get this from the freshest of beans, not from stuff that may have been on a supermarket storehouse and shelf for  months. 

Coffee is  every bit as varied, subtle and complex as wine.  I’ve tried to capture some of this in these two photos. On the top  is Celebes Toraja Kalosi, from Sulawesi in Indonesia. Look at those bad boys – dark,  mysterious, glistening with oil. The coffee they make is similarly dark and brooding, earthy like the forest floor. On the botttom is the Costa Rican Finca de Licho, lighter, sweeter, more approachable with almost citric acidity but chocolate notes too.  Two very different drinks for different moods, different times of day. Marvellous.