San Marco coffee beans are roasted and shipped from their large roasting plant in Charlotte North Carolina. The company stocks arabica coffee beans which it roasts to order and ships all over the world. This company has capitalized on the power of the internet and provides the customer with excellent coffee beans in many gourmet flavours at competitive prices.

The next coffee beans to rate a mention are from the Lavazza coffee company. Many people are familiar with this companies espresso equipment but it is the coffee beans and ground coffee that has made this company famous. Lavazza was one of the first companies to offer a blended coffee to the consumer as well as regular unblended coffee beans. By blending flavours lavazza was able to creaet signature coffee tastes that are liked all over the world. Lavazza coffee beans are also available all around the world both wholesale and retail.

Illy coffee beans are next on the list of top coffee beans as it has perfected and become one of the most popular gourmet coffee companies. Coffee beans from Illy come in a variety of forms from whole bean and ground to espresso pods catering for both the cafe crowd and the home coffee drinker. This company does not provide the consumer with a large range of coffee blends and tastes, instead Illy coffee strives to provide the one perfect blend for an excellent coffee every time.

The next brand of coffee beans, Miscela d’Oro coffee beans, are from Italy with the company roasting beans since the 1940′s. The company primarily focused on creating artisan coffee roast from a range of coffee beans available. The Miscela d’Oro coffee focus has now changed to providing coffee beans through supermarket chains.

Last but definitely not least is the Di Bella Coffee bean range which originated in Brisbane Australia. The company was founded an initially run by Phillip Di Bella but quickly became a name in coffee bean circles due to the companies focus on consistency and quality of product and also their excellent customer service. Di Bella Coffee beans are marketed throughout Australia and the world through wholesale to cafes and restaurants.

The organic coffee certification in recent times has also been extended to include environmental practices that are used to harvest the coffee beans and ensure that the environment is protected as well as the farming land that produces the coffee. Consumers are becoming more aware and concerned about organic products and the environment so these are important aspects in this era of socially responsible products.

As well as the benefits to the environment organic coffee beans also have many positive health benefits that are diverse and numerous. Health professionals and scientists have researched the benefits of coffee beans and have found that organic coffee beans provide many more health benefis than regular coffee beans.

Whatever you consume affects your body as soon as it enters your stomach. Most of us wish to eat healthy and try to choose healty options for the things that we enjoy. Organic coffee beans can provide you with that coffee fix but reduces the amount of chemicals and toxins that could be present in the coffee beans. Grown without herbicides and pesticides the organic coffee beans are shade grown which encourages the beans to grow slower and retain many more nutrients than conventional coffee beans.

Organic coffee beans have become more popular in recent times as studies and research have suggested that the large quantity of antioxidants contained within the coffee beans has similar health benefits as that contained in red wine and super fruit berries. Antioxidants have been shown to protect the cells and the body against harmful free radicals and hence promoting longevity.

In addition to this organic coffee beans when consumed have also been known to improve mental performance and endurance and also boost energy. Consuming organic coffee can also benefit in the fight against heart disease, some cancers, gallstone formation, cirrhosis and alzheimers disease.

On the downside coffee and organic coffee contains caffeine which can be highly addictive and has been linked to health problems such as irregular heart beats and rise in blood pressure.

Most of the coffee beans that are used to make many of the commercial flavours are from the seed or bean of the Coffea arabica (Arabica coffee) or Coffea canephora (Robusta coffee). The Arabica coffee bean is used in most of the expensive coffee brands while the Robusta coffee is used mainly in instant coffees as a filler.

When the coffee beans are ripe they turn a deep red colour with the fruit surrounded by a membrane and outer skin. Before the coffee roasting can be done the coffee beans need to be prepared by using the following methods.

The skin and pulp needs to be removed from the beans ideally just after the coffee beans are harvested. This process is easily done using a bucket of water and a piece of wood. Use the wood to carefully tramp down the coffee beans and force the seed out of the skin. The skin and pulp can then be poured off with the seeds staying at the bottom of the bucket.

Once the skins and pulp has been removed the coffee beans need to go through a fermentation process which removes the insoluble layer of the bean that is just under the skin. This can be done by soaking the beans in natural enzyme and can take any thing from 24 to 48 hours to work. When the beans are ready they should be washed throughly.

The next part of the process involves drying the beans either using the sun or drying racks in equipment such as electric heating elements. Once the beans are dried the parchment or thin layer around the bean needs to be removed before roasting.

The Roasting of the coffee beans is the most important part of the process as the beans go through several changes during the roasting. Roasting the coffee beans reduces the moisture content, increases the size of the bean, changes the colour and caramelises the sugars to develop the coffee aroma and flavour. Coffee beans can easily be roasted on a large tray in the oven. Once the coffee beans have been roasted they will increase in size and develop a brown to brown / black colour depending on how long the beans are roasted for.

The extent at which you roast the coffee beans depends on what flavours you wish from the beans. Light roasts have a weaker flavour than dark roasts but over roasting can give the coffee a burnt flavour. This process can be a bit trial and error but is worth the trouble for the perfect cup of coffee. Once the coffee beans have been roasted they can be ground and brewed according to taste.

The Partnership with Transfair USA has been a boost for Green Mountain Coffee which can garantee that all the coffee it produces and sells is certified organic and is derived from sustainable agriculture where farmers recieve a fair price for the coffee beans. The farmers earn up to five times what they would receive from local buyers with some of the money then invested in the community through health clinics, housing and education.

In a world that is now looking for environmentally and socially responsible businesses Green Mountain Coffee has flourished offering up to 12 varieties of Fair Trade Certified coffees. Social and environmental positives have also lead the company to be a major supplier for large companies and Universities in the United States.

Green Mountain Coffee was largely sheilded from the effect of a lower coffee bean price as the Fair Trade deal has ensured that farmers who grow coffee beans receive a fair price for their product. Green Mountain Coffee is recognized globally as a leader in the specialty coffee industry with over 1,400 employees worldwide.

Green Mountain’s success story is featured in the new book, “Untapped: Creating Value in Undeserved Markets,” authored by John Wesier. Other resources such as the NASDAQ stock listings, The Specialty Coffee Association website (www.scaa.org) and the National Coffee Association website (www.ncausa.org) contain information on Green Mountain Coffee its profits, products and many of the programs that they are involved with.