The Thinking Cup Blog

It wouldn't be wrong if I said that coffee is the most popular drug in the US. Would you like to know the first choice places for the best coffee shops? New England and Boston are seen as ideal destinations if you are hoping to find the very best coffee shops and baristas. However, this doesn’t mean it’s always an easy task finding the best coffee shops around; it could most times prove to be an uphill task for you. Best Coffee shops should offer much more than attractive storefronts. Although it’s a common practice these days to find coffee...

This refers to the smallest portion of specialty coffee, it embodies a group of roasters, consumers and cafes (such as Boston’s own Thinking Cup) that recognize the process of growing, roasting, brewing and drinking coffee as more of an artisanal venture. To this particular group, coffee is much more than a brown, caffeinated drink served at drive-thru windows throughout the country. Third Wave Coffee often boasts the following characteristics: Single source origin Sourced from small farms Emphasis on fresh consumption of beans Roasted in a way so as to highlight original characteristics Lighter roasts Brewed to produce the best final...

Erna Knutsen first coined it in 1974, the term was originally used to differentiate a particular set of coffees from the larger “gourmet coffee” term. Specialty Coffee often possesses the following characteristics: Rated over 80 points on the 100-point coffee grading scale The Specialty Coffee Associations of America (specific to specialty coffee) have been set aside to monitor its quality and standards strictly.

Now, pour yourself a big cup of coffee and continue reading as this article will let you know the difference. Gourmet coffee – Although this term doesn’t certainly have a precise definition, it does have a generally perceived meaning. Mostly used for marketing terms rather than in a case of classifying the quality of coffee. As a rule of thumb, gourmet coffee naturally has the following characteristics: A defined shelf-life Heavily flavored Grown in a specific environment and in very large farms (many of which are in Brazil)

Anyone else notice that a lot of people are confused about the number of terms currently flooding through the coffee world? I bet you do. Well, you're in luck as this article will help you keep up with the trends and terms. Bear in mind that bigger brands use most of these terms for marketing purposes, while there are other brands with a different label to entice customers to purchase them, thinking that they are purchasing a first class coffee.