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With eyes half-closed, many reach for that first cup of coffee to jumpstart their day. Coffee has become an increasingly popular commodity, even to the point that it is traded all over the world today. Those who are in the coffee trade will tell you that getting that cup of coffee to your hand is not easy. But it often seems as if the grueling process that manufacturers go through to provide coffee to their customers is not as complicated as the process that coffee lovers have to go through just to find that perfect cup of coffee.

Finding a perfect cup of coffee, specialty or otherwise, can be really confusing these days with all the choices. Buying a cup of coffee has many facets to it as there is a wide selection of brands, variants and styles available. Tastes vary so much from person to person that it is almost impossible to make a general statement of how a coffee consumer should buy a cup of coffee.

Green Mountain Coffee tries to make it easy for coffee drinkers to get that elusive perfect cup of coffee as they offer hundreds of varieties of coffee under their brand. This company is one of the leading manufacturers of specialty coffee all over the world. They have over a hundred selections including signature blends, flavored varieties, single origin, Fair Trade, and organic coffee. All their coffees are roasted to the peak of their flavor and aroma, and are served in bags or single K-cups.

The Breakfast Blend is one of the most popular blends. Its taste is very rich and it only has medium acidity. Vibrant and sweet, this has a nutty flavor. It is ideal for those who love to have a smooth, balanced coffee. The Fair Trade Espresso Blend is a beautiful and delicate combination of rich dark chocolate and sweet aromatic wood. Some love its sweet finish, which is attributed to the rich chocolate ingredient. This one is particularly intense, yet sweet.

Wild Mountain Blueberry is one of the most favorite flavored blends from Green Mountain Coffee. It has a sweet flavor that is intensified by the taste of blueberries perfectly baked in a crust of butter. It was initially offered only during summer but due to requests from their customers they have finally decided to offer it year-round.

Their classic house blend is a good way to introduce your “unenlightened friends” to coffee. Its bright and smooth taste is never overwhelming. This one leaves you a hint of cocoa and floral flavors; just something light. It is ideal for those who want a simple, yet rich coffee.

With the introduction of the Keurig brewing system, Green Mountain Coffee started offering their coffee in K-cup portion packaging. Each individual pack contains just the right amount of coffee to satisfy every customer’s taste. The convenience of having your favorite specialty coffee right in your own home cannot be surpassed.

Green Mountain Coffee offers coffee lovers the flexibility to find that perfect cup of coffee.

Tully Coffee sold its wholesale business and brand to Green Mountain Roasters in March 2009. The Vermont based company is now busy expanding on the West Coast and is opening a new roasting center for Tully’s in the city of Sumner, Washington, in the Puget Sound region. Green Mountain Coffee has leased 200,000 square feet at White River, an industrial development owned by Investco Financial Corporation. Tully Coffee used to be situated in Seattle’s historic Rainier Brewery building. In the new site, the company plans to increase roasting, packaging and distribution. Their new facility is more modern and boasts a great deal more space than the 80,000 square feet that Tully’s had at the Rainier brewery.

Tully’s has opened 42 new stores and coffee shops in the last 12 months, with three in Singapore, for a total of 174.  Under the purchase agreement with Green Mountain, Tully’s will continue operations under its own name. Carl Pennington, who spent 30 years with Albertson’s was recently named CEO. When asked if the recession stalled the plans for expanding the business, he replied, “I’d be kidding you if I said the recession hasn’t affected us. It has. It has affected our sales in some ways and we are working to work those issues. People are not coming in the second time like they usually do- a lot of people come in the morning and come back in the afternoon and we’ve lost some of that. It’s been kind of an up-and-down effect.”

Green Mountain has extended job offers to all 75 Tully’s wholesale employees, inviting them to join the operation at the new Sumner facility.  The company plans to build a staff of 125 employees at Sumner. Green Mountain’s CEO, Larry Blanford, said that its Keurig single cup brewers have now captured an 80% share of that rapidly growing segment of the coffee market. There are more and more of these brewers in homes and businesses and sales of the K Cups, the vacuum packed portions of coffee to use with the Keurig system, continues to increase.

Green Mountain sells over 200 different roasts and blends of coffee, tea and cocoa in K-Cups as well as whole bean coffee. The company has shown steady growth and in June 2009, announced third quarter sales of $190.5 million. This is a 61% year over year increase from $118.1 million. Earnings per share is pegged at 36 cents, this is more than double of last year’s earnings of 16 cents. The company’s success is seen by the performance of its stocks; its shares are listed as one of the top five to own. Experts predict Green Mountain’s aggressive growth will continue throughout 2009 and into 2010.

Find all of your favorite Green Mountain coffee and Keurig coffee at greatcoffee.com

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters is an advocate of the Fair Trade Movement and carry many Fair Trade Coffees under their brand. In addition, the company donates 5% of its annual gross profits to a project called Brewing A Better World Fund which helps improve the quality of life of coffee farmers. The fund also supports sustinable farming techniques locally and abroad in a mission to protect our resources.

You will see the Fair Trade Certified logo on a variety of products, including Green Mountain Coffee. Fair Trade is a grass roots movement, which supports small disadvantaged farmers and producers and sees that they get a fair price for their product. Coffee farmers can sell their beans for a higher price, receive help as they make a transition to more organic methods and they also have much needed credit made available. This helps stop big business from taking advantage of these small producers.

The Fair Trade logo can only be used by companies that are 100% committed to the principles of Fair Trade. When you see the logo on coffee or other products, it means that:

• The marketing of the product is ethical
• The product was grown on an organic or sustainable farm.
• The farmers are earning a fair wage or price for their product.

TransFairUSA is the product certifying body for the United States. It certiifies coffee, food, wine and flowers. Soon, they endeavor to include garments, cosmetics and diamonds. 

Green Mountain Coffee carries several Fair Trade Certified Coffees, some of which are organic blends, as well. Most are available in KCups as well as bags of whole beans. There is quite a variety of flavors and roasts from which to select:

• Green Mountain Mexican Blend
• Rain Forest Blend
• French Roast
• Ethiopian Yirgacheffe
• Green Mountain House Blend
• Organic Sumatra
• Wild Mountain Blueberry
• Vanilla Cream
• Peruvian Blend
• Green Mountain Breakfast Blend
• Newman’s Own Organic Blends

When you purchase a Fair Trade product, such as coffee, you should know that the following principles are being followed:

• The farmer received a certain minimum fair price plus an additional premium for organic products.
• There are fair labor conditions for farmers and workers.
• Forced child labor is not allowed at any cost.
• There is direct trade, eliminating unnecessary middlemen.
• Fair Trade farmers and farm workers decide democratically how to invest Fair Trade revenues.
• The farmers invest in social and business development to improve life in their communities.
• Environmentally sustainable farming methods are used to protect both the environment and the farmers’ health.

Whenever you purchase a Green Mountain Fair Trade Coffee, you are supporting these causes while enjoying a great cup of coffee!

The thing with single cup coffee machines, like Keurig Coffee Makers, is the indisputable fact that the “perfect one” for you can be tough to find. But fortunately you have no more worries on that because Keurig has solved the problem for you.

With just one push of the brew button a Keurig Coffee Maker will brew the ideal cup of coffee every time. All you need to do is select your favorite coffee brand and flavor, put the k-cup into the machine and press the “brew” button..

There are other single cup coffee machines that compete favorably with Keurig, however the Keurig Coffee Makers always seem to brew the perfect flavor just as it is supposed to taste. That isn’t always true of the other brands. Imagine being in a rush and you’re still able to get that perfect cup of coffee fast. Just pop a Keurig K-Cup into the machine, put some toast or a bagel in the toaster and right after your savory cup of coffee is done, your toast or bagel should follow shortly. The small containers that contain the actual coffee grounds are called K-Cups and have built in filters and are sealed with a foil lid. As you put the k-cup up into your Keurig Coffee Maker, the lid gets punctured and the hot water flows through the cup into your mug.

Every cup of coffee you make takes one K-Cup. Your coffee brews in about a minute, there isn’t any mess, and cleanup is simple.

With this system, you don’t need to go to the effort of making a pot of coffee to enjoy your favorite fresh brew. The single serving system’s beauty is just that. The single cup method is actually very cost-effective because you don’t end up wasting a half pot of coffee at the end of the day. One of the best things about the system is that there are many flavors available so you don’t have to drink what everyone else in the office is drinking!

If an Arabian shepherd had not been curious enough to taste some pods that were being eaten avidly by his goats—and thus ensured that he spent a sleepless night—the world would have never known the rich, aromatic, hot, delicious, “black as sin and sweeter than temptation” Kahva, or coffee. For more than 800 years, coffee beans have been ground early in the morning and then brewed in such a manner that the aroma of the freshly brewed coffee wakes up everybody in the vicinity and perks him up quite effectively.

In fact, Japanese researchers have found out that just the aroma of coffee being freshly brewed, and the anticipation of drinking it down boiling hot and sweet, is enough to de-stress you and make you feel more energetic! But one has to remember that the coffee beans need to be ground when you are all ready to brew it. People have said that aroma and taste of this coffee is “The best they’ve ever experienced”.

Espresso coffees do not have that sort of aroma or flavor. Ice cream, in addition to other flavors, has been added to change the flavor of the coffee by some companies. Someone who truly loves coffee is not going to consider coming near this mixture due to such a change. A lot of people drink their coffee right away after grinding it in a “burr” grinder and then keep the coffee in the refridgerator. Suffice it to say, each person has his or her own preference.

This type of grinder will cost more than normal, but is excellent in making the coffee grinds very fine.

You will not experience the smell of coffee brewed fresh if you order an espresso or instant coffee. Remember that the coffee beans have to be roasted before they can be ground. The unroasted coffee bean is greenish-blue in color, and it turns brown the moment it is roasted. This roasting is also going to impart to it the necessary flavor, which makes coffee such a caffeine-laden perennial and half-addictive favorite. Before the coffee beans are ground and brewed, they need to be in the open air for about an hour. Once this happens, one is able to comprehend and value the complete aroma and taste of the freshly brewed coffee. Please be advised that once the coffee beans have been roasted, they will have a strong bitter and often not favorable taste. Coffee beans that are older than one week are definitely not going to be an experience worth savoring.

There are many companies out there who are dedicated to the art of brewing freshly ground coffee. Out of these, Keurig is a name to be reckoned with.Let it be known, it has a product line called K-Cups. These are extremely efficient mini brewers, which are used just for single-cup brewing of your favorite cup of Java. The K-cups allow no air to enter, keeping inside the taste and smell, while the moisture stays out!

Happy brewing!

Kenya, an East African nation, produces over 2 million bags of coffee a year and it ranks number 17 in production world wide. Kenya Coffee has a a rich and bold aroma so unique with little bitterness to it. Most of Kenya’s Arabica coffee is grown on tiny farms, averaging half an acre in size, north of Nairobi and on the slopes of Mt. Kenya. Further in the west of Kenya, coffee is grown on the slopes of Mt. Elgon, near the Uganda border, including the Kenya Blue Mountain variety, which came from Jamaica. Experts say the best Kenya beans come from these areas of rich red, loamy soil at an altitude of around 4500 feet. Most coffee is grown by individual farmers on tiny plots of land, averaging half an acre, which dot the landscape. Their efforts have consistently produced excellent coffee, year after year

The Coffee Board of Kenya established guidelines on standards for the beans. Coffees are graded after it’s milled; Kenya AA means the largest beans and AB is next in size. The theory is that the larger beans will contain more of the special oils which give coffee its aroma and flavor. While size is important, it is just one factor in determining high quality coffee. A second class system was developed to rate the quality of the beans, ranging from 1 to 10 with Class 1 being the best. This system has rarely been advertised but a coffee rated as Kenya AA, could rank as low as Class 4. There has been discussion about branding different beans as to the specific area of Kenya where they were raised. At present, there are three kinds of brand, Mt. Kenya, Aberdares, and Kenyan Blue Mountain.

Until recently, all coffee was sold through an auction system which, most experts in the coffee business, say was effective and brought fair prices to the farmers. All farmers were organized into small, craft oriented, cooperative processing centers. Each day’s harvest was sorted and processed separately into small boutique lots of green coffee beans which were sold individually at auction in Nairobi. Unique, unblended lots were purchased by relatively small, high quality buyers who were willing to pay the price.

Green Mountain Coffee and Keurig Coffee now offers Fair Trade Certified Kenya AA from the Kenyan Highland Cooperatives. This is available in whole beans and also a K-Cup. Geatcoffee.com carries a Green Mountain Extra Bold Kenya in K Cups, which has won raves. Says another coffee lover, “This is my all time favorite GM coffee! Try it, you will not be sorry. Great smooth flavor and no bitter after-taste. No minuses. Have tried others but will continue to go back to this one. Agrees another, “This is my first time trying this flavor and to my surprise, it tasted really good. It has a nice body to the taste and finish with a nice coffee aroma. No bad after taste or anything negative. Very good coffee and highly recommended for people who like a medium to dark roast.”

The ongoing political unrest and instability have made it difficult for the Kenya beans to reach the world market and likewise, disrupted the auction market system. So when you do see Kenya in the grocery or coffee specialty shop, grab a bag or two or some boxes of K-Cups! You’ll enjoy its delicious, full-bodied flavor!

This coffee is bound to find a lot of fans because of its bold flavor, plus the way it can really get you going. It’s a new espresso blend from Green Mountain Roasters and, best of all, it’s now available in a Kcup. Called Organic Espresso, it’s guaranteed to pop those eyelids open, clear out the cobwebs, and even chase away a headache. Just drop it into your Keurig coffee brewer, push a button, and in less than a minute, you’ll have a steaming cup, brimming with flavor – and a real jolt of caffeine.

Green Mountain Roasters, at www.greenmountaincoffee described the Fair Trade Organic Espresso Blend as being  “…sourced from a number of origins to display both balance and intensity. We look to Indonesia for syrupy body and depth, and the Americas for chocolate notes, velvety richness, and just the right amount of brightness to punctuate lattes and cappuccinos. A blend of different roasts and origins that harmonize beautifully straight or with milk.”

All of the coffee beans used for this Fair Trade Organic Espresso are grown organically with no chemicals nor pesticides. They are Fair Trade Certified, which means the farmers were members of co-ops, and received a fair price for the beans. The blend contains coffee from Segovia, a region in northern Nicaragua where there are 40 small cooperatives organized into PRODECOOP. The group recently used their Fair Trade sales to purchase a new dry mill, machinery and equipment, all of which will help maintain quality standards. Recently, it organized a quality control center, put together a set of standards and is now regulating its export production. This all helps guarantee that you will have a much better cup of coffee, brewed from high quality beans.

Fair Trade Organic Espresso is a wonderful blend of coffees with sweetness and balance, a bold, complex flavor with an invigorating shot of caffeine. It’s certain to please and take away that headache. Says one coffee drinker, ‘This is a wonderful coffee. Great bold taste and perfect for my morning.” Ken Davids of Coffee Review, www.coffeereview.com, assessed it as an espresso and comments, “Sweetly wood in the aroma, with a hint of dark chocolate and a savory, almost salty note. The same aromatic complex carries into the cup, though the wood warms toward cedar and the dark chocolate intensifies. Medium to full body. Heavy but sweet finish with a continuing chocolate note…..” Another review by Coffee Whiz, at www.coffeewhiz.com describes it as “Resonant, pungent aroma with great range and complexity: smoke, chocolate, a hint of flowers and vanilla. A full to medium body features a slightly sweet-pungent aroma, toasty with nuances of chocolate and fruit…” 

Now if you’ve shied away from getting one of those single cup coffee makers that everyone is buying, because you think the coffee might be too weak –think again! There is more of the coffee to enjoy – the right blend and rich flavor! You can find plenty of  really robust coffee to get you going in the morning with one of the Extra Bold Roasts. Now available in K-Cups, these coffees are delicious and pack a load of dynamite. Just pop a K-Cup in your Keurig brewer, push a button, and, in less than a minute, you’ll have a fresh steaming mug of coffee, brimming with vigor.

The Extra Bold K-Cups has 30% more coffee for that deeper and richer flavor in every cup. The rich aroma of dark roasts is certain to be a hit among coffee enthusiasts. You won’t have any trouble finding these K-Cups in many department and specialty stores, as well as several on-line sources. The can be purchased from Keurig, Green Mountain Roasters, Timothy’s and other coffee companies who package their coffees in K-Cups. Here are some of the Extra Bold Blends that are now available in K-Cups. There’s plenty to keep your cupboard well stocked!

Extra Bold Roasts In K-Cups
Green Mountain Sumatran Reserve Extra Bold Certified Fair Trade Organic
This deliciously dark blend comes from beans raised in the highlands of Indonesia, grown on small plots of clay soil.. Sumatran coffee gets its rich flavor from the unique processing methods in which the beans are removed from the coffee cherries over a longer period of time with a slower drying period.

Newman’s Own Special Blend Extra Bold
Farmers who are members of the cooperatives planted these beans and the Fair Trade Certification makes sure that they receive an equitable portion of the sale price. Each cup is a perfect mix of Central American and Indonesian Arabica beans.

Green Mountain Extra Bold Kenya AA
Kenya AA stands for the largest beans grown on the slopes of Mt. Kenya and they are some of the finest in the world. They contain more of the special oils which give coffee its aroma and balanced, rich flavor.   

Green Mountain Extra Bold Espresso Blend – Certified Fair Trade Organic
This dark, flavorful coffee has a resonant, pungent aroma and is a blend of Arabica beans from Indonesia and Central America. Whether it’s prepared in a 6 or 8 ounce cup or brewed as a drip coffee, its flavor is certain to rouse the taste buds. Being a Certified Fair Trade Coffee, the farmers receive an equitable portion of the sale from the coffee cooperative. This assists in improving the condition of their lives and likewise, contributes to sustainable methods of coffee farming.

Green Mountain Extra Bold Dark Magic
This excellent complex blend has a full but mellow espresso flavor and is wonderful with cream, which seems to bring out its chocolate undertones. It has the aromatics and flavor qualities of an espresso and makes a delicious cup of coffee. This is also available in a Decaf K-Cup.

Green Mountain Extra Bold Kona Blend
Kona coffee beans that are cultivated in Hawaii are blended with other high altitude beans to make a flavorful brew teeming with delicate aroma. This premium island coffee, brimming with balance and flavor, is sure to become a favorite.  

And there’s even a Decaf Extra Bold Blend for those who want the full coffee flavor without the full jolt of caffeine. These Extra Bold Roasts in Keurig coffee K Cups can start your day the right way!

Do you love a great cup of hot coffee without fuss?Do you need a coffee maker that requires a little bit of space? Just have a small corner of your desk to spare? Maybe you have a cozy RV with a tiny kitchen and there’s sure no extra room for a bulky coffee maker. Or you’ve decided to take a  coffee brewer on your trip since you just aren’t sure if the motels along the way offer in-room coffee? Well, Keurig has the perfect single cup coffee maker for you – the Keurig Mini. This compact brewer takes up little space and can easily slip into a traveler’s suitcase or backpack. It will fit on a small shelf, making it ideal for a boat or RV – anyplace where space is at a premium. Says Keurig’s Home Division, “We’re positioning the Mini as a personal brewer for use in secondary locations like your office, recreational vehicle, vacation home or dorm room. The Keurig mini b30 brewer is ideal for small spaces.”

The Keurig Mini has the same brewing mechanism as the top of the line Breville Gourmet Coffee Maker by Keurig, which sells for $299.99. The keurig mini brewer brews an 8 ounce cup of coffee in 1 to 2 minutes and is available in red, black, and white. Simply fill the reservoir with water, pop in a K-cup of coffee, and push the brew button and you’ll have a great cup of FRESH coffee in a minute.

All Keurig single cup machines use keurig k cups, which are vacuum packed portions of coffee, perfect for one cup. There are over 200 varieties of gourmet coffee, tea and cocoa now available in K-Cups. For just pennies, you can sample different coffees and flavored blends from top notch roasters, as well as teas from Bigelow, Twinings, and Celestial Seasons. If you had to buy bags of coffee beans just to do some taste testing, the cost could be prohibitive. Not so with K-Cups where you can try Newman’s Own Organic blends, Caribou Coffee’s Mahogany, the Coffee People’s favorite, DoNut Shop Blend,  Emeril’s French Quarter Bold Roast, or Green Mountain’s Fair Trade Wild Mountain Blueberry, to name just a few. 

The Keurig mini brewer weighs only 7 pounds and, like all the Keurig Brewers, is highly praised for its durability, reliability, and consistency in making a great cup of coffee. Keurig is derived from the Dutch word for ‘excellence’ and, once you’ve tried this appliance, you’ll see why. Keurig dominates the single cup coffee maker market and its five different models are outselling all other brands.

All of the Keurig single cup coffee makers use K-Cups, which contain vacuum packed portions of coffee, perfect for one cup. K Cups were developed and patented for use with the Keurig brewing system and they are similar in appearance to coffee creamers. Each K-Cup is actually a mini-brewing system as it contains a freshly ground portion of coffee with a tiny filter. To remove any oxygen each Kcup is passed through a nitrogen fulsh after packaging. Each run is checked to be certain that there is no more than 2% oxygen in the K-Cups to ensure freshness. Then each is sealed with a foil lid, locking in flavor and sealing out oxygen, humidity, and light. To let you know just how fresh your K-Cup is, a “Use By” date is stamped on each one. In addition to a huge variety of coffee roasts and blends from top name companies, you can also enjoy a fine selection of teas and cocoa packaged in K-Cups for use with your Keurig brewer.

There are several different models of  Keurig single cup coffee makers and they all have identical brewing mechanisms. The price of each is determined by the additional features of each Keurig brewer, such as a programmable timer and the size of the water reservoir. All are automatic brewers using ‘Quiet Brew Technology’ and consistently make a great cup of coffee in less than a minute. The Keurig B40 Elite is a medium priced machine which has many fans, who sing its praises for consistent high performance.

Features Of The Keurig Elite

• Automatic Brewing System
• Quiet Brew Technology
• Uses K-Cups of coffee, tea or cocoa
• Brews in 30 to 60 seconds
• Has Auto-Off feature
• Has a 48 ounce water reservoir
• Has water level sensor
• Make up to 6 cups before refilling reservoir
• Brews 2 cup sizes – 8 ounces or 10 ounces
• Can be used with My K-Cup filter, which makes it possible to use your favorite ground coffee, in addition to K-Cups.
• Perfect Pod Holster is available, which makes it possible to use coffee pods 55mm or larger with the Elite.
• Has de-scale indicator for easy machine maintenance
• Has removable stainless steel drip tray, which is dishwasher safe
• Is 13.5” H x 8.5” W x 11” D
• Weight 16 pounds
• Price $99.99

You can’t go wrong with any of the Keurig single cup coffee makers – so why delay. Start enjoying great coffee with an endless variety of flavors and blends – one cup at a time!