COMMERCIAL vs. GOURMET COFFEE

Gourmet coffee is made from Arabica Beans. These are the most flavorful beans. Commercial coffees are made from a mixture of Arabica and Robusta, and usually low grade Brazilian beans.

Robusta and Brazilian beans are cheaper than Arabica beans, so the large commercial coffee manufacturers tend to use these beans in their blends and add a few Arabica beans for flavor. When the coffee prices go up, the commercial manufactures tend to use less of the Arabica bean in their mixture. Robusta beans also contain thirty to forty percent more caffeine than the Arabica bean.

Another disadvantage with commercial coffee is the freshness. The coffee sits on the shelf for more than two weeks and it may take a week or more to get to the stores shelves after it has been packaged. Once in the store, the coffee is not rotated. The coffee in the back of the shelf may have been there for several months. The longer the coffee sits on the shelf, the staler and more bitter it becomes.

The major advantage of the commercial coffee is the price. It is definitely less expensive than the Gourmet coffees.

Gourmet coffee is roasted and sold within a one week period. It is usually sold in the whole bean form. This way it retains its flavor until you decide to brew it. Unlike commercial coffees, you can choose origin (Sumatra, Kona, etc..) and the type of roast (French, Italian, Light, etc..). Gourmet coffees offer the consumer more choices than the commercial manufacturers. The major advantage of gourmet coffees is flavor.