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• Arabica coffee is known for a more "refined" flavor than Robusta.
  
• There are 25 species of coffee in total.
  
• The two major exporters of coffee are Brazil and Colombia.
  
• Coffee only grows in the tropics.
  
• Eighty countries produce coffee.
  
• There are four basic flavors: sweet, sour, salty and bitter.
  
• You taste sweetness on the tip of your tongue, sour on the sides.
  
• Coffee tasters sample an average of 300 coffees a day — it's called "cupping."
  
• Thirty percent of the world's coffee comes from Brazil.
  
• Recommended: find a store where they roast the beans onsite.
  
• To ensure freshness, only buy two weeks' worth of coffee at a time.
  
• Experts agree: freezing coffee in a sealed container is okay occasionally, but not ideal.
  
• Make coffee within minutes of grinding the beans.
  
• A French Press can make one to four cups at a time.
  
• Good coffee: two tablespoons coffee grounds to six ounces water;
  adjust to taste. Too much water will ruin the coffee.

Resources

Ken Davids, coffee consultant and writer
kdavids@yahoo.com

The Coffee Roaster
Sherman Oaks, Calif.
818-905-9719