Art, Science, and Mystery of Coffee Roasting

When we started roasting coffee we didn't know first crack from second crack from second fiddle. And trying to find help on the Internet was hopeless. So we created our Coffee Roasting Tip Number 1 video explaining just what first crack was.

However we continued to get questions about second crack, and how to tell when first cracks ends and second crack starts. From experience we can say figuring out second crack was not an easy thing. Coffee roasting is as much art as it is science.

Hopefully our new Coffee Roasting Tip Number 2 video will help with this mystery.

What exactly is First Crack?

And What's the difference between First Crack and Second Crack?

And, just because we're The Caffeinated Parrot, Parrots!

Yes, you read that right. Coffee Parrot Dot Coffee. Handforged 100% Parrot Friendly Coffee. Any questions about coffee, coffee roasting, or parrots? Please contact us there.

The Smell of Coffee Makes Women More Likely To Give Out Their Phone Number

We have a feeling that coffee sales are going to go up. Way up! Hey guys. The smell of coffee makes women more likely to give out their phone number. This story, in its entirety, appeared on the website Barking Up The Wrong Tree under the head 5 Things You Need To Know About That Wonder-Beverage, Coffee:

• In terms of what we desire throughout the average day we wish for coffee slightly less than sex and a bit more than alcohol. Regular drinkers don’t really get a boost from coffee, they just get their fix. In fact when you haven’t had your coffee everything with caffeine tastes better. The strategic use of coffee can make you more persuasive. The smell of coffee actually makes people nicer to one another.

• The smell of coffee makes women more likely to give out their phone number. Anything that gets the adrenaline flowing increases sexual arousal so coffee and a roller coaster might be an excellent date idea. When things get stressful coffee is a good idea for women but not for men. Coffee has also been shown to reduce depression in women. Pregnant women definitely should not drink it. (Alcohol — in modest amounts — during pregnancy can actually be a good thing.)

• Coffee and cigarettes make you smarter but lung cancer sucks so better stick to coffee and donuts, another combo which boosts brainpower. The caffeine and glucose one-two punch can work in many forms, actually: Red Bull boosts cognitive performance too. Just looking at Red Bull can be an enhancer.

• Coffee helped produce some of the great works of literature: ask Balzac. Then again, if you want to be creative maybe you don’t need more coffee: you’re more creative when you’re exhausted. Or maybe you want to drink something else: you’re more creative when you’re drunk too. (Adding Red Bull to Vodka doesn’t make you function better but it will make you think you do.) To make sure you’re productive after a nap drink a cup of coffee right before laying down. (Caffeine takes about 20-30 minutes to kick in.) This is your brain on coffee.
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• Most importantly, what’s the best way to use caffeine? Got you covered: a neuroscientist gives you all the details you need.
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• To this story we can only add our credo: Drink More Coffee! You can sleep when you're dead.

Coffee. Parrot. Coffee. Handcrafted 100% Parrot Friendly Coffee

We are thrilled to introduce our new venture, Coffee Parrot Coffee, a coffee micro-roaster featuring our very own handcrafted 100% Parrot Friendly Red Tail Brand coffee:

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Up until now TheParrotCafe.com has been working with, and is still working with, a custom organic coffee roaster located in Eastern Washington's Spokane Valley to produce our 100% parrot friendly coffees. But we have always had the goal, ever since we entered the coffee biz a century ago, to roast our own coffee. We were thrilled this past summer to finally acquire our very own coffee roaster, a Behmor 1600.

Our goal as a specialty micro-coffee roaster is to produce 100% parrot friendly coffee blends under our Red Tail Brand label. We are striving to produce the finest organic, shade grown, fair trade coffee blends on the market. To this end we introduce our first breakfast blend called Zygodactyl Blend, a medium body Full City roast combining the finest organic, shade grown, fair trade Ethiopian and Brazilian coffees available, in homage to both the birthplace of coffee and the New World home of the most endangered parrots in the world including the Hyacinth macaw.

Ethiopia Nigusse Lemma Limu

Broad dark chocolate flavors, clean, sweet strawberry tones. This coffee is grown in the Deru Mountains in an area of western Ethiopia called Limu. This is a full natural coffee but is especially clean, uniformly roasted and gentle. With an elevation of 1850-2000 meters this is the highest altitude farm in Limu. There are a number of varietals growing on the farm with natural springs running throughout. The farm is owned and operated by the Nigusse Lemma family which has been in the coffee business for 60 years. The farm is covered in old growth shade trees and has an abundance of natural springs. There are multiple varietals growing on the farm, but many have not been classified, typical for Ethiopia. They operate their own dry-huller and use full natural processing methods by drying the cherries on raised beds.

Brazil Fazenda Santa Ines

Very sweet, bright coffee with hints of lemon and clove. Delicate texture and layered, complex taste. Fazenda Santa Ines is located in the municipality of Carmo de Minas in southern Minas Gerais at the foot of the Mantiqueira mountains. When the farm was acquired by the Sertao Group in 1979 it was already planted in coffee. Soon thereafter work began on planting more fields, building new concrete drying patios, and installing a washer, dryer, and processing machine. The Sertao Group is highly committed to environmental conservation, witnessed by the fact that it has preserved a large area of native forest on the property and protects all the mountain springs and creeks as well as the vegetation along their banks. Because of the topography, harvesting at Fazenda Santa Ines has always been done by hand, the cherries being collected on a cloth. This precaution is taken so that the coffee will not be contaminated or lose its quality. Once they are picked, the cherries are taken to Fazenda do Sertao, another partner in the Sertao Group, where they are washed, pulped, and spread out, always with a view to obtaining a high-quality product.

You can purchase our Zygodactyl Blend and other fine coffee, tea, and parrotphernalia by visiting our online coffee shop TheParrotCafe.com. All proceeds benefit Northwest Parrots Fund, a 501(c)3 nonprofit charity registered in the State of Washington working to save parrots, one parrot at a time.

Red Tail Brand: Zygodactyl Blend Coffee From TheParrotCafe.com

Up until now TheParrotCafe.com has been working with, and is still working with, a custom organic coffee roaster located in Eastern Washington's Spokane Valley to produce our 100% parrot friendly coffees. But we have always had the goal, ever since we entered the coffee biz a century ago, to roast our own coffee. We were thrilled this past summer to finally acquire our very own coffee roaster, a Behmor 1600. Our goal as a specialty micro-coffee roaster is to produce 100% parrot friendly coffee blends under our Red Tail Brand label. We are striving to produce the finest organic, shade grown, fair trade coffee blends on the market. To this end we introduce our first breakfast blend called Zygodactyl Blend, a medium body Full City roast combining the finest organic, shade grown, fair trade Ethiopian and Brazilian coffees available, in homage to both the birthplace of coffee and the New World home of the most endangered parrots in the world including the Hyacinth macaw.

Ethiopia Nigusse Lemma Limu

Broad dark chocolate flavors, clean, sweet strawberry tones. This coffee is grown in the Deru Mountains in an area of western Ethiopia called Limu. This is a full natural coffee but is especially clean, uniformly roasted and gentle. With an elevation of 1850-2000 meters this is the highest altitude farm in Limu. There are a number of varietals growing on the farm with natural springs running throughout. The farm is owned and operated by the Nigusse Lemma family which has been in the coffee business for 60 years. The farm is covered in old growth shade trees and has an abundance of natural springs. There are multiple varietals growing on the farm, but many have not been classified, typical for Ethiopia. They operate their own dry-huller and use full natural processing methods by drying the cherries on raised beds.

Brazil Fazenda Santa Ines

Very sweet, bright coffee with hints of lemon and clove. Delicate texture and layered, complex taste. Fazenda Santa Ines is located in the municipality of Carmo de Minas in southern Minas Gerais at the foot of the Mantiqueira mountains. When the farm was acquired by the Sertao Group in 1979 it was already planted in coffee. Soon thereafter work began on planting more fields, building new concrete drying patios, and installing a washer, dryer, and processing machine. The Sertao Group is highly committed to environmental conservation, witnessed by the fact that it has preserved a large area of native forest on the property and protects all the mountain springs and creeks as well as the vegetation along their banks. Because of the topography, harvesting at Fazenda Santa Ines has always been done by hand, the cherries being collected on a cloth. This precaution is taken so that the coffee will not be contaminated or lose its quality. Once they are picked, the cherries are taken to Fazenda do Sertao, another partner in the Sertao Group, where they are washed, pulped, and spread out, always with a view to obtaining a high-quality product.

You can purchase our Zygodactyl Blend and other fine coffee, tea, and parrotphernalia by visiting our online coffee shop TheParrotCafe.com. All proceeds benefit Northwest Parrots Fund, a 501(c)3 nonprofit charity registered in the State of Washington working to save parrots, one parrot at a time.

Out of Africa

Coming Soon

Featuring Our Congo African Grey Parrot Arua

We are followers of the Prophet Kaldi, the goat herder who lived in the ancient Kingdom of Kaffa, now Ethiopia. Kaldi discovered the Tree of Life, the Coffea arabica or coffee tree. Legend holds that Kaldi noticed that his goats became energized after eating a certain berry. Kaldi sampled the berries with the same effect. In his excitement he sought to have his discovery blessed by a Muslim holy man. Instead, the holy man tossed the beans into a fire in disgust. The subsequent enticing aroma caused Kaldi to create the world's first cup of coffee after recovering the burned beans and dropping them into hot water. To pay homage to Kaldi we've been searching for the perfect Ethiopian coffee. Not finding anything on the market we like we created our own brand! We have a distinct preference for Latin American coffees, but this Ethiopian coffee is the exception.

Coming Soon

RED TAIL BRAND

ETHIOPIAN COFFEE

So when you have your first cup of coffee of the day, bow to the East and praise the Prophet Kaldi, the discoverer of the Tree of Life! And while you're drinking your Ethiopian coffee, be sure to Wear Your Yellow!

Ethiopian Coffee FC Sports Club Jersey 2-Sided Tees by TheParrotCafe