Specialty

California is well known for its beaches and theme parks, but equally impressive are the many mountain getaways that span from the Oregon border all the way down to Big Bear Lake, just a couple of hours drive from Los Angeles. If a "cabin-in-the-woods" is in your vacation plans this summer, there are vacation rentals within an easy drive from most California cities. One of our most recent discoveries is Shaver Lake, a little more than an hour's drive northeast from Fresno and an ideal spot to include in a Northern California vacation.

The coffee tradition of adding flavorings, spices and fruits to coffee has been well established for a very long time. The Arabs were among the first coffee drinkers who added spices such as cinnamon to their coffees. Later on, they added other ingredients such as cardamom, ginger, clove, nutmeg, black pepper, allspice, ground nuts, citrus peels, spirits and chocolate. Through trial and error people figured out the compatibility of certain flavors and ingredients with coffee. They promoted their "flavored coffee recipes" through local consumption and exchange of goods and services.

The coffee roaster performs the most critical step in creating gourmet coffee. A master roaster is a skilled craftsperson with the experience to bring out the best qualities of the coffee beans during the roasting process. The roasting process is extremely important to coffee. The word gourmet applies to a food or drink judged to be excellent. Usually this is based on experts' professional knowledge, expertise in trade practices, understanding of product preparation and opinion.

Flavored coffees are produced almost always using Arabica coffee beans. Arabica beans are the most prized because they are milder and more flavorful than the harsher Robusta beans. Arabica beans are also used for flavored coffees because they have naturally low levels of acidity and bitterness. From the bean to the cup is a long journey that starts with seeds in the ground and ends with the coffee roasting and packing process before shipping to consumer markets.