2008

Roasted Bean Coffee What it makes: From its location on Division Street in northeast Bellingham,Tony’s roasts the coffee beans it imports from around theworld. Each source provides a different tasting bean, so thecompany tries to educate customers about how each place producesthe variance in taste, said Wendy De Jong, vice president anddirector of coffee, sales and marketing. For example, Tony’s buys coffee from Sumatra, Indonesia,which is known for beans that produce coffee with a smooth tasteand low acidity. But De Jong traveled to a northern province inSumatra and discovered beans that produced coffee with higheracidity and honey and cherry notes in its taste. De Jong said thetaste difference is attributed to the northern province’shigher altitude, as well as different growing processes. “We talk about the taste of place,” De Jong said.“We talk about making sure the coffee is really showing whatwas great about its growing.” Volume: The company annually purchases 1 million pounds of coffee beans,which go to roasting facilities in Bellingham and San Jose, Calif.,De Jong said. Marketplace: De Jong said the roasted coffee is distributed throughout thePacific Northwest and in Northern California. In Whatcom County,the company sells its coffee at Haggen Food & Pharmacy, FredMeyer and the Community Food Coop, and it has had a coffee shop inFairhaven for years. Production process: Coffee beans are put on an elevator and dumped into the roaster,which applies heat to the beans for 13 to 16 minutes. Darkercoffees are roasted longer than lighter ones, De Jong said. Afterthey’ve been roasted, the beans fall into a cooling tray,where they rotate until they reach room temperature. If the beansaren’t at room temperature in four minutes or less, they willhave cooked too long and will taste poor. Once cooled, the beans are sucked up in a vacuum, which will removeany rocks or objects that were packed in with the beans. The beansthen fall once more, where they can be bagged, boxed and shipped.Tony’s uses bags that have oneway valves that allow theroasted beans’ carbon dioxide gas to escape without allowingoxygen to seep in. This allows customers to get the freshest coffeepossible, De Jong said.

Oolong Tea Drink A Tea Research Institute publication, 'Tea for Health' is the work of Dr. Tissa Amarakoon, a Senior Research Officer attached to the Biochemistry Division of the Institute. He has done a lot of workon tea and his Ph.D thesis (from University of Southampton, UK) has been on 'Anti-oxidant activity and immuno-modulatory properties of black tea'. Describing tea as second only to water as the most favouritebeverage on earth, he begins the narration with the history of teathat goes back to 2737 BC when a few tea leaves that fell by chanceinto Chinese Emperor Shen Nung's drinking water made a remarkableimpact on his drinking habits. To the emperor initially it was adrink more pleasant than hot water. However, convinced that itimproved the health, he recommended it as a "remedy for kidneytrouble, fever, chest infection and tumours that come about thehead". Soon the habit of tea drinking spread throughout Chinaand then to other parts of the world. After describing the different types of tea – Black (78% ofworld's production), Green (20%) and Oolong (2% - consumption &production limited to Taiwan and certain parts of China), Dr.Amarakoon points out that tea (without milk and sugar) does notcontain significant amounts of nutrients and that the calorificvalue of tea is almost zero "making it an ideal drink for themodern day calorie conscious consumer". Although rich inpotassium, the sodium content of tea is low. Saying that caffeine and polyphenols, the major non-nutrientcomponents in tea, have pharmacological effects, he states thatcaffeine, the well-known stimulant, acts on the central nervoussystem, increases alertness and reduces feelings of drowsiness andfatigue. Tea also contains significant amounts of fluoride, hesays, which helps to reduce tooth decay. Discussing tea and heart disease, Dr. Amarakoon says tea reducesoxidation of fat, cholesterol, blood clotting and improves theproper functioning of the arteries. He also talks about tea andcancer as well as tea and diabetes, and tea and intestinalbacteria.

Kinds Of Red Wine THE collective knowledge about red wine at our table is that weknow we like it. It makes entering the newly refurbished, softlylit Cheese and Wine Room a daunting experience. The subterraneanroom feels like it has been carved out of a corner of the cavernousGPO lower ground floor - a cosy little oasis amid the high ceilingsand grey suits in the GPO's casual dining area. Dark wood tables topped with single candles fill the floor space,while the sandstone walls and chic style add to the feeling thatwe've stumbled into a beautiful wine cellar somewhere in Europe. But back to the wine we don't know much about. Luckily, the staffare attentive, friendly and knowledgable without being snooty.There are 250 bottles of wine to choose from - 16 by the glass(generally $8 to $12) - but being a novice, I opt for one of thethree cheese and wine "flights" on the menu. My red wine flight ($32) is made up of three Australian reds thathave been matched with three cheeses by the establishment'sexperts. The Paringa Estate Pinot Noir teamed with a WoodsideMcLaren Camembert is delicious and the Pirramimma 2002 FortifedGrenache paired with a Grandvewe Blue by Ewe is an instant hit. The flight comes with tasting notes too, so you can regale yourtablemates with interesting facts - for example, that the TorbreckWoodcutters Shiraz 2006, served with Healey's Pyengana (a cheddar),was named after the time that winemaker David Powell spent workingin the Scottish Highlands as a woodcutter. There isn't a hint of spare space on our table because we've alsochosen a European cheeseboard ($28.90 for taleggio from Italy -which my dining companion describes as "toe-curlingly good" - agruyere from France, and organic stilton from England, a salumitasting plate ($22), ligurian olives from NSW ($3.50) and marinatedwhite anchovy fillets ($10.80). Everything has its own distinctflavour without being overpowering, and we eat slowly to savour itall. The room is quiet - especially compared to the crowded area justoutside - and we waver between wondering why no one out there hasventured in and being glad the "Temple of Cheese" as it isunassumingly dubbed on its website, has remained undiscovered - atleast for tonight. The food ($3.50 to $15.50) is designed forsharing and the Wine and Cheese Room is the perfect place to meetfriends when you feel like a more grown-up date than cocktails or anight at the pub.