Pu’er Coffee

 Today, vacuum packaging is a perfectly ordinary way to keep food fresh. But if we turn the clock back to the early 19th century, preserving coffee over long-distance transport was a serious challenge. Once coffee beans are roasted, they oxidize easily and lose their flavor quickly. If someone could solve that problem, it would be nothing short of a technological revolution. That’s exactly what we’re exploring today: who invented vacuum packaging for coffee, and how this invention went on to carry a coffee brand through more than a century of history. Before we get to the invention itself, we need to understand a coffee brand with over a hundred years of heritage—Hills Bros. Coffee, from the United States. As early as 1873, Old Austin Hills, a shipyard worker, traveled from New England to California with his two sons, Austin Herbert and Reuben Wilmarth. After settling down, the younger Austin and R.W. (as Reuben was usually called) began selling coffee, tea, and dairy products from...

 Have you ever found yourself standing in front of a shelf of coffee beans, staring blankly at all the different packages? Or maybe when a friend asks what kind of coffee you like, all you can say is, “Uh… anything that smells good”? Don’t worry—every seasoned coffee lover started out just as confused. Today, let’s walk through six key tips for getting into coffee, helping you avoid detours and find your perfect cup faster. 1. Get to Know Coffee Beans Coffee beans are actually the seeds of the coffee cherry. Globally, they’re mainly divided into two categories: Arabica and Robusta . Arabica beans are delicate and bright, with higher acidity, while Robusta beans offer a stronger, more intense flavor and higher caffeine content. When you’re shopping, start by trying Arabica—after all, it makes up more than 70% of the world’s coffee production. A coffee’s flavor largely depends on its origin—much like wine. Ethiopian beans often have floral and fruity notes, while Brazilian bea...