Within 8 months or so of living here I began to acquire all of my needed Belizean materials to make my hand crafted coffee soap. I formed my Belizean corporation. I also had spent my free time fixing up the beach house and creating our garden and wooden decks to travel on around the house with ease.

I began to make lots of coffee soap and coffee sugar scrub to supply the local stores.  I also began to make some amazing hand crafted coffee liqueur and Belizean fresh roasted coffee which I added to the Rick’s coffee line of Belizean Coffee Products.

In case any of you are wondering why I began to make coffee liqueur–well here’s why….One day I felt like having some coffee liqueur in my coffee so I went to buy the ole standby “Kahlua,” I was shocked to see the $118.00 BZ price tag (due to liquor from Mexico being taxed at 70%) So, I said to myself, “Rick, you can make some with my fresh roasted Belizean coffee, raw organic Belizean sugar and no BS caramel colors and additives! I began to research, try out about 9 different methods and recipes until I came up with my current formula which is getting rave reviews and really tastes fantastic! I’m currently working to get it into more bars and resorts out here. I’ve held over 54 blind taste tests putting my Belizean coffee liqueur against Kahlua and I am proudly undefeated at 54-0!

Besides filling my day roasting coffee, making soap, scrub and liqueur, I am so honored and happy to have teamed up with the award winning tour company Taste Belize to teach a comprehensive history filled class  about ..yes you guessed it…Coffee!!!!

My beach front coffee class will turn the average coffee drinker into a coffee historian and a professional in various methods of preparation. My guests in the class will experience coffee being roasted, take part in making their own coffee sugar scrub and experience a real coffee cupping sampling 2 varieties of freshly roasted coffee from different coffee growing regions. For more info please click on the link here> >. ( http://tastebelize.com/our-coffee-class-beach-side/ ) So that covers pretty much everything going on here on the business side of things.

Let’s face it though, it’s not all about work! We got to be sure to stop work and sharpen our tools! When Candy and I are not working we spend lots of time outdoors. We kayak, go for lots of walks, country drives and just exploring this beautiful country. We stay very busy with the Placencia Humane Society too! (http://placenciahumanesociety.org/) Candy traps the feral cats for the monthly clinic to get their shots and spayed/neutered. We currently have 7 dogs here with us in our tiny house! Its always full of love here! We are always happy to see visitors and introduce them to beautiful Belize!

My next blog  I will share pics of our newest business endeavor. I’ll give you all a hint..it sits on the beach, about 90 steps from the water and will be ready for you very soon!

Remember! Life is too short to drink bad coffee.

Sending positive vibes and blessings to you all!

The post Settling into Life in Placencia appeared first on Rick's Coffee.

As you can see below this was my previous view and the next picture is my current view.

Our mission to Belize began June 21, 2015 with a road trip from LA to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida via the 10 freeway. I had always wanted to do that cross country drive! The drive went great! Candy, my amazing wife, was my navigator and we (Candy, myself, Chongo (our chihuahua), and Peanut, (our beagle) had a great road trip stopping in El Paso, Texas, Katy, Texas. Geez.. Texas was big and boring. Our last night was in Mobile, Alabama then off to Ft. Lauderdale the following day. We spent a week there visiting with friends and put my truck on a cargo ship. On July 2nd we boarded the flight to our new home with our dogs in tote.

Within a month or so our 10 boxes of our belongings from home and my truck arrived in Belize and we began our daily routines. Candy just needs an internet connection to work and I need green coffee beans to roast. The problem is that Belize is a coffee growing country and bringing in green coffee beans is like trying to bring fruit into California! Not gonna happen.I have been able to still enjoy great coffee at “Above Grounds Coffee” as they sell some great Guatemalan coffee.

My daily activities have been making a lot of awesome coffee soap! I am making it from scratch with my crock pot with all organic olive and coconut oils! Besides soap, I have begun volunteering for the Placencia Humane Society helping with the spay and neuter clinics, adoptions and fostering and social media awareness. Here is the link below for you to check out what wonderful things we do to help animals in need.

www.placenciahumanesociety.org

On the weekends (because Candy is working Mon-Fri) we go for walks up the beach or bike ride up the peninsula and try new places to eat. Another special perk we love about this magical place is the people! We have met many locals and ex-pats and it feels like family here! The children here are so well mannered too. In addition to our wonderful neighbors who live here, we have met some extraordinary people from Scotland to Oregon and everything in between! We keep in touch with them and look forward to seeing them all again.

Environmentally speaking what jumps out at me most about living here is just how green and lush everything is and that most of what you see is not man made. I feel more connected to nature here instead of the sounds of sirens, honks, helicopters and jets flying as I hear only waves crashing, coconut palm leaves in the breeze, exotic birds and even Geckos making funny laughing sounds at night! This all works for me, Candy and the pups, but I see how some “city lovin folks” may not enjoy living here full time. If you love concerts, museums, big chain stores or restaurants, fast food then you may not love it here as much as I do. Come visit us and experience what feeling alive in Placencia Belize means to us.

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We began walking down Main Street and smelled some yummy BBQ. It was very dim outside, but I noticed a man (coincidentally has the same name as me, Rick!) barbequing at the corner near the bus stop benches. I thought to myself that smells so good! Right then he must have felt my vibe and yelled out, “Best BBQ Chicken right here!” I immediately stopped and asked my boss (wife) if she is feeling the BBQ. She was game! So, for $16.00 BZD/$8.00 USD we got two chicken BBQ dinners with BBQ Beans and Macaroni Salad with soft yummy hand made tortillas. It was great!

Day 2, we went to Rick’s Café on the sidewalk side. I had to try the pizza and it was great! Candy, my wife, had a yummy fish sandwich that she really enjoyed! We shared great conversations with some really nice locals while enjoying dinner on the patio. As you know my name is Rick, which is why I had to eat at Rick’s Café on day 2. I had to make sure it lived up to such a great name and it did! After dinner we walked to get some gelato at Tutti Fruitti which was yummy! As we walked down Main Street we saw a restaurant called Dawn’s Grill. Guess What? My sister’s name is Dawn. I told Candy that we will eat at Dawn’s Grill for dinner on Day 3!

Dawn’s Grill was amazing! Candy had a great local caught fish and I had the creole style conch. We both loved our dishes! Dawn had special holiday eggnog cocktails that were so good that we both had like 3 of them! We decided to share our ironic name connection with our fantastic server Jolie, who is also the editor of the Placencia Breeze newspaper. We explained how we ate at Rick’s Café the night before because of its name and that we are at Dawn’s Grill because its my sisters name. She then said “Rick is my boyfriend and Dawn is my mom!” She was the local that we were talking to at Rick’s the night before. These were definite signs that this place was really special and we couldn’t wait to move to Placencia in July 2015!

On day 4 we went to the Cozy Corner for the Crab Claw Special. It was really good and the thick garlic bread was awesome! It was on the beach and we really enjoyed our food.

On Day 5 we took our friend David Kafka to the Secret Garden for dinner as he has been a great advisor to us regarding all things Placencia. The dining area was very beautiful and the food was very tasty. I had Grouper for the first time and Candy had a filet of some other local fish. As we were enjoying the ambience we were lucky enough to hear the festive music  and went outside to see the Christmas Parade! It was a very memorable night!

For our final dinner in Placencia we went to Brenda’s by the Pier for her Christmas Day Buffet. We had a plate full of great food and some yummy cashew wine! We were stuffed and happy leaving her spot!

All in all, we did not have a bad meal in Placencia. It was all good! We will be frequenting all of those wonderful places when we move there in July for sure! There are so many other spots we have yet to try and we are looking forward to that in a huge way! It wasn’t only the fresh amazing food that made our dining experiences so fantastic, but it was the beautiful warm friendly people of Placencia that made our experience there so much better! You feel more like family than a customer and that is priceless.

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This trip to Placencia, Belize was of huge significance to my wife Candy and I. You see…..we have done a lot of research regarding moving abroad and had narrowed down our search to 2 cities in Belize.

The first city was the city of San Pedro located on Belize’s largest Island “Ambergris Caye.” Little trivia here…This is the island Madonna wrote the song  “La Isla Bonita” about! And you thought San Pedro was a man she was dreaming about! Well after spending  a week in San Pedro I realized it was not where I wanted to move to. For us, it was too busy with all of the golf cart traffic and the smell of exhaust was really bad!

Next…our arrival to Placencia. As the one propeller “puddle jumper” Cesna 208 Caravan approached the tiny runway with a little river to the right and the Caribbean Sea within view I knew I was in Placencia Heaven. Everything is green and lush and vibrant with life! As we exited the plane we could hear a symphony of songbirds that I have never heard before. (Click picture to enlarge)

Placencia is often referred to as the “island you can drive to.” It is a 16 mile peninsula located about 140 miles south of Belize City. Along this peninsula you will also find the communities of Maya Beach and Seine Bight. Placencia Village itself, boasts the narrowest main street in the world and is in the Guinness World Book of Records!

I could not get over how beautiful and charming this little fishing village was.  This was truly the place for me and thank goodness my wife Candy was in love with Placencia too! The diving and snorkeling scene here is world class too! In April thru May you can experience being humbled with the arrival of the magnificent Whale Shark! Then in June is the Lobster Festival! (Click picture to enlarge)

Ok, now here is what really matters, right…? Is there great coffee in Placencia Belize?? The answer is an empathetic YES!!!!!

There were two places serving fresh roasted coffee- 1. Above Grounds Coffee and 2. Brewed Awakenings.

Here are my thoughts- The place that has a more fresh roasted deep rich  flavorful Arabica bean is Above Grounds Coffee.

The  reason the coffee is better at Above Grounds Coffee is because of the type of bean being served. The owner Keith explained the legal red tape to import green beans to roast there in Belize is not worth the time and money so instead every 11-14 days he picks up new  batches of freshly roasted coffee from small independent producers from neighboring  Guatemala. On the contrary, the owner of Brewed Awakenings, avoids the red tape by roasting locally grown Belizean coffee which grows at much lower elevations,which is why it cannot develop the same flavors as a high elevation coffee like Guatemala can. (see chart below-(Click picture to enlarge))

I was lucky enough to meet Keith of Above Grounds Coffee (https://www.facebook.com/AboveGroundsCoffee) who moved to Placencia from Scotland and opened this great specialty coffee house. He is truly a great person and his Guatemalan coffee makes your taste buds dance with those tropical fruit tones, sweet acidity, clean and balanced with a dry malty, almost chocolate finish. Thank you again for that amazing shot of expresso Keith! (Click pictures to enlarge)

Besides my beloved coffee, my amazing wife’s and I next favorite to drink and enjoy is a smoothie or shake or any cold, healthy, yummy goodness. And the runner up to best coffee in Placencia  is “Brewed Awakenings.”It’s the #1 spot for frozen shakes and smoothies.  They have “Out of this World” Seaweed shakes! They are truly a “must enjoy” while in Placencia. Check them out on facebook! (https://www.facebook.com/brewed.awakenings.7?fref=ts)  (Click pictures to enlarge)

We had a great time in Placencia and plan on moving there in July of this year! So reach out and come visit! My next blog will be all about the eating scene in Placencia! Until then, much love, be well and remember “Life is too short to drink bad coffee!”  (Click picture to enlarge)

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With the holidays around the corner I felt the need to share the pitfalls of these ever so popular sweetened non-dairy creamers. You know, all those yummy dessert sounding creamers that are presweetened like Dolce De Leche, Pumpkin Spice and Peppermint…there are so many.

Have you ever looked at the ingredients listed on the bottle? Have you thought to yourself…, “Hmmm, if this is non-dairy..what is this liquid I’m consuming? Well, it’s primarily hydrogenated soybean (GMOs) and/or cottonseed oil (w/GMOs) and the other 15% is mostly artificial flavors. The term hydrogenated is simply whipped up oil with added chemicals (to create the milky appearance). The purpose for hydrogenating the oil is to allow it to mix with the coffee and not float on top as oil would.

Do what makes you happy, but with all of the amazing foods, desserts and treats available during the holidays, why consume this? Many of the ingredients used in these creamers are indeed really bad for you! To get all of the facts including the fact that these creamers are actually flammable, check out all of Dr. Mercola’s findings and watch the video of non-dairy creamers flammable side!

Click here:   http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/05/17/non-dairy-creamer-chemicals.aspx

The post Say NO to the Pumpkin Spice Holiday Creamer! appeared first on Rick's Coffee.

She asked me if I could use my fresh roasted coffee and make her some of this cellulite erasing soap! Since I live by and endorse the fact that nowadays, “there is no excuse for not knowing”, I, of course was up to the challenge!

I did my research (went to Google) , and played around with a few different recipes until I created the best all natural, exfoliating coffee soap. This soap is really tough. I have been trying to find a good, tough soap that really exfoliates. Some say on the label that it will exfoliate, but don’t deliver. I hand make my soap using my fresh roasted coarsely ground  and whole bean coffee which leaves your skin super clean and smelling like a latte!

The reviews from teammates at my gym have been very positive. Many of them do Jiu-jitsu 3-5 days a week in a Gi and sweat a lot!

Coffee soap also helps remove odors like onions, garlic, and fish from your skin, so have a bar close to your kitchen sink.

A Rutgers University study and “The Skin Guru” Leslie Baumann M.D. have written about it and articles from USA today, CBS News and many more have shown that caffeine actually kills abnormal cells that can cause skin cancer!

In addition to those amazing benefits, coffee soap will also help with diminishing  cellulite! By massaging your needed trouble areas with this exfoliating soap, it helps break up the fat cells and decreases the lumps and bumps!

I have been making lots of soap! It makes a great gift for birthdays, holidays and any special occasion.

The post Coffee Soap Does What? appeared first on Rick's Coffee.

All was great until I tasted my coffee. I am not sure how it attained its dark color because it tasted like hot water soaked through dirty socks! It had no coffee flavor at all! I was shocked! I thought that I was going to be drinking great, fresh roasted coffee because I’m in Central America. That was not the case in the local restaurants because they use (Because I had to ask) Folgers or Maxwell House! Yuk! It was old stale coffee because good fresh roasted coffee is very expensive for the restaurant owners to buy…well that’s what they told me. I was still on a mission to find good coffee, although I did bring some of my own fresh roasted coffee from home to brew every morning for my wife, Candy and I before heading out.

We found a great coffee roaster on the island! It’s the “Rum, Cigar & Coffee House.” Ironically they did not offer Belizean coffee. They had some great El Salvadorian and some Mexican on hand. The store manager, Saul, explained that Belizean coffee is very expensive because of the small amount that the country actually produces.

The key to growing great coffee is the sub-tropic climate with high elevation and Belize has only one small area of the country that can achieve this. The country of Belize is in Central America between the Mexican and Guatemalan mountains and the Caribbean Sea. Belize coffee is organically grown in the shaded rainforest at the Gallon Jug Estate on the high plateaus of Western Belize.

In this area where prized Mahogany trees used to grow (they were all cut down to panel the walls of Aristocrats in England) is an ideal growing area for shade loving Arabica coffee. The varietal they grow comes from Costa Rica.

I had to buy a prepackaged pound of the coffee and although the medium-dark roast masked much of the subtle flavors, it was a great full bodied sophisticated cup of coffee! I also appreciate the fact that they emphasize  ecologically friendly coffee growing practices.

Belize also grows lots of cacao! They grow and make wonderful chocolate!

I learned so much on my trip to Belize. I can’t wait to go back! Belize that! Remember, Life is too short to drink bad coffee!

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The fact is almost all commercially roasted coffee is shiny. The shiny or oily texture of the bean is not a good thing at all. On the contrary, the oil being on the outside of the bean is robbing you of flavor! The reason this continues to happen makes good sense if you are a big coffee producer/roaster. The reason is more roasted coffee in less time means more money for the coffee roaster. I notice this shiny coffee in Starbucks Coffee, Seattle’s Best and even Costco’s in-house roasted beans are shiny. So… even more reasons to roast your own coffee at home.

(Dull Beans-Oils are still locked inside the bean)

Here’s how the coffee beans get shiny…As the green coffee beans roast, the moisture in the beans gets cooked out and the sugars begin to change. The shininess is the coffee’s oils oozing out to the surface of the coffee bean. This occurs  when the roast temperature is above 450 degrees Fahrenheit. For big money, roasters time is money! So..in an eight hour day if you can roast a batch of coffee at 600 degrees in 10 minutes plus 10-15 minutes to cool, that would be a lot more batches and profits than roasting at 410 degrees Fahrenheit for 17-18 minutes plus 10-15 minutes for cooling.

Just like any natural product the concentrated, essence is in the oils. So why would you want those shiny, oily beans? You’re losing flavor with the oils left in the bag. Oils left on the sides of your storage canister, oils that stick to your coffee grinder! Those oils belong in your cup! So when it comes to coffee, I would rather have my oils locked inside the bean until I prepare my coffee and extract those amazing complex flavors in my cup!

Let me know if you would like me to address any coffee related topics. I respond to all feedback. Life is way to short to drink bad coffee!

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Here’s what makes this coffee so individualistic. Monsooned Malabar Coffee is prepared from Arabica cherries (“cherry” refers to dry processed coffees in India) After grading, the “monsooning” is carried out in large open walled warehouses. During the rainy months of June through August, the coffee is spread inside the warehouse where the air is maintained at a particular thickness using specific aeration and ventilation as to allow the coffee beans to slowly absorb moisture. After the beans bloat with moisture they are bagged and stacked to achieve the proper uniform “monsooning.” After September, after the rains and as the temperatures rise, the ghostly white, swollen beans get their final grading. This process is done by hand sorting and with gravity tables. Only after this step will the coffee obtain its Malabar export quality.

(before (green smaller bean) after the monsooning process (whitish larger bean)

This coffee is grown by farmers who also grow and produce pepper, cardamom anise and even oranges! These other crops affect the flavor development within the coffee cherries. The same honeybees pollenate all of the blossoms which all play a magical role.

The tasting notes of this great coffee are very full bodied and creamy. Of course, the roast level plays a big role, but generally you will taste soft fruit tones at lighter roast points, chocolate, caramel, brown sugar and earthy cinnamon tones as well.

Share your thoughts with me! I’d love to hear from you! If you enjoy my blog, please subscribe! Remember..Life is way too short to drink bad coffee..wine too, but that’s a whole different blog.

The post Why Indian Monsooned Malabar is such an Unique Coffee! appeared first on Rick's Coffee.

But wait! Before we even talk about the method of preparation let’s address how important the grind of the beans are! If you are using cheap or store bought coffee that is already ground you are drinking stale coffee regardless of how you prepare it. It has already lost 60-75% of the flavor it once had. So, make sure you buy fresh roasted coffee from a local knowledgeable coffee roaster (like myself) who can provide you with the freshest beans with a “roasted on” date. Once you have some great fresh coffee,  make sure you grind only the amount you are about to prepare. Never grind the entire bag all at once! Next, make sure you are not using a cheap “spinning blade grinder”….you know the ones that have a spinning blade on top kind of like a blender. The problem with those is that they will not provide you with an uniform grind. You will have some that have been obliviated into powder and some that are still coarse.  There is no consistency with the grind.

Depending on the method you choose to prepare your coffee, there is a different level of coarseness needed for the various methods. For example, my two favorite methods for preparing my coffee are #1 The French Press and #2 The Moka Pot. The French Press method requires a coarsely ground coffee bean, as the moka pot is best with a more finely ground coffee bean. To achieve the exact uniformed  ground coffee, you need to use a  “burr” grinder. This grinder is a little more costly, but well worth it!. You can select the coarseness you prefer and the amount of ground coffee  you need with the push of a button! Ok, so now we understand the difference between a Burr grinder and a spinning blade grinder.

Let’s move on to making some amazing coffee!

If I am wanting just one great cup of coffee, I use my “moka pot.” The moka pot is made in Italy by a company called Bialetti and can be purchased even at Target. To see exactly how to make coffee utilizing this method please check out www.youtube.com/RickLovesCoffee and you will find the “how to” from step 1 to the finished cup!

The method I utilize when I am making up to 5 cups of coffee is the “French Press.” There are many makers of a French Press, but they all share the same basic principles. You need to heat clean filtered water to 200 degrees Fahrenheit , (which is the best temperature for maximum flavor extraction), pour about 2 cups into the pot, add the coffee, mix and then fill the French Press to the top. Set the lid and screen on top and let it steep for 4-5 minutes, then press the screen to the bottom. Again,  to see exactly  how to utilize this method, check out how to make coffee with a “French Press” on www.youtube.com/RickLovesCoffee.

Please leave any feedback, ask any questions and I will respond. If you have another coffee related question that you would like me to address with a video..just leave a request in the comment section or send me an email to rickscoffee1@gmail.com. I reply to all inquiries. If you enjoy reading my blog please subscribe! You will be notified when I post a new one. It may even be me responding to your request!

Remember! Life is too short to drink bad coffee!

The post My favorite methods to prepare the best, most flavorful Cup of Joe appeared first on Rick's Coffee.