Juan Monroy

Each Friday, local NPR powerhouse WNYC runs a segment about seasonal food, cleverly titled “Last Chance Foods.” Today, they covered coffee, its preparation, its storage, and its seasonality.

They covered many of the basics that I have for many years observed in my daily quest for a great cup.

1. the specific brewing method matters very little other than yielding one’s personal preference
2. storing coffee in the refrigerator or freezer is not a good idea
3. you can only achieve properly ground coffee using a burr grinder
4. your water must be at the right temperature, around 195-205°

However the new tidbit for me was that coffee has seasons, albeit very long ones. That makes a lot of sense since a coffee bean is like a cherry, which we all know have very distinct growing season.

I hope that seasonality will be something that consumers will consider when drinking their next cup. I think it’ll be a boon for smaller coffee shops around here since we’ve seen that Big Food retailers struggle with seasonality and this marks a good opportunity for the more artisanal coffee purveyors in this city.

And if you’re wondering if your coffee is in season, rest assured “there will never be a month when in-season coffee is not available though.”

Cheers!