The Best Coffees

By EatingWell Editors, Fall 2004

Understanding coffee labels such as organic, free-trade, shade grown and single origin.

READER'S COMMENT:

"I'm sure we all have our favorites but after spending time traveling through much of the world please make my cup of coffee Costa Rican. Shade grown Arabica from Costa Rica mixed with 100% Columbian provides the smoothest most flavorful...

Healthy Coffee Recipes
Coffee-Braised Pot Roast with Caramelized Onions
Dark Roast Creme Brulee
Greek Iced Coffee
Kahluaccino

Also of Interest
The Dirty Dozen Plus: 14 Foods You Should Buy Organic
Fair Trade Chocolate
Fair Trade Fruit

For lovers of great coffee, it may be the best of times—with an unprecedented availability of good and even great brews and beans everywhere, from local roasteries to espresso bars and even upwardly mobile gas stations.

Sadly, it is also the worst of times for traditional coffee farmers throughout the Tropics, who must compete with a glut of cheap, low-quality beans from new, industrial-scale plantations in Vietnam and Brazil.

Conscientious consumers, and anyone seeking classic, full-flavored coffee, will want to look for these labels: