| K-Cups are small vacuum packed containers | | | | Robusto is usually the base for instant coffee and is |
| containing an exact portion of coffee to be used | | | | used in some espresso blends to produce crema, the |
| with a Keurig Single Cup Coffee Maker. First designed | | | | frothy, top layer. Robusto adds a distinct flavor and |
| and patented to contain Green Mountain Coffee, now | | | | body to espresso and this distinguishes it in milk |
| other gourmet blends like Timothy's, Newman's Own, | | | | drinks. Many Italian roasts have Robusto in their |
| and Caribou Coffee are available in K-Cups. There are | | | | blends. |
| over 200 different gourmet coffee blends and | | | | Robusto coffee was undoubtedly what your |
| roasts, even flavored coffees, teas and cocoa in | | | | grandmother brewed on the stove. It often had a |
| K-Cups. These are all fine Arabica coffees, known for | | | | bitter, burnt taste which was partially masked with |
| their quality and complex flavors. | | | | milk and sugar. Until the late 1960's, most people's |
| Approximately two-thirds of the world's coffee crop | | | | idea of a cup of coffee was grandma's or a cup of |
| is Arabica beans. They produce better coffee and | | | | joe from the diner. People did not think about the |
| about 80% are used for commercially produced | | | | type of bean, its origin, how fresh it was, or how it |
| coffees. Of that 80%, only 10% are selected for | | | | was roasted. Coffee was a generic beverage. |
| specialty gourmet coffees. This is what you buy in | | | | Then things began to change, when Alfred Peet |
| coffee stores and from individual coffee roasters. | | | | opened his small coffee store in Berkeley, California. |
| This is the coffee you will brew with a K-Cup. | | | | He sold high quality Arabica beans roasted the way |
| What you definitely will not find in a K-Cup is a blend | | | | he'd learned in the Netherlands coffee trade. Working |
| of Robusto beans. Considered inferior tasting, you will | | | | with small batches and controlled roasting techniques, |
| find Robusto beans in cheaper supermarket coffee. | | | | Peet's darker style produced a rich, complex coffee |
| Some brands have a certain proportion of Robusto | | | | which was a quite a change from the burnt rubber |
| beans or may consist entirely of Robusto. The beans | | | | taste of the 'ho-hum coffee' Americans were used |
| are often used as a filler and mixed with Arabica | | | | to. The coffee took off and Peet's success was the |
| beans to make cheaper blends. Then the labels can | | | | catalyst for the specialty coffee movement. Peet |
| advertise that the coffee DOES contain Arabica | | | | trained three friends in his roasting methods; they |
| coffee. | | | | moved to Seattle and founded Starbucks in 1971. |
| Robusto beans make up about one-third of the | | | | Today Peet is widely credited with starting the |
| annual production of coffee. The Robusto coffee | | | | specialty coffee revolution in the US. Coffee |
| plant is hardier and produces a larger crop, making it | | | | historians call him "The Dutchman who taught |
| the bean counter's dream and the darling of the | | | | America how to drink coffee". So while you won't |
| supermarket brands. Since these beans contain twice | | | | find Peet's coffee, yet in K-Cups, you will enjoy a |
| as much caffeine, they're great at keeping the | | | | vast selection of Arabica roasts and blends from |
| troops awake and are often in commercial brands | | | | Green Mountain and many others. |
| popular with pancake houses and all-night truck stops. | | | | |