Coffee Tasting Notes
At Ozark Mountain Coffee Company, java aficionados can stop by for coffee tastings. Just like with vino, minus the oak barrel and the hangover.
There are thousands of BTUs of gas hitting the outside of the barrel. The flame never touches the beans, and they never sit still in the drum. Larry Gifford watches this through a glass porthole so he can see exactly when they’re ready to take out.
As the owner of Ozark Mountain Coffee Company and the company’s roaster, he has an intimate knowledge of what makes a good cup of joe. “I hear people say that coffee-tasting is more difficult than wine-tasting,” he says. “It’s harder to recognize some of the coffee characteristics. Also, individual preparation of each cup is important. There’s a lot to worry about, like temperature, water quality and the quality and volume of grinds.”
But you don’t have to just take his word for it. If you see him at Ozark Mountain Coffee Company, you can try your own hand at some coffee-tasting. And if you haven’t had coffee handmade by a professional micro roaster, you owe it to yourself to give Larry’s coffee a try for one main reason: quality.
The 411Ozark Mountain Coffee Company |
It’s obvious that Larry Gifford isn’t just the business owner. He’s a coffee fan himself. He likes coffee so much, he bought the company. “I really enjoy the people coming in here. They’re passionate about the coffee,” he says.
He sells more than 100 varieties of coffee, each hand-roasted with the same meticulous eye for detail, and there are new concoctions in the making. His coffee beans come from around the world, from here in the Americas to a bean that’s literally grown on the side of Mount Kilimanjaro itself, under the shade of banana trees.
When people come in for coffee, they aren’t disappointed. “People just leave happy,” Larry says.
