Jim,

Missy's got ya covered, see the last paragraph of the post => donate by check!

;)

Yay! Missy & Team Affiliate Marketers Give Back ! ! What a great event (and ONLY 2 days this year!) Very rewarding and a cause that touches us all.

It doesn't look like I can walk this year -- I'll be out of town that weekend -- but am there in spirit and am still an enthusiastic Team Affiliate Marketers Give Back supporter!

I am sorry I didn't get this posted prior to this episode. I was feeling a bit under the weather over the weekend. Which...unfortunately...did reduce the overall quality of my coffee tasting.

I intended to do a tasting with the Burundi (which is featured in this year's Anniversary blend) and another African single origin. Only... I didn't have the extra Burundi in the freezer like I thought. Guess I was pretty greedy with those Burundi beans.

Here are my tasting notes:

Smooth. Balanced. Bright. Medium viscosity. Great "mouth feel" and perfectly drinkable.
I likened the sweetness to over-ripened blackberries.
Unfortunately, I didn't get the caramel that I fully expected and remembered loving about the Burundi. This was surely a result of my compromised sense of smell (and therefore taste).

So... I will probably try again before the beans are no longer available. :)

Random trivia: Peet's is six months younger than me almost to the day.

Scott -- very good research on the topic of storage. You shared good information.

My recommendation for storage containers is the Bee House brand, ceramic, "air tight" canister. (Tea drinkers might be familiar with this brand since Bee House produces teapots too.) The canisters are affordable, keep the beans protected from light, air and moisture, and are relatively easy to clean.

If you do switch to canister storage... here is a hint for even better storage. As Scott mentioned: light, air and moisture are the enemies of the coffee bean. The canister keeps all three at bay. The other issue discussed was "age" or time elapsed since the roasting date. I know many reputable coffee roasters record the roast date on the bag. This is great, especially if you're storing the coffee in the freezer for future use. Unfortunately, when you remove the beans to store in a canister, you often lose that information. So -- I put a post-it note on the canister lid with the roasting date and the bean type. This is really helpful when accumulating more than one or two coffees in the cupboard (which I do).

Todd suggested buying fewer beans more frequently. This is also great advice. When you can't follow that practice, though, and you do have more beans, keep them in canisters for the current week's usage and put the rest in the freezer. Better to keep them frozen than out if you're not getting to them in the 7 - 10 day period following the roast.

I am psychic and did a pre-tasting tasting of the Anniversary Blend when you were slurping the Sumatra.

I just ordered another pound so I can play along with you! I promise to share my thoughts since I wasn't too impressed with the feedback from the crickets last episode.