This morning Nani said, "Get dressed Romen, we're going on an adventure." Nani took me to Caye Coffee (located here on the island of Ambergris Caye). Marcy the owner, gave me a tour of the facility and showed me how they roast coffee beans. I learned all about coffee and how the whole process works. Nani enjoyed a coffee beverage before leaving, and I had a kids drink. It was a great morning with my Nani and we look forward to many more adventures together. Today, I got to help bag coffee at "Caye Coffee". This is the commercial coffee bean grinder, they use to grind beans. After the beans are roasted and have cooled down, they are placed in this grinder to create ground coffee. Marcy (the owner), showed me where they store their coffee beans. These beans are kept in a temperature controlled environment, until they are ready to be roasted. 1. Drying Stage - Caye Coffee keeps a careful eye on the condition of their beans and control the environment (i.e. humidity) that affects them. When the beans have dried to the right degree, they will roast them. Roasting beans take them from their green color, to a nice brown color. 2. Browning Stage - The browning stage is the stage wherein the aromas of the beans will start to develop. This stage follows the drying stage. During the browning process, we see what is called the "Maillard Reaction" taking place. This means the natural sugars and amino acids within the coffee beans start to react and create a distinctive color and flavor characteristic to the coffee bean. During the browning stage, we see what most roasters refer to as the first crack. This means the beans are expanding which brings us to the next stage. Romen, we take the beans from this green color, and roast them to light & dark roasts for our various coffee brands. The darker the color, the fuller the flavor. We make three kinds of coffee Romen.
3. Roasting Stage - This is the stage where we fully shape the taste profile we are trying to create for Caye Coffee. If we roast too fast, we will create a coffee that tastes smoky and is too sharp, so we take our time. When roasting, we control the humidity and the roasting time to create the perfect roasted bean for our coffee. This roasting stage, leads to the aroma compounds that most people love about our coffee. Roast Degree - The roast degree is one of the most important factors, to consider when roasting. The color of the bean tells you a lot, when you are deciding when to roast and how long to roast.
Roast Time - The roast degree has the biggest role when it comes to determining the definitive taste of the bean. This is where experience comes in.
As the beans expand, they will harden and as a side effect, they release what is called "chaff". Chaff is another word for the skin of a coffee bean. 4. Cooling Stage - After roasting your beans, you will need to cool them down. That's what this big round bin does Romen. This is an important step, as cooling down your beans helps to stop the roasting process. The beans need to cool for about 4 to 5 minutes to ensure that roasting has stopped. 5. Discharding Waste Stage - Remember we talked about the chaff, which is the skin on the coffee bean? This skin needs to be removed, in order to finish processing your coffee beans. This machine collects the chaff here in this compartment. Once the beans have cooled properly (and the chaff has been removed), we are ready to cup our beans. Cupping is another word for testing. Before we grind and bag the coffee, we want to make sure we are getting the desired results as to taste. 6. Cupping Stage - Cupping beans is another way of saying you are proofing the roasting results. Cupping relies on the experience and skill of the person tasting the coffee. The process includes sniffing, and tasting to get a clear picture of the taste you’ve created. How cupping is done, is different for each roaster. 7. In Summary - We hope you enjoyed your tour Romen, and learned alot about how to make coffee. Every coffee roaster has their own preferences, methods, product materials, and secrets, they use to achieve that perfect cup. Have Nani bring you back again, and we can bag more coffee together. This ends my tour on how to make the perfect cup of coffee from BEAN (to) CUP. We Miss You Jaymin
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Two different versions of "White Queso Cheese Dip", the boys love. ROMEN'S "WHITE QUESO CHEESE DIP"
Romen's White Queso Cheese Dip Directions
BELIZEAN CHEESE DIP 1/2 lbs. green peppers, diced 1 lb. Happy Cow cheese, cubed 1/2 can Mexicana salsa casera 1 can evaporated milk Hot Sauce (Marie Sharp’s) optional 1/2 habanero (de-seeded) optional Handful of cilantro, to taste Belizean Cheese Dip Directions
March is Stimulus Month March is "Stimulus Month" for Romen at school. Almost everyday, they had something fun & exciting for him to do. Here is a look at the month of March, from a little boys perspective. February 28, 2022 - Trip to Mainland Romen went to the mainland to visit family. March 1, 2022 - My New Room Mami worked on painting and decorating him a new room. March 2, 2022 - Plant a Tree Day Romen planted his first tree with Jose, at Belize Budget Suites. March 3, 2022 - Healthy Lunch He learned about healthy eating. March 4, 2022 - Kite Day He had kite day with Mami, and decorated his own kite at school. March 5, 2022 - 303 Belize We went to "303 Belize" and remembered Jaymin. March 9, 2022 - Career Day He baked cookies and went as a "Baker" (aka a chef) for career day. March 11, 2022 - Karaoke Day He learned to sing a song in front of his class. March 14, 2022 - Dentist Day He learned the proper way to brush his teeth. March 15, 2022 - Lunch w/ Nani He had lunch with Nani, on the beach. March 18, 2022 - Sports Day He had "Sports Day" & lunch w/ Mami & Nani. March 21, 2022 - Crazy Shoe Day He went to school w/ dinosaur feet. March 24, 2022 - Face Painting Day March 29, 2022 - Earth Day All the kids dressed in white shirts to symbolize a clean earth. March 30, 2022 - 3D Project Day All the kids brought to school, a 3-D art project. So far it's been an eventful & exciting month for this little boy. Now Mami & Nani need an ice cold "Cranberry Tea".
Today was "Sports Day" at Romen's school. Sports day is something the schools here (in San Pedro) do once a year. A youth group from the USA, comes to Belize & volunteers their time to do this event with the children. The day presented a variety of activities, from parachute play, pillow sack races, soccer kicking, aerobics, to a quick class in dental hygiene. Romen left with a toothbrush, toothpaste, whistle, apple & a drink. This was my favorite picture of the entire day. My grandson looks so happy. Angler's Restaurant After "Sports Day", Mami treated us to lunch. We're waiting for Mami to get to the restaurant, enjoying a little table fun. Angler's Restaurant Anglers Seafood Restaurant caters to both locals & tourists. They strive to bring you homemade Belizean seafood, at affordable prices. This was a great experience. Angler's Restaurant Menu Check Out Angler's Restaurant |
FISHING EQUIPMENT
PERSONAL ITEMS
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EMERGENCY
FOOD & SNACKS
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#1) Double-Breasted Cormorant - Can be found along mangroves, coastlines, nearshore waters of cayes, harbors and coastal beaches along mainland coast, and occasionally shrimp farms. They are resident birds on Ambergris Caye. | #2) Royal Tern - Can be found along the beaches, cayes and shrimp farms. They are a year-round visitor here in Belize and you can find these along the coast on Ambergris Caye. |
#3) Franklin Gull - Can be found along coastal waters near beaches, estuaries, lagoons, and shrimp farms. It's an occasional spring and autumn transient along coastal waters from late February to late May | #4) Laughing Gull - Can be found on coastal areas, cayes and offshore; occasionally in migration at inland lagoons. It is a common winter visitor along the coast and offshore; locally common in summer and populated cayes. |
#5) Brown Pelican - Can be found along coastlines, inshore and offshore waters, offshore islands; less common in estuaries and shrimp farms, rarely inshore lagoons and ponds. Nests in colonies in mangroves. A year-round visitor on Ambergris Caye. | #6) White Pelican - Can be found in estuaries, lagoons, shrimp farms, occasionally reservoirs, and ocean. Common winter visitor from October to May, primarily north of Belize City along coast and cayes. |
This lovely lady I'm sitting next to (is Roman's mom), the mother to my grandson. Together, we are going to take the boys (Jaymin & Romen - Jaymin being my other grandson), on a series of adventures throughout the country of Belize. This is our photo diary of those adventures, to share with you. Many of these adventures can be enjoyed by families (just like us), while traveling on vacation in Belize.
May 2022
April 2022
March 2022
July 2021
March 2021
February 2021
All
About Belize Birds
About Bird Watching
About Coconuts In Belize
About Coffee Roasting
About Dock Fishing W/ Kids
About Fishing Gear For Kids
About Fun Things To Eat
About Ice Cream Tour
About - Sports Day
About - Stimulus Month
About - Tree Planting
About - What Is A Chef?