Now that I'm ready to order some beans. Please suggest your fave mail-order bean sources. So far I like Sweet Maria's and Coffee Bean Corral, BUT holy guacamole how do you select a bean?!

Methinks most of the pre-roasted stuff I've ever drunk has come from South and Central Americas, but I'm quite interested in the wide wide palette that is now open before me.

Be gentle. Just as you don't start a non-wine drinker's education with a Big Cab (no matter how wonderful it may be), I suspect that I don't need to dive into complexities and nuances that I'm not ready to appreciate-nor foul up great beans with amateur roasting. I've scored a lot wines (went through a viticulture and oenology stage), but never cupped a coffee.

I expect to be using a Poppery or similar for the roasting.

I'll probably start with Sweet Maria's sampler pack(they choose-and). Or I can get 1/2 pounders from CBC.

Ethiopia, New Zealand, Java(!), Indonesia, Hawaii, Bolivia, Brazil, Zimbabwe, Congo, Papau New Guinea. etc? a bit confusing. Pick a continent and work down to sub-regions/climates? hah?

Whilst there are some snobbery coffee shops down in Nashvegas, I avoid cities except for NAHBS--and I will have my eyes open there for edjava-cation.

[we'll be moving the previous coffee threads into this section in the next day or so.]