Discover Coffees Unparalleled Flavors While Romancing the Bean!Coffees! Whether you like it thick and sweet, black and bitter orloaded with cream and sugar, there's nothing quite like thatenchanting scent of coffee when it's moments away from being ready todrink. The history of the brew extends back to 1000 A.D. where certain Ethiopiantribes ate the distinctive red berries to give them energy. Right aboutthat same time some wandering Arab traders started taking those redberries back home with them where they set about boiling them first.The resulting liquid brew was called "qahwa" which means "that whichprevents sleep". Who would have guessed that from these humblebeginnings would emerge as a world-wide crop that has a billiondollar plus annual impact on the world economy? Today there are nearly as many different coffees, blends and brands asthere are people who drink the brew. Well, I might be overstating my caseby a little bit because recent surveys show that nearly 107 millionpeople in the U.S. alone drink coffee regularly and over 400 billioncups of coffee are served, world wide, every single day of the year!Yikes, how does anyone ever get any sleep? A cup of java is the number one most popular hot breakfast beverage but that doesn't stop it from being drunk all day long as well. It is especially popular after dinner for many cultures including the Italians who prize a good cup of Espresso after a hearty Italian food feast. Despite the wide array of available brands, and regardless of all the marketing and advertising pitches, there are essentially just two types of beans which comprise 99% of the coffees brewedtoday. The "Robusta" bean is grown in Western and Central Africa, Malaysia, Brazil and India. The Robusta plant produces more beans than its counterpart and has a caffeine content that ranges from 1% to 7%.About 30% of the world's java comes from this bean and it is the number one choice for instant drink manufacturers. The other dominant bean is called the "Arabica" and is a nativeof Central and South America but is also grown in India, Eastern Africaand Papua New Guinea. It has a caffeine level of just 0.8% to 1.4%. Arabica beans make up about 70% of the production in the world. Some manufacturers create "blends" of the two beans. So, if there are only two beans then what's all the advertising about? That would be the "roasting" boasting that every different manufacturer is so proud of. There are well-defined roasting processes and each one produces a different tasting brew when all is said and done. Dark Roasted refers to brews which are made from beans roasted for up to 14 minutes. Variations, including the b>"ItalianRoast", call for beans that are roasted to a black color for about 12 to 13 minutes. A Medium Dark roast is prepared in slightly less time and is often known as a "French Roast". Medium Roasts take about 9 to 11 minutes with the most popular being called a "Breakfast" or "American" roast. Light Roasts last for 7 minutes and produce a very mild drink. Besides the various roasting methods, there are differences in quality between even beans of the same type. Cheap "no name" brands typically use the lower quality beans. The better brands will normally use the better quality beans. If a cheap brand tastes as good to you as the top of the line does then save your money. I won't tell anyone! No matter which brand, blend or roast you buy, the last variation in the taste and strength is up to you and how you brew it. Although there are many ways that coffees are brewed around the world, there are only five that are in common use. Filter Drip This is your standard "Mr. Coffee" method which is popular in most homes in North America. Water is heated to near boiling temperatures which then rises up through a tube and is dispersed over the top ofground beans which are held in a container that is fitted with either a permanent or disposable filter. The hot water drips through the grounds and the coffee is extracted to the waiting pot below. French Drip This method works just like the "American" method with a slight twist. Don't tell the French that, however, because it will ruin their day if you compare them to Americans! The essential difference is that insteadof a paper filter, the pot has a separate top which acts as a chamber to hold the grounds. The water leaches through the chamber and makes its way to the waiting pot below. Percolator If your mother or father is a baby Boomer then this is their parent's coffee maker. It's still in use today and the percolator isparticularly popular with campers. The coffee grounds are held in a metal cup which is fitted with a hollow stem. The stem protrudes down into the pot and fits into a special hole. When the water is heated itrises up through the stem where it overflows into the cup and runs down through the grounds back into the pot. Percolators are notorious for taking a bit of the grounds down into the pot along with the liquid.The trademarks of "percolated coffee" are the distinctive and almost melodious sound that the water makes as it "percolated" up the stem and the telltale layer of grounds which are left at the bottom of thecoffee cup when you're done drinking it. Neapolitan Flip Invented by the French but taken over by the Italians. Whether it's made out of aluminum, copper or stainless steel, the design is exactly the same. There are two chambers. The lower chamber holds the water andthe upper chamber holds the grounds. It's called the "flip" because at the precise moment that the water comes to a boil, you "flip" the pot over so the bottom chamber is now on top and the water runs downthrough the lower chamber where the coffee is extracted from the grounds. Espresso Other than the filter drip method, this is likely the most well known style of coffee brewing in the world. There are two kinds of espresso coffee maker. The stove top model works a lot like the "flip" except the water in the lower chamber is forced through the coffee grounds and into the upper chamber. No actual "flipping" is required. The electric model forces the water through the grounds and directly into the waiting coffee cup. The electric models may also come equipped with milk steaming capabilities. Espresso is the de facto favorite of Italian food lovers. |