Coffee

You’ve probably heard the term “gourmet coffee”, but do you really know what makes some coffees gourmet while others aren’t? It all goes back to the coffee bean, which isn’t a bean at all. Instead, it’s a seed of the coffee plant. Coffee has been around in some form for at least the last thousand years. Legend has it that it was first discovered in Ethiopia and later spread throughout Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Europe. One of the first American settlers brought a plant to the new world to start a plantation. The people of the United States now consume more coffee than any other country, and the new, single-cup coffee makers are revolutionizing the way we make coffee.

The two main types of coffee are Arabica and Robusta. Only ripe berries are used in gourmet coffees, because these are the berries that will have the best flavor. The beans are painstakingly hand-picked to make sure that only the ripe ones are chosen. Gourmet coffee is made of Arabica coffee beans that have been roasted long enough to get the oils flowing. That’s where all the taste is. The longer the beans are roasted, the deeper and richer the taste. Gourmet coffees utilize the best of these beans that have been roasted to perfection. The strength of the coffee being produced also depends on the size of the grind with finer grinds delivering darker coffee.

Different kinds of blends are mixed together per manufacturer recipes to achieve the different tastes. That’s why when you shop for gourmet coffee pods for your single cup coffee maker you’re able to find so many different blends to choose from. That’s what it means when companies offer you house blends, signature blends, organic blends, and the like. The companies producing the gourmet coffees have selected the finest coffee beans they can find, roasted them, put them through rigorous taste testing, and ended up with fine blends they can label gourmet.

When you purchase coffee pods for your 1 cup coffee maker, you expect to get the best of the best, and that’s what you’ll be paying for. Since the process of creating gourmet coffee is very labor intensive, from hand-picking to extended roasting time to the sampling of different blends, you pay premium prices for it; however, many people think the end result is well worth the expense.

Paul Julian writes about one of the coolest inventions ever, the single cup coffee maker, at http://www.CoffeePodsAndKcups.com.

Author: Paul Julian
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Twenty-nine million American adults drink gourmet coffee beverages every day. Though specialty coffee shops like Starbuck’s can be found just about anywhere, Cuban coffee, known for its strong taste, is only found in areas of the United States where there is a large Cuban American population. Sought after by coffee connoisseurs, it is the finest and most sought-after coffee in the world. Often compared to espresso, it is actually a rich blend of Cuban, Spanish and Italian coffee traditions.

Cuban coffee is roughly double the strength of regular American coffee. It is usually served in small cups called “tacitas,” which are smaller than demitasse cups, at the end of a meal. It is a mud-thick java brew with a tantalizing flavor and aroma made sweet by the amount of sugar that is used. The secret to “Cafe Cubano” or”cafecito,” as it is known in Cuba, is the finely ground, dark roasted coffee beans.

Coffee was brought to the eastern region of Cuba by French immigrants in the mid 18th century. By the early 1800′s it became a bigger import than sugar. Cuba’s natural humid climate, fertile soil and two centuries of cultivation techniques, have made it the ideal setting for growing coffee beans. The coffee beans are grown high in the shady jungles of the Sierra Maestra Mountains. The cultivation of the beans is labor intensive and its planting, growing, harvesting, and processing procedures have been perfected every step of the way. Large beans are used and are left out to try in the sun instead of using mechanical dryers. No pesticides are used so the coffee is 100% organic.

Cuban coffee beans have a superior reputation in Asia and Europe with Japan and France accounting for 70-80 percent of the exports. Other importers of Cuban coffee include Italy, Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, Switzerland and the Netherlands. Embargo on Cuban goods has created a challenge for those i America who would like to enjoy this distinctive coffee. However Cuban American grocery stores and cafeterias sell their version of Cuban coffee. There are a number of Cuban coffee companies like Tu Cafe and Cafe Llave with Cafe Pilon being the top seller, that market “authentic Cuban coffee.” The beans for these brands are grown in Brazil,Colombia or other parts of Central and South America.

There is no secret recipe or process for making Cuban coffee. All that is needed is freshly ground dark roasted coffee beans, sugar and a “cafetera,” a unique italian double chamber coffee pot. Water is placed in the lower chamber and the ground coffee goes into a perforated holder. The top is screwed on and the pot is heated. The brewed coffee rises into the upper chamber. The coffee is poured into a “tacita” and sugar is added.

Drinking “Cafe Cubano” remains a prominent social and cultural activity within Cuba and in Cuban American communities. The rest of the world is slowly catching up to enjoy this particular style of coffee. One can find “authentic” Cuban coffees in many supermarkets and the specialty brewers are sold everywhere. So if you want a true coffee experience try Cuban coffee.

Cuba has always been a major player in world events both politically and socially. It is hard to believe that an island nation that has been politically ostracized from the rest of the world for more than fifty years, can still create such an impact. The Cuban coffee thing is just part of the whole Cuban experience. In my blog My Cuban Thing I write about my observations as a Cuban kid who grew up American.

Author: Mario Del Sol
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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