Coffee

It is hard to imagine a modern home without a coffee maker. Even if you don’t own a coffee making machine you will more than likely own a kettle and coffee granules. Coffee has become such a popular drink all around the world, it is had to imagine that it was originally brewed using a small copper container called a Turkish Ibrik. The coffee was very strong as it was not filtered and you can still get coffee prepared like this in the Middle East today.

If you are looking for an easier way to prepare your morning brew there are many options available to you. You can choose a very fancy, complex coffee maker or a more simple, straight forward machine.

The largest selection of coffee makers these days is, of course, the inexpensive drip model. Once you have poured the water into the top of the machine, it’s heated by an electric element inside, the water then passes through coffee grounds and is collected in the glass pot which sits on the heating plate.

But beyond these basics, there are a few functions it’s nice to have.

Controls have changed to the stage that many makers look like a modern stereo. LCD screens display the time, the time to brew, temperature, a timer and several options even more unmentionable .

Getting the strength of your coffee correct is very important. Modern coffee makers have many options for you to adjust the strength of your coffee. There are almost as many options as there are coffee beans! Auto shut-off is a very useful feature. If you have every been unable to wait until your coffee has finished being brewed and you have removed the pot from the hot plate too soon you will have noticed the drips on the hot plate. Auto shut-off stops the coffee dripping into the pot the second it is removed from the heating plate. Once the pot is returned to the heating plate it will carry on brewing.

Walking into your kitchen on a cold, dark morning and seeing the illuminated display telling you your coffee is ready is also a very useful and comforting feature.

Cleaning has been made easier, too, by the invention of coffee ‘pods’ – small pre-measured paper containers of coffee through which the water flows. They have the added advantage of providing good filtering for grounds. Once the brewing is complete you just pop them out (after they’ve cooled!) and toss them into the waste bin. Essential for the active – and opposed to cleaning up – coffee drinker.

With a lot of latest machines now using pods this make the whole process a lot quicker but some people question the paper quality of these pods and the effect on the environment. Others also feel that the paper may effect the quality of coffee. This is a personal choice and one you will have to consider before purchasing your machine.

Having a water filter attached to your coffee maker can be a very useful feature. This can make your choice of machine a little more expensive but if you live in an area where your water quality is not great it can be necessary to ensure your coffee tastes great.

With so many options to chose from and a bevy of coffee machines available it may seem like an impossible task to finally decide on your perfect coffee maker. But you can take comfort in that fact the once you have chosen you can enjoy your perfect cup of coffee whenever your want for a long time to come.

To find your perfect Coffee Maker take a look at www.doyoulovecoffee.com.

This is the prefect site for all coffee lovers. The site is owned by Lyndsay Whittaker who is an avid coffee drinker.

Author: Lyndsay Whittaker
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Aside from the finer points in roasting coffee beans, the extraction of the coffee flavor from the beans by way of brewing is the most important aspect of coffee-making. It is the final process right before we drink our coffee.

This is the one area where most of the connoisseurs have tried to concentrate their efforts in trying to improve the process throughout the ages. Today, we have several forms of coffee brewing techniques, both for commercial and home use.

Flavor extraction length
As a general rule, the length of extraction time is directly related to the grind coarseness.
The smaller the coffee particles, the shorter the extraction time.

French press coffee is the longest, with coffee and water contact lasting as long as four minutes. Espresso has the shortest contact time, about twenty-five seconds, and the coffee granules used are among the smallest.

If the coffee and water stay together for too long, other compounds start to leach and these will make the coffee bitter. On the other hand, if the granules are large, and the extraction time is short, the coffee will lack flavor because of under-extraction.

Drip brew
Most home brews nowadays are produced through the drip process. The technique is simple enough: hot water is poured over a medium-ground coffee within a filter and the water goes through the coffee grounds and drips into a holding container.

There are many variations on these drip brewers with different functions for home use, and also available in larger models for commercial use.

Auto-drip brewers
This machine makes brewing a very simple process. Water is heated in one place and piped over the grounds inside a filter. The extracted brew then drips into a holding vessel.

One complaint is that these machines do not make the water hot enough, so flavor extraction happens at lower temperatures than is recommended.

Another issue is that the machines have warming hot plates, ostensibly for keeping the coffee warm. However, continuous heat will make the coffee bitter.

Single-Serve Systems
These machines were once used exclusively in commercial places. Now, people buy them for their own use at home.

These are very convenient to use. Pre-packaged coffee is inserted into the machine and with one push of a button, the coffee starts to come out. There are variations to these, however.

Some pre-heats an entire reservoir or heats the water on demand. Some machines can brew with less water, making for stronger coffees. They are more like smaller versions of drip machines. Some involve pressure but they are not true espresso machines.

One complaint is that these machines use proprietary packaged coffee, so quality and freshness cannot be guaranteed.

French Press / Press Pot / Cafeteria / Plunger Pot
The French Press has two parts: the beaker (made of glass, metal or plastic) and a plunger which has a wire-mesh filter.

To use, heat the brewing water and pour it on the coffee grounds in the beaker. Let the coffee steep for about 3 to 5 minutes (to your taste) before putting the plunger in and push the dregs down with the filter mesh. You may stir the brew for a second or two before putting the plunger in. Pour the cleared coffee into an appropriate mug. It is now ready for drinking.

Note: Pour out the coffee into your drinking mugs or carafes right after brewing. Do not leave it steeped with the grounds all throughout. The continuous steeping will make the coffee bitter.

Espresso
Espresso is coffee created by forcing hot water steam through finely ground coffee at a certain pressure. The resulting brew is called espresso, as developed by the Italians. It is different from regular coffee in that it has a cream produced by the process unlike regular brews.

Espresso is the base for such bestselling Italian coffee concoctions as cappuccino, lattes, macchiato and more.

There are many more brewing techniques culled from all over the world. Since they are popular only in their parts, we have not included them in the list. Suffice it to say that whatever the number of brewing techniques that one knows, the quality changes accordingly.

Frankly, all of these coffee brewing techniques are just as good as any. And that says a lot on how versatile coffee is.

Jhon Noya, Author Of Free Tips Making Money From Internet and Free Tips For Dating

Author: Jhon Noya
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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