Coffee

Have you ever wondered, as you’re sitting in your favorite coffee shop or perhaps at your own kitchen table, sipping your morning cup of gourmet coffee, where that wonderful drink originated at? If you live in the United States, you can thank a man by the name of Alfred Peet. In 1955, Alfred Peet moved to California from Amsterdam, Holland. To his despair, he couldn’t find a decent cup of coffee anywhere. As the son of an Amsterdam coffee trader, he knew good coffee when he drank it.

In 1966, Peet opened a small coffee store in Berkley, California, and began to sell his dark roasted beans. At the time there was one other North American store selling quality coffee, but they were in Vancouver, Canada. From that time until now, Peet’s has served the gourmet coffee needs in Southern California.

While gourmet coffee didn’t come to the States until 1966, coffee has been around since the 9th century, when Ethiopian shepherds notice that their goats would “dance” and had more energy after eating wild coffee beans. Since Islam prohibits the use of alcohol, coffee provided an alternative to wine. From there it spread to Egypt and Yemen. It wasn’t until it reached Arabia that coffee beans were roasted and brewed to make a drink.

At first, this drink was not well received by the Islamic people. In 1511, it was forbidden by the court at Mecca. The drink was so popular, though, that this was overturned in 1524 by the Ottoman Turkish Sultan Selim. It was also banned for a time in Egypt and Ethiopia, before being accepted as an acceptable Muslim drink. This was largely due to the rulers at the time liking the taste of the beverage, therefore decreeing it acceptable.

By the 15th century, coffee was common throughout the Middle East, Persia, Turkey and North Africa. The word “coffee” came from “caffé” in Italy in the 16th century. Before that it was called, in Arabic, “qahwa”. In Venice traders started buying coffee from Africa and the Middle East, and in 1645 the first European coffee house opened.

The Dutch defied the Saudi Arabians prohibition on exportation of coffee by smuggling seedlings from Aden into Europe in 1616. They were also the first country to import coffee on a large scale. They took plants to Java and Ceylon, where they started exporting to the Netherlands in 1711.

Coffee arrived in the United States during the colonial period. When it was first imported, it was not widely drunk in the United States. It wasn’t until the revolutionary war and the shortage of tea, that Americans began drinking it on a regular basis. After the War of 1812, America’s taste for coffee grew and it became a common drink.

As the consumption of coffee grew, so did the companies cultivating, roasting and grinding. The larger companies used (and still do) a blend of Arabica and Robusta beans for a commercial blend, while gourmet coffee is roasted from the Arabica bean alone. Arabica beans are considered the tastiest of the three types of bean and also the most expensive.

Today, coffee is the life-blood of the third world countries that produce it. Over a hundred million people depend on the growth, production and exportation of this flavorful bean.

The next time you pour yourself a wonderful cup of your favorite gourmet blend, consider the origins and history of the coffee bean and how it came to be in your favorite store. The rich history of gourmet coffee is almost as rich and full-bodied as the drink itself which will surely give you even more of that warm and cozy feeling that only a nice cup of coffee can give!

Katya Coen provides information on gourmet coffee for Coffee Online – the site for coffee lovers.

Author: Katya Coen
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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The best way to store coffee is a question that is always on coffee aficinados’ mind, but one that is seldom “tackle”. Think about it, in most coffee maker reviews, you have the best brewer, best grinder, best roaster and so on, but have you ever heard of a best container?

Folks all over the world are looking for the freshest brew, but not a lot of people are concerned about storing the coffee, which is actually a key element in the coffee experience. Unless, you have access to a coffee store near your house, and would never buy more than that day consumption. If not, you would definitely have to store the coffee.

So, what is the best way to store coffee? Remember the coffee freshness rule and you would know how long you can store that “coffee”. Raw green coffee beans can be fresh for years, so they are the easiest to store. Roasted beans, which are what you can easily find in Supermarket, would lose their flavour after a week.

And if you were to ground the coffee, the flavour would be lost within hours. And you probably can forget about keeping brewed coffee as it begins to lose its flavour after minutes.

Based on the above, the easiest to store would be green coffee beans and personally, I think they are the best way to store coffee. All you need to do is to store in a cool location, in a tightly sealed container and you can keep it for more than a year!

Sure, you need to purchase a roaster and a grinder in addition to your coffee maker but you would not have to throw away any unused coffee and you would have the freshest coffee.

For roasted beans, it is similar to green beans, store in an airtight container and try to use ceramic as plastic or metal would contaminate the taste of the beans. Keep away from sunlight and try to store in dark places. This allows you to keep the beans fresh for at least 2 weeks.

And if you really want it to keep a longer time, keeping in the freezer can probably last for another 2 more weeks. To use it, just take it out and grind. Do take note that it is to keep in the freezer and not the fridge, never keep coffee beans in the fridge as it would simply absorb the odour of the other food and spoilt your coffee…

If you really want to store the roast and ground which cannot be store past a few days. Keep it with a good airtight container and away from the sun. This would allow the freshness to stay for a week. For the ground, freezer cannot help much as the surface area is too wide and it would still go stale.

If it is not green beans, the coffee beans would not last more than a month. To me, the best to store coffee is to go “green”, however, let me go through the savings and convince you on this as well!

1 kg of Green beans can last you probably for a year and cost about $25.00. Assuming you have a fully automatic espresso machine which comes with a grinder, you would be buying roasted beans. You would have to buy them every month and it cost about $15.00 per 100g.

In one year, your roasted beans would cost you $150.00. So, between the roasted and the green coffee beans, that is a savings of $125.00. Sure, you have to get a roaster, let say you get a “Fresh Roast” roaster for $70.00, you still have a savings of $55.00.

Now, would you not agreed with me that the best way to store coffee is to go “green”. Storing the Green coffee beans allows you to buy coffee in bulk (get discount from bulk purchase), roast your own coffee and have the freshest cup possible and not forgetting, it saves you some money in the process…

Ebenezer Heng, the owner of On Coffee makers does the research for on any machines related to coffee. As long as you are looking for a machines to better your coffee experience, chances are you can find it at http://www.oncoffeemakers.com

Share you coffee experience or read about others’ experience in http://www.oncoffeemakers.com/coffee-maker-ratings.html

Author: Ebenezer Heng
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Ok so you want to obtain a capresso coffee maker, Hawaiian Coffee product or some other kind of coffee associated product or accessory, lets just suppose you have chosen the coffee merchant from which to buy from and your finger is just about to hit the buy icon, did you contemplate asking this coffee store for a lower price? The answer is probably no.

Years ago before folk were able to acquire products such as stainless steel coffee machines and other great coffee items with the help of the web you would check out your closest food and drink merchant, find a suitable a product that was being sold at a discount and pay your money. I personally am one of a small number of people who chooses an item such as a Healthy Coffee product or some other food and drink item with the full intention of bargaining with the business owner in order to get a modest price discount.

Asking for cost discount when sourcing a coffee or related item may sound all very nice when a consumer is actually visiting a coffee warehouse but surely this would not be a reality when picking up things from online food and drink dealers and such like? well this is far from the truth as you are about to learn about the secret of haggling for a cut price coffee on the web. So for example say you have checked out a selection of coffee sites and know the rough cost of the item or the food and drink merchandise you need to acquire [ again lets suppose you need a electric coffee maker ], now you should make a note of all the smaller coffee internet dealers, what you are wanting to find is a coffee or food and drink supplier that quite clearly is not one of the big websites or merchant chains. Once you have your list of the smaller coffee websites you are set to do virtual battle in order to get a discount coffee purchase.

The important detail to be aware of is that nearly all the smaller coffee portals will be more likely to bargain with you because they are more likely to be desperate to get a sale and your future custom. Now say you need a Colombian Medellin Excelso pack or mocha coffee pack, to be quite honest it makes little difference which coffee or items you are looking for, choose about six of the coffee vendors you have found and email them the details of the lowest priced product that you are interested in, ask all the stores, would they possibly be able to offer you some sort of rate cut in order to better the other sites, say to these folk that you would rather prefer to do business with a smaller more family oriented coffee company than a massive uncaring chain of stores.

If you are more than happy to put in a little extra time when buying a coffee then hopefully the chances are your hard work will be well worthwhile and the deal you are given will be well worth both your patience and effort.

Also the smaller coffee companies deserve a little assistance don’t you think?

Valerie Shapero the coffee writer contributes for the high profile coffee website Fuzzy Coffee. An outstanding source for facts about beverages and drinks. Visit: http://fuzzycoffee.com

Author: Valerie Shapero
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Conversation on coffee is going on a hundred times a day. Gourmet Coffee drinkers are converting their friends to the amazing taste of coffee and as one of the world’s most preferred drinks; this conversation would as well be going on for years. However, for the people that do not enjoy drinking coffee, they normally do not understand what actually the appeal of gourmet coffee drinking is. Numerous studies are being conducted to test the negative effects, which coffee has on normal human health.

So, why precisely has gourmet coffee managed to carry on for centuries as one of the most admired drink throughout the world? While hardcore coffee aficionados would point out, which coffee is a luscious drink, theirs a little bit more to the reasons why coffee is so accepted. Tats because one of the least discussed parts of coffee are the real benefits of best gourmet coffee.

No doubt coffee is a tasty drink and the rise of forte coffee, gourmet coffee, organic coffee, and other flavored coffee in current years has only augmented the number of yummy coffee drinks, which are at present available at coffee shops, cafes, and supermarkets all through the country. However, there are some other huge benefits to drinking coffee. With the rise of free trade coffee, there are now political benefits as well to consuming gourmet coffee. Tats because the intention of the free trade coffee industry is planned to help poor coffee growers in main coffee growing regions that have become victims in the coffee trade, as coffee product prices have been kept low at the cost of these workers.

However, there are some other social benefits to drinking gourmet coffee. For instance, you have just been set up on a rendezvous by your friends and are now anxiously searching for a amazing place to go to that would be inexpensive, low-maintenance, and offer an easy exit strategy in case things do not look good. Then the perfect solution is to go out for coffee at a pleasant specialty coffee store. Of course, there are as well the benefits of coffee as manure and the most obvious benefit of all – coffee as refreshment.

Adam Akelis is a professional copywriter, who has a sound knowledge on coffee, his favorite drink. To know more on coffee, Its types (roasted coffee, gourmet Coffee, best gourmet coffee, coffee, Cains Coffee etc…) and its benefits Please visit http://www.bluehillcoffee.com/ and to contact Adam Akelis mail to adamakelis@gmail.com.

Author: Adam Akelis
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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For a change, a good cup of coffee would be nice. It does take some time and some energy to find a great cup of gourmet coffee these days. If you do know of a perfect coffee shop, you are one of the lucky ones. But, did you know that you can actually make a wonderful cup of coffee on your own from home?

Here are 7 simple steps that you can take to produce the perfect cup of coffee every time.

Start with quality. One of the most important aspects of coffee drinking is the quality of the coffee that you start off with. If you have a favorite flavor, then purchase whole beans in that flavor. If you can do this, it will allow you to get the freshest coffee available.

Grind away. Purchase a quality coffee grinder. Some of the best grinders available today are easy to use and easy to clean up. By grinding your own coffee beans, you’ll be able to only grind what you need, meaning that you will have complete freshness in your coffee.

Store It Right And Tight. It is very important to store your coffee tightly. Air oxidizes the coffee and can cause it to get bitter quickly. Metal canisters can also allow a metal taste to get into the coffee, making it taste bad.

The best solution is for a plastic or ceramic air tight container for your coffee and coffee beans. Also, store it at room temperature because the moisture in the fridge or freezer can make it go bad faster.

Getting To The Coffee

The Maker. The coffee maker that you use is also important. No matter what style that you go with, you can get a good cup of coffee out of it if you take the necessary steps to keeping it fresh.

For example, you should insure that the coffee maker is kept clean after each use. In fact, you’ll need to make sure that you detail clean it, with the help of vinegar, every so often as well. Your preferences will ultimately determine which style of coffee maker you will use. Make sure that it uses a permanent filter in it.

Even In The Water. Even the water that you use is important to the quality of the coffee you will get from it. It is essential that you use water that is free from chlorine and minerals.

Often, using bottled water rather than tap water will improve the quality of the coffee. Also, keep the water nice and hot. A good temperature for the water is about 200 degrees Fahrenheit.

Provide The Right Amount. It is also important for you to use the right amount of coffee beans and coffee grounds in the maker. Too many and you will have a very strong cup of coffee and too few will make it to be too weak. Follow the directions provided by the coffee producer for the best cup of coffee.

Lastly and probably the most important aspect of getting a great cup of gourmet coffee is to make sure to enjoy your coffee when it is hot and fresh. Most restaurants are told to keep coffee for less than thirty minutes, but at home, the best coffee is the coffee that hasn’t sat for more than twenty minutes.

World class gourment coffee awaits you at [http://www.coffeesure.com] where you will find items such as the Gaggia coffee machine [http://www.coffeesure.com] on sale.

Author: Steven Sarsgaard
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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