Coffee

There are different types of addiction, and as far as medical science is concerned, none of them are good. If you’re an addict, you can either be addicted to smoking, drinking or even using drugs. But what is addiction, really? The Merriam – Webster Dictionary defined addiction as the “persistent compulsive use of a substance known by the user to be harmful”. Addiction is a clinical disorder. Shall we then consider the persistent and compulsive drinking of coffee an addiction? To all coffee lovers, rest assured that it is not an addiction, nor is it a clinical disorder, and it is not detrimental.

Today, coffee is one of the widely known and drank beverages in the world. In early societies, coffee was part of religious rites and ceremonies, making it sacred and its consumption limited to important people only. In the latter days, coffee even became part of political activities. At present, coffee is an important good widely exported throughout the world. It is actually counted as the seventh largest agricultural product, in value.

There is more to coffee that meets the eye, or rather the nose and the tongue. Before we are able to serve, inhale the aroma and drink it, where did the product come from? The beverage was actually a result of several processes. It is not as if the coffee we drink can just be picked from the tree. Coffee berries, contrary to what many think, actually tastes sweet when ripe. These berries are removed of their fleshy part and the beans are fermented. They are then washed to remove dirt and then dried. The next step is the roasting of the beans. This is an important step owing to the fact that how the coffee is roasted affects the taste when brewed. Short roasting time results in a bitter, stronger flavor and more aromatic essence.

Even in everyday life, coffee has been a part of most people’s lifestyle. Much like ancient times, coffee now serves like a personal religion. It is a part of the morning ritual in starting the day. Taking a sip of the warm exquisite drink heightens the mood and helps the person feel wide awake. Of course, we must give the credit to the essential ingredient of coffee which is caffeine. During social gatherings or business meetings, people tend to lighten up and ease the tension away with the help of the mere presence of coffee. It seems like a magical beverage! Even at simple friendly get-togethers, people talk “over a cup of coffee”.

Walk around the plaza and you won’t miss a coffee shop. Coffee is no longer a fad, but became a necessity for people all over the world! More and more people feel the need to utilize the wonderful flavor of coffee. It is not surprising, therefore, to find out that there are actually more than a hundred coffee combinations around the world. Among the hundred others, however, we have the top five most popular varieties: espresso, cafe latte, cafe mocha, cappuccino, and of course, the instant coffee. Espresso is not a coffee combination, for it is actually the pure coffee, which is in fine powder form, subjected to hot (not boiling) water under high pressure. It has a thicker and denser liquid compared to the usual brewed coffee and it is measured in shots when served. It functions as a main component in coffee combinations.

Café latte literally means coffee with milk. Latte is the Italian word for milk, so if you order latte in an Italian coffee shop, you will most likely be served just a glass of milk and not the usual cafe latte you are expecting. This beverage is composed of one third part espresso and two thirds milk. It is served with a thick layer of foamed milk, usually a third or a fourth of an inch thick.

Café mocha is almost the same as cafe latte, only instead of the thick foamed milk, chocolate syrup or powder is added. Likewise, cappuccino is a combination much the same as café latte, only having a thinner layer of foamed milk on top.

But who would ever forget the most popular type of coffee served? Instant coffee is something that you would see in every two households out of three. No wonder coffee is one of the most popular drinks ever!

Maryrose Jairene Cruz is a freelance writer for more than 2 years, accepts article writing projects in bulks or individually.
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There was a time when I thought all coffee was basically the same. Sure, you could add milk to it and get what people today call cafe latte, or make it strong and then it was espresso, or just use instant. In fact, instant was what I drank for many years. To me, that was coffee. I did keep some ground coffee for an old percolator I had, just in case guests might want it. Looking back, I truly did not know what I was missing. It wasn’t until a dear friend of mine rejected my stale, generic coffee. I thought he was a bit of a snob, but it made me think. I looked into coffee and it became an exploration and journey that opened up a whole new world for me, the world of delicious, delightful coffee. I learned to differentiate between types and blends and processing of coffee, of roasting and preparation, and of gourmet flavored coffee beans that can add so much to the enjoyment of this most wondrous of beverages.

Once I realized that instant coffee really wasn’t the real thing, no matter what the TV commercials said, I experimented with different ways of brewing coffee. I tried different types of automatic and semi-automatic coffeemakers. I fell in love with the simple elegance of the French press with its simple plunger system but also experimented with a variety of other systems. I initially bought coffee that was already ground, for no other reason than that I had unpleasant childhood memories of mom making me grind coffee beans in an old hand-powered mill. I hated it. However, I found that I was quite particular in the way I liked to have my coffee ground. It had to be just right, not too coarse and not too fine.

I also began to appreciate the many different types of gourmet coffee beans from all over the world. A lot of people still think that coffee is coffee, and it’s either black or with milk or cream, I think coffee is really more like wine-no two types and roasts are the same. After you’ve sampled imported coffee beans from various countries and regions, you begin to appreciate the subtle and not so subtle differences. Likewise, there’s a huge difference between light roasts and dark roasts. Did you know, for example, that lighter roasts actually have more caffeine, and that the way coffee is stored also makes a difference?

These days, coffee has become a hobby and passion for me. I love exploring various flavors. Yes, you can get toasted cinnamon pecan flavored coffee beans, or white chocolate, or raspberry almond, or pralines and cream. Or all sorts of Italian espresso. Or special private blends from specialty coffee places on the web. The Kona blend gourmet beans I get from my favorite place are out of this world. And when I feel adventurous I may sample coffees from Jamaica, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia or Costa Rica. Some of the Central and South American coffee growing countries offer delicious shade grown and organic coffee beans, and I also keep some decaffeinated blends for when I feel like having a cup at night before I go to bed.

Amazingly, gourmet flavored coffee beans aren’t even that expensive. The better supermarkets in my area actually often charge more per pound than the online gourmet discount coffee bean places, without having nearly the same selection and quality.

Chris Robertson is an author of Majon International, one of the worlds MOST popular internet marketing companies on the web. Learn more about Gourmet Coffee Beans

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Coffee is one of the most popular drinks around the world with a devoted following. It is very popular in the US and produced in numerous countries but most famously in South America particularly Columbia. This caffeinated beverage has come a long way though from the old coffee pot of diners where you got a bottomless cup of sloppy joe which your waitress would fill up with a smile.

There are now a lot of ways that you can have your coffee from espresso, cappuccino or cafe au lait. Coffee doesn’t have to be served hot either and now many people like to drink coffee cold which is know as iced coffee. According to the State Coffee Organization the proportion of US citizens who drank iced coffee increased from 26% to 31% in 2008.

Coffee companies from Costa to Starbucks now serve iced coffee but how do you make this refreshing beverage at home?

Well there are number tips that can help you produce a restaurant quality iced coffee but first here is how you make you drink:-

1) If you are going to use a flavoring such as vanilla or mint put the flavoring into your cup first.

2) Then pour in your espresso or other coffee drink

3) Now put in your ice

4) Put in your cold milk and stir or shake.

Now that you know how to make your drink here are a few tips to make it great:-

- Don’t let your drink water down

-Use a good quality machine that produces good quality java (if possible use a maker that grounds the coffee just before the coffee is brewed

- Be creative and use a number of extras such as cinnamon, whipped cream, chocolate slices and nutmeg.

Iced coffee can be a refreshing drink and make a nice change from regular coffee so go ahead and try and make some at home.

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French Roast is a process of roasting the coffee beans and using them in espresso or coffee beverages. The green and small fresh coffee beans are roasted for consumption in drinks. With this roast process, the coffee beans are roasted at 188-282 Celsius about 11-13 minutes. After the first “Crack-Sound (the popping sound while the beans are roasting)”, the coffee beans are called City roast or Cinnamon. They are the light and mild flavor beans. When the beans in the roaster are cracked again, they are called french roast beans.

The next process is “Destoner”. It is the method to take away the stones and unwanted particles from the beans. Next, they are dried and stabilized in the equilibrium step. They are ground and packed. Sometime, they are packed with out the grinding process.

The specific character of french roast coffee are:

- It has the smoky flavor.
- It is the darkest, light bodied, but quite intense coffee bean.
- The very oily coffee bean’s surface.
- The flavors may vary depending on the coffee’s manufacturers.
- It has the same quantity of caffeine as the other coffee roasts.
- There is less acidity than the other type.
- Some products are blended with the weak roasts. They are the mild coffee flavor.

This coffee is drank with desserts, nuts, roasted vegetables or beans. Now there are the decaf french roast coffee products in the market. The most popular brands are Timothy’s World Coffee, Baronet Coffee, Java One and Coffee People.

For more information of coffee and coffee supplies, please visit Coffee French Roast and Dark Roast Coffee.

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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

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