Coffee

This happens to be a perennial argument among coffee lovers or even those who just need some caffeine jolt – what is the difference between instant coffee and regular coffee? At one look, you’d say to yourself that it is perfectly the same so for coffee addicts like you, instant would be the one that comes in a bottle or pack that you usually buy in the supermarket and when you get home, just add hot water and it’s ready to drink. While the regular coffee would mean that you even though you could buy it at supermarkets, groceries or specialty coffee shops, you have to brew it before you could drink it.

In a nutshell, that would be the simplest definition should you encounter such a question on what is the difference between these kinds of coffee? You will be amazed by the big difference of these two ways to enjoy a decent cup of coffee.

Starting with the Instant Coffee – did you know some people are saying that it is fake coffee? That you only get to smell the so-called coffee beans but when you taste it, it has this weird metallic aftertaste to it? The process of this kind of coffee is done in a different way. It goes through a lot of process such as roasting, grounding, brewing and then it gets spray dried or with what others call it freeze dried.

The reason for the so-called “fake” taste is that you need more than a teaspoon of this kind of coffee to achieve that full bodied taste. When you do so, you will not be able to sleep at all or worst, you will have this severe palpitation.

Coffee drinkers who have already tasted and enjoyed a freshly brewed cup of hot steaming coffee would love to banish Instant Coffee from their vocabularies. Their reason here is that they think that coffee should be enjoyed another way and that where no other additives are present. If you don’t have the buying power to go to expensive coffee shops for their brew of the day then commercially dried coffee would work just fine due to its convenience.

Moving on to the underlying question regarding what is the difference, the latter type still goes through the process of roasting, grounding as well as brewing. The advantage of the regular coffee is that the aroma is stronger and it has the full-bodied flavor that you are looking for without having to go through a bad series of acid reflux.

The technique to a better taste actually is dependent on the equipment used as well as the barista brewing the coffee for you. The higher the quality of the coffee beans, either Robusta or Arabica, the fuller its taste becomes. Then what is the difference? The answer boils all down to the preparation, process and last, the execution of serving a perfect cup of hot coffee.

To learn more about the different techniques of brewing your morning coffee try visiting also single serve coffee maker reviews, where you will find this and a lot more tips including facts and buying tips to choose the right Senseo single serve coffee maker that suits your personal needs.

Author: Pierre Smith
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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A coffee grinder is a must have for anyone who loves coffee, for two simple reasons:

1. Freshness
2. Control over the Coarseness of the Grind

Freshness

To keep coffee as fresh as possible you need to minimise its contact with air. Air is one of coffee’s worst enemies as it destroys delicate flavours by turning the natural oils present in coffee rancid.

If you have a coffee grinder at home you can grind your coffee beans as and when you need them. This preserves their freshness, as a whole coffee bean has a much smaller surface area than that of a ground bean and therefore is less exposed to air.

The actual process of grinding releases many of the coffee’s aromatics; as you grind you can smell this in the air. If you don’t quickly use these grounds then you are going lose this aroma and deprive your cup of valuable flavours. This is another good reason to only grind coffee on demand.

Control over the Coarseness of the Grind

Different coffee makers require a different coarseness of ground coffee. For example: an espresso machine, which has a short brewing time (less than 30 seconds), needs a very fine powder-like grind; whereas a cafetiere, which has a long brewing time (3-4 minutes), needs a much coarser grind.

With your own coffee grinder you get to control the coarseness of the grind as you can adjust the grinder’s setting. So if you find that your coffee tastes bitter, a result of over-extraction, then you can adjust the grind to a coarser setting; and if your coffee tastes flat, a result of under-extraction, you can adjust the grind to a finer setting.

Blade Vs Burr Coffee Grinders

Coffee grinders come into two categories:

1. Blade Grinders
2. Burr Grinders

A blade grinder works in a similar way to a food processor: there is a set of spinning metal blades which roughly cut through the coffee beans. The coarseness of the grind is determined by how long the grinder is left running. Coffee ground by a blade grinder is inconsistent in size as some beans will be sliced through more times then others.

Rather than chopping the coffee beans into tiny pieces, a burr grinder crushes the beans between two pieces of burred metal. A burr grinder produces a much more consistent size of grounds as the coarseness is controlled by how close the two pieces of metal are set to each other: i.e. a smaller distance for fine grounds and a larger distance for coarse. For this reason, burr grinders are far superior to blade grinders.

Why is Consistency Important?

The ultimate aim when making coffee is to extract the maximum amount of flavour whilst leaving behind bitter compounds and caffeine. This is why different coffee makers require a different coarseness of grounds. However, if your grounds are inconsistent then the larger particles in the grounds are going to be under-extracted, leaving behind flavour, and the smaller particles are going to be over-extracted, releasing bitter compounds and further caffeine into the cup. Unfortunately, the two don’t balance each other out; instead you have a flat, bitter coffee that will keep you awake for hours.

Choosing a Coffee Grinder

The coffee grinder you choose should depend on for what type of coffee maker you’re grinding the coffee. If you’re using a cafetiere or stove-top espresso maker then a hand grinder is perfectly adequate, although they do require plenty of physical effort to get results.

However, for an espresso machine a good quality electric burr coffee grinder is essential. As making an espresso is a pretty intense process (its all over in less than 30 seconds) the margin of error for the grind is very slim. This is why you need a grinder which allows for minuscule adjustments to be made so you can get the grind spot on.

James Grierson is the owner of Galla Coffee – UK based retailer of espresso machines, coffee makers, grinders and cups for the home.

View the original article in its context at: Guide to Coffee Grinders

Author: James Grierson
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Ganoderma coffee is known as gano healthy coffee because it combines the effects of normal coffee with the health benefits offered by Ganoderma Lucidum, a fungus of the mushroom family that is grown in China and Korea. Also known as Reishi and lingzhi, this fungus offers a large number of health benefits, and people drink it for exactly that reason.

There are a number of species of ganoderma that have been used in traditional Chinese and other Asian traditional medicine for many centuries, although it is on the Ganoderma Lucidum species that we are focusing on here in its specific usage with coffee to form the drink known as ‘Gano healthy coffee’.

Reishi contains a number of terpenoids antioxidants along with polysaccharides and the trace mineral organic germanium, and the coffee it is used in as a delivery system contains a lower level of caffeine than standard ground coffee. In addition to its strong antioxidant properties, it is highly supportive of your immune system, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antidiabetic and helps to lower your blood pressure and reduce your blood cholesterol levels.

Add to that the strong antioxidant properties of regular coffee, and you have a potent healthy drink that thoroughly deserves the name bestowed on it of ‘gano healthy coffee’. The fungus is generally accepted as one of the most highly respected medicinal mushrooms and is believed to be the oldest mushroom used in traditional medicine. It has been subject to many scientific analyses to determine its constituents, and also tested for its effectiveness in treating the medical conditions for which it has been widely acclaimed throughout the Orient.

Germanium is a mineral that enhances the oxygen uptake of your blood by over 50%, and it not only improves your circulation, but has been used to prevent pains in the legs and extremities during exercise. Healthy coffee with added Ganoderma offers an energy boost several times that of ginseng and similar herbs. People drink Ganoderma coffee for that and a number of other reasons. By combining low caffeine Brazilian coffee beans and Ganoderma Lucidum, you end up with a drink that offers all the benefits of real coffee without the side-effects of caffeine, along with the added benefits of Reishi.

Gano healthy coffee is one of the healthiest drinks you can consume, and the ideal solution for coffee drinkers that want all the health benefits without drinking excessive caffeine. You can give yourself a great energy boost without getting hooked and lying awake half the night and getting the caffeine shakes in the morning. The negatives of coffee are largely removed and replaced with the benefits of the Chinese magic mushroom!

The benefits of gano healthy coffee to your circulation and heart were briefly touched upon above but let’s look at these in more detail. One of the properties of a strong antioxidant is its ability to destroy free radicals. These are small highly reactive oxidizing agents that are generated during the body’s metabolism and cellular respiration, and also from exposure to pollutants such as traffic and industrial emissions, tobacco smoke and also to strong sunlight.

These free radicals, such as hydrogen peroxide and superoxide, oxidize the LDL cholesterol in your blood that then deposits on your arterial walls to form plaques of cholesterol that gradually build up to block your arteries. This causes strokes and heart attacks, each of which can be fatal. The antioxidants contained in coffee beans and in Ganoderma Lucidum destroy these free radicals and prevent this from happening. They can also lower your overall cholesterol levels, and the anti-inflammatory properties of gano healthy coffee help to overcome the inflammation that can lead to serious conditions such as some cancers, serious allergies and asthma.

The polysaccharides and triterpenes in Ganoderma help your liver to rid your body of toxins, and coffee drinkers in general have been found to suffer fewer liver problems that those that do not drink it. Your liver is your body’s main detox plant, and the combination of the Reishi and coffee is a very powerful one in keeping your blood pure and free from unwanted toxins.

While both coffee and Ganoderma Lucidum are very powerful antioxidants, antitoxins and anti-inflammatories in their own rights, when combined they present a powerful cocktail of health-giving substances that has long been recognized as second to none in its effect on your liver, heart, blood and many other organs of the body.

Few would disagree that people drink Ganoderma coffee – the so-called gano healthy coffee – to help them live healthier and longer and the science of today certainly appears to support them in that use.

Further information on Gano Healthy Coffee can be found on http://www.healthy-gourmet-coffee.net where you will also find information on various other forms of coffee and also the coffee makers used to produce the perfect drink.

Author: Peter Nisbet
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Coffee is a complex and delicious drink, but how much do you know about your cup of Joe?

First of all, Java itself is actually a fruit, and it grows as a seed within a cherry. Coffee trees produce coffee berries or coffee cherries, and they turn bright red when they are ripe. Each cherry will contain two coffee beans, which will be removed from the cherry when the coffee beans are harvested. Within the harvesting process, the coffee beans will be fermented, similar to making a fine wine. However, the end resulting taste is much different than wine. In harvesting, the coffee beans will be separated from the fruit, and fermentation is used to break down the fruit skin that covers the coffee beans. If this outer layer is not removed, it will directly affect the taste of the coffee beans for the worse.

Coffee beans have different characteristics all over the world based on where they are grown. This is another reason that coffee is similar to wine because climate and geography directly affect the taste of the final coffee product. Some other factors that affect coffee beans are soil type, amount of rainfall, altitude, and method of processing.

Along those same lines, the word “coffee” was once used for wine. However, the word later began to be used to describe black coffee brewed from Java berries. This was something that was used in ancient religious ceremonies to keep the monks awake during their all-night prayer meetings, so they gave it the same name as their wine.

Java contains caffeine, which is the reason that it is actually prohibited by Olympic athletes. If an athlete tests positive for a certain amount of caffeine, they have the potential to be banned from the Olympics. This amount is equivalent to 5 cups of Joe, meaning that Olympic athletes certainly need to moderate their daily coffee drinking to stay in the game.

In ancient Turkey, Turkish grooms were required to promise to their new wives that they would provide them with Java. If they did not live up to this vow, that was grounds for divorce!

What many coffee lovers don’t know is that espresso actually has less caffeine than a regular cup of Joe. Fresh brewed espresso has one third less caffeine than coffee because the Java grounds are extracted for a shorter period of time. An ideal shot of espresso is brewed within 25 seconds, but coffee takes longer to brew. This is why Java contains more caffeine than espresso because the coffee grounds are in contact with the water for longer in the brewing process.

Last of all, Japan is now the third largest coffee consuming country worldwide. Japan used to be a tea drinking culture, but coffee popularity is spreading globally. The Japanese drink coffee regularly and even use it to treat the body by bathing in coffee grounds that are fermented with pineapple pulp.

Coffee is truly a celebrated drink with a number of beneficial uses!

Another popular accessory for coffee is Bunn Filters at The Coffee Bump! For a great selection, check out Mark Ramos’ website, The Coffee Bump.

Author: Mark Ramos
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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If your coffee maker goes out on you, or you simply want to try another method of fantastic coffee brewing, consider brewing a Turkish cup of Joe! This authentic coffee can be traced back all the way to the Ottoman Empire, and it is a staple of the Turkish culture today. Before you become overwhelmed or intimidated, know that brewing Turkish coffee is much easier than it looks, and it will provide you with a unique and one-of-a-kind brew product.

Start out by pouring cold water into a small Turkish coffee pot. Use 1 cup of cold water for each cup of brewed coffee that you want to create, and then add a half cup of water extra that will be boiled out in the brew process. It is best to start out with cold water for the best taste in your brew. After that, freshly grind your coffee beans to almost a powder, which is the consistency needed for authentic Turkish coffee. Measure out 1 teaspoon of fresh coffee grounds per cup of water, and stir well. Add cardamom pods to the mixture for authentic flavors.

From there, add 1 tablespoon of sugar for every 2 teaspoons of coffee grounds in the mixture. It is important to add the sugar before the brew process to provide the correct Turkish flavor and taste in the brew. Place the pot on the stove over low heat, and gently bring it to a boil. Make sure that it does not boil over, but allow the froth to rise to the top of the pot. Pour this mixture into small Turkish cups until they are a third full.

Last of all, place the pot back on the stove on low heat, and allow it to again come to a boil to create foam. Pour the foamed coffee into each cup evenly so that each Turkish coffee contains froth. Allow the coffee product to settle for a few moments so that the fine coffee grounds can move to the bottom of the cups, and then drink right away for a fresh and delicious Turkish coffee flavor. This is a coffee that is not strained or filtered, and it provides even more depth and complexity to the brew product because the essential oils of the coffee beans will remain in the final brew.

Since this coffee has sugar while it is brewed, there is no reason to stir it. Stirring the coffee will only move around the coffee grounds, so it is better to leave it untouched when you drink it so that the coffee grounds can settle to the bottom of the cup. It is best to enjoy this authentic Turkish coffee with medium roasted coffee beans that have been freshly roasted. For an even fuller flavor in your coffee, you can use a handheld coffee grinder or mortar and pestle to grind the beans into a powder. Take the time to try different consistencies in the texture of your Turkish coffee for a delicious flavor and taste in your brew!

Another popular accessory for coffee is the commercial coffee maker! For a great selection, check out Mark Ramos’ website, The Coffee Bump.

Author: Mark Ramos
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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