Coffee

When you taste a really fabulous cup of coffee you can be sure that a lot of care and effort has gone into its preparation. Great tasting coffee does not happen by accident, but represents the culmination of preparation, cleanliness and meticulous brewing methods.

The starting point for great tasting coffee does not come from choosing the right blend of coffee or even the type of brewing equipment to be used, but in the quality of the water used and the cleanliness of the equipment!

As coffee is more than 98% water is should come as no surprise that the quality of the water has a dramatic impact of the quality of the finished beverage.

Freshly filtered water should be used when making coffee. Many domestic and commercial water filters and calcium treatment units are available and most do an excellent job in removing heavy elements, impurities and odours from water.

Be sure to draw a little water from the system first, and pour it away. Use fresh clean cold water for starting off the process of brewing your favourite beverage.

The equipment used to brew the coffee should be clean and free of coffee stains and grounds. Coffee contains many complex compounds that can go rancid when left on equipment for a while and will adversely effect the quality of the coffee produced.

Choose a good quality roast coffee bean to suit your taste and make sure you buy it in a sealed bag or container.

Avoid buying pre-ground coffee – it may be more convenient but it will start to oxidise the moment you open the packet and even if subsequently kept in an air-tight container much of the damage will have been done. The flavour of freshly roasted coffee can deteriorate remarkably fast and within a week or so much of the flavour will be lost.

Whole roast coffee beans will also begin to lose some of their flavour once the seal has been broken on the coffee bag, but so long as you keep them in a cool dry place, out direct sunlight and not open to the atmosphere they will stay fresh for quite a while.

For these reasons you should only grind as much coffee you need for the brew in question and not be tempted to grind more than what it going to be used immediately.

Don’t be tempted to store you coffee in the refrigerator as it may become tainted by the odours of other products.

The grind of the coffee is very important to the taste of the final coffee brew. Always follow the guidelines of the brewing equipment used and grind your coffee beans to their specification. Grind too large and the final beverage will be too weak, grind too fine and it may clog up the system.

Typically a standard pour and serve drip method coffee brewer should take between four and six munutes to complete the brew.

Keep your grinder clean.

Grind a little coffee and then discard it, this should get rid of any old stale coffee within the grinder that you cannot see or reach after cleaning.

It is best to wait until the complete coffee jug has brewed before serving. Typically a drip filter machine will produce slightly weaker coffee at the start of its cycle as it comes up to temperature and slightly stronger towards the end. All good things come to those who wait!

Why not take a at look at our Coffee Resource Centre on our web site to learn more about coffee and coffee machines.

Author: Fenton Wayne
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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If you’re looking for great coffee, freeing up space in the kitchen, and having the choice you want for your coffee.

So, here are some thoughts to consider:

1. are you looking for an improved coffee experience,
2. looking to save money, and
3. are you a regular coffee drinker (you want more than just a cup of coffee).

For improved coffee experience there are several things to consider – selecting the right roast coffee bean (for the flavour), setting the correct grind, and brewing for freshness. All of these are made easier by a grind and brew coffee maker. Its convenient and automated.

A built in grinder is capable of grinding up to 10 – 12 cups of coffee (for the regular coffee drinker). And the best units are able to keep the coffee hot for hours and not have it bitter or burnt.

By grinding fresh the roast coffee beans the aroma adds to the coffee experience, and the flavour is fresh as possible. The difference between the aroma of fresh ground beans compared with stale coffee is… immense. Your nose knows, trust it – you can tell the difference.

Freshness is lost when oxygen in the air comes in contract with the ground beans and oils. With a grind and brew coffee maker – there is minimal contact with air so the flavours are the freshest possible. The full flavour of the bean is released from grind, to brew, to your cup.

If you’re looking to save space in your kitchen then a grind and brew coffee maker is a good option to consider. With both the grinder and the coffee maker in one unit, you don’t need a separate grinder and a separate coffee maker, thereby saving space (and hassle). Also, you don’t need a separate filter as most of these coffeemakers have built in filters.

If you are looking to save money and you haven’t yet purchased a separate grinder yet – wait. For two reasons – better grind quality and savings.

The grinders used for grinding coffee beans should use a burr grinding mechanism to get the best flavour from the coffee beans. With grind and brew coffee makers the burr grinder is incorporated in the integrated into the single unit.. Other grinders may lack in this mechanism and as such may not serve the purpose appropriately.

In addition, you will save money by having the grinder as part of the coffee making appliance. This saving is even better if you are ordering online, as you will save in the shipping costs. This also applies to the coffee filter as well..

Most g&b coffee makers are automated. They have built in timers and other settings which enable you to have freshly brewed coffee just ready for you when you wake in the morning. Do you know what it is like to wake up to the smell of fresh coffee in the morning – next to heaven, and a great way to start the day.

So when is the best time to get a grind and brew coffee maker? When you are looking to replace your existing coffee maker (or looking to get your first) and you are looking for convenience, savings and a better coffee experience.

Greg Rogers is a coffee nut who just loves coffee. He’s used dripolators, plungers, on-cup coffee makers… etc, the lot.

For more information on what to look for in selecting a new coffee maker, go to GrindandBrew-Coffeemaker.com

Author: Greg Rogers
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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If you’re a coffee drinker you probably know what decaf which is short for decaffeinated coffee is. And because you’re a hard core coffee drinker, you (or some of you) will frown on a cup of decaf being offered to you. You might, in fact, get into a huge fuss and begin a tantrum to the surprise of your host. Two things might happen. One, your host will never ever serve you decaf coffee again or two, you will never ever be invited for a cup again. So if you want to still keep your circle of friends, I would suggest to you to lay low and to tone down the exaggeration with decaf.

Some of you might be asking what’s with decaf? Why do coffee drinkers make a big deal out of it? Well coffee contains caffeine. This is a natural supplement and is present in every kind of coffee. Some will have more while some will contain less. Caffeine is where coffee gets that all too famous stimulating power. On the average, depending on the kind of coffee, the caffeine content is from 0.8 percent and 2.5 percent. The caffeine also affects the taste of the coffee.

Decaffeinated coffee has the absence of caffeine in the coffee. The reason for this is that some people have adverse reactions to caffeine. So the market of decaf coffee is really those people who want to enjoy the taste of coffee minus the caffeine. Since caffeine is a natural occurring active ingredient, decaf has to be manufactured. Although decaf in essence is a non-caffeine containing coffee, in reality industry regulators can already classify coffee decaf when it contains a mere 0.1 percent caffeine.

Caffeine is extracted from the unroasted green beans. When your roast coffee beans, the flavor comes out so it would be best to remove the caffeine from green beans. Manufacturers use caffeine-selective solvents to get the coffee stimulant out of the beans. Solvents can be water or dichloromethane.

When manufacturers use water as solvent, the green coffee beans are rinsed with it for a long time. After some time, the caffeine dissolves. The water containing the dissolved caffeine then passes through an active carbon filter which absorbs the active stimulant. The beans are then air dried, roasted, ground and packed. Almost the same process is involved when using the dichloromethane process. The solvent just differs and an added step of steaming the beans to remove any remaining solvent is added.

Modern technology has made it possible to extract caffeine from the beans but retain the flavor and aroma of the coffee. This was one of the fears of coffee drinkers when being served with decaf, that the coffee will not taste like coffee at all. But with the current process, the same type of coffee should taste the same even if it is decaf.

CoFFee provides detailed information on Coffee, Coffee Makers, Gourmet Coffee, Coffee Shops, Coffee Beans, Coffee Cup and more.

For more information visit as on http://coffee.explore-me.com

Author: Miodrag Trajkovic
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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You can be a coffee lover without knowing much about coffee beans, but learning a little bit about the different types of coffee can help you get the perfect cup every time. There are many types of gourmet coffee beans. The way they have been grown in processed has a huge effect on their taste. Here’s a little bit of information for getting the best from your gourmet coffee beans.

Coffee is a common agricultural product of many tropical countries. There are two main species of coffee plant – Arabica and Robusta. Gourmet coffee beans are mostly Arabica because of their superior flavor and smoothness. Many blends, however, include Robusta coffee beans to give an edge to the coffee.

After the coffee is picked, it must be roasted. Roasting makes the green coffee beans expand in size and changes their color to a light to dark brown. Lighter roasts reveal more of the flavor of gourmet coffee beans, while darker roasts take on the flavor of the roasting process itself. After roasting the coffee should be kept in vacuum packed containers to minimize flavor loss.

Gourmet coffee beans must be ground to the correct fineness to bring out the most taste. Generally speaking, a fine grind will result in a full-bodied cup of coffee, but coarse grinds are used when making coffee with coarse filters like the French cafetiere.

Once the coffee has been ground, there are many ways to brew a cup of coffee. No matter whether you prefer espresso, drip, perked, or pressed, you need to start with high-quality gourmet coffee beans to get a good cup of coffee.

You can buy gourmet coffee beans in many types of blends. Most blends are a mixture of dark and light roast coffee beans and can be ground to suit the type of coffee maker you use. Freshness is important when making good-quality coffee. Fresh ground coffee beans will give you the best tasting cup of coffee.

Hans is author of the Coffee Specials and Gourmet Basket section at http://www.steaks-guide.com

Author: Hans Dekker
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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When you walk into a coffee shop, or even if you make coffee at home, the smell of the brewing coffee is tantalizing, the clink of the cups and saucers reassuring, and then, the coffee is sitting in front of you and you are taking the first sip… There is NOTHING more disappointing than a mouthful of bitter coffee. It does not matter whether you drink French Press, Espresso-based, Filter based or Extract-based coffee: bitter coffee is a downright “slap in the face”.

And, for some reason, more often than not we seem to think that bitter is normal, that we should accept it, that we are just not “coffee-aficionado ‘ enough to appreciate that bitterness. Since we get served bitter coffee so often it MUST be the norm! People, you cannot be more wrong! Coffee, made with fresh coffee beans, roasted to a great flavor profile by a master roaster, and brewed with the right temperature of water in the right way is NEVER bitter!

And yes, ALL these things can go wrong, from roaster to cup.

The Roast:

Coffee beans can be over-roasted, to the point that the sugars, which are present in the beans, get carbonized instead of caramelized… it is one thing to roast coffee to a darker profile, but the blackened lumps I have seen in shops marked as “Italian” or “Full City ” roast will surely do a better job as pot-scourer than as the base for a good cup of coffee. A good coffee roaster knows how to preserve the flavour nuances, as well as retain the inherent sweetness of each bean variety.

The Water

Similarly, a good barista should know what temperature the beans currently int eh grinder need to get the best coffee out of them. Before a new variety is added to the range in the shop, the coffee should be tasted and tasted again, until the perfect temperature settings for that bean have been found. Naturally, if you make coffee at home you can only do so much testing and adjusting, but it pays to check if the water which comes out of your espresso machine is too hot and burns the coffee, which would result in a bitter flavor (it should be 92 degrees Celsius). If you use a filter machine, the same thing can happen, although in most filter machines it is not the water going IN the coffee which is the problem, but the hot plate UNDER the coffee… it is often way too hot and cooks the coffee like an old-fashioned coffee pot on a stove!

And, then there is “false economy”!

Of-course, coffee is expensive and you should be trying to get the most out of it, but please: that should be “the most flavour”, not “the most brownish, bitter liquid”!! When you start extracting coffee from coffee grinds, the first few millilitres of thick brown liquid have most of the flavour-oils ( and comparative very little caffeine!) As you flush the grinds out further and further, the content of flavoursome coffee oils gets less, but the bitter component remain, resulting in weak, but bitter coffee.

So, if you try to make more cups of coffee than the quantity of grinds can produce you end up with bitter coffee! If you use a French Press and choose to let the coffee sit on the grinds “to get a bit stronger”, you get the same result… the bitterness will increase. So, in short, the rules for sweet, flavorsome coffee are:

1. Fresh coffee beans
2. Properly roasted by someone who knows what he/she is doing
3. Ground to suit the extraction method
4. Extracted with the right water temperature
5. Not over-extracted
6. Kept on a hotplate only for a short time

For more information on how to improve the taste of your coffee, check out this article about coffee-crema: http://www.amazines.com/article_detail.cfm?articleid=1773843

Robert Booth owns and runs “Good Coffee at Home” ( http://goodcoffeeathome.com/ ) where you can see that making good coffee at home is very possible; it gives simple, informative descriptions of coffee styles, ways to make coffee and the various coffee making equipment currently on the market.

Author: Robert Booth
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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