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
Netbook, Tablets and Mobile Computing

Do You Love Espresso Coffee?

One of the many things that I love about Italy is the espresso coffee. Now it is part of my day-to-day life. There is no way I start my day without it, and another one after lunch is mandatory!

Of course, not everybody likes espresso; Two days ago I was in Paris with one french colleague, and he told me: “when I pay for coffee, I expect to receive a big coffee, not that espresso!”. It is like the size of the little cup is not worth what he paid for.

So this article is for real espresso lovers… if you do not love espresso, stop reading right now, because I am showing you how to make the best espresso coffee Italian style!

Choose Your Coffee Wisely!

The most important thing is to choose a good coffee; I have tried many of them, and I have found that the one I like the most (and also many of my friends) is this one: Kimbo Espresso Napoletano. If you can not find it in your supermarket, you can find it in Amazon.

Other valid choices are: Illy and Pellini Top

Let the Ritual begin… and be precise on the water quantity

For me is pretty much a ritual now. I have gathered different techniques from many of my Italian friends, and have applied them to my coffee making process. The result? Many of them after drinking coffee at my house say: “Wow Luis! this is truly a great coffee!”

First, take your well trained Italian espresso coffee maker and add some water inside. It is very important that you do not use hot water. I use water from the faucet, as cool as it comes out. Hard water is not good for espresso coffee, so do not use it. There is a valve inside, fill it up until the water level is right below that little hole.

Let’s Add Some Coffee!

I like my coffee to have a strong flavor. So, I take the funnel on my Italian moka and fill it up creating a “little mountain” on it. Do not press it, just leave it that way.

Also, make sure that the coffee you are putting on the coffee maker is finely ground.

Flames On!

Screw tight your Italian coffee pot and put it on the kitchen burner. Keep the flame to a normal level, because if it is high, your coffee will come out before its time, and it will probably will have this burned taste. Our coffee needs its own time!

Also, keep the lid of the coffee maker up: it will prevent that the condensed vapor going back to our ground coffee, which may variate its flavor.

Take it out as soon as it brews (actually… before it does!)

Do not leave the coffee on the burner. A second before it comes up completely, take it away from the burner.

If you are using a 1-cup coffee maker, just pour it to your Italian coffee cup, and enjoy!

Instead, if you have a bigger espresso coffee maker and you are sharing it with more people, take a teaspoon and stir it a little bit (5 times will suffice).

There you are: you have prepared your own espresso coffee Italian style!

Buon caffè!

To learn more about how to make your own espresso coffee Italian style, visit the full article with pictures at http://www.squidoo.com/espresso-coffee-italian

Author: Luigi Parra
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Make PCB Assembly

The aroma of freshly roasted and delivered overnight pure kona coffee invigorates and tantalizes your senses. The first sips of your morning coffee hang in your breath and lingers until the caffeine rush overwhelms you. This is the everyday ritual of ultimate sensory enjoyment that only a gourmet coffee connoisseur appreciates.

So if your relationship with your beloved coffee spring more from a need to keep you awake and feel alive, and that you have no special preferences on any specific coffee brands, you are obviously not a coffee connoisseur and do not need to order your coffee beans direct from the roasters.

When the Gourmet coffee connoisseur orders his coffee bean direct for the roasters, great benefits abound. You are guaranteed freshness for overnight delivery and never miss a beat on promptness. As a regular client to coffee bean direct roasters, they are more willing to give better prices, especially when he buys by bulk, that is, at whole sale pricing thus giving him better value for money.

Some people simply enjoy the overwhelming coffee bean aroma which appeals to the senses and prefer to buy their coffee beans direct personally. The true blue coffee connoisseur will never buy their coffee off the shelf at any supermarket since the coffee could have been ground for months and lost its freshness.

For the less picky coffee drinkers like myself, I would give one week as my personal stamp on freshness. As coffee drinking is a very personal affair to say the least, the degree of freshness depends on how your sense of taste gauges it.

Amongst the many benefits the Coffee Connoisseur gets are quality and freshness by the fact that you get your coffee beans direct, prompt service, great value for money pricing, and wide selection. But if you simply hope to smell the coffee in the morning as a wake up clock, I am sorry to say that you probably are not a coffee connoisseur just yet.

So Have a Great Gourmet Coffee Spree at Gourmet Coffee Gifts [http://gourmet-coffee-gifts.net]. Find the Best of Gourmet Coffee Service [http://gourmet-coffee-gifts.net/gourmet-coffee-gifts-gourmet-coffee-service-for-the-true-coffee-connoisseur/] Ideas and more here

Author: Joey Logan
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Low-volume PCB maker

Coffee bean direct is your best choice. You probably don’t think about it much but the chances are, the coffee beans used in your morning cup o’ joe have passed through as many as five or six different middlemen on their way to your mug. All that passing from hand to hand adds to the price and subtracts from the quality of your cup. There’s a better way:  you can do what I do and buy your coffee bean direct from the source!

Coffee bean direct from the source costs less

Did you know that by buying direct can actually cost less than buying coffee at the supermarket? All those middlemen certainly don’t work for free. You can actually save money by buying it in bulk direct from the source. By “bulk” I mean at least 10 to 25 pounds at a time – this is where you start to see significant price discounts.

Coffee bean direct from the source gives you higher quality and better taste

If you’re buying ground coffee from a supermarket, did you know that those coffee beans were ground months ago, and most of the flavor has already faded away? And even if you’re buying whole bean, that coffee has waited in several warehouses for who knows how long before it was placed on the supermarket shelf. When you buy your coffee bean direct from the distributor, you know that the coffee is fresh, and you’ll be able to taste and smell the difference.

Tips for buying

* Do some research: what kind of coffee do you like? Dark, smoky, and robust – or light, crip, and mild? Did you like that Sumatra you tried at the local coffee shop? A quick search for “Sumatra” on the internet will yield distributors who sell Sumatra coffee to the public. Contact the distributor closest to you and start enjoying fresher Sumatra right away!

* Coffee is at its peak flavor right after the beans have been roasted. In some areas you might be able to find a good coffee roaster in your area, but even if you can’t find one nearby you can always find one on the internet and have the coffee shipped to you.

* Don’t buy more coffee than you can consume within one month – coffee beans begin to lose their flavor after this time.

* For many coffee aficionados, going through 10 to 25 pounds of coffee in a month is no problem, but if you think this might be too much for you consider sharing an order with a friend.

* Coffee tastes its best when brewed right after grinding, so buy your beans whole and invest in a good coffee grinder – unless you know it was ground very recently and you plan to consume it soon. (Still, nothing beats grinding it at home and brewing immediately after!)

So if you really savor the aroma and taste of a great cup of java, wait until you try it at its peak – right after roasting – when you buy it direct from a distributor. Give it a try today! 

Damen Choy, editor of Coffee Bean Direct Coffee-Bean-Direct.com provides timely information about the coffee market, as well as tips and ideas for coffee lovers and their friends. Visit Coffee Direct to know how coffee bean direct roasters ship coffee to you directly at wholesale pricing.

Author: Damen Choy
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
How Electric Pressure Cookers Work

True espresso coffee is generally a small 1-2 oz shot of pressure-brewed coffee and about a tablespoon of finely ground coffee that is brewed for around 30 seconds. When correctly brewed an espresso will have a glorious crema on the surface which is layer of rich dark golden cream.

The term Espresso (often misspelled Expresso) is very loosely a term meaning a coffee made just for you. Just like the barista in a coffee club preparing your favorite shot as you wait.

Baristas will make many cups of coffee to perfect the quality of the crema as it is a good indicator of a good quality espresso. We as coffee drinkers certainly appreciate a rich dark roast base crema to pass our lips.

What constitutes the Best Espresso Bean?

Quality Coffee Beans: There is plenty of argument about whether a particular coffee bean is more suited for espresso than another. Some baristas will stand by their assumption that a certain blend works better for espresso than any other.

Considering that espresso is somewhat more the process than the actual article it is suffice to say that a quality grown coffee bean, generally with a darker roast profile which has been carefully roasted and correctly ground should always be the base for a quality coffee.

Different areas prefer a lighter roast for an espresso, but the fuller taste of a dark roast seems to appeal to more of the coffee shops. There is no hard and fast rule about which roast profile is regarded as better than another.

Quick Delivery: One of the most important points in sourcing the best espresso bean is that you get the roasted beans in as short a time from roasting to brewing. Boutique roasters specialize in smaller roast batches that are delivered very quickly to the end consumer. This ensures that the maximum aroma is kept in the beans that will be released when you make your espresso. Generally the quality falls off within two weeks from roasting and this is a very short cycle for the bulk coffee roasters available in your supermarket to achieve.

Roasting:  Coffee bean roasting is done in a rotating drum for around 15 mins at 450F. The specific times and temperatures for each roaster are what is commonly referred to as the roasting profile. The beans will rest anywhere between 12 to 36 hours to degas. There are a host of chemical changes that occur in the coffee bean when roasted and how these interact depends so much on how the individual roaster is versed in this seemingly dark art of roasting the best bean. Over 1500 substances will combine to give you that special best espresso bean flavor. Maintaining the consistency of this roasting profile is what ensures that the specific traits of any coffee blends are maintained throughout the years.

Passion: Talk to any coffee drinker and you will sense a distinct emotional response to the thought of a quality brew to sip on. People can often remember very clearly where “That” coffee was that tasted so good. Roasters are no exception to this and only a boutique coffee roasting company can instill the passion that they have for their craft into the blend. It is often said that coffee roasting is half science and half art. I would rather buy a DaVinci than a factory oil.

There is a monastery that I have found where they carefully roast some truly fabulous blends in small batches. The proceeds from the coffee sales are used for their monastic upkeep and they are absolutely passionate about making the best espresso coffee. If you want an exceptional espresso bean to use in your coffee maker, the sample packs that are available are a great introduction for you to a truly superb coffee that is unique and very enjoyable.

There is a great online shop where you can view all the espresso and other blends of coffee that are produced by the mystic monks. Just go to The Best Espresso Beans [http://www.need-ideas.com/coffee/Best-Espresso-Beans.html] site where you can navigate to the great sampler packs and other coffee products. They even do wholesale espresso coffee [http://www.need-ideas.com/coffee/Best-Espresso-Beans.html] packs if you want to set your coffee shop apart from the rest.

Author: Marc Weedbrook
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Omron HEM-790IT