Coffee

Gourmet coffee is an incredibly delicious treat, and before you take your next sip of your freshly roasted gourmet cup of Joe, it is important to know how it came to be. Gourmet coffee roasting takes skill and specialty, but it is incredibly worth it when it becomes a premium and superior final product.

First of all, when gourmet coffee beans are roasted, they will lose weight or shrink in the roasting process. While the beans are roasted, they will swell to twice their normal size, but they will shrink down after they have been roasted. This means that if you start out with a pound of green unroasted coffee beans, you will end up with less than a pound when you are done roasting. This is something to keep in mind if you ever decide to home roast your coffee because 1 pound of green coffee beans will not yield 1 pound of roasted coffee beans.

The longer that the gourmet coffee beans are roasted, the darker in color they will become. This will also cause a greater amount of shrinkage or weight loss, which means that it will take more coffee to make up a pound. Basically, if you are roasting a lighter roast of coffee, then it will take less green coffee beans. If a darker roast is being roasted, it will take more green coffee beans to make up a pound.

Gourmet coffee beans will normally shrink up to 20%, but a darker roast can shrink up to 25%. If it is an extremely light gourmet roast, it can shrink as little as 11% during the roasting process. One thing to understand is that many types of commercial coffees are under roasted to save costs overall for the business. With more gourmet brews on the market and an increase in gourmet coffee sales, it shows that the customer truly prefers a fully and authentically roasted coffee over the shortcuts often found on the market.

When it comes to roasting gourmet coffee, there is something called the Optimum Degree of Roast, which will bring out the best flavor characteristics for each type of coffee. This will provide the customer with the perfect taste and aroma within the specific coffee blend. This is something that is unique to each different roast, based on the characteristics of the coffee beans themselves.

Last of all, if coffee is under roasted, it will have an astringent or grassy flavor because the beans will still be partially green. If a gourmet coffee is over roasted, it will taste burnt or smoky, which will be apparent in the brew. There are many different flavor combinations and characteristics available with each specific roast, but it is still important to know the step-by-step process of roasting gourmet coffee to pick the best roast and blend for you. Gourmet coffee is more popular than ever, and for a reason. This is a premium method of roasting fresh and high-quality coffee beans for your cup of Joe!

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

Author: Mark Ramos
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Coffee shops are one of the fastest growing businesses. Leading the high demand for coffee is the United States with 400 million cups of coffee consumed by Americans per day. 14 billion coffee espressos are consumed in Italy each year. So, there is no doubt that coffee is popular, but, is coffee healthy?

Well, if you read the literature, there does not seem to be a clear cut answer to that question. So, we’ll address the good and the bad. First, there are some potential health concerns for coffee drinkers. On the flip side, if used in moderation or in certain circumstances, coffee can have health benefits. So, let’s find out about these concerns and benefits.

Health Problems Related to Coffee and Caffeine

1. Adrenal Fatigue can result from over-consumption of coffee. This is when your adrenal glands become exhausted from over-stimulation. The caffeine in coffee is a nervous system stimulant, which causes your body to produce adrenaline. Adrenaline is the hormone that regulates heart rate, blood pressure and respiration. It is the adrenaline rush from caffeine that gives coffee drinkers the extra “go” to keep up with the heavy demands of their busy lifestyles. Becoming dependant on this adrenaline rush is part of what makes coffee and caffeine addictive.

   Failing to nurture your adrenals can have detrimental side effects. Our adrenals are necessary for producing hormones, which directly influences the operation of other body systems. If the adrenals become depleted and can no longer keep up with the energy demands you are placing on them, your health will suffer and you will be like a car without fuel or a car that has just gone head on into a rock wall.

2. An acidic pH environment is created in the body when there are too many negative influences from acidic food, thoughts, toxins and stressors. The pH balance of the body can range from alkaline, neutral to acidic. Coffee is very acidic with over 200 different acids including uric acid from the breakdown of caffeine. Many health problems such as arthritis arise in the body when it is acidic.
3. Mineral deficiency can arise from the over-consumption of coffee. Some nutrients are blocked from absorption and excessively secreted through urination with the consumption of coffee. Necessary minerals for the body such as magnesium, calcium, potassium, iron and other trace minerals are at risk of depletion for those who drink coffee.
4. Blood sugar swings such as hypoglycemia can be induced by coffee consumption. Caffeine taxes both the pancreas and the liver by forcing them to produce glycogen and insulin on a double duty rollercoaster. This excessive push of up and down can result in blood sugar swings. Your blood sugar balance is directly connected to hormone balance and fat metabolism.

Health Symptoms that Can Arise from Over-Consumption of Coffee and Caffeine

• Fatigue
• Anxiety, nervousness, irritability
• Irritable bowel syndrome, colitis, diarrhea and other digestive ailments
• Yeast overgrowth, candidiasis
• Hypoglycemia, diabetes
• Dizziness
• Gout
• Heart palpitations or other heart disorders
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Insomnia
• Heartburn
• Liver and gallbladder problems
• Bladder and kidney disorders
• Headaches or migraines
• Ulcers, stomach problems
• Osteoporosis
• Hormone imbalance
• PMS
• Severe menopause symptoms
• Skin eruptions, rashes, acne, eczema
• Urinary tract infections
• Weight gain
• Fibrocystic breast disease
• Infertility
• Miscarriage
• Low baby birth weight
• Enlarged prostate
• Arthritis
• Fibromyalgia
• Memory lapse
• Moodiness
• Lack of concentration

Okay, now on to the flip side of drinking coffee. What if any are the benefits?

If coffee and caffeine consumption is kept to a minimum and not abused, there are some potential health benefits. Some studies suggest that many people can safely drink one to two cups of coffee per day. However, if you are a coffee drinker, what is safe for you may vary. Listen to your body. If you are noticing any of the health problems noted above, consider that coffee might just be the culprit.

Potential Health Benefits of Drinking Coffee

1. In some studies caffeine has shown to improve focus and memory.
2. Coffee and caffeine has been documented to assist athletes in performance and overcoming fatigue.
3. Coffee consumption helps regulate bowel function.
4. Coffee contains antioxidants, which are highly beneficial to our body for fighting free radicals.
5. In some studies, coffee has shown promise in lowering the risk of Parkinson’s disease.

Ultimately, whether coffee is healthy or not comes down to your own personal body and how sensitive or not you are to its affects.

If you are a coffee drinker, you might want to access your relationship to coffee. Are you addicted to it? Can you quit for a day or two without negative side effects? Does it cause you to experience negative symptoms? Are you using coffee as a crutch to get through the day instead of for occasional enjoyment? Can you drink large amounts of coffee with little reaction? This may be a sign that your adrenals are overloaded and no longer responding to stimulus.

If you’ve accessed your coffee consumption habits and coffee is affecting your health in negative ways, first consider giving up coffee or cutting back, and secondly consider supporting your body with some additional nutrients through improved diet and high quality supplements.

With some things in life, a little goes a long way and moderation is the best advice.

If you would like to know how to have more energy without relying on coffee, get your FREE special report “Great Awakening Natural Health Tips” by clicking HERE

Author: Kelly Hoffman
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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If you have ever had the pleasure of visiting a specialty coffee shop, you may have found yourself wondering how the shop owners decide what kind of great coffee makes it into the shop and which kinds don’t. The answer lies with coffee graders. Coffee graders give all coffee beans the thumbs up or thumbs down, and what they say carries a lot of weight in the coffee world. A good score from the coffee graders can get coffee fans everywhere buzzing.

Coffee Graders in Action

Long before the first steaming hot sip of coffee hits your lips, you should know that coffee graders have traveled long and hard, on arduous journeys in unpleasant and sometimes dangerous territories, to make sure you don’t have to settle for second best in your cups.

The grading of coffee happens well before the coffee is packaged and shipped to you back home. Before coffee hits the commercial market, a coffee grader known as a green coffee seller makes decisions about which beans should even make it to the roasting process. The “green” in the name refers to the fact that the coffee is raw – that these are coffee beans in their pre-roasted state.

Before they head off to be roasted, coffee beans are checked in a number of ways. First, all beans have to be of similar size and of approximately the same shape. Beans that are similar in size take a similar amount of time roasting, and which means your coffee taste won’t be thrown off a mix over roasted and under roasted beans. If you throw large and small beans in together, the small ones will pop and burn before the large ones even brown at all.

After the roasting process, new graders come along, and these graders are looking for different things in the beans. First and foremost, graders are looking for beans that have similar colors. When beans are different colors, it usually suggests that they have been roasted differently, which will impact the taste of your cup.

Likewise, they want to see that beans have been separated according to where they were grown. While mixes of beans are sometimes used in the final product to achieve a particular taste, this has to be done with care. Simply through beans together from all over the world will leave you with one unpleasant cup of coffee. Further, without this separation, you could be shelling out big bucks for what you think is matchless Kona coffee only to find out what you really bought was Folgers.

The next time you drink a great cup of coffee, spare a thought for the work of the coffee grader who helped put it on your table.

The copywriter Linden Walhard is very excited about information similar to coffee grinder reviews and coffee grinders. His abstracts on how to choose coffee a bean grinder are found on http://www.coffee-espresso-maker-tips.com and also different web pages.

Author: Linden A. Walhard
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Micro roasted coffee is considered by many to be the best tasting type of coffee available on the retail market. The processes used to create this coffee variety are calculated to bring out the best of the coffee beans used in this technique. This type of coffee has a richness of flavor and a quality that cannot be matched by many traditional, store brought brands. Although it is more expensive, it makes up for the price by being high in quality and taste.

What Is Micro Roasted Coffee?

Micro roasted coffee is coffee that is roasted in small batches to exact specifications. The batches of coffee are generally less than 150 pounds, versus the hundred of pound roasted in each batch in commercial factories. The entire roasting process is overseen by skilled professionals with many years of experience in the business. The coffee beans are roasted in a large drum which constantly turns, ensuring an even roast.

Once the coffee is completely roasted, the coffee is cooled by cold air being pulled through the drum by a fan. This process takes longer than the traditional method of cooling the coffee beans with cold water, but it ensures the flavor of the roasted coffee remains the same. Water cooling can also add weight to the roasted coffee, weight that the consumer will pay for in the end.

The factory where micro roasted coffee is prepared is called a micro roastery. The factory doe not rely on a multitude of expensive machines and automation. In fact, the entire roasting process is overseen by one highly skilled individual to ensure that the coffee is roasted to perfection. This infuses the coffee beans with the greatest amount of flavor, better taste, and a higher quality product. This process makes them some of the best tasting coffee in the world.

The individual responsible for preparing the micro roasted coffee is called a roastmaster. The roastmaster is a skilled professional who uses his five senses to detect when the coffee beans are perfectly roasted. This individual is also responsible for creating the coffee blends that so many people in the country enjoy on a regular basis. The roast master has extensive knowledge of which coffee beans are best for micro roasted and how these coffee beans should be roasted to bring out the full flavor of the coffee.

Even though micro roasted coffee can be expensive, it is unsurpassed in the taste it delivers. Many individuals that have tried coffee that micro roasted ,find it very difficult to return to the store brought varieties and can really tell the difference in quality. If you are looking for great cup of flavorful coffee, micro roasted may be the way to go.

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Author: John Hilaire
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There is quite a vocabulary to decipher coffee’s degrees of taste, consistency and acuity. Even if you only occasionally drink coffee, knowing the various coffee terminologies can be helpful.
For example, Acidity is a term used to describe the sharpness or clarity of the taste of the coffee on your tongue. A great balance of acidity in the coffee is considered to be desirable. When speaking about coffee, the acidity is somewhat of a sensation that is the cleansing of your palate. This sensation is typically described as bright, snappy, or clear.

A coffee that is thought to be smooth, will not encompass the astringency of its acidic counterpart. It will give off a taste that is softer and at times somewhat sweet and is often considered more desirable by coffee drinkers. Acidity does not mean that a coffee should taste bitter. If a cup of coffee is bitter, it means that the beans were either over roasted or the coffee was not made in the perfect manner by the barista.

The awareness of weight on the tongue, as well as viscosity is known as the body of the coffee. A coffee that has a full body such as Sumatran will have more weight and be more syrupy than a coffee that has a lighter body such as Kenyan or Costa Rican. Many coffee’s that have a heaver body also have a lower amount of acidity.

The blend of taste, smell and body of the coffee is what is referred to as the flavor of the coffee. In sweeping terms, coffee can be describes as smooth (mellow) or acidic (sharp). However, if you wish to be a little more detailed, you can find coffee flavors being described as fruity, nutty, spicy, or even chocolaty.

Experts in coffee can often spot slight distinctions in taste and notice flavors such as blueberries or lemon. Blend is referred to as the combining of two or more varieties of roasted coffee or the mixing of different roasts (light or dark). The blend produces a balanced, delicious taste. There are a large number of coffee shops that create their own house blend for purchase.

The term cafe au lait is a French style coffee. Cafe au lait is created by pouring boiled milk and coffee into a cup at the same time. Many people love a good cup of Cafe au lait. When coffee is referred to as strong, this is a term used to specify the strength of either flaws or merits.

This could be used to say a coffee has a strong acidic taste or a strong aroma. When a coffee is called strong it does not mean that it is good, depending on how the term strong is being used.
A sweet coffee is one that is smooth, easy on the palate and does not contain taints. A sweet coffee is not harsh but rather soft and mellow.

If you are into grinding your own coffee and you hear the term burr mill, you may be wondering what this means. A burr mill is the choice tool for grinding coffee in many people’s eyes. A grinder’s burrs are two corrugated steel cylindrical plates that have cutting edges. These edges are adjustable, and they slice or shave the beans to a consistent grind. Which is of course what people grinding their own beans want to have happen.

An Espresso is a method of extracting the heart of coffee flavor, under pressure; from specially roasted, finely ground Arabica beans very quickly. 1-1/2 ounces of Espresso is called a shot and is served as the base of a large number of coffee beverages.

Do You LOVE good coffee? Heather is a qualified barista and shares many of her great coffee making tips. Register for Your FREE copy of the Health and Happiness Mag, that includes tips on coffee making like the professionals at http://www.womensinfoproducts.com/food/coffee

Author: Heather Richards
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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