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Coffee Roasting: The Essential Ingredient for Your Java’s Flavor

admin — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 14:51:10 +0000

Let’s follow the journey from coffee bean harvesting to your aromatic cup of coffee!

Coffee beans are harvested by hand from coffee trees. Exactly when the coffee berries are picked influences the flavor of the coffee. The berries are red or purplish when they’re ripe; however, many plantations also harvest green berries. The red berries possess a higher concentration of aromatic oils and lower acidity, which results in more fragrant and smooth coffee. These berries are used primarily for gourmet or specialty coffees. The green berries, which are more bitter, are used in conjunction with the ripe berries for mass-produced coffee.

Once the coffee beans are harvested, a mechanical pulper removes the flesh of the coffee berries that surround the inner coffee beans. The coffee beans are then fermented for 10 to 36 hours, often in water. Afterward, they are washed and dried in the sun. At this stage, the raw coffee beans are green, and they’re referred to as milled.

The milled coffee beans are then sorted by hand or by machine to remove bad or misshapen beans. The milled beans are then sorted according to size.

Some coffee producers polish their coffee beans. This process removes their silver skin. But some coffee experts frown at this practice, because raising the bean’s temperature via friction alters is chemical composition–and its ultimate flavor.

Coffee flavor peaks within one year of being harvested, as the coffee beans still retain most of their essential oils. However, coffees from Indonesia and India with low acidity are sometimes aged for three to eight years.

Coffee beans aren’t roasted until they reach their destination country. When coffee beans are roasted, they expand to double their original size, and they transform to a luxurious dark, aromatic brown. They’re roasted in horizontal rotating drum at 370 to 540 degrees Fahrenheit anywhere from a few minutes up to 30 minutes.

There are eight gradations of roasting. From lightest to darkest, they are light, cinnamon, medium, high, city, full city, Italian and French. Full city is typically considered to be juuust right.

Lighter roasts allow more of a particular coffee’s “origin flavor” to come through. This is desired for famous regions such as Java, Jamaican Blue Mountain, Hawaiian Kona and Kenya.

Once the beans are roasted, they’re sprayed with water. Once they’re cooled, they processed with a destoner, which removes any final waste products. The coffee beans are then conveyed to a hopper, where they’re dried and stabilized; this stabilization process is called equilibration. Then the beans are either ground or packaged and shipped as whole beans.

Coffee roasting transforms coffee beans’ carbohydrates and fats into aromatic oils, burns moisture and carbon dioxide, plus breaks down certain acids and while building others. It’s the coffee roasting process that gives your cup of coffee its distinctive aroma and flavor!

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How to Make Sure No One Uses Your Coffee Cup

admin — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 17:58:56 +0000

Here is a sure way to make sure NO ONE borrows your coffee cup.

Source: DesignBoom

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How Coffee Creates Community: The Social Aspects of Coffee

admin — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 20:23:04 +0000

Coffee is such a nice thing to share with friends, family and associates. Female friends make regular coffee dates to meet for uninterrupted chat time. And if a couple “just meets for coffee,” it takes the pressure out of dating, while still allowing them to get to know one another. Business colleagues often meet for coffee to strategize and share ideas, which is a little more logistically difficult to do over a full meal. Coffeehouses are important social gathering places for people from all walks of life.

Many coffeehouses also provide tea, baked goods, sandwiches or even full meals. Coffeehouses are popular throughout the U.S., Europe and the Middle East.

Coffeehouses are particularly important social gathering places for literary and artistic types. Historically speaking, this is particularly true of Paris. In the U.S., coffeehouses played a central role as meeting places for the beat poets of the 1950’s, including Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsburg and William S. Burroughs. Coffeehouses are integral to the arts, which are integral to human civilization.

Coffeehouses are places where intellectual and literary types like to hang out to read or write. Many a coffeehouse is also host to open mic entertainment, from poetry readings to musical entertainment. Coffeehouses also function as small art galleries or even movie houses. In short, coffeehouses create community.

In northern Europe a common form of entertaining is a coffee party. The host or hostess serves coffee, cake and pastries.

But the U.S. is the largest coffee market in the world, followed by Germany, then Japan. However, Nordic countries consume the most coffee per capita; Finland boasts the number one per-capita coffee consumption in the world, at more than 10 kg annually. Coffee is second only to petroleum in legally traded goods worldwide!

When you walk into a coffeehouse to enjoy a cup of java, you’re walking into a gathering place for the entire community–and oftentimes into a specialized micro community of artists.

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Coffee Machines – From Manual Steeping to Electric Pressure

admin — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 18:50:27 +0000

Coffee machines come in a wide variety–from espresso makers to drip brew coffeemakers to French presses.

Perhaps the most widespread type of coffee machine is a drip brew coffeemaker. These coffeemakers adorn the counters of many a home, hotel and workplace kitchenette. Electric drip brewers use gravity. The coffee grounds are placed in a coffee filter, which can consist of paper or perforated metal. When the coffeemaker is turned on, hot water drips onto the coffee grounds, then flows out through the filter into the coffeepot below. Some coffeemakers are equipped with timers so that your morning coffee is waiting for you as soon as you step out of the shower! And others can even come equipped with coffee bean grinders.

A French press, also called a cafetiere, uses steeping. A French press looks like a small, narrow glass pitcher with a plunger. The plunger handle moves up and down through the lid. The base of the plunger is a nylon or metal mesh filter. Coffee grounds are placed in the bottom of the press, then the hot water is added. After steeping for four to seven minutes, the plunger is pushed downward. This strains the coffee and presses the grounds on the bottom; the coffee is then ready to be poured. Course coffee grounds, rather than fine, work best, as they’re less likely to sneak through the filter mesh. This coffee brewing style is called “total immersion brewing,” and it’s favored by coffee experts for preparing fine coffees at home.

An espresso machine uses pressure. Espresso machines are used in coffee shops, and special models can be purchased for home use. Espresso machines use a pressure between eight and nine atmospheres (scientifically denoted as 800-900 kPa) to force hot water through a lightly packed “puck” of fine coffee grounds. This process creates a crema, which is a layer of emulsified oil foam atop the espresso. This foam, along with espresso boasting one of the strongest flavors of all coffees, makes it a favorite amongst coffee aficionados. But it’s interesting to note that regular coffee contains more caffeine that espresso. Espresso is the foundation for many a coffee drink, such as mochas.

Regardless of which type of coffee machine is used, the ideal water temperature for brewing coffee is 93 degrees Celsius, or 199.4 degrees Fahrenheit. If the water is cooler, optimum flavor will not be released. And if the water is too hot, more bitterness will be extracted. Coffee lovers generally prefer a ratio of two tablespoons coffee to six ounces, or 180 millilitres, of water.

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Coffee Beans: Fruit Legume or Seed?

admin — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 22:04:09 +0000

When we think of coffee beans, we think of dark brown beans with a rich, robust aroma. But actually, coffee beans are red or purple fruits on flowering shrubs.

These shrubs are native to Africa. They grow only in frost-free tropical climates, thriving best at high elevations. This small tree-like shrub begins producing fruits after it reaches maturity, at about three to five years old; it grows to be 10 to 12 feet tall. It continues producing until it is 50 to 60 years old, though some have been known to continue producing coffee beans for 100 years. The coffee berries take nine months to ripen. The fruits are called drupes, or coffee berries. The coffee beans are enveloped within the coffee berries. The drupes contain two coffee beans, or coffee seeds. Although coffee beans aren’t technically legumes, the seeds are called beans.

Ninety to 95 percent of all coffee berries contain two coffee beans. The other small percentage of coffee berries only contain a single coffee bean, which is called a peaberry. Peaberries are considerably smaller than regular coffee beans, so their acidity is concentrated; therefore, they’re discarded or sold separately.

Once the coffee beans are harvested, a mechanical pulper removes the flesh of the coffee berries. Then the coffee beans are fermented, usually in water, for 10 to 36 hours. They are then washed and dried in the sun. This produces what is called milled coffee beans; these raw beans are green.

Coffee beans aren’t roasted until they reach their destination country. The roasting process alters their chemistry, which causes them to become dark brown and highly aromatic. Coffee beans are more perishable at this stage.

Once the coffee beans are roasted, they’re ready to make coffee! They are ground and sold to coffee manufacturers, ready for coffee makers. Of course, you can also buy the beans whole, and grind them yourself in a grinder at the grocery store or in a coffee grinder at home; this is the preferred method of true coffee aficionados, as the whole coffee beans are fresher than ground coffee and impart more flavor.

Another truly delightful way to enjoy coffee beans is to purchase them covered in chocolate! Pop them into your mouth and enjoy a little chocolate-infused pick-me-up!