Coffee - Pros vs Cons

Coffee is your friend.  Or at least it's  not  your enemy.  It is ubiquitous in our culture.  Everywhere you look, there’s a coffee shop on the corner.  It is at its absolute best when roasted, ground, and brewed within 24 hours.  It is the life blood of anyone who works 10-16 hours a day running their own business, as I do.  Coffee has medicinal value if a person's blood pressure drops it can be raised temporarily by drinking coffee.

Coffee that has the best taste and seems freshest is made from freshly ground beans.  Coffee which has been freshly ground is much more flavorful and aromatic than pre-ground coffee.  It can stale fairly quickly once opened, so you may also want to consider the amount of coffee you purchase.  Coffee is grown all over the world today but has it's origin in Ethiopia. 

The final taste of your coffee is heavily dependent on the water and temperature settings of your coffee maker.  It is the substance that warms conversations between friends and family, and it never goes out of style.  It is very flavorful, there are a variety of roasts, and it is never bitter.  It is delicious, but it can be expensive.  Coffee is usually one of the most heavily sprayed crops, and is often contaminated with pesticides, fertilizers and herbicides. 

Coffee is also a diuretic, meaning it purges water from your body.  It is the second most valuable commodity exported from developing countries, petroleum being the first.  It was also being grown in India and Java.  It is not unhealthy in itself, but it is the sugar and cream that get added to it.  Coffee can tax the adrenals, disrupt blood sugar, deplete nutrients and stress your digestive and cardiovascular system.

Delicious Whole Bean Coffee

By now you've probably seen the bags of whole bean coffee in your local grocery store or at least have wondered what all the fuss is about. Why go through all that trouble for a cup of coffee? There can't be that much of a difference in the quality and taste. The truth of the matter is that there is a huge difference in the taste and on top of that it saves you money over visiting your favorite coffee shop.

Of course if you're planning to purchase you're own beans you have to do a little homework and pick the beans that are right for you. This may take a little trial and error but it's well worth it once you discover your favorite roast. Coffee beans are available already roasted or green which you'll have to roast yourself. This article assumes you're in the beginning stages of coffee mastery and will be buying roasted whole bean coffee.

When purchasing your whole bean coffee freshness is the key. I've been to grocery stores where coffee beans were stored in a wooden hopper with a glass window. They provided bags that you fill to your desired capacity. What's wrong with this type of setup? Freshness. Coffee starts to lose its aroma and flavor as soon as it is roasted. So to buy your coffee from this type of setup is, in my opinion, a bad idea. It would be OK if the grocery roasted the coffee in the store that same day but most grocery stores don't roast coffee. They buy it from a roaster and have it trucked in.

If you buy your whole bean coffee from a grocer try to buy beans that have been tightly sealed or better yet do your homework and try to find out where your grocer is buying coffee and get it from the source. You can find some of the best coffee available on the internet and have it shipped directly to you. A lot of these companies will not roast and package their whole bean coffee until it's ordered which guarantees you fresh coffee every time.

When your coffee arrives you simply grind the amount needed and store the rest in an air tight container. You and your guess will enjoy and fresh pot of the most delicious coffee available every time. There are other things that contribute to the overall taste of your finished coffee such as the grinder, coffee pot and water you use but it all starts with fresh whole bean coffee.

Coffee Bean Grinder - My Rancilio

If you love fresh brewed coffee, investing in a coffee bean grinder for your personal use may turn out to be one of the best ideas you've ever had. By no means is coffee grinding at home a new idea but it has been quickly catching on as more and more people realize the difference in taste between coffee bought from the store and freshly ground that you make at home.

In a nutshell, coffee you brew at home probably doesn't compare to coffee you're served in an upscale restaurant for one reason. Fresh coffee grounds. You see, when it comes to coffee freshness is paramount in retaining it's rich aroma and flavor. Coffee that has been sitting around for days on end just can't compare to coffee that was grounded just before brewing.

The very essence of coffee is so sensitive that it starts to break down as soon as it's grounded. That's why ground coffee you buy at the store or even coffee beans that you ground yourself at the store can't compare to the rich flavor you get from using coffee bean grinders at home. Thus the popularity of at home use of coffee bean grinders. It's the only way to get the very best taste from coffee beans.

Now when I talk about a coffee bean grinder I'm not talking about the type with a cutting blade that just shreds the beans. These types of machines leaves you with different size grinds which doesn't do well in the brewing process. For that perfect cup of coffee you will want to invest in a bean grinder that basically crushes to the size grinds of your choosing. That's very important. The final taste of your coffee is derived not only from fresh beans but also the size of your grinds. The more size options you have to choose from in the size of your coffee grinds the more adjustments you'll have to experiment with before finding your perfect flavor. Also, with various size adjustments on your grinder you'll be able to grind for other products like, espresso, latte and cappuccino.

Another reason for investing in a good coffee bean grinder is the quality of parts used in making the machine itself. A machine such as the Rancilio Rocky Doserless Coffee Grinder will cost you more than your basic grinder sold at some department stores but it is made from commercial quality parts that out last the competition. After tasting coffee from some of the low cost grinders out there I can tell you that they have a tendency to burn or scorch the coffee in the grinding process which carries over to the brewing and the final taste of your coffee.

So if you're really into drinking coffee and would like to experience the true taste it has to offer, investing in a good coffee bean grinder may be for you. Only then will you be able to experience the true essence of coffee as well as save money on your coffee bill.

Processing Coffee - From The Root To The Fruit

It may come as a shock to you, but what you've probably have been calling coffee beans all of your life really isn't a bean. It is in fact the seeds that are produced from the coffee plant. These seeds are contained within what is called the cherry or the fruit of the plant and is the

substance of which we get our coffee.

The taste or flavor of your favorite cup of coffee is determined by the characteristic of the plant the seeds or beans came from. One of the more important things that determines it's taste is the amount of

caffeine present. Upwards of 80% of the coffee consumed in the world is from the Arabica species which contains .8 - 1.4% caffeine. Robusta makes up about twenty percent of coffee produced and has a caffeine content range of 1.7 - 4%. Brazil exports the most coffee in the world followed by Vietnam.

The processing of coffee is done immediately after harvesting to protect its flavor. There are two types of processing coffee which is a dry and wet technique. I want go into detail here but both involves a way of removing the seeds from the cherries as carefully as possible. The cherries are then sent to plants were they are used to make fertilizer. The seed is grounded for use in making your coffee, espresso, etc. There is a difference in beans used for coffee and espresso but the processing

is basically the same. The main difference is that espresso beans are a combination of beans.

The final taste of your coffee may have been influenced by flavoring oils. Today there is a demand for many flavors of coffee and natural oils are mostly used to achieve this. Some coffee take out

houses just use a regular roast and have the oils on hand for you to make the flavored coffee that suits your tastes.

Flavoring coffee is great but nothing can take away from the pure natural flavor of coffee. This is achieved by the farmers who carefully grow the crop and is greatly influenced by the weather in the region of the world in which it is grown. As stated earlier the particular beans that the coffee is derived from greatly influences it's final taste as well as the way it is processed. Last but not least is the roasting of the coffee which brings all the natural flavors together before it's ready to be consumed. Roasted (cooked coffee) has a shorter shelf life than unroasted (green) coffee so it is usually a process that is performed close to coffee distribution points. After this process is complete the coffee is canned and is ready for the end user to brew at home and in restaurants.

You now know the process by which coffee is processed and made ready for the end consumer. I hope this information will be helpful and helping you choose where your next cup of coffee will come from. Don't forget that the last step in this whole process is the brewing process. That's where you come in with the decision as to whether to buy a ready made cup of coffee or trying your hand at brewing the perfect cup of coffee at home. 

History Of Coffee

OK.  I know you wake up every morning to your favorite cup of coffee, but what do you really know about this popular drink.  Are you aware that it is one of the most popular drinks in the world?  Here's another question for you.  When was the first cups of coffee dranked and by whom?  Sit back and drink your coffee while I try to shed some light on the subject.

Some of the earliest signs of coffee on the planet was in Abyssinia which was located in what is now Northern Ethiopia.  The monks of the church in the region observe a shepard having extra energy after eating coffee beans and decided to give it a try for energy during midnight prayer.  The chewing of the beans worked for the monks and years later they starting roasting and brewing the coffee and drinking it.

Around eleven hundred AD coffee started getting more popular when Arabs started growing and consuming it.  The coffee they made was called gahwa which means to prevent sleep.  This drink soon became the wine of choice among Arabs.

After so many years of using their new drink as wine and medicine, it was later found that the same beans could be used to make a totally different richer drink which resulted in the popular custom of drinking coffee.  Overtime coffee became popular as a take along with travelers and soon made it's was around the African continent.

I'm sure you've heard of a place called Starbucks where you can go and get your favorite coffee and do a little socializing.  Well in 1554 a couple of coffee houses opened in Turkey.  These places where called the "school of the wise" and people came from all over to drink coffee and socialize while listening to music and playing the games of the day.  In the 1600s as coffee became more and more popular and continued to be introduced by travelers a popular coffee house was opened in Italy.

I know what you're saying by now.  Everyone always loved and embraced this drink.  Not really.  There were people for some reason that tried to ban coffee.  Many coffee houses were closed in Turkey due to those who were against this popular drink but that didn't stop it from being enjoyed by the masses.

There was a man named John Smith who brought coffee to the attention of the new world which resulted in the first coffee house opened in England in the early 1600's.  These early England coffee houses charged a penny for admission and a cup of coffee.  My have prices gone up since then.  In the 1700's King Louis XIV court was the first to use sugar to sweeten coffee.  The close of the 1700's saw coffee being grown in the Americas which ushered in a period of the 1800s where different methods to make coffee was founded.

Here's an interesting fact.  We've all been taught in school about the Prohibition period when gangsters where killing each other over illegal alcohol.  Well during this same period coffee sales increase.  I guess people needed something to take the edge off and coffee was there choice.  If only the gangsters of the time period could of figure this out.

Coffee has become so popular in the United States that the US imports seventy percent of the coffee grown in the world.  There is something to satisfy every coffee drinkers taste and all types of machines to make your own brew at home.  It's possible for the home brewer to make coffee that rivals any restaurant.  Science has even gotten into the coffee business by doing research on the drink's health benefits.

I hope you've learned something new about coffee while reading this article and if nothing else acquired a new appreciation for how this popular beverage came to be.