Saltan Brewed Coffee
If you are looking for a new taste of coffee, keep an eye out for Saltan Brewed Coffee. This is a new brand from the Philippines, the second to come out from this area, boosting what is known as the Kalinga taste.
The Philippines may be a relatively small player in coffee production but it is coming out with some pretty good tasting beans. The Saltan Brewed Coffee comes from plants that grow along the Saltan river banks in Taga, Pinukpuk, Kalinga province. The blend is a mix of robusta, arabica and exelsa beans. The resulting brew has a clean, unique taste that is much appreciated by many coffee lovers, especially by those from the Middle East who import this coffee.
Coffee is now the top produce of the Kalinga province. Mananig Multi-purpose Cooperative (MMC), the producers of Saltan Brewed Coffee, is now in the process of getting their organic certification from the Organic Certification Center of the Philippines.
Simply Brew Coffee
My, how times have changed. In the olden days, people did everything manually. They ground the beans using a mortar and pestle, dumped the grounds in a pot with water, set it to boil and poured the resulting sludge in a mug and called it coffee. Now, people either go to the nearest cafe for their gourmet coffee or walk into their kitchen which may actually be better equipped than the local coffee shop.
The industry behind the coffee kitchen products have been churning out many gadgets that convince many that they can become instant coffee gourmets with a simple touch of a button. Some of them do work - and quite well indeed. Still there is something in knowing how to make a simple cup of coffee, without frills or fuss. It doesn’t require any gadgets or gizmos except for the coffee grinder. Many forget that the true test of coffee is in its simplest form – without the milk or sugar.
Rather than spending on a hi-tech coffee machine, why not invest in a french press or a simple drip coffee maker. Both are simple, inexpensive coffee making devices that can get the job done and give you a great brew. The rest of the steps is a matter of keeping your equipment clean and learning the proper techniques of grinding measuring and timing. It is an art as much as a science.
Remeber that sometimes, skill is more important than the equipment. Get your coffee basics down first and it won’t matter if you have a fancy machine or not, you’ll be able to make excellent coffee each time.
The Coffee Genome Project
Science is now being used on everything we see. It has come a long way from the classrooms. It is now very much an everyday living thing that, thanks to television and some great teachers (and writers) most everyone understands. Thanks to the show CSI, everyone knows how important DNA is. Who would have thought though that it would also be important for coffee growers?
In Brazil, they have what is known as the Coffee Genome project. Begun in 2004, various institutions and universities throughout the country are engaged in finding solutions to improving the growth of coffee. They look to find ways to make the fruits hardier and better able to withstand pests without destroying the quality of the bean or harming the plant. It makes quite a change from the times when the farmers used arsenic to get rid of the pests. Then the pests may be killed but the farmers to would be poisoned. Not the ideal solution.
Currently, Brazil now has the largest coffee data bank, thanks to all the organizations involved in the research. It now has over 200,000 DNA sequences stored. They note that there are over a hundred kind of coffee but only Arabica and Robusta are grown commercially. The rest will now be utilized to genetically improve the two chosen kinds.
A Remedy For Baldness
If you have ever needed an excuse to justify your love of coffee, here’s one that our male members with decreasing hair will love. A study conducted at the University of Jena in Germany shows that caffeine may be the key to keeping your full head of hair.
The study was conducted by Tobias Fischer. He chose 14 men in the early stages of hair loss and took scalp biopsies of each man’s hair follicles. These follicles were then placed in test tubes. Some test tubes contained different levels of caffeine. After 8 days, the follicles in these tubes showed a 33-40% growth. Other tubes contained testosterone and the follicles in these tubes showed a much slower rate of growth.
The researchers concluded that caffeine helps prevent damage to the hair caused by dihydrotestosterone or DHT. When the hair is exposed to too much DHT baldness results.
For those who are taking this study to heart, do note though that to get the same effect as achieved in the study. A person would need to drink an average of 60 cups of coffee a day. That’s a bit much for anyone. Just pray that someone will find a way to make a new and effective way to get the follicles the caffeine it needs everyday before you drown in the brew.
Cold Brewed Coffee
Would you like some cold brewed coffee? Yes, you read correctly – cold brewed coffee. This isn’t a new thing for coffee lovers but not everybody is familiar with it. Most of us are used to our coffee arriving via drip or by espresso.
Cold coffee is for those who can make time. It requires at least 3 hours to create. Some say it should be overnight. The resulting brew though is worth the wait for many who appreciate having a very flavorful brew with less acidity. Cold coffee drinkers experience less heartburn than those who drink the regular brew simply because the acidity isn’t brought out as much when coffee is made this way.
Cold brewed coffee is easy to make. All you need are the following:
- a pitcher or bottle to hold your brew
- 2 tall glasses or 2 jars with lids for the brewing, preferably 1 jar should have a lid
- a stainless steel strainer
- cheesecloth is useful to help filter the grounds
Procedure:
Start by pouring in 1/4 to 1/3 cup of coffee into the jar. Make sure that the jar is very clean so that your coffee is not contaminated by the old contents. Add 1 1/2 cup of water – preferably filtered water or bottled water. Cover the jar and let it sit for at least 3 hours. You may want to leave it overnight.
After the desired amount of time has passed, pour the contents of the jar through the cheese cloth and strainer into the other jar or glass. Strain the liquid back and forth til it is clear of all grounds. Pour into pitcher and cool in the refrigerator.
Serve when chilled.
So who says you need electricity to have a great cup of coffee? This is coffee with great flavor that will never burn your tongue or give you heartburn. Try the cold brewed coffee and discover a new favorite that you can easily make at home.
Coffee Beer
If there are two well loved drinks that many consider vices, they are coffee and beer – the first because of its caffeine; the second because of the alcohol. Yet people keep drinking them. They are drinks that are enjoyed by those who love them irregardless of the time of day. They are automatic companions of their days.
Why not combine the two together? Many have found that having a little of each after a meal makes for a great ending to dinner. Who says that you have to have them in a separate glass or bottle? Welcome coffee beer!
Is it coffee flavored beer or is the coffee just foamy like beer? It is a conundrum for many but it doesn’t change the fact that it makes for an interesting drink. Some popular coffee beers are Vanilla Java Porter from Atwater Block Brewery, Cappucino Stout from Lagunita Brewing Co. and Bell’s Java Stout.
This will make for an interesting line. You can now say you were just having coffee with the gang while you were at the bar. Just don’t let her smell your breath because the smell of malt will definitely still be there.
After Dinner Coffee
When you invite guests over for dinner, you will usually take the time and effort to plan a great meal. You will make sure that everything looks good, tastes great and yes, sometimes you will think about the nutritional value; especially if any of your friends are dieting. What is often left as an afterthought is the coffee.
How can coffee be an afterthought? It is the end note to every meal. To make your meal truly perfect, you need to make sure that your coffee is also excellent. This means no stale instant coffee for you and your guests. No coffee that’s been sitting around for the last hour. It calls for freshly brewed coffee from freshly ground beans – which is really easy to get now with so many coffee shops around.
If you want to be a little fancy, try some Amaretto Coffee. This flavorful brew is a hit with almond lovers. For those who love chocolate, the Belgian Coffee or Viennese Coffee make for an excellent finish to a great dinner. For those looking for coffee with a little spirit to it, serve some Irish coffee instead. Your brew will help end the night with a wonderful flourish.
Cappuccino Smoothies
Coffee for some is an absolutely sinful delight. They already know that they shouldn’t drink it but that they just can’t resist having it. It is a drug that they cannot live without . Actually they wouldn’t be too far wrong.
There really is something to taste of coffee that people just can’t resist. That smooth, rich flavor of the brew that gets you humming in the morning is really addictive. The caffeine is a necessary jump start to the start of the day of most people in the rat race.
For those who are shaking their heads and saying that this will never happen to them, check how many times you’ve been in a coffee shop this month. How many cups of coffee have you had? How about last month and the month before? Soon you will be joining us in the community of coffee lovers.
If you think you won’t, try this recipe. It is sure to tempt your taste buds and wake it up to the taste of the bean.
Cappuccino Smoothie
(From “More Cooking Secrets of the C.I.A., [Culinary Institute of America]).
Ingredients:
- 2 cups cold brewed espresso or double-strength coffee
- 1 pint coffee ice cream
- 6 cups ice
- 1-1/2 cups milk
- Whipped cream as needed
- Ground cinnamon as needed
Procedure:
In a blender, blend espresso, ice cream, ice and milk until smooth. Divide among 6 stemmed glasses. Top each with a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Serve with a straw.
For Mocha Cappuccino Smoothies: Substitute chocolate sorbet for the ice cream and chocolate milk for the regular milk. Sprinkle cocoa or chocolate shavings instead of cinnamon. Serves six.
Technorati Tags: coffee, ice cream, coffee lovers, culinary institute of america, cappuccino, espresso, sinful, rat race, smoothies
Spanish Coffee
Different cultures have different tastes in food and different ways of preparing dishes that we all eat everyday. Even if they are made from the same beans, the very process they undergo transforms your ordinary cup of Joe into something more exotic.
Like the country from which this coffee gets its name, Spanish coffee is a complex brew. It is not something that one drinks in a rush. Rather it is meant to be savored and truly tasted. It is more than just beans. It really is a gourmet piece but isn’t really hard to make. Spanish coffee is a rich, delicious brew that truly makes ones day.
Try this recipe from Sweet Dreams host, Chef Gale Gand. It is a great drink to serve to your guests or just to enjoy for yourself. It makes a great break from the ordinary indeed. Do note that this is not an instant recipe.
Ingredients:
- Vanilla bean
- 2 cups sugar
- Wedge of lime
- 1 1/2 ounces orange liqueur (recommended: Cointreau)
- 1/2 ounce almond liqueur (recommended: Amaretto)
- 1 ounce coffee liqueur
- 1 ounce cognac
- 1 1/2 cups coffee
- Whipped cream
- Chocolate shavings
Procedure:
A few days before you make the coffee, split the vanilla bean in half the long way, and place it with the sugar in a closed container. To make the coffee, warm 2 brandy snifters. Take the wedge of lime and run it around the edge of the glass to wet the rim. Dip it in the vanilla sugar. Pour the orange liqueur into the glasses and, one at a time, light it on fire and tilt the glass to caramelize the vanilla sugared rim. Douse the flame with a little coffee. In a copper saucepan place the almond liqueur, cognac and coffee liqueur and warm them. Divide them between the 2 snifters then top them off with more coffee. Garnish with whipped cream, chocolate shavings and a straw.
Technorati Tags: coffee, spanish coffee, Gale Gand, Sweet Dreams
Meth Coffee
Shocked at the name? So are a lot of people. To some it sends a “don’t even try it signal” while others get a little thrill of excitement at the mere name of this brew. Meth – an illegal drug now being readily marketed? Highly unlikely, right?Actually Meth coffee is the product of a San Francisco based company. It is the brain child of the person they simply call “the Roaster”. The brew is a super caffeinated coffee mixed with some yerba mate. It results in a drink that is guaranteed to make those who want that jolt in the morning wake up and pay attention.
They do guarantee though that there is no methamphetamine in the drink. It is made from some of the best Arabica beans and Yerba mate. Yerba mate comes from a species of holly that grows in. The leaves are dried and used like tea by the shamans of the Amazon. It is said to function as a natural stimulant, antioxidant andboost stamina as well as mental clarity.
It may not be a drug but you may indeed find yourself addicted to this brew. So best be prepared. It isn’t a coffee for the faint hearted.
Technorati Tags: coffee, meth coffee, caffeine, yerba mate
