Home Brewing: Filter Coffee
This is one of the more common machines – a Filter Coffee Machine (also known as a Drip Brew Coffee Machine). It’s quite a recognisable design, and very simple and easy to use.
These machines work by heating water and then pouring it over a ground coffee powder, which is kept in a either a paper, plastic or metal filter and then into the large carafe, which is able to keep the coffee warm for a long period of time, whilst keeping it fresh and not burnt. The filters have been around for a long time, and have been modified to make them as easy to use, and simple to clean as possible (for the plastic and metal filters), meaning that it’s more effective and economical for producing coffee in smaller quantities.
The prices of these machines will reflect the performance, style and complexity of the systems – a basic starter machine can be as little as $30, and all the way up to over $200 for a decent Filter Coffee Machine. The difference in the price: the functions of the machine – ranging from being able to make standard Filter Coffee, through to Espressos, Lattes and Cappuccinos, including warming pads (to make sure your cups don’t crack), some machines wouldn’t look out of place in a Coffee House, as well as including a Strength Selector. The basic machines are still great – you can easily increase the amount of beans, or decrease the amount of water to adjust the strength, and can easily make and keep warm up to 16 cups with certain models.
Photo Courtesy of: Nalundgaard
Home Brewing: Cafetieres
These are incredibly simple filter devices, which were created in France in the late 1800’s (hence the other name for them: ‘French Press’). They’ve been improved and modified over the years, giving you a whole range of different options in terms of how to brew your coffee.
The beauty of a device like this is that it’s constantly brewing – so instead of the last cup being weaker (like from a Drip or Pod Machine), it can often be much stronger in taste, but you need to be careful that they don’t spoil and become bitter – beans in a ½ Litre Press tend to last for around twenty minutes after they are left in the drink once brewed. The French Press is able to create a smooth, rich tasting coffee as it doesn’t deteriorate any of the delicate flavours in the oil of the beans, which occurs when the coffee beans are exposed to boiling water for a long period of time.
This system is so incredibly simple – all you need is one of the Press’ (a cylinder made out of strong plastic or glass, with a tight-fitting lid and wire-mesh plunger), some coarse ground beans, and hot water. Because of it’s simple design and mechanism, there are so many different varieties of design that are on offer – and they look great on the table for after-dinner coffees.
The simplicity of the design, coupled with the success and popularity of it has lead to a wide variety of portable, travel designs – made out of plastic, and quite light-weight or out of stainless steel, or insulated to keep the coffee hot (in a similar way to how a thermos mug works)
Photo Courtesy of: Papalars
Home Brewing: Coffee Pod Machines
There’s a relatively new trend in home coffee machines – Coffee pods. These containers have a pre-measured amount of ground beans in them, which the hot water is forced through at a high pressure – just like the coffee houses.
The advantages of using one of these pod systems to get your coffee is that it’s frequently a case of inserting the pod, then waiting for around thirty seconds (less than it takes to boil a mug of water!), but it’s limited to producing just one cup at a time – not a problem if you’re the only coffee fan, or living on your own! Also, have a look at the shops nearby. See what the most readily available pod is – no point getting an amazing machine, if they only have a basic range of choices on offer.
Before you jump into buying a machine, have a look around the market. See what size drink you can produce from a pod – sometimes they’ll only provide four ounces (a mug is eight ounces, so two pods would be needed), are you sure that the taste of the coffee is what you like? Even two same varieties may taste slightly differently, so check if there is a strength setting available to adjust this slightly. Of course, have a look at the different colours and styles that are on offer, and chances are it’ll be on show all the time, so make sure you get a model and style that suits where it’ll be – no point getting a shiny chrome model, if you have a rustic country-style kitchen!
Coffee Break Challenger #1
This is going to be a new, regular slot on here, where there will be simple, fun little challenges set for you, the readers. Once a month, a silly little challenge that will hopefully take less than ten minutes, so you can easily take part in your Coffee Break. If you’ve got an idea for a challenge, leave a comment, and we can get that included as well.
Sadly, no prizes, except the recognition and hundreds of fans screaming your name everywhere you go (okay, I slightly exaggerate on the second part!!!). Of course, the winner will be decided and published in the next months post.
The first challenge is a simple one – head to your nearest (or favourite) coffee shop, and get a photo of the most ornate, fancy cup. Patterns on the outside, weird and wonderful handles, over-sized or even under-sized – All is fair in love, war, and the Coffee Break Challenge!
Once you’ve got the image, all you’d have to do is upload the image to your favourite image-sharing site (PhotoBucket, TwitPic and Imageshack are a few examples of popular services that can be used), once they’ve been uploaded, just post a comment with your name, where you’re from, and where the cup is from.
So, the deadline for this challenge is the Monday 13th December, at 11:59am EST – just to make sure that the time is obvious, and no confusion between midday and midnight!
Get snapping and get sharing!
Coffee And Me
This article is a bit of a self-exploration. It’s based on explaining why I drink coffee the coffees that I do, when I do, and why I have the cravings for it at random times. It’s also going in to a bit about when I drink it, and how I like to have certain types at different times of the day
I tend to drink two or three main types of coffee. For my sins, I drink a lot of Instant Coffee. It tends to be strong, with three or four sugars in, as it’s my ‘get up and go’ drink. Mainly when I’m still in bed, it’s easier to flick a kettle switch, and wait for two minutes, opposed to either using a percolator, or heading out to get one. I’ll usually only drink Instant in the mornings. It’s a simple taste, which is why I’m guessing it’s a popular one for those who aren’t massive coffee fans. It’s also the type I get most cravings for – I suppose it could be the basic tastes and flavours that mean it’s much more drinkable at a more range of times.
My daytime drinks tend to be large. With lots of milk in, and either hot or cold, depending on the weather – if it’s a cold day, you can’t beat a good old Americano, with a small amount of cream and brown sugar mixed in. Sweet and strong, this classic coffee is suited to so many different tastes and needs – if you ask me, it’s the perfect coffee.
For hot days, a Frappe (or Frappuccino if I’m in Starbucks) is very welcome. It’s a very common drink here in Cyprus, often served in large Pint glasses, with lashings of ice, cream and of course, rich aromatic coffee! The contrast in the cold milk (or cream if you ask nicely!) sits so nicely with the strength of the coffee, that it’s hard to pick a fault in it. Except if the milk is sour, which I’ve had before. Needless to say, I was a bit traumatised, and was nearly put off of these for a week!
My ultimate ‘guilty coffee’ has to be a Jameson’s Irish Coffee, with cream, no milk, and a brown sugar. It’s usually only ordered after special meals, or for a celebration – which explains the decadent nature of it. I can guarantee that one of these made properly is a treat for the sight, taste and smell.
What’s your plans for when it comes to what you have and when?
Photo Courtesy of Il Conte di Luna
It’s a Fair Trade…
A large amount of you will probably be drinking Fair Trade Coffee as you read this, and may not even realise it. But you may not know much more than it’s a reasonable price paid to the farmers. There’s social benefits to the farmers, which extend further than the extra money which they are paid.
The scheme was set up in order to help the farmers of Coffee, Cotton, plus a variety of fruits by paying them a higher fee than what they were used to – for example, in August 2001, Coffee Beans were just $0.50 per pound. The current minimum price that companies have agreed to pay is $1.26 – nearly double the price of non-fair trade coffee, which is sold in Coffee Houses for the same price.
There are some requirements to the farmers with these prices, however – the money should be invested in much needed health care, education and looking after their environment – in other words, supporting the small farmers with your purchase of Fair Trade Coffee, you are supporting better in them in the long term by helping to improve their local villages and towns.
Currently across America, there are over one hundred companies with agreements to offer certified Fair Trade Coffee. They include Starbucks, Tully’s, Diedrich, plus many more local companies. All of these companies are offering you the chance to make a change to someone else’s life, by doing nothing more than asking for Fair Trade coffee.
Using Fair Trade Coffee is more than just being kind and caring to the farmers. Hopefully, it will make enough of a difference to someone’s life – improving their health and future generations possibilities.
Meeting in a Coffee House
If you’re self-employed, as I am, you may find yourself spending a fair bit of time in a Coffee Shop getting that essential boost of Caffeine in the mornings. Or in the evenings. Or even at Night sometimes…I know I do, and find I also find that I meet a lot of useful people in these places, and sometimes even arrange a co-working session inside
Why?
Being self employed, I tend to spend an un-safe amount of time on my own, which sooner or later leads to a bit of insanity – just ask my Cats! Getting out for two, three or four days a month, enjoying some great coffee and company is often what’s needed to keep me sane.
It’s also a great way to meet new people in a similar field, or others who may benefit from your services, and very low cost for advertising and marketing yourself! You can even find new clients from taking time out of your day and watching people – hot coffee and a busy area often provides me with great inspiration for writing, designing or marketing!
Many Coffee houses also offer free Wireless Internet, plus a plug for charging your laptop from – of course, you don’t want to be seen as ‘stealing’ this, so you just buy two or three coffees for your time in there.
During those frequent (but not frequent enough) busy periods, making sure I have time to go and sit and relax with a large Latte is often low down my list of priorities, but quite high on my list on needs!
Why Not?
I can often sit at my computer for hours, and only manage a small amount of work. Updating my website, emailing clients, Social Media, Games, the news, sports – the amount of distractions online is (literally) endless. And that’s not forgetting choosing between Latte, Cappuccino, Frappe, Espresso, Double Espresso, Macchiato…you get the idea!
The social atmosphere that is part of the coffee house vibe we all love may also make you a bit more happy to agree to things you wouldn’t do usually – for example, I’ve agreed a price for a piece of work that I really shouldn’t have even considered, purely down to the fact that I was quite relaxed, and, in all honesty, not paying full attention.
But, at the end of the day, all that matters is that you can enjoy your time – be it in an office and meeting with friends after work for a nice hot cup of coffee, or if you spend your entire day in a Coffee House!
Photo Courtesy of: Simon Blackley
Chain or Independant Coffee House?
My favourite Coffee house
Where I grew up in the UK, there are quite a lot of Coffee Shops – the spread of Costa Coffees and Starbucks, plus the other smaller chains that are more established in the local area, as well as the smattering of smaller local Coffee Shops which are usually quite busy.
Where I currently live, there are a lot more independent Coffee Houses. I don’t know if this is due to the fact that it is mainly a seasonal town (coming alive from May to October, and very quiet for the rest of the year), or for another reason.
Either way, there’s a great deal of difference in the two options.
For example, where I live now (Cyprus) there’s a specialist type of coffee – Cyprus Coffee (strangely enough!), which is very thick – to the extent of being able to stand a teaspoon in it on its own and there’s also the Frappe. As with all liqueur Coffees, there’s also the local spirits to be included in these. Each Coffee House I’ve visited out here has been greatly different – one of my favourites is a very small building, with a large canopied area out front, art-work from the owners friends and families, and a range of newspapers and magazines. It also has two or three different televisions, a varied menu and a high speed wireless connection – great for what I want.
Although just five minutes drive away, there’s a Starbucks. Which, as Starbucks is, very clean, neat and tidy, with a wide range of drinks on offer, and a range of snacks on offer.
So why do I prefer the non-chain Coffee House? I think it’s the atmosphere inside. More relaxed, more focus on what I want as a customer. I often visited Starbucks in the UK when it was inside a book shop I bought a lot of magazines from (I’d spend five or six afternoons a month in there) as it was an easy place to concentrate and work. But the difference I’ve experienced has shown me that there’s more out there.
What do you prefer? If you’re a Chain fan, let us know why, and if you prefer to keep things local, what makes the difference for you?
Photo Courtesy of Emphasis Cafe
Coffee Art: How is it made?
You’ve all seen the amazing patterns that appear on cups of coffee all across the world. Flowers, hearts, and countless other patterns and words on show.
But how are they made? The basic requirement is a steady hand, and a frothy drink – so espresso fans may struggle a bit!
Stencils
Having a range of stencils on hand is a very easy way of making an ordinary coffee that bit more exciting.
Cappuccinos and Lattes are great for the art work, as it can really stand out and make the coffee that much more inspiring. Hold the stencil about an inch above the top of the froth (making sure it doesn’t make content, or the froth will disappear quickly), and use a shaker with chocolate powder to create a thick and evenly covering.
Freehand
A more advanced technique, so don’t expect to get it perfect straight away, it takes a great deal of time practising and practising to make sure that you don’t shake too fast, or move too far, and different heats of foam will re-act differently – unless you have a real coffee addiction!
To begin, froth up to make a latte as normal, but only fill it up to from the bottom of the cup, before either shaking the pitcher with froth in back and forth, whilst moving the jug further to one side (to create a flower) or keeping shaking the pitcher back and forth, whilst keeping it in the same place to make a heart.
To write in the foam, there are a couple of different ways – the first being to use an item such as a pin-head to drag the foam around to make the desired words or shapes (great for Cappuccinos as it’ll create a lighter space), or by dipping it in melted chocolate to make a darker area (more suited to lighter Lattes)
Photo Courtesy of Journeys Coffee
