Of Coffee Cuppings
Of coffee what? You may be wondering if I made a typo in my title – that is, if you have not heard of the new trend that is becoming popular in New York. The New York Times recently published an article on this activity (coffee cupping) which is supposed to be the alternative to wine tasting. Certainly, there are similarities – the tasting part. There is, however, no spitting allowed in coffee cuppings.
Joking aside, coffee cuppers take this activity seriously. The Times reports:
Time was when only coffee buyers, roasters and baristas cared to spend time sniffing grounds with patient dedication. But now cuppings at independent cafes like Joe attract connoisseurs who wouldn’t be caught dead sipping an overroasted blend and regularly travel to another borough for superior beans.
I love coffee – you know that – but isn’t this taking things a bit too seriously? Fellow blogger Emily Matchar expressed my sentiments well in her post about cuppings:
I mean, I’m willing to believe that other people have the ability to discern flavors I can’t sense. But is a bag of beans from a single farm lot discernibly different than beans from a handful of farms in the same region?
I have my favorite coffee – one that I get from this region in the south. I would really prefer to use this coffee every single time but when I do run out, I can live with other types of coffee that I get from the supermarket.
Am I being an ignorant coffee brute here or are there other people who think the same way?
Iced Coffee Not Hot?
Coffee is usually known to be best served when hot. But for the innovative and creative minds of coffee lovers, the prickly heat of seasons such as summer would get them to think of new ways to enjoy the usual hot beverage that opens the eyes of sleepy people. That has totally changed today in the world of coffee.
Everyone is aware of such new brews, especially for people who have tried out the cold Starbucks drinks like frappuccino and ice blends. These are clear examples of new ideas brought out in the market. To top it all off, they are hits in the regions and have made other coffee manufacturers and shops create their own drinks as well.
Hence the initial notion of coffee being solely good when hot has been slowly disintegrating. Hot or cold, coffee can be enjoyed depending on the preference and want of people who love to drink a good coffee brew.
Technorati Tags: coffee blends, coffee, iced coffee, frappuccino
Why People Prefer Coffee with Jelly Drinks?
Every item, drink or food that is presented in the world today will always have its impact on people. People always look for something new. Adding whipped cream, caramel syrup and even this new entry in the market, that of which have been termed coffee jelly, will always arouse the curiosity of people in any region.
Coffee jelly is something that is not different from the usual jelly bits that people would consume. The only difference is that of its color and appealing coffee flavor. There is no nutritional additives that would make coffee different from the usual beverage that a person would consume. It is more of a person finding some new ways of enhancing their drink wherever they may be.
One can say that such would be more of a psychological attribute towards drink or food consumption. But with regards to new food and beverage preferences, people will always find something different to make such things addictive to the average consumer.
Technorati Tags: coffee, coffee jelly, starbucks, coffe drink, dessert
Wake-Up Call and Coffee
All people have to sleep some time and all people have to stay awake as well. This is what the caffeine in coffee brews offer, especially the black brewed coffee known to give that extra kick to wake up the drowsy eyed person.
Offices store coffee for a reason. It is not primarily because your boss would want a cup every time he walks into his office. It is a necessity for people who need to work hard on routine work and at times during extended hours to get the job done. Deadlines are the easiest underlying culprits to which people need to resort to drinking coffee to keep them awake.
It has been proven over the years that coffee wakes up minds. But the consumption level should also be monitored since excess intake may lead to nervous misalignments and may be bad for the overall health of a person especially if he abuses his health and lacks the necessary sleep to recharge his normal stored energy.
Technorati Tags: coffee, caffeine, black coffee
Preserving the Quality of Coffee Beans
The quality of coffee beans depends on how people would store them and be sensitive to the various forces that would allow it to lose its fine quality after harvesting. A good thing to note is that exposing these beans to open air contributes to losing its actual quality. This is why it has been a practice to keep coffee in tightly sealed containers so that people can consume them at any time they would wish.
Storing them as well in cold temperatures, help retain its level of freshness. Freezing them is a good practice especially for coffee beans that are not immediately consumed and are meant for storing. This allows people to consume them at any time they wish wherever they are.
It should also be good to note not to place them beside aromatic food such as garlic and onions. Coffee beans absorb odors and once placed beside high aromatic elements, chances are that the coffee beans would solicit their smell.
Technorati Tags: coffee, storage, aroma, quality
Espresso or Cappuccino: What Comes First into Mind?
Finding yourself in a coffee shop where you are not familiar with the offered menu would have its instances where people may want to order that comes into mind. In such cases, an Espresso or a Cappuccino would immediately come into mind, depending on what is available.
Of course, the normal coffee beverage would also come into mind, but for people who want to discover new preparations or house specialties of a coffee shop, it would be best to test out what difference they have to offer in such cases.
Espresso and Cappuccino vary in preparation but they are normally the same hot beverages that people would prefer. Sweetness and creaminess, it would all depend on how the outlet would present them, but in the end, they are still the same hot drink that everyone knows today anywhere they may find themselves at. It all boils down to the secret ingredients that would indeed make a difference in making them signature coffee recipes today.
Technorati Tags: espresso, cappuccino, coffee, brewed coffee, caffeine
Coffee Vending Machines: Mixing Technology and Coffee Cups
For employees or people always outside and on the go, the urge to drink coffee without having to wait will be something to think about. Time to prepare, the proper mixture and speed at which they can be gotten are the immediate things that come into a person’s mind.
Coffee vending machines have tried to answer this call. With the proper tweaking and right amount of supplies to stir, these machines are available in most offices or public places for people to be able to get coffee instantly. The exchange is done through bills and quarters, an innovation that arouses the curiosity of people who become flabbergasted and amazed at such machines anywhere.
But of course, with innovation comes some sacrifice in terms of quality preparation. It should be remembered that quality coffee is prepared with time constraints and rushing it would diminish the quality of the preferred beverage. In the same way, vending machines can prepare the said concoction but do not expect the quality to meet the usual standards that quality coffee brews often carry with it.
Technorati Tags: vending machines, instant coffee, quality brew
Craving for Ice Blended Coffee Frappuccinos
Blame it on Starbucks, but the craze that blended iced coffee with whipped cream and chocolate drizzles on top has signaled the obvious efforts by other coffee companies to indulge in such same coffee drink preparation that has been aimed for all ages. While coffee was never known to be suitable for children, the option of having them decaffeinated allows them to enjoy the coffee drink as well with some twists in flavor and presentation.
While some would consider such drinks as fattening, it would depend on the product knowledge on what components of the usual blended coffee or familiarly known as “frappuccino”, made famous by Starbucks, has been a drink demanded by millions since its inception.
To date, it is an automatic identifying mark for people to relate such frappuccinos with Starbucks. They are usually available in coffee, mocha, caramel and Rhumba. The best way to see which the best is is to try them all out. But a word of caution, once a person enjoys his first order; don’t expect it to be the last!
Technorati Tags: starbucks, coffee, frappuccino, blends
How People Brew Their Coffee
There are various ways to which coffee drinkers all over the world prepare their favorite hot coffee drink. Some would use the traditional autodrip where the proper coffee machine maker will spell the difference between a good coffee brew and plain coffee as acceptable.
There is also the known use of percolating where continuous brewing of ground coffee beans are placed in boiling water which becomes the boiling coffee brew those coffee lovers would usually order in food establishments and coffee shops.
The Turkish or Greek manner of preparation entails boiling the finely grounded coffee beans that are brewed. In this type of preparation, sugar can be added once boiled or not, depending on the preference of the one making the actual brew.
Finally there is also the concentrated way of brewing where coffee preparation calls for large amounts of coffee brewed into small amounts of water brewed to make concentrated coffee. People who would want to drink a cup simply have to add some hot water to enjoy their coffee drink which can be hot or cold.
Technorati Tags: coffee, caffeine, coffee preparation, coffee beans
Choosing Between Espresso and Infused Coffee Brewing
For the coffee veterans, the manner of preparation of their brewed coffee means a lot. Brewed coffee is entirely different compared to the usual concoction that people consume from the manufactured coffee powder anyone can buy in the nearby stores and supermarkets. Espresso and infusion of quality roasted coffee beans offers a more delightful experience for the top tasting coffee that every coffee addict is looking for.
The beauty of espresso is that aside from it regular preparation, it can be combined with other drink such as latte and cappuccino. Espresso preparation pressures the heated water through the coffee grounds and producing the said espresso brewed coffee drink.
Infusion is where the coffee grounds are saturated with fine water to produce the soluble flavors that brewed coffee preparation has today. Infusion caters more to the standard manner of preparation where coffee maker machines are used to produce the quality coffee drink in most homes and some establishments as demanded by the avid coffee drinker today.
Technorati Tags: espresso, infusion, coffee, coffee preparation
