Turkish Coffee Trivia
There is a Turkish proverb that says, “A single cup of coffee is remembered for fourty years”. In the Turkish culture, coffee is always offered at the start of any visit. No true conversations begin until kahve is served. The discussions and the brew are remembered together. No wonder that Turkish coffee is unforgettable.
There is no ritual more important in any culture than marriage. It is a way to improve ones standing and situation in society after all. Every prospective bride is tested by the way she makes coffee. Some brides are known to have substituted salt for the sugar in order to avoid an unwanted marriage.
It was also considered an insult to spill the coffee, even just a little on to the saucer so a reluctant bride would sometimes find a way to spill coffee, not just on the saucer but on the guests. That usually ended the marriage talks.
The foam on Turkish coffee is very important. It is made as the brew sits on the stove without being stirred. A few people will tell you that it is okay to stir after the first two boiling, in fact some will say it is a must but never is it stirred once it is placed on the heat for the last time. In fact, it is said that the host who serves coffee with no foam loses face.
For those of us who’ve always wanted our future read with coffee, Turkish coffee is the brew you must try. It is the remains from this brew or fal that is used to read ones possible fututre or destiny. In fact it is still a favorite pastime in Turkey today, especially among the women.
Make yourself a cup of Turkish coffee or go find a place that makes good Turkish coffee. Enjoy the experience for yourself. Don’t forget to check if there’s someone around who can read fal.
Coffee Breath
The girls got together for our day out. Our agreement is that this is a girls only day; no husbands, boyfriends, life partners, kids, parents or work allowed to intrude. It is time to take care of the women and enjoy one day without responsibilities. Thankfully, our families understand.
One of the girls mentioned that she recently had a meeting with a client. She walked in the door and as he spoke, she felt a bit dizzy. No, it wasn’t his gorgeous good looks that caused the
sensation. It was his coffee breath!
Most people are unaware that they have halitosis. Everybody gets them at some point. Coffee drinkers smell coffee on their breath and think absolutely nothing of it since they love coffee.
Unfortunately, the smell of coffee on someone’s breath isn’t always pleasant. Coffee is acidic. The acid combined with the bacteria in our mouth isn’t exactly the best scent around. The odor can ensure that people will give you a wide berth. Hmmm…not the reaction you want if you are running for Hunk or Babe of the Year.
Fortunately, there are some simple solutions that do not require you to give up your favorite coffee drink.
- Develop good oral hygiene
- Brush your teeth properly and carefully twice a day
- Floss at least once a day before brushing
- Rinse your mouth with water especially after drinking or eating
- Clean your tongue well
- Drink a lot of water. Two glasses for every cup of coffee is good for cleansing.
- Add food that can help improve the scent of your breath to your diet such as apples, carrots and celery.
In a pinch, there’s always Altoids of course. People around you will appreciate it.
What Makes A Good Cafe
Most people will tell you that a good cafe must have great coffee. That is true. How can you call yourself a cafe and not serve a good cup of joe?
A good cafe will have a great variety of brews. Remember that nursery rhyme: “peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold”? That’s what a good cafe would be like. It will have coffee that is hot and coffee that is cold. Espresso, cappuccino, machiatto should be on the menu. They’ll most likely have a special house recipe that is uniquely their own and a crowd favorite.
A great cafe will also have a variety of beans and blends. You’ll have a choice of drinking the familiar Arabica or Robusta. You can also choose beans you’ve never tried: Brazilian, Columbian, maybe even the rare Jamaican Blue Mountain.
A good cafe isn’t just about the coffee though. It’s also about the ambiance. A good cafe has a relaxed feel to it. It feels homey and is a great place to sit and chat. The aroma of coffee subtly, deliciously scents the air, giving everyone a chance to unwind.
A good cafe is busy but not noisy. There is a fluid flow of customers yet people aren’t deafened by the sound of everyone coming and going. People can have a decent conversation, a heart to heart or a casual chat as they feel like it.
In this day and age, a really good cafe isn’t just a place to have a cup of coffee. It is also a great place to work as a second office. This usually means having a wifi connection since most people will need to be able to keep in touch with their offices and clients no matter where they are. Wifi zone cafe’s are truly a blessing. You can have a space to work that serves great coffee and have meetings in a relaxed atmosphere at the same time.
Have you found a good cafe in your area yet?
The 4M’s of Espresso
The making of espresso is both a science and an art. Over the years they have found that precision is required to make a great espresso. There are four factors that affect the making of a great shot. They are also called the four M’s.
The first factor is Macinazione or the proper grinding of the beans. Great baristas in fact will only grind beans for an espresso right before using them. 30 seconds after they have been ground, the beans are already too stale for a good espresso. The proper grind is between fine and powdery. The grind has to be uniform in order to insure the best taste. Instant powder will definitely make an awful espresso.
The second factor is Miscela or the coffee blend. Good beans means better tasting coffee. Perfectly logical, right?
The third factor is the Macchina or the espresso machine. Thanks to many inventors, you now have eay to use tools to help you make your espresso. But it will not magically make perfect espresso if you don’t know how to use it properly. The Rancilio Silva is considered the best by most espresso lovers but feel free to shop around til you find the machine that you are comfortable with.
The last factor is Mano or the skill of the barista – that means you. More than half the battle is knowing how to use your equipment properly. You need to know how to properly fill your filter basket. Some espresso lovers will tell you to tamp the ground coffee, others will tell you not to. Like all skills, making the perfect espresso takes practice so that your every espresso shot has that beautiful crema that is the mark of true espresso.
Espresso
Most people are familiar with coffee. If you ask them to describe it, they’ll probably describe their cup of coffee as putting a teaspoonful or sachet of coffee powder and sugar in their favorite mug and mixing it with water and milk. Others may describe their coffee as freshly brewed referring to coffee made by drip using their coffee makers. This is the most familiar way most people make their brew.
Many have heard the term espresso. They may have seen it on the boards or menus but not knowing what it was, have never tried it. Little do they realize that they may already have had some with their favorite cappuccino or other mix they bought in the coffeeshop. You are not a true coffee lover it is said unless you have tried espresso.
Espresso was first made in Italy. It is formally called Caffe Espresso. Unlike in any other part in the world, espresso is not just a beverage. In fact in Italy they make time to drink their espresso. This is one brew that is an experience, not just a drink.
Espresso is drunk in shots and is usually served in glasses. It is a rich tasting brew that has a great aroma. Hard to explain its taste but it is rather like dark chocolate though definitely not the same.
Espresso is made with hot (not boiling) water being pressured through ground coffee beans. It has a distinctive reddish-brown color and a delicious aroma. It should also have crema – the tan colored foam found on top of every good shot of espresso. If it has no crema, it is a bad shot. Have it replaced immediately.
Keep Your Cool With These Iced Coffee Tips
If you’re in my neck of the woods, you have probably had it with the heat. I love the sun and the heat when I am at the beach, but when you have to trudge to work in the temperatures we’ve been having in the past months, you’ll want to die! Worse, you can’t even really enjoy that steaming hot cup of coffee!
Of course, there’s always iced coffee, which you can also make at home. If you need to keep your cool and have your java as well, here are some tips that help you whip up the best iced coffee you can ever have.
Choose a dark roast – the darker the better. Even if you do not like this type of roast normally, it will make your iced coffee much better. That’s because the coldness will lessen the flavor, and when ice is added, the brew will get diluted anyway. Alternatively, if you prefer a lighter roast and I can’t persuade you to change that preference, make coffee ice cubes and use that in your iced coffee!
Use sugar syrup instead of regular granulated sugar. This is because the latter does not really dissolve well in cold liquids. If you must use granulated sugar, make sure that you add it to the coffee while it’s hot. An alternative is condensed milk. Vietnamese coffee lovers will swear by this sweetener.
Get some flavored syrup. You can buy flavored syrups at any grocery store, and you will have the freedom to spice up your iced (even hot, actually) coffee.
“Pumpkin Spice Up” Your Coffee
It’s Halloween! For sure, you have got your costumes ready, and you have all your candies and treats bundled up for the kids that will come knocking at your door. Perhaps you’ve even done your grocery shopping if you’re hosting a dinner or party of some sort. In any case, I think that your Halloween will NOT be complete unless you have coffee as part of the festivities. After dinner, some of your guests may want drinks with a little kick – wine and other spirits – but I am also sure that a lot would look for coffee at one point of the night or another.
Instead of serving good old brewed coffee or plain old espresso, why not spice up your Halloween party? For sure, you have seen all those Torani bottles of syrup that many coffee shops use to flavor their coffees. You can actually get one in pumpkin spice flavor! Try your local grocery store or supermarket OR you can do your shopping online (although it is quite impossible to have it delivered on time). I searched for pumpkin spice syrup online and found some options here.
Anyhow, what’s the trick to making pumpkin spiced espresso? There really is none. All that you have to do is make espresso the way you normally do with your machine. I suggest two shots for a bolder flavor. Pump one or two shots of the syrup (depending on how strong you want the flavor to be) into the coffee, stir, and then add your steamed milk. Optionally, you can add whipped cream (you might want to pass up on that if you’re on a diet) and some cinnamon or more pumpkin spice powder.
Home Brewing: American Trend
I actually feel vindicated. I have long been a proponent of brewing your own coffee at home. One of my main reasons has always been the financial aspect. You spend so much less by making your own coffee. Of course, that is not to say that I look forward to spending time in coffee shops every so often, but that’s a different story. More than the money, however, another reason I like brewing my own coffee is that I am in more control as to the taste and flavor of the brew. While some coffee shops get the taste right according to my preferences, not all of the ones I have visited are that good.
So anyhow, I read this news article on Reuters. It said that more Americans are brewing coffee at home. Here’s the juice:
Daily coffee consumption in the United States was steady this year compared to 2008, while the number of people making their coffee at home rose, the National Coffee Association of U.S.A. said on Saturday.
Data from the 2009 National Coffee Drinking Trends survey, which polled more than 3,000 adults in the United States by telephone in January and February, was released at the NCA’s annual convention in Boca Raton, Florida.
“Even if economic conditions cause some to alter their coffee choices, they are nonetheless continuing to enjoy coffee at levels very much on par with recent years,” he said in a release.
That’s what I am talking about. You do not have to pay an arm and a leg to get a good cup of coffee! All you need is some smarts – brew it your own way and enjoy it every day!
Photo from vanderwal
Is Grinding Your Own Beans Worth It?
I think that this question has been asked so many times that it has gotten quite old. However, the fact that people keep asking it over and over again means that it is not that clear to many how grinding your own coffee beans can make a difference in the quality of your coffee.
To be honest with you, I was one of those people who kept asking this question. I normally use my good old drip coffee machine. It is just really more convenient (prep time and clean up time) than using my espresso machine (which, by the way, is in storage – yeah I know, sacrilege!). When I did get a grinder (Krups) and tried grinding my own beans, however, I discovered what I had been missing out on.
It is hard to explain, really. All that I can say is that when you buy freshly roasted whole beans and then you grind a small amount to brew, the flavor is just so wonderful! Naturally, the quality of the drink would depend on the kind of beans that you get but given the same kind, freshly ground beans are the best.
Another thing about grinding your own beans and preserving the flavor of the coffee is that you can store the whole beans for a longer period of time than you could store coffee grounds. I have noticed that even if you store coffee grounds in a sealed container, the freshness deteriorates much more quickly than if you stored the whole beans.
So to answer that question – yes, grinding your own coffee beans is definitely worth the extra effort that you have to put into measuring out the beans, grinding them, and then cleaning out the grinder. It’s a small price to pay, really.
DIY Brewing
Talking to a colleague the other day, I realized that I have been taking making my own coffee for granted. I have always thought that it was a simple, brainless thing. I guess it’s because I have been brewing my own joe for the longest time. This friend of mine, however, has only recently started to get her act together in making her coffee. Her reason? Going to Starbucks on a regular basis is just too expensive. I think that this is a trend – gone are the days when a Starbucks a day was affordable.
So anyway, I thought I’d share the same things I told my friend about brewing your own pot of coffee. Here are some of the most important points.
Get it right from the outset – start with excellent beans.
The beans make up the essence of your drink. Get sucky beans and you’ll get sucky coffee. I do not like buying beans from the supermarket because there is no telling how long they have been there. Experts say that beans that are roasted 2 to 10 days before brewing are the best. I have to be practical, though. I cannot go get beans every 10 days so I have to make do with several weeks’ worth of whole beans.
Next up – get a grinder.
I know, it is a pain in the butt. Who the heck wants to measure out whole coffee beans into the grinder, press the button, and then transfer the grounds into the coffee machine – all within 5 minutes of waking up? But hey, you can really taste the difference.
Last, find out the grounds-water proportion that suits you best.
I have to be honest and say that I do not know the exact measurements that I use but it should be roundabouts 2 or 3 tablespoons of grounds for every cup.
That’s it – that’s all I do for my daily cup of joe made from the basic drip coffee machine.
