Coffee Etiquette In Italy
I sure am not headed to Italy any time soon (though the partner and I are planning a trip next year) but I found this blog post on The Road To The Horizon very informative and funny as well.
Did you know that Italians mostly drink their coffee at the bar standing up? If you drink your coffee at the table, then you are probably marked as a tourist (not always a good thing in my book).
How long does it take you to finish off an espresso? For me, it depends. Sometimes I finish it off really fast, sometimes I take my time. In Italy, espresso is meant to be drunk in a jiffy – 3 sips at the most.
As I was reading these interesting bits of trivia, I was thinking – would anyone really care if I didn’t follow the Italian customs when it comes to coffee? Well, I suppose that when you’re in Rome, you have to do as the Romans do. The blog post explains:
It is a habit, no, more a culture, strong: a religion, in Italy, not to drink any coffee with milk in it after breakfast. Cappuccino or Caffe Latte orders after 11 am are often laughed at or joked with.
While coffee bar tenders in the big cities will frown when you order a Caffe Latte in the afternoon, and exchange a glance of “Ah, tourists!” with the people standing at the bar, they will still serve you - all be it - reluctantly.
In restaurants, though, you might get occasions where the waiter will simply not serve you a coffee with milk in the afternoon or evening. The more remote the place, the more “mama and papa”-type the restaurant, the more chance of getting accused for “sacrilege”, turning that ‘friendly hospitable waiter’ into a rude tiran who wants nothing better than to see your backside as you walk out of the restaurant, while all you wanted was a “Cappuccino”.
Ok, ok I get it. Well, not really. I have to read this blog post over and over again – and take notes – before I even think of going to Italy.
Book Review: The Joy Of Coffee
How does one even begin to describe the joys associated with this bean, this brew? I honestly don’t know! Perhaps the best way would to be go ahead and concoct your own brew and share it with friends as you lounge around on a lazy Saturday afternoon. Or maybe, you can get this book by Corby Kummer and give it as a gift!
The Joy Of Coffee: The Essential Guide to Buying, Brewing, and Enjoying has been around for quite some time now. It has been recently updated and revised, though, to keep up with the changing landscape of the world of coffee. This book is an easy read with roundabouts 300 pages. From the growing of the beans to buying to roasting, storing, and brewing – all of these things are presented by Kummer.
I like how Kummer pays attention to the minutest details in his book as he recounts his experiences over the past several decades. I think it is his unique and authentic experience and knowledge that gives his book an edge over the countless other printed materials on coffee available in the market today. In the book, Kummer also shares tons of recipes which the average person – like you and me – can try out at home. For me, that is one of the best aspects of The Joy of Coffee.
So what are you waiting for? You can get a copy on Amazon for only about $10. Alternatively, if you want a preview before getting your own copy, you can check out Google Book Search.
Guatemalan Coffee: Nueva Alianza
For the socially conscious coffee lover, the best way to enjoy one’s coffee would be if the beans originate from fair trade practices. In today’s society wherein the less fortunate are being stepped on by the “haves,” it is sometime easy to just ignore the ills of society. Guatemalan coffee – fair trade, I should say – was brought to my attention by one of our readers who recently went on a trip there.
Brian Rogers and his wife went on a trip together and stumbled upon the little town of Nueva Alianza in Guatemala. In their travel blog, they featured this town, their history, and the good coffee that they produce. This incited me to do more research on Nueva Alianza coffee. As it turns out, there is more to this coffee than the beans themselves.
Reading up on the Comunidad Nueva Alianza (I suppose in English this is Nueva Alianza Community), I was impressed at how the families of the community were able to surmount the obstacles that had beset them for generations. They were preyed upon by a landlord and at some point, they banded together to stand up to the unfair practices. Today, the community is owned and ran by the same forty families who withstood the test of time. They are part of a cooperative which grows organic coffee and all the proceeds of their efforts are divided between the community members.
It is really impressive how they reached the point where they are right now. According to Brian Rogers, though, this kind of success is not common. There are countless other coffee farmers who have experienced the same problems and didn’t travel the same road as the Nueva Alianza members. For the Nueva Alianza community, however, their story is something that they would cherish and is something that would touch the rest of the world – through their coffee.
The Scent of Coffee
Something about the aroma that freshly brewed coffee brings entices people to check out what is brewing when they get the chance. While in most cases that smell is entirely different from the actual taste, sniffing the odor of freshly brewed coffee is something worth the try.
Even the non-coffee drinkers would agree there is a certain something in the scent of coffee. Deceiving is what best describes the proper preparation of these coffee roasts. The smell is truly something unexplainable. Tempting but not really deceiving, aroma is one of the main factors of being able to determine the quality of brewed coffee served worldwide.
Each part of the world has their own coffee manufacturing plants coming from finely refined plantations. Catering to both local and world class quality, it would all depend on how people would prefer their coffee mixture. Some would like it strong while some would want it mild. Whatever the case may be, coffee can cater to anyones desire anywhere.
Coffee for Stress Relief
The people of today have evidently found an alternative way of soothing their battered minds and satisfying their search for proper ambiance with regards to relaxing on any given day. A good combination to this is of course a simple sit down coffee experience to which most people can pair their usual work and note taking by sipping a simple brewed coffee or cappuccino that surprisingly opens up more ideas and hits the spot to refresh a hard days work.
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Coffee was never tagged as being a therapeutically means of enhancing proper methods of revitalizing the desire and energy of people to gather their thoughts. While people are expected to make do with what time they have, burn outs are only normal for people who aim high and fail to execute the various ideas running in their minds.
A simple sip of coffee in any of the known coffee serving establishments such a Starbucks or Seattles Best is sure to hit the spot at given times of the day.
Technorati Tags: coffee, relaxation, starbucks, seattle’s best, ambiance, therapy
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.
Civet Coffee
If you want to add a bit of a fear factor moment to your coffee morning with your friends, ask them to drink some civet droppings with you. It will be quite a test of courage for some of them. Really though, there is nothing to be alarmed at. You are actually serving them coffee, but it is coffee that went through a more exotic process than your regular cup of Joe goes through.
It is called civet coffee. What makes this coffee most unusual is that it literally is the dropping of the palm civet. These furry little creatures love coffee cherries, particularly the reddest ones. They do have excellent taste, don’t they? They swallow them whole. While in their stomach, the cherries are processed by the civet’s stomach acids and ezymes. After a while the beans exit the civet body. The fruit has been removed but the beans are whole.
The resulting bean is has an aroma and flavor distinctly its own. The beans are cleaned and dried before roasting, if that’s on your mind. When roasted it results in oilier beans. The oilier the better is what the experts say. The result is coffee that tastes rather like dark chocolate with a hint of hazelnut.
Civet coffee has more than one source. The best known is Indonesia where it is called Kope Luwak. This exotic coffee sells for about $600 a pound.
Fortunatley Indonesia is not the only source of this special bean. The Philippines also sells this although it is simply called civet coffee or kape alamid (alamid is the local term for civet). You may also find some in Japan.
Trivia: By the way, civets aren’t monkeys. They are more like the mongoose or racoon. Some mistakenly think they are cats. So if anyone asks you to have cup of catdropping coffee or a “crappucino” as some call it, check right away if this is the source. If it is, you’re in for an interesting drink.
Technorati Tags: coffee, exotic coffee, civet, kope luwak, alamid, Indonesia, Philippines
Starbucks Card Goes International
If you are a fan of Starbucks coffee and want to be able to enjoy their brew without spending the cash in your wallet, then you should get a Starbucks Card. No more scrounging in your pocket for change and finding yourself short while standing at the register. You will be able to get your favorite drink without cash in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Thailand.
The concept was first launched in the US in 2001. A 100 million of these cards have already been activated. Any customer who gets a card can check their balance online. They will also be able to view their most recent transactions and receive information on new products through the online service.
If you feel that cashless is the way to go, check out the Starbucks Card. At least you’ll be able to order a Frappuccino in Thailand even if you don’t speak the language and have no money in your wallet.
Technorati Tags: coffee, cash, electronic payment, card, Australia, Thailand, US, UK, Canada, Starbucks
Coffee Music
Ever think about the music that you associate with your coffee? Every moment of our life has a beat and a drink. Coffee is present on an almost daily basis of our life. So the question becomes, what is the beat of your life?
Typically, your music is like your coffee. If you like your coffee cool or chilled like a frappuccino, you probably enjoy listening to reggae or rnb (rhythm and blues). If you prefer your coffee warm and soothing, you probably listen to jazz and the ballads.
Some music, coffee blends and occasion go together. For example many people associate peppermint and hot chocolate with christmas. Our enterprising cafes know this and have peppermint coffee available for you to perk you up after a tiring day of christmas shopping. You can rest your feet, chat with your friends and listen to christmas carols performed by Bing Crosby and the like.
Rare is it that you’ll find yourself drinking coffee at a rock concert. Usually the brew served there is alcoholic in nature. You’ll probably have your coffee after the event, probably to wind down your evening. The music would also be more mellow as you cap the night.
Most offices have programmed background music that is unobtrusive yet soothing for their clients and staff. Usually in meetings, it may be turned down very low but the strains of classical music can be heard. You barely hear the tones of Bach playing while you savor the delicious coffee brewed for you by your host. The two combine to help keep you alert and your mind sharp on your deals.
Technorati Tags: coffee, music, cafe
World Barista Championships
A lot of people enjoy coffee. In fact a lot of us say that they wouldn’t make it through a day without cup of joe. Of course, not everyone is good at making coffee. It is rather like many people cook but are by no means good at it.
Luckily for us there are many coffeeshops now. We can now hop on over to our favorite cafe andask the barista to whip up our favorite brew.
Wouldn’t it be cool if your favorite barista became the world champion? They hold the World Barista Champion every year and 45 countries currently compete. The current champion is Claus Thomsen of Denmark. You never know, your favorite maker of coffee may just be the next champion.
Anyone interested to compete will have to really know how to make their espresso. They will be required to make a total of 12 drinks - 4 espressos, 4 cappuccinos and 4 cups of their signature beverage. They are judged not only on the taste of their brew, they are also rated on their presentation and latte art.
If you are a barista and interested to participate in the competition why not check if your country has its own national or regional competitions. If there aren’t any being held in your country yet, you may want to organize your own competitions and take part in the next championships. The 2007 World Barista Championship is scheduled to take place in Antwerp, Belgium from May 18 to May 20. For more information visit the WBC homepage here.
Technorati Tags: coffee, barista, competition, world barista championship, espresso, cappuccino
