Posts filed under 'Coffee'
Italians sure do take their espresso seriously. Thank goodness too, for imagine what the coffee giants of the world may do to it otherwise? The latest news from Italy is that the National Institute for Italian Espresso has officially declared what a cappucino is. No, it’s not what you order at Starbucks. A proper cappucino contains a 25ml shot of espresso in a 150-160ml capacity ceramic cup. Add to that 125ml of milk (containing a minimum of 3.2% protein and 3.5% fat) that has been frothed and steamed to a temperature of 55C. Lastly, add sugar and stir gently, though I imagine that last step could be modified to suit personal tastes. Now, I’m not quite sure how these numbers add up, for if you froth 125ml of milk you’ll end up with quite a bit more than that volume, and thus your 150ml cup will be too small! This will require some further investigation. Anyway, Italian culture dictates that cappucinos are typically enjoyed in the morning; drink one after lunch and the Italians will know you’re a tourist! You can read more about this over at The Guardian.
January 1st, 2007
The island of Kauai draws many for its lush green landscapes (it’s where Jurassic Park, King Kong, and many other movies were partially filmed) and relatively low crowds. It drew me for its coffee. Ok, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but high on my itinerary of things to do was to visit the Kauai Coffee Company. Being a fan of roasting coffee at home, I knew I could stop by and pick up some fresh, green Kauai coffee beans as the perfect souvenir. Or so I thought. The first time we stopped by, they had none available. At their recommendation, we came back a few days later, and this time they were able to go bag some up for me (they didn’t have any on display in the retail shop). So, I got my green coffee beans! The resulting roast was enjoyable, not really all that distinctive, at least not like Kona, but a very good coffee at a good green bean price.
Even if you’re not into roasting coffee, the Kauai Coffee Company is worth a stop (see their website for directions). Surrounding the visitor’s center are acres and acres of mature coffee plants; it was impressive seeing these towering giants loaded with coffee cherries! The visitors center itself had a nicely stocked gift shop with t-shirts, postcards, etc. Oh, and plenty of roasted coffee beans, of course! My favorite feature though was the free coffee tasting set up in the back. They had maybe a dozen or so pumper pots full of freshly brewed coffee in all their different varieties. If it hadn’t been such a hot day when we were visiting, I would have stayed there all day! As it is, drinking hot coffee on a hot day isn’t something you really want to do long. 
If you’re vacation in Kauai, it’s definitely worth a stop!
December 10th, 2006
There’s a neat video showing how to make various latte art creations over at Flurl. No dialogue explaining it, but it shows enough to give you an idea of how to do this.
December 6th, 2006
Looking for a Christmas gift for a coffee lover? I recommend looking at the past Coffeeopolis stories in the Equipment category, you’ll find a lot of great ideas there!
If you’re looking to buy coffee beans for someone, be careful. If the person you’re shopping for is truly a coffee connoisseur, they’ll most likely appreciate a gift of premium coffee beans such as Kona or Jamaican Blue Mountain. However, keep in mind that buying coffee is more like buying wine than buying soda. What I mean is, there are just so many poorly roasted, stale versions of these coffees out there. If you’re not careful, you could end up paying $50 a pound for coffee beans that the recipient just can’t bear to drink. Trust me, I’ve been on the receiving end of this before! A classic example is Kona coffee. Friends and family know I love coffee, so many times now, they’ll bring me some as a gift from a vacation over there. Sometimes it’s been great. Other times, I look at the bag of very lightly roasted beans, obviously not fresh, thinking wow, they sure got ripped off, this stuff tastes like crap!
There are two things that really matter when shopping for coffee. The first is how it’s been roasted - light, dark, etc (in reality it’s more complex than that, but let’s keep it simple for now). Everyone has their own preferences there, there’s really not one ‘right’ roast. Best thing you can do is try to find out if there’s a coffee chain they frequent, and see how that chain roasts their coffee. The second thing when buying beans, is the freshness. This is key. You really want to be drinking the coffee within a few days of it being roasted; I believe an acceptable compromise can be had if the coffee has been packaged in a sealed plastic bag with a one-way air vent. Even then though, it should have been roasted fairly recently. So, how do you know when it was roasted? Simple, buy it from a shop that roasts their own beans. Don’t buy the gift-wrapped Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee sitting out on the counter in your local cafe until you can visually see the beans (I’ve seen many packages where you can’t!) and convince yourself it’s worth the risk! If you don’t know where to go to buy coffee with a known ‘roast’ date, I recommend shopping at Peet’s Coffee & Tea website. If you look at their selection of Reserve Coffees, you’ll notice something - they only ship once a week. This isn’t because it’s some small outfit that’s too busy to ship orders, it’s all about the roasting. This coffee is roasted once a week, when they ship it to you you KNOW it’s about the freshest you can possibly get, short of roasting it yourself. Yes, it’s more expensive, but you can rest easy knowing that you’re getting a quality coffee that the lucky recipient will love! If you shop in one of their stores, check the bag for a date stamp.
I’m not trying to push Peet’s here (though I do love the place!), it’s just a chain that has a great selection of these rare coffees and does a great job of ensuring you get freshly roasted coffee. If you have a local coffee shop that roasts their own coffee, by all means, frequent them instead - I’ve always preferred the mom and pop coffee shops over the chains!
December 3rd, 2006
It seems every coffee shop tries to offer some special ‘holiday’ coffee beverage. I’ve never been a big fan of flavored coffee drinks, but even I indulge in one of this from time to time. This year, you can expect to find Starbucks offering Eggnog Lattes, Peppermint Mochas, and Gingerbread Lattes (not to mention food offerings like Cranberry Bliss Bars and Gingerbread Loaf Cake). Peet’s Coffee & Tea will have Gingerbread Lattes, Eggnog Lattes, and a Peppermint Mocha. Dunkin’ Donuts is even jumping on the bandwagon, offering Gingerbread Lattes (though thankfully they try to limit their holiday selection to only one special drink per year).
So, watch for them at your local cafe, and if you’re like me and usually just get the same old drink every time…consider something new this month!
November 23rd, 2006
“It would be premature to call home roasting a trend”, the article says. How very true. It’s surprising, when I talk to people about my coffee roasting, how many view it as some complicated or expensive hobby. The truth is far from it…it’s incredibly easy, and it can actually SAVE you money - though factoring in the cost of the roaster probably makes it more of a wash. Anyway, over at SFGate is a neat article about coffee roasting, it’s a good read though quite long so go top off your cup of coffee before delving into it!
November 18th, 2006
Time Magazine has declared Solid Espresso to be one of the best inventions of 2006! Called èspesso, it’s made from espresso, sugar, and some secret ingredient, and is squirted out of a can to be enjoyed via spoon instead of sipping. The consistency is similar to mousse; this odd creation from Lavazza and should be available in the US now, though I couldn’t find information on their website about where to buy it (though according to Time, it can be found at their store in Chicago for $2.49).
November 17th, 2006
Next Posts
Previous Posts
