Coffee - It’s All In The Beans
Coffee as a beverage is extremely popular the world over today. In fact for many it has become a necessity and the caffeine provides them with an extra kick to get their day moving along. However for those who really love their coffee nothing tastes better than one that is freshly made and the aroma that comes with it will want a person salivating for more. Today getting a cup of freshly brewed coffee is extremely easy to achieve as there are literally hundreds of coffee shops opening up on every main high street each day.
In order for you to make a great tasting coffee for yourself you will need to have the right equipment and the right kind of ingredients. When it comes to buying either coffee beans or grounds you can either purchase them from your local supermarket or grocery store. However if you want a coffee which has more flavor and is completely unique then it may be worth investing some time to find out if there are any speciality coffee shops close to where you live. It is crucial that if you are selecting coffee beans or going for freshly ground coffee from a speciality shop you enquire as to what age the beans are. Where coffee beans are concerned anything that is more than 6 months after being picked and roasted will have lost quite a large amount of their flavor.
Of all the kinds of coffee beans a person can purchase and which they can grind themselves or have the shop grind for them are the Arabica ones. These particular beans will have been hand picked where as more commercial coffee brands will not have been. Although the commercial brands are much cheaper than gourmet types they will not provide you with the same texture and flavor that you would want from a great tasting cup of coffee. Luckily the Arabica coffee bean not only has the right kind of texture but taste as well and the aroma once the coffee has begun to brew is absolutely delicious.
The major difference between commercial and gourmet coffee is that commercial coffee is made using machines. Whereas gourmet coffee when the beans are being harvested they are picked by hand and this means that very few additional parts of the plant are able to get through to the next process stages. Twigs and leaves which are collected by the machines when the beans are harvested will often get into the other processes and this results in the coffee not tasting as good as it should.
There are many different types of gourmet coffee a person can now consider buying and are grown in various locations around the world. Some will have been grown on low lying land whilst other coffee beans will have been cultivated on a mountainside. But as you will soon learn and once you have tried a number of different coffees each of them has their own unique flavor and texture. But not only is it where the coffee is grown but how the beans are roasted and processed will determine just exactly what kind of taste and texture they have once you start making coffee with them. In many cases the roasting process is the final stage which will ultimately determine how full and rich a flavor the coffee will have.
For you to make yourself a great tasting cup of coffee as previously mentioned you need to have the right sort of equipment. Therefore it is important that you buy a good quality coffee maker and also a good quality coffee grinder, this is especially important if you intend to grind the coffee beans yourself. When looking at coffee grinders you can choose between either an electric or manual one. I personally prefer to use a manual one, okay it is hard work but at the end of the day you will find that the coffee has a much more fuller flavor. This is because more of the oil within the beans has been retained, where as an electric grinder often takes out a lot more of the oil because the beans become heated as they are ground down. As for your coffee maker there is plenty of places on the internet which can offer you advice on help on which are the best available and which meet your budget requirements.
However before you actually start to make your first cup of coffee with your new equipment it is important that you clean it out thoroughly and allow it to dry. Once your coffee maker is ready you first need to feel up the reservoir with cold (not hot or warm water) and then if you are grind down the beans. When making coffee you should allow 2 tablespoons of your coffee grinds for each cup of water in order to make a great tasting cup of coffee. If you do not add enough or too much coffee per cup of water you will find that it is either too weak in taste or is too strong or bitter.
Although you can go to Starbucks and know that you will get a great tasting cup of coffee 99 times out of 100, wouldn’t it be much better to save your money and make your own at home. Certainly although initially purchasing the equipment and beans may seem somewhat expensive over time you will soon see the benefit and how much you can save buy producing your own great tasting coffee at home.
As with any coffee connoisseur you will be very aware of everything to do with buying and making great tasting coffee. However if you are not then why take a trip to Coffee Addictz Here you will find everything you need to know about coffee including how to make it and what are the best.
Tags: Beverages, coffee, coffee beans, Coffees, Drinks, Gourmet Coffee, Ground coffee, Speciality CoffeeRelated posts
June 28 2008 | coffee | No Comments »