Enjoy Coffee in the Morning or Evening

We wake up in the morning and there are not too many aromas that are sure to get us excited about the day ahead. The fresh smell of coffee, however, is certainly one that sends all the right signals to a weary body.

The great thing about coffee is that it's such a simple and delicious hot drink to make. Just put a teaspoon of coffee in a mug. Add the number of sugars you like. Pour some boiling water over the contents. Then just add milk to taste. Or you can add the sugar later, it's your choice.

Coffee is easier to make than tea because you don't have to worry about disposing teabags afterwards. It's quick, easy and it tastes like heaven on earth. It's so much better making coffee rather than tea because you know you'll be able to make it during commercial breaks, so you won't miss anything on TV.

Another great thing about coffee is that it can be enjoyed at many different locations and during any time of the day. There are very few drinks that can set the mood for a perfect time out but coffee is definitely one of those drinks. Enjoy it in the morning or evening, and the experience can be different both times.

Your coffee also gives you great value in the home. It can be combined with a variety of other drinks to form even more delicious beverages. Espresso is the result of a shot of liqueur added to normal coffee and it will give you a stronger tasting drink than regular coffee. Sweet liqueurs can also produce tasty results. Another popular combination is coffee and hot chocolate, which gives us mocha, a big favorite in restaurants.

Coffee can even be enjoyed cold. Iced coffee is very popular in nearly all coffee shops and is simply coffee blended with ice in a tall glass. Sometimes even ice cream can be added to produce a coffee shake. It's a great alternative to regular chocolate milkshake and still provides the kick you want from your coffee.

One of the things that can be combined with coffee for a perfect night time snack are biscuits. Coffee makes everything taste better, but when enjoyed with cake or biscuits it just makes a great combination. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are also well complimented with a cup of coffee.

But the best type of coffee has to be filter coffee or brewed coffee. This type of coffee is usually imported from places like Cuba and is a lot stronger and tastier than regular coffee bought in stores. If you have guests over, be sure you have that coffee brewing to leave them with a lasting impression.

May 10 2009 | coffee | No Comments »

Your New Home Espresso Bar – Setting Up Shop

Have you recently given in to your long standing desire to have your very own espresso machine at home? Congratulations! If you set yourself up with a few key accessories you should enjoy brewing your own delights for many years.

The first add-ons that you need to get are your espresso making tools and at the top of this list is the espresso coffee grinder. Low end grinders use a blade to grind up the coffee beans and they do a fine job for course grounds. Burr grinders are higher quality grinders and they do a much better job when you need finer grinds for espresso. The blade grinders can also burn the coffee beans if they are used for a long time to make finer grinds.

The tamper is a pretty simple tool that is used to press down on the coffee grinds prior to brewing. If you have a new espresso machine, a tamper probably came with your machine and it probably sucks too. If you upgrade your tamper make sure it fits will and that it feels and looks good to you.

A steaming and frothing pitcher rounds out your arsenal of espresso making tools. Many espresso drinks call for steamed milk or frothed milk or both. For example a Cappuccino is made with roughly equal portions of espresso, steamed milk and frothed milk. A 12 oz. pitcher is appropriate for home use but you can also get them twice as large if needed.

Espresso Cups and Espresso Cup Sets - This is one of the best places to insert some personality into your espresso bar. There are many types of espresso cups that range from simple porcelain cups to ones with name brand designer patterns. Espresso cups also come in glass and stainless steel. Once you find an espresso cup set that you enjoy for a while, you may just find yourself looking for another set because collecting them is a ton of fun. Your first set of espresso cups don't have to be expensive and you will enjoy using them. If you enjoy larger drinks like lattes and cappuccinos then you will also want to get a set of cappuccinos cups for those drinks.

You will also want to get sets of espresso spoon and latte spoons to go along with your cups. Espresso cups and spoons are geared toward drinks that are 1 to 2 ounces, while latte and cappuccino cups are usually 6 to 12 ounces in size.

Until you master a multitude of espresso drinks, you will want to have a coffee recipe book. These recipe books can contain hundreds of recipes for coffee beverages (wow!). Basic espresso drinks that you will want to master include the latte, the mocha and the cappuccino.

Flavors come next and there are LOTs to choose from. Although there are flavored powders (ex: chocolate, mocha, etc) most flavors are added as syrup. There are dozens of flavors of syrup and they range from the perennial favorite of chocolate to seasonal flavors such as pumpkin.

There are many more options for decking out your new home espresso bar but there is one more I should mention. Although not as exciting as the other accessories, you will need cleaning brushes and cleaning powder to keep your espresso machine in top condition. Follow this list and add the options that make sense to you and you will have a great deal of fun starting down the wonderful path of becoming a home brew barista.

April 18 2009 | coffee | No Comments »