There's more to drinking coffee than just walking into a shop and asking for a small, medium, or large cup of whatever the house blend is. The amount of time and effort it takes to grow and harvest coffee beans around the world deserves a little more respect from the average consumer, especially since the delicate taste you get has nothing to do with the barista at Starbucks, and more to do with faraway volcanic slopes and mountain ridges.
Yes, what really makes coffee taste great are the beans themselves, or the special regions in countries around the world where the weather gets together to create the perfect growing environment. To learn a little bit more about the world's different coffee producing regions, as well as the most popular beans, you needn't look any further than this handy guide, which will teach you how to make the best possible pot of coffee around just by learning which brands to select.
Sulawesi Toraja Kalossi One of the most popular and rare varieties of Arabica coffee around, these coffee beans grow at extremely high altitudes on the island of Sulawesi. The coffee is full-bodied, slightly more acidic than the similar Sumatra blend, and known for its fruit and dark chocolate undertones. As far as Malaysian coffee goes, this is one of the finest beans coming out of the area, and it commands high prices.
Kape Barako One of the types of coffee grown in The Philippines, not many people are familiar with Kape Barako, because of an infestation of Coffee Rust in the 1990s that almost wiped out the plants forever. A type of Liberica species, the coffee, when available, is popular with gourmets, who enjoy a blend where it's mixed with Arabica to get the best tasting coffee with a distinct aroma.
Costa Rican coffee Not as well known as Columbian coffee by any means, Costa Rica has long been a country where coffee was a hugely important cash crop. The most popular varieties of beans are West Valley, Tres Rios, and Tarrazu, which are known worldwide for their very good body and aroma, as well as a level of acidity that's rather manageable. These coffee beans are used in blends frequently.
Kopi Luwak Always wanted to try a coffee made from beans that have already been eaten and digested? Well, you might have done that inadvertently, with Kopi Luwak coffee beans. Grown in Java, the coffee is some of the most popular around, all thanks to Asian Palm Civits, which love the coffee beans, eat them, and then digest them in a remarkable process that adds more flavor for us humans later. Apologies in advance if coffee was just ruined for you forever.
Remember, while different countries all produce different types of beans, it doesn't mean that the names on this list are the only type of coffee bean grown in that particular country. Furthermore, it is possible that many of these beans have shown up in different names and varieties through United States importers.
Now that you know the history of some of the world's more popular types of coffee, including the coffee beans they're made from, you can hold your own at a number of dinner conversations, as well as make a more informed choice in the grocery store. Best of all, you'll be able to choose beans that lead to a greater cup of morning coffee, for yourself and your family.
For a sizable weekend BBQ, Damian Papworth's 8 cup coffee maker comes in real useful. On any other typical day though, one cup coffee makers are more appropriate. Click here to get your own unique version of this article with free reprint rights.
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June 07 2010 | coffee | No Comments »
With all the different drinks out there, it's tough sometimes to know the difference between a soy latte and a caffe latte. Besides, who really cares, as it couldn't be that different, right? Wrong. The differences are huge between types of coffee beverages. Here's a cheat sheet for the next time you don't know what to order, or don't quite understand how something is made.
First, though, it's important for understanding styles of coffee to recognize some key names for when you're ordering a coffee the next time you're in Italy, or at a great restaurant in your own town. You've probably said at least one of these names before, but maybe you don't know what really goes into the drink. Well, now you're going to:
Caffe Latte Also referred to as Cafe au Lait, this is probably the pinnacle, besides the cappucino, of coffee-related drinks. Definitely the most popular styles of coffee around the world are usually variations on this, with some flavors thrown in here and there (a mocha, after all, is just this plus chocolate). The foam on top? Steamed milk, which is also what's mixed into the drink along with the espresso. Basically, you're just drinking espresso with milk.
Mocha Anytime you see the word mocha on a drink, it means that there's some sort of chocolate flavor, usually from syrup, that's been added. For instance, a caffe mocha is a cup where there's a layer of chocolate at the bottom that's then topped with steamed milk, espresso, and usually chocolate shavings or sprinkles.
Caffe Creme A number of different styles of coffee just involve a couple of variations to change the end result. Here, your coffee is brewed right from the beans, resulting in a non-milk layer of foam, referred to as crema, on top of the drink itself. No dairy is involved, but the taste is surprisingly smooth, considering.
There's more to knowing about styles of coffee than just remembering some of the key names to the drinks. It's even more important to know some of the processes--i.e. what heats the beans. Here are a couple of the most popular:
The French Press This is also known as bodum, cafetiere, and the press pot. Sound confusing? It's a bunch of different names, not styles of coffee. Here, a glass container has a plunger attached, where you add near-boiling water, coffee, and then press the coffee, which is ground coarsely, down with the plunger after a few moments sitting in the boiling water. The system works to filter the coffee and leave a superior-tasting product.
The Fully Automatic Espresso Machine From semi-affordable versions given as wedding gifts to machines that literally cost the same amount as sports cars, Italy definitely perfected yet another mechanical device when the guys up in Milan invented this. For over a hundred years, these have made the best coffee you could get your hands on, and families are known for bringing over specific machines for their restaurants to do well. It basically grinds, measures, heats, and makes shots of espresso automatically. Amazing!
For the at-home folks, there's also a stovetop version of an espresso machine, which is a cross between a coffee pot and a percolator. Of course, the Americans amongst us are used to a different style of coffee entirely, with the Mr. Coffee drip system, which unfortunately is accurately known for producing slightly sub-par tasting cups of coffee, even when great beans are used.
So now that you're equipped with the names of a couple of drinks, as well as some at-home processes to getting a solid cup of coffee, there's no reason to freeze up the next time you're out at a fancy restaurant and everyone else is ordering coffee-related drinks that you don't quite understand. Once you get the basic vocabulary down, learning the styles of coffee and how to order them and make them at home is a simple undertaking. Bottoms up!
Damian Papworth just bought a sparkling 2 cup coffee maker, he reviewed it at the One Cup Coffee Makers website. Don't reprint this exact article. Instead, reprint a free unique content version of this same article.
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May 20 2010 | coffee | No Comments »