Coffee is the number one breakfast drink the world over. There are very few places that do not serve this staple and that is a very good thing to say the least. So many people depend on this drink for that bit of energy in the morning to get through the day and of course there is some big business when it comes to coffee and the coffee maker. The business that surrounds this part of the world is big and more and more people are trying to get in on it. This means that there is more than enough competition to make the best in coffee maker products that the world has seen. This is an important thing to a good many people as the coffee maker is the number one appliance in their home.
Bunn is the best-selling coffee maker currently on the market. For a good many years the company was not making products for the home, but instead only those for the many businesses that served the drink. This has all changed as the Bunn company has seen the demand for their top quality coffee maker products for the home. This has brought new levels of financial stability to the company and they are enjoying the success overall.
Senso makes a great coffee maker as well and they are second only to Bunn in terms of quality and sales. This is normal when you see the many products that they offer. Some of the finest makers are brought out by this company and there are a good many people who make the best coffee with them. They are a staple in the restaurants across the world as well.
Cuisinart is a big name in the small home appliance world and their coffee makers make that statement as well. While they have not always been in this business, they are making a mark across the world with the new lines. Many people trust this company more than many others because of the attention to detail and quality that they have always had.
Keurig is one of the newer players in the coffee maker game but that does not mean they are anything but great. They have makers that will do just about everything for you and they are of the best construction to boot.
Krups is a fine company that does offer some fine coffee makers. There have been a few problems with the company as they were plagued by some recalls when they tried to out-source some of the products and took a big hit in the process.
Check out my coffee lenses on Squidoo: Coffee Machines and Why You Should Buy one
Wednesday, 24 February 2010
Storing Your Coffee – Should you freeze your coffee?
There are many different suggested ways to store coffee in order to maintain freshness. One of the suggested methods is to put your ground coffee or coffee beans in the freezer. Is storing coffee in the freezer a good way to maintain freshness? Let’s look at the pros and cons.
Freezing has been used for centuries as a way to extend the life of many foods. A diverse selection of foods can be frozen. Bread, meat, fruits, vegetables and even butter can be successfully stored in your freezer. Freezing even maintains many of the vitamins and nutritional value of a wide variety of foods. Coffee, however, isn’t as likely a candidate for storage in the freezer.
Coffee has four main enemies against freshness: air, heat, light and moisture. At first, freezing doesn’t seem to contain many of the offending enemies. However, appearances can be deceiving.
Coffee beans have been roasted in order to enhance flavor. The beans are also porous. Unfortunately a freezer can contain many other foods which have odors. The porous beans can absorb the flavors of many other frozen foods. Flavored coffees can be pleasant, but no one wants to drink seafood or garlic flavored coffee.
Moisture can also be absorbed by the coffee beans. Moisture can cause deterioration and loss of flavor. The more often you take coffee out of the freezer and put it back in, the more moisture absorption takes place into the bean. If you absolutely need to freeze some coffee because you have a large excess you’d like to keep, only freeze it once. The more you take it in and out of the freezer, the more damage you do.
Freezing also breaks down the oils in the beans. The oils contribute to the flavor of the coffee. Breaking down the oils means taking away flavor, and let’s face it, a large part of a good cup of coffee is the flavor.
When it comes down to it, freezing is not the best way to store your coffee. Keep coffee stored in a cool, dry, airtight container away from light. Freezing coffee is possible, and is best if you only freeze it once. The resulting loss of flavor and quality from repetitive freezing makes it a method of storage to stay away from. Your best bet is to purchase only enough beans or ground coffee to supply you for 1-2 weeks. Enjoy the coffee at its freshest!
Check out my coffee lenses on Squidoo: Coffee, Coffee Houses and History
Freezing has been used for centuries as a way to extend the life of many foods. A diverse selection of foods can be frozen. Bread, meat, fruits, vegetables and even butter can be successfully stored in your freezer. Freezing even maintains many of the vitamins and nutritional value of a wide variety of foods. Coffee, however, isn’t as likely a candidate for storage in the freezer.
Coffee has four main enemies against freshness: air, heat, light and moisture. At first, freezing doesn’t seem to contain many of the offending enemies. However, appearances can be deceiving.
Coffee beans have been roasted in order to enhance flavor. The beans are also porous. Unfortunately a freezer can contain many other foods which have odors. The porous beans can absorb the flavors of many other frozen foods. Flavored coffees can be pleasant, but no one wants to drink seafood or garlic flavored coffee.
Moisture can also be absorbed by the coffee beans. Moisture can cause deterioration and loss of flavor. The more often you take coffee out of the freezer and put it back in, the more moisture absorption takes place into the bean. If you absolutely need to freeze some coffee because you have a large excess you’d like to keep, only freeze it once. The more you take it in and out of the freezer, the more damage you do.
Freezing also breaks down the oils in the beans. The oils contribute to the flavor of the coffee. Breaking down the oils means taking away flavor, and let’s face it, a large part of a good cup of coffee is the flavor.
When it comes down to it, freezing is not the best way to store your coffee. Keep coffee stored in a cool, dry, airtight container away from light. Freezing coffee is possible, and is best if you only freeze it once. The resulting loss of flavor and quality from repetitive freezing makes it a method of storage to stay away from. Your best bet is to purchase only enough beans or ground coffee to supply you for 1-2 weeks. Enjoy the coffee at its freshest!
Check out my coffee lenses on Squidoo: Coffee, Coffee Houses and History
Jamaican Blue Mountain - Coffee worth every penny
The island of Jamaican is known for many things, sandy beaches, reggae music, Bob Marley and coffee. The high regard for Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee among avid coffee drinkers has driven its price up to between $26 and $40 a pound. What is it about this particular brew that warrants such a high price tag?
True to its name, Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee is grown in the Blue Mountain region of Jamaica, generally located between Kingston to the south and Port Maria to the north. Rising to 7,500 feet, the Blue Mountains are the highest point in the Caribbean. The area is characterized by cool, wet weather and dark, rich soil with good drainage, ideal conditions for cultivating coffee. Though coffee is not native to Jamaica, it is the chief export of the island.
Not just any old cup of Joe can call itself Jamaican Blue Mountain. The Coffee Industry Board of Jamaica must certify every bag of coffee to ensure only the highest quality beans bear the prestigious trademark. The Board only recognizes beans grown in specific parishes of Jamaica: St. Andrew, St. Thomas, Portland and St. Mary.
The Coffee Industry Regulation Act established a system of three grades of Jamaican Blue Mountain based on the screen or size of the bean. The term screen refers to the literal screens of various dimensions used to sort the beans according to their size. The theory behind this practice is that beans grown in higher altitudes are larger and make better-tasting coffee than those grown in lower altitudes.
The rigorous quality standard for Jamaican Blue Mountain excludes beans that would probably be considered fine for other coffees. The screening process also helps to eliminate maragogipe (elephant beans). A mutant strain believed to have originated on Brazil, elephant beans are large, green, porous beans that seem to absorb the flavor of the soil they grown in. The jury is still out on their worth, but they are considered an insufferable defect for Jamaican Blue Mountain production.
At least 96 percent of the beans used must be of the same size and bluish-green tint. No more than two percent can stray from that standard in any way. Sour or black beans, or foreign matter of any kind, are considered unforgivable defects and do not fall under the two-percent rule. The most unbending benchmark is needed to maintain the traits that coffee drinkers have come to expect.
The geographical area that grows Jamaican Blue Mountain beans is relatively small and can only produce so much coffee. The limited quantity, the matchless quality resulting from painstaking cultivation, the alluring aroma and the renowned name of Jamaican Blue Mountain have undoubtedly contributed to its reputation as one of the most sought-after coffees in the world. As long as hard-core coffee drinkers continue to demand it, it will also be one of the most expensive.
Check out my coffee lenses on Squidoo: Branded Coffees: A Round up
True to its name, Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee is grown in the Blue Mountain region of Jamaica, generally located between Kingston to the south and Port Maria to the north. Rising to 7,500 feet, the Blue Mountains are the highest point in the Caribbean. The area is characterized by cool, wet weather and dark, rich soil with good drainage, ideal conditions for cultivating coffee. Though coffee is not native to Jamaica, it is the chief export of the island.
Not just any old cup of Joe can call itself Jamaican Blue Mountain. The Coffee Industry Board of Jamaica must certify every bag of coffee to ensure only the highest quality beans bear the prestigious trademark. The Board only recognizes beans grown in specific parishes of Jamaica: St. Andrew, St. Thomas, Portland and St. Mary.
The Coffee Industry Regulation Act established a system of three grades of Jamaican Blue Mountain based on the screen or size of the bean. The term screen refers to the literal screens of various dimensions used to sort the beans according to their size. The theory behind this practice is that beans grown in higher altitudes are larger and make better-tasting coffee than those grown in lower altitudes.
The rigorous quality standard for Jamaican Blue Mountain excludes beans that would probably be considered fine for other coffees. The screening process also helps to eliminate maragogipe (elephant beans). A mutant strain believed to have originated on Brazil, elephant beans are large, green, porous beans that seem to absorb the flavor of the soil they grown in. The jury is still out on their worth, but they are considered an insufferable defect for Jamaican Blue Mountain production.
At least 96 percent of the beans used must be of the same size and bluish-green tint. No more than two percent can stray from that standard in any way. Sour or black beans, or foreign matter of any kind, are considered unforgivable defects and do not fall under the two-percent rule. The most unbending benchmark is needed to maintain the traits that coffee drinkers have come to expect.
The geographical area that grows Jamaican Blue Mountain beans is relatively small and can only produce so much coffee. The limited quantity, the matchless quality resulting from painstaking cultivation, the alluring aroma and the renowned name of Jamaican Blue Mountain have undoubtedly contributed to its reputation as one of the most sought-after coffees in the world. As long as hard-core coffee drinkers continue to demand it, it will also be one of the most expensive.
Check out my coffee lenses on Squidoo: Branded Coffees: A Round up
Gourmet Coffee and Coffee Buying Tips
Whilst you are hunting for gourmet coffee or an associated food and drink accessory it is essential that you make use of the large number of articles that are provided on a great many of the coffee related websites or directories, in other words if you are hunting for an italian coffee pot or a german coffee jug then locating some first hand guidance from a coffee professional is bound to supply you with an advantage over other shoppers.
You should be particularly wary if the so called "coffee expert" gives a product guide but also has a buying button on his or her own website, for example if you should find a really hot review on latte coffee and there just happens to be a "purchasing" link then the chances are the expert who wrote the review is clearly selling coffee products and such under a pretence. The trick is to look at coffee reviews from specialists who are genuinely interested in this specialist sector of coffee.
The ideal coffee review site will contain a varying variety of reviews on subjects including how to locate the highest quality coffee for your requirements or best coffee product comparisons, furthermore if the writer has many articles more on subjects like bunn easy pure coffee pots or bunn espresso machines but does not provide the reader any clear means in which to get these food and drink products then without a doubt this free coffee guidance is most likely compiled by somebody who just writes and reviews the subject of coffee out of sheer interest.
The coffee manufactures might often contact reliable comparison directories the minute they launch a brand new model, say for a minute some new world coffee blend baskets have just been launched, it is certainly worth the manufacturers sending out a free coffee product for review simply because they can be certain that if the coffee reviewer gives their products the ok then sales of their product are bound to increase.
Sourcing advice on new coffee items is fairly easy however the typical food and drink buyer may need some assistance, depending on the coffee products you want enter these types of search terms into the search engines but ensure you use inverted comma's, for example "write ups on bunn coffee makers" or "gourmet coffee sampler bag kit reviews", this will ensure you locate the exact information you need and also this without wasting too much time.
Another interesting thing about coffee write ups is that if you find them in food and drink journals then most times the items will be offered for free in competitions, you have to remember that these sort of places are given a bundle of coffee focused merchandise to review, On one occasion myself once won a years supply of gourmet coffee which I subsequently auctioned so that I could buy a antique coffee table, this was possible because I was hunting for product guides on coffee table plans, product reviews are absolutely priceless.
Check out my coffee lenses on Squidoo: Know Your Coffee Beans
You should be particularly wary if the so called "coffee expert" gives a product guide but also has a buying button on his or her own website, for example if you should find a really hot review on latte coffee and there just happens to be a "purchasing" link then the chances are the expert who wrote the review is clearly selling coffee products and such under a pretence. The trick is to look at coffee reviews from specialists who are genuinely interested in this specialist sector of coffee.
The ideal coffee review site will contain a varying variety of reviews on subjects including how to locate the highest quality coffee for your requirements or best coffee product comparisons, furthermore if the writer has many articles more on subjects like bunn easy pure coffee pots or bunn espresso machines but does not provide the reader any clear means in which to get these food and drink products then without a doubt this free coffee guidance is most likely compiled by somebody who just writes and reviews the subject of coffee out of sheer interest.
The coffee manufactures might often contact reliable comparison directories the minute they launch a brand new model, say for a minute some new world coffee blend baskets have just been launched, it is certainly worth the manufacturers sending out a free coffee product for review simply because they can be certain that if the coffee reviewer gives their products the ok then sales of their product are bound to increase.
Sourcing advice on new coffee items is fairly easy however the typical food and drink buyer may need some assistance, depending on the coffee products you want enter these types of search terms into the search engines but ensure you use inverted comma's, for example "write ups on bunn coffee makers" or "gourmet coffee sampler bag kit reviews", this will ensure you locate the exact information you need and also this without wasting too much time.
Another interesting thing about coffee write ups is that if you find them in food and drink journals then most times the items will be offered for free in competitions, you have to remember that these sort of places are given a bundle of coffee focused merchandise to review, On one occasion myself once won a years supply of gourmet coffee which I subsequently auctioned so that I could buy a antique coffee table, this was possible because I was hunting for product guides on coffee table plans, product reviews are absolutely priceless.
Check out my coffee lenses on Squidoo: Know Your Coffee Beans
Coffee Roaster Machines - Java on Demand!
Most coffee lovers have a strong liking to freshly brewed coffee. They are not very fond of instant coffee and sometimes may even consider it demeaning to have coffee right out of the can. They will either grind their coffee and stir a cuppa or have one of the new fancy coffee roaster machines which promise a quick fix from the bean to the cup in a few minutes without loosing the authentic flavour of the coffee.
These coffee roaster machines have become quite popular in the recent past. They provide café style coffee and are quite economical to maintain. Some of the key things you should look out while buying a coffee roaster machine for your personal use is the whether it suits your requirements or not. The first concern will be the size of the machine. If you have a small kitchen, you will need to pick up a compact piece and if you have a good sized kitchen then you can pick up a larger machine which has a higher capacity.
Apart from capacity, you also need to see what the accessories available with the coffee machine are. Accessories can make or break the coffee drinking experience and cappuccino lovers will agree that a frother (a pipe which passes steam which creates the froth in the coffee) is as essential as an in-built bean crusher. Apart from that you need to check if there is a condiments tray and if the coffee roaster machine comes with cups or not.
All the above are relevant with one main deciding factor when buying roaster coffee machines: the budget. Since there is a wide range of pricing to consider, it is advisable that you set up a ball park figure for the coffee machine as they can range from anywhere between $200 to $1500!
Check out my coffee lenses on Squidoo: Coffee, the good, the bad and the ugly
These coffee roaster machines have become quite popular in the recent past. They provide café style coffee and are quite economical to maintain. Some of the key things you should look out while buying a coffee roaster machine for your personal use is the whether it suits your requirements or not. The first concern will be the size of the machine. If you have a small kitchen, you will need to pick up a compact piece and if you have a good sized kitchen then you can pick up a larger machine which has a higher capacity.
Apart from capacity, you also need to see what the accessories available with the coffee machine are. Accessories can make or break the coffee drinking experience and cappuccino lovers will agree that a frother (a pipe which passes steam which creates the froth in the coffee) is as essential as an in-built bean crusher. Apart from that you need to check if there is a condiments tray and if the coffee roaster machine comes with cups or not.
All the above are relevant with one main deciding factor when buying roaster coffee machines: the budget. Since there is a wide range of pricing to consider, it is advisable that you set up a ball park figure for the coffee machine as they can range from anywhere between $200 to $1500!
Check out my coffee lenses on Squidoo: Coffee, the good, the bad and the ugly
Coffee- How do you like yours?
Making coffee is one of the easiest things in the world, and yet people are forever finding more and more complicated ways to do it. We live in an advanced coffee culture, where coffee is the most popular drink on the planet, and people get used to things like cappuccinos and lattes and start wondering how to do them at home. A trap some people fall into is buying the instant versions of coffee shop drinks, which inevitably taste inferior, instead of just making the drinks themselves at home.
The most important thing to realise about coffee-making is that, no matter what you might think, there is no variety of coffee-shop coffee that is really very difficult to make, despite the fancy names. An americano is just a normal coffee: coffee, hot water and milk on the side. A cappuccino is coffee, milk, and frothed milk, usually with chocolate sprinkles on top. A latte is milky coffee in a glass, and a mocha is the same thing with chocolate. A macchiato is coffee with frothed milk on top. Each fancy word basically means coffee, milk and froth in some combination (plus, occasionally, chocolate), with everything else being pretty much a matter of presentation.
The coffee in each drink is made by an espresso machine, and a basic espresso machine is really all you need to start making coffee at home: once you can put beans in the top and get espresso out the bottom, there aren’t really any other features you need. This simple fact means that there’s not much difference between the cheapest and the most expensive coffee machines if you know what you’re doing. To make your coffee stronger, you just put in more espresso; to make the different drinks, you use different quantities of the different ingredients.
Check out my coffee lenses on Squidoo: Big Names In The Coffee Business
The most important thing to realise about coffee-making is that, no matter what you might think, there is no variety of coffee-shop coffee that is really very difficult to make, despite the fancy names. An americano is just a normal coffee: coffee, hot water and milk on the side. A cappuccino is coffee, milk, and frothed milk, usually with chocolate sprinkles on top. A latte is milky coffee in a glass, and a mocha is the same thing with chocolate. A macchiato is coffee with frothed milk on top. Each fancy word basically means coffee, milk and froth in some combination (plus, occasionally, chocolate), with everything else being pretty much a matter of presentation.
The coffee in each drink is made by an espresso machine, and a basic espresso machine is really all you need to start making coffee at home: once you can put beans in the top and get espresso out the bottom, there aren’t really any other features you need. This simple fact means that there’s not much difference between the cheapest and the most expensive coffee machines if you know what you’re doing. To make your coffee stronger, you just put in more espresso; to make the different drinks, you use different quantities of the different ingredients.
Check out my coffee lenses on Squidoo: Big Names In The Coffee Business
Coffee: Is It Getting Too Complicated?
Plain coffee is fast becoming a thing of the past. It's now quite simple to whip up a gourmet hot beverage for guest, family, or just for yourself. Nowadays there are a number of coffee clubs and circles in which coffee drinking has become somewhat of a social club. These social clubs meet in the community or on the Internet.
Where did the good old days go where you could get just a regular, good cup of coffee all across America.
It's all because there is a big craze over coffee these days. People are almost worshipping the coffee bean now. People get a thrill out of ordering and buying special coffees from specialty stores. They really like grinding their own coffee beans. They like visiting places such as Costa Rica and bringing back their special blends. And "coffee tasting" seems to be about as popular as "wine tasting".
They even have furniture and home interior designs with a coffee theme. This would make great gifts for the coffee buff.
Coffee got its beginnings around 900 A.D. where it was at first used as a stimulant. It was also at times used as a wine and a medicine. It doesn't look like anything is much different today.
There are not many products such as coffee that have continued "as is" for hundreds of years. And yet people are still scrutinizing and getting creative with it today and probably will be for years to come.
What is also interesting is that coffee is second to oil in dollar volume as a world commodity.
Did you know that there is two times more caffeine in a pound of tea than in the same amount of roasted coffee? This may be good news for those of you who hate the taste of decaffeinated coffee however wait just one moment. A pound of tea will make about 160 cups whereas a pound of coffee will usually make about 40 cups. This means that a cup of tea has about 1/4th the caffeine of a cup of coffee.
The content of caffeine in coffee decreases as it is grown at higher altitudes. If you want less caffeine in your coffee, grow it higher. Gourmet coffees are typically grown at higher altitudes so they have less caffeine than their grocery store counterparts.
There are many different types of coffee beans and way too many to describe in this article. Here are just a few of them:
You have Latte, Espresso, Low-Fat, Organic, Cal, Decaf, Half-Decaf, Black Forest, Cappuccino, Cafe au Lait, Alpine which has brown sugar, Arabian (lightly spiced and without filter), Cafe con Miel (Spanish for coffee with honey), and Cafe de Olla (a sweet coffee made with chocolate).
And you really should attend a coffee tasting at least once. You will get to experience how making and brewing gourmet coffee is slowly becoming a form of art. What is fun about the coffee tasting is that you could get a chance to taste two dozen or more different blends. You may even leave to start your journey as a coffee connoisseur. Any way you look at it, the tasting experience will be fun if you like coffee.
Check out my coffee lenses on Squidoo: Origins of your morning cuppa
Where did the good old days go where you could get just a regular, good cup of coffee all across America.
It's all because there is a big craze over coffee these days. People are almost worshipping the coffee bean now. People get a thrill out of ordering and buying special coffees from specialty stores. They really like grinding their own coffee beans. They like visiting places such as Costa Rica and bringing back their special blends. And "coffee tasting" seems to be about as popular as "wine tasting".
They even have furniture and home interior designs with a coffee theme. This would make great gifts for the coffee buff.
Coffee got its beginnings around 900 A.D. where it was at first used as a stimulant. It was also at times used as a wine and a medicine. It doesn't look like anything is much different today.
There are not many products such as coffee that have continued "as is" for hundreds of years. And yet people are still scrutinizing and getting creative with it today and probably will be for years to come.
What is also interesting is that coffee is second to oil in dollar volume as a world commodity.
Did you know that there is two times more caffeine in a pound of tea than in the same amount of roasted coffee? This may be good news for those of you who hate the taste of decaffeinated coffee however wait just one moment. A pound of tea will make about 160 cups whereas a pound of coffee will usually make about 40 cups. This means that a cup of tea has about 1/4th the caffeine of a cup of coffee.
The content of caffeine in coffee decreases as it is grown at higher altitudes. If you want less caffeine in your coffee, grow it higher. Gourmet coffees are typically grown at higher altitudes so they have less caffeine than their grocery store counterparts.
There are many different types of coffee beans and way too many to describe in this article. Here are just a few of them:
You have Latte, Espresso, Low-Fat, Organic, Cal, Decaf, Half-Decaf, Black Forest, Cappuccino, Cafe au Lait, Alpine which has brown sugar, Arabian (lightly spiced and without filter), Cafe con Miel (Spanish for coffee with honey), and Cafe de Olla (a sweet coffee made with chocolate).
And you really should attend a coffee tasting at least once. You will get to experience how making and brewing gourmet coffee is slowly becoming a form of art. What is fun about the coffee tasting is that you could get a chance to taste two dozen or more different blends. You may even leave to start your journey as a coffee connoisseur. Any way you look at it, the tasting experience will be fun if you like coffee.
Check out my coffee lenses on Squidoo: Origins of your morning cuppa
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