HISTORY of this HOT DRINK

Botanical evidence indicates that coffee Arabica originated on the plateaus of Central Ethiopia, several thousand feet above sea level.

In National Geographic, the story was related this way -

AFRICAN ORIGINS (Circa A.D. 800)

Goats will eat anything. Just ask Kaldi the legendary Ethiopian goatherd. Kaldi, the story goes, noticed his herd dancing from one coffee shrub to another, grazing on the cherry-red berries containing the beans. He copped a few himself and was soon frolicking with his flock.

Witnessing Kaldi’s goatly gambol, a monk plucked berries for his brothers. That night they were uncannily alert to divine inspiration.

Coffee later crossed the Red Sea to Arabia.

ESCAPE FROM ARABIA (Circa 1000 to 1600)

Coffee as we know it kicked off in Arabia, where roasted beans were first brewed around A.D. 1000. By the 13th century Muslims were drinking coffee religiously. The “bean broth” drove dervishes into orbit, kept worshippers awake, and splashed over into secular life. And wherever Islam went, coffee went too: North Africa, the eastern Mediterranean, and India.

Arabia made export beans infertile by parching or boiling, and it is said that no coffee seed sprouted outside Africa or Arabia until the 1600s—until Baba Budan. As tradition has it, this Indian pilgrim-cum-smuggler left Mecca with fertile seeds strapped to his belly. Baba’s beans bore fruit and initiated an agricultural expansion that would soon reach Europe's colonies.

EUROPE CATCHES THE BUZZ (1615 to 1700)

“The Turks have a drink of black color....I will bring some with me...to the Italians”. Thus a merchant of Venice introduced Europe to coffee in 1615. But the end product didn’t amount to a hill of beans to many traders—they wanted the means of production. The race was on.

The Dutch cleared the initial hurdle in 1616, spiriting a coffee plant into Europe for the first time. Then in 1696 they founded the first European-owned coffee estate, on colonial Java, now part of Indonesia.

Business boomed and the Dutch sprinted ahead to adjacent islands. Confident beyond caution, Amsterdam began bestowing coffee trees on aristocrats around Europe...

SWASHBUCKLING SCHEME (cIRCA 1714 TO 1720)

Louis XIV received his Dutch treat around 1714—a coffee tree for Paris’s Royal Botanical Garden, the Jardin des Plantes. Several years later a young naval officer, Gabriel Mathieu de Clieu, was in Paris on leave from Martinique, a French colony in the Caribbean. Imagining Martinique as a French Java, he requested clippings from his king’s tree. Permission denied.

Resolute, de Clieu led a moonlight raid of the Jardin des Plantes—over the wall, into the hothouse, out with a sprout.

Mission accomplished, de Clieu sailed for Martinique.

CROSSING THE ATLANTIC (Circa 1720 to 1770)

On the return passage to Martinique, wrote de Clieu, a “basely jealous” passenger, “being unable to get this coffee plant away from me, tore off a branch.”

Then came the pirates who nearly captured the ship; then came a storm which nearly sank it. Finally, skies grew clear. Too clear. Water grew scarce and was rationed. De Clieu gave half of his allotment to his stricken seedling.

Under armed guard, the sprout grew strong in Martinique, yielding an extended family of approximately 18 million trees in 50 years or so. Its progeny would supply Latin America, where a dangerous liaison would help bring coffee to the masses...

COFFEE BLOOMS IN BRAZIL (Circa 1727 to 1800)

1727: Brazil's government wants a cut of the coffee market; but first, they need an agent to smuggle seeds from a coffee country. Enter Lt. Col. Francisco de Melo Palheta, the James Bond of Beans.

Colonel Palheta is dispatched to French Guiana, ostensibly to mediate a border dispute. Eschewing the fortresslike coffee farms, suave Palheta chooses a path of less resistance—the governor’s wife. The plan pays off. At a state farewell dinner she presents him a sly token of affection: a bouquet spiked with seedlings.

From these scant shoots sprout the world’s greatest coffee empire. By 1800 Brazil’s monster harvests would turn coffee from an elite indulgence to an everyday elixir, a drink for the people.

EVOLUTION OF COFFEE

Initially, coffee was brewed from green, unroasted beans to yield a tea-like beverage. In the late 13th century, Arabians roasted and ground coffee before brewing it.

In the 15th and 16th centuries, extensive planting of trees occurred in Yemen region of Arabia. From Yemen, coffee beans spread throughout Arabian Peninsula and via Othman Empire to Turkey. At that time, coffee was used for its medicinal properties and as a ritual drink.

The world's first coffee shop opened in Constantinople in 1475.

Coffeehouses appeared when it was introduced into Europe in the early 1600s.

The Arabs used so much coffee that the Christian Church denounced coffee as "the hellish black brew."

However, Pope Clement VIII found it great tasting that he baptized it and made it a Christian beverage.

In 1675, Franz Georg Kolschitzky, a Viennese who had lived in Turkey, opened Central Europe's first coffeehouse. He also started the habit of filtering out the grounds, sweetening it and adding milk.

With the increasing popularity of coffee in Europe, the Dutch cultivated it in their colonies during the 17th century.

Until the 1870s, most coffee was roasted at home in a frying pan over charcoal fire.

Espresso is a process of extracting flavor from coffee beans. In 1901, Luigi Bezzera filed a patent for a machine that contained a boiler and four groups - each group could take varying sized filters that contained the coffee grounds. Boiling water and steam were forced into the cup. Desiderio Pavoni purchased his patent and began manufacturing machines based on patent. The first espresso machine or "La Pavoni" was installed in the US in 1927 at Regio's New York.


In 1938, M. Cremonesi developed a piston pump that forced hot, not boiling water through the coffee. The piston pump removed the burnt taste of coffee which was the case with the Pavoni machine. The resulting coffee had a layer of foam or crema.

TRIVIA: Coffee was usually brewed by Arabian men and then drunk by Arabian women to alleviate menstrual discomfort.

Listen to podcast on coffee history - click on Cup, Look and Listen

Coffee Drinking Habits Around the World - Middle East to Europe, America and Asia

BUCKLE UP in the BEAN BELT

Growing regions girdle the globe

Most of the world’s coffee is grown on plantations in Africa and Arabia, Latin America and on Pacific islands. Over 53 countries grow coffee worldwide, all of them lie along the Equator, forming a belt between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.

Growing regions typically offer moderate sunshine and rain, steady temperatures around 70ºF (20ºC), and rich, porous soil.

Because each of these regions has different soils, climates and cultivation methods, the coffees they produce vary greatly by taste.

Fine coffee like grape, take on the characteristics of the soil, water and climate, where they are farmed. So African coffees differ from Indonesian coffee.

Top Ten Coffee Producing Countries

Brazil (22.5 million bags)
After arriving from French Guiana in the early 18th century, coffee quickly spread and thrived in Brazil. Today Brazil is responsible for about a third of all coffee production, making it by far the heavyweight champion of the coffee-producing world. Though many connoisseurs believe that Brazil’s emphasis on quantity takes a toll on quality, many also praise the country’s finer varieties. Brazil is the only high-volume producer subject to frost. The devastating 1975 frost, in particular, was a boon to other coffee-growing countries. Two 1994 frosts raised prices worldwide. Notable Beans: Bahia, Bourbon Santos.

Link to Brazil Specialty Coffee Association and Associação Brasileira da Industria de Café

Colombia (10.5 million bags)
Colombia is the only South American country with both Atlantic and Pacific ports—an invaluable aid to shipping. The crop’s economic importance is such that all cars entering Colombia are sprayed for harmful bacteria. All the equipments introduced into the country are submitted to an antibacterial treatment to avoid any damage to the cultivations. Colombia’s coffee grows in the moist, temperate foothills of the Andes, where the combination of high altitude and moist climate makes for an especially mild cup. So many varieties of coffee are growing in the plantations that the government decided to gather all of them under the name M.A.M. that comes from the cultivation centres of Medellin, Armenia, Manizales. Medellin quality is the best for body and acidity. Very important is the Vintage Colombian, which is stored for 8 years before the roasting. Notable Beans: Medellin, Supremo, Bogotá

Link to National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia


Indonesia (6.7 million bags)
The Dutch unwittingly gave coffee a nickname in the late 17th century when they began the first successful European coffee plantation on their island colony of Java (now part of Indonesia). Top-grade arabicas are still produced on Java as well as on Sumatra, Sulawesi, and Flores, but the Indonesian archipelago is most notable as the world’s largest producer of robusta beans. Notable Beans: Java, Sumatra, Sulawesi (Celebes).


Link to Specialty Coffee Association of Indonesia



Two of the best and known coffees in the world come from Sumatra: Mandheling and Ankola. Both of them are dry processed. The importance of the coffees coming from Sumatra is that the crop is completely manual. The taste is so strong and persistent that it is better to mix it with milk. Where is Sumatra? Find here



In the United States, the term "Java" is slang for coffee. The Dutch exporters brought the Arabica plant to Java, which was the leader of coffee production in the world until 1870, when the parasites destroyed the entire industry. The lands were cultivated again, using plants resistant to diseases but of a lower quality. Cultivated qualities: Robusta and Liberica, excellent for mixtures. Where is Java? Find here




The Toraja region is the source of most of the high quality Sulawesi coffee. One may find coffee from the Toraja region marketed as Kalossi since this is the old colonial Dutch name for the region. The complex and earthy flavors are in high demand in Japan and the United States, causing it to be more expensive than coffees from the neighboring islands. Where is Sulawesi? Click here to locate it.




Vietnam (5.8 million bags)
French missionaries first brought coffee to Vietnam in the mid-1860s, but production remained negligible as late as 1980. In the 1990s, however, Vietnamese coffee production has been ratcheted up at a furious pace. Daklak is Vietnam’s main coffee-growing region. Notable Beans: Vietnam specializes in robusta production.


Link to Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association




Mexico (5 million bags)
Coffee came to Mexico from Antilles at the end of the 18th century, but was not exported in great quantities until the 1870s. Today, approximately 100,000 small farms generate most Mexican coffee, and most of the beans come from the south. Mexico is the largest source of U.S. coffee imports. Notable Beans: Altura, Liquidambar MS, Pluma Coixtepec. Read more about Mexican Coffee here

Link to ASOCIACIÓN NACIONAL DE LA INDUSTRIA DEL CAFÉ, A. C.



Ethiopia (3.8 million bags)
The natural home of the arabica tree and the setting for most of coffee’s origin legends, Ethiopia is Africa’s top arabica exporter and leads the continent in domestic consumption. About 12 million Ethiopians make their living from coffee, whose name is said to be a derivation of “Kaffa,” the name of an Ethiopian province. Ethiopia produces some of the most unique and fascinating coffees in the world. The three main regions where Ethiopia coffee beans originate are Harrar, Ghimbi, and Sidamo (Yirgacheffe).


Link to Coffee Growing in Ethiopia

India (3.8 million bags)
According to legend, India is the birthplace of coffee cultivation east of Arabia. The coffee has delicate and pleasant taste and is cultivated in different varieties: Robusta Monsonato, Arabica Cherry, and Arabica Monsonato. The two most important varieties are Mysore and Malabar with their full and delicate taste. Indian monsooned coffee mutes the acidity and has a heavier body often appropriate to add depth to an espresso blend. The best monsooned coffee is Monsooned Malabar.

Link to Coffee Board of India

Guatemala (3.5 million bags)
German immigrants initiated serious coffee cultivation in Guatemala in the 19th century. Today, the country’s high-grown beans, particularly those grown on the southern volcanic slopes, are among the world’s best. Notable Beans: Atitlan, Huehuetenango

Link to Guatemalan Coffee

Côte d’Ivoire (3.3 million bags)
In the mid-1990s Côte d’Ivoire was the number five coffee producer and second largest robusta producer. Why the decline? Some speculate that an emphasis on volume and a lack of investment and planning have lowered quality and per-acre productivity. Today most exports end up as mass-market coffee in Europe, especially France and Italy. Notable Bean: Côte d’Ivoire specializes in washed robusta production.

Link to Coffee and Cocoa of Cote d' Ivoire

Uganda (3 million bags)
Though Uganda grows precious little arabica, it is a key producer of robusta. That humble, hardy bean accounts for 75 percent of the country’s export revenue and provides employment for 80 percent of all rural workers. Efforts to diversify aside, Uganda is likely to remain beholden to the bean for the foreseeable future. Notable Bean: Bugisu. In Uganda, one out of four inhabitants cultivates coffee. Its Robusta has full aroma and spicy taste.

Link to Uganda Coffee Development Authority

GROWING BLACK GOLD

Coffee plants are­ evergreen tropical shrubs and small trees, which can survive for about 50 to 70 years. The first flowers appear during the third year, but production is only profitable from the fifth year onwards.

18th century botanists classified coffee as a member of the Rubiaceous family. Of the 60 coffee plant species, only 25 are grown for commercial purposes and only four of them have a prominent position in the trade of coffee beans: Coffea Arabica, Coffea Robusta, Coffea Liberica and Coffea Excelsa.

Of the two main coffee trees - arabicas beget the better beans—and about 70 percent of the harvest. The harsher beans of the hardier robusta tree account for about 30 percent.


Coffee Arabica
(from Ethiopia, known from prehistoric times). Mostly cultivated in Arabia, the most popular is the Moka variety. These are small beans with intense aromatic smell. Of copper green color, its shape is flat and long. Other varieties are the "Tipica", the "Bourbon" diffused in Brazil and the "Maragogype", appreciated for its bigger beans.

The Arabica plants grow in lands endowed with minerals, as the ones of volcanic origin, located over 600 meters high. The ideal climate must be around 20°C. The arabica tree is susceptible to disease, frost, and drought. It requires very careful cultivation with just the right climatic conditions. Because of its delicate nature, it yields only 1 to 1.5 pounds of green coffee per year.

They have a much more refined flavor and contain about 1 percent caffeine by weight. This is the coffee that specialty roasters search for.

Coffee Robusta
(from Congo, discovered in 1898). Robusta also vegetates in the lowland. It is currently much cultivated because, besides the abundance in production and the cheaper equipment cost, it shows a strong resistance to the diseases, vegetating in comfortless conditions. Some varieties are diffused in Indonesia, Uganda, India and in the west side of Africa. The harvest is done throughout the year. It bears more coffee cherries than the arabica plant.

Its round beans are smaller, but richer in caffeine compared to other species. It contains about 2 percent caffeine. Once they are roasted, they are very odorous. This plant is used for the lower grades of coffee that are sold in the market. Although generally not found in gourmet shops, robusta beans are often used in the processing of soluble (instant) coffees and popular commercial blends.

Arabusta is a cross between Coffee Arabica and Robusta.

Coffee Liberica From the forests of Liberia and Ivory Coast, this plant bear fruits and seeds whose dimensions are almost double that of the Arabica and are more resistant to parasites attacks. The plant needs high temperature and abundant water.

Coffee Excelsa Discovered in 1904, this specie resists diseases and dryness. It has a high yield and its aged beans give off an odorous and pleasant taste, similar to that of Coffea Arabica.

Coffee Beans are seeds of the fruit of the coffee plant called coffee cherries.

What we call a coffee bean is actually the seeds of a cherry-like fruit. Green to begin with, the berries ripen over several months, becoming successively yellow, then red, garnet red, and finally almost black.

The ideal time for harvesting is when the berries are red. Inside the cherry, protected by the pulp, lie two small beans separated by a groove. These must be extracted and roasted before they can be used for consumption.

Important factors in growing coffee are:
- Avoid excessive cold and heat
- 1200-1500mm of rain per annum
- A few hours of light per day
- No strong winds
- Altitude
- The higher the better

It is estimated that coffee beans contain over 800 different compounds, which contribute to their flavor, including sugars and other carbohydrates, mineral salts, organic acids, aromatic oils, and methylxanthines, a chemical class which includes caffeine.

The bean's flavor is a function of where it was grown and how it was roasted. The name of the beans usually indicate their country of origin, along with additional information, such as the region within the country where the beans were grown, the grade of beans, or the type of roast. For instance, "Sumatra Lintong" denotes a specific growing region (Lintong) in Sumatra; "Kenya AA" designates AA beans, the highest grade of beans from Kenya; and "French Roast" is a blend of beans which are roasted very dark in the "French style." Some flavored coffees consist of only one kind of bean, like Kenya AA, which has distinctive regional taste characteristics.

COFFEE PROCESSING

Take a tour with Coffee Research and How Stuff Works at how coffee beans are processed.

Coffee trees produce berries, called coffee cherries, that turn bright red when they are ripe and ready to pick. The fruit is found in clusters along the branches of the tree. The skin of a coffee cherry (the exocarp) is thick and bitter. However, the fruit beneath it (the mesocarp) is intensely sweet and has the texture of a grape. Next comes the parenchyma, a slimy, honey-like layer, which helps protect the beans. The beans themselves are covered by a parchment-like envelope called the endocarp. This protects the two, bluish-green coffee beans, which are covered by yet another membrane, called the spermoderm or silver skin.

There is usually one coffee harvest per year. The time varies according to geographic zone, but generally, north of the Equator, harvest takes place between September and March, and south of the equator between April and May. Coffee is generally harvested by hand, either by stripping all of the cherries off the branch at one time or by selective picking. The latter is more expensive and is only used for arabica beans.

Coffee pickers can pick between 100 and 200 pounds (45 and 90 kg) of coffee cherries per day. Only 20 percent of this weight is the actual bean.

There are three processes that are commonly practiced including the wet-process, the dry process and the semi-washed method.

The coffee cherries are brought to the processing plant immediately after harvesting.

Ripe, overripe, and under-ripe cherries are mixed together at this point. If they were not separated the coffee would have a dusty unpalatable flavor with few desirable attributes.

The beans are first washed with water and then passed into tanks filled with water for preliminary separation. The best coffees are dense and will sink in water, whereas the overripe cherries will float and are separated. The low-quality coffees are either slated for internal consumption or sold to instant coffee producers in the United States or Europe.

Unfortunately, green (underripe) cherries are also dense and will continue to be mixed with the perfectly ripe cherries. The green cherries can be sorted out during wet-processing, or in the case of dry-processed coffees must be sorted at a later time.

In the wet-process, the ripe cherries are pulped (removed) from the cherry by applying pressure. With the right pressure only the ripe cherries will be pulped, whereas the hard unripe cherries will be separated. The beans are then sent to fermentation tanks where they remain in water for approximately 8-20 hours.

During this time, the mucilage ferments and is washed from the bean. Wet-processed coffees are characterized by their bright and clean tastes. The body and sweetness, however, is diminished relative to dry-processed coffees.

After the mucilage is removed in the fermentation tanks, the coffee is dried on patios, in mechanical dryers, or using a combination of the two. Almost all coffee producing regions will have slight variations in drying practices. The goal is to prevent fermentation, which is a undesirable fruity spongy flavor resulting from molds in the coffee.

Instead of the wet-process, the weather in certain regions allows producers to use the dry-process (natural process). After the "floaters" are removed from the "sinkers" in the initial separation, the coffees are simply dried on large patios or in mechanical dryers. The drying time is longer and fermentation is more frequent. However, since the coffee remains in contact with the sweet mucilage longer, the coffee has a sweeter taste and heavier body. On the other hand acidity, cleanness, and flavor are often diminished. Natural processed coffees are almost always used in espresso.


The third process called semi-washed (pulped natural) is relatively new and is fairly limited. Only countries that have a distinct and long dry period can process their coffees using the semi-washed method. In this process the coffees are pulped, but the mucilage is not removed by fermenting in tanks. Instead, it is allowed to dry with the coffee. Therefore, the semi-washed method results in a coffee that shares the characteristics of both the wet- and dry-processes. The coffee has a nice acidity, sweetness, flavor, and aroma, but none of these aspects are as potent as the strictly dry- or wet-processed coffees

After the coffee is dried, it is stored for a short period of time in pergamino and the pergamino is removed prior to shipping in a process called hulling. Keeping the pergamino intact during storage helps preserve the flavor and aroma of the coffee. The coffee is then packed into 60 kg burlap bag sacks and exported.


The importer will then send the coffee to coffee roasters around the country.

BREWING EQUIPMENT

MANUAL DRIP
Also called the Melitta method, this produces consistently superior coffee. The extraction method is quick and the true flavors are brought out.

A time honored tradition, manual drip coffee makers are still preferred by many over automatic drip coffee makers, because of the greater control you maintain over the extraction. Heat water separately and pour over grounds at the pace you desire.

If you like your coffee very strong, you can add lots of grounds (or use more finely ground coffee) without worrying about the spillover that would occur with automatic drip units. Remember, the finer the grounds, the longer it will take for the water to steep through.

Use paper filters (oxygen-bleached are the best) which call for a fine grind instead of reusable gold filter, which needs a slightly coarser grind.


Directions:
1. Before brewing, pre-heat pot or cup in hot tap water.
2. Add 1 tablespoon coffee into filter for each 6 oz. cup.
3. Moisten grounds with a little water (just off the boil - see above for definition). Make sure they are evenly damp. Wait five seconds. Add rest of hot water, allowing it to fill to the top. For the best flavor, let the grounds completely coat the sides of the filter, not settle into the middle).
4. Remove filter and stir coffee.

AUTO DRIP
There are two types of auto drip machines: the cone-shape filter and the flat-bottom filter design.
The cone-shape design is similar to the manual drip method except it's controlled electronically. Both methods are easy. The cone shape filter calls for a finer grind and delivers a slightly stronger flavor and better body than flat-bottom design.

Directions:
1. Fill coffee maker with cold water.
2. Place filter into basket, add 1 tablespoon grounds for each 6 ounces.
3. Place coffee and filter into holder, close lid and turn on.

FRENCH PRESS
This uses a cylindrical glass carafe and a stainless steel mesh filter to separate coffee grounds from water. The grounds stay at the bottom while strained coffee stays above the filter. This is good for highlighting darker roasts and blends.

Expect some sediment to pass through the filter and into your cup; giving the brew a slightly fuller texture and highlights the flavors of darker roast. The brew is rich and thick and more flavorful than drip coffee since paper filters remove subtle flavors and add a taste of their own.

Directions:
1. Preheat pot and plunger with hot water.
2. Add 1 tablespoon coffee per 6 oz. cup into glass cylinder.
3. Pour in water just off the boil and stir ground.
4. Set plunger on the top of cylinder, steep for 4 minutes.
5. Press plunger down slowly.
6. Allow sediment to settle for 30 seconds before pouring.

ESPRESSO
Click here to read separate post
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Coffee Brewing Review sourced from Coffee Research.Org

Brewing coffee is as much of an art as it is a science. The history of coffee brewing equipment is rich, and methods of brewing are culturally dependent. Of the thousands of coffee machines and coffee brewing devices invented since the advent of coffee consumption, only a few have gained worldwide popularity. The coffee brewing methods discussed below are recommended since they have been found to maximize the extraction of the beneficial flavors of coffee, while minimizing the extraction of bitter coffee compounds and undesirable components.

Coffee Maker Reviews

French Press:
The best way to control the time and temperature is to use a French press coffee maker. The French press offers unparalleled flavor due to perfect extraction time and delivery of the volatile oils that are often trapped in paper filters. A French press is also the least expensive coffee brewer available. To make coffee in a French press: heat the water "just off the boil" (Note: You do not want to pour boiling water directly onto the coffee. The goal is to brew coffee at a temperature between 195-205°F), freshly grind the coffee beans using a coarse setting, remove the plunger, place the coffee grounds at the bottom of the glass, add the hot water, stir by shaking, and after 4 minutes press the plunger down to separate the grounds from the extracted coffee.

Unfortunately, French press coffee makers are not quite as convenient as a drip coffee makers due to preparation time and cleaning time. The French press also loses heat faster than some other methods, but extraction at slightly varying temperatures will promote a more dynamic and complex cup of coffee.

Vacuum Coffee Pot:
The vacuum coffee pot is a clever device invented by Robert Napier in 1840 that prepares an exceptional cup of coffee with a potent aroma. This is an appropriate alternative for those who have an aversion to the taste of the paper filters from drip brewers or for people who dislike the sediment in the bottom of the cup from the French press method.


To brew coffee in a vacuum pot, add the proper amount of filtered water to the bottom bulb, attach the filter to the upper bulb and fit the upper glass bulb tightly over the bottom glass bulb. Place the vacuum coffee pot on the stove, making sure that the bottom bulb is completely dry on the outside. Use a medium grind and add the grounds when the water begins to fill the upper chamber. Leave the pot on the stove for 3.5 minutes and then place on a hot pad. Within 30 seconds the lower pot will cool enough to form a vacuum to pull the brewing coffee into the lower chamber, thereby separating it from the grounds. Experiment with the heating and cooling cycles until the total extraction time is between 4-5 minutes. Click here for Bodum Santos Brewing Instructions.

Automatic Drip Coffee Maker:
The easiest way to brew coffee is by using an automatic drip coffee brewer. Unfortunately, few coffee machines brew at the right temperature for the correct amount of time.

To brew coffee in a drip brewer, place a thick paper filter in the brewing cone (basket) and thoroughly wet with water. This helps remove the paper taste from the filter. Then freshly grind the coffee using a medium grinder setting. As the water begins to boil, pour the coffee into the coffee filter. Now as the water pours over the coffee, shake the basket (removable in the Technivorm) to ensure an even extraction. Brew time and temperature are taken care of automatically. If your brewer has a hot plate under a glass carafe, remove the carafe after the coffee is fully brewed to prevent the coffee from burning.

BREWING BASICS

Coffee can be a hot commodity in your cafeteria. Whether your customers are looking for a jump-start at breakfast time or a pick-me-up beverage throughout the day, brewing the perfect cup is essential.

So what does it take to brew a quality cup of coffee every time?

BEANS
To enjoy a great-tasting coffee, start with the freshest, highest-quality beans.

Buying great beans is just the first step in having a good coffee. Storing, brewing and grinding are just as important.

STORAGE
Protect your coffee beans from moisture, light and most especially, air.

Keep your coffee fresher longer by only opening the pack when you’re ready to start brewing.

When buying large quantities of coffee, store beans in several small airtight containers. Or grind your coffee just before brewing to ensure fresh coffee flavor.

Coffee that will be consumed within two weeks should be stored in airtight, opaque container or in vacuum, preserving all its organoleptic characteristics. Store in cool, dark, place between 50F and 70F.

For coffee that's kept longer than two weeks, store it in your freezer. However, do not return the coffee once it has been removed since moisture condensation will hasten flavor loss. Constantly removing and returning it to the freezer will cause moisture, which can condense and freeze on the bean.

Whole bean coffee retains its flavor much longer than ground coffee since less area is exposed to air.

GRIND
Each coffeemaker is designed to brew using a specific grind. The faster the brew cycle, the finer the grind (such as the fine grind for espresso, which takes about 25 seconds) while the slower the brew cycle, the coarser the grind (such as in coffee press where grounds steep for about four minutes). For drip brewers, appropriate grind should allow the coffee to finish dripping in several minutes.

Even with the best beans, using the wrong grind will destroy its taste. If the grind is too fine, the coffee will be bitter and can clog your brewer. If the grind is too coarse, the coffee will taste weak and sour.

The following grind work best in the coffeemakers below. Approximate Time for Blade Grinders:
COARSE
coffee press
6 seconds

MEDIUM
Most Flat-bottom Drip Coffeemakers
8-10 seconds

EXTRA FINE
Cone-shaped Filters
15 seconds

Tips:
When using blade grinder, shake it gently during grinding to achieve uniform grind.

Do not reuse grounds.

There are four methods of grinding coffee for brewing:

burr-grinding, chopping, pounding, and roller grinding

BURR COFFEE GRINDERS:
A burr-based coffee grinder is a machine with two revolving ‘tearers’ that spins, rips and crushes the beans, without any risk of the beans becoming burnt. These type of coffee grinders are generally either wheel or conical in variety, with most connoisseurs preferring the quieter, aroma-preserving, and less-likely-to-clog conical grinders.

A conical burr coffee grinder can get your coffee beans down to a very fine and consistent powder without needing to go to high speed – they work at about 500rpm as opposed to the 10-20,000 rpm of a wheel grinder – which makes them ideal for the extra fine needs of Turkish Coffee. The ability of conical coffee grinders to do their job without heating the grounds is what keeps the aroma intact, and the option of a variety of grind settings make the resulting product suitable for a wide array of coffee-making equipment, such as espresso, drip, percolators, and even French press.

The wheel-based coffee grinder, or disk-type, grinds at a faster speed than conical burr grinders, which warms up the grounds, but they do bring about a far more consistent grind, which is well-suited to most home espresso machines.

BLADE COFFEE GRINDERS (or CHOPPING GRINDERS):
Most commercially available grinders simply chop the beans into smaller and smaller pieces until you’re left with a powder, and sure, this will give you the coffee grinds needed to make a decent cup of coffee, but there’s also a downside to the chopping process.

The ground coffee from a blade coffee grinder has uneven particles which tend to be warmer, which does affect the aroma. These grinders also create coffee dust, which can clog up the works of espresso machines, or make it harder for filters to do their job. While chopping grinders are suitable for drip coffee makers, and can be very handy for chopping spices and herbs, they’re not the sort of equipment that a coffee connoisseur will have sitting on the kitchen counter.

Pounding

Turkish coffee requires that the grounds be almost powdery in fineness, finer than can be achieved by most burr grinders. Pounding the beans with a mortar and pestle can pulverize the coffee finely enough.

Roller grinding

In a roller grinder, the beans are ground between pairs of corrugated rollers. A roller grinder produces a more even grind size distribution and heats the ground coffee less than other grinding methods. However, due to their size and cost, roller grinders are used exclusively by commercial and industrial scale coffee producers.

WATER
Water is 98% of every cup of coffee.

Always use freshly drawn, cold, and light water. If your tap water tastes fine, then you may use it. Otherwise, use water filter or bottled water.

Change your water filters at recommended intervals, which is usually every three to six months.

Avoid using distilled, alkaline and tap water with chlorine. Water should be free from rust.

Salty, calcareous or hard water typical of certain areas weakens the taste.

Do not accelerate the preparation time using hot water. Always start with cold water that will gradually heat up.

Remember to not use boiled water.

Read separate post on What is hard water?

PROPORTION
This is the portion where you do a balancing act. Use the proper proportion of coffee to water or it will end up tasting too weak or too strong.

Suggested ratio is one tablespoon of coffee for every six ounces of water. A coffee cup is 180 mL of water poured though 10 g of coffee.

PUTTING GROUND COFFEE ON MACHINE
Level off ground coffee in the filter before brewing.

Do not press the ground coffee inside the coffee machine. Put it delicately, eliminating the clots

When brewing both flavored and regular varieties, designate separate brew baskets and serving containers for each to reduce crossing the delicate flavors.

TEMPERATURE
The ideal water temperature for all brewing methods with the exception of espresso is 195F to 205F or what is called "water just off the boil." To achieve it, bring water to a boil and let it cool for a few seconds.

If the water is below 180°F, you're likely to have coffee that is too weak. However, if the water is too hot, you could have coffee that’s too strong or bitter.

Never boil or reheat coffee as it boils away flavor and causes bitterness. Never add fresh coffee to old coffee.

Coffee can be kept warm over a burner for only about 20 minutes before the flavor becomes unpleasant. An air pot, vacuum server or thermal carafe can keep your coffee hot up to two hours without losing its flavor.

CLEANING YOUR EQUIPMENT
Clean the coffeemaker and permanent filters regularly. Oil residues will eventually alter the taste of your coffee.

Discard the used ground coffee and rinse the brew basket with warm water.

Wipe spray heads with a clean, damp cloth to remove coffee oil.

For new coffee machines or machines that have not been used for a long time, it is better to boil a small quantity of coffee before you use it.

SERVING COFFEE
Drink the coffee hot or just made. This is the most suitable moment to enjoy its full aroma and taste.

More info on Brewing Guide here

Learn the Seven Steps to Excellent Brewed Coffee here

ESPRESSO

ESPRESSO is a brewing method and a beverage.

A BREWING METHOD
First and foremost, espresso is a rapid method of brewing that uses pressure, not gravity to brew.

A BEVERAGE
Espresso or more properly caffé espresso refers to the concentrated flavorful ‘essence” brewed from the beans.


A SHOT OF ESPRESSO CONTAINS
7g of coffee + water = 1 1/8 oz espresso (including crema)

3 PARTS OF ESPRESSO:
Bottom (solution) - The water soluble elements of coffee - it's like brewed coffee but much more concentrated

Middle (suspension) - The tiny particles of coffee and gas bubbles suspended in a cup of espresso.

Top (emulsion) - Also called crema. The crema helps hold in the flavors and aroma of coffee.


Crema ranges in color from reddish brown to tiger red. Crema is 2-3 mm thick.

Watch how espresso is prepared by Kaladi Coffee Training

BREWING A PERFECT CUP OF ESPRESSO:

WATER
Click here to see post on brewing basics for type of water to be used

GRIND
The ideal grind will result in a slow, steady flow of espresso into the cup. If it's too coarse, the espresso will gush out, thin and underextracted. Too fine and it will be bitter.


For lower pressure units, an extra fine grind with some granularity will work well. An inexpensive blade grinder can provide the appropriate texture.

High pressure, commercial-quality units require a finer, more powdery grind. This is most easily obtained from a specialized burr-type grinder.

Small variations in grind make a big difference in performance and finely ground coffee quickly becomes stale. For the best results, grind beans at home, just before brewing. If you buy ground coffee, buy only what you will use in a few days' time.

Starbucks provides a grind sample for customers to take home as a guide to the appropriate grind for machine.

DETERMINE THE CORRECT DOSE
The amount of coffee used is roughly 2/3 the amount used for a single serving of drip coffee, but with far less water (45 mL vs 180 mL for a cup of drip coffee).

The right dose nearly fills your filter insert, allowing just a small gap for the grounds to expand as they become saturated. Too small a dose can cause the espresso to gush out rather than brew slowly and evenly.

You need 7-8 g of fine ground coffee per shot of espresso.

For consistent dose, overdose and scrape.

TAMPING
Tamping refers to the amount of pressure with which ground coffee is packed into the filter. If the ground coffee is packed firmly, water flows through the grounds more slowly assuring full extraction of flavor.
Proper Tamping is done using the hand tamper. Tamps should be level and hard, applying between 30-70 pounds of pressure on a porta filter filled with ground coffee. Tamps should be a good twist to the coffee to polish the surface.

Any loose coffee can be knocked down by hitting the edges of the portafilter and again packing the coffee

RATE OF POUR
Ideally, a single shot of espresso should result in 30mL of liquid in approx. 20-25 seconds; a double shot should result in 60 mL of liquid in the same time, using twice as much ground espresso.

By experimenting with the grind, dose and tamping pressure, you can achieve the best rate and the best flavor.

LESS IS MORE
A common mistake made in brewing espresso is brewing too much espresso from the grounds. As you leave the machine on, brewing 60 or 90 mL from a single dose, the brew gets thin and bitter, resulting in a beverage that resembles strong drip coffee, not authentic caffé espresso.

THINGS THAT AFFECT PROPER EXTRACTION TIME:
1. dosing or the dosage of coffee - see description above
2. tamping - see description above

Ideally, a single shot of espresso should result in 30mL of liquid in about 25 seconds. If extraction time of your shots is 2-3 seconds too fast or too slow, correct this with your tamp.

A harder tamp will slow your extraction time while a lighter tamp will speed your extraction time up.

If extraction time is over or under by more than a few seconds, you have to adjust the grind.

If extraction time is too slow or over 30 seconds, turn the grind towards coarser. If extraction time is too fast, make the grind finer

If the water seems to filter through too quickly, even with firm tamping, you need to use a finer grind to slow the rate of water flowing through the grounds.

Conversely, if your machine is not providing a good flow (even with little to no tamping), try using a coarser grind.

STEAMING AND FOAMING MILK
For espresso, use skim or whole milk.

When you want to foam milk, you want to expand the volume of milk by about 5x


RULES TO FOAMING MILK:
1. enough milk ( too little milk and the milk will heat up and stop foaming)
2. full pressure on machine (for most machines, about one turn on the setting knob)
3. foam fast before milk heats up - after about 140 degrees, milk won't foam anymore

Always use cold milk and a clean steel pitcher so you can feel the milk's temperature. Fill it up to 2/3 full for steaming, 1/3 full for foaming.

For steaming milk, make sure espresso machine is in the "steaming" mode and ready to go. Open the steam valve for a second. This will blow out any excess moisture in steamer before you use it to keep any excess water out of your milk.

Steaming milk is used in both lattes and mochas

STEP 1
Raise pitcher to submerge steam jet, then open steam valve fully.

STEP 2
Lower pitcher slowly, keeping the tip of the jet barely under the surface.

NOTE:
To heat milk without foaming, bury the nozzle near the pitcher's bottom, and be careful not to scald the milk.

STEP 3
Shut off steam valve once the ideal temperature has been reached, then remove pitcher.

NOTE:
The temperature should be approximately 66-76°C (150-170°F) for steamed milk (the pitcher will become too hot to touch for more than a second) and a few degrees cooler for foamed milk, due to the air it has incorporated.

After every use, open the valve for a second or two to clear any milk remaining in the jet. This will prevent milk from entering the boiler, causing serious maintenance problems. Be sure to wipe the steam jet with a damp cloth.

Temperature of milk has impact on drink - its flavor, body, and sweetness


Best drinks are served 140-170 degrees
150 best for in house
160 best for to go

Two ways to ruin milk:
heating milk twice
or heating milk above 180 degrees