Coffee Trivia - The Basics To The Advanced

Before continuing did you know that the Keurig B70 with flavored k-cups gives you the greatest flexibility when it comes to making hot drinks at home.

Coffee is actually a term that was once used for a wine that is made from the berries of a coffee tree. In fact, the black wine, as it is often referred to during that time, is used in religious rites by people of Mohammed. Of course, as time passed, coffee became a staple and not just wine for religious ceremonies.

Caffeine, although universally taken, is actually one of the substances prohibited by the International Olympic Committee. In fact, there are athletes that are banned from competing just because of caffeine.

They can not have more than 12 micrograms of caffeine in their urine. This is reached when you drink about five cups of coffee straight. Here we thought only steroids were being banned in the Olympic battle ground.

Do you know that the body can actually absorb as much as 300 milligrams of caffeine at one-time. This can be gotten from about 4 cups of coffee. Additional cups do not work because after this limit is reached, they do not provide any more stimulation. In fact, the body has an internal system that neutralizes caffeine every hour.

In the era of the cowboy, they make theirs by straining ground coffee in a clean sock and then dousing them in cold water. This is then heated over fire. Hmm. Coffee in socks! Yukk!

In Paris, the first coffeehouse was opened in 1689. Its name Cafe Procope was taken from the owner Francois Procope. The cafe caters to artsy people in the city.

Cappuccino is actually the result of several word derivations that are used in different ways. The most original derivation was from an order of friars, the Capuchin. Their name comes from the term used for the hood part of their habit, the cappuccino. Since the color of the cappuccino resembles the habit- coffee topped with cream or milk- it has since began to carry that name.

Countries used different ways to grade their coffee. For instance, in Costa Rica coffees are graded according to the bean. In Kenya, they use the standard A, B, C system which are already in place as grading system for most products in the market.

Different countries drink their coffee in different ways. The Moroccans for instance add peppercorns while those from the Middle East use cardamom and spices. Austrians love putting whipped creams into their coffee cup while the German and the Swiss like it with chocolate. Egyptians drink it black while the Italians put sugar no matter what. The turks even use coffee in their wedding feasts.

Turkish bridegrooms present coffee to their new wives. The custom even mentions that failing to do so can be a ground for divorce. There are coffee houses in Yugoslavia that are known as kafano. They will brew your own coffee while you wait. They use deyza, an open pot and use tiny cups called the demitasse.

For something else to try look at Tassimo cappuccino t-discs.

Coffee quality

How your coffee tastes depends on a lot of factors, fresh high-quality beans being the highest consideration. But this top factor becomes useless if other factors are not considered. Use a West Bend 56204 for good brewing.

Other factors include clean, good-tasting water, clean equipment, proper brewing temperatures observed as well as following the proper amount of brewing time. The goal is balancing the strength and final result.

To put it crudely, if you mix hot water and coarsely ground coffee in a one to one ratio and allow it to extract for thirty seconds, you will have a cup with a very strong greasy taste.

The same is true if you add a tablespoon of finely ground coffee to a quart of hot water and let it steep for ten minutes. The result is a weak and bitter coffee brew.

Measurements in quantity, timing, and temperatures need to be followed.

Water quality

Besides the quality of the beans used, the quality of water is another top consideration to be followed strictly. Brewing must use fresh cold water that is good-tasting enough to drink.

The best cups of coffee are made with filtered tap water or bottled water. Distilled water is missing minerals that contribute to the water's taste and aid in extraction.

Measurements and ratios

The standard ratio for coffee and water used is six ounces to two tablespoons of ground coffee.

For those who find that the two-tablespoon-to-6 ounce-ratio makes up a strong brew, simply reduce the quantity of coffee used until you get the strength you want. Grinding more finely and using less coffee is not correct, and will produce a weak but bitter cup of coffee.

One question: What if my coffee is too strong or too weak?

First, be sure the problem is really your coffee being too strong or too weak. People sometimes confuse bitterness and being strong.

If the coffee is unpleasantly bitter, several things make it so. One is that the grind is too fine for the length of brewing time. A lower-quality grinder may have produced a lot of dust which makes the coffee bitter.

If the coffee grind is too coarse, your coffee will be under-extracted. It is not weak or the taste is diluted. It is because many of the desirable flavor elements are still in the grounds, not extracted, and did not make it to your brew.

As a matter of course, good quality coffee will commonly have some bitter elements. But this bitterness should be in balance with the other aspects of the coffee's flavor. This quality of bitterness should not stand out among the coffee's other flavors.

Unfortunately, most people are accustomed to being served poorly prepared coffee. These brews may have sat too long on a warming element (hot pads). What comes out is a bitter brew which for many seems like the standard.

In the end, if your coffee beans are top-notch, the grind is appropriate for your brewing equipment, you use the right measurements and follow the right time techniques, then you are on the right track to making a fine brew.

Of course, coffee making, like all other enterprises takes some hits and misses. Learning from them and making the right adjustments is the best solution to making that perfect brew.

Other drinks you can brew include tea t-discs and French vanilla k-cups.