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The coffe plant originated from still ethiopia and the Horn
of Africa, where it grows wild, but it was in
the country known as Yemen, that the diffusion
of coffee began. It was deelopped there by the
15th century and began its great journey around
the world.
By the early 17th century, German, French, Italian,
and especially Dutch traders were vying with
each other to introduce coffee into their overseas
colonies.
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| What
is coffee? |
The word coffee comes from the Latin name
of Coffea. The genus is a member of the Rubiaceae
family.
Both arabica and
robusta trees produce a crop 3-4 years after
planting, and they are viable for 20 to 30
years. Thereafter they must be replaced. Both
species require good amounts of sun and rain,
and they both die when temperature falls below
freezing.
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* Arabica
Coffea Arabica, identified
in 1753, gives us arabica beans, the quality
coffee of the world and the only coffee to
be drunk on its own, unblended. Arabica coffes
are described either as ‘’Brazils’’,
wich come from Brazil and other milds, which
cme from eslewhere.
Arabica coffee represents around 70 percent
of the world’s production.
* Robusta
Coffea canephora, or more
accurately C.canephora var. Robusta, provides
the robusta beans, which are often used to
make arabica go further.
Robusta coffee represents around 30% percent
of the world’s production, and the proportion
of robusta is increasing, largely because
of the better yields that are possible from
robusta trees.
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| Tasting
coffee |
Different coffees exist all
around the world and are prepared in variety
of ways, offering the drinker a huge variety
of flavors and style, ranging from light to
full bodied, and from acidic to lightly acidic.
When a coffee is being appraised, the taster
has 10 criteria to consider:
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Café in Paris (beginning XIX century) |
Type : robusta, washed arabica
Taste: strictly soft, harsh
Body: lacking, too heavy
Acidity: some, too much at the top
Age: old to fresh
Defects: sour, grassy, musty
Cup: roast, watery, burned, old
Overall assessment: neutral, spicy, hard
Aroma: weak, to strong
Fullness : slight to considerable
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| Roasting
coffe |
When it is done well, roasting
coffee beans is an art. The process recreals
both flavor and aroma, and without it none of
the flavor of coffee is apparent in the cup.
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roaster himself can cause untold damage. If the
beans have not been roasted either to the necessary
temperature or for long enough, the oil will not
have been brought out to the surface, and the
flavor will be bready. If the roasting is done
at too high a temperature or for too long, the
beans will taste thin and burned. |
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| Grinding
Coffee |
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Whenever
coffee is processed, its effective life, in
terms of flavor, is shortened.
After grinding, the coffee’s life is
reduced to a few days at the most. Generally,
the faster the infusion, the thiner the grind.
The basic categories of grind are "coarse",
"medium", and "fine".
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| Making
Coffee |
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Perhaps
one of the reasons that the drinking and enjoyment
of coffee has spread so widely around the world
is that it lends itself so well to so many different
ways of preparation and taste.
There is no one best method of making coffee.
The best method is the one that suits you, and
you have to consider your own convenience and
preferences and the time the different methods
take.
There are seven simple rules to observe if
you want to make a good cup of coffee every
time:
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- Use freshly roasted beans, preferably roasted
no more than a week ago.
- Store the beans in airtight container
- Grind the beans immediately before brewing
- Use fresh, cold water, drawn from a faucet
that has been allowed to run for a new seconds.
- Bring the water to boil, but do not overboil,
and do not pour boiling water on the coffee.
- Use the emthod you prefer - plunger, drip,
or whatever - and allow the coffee long enough
to brew
- Drink the freshly brewed coffee as soon as
possible
- Remember to warm your cup or mug before you
pour in the coffee.
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