Coffee’s gateway into Europe was through Turkey and specifically Constantinople-that-was, or Istanbul. There was a huge amount of trade between Italy and Constantinople and particularly to Venice.
Venetian merchants introduced coffee and made it a luxury item. It was expensive and initially difficult to get. Reportedly Pope Clement VIII blessed coffee as a beverage in the very early 1600s, a counterweight to calls to ban the heathen Muslim drink. Nevertheless, the first coffee house appeared in Italy in 1645 and coffee and Italy began a love affair that has never wavered ever since.
Surprisingly, a coffeehouse was opened in England very shortly after the first coffeehouse in Italy. The first coffeehouse in England was actually in Oxford, set up in 1650. In 1652, Pasqua Rosee, a native of Armenia, who was the servant of a merchant trading in Turkish goods, set up the first coffeeshop in London. Pasqua Rosee had a great deal of success with the coffeeshop. So much so that he also established the first French coffeeshop, twenty years later, in Paris. Amazingly enough, the Americas got a coffeeshop before France, with the first one set up in Boston in 1670.
Coffee gained a very rapid foothold with the intelligentsia in Europe. For example, the Cafe Procope, opened in Paris in 1686, was a major meeting place for the Enlightenment movement and was frequented by people like Voltaire, Rousseau and Diderot. The Cafe Procope is still open today. Similarly, in London Samuel Pepys and Daniel Defoe loved their coffee. Will’s Coffeehouse in Covent Garden in London was the meeting place of the Wits – Dryden, Pepys, Pope and others.
Vienna may have the most ‘romantic’ history with respect to coffee, however. The story is that Jerzy Franciszek Kulczycki, an Austrian officer, appropriated coffee beans left behind after the Austrians defeated the Turks at the Battle of Vienna. He is reported to be the person who started adding milk and sugar to coffee. However, there is also a claim that a Greek merchant called Johannes Diodato actually opened the first coffeehouse in Vienna.
To get some idea of the spread of coffee, there were reportedly over 500 coffeehouses in London by 1740, each with its own special niche, catering to different professions, political affiliations or attitudes.
Not much to add here! This is from Columbia and the coffee is being roasted in a big pan over a charcoal fire. We are already pretty far along in the roast when we see this video – I’d personally be pulling the beans off the heat at the beginning of the video or even before the part we see starts. But anyone can do this – all you need is steady medium-strong heat, a heavy pot and a stirring implement. I roast over a propane burner in stainless steel pot every week, stirring by hand with a wooden spoon. The coffee comes out great. Want to know where to get green beans? Drop us a note in the comments.
Drip coffee makers in the average office are machines of the devil. Even if they started out shiny, fresh, new and innocent, the evil ways of the office user – never cleaning any of the parts, refusing to wash out the carafe or turn off the heating pad so that thick nasty brown crusts form, the infinite variety of poor decision making about what coffee and how much and when, all these lead the poor machine down the road to perdition no matter the way things started out.
But there is a reason – office coffee tastes BAD. Always. So nobody cares and the vicious cycle starts up effortlessly. So how do you break out of the cycle before it starts?
Part one is using good coffee. Get good beans, get a grinder (a burr grinder is better but a cheap blade one will do) and grind the coffee fresh.
Part two is a good coffee maker. There are two ways to go here. If your office cares about its coffee, get a Technivorm Moccamaster. For a few hundred dollars you can get the single best drip coffee machine there is. Check out what some users have to say here.
But if you don’t have that kind of money, go to the local drugstore and get the cheapest drip coffee machine that can make a minimum of 8 cups of coffee at a time. Just make sure that the drip mechanism is plastic and looks a bit like a shower head with just a few holes. Now, you can dramatically improve the coffee you get from it by converting it to emulate those fancy drip machines at Peets that have hand directed heads that the barristas use to gently spray the coffee grounds. Get a drill and drill the drip mechanism (which looks a bit liek a shower head) with LOTS of little holes. That way you get a more even and thorough delivery of hot water over the grounds and a much improved brew. Drink the coffee promptly or turn the hot plate off after ten minutes.
What do you put in your coffee. All the coffee tasters in the world confidently say that coffee should be drunk black. When they line up to taste test coffee (known as ‘cupping’) they sip from a row of small glasses, each with a little black coffee.
But most people around the world add something. Milk, cream, sugar, honey, cinnamon, whiskey, brandy, etc etc.
Here at GetIn2Coffee we add milk – nothing else – just milk. But should we? Besides voting in the poll, how about throwing in some extra additives in the comments?
But it wasn’t us. Sorry. Not going to take that one for the team. But the Sacramento Bee did – sort of. I wish they had done a double-blind test against regular brewed Starbucks, but alas no.
The bottom line was that they felt it was better than most instant but not very good value. They did come up with a use that sort fo made sense – camping – but to be frank, I’d take real coffee (preground) which doesn’t weigh much – and an Aerobie Press – which also doesn’t weigh much. The total extra weight (much less than a pound) would be completely worth it.
However, there are good uses for instant coffee – cooking springs to mind. Although I would still prefer fresh, I can understand the appeal of any easy concentrated form of coffee. Roll a chocolate truffle in instant coffee mixed with powdered sugar – that would be good. Whip some into whipped cream. Note that it is the fact that it is not just powdered but concentrated that would work here.
Any suggestions? Put them in the comments – we’ll see what we can come up with….
First off, we are not going to pretend that we can tell you what the best cup for drinking coffee is. Only you can do that. But we are going to run down some of the alternatives and discuss them and maybe introduce you to a few alternatives.
The 16oz paper cup – made popular as the takeaway cup of choice by every coffee shop ever. Advantages are that it is cheap, holds 16 ounces of coffee, is relatively recyclable for a disposable container, and fits in vehicle cupholders. Disadvantages are that it is a poor vessel for coffee. It has poor insulation and a tendency to burn the holder and also lose heat rapidly. It leaks, even when the lid does stay on. The lid comes off easily, spilling coffee everywhere.
The traditional cylindrical coffee mug with a handle made popular by millions of promotional giveaways, every kitchen store in the world, and just about everyone else. Advantages are that it works well, has a stable, flat base, retains heat decently (particularly if the sides are thick), is easy to reuse and is relatively cheap for a permanent cup. Disadvantages are that it is almost useful for takeaway, is easy to spill, and for some reason, nobody in your workplace will EVER wash it.
The ‘European’ coffee cup – a ceramic cup in a wide range of sizes that is wider than it is high with curving sides and a relatively small base. Like a bowl with a handle. Advantages – very good for drinking from, very durable. Disadvantages – easy to spill, loses heat a little quicker because of high surface area.
Typical ‘travel mug’ for getting coffee to takeaway – sort of a permanent version of the ubiquitous paper cup but with some form of thermal retention from double-walled all the way to full on vaccuum flask. The usual models have some form of lid closure to prevent splashes and leaks but are not truly leak proof (a good test is to turn the cup upside down and shake it vigorously – most of them leak…). Advantages – works very well for takeaway coffee, holds heat really well. Disadvantages – can be hard to drink from and also relatively expensive.
Thermos – old fashioned way to get coffee to go. Advantages, excellent heat retention, very easy to transport, leak proof. Disadvantages – have to pour coffee into cup that is the opposite of leak proof. In other words, great for taking coffee somewhere but not good for drinking while traveling.
Glass – another European way to drink coffee is from a tall glass – this is what we do at home – we use 16 ounce beer glasses for coffee – partly so we can look at the color and patterns and so forth and partly because it is a good balance of heat retaining and stable. But it is possible the worst cup to transport coffee in – prone to spillage and highly breakable and dangerous when broken!
There are many variations on these basic coffee cups, but these are the essentials. Even an espresso cup is really a tiny version of the European bowl type cup.
I’d guess that most people if asked would say that coffee was probably not so great for their liver, maybe not terrible or anything, but not great. WRONG! Turns out, according to the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, that coffee is extremely protective of your liver. Of course, if, like me, you were initially confused about the difference between your liver and kidneys then…well, let’s just say that kidneys are the ones associated with peeing, not the liver.
Many coffee aficionados and cafe hounds will tell you that the best way to make a plain cup of coffee – rather than an espresso-based coffee drink – is to use a French Press. While I disagree and feel that there are at least three ways to make a better cup of coffee (OK – those three are a properly made cup of drip coffee by hand, the Aerobie Press and a vacuum coffee maker), I do agree that a French Press is relatively easy to use to make very good cup of coffee indeed.
So what is the right way?
First off you need a French Press itself – see picture – and you need one of the right size. Most people make French Press coffee for a minimum of two large cups. So, let’s say you are making 20 ounces – enough for two medium cups for two or three larger cups for one or two very large cups for one.
Put four to six ounces of coarsely ground coffee into the bottom of the French Press – this is important. It needs to be coarsely ground so you minimize any sludgey stuff at the end of the pot. And you want a good amount of coffee because you will extract slightly less well from the coarse grind.
Many people will tell you not to use boiling water – they are right but only just. Boil the water. Turn it off. Wait fifteen seconds. Then pour the amount of water you need into the press. The cold press will coll the water down to the right temperature.
Now let it sit untouched for about 30 seconds, then carefully and thoroughly stir everything up with a spoon. The grounds will have floated to the top and made a crust and they all need to be stirred back in to the water. Now put the press lid and ‘plunger’ on top, but do not push down yet. Wait two more minutes to finish brewing and then carefully push the plunger completely down. Voila – your coffee is ready to drink!
Most people assume, once they look into it, that Fair Trade coffee is a good thing because it guarantees a base level price to coffee growers – and a price that is typically above the base market level. Sounds great, right?
And for the most part, it is. But there is a growing questioning of the validity of the fair trade movement. Here’s a recent note from Mother Jones. That sounds bad, but the problem is that when you look into it it also doesn’t really sound true.
Here’s a more detailed summary of how the Fair Trade movement works for coffee. Sounds a bit better? Well, maybe.
So who can we trust? Actually, we can trust some of tthe smaller vendors who will make use of Fair Trade sometimes, but are far more likely to negotiate directly with the grower themselves, rather than through the normal big cartel channels. These growers take part in small and specialty auctions that can result in prices as high as even $100 per pound for the grower. Click around here, at this internet specialty coffee auction site and see who buys and what they pay!
Take a close look at your coffee seller and if all they can tell you about the grower is that ‘it is Fair Trade so they get more money’ then maybe they are only giving lip service. But if they can talk about the growers as people and about how they go visit every year to look at the crop and buy directly, then you can be more confident that the grower is getting a fair price. Plus you WILL be getting better coffee from someone who cares.
One of the great mysteries of coffee are the myriad of chemical reactions that occur inside the bean as coffee is roasted. Every coffee is different because they start with different bioflavinoids, esters and other complex organic compounds within the bean. But roasting then changes all these compounds at different levels. In fact, there is only one certainty when roasting – if you overdo it and burn the coffee all you are left with is charcoal. But even a very dark roast can still have some complex chemicals left within the bean, providing the flavor.
But there are some basic elements that change in the same way as coffee gets roasted. The most straightforward is caffeine itself. Caffeine is destroyed and broken down by high heat, so the darker the roast the less caffeine is left in the bean. Of course, starting caffeine levels differ from bean to bean, so that is just one element of the puzzle. But this explains why morning and breakfast coffees are usually light roast and evening and dinner coffees are dark roasts. The caffeine levels are adjusted to be more appropriate for the time of day.
In addition, light roasts tend to taste more earthy and more of a green and growing plant since more of the raw character of the bean remains behind. Dark roasts tend to taste of heavily roasted and cooked flavors like dark caramels or toast since part of the flavor does in fact include a burnt element.
So what goes on in the process? Coffee beans are the pit of the coffee cherry, a small red berry that growes on coffee trees and bushes. Coffee is usually hulled and dried near where it is grown so that the green coffee bean which is dry and resistant to rot and also very stable can be shipped. Then it is roasted before being delivered to consumers. In fact, roasting removes some of the stability and inert character of the green coffee bean and as a result means that roasted coffee beans can go stale and lose flavor. So roasting is best done shortly before consumption. Grinding roasted coffee accelerates this breakdown and means that ground coffee does not keep very long at all.
When a coffee bean is roasted it first dries out a bt, and then undergoes a process a bit like popcorn popping where steam from inside the bean builds up and breaks out, resulting in a very light popping sounds and also in an expansion of the bean in size. This process is called first crack and coffee is not considered roasted at all until it reaches this point. Before that happens the coffee bean changes color from a grey-green to a pale yellow to a light tan and then the depth and darkness of the brown color intensifies.
The color changes come from internal chemical changes as starches convert to sugar and begin to caramelize and burn. As the beans darken, a second cracking stage is reached, called ’second crack’ and most coffee roasts are done to finish very close to this stage. Past the second crack, coffee reaches an internal temperature of 450 degrees Fahrenheit and at that point the combustion of sugars reaches a self-sustaining point and the coffee is irretrievably burnt.
As the coffee beans vent steam and expand they also grow lighter, losing water. Chaff (a thin outer skin) also comes off the bean continually between the first and second crack stages. This chaff is flavorless and doesn’t hurt the final coffee except to add a small amount of unnecessary bulk.
The art of coffee roasting lies in matching the original profile of coffee to the very small range of temperature and roast level between 410 and 445 degrees Fahrenheit that result in light roasts, light city roasts, full city roasts, italian and french roasts and all the myriad slight variations in between. Lighter roasts have more herbal, acidic flavors, darker roasts have more oily, smoky tastes. The same basic coffee bean can taste very different at different roast levels. And while at the very dark end of roasts, coffee flavors do tend to start to converge on the kind of taste associated with dark french roasts, they can still exhibit their own characteristics.
It is estimated that there are over 1000 bioflavinoid, sugar, ester and other volatile organic compounds in roasted coffee that contribute to the overall flavor. So it is worthwhile to experiment and look for the kinds of flavor you like.
Roast Levels
Light – as first crack is underway – lowest drinkable roast level, very low in body and high in acidity. High in caffeine. Used only by high-volume commercial operations.
Light city – also known as American – end of first crack. Coffee is now clearly brown and flavors are starting to develop. Common roast level for high-volume operations. From here to the next official roast level, you get usage for breakfast roasts and blends.
City – beginning of second crack – also known as medium – roast level for medium gourmet coffees and a pretty common choice for balance of flavor and strength.
Full city – midway through the second crack – this is also known as Viennese – and is the last stage before the darker burnt flavors start to develop. From here on out timing is critical since from here to burnt can be as little as a minute.
Italian – just at the end of second crack – first of the dark roasts – popular after dinner roast level.
French – second crack is clearly over but there is a very small difference between Italian and this level. The darkest roast level that is common. Some roasters make a dark French which could also be called lightly burnt…
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