Beginners guide to: coffee
Beginners guide to
-coffee-
I loved coffee for so long without having a single clue about it. What's the difference between latte and americano? Differences between beans? The best method to brew at home? I wanted to know all these things quickly and in one place - so here it is. Now you can love coffee, with a single clue.
How different coffee's are made (AKA what on earth shall I order) ￫ Coffee beans AKA from seed to cup￫ Brewing coffee AKA ways to make at home ￫ Coffee machines ￫ discovered by/history behind
I think this is what everybody wants to know first. What exactly to order, or make. So lets start from the basics and go from there.
Espresso - Beans are usually finely grounded and roasted for longer. Brewed in high pressure, black, thin strong coffee.
Ristretto - Short shot of espresso and made with the same amount of ground coffee but may have less caffeine due to how it's prepared.
Americano - Espresso diluted in hot water. Strength varies on amount of espresso shots and water.
Long black - Espresso poured on top of hot water. This method holds onto the crema* and less voluminous giving it a stronger taste.
(*crema - a beige coloured light foam that forms on the top of freshly made coffee.)
Macchiato - Espresso topped with milk foam. (2 parts espresso, 1 part milk)
Flat white- Espresso with steamed milk. (1 part espresso, 4 parts milk)
Iced coffee- Any coffee chilled with ice cubes.
Frappe- Coffee mixed with milk and crushed ice. Whipped cream and syrups optional.
Cappuccino- Espresso with steamed milk and foam, usually served with chocolate powder on top.
Latte - Similar to cappuccino but with a milder coffee to milk ratio and less foam.
Mocha - Espresso with chocolate syrup, steamed milk top off with whipped cream.
Cafe breve - Essentially the same as a cappuccino but with steamed half and half instead of milk.
Coffee beans
Most commercial coffee are made from either Arabica or Robusta beans.
Robusta beans are usually used in blends and instant coffee and are easier and cheaper to produce whereas Arabica beans cost more to produce, are fine, aromatic, have less caffeine (about 50-60%) and take up most of the worlds coffee population.
Arabica beans are grown at high altitudes in an area with steady rainfall and plenty of shade. The trees they grow on are small and delicate but easy to care for.
The rarest type of coffee bean to come by is the Liberica bean. They are larger than the average coffee bean and irregular in shape.
Where do they come from?
Arabica beans are primarily grown in brazil but can also be found in countries Colombia and Mexico.
Robusta also grows grows in brazil but is more common in Vietnam. Robusta is also grown in India, Uganda and Indonesia.
From seed to cup
planting ￫harvesting ￫processing ￫ tasting ￫ roasting ￫ grinding ￫brewing.
Machine picking - A very effective way of harvesting but a flat ground is needed, commonly used in brazil . While effective and efficient machine picking is also an expensive method but overall labour costs is lower as only one person is needed to use the machine.
Hand picking - This is the most time consuming method as the harvester hand picks each ripe cherry leaving out the unripe ones to mature. It can take up to 10 harvesters to a tree making this method expensive and time consuming but is worth it as the crop is generally much better.
This method is mainly used by speciality coffee manufactures.
Processing - After the cherries have been picked they need to be processed, this is so they do not get spoiled. This also includes the removal of skin from the cherries. They can be processed though a dry or wet method.
DRY- The oldest, most natural way and low cost. Beans are left in the sun to dry.
WET- Water is used to wash the skin off the cherries. Cherries are placed in large vats of water where the imperfect cherries will float to the top.
There are also other machine options for both wet and dry methods.
Tasting - Now a quality check needs to be carried out. A cupper - who is an experienced coffee aficionado (someone who is passionate about coffee) will take a look at the beans for quality and will also roast some of the beans to test the taste.
Roasting / grinding/ brewing - Roasting is done in a machine maintaining a high and constant temperature of 400 degrees F. Once the roasting is done instant cooling is done using water or air and is used to lock in flavours and taste.
Depending on how you like your coffee beans can be grinded to a fine or medium coarse.
Brewing is the last step. This is how you make your coffee at home and how they are made in coffee shops. There are a variety of ways to brew your coffee at home and we'll go over some of them!
Brewing coffee at home.
There are many ways to make coffee at home and the best one for you may depend on convenience, taste, texture or even just the act of preparing coffee! Its an art I tell you. I'm going to touch on 3 that I think are the easiest and most affordable methods that also produce a great cup.
Drip method /pour over- The oldest way to brew coffee. Hot water is poured evenly over coffee grounds held in a paper filter that is placed on top of a cup or pot. The coffee drips slowly into said pot or cup. Different filters will influence the taste of your coffee.
Medium coarse grounded coffee
Approx. 2-3 mins brewing time
Different sizes can make up to 6 cups
Harder to clean
Portable but fragile
French press - Said to be the easiest way to brew great tasting coffee. In a press pot the coffee grounds are soaked, steeped and strained in hot water. You can then pour it out into your cup.
Coarse beans ground coffee
Makes a single cup of coffee
Approx. 4 mins brewing time
Easy to clean and portable
Percolator - Originally invented in 1933, the stovetop method uses steam pressure from boiled water to pass through coffee grounds. Brewed coffee then sits in the bottom chamber and can be poured out straight to cup.
Fine - medium coarse coffee
Approx. 5 mins brewing time
Makes a single or double shot
Easy to clean
Portable and durable
Coffee machines -
If you're looking for convenience, you're looking for a coffee machine. If you're looking for great taste and sustainability you're looking for a bean to cup machine.
Bean to cup coffee machines are magic. They have a built in coffee grinder so no need for pods! Most come with a milk frother for cappuccinos and lattes.
Now obviously these are magic and they will be costly. On average you can find them for £100-300 but for a top of the range model you're looking at thousands.
For a more affordable option 'Vitinni' has a small bean-to-cup coffee machine at £50 and it doesn't use filter papers!
The widely known story of The 'Ethiopian legend' 9th century Kaldi discovered the potential of coffee beans when he had noticed his goats being practically energetic and then not wanting to sleep at night. Though this is believed to be the discovery of the magic the beans it didn't actually appear in writing until 1671.
The earliest credible evidence of drinking coffee is shown in the middle of the 15th century in Yemen by Ahmed al-Ghaffar. Stories can vary from how the plant was discovered before this.
This was a very brief beginners guide to everyone's favourite wake-me-up! These subjects can be researched deeper but now you are well equipped for deciding what coffee you want to buy and/or order. And you are most definitely well equipped for everyday coffee chit-chat!
Bisous,
Remi-Frances
Do you brew at home?
ReplyDelete