Some people like their coffee full-bodied, rich and hot with no mixers to interfere with the natural flavors and aromas. For others, the perfect cup is a blend that includes added flavors such as vanilla or hazelnut. Regardless of your poison, there are some things that can be done to ensure a perfect cup of coffee is brewed each time.

Coffee beans themselves are pretty delicate little creations that begin to lose their flavor as soon as they’re roasted. This means the beans purchased in stores have already begun the process of natural decline, but there are things coffee lovers can do to ensure the best cup possible.

Here are some tips for making serious gourmet coffee with a flavor that packs a punch, whether it’s rich and robust or mild and nutty:

* Grind freshly roasted, or as close to it, beans into a fine consistency, but avoid the powdering stage. The grinds should be big enough to stay within a coffee maker’s filter.
* Use at least 2 level tablespoons of coffee per six-ounce cup.
* Insist on a clean coffee maker. Wash the maker regularly and flush out the entire system, as well. Before each use, rinse out the maker with hot water. Also be certain to make sure the coffee maker is free from lime or hard water deposits. These can come free during the brewing process and wreck a perfectly good pot of coffee with a bitter, unpleasant taste.
* For the brew itself, use good water. Tap is fine, but bottled water that’s fresh and free of chemicals is even better.
* Make sure to use hot water and not boiling water for making coffee. Boiling water further enhances the breakdown of the coffee flavor and can produce a more bitter tasting cup of coffee. The noted ideal temperature for brewing coffee is 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
* Brew according to the coffee maker’s instructions, but be certain to start with a good base coffee, fresh water and ideal temperatures.

A good cup of coffee is not at all unlike a fine glass of wine. Meant to be savored and enjoyed, coffee is a drink that fuels the world. There is a big difference, however, between an average cup and a gourmet cup of a fresh blend. A few extra steps can make all the difference in the world when it comes to flavor, even with pre-ground coffee from a supermarket.

Paul Duxbury writes extensively on Coffee. You can read more of his articles at Gourmet Coffee

Article Source: http://www.articleactive.com

It used to be a trip to the corner store netted a single choice or maybe two for the coffee lover. One-size-fits-all in a can to go, thank you very much. With the appreciation for coffee hitting an all-time high, this is no longer the case.

Choice, of course, is good for the consumer, but what might not be so good is the fact there are so many choices one’s head might spin in trying to make a selection. Even most grocery store coffee aisles today include a huge variety of cans loaded with pre-ground beans, jars of instant coffee and even bags and bins full of roasted, beans ready for grinding at home.

So, how does a consumer pick something that might suit their individualized coffee palette? Knowing what the names mean can be a huge help. Since some locations can carry dozens and even hundreds of different coffee flavors, the primary factor is the underlining roast.

Coffee names in general give clues not necessarily to the bean’s type or origin, but to how the roasting process has been handled to produce different, distinct flavors.

American blends, for example, tend to be lighter, more watered down coffees. Typical fare in homes, offices and restaurants, these blends can be quite good, but they don’t offer the full-bodied flavors of some of the others.

Names of coffee that sound European generally contain a darker-roasted coffee, but even here the variety might vary. Italian coffees tend to be roasted longer and darker and have bolder, stronger flavors than their French counterparts.

Names of coffee that derive from tropical destinations tend to describe the locations where the beans are from and not necessarily the roast, which means the flavors might be hard to determine. Mexican coffee, for example, still pertains to one of two types of beans, which of course can be roasted to produce an array of flavors.

Shoppers will even find coffees named after the flavors added to them, like vanilla or mint, estate names that describe the grower and brand names that don’t sound very coffee like at all.

In general, look for clues about the roasting quality to figure out the flavor inside the bag, can or glass jar. If the roast is light, the flavor will be less strong. Medium is a full-bodied mix that won’t overpower. Italian or dark, darkest roast is a strong cup of coffee that’s meant to be drunk in moderation.

As the coffee craze continues, the number of choices consumers find themselves with is mind-boggling. But, with a little coffee know how, just about anyone can find a roast they enjoy.
About the Author

Paul Duxbury writes extensively on Coffee. You can read more of his articles at Gourmet Coffee.

To the true coffee connoisseur, the beans, roast and resulting aromas and flavors are not unlike fine wine. Rich, rewarding and full of flavor, good brews are meant to be savored, enjoyed and taken in.

To drink too fast or too slow without enjoying the bouquet and the richness of flavor would be a breach of etiquette. To this type of coffee drinker, a coffee bean isn’t ready for the grinder until it’s been roasted to its absolute perfection. Whether a subtle light roast or a robust dark, the expertise of the roaster at flavoring the bean is crucial for a good cup of coffee.

But, for the rest of the world, coffee is coffee. Despite this, people know the brands, the flavors and the mixes they like. Whether it’s X name brand from the can or Y type of beans, freshly roasted and ground, the type and style of coffee people like has become highly personalized.

With literally hundreds of choices of brands, flavors, roasts and additives, it’s no wonder coffee has become a very personalized venture. Served warm, hot and even iced with a milkshake twist, there’s a coffee to match just about every type of taste.

Some of the most popular coffees on the market today include:

* Regular American light roast. This subtle flavored creation is the mainstay of most American drinkers. Less bold than its European counterparts, the key to this flavor is a quick roasting time.
* Dark. Whether medium or full-dark in roasting, these varieties are stronger and bolder than the American blends. They are kept in the roaster longer to ensure a richer flavor is released from the beans. Espresso dark, however, is kept in the longest right to the point of burn.
* Iced. This confection can be full flavored coffee or mixed with ice cream, cream, sugar and more. A treat touted by restaurants ranging from fast-food joints to coffeehouses and beyond, iced coffee is a big sensation on the market now.
* Flavored coffee. Infused with the aromas of other flavors right after the roasting phases, these beans take on an array of flavors. They can include fruit flavors, nuts, chocolate, vanilla and more. The sky’s almost the limit here when it comes to choices.

Whether you like a plain old cup of coffee with a little bit of cream or straight up dark roast black with no sugar, if you’re a coffee lover, there’s little doubt you like it your way. Coffee drinkers are found the world over and this “club” is responsible for making the bean the world’s second largest commodity.

About Author: Paul Duxbury writes extensively on Coffee. You can read more of his articles at Gourmet Coffee.
Article Source: Articlesalley.com.

It’s a mainstay in many households the world over with a commodity ranking of number two, just behind oil production. But how did the worldwide coffee craze get started and what exactly is the history of the little bean loved the globe over for the coffee it creates?

According to legend, the first use of coffee dates back to the 800s when a goat herder named Kaldi discovered his goats had more energy after eating the berries from a specific bush. Kaldi’s story takes place in east Africa and is considered the stuff of lore, however, it wasn’t too much after the 800s that the coffee craze began sweeping the world.

By the 1100s, coffee was being roasted and boiled by the Arabs. It was used in a drink, but there are earlier reports of the beans being eaten by monks, too. Similar to the evolution of cocoa beans, the drink of days gone by is most likely not exactly what we know today. And, also like cocoa, its spread was slow, but methodical.

As time passed, the ability to process beans grew and so did the popularity of coffee as a drink with properties that helped heighten alertness. By the 1400s, Constantinople became the location of the planet’s first coffee shop. That trend continued to Italy, the rest of Europe and the Americas. No doubt different than the coffee houses of today, they were nonetheless “trendsetters.”

By the 1600s, coffee became a major player in the English world, although probably not tipping the scales over tea. In 1688, Edward Lloyd opened his coffeehouse, which later became the world-famous Lloyd’s of London insurance company.

Known for their craftiness in working with the somewhat similar cocoa bean, the Dutch hit the scene in the late 1600s, becoming the first to grow and ship coffee commercially. By the 1700s, coffee was firmly secured as a drink with worldwide appeal.

Although the veracity of the goat herder story is always in question, the fact remains that coffee has a long and proud history. Its spread around the world may have been slow, but the end result is a multi-billion-dollar industry that results in the production of millions of tons of coffee each year. Humble beginnings or not, coffee is more than a craze or a trend, it’s a worldwide player on the commodities market and one that shows no signs of going away.

The Main Types of Coffee

Considering it has flavors that range from bold dark roasts to vanilla and hazelnut infused, it might be surprising that coffee actually only has two main varieties of beans it’s derived from. The arabica and the robusta beans account for most of the world’s coffee production.

The arabica bean is considered a descendant of the original trees from Ethiopia - the country that’s credited for coffee’s origin. Coffees made from this bean are mild and quite aromatic. This type of bean accounts for a whopping 70 percent of the world’s coffee production. The tree that makes the arabica bean tends to prefer higher altitudes and thrives in mild climates, but is killed by heavy frost.

The trees that produce robusta beans are considered easier to grow and less fickle than their arabica cousins. Despite this, the beans are not a favorite on the worldwide coffee market since the coffee they produce tends to be a bit more bitter than arabica. It also has a lot more caffeine in the mix. These trees thrive in lower altitudes and can handle a bigger temperature range, but the flavors drop them to the 30 percent share in the worldwide coffee market.

So, if all the world’s coffee comes from only two major types of beans, where do all the flavors come from? Growing conditions and processing.

The flavors of beans grown in different parts of the world can vary. Even though the beans come from the same kind of tree, the flavors might vary greatly due to soil and water conditions. It is believed that trees in Africa produce beans that give off a berry or spice type flavor while those from Latin America are clean-tasting and perhaps a bit tangy.

Another major factor in the taste can be greatly influenced by the roasting process. The temperatures used in roasting and the time allotted to the process can greatly change the end taste of a ground bean. Master coffee makers know how to take the same batches of beans and greatly alter their flavors through roasting.

Also, designer flavors of coffee, such as vanilla and chocolate, are generally produced as additives put into the bean during or right after the roasting process. So, despite the fact there are only two types of beans, the end result can be ground coffee that has as many flavors as there are ideas for them.

Article Source: ArticlesMaker.com

About the Author: Paul Duxbury writes extensively on Coffee. You can read more of his articles at Gourmet Coffee