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How Coffee Affects the Body
Automatic Coffee Maker Buying Tips
Ah, coffee! There really isn't a more pleasant smell in the universe than the smell of freshly brewed coffee especially first thing in the morning. Almost everybody loves good coffee but the definitions of "good" coffee are as varied as the people who love it.
If you are considering buying a new automatic coffee maker and you haven't bought one in awhile, you are going to find a lot more choices that you ever dreamed were possible.
The first thing that you need to decide about your new automotive coffee maker is what kind of automatic coffee maker you want. Do you want an automatic drip coffee maker or a percolator? (One drips water through coffee grounds, while the other forces heated water up a spout and over the coffee grounds.) Drip coffee and perked coffee are two entirely different tastes.
The next decision is what size automatic coffee maker will best serve your needs. If you are the only coffee drinker in the household, then you only need a very small coffee maker. One that makes a total of four cups will probably be adequate. However, if there are several people who
drink coffee, or if you entertain regularly and serve coffee, you may need a larger coffee maker.
The next decision that you must make are the features of a coffee maker that are important to you. You can find coffee makers that have more controls than NASA. You will need to determine which features are important, and which ones are not of any value to you. Remember that each added feature adds to the cost.
The price of coffee makers range between $20 and $200. It is important to buy one that is large enough, but it is just as important that you don't buy one that is larger than you need.
See Also:
Types of Coffee Makers
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Coffee To Go
Coffee Grinders
Grinding one's own coffee beans is quickly becoming a part of the American version of the coffee drinking experience. The choices for coffee grinders available for purchase is mind-boggling, so you really do need to know a few things about coffee grinders before you purchase one of your very own.
The earliest version of coffee grinding was done with a bowl and a pestle. The beans were roasted first, then they were placed in a bowl and crushed or ground with a pestle. Then things got mechanized, and changed quickly when coffee grinders that were hand-cranked came into being. If you have ever watched old western movies, there is always a hand-cranked coffee grinder in the local general store.
Then along came electricity, and things just got easier. The first electrified coffee grinders actually operated on the same principle as the hand-cranked version. There were basically two flat plates (one stationary and the other moving) that the coffee beans were crushed between. Things have gotten better since then although the principle remains basically unchanged -- only improved upon.
Today, you can buy coffee grinders with blades that simply chop the beans into fine particles. However, these particles are not of identical size. These blade-type coffee grinders can be bought for as little as $20, but they are not the best choice.
The best choice for a coffee grinder is a "burr" grinder. The burr coffee grinders operate on the same basic principle as the old hand-cranked coffee grinders in that there are two plates. However, these plates have burrs on them, and the coffee particles of beans that have been ground in a burr grinder are all of identical size. Burr grinders are, of course, more expensive, but they are much better coffee grinders. |
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More articles:
Important Features to Look For In a Coffee Maker
Coffee Maker Cleaning & Maintenance
Flavored Syrup Case Discounts :: Coffee Authority
Message in a Bottle
Shop for gourmet flavored coffee, gourmet coffee and tea flavorings and gourmet coffee baskets at CapellaCoffee.com.
Exotic Coffee Drinks
Flavored Coffee Syrup
To give your coffee some zing and more body, or just to add a surprise flavor to a cup of coffee, you might want to try some of the many choices of flavored coffee syrups that are on the market today. Coffee no longer has to be plain coffee. It can be flavored almost any way any body could possibly want.
There are flavored coffee syrups available in all of the flavors that you might expect; chocolate, vanilla, various fruits and nuts. But then there are flavored coffee syrups available in some flavors that you might never expect, like Granny Smith Apple, lavender, gingerbread, eggnog, cheesecake, or pumpkin spice, just to name a few.
Do you have to watch your diet? No problem, you can still enjoy many of the flavored coffee syrups on the market because they come in sugar-free and even low-carb varieties.
If you are very creative or really into the flavored coffee syrup thing, you can even make your own flavored coffee syrup. The syrups that you make can be used in coffee, of course, but they can also be used to make shakes, smoothies, or over ice cream as a dessert. You can find recipes for flavored coffee syrup all over the Internet. Here is one example of a flavored coffee syrup that you can make at home:
Stir together until fully blended:
1 ½ cups of sugar
1 cup of powdered cocoa
1/8 teaspoon of salt
Gradually add 1 cup of water to the mixture stirring constantly. Don't beat the mixture. Simply stir it until it is blended completely.
Then heat this mixture until it comes to a full boil and boil it for a full three minutes. You must stir constantly to prevent lumping. Now, remove the mixture from the heat and let it cool, then add two teaspoons of vanilla flavoring and store it in the refrigerator.
Related Topics: River Coffee,
Coffee Mugs, Organic Coffee
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