|
Is Coffee Good or Bad for You
Coffee Clubs
If coffee is what turns you on, you might be interested in joining one of the many, many coffee clubs that are offered on the Internet. Or, if you know someone who really, really enjoys their coffee and has adventurous taste buds, you might consider giving them a coffee club membership as a gift for Christmas, birthdays, Mother's Day or Father's Day.
There are several "coffee of the month" clubs that are available. There are gourmet coffee clubs, as well as flavored coffee clubs. You can even hoose specialized coffee gift baskets for the real coffee connoisseurs on your gift list.
Many different kinds of coffees are sent out each month to coffee club members. Depending upon the kind of coffee club membership, coffees that might be the "coffee of the month" are:
Cinnamon or American Roasts: These coffees are made with lightly roasted coffee beans. The longer beans are roasted, the more volume that they lose, so Cinnamon or American Roasts are the least expensive coffees to produce.
City Roast: This kind of coffee is made from beans that are the very lightest roast. City Roast coffees are a tiny bit acidic, but the bean flavor is still fully realized.
Full City Roast: This kind of coffee is made from beans that have been roasted longer. They are darker than City Roast coffees and have a kind of caramel taste.
French Roast: These beans are roasted a very long time. All of the acidity has been removed, and there is a burned taste which many people like. (Think south Louisiana.)
Italian Espresso Roast: This is the darkest possible roast. The beans are actually burned to a crisp. Italian Espresso Roasts are used for making espresso and cappuccino.
See Also:
THE SCOUT: An Antioxidant-Packed Gift for Tea Lovers
|
How to Make Good Coffee
Coffee Filters
One of the secrets of making really good coffee is the filter that you use in your coffee maker. The standard paper filters are abundant, and the ones that are most often used. Barring other choices, they are at least sufficient. You certainly should not ever make coffee in an automatic drip coffee maker or in a percolator without using a filter. If you do, there will be little coffee grounds floating in the pot of coffee.
If you are going to use the paper coffee filters in your coffee maker, you need to buy the ones that actually fit your coffee maker. Paper coffee filters do come in various sizes and are made for specific brands of coffee makers. The reason that it is important that the coffee filter is a perfect fit for the coffee maker is that a coffee filter that is either too large or too small for your coffee maker will allow coffee grounds to get into the coffee -- not a good thing.
While paper coffee filters are the ones most often used, they are not the only choice in coffee filters. There are permanent filters for coffee makers that can be purchased. These permanent filters must be cleaned thoroughly after each and every use. Believe it or not, there is even a permanent coffee filter that is actually lined with gold!
The very best choice of all coffee filters, though, is the cloth variety. Yes, it does have to be cleaned after each use, but coffee made using paper filters has a slightly papery taste to it, and cloth filters add no taste at all to the coffee. Cloth coffee filters are available in the same sizes as paper coffee filters. They are more expensive initially, of course, but they last much longer. Cloth coffee filters are made from unbleached cotton, so they are environmentally friendly as well. |
|
More articles:
Cleaner Coffee Maker - BizRate.com
French Press coffee maker brewer | BeverageFactory.com
WELCOME to Indian River Coffee Co., Gourmet Coffee Beans, Specialty Coffee Roaster, Ashby's of London Tea, Big Train...
Wake Up and Smell the Coffee - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
WELCOME to Indian River Coffee Co., Gourmet Coffee Beans, Specialty Coffee Roaster, Ashby's of London Tea, Big Train...
The Health Benefits of Coffee
How to Make Good Coffee
The definition of a "good" cup of coffee is relative. It all depends upon the taste buds of the person determining whether the cup of coffee is good or bad. Haven't you ever wondered why there are so many different brands of coffee? Yep…just like horse racing, it's the difference of opinion that makes the coffee industry tick, keeps the competitive spirit alive, and the prices down so most of us poor schmos can afford to buy coffee by the 13-ounce "pound" at our local supermarkets.
No matter what "brand" or "grind" of coffee makes the best cup of coffee in your opinion (and your opinion is the only one that counts), or whether you prefer drip coffee or perked coffee, there are a few simple things that will make your cup of coffee just taste better.
The number one "secret" of all good coffee is to begin the brewing process with a clean coffee maker. It doesn't matter whether the coffee maker is an automatic drip coffee maker, a percolator, a fancy espresso machine, or a plain pot that will be heated over a campfire to make river coffee. The cleanliness of the coffee maker has a great deal to do with the quality of the coffee that is made. Coffee makers can be cleaned with baking soda, cream of tarter, of any of the commercially sold coffee maker cleaners that are available on the market today.
The second factor for making a good cup of coffee is the water that is used at the beginning of the coffee-brewing process. Most all of the water that is delivered through a tap has been treated with several chemicals. These chemicals affect the taste of brewed coffee. Use bottled water to make your next pot of coffee. You will be amazed at the improved taste.
The third factor for making a good cup of coffee is the ratio of coffee grounds to water. Remember that the more grounds that you use per cup of water, the stronger the coffee will be. Strength of coffee is a personal choice, so a little experimentation might be in order.
Related Topics: The Cost of Coffee,
The Health Benefits of Coffee, How to Make Good Coffee
|
