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Low-Acid Coffee
Buying Bulk Coffee
Remember the old movie, "Cheaper by the Dozen"? The point was that quantity cut costs. Well, there are other "points" made in the movie of course, but you get my drift here. The fact is that you can save money by buying almost everything in larger quantities.
There is a good reason why this is true. Packaging costs decrease, transportation costs decrease, and handling costs decrease, so larger quantities of almost anything can be sold for a smaller unit cost than smaller quantities of the same item. And coffee is no exception to the rule.
The secret of buying in bulk and making it cost-effective is that you must store bulk coffee in an airtight container. Air is what degrades coffee, whether the coffee is in a whole bean form or has already been ground. You know that smaller quantities of coffee are packaged in vacuum containers. The reason that they are packed like that is for the purpose of preventing the air from degrading the coffee.
Storing coffee in the refrigerator isn't a good idea either. The best way to store coffee that has been bough in bulk is by using one of the airtight food sealing products that you can buy. There are many brands of this kind of product. The best known brand is called "Seal-a-Meal," but it isn't the only one out there.
When you buy coffee in bulk, you should seal it in portion sizes that are the best for you by using one of the airtight food sealing products and then store the packages in a cool, dark place to prevent degradation of the coffee flavor and freshness. After all, if you buy coffee in bulk to save money and then the coffee loses its flavor and freshness before you can use it, you really haven't saved any money at all.
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Coffee To Go
Has anybody seen those old "Leave it to Beaver" reruns on late night TV? There is June (the mother) in full makeup and high heels without a hair out of place serving breakfast to her family at the breakfast table. Ward, the father, wearing a suit and tie, all showered and shaved, and the two boys are gathered around the breakfast table for their morning meal. June pours coffee from a coffee carafe into Ward's waiting coffee cup as they discuss their upcoming day. It just cracks me up! I'm sitting there thinking, "Yeah…right! When pigs fly!"
I figure most households operate pretty much like mine does. The words "busy, hectic and insane," come to mind. Mornings are done on the fly. Breakfast is a bowl of cold cereal (every man, woman, and child for themselves) and coffee is "to go" as we all rush around trying to get to work and school on time. My wife and I each have our own "to-go" spillproof mug so that we can drink our morning coffee as we drive.
And, yes, some mornings we have to stop by the nearest McDonalds and BUY a coffee to go if we have coffee at all because SOMEBODY forgot to set the automatic timer on the automatic coffee maker the night before.
Fortunately, technology caught up with "real life," and those well-insulated, spillproof coffee mugs made of unbreakable space-age materials are
available. I'd hate to try to drink my coffee out of the fine china coffee cup like Ward used while I drive the minivan loaded with kids through rush hour traffic while organizing the family schedule (soccer practice, piano lessons, etc.) that is more complicated than a rocket launch at NASA.
Coffee to go is a necessity in our busy world. It's either coffee to go, or no coffee at all. |
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Iced Coffee
Wow! The temperatures are soaring so it must be summer. Those nice hot cups of coffee that we were enjoying fully only a few months ago now just look…well…HOT, like the weather. Hot drinks certainly lose their appeal when the mercury climbs, but the taste of coffee never loses its appeal, so the answer is obvious. Serve iced coffee! Now, there is a great idea.
Coffee is taste that is great only at extremes. Hot coffee is wonderful, and iced coffee is just as wonderful. Anything in between those temperature extremes is just awful and totally unacceptable. Luke warm coffee, tepid coffee, slightly cool coffee -- they all taste bad. There may be a scientific explanation, but I have no idea what that explanation might be. All I know is that hot coffee is good, and iced coffee is good.
Now, you can't keep hot coffee hot for a long period of time. It tends to gain strength by the minute. But you can keep cold coffee cold for as long as you want. When you make a pot of coffee, immediately pour it into a container that can be refrigerated. Here is where you stir in any flavored coffee syrups, because they will dissolve well in the hot coffee. Then when the coffee cools, refrigerate it and you are all set.
To prevent a tall cold glass of iced coffee from being weakened by melting ice, you can also freeze some coffee in your ice cube trays and use them rather than regular ice cubes.
There are some ways to really jazz up the iced coffee that you serve your guests. Try one of the many iced coffee recipes that you can find on the Internet, and have fun! Many of the iced coffee recipes will call for the use of whipped cream, and you can also find recipes for flavored whipped cream that will make your iced coffee drinks really spectacular.
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