Coffee Guide

I think the aroma of fresh coffee in the morning wakes up your senses and starts the day off with a feeling of vitality. With no coffee in the morning a lot of people have a hard time getting started. Coffee jump-starts my day.

I have used just about every type of coffeemaker there is. The percolators make a fine brew as do the programmable automatic ones. Whether you use glass or prefer stainless steel the finished product is only as good as the water you started with. Too much iron in the water tends to turn it green. Chlorine or fluoride will give the coffee an odd taste. Good water is essential. If you are lucky enough to have an artisan well I am jealous. I get coffee water from my neighbor, he has an artisan well with no iron.

I generally use a French Press coffeemaker but my favorite way to make the brew is with an egg.You are probably thinking, an egg? Yes, an egg. My great grandmother made egg coffee and it is a real treat. I make it for special occasions or when I want to share a cup with someone who has never heard of egg coffee.

To make egg coffee you need a clean pot and fresh cold water. I use an enamel one. Measure your coffee grounds into a cup and add a beaten egg. Stir the mixture into the cold water and put the pot over a low heat. Slowly heat to a boil, stirring often. When it comes to a boil, turn off the heat. Let sit for about two minutes then strain it into a cup.

That may sound like a lot of monkey business but I think it is well worth the effort. Coffee made like this over a campfire in the outdoors is delicious. At Christmas we add a little Irish Creme for flavor. Santa sure enjoys it.

I am such a cooking enthusiast that I made a website as a tribute to five generations of country cooks. You will find other cooking tips at http://www.pothaven.com

What is the best coffee? is a question that my clients ask more often than I would have expected. However, I am not certain that this question has an objective answer like the fact that the blue whale is the largest mammal, or that the Lexus is the most reliable vehicle. Statements like these have more empirical proof.

Those discussions require some sort of standardized definition of the word best whereas that definition is not feasible in this discussion. One might define the best coffee as the one that is in most consumer demand. Another might define the best coffee as the one that is held in the highest regard by the masses, like the Jamaican Blue Mountain, Kona Fancy, or Puerto Rican Yaucco Selecto AA. Upon mention of any of these particular varietals, most of you are probably reacting as if everyone has heard of them, but does that really make one of them the best coffee?

Perhaps price is the most important consideration. If this was the case, the Jamaican Blue Mountain would be, hands-down, the best coffee. I am not suggesting that this isn’t true. However, I am suggesting that this might be the wrong criterion on which to focus. There has been some evidence in the coffee world that not all coffee labeled Jamaican Blue Mountain is actually Jamaican Blue Mountain. While I cannot claim to have empirical evidence either confirming or denying this claim, I have not seen any evidence of price depreciation to account for any impure blending. The point is that whether or not Jamaican Blue Mountain is, or continues to be the best coffee, it will likely always be the most expensive coffee, so we should probably explore another method of measurement.

Another possibility is that the best coffee is the rarest coffee. However, this approach immediately makes me think of the jewelry industry in which diamonds are considered the best gemstone, yet they are not rare at all. Every person planning to propose marriage can readily find a diamond engagement ring if they have the proper finances available. For this reason, I doubt that the rarest coffees are the best coffees. It is also silly to think that rarity increases the quality of a substance. It is certainly possible that a coffee of poor biological composition could only exist on one remote island in the world.

Of course, the correct response is that the best coffee is your favorite coffee. Gourmet coffee beans have a diverse array of flavor, body, acidity, and richness characteristics related to their country of origin, growing conditions, preparation methods, and so on. The intricate balance of characteristics found in each varietal appeals to different enthusiasts in different ways. I personally find few coffee experiences more pleasurable than smelling the spicy peanut fragrance of freshly roasted fine Guatemalan arabica coffees. I find the Huehuetenango to be the best example of this. However, someone else might prefer the citrus notes apparent in a lightly roasted Peruvian La Florida coffee.

Mexican coffees are known for their pleasantly dry acidy snap, while Sumatran coffees are known for their exceptional body. Not only do different coffee varietals provide different flavor, acidity, body, and richness characteristics, but the situation is complicated further by the fact that different coffee enthusiasts put greater or lesser value on each of these categories. Therefore, our conclusion is simple. What is the best coffee? It is the one that you like best!

John A. Russo, MBA
The Perfect Bean Roasting Company
http://www.perfectbeanonline.com
PerfectBean@mail.com

If you need a custom roaster to prepare the best quality of your favorite coffee or blend, we would be glad to help you out at The Perfect Bean Roasting Company. Please feel free to e-mail us for a free consultation to figure out what you would like best.

Coffee addicts, take heed! That precious appliance on your countertop ? gasp! ? needs to be cleaned out once in a while. Have you been noticing a stale, funny taste in your coffee lately? It?s very likely that your poor coffeemaker is just screaming for a good cleaning. The good news is: it?s dead simple to clean. All you?ll need is some good old-fashioned white vinegar and tap water.

Vinegar is a powerful acid, and works to replace many of the harmful chemicals you might be cleaning with right now. And when you use it to clean out your coffeemaker, it really scrubs it out from the inside, getting rid of buildup that makes your coffee taste less than gourmet.

To clean the coffeemaker:

1. Pour vinegar into the holding tank where you?d normally pour in the water. Fill at least half full with vinegar.

2. Don?t add any coffee. Ick?can you imagine the brew that would create?

3. Run your coffee machine as usual, letting the vinegar do the work of scrubbing it out and descaling the works from the inside out. Empty out the used vinegar.

4. Run at least two or three cycles with just plain water, to truly get rid of all lingering vinegar taste.

5. There is no step five ? see, I told you it was simple!

Cleaning your coffeemaker like this at least once a month, or more often if you?re a caffeine junky, will keep your coffee tasting fresh and utterly delicious. Give it a try and you?ll be shocked by how easy it is!

Christina Spence is the author of the Happy Slob?s Guide to Housecleaning, the funniest, most laid back cleaning guide EVER written. Get your copy today, and join her free weekly newsletter at http://www.happyslob.com Her love for good coffee also shows at her Coffee Creations blog: http://coffeecreations.blogspot.com