Coffee Guide

Do you love coffee? Most of us do. In this article we will provide you with 6 recipes to enjoy your coffee a different way. We hope you enjoy it.

Irish Coffee

• 1 teapsoon of suger

• 1 jigger of Bushmills Irish Whiskey

• 2/3 cup of coffee or flavored Irish Creme coffee

• 1/4 cup of heavy cream, lightly whipped

Prehead the glass with hot water. Dump the water out and add the hot coffee with the teaspoon of suger and stir. Add the jigger of whiskey, and top with the whipping cream. Dark coffee’s are best for this recipe.

Spiced Orange Coffee

• 1 teaspoon fresh, grated orange peel

• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

• 5 whole cloves

• Regular amount of your usual coffee or try Swiss Chocolate Orange flavored coffee

Add the above ingredients together and brew as normal. Place a slice of orange at the bottom or your cup. Pour in coffee and add suger and cream to taste. Top with whipping cream and sprinkle with a dash of nutmeg and cinnamon if so desired.

Mint Cocoa Coffee

• 1 ounce of chocolate mint liquear

• Dash of shaved chocolate

• Whipping cream (optional)

• Regular coffee or try Dutch Chocolate Decaf flavored coffee

Brew your regular coffee, add the 1 ounce of liquear into your cup. Add some whipping cream if desired and sprinkle with shaved chocolate.

Coffee Milkshakes

• 1 pint of coffee ice cream

• 2 teaspoons finely ground coffee

• 1/2 cup light rum (optional)

• 4 to 6 scoops vanilla ice cream

• Instant coffee powder

Spoon coffee ice cream into blender. Add rum and finely ground coffee. Blend on high until creamy smooth. Pour into tall glasses, adding a scoop of the vanilla ice cream to each glass. Sprinkle lightly with instant coffee powder.

Frosty Mochas

• 1 cup of freshly brewed coffee

• 1 pint of vanilla ice cream, softenend

• 6 tablespoons of chocolate syrup

• 1 cup prepared cold coffee

Blend hot coffee and chocolate syrup in blender. Blend until smooth. Cool the mixture to room temperature. Pour the mixture into a medium bowl. Add the softened ice cream and cold coffee. With a rotary beater, beat until smooth. Spoon into tall glasses and serve immediately.

Nogged Coffee

• 1 cup of coffee or try Pumpkin Spice flavored coffee

• 1 egg yoke

• 1/2 cup of cream

• Dash of nutmeg

Beat the suger and egg yoke together. Place cream in a saucepan and heat over low setting, do not burn. Wisk the egg mixture into the warmed cream, heat until hot. Add coffee to mugs and top with the cream mixture. Garnish the coffee with nutmeg.

About The Author

Feel free to use this article, please leave this resource box attached.

This article was created for Beans and Bears offering some of the finest coffee available.

Visit the website today at http://www.beansandbears.com

Writer: Merrie Schonbach http://www.merriesintent.com 7/03

merries@comcast.net

Here is an article that tells the secret of creating the perfect foam with steamed milk for making a wonderful cappuccino. As you’ll see creating the perfect foam isn’t as easy as it may seem …

Most places that serve cappuccinos in the United States have not trained their baristas in the art of properly frothing milk. The foam that they create is usually a dry, tasteless, large celled collection of bubbles that sit on top of the espresso like a meringue.

With a little care, you can create steamed milk that is velvety smooth like the texture of wet shaving cream. The bubbles will be so small that you can barely see them! This is the way it?s supposed to be, because this way, it will blend with the espresso, creating a harmony of the flavors instead of a dry, tasteless cap floating on top. Let?s Begin.

First off, it?s important to start with cold milk that?s just out of the fridge. Pour the milk into the steaming pitcher until it is just about 1/3 of the way full. Milk will double to triple in volume after the frothing process. A stainless steel pitcher works best. It will dissipate some of the heat, allowing more time to infuse air into the milk before the milk gets too hot.

For a home made cappuccino, you’ll have to learn the art of creating a perfect foam.

Also use a thermometer to get the milk to the correct temperature of 145 degrees. There are many thermometers made for this purpose that will clip onto the side of the pitcher for convenience.

The Technique:

Purge the steam wand onto a damp towel by releasing the valve for a few seconds. Be very careful not to burn yourself, the steam will be extremely hot. This purging will get all of the water out so you don?t get it in your milk.

Next, submerge the wand into the milk and quickly turn the steam on full power. Avoid letting the tip of the wand come out of the milk. This will cause splattering and create large, tasteless bubbles.

Adjust the wand so that it is pointing off center in order to get the milk to flowing in a rapid, circular motion. Maintaining this fast, circulating vortex is vital.

Then, slowly lower the pitcher until the tip of the wand is just below the surface of the milk (keeping the circulation going). When you can hear a hissing noise, similar to bacon frying, you have reached the perfect position for the wand to inject air into the milk.

Try to maintain this hissing noise while keeping the milk rotating. You will have to slowly lower the pitcher as the milk volume rises in order to keep the wand tip just under the surface.

By keeping the milk flowing in a rapid circle, any large bubbles that are accidentally created will be rolled into the milk and eliminated. Continue steaming until the milk reaches 145 degrees. Be careful not to get the milk too hot, it will scald giving it a bad taste.

That?s pretty much it! If you have a few large bubbles, you can try to get rid of them by tapping the bottom of the pitcher lightly on the counter. Serve immediately and enjoy some of the silkiest frothed milk you have ever tasted!

One more thing, now that you know how to properly steam the milk, notice how few coffee houses have baristas that take care in this process. Very few use thermometers and end up scalding the milk, or leaving it too cold.

Most will just leave the pitcher sitting there while the wand blows into the milk. Some will use an up and down motion, but this does absolutely nothing for creating tiny, velvety bubbles. It?s the rolling action of the milk that?s needed.

If you find a barista that shows this skill of frothing milk, then stay with him! He?s been trained and probably takes pride in what he does.

Nicholas Webb is a successful author and publisher of http://www.allabout-coffee-beans.com Coffee is a passion to be shared. Info from coffee beans to coffee making machines can be found by clicking over to this great resource site.

The coffee market offers a vast array of beans of every origin, in every degree of roast and grind. With so many options to choose from, how does one go about picking the best bean for making espresso?

It is best to start with the basics. Cappuccinos and lattes are variations on espresso. They differ only in their ratio of espresso to steamed milk. Neither requires its own separate kind of bean.

The inexperienced shopper could easily be fooled into thinking that there are countless assortments of beans to chose from and be overwhelmed. Sometimes, unscrupulous marketers with take advantage of this common myth so they seem to have a larger inventory. In reality, there are only two types of beans available commercially: Arabica and Robusta.

Arabica is a high altitude bean, grown at 2,400 feet above sea lever or higher, characterized by a smooth, yet slightly acidic, taste. It is usually grown in eastern Africa and Central and South America. Robusta grows in the lower altitudes of Southeast Asia, central Africa and Latin America and has a more potent, sometimes bitter taste.

There are many methods and opinions about the best way to roast beans, but the basic process involves exposing green, raw coffee beans to high temperatures, usually about 480 degrees Fahrenheit, for seven to 12 minutes. The heat alters the beans, manipulating their natural bitterness and acidity. The beans become more bitter and less acidic the longer they are roasted.

There is no one right way to roast or grind beans for espresso. In fact, espresso is usually made with a blend of beans of different colors and consistencies. It is not uncommon for different geographical areas to favor a specific blend. For example, in northern Italy, they prefer espresso roast in the medium range, while California tastes lean toward the darker, French roast.

You are not likely to find the freshest beans in a grocery store, and you can bet on that when in comes to pre ground coffee. The best you can do in that situation is pay close attention to the expiration date. You should have better luck finding fresh beans in a coffee house, especially one that roasts in house. Naturally, they will need to roast more of the most popular, fastest selling bean more often, and it is probably the most popular for a reason. Perfect freshness comes from grinding your own just roasted beans immediately before brewing.

Quality beans are a good place to start, but by no means is that the only factor to consider when making espresso. Other things to think about are the time lapse between grinding and brewing, the time lapse since roasting, the condition of equipment and water quality. What makes the best espresso will likely be an endless debate, but the endless options ultimately boil down to a matter of preference.

Corinne Waldon has written many articles on the subject of coffee. Corinne writes for The Coffee Site where you can find many gourmet coffee resources at your finger tips including coffee related forums, directories, reviews and more.

What is Espresso?
An espresso machine is used to make traditional italian coffee which is known as espresso. Measurements of espresso are commonly referred to as ?pulling? a shot. This term comes from espresso machines with long handles that need to be pulled in order to ‘produce a shot’

What Machine Should I Buy?
There are many types of espresso machines available, which vary in quality. The really good ones control the temperature of the water to within a few degrees of what is considered optimum.

How Long Does It Take To Make An Espresso Shot?
It shouldn’t take much longer than 20-30 seconds to make a rich shot of espresso. You can pull a shot of espresso into a pre-heated glass to maintain the right temperature of your drink. Milk based espresso drinks such as cappuccino also make use of steam wands built into the machine which steams and froths the milk.

Does A Portafilter Make It Taste Better?
Bottomless portafilters have the added advantage of ensuring the espresso does not contact metal during the process of extraction. Greater volume of espresso will flow using a portafilter and many people think it tastes better.

Types Of Espresso Machine
There are many different types of Espresso machine. Here is a summary: -
?Stovepot Espresso Maker – Portable but overextraction can produce a burnt taste.
?Steam Espresso Maker – Operate by steam pressure. End result is similar to stovetop espresso maker.
?Automatic Espresso Machine – Pump automatically turns off and brew pressure is released through a valve
?Super Automatic Machine – These machines automatically grind the coffee and are a breeze to use. You just fill the hopper and reservoir.

Many also include automatic frothing devices. These models are very popular for home use.

Article by Daniel Tewkes of http://www.espressomachineinformation.com ( The espresso coffee information resource )

One look at a line at the local Starbucks in the morning and you don?t need to be convinced of the huge amount of coffee consumption in the U.S. The National Coffee Association found in 2000 that 54% of the U.S. adult population drinks coffee daily. Guess there?s nothing like the first double espresso in the morning to clear the cobwebs from our heads so we can face the day.

But what are the effects relating to fitness? If that grande-no-foam-double-whipped-extra-shot-no-fat latte gives us the get-up-and-go to start our day at work, will it do the same if we?re headed to the gym?

Physiological Effects

The main ingredient in coffee that gives us that jolt is caffeine, a central nervous system stimulant. Caffeine is found naturally in coffee beans, tea leaves, and chocolate, and is a popular added ingredient in carbonated beverages and some over-the-counter medications such as cold remedies, diuretics, aspirin, and weight control aids. It is estimated that in the U.S., 75% of caffeine intake comes from coffee.

Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system by blocking adenosine, a neurotransmitter that normally causes a calming effect in the body. The resulting neural stimulation due to this blockage causes the adrenal glands to release adrenaline, the fight or flight hormone. Your heart rate increases, your pupils dilate, your muscles tighten up, and glucose is released into your blood stream for extra energy. Voila? you now have the caffeine buzz.

But wait?we?re not done yet. Caffeine also increases dopamine. Dopamine activates the pleasure in parts of the brain. It has been suspected that this also contributes to caffeine addiction.

Physiologically, caffeine makes us you feel alert, pumps adrenaline to give you energy and changes dopamine production to make you feel good. Another espresso, anyone?

Ergogenic Effects of Caffeine to Performance

In addition to various psychological and physiological benefits, numerous studies have documented caffeine?s ergogenic effect on athletic performance, particularly in regard to endurance. Studies show that caffeine ingestion prior to exercising extended endurance in moderately strenuous aerobic activity. Other studies researching caffeine consumption on elite distance runners and distance swimmers show increased performance times following caffeine consumption.

Despite effects on endurance, caffeine produced no effect on maximal muscular force in a study measuring voluntary and electrically stimulated muscle actions. However, the same study did show findings that suggest caffeine has an ergogenic effect on muscle during repetitive, low frequency stimulation.

Caffeine?s positive performance-enhancing effects have been well documented. So much so that the International Olympic Committee placed a ban leading to disqualification for an athlete with urinary limits exceeding 12 mg/mL. Roughly 600 to 800mg of caffeine, or 4 to 7 cups of coffee, consumed over a 30-minute period would be enough to exceed this level and cause disqualification. The National Collegiate Athletic Association has a similar limit, set at 15 mg/mL.

Coffee: A Pre-Workout Drink?

Before you make Starbucks part of your pre-workout warm-up in order to harness the effects of caffeine, be aware that simply downing a grande may not give you similar benefits found in these studies. A recent Canadian study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology compared the effect of coffee and caffeine on run time to exhaustion. A group of nine men took part in five trials. Sixty minutes before each run, the men took one of the following:

• A placebo

• Caffeine capsules

• De-caffeinated coffee with caffeine added

• Regular coffee

Performance times were up to 10 times longer in subjects using the caffeine capsules, with no differences in times among the other trials. Since the level of caffeine absorption was similar during the caffeine trials, researchers concluded something in the coffee itself that interferes with caffeine?s performance-enhancing effects. This makes sense considering that there are literally hundreds of compounds dissolved when coffee beans are roasted, ground and extracted. Results of this research suggest that if benefits of caffeine on endurance times are desired, caffeine capsules work better than coffee.

Caffeine and Creatine Supplementation

Although caffeine has been shown to increase endurance time, further research shows it may actually blunt the effect of creatine, a popular and well-researched compound known for its consistent ergogenic effects. In a study evaluating the effect of pre-exercise caffeine ingestion on both creatine stores and high-intensity exercise performance, caffeine totally counteracted any effects of creatine supplementation. It was suggested that individuals who creatine load should refrain from caffeine-containing foods and beverages if positive effects are desired.

The Downside of Caffeine

Despite coffee/caffeine?s positive effects on psychological states and performance, there are numerous documented risks that must considered when consuming caffeine, whether for performance-enhancing effects or simply as a part of daily dietary consumption.

Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system and can produce restlessness, headaches, and irritability. Caffeine also elevates your heart rate and blood pressure. Over the long-term as your body gets used to caffeine, it requires higher amounts to get the same effects. Certainly, having your body in a state of hormonal emergency all day long isn?t very healthy.

Caffeine is also a diuretic and causes a loss of fluid, which then leads to a dehydrating effect. This is obviously not conducive to fitness activities such as resistance training, as fluid is needed for the transfer of nutrients to facilitate muscular growth. It is also important when considering the further loss of fluid while exercising in hot environments.

Perhaps the most important long-term problem is the effect of caffeine on sleep. The half-life of caffeine in the body is about 6 hours. If you drink a big cup of coffee with 200 mg of caffeine at 4PM, at 10PM you still have about 100mg in your body. By 4AM, you still have 50mg floating in your system. Even though you may be able to sleep, you may not be able to obtain the restful benefits of deep sleep. What?s worse, the cycle continues as you may use more and more caffeine in hopes of counteracting this deficit.

Caffeinated Conclusions?

Though caffeine has some benefits in relation to exercise performance, risks have been documented. Most problems seem evident with very high consumption. The American Heart Association says that moderate coffee drinking (one or two cups per day) does not seem to be harmful for most people. As with everything else, moderation is the key to healthy caffeine consumption. Further research is needed to clearly determine whether the performance-enhancing benefits of caffeine outweigh the potential risks.

About The Author

Jon Gestl, CSCS, is a Chicago personal trainer and fitness instructor who specializes in helping people get in shape in the privacy and convenience of their home or office. He is a United States National Aerobic Champion silver and bronze medalist and world-ranked sportaerobic competitor and editor of the fitness ezine Inspired Informed and Inshape. He can be contacted through his website at http://www.jongestl.com.

jongestl@jongestl.com