Coffee Guide

For my normal morning cup of Joe, I settle for two glasses of espresso. The preparation and cleanup of an espresso machine is more time consuming than a drip machine. Despite this aspect, I have integrated the cleanup into my breakfast routine so that the couple of minutes I take to prepare and clean the machine are not noticed.

1. Water content

The main reason I started to consume espresso was that typical coffee contained too much water. I did not enjoy being full of water for the morning part of my day. Four cups of espresso contain the same amount of water as one cup of coffee.

2. Caffeine content

There is not much of a reduction in the amount of caffeine found in one cup of espresso compared to a cup of coffee.

3. Flavor

I love good coffee. Espresso is one way to get the full flavor of the coffee. There is no paper filter to absorb and keep flavorful oils out of the coffee.

4. Warmness

I don?t enjoy hot coffee, but I do like to consume coffee fast. This causes a problem while using a drip machine. One doesn?t want to remove the carafe until brewing is done (doing so alters the flavor). Because of this, the coffee is very hot and takes time to cool in a coffee cup. Espresso cools much quicker and I can gulp it down when it is done brewing.

If you haven?t tried a cup of Espresso, you don?t know what you?re missing!

Matthew Payne is a contributing member of http://coffee-tips.quickprovider.com and http://articles.quickprovider.com – both high content filed article sites.

A good travel mug is a must when you need to take your coffee or tea with you on the road. There are many different types of mugs available, so here are a few tips to consider before you purchase one.

Travel mugs are offered in both stainless steel and plastic with plastic being the least expensive.

Even though stainless steel initially costs more, it will give you much better value for your money.

Plastic mugs can break when dropped and they don’t keep your coffee or tea hot nearly as long as the stainless mugs.

You can expect superior performance from a stainless steel travel mug keeping your coffee or tea hot for about an hour. If you are looking for the very best way to keep your favorite beverage hot or cold longer, look for a mug with stainless steel double wall insulation.

Stainless steel also cleans up easier than plastic and the plastic liner over time will absorb coffee or tea. This build up will affect the taste of your beverage and the only way to remedy it is to buy another travel mug.

If you still prefer a plastic travel mug, make sure it has a stainless steel liner. The advantages of these are you won’t feel the heat on the outside of the mug and you have a variety of colors to choose from.

You should also decide if you want your travel mug to fit a cup holder in your car or if you want it to have a wide bottom for stability.

The advantage of a travel mug that fits a cup holder is you don’t have to hold onto it. Just make sure the dimensions of the mug will fit your holder.

If you don’t have a cupholder or don’t like to use one, you need a travel mug with a wide bottom.

Look for a non-slip wide bottom because not all of them come that way. You don’t want it to slide if you let go of the travel mug.

Next, what kind of a lid do you prefer? The lids that snap on can sometimes come off if the travel mug tips over or is dropped. Screw on lids are better because they stay on no matter what happens and that’s the idea of a travel mug to begin with.

Also, consider how the beverage hole will be covered and uncovered when you want to drink. Do you like a flap over the drink hole that snaps shut or do you prefer a slide that stays open or closed? Then there is the Press’N'Sip lever design that opens when you push on the spring loaded lever and closes when you let go.

Travel mugs come in a variey of volume sizes too. If you only drink a small amount, consider a smaller 8 oz. travel mug. On the other hand, if you want a large amount of coffee or tea to drink, consider a larger 16 or 20 oz. travel mug.

Once you get the travel mug that is just right for your tastes, hand wash it instead of putting it in the dishwasher. Sometimes soap residue gets left behind either in the lid or in the travel mug and no one likes that kind of surprise. So be sure to rinse it extra good so all that you taste is the rich flavor of your coffee or tea.

If you leave your travel mug in the car while at work, store it away from direct sunlight. That way the hot sun magnified by the windows won’t damage the rubber seals in the lid.

Keep these tips in mind the next time you shop for a travel mug so when you fly out of the door with your favorite hot beverage, it will stay in the mug and remain hot until the last drop.

Copyright ? 2004 PerfectCoffees.com. All Rights Reserved.

This article may be re-published as is (unedited) as long as the author’s bio paragraph (resource box) and copyright information is included. The URLs in the resource box should be set as hyperlinks if used on a web page.

About The Author

Gary Gresham is the webmaster for http://www.perfectcoffees.com where you can purchase quality coffee, tea, cups & mugs, coffee gifts and delicious desserts online. If you are looking for the perfect travel mug he offers you only the top rated travel mugs that he knows you’ll be happy with at: http://www.perfectcoffees.com/Travel-Coffee-Mugs.html; Gary@perfectcoffees.com

The drive from Jakarta to Semarang on the north coast of Central Java takes around 10 hours. The trip takes you up out of Jakarta and then through the small towns of Indramayu, Brebes, Tegal, Cirebon and Pemalang before you arrive in Semarang. At this time of year the drive is slow- the rainy season has started and in many places outside the cities the road is still only a two way highway with no median barrier separating on coming traffic. Typical Indonesian moments are frequent?where can you go when a bus is hurtling head on towards you at 100km/h and not slowing down? What to do when your car is mobbed by villagers voting for a new mayor…or passing the crushes carcasses of trucks, vans, minibuses and container trucks, you just have to wonder how long your luck will hold!

The route from Jakarta through to Cirebon follows the fertile coastal plain. This area is known as the ?Pantura?, from the Indonesian ?Pantai Utara? or ?northern beaches?. Lust rice fields line both sides of the road. The encroachment of commercial development is unfortunately eating into the greenery. Large malls, Ruko (shop) complexes and industrial parks are being built everywhere. In between these however is still some of the prettiest rice land in Asia. The farms are still worked traditionally and the effort that goes into the management of these pieces of agricultural land is impressive. Where the road follows the coast mangroves and other shoreline vegetation are interspersed between rough wooden shacks selling Crab, fish and shrimp. The Indramayu area is famous for its mango?s- so many varieties and so sweet they melt in your mouth.

After passing through the tea town of Tegal (Old Dutch buildings mixed in with new development) and skirting Cirebon- the road leaves the coast and climbs up through the foothills. Teak forests and rubber plantation replace the rice paddies. The going on this section is slow- especially if the rain is falling, but the scenery is well worth it. The road climbs through the towns of Subuh and Batang. Roadside stalls sell a variety of tropical fruits-including the exotic Jackfruit and spiky, smelly Durian. This is not coffee country but I did take the opportunity to stop at a warung and try a local Kopi. The coffee was mixed with nutmeg ad red sugar- sweet and bitter at the same time. It was wok roasted robusta- ground up using a traditional sandstone bowl and pestle.

Semarang itself is a port city- located on a narrow strip of land between the coast and a divide of large volcanoes. During Dutch times this was a major trading port- serving as a feed for the hundreds of plantations located in the narrow strip between the north and south coasts of Central Java. The Dutch built an impressive rail system that carried the coffee, sugar, rubber, cloves and tobacco from the hinterland to the warehouses located along the port cities canals. The city is still the provincial capital for Central Java and is a very pleasant place. The hills above the city give fantastic views across the city to the big blue Java Sea. From this cooler altitude the volcanic peaks behind are also majestic- towering and dominating- dark, heavily forested and quite threatening.

Semarang has perhaps the best preserved examples of both Dutch architecture and Dutch town planning in Indonesia. The downtown area is filled with examples of Dutch colonial buildings. There are numerous old warehouses, offices, hotels and churches that are still now in use. Old ornate lamps line the wide streets. In this part of the city the traffic flows in an orderly fashion. As one moves into to newer areas of any Indonesian city the lack of recent town planning becomes increasingly evident. One such place is Toko ?Oen?, a self proclaimed ice cream palace and patisserie; it has been operating for 67 years. The took (shop) is located on Jl.Pemuda (number 52- phone 3541683) in an old Dutch building. The interior of the shop is truly exquisite- high ceilings, stained glass windows, big shuttered windows opening onto the street. Lots of teak- the window frames, ceiling panels and of course the furniture. The ice cream is good as well, although the instant Nescafe coffee was out of place in such a setting.

After a brief walk around the city area we ventured out to the new warehousing area located behind the bus station and near Port Semarang. The area was hot and dusty, with evidence that during the wet season roads in this part of town flood. Holes are deep as a motor scooter had been carved through the asphalt and into the alluvial mud below by countless container trucks passing through. We negotiated the mud and holes and slowly made our way to one of the region coffee broker?s warehouses. The warehouse complex was made up of 4 large buildings. When we arrived there were several 20? containers awaiting loading and we came just in time to see the workers finishing stuffing another container. The warehouse was filled with 60kg sacks of Central Java Arabica and Robusta. I guess I would estimate there were 20,000 bags stacked neatly in the warehouses (although as the broker exported over 11,000 metric or 611 x 20? containers last year, I may be under estimating!). Machinery sorting beans using the gravity sort method were working away furiously at one end of the place- sorting the grade 1 beans from the rest. Drying units, sortex machines and of course the workers themselves all contributing to grading the best beans for export. I was impressed with how well the place was run and the good natured attitude of the workers. I was also mightily impressed with the sacks and sacks of green beans and the wonderful aroma of the greens?a smell I truly love!

A short while later we were on the road out of Semarang- hustling with the container trucks and buses for right of way. After crawling up out of the city we made our way to our first stop- a government owned estate about an hour outside the city. The estate grows both robusta and Arabica. The Arabica is a smaller bean, softer and very flavorsome. With the production of this estate being only around 50 metric ton of Arabica, most of the coffee is brought up by one European specialty roaster. The plantation was quiet- in between seasons the workforce required drops markedly. In the colonial days the private owners compensated for the lack of revenue at this time of year by diversifying their crops. This estate has hectares of rubber trees as well as some tea and cinnamon plantings. Even though we arrived on Friday at about the time Sholat Jumat (Friday prayers) begins, we were meet with typical Javanese hospitality and shown around the plantation.

Next stop was the city of Wonosobo and the famous Dieng Plateau. The Plateua is 120km inland from Semarang at an altitude of over 2000 meters. This area is cold, wet and apart from an uncanny resemblance to the New Zealand town of Taihape, is famous for its agricultural output of potatoes, carrots, onions and tobacco. It also has a well known temple complex called Candi Pendawa lima and (by the way) is the gateway to some very interesting and unique Indonesian Arabica coffees. It is very rare that I complain of the cold in Indonesia- but on the drive to Wonosobo I was really feeling it. The rain was bucketing down and even with the cars AC off I was shivering. Opening the window made things worse as the cool air mixed with the rain almost formed ice as it blew through onto my face.

It was dark when we arrived in the town (it was 15.30!) and nothing seemed to be open. To make things worse the rain had become persistent, carrying with it a dampness that is unusual for tropical climates. We checked into the wonderful colonial era Krisno Hotel- a fabulous place of 115 rooms which had occupancy of 0% before our arrival. The hotel is located on the way out of town and was a Dutch resort in the days before World War 2 and independence. Today it has been fully restored and probably deserves to have more guests. It?s a pity that the weather does not play its part here and help out. Walking around the empty lobby I had the chance to admire the stained glass, the teak fittings and later had the pleasant experience of enjoying a beer in the empty bar. It may sound strange, by sitting in an empty bar in the middle of Java listening to Jazz and the soft clicking of the ceiling fans overhead IS actually an experience to be savored. Far from the literally maddening crowds of Jakarta?.a feeling of real relaxation at last!

Wonosobo regency and the area between the town and Dieng Plateau did indeed have both Arabica and robusta plantings. The majority of the trees we found were in small hold plantations in and around settlement areas. Altitude is an important factor in growing quality hard Arabica greens. Certainly the altitude in this area of Java seemed ideal for coffee- although sometimes the high rainfall may affect the quality of the cherries. Being out of season it was difficult to tell. The coffee grows at this altitude well. The trees cling to the side of the hills in some places- some shaded with bigger tropical trees. A lot of the small villages up here grow Arabica for the buyers based in Semarang. The coffee is dried and processed up in the Wonosobo highlands. A lot of the location processing is done using dry processing, although with the availability of water in this area not being a problem wet processing is becoming more widespread. Once processed the coffee is sent to Semarang for finishing- sorting, drying and polishing using modern machinery. I did have the opportunity to try some Arabica from one of these small village growers- I have the greens with me and will test roast and cup them.

The drive down from the plateau through to the royal city of Yogyakarta is a drive past volcanic cones, rice fields and teak and cocoa plantations. Along the way coffee grows wild at the side of the road. Some of the robusta trees reach as high as 30 feet- untended they develop a sprawling, scraggly canopy. Through the change in altitude we actually did come across some trees with ripe cherries. Again these were mainly robusta trees. The Central Java Southern region also has some very good lower altitude Arabica plantations. With a different microclimate and soil conditions the beans cup very differently from those grown around Wonosobo.

Back at the roastery today- tired but satisfied. We are around 500 meters above sea level ourselves and up in the hills. At this time of year it rains religiously at around 15.00. As I type It is bucketing down outside?thankfully I have the San Marino up to heat and pressure and am onto my 4th double. Cheers everyone.

Alun Evans is a specialty coffee roaster based in West Java, Indonesia. He works primarily with small hold growers, farmers and villagers to help them to improve their way of life by growing excellent arabica coffee. Alun is a New Zealander, but has lived in Indonesia since 1998.

It wasn’t until I moved to the US that I started drinking coffee regularly and became what they call in the Netherlands a ‘koffieleut’, which translates literally into ?coffee socialite.? Although the average European drinks more coffee per year than the average American, the cultural importance and its effects on the average European seems to me smaller than that on the average American. After all, coffee is a cultural obsession in the United States.

Chains with thousands of branches like Dunkin’ Donuts or Starbucks dominate US daily street life. Especially in the morning (90% of coffee consumed in the US is in the morning), millions of white foamy cups with boldly imprinted pink and orange logos bob across the streets in morning rush hour and on the train. Coffee drive-ins are a saving grace for the rushing army of helmeted and tattooed construction workers. During lunch break, men and women in savvy business suits duck into coffee shops.

Students chill out from early afternoon till late evening on comfy couches at coffee lounges around campus. Police officers clutch coffee cups while guarding road construction sites on the highway. In short, coffee drinkers in the United States can be found just about anywhere you go.

This mass-psychotic ritual causes Americans to associate Europe above all with cars that oddly do not contain cup holders (to an American this is like selling a car without tires), or with the unbelievably petite cups of coffee European restaurants serve, so small that my father-in-law had to always order two cups of coffee. It is my strongest conviction that the easily agitated and obsessed nature of the ?New Englander? can be blamed on the monster-size cups of coffee they consume. Not without reason is the word ‘coffee’ derived from the Arab ‘qahwa’ meaning ?that which prevents sleep.? Arabs have cooked coffee beans in boiling water since as far back as the 9th century and drank the stimulating extract as an alternative to the Muslims? forbidden alcohol.

These days coffee is second only to oil as the most valuable (legally) traded good in the world with a total trade value of $70 billion. Interestingly, only $6 billion reaches coffee producing countries. The remaining $64 billion is generated as surplus value in the consumption countries. Small farmers grow 70% of world coffee production. They mainly grow two kinds of coffee beans: Arabica and Robusta. About 20 million people in the world are directly dependent on coffee production for their subsistence.

Table 1: production in 2002/3

country % 70% Arabica

30% Robusta

Brasil 42.03% Arab/Rob

Colombia 8.88% Arabica

Vietnam 8.35% Robusta

Indonesia 4.89% Rob/Arab

India 3.74% Arab/Rob

Mexico 3.54% Arabica

Guatemala 3.1% Arab/Rob

Uganda 2.53% Rob/Arab

Ethiopia 2.44% Arabica

Peru 2.24% Arabica

Table 2: consumption in 2001/2world consumption % kg per capita (2001)

USA 30.82% Finland 11.01

Germany 15.07% Sweden 8.55

Japan 11.47% Denmark 9.71

France 8.89% Norway 9.46

Italy 8.59% Austria 7.79

Spain 4.90% Germany 6.90

Great-Brittain 3.63% Switzerland 6.80

the Netherlands 2.69% the Netherlands 6.48

Although the consumption of coffee per capita in the world is decreasing (in the US alone it decreased from 0.711 liter in 1960 to 0.237 liter presently), world consumption is still increasing due to the population explosion. Considering that coffee consists of either 1% (Arabica), 2% (Robusta) or 4.5%-5.1% (instant coffee) caffeine, the average American consumes at least 200 to 300mg (the recommended maximum daily amount) of caffeine a day through the consumption of coffee alone.

The place I frequent to down a cup of coffee is the Starbucks in Stamford, Connecticut. The entrance can be found on the corner of Broad Street and Summer Street, to the left to the main public library with its plain pediment and slim Ionic columns. The location right next to the library harmonizes with Starbuck?s marketing plan. At the entrance of the coffee shop a life-size glass window curves around to the left, providing superb voyeuristic views of pedestrians on the sidewalk. As you enter, you step directly into the living room area with stacked bookshelves against the back wall. Velvet armchairs face each other with small coffee tables in the middle, creating intimate seating areas. The velvet chairs near the window are the prime seats, which people unfortunate to score a wooden chair prey upon. At the back of the long rectangular room is the coffee bar and a small Starbuck?s gift shop. There is a dark wooden table with electrical outlets suited for spreading out laptops and spreadsheets, dividing the living room area from the coffee bar.

Since I have been cranky for weeks I hesitate to order a regular black coffee. It is very easy to get cloyed with a favorite food or drink in the US because of the super-sized portions served. The smallest cup of coffee is a size ‘tall’ (12oz.=0.35l.), after which one can choose between a ‘grande’ (16oz.=0.5l.) and a ‘venti’ (20oz.=0.6l.). Half a liter of coffee seems a bit over the top, and it sounds absolutely absurd to my European mind. I finally end up choosing a ‘solo’ espresso.

Sitting in one of the booth-like seats against the back wall, unable to obtain a prime seat, I feign to read my book while eavesdropping on conversations around to me. Three middle-aged men sit in three ash gray velvet chairs and converse loudly. A vivid dialogue develops, exchanged with half roaring, half shrieking, laughter. They mock a colleague in his absence and then clench their brows in concern while discussing the teeth of one of the men?s daughter. Two African-American women sit at a small table opposite the reading-table in the murky light, one of them with a yellow headscarf with black African motifs. Close to the entrance, in the seating area next to the animated conversation, a vagabond is playing solitaire. One by one he places the creased cards with rounded backs over one another, as if he attempts to stick them together. He rendered a couple of dollars in exchange for a small coffee to feel, in the warmth of the front room, nostalgia for a cozy living room and relives a sense of intimacy of having your own house.

It’s a bright, sunny, early autumn day, a typical New England Indian summer. Sunbeams radiate through the coloring, flickering foliage, and throw a puzzle-shaped shadow into Starbuck?s window. Autumn?s hand turns her colorful kaleidoscopic lens. The green ash tree near the sidewalk resembles, with its polychrome colors, somewhat a bronze statue: its stem sulphur bronze, its foliage intermittently copper green and ferric-nitrate golden. On the other side of the cross walk the top of a young red oak turns fiery red. These are the budding impressions of the autumn foliage for which Connecticut is ‘world famous’ in the US.

In the world of marketing and entrepreneurship, Starbucks is a success story. It is one of those stories of ?excellence? taught as a case study at business school. Founded in 1971, it really began its incredible growth under Howard Schultz in 1985, and presently has 6,294 coffee shops. But what does its success really consists of? A large cup of coffee at Starbucks is much more expensive than at Dunkin’ Donuts: $2.69 compared to $3.40 for a Starbucks’ ?venti?. But while Dunkin’ Donuts offers only a limited assortment of flavors like mocha, hazelnut, vanilla, caramel and cinnamon, you will find exotic quality beans at Starbucks like Bella Vista F.W. Tres Rios Costa Rica, Brazil Ipanema Bourbon Mellow, Colombia Nari?o Supremo, Organic Shade Grown Mexico, Panama La Florentina, Arabian Mocha Java, Caff? Verona, Guatemala Antigua Elegant, New Guinea Peaberry, Zimbabwe, Aged Sumatra, Special Reserve Estate 2003 ? Sumatra Lintong Lake Tawar, Italian Roast, Kenya, Ethiopia Harrar, Ethiopia Sidamo, Ethiopia Yergacheffe and French Roast. So Starbucks offers luxury coffees and high quality coffee dining, reminiscent almost of the chic coffee houses I visited in Vienna.

Every now and then, I grin shamefully and think back at my endless hesitation choosing between the only two types of coffee available in most Dutch stores: red brand and gold brand. Even up to this day I have no clue what the actual difference is between the two, apart from the color of the wrapping: red or gold. Not surprisingly, Starbucks appeals to the laptop genre of people: consultants, students, intellectuals, the middle class, and a Starbucks coffee is a white-collar coffee, while a Dunkin’ Donuts coffee is a blue-collar coffee. In Dunkin’ Donuts you will run into Joe the Plumber, Bob the barber, and Mac the truck driver. But what is it exactly, that attracts the white collared workers in the US to fall back into the purple velvet chairs?

I imagine their working days filled with repetitive actions and decisions within a playing field of precisely defined responsibilities. How many of the players in these fields get through the day with its routines for simply no other reason than being able to enjoy their daily 30 minutes-escape into the Starbucks intimacy where, for a brief moment in the day, you regain the illusion of human warmth and exotic associations of resisting the coldness of high finance?

For 15 minutes you fall back into the deep, soft pillow of a velvet chair and randomly, and alas how important is that moment of utter randomness, pull a book from the shelves. While, in the background, soothing tones resound of country blues, with its recognition of deep human suffering, a blaze of folk with the primary connection with nature and tradition, or of merengue reviving the passionate memories of adventure and love, you gaze out the window and ponder about that simple, volatile reflection in the moment, strengthened by the physical effect of half a liter of watery coffee that starts to kick in and the satisfaction of chewing your muffin, bagel, cake, brownie, croissant or donut.

It is, above all, that bodily ecstasy caused by a combination of caffeine, sugar and the salivating Pavlov effect. You remember the struggling musician behind the counter taking your order, the amateur poet as you pay her for the coffee and give a full dollar tip, feeling a transcendental bound in your flight from reality. You stare with a fastened throbbing of the first gulps of coffee at the advertisements and poems on the bulletin board, and dauntlessly you think: They are right, they are so right! and what do I care? Why should I care? Fuck my boss, fuck the system, fuck everybody!’

But then you look at your watch and notice you really have to run again. ‘Well, too bad, gotta go!’, or people will start gossiping for being so long away from your desk. And while you open the door, an autumn breeze blows in your face, the last tunes of the blues solo die out as the Hammond organ whispers: ‘I throw my troubles out the door, I don’t need them anymore’.

Coffee in the US is a subculture that massively floated to the surface of the consumer?s society. Starbucks is more than coffee, it’s more than just another brand on the market, it is a social-political statement, a way of perceiving how you would like to live, in other words it is a culture. Starbucks is the alternative to Coca-Cola and so much more than just coffee: it’s chocolate, ice-cream, frappuccino, travel mugs with exotic prints, cups and live music, CD’s, discounts on exhibitions and even support for volunteer work.

About The Author

Remko de Knikker is a contributor to Szirine.com (personal website: www.mindxp.com). Remko studied West European history in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. He is currently employed as a bioinformatics programmer at Yale University. He wrote two short stories ‘A Short Story about Andrzej and Roman’ (? 2003) and ‘Theombrotus or the Pharmacia’ (? 2003), is the editor-in-chief for Boilingpoint.nl, and a columnist for Sargasso.nl. He was a winner of the Bulkboek songtext contest (Stef Bos: Het verlangen vrij te zijn), and published two CDs: ‘Blockbuster’ (? 2003 Blockbuster) and ?Handful of maggots? (? 1999 Blockbuster).

remkocaprio@mindxp.com

Do you dream about coffee like I do?

I could sure use a grande caramel macchiato right now. Doesn’t that sound ideal ? You can just taste that sweet caramel as that fresh ground coffee aroma fills your sinuses with incomparable java goodness. Wow, is there a coffee house close by or what? I know you’re craving one right about now. Just picture that grande mug of tempting and rich coffee sitting in front of you. Any flavor or fashion you want.

That’s one part of the day we all look forward too.

You just hope the line is not too long. That can always be a real bummer. You think you’re going to just whiz through the drive-thru, but all of the sudden you notice eight other vehicles before you. Great , that’s all you needed! Now you have to wait forever to get that fresh roasted coffee in your hand. Or, at the very least, it seems like forever at times. There is a fine alternative to this redundant process, you know. It’s not a handgun and a bad temper. It’s not a extraterrestial java angel. It’s a home, espresso, super machine and wholesale gourmet coffee beans.

What do you know about wholesale gourmet coffee beans and home espresso machines?

I will let you in on a little secret about java. First of all, it tastes good. Oh, okay never mind; you already knew that part. Anyway, you should also know that you can concoct your very own java mixes and espresso drinks in your kitchen. Yep, that’s what I said. You don’t have to rely on the cranky, drive-thru teenager, who may or may not use the old espresso grounds already in the coffee machine. That’s always a bummer.

Buy Your Own Setup

These days you can purchase quality wholesale gourmet coffee and the machine to get the job done right. In fact, I highly recommend this route. I enjoy purchasing my own wholesale gourmet coffee simply due to the fact that I know how old they are. Unlike those Starbucks stores that use some of the cheapest beans around, you can purchase wholesale gourmet coffee beans online, and I know you will end up with a finer cup of Joe.

Specialty gourmet coffee is a very hot commodity in today’s market.

The consumption of gourmet coffee has steadily grown with consumers enjoying the more sophisticated tastes of gourmet coffee beans. Specialty gourmet coffee, sometimes called premium coffee, is exceptional coffee beans grown only in ideal coffee-producing climates. These coffee beans have unique characteristics because of the soil they grow in which produce very distinctive flavors.

You see, it all comes down to the right equipment.

Espresso machines are selling more than ever these days. Folks simply want to make their own caffeinated beverages in the privacy of their own homes and on a whim if they please. We can’t always just run to the coffee house downtown. Now, what you do next is hop online and start a search for espresso machines and wholesale gourmet coffee beans.

Down the road you will be glad you did.

Judith Brandy loves coffee and runs a website dedicated to her love of coffee with informative articles, resources and links. If you love coffee, visit www.cafebuzz.info.

Coffee was discovered in Ethiopia by a goat herder named Kaldi who while watching his goats noticed that they were acting very bizarre. As he investigated this peculiar behavior he noticed that the goats were dancing from one bush to the next eating cherry colored berries. He started partaking of the berries himself and was soon dancing with his goats. It became an aid for him and fellow goat herders to help them stay alert through out the night as they watched their herd.

Coffee moved north to the Arabia?s where it flourished and transcended from raw (green beans) to roasted beans that were grounded and brewed. To gain control over this magical crop Arabians would boil their export beans making them infertile. For almost 600 years from about 1000 A.D. to the 1600?s coffee only grew in North Africa the Eastern Mediterranean, and India. This crop was dominated by the nation of Islam for literally centuries. It was when a smuggler named Baba Budan finally opened the coffee market by smuggling live coffee seeds into Europe. This made the coffee empire shift hands in 1615 A.D.

The Turks were at this time known for having a magical drink of black color. A few of their merchants introduced the drink to the Italians. The merchants of Venice introduced coffee to the rest of Europe. In 1616 the Dutch did what was thought to be impossible. They grew what is known as the first coffee plant in Europe. In 1696 they started the first European owned coffee empire in an area called Java, which is now part of Indonesia.

The Dutch soon after their Java conquest moved forward to other areas. Amsterdam, was now growing coffee? This seems to be the case. The Dutch were very prosperous in their coffee conquest. It was in 1714 that King Louis the XIV received his first coffee tree for his royal courtyard the Jard des Plantes. A few years later while on a French expedition to the Caribbean?s a Naval Officer petitioned the king for some of the seed from the Jard des Plantes, but his request was denied. Several days later the Naval Officer and a few of his shipmates raided the Jard des Plantes and took a shrub, which later yielded 18 million coffee trees in a fifty-year period.

In 1727 Brazil wanted to have a piece of the coffee empire, but had to find a way to smuggle some seeds from a coffee country. Colonel Palheta was sent to settle a border dispute in France. This smooth talking Officer found the coffee fortress impregnable, so he found a road of lease resistance. That road was none other then the Governor?s wife. His plan paid off. At a fair well dinner she presented him with a bush with seedlings. From these seed sprang forth the largest coffee empire ever. By the 1800?s Brazil?s coffee was no longer a drink for the elite. Everyone was able to partake from this magical drink.

How fortunate we are today that coffee has been made accessible to the Millions who love it. Our history lesson has taught us that coffee was meant to be share the world around. No King can rule the coffee empire!

Don is the owner of several free information websites and the sole proprietor of Java Jakes Gourmet Coffee Co. Visit: http://www.megainfosource.com http://www.javajakes.com http://www.egolfplace.com Visit these sites today and become informed.

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

The barista is the Italian word for the skilled person who prepares coffee (ultimately espresso) in a coffee house.

What would you want your barista to be like?

This is not a trick question. The more I think of it, the more I believe it, that the world of coffee making must be laying on the shoulders of a barista.

I believe that because the coffee I am beeing served in a coffee house, I expect it to be good. On the other hand, the manager of the bar expects me to be pleased with the service and come again. If the coffee is not good, I will not do that.

Now who is responsible for this small gearing to work? You probably have guessed it, the barista.

Are you wondering what a barista is and how can you recognise him or her?

1. Well, he or she does not have a specific age or appearance. Nor nationality. In Italy, the country that gave the name of the job, a barista is most likely a man around the age of 40. In America, there are more chances that you find a young lady. But not necessarily.

2. One sure thing is they’re susceptible to be found behind the bar-counter, always ready to prepare several varieties of coffee ‘expressly for you’ – by the way, did you know this was the initial definition of the espresso coffee?

3. A skilled barista, the one you would like to have prepare your cup, has several years of experience.

4. A good barista carries out to near-perfection four operations: dosing, tamping, pulling and steaming.

5. A good barista knows that no. 4 is not enough and sometimes helpless. For example, tamping depends on the finesse of the grind. The finer the grind, the less important the tamping.

6. A really good barista pays atention both to the quality of the coffee and the presentation.

7. The skilled barista is capable of performing more operations at the same time.

8. The barista you like interacts with his or her customers.

9. A good barista can manage to make a pretty good cup with less sophisticated appliances. Meanless to say, the opposite is not true.

10. A good barista can make a flourishing business out of your modest old cofee-shop. Again, the opposite in not true.

About The Author

Iulia Pascanu writes for www.madcoffeemaker.com where you can find more information about The Mad Coffee Maker

Please feel free to use this article in your Newsletter or on your website. If you use this article, please include the resource box and send a brief message to let me know where it appeared. Mailto: iuliap@gmail.com.

Want to brew the perfect cup of coffee?

Here are 3 simple tips that will make a difference in every single cup you drink.

Tip #1
Clean Coffee Pot

A clean pot is essential and can make a world of difference in the taste of your coffee. Old oils from previous batches of coffee and soap residue left on the pot makes coffee taste bad.

Baking soda and water work well for cleaning coffee mugs and pots. Be sure to rinse extra good so no residue is left behind.

Tip #2
Clean Filtered Water

The water you use for your coffee will affect the taste more than anything. Coffee is 99% water so use clean filtered or bottled water free from chlorine and other minerals that will affect the taste of your coffee.

Using stainless steel or gold mesh filters instead of paper filters will also make your coffee taste better. Paper filters release dyes, chlorine and bleach that affect taste. If you insist on using paper filters buy the unbleached, brown paper filters.

Tip #3
Use Fresh Quality Coffee

Quality coffee costs more but will consistently produce better tasting coffee.

For the best results use quality, whole bean coffee and grind the coffee beans just prior to use. You might think it’s an inconvenience compared to ground coffee, but once you taste the difference you’ll never go back.

If you still want to use ground coffee, make sure you use a good, drip grind coffee.

Use 2 level tablespoons of coffee per 6 ounces of water. This can be adjusted for individual taste preference. Make sure to spread the grounds evenly in the coffee filter so full brewing is achieved.

Drink your fresh coffee right away for the best flavor. Coffee will break down quickly if left on a heat source. Coffee should never be reheated or microwaved.

A clean, preheated air pot or stainless steel Thermos will keep coffee hot for about an hour without hurting the flavor.

If you follow these 3 simple tips, every cup you brew will be perfect coffee.

Copyright ? 2004. PerfectCoffees.Com. All rights reserved.

This article may be re-published as is (unedited) as long as the author’s bio paragraph (resource box) and copyright information is included. The URLs in the resource box should be set as hyperlinks if used on a web page.

About The Author

Gary Gresham is the webmaster for http://www.perfectcoffees.com where you can purchase quality coffee, tea, cups & mugs, coffee gifts and delicious desserts online. He offers a free monthly coffee newsletter at http://www.perfectcoffees.com/newsletter.html.

One of the things people think of with Italy is it’s coffee. In fact Italian roast coffee is perfect for bringing a touch of Europe to your home. Can 50 million plus Italians all be wrong? Well, with Italian roast you can’t go wrong either.

Generally speaking, Italian Roast coffee is darker in colour than most roasted blends of coffee and consequently develops an intense, full-bodied flavour from the blend of Pacific and Latin American origins. It seems to be richer and fuller and has a bit of a bite to it. The aroma is balanced and complex.

Why the name Italian Roast when coffee comes from Brazil?

As is known, most of the coffee we drink today originates from Latin America or the Pacific, so where does the name Italian Roast come from?

Well, the name Italian Roast derives from the dark roasted blend style that is commonly used in Italy. And do the Italians know a thing or two about their coffee? I think they do. Naturally it goes without saying, if you grind your own, Italian roast coffee is perfect for making authentic espresso. If served in Illy Collection cups, for instance, you cant go wrong.

There is espresso coffee and espresso coffee, but with an Italian roast blend the difference is clear

In fact, most of today’s household names, such as Gaggia, Lavazza and Illy are Italian family companies that have conquered the world with their particular blends of coffee, targeted marketing and wonderful coffee making machines. Gaggia, for instance started business in the 1940′s, not so long ago, but they are recognised as a well respected coffee-company in most of the world.

Similar with Lavazza, started in Turin, not only famous for its coffee, but also a prestigious calendar, similar to that of Pirelli. And what espresso lover isn’t familiar with the Illy Collection; neat espresso cups with exclusive designs produced in limited numbers.

Do you think all this could have been possible without a deep knowledge and respect for coffee? Italian roast must deserve some of the success of these companies.

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.