Coffees and Cream

If you had suggested to someone a few years ago that they should add syrup to their coffee they would have looked at you blankly and wondered what on earth you were talking about. The closest people came to syrup was probably a tin of golden or even black treacle in the kitchen cupboard!

Syrup in coffee was something a few people on the Continent indulged in when they had the time to sit outside their favourite café or bar, putting the world to rights with their companions and asking the barista to “just add a shot of vanilla”, or perhaps amaretto, to their espresso to give it a bit of a twist.

But not any more. Because if you haven’t heard of coffee syrups then you really are in the minority, and missing out.

Even here in the UK, where we can be a bit slow to embrace new culinary ideas from abroad, the idea of adding syrup to coffee is becoming more and more popular.

coffee shops – both chains and independents – are taking advantage of this new popularity and stocking a wide range of flavours. They have realised that people want to add a dash of something new to their espresso, they want to liven up their latte, makeover their macchiato, and ring the changes with their cappuccino.

For coffee shops, it makes commercial sense. Each bottle of syrup contains a number of shots, the cost of which can be passed on to the customer with a small mark-up. A slight increase in price for the customer, but a big profit for the coffee shop.

For coffee lovers, syrups really ring the changes and add a new interest and more choice for both the coffee aficionado and the occasional coffee drinker alike. And they make only a small difference in price to your usual drink.

So, where did the practice of adding syrup to coffee come from? It is thought to have started as a syrup flavoured with actual coffee, and originated from New England. It was created in the 1930s, when drug stores started mixing leftover coffee grounds with sugar and milk, and marketing the drink at children, whose parents were in the store having ‘proper’ coffee. Bit different to a cola with a straw!

Some coffee shops in the States also started making simple sugar syrups, by dissolving sugar in water, then using the syrup as a coffee sweetener.

At some point, someone thought of bottling this syrup and it was marketed.

But all this was a far cry from the syrups we enjoy nowadays, with their very wide range of flavours – vanilla, cinnamon, amaretto, ginger, and caramel to name but a few.

You can add them to coffee in your local coffee shop, you can enjoy them at home, and they are so versatile you can even use them in cooking.

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Coffee substitute drinks are becoming more and more popular these days. The main reason behind its popularity is the fact that people are more conscious about their health now. You have wide variety of choices in terms of flavours and ingredients when it comes to coffee substitute drinks. Basically moving to healthy substitute for coffee is a better way to maintain good health.

Many of us prefer to start our day with a cup of coffee and it is an essential part of our daily routine. We do not sometimes mind drinking up to 4-5 cups of coffee a day because we love the taste of it. Gradually people get addicted to its taste and normally tend to forget about its side effects to their health. But recently in past few years many people due to health reasons are in search for a good alternative drink for coffee.

Basically coffee substitute drinks not only taste similar to the coffee but it also has an added advantage of not having any kind of ill effects on our health. The concept of coffee substitute drinks is not a new thing because it has been there for a long time the only thing is that people were not so much aware of its health benefits. Majority of the coffee substitute a drink are completely caffeine free and does not lead to acidity problem which is commonly caused due to drinking coffee.

Excess consumption of coffee according to the medical research can lead to health related issues such as headache, acid reflux problem, heartburn, anemia and much more. Lack of sleep is commonly reported by people who consume too much of coffee. Not only is that  it can gradually lead to other complicated health problems too.  Drinking too much of coffee can wear down the outer layers of our teeth too. Whereas coffee substitute drinks are in general caffeine free and it is considered to be comparatively ten times healthier than the consumption of the regular coffee.

The most popular and commonly used coffee substitute drinks are postum coffee, pero coffee, soy coffee, grain coffee, inka coffee etc. Majority of these coffee substitutes are made by roasting the ingredients such as chicory root, cotton seeds, sweet potato, grain, potato peal, pea, barley, beet root etc which are all very healthy. All these coffee substitutes are reported to be without any kind of side effects because these are all made of herbal ingredients which are very healthy for our health.

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Tags: coffee drinks, good coffee

The Frappuccino didn’t take long to become one of the best selling drinks in the world. The name has even become a “catch all” for a milk based coffee drink in many people’s minds, often just called a “frap.”

The Short History of Starbucks

The first Starbucks opened in 1971 in the historic Pike Place Market in Seattle.  That’s the place where they throw the fish.  Hope none of those landed in the coffee.

The name, Starbucks, comes from Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, the classic American novel about the 19th century whaling industry. That’s why they have the Mermaid on the logo.

Howard Schultz joined Starbucks in 1982. On a trip to Italy, he visited Milan’s famous espresso bars and was impressed with their popularity and culture.  He returned home and added Lattes and Mochas to Starbucks and Seattle goes coffee-crazy.

The rest of the world quickly follows and today Starbucks has more than 15,000 locations across the globe.

The History of the Frappuccino

Starbucks acquired the rights to a frozen coffee drink similar and the trademarked name, Frappuccino, when it bought out the Coffee Connection of Boston, a chain with 24-stores mostly around New England. A pretty good deal in hindsight.

The original Frap, however, was completely different from the one that Starbucks serves.

The name, Frappuccino, is a combination of frappe and cappuccino. An original cappuccino is a strong Italian coffee drink topped with frothed milk — and still served at Starbucks and every other coffee bar.

Frappe is either taken from frappé, a Greek coffee-based milkshake, or from the local New England term for a thick milkshake, frappe. Or perhaps both.

Cinnabon serves similar drinks called Mochalatta and Caramelatta and Dunkin’ Donuts also has a drink called Coolatta .

So I suppose this is actually 4 recipes in 1. Cool.

Starbucks Frappuccino Recipe Ingredients

• 1/2 cup fresh Espresso
• 2 1/2 cups low fat Milk (2 percent)
• 1/4 cup granulated Sugar
• 1 tablespoon dry Pectin (this adds no taste and can easily be left out. What it does is make it “thick”)

Directions

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a pitcher or covered container.
2. Stir or shake until sugar is dissolved.
3. Chill and serve cold. 

To make the “Mocha” variety:

Add a pinch (1/16 teaspoon) of cocoa powder to the mixture before combining.

This copy will be even more authentic if you use Starbucks beans and grind them yourself just before brewing.

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Tags: coffee drinks, good coffee

The Frappuccino didn’t take long to become one of the best selling drinks in the world. The name has even become a “catch all” for a milk based coffee drink in many people’s minds, often just called a “frap.”

History

Starbucks acquired the rights to a frozen coffee drink similar and the trademarked name, Frappuccino, when it bought out the Coffee Connection of Boston, a chain with 24-stores mostly around New England.  A pretty good deal in hindsight.

The original Frap, however, was completely different from the one that Starbucks serves.  

The name, Frappuccino, is a combination of frappe and cappuccino.  An original cappuccino is a strong Italian coffee drink topped with frothed milk — and still served at Starbucks and every other coffee bar.

Frappe is either taken from frappé, a Greek coffee-based milkshake, or from the local New England term for a thick milkshake, frappe.  Or perhaps both. 

Cinnabon serves similar drinks called Mochalatta and Caramelatta and Dunkin’ Donuts also has a drink called Coolatta .

So I suppose this is 4 recipes in one.  Cool.

Starbucks Frappuccino Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup fresh Espresso
• 2 1/2 cups low fat Milk (2 percent)
• 1/4 cup granulated Sugar
• 1 tablespoon dry Pectin (this adds no taste and can easily be left out.  What it does is make it “thick”)

Directions

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a pitcher or covered container.
2. Stir or shake until sugar is dissolved.
3. Chill and serve cold.

To make the “Mocha” variety:

Add a pinch (1/16 teaspoon) of cocoa powder to the mixture before combining.

You should be able to make a week’s worth of these before leaving the house for what Monday’s Frap would have cost you at the corner Starbuck — thus saving yourself time and money. 

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Are you one of those coffee lovers who only want to drink the freshest coffee? Perhaps you might be the only coffee drinker in the house. Getting a single cup coffee maker is great for you to consider if you are the only one who will be drinking coffee and will want some coffee that is fresh.

You should look into checking out different single cup coffee makers when you are looking to buy a good coffee maker. There are a lot of factors to consider before choosing the perfect coffee maker that will fit your lifestyle. You will need to watch for the many things that one of these coffee makers can do for you. Cost-effectiveness, simplicity and durability of the coffee maker should be taken into account. You should look into all of the different pros and cons of various coffee makers from different brands when looking into one that you can use for years to come.

One of the best coffee makers that can work for your coffee needs and brew single cups for you is the Black & Decker Brew N’ Go Personal Coffee Maker. If you are the only person in your home that drinks coffee then this coffee maker is for you. People who are single, are students or are always traveling can use it too. This single cup coffee maker brews a 15-ounce cup of coffee. It has a greater yield as compared to other single cup coffee makers. Coffee can also be brewed here at a comfortable 150-degree level. The nice thing is that it only takes about two minutes to brew and about five minutes to finish dripping. You can get the best quality cup of coffee from this machine.

Another feature of the Black & Decker Brew N’ Go Personal Coffee Maker is that it works with a permanent filter. Thanks to this paper filters are not needed. A thermal travel mug is also included. The mug, mesh fliter, the basket for that filter and the lid can be washed in a top-rack dishwasher without being damaged. All items are guaranteed to be fully durable.

Not only is this machine easy to use but it is also affordable. In fact with its compact size you can use this in a smaller kitchen, apartment or dorm room. Unlike pod coffee makers this coffee maker uses ground coffee to help with cutting the machine’s per-cup cost. The coffee that is brewed will be done at a rate of one cup at a time so that your coffee will be fresh.

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Do You Love Espresso Coffee?

One of the many things that I love about Italy is the espresso coffee. Now it is part of my day-to-day life. There is no way I start my day without it, and another one after lunch is mandatory!

Of course, not everybody likes espresso; Two days ago I was in Paris with one french colleague, and he told me: “when I pay for coffee, I expect to receive a big coffee, not that espresso!”. It is like the size of the little cup is not worth what he paid for.

So this article is for real espresso lovers… if you do not love espresso, stop reading right now, because I am showing you how to make the bestespresso coffee italian style!

Choose Your Coffee Wisely!

The most important thing is to choose a good coffee; I have tried many of them, and I have found that the one I like the most (and also many of my friends) is this one: Kimbo Espresso Napoletano. If you can not find it in your supermarket, you can find it in Amazon.

Other valid choices are: Illy and Pellini Top

My favorite coffee

Caffe Kimbo Espresso Napoletano (Ground) – 8.8 oz vacuum pack

ILLY Moka Ground Espresso 8.8oz

Let the Ritual begin…

be precise on the water quantity

For me is pretty much a ritual now. I have gathered different techniques from many of my italian friends, and have applied them to my coffee making process. The result? Many of them after drinking coffee at my house say: “Wow Luis! this is truly a great coffee!”

First, take your well trained italian espresso coffee maker and add some water inside. It is very important that you do not use hot water. I use water from the faucet, as cool as it comes out. Hard water is not good forespresso coffee, so do not use it. There is a valve inside, fill it up until the water level is right below that little hole.

Where Do You Keep Your Coffee?

I usually keep my coffee in a kitchen cabinet at room temperature, but away from the sunlight. I have heard from people that keep it in the refrigerator, but I personally do not like it; you can try that though, and see if it works for you.

Let’s Add Some Coffee!

I like my coffee to have a strong flavor. So, I take the funnel on my italian moka and fill it up creating a “little mountain” on it. Do not press it, just leave it that way.

Also, make sure that the coffee you are putting on the coffee maker is finely ground.

Flames On!

Screw tight your italian coffee pot and put it on the kitchen burner. Keep the flame to a normal level, because if it’s high, your coffee will come out before its time, and it will probably will have this burned taste. Our coffee needs its own time!

Also, keep the lid of the coffee maker up: it will prevent that the condensed vapor going back to our ground coffee, which may variate its flavor.

Take it out as soon as it brews

Actually… before it does!

Do not leave the coffee on the burner. A second before it comes up completely, take it away from the burner.

If you are using a 1-cup coffee maker, just pour it to your italian coffee cup, and enjoy!

Instead, if you have a bigger espresso coffee maker and you are sharing it with more people, take a teaspoon and stir it a little bit (5 times will suffice).

There you are: you have prepared your own espresso coffee italian style!

Buon caffè!

Check the Full Article with pictures at
http://www.squidoo.com/espresso-coffee-italian

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Bar cookies are easy and delicious.  West Virginia’s Reese Cup Bar Cookies is a recipe that supposedly originated in West Virginia.  It does not contain its namesake candy but has the taste of it.  The English cookies are somewhat different with ingredients that include coffee and dates.  Add these recipes to your files today.

WEST VIRGINIA’S REESE CUP BAR COOKIES

2 sticks margarine, room temperature
1 cup peanut butter
1 lb confectioners’ sugar
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
16-oz milk chocolate chips

In a large bowl, cream together the margarine, peanut butter, confectioners’ sugar, graham cracker crumbs. Mix together thoroughly and pat into the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch dish or pan. Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave or over hot water, stirring until totally melted. Spread the chocolate over the peanut butter layer. Let chocolate set before cutting into bars.

ENGLISH BAR COOKIES

2 cups brown sugar
3/4 cup butter
2 eggs
1 cup cold coffee
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
3 cups flour
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 cup chopped dates, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream brown sugar, eggs and butter together. Dissolve the baking soda in the cold coffee. Add the soda/coffee mixture to the butter mixture. Add the baking powder and flour to the mixture and mix all together well. Stir in nuts and dates, if using. Spread the mixture on a greased and floured 12 x 17-inch cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Cool 1 minute. Frost with a simple powdered sugar icing.

Enjoy!

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coffee shop is an establishment which primarily serves prepared coffee or other hot beverages. It shares some of the characteristics of a bar, and some of the characteristics of a restaurant, but it is different from a cafeteria. As the name suggests, coffeehouses focus on providing coffee and tea as well as light snacks. This differs from a café, which is an informal restaurant, offering a range of hot meals, and possibly being licensed to serve alcohol. Many coffee houses in the Muslim world, and in Muslim districts in the West, offer shisha, flavored tobacco smoked through a hookah. In establishments where it is tolerated – which may be found notably in the Netherlands, especially in Amsterdam – cannabis may be smoked as well. One of the original uses of the cafe, as a place for information exchange and communication, was reintroduced in the 1990s with the Internet café or Hotspot (Wi-Fi). The spread of modern style cafes to many places, urban and rural, went hand in hand with computers. Computers and Internet access in a contemporary-styled venue helps to create a youthful, modern, outward-looking place, compared to the traditional pubs or old-fashioned diners that they replaced. coffee shops now offer free Wi-Fi in most stores.

From a cultural standpoint, coffeehouses largely serve as centers of social interaction: the coffeehouse provides social members with a place to congregate, talk, write, read, entertain one another, or pass the time, whether individually or in small groups of 2 or 3.
On that note I am going to introduce to you guys the new coffee place I visited. Here goes..For all Chenaiites who are looking for a cool place to hang out and just relax with your friends- your search ends right here at Mocha Mojo.Don’t be misled by their tag line “Coffees and Conversations’ this place is much more than a coffee shop.
They have a menu that caters to all palates ranging from noodles with sauce to sinful desserts. For the health conscious there is a whole section in the menu which includes salads and yoghurt smoothies with the calories specified alongside! And here’s another interesting tidbit-Mocha Mojo is said to use molecular gastronomy concept in cooking which is the application of scientific principles to the understanding and improvement of food preparation.

The different types of Hookah’s are a novelty with an interesting range of flavors. For the uninitiated –you can always ask one of the waiters to help you choose a flavor and give you an impromptu lesson on how to use the hookah.

This haven for epicureans has an innovative décor which can be best described as ‘retro chic’. You will feel strangely comfortable and relaxed and yet energized while you are consuming the absolutely scrumptious food here. The whole experience is soothing from the moment the waiter places a bottle of drinking water with a sprig of mint floating in it to the moment you pay the bill.

Comfortable surroundings, soothing ambience, friendly service, great music and divine food….. Believe us -you are never going to want to leave once you get there!

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Espresso Machines particularly the Gaggia espresso maker were founded by Achille Gaggia, an Italian who manufactured and applied for patent for the first hot steamless espresso machine to be used purely in his coffee bar. In 1948, Gaggia commercial espresso machines first became available to the market for trading use. It was in 1977 that Italian espresso machines became available also for at home use.

In Italy and other parts of Europe and US America, accessible espresso machines bring happiness to the coffee enthusiasts’ right at the comfort of their accessibles. In fact, Gaggia machines are among the world’s the very best espresso coffee makers.

Espresso Machines made by Gaggia are systematized to deliver the highest quality of brew, and for this reason one Gaggia espresso maker can expend up to $200. The coffee machines used in many commercial coffee shops were innovated by Gaggia Machines from regular espresso coffee machine to cappuccino machines.

To enjoy a satisfying coffee from Gaggia espresso maker is smooth. The things needed are Gaggia coffee machine with its measuring spoon, coffee grounds and coffee cup. The first action is to twist on the coffee maker to pre-heat it for 6 minutes. Add a spoonful of coffee grounds into the coffee filter using the measuring spoon ready by Gaggia Espresso Machines to make a cup of coffee. Re-insert the coffee filter into its holder before pressing the start button.

The next thing to do is to position the cup or carafe under the coffee machine’s spout. To make the matchless brew of coffee that is so famous of gaggia espresso maker, tamp the coffee with 30 pounds of power. Coffee experts revealed that to have the perfect espresso, factors such as water, quality of coffee as well as heat and temperature work a role.

Espresso machines are a apparatus that express quality coffee according to the ability of the user, although it can be said that the main functions of espresso machines are the same. First, the coffee maker uses the water and heats it up until it reaches the proper level, after which, the machine grant the hot water to pass through the ground coffee to generate the espresso.

The remaining hot water is given power and heat to bring out hot steam that make the soapsuddy effect of milk in cappuccino and latte beverages. The famous commercial espresso machines that Gaggia made for coffee bars anywhere are fully-regular coffee machines—whether cappuccino machines or gaggia espresso maker.

This is because it work out flexibility in a span of minutes without sacrificing the quality of their coffee. In coffee bars that are famous and busy, this type of coffee machine is recommended and used.

To give a look on how the regular espresso machine works especially, this article gives the key report on a cup of coffee is made before it is delivered to its customer. The first step is to have the coffee grounded. A skilled barista can do the service. Next is to insert the portafilter before pushing the button and wait. The coffee machines have their own settings to do the work for decaffeinated and regular coffee, which are both beard in seconds.

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Invented by Loeff of Berlin in 1830s vacuum method of brewing coffee fell out of favour by the 1960’s but started to make a comeback in the 1990s and is growing more popular in 21st century. There many different names for these "machines" – vac pots, vacuum brewed coffee, siphon brewer, siphon vacuum coffee, syphon coffee maker etc.

If you have ever seen any of these coffee makers, your first question probably was – how on earth does this thing work?

A siphon brewer basically contains 4 parts – a bottom container, where you pour water; a top container, where you put coffee grounds; a siphon tube that connects the containers; and a filter, where the liquid and gases pass through. The device’s working principle is based on expansion and contraction of a gas (water vapor). The bottom container is heated up, which creates the water vapor that pushes the water up the tube and through the filter to the top container. Once most of the water has moved to the upper chamber the gas can escape through the siphon tube (the tube doesn’t touch the bottom of the lower chamber, there’s a little gap between them). Escaping vapor keeps the water in the upper container at the necessary temperature (it may look like it’s boiling, but it’s actually not). The process continues for 1 to 3 minutes, then you remove the heat source. That basically creates the reverse reaction, where the vapor in lower chamber cools down and contracts (some of it converts back to water), creating vacuum and therefore the suction that pulls the liquid from the upper chamber down to the bottom container. The effect is so strong that the coffee grounds are practically sucked dry in the process.

Originally the vac pots used simple wick burner to heat up the water and some still do. Nowadays there is a bit more variety of heating sources available. In principle they pretty much fall into two categories – the stovetop (gas or electric) use and self-contained heating devices like alcohol wick burners and butune burners. Of all these sources, wick burners are the slowest and butune burners the fastest. If you want to go for the latter option, look for the burners that have easily controllable flame – it’s essential for the great siphon coffee.

Siphon coffee makers come in many different sizes, most common ones being 12 ounces (3 cups), 20 ounces (5 cups) and 32 ounces (8 cups), but there are also brewers for as little as 4 ounces and as much as 48 ounces.

There are different types of siphon brewers available, most common being two globe type (the one in the picture). Here one vessel is sitting on top of another and siphon tube is in between them. Another more common type is a balance brewer, which works in the same principal, however the liquid moves side to side instead of up and down.

When vac pots fell out of favour, only handful of manufacturers kept producing them. With the recent rising popularity of these coffee makers more companies are considering in bringing them back to production. In Japan vacuum coffee is even more popular than drip coffee, which is probably also the reason why many siphon coffee makers are produced by asian companies including Tayli, Hario and Yama. A well known vac pot manufacturing company in Europe is Bodum with its coffeemaker called Santos.

Siphon coffee makers might take some trial and error to get used to it, but they are interesting and entertaining way to make coffee (and they make good coffee, I must say). Let’s face it, there are not that many coffee makers that look as if they were lifted right out of science lab.

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