For the love of coffee, I decided to devote a little time to research and write something concise and comprehensive about it. This would take us to an understanding beyond that simple bliss from a cup of coffee concoction.
Coffee is a very well-known beverage worldwide. It is a beverage that comes from roasting the coffee beans and brewing it.
Because of its caffeine content, it has this stimulating effect to humans. This explains why we feel awaken or energized when we drink coffee.
Coffee drinking is said to have begun in the Muslim world. The Ethiopians were the first to have discovered and recognized the energizing effect of the coffee plant. Then from Ethiopia, coffee spread to Egypt and Yemen. But it was in Arabia where coffee beans were first roasted and brewed like how it is being done today. It became famous and had spread to Italy, to the rest of Europe, to America and to Indonesia. Due to proximity of Borneo and other Indonesian islands to Mindanao, coffee may have entered to the Philippines. Another route was through the Galleon trade and the Spanish friars who brought coffees from Europe.
Spanish friars was said to have came around 1750 in Lipa, Batangas. It is also in the same province where the first coffee trees were planted.
COFFEE PREPARATION
To create a coffee drink, coffee beans has to go through the process of roasting, grinding and brewing.
The types of grind are the Turkish grind which is the finest grind and the coffee percolator or French press is the coarsest grinds. The medium grind which is in between the extremes is used in most common home coffee brewing machines.
There are different methods on how to brew coffee: boiled, steeped or pressured.
Boiling coffee was the earliest method of brewing it. The Turkish coffee as an example is prepared by powdering the beans with mortar and pestle, then adding the powder to the water and bringing it in a boil. This actually produced a strong coffee drink with a layer of foam on the surface while sediments settle at the bottom. But through the invention of percolators or automatic coffeemakers, boiling coffee is made easier. In a coffeemaker, ground coffee is held in a filter made of paper or perforated metal while hot water drips unto it. In a percolator, boiling water is forced into a chamber above a filter by steam pressure created by boiling. The boiling water then passes downward to the ground coffee
Steeping coffee is done using French press or coffee press. Ground coffee and water are combined in a coffee press and left to brew for few minutes. A plunger is then depressed to separate the coffee grounds to let it remain at the bottom.
Pressured method is also known as the espresso method. Hot pressurized water is forced through the ground coffee. A well-prepared espresso has a reddish-brown foam called crema that floats on the surface.
COFFEE PRESENTATION
After brewing, coffee may be presented in a variety of ways depending on your preference of course.
Black coffee – Percolated or French-pressed coffee that is served with no additives or sugar or with milk, cream or both. It is called iced coffee when served cold.
Espresso-based coffee can be presented in a number of ways:
Café-Americano – a shot or two of espresso with hot water added
Café latte – steamed milk is added to the espresso
Cappuccino – with equal parts steamed milk and milk froth added
Café macchiato – with a dollop of hot foamed milk on top
Café Mocha – with foamed milk, steamed milk plus chocolate syrup to the espresso
A fancy way to present it is also to add a scoop of ice cream on top
reference:
WikipediaFigaro Coffee
