Are you an avid fan of coffee? Are you unable to imagine life with a morning cup of nice, strong brew? Or perhaps you prefer the sugary, unhealthy, but delicious Starbucks drinks. Do you enjoy rich coffee, smooth or sweet and bright? Do you want to find out what coffee is right for you? If so, let us dive right in.
Coffee is a beverage brewed from the roasted and ground seeds of the plant that has the same name. The coffee plant is a bush or tree that can grow up to ten meters high but is usually cut shorter. Coffee plants originally grew in Africa, and now also grow in South America, Central America, and Southeast Asia. Coffee is one of the most popular drinks in the world (next to water and tea) and a highly profitable commodity.
The drink is made from the seeds of the coffee plant, called coffee beans. Coffee is usually served hot and is a popular drink in many countries. Coffee contains a drug called caffeine. It is a mild stimulant that helps people stay awake and alert.
To make a drink from coffee beans, the beans must first be specially prepared by drying the beans and then roasting. The beans are dried a short time after they are picked. This preserves them and makes them ready to be packed or roasted. Before the beans are made into a drink, they must be roasted or ground (crushed into tiny pieces in a coffee mill). When the ground coffee is placed into boiling water, the flavor and dark brown color of the beans go into the water. Making coffee is called brewing coffee. There are several different ways that coffee can be brewed.
There are two main types of coffee plants: Coffea Arabica and C. canephora. Most of the world’s coffee is made from Arabica beans. Arabica is considered a milder and more flavourful and aromatic brew than Robusta, the main variety of C. canephora. The flatter and more elongated Arabica bean is more widespread than Robusta but more delicate and vulnerable to pests. Robusta coffee is cheaper to produce, has more caffeine content than the Arabica variety, and is typically used by inexpensive commercial coffee brands.
There are many different ways people drink their coffee. For example, black coffee means coffee with no milk, while white coffee is a coffee with milk in it. Café au lait is a coffee made with hot milk, making it different than white coffee which is served with cold milk. Café au lait is a popular drink in New Orleans, where it is made with milk and coffee mixed with chicory, giving it a strong, bitter taste.
Espresso is a very strong and very concentrated kind of coffee. Espresso is the base for various coffee drinks—including caffè latte, cappuccino, caffè macchiato, caffè mocha, flat white, and caffè Americano.
Cappuccino is an expresso prepared with frothed milk. The name comes from the Capuchin friars, referring to the color of their habits, and in this context referring to the color of the beverage when milk is added in small portions to dark, brewed coffee.
Latte is a beverage made with espresso, added steamed milk, and a thin layer of foam. The term comes from the Italian caffellatte or caffè latte, from caffè e latte, which literally means “coffee and milk”.
“Flat white” is a double espresso where milk micro foam is added to the crema on the double espresso. Crema means an emulsion of the oils in the coffee beans when combined with hot water that floats.
Americano is espresso with a lot of hot water. Irish coffee is coffee with whiskey and with cream on the top.
Iced coffee is a little different. It is coffee served cold, an espresso made with crushed ice, cold milk, and ice cream. Vietnamese style coffee, or Cafe Sua Da, is filtered coffee poured over ice into a glass with sweet condensed milk (thick milk which has had the water removed).
Instant coffee is a good way to make a quick cup of coffee. First, strong coffee has to be made from ground coffee and boiling water. Then, the coffee grounds are filtered out. The coffee liquid is dried out until nothing is left except granules or fine powder. This is put into jars or packets and sold. When the powder is added to boiling water, it dissolves in it and our coffee is ready. Of course, the taste of instant coffee can be very different from fresh coffee.
Wow, there are so many different ways you can drink coffee. Do you want to find the one for you? Take our quiz and discover what coffee is right for you. We hope you will enjoy every cup of coffee after that.
