The Preparation of a Cup of Coffee

The first thing that has to happen to produce a cup of coffee with to ground the beans. The important thing to remember is that coffee grounds deteriorate quite fast so it is always best to ground the beans just before you want to use them in order to get the freshest flavour.

The fineness of grind must match the brewing method in order to get the best results. Brewing methods which expose coffee grounds to heated water for longer require a coarser grind than faster brewing methods. If a too fine a ground is used a bitter, harsh taste may results. At the other extreme, an overly coarse grind will produce weak coffee unless more is used.

Coffee may be brewed by several methods:

• Brewing coffee by boiling was the earliest method,  Turkish coffee being an example of this method. It is prepared by pounding the beans with a mortar and pestle, then adding the powder to water and bringing it to a boil in a pot called a cezve or, in Greek, a briki. This produces a strong coffee with a layer of foam on the surface.
• Machines such as percolators or filter coffee makers brew coffee by gravity. In a filter coffeemaker hot water drips onto coffee grounds held in a coffee filter made of paper or perforated metal, allowing the water to seep through the ground coffee while absorbing its oils and essences. Gravity causes the liquid to pass into a carafe or pot while the used coffee grounds are retained in the filter. In a percolator, boiling water is forced into a chamber above a filter by pressure created by boiling. The water then passes downwards through the grounds due to gravity, repeating the process until shut off by an internal timer.
• Cafetiere is a coffee brewing device consisting of a narrow cylindrical jug usually made of glass or clear plastic, with a lid and a “plunger” which fits tightly in the cylinder. The end of the “plunger” has a fine wire or nylon mesh which acts as a filter. Coffee is brewed by placing the coffee and water together in the jug, leaving to brew for a few minutes, then depressing the plunger to push the coffee to the bottom of the jug. Coffee for use in a Cafetiere should be of a consistent, coarse grind. The use of a burr mill grinder gives a more consistent grind than the whirling blade variety. The coffee produced is usually stronger and thicker and has more sediment than filter-brewed coffee.
• Espresso is made with hot water forced, under pressure through a lightly packed matrix (called a puck) of finely ground coffee. It can be served alone but it is also the basis for many coffee drinks. It is one of the strongest tasting forms of coffee regularly consumed, with a distinctive flavour and crema, a layer of emulsified oils in the form of a colloidal foam standing over the liquid. Espresso-based coffee has a wide variety of possible presentations. In its most basic form, it is served alone as a “shot” or in the more watered down style café américano; shot or two of espresso with hot water. The Americano should be served with the espresso shots on top of the hot water to preserve the crema. Milk can be added in various forms to espresso: steamed milk makes a caffè latte, equal parts espresso and milk froth make a cappuccino, and a dollop of hot, foamed milk on top creates a caffè macchiato. What’s your Cup of Coffee? Take a look at how to produce your favourite.
• Instant coffee is dried into soluble powder or freeze dried into granules that can be quickly dissolved in hot water.

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What’s your Cup of Coffee?

Coffee Shops these days have an amazing variety of different types of coffee making it nearly impossible to decide which coffee is best for you. The one common element is that they tend to begin with a shot or two of Espresso.

Here are the main coffee types and how they are made.

• Cappuccino is one of the most popular and is made from one third espresso, one third hot milk and one third frothy milk
• Latte is another “milky” coffee made from a ratio of 1:6 espresso:hot milk
• Macchiato, maybe not so popular, is basically espresso with a little touch of milk
• Con Panne is espresso with a dash of cream
• Mocha is a cup of hot chocolate with a dash of espresso
• Americano is a longer drink of espresso with added hot water

To make the best hot milk and froth for your Cappuccino and Latte you can use any type of milk – full cream, semi-skimmed or skimmed just as long as it’s fresh. It’s the protein in the milk that makes the froth and this diminishes after about 4 days. Always use a stainless-steel jug to do the frothing as it conducts heat better, fill it to just under half full with cold milk and begin frothing. When it’s too hot to touch at the base the froth is ready. Give it a couple of taps to get rid of any bubbles, and then gently spoon the froth onto your espresso for that perfect cappuccino!

These cups of coffee and easily be made at home with either Cappuccino Makers, Espresso Machines or Combi Coffee Makers and there are lots available at high street stores at reasonable prices.

Probably the cheapest method of making coffee, except instant coffee, of course, uses a Cafetiere or a Filter Coffee Machine. Both are simple and cheap machines which use ground coffee, the cafetiere being the most simple as it doesn’t require electricity.

For that special cup of coffee why not try a Bean to Cup Machine which, as the name suggests, uses Coffee Beans.

Relatively new to the market are the Pod Coffee Machines which use pre-packed “pods” of coffee and are barcoded to produce a perfect cup of coffee every time. Again, there are many on the market but one of the most well known is Tassimo which has lots of well known brands of coffee available in pods for use in their machines.