About White Coffee

In many English-speaking countries, white coffee is used to refer to regular black coffee that has had milk, cream or some other "whitener" added to it. Cream varieties (often called "creamers" in the U.S.), can be made of dairy milk, corn syrup derivatives, soy, or nut products. Sweeteners used include cane sugar or artificial ingredients.

White coffee should be distinguished from café au lait, in that white coffee uses room temperature milk or other whitener, while café au lait uses heated or steamed milk.

In Malaysia, the original White Coffee started in the town of Ipoh, referring to a drink made from coffee beans roasted in margarine, brewed and served with sweetened condensed milk in a cream-color form. An example is Ipoh White Coffee, or Chang Jiang White Coffee. Local coffee manufacturers subsequently mix instant coffee powder with non-dairy creamer and sugar together, and market the 3-in-1 mixture as White Coffee as well. Some manufacturers now taking the sugar out of the mixture, and market the 2-in-1 mixture as Sugar Free White Coffee.

In the United States, white coffee may also refer to coffee beans which have been roasted to the yellow roast level and when prepared as espresso produces a thin yellow brew, with a high acidic note. There is a common misconception that white coffee is more highly caffeinated than darker roasted coffee. White coffee is generally used only for making espresso drinks, not simple brewed coffee. With shorter roasting times natural sugars are not caramelized within the coffee beans, leaving no bitter aftertaste. The flavor of white coffee is frequently described as nut like, with pronounced acidity.

There is also a form of white coffee, native to Yemen, which refers to the ground shell of the coffee bean. This form of coffee earns its name from its color, and is brewed in the same manner as regular coffee, only with some spices added.

Lebanese and Syrian white coffee contains absolutely no coffee. White Coffee is an herbal tea, invented in Beirut, made with orange blossom water. Traditionally served after meals in Lebanon and Syria, it is often accompanied by candied rose petals, served in tiny, delicate dishes. White coffee is a sedative, and calms the nerves while stimulating digestion after a particularly rich or heavy meal. In Lebanon, orange blossom water is given to fussy babies; it is also used as a perfume, either in the bathwater or directly on the skin. [source: White Coffee]

Specialty Coffee : The Highest Quality Coffee

Specialty coffee is the term commonly used to refer to "gourmet" or "premium" coffee. Specialty coffee made from the highest-quality green coffee beans roasted to their greatest flavor potential by true artisan roasters. These beans are then brewed to perfection as defined by industry standards established long ago.

The specialty coffee story begins with the planting of a particular type of coffee into a certain growing region. Not all growing regions are created equal – there are regions that grow better coffees than others, due to altitude, soil, and other environmental factors. The plant must be given excellent care through harvest and preparation for export.

Specialty coffee starts in the green bean phase. It’s defined as coffee with no defects and a full cup taste. It isn’t enough that the coffee tastes good – to be crowned specialty coffee, a brew must be notably good. Premium coffee, which many perceive to be high quality, is actually one grade below specialty coffee, helping to define the term even more.

Roasting is the next phase and brings another opportunity to define specialty. Every coffee has the potential to express itself differently in combination with every roaster. A roastmaster’s job is to develop and bring out specialty coffee’s distinct flavor.

Freshness is another major factor. Only highly aromatic coffee is considered specialty – if the coffee is stale it cannot meet the standards of specialty coffees. It’s vital that the coffee remains lively and robust until the brewing phase.

And finally, the brewing phase. Brewing specialty coffee is an art. There are many different brewing methods but to achieve specialty coffee it must have the right ratio of coffee to water, the right grind suited to the coffee, proper water temperature and contact time, and a well-prepared coffee “bed” or “cake.”

Specialty coffee, in the end, can only be defined after it is poured and tasted. It takes many steps to produce a specialty cup of coffee and quality must be maintained throughout all of them. The specialty segment remains the most rapidly growing portion of the coffee industry and the Specialty Coffee Association continues to define specialty coffee. [source : Specialty Coffee]

The Delicious Coffee Cakes

Coffee cake is a cake, often sponge cake, which is made with coffee or has a coffee flavour. In other definition coffee cake is a class of cakes intended to be served with coffee or for similar breaks and snacks.

Coffee cake (also sometimes known as Kuchen or Gugelhupf) was not invented. It evolved from ancient honey cakes to simple French galettes to medieval fruitcakes to sweet yeast rolls to Danish, cakes made with coffee to mass-produced pre-packaged treats.

Food historians generally agree the concept of coffee cake (eating sweet cakes with coffee) most likely originated in Northern/Central Europe sometime in the 17th century. These countries were already known for their traditional for sweet yeast breads. When coffee was introduced to Europe these cakes were a natural accompaniment. German, Dutch, and Scandinavian immigrants brought their coffee cake recipes with them to America. 

The first coffee cake-type foods were more like bread than cake. They were simple concoctions of yeast, flour, eggs, sugar, nuts, dried fruit and sweet spices. Over time, coffee cake recipes changed. Sugared fruit, cheese, yogurt and other creamy fillings are often used in today's American coffee cake recipes. [source : Coffee Cakes]

Dandelion Coffee: Natural Healthy Coffee Alternatives

Dandelion coffee is a coffee substitute made from the root of the dandelion plant. The roasted dandelion root pieces and the beverage have some resemblance to coffee in appearance and taste. Coffee made from roasted Dandelion roots has a deliciously unique taste. When brewed properly, it looks and taste just like coffee.

Dandelion roots is rich in vitamins and minerals and even micronutrients. It contains many components that are used in medicines, including inulin which is important in controlling diabetes.

Dandelion Coffee has a bitter flavor that is good for our body and it helps stimulate the digestive system, it starts from the cleansing and the absorbing of the nutrients that we take. This herb can be used as food or medicine. Unlike the coffee that is sold in the market, the Dandelion coffee has no harmful contents. People would be living healthy if they would start the day with a Dandelion Coffee.

Dandelions roots grow vertically downwards with a length of a foot and a half, so you will need a good shovel than can take the roots from underground. Harvesting the roots early spring or late in fall is the best time to get the herbs medicinal and nutritional value. This is the season when the nutrients are mainly are stored on the roots. 

Digging the roots would become very difficult and hard if the ground is dry and hard so you have to check and plan carefully on when to harvest the roots, so it would be easier to harvest the roots when the ground is very soft or after the rain falls. Harvesting the roots from a farm field that is plowed regularly is the best place because the soil is loose and that way the roots can grow very big which is easier for harvesting. Dandelions that grow in the backyard usually have very small roots.

After harvesting, the dandelion roots are dried, chopped, and roasted. They are then ground into granules which are steeped in boiling water to produce dandelion coffee. Dandelions that have thick clumps of leaves would usually have roots that are nice and fat. To make 4 quarts of Dandelion root, it would needed 5 gallons of roots and this will produce 10 gallons of coffee. [source : Dandelions Coffee]

Drip Brew Coffee: A Widely Used Method of Coffee Brewing

Drip brewing, or filtered coffee, is a method for brewing coffee which involves pouring water over roasted, ground coffee beans contained in a filter. Water seeps through the coffee, absorbing its oils and essences, solely under gravity, then passes through the bottom of the filter. The used coffee grounds are retained in the filter with the liquid falling (dripping) into a collecting vessel such as a carafe or pot.

Paper filters (invented in Germany by Melitta Bentz in 1908) are commonly used for drip brew all over the world. One benefit of paper filters is that the used grounds and the filter may be disposed of together, without a need to clean the filter. However, metal filters are also common, especially in India. These are made of thin perforated metal sheets that restrain the grounds but allow the coffee to pass, thus eliminating the need to have to purchase separate filters which sometimes cannot be found in some parts of the world. Additionally, many machines now use permanent plastic filters, which are made of a fine mesh. These of course add to the maintenance of the machine, but reduce overall cost and produce less waste.

Drip brewing is a widely used method of coffee brewing, particularly in North America owing to the popularity of domestic coffeemakers. There are, however, several manual drip-brewing devices on the market, offering a little more control over brewing parameters than automatic machines. One example is the Clever Coffee Dripper, which has a patented stopper valve, allowing the user to control steeping time and the proportion of coffee to water. The device is popular amongst baristas at respected coffee bars like San Francisco's Four Barrel Coffee, New York's Gimme Coffee! and D.C.'s Chinatown Coffee. There also exist small, portable, single serving drip brew makers that only hold the filter and rest on top of a cup. Hot water is poured in and drips directly into the cup.

Brewing with a paper filter produces clear, light-bodied coffee, which is free of sediments, although lacking in some of coffee's oils and essences, which are trapped in the paper filter. Among these are certain diterpenes that appear to increase risk of coronary heart disease. Metal filters do not remove these components. [source : Drip Brewed Coffee]

The Origin of The Irish Coffee

Irish coffee (Irish: Caife Gaelach) is a cocktail consisting of hot coffee, Irish whiskey, and sugar, stirred, and topped with thick cream. The coffee is drunk through the cream. The original recipe explicitly uses cream that has not been whipped, although whipped cream is often used. Irish coffee may be considered a variation on the hot toddy.

The origin of the Irish coffee is highly disputed. According to certain sources the original Irish coffee was invented by Joseph Sheridan, a head-chef at Foynes, County Limerick but originally from Castlederg, County Tyrone. Foynes' port was the precursor to Shannon International Airport in the west of Ireland; the coffee was conceived after a group of American passengers disembarked from a Pan Am flying boat on a miserable winter evening in the 1940s. Sheridan added whiskey to the coffee to warm the passengers. After the passengers asked if they were being served Brazilian coffee, Sheridan told them it was Irish coffee.

Stanton Delaplane, a travel writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, brought Irish coffee to the United States after drinking it at Shannon Airport, when he worked with the Buena Vista Cafe in San Francisco to start serving it on November 10, 1952, and worked with the bar owners Jack Koeppler and George Freeberg to recreate the Irish method for floating the cream on top of the coffee, sampling the drink one night until he nearly passed out. The group also sought help from the city's then mayor, George Christopher, who owned a dairy and suggested that cream aged at least 48 hours would be more apt to float. Delaplane popularized the drink by mentioning it frequently in his travel column, which was widely read throughout America. In later years, after the Buena Vista had served, by its count, more than 30 million of the drinks, Delaplane and the owners grew tired of the drink. A friend commented that the problem with Irish coffee is that it ruins three good drinks: coffee, cream, and whiskey.

Tom Bergin's Tavern in Los Angeles, also claims to have been the originator and has had a large sign in place reading "House of Irish Coffee" since the early 1950s. Other sources claim that Joe Jackson perfected the recipe at Jacksons Hotel, Ballybofey, Co. Donegal.

In Spain a "Café Irlandés" ("Irish Coffee") is sometimes served with a bottom layer of whiskey, a separate coffee layer, and a layer of cream on top. Special devices are sold for making Café Irlandés.

Irish coffee preparation started with warm the glass and then black coffee poured into the glass. Whiskey and at least one level teaspoon of sugar is stirred in until fully dissolved. The sugar is essential for floating liquid cream on top. Thick cream is carefully poured over the back of a spoon initially held just above the surface of the coffee and gradually raised a little. The layer of cream will float on the coffee without mixing. The coffee is drunk through the layer of cream.

To ensure the integrity of the ingredients of Irish Coffee, NSAI, Ireland's national standards body, published an Irish Standard, I.S. 417 Irish Coffee, in 1988. [source : Irish Coffee]

The Advantages of Instant Coffee

Instant coffee, also called soluble coffee and coffee powder, is a beverage derived from brewed coffee beans. Instant coffee is commercially prepared by either freeze-drying or spray drying, after which it can be rehydrated. At least one brand of instant coffee is also available in concentrated liquid form.

Instant coffee was invented in 1901 by Satori Kato, a Japanese scientist working in Chicago. Kato introduced the powdered substance in Buffalo, New York, at the Pan-American Exposition. George Constant Louis Washington developed his own instant coffee process shortly thereafter, and first marketed it commercially (~1910). The Nescafé brand, which introduced a more advanced coffee refining process, was launched in 1938.

Advantages of instant coffee include speed of preparation (instant coffee dissolves instantly in hot water), lower shipping weight and volume than beans or ground coffee (to prepare the same amount of beverage), and long shelf life, though instant coffee can also spoil if not kept dry.

Instant coffee is available in powder or granulated form contained in glass jars, sachets or tins. The user controls the strength of the resulting product, by adding more or less water (for a weaker or stronger brew). Instant coffee is also convenient for preparing iced coffee like the Greek frappé, which is popular in warmer climates and hot seasons. In some European countries such as Spain and India, instant coffee is commonly mixed with hot milk instead of boiling water.

In commercial processes the decaffeination of instant coffee almost always happens before the critical roasting process which will determine the coffee's flavour and aroma processes. Compared to overall health effects of coffee, instant coffee appears to be as efficient as filtered coffee in decreasing the risk of diabetes type 2.

Instant coffee is one of the ingredients in "Caffenol-C", a home-made, non-toxic black-and-white photographic developer. The other ingredients in the basic formula are ascorbic acid and anhydrous sodium carbonate; some recipes also include potassium bromide as a fog-reducing agent. The active ingredient appears to be caffeic acid. Initial experiments on Caffenol were performed in 1995 at the Rochester Institute of Technology; addition of ascorbic acid began around 2000, yielding the improved Caffenol-C, which is less likely to stain negatives than the original formulation. Experiments have shown that cheaper, less desirable brands of coffee work better for this application than more expensive brands. [source : Instant Coffee]

Decaf Coffee and Its Processes

Coffee Decaffeination is the act of removing caffeine from coffee beans. (While caffeine-free soft drinks are occasionally referred to as "decaffeinated", some are better termed "uncaffeinated": prepared without adding caffeine during production.) Despite removal of caffeine, many decaffeinated drinks still have around 1-2% of the original caffeine remaining in them.

Coffee Decaffeination process is usually performed on unroasted (green) beans, and starts with steaming of the beans. They are then rinsed with a solvent that extracts the caffeine while leaving the other essential chemicals in the coffee beans. The process is repeated anywhere from 8 to 12 times until it meets either the international standard of having removed 97% of the caffeine in the beans or the EU standard of having the beans 99.9% caffeine-free by mass. Coffee contains over 400 chemicals important to the taste and aroma of the final drink: it is therefore challenging to remove only caffeine while leaving the other chemicals at their original concentrations.

The first commercially successful decaffeination process was invented by Ludwig Roselius and Karl Wimmer in 1903. It involved steaming coffee beans with a brine (salt water) solution and then using benzene as a solvent to remove the caffeine. Coffee decaffeinated this way was sold as Kaffee HAG after the company name Kaffee Handels-Aktien-Gesellschaft (Coffee Trading Company) in most of Europe, as Café Sanka in France and later as Sanka brand coffee in the U.S. Café HAG and Sanka are now worldwide brands of Kraft Foods. Due to health concerns regarding benzene, this process is no longer used commercially and Coffee Hag and Sanka are produced using a different process.

The Swiss Water Process is a method of decaffeinating coffee beans developed by the Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee Company. To decaffeinate the coffee bean by the Swiss Water method, a batch of green (unroasted) beans is soaked in hot water, releasing caffeine. When all the caffeine and coffee solids are released into the water, the beans are discarded. The water then passes through a carbon filter that traps caffeine but lets the coffee solids pass through. The resulting solution, called "green coffee extract (GCE)" by the company, is now available for decaffeinating coffee. New green coffee beans are introduced to the GCE. Since the GCE is coffee solids without caffeine only the caffeine diffuses from the new beans. The GCE passes through proprietary carbon which captures the caffeine. The process repeats, filtering out all the caffeine until the beans are 99.9% caffeine-free. These beans are removed and dried, and thus retain most if not all of their flavor.

Although the process was pioneered in Switzerland in the 1930s, today the world's last major Swiss Water Process decaffeination facility is based near Vancouver, British Columbia,Canada. However this process is simple enough to be used locally by many coffee roasters.

In the direct method, the coffee beans are first steamed for 30 minutes and then repeatedly rinsed with either dichloromethane or ethyl acetate for about 10 hours. The solvent is then drained away and the beans steamed for an additional 10 hours to remove residual solvent. Sometimes coffees that are decaffeinated using ethyl acetate are referred to as naturally processed because ethyl acetate can be derived from various fruits or vegetables; but, because of the impracticality of gathering natural ethyl acetate, the chemical used for decaffeination is synthetic.

In the indirect method, beans are first soaked in hot water for several hours, in essence, making a strong pot of coffee. Then the beans are removed and either dichloromethane or ethyl acetate is used to extract the caffeine from the water. As in other methods, the caffeine can then be separated from the organic solvent by simple evaporation. The same water is recycled through this two-step process with new batches of beans. An equilibrium is reached after several cycles, where the water and the beans have a similar composition except for the caffeine. After this point, the caffeine is the only material removed from the beans, so no coffee strength or other flavorings are lost. Because water is used in the initial phase of this process, sometimes indirect method decaffeination is referred to as "water-processed" even though chemicals are used.

The CO₂ decaffeination process is technically known as supercritical fluid extraction. In the carbon dioxide method, the caffeine is stripped directly from the beans by a highly compressed semi-liquid form of carbon dioxide. Pre-steamed beans are soaked in a bath of supercritical carbon dioxide at a pressure of 73 to 300 atmospheres. After a thorough soaking for around ten hours, the pressure is reduced, allowing the CO₂ to evaporate, or the pressurized CO₂ is run through either water or charcoal filters to remove the caffeine. The carbon dioxide is then used on another batch of beans. This liquid works better than water because it is kept in supercritical state near the transition from liquid to gas, combining favorable diffusivity properties of the gas with increased density of a liquid. This process has the advantage that it avoids the use of potentially harmful substances.

In triglyceride process, green coffee beans are soaked in a hot water/coffee solution to draw the caffeine to the surface of the beans. Next, the beans are transferred to another container and immersed in coffee oils that were obtained from spent coffee grounds. After several hours of high temperatures, the triglycerides in the oils remove the caffeine—but not the flavor elements—from the beans. The beans are separated from the oils and dried. The caffeine is removed from the oils, which are reused to decaffeinate another batch of beans. This is a direct-contact method of decaffeination.

Almost all brands of decaffeinated coffee still contain a minimum amount of caffeine. Drinking five to ten cups of decaffeinated coffee could deliver as much caffeine as would one or two cups of regular coffee, according to research at the University of Florida Maples Center for Forensic Medicine. In one independent study of 10 popular decaffeinated coffees, researchers found that all but one contained detectable caffeine. The 16-ounce (473-milliliter) cups of coffee samples contained caffeine in the range of 8.6 milligrams to 13.9 milligrams. In another similar study of popular brands of decaf coffees, the caffeine content was anywhere from 3 milligrams up to 32 milligrams. Both of these studies tested the caffeine content of store-brewed coffee, suggesting the caffeine may be residual from the normal coffee served, rather than poorly decaffeinated coffee.

Consumption of decaffeinated appears to be as beneficial as caffeine-containing coffee in regard to all-cause mortality, according to a large prospective cohort study. In women, consumption of decaffeinated coffee significantly decreases all-cause mortality with a relative risk of between approximately 0.8 to 0.9 with a consumption of 1 up to approximately 6 cups per day, compared to those who drink less than one cup per month. In men, these beneficial effects are apparently not as great, but yet having a significant trend towards less mortality for those who drink more than 2 cups per day compared to those who drink less than one cup per month.

As of 2009, progress towards growing coffee beans that do not contain caffeine was still continuing. The term "Decaffito" has been coined to describe this type of decaffeinated coffee, and trademarked in Brazil. The prospect for Decaffito type coffees was shown by the discovery of the naturally caffeine-free Coffea charrieriana, a Coffea arabica plant, discovered in Cameroon in 2004. It has a deficient caffeine synthase gene, leading it to accumulate theobromine instead of converting it to caffeine. This trait could either be bred into other coffee plants by crossing them with Coffea charrieriana, or an equivalent effect could be achieved by knocking out the gene for caffeine synthase in normal coffee plants. [source : Decaf Coffee]

About Café au lait, A French Coffee Drink

Café au lait is a French coffee drink. The meaning of the term differs between Europe and the United States; in both cases it means some kind of coffee with hot milk added, in contrast to white coffee, which is coffee with room temperature milk or other whitener added.

In Europe, "café au lait" stems from the same continental tradition as "café con leche" in Spain, "kawa biała" ("white coffee") in Poland, "Milchkaffee" ("milk coffee") in Germany, "koffie verkeerd" ("wrong coffee") in The Netherlands, and "café com leite" ("coffee with milk") in Portugal. In northern Europe, café au lait is the name most often used in coffee shops.

At home, café au lait can be prepared from dark coffee and heated milk; in cafés, it has been prepared on espresso machines from espresso and steamed milk ever since these machines became available in the 1940s – thus it refers to the usual "coffee + milk" combination, depending on the location, not to a specific drink.

"Café au lait" and "caffè latte" are used as contrasting terms, to indicate whether the beverage is served in the "French" or the "Italian" way – the former being in a white porcelain cup or bowl, the latter in a kitchen glass and always made from an espresso machine, whereas "Café au lait" might be espresso or dark coffee based.

In many American coffeehouses, a "café au lait" is a drink of strong drip brewed or French pressed coffee, to which steamed milk is added; this contrasts with a "caffè latte", which uses espresso as a base. American café au lait is generally served in a cup, as with brewed coffee, being served in a bowl only at shops which wish to emphasize French tradition. The term misto (literally, "mixed") is also used to refer to a café au lait, most notably by Starbucks.

Café au lait in New Orleans has been popularized in part by Café du Monde. There, it is made with milk and coffee mixed with chicory, giving it a strong, bitter taste. Unlike the European café style, a New Orleans style Café au lait is not made with steamed milk. Instead, the milk is warmed over heat to just below boiling. Inclusion of roasted chicory root as an extender in coffee became common in colonial Louisiana, and eventually was incorporated in its local variant of the French-style coffee drink. The bitterness of the chicory offsets the sweetness of the powdered-sugar-covered beignets, a common accompaniment. [source : Café au lait]

Café Cubano : The Traditional Cuban-style Espresso

Café Cubano ( Cuban coffee, Cuban espresso, cafecito, Cuban pull, Cuban shot) is a type of espresso which originated in Cuba after espresso machines were first imported there from Italy. Specifically, it refers to an espresso shot which is sweetened with demerara sugar as it is being brewed, but the name covers other drinks that use Cuban espresso as their base.

Traditional Cuban-style espresso is made by adding demerara sugar to the container into which the espresso will drip, allowing the espresso to mix with the sugar as it is brewed – compare Vietnamese coffee preparation. Some people believe that this results in a smooth, sweet espresso.

A method commonly used to prepare a café cubano is to initially add only the first few drops of espresso to the sugar and mix vigorously. This results in a creamy, light brown paste. The remaining espresso is then added to this paste and mixed, creating a light brown foam layer, or espumita, atop the coffee. A proper cafecito can be made using either an espresso machine or an Italian moka pot, macchinetta.

The heat from the coffee-making process will hydrolize some of the sucrose, thereby creating a sweeter and different tasting result than adding sugar at the end.

There are several variations of café cubano: Cortadito (espresso topped with steamed milk), Café con Leche (coffee with milk), and Colada. A common variant is that the drink is sweetened while the espresso is being brewed. In this version, the sugar (most often brown sugar) is packed above the coffee grounds in the espresso machine and allowed to pass with the hot water through the espresso puck while brewing.

It is common for Cubans to drink café cubano first thing in the morning, after meals and sometimes as a social and cultural activity. Whether someone comes to visit your home, or a chance meeting on the street, following the initial "hello," an offer is always extended to have a "café."

Gourmet Cuban restaurants will serve a patron a glass of water to cleanse the palate before drinking the espresso, although some Cubans think the water is to dilute the café once it hits your digestive system. For purist coffee drinkers, drinking water after the espresso brands one as a non-appreciative espresso drinker. In some circles, an acceptable end to a Cuban espresso is to lightly dunk the tip of a Cuban cigar in the bottom of the demitasse and then light it up. [source : Cuban Espresso]

Vietnamese Coffee : A Unique Iced Coffee Tradition

Coffee was introduced into Vietnam by French colonists in the late 19th century. Vietnam quickly became a strong exporter of coffee with many plantations in the central highlands. The beverage was adopted with regional variations. Because of limitations on the availability of fresh milk, the French and Vietnamese began to use sweetened condensed milk with a dark roast coffee.

Vietnamese iced coffee, also known as Ca phe da or cafe da (Vietnamese: cà phê đá, literally "coffee ice") is a traditional Vietnamese coffee recipe.

"Vietnamese iced coffee with milk", also known as ca phe sua da or cà phê sữa đá It is also called ca phe nau da (Vietnamese: cà phê nâu đá, "iced brown coffee") in northern Vietnam.

At its simplest, Ca phe da is made with finely ground Vietnamese-grown dark roast coffee individually brewed with a small metal French drip filter (cà phê phin) into a cup containing about a quarter to a half as much sweetened condensed milk, stirred and poured over ice.

In the USA, Vietnamese-style coffee is sometimes confused with that brewed in Louisiana with French roast coffee with chicory. Vietnamese immigrants who came to the state in the late 20th century adopted New Orleans-style coffee because they were unable to get Vietnamese-grown coffee. The French roast style popular in Louisiana was similar to Vietnamese coffee in its relatively coarse grind; therefore it made an excellent substitute for traditional brewing in the single-serving filter/brewer. In Vietnam, however, locally produced coffees are characterized by medium roast and seldom contain chicory. [source : Vietnamese Coffee]

Discover A New Coffee Flavor Through Coffee Blends

A coffee blend refers to the combination of two or more types of coffee or flavorings as a single brew. This combination of flavors helps to give the coffee a more complex taste, as well as allowing individuals or restaurants to create their own signature blend. Blends can include various types of coffee beans, flavors, or even non-coffee additions that are added directly into the mixture.

There are two kinds of coffee bean, each with its own distinct characteristics. Arabica beans are grown at high altitudes and are the highest quality bean. They have a smooth caramel aftertaste and a rich aroma that has become characteristic with fine coffee. Robusta beans, by comparison, are grown at lower altitudes and have a much stronger flavor. This bean is generally used in making instant coffee and lower grade commercial coffees. Some coffee blends may combine both beans in the same brew to take advantage of both unique flavors.

The type of beans used is not the only factor in choosing a coffee blend's flavor. Various types of roasting methods produce very different flavors and aromas. American roast, for example, is a medium roast that has a mild flavor. French roasted beans are heavily roasted and have a very strong flavor. Often beans that have been roasted differently are combined to create a unique coffee blend.

Various other flavorings and ingredients can also be combined with the beans to create more coffee blend options. Often vanilla, cinnamon, or hazelnut will be added to give a hint of their unique flavors to the brew. Milk, either as a creamer or frothed, is also commonly added to create common coffee drinks found in cafes the world over.

Make a coffee blend at home by experimenting with various flavors and spices. This can include creamers and milks, as well as seasonings found in the pantry. Nutmeg, cinnamon, and caramel are all common additions to coffee beverages. The possibilities are endless with just a little imagination. 

Coffee beans can also be roasted or brewed together with flavorings, like vanilla, to create virtually limitless coffee blend varieties. When roasted with these flavors, the bean itself takes on a slight hint of the ingredient. This allows one to discover which flavors combine the best, as well as how to create the perfect strength.

Creating a new coffee blend is a great way to suit just about any taste, as well as to create a brand for a restaurant or café. Many chains have crafted a taste so unique, it has become the trademark of that business. Anyone can do this for themselves with a little patience and a willingness to experiment. [source : Coffee Blends]

Ethiopian Coffee: The Beginning of All The Story of Coffees

The story of coffee has its beginnings in Ethiopia, the original home of the coffee plant, coffee arabica,which still grows wild in the forest of the highlands. While nobody is sure exactly how coffee was originally discovered as a beverage, it is believed that its cultivation and use began as early as the 9th century. Some authorities claim that it was cultivated in the Yemen earlier, around AD 575. The only thing that seems certain is that it originated in Ethiopia, from where it traveled to the Yemen about 600 years ago, and from Arabia it began its journey around the world.

Ethiopia produces some of the most unique and fascinating coffees in the world.  The three main regions where Ethiopia coffee beans originate are Harrar, Ghimbi, and Sidamo (Yirgacheffe).

Ethiopian Harrar coffee beans are grown on small farms in the eastern part of the country. They are dry-processed and are labeled as longberry (large), shortberry (smaller), or Mocha (peaberry).  Ethiopian Harrar coffee can have a strong dry edge, winy to fruit like acidity, rich aroma, and a heavy body.  In the best Harrar coffees, one can observe an intense aroma of blueberries or blackberries.  Ethiopian Harrar coffee is often used in espresso blends to capture the fine aromatics in the crema.

Washed coffees of Ethiopia include Ghimbi and Yirgacheffe.  Ghimbi coffee beans are grown in the western parts of the country and are more balanced, heavier, and has a longer lasting body than the Harrars.

The Ethiopian Yirgacheffe coffee bean is the most favored coffee grown in southern Ethiopia. It is more mild, fruitlike, and aromatic. Ethiopian Yirgacheffe coffee may also be labeled as Sidamo, which is the district where it is produced. [source : Ethiopian Coffee]