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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

A Brief History of Colombian Coffee

Historical data indicates that the Jesuits brought coffee seeds to South America with them circa 1730 CE, but there are different versions of this. Tradition says that the coffee seeds were brought by a traveler from Guyana who passed through Venezuela before reaching Colombia. The oldest written testimony of the presence of coffee in Colombia is attributed to a Jesuit priest, José Gumilla. In his book The Orinoco Illustrated (1730), he registered the presence of coffee in the mission of Saint Teresa of Tabajé, near where the Meta river empties into the Orinoco. Further testimony comes from the archbishop-viceroy Caballero y Gongora (1787) who registered the presence of the crop in the north east of the country near Giron (Santander) and Muzo (Boyaca) in a report that he provided to the Spanish authorities.

The first coffee crops were planted in the eastern part of the country. In 1835 the first commercial production was registered with 2,560 green coffee bags that were exported from the port of Cucuta, near the border with Venezuela. A priest named Francisco Romero is attributed to have been very influential in the propagation of the crop in the northeast region of the country. After hearing the confession of the parishioners of the town of Salazar de la Palmas, he required as penance the cultivation of coffee. Coffee became established in the departments of Santander and North Santander, Cundinamarca, Antioquia, and the historic region of Caldas.

By 1875 170,000 bags were leaving the country bound for the U.S. and Europe. The exports grew exponentially over the next hundred years or so and peaked in 1992 at around 17 million bags. Today, Colombian coffee exports are around 10 million bags per year.

Colombian coffee beans are grown at high altitudes and tended with painstaking care in the shade of banana and rubber trees. This coffee is among the best in the world, rich, full-bodied, and perfectly balanced. Coffea Arabica L., more commonly known as the Arabica bean, prefers higher altitudes and drier climates than its cousin, the lower quality Robusta bean (C. Robusta). Therefore, the arid mountains and the well-drained, rich volcanic soil of Colombia provide ideal conditions for growing high quality coffee.

Colombian Coffees are grown in two main regions, the central region around Medellin, Armenia and Manizales, known as MAM to aficionados, and the eastern, more mountainous region near Bogotá and Bucaramanga. MAM varieties are known for their heavy body, rich flavor and fine, balanced acidity while the mountain grown eastern beans produce an even richer, heavier, less acidic coffee. The finest coffee comes from this region.

For many decades Colombia was the world’s second leading producer of coffee behind Brazil. Recently, Vietnam surpassed Colombia in coffee exports to take the number two seat and move Colombia into a close third. However, the old adage of quality over quantity certainly applies here.

The Arabica bean does not grow well in Vietnam. Only the hearty, yet inferior, Robusta is suited for the low, wet climate of Vietnam. Colombian Coffees are far superior and is considered by many coffee experts to be the finest in the world.

Any discussion on Colombian Coffee would not be complete without mentioning the wildly successful marketing campaign created by the National Federation of Colombian Coffee Growers in 1959. They introduced the world to the friendly and affable Juan Valdez. Though a fictitious character, the poncho clad, sombrero wearing Juan Valdez gave a face to the humble coffee picker and created a mystique and aura of romance that still survives today.

A recent survey reported that 85% of Americans still associate the name Juan Valdez with Colombian Coffee. Quite an accomplishment, especially considering that only 75% acknowledged recognizing the name Dan Quayle. [source : Colombian Coffee]

Turkish Coffee : The Traditional Way To Enjoy A Cup of Coffee

Turkish coffee is coffee prepared by boiling finely powdered roast coffee beans in a pot (cezve), possibly with sugar, and serving it into a cup, where the dregs settle. The name describes the method of preparation, not the raw material; there is no special Turkish variety of the coffee bean. It is common throughout the Middle East, North Africa, Caucasus, and the Balkans, and in their expatriate communities and restaurants in the rest of the world.

Coffee has affected Turkish culture so much that the Turkish word for breakfast, kahvaltı literally means "before coffee" (kahve means "coffee" and altı "under"), while the Turkish word for brown is kahverengi, literally meaning "the color of coffee". In recent times, Turkish coffee has become less popular than tea (which was grown locally, and could be bought without hard currency), instant coffee, and other modern styles of coffee. At the same time, it is served by international coffee chains such as Starbucks and Gloria Jean's Coffees in their stores located in Turkey, although it remains as an option, not a promoted beverage. 

Another cultural importance of Turkish coffee is that it is one of the most important elements of matrimonial customs. As a matrimonial prologue the prospective groom's family has to visit the prospective bride's family to ask their permission and blessings for the marriage. During this meeting the prospective bride has to prepare and serve Turkish coffee to the guests. For the groom's coffee the bride uses salt instead of sugar so to understand his general characteristics. If the prospective groom drinks his coffee without any sign of displeasure then the prospective bride assumes that the groom is good tempered and patient.

Turkish coffee is normally prepared using a narrow-topped small boiling pot called kanaka, cezve, džezva, xhezve or μπρίκι (bríki) (basically a tiny ewer), a teaspoon and a heating apparatus. The ingredients are very finely ground coffee, sometimes cardamom, cold water and (if desired) sugar. It is served in a demitasse (fincan,  fildžan,  filxhan  or φλιτζάνι (flidzáni)). Some modern cups have handles; traditional cups did not, and coffee was drunk either by handling the cup with the fingertips or, more often, by placing the cup in a zarf, a metal container with a handle.

Traditionally, the pot is made of copper and has a wooden handle, although other metals such as aluminium with a non-stick coating are also used. The size of the pot is chosen to be close to the total volume of the cups to be prepared, since using too large a pot causes much of the foam to stick to the inside of it. The teaspoon is used both for stirring and measuring the amount of coffee and sugar. The teaspoons in some other countries are much larger than the teaspoons in countries where Turkish coffee is common: The dipping parts of the teaspoons in these countries are about 1 cm (0.4 inches) long and 0.5 cm (0.2 inches) wide.

A moderately low heat is used so that the coffee does not come to the boil too quickly—the beans need to be in hot water for long enough to extract the flavour. In a modern setting normal gas or electric heating is satisfactory. Traditional heating sources include the embers of a fire, or a tray about 10 cm (4 in) deep filled with sand. The tray is placed on the burner. When the sand is hot, the coffee pot is placed in the sand. This allows a more even and gentle heat transfer than direct heat.

A well-prepared Turkish coffee has a thick foam at the top (köpük in Turkish), is homogeneous, and does not contain noticeable particles in the foam or the liquid. It is possible to wait an additional twenty seconds past boiling to extract a little more flavour, but the foam is completely lost. To overcome this, foam can be removed and put into cups earlier and the rest can be left to boil. In this case special attention must be paid to transfer only the foam and not the suspended particles.

Turkish coffee is taken at extremely hot temperatures and is usually served with a glass of cold water to freshen the mouth to better taste the coffee. It is traditionally served with Turkish delight. In the Mediterranean and southeastern Turkey, pistachio grains (kakuli/menengiç) may be added into the coffee. All of the coffee in the pot is poured into cups, but not all of it is drunk. The thick layer of sludgy grounds at the bottom of the cup is left behind. [source : Turkish Coffee]

Flavored Coffee : The Fast Growing Area of The Coffee Market

Coffee is a wonderful taste itself, but it also acts very well as the platform for many other flavours. Flavoring coffee is actually an old trick. In the Middle East it is traditional to add cardamom to coffee, while the practice of adding cinnamon has been widespread in Mexico for many years. 

Flavored coffees is an interesting and fast growing area of the coffee market. Today there are over 100 different flavoured varieties available. While coffee connoisseurs may turn up their noses at the idea of spoiling the flavour of their sacred brew, there are definitely moments when a chocolate or cinnamon flavored coffee is just right. 

The growth in popularity of flavored coffee is proof of coffee's versatility and strength. The flavours are added to the beans directly after roasting by spraying them with a carrier oil and then the particular flavouring. Another method is to add a syrup to brewed coffee to make a drink that can be served either hot or chilled with ice to make iced coffee.  

A bit of cinnamon, cloves, vanilla, or other powdered spice can be added to the ground coffee. It should be mentioned that by far the most important flavouring added to coffee throughout the world is milk. [source : Flavoured Coffee]

Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee : One of The Most Expensive And Sought-after Coffees In The World

Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee or Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee is a classification of coffee grown in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica. The best lots of Blue Mountain coffee are noted for their mild flavour and lack of bitterness. Over the last several decades, this coffee has developed a reputation that has made it one of the most expensive and sought-after coffees in the world; over 80% of all Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee is exported to Japan. In addition to its use for brewed coffee, the beans are the flavor base of Tia Maria coffee liqueur.

Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee is a globally protected certification mark, meaning only coffee certified by the Coffee Industry Board of Jamaica can be labeled as such. It comes from a recognised growing region in the Blue Mountain region of Jamaica, and its cultivation is monitored by the Coffee Industry Board of Jamaica.

The Blue Mountains are generally located between Kingston to the south and Port Antonio to the north. Rising to 2,300 metres (7,500 ft), they are some of the highest mountains in the Caribbean. The climate of the region is cool and misty with high rainfall. The soil is rich, with excellent drainage. This combination of climate and soil is considered ideal for coffee. [source : Blue Mountain Coffee]

Espresso Coffee : The Base for Coffee Drinks

Caffè espresso, or just espresso, is a concentrated beverage brewed by forcing hot water under pressure through finely ground coffee.

Compared to other coffee brewing methods, espresso often has a thicker consistency, a higher concentration of dissolved solids, and crema (foam). As a result of the pressurized brewing process, all of the flavours and chemicals in a typical cup of coffee are very concentrated. For this reason, espresso is the base for other drinks, such as lattes, cappuccino, macchiato, mochas, and americanos.

The first machines were introduced in Italy at the beginning of the 20th Century, with the first patent being filed by Luigi Bezzera of Milan, Italy, in 1901, who invented a steam pressure system. In 1938, Cresemonesi introduced a piston based espresso machine, which eliminated the burnt taste associated with the steam pressure units.

Espresso is made by forcing hot water under high pressure through a tightly compacted finely ground coffee. Generally, one uses an espresso machine to make espresso, although there are stove top espresso makers and hand operated devices such as the AeroPress. The act of producing a shot of espresso is often termed "pulling" a shot, originating from lever espresso machines which require pulling down a handle attached to a spring-loaded piston, forcing hot water through the coffee at high pressure. Today, however, it is more common for the pressure to be generated by steam or a pump. This process produces an almost syrupy beverage by extracting and emulsifying the oils in the ground coffee.

Espresso is not a specific bean or roast level; it is a coffee brewing method. Any bean or roasting level can be used to produce authentic espresso and different beans have unique flavor profiles lending themselves to different roasting levels and styles. [source : Espresso]