Kona Coffee: one of the best cups of coffee available

Author: Damen Choy: the Coffee Expert

Origins of Kona Coffee

Kona coffee comes from the island of Hawaii, also known as the Big Island. Coffee was first brought to Hawaii by an American missionary in the form of coffee plant cuttings from Brazil. Originally grown on large plantations, today the coffee is grown on about 800 small Kona coffee farms. Kona coffee is one of the most expensive and rare coffees, since just 2 million pounds are distributed each year.

There are basically two types of Kona coffee beans. I'm partial to the smaller bean, known as the peaberry. There are many blends of Kona and Columbian or Brazilian coffee available, but I try to always buy 100% Kona coffee. I don't recommend buying a blend, since it may consist of as much as 90% cheaper coffee. Why pay a premium price for that?

How to brew the best Kona Coffee

When you invest in premium Kona coffee, it makes sense to make sure you brew it the best way. Always buy whole beans and grind them yourself. Only grind the amount that you will use in the same day. Learn how much fits into your coffee press or coffee machine, and only grind that amount at a time.

This leads me to the question of the coffee maker. I use a coffee press rather than a coffee maker. A coffee press is a glass cylinder with a plunger attached to the top. You put coffee in the bottom of the press, add hot water and let it brew for at least 4 minutes, then push the plunger down to strain out the coffee grounds. My coffee press makes a better cup of coffee than my $200 Capresso espresso machine. I would never use anything but my $30 coffee press when brewing Kona coffee.

When testing whether you like Kona coffee, buy a small amount first. If you find that you like it, you can then order larger quantities to save money. If you're really a coffee aficionado like me, buy enough coffee beans to last you a month. For me, freshness is the top priority.

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About the Author:

Damen Choy, editor of Coffee Bean Direct Coffee-Bean-Direct.com provides timely information about the coffee market, as well as tips and ideas for coffee lovers and their friends. Visit coffee direct to learn about the many benefits of buying coffee in bulk for yourself and your loved ones.

A Taste Of Gourmet Coffee

By Saman Rashid

Everyday, people all over the world wake up to the invigorating experience of the exceptional beverage called coffee. The popularity of coffee can be judged by the fact that its consumption amounts to about a third of that of tap water in North America and Europe. Most gourmet coffee brands are beyond the reach of the common masses and are marketed exclusively to the affluent.

It includes the likes of Hacienda la Esmeralda Geisha grown in Panama which recently sold at an auction for $50.25 per pound creating a record in the process. What is it that makes a truly great cup of gourmet coffee? Is it the bean, the blend, or the roast? Actually, it's all of these factors and many more. The price of a coffee brand is not decided just by its quality, but also by the romance or exclusivity of their origins.

Some varieties of gourmet coffees like the Guatemala coffee excel in their blend and are often referred to as gourmet blend coffee. Some coffee products stand out on account of their origins like the Hawaii coffee, Brazilian coffee, Sumatra coffee and the very famous java coffee. There are also coffee brands that supply the particularly exacting customer who has specific demands for decaffeinated, low acid coffee or kosher coffee blends. The exclusivity and quality of coffee is also influenced by the coffee roast adopted by the gourmet coffee blender. Darker roast styles are preferred by some veteran gourmet coffee connoisseurs.

The coffee market is very different today than it was half a century ago. During the early part of the past century, a few small coffee roasters managed to obtain high-quality beans for select high profile markets. But most coffee was sold in cans, and consumers were more concerned with price and consistency than taste, so premier coffee was simply blended away.

But, today after the coffee sector surged in the '90s, great coffee beans are now making a journey directly from crop to cup. Coffee roasters buy beans directly from the farmers for a premium that encourages them to improve their growing methods and produce superior beans. The beans are carefully transported and roasted before being sold to the connoisseurs.

The most exclusive gourmet coffee brand is the Kopi Luwak from Indonesia which retails at about $160 per pound. It is mainly composed of coffee beans eaten and digested by palm civets. The palm civets use their acute sense of smell to select the best and ripest coffee beans to eat. During digestion the flesh of the coffee berries disintegrate exposing the rich beans which are then collected manually from the forest floor.

Another elite coffee brand is El Injerto from Huehuetenango, Guatemala which generated $25 per pound green at auction. This boutique lot of coffee by El Injerto, which was specially prepared for the Cup of Excellence auction won the first prize in that auction. This coffee expected to retail for more than $50 per pound, after it has gone through the roasting process.

Yauco Selecto AA from Puerto Rico is another great brand. Grown in the Yauco region represented a standard of excellence in coffee production. This coffee brand is known for its mild flavor.

It is obvious that gourmet coffee makes for a great gourmet food gift. As the so called coffee baskets and gourmet gift baskets flood the market, it is essential for a true connoisseur to know the difference between the real coffee and a meaningless 'gourmet' label on the packaging as a marketing gimmick. But, as with every other calling, being a true connoisseur of gourmet coffee calls for knowledge, experience and a great insatiable love for coffee.

Saman Rashid is an experienced writer. She has been writing articles and web copies since 3 years. To contact her, kindly visit http://www.mscopywriters.com

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Gourmet Coffee Drinks at Home - Easy Tips For Making Cafe Latte and Cappuccino at Home

By DJ Toman

Gourmet coffee drinks at home are easy to make with a few simple tips listed in this article.

Cappuccino and cafe latte are favorites that many coffee lovers order at the coffee shop. If you would like to make these coffee drinks at home, here are some simple instructions, to save money and avoid a trip to the coffee house. At home you can experiment with making your favorites, for pennies per drink instead of paying coffee house prices.

This article gives simple, plain language to brew and serve great coffee drinks.

Both the cappuccino and cafe latte are based on espresso. Let's assume that you have a standard espresso machine capable of foaming (frothing) milk. In addition, you'll need to have gourmet coffee beans finely ground for espresso, milk (I prefer skim milk) , and the flavoring you want (optional but lots of people like chocolate).

Making espresso at home

Cappuccino and latte drinks both begin with espresso. To make espresso shots, you place your ground espresso into the portafilter, press to compact the ground coffee, leaving the coffee's top surface smooth. Then place the filter into the machine and start steaming the milk to at least 140 degrees or slightly hotter if you prefer. By heating the milk without waiting for the espresso, you can start mixing your specialty drink immediately after the espresso is brewed.

Once you've brewed two ounces of espresso for one drink, you can follow the instructions for cappuccino and latte shown below.

Cappuccino recipe prepared at home

• Steam your milk with extra foam - cappuccino requires extra foam in the milk. Tip the pitcher holding the heated milk and bring the steaming apparatus (wand) just under the top surface, raising the steam wand as the foam is created but keeping the wand just below the surface. Make foam enough to fill one third of your coffee mug. When the foam is ready, turn off the steam wand. Follow the rest of the instructions in the order listed.

• Brew - pour your espresso shots into the cup first.

• Add milk - add hot milk to fill your cup two thirds full.

• Add foam - finish filling your cup with foam you spoon into the cup, and your cappuccino is ready to enjoy!

For flavored cappuccino, place flavoring into your cup before you add the espresso shots. Stir the flavoring with the espresso and milk, then add the foam topping.

Cafe latte home recipe

Cafe latte is prepared the same way, except you use less foam. So, you'll use the steam wand to warm the milk and create a little foam, and brew the espresso shots. Add the espresso shots to your cup, fill the cup nearly full with heated milk, and leave room for a short layer of foam. Some people add whipped cream, but that is optional.

As with cappuccino, for a flavored latte you add syrup or other flavor into the cup first, and stir it into the shots and heated milk.

Cappuccino and cafe latte are both much easier now, right?

Once you're comfortable preparing basic latte and cappuccino drinks, you can start experimenting with different flavors of espresso beverages.

DJ Toman is a lawyer and coffee enthusiast living in Greensboro, North Carolina. He is the author of http://www.CoffeeDaydreams.com, a site dedicated to gourmet coffee and choosing the best coffee makers. Even beginners get helpful tips about how to brew and enjoy the coffee of their dreams.

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The History And Main Types Of Coffee

by Paul P. Duxbury

It's a mainstay in many households the world over with a commodity ranking of number two, just behind oil production. But how did the worldwide coffee craze get started and what exactly is the history of the little bean loved the globe over for the coffee it creates?

According to legend, the first use of coffee dates back to the 800s when a goat herder named Kaldi discovered his goats had more energy after eating the berries from a specific bush. Kaldi's story takes place in east Africa and is considered the stuff of lore, however, it wasn't too much after the 800s that the coffee craze began sweeping the world.

By the 1100s, coffee was being roasted and boiled by the Arabs. It was used in a drink, but there are earlier reports of the beans being eaten by monks, too. Similar to the evolution of cocoa beans, the drink of days gone by is most likely not exactly what we know today. And, also like cocoa, its spread was slow, but methodical.

As time passed, the ability to process beans grew and so did the popularity of coffee as a drink with properties that helped heighten alertness. By the 1400s, Constantinople became the location of the planet's first coffee shop. That trend continued to Italy, the rest of Europe and the Americas. No doubt different than the coffee houses of today, they were nonetheless "trendsetters."

By the 1600s, coffee became a major player in the English world, although probably not tipping the scales over tea. In 1688, Edward Lloyd opened his coffeehouse, which later became the world-famous Lloyd's of London insurance company.

Known for their craftiness in working with the somewhat similar cocoa bean, the Dutch hit the scene in the late 1600s, becoming the first to grow and ship coffee commercially. By the 1700s, coffee was firmly secured as a drink with worldwide appeal.

Although the veracity of the goat herder story is always in question, the fact remains that coffee has a long and proud history. Its spread around the world may have been slow, but the end result is a multi-billion-dollar industry that results in the production of millions of tons of coffee each year. Humble beginnings or not, coffee is more than a craze or a trend, it's a worldwide player on the commodities market and one that shows no signs of going away.

The Main Types of Coffee

Considering it has flavors that range from bold dark roasts to vanilla and hazelnut infused, it might be surprising that coffee actually only has two main varieties of beans it's derived from. The arabica and the robusta beans account for most of the world's coffee production.

The arabica bean is considered a descendant of the original trees from Ethiopia - the country that's credited for coffee's origin. Coffees made from this bean are mild and quite aromatic. This type of bean accounts for a whopping 70 percent of the world's coffee production. The tree that makes the arabica bean tends to prefer higher altitudes and thrives in mild climates, but is killed by heavy frost.

The trees that produce robusta beans are considered easier to grow and less fickle than their arabica cousins. Despite this, the beans are not a favorite on the worldwide coffee market since the coffee they produce tends to be a bit more bitter than arabica. It also has a lot more caffeine in the mix. These trees thrive in lower altitudes and can handle a bigger temperature range, but the flavors drop them to the 30 percent share in the worldwide coffee market.

So, if all the world's coffee comes from only two major types of beans, where do all the flavors come from? Growing conditions and processing.

The flavors of beans grown in different parts of the world can vary. Even though the beans come from the same kind of tree, the flavors might vary greatly due to soil and water conditions. It is believed that trees in Africa produce beans that give off a berry or spice type flavor while those from Latin America are clean-tasting and perhaps a bit tangy.

Another major factor in the taste can be greatly influenced by the roasting process. The temperatures used in roasting and the time allotted to the process can greatly change the end taste of a ground bean. Master coffee makers know how to take the same batches of beans and greatly alter their flavors through roasting.

Also, designer flavors of coffee, such as vanilla and chocolate, are generally produced as additives put into the bean during or right after the roasting process. So, despite the fact there are only two types of beans, the end result can be ground coffee that has as many flavors as there are ideas for them.

Paul Duxbury writes extensively on Coffee. You can read more of his articles at Gourmet Coffee

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