Coffee Facts and Gourmet Coffee Figures

Author: George Moore

Some great gourmet coffee trivia:

* The Boston Tea Party was planned in a coffee house - the Green Dragon Coffee House

* One Coffee Tree or plant in its normal harvest will produce enough coffee cherries to make one pound of coffee bean

* 27% of U.S. coffee drinkers and 43% of German drinkers add a sweetener to their coffee.

* The world's largest coffee producer is Brazil with over 3,970 million coffee trees. Colombia produces alot of gourmet coffee for its size - coming in second in the world with around two thirds of Brazil's production of gourmet coffee.

* Hard bean means the coffee was grown at an altitude above 5000 feet.

* Arabica and Robusta trees can produce crops for 20 to 30 years under proper conditions and care.

* Most coffee is transported by ships. Currently there are approximately 2,200 ships involved in transporting the beans each year.

* In Turkey a husband who refused to provide his wife with a mocha latte could be divorced by her!

Next to the United States Germany is the world's second largest consumer of coffee in terms of volume at 16 pounds per person. Second to the United States at 19 pounds per person.

* Over 53 countries grow coffee worldwide, but all of them lie along the equator between the tropic of Cancer and Capricorn.

* An acre of coffee trees can produce up to 10,000 pounds of coffee cherries. That amounts to approximately 2,000 pounds of beans after hulling or milling.

* The percolator was invented in 1827 by a French man. It would boil the gourmet coffee producing a bitter tasting brew - alot like Starbucks coffee today. Today most people use the drip or filtered method to brew their gourmet coffee.

* With the exception of Hawaii and Puerto Rico, no coffee is grown in the United States or its territories.

Cowboys use to roast coffee over an open fire. It wasn't until the 70's that batch roasting became popular.

* Each year some 7 million tons of green beans are produced world wide. Most of which is hand picked.

* The popular trend towards flavored coffees originated in the United States during the 1970's.

* October 1st is the official Gourmet Coffee Day in Japan.

* The first coffee tree in the Western Hemisphere was brought from France to the Island of Martinique in the 1720's

* China drinks 70 times as much tea as coffee

* Coffee trees are not grown anywhere in the continental US but can be found in Hawaii. Due to the high costs of land the coffee is sold at quite the premium falsely convincing people it is a premium grade coffee

* Coffee beans can be eaten raw or raw in chocolate - deliverying twice the punch and caffeine as brewed coffee

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/home-and-family-articles/coffee-facts-and-gourmet-coffee-figures-348436.html

About the Author:
Mission Grounds Gourmet Coffee, http://www.missiongrounds.com , is the finest gourmet coffee in the world. The finest gourmet coffee helping children

Gourmet Coffee Recipes

Author: boake moore

You'll satisfy your craving without going over your calorie limit.

If you aren't counting calories, but love the idea of coffee and chocolate after dinner, you should also try the decadent recipe below:If your relative or friend is a morning person who loves breakfast, a breakfast coffee gift basket is a great idea. If so, you will probably want a breakfast blend or other coffee that the person would want to drink at breakfast. Know if the gift recipient prefers whole beans, ground beans or K-Cup coffee

Ingredients:

* 3-1/2 oz. best-quality milk chocolate, very finely chopped
* Few grains of salt
* 1/4-cup heavy cream
* 1-cup water
* 2 tsp. instant coffee

* Optional garnish of lightly sweetened whipped cream
* Shaved or grated milk chocolate

Method:

In small microwaveable bowl, combine finely chopped milk chocolate and salt. Microwave at 50 percent (medium) power for thirty-second intervals, stirring well after each, just until chocolate is almost melted, then stir until completely melted and smooth. On high power, heat heavy cream until it is very hot. All at once, add hot cream to melted chocolate. Stir or whisk briskly until smooth (if you absolutely cannot get this mixture smooth, process at high speed in a food processor fitted with steel blade just until smooth).In two-cup liquid measure, heat water on high power until very hot. Add instant coffee to hot water and stir in well. Gradually add about half of hot coffee to milk chocolate mixture, stirring or whisking well after each addition. Add this mixture back to the remaining hot coffee in the two-cup liquid measure.

If necessary, heat beverage in two cup liquid measure at 50 percent (medium) power until steaming hot. Divide between two mugs (8 ounces each). If desired, garnish as suggested above. Serve immediately.Next, hit the supermarket, gourmet food store or Internet to fill the basket. You can choose a mix for pancakes, scones or waffles - if the person has a waffle maker. How about some gourmet maple syrup? Good maple syrup makes a plate of pancakes or waffles even better.

If you want a socially responsible gift, choose organic coffee and an organic foods store or section.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/coffee-articles/gourmet-coffee-recipes-604941.html

About the Author:

Boake" Moore founded a non profit coffee company called Mission Grounds Gourmet Coffee -http://www.missiongrounds.com/ourphilosophy.php It donates all its profits and proceeds to helping orphans and impoverished children. We currently are building schools in rural China, orphanages in South America; supporting orphans in Russia and Africa. And helping homeless children in the United States.
Lets make the world better -

George "Boake" Moore

Mission Grounds

http://www.missiongrounds.com

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

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Saman_Rashid
http://EzineArticles.com/?A-Taste-Of-Gourmet-Coffee&id=910527

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.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=DJ_Toman
http://EzineArticles.com/?Gourmet-Coffee-Drinks-at-Home---Easy-Tips-For-Making-Cafe-Latte-and-Cappuccino-at-Home&id=2238512