Showing posts with label Food and Drink. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Food and Drink. Show all posts

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Your Morning Cup of Coffee


There are two ways of grinding beans at home (if we ignore the traditional laborious pestle and mortar!). Probably the most familiar is the type of machine which uses a set of blades rotating at high speed to pulverise the beans. This type of grinder may be a standalone machine or may be an attachment for a kitchen food processor or blender and you may own one already. The other type of machine is known as a Burr Grinder, which uses a rotating grinding wheel over a non-moving surface to crush the coffee beans. These machines produce a much more consistent result than the blade type as the process is accurately controlled by altering the distance between the two burrs.
Which type of machine should you choose? Well cost certainly comes into the equation as burr grinders are more expensive than the blade type, but there are other important points to consider. The major consideration is what method you are using to brew your coffee. If you are making coffee with a cafetiere (French Press) or a filter machine (drip coffee maker) then you may find a blade grinder adequate even though it may produce uneven sized grounds which may result in inconsistent quality coffee. However keen espresso makers, who may have invested in a very expensive machine to make their brew, will probably regard a burr grinder essential. The reasons for this include those outlined earlier but there is an even more important one. To produce the fine grind required for espresso making blade grinders have to left running for longer than when producing a coarse grind. There is a danger that the blades may "burn" the coffee and taint its flavour, whereas a burr grinder just has to be adjusted to produce the fine espresso grind with no danger of spoiling the coffee.
You will need to experiment to find the perfect grind for your coffee brewing method and for the flavour that you prefer. Cafetieres or French Presses require a coarse grind, and this is the grind required if you use a percolator. A medium to fine grind is needed to bring out the best in Filter Machines or Drip Coffee Makers. A fine to super fine grind is needed if you are brewing using an Espresso Machine or a simple stove top or Moka Pot.To a non-coffee drinker all this must seem like a lot of fuss just to produce a beverage which on the surface seems simple to make. However the surge in interest in making fine coffee at home, possibly influenced by the massive growth in coffee shop chains over the last few decades with many people experiencing good ( if expensive!) coffee for the first time, has driven coffee lovers to search for the secrets of making a superb brew at home.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Benefits of Organic Coffee


There is a certain fullness of taste in organic products that is just not seen in those food items that are manufactured in an unhealthy manner. Although organic products are a bit more expensive, the benefits to your health and the environment are definitely worth paying a few extra dollars. You can't put a price tag on a healthy body, which is why many people are beginning to choose organic products over more conventional options at the grocery store. Prices have actually started to come down slightly because of the increased demand for organic foods.
These pesticides are used to keep bugs off the crops while they are growing, so they seem like a good idea to most farmers. The problem is that the chemicals from these pesticides can seep into the food and end up being digested by anyone who decides to eat that food. The pesticides also harm the local environment around the cultivation area, so as you can see, there are many organic coffee benefits to be had if you decide to enter the world of fresh, healthy foods.
Production and greed is really what is to blame for this problem of unhealthy food. Farmers know they can get more crops from their land if they spray them for bugs, but the downfall of this method is that they will be hurting themselves, their customers, and the environment around their farm. While money may seem like it is worth hurting everything for, health is something that you cannot put a price on. Organic coffee benefits start with the person cultivating the coffee beans.
Pesticides can be hard to handle in a safe manner, so any farmer that sprays their crops is actually putting their own health in jeopardy. Another one of the many organic coffee benefits is that organic growing methods make for a safer environment. Animals in the surrounding area won't have to drink contaminated water and walk around on soil covered in dangerous chemicals when the cultivation process is completed in an organic manner. We are really not fully aware of all of the problems associated with pesticides because this is actually a relatively new practice in the world of agriculture.