Coffee 2 Tea

While many people might only be familiar with chai by virtue of Starbucks, actual masala chai has been around a lot longer than that global institution. The word chai simply means tea, and this verbiage is used in many areas of the world. Masala chai, therefore, can be roughly translated as spiced tea. Chai tea had its origins in India, and it can be understood as a mixture of brewed tea and aromatic herbs and spices.

In the western world, chai most often comes in the form of a chai latte. This indicates that steamed milk has been flavored with concentrated chai rather than the typical espresso that flavors lattes. Alternate names for this type of beverage also include chai tea latte. While this tea today is viewed entirely as a treat on cold, rainy days, the original use was actually more medicinal. To that end, this and other teas were used to treat and prevent various remedies in many places of South Asia.

There is a lot to learn about coffee.  The terms Robusta and Arabica for instance, which are often mentioned in the same breath as coffee, cannot be defined by many coffee drinkers.  The two are actually the foremost varieties of coffee being grown today. Robusta, which contains more caffeine than Arabica coffee beans, ranks lower in quality and comprises about a fifth of the coffee produced worldwide.  Arabica coffee is more prevalent, accounting for more than 70% of the world’s coffee business.  It is also more superior in taste and aroma. These days most people consider Arabica a gourmet coffee.

Green beans and organic beans are two more terms associated with coffee.  Simply put, green beans are coffee beans that have yet to be roasted.  In contrast, organic coffee beans come from coffee plants grown naturally and sans the use of pesticides. Coffee retailers purchase them raw then have them roasted and packed just before transport and delivery for maximum freshness.

All coffee drinkers love the rich, distinct aroma of their favorite brew.  They savor cup after cup of this hot beverage daily, most often in the morning or after meals.  Not all however, like the caffeine that comes with coffee.  Studies have shown that caffeine, when consumed, can cause wakefulness and increase heart rate, which some people look on unfavorably.

Thankfully, there is decaf coffee so no one has to give up his or her daily coffee habit.  Decaf espresso beans for example, are made from the highest quality Arabica beans, are roasted dark, and taste awesome, but contain no caffeine.  Many other gourmet coffee blends have decaf versions and have retained their appetizing aroma and flavor even without caffeine. Health-conscious individuals would appreciate receiving decaf coffee as gifts.  So give one or several bags today to people you care about. Choose from whole bean, drip grind, or French press, in half pound, one pound or five pound packs.

Tea plants have grown wild in the Assam region since antiquity, but historically, South Asians viewed tea as an herbal medicine rather than a recreational beverage. Some of the chai masala spice mixtures in current use are still derived from Ayurvedic medical texts.

In the 1830s, the British East India Company became concerned about the Chinese monopoly on tea, which constituted most of its trade and supported the enormous consumption of tea in Great Britain, approximately one pound (by weight) per person per year. British colonists had recently noticed the existence of the Assamese tea plants, and now began to cultivate tea plantations locally. Over 90% of the tea consumed in Great Britain was still of Chinese origin in 1870, but by 1900, this percentage had dropped to 10%, largely replaced by tea grown in India (50%) and Ceylon (33%).

However, consumption of tea within India remained low until an aggressive promotional campaign by the (British-owned) Indian Tea Association in the early 20th century, which encouraged factories, mines, and textile mills to provide tea breaks for their workers. It also supported many independent chai wallahs throughout the growing railway system.

The official promotion of chai tea was as served in the English mode, with small added amounts of milk and sugar. The Indian Tea Association initially disapproved of independent vendors’ tendency to add spices and greatly increase the proportions of milk and sugar, thus reducing their usage (and thus purchases) of tea leaves per liquid volume. However, masala chai in its present form has now firmly established itself as a popular beverage, not just outlasting the British Raj but spreading beyond South Asia to the rest of the world.

For people who appreciate the quality and flavor of a well-brewed cup of coffee, grinding your own beans at home is probably a common practice. Virtually every coffee aficionado recognizes that grinding your own roasts is the only way to ensure freshness and preserve the essence of the beans. If you are one of these coffee gurus, you probably already recognize the necessity of a coffee grinder.

Although a grinder is obviously ideal for creating coffee grounds, it has many other uses in the kitchen. Just like coffee beans, spices taste best when you buy them whole and grind them yourself. I keep a separate grinder at home to create my own fresh and unique spice blends.

How many of us having just finished our thanksgiving meal has vowed never to over do it again next year, over eating that is. It’s hard to do, the joy of family, friends the festive holiday we can’t help our selves, and why should we.

This year have your guest talking not so much about the meal instead more about the coffee you served. Here are a simple and easy to make coffee recipe that is sure to do just that.

Café Disaronno
¾ ounce Amaretto Disaronno liqueur

5 oz brewed coffee

1 oz whipped cream

1 tsp brown sugar (white will do)

Garnish with an Espresso bean

Add the liqueur and sugar into a coffee mug. Add the fresh brewed coffee. Put a dollop on the whipped cream on top and garnish with the Espresso bean.

Serve with a heart felt warm smile.

Café Grande

1 part Kahlua

1part dark crème de cacao

1 part Grand Marnier orange liqueur

5 ounces fresh brewed coffee

Whipped cream

Maraschino cherry

Pour liqueurs into a clear glass mug. Add freshly brewed coffee. Top with heavy scoop of whipped cream and garnish with a cherry.

Serve with a heart felt warm smile.

While coffee has been the predominant morning beverage in American culture for centuries, many people have begun to make the switch over to tea. One of the main advantages to tea is that there are varying caffeine levels between varietals. You can find numerous tea options, all of which have a distinct flavor profile.

Black teas have a strong taste and the highest caffeine content among teas, while greens are more delicate in flavor and have relatively low caffeine levels. There are also many caffeine-free herbal tea on the market that have unique and exotic flavors. Some of the most common are chamomile and lemongrass.

Early one morning last month, I woke up begrudgingly and trudged to the kitchen with my eyelids still fluttering closed. As was my custom just before work, I planned to enjoy an invigorating espresso shot or two. Without my morning coffee, I’m basically a zombie; I can hardly function, and my work definitely suffers. Unfortunately, I took one sip of my freshly pulled espresso and spit it right into the sink.

It turned out that my home’s hard water problem had extended beyond just creating a frustrating shower experience. Calcium deposits had built up in the boiler of my espresso machine, affecting the taste and obstructing the brewing process. The machine was in perfect working order; it just needed to be decalcified. I found an appropriate descaler, and ever since I’ve been cleaning the machine on a monthly basis.

COWBOY COFFEE: Ground coffee steeped in hot water then strained to separate rounds from brew. Legend has it that the separation method often called for a clean sock into which the ground coffee was spooned before being immersed in water. (Also called hobo, campfire or open-pot coffee.)

CHLOROGENIC ACID: One of the principal acids in green coffee beans, unpleasantly astringent by itself. As the roast progresses much of the chlorogenic acid disappears and other flavourful acids form, more thank making up for its loss.

CINNAMON ROAST: The lightest roast commercially available, with no oil on the surface. Large manufacturers often incorporate very light roasted coffee into their b lends, because roasting for a short time both saves money and adds bulk. A cinnamon roast rarely appears in specialty shops, though, because it is so high in chlorogenic acid and low in body and flavour.

CITY ROAST: A roasting term controversial for its impression but in wide use. Today a city roast is barely darker than a cinnamon roast. “Full –city” is used for a l medium roast, more or less dark cinnamon in color and with no oil on the surface; this is the fullest development of a bean before oils appear. The next stage is usually called a Vienna roast.

CLEAN CUP: A term professional tasters use to indicate a brewed coffee that is free, of virtually free, of taste defects. A clean coffee is not the same as a great coffee, but it will bring the grower or broker a higher price.

CREMA: A golden foam made up of oil and colloids, which floats atop the surface of a perfectly brewed cup of espresso. Achieving crema depends on a number of factors, including kind of coffee used, its freshness and the degree of pressure used in brewing; achieving it is tricky when not using a professional espresso machine.

CUPPING: The process by which professional tasters evaluate a sample of beans, Roasted and ground coffee is steeped in hot water, like tea, and the liquid is stasted both warm and as it cools.

For many years my wife and I bought our coffee beans in bulk. We both delight in taking the time to grind and brew our gourmet coffee, but we started to notice that toward the end of the bag the beans started to taste a bit off. That led me to do some research on coffee storage. How should the beans be stored, I wondered – in their raw, green form, or roasted? Left whole or ground? Frozen or at room temperature?

It didn’t take long to discover that fresh roasted coffee beans store best, and they should be kept whole until just before consumption. Most beans will retain their freshness for up to two weeks when stored at room temperature provided that they’re kept in an airtight container. When storing your own beans, bear in mind that they create excess carbon dioxide. Open up the lid of the coffee periodically to allow this gas to disperse.