Coffee 2 Tea

BARISTA: The Italian name for the master of the espresso machine.

BITTERNESS: A catchall term used to express displeasure with the taste of coffee. Coffee is naturally bitter, but should not be unpleasantly so. When the natural bitterness of caffeine is removed in decaffeinated coffee, the flavour balance is thrown off, bitterness becomes unpleasant when coffee is under-roasted, highlighting its chlorogenic acid, or when it is overheated on a burner.

BLEND: A mixture of beans from different parts of the world and sometime at different roasts, as opposed to a straight coffee, which is coffee from one region. A roaster usually has secret recipes for signature house blends.

BODY: a tasting tem to describe the weight of coffee on the palate. Paper filtered coffee is typically light in body; coffee brewed through a metal screen, as in a plunger pot and in all espresso, typically has more viscous and at sometime syrupy body. Beans themselves have different degrees of body depending on  where they are grown and on  their species, Arabica beans have lower body than robusta beans.

BOILER: The small tank in an espresso machine used to heat water and steam milk. Room temperature water for espresso is drawn by pump directly from the reservoir through a copper pipe that travels through the boiler before delivering the hot water to the filter holder.

BOURBON: A hallowed variety of the Arabica species, named for the French island colony off Africa (today Reunion) where it once grew. Bourbon, the basis of the Latin American trade for hundreds of years, is an impractical choice for a farmer, today, because its yield is one-third to one-half that of many newer Arabica  varieties. Because connoisseurs prize its flavours and willing to pay more for bourbon trees where they were torn out or abandoned.

BRICK PACK: Coffee beans or, more frequently, ground coffee that has , in effect, been shrink wrapped in thin plastic bags. Brick packs, which save both the price mental for cans and storage space, were developed in Germany the 1950’s but only decades later came into wide use in the United States. They are no better than a can for preserving flavour, because both storage methods require that the coffee first be degassed.

Many of us love a steaming cup of freshly brewed, flavorful coffee in the morning to get us going (& throughout a busy day for a little “pick-me-up.”) But what happens when your coffee turns your stomach into a fiery, churning cement mixer? Part of the problem may be your body’s own acid/alkaline balance but certain coffees are known to be more acidic than others. It has been shown that coffee grown at higher elevations in volcanic soil has a higher acid content than its lower elevation kin.
First off, let’s not confuse the bitterness of poor quality coffee that is improperly brewed and left on the burner too long. There’s nothing like over-heated, low-grade java to turn your stomach into a gurgling volcano—not to mention what it does further on downstream! Good quality Arabica beans make a big difference in the outcome. The majority of supermarket ground coffee is made from a lower grade Robusta beans which are cheaper to produce.

Coffee experts use the terms “acidity” & “body” to describe the highly valued attributes of different kinds of coffee. Acidity can be described by such terms as bright, sharp, dry or vibrant and is not usually related to the undesirable bitter or sour taste achieved with poor quality beans & improper brewing techniques. Body is described as the weight of coffee: light, medium or dark, & sometimes rich or heavy. The type of bean, where it was grown & how it was roasted determine coffee body & is related to the fat content of the bean. (A light roast has a lower fat content, whereas a full-bodied coffee has more fat.)

Proper brewing of your gourmet coffee beans is the key to a delicious, non-acidic cup of coffee. Using a French Press-type coffee maker is the best way to control brewing time & temperature—the 2 key factors that affect the final outcome. Put measured amount of coarse-ground coffee (2 Tea spoons per 6 oz. of filtered or spring water—adjust according to strength desired) into bottom of press. Add water 195-205 degrees, stir & steep for 4 ½ -5 minutes. Press the plunger down to separate the grounds from the extracted coffee. Enjoy! If you are using a large press (up to 12 cups) & don’t plan to drink it all at once, store your freshly brewed coffee in a thermal carafe. Or use an insulated version of a coffee press.

Pour yourself a cup, sit back and enjoy.