Coffee is a drink that has been part of our lives since the early 1900s. It is a stimulant that is commonly consumed in countries all over the world. You can make a coffee that is comparable to the coffee you get at Starbucks in a matter of seconds, but the process is a little more involved than just grinding up some beans and pouring hot water into a cup. If you are not careful, you can ruin a delicious cup of coffee.
Coffee is a refreshing and tasty beverage that you can enjoy in many different ways. However, not everyone knows how to make a perfect cup of coffee. To fully appreciate this miracle bean, it is crucial to understand a few facts before diving into making it. Obtaining an ideal cup of coffee so you can enjoy it with your family and friends will be explained in this article.
Types of Coffee
The many different types of coffee that are grown around the world are not all created equal. The flavor and strength of different coffees can vary widely. Some coffees are only used for making drinks, while others are harvested for making coffee beans. Coffea Arabica is usually referred to as “Arabica” and Coffea Robusta as “Robusta,” but both can be considered subspecies of Coffea Arabica. Both Arabica and Robusta are types of coffee, and they are also known as coffee arabica and coffee robusta. They come from different regions globally, and they differ in the way they grow and the way they taste. Arabica is regarded as the rarer and higher quality variety, so any coffee grown from it is usually more expensive.
Robusta
Robusta is a strain of coffee that has been cultivated since the early 1600s. These days, Robusta is primarily grown in Africa and Asia. It’s a fast-growing plant, and it’s relatively easy to cultivate in those regions due to the weather conditions. Robusta is often used in instant coffee, but it’s also used in some other coffee products, including brewed-to-order drinks.
Arabica
The arabica coffee beans are grown in a specific region of the world and are very high quality. They are harvested, ground, roasted and then brewed by roasting them in an oven. The Arabica bean is one of the most popular coffee beans in the world. It is native to South America and Africa, with coffee hybrids found in Asia and Central and South America. Arabica beans contain more caffeine and chlorogenic acid (CGA) than Robusta beans. Arabica beans are typically grown at higher elevations than Robusta beans. The arabica beans used to make coffee are produced in different countries worldwide, and their flavors often differ.
Top Five Coffee Producing Countries
One of the most critical factors of a great coffee is the country of origin. If you want premium and specialty coffees, you’re going to want to try some from some of the best coffee-producing countries in the world. The top five producers (2019) of coffee are:
- Brazil: 2,652,000 metric Tons. Brazilian coffee is 69% arabica and 31% robusta.
- Vietnam: 1,650,000 metric tons. Vietnamese coffee consists of 95% Robusta beans, and the remaining 5% is Arabica.
- Colombia: 810,000 metric tons. Only Arabica is produced in Colombia.
- Indonesia: 660,000 metric tons. 91% of the coffee produced is Robusta, while 9% is Arabica.
- Ethiopia: metric tons. Ethiopia only produces arabica coffee.
Health Benefits
Coffee can give a range of health benefits, including boosting your mood and alertness, preventing heart disease, and reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes. It’s a tasty drink with real benefits. Some of the well-established advantages include:
- Improves your concentration.
- It can help with burning fat.
- Improves physical performance.
- Contains some essential vitamins and minerals, including B2, B3, B5.
- Could potentially lower the risk of diabetes type 2.
- Research has shown that it may take care of degenerative brain diseases (ongoing).
So now some of the more interesting facts have been established, it is time to move on to how you can enjoy this tasty beverage.
Tools You Will Need
The art of brewing a delicious cup of coffee is greatly improved with the right equipment. You will need to invest in a few tools to get the very best from your beans. Some may sound expensive, but you can often get less costly items by shopping around or buying second-hand.
- Grinder: This device is precisely what it sounds like. You set it up for the level of coarseness you want your beans to be (the coarser, the more bitter it is). Then you place your beans inside the machine and let it get to work.
- Tamper: This is the heavy piece of metal that you use to push the ground coffee down when it is in the portafilter.
- Espresso machine: the primary device that will force the proper temperature water through the coffee at the right amount of pressure.
How To Get The Most Out Of Your Beans
A small mistake could ruin your coffee or change its flavor entirely in the end. Therefore, it is essential to focus on details that are often overlooked. Once you understand these factors, your coffee will be perfect.
Purchase Good Quality, Fresh And Whole Beans
It all begins with the beans, and if you skimp on this step, all of the subsequent steps will be for nothing. Fresh beans are the best because they have not been sitting for more than two weeks after their final roasting. After this amount of time, the quality degrades rapidly, and so does the flavor.
Think About The Milk
Even if you are a diehard espresso drinker and could never imagine adding milk to your coffee, other people might enjoy a cafe latte or cappuccino every once in a while. Therefore you should consider what sort of milk preparation your machine has. The coffee specialists over at We Spill The Beans suggest that for anything more than espresso, you might want to look into an automatic milk frother. This will enable you to get the perfect amount of milk at the correct consistency.
Ensure The Bean Are Cool Before Grinding Them
By keeping them cool, you will discover that they grind more evenly and uniformly. It is also beneficial as it causes less clogging of your grinding machine and makes it far easier to clean. A warm, soft bean will deform before it grinds, which will wreak havoc with the flavor profile.
Just Before Brewing, Grind The Coffee Beans
Ground coffee has a larger surface area and begins to oxidize more rapidly. Therefore it is crucial only to grind your beans when you are ready to brew. Alternatively, you can store ground coffee in an airtight container which will slow the degradation. Nonetheless, freshly ground is better.
Filtered Water Is Best
Water from the tap can vary in mineral content, and the level of dissolved solids differs depending on the source. The best option is to filter your water and store it in a container. This will ensure you are brewing a pure and fresh cup of coffee.
Keep Your Machinery Clean
Just in the same way that you would clean a kitchen knife after using it, you should regularly clean the espresso maker and the grinder. The longer you leave it, the more acrid the taste. Moreover, it is just good hygiene to keep things clean and tidy.
Measure The Coffee
Spooning out the grinds by eye is acceptable for the average coffee drinker, but this post is about making the perfect cup. Therefore you must use a good digital scale to precisely measure the volume of coffee grinds you require.
Get The Correct Temperature
In general, 200 degrees Fahrenheit is the ideal temperature for water. To adjust the temperature hotter or colder, you can alter it a few degrees. A high water temperature will cause over-extraction, while a low water temperature will cause under extraction, which are fancy terms for saying the coffee doesn’t taste as good as it should.
Use A High-Quality Burr Grinder
A burr grinder uses a rotating cutting disk to press coffee beans between two plates. A burr grinder is different from a blade grinder in that it uses tiny cutting disks rather than the larger grinding plates used by blade grinders. This results in finer grinds and subsequently more surface area for the water to run by.
Ensure Beans Are Stored Properly Before Use
You must store the beans properly over time since they will begin to lose their quality and flavor. Do not place them inside a refrigerator because they can absorb moisture. Instead, you should place them in an airtight box and leave them in a cool, dry place.
There’s perhaps no more revered pursuit than coffee in this modern era of specialty coffee and the rise of the indie coffee shop. Millions consume it daily, and sometimes a touch of the magical is required. Great coffee can make your day, help you to focus on a productive task, and inspire you to do better. It isn’t challenging to brew the perfect cup of coffee, but there are a few things to consider and a few things you can do to ensure it is.
