Archive for December, 2011

Slow Going: How Scandanavia Had become the Coffee Consumption Capital of the World

December 22nd, 2011

A brief history of Coffee within the Netherlands

Among the primary coffee-trading countries, it’s not surprising the Dutch were free of some of the usual conflict and turmoil surrounding coffee consumption. They began drinking it within the 16th century by the time the first cafes were opened within the 1660′s, there is “hardly a house of standing where coffee is not drunk every morning” The Dutch loved coffee so much that even the servants became accustomed to it.

The cafes also had their very own style. They were opulently decorated, with dark paneled walls and stunlying bright copper pots and utensils. Naturally, they attracted business owners, merchants, and government administrators which is probably why these were always in the financial districts. In other Dutch cities cafes put together in elaborate gardens, allowing cafe patrons to enjoy their favorite drink underneath the shade of the tree. Obviously, these gardens were especially popular early in the year once the flowers and foliage lit the gardens with color and fragrance.

Contrarily, while Scandanavia holds the current record for coffee consumption, the Finns were slow to consider the drink. Like the majority of other Countries in europe, coffee was delivered to Scandanavia in the 1680′s, however it was slow going after that. In fact, in 1746, a royal edict was issued against both tea and coffee. 10 years later it had been made completely illegal. The ban was eventually repealed, but there were severe taxes imposed on those who refused to follow along with the order. It had not been until almost 70 years later, in the 1820′s once the government threw in the towel. Unlike other Countries in europe, cafes never caught on in Scandanavia. The few cafes that did exist were Spartan and stripped from the elegance and luxury that adorned other European coffee shops. Proably due to the anti-coffee laws, for the Finns, coffee drinking was a private affair reserved for elaborate private parties.

Types of Coffee Beans

December 22nd, 2011

Coffea or coffee is a large variety of flowering plants with over 90 species. They are shrubs of the Rubiaceae family indigenous to southern Asia and subtropical Africa. The coffee beverage comes from the seeds of its fruit or coffee cherries. Coffee plant grows to some comparatively large height and it is more precisely referred to as a tree.

The coffee berries, coffee cherries or fruits usually contain two stones or beans. Espresso beans are mostly made up of endosperm that includes 0.8 to 2.5 per centum of caffeine. Only a small percentage of coffee cherries possess a single bean. This bean is known as peaberry.

Coffee beans aren’t literally beans. The name originates from the Arabic words gahwa and bunn; gahwa means coffee and bunn means berry. Those are the seeds from the coffee plant, and almost all coffee traders call these seeds beans.

Coffee develops underneath the shade in its natural habitat. Coffee plants grown underneath the shade, don’t deplete the soil’s resources and lives two times longer than sun grown varieties. The caliber of shade grown coffee has been said to become greater than sun grown coffee. The cherries produced by the coffee tree under the shade are relatively small compared to those of commercial varieties.

Many believe that this smaller cherry contracts the flavors in to the bean itself. Majority of coffee is grown on plantations with full-sun. Some coffee plantations were prepared with the use of deforestation.

The 2 main variety of coffee being grown today are Robusta and Arabica. Robusta comprises about 20 percent from the world’s production. It’s a lower grade coffee with higher caffeine content. Robusta trees are usually grown at lower elevations and simpler to keep and cultivate. This kind is usually grown to attain a lesser priced coffee on the market.

Arabica coffee supplies 75 to 80 % of the world’s coffee trade. It is almost always referred as gourmet coffee by most people due to the superior grade, aromatic properties and desirable taste. Arabica species of coffee are grown around the globe but only several growers passed the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s standard.

Other kinds of coffee plant being grown include Coffea benghalensis, Coffea congensis, Coffea excelsa, Coffea bonnieri, Coffea gallienii, Coffea mogeneti, Coffea liberica, and Coffea stenophylla. Each species has different characteristics.

Green beans are essentially coffee beans not roasted yet. Its volatile and non-volatile compounds are said to appeal to insects and distract animals from eating the coffee fruits. These compounds also bring about the taste of roasted beans. Nitrogenous compounds jointly with carbohydrates are significant for that full aroma or fragrance of roasted coffee beans. The non-volatile nitrogenous compounds include trigonelline, alkaloids, protein and free proteins.

Gourmet Coffee Beans have volcanica, costa rice, Jamaica blue mountain, and kona. Volcanica are grown at 3,000 to 7,000 feet on mountain slopes developed by volcanoes and nurtured on volcanic soil. The moisture from the clouds and the cool climate combined provides the coffee a smooth and robust flavor.