| if you like your expresso coffee sweet, you should use granulated sugar, which disolves more quickly, rather than sugar cubes; white sugar rather than brown sugar or candy; and real sugar rather than sweeteners which alter the taste of the coffee. |
| legend of "cowboy coffee"? It was said they made their coffee by putting ground coffee into a clean sock and immerse it in water heated over campfire. When ready, they would pour the coffee into tin cups and drink it. |
| Caffeine is on the International Olympic Committee list of prohibited substances. Athletes who test positive for more than 12 micrograms of caffeine per milliliter of urine may be banned from the Olympic Games. This level may be reached after drinking about 5 cups of coffee. Ouch! Any coffee athletics out there? |
| The word "coffee" was at one time a term for wine, but was later used to describe a black drink made from berries of the coffee tree. This black drink replaced wine in many religious ceremonies because it kept the Mohameddans awake and alert during their nightly prayers, so they honored it with the name they had originally given to wine. |
| the word
'cappuccino' is the result of several derivations, the original of which
began in 16th century. The Capuchin order of friars, established after
1525, played an important role in bringing Catholicism back to Reformation
Europe. Its Italian name came from the long, pointed cowl, or cappuccino,
derived from cappuccio, "hood," that was worn as part of the
order's habit. The French version of cappuccino was capuchin, from which
came English Capuchin. In Italian cappuccino went on to describe espresso
coffee mixed or topped with steamed milk or cream, so called because the
color of the coffee resembled the color of the habit of a Capuchin friar.
The first use of cappuccino in English is recorded in 1948 in a work about
San Francisco. |
| that the infamous French Revolution was born in French cafes? It happened in
1789 when the Parisians, spurred on by Camille Desmoulins's verbal campaign, took to the
streets and two days later the Bastille fell, marking the overthrow of the French
Government and changing France forever. |
| when the beans reaches the
temperature of 400F during the roasting process, the bean develop oils in a process called
pyolysis. The outer part of the beans darkens. The beans are then dumped from the roaster
and cooled immediately, usually with cold air. |
| coffee beans are graded in
various ways? Example: Kenya coffees are graded as A, B and C. AA is the best coffee. In
Costa Rica, coffees are graded as Strictly Hard Bean, Good Hard Bean, Hard Bean, Medium
Hard Bean, High Grown Atlantic, Medium Grown Atlantic, and Low Grown Atlantic. Those
coffee beans from Colombia are labeled as "Supremo" "Excelso",
"Extra" and the lowest grade, "Pasilla". |
| Turkish bridegrooms were once
required to make a promise during their wedding ceremonies to always provide their new
wives with coffee. If they failed to do so, it was grounds for divorce! (Ouch!) |
| the Italians drink their
espresso with sugar, the Germans and Swiss - with equal parts of hot chocolate, the
Mexicans - with cinnamon, the Belgians - with chocolate. Moroccans drink their coffee with
peppercorns, the Ethiopians - with a pinch of salt. Coffee drinkers in the Middle East
usually add cardamom and spices. Whipped cream is the favourite amongst Austrians. |
| during the process of roasting
coffee beans, coffeol gathers in pockets throughout the bean. This substance is forced out
to the surface of the beans of darker roasts, as moisture is lost. Hence the bean has this
oily appearance. |
| special studies conducted
about the human body revealed it will usually absorb upto about 300 milligrams of caffeine
at a given time. Additional amounts are just cast off, providing no further stimulation.
Also, the human body dissipates 20% of the caffeine in the system each hour. |
| in Yugoslavia, small coffee
places are known as kafano, where the owners takes your order, brew and serve you coffee.
It is usually served in a long-handled open pot known as devza, and the coffee is poured
into tiny demitasse-type cups. |
| one time in Germany, the
government hired a special force known as Kaffee Schnufflers, to sniff out illicit coffee
roasters and smugglers. It was an intense campaign brought about by King Frederick who did
not believe that coffee-drinking soldiers can be depended upon. Fortunately he failed for
he too loved coffee. |
| during the American Civil War
the Union soldiers were issued eight pounds of ground roasted coffee as part of their
personal ration of one hundred pounds of food. And they had another choice: ten pounds of
green coffee beans. |
| Cafe Procope was the first
true Paris coffeehouse. It was opened in 1689 by a former lemonade vendor, Francois
Procope. The cafe faces the Theatre Francais, where it drew the artists and actors of the
day. |
| the Egyptians are extremely
fond of pure and strong coffee. They seldom add sugar to it, nor milk nor cream. They
serve unsweeteened coffee to mourners and sweeteened coffee at weddings. |
| at one time in England,
certain merchants were angered when coffee was introduced. Those selling ale and wine felt
threatened when coffee became more popular. They even launched a campaign to persuade
Charles II to issue an order to suppress coffeehouses. Fortunately, public outcry
forced the order to be retracted. That was on 8 January 1675. |
| Kolschitzky, a Polish, opened
Vienna's first coffeehouse, the Blue Bottle. He even saved the beans from the flames when
the Turkish troops, who left these amongst other things, was fleeing from the city. |
| in the homes of the Bedouins,
coffee is generally served plain with ginger or cardamom. It gives off a yellow color and
a very sweet taste. Sometimes ginger is added instead of cardamom. The Bedouins would
greet the guest in honour with "Allah wa Sablan", meaning, "My home is your
home". |
| Ugandans mix green beans with
sweet grasses and various spices, dry them, and then wrap these in grass packets, which
were then hung in their homes. It serves as talisman and as decoration. |
| coffee most exacting rite of
passage is known as "cupping" or cuptasting. It is the act of assessing the
qualities of a particular batch of beans by freshly roasting, brewing, and tasting it. It
is the work for serious and talented professionals. |
| coffee berries start as green
berries in early stage of growth, turns yellow, red, then dark crimson when it is finally
ripe and yields the best coffee. In fact, Arabica coffee plant takes about 5 years to
mature and produce its first crop. |
| we say coffee beans although
it comes from berries. It's because each coffee berry has two beans. |
| Dorothy Jones of Boston was
the first American coffee trader. It was in 1670 that she was granted a licence to sell
coffee. |
| Japan is now the third largest
consumer of coffee. They even know to improve their skin, and reduce wrinkles, by bathing
in coffee grounds that were fermented with pineapple pulp. Amazing! Beats
mud-bathing. |
| crema is a golden-browish foam
that covers a freshly brewed cup of espresso. It is only made by a high-pressured method
of extraction. An even thicker layer of crema also helps keep the heat and aroma of
espresso. Enjoy! |
| in Greece and Turkey, it is
the custom that the eldest is served coffee first. |
| espresso macchiato is a cup of
espresso "marked" with a spoonful of the foam from steamed milk, whereas latte
macchiato is a cup of steamed milk "marked" with a small dash of espresso. |
| during the American Civil War,
when coffee was scarce, the citizens of New Orleans used chicory as substitutes. Today,
they would have their coffee with chicory, which is mixed with quantity of strong black
coffee and hot, rich milk. |
| there are two major coffee
markets in the world. One is in London, which deals with the buying of Robusta coffee. The
other is the "C" contract market, known as Coffee, Sugar and Cocoa Exchange,
which is in New York. It handles the trade of arabica coffee. The "C" market is
also a futures market. |
| there is a difference between
the strength and body of the coffee? The strength of the coffee refers to how much coffee
is there in the brew, whereas the body is a measure of the richness (or heaviness) of the
coffee taste. |
| in the coffee world,
"excelso" or "supremo" do not indicate the quality of the beans, but
rather, the size of the beans. |
| vacuum pot brewer was invented
by a Scottish engineer, Robert Napier, in about 1840. It has two glass or metal globes
that fit together to make a seal. A plug, often attached to a spring seats in the upper
globe. |
| in the old days in
Constantinople, the first coffeehouses were called qahveh khaneh (schools of
wisdom) because they were the meeting places of men of arts and literature. |
| a kahveci is a person who is
skilled in preparing Turkish coffee. |
| a coffeehouse in Bosnia and
Herzegovina is called of kafana. |
| in 1690 the Dutch founded the
East India Coffee trade when they introduced coffee in Java (Indonesia). |
| one time there was a group of
women who formed Women's Petition Against Coffee (WPAC). That was in London in 1674. They
complained that their men were always at the coffee houses, and not being at home as
needed during domestic crises. |
| Turkish coffee is
traditionally brewed in a circular brass pot known as an ibrik. It is used to brew a cup
that is thicker and sweeter than the usual coffee that we are accustomed to. |
| coffee was brought into Costa
Rica from Cuba by a Spanish traveller, Navarro, in 1779. Hence it is not their native
plant. |
| according to Scheha Beddin, an
Arab author, Mufti of Aden were the first people to drink coffee (who lived during the
beginning of 9th century.) |
| Will's in Covent Garden became
a favourite meeting place for writers and poets. Many famous people, including Dr.
Johnson, who compiled the first English Dictionary, visited the Turk's Head Coffee House. |
| Will's in Covent Garden became
a favourite meeting place for writers and poets. Many famous people, including Dr.
Johnson, who compiled the first English Dictionary, visited the Turk's Head Coffee House. |
| the requirements for making of
good espresso is summarised by the 4 "M"s: Macinazione
(the correct griinding of coffee blend), Miscela (coffee blend), Macchina
(the espresso machine) and of course, Mano (barista). |
| Beethoven who was a coffee
lover, was so particular about his coffee that he always counted 60 beans each cup when he
prepared his brew. |
| Luigi Goglio invented a
one-way valve that could be laminated onto layered, oxygen-permeable packaging material. |
| Louis XV was rumoured to have
spent USD15,000/- per year on coffee for his daughters. And Voltaire supposedly drank 50
cups a day. |
| the French was the
first to innovate a crude expresso machine. The Italians then perfected this machine and
became the first to manufacture it. |
| the first documented licence
to sell coffee was obtained by Dorothy Jones of the Massachusetts Colony in 1670. |
the first coffee advertisement
was a handbill distributed in 1651. It read:
"The Vertue of the coffee drink first publiquely made and sold in England, by Pasqua
Rosee...in St. Michael's Alley Cornhill...at the Signe of his own head." It is now
housed in the British Musuem. |
| in 1511, Khair Beg, Mecca's
corrupt governor, attempted to ban the coffee drink, fearing that it might foster public
opposition to his rule. He even summoned experts from every walk of life to testify againt
coffee. |
| it was a locksmith who, in
1665, first invented a coffee mill in London. |
| it was in 1530 that the first
coffeehouse was opened in Damascus, Syria. Istanbul, Turkey opened its first coffeehouse
in 1554. |
| Mr. Jacobs opened England's
first coffee house in Oxford in 1650. It was two years later that another coffee house was
opened in London by a Greek, Pasqua Rosee, in partnership with Daniel Edwards, an
Englishman. By 1700 some two thousand such coffee shops were established. |
| the Turks brought coffee to
Austria when their army surrounded Vienna in 1683, laying siege to the city. |
| In 1785, the coffee revolt
broke out in Prussia because coffee consumption was restricted to the nobility, the clergy
and high officials. |
| before coffee was introduced
as a stimulant, it had been a social custom in Aden to chew the fresh leaves of
"qat", as it had a mild narcotic effect. |
| the three biggest coffee
drinkers in the world are the Americans, the French and the Germans. They consume some 65%
of the total world's consumption of coffee. |
| the coffee bean is called
"bunnu" in Arabic. |
| it was the Dutch who literally
brought the coffee plant to the rest of the world. They brought the first coffee plant
from Mocha in Yemen to Holland in 1616. Their firt cultivation was in Ceylon (now Sri
lanka) in 1658. |
| a good cuptaster has not only
got to have a good tongue and nose, but a good mouth and good health as well. |
| Nicaragua Margogipe is the
largest of coffee beans. |
| Mr. G. Washington, an
Englishman who lived in Guatemala, invented instant coffee. He discovered soluble coffee
in 1906 and three years later was able to put his products on the market. |
| Dr. Satori Kato, a Japanese
chemist, was among the first to develop an instant coffee powder. |
| coffee in Kenya came from the
Isle of Bourbon (Reunion) with the Roman Catholic missionaries as late as 1893. |
| that 1 kilogram of roasted
coffee requires 4,000 - 5,000 coffee beans. |
| the original Cappuccino
machines were true works of art in the unimitable Italian style. Massive, ornate, and
impressive steam machines designed to brew coffee and foam milk in a stimulating and
entertaining ritual. Much of the enjoyment of this exotic Italian classic was watching the
server make it in the elegant Cappuccino machine, with skill and showmanship. |
| the inventors of Cappuccino
decided that it's preparation should be as dramatic as it's distinguished taste and
appearance. So they designed an appropriately impressive Cappuccino machine. |
| early in the history of
revolutionary America, coffee played an important role, and today it has experienced an
unprecedented and exponential rise in popularity and consumption, with Cappuccino setting
the pace. |
| infidels only consumed this
delightful beverage until Pope Clement VIII found it to his taste and liftedthe ban which
had long denied christians the enjoyment of this pleasurable and stimulating beverage. |
| Frederick the Great formed his
own gestapo-like organization to ferret out and punish anyone in his army who used coffee. |
| in the 17th century, for
unknown reasons, an English king forbade his subjects to congregate anywhere coffee was
sold. |
| coffee has been around for
over 11 centuries and is currently the most widely consumed beverage in the world.
Cappuccino has become the popular choice of exotic coffee lovers everywhere. This was not
always so however. |
| it is a well-known fact to
coffee drinkers everywhere that Honoré de Balzac, famous nineteenth-century French writer
(remember Pčre Goriot?), drank up to 40 cups of coffee per day! |
| when coffee supplies became
scarce during the American Civil War, soldiers desperate for a cup of coffee used roasted
sweet potato and Indian corn as a substitute! |
| dark roasted coffees actually
have LESS caffeine than medium roasts? The longer a coffee is roasted, the more caffeine
burns off during the process. |
| the word "tip" dates
back to the old London coffeehouses? Conspicuously placed brass boxes etched with the
inscription, "To Insure Promptness," encouraged customers to pay for efficient
service. The resulting acronym, TIP, has become a byword. |
| a healthy coffee tree will
produce only about FIVE pounds of green beans a year? Of this, only about ONE-FIFTH meets
the rigid sorting standards to be sold as "Specialty Coffee." |
| until the tenth century,
coffee was considered a FOOD? Ethiopian tribesmen would mix the coffee berries with animal
fat, roll them into balls, and eat them on their nomadic journies! |