Specialty Gourmet Coffee
Specialty gourmet coffee is a very hot commodity in today's market. The consumption of gourmet coffee has steadily grown with consumers enjoying the more sophisticated tastes of gourmet coffee beans. Specialty gourmet coffee, sometimes called premium coffee, is exceptional coffee beans grown only in ideal coffee-producing climates. These coffee beans have unique characteristics because of the soil they grow in which produce very distinctive flavors. Gourmet coffee has a more balanced flavor and richer taste than the standard mass-produced coffee.
Gourmet coffee beans go through a rigorous process of certification that is stricter to help keep the quality high. In the 1974 issue of the "Tea & Coffee Trade Journal", Erna Knutsen first used the term 'specialty coffee' to describe these unique coffee beans that are produced in special microclimates with these distinctive, exceptional flavors. In 1982 the Specialty Coffee Association of America was created by coffee professionals to help set quality standards for the specialty coffee trade. Since the 1990's the growing popularity of the coffee houses and specialty gourmet coffee retailers, have made gourmet coffee one of the fastest growing food services markets in the world. In the United States alone, it nets approximately $8.5 billion a year.
Some have compared specialty gourmet coffee to wine. The aromas and flavors have similarities in how the consumer connects with the two beverages. The characteristics of gourmet coffee however, are more even complex than wine. The coffee bean is more dependent on altitudes, climate and soil variation than with the grapes used for wine. The history and tradition of the specialty coffee grower makes this a very complex beverage.
So pour yourself a cup of your favorite specialty gourmet coffee, sit back and enjoy, you deserve it. Copyright ? 2005 Perfect-Coffees.com.
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History of Arabica Coffee
As you may have guessed, Arabica coffee gets its name from Arabia, the land of kings. When it comes to coffee, Arabica is definitely king. As legend has it, a goat herd named Kaldi discovered coffee on the Arabian peninsula around 500-600 A.D. He observed his goats excited behavior after eating the red cherry-like berries of a coffee plant. Hence the name Arabica, however, scientific evidence indicates that coffee first grew in Kaffa, what is now Ethiopia, in Northeastern Africa and was transported shortly afterwards across the mouth of the Red Sea to Yemen.
One could assume that the name coffee comes from the word Kaffa which would support the evidence that coffee first appeared in this region. Semantics aside, it is accepted that Arabia was the origin of commercial coffee trade so Arabica coffee is appropriately named.Of the more than forty species of plants in the Coffea genus only two are suitable for making coffee, Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora the latter of which is...
History of Arabica Coffee
Coffee > History of Arabica Coffee
How To Clean A Coffee Maker
Ever wonder how to clean a coffee maker the right way? Drip coffee makers need to be cleaned at least once a month to keep your coffee tasting good.Cleaning your coffee maker takes away hard water deposits, old oils from previously brewed pots and other impurities that can make your coffee taste bad.A mixture of 1 part vinegar to 2 parts water is the best way to clean a drip coffee maker. Mix a full pot of the vinegar and water mixture, pour it in your water reservoir and turn the coffee maker on.Once the mixture has run completely through, turn the drip coffee maker off and let it cool for 15 to 20 minutes. Pour the vinegar and water mixture down the drain. If you are cleaning a coffee maker that hasn't been cleaned regularly, repeat this step again with a fresh vinegar and water mixture.Next, rinse the pot out thoroughly with warm, plain water. Then, fill the water reservoir again with clean water and turn the coffee maker on to start the rinsing process.
To make sure all of...
How To Clean A Coffee Maker
Coffee > How To Clean A Coffee Maker