Coffee is one of the most popular drinks in the world these days and is made from the roasted seeds (called “coffee beans”) of the coffee plant. This drink was initially discovered in Ethiopia from where it spread to the rest of North Africa. Later it began being used by the Arabs who were the first to try roasting it. From there it was traded to Venice and then the rest of Italy, and more recently spread from Europe to the USA where coffee drinking now accounts for a third of the tap water used in homes!
There are many different species of coffee plants and these are now grown across Africa, S. E. Asia and South America. Coffee beans from different countries, and from different species of plant, result in different flavors. It is an important export crop, and the number one agricultural export for twelve countries. However it is the roasting which adds most of the value and this is done mostly in the developed world. Coffee is a major commodity traded on exchanges including London and New York.
The preparation of coffee beans involves fermenting them first, which removes unwanted layers. Decaffeination is done before the roasting, if it is done at all. The roasting itself is done at over 200 degrees Celsius. The grinding can be done either before or after the coffee is sold to the public, and different sizes of particles are used for different purposes. The brewing can be done using a variety of different methods.
Coffee comes in a variety of different types including espresso, Americano which is an espresso diluted by hot water, latte which has milk added, cappuccino which has both steam and milk added, or the macchiato which has foamed milk on top.
Coffee machines were first made in the middle of the 19th Century and first used a vacuum process to make the coffee. Later percolators were developed which use either pressure or gravity to get the water to pass through the ground coffee. Other types of coffee makers use steam or hot water passing through the ground coffee.
The French press makes coffee and filters out the ground particles after it has brewed for a few minutes. This machine can also be called a cafetire or a coffee plunger and requires a more coarsely-ground coffee.
Want to find out more about coffee, then visit Thomas Goldman’s site on how to choose the best coffee and coffee machine for your needs.