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Author:
Melissa Collins
Who doesn’t like a booster before starting their day? What better way than getting it from beverages containing caffeine. Caffeine is one of the most famous beverages for stimulating the central nervous system and acts as a psychoactive drug.
Coffee and espresso are beverages containing caffeine and drinking a cup of coffee is part of the daily routine for many people. Espresso is a type of coffee beverage that has its method of brewing. Many people mistake an espresso as a special type of bean or roast, but it’s just a coffee-making method that leads to the espresso beverage. Whereas coffee is a broad word that includes all types of coffee beverages.
There are many varieties of coffee beans but two types of beans are the most popular and easily available everywhere.
Arabica is the most popular coffee bean in the world. It has a share of 60-70% coffee production in the world. Arabica originated in the 7th century from Ethiopia. Coffee made using the arabica beans is to a small degree sweet in flavor. Depending on how it was made it can also taste a bit bitter and cause acidity.
Arabica plants are grown on elevations above 2000 feet and need shade to grow. The plant can grow about 9-12 meters. The coffee beans you will find in grocery stores and coffee shops will mostly be Arabica beans.
Robusta is the second most popular coffee bean with a share of 20-30% of the world’s coffee production. Robusta has almost twice the caffeine levels than the Arabica bean. Due to this, the coffee made using robusta has a bit more bitter flavor to them. A high-quality robusta adds a nice layer of crema to the espresso coffees.
Robusta plants can be grown at low altitudes and require a lot of water. The plants also easily repel insects and diseases. A robusta bean has nearly 2.5% caffeine in them. This is the main reason for the plant acting as a repellent against the insects.
When it comes to the coffee-making process many people buy the best coffee machines but completely ignore the grinder. A grinder is as important as the coffee machine. You will mainly find two types of grinders in the market; blade grinder and a burr grinder. There is a huge difference in the result of a coffee ground using the blade and burr grinder.
A burr grinder is far superior for grinding purposes than the blade grinder. Coffee beans grounded using the burr grinder have uniform size and consistency to them. A burr grinder also doesn’t overheat the beans during the grinding process. Whereas a blade grinder can overheat the beans leading to the loss of freshness in them.
Below we are going to cover the most popular brewing methods used for different types of coffee beverages.
When it comes to brewing coffee, espresso machines are being used for over a century now. With the advancement in technology, you will find various automatic options today which makes the whole coffee-making experience smoother. You can get your coffee with just a press of a button.
Espresso machines are used for making shots of espresso by brewing using pressure. Hot water is forced through finely-ground coffee beans at high pressures. Depending on your budget the price of espresso machines can range from cheap to expensive.
Famous among the travelers, the Aeropress allows us to make normal coffee, cold brews and almost an espresso. It’s also famous for the quick brew time it requires to make the coffee. Coffee made using the Aeropress is clean and smooth in taste.
A French Press brews coffee using the steeping method. Coffee made using this method results in a drink that is aromatic, unique and flavorful. Although the last few sips can contain sediments. A french press is also easy on the pocket and the coffee can be made easily using it.
This is a vacuum coffee method with a unique coffee-making process. Many people prefer it due to the great-tasting cup it makes. Also, the coffee is going to be one of the purest you will have. In this method, two chambers are used with the bottom chamber holding water which is heated to boiling temperature and the resulting vapor pressure forces the water upwards in the top chamber.
The pour-over method is pouring hot water over ground coffee that is placed over a filter. The brewed coffee drips into the carafe. The pour-over coffee method is famous for the complete control it gives over the coffee-making process.
Drip coffee is similar to the pour-over method but any coffee made using coffee makers is referred to as drip coffee. Drip coffee is famous for the convenience of making a coffee using it. Although you don’t have much control over the coffee-making process in comparison to the pour-over method.
Coffee starts losing its freshness after just 30 minutes of them being ground. It’s best to ground the beans immediately before brewing for getting the peak coffee freshness.
Coffee is mostly water and using filtered water is very important for purer coffee taste. Using tap water can lead to the taste of coffee being altered by the minerals present in the water.
For the coffee to stay fresher for a longer time it is important to store them in an airtight container away from sunlight. They should also not be stored in a refrigerator as the beans can absorb the moisture which is not good for them.