Coffee is one of the most popular drinks in the world

Coffee is one of the most popular drinks in the world – perhaps because it’s so versatile. From simple coffees like espresso and filter coffee, to more complex recipes like cappuccino, coffee can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be, as anyone who has placed an order in a coffee shop recently can attest.

People’s motives for drinking coffee vary widely. Some just want the caffeine to keep them going, and are happy with espresso ‘coffee shots’ – nasty tasting, but they give you a burst of energy. More and more people, though, are drinking coffee not for the energy rush, but for the taste.

So how do you make the best-tasting coffee? A very large part of the answer is freshness. In general, the fresher the coffee, the nicer it will be. Instant coffee is the least fresh of all, as it is coffee that was made a long time ago and then had the water drained from it. This is the reason why so many people go to coffee shops: freshly-ground coffee is simply so much nicer.

Grinding coffee at home by hand is very difficult, which is why it is much better to get a coffee machine. There is generally little difference between the mechanisms in home coffee machines and the ones used in coffee shops, meaning that you can achieve the same freshly-ground taste. All you need to do is buy your favourite variety of beans, put them in, and press the button. You wouldn’t expect it, but even the cheapest fresh beans will taste miles better than the most luxurious instant coffee. Just try it and see.

For the real coffee connoisseur, though, the beans you use in the machine will matter. Good coffee beans are surprisingly hard to come by in a supermarket – you will probably have more luck buying them from coffee shops that sell their own beans, or from small independent specialist shops and street markets. Be careful, though, as this can get expensive very fast – make sure you try making coffee from a small sample of any beans before you buy a larger supply.

Coffee: Is It Getting Too Complicated?

Plain coffee is fast becoming a thing of the past. It's now quite simple to whip up a gourmet hot beverage for guest, family, or just for yourself. Nowadays there are a number of coffee clubs and circles in which coffee drinking has become somewhat of a social club. These social clubs meet in the community or on the Internet.

Where did the good old days go where you could get just a regular, good cup of coffee all across America.

It's all because there is a big craze over coffee these days. People are almost worshipping the coffee bean now. People get a thrill out of ordering and buying special coffees from specialty stores. They really like grinding their own coffee beans. They like visiting places such as Costa Rica and bringing back their special blends. And "coffee tasting" seems to be about as popular as "wine tasting".

They even have furniture and home interior designs with a coffee theme. This would make great gifts for the coffee buff.

Coffee got its beginnings around 900 A.D. where it was at first used as a stimulant. It was also at times used as a wine and a medicine. It doesn't look like anything is much different today.

There are not many products such as coffee that have continued "as is" for hundreds of years. And yet people are still scrutinizing and getting creative with it today and probably will be for years to come.

What is also interesting is that coffee is second to oil in dollar volume as a world commodity.

Did you know that there is two times more caffeine in a pound of tea than in the same amount of roasted coffee? This may be good news for those of you who hate the taste of decaffeinated coffee however wait just one moment. A pound of tea will make about 160 cups whereas a pound of coffee will usually make about 40 cups. This means that a cup of tea has about 1/4th the caffeine of a cup of coffee.

The content of caffeine in coffee decreases as it is grown at higher altitudes. If you want less caffeine in your coffee, grow it higher. Gourmet coffees are typically grown at higher altitudes so they have less caffeine than their grocery store counterparts.

There are many different types of coffee beans and way too many to describe in this article. Here are just a few of them:

You have Latte, Espresso, Low-Fat, Organic, Cal, Decaf, Half-Decaf, Black Forest, Cappuccino, Cafe au Lait, Alpine which has brown sugar, Arabian (lightly spiced and without filter), Cafe con Miel (Spanish for coffee with honey), and Cafe de Olla (a sweet coffee made with chocolate).

And you really should attend a coffee tasting at least once. You will get to experience how making and brewing gourmet coffee is slowly becoming a form of art. What is fun about the coffee tasting is that you could get a chance to taste two dozen or more different blends. You may even leave to start your journey as a coffee connoisseur. Any way you look at it, the tasting experience will be fun if you like coffee.

Tea and Decaffeination Processing

Decaffeination and tea is a subject that has long been misunderstood not only by consumers but also by industry professionals. I was taken by surprise when I recently read an excerpt from a newly released book, written by highly recognized tea industry professionals, that was clearly inaccurate when it came to the topic of decaffeination processing and tea.

I began questioning my own information on decaf processing and decided the best thing to do was to verify what I believed to be true. I decided to talk with the definitive authority on the subject, Joe Simrany, President of the Tea Association of the USA, Inc (TAUS).

I soon was relieved to learn that my critical information was indeed correct although some of the details need fixing. So here is what I learned. Unlike what I thought, decaffeination processing is not regulated by the FDA and adhering to industry standards is completely voluntary. The FDA does not have its own set of guidelines but relies on the expertise of the Tea Association Technical Committee (TATC) for the best practices. There is no sanction, legal or otherwise, for non-compliance. So what happens if a group is distributing "decaffeinated tea" that does not meet the standard? The first line of defense is the TAUS, who would attempt to correct the issue diplomatically. If that was unsuccessful the FDA would be notified and would follow up to see that the necessary changes to processing were made. So what do those guidelines consist of?

The Guidelines

   Teas labeled Decaffeinated will contain no more than 0.4% caffeine on a dry weight basis.

   Caffeine Free Tea is an inappropriate labeling term for any tea regardless of the degree of decaffeination processing.

  There are currently only 2 methods approved for decaffeinating tea leaves, solvent extraction using ethyl acetate and carbon dioxide in the supercritical state. Both are selective for extraction and create no toxicity hazard.

  Carbon dioxide is considered the better of the two, keeping more of the benefits and flavor intact.


The Facts

  Decaffeinated teas have between 1/3 and 2/3 fewer beneficial components than regular, non-decaffeinated teas.

  Both ethyl acetate and carbon dioxide are considered, and subsequently labeled, "natural", because trace amounts of both components exist in the tea leaf, a fine line for many of us who rely on natural to mean exactly that.

  "Water process", aka Swiss Water Process, Natural Water Process etc, sometimes used on packaging, is not recognized by the industry as being anymore effective than pouring off the first brew at home.
 
  Decaffeinating at home by the "water process" would be done by infusing the tea leaves for 30 seconds and pouring off that infusion. Then steep as you normally would. While this does eliminate caffeine it is difficult to be sure just how much caffeine is still present and likewise how much health benefits.

  Tea bags will deliver more caffeine in your cup than loose teas because they infuse more quickly.

  The amount of tea leaves used, brewing time and water temperature help determine the caffeine content in your cup.

  Cultivation, environmental factors, region and growing conditions, while out of your control, do affect the caffeine content in your cup.

  The only time coffee has less caffeine then tea is prior to brewing, 1 pound of tea yields 200 cups vs. 1 pound of coffee which yields 40-50 cups.

  The ONLY government approved decaffeination processing is ethyl acetate and carbon dioxide. Methylene chloride is NOT a guideline or government approved processing method in the United States.

  While we have a limited selection of decaffeinated teas, we guarantee all of the decaffeinated teas sold by Teas Etc. Inc. are processed using carbon dioxide


In summation, with the growing public interest in issues surrounding health and food, accurate labeling is likely to become a major issue in the future. Be a wise consumer. Beware of slick marketing and misleading information. Most importantly drink good, quality tea everyday.

© 2006 Teas Etc., Inc