Caffè italiano: Che buono!

Savoring the richness of Italy’s favorite drink

By Olivia Herman
MSNBC

If you like coffee, go to Italy. If you don’t like it, you will when you get there. In the States I rarely drink coffee without grimacing. In Italy, I can’t go a day without the stuff. Italian coffee is the creamiest, most soothing liquid I’ve ever tasted.

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Coffee connections on the Web

NEW YORK (Reuters) — A machine that grinds coffee beans for $400? Coffee purists who prize their beans much more than a $4 Starbucks latte, have found the grinder as well as a connection to a whole coffee community on the Web. Just ask Mark Prince.

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A Daily Dose of Wisdom from the Rebbe

Just Do Something
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You have to do something. What you choose is not the issue here. Neither are all the neat little tricks and conniving of any significance. All that really matters is that you do your job honestly and as best you know how with the talents and skills you were given and G-d will bless you in whatever you do.

A Daily Dose of Wisdom from the Rebbe
-words and condensation by Tzvi Freeman

Great Quote from Robert's collection

"The best portion of a good man's life is his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love." William Wordsworth

Waking up to world coffee crisis

Small farmers, especially in Latin America, are being driven into poverty by the plunging price they get for coffee beans.
By DAVID ADAMS, Times Latin America Correspondent
© St. Petersburg Times
published August 11, 2002

TEZUMAPAN, Mexico -- Three years ago, Esteban Romero's small coffee plantation in the cloud-covered uplands of Veracruz state produced just enough money for his family to get by.

But world market prices have fallen so low lately that he wonders whether he can afford to harvest another crop.

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Clashes between police and Honduran coffee workers leaves 14 injured

By FREDDY CUEVAS
The Associated Press
8/13/02 11:08 PM

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) -- Police used tear gas and nightsticks to disperse more than 1,000 coffee workers protesting for more farm aid in the capital Tuesday, injuring at least 14 people.

The coffee farmers have been protesting and blocking roads across the country for more than a week to demand the government extend them $20 million in low-interest loans to help soften the blow of falling world coffee prices.

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Without this protein, coffee wouldn't work

August 15, 2002 Posted: 0834 GMT

By Bill Davis
Special to CNN.com

(CNN) -- A cup of coffee can keep you awake for a long time, and scientists think they know why. Researchers have discovered a new function of a protein that intensifies the caffeine kick.

In a study published in Wednesday's issue of the journal Nature, researchers describe a new role for the protein DARPP-32. This protein is found in mouse brains, and a similar version is found in humans. This work explains how coffee gives us a buzz.

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Coffee Bean Traveler... Part 1 of 3

This is a short story about the life and times of a coffee bean. Ponder this. Do you have any idea what path your coffee takes before ending up in your cup? Imagine yourself a coffee bean for a moment and follow along.

Harvesting: You are a coffee cherry hanging on a tree somewhere near the equator. It is near harvest time so your green skin has turned a beautiful crimson color. One day a human notices your bright red cherry and carefully picks you and places you in their basket. Your journey begins.

Processing: You find yourself being dumped onto the ground surrounded by millions of other beans. After a few days of the relentless sun beating down on you, your pulpy flesh begins to dry. Each day you get some relief when a human plows through the masses of beans and turns your wrinkled skin away from the sun. By the end of the week your skin is evenly and completely dried. Then one day, instead of being plowed you are scooped up and transported to a large silo.

Hulling: As you wait in the cool dark silo you hear the humming of machines. Eventually, you slide your way toward the humming noise where you feel a machine gently stripping your dry skin from your bean center. At this point you realize that you are a twin, there are two beans inside of this wrinkled cherry. However, before you get a chance to meet your other half you commingle with other beans and are separated.

Grading and Sorting: Your first experience as a single bean is a roller coaster ride through a multitude of chutes and screens and air blasts. You are being graded and sorted for size and weight. Your smaller and lighter friends fall out first, then you, and finally your larger heavier pals do. By the end of the day you are resting inside of a nice airy jute bag surrounded by your peers who all waiting with anticipation as to what will happen next.

To be continued......C.B. Miller, www.BetterBeans.Com
Copyright 2000 BetterBeans.com

A Review of the Solis Maestro - A Brief Treatise on Grinding for Espresso

by Don Smith

After reading all the positive hype on Solis's new machine, "The Maestro," I decided to have a go and get one. It's been in daily use now since November of 2001. It is a very good grinder, indeed, but with use limited to grinding for drip until recently, following the arrival of a brand-new Rancilio "Miss Silvia."

Before looking at the espresso angle, a few comments about the make-up of this machine:

There are 18 dots on the adjustment rim ranging in size from largest to smallest, beginning on the right as you face the machine (it would be nice if these were the more desirable click stops to permit small corrections between dots!). Dot number four, reading from right to left has a drip coffee-pot symbol directly below; this setting is no doubt intended to deliver the right grind for drip, but I find a better grind by moving two more dot-intervals to the left.

It seems these machines vary in their settings; a friend of mine has to move his four dots left of the drip symbol to get the same grind that my Solis cranks out on two-moves left. You set the desired grind by moving the entire hopper assembly with a firm grip of the hand. Move it with the machine running and NO coffee beans in the hopper to avoid damaging the innards. Solis is quite specific about this procedure of not turning the hopper with beans inside. Although the instructions tell you not to run the grinder without beans "in-the-bin," you really need the motor turning when moving to the "espresso-position;" it's way over to the left, as we'll see later. If you try to move the hopper assembly without the motor running, one gets into forcing as you approach the espresso-setting "arena;" this is not good, so run the motor.

The ON/OFF switch is a clicking, rotary affair on the right side of the machine. There are no marks to provide visual cues here, something Solis should add on a next-generation product. Comments about this negative are seen in most posts on the web concerning "Mr. Maestro." A really nice touch, on the other hand, is the handy little triangular mini-switch on the front of the machine that adds a desirable element of control to the grinding process.
Moving to that "sweet-spot" for ESPRESSO: Dot number 11, reading from right to left, marks the front edge of the coffee-scoop symbol. Starting on that marker, count four dots more to the left. Almost exactly between that dot and the next, still moving to the left, is the "Miss Silvia magic-grind-spot." This will no doubt vary from machine to machine, but should serve as a starting point. It took me quite some time to figure this out, even though it may appear "easy." So be it! Now, if only this machine will hold that magic point! I’ve found that you can get the settings to hold by using a piece of masking tape stuck to the outside of the hopper and the base. This shouldn’t be necessary; it’s something Solis needs to address in the next iteration of this grinder.

Although the grind is not 100% uniform when doing the "old finger-rub test," I think the machine is doing the best it can in this fine range, even though I was able to choke the Silvia on a setting one dot away from number 18, between numbers 16 and 17,favoring number 17, to be more precise.
No question that a Rocky or Mazzer-Mini will improve upon the Maestro when it comes to producing a consistent grind for that ultimate "shot." For the money, I think the Solis a very good machine, certainly head-and-shoulders above any grinders in the under-$200-range that I'm aware of. I'll be using the Maestro exclusively for drip after I get the new "Mazz," hopefully soon. (NOTE: The Mazzer Mini has arrived, but that’s a story for another time)

Incidentally, static has not been much of a problem. The Maestro is at least a quantum leap above a Braun KMM-30 in this regard.


Biographical Sketch
Don Smith is a native of San Diego currently residing in Flemington, New Jersey. He's been "messing around" with coffee blending for over 15 years and began serious home-roasting last January with the acquisition of a new "Hearthware Precision " roaster and an "AlpenRost'. He readily admits to being a confirmed "coffee-geek," already having roasted in excess of 25 varieties of green beans over the last two years. Although happy with the excellent espresso produced with "Miss Silvia," Don is looking to upgrade to a rotary-pump machine later this year. He's on the net at dbsphoto@yahoo.com.

Coffee Basics: The Vacuum Brewer

by Robert

I am old enough to remember the vacuum brewer, but I don't. My mother used an electric percolator during my childhood and then graduated to the Chemex, so I was never exposed to the vac pot. Remember high school chemistry, and how much fun the lab stuff was? That is what the vac pot reminds me of. It's a glass contraption that looks like a regular coffeepot on the bottom and a glass beaker/funnel on the top. There's a tube at the bottom of the top part that goes almost to the bottom of the bottom part.

When you watch it work you are reminded of stuff you learned in chemistry and physics that you thought you had forgotten, such as boiling water and changing it to gas, or water vapor. And how the gas takes up more space when heated and causes pressure that makes things move.

It's fun to watch and the coffee is the best. It makes coffee as good as a press pot but there is absolutely no sediment in the pot or in the cup. The coffee never touches anything but glass. There is no filter, either paper or metal, to trap flavorful oils. There is a glass filter but not what you would expect. The glass filter is a stopper with rough sides that allow the coffee, liquid only, to go down from the top to the bottom, leaving the grounds behind in the top part.

For a much better discussion of the vac pot, please go to the wonderful article by Mark Prince at INeedCoffee.com: A Vac Pot Primer

Mark is the Coffee Geek of the coffee world. His website is www.coffeekid.com. Mark is a real friend to coffee folks. I have asked his advice many times and he always is quick to answer, even my sometimes dumb questions. Visit his website and learn all about coffee and coffee equipment from an expert.

What IS decaf anyway?

by Barbara Gerard, for The Coffee Project

It's close to the end of a dinner party you've hosted for your closest friends. Yes, this means it's time for the piece de resistance -- fresh roasted coffee! You're pouring the bright green beans into the roaster when one guest queries "Do you have any decaf?"

Why yes, as a matter of fact, you do. When you pull out your supply of green decaf beans the physical differences between regular and decaffeinated beans is striking. Compared to the unprocessed beans, which are plump and green, the decaf appear stunted: and shriveled, with a brownish tint, almost as if they were already roasted. What path have these beans traveled to lose that component called caffeine, and take on this striking difference?

Most caffeine-free coffee that we find here in the States has made a side trip from its growing region to a decaffeinating plant in Switzerland, Germany, or Holland. Here the beans are processed by one of two basic methods (although there are many patents for removing caffeine from coffee beans, those that are currently used fall into one of two categories).

One method is called Direct Contact. Here the green beans are soaked in very hot water for several hours. After draining, the water is transferred to another tank where it is combined with a chemical solvent (usually methylene chloride) that absorbs much of the caffeine. The solvent is much lighter than the water, so the caffeine-laden solvent is easily skimmed off. Since the water still contains the important oils it is then returned to the first tank, where the green beans reabsorb the water and oils.

Some individuals are concerned about the possible consumption of residual chemicals while enjoying their cup o' decaf. Although methylene chloride has not been implicated in any known disease, the FDA has limited the quantity of the solvent to ten parts per million in ground coffee. Your supplier of green decaf should be able to tell you the average remaining in theirs. In an attempt to assuage fears, it is pointed out that the FDA limit relates to green coffee beans, and methylene chloride is quite volatile when exposed to heat -- it vaporizes at 104øF. After the beans are roasted (400øF) and brewed (200øF), there's only a trace of methylene chloride left...if any.

The other popular method is commonly referred to as the Swiss Water Process. In 1979 a Swiss firm named Coffex S.A. introduced its process which uses water only -- no chemical solvents. In this relatively expensive process the beans are soaked in very hot water. As with the Direct Contact Method, the water leaches out the caffeine along with oils and other flavor components. Rather than using a solvent which the alkaloid (caffeine) adheres to, the Swiss Water Process uses a charcoal filtration system that removes only the caffeine. The beans are then returned to the water, where they are reconstituted.

So which method is better? The answer falls within the realm of personal choice. Many people feel the Direct Contact Method maintains the oils and other materials important to a coffee's flavor much better than the Swiss Water Process. Others think the Swiss Water Process produces a fine cup, with no risk of ingesting a chemical that we may discover causes health problems somewhere down the road.

My only suggestion is that decaf beans not be the ones you parade around the table as you seek new converts to home roasting.

The Coffee Project. For reproduction contact The Coffee Project

Visit The Coffee Project at www.coffeeproject.com

A Bit of Caffeine Trivia

Tea leaves contain about twice as much caffeine as coffee beans. But since a pound of tea leaves produces more beverage than a pound of coffee beans, the tea we drink contains less caffeine. On average, a cup of tea contains one-third to one-half the caffeine in a similar cup of coffee. These averages are deceiving, since some of the stronger teas, such as Twining's English Breakfast, has more caffeine than some coffee.

Robert's Chocolate Coffee Truffles

1 can (14 oz) Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter (do not use margarine)
3/4 cup Hershey's Cocoa
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2-3 tablespoons ground coffee
Cocoa & cinnamon mixture

Melt butter in saucepan over medium-low heat. Add cocoa, stir until smooth. Add milk and stir while heating until smooth and shiny, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in coffee and vanilla. Refrigerate 4 hours or until firm. Shape into thumb size balls, rolling between palms. Keep hands cold in ice water. Roll balls in cocoa-cinnamon mixture, place in small paper cups, and refrigerate 2 hours, until firm. Yummy (plagiarized and adapted from Hershey's Chocolate Lover's Cookbook)

A Daily Dose of Wisdom from the Rebbe

Love & Trust
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The other side of love is trust. Love is how you feel to another. Trust is your response to the other's love.

Your love may have slumbered into hibernation to the point that you cannot even find its den. But you have trust that the other holds love inside. And in that trust, your love is awakened.

So it is with two good friends. So it is with any marriage. So it is with a child and a parent. So it is with the love affair between your soul and her Beloved above.

A Daily Dose of Wisdom from the Rebbe
-words and condensation by Tzvi Freeman

Great Quote from Robert's Collection

"One day our descendants will think it incredible that we paid so much attention to things like the amount of melanin in our skin or the shape of our eyes or our gender instead of the unique identities of each of us as complex human beings." Franklin Thomas