Great Quote from Robert's Collection

"We should be careful to get out of an experience only the wisdom that is in it—and stop there; lest we be like the cat that sits down on a hot stove-lid. She will never sit down on a hot stove-lid again—and that is well; but also she will never sit down on a cold one anymore." Mark Twain

RABBI PLISKIN'S DAILY LIFT

Daily Lift #103 Ask Forgiveness Sincerely

If you've wronged another person, and your regret is sincere, he will forgive you.

Some people, however, when asking forgiveness are just being deceitful. Such an apology is unlikely to be accepted.

Today, think of someone you have wronged and have not asked for forgiveness. Be resolved to sincerely ask him for forgiveness.
(see Vilna Gaon - Proverbs 10:32; Rabbi Pliskin - "Consulting the
Wise")

Coffee On the Road

Whether you are travelling for business or pleasure, there is no place like home and no coffee like home coffee. Making good coffee while travelling is easy if you plan ahead.

You need a small container to pack your coffee stuff in, such as a soft-sided lunch box. If it fits nicely into your suitcase, all the better.

Now you need to pack your coffee kit with the essentials. You will need something to heat water, such as the little gadget that heats one cup, or an electric tea kettle if you have the room. Take a whirly-bird grinder, a press pot, coffee cup, chopstick, measuring scoop, and roasted beans.

Now you can start your day from your motel room with coffee as good as you have at home.

Robert

What is fair trade all about?

Fair Trade means an equitable and fair partnership between consumers in North America and producers in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. The chief concern of the Fair Trade movement has been to ensure that the vast majority of the world's coffee farmers (who are small holders) get a fair price for their harvests in order to achieve a decent living wage. More...

Coffee Basics

Line up ten coffee geeks and you will get 11 (at least) answers to any question about making a great cup of coffee. I would like to offer my not so humble opinion and share my experience with you. I realize not everyone wants to roast their own coffee and not everyone wants to spend the money on home espresso machines and good grinders. Most readers just want a good cup of coffee without a lot of trouble. Well, here's my advice.

1. Water

Water makes up at least 97% of the cup of coffee so it has to be good. Most should buy water for coffee, since tap water usually has stuff in it that affects the taste. Try it both ways to see if you need to buy water.

2. Coffee

Find a good roaster, either online or in your area. Roasted beans have a shelf life of about two weeks, so don't buy any more than you will drink in two weeks. Do not store it in the refrigerator or in the freezer. You will pick up smells in the fridge and freezing causes changes in the roasted bean that hurt the flavor. Store the roasted beans in air-tight containers or bags. I use zip-lock bags. Oxygen and moisture are enemies of roasted beans so keep them away from your beans.

3. Grinding

Grind your beans just before brewing, since the shelf life of ground coffee is about four and one-half minutes. I don't know what its shelf life is. I just know it goes stale very quickly after you grind it. Ground coffee has lots more surface area that exposes it to its two enemies, oxygen and moisture. The whirly-bird grinders are cheap and effective for most home brewing methods.

4. Brewing

Here's where you have many choices and all I can do is tell you what I prefer. My day-to-day choice is the Melitta "pour-through" system, with a gold filter. It is inexpensive, easy to use, and makes good coffee. I use a 1/8th cup scoop for each 2 cups of coffee, but you will need to come up with your own taste preference on how much coffee to use.

The gold filter is better than paper filters for two reasons; you don't filter out the good oils that make coffee taste good, and you don't run out of filters. All you need is a tea kettle. Heat your water to 195 to 205 F. Bring it to a boil and then let it cool for about 10 seconds. You can determine the cooling period by using a candy thermometer at the tea kettle spout.

On week-ends I use a press pot. I much prefer the press pot (aka French press) because the taste and body are much better than the drip method. I use the Melitta because I'm in a hurry and I need to make more coffee than my press pot makes. I'm too lazy to wash it and make a second batch. I need to get a larger press pot so I can use it every day. You might want to use a slightly courser grind in the press pot to cut down the amount of "sludge." I don't but most do.

For more info on the press pot, see: Issue No. 12 of BCE There is one change to the article. Use a chopstick to stir the coffee as you pour. (The same chopstick works great to empty the scoop of a Rocky grinder.)

There is much, much more to learn about making a great cup of coffee, but the above should get you started. Try new methods and experiment! And please do not let someone else tell you how you should enjoy coffee.

Robert

Studies Illuminate Caffeine's Connection to Cancer

Caffeine's best-known role, especially for early morning java drinkers, is as a stimulant. But two reports published online this week by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences illustrate how the molecule may meddle in cell mutations that could lead to cancer. The good news is that topical application of caffeine inhibits the formation of skin tumors in mice. The bad news is that the molecule represses the repair of genetic mutations caused by low levels of radiation.

More...

Robert votes with the experts on Dota Tarrazu coffee

"In the 2001 Specialty Coffee Association of America meeting in Florida, the Dota coffee was voted Best Coffee by 20 experts participating in a blind test."

I just had a cup of excellent Dota coffee from Costa Rica. I agree with the experts at the 2001 SCAA meeting. This coffee is delicious! It came in an attractive gold foil valved bag with the date of roast and my name printed on it. I brewed the medium roast in my press pot and I am enjoying a cup as I type. Click on the Dota Tarrazu icon in the upper left area of the front page and learn more about Dota Tarrazu coffee from Costa Rica.

Robert

RABBI PLISKIN'S DAILY LIFT

Daily Lift #99 Correct Faults Inversely

In every area that you have a fault, determine what behavior would be diametrically opposed to that fault. For example, someone who tends to be impulsive should slow down and think carefully before taking action. Similarly, someone who has a strong love for money should act in a very generous manner.

What do you consider to be your three greatest faults? Take one of those faults and think about what its opposite would be. Then visualize yourself mastering that positive quality.
(see Rabbi Simcha Zissel Ziv - Chochmah Umussar, vol.1, p.100)

Great Quote from Robert's Collection

"He who is of calm and happy nature will hardly feel the pressure of age, but to him who is of an opposite disposition youth and age are equally a burden."
Plato

Ethiopia's Oldest Coffee Industry

It all started in Ethiopia. Here lives the myth about Kaldi's dancing goats, who were the first to discover the little red and juicy berries on the wild coffee trees. And from here, in the centuries to follow coffee spread throughout the entire world. While the Kaldi story dates back some one thousand years, Ethiopia today is still as exotic as mysterious as it was then. One can find Kaldi's goats in the streets of the capital Addis Ababa, a city bursting with a mixture of modern development and ancient human history. And dating back to the start of the Kaldi legend, this North African country has continued to produce some of the best coffee in the world and now the industry is working on making it even better. But two decades of civil strife and socialist rule under the former strongman Mengistu left infrastructure in ruins, coffee farms in bad shape and in urgent need of rehabilitation, and the industry further burdened by a heavy tax system.

Ethiopian coffee

Ethiopia produces primarily arabica coffee (some 225,000 tons) from wild trees in the provinces of Djimmah, Sidamo, Lekempti and Salo in the west and Southwest. Ethiopia is believed to be one of the two birthplaces of the coffee bean (the other more established source being Yemen). Addis Ababa, its capital is the chief interior coffee market. The primary names for Ethiopian coffee beans are Abyssinian, Djimmahand Harrar that is also known as Harar and Harari. Harrar is the most noted coffee of Ethiopia grown in plantations near the ancient capital of Harar, which is both a city and province in the country. Coffee now known as Harrar used to be sold as either long berry Mocha or
Abyssinian long berry and is usually exported through Djibouti or Aden. These coffees are described by connoisseurs as winery or fruity. The beans except for those in Sidamo are generally dry-processed. Yergacheffe is a more fragrant example of Sidamo and a wonderful stand-alone coffee. The coffee of Ethiopia, one of the countries where coffee is a native plant, faded in popularity for a while. The Harar of Ethiopia varies greatly but when it's great, it is spectacular with the sweetness and smoothness of classic Yemen Mocha.
http://www.newafrica.com

Vacuum Pot Brewing Temperature

by Jack Denver

The ancient Greeks favored using logic over actual experiments. Logic told them that heavier objects fall faster than lighter objects. People believed this for 2000 years, until Galileo climbed the tower of Pisa and proved through experimentation that this was just plain wrong.

Logic tells you that vac pots heat the water beyond 100C. An experiment (a thermometer) would prove that you too are just plain wrong. The water in the upper (brewing) chamber of a vac pot is indeed in the ideal range of temperature. Despite the vigorous bubbling that you see, the water is NOT boiling in the upper vessel. The water in the lower vessel is boiling, of course. However, by the time it reaches the upper vessel, it cools to 95C. or so due to heat loss from contact with the cooler grounds and glass. The upper vessel is a good distance from the heat source and is relatively cool. It NEVER reaches boiling in normal brewing operation. Many people have measured this temp. and it is always below boiling.

This accounts for the wonderful results achieved by vacuum brewing vs. most drip methods... the brewing temperature remains ideal throughout the entire brewing time. The grounds are fully saturated and agitated, as in a French press. Electric drip machines are usually below ideal temp and often do not wet the grounds fully. Manual drip does not control the temp. accurately either... the water may start out too hot and cool below ideal by the end of the infusion. Most vacuum brewers use a "glass filter" which imparts no taste of its own and does not remove oils, as paper drip filters do. The end result is a brew with the strength and flavor of French press, but the clarity of drip. Its also fun to watch the water go up and down.

Why don't you try it yourself?

Jack Denver

What is the difference in foamed and steamed milk?

Milk Chemistry

Milk is comprised of fats, proteins and sugars. The milk proteins are agents for milk foaming. When the air is introduced forcefully to the milk the proteins form a film around the air to create bubbles. The fats will tend to inhibit and then break down the foaming process, although whole milk will tend to have a softer foam than non-fat because of the fat content. Milk that has been "fortified" - where proteins have been added back into the milk - will tend to foam more easily and to greater volume than milk that has not. This is why non-fat milk, which is almost always fortified, will froth to the greatest volume because of the high protein and low fat content.

It is best if milk frothing is started at 40 degrees F. Once the milk temperature has reached 161 degrees F and maintains that temperature for 15 seconds it has effectively been pasteurized. Any bacteria that may have been present is killed.

Steamed Milk

Steamed milk is milk that has been heated and is the same consistency as cold milk, i.e., all liquid and no bubbles or foam (froth). Milk can be heated in several different ways, however using the steaming wand on your espresso machine is a quick and easy way. Care must be taken to ensure adequate circulation occurs during the steaming process or you may scald the milk and diminish the flavor quality. By keeping the wand below the surface of the milk, you will not allow any air into the milk and no "frothing" should occur. Do not save any extra milk after steaming that you do not use. Discard all unused milk.

Frothed Milk

Frothed milk has had air forced into it so that it has a foamy texture. By placing the steaming wand barely below the surface of the milk, the circulation of the milk will draw in air and combine it with the milk, creating a foamy froth. The texture may vary depending upon how the air was introduced and how long the frothed milk was allowed to sit.

Different textures are desired for different drinks and sometimes combinations of textures are used for multiple layers of drinks.Mastery of the creation of frothed milk can only be accomplished by practice, practice and more practice!!

CoffeeCorral.com

Study Shows Coffee Not Hazardous to Heart Health

Source: Tufts University

Coffee is as much a ritual, or a way of life, as it is a beverage for many people. But does coffee drinking interfere with another lifestyle choice - healthful eating? Some researchers suspect that coffee consumption increases cholesterol levels and therefore leads to heart disease. To obtain some more insight into this issue, Finnish researchers examined whether coffee is a risk factor for those trying to minimize heart disease risk. The results are reported in a recent Archives of Internal Medicine.

More...

Coffee benefits unveiled

Susan Aldridge, PhD

Coffee is a rich source of health-giving anti-oxidants, according to new research.
It's often assumed that coffee must be bad for you because of its caffeine content. Yet there's little hard evidence that moderate daily consumption of caffeine actually has a negative impact on your health. And what's been overlooked in the great caffeine debate is the potential benefits of the antioxidants that coffee - and tea - contain.

More...

Caffeine blocks key enzyme

Susan Aldridge, PhD

Researchers find that caffeine can block the action of an enzyme involved in cell signalling, growth, and death.

More...