The Nancy's Coffee Blog

Tips on Making the Best Gourmet Coffee at Home

Tips on Making the Best Gourmet Coffee at Home
By Natalia Harrison

Have you recently purchased a quality coffee maker for your home, but still find yourself running to the local coffee shop for that "special" tasting cup of brew? If so, you're probably wasting a ton of money! Let me give you the best advice on making gourmet coffee at home!

Coffee: The first step in making that coffee house style is brew found in the perfect coffee bean. Yes, I hate to break it to you - but if you really want gourmet - you should start by grinding your own beans. Now, before we jump ahead to grinding your beans, you have to buy the best quality to start with. There is a wide variety of beans available on the market, from Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts to brands not known on a national scale. I personally suggest beans from The Roasterie in Kansas City Missouri. Their line includes

a ton of flavors, but what they are most widely known for is the fact that they air roast their beans which leads to a more pure, better taste and aroma.

Water: You'd be surprised to know that the water you use really does make a huge difference in the taste of the final product. Most coffee makers have filters built in, so be sure to change yours on a regular basis. If your coffee machine does not have one built in, use filtered water instead of tap water. This should be done whether you are using a $300 machine or a generic $20 unit.

Grinder: Many will tell you that it is ok to use pre-ground breans, but I whole-heatedly disagree. The oils in pre-ground coffee beans tend to evaporate, causing them to lose some of their flavor. Make the investment and get a good grinder. For many aficionados,grinding beans is an art form - and as with any art, the artist is only as good as the tools he uses. You may be tempted to get one of the smaller (and cheaper) push down grinders - if that's all that's in your budget, be prepared to practice - a LOT! You do not want to over grind because it makes the coffee bitter. It is better to use a little more bean than to risk over grinding. The Kitchenaid Coffee Burr is a great grinder and worth the investment (search for sales and deals online to soften the blow to the wallet)

Bean Storage: You'll likely find yourself storing your beans in the fridge or the freezer, but keep in mind that in order for the flavors to truly come forward - they have to be at room temperature. If you have more beans than you'll use - keep them in an air tight container and place them in the freezer. When you remove them from the freezer for use, it is best to let them sit and "thaw" out for a minimum of 30 minutes.

Now these are just my personal tips from my very own kitchen, but you'll need to really play around with your own recipes and understand your particulars when it comes to taste.

With so many to choose from, how can you really know which will be the best suited for your skills and kitchen needs? Whether you're giving as a gift or purchasing one for yourself - visit us today for more reviews on How to Make Gourmet Coffee.

At http://www.CoffeeAndEspressoMachinesOnline.com - we'll help you find the best coffee and espresso makers for your needs!

We Wish You a Happy Brewing!!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Natalia_Harrison
http://EzineArticles.com/?Tips-on-Making-the-Best-Gourmet-Coffee-at-Home&id=3441813

A quick guide to common coffee terms.

Organic: grown without using complex man made chemicals, particularly artificial fertilizers and pesticides. 

Sustainable: indicates an energy neutral production process. Energy put into processing coffee must balance the energy taken out to be sustainable. 

Shade Grown and Bird Friendly: these terms are almost interchangeable and refer to the conditions under which coffee is grown. In general, it means that the plants were grown under a forest like canopy of shade, which also provides a habitat for flora and fauna (notably birds). This is intended to be a safegaurd against deforestation as well as population decline of migratory birds.

Fair Trade: fair trade addresses primarily the price points at which coffee is sold and traded on the world commodity market. Fair trade ensures a floor price that allows farmers to make minimal profits in such low markets. Fair Trade farmers receive a minimum of $1.26 for non organic coffees and $1.41 for certified organic coffees.

We've got shirts, mugs, and more!

With the help of our new logo, we have new merchandise!  We've put together shirts, mugs, and more through Zazzle.com for all our fans to sport.  On our homepage you'll find a link on the left hand column for "shirts and stuff."  Here you'll be directed to our zazzle page... here are some photos of some of our new collectibles!

A New Website!

Thanks to a referral from Yahoo!, we've partnered with Solid Cactus for a whole new look and website presence.  Make sure you check it out and send us any feedback!  

Can you find the man in the coffee beans?

THE TRICK IS TO FIND THE MAN IN THE COFFEE BEANS:

This is bizarre - after you find the guy - it’s so obvious. Once you find him - it’s embarrassing, and you think, why didn’t I see him immediately?

Doctors have concluded 

Doctors have concluded that if you find the man in the coffee beans in 3 seconds, the right half of your brain is better developed than most people. If you find the man between 3 seconds and 1 minute, the right half of the brain is developed normally. If you find the man between 1 minute and 3 minutes, then the right half of your brain is functioning slowly and you need to eat more protein If you have not found the man after 3 minutes, the advice is to look for more of this type of exercise to make that part of the brain stronger!!! 

And, yes, the man is really there!!!

1/2 Decaf and 1/2 Regular... Everyone drinks it... We let you choose it.

I have a relative who recently had a baby.  During her pregnancy she was always asking me to blend her custom flavors of 1/2 decaf and 1/2 regular coffees.  She wanted her morning cup of coffee but didn't want all the caffeine.  

We got to talking and realized there's no where you can go to purchase this, so called, half and half coffee to have at your house.  You can certainly go to your local coffee shop and pour yourself a cup from both the regular pot and the decaf coffee pot, but what if your looking for a better product?  What if your looking for a custom flavor that only we carry?  What if you want something exotic and can't get anywhere else? AND WHAT IF YOU WANT HALF DECAF????

I'm happy to share that we've now made a simple option on our website to let you choose from any coffee, decaf or regular, and blend it with another.  We'll custom roast and grind your creation and ship it straight to your home or business fast as can be.  

Visit our site now and check out the "Create your own custom blend" item now! 

www.nancyscoffee.com

Find us on all your social media sites

Jeez... it takes so much organization to correlate all your accounts on social media sites, but we've done it! We really want to reach our customers, new and old, and connect in the way that they're most comfortable with.  I think it's important to be able to provide everyone with the newest sales, bargains, marketing ideas, product updates, and so on as much as their interested.  

So many people rely just on email marketing to push their ads and marketing, but I've always believed in making information available to the public with out forcing it.  If they're interested, they'll read it (but of course we need to make it interesting!).  Hence our new effort to reach our customers and friends through social media.  

Look for us on your favorite gathering site and see what we're up to! Get a feel for our company and help build the following.  We believe in better business, providing a better product, and staying ahead of the curve.  

Reach out to us, let us know what you think, and help us grow a business rich with history and a tradition of great coffee.

New Coffee's for Spring 2009

What better way to start off the spring than to offer all our customers more variety to choose from!  We're trying to hit the ground running after thawing out from a cold New England winter.  Therefore we'll be updating our menu of available coffees custom roasted fresh for each order.

Available shortly will be the following:

Organic Fair Trade Coffees: Breakfast Blend, Costa Rican, Mexican Chiapas, Papua New Guinea, Decaf Colombian, Decaf Guatemalan, Decaf Sumatra Mandheling, Decaf Mexican

Regular Coffees: Hawaiian Kona Fancy, Peruvian, Mexican Altura, Jamaican Blue Mountain Style, Danish Blend.

Dark Roast Coffees:  Dark House Blend, Kilimanjaro Blend, Super Dark Expresso

Flavored Coffees:  Chocolate Peanut Butter and a possible "make your own combination" feature on the website!

Random Coffee Trivia

1. Coffee was first known in Europe as Arabian Wine.

2. The Arabs are generally believed to be the first to brew coffee.

3. Milk as an additive to coffee became popular in the 1680's, when a French physician recommended that cafe au lait be used for medicinal purposes.

4. The first Parisian cafe opened in 1689 to serve coffee.

5. Bach wrote a coffee cantata in 1732.

6. In the year 1763, there were over 200 coffee shops in Venice.

7. The heavy tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773, which caused the "Boston Tea Party," resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. Drinking coffee was an expression of freedom.

8. The founding fathers of the U.S., during the revolution, formed their national strategies in coffeehouses.

9. In early America, coffee was usually taken between meals and after dinner.

10. In the year 1790, there were two firsts in the United States; the first wholesale coffee roasting company, and the first newspaper advertisement featuring coffee.

11. The prototype of the first espresso machine was created in France in 1822.

12. By 1850, the manual coffee grinder found its way to most upper middle class kitchens of the U.S.

13. The Civil War in the United States elevated the popularity of coffee to new heights. Soldiers went to war with coffee beans as a primary ration.

14. In 1900, coffee was often delivered door-to-door in the United States, by horse-pulled wagons.

15. The first commercial espresso machine was manufactured in Italy in 1906.

16. In Italy, coffee and espresso are synonymous.

17. The average age of an Italian barista is 48 years old. A barista is a respected job title in Italy.

18. Italians do not drink espresso during meals. It is considered to be a separate event and is given its own time.

19. In Italy, espresso is considered so essential to daily life that the price is regulated by the government.

20. Italy now has over 200,000 coffee bars, and still growing.

You Know You Drink Too Much Coffee When...

1. Juan Valdez named his donkey after you.
2. you ski uphill.
3. you speed walk in your sleep.
4. you answer the door before people knock.
5. you sleep with your eyes open.
6. you just completed another sweater and you don't know how to knit.
7. you grind your coffee beans in your mouth.
8. you have to watch videos in fast-forward.
9. the only time you're standing still is in an earthquake.
10. you lick your coffeepot clean.
11. your eyes stay open when you sneeze.
12. the nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse.
13. your T-shirt says, "Decaf is the devil's coffee."
14. you can type sixty words a minute with your feet.
15. all your kids are named "Joe."
16. you don't need a hammer to pound nails.
17. your only source of nutrition comes from "Sweet and Low."
18. you don't sweat, you percolate.
19. you've worn out the handles on your favorite mug.
20. you've built a miniature city out of plastic stirrers.
21. people get dizzy just watching you.
22. people can test their batteries in your ears.
23. when someone asks you," How are you?", you say," Good to the last drop."
24. your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil.
25. you'd be willing to spend time in a Turkish prison.
26. you go to sleep just so you can wake up and smell the coffee.
27. you speak perfect Arabic without even taking a lesson.
28. your Thermos is on wheels.
29. you can outlast the Energizer Bunny.
30. you don't even wait for the water to boil anymore.
31. you think being called a drip is a compliment.
32. you don't tan, you roast.
33. you don't get mad, you get steamed.
34. you soak your dentures in coffee overnight.
35. your coffee mug is insured by Lloyds of London.
36. you think CPR stands for "Coffee Provides Resuscitation."