Gourmet espresso coffee is the base and the starting point for many fancy coffee drinks, that we have all come to know and love. Starbucks, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and other gourmet coffee shops, utilize espresso all the time in making those delicious coffee drinks that we covet so much such as: latte, cappuccino and mocha!

Gourmet espresso coffee is also enjoyed on its own in shot form. Many people love to have a shot of espresso with a piece of coffee cake, sticky buns or other sweet treat. It can cut the richness of desserts and rich breakfast items. It also packs a punch of caffeine in a very small package! One shot of espresso is typically enough caffeine for an entire coffee drink. Basically, espresso is much more coffee concentrate with much less water than a normal cup of coffee.

To make a latte all you need is espresso and steamed milk. Yes, it is that easy and yet it costs around $5 at most gourmet coffee shops! What a mark up and killing in profit. It is simple to make at home if you have an espresso machine. All you have to do is add espresso to steamed milk and you have a delicious latte.

A cappuccino is close to a latte; however, it utilizes espresso, hot milk and steamed milk foam. You add the espresso to the warm milk and use a milk frother to add the milk foam at the end. This is my favorite gourmet coffee drink and way to utilize gourmet espresso.

A mocha is simply a variation of a latte as it uses espresso, hot milk and then chocolate is added to add a delicious, rich chocolate flavor. Some people use cocoa powders to add the mocha flavor, while other use sweet chocolate syrups. These mocha powders and syrups are available at any grocery store or specialty coffee shop.

The world of coffee would be a lot less interesting without the addition of espresso. I love this beverage because it is so versatile and delicious. It is the building block for many of my favorite drinks, and also a wonderful way to get me up and going in the morning! It also helps me feel less sluggish after a heavy meal, when served with dessert. If you are looking to be a Coffee connoisseur make sure to add espresso to your culinary and beverage repertoire!

Christine Rankin is a professional writer who provides information on gourmet espresso coffee for Gourmet Coffee Guide – your premiere online resource for fine coffee!

There are a few circulating stories about the discovery of the effects of coffee and its initial consumption. They all revolve around an Ethiopian goat herder called Kaldi. It’s said on one fateful day Kaldi noticed goats in his heard behaving inordinately energetically. On further observation he linked their behaviour with red berries growing on some bushes which they were seen eating.

Curious; he tried the berries and found he too began to feel animated. It wasn’t long before he shared this new discovery with others and the berries became popular throughout the land. It’s not known if Kaldi was a member of the Galla tribe in Ethiopia but they are said to have consumed a mixture of ground berries and animal fat earlier than 1000AD.

Arab traders soon encountered coffee in their travels bringing it back to their homelands and cultivating the plant on farms. It was these Arab traders around 1000AD who were also likely to be the first to have boiled the beans consuming them as a drink identified for its ability to prevent sleep.

Bernard Lewis, in his “Istanbul and the Civilization of the Ottoman Empire”, tells of the ottoman scribe Ä°brahim Peçevi who wrote of the first coffeehouse in Istanbul: “Until the year 1555, in the High, God-Guarded city of Constantinople, as well as in Ottoman lands generally, coffee and coffee-houses did not exist. About that year, a fellow called Hakam from Aleppo and a wag called Shams from Damascus came to the city; they each opened a large shop in the district called Tahtakale, and began to purvey coffee.”

The demand for coffee around this time escalated to such importance that soon it was legally acceptable for a woman to divorce her husband if he was not able to supply her with her daily coffee.

Around 150 years later coffee was introduced to Italy by Italian traders. Although initially declared an infidel threat by the Vatican in fear of Ottoman influence, Pope Clement the VIII after no doubt tasting the drink himself was quick to declare it acceptable for Christian consumption. In 1645 the first of what would be many coffeehouses opened in Italy.

In 1650 the fist coffee house in England The Grand Cafe is alleged to have been opened in Oxford. The café exists to this day though their specialty is now wine. Soon thereafter more and more cafes began to open around England. They became a place to share ideas and news of the day. It was from here the term ‘Penny Universities’ was coined. A penny was the price of admission, an affordable sum, which allowed the well to do to share ideas with those who were less fortunate. Two years later, a Greek from Ragusa named Pascal Rosea opened the first coffeehouse in London, in Cornhill. In 1668 Edward Lloyd opened his famous Coffee House in Lombard Street, London, which soon became a popular congregation for shipowners and sea merchants.

1668 was a pivotal year in coffees adaptation into north American culture as this was the year that New York City’s favourite breakfast drink beer was replaced by coffee.

Pascal Rosea after opening the first coffee house in London also established the first coffee house in Paris France in 1672. The café stood alone as a coffee outlet in the city until Café Procope opened in 1686. Café Procope is still in existence and boasts a history of being the gathering place of historic figures such as Voltaire, Denis Diderot and Rousseau. Café Procope will also argue it’s right as the birthplace of the Encyclopédie, the first modern encyclopedia.

Europe’s first Viennese café is commonly accepted as being opened by a Greek merchant named Ioannis Diodato in 1675. It was coffee houses in Vienna that established the process of filtering out the coffee grounds adding sugar and milk. A vienna coffee is one prepared with cream, this perhaps a throwback to Viennese influence.

It was circa 1690 that the coffee plant was smuggled out of the Arab port of Mocha by the Dutch and transported and farmed in new colonies in Ceylon and Java. Java is now a well known bean origin.

The mayor of Amsterdam gave Louis XIV of France a small coffee bush as a gift in 1714. Louis XIV treasured the tree highly and had it tended to in his royal greenhouses. Years later in 1723 a French Captain who; whilst visiting from his station in Martinique managed to convince the kings physician to source a cutting from the bush. His intention was to cultivate coffee on the lush volcanic island of Martinique. This cutting may very well have seen up to 90% of the world’s coffee originating from this plant and it almost didn’t make it to Martinique due to rough seas, attempted theft and pirates. Fifty years later there were 19 million coffee trees which were noted in an official survey.

1727 was a pivotal chapter in the proliferation of the coffee tree. It was in this year in Guianna; at a time of border disputes between France and Holland, a Lieutenant Colonel Francisco de Melo Palheta manages to smuggle a plant from the French. During his time there arbitrating the dispute, the colonel became involved with the French governor’s wife. At the time of their parting the governor’s wife presented to him a bouquet of flowers which also contained coffee tree clippings and seeds. Lieutenant Colonel Francisco de Melo Palheta returned to Brasil introducing on his arrival the coffee tree. Brazil would unbeknownst to him at the time, become in years to come the largest producer of coffee in the world.

In 1773 it was declared at Boston Harbour in the US that it shall be every American’s patriotic duty to drink coffee. After heavy taxes were imposed on tea exported to America, colonists in the new nation began a revolt by throwing tea into the Boston Harbour, thus the name ‘Boston Tea Party’. This action by the Boston Tea Party not only set the wheels in motion for the revolution but it also led to the adaptation of coffee as America’s choice drink.

On August 11 1903 Satori Kato a Japanese Chemist working in the US filed for patent the “Coffee Concentrate and Process of Making Same,” the first patent for instant coffee. That is not to say water soluble coffee was not in existence at the time, although it had a very short shelf life and went rancid very quickly. It was due to this that the idea of instant coffee disappeared as soon as it emerged prior to Satori Kato. In his April 1901 patent application Satori Kato explains the problem and how he solved it: ” The volatile oil is mixed with the solid aqueous extract, but I have discovered that an attempt to effect this without other precaution results in the production of a pasty sticky mass which does not resist rancidity, but quickly spoils under the usual conditions of transportation and storage. I have further discovered that the difficulty arises from the presence of in the concentrate of the non-volatile coffee-fat or at any rate is overcome by its removal, which, I believe, I am the first to effect. I separate the volatile oil and the fats from the coffee and remove the fibre and reduce to a hard substance. This hard substance is reduced to a finely divided condition and a portion thereof is pulverized and thoroughly mixed with the pure volatile oil and dried, after which this mixture is mixed with the remainder of the hard substance and used in this granulated or flaky form or pressed into tablets.”

In Germany around this time Ludwig Roselius a German Coffee Merchant develops the first commercially successful decaffeination process in Bremen Germany with his assistant Karl Kimmer. This process used benzene or methylene chloride as a solvent to remove the caffeine. Ludwig Roselius founded the brand Sanka to market his decaffeinated beans. Today the use of Chemicals to remove caffeine is no longer in use.

Another inventor, Englishman George Constant Washington, living in Guatemala noticed powdery coffee build-up on the spout of his coffee carafe, He soon goes on to develop his own instant coffee and mass-produces his brand Red E Coffee in 1906. Red E Coffee was procured as rations for US troops during World War I. Nescafe soon developed an improved process and started marketing their brand in 1938. They went on to supply the US military with Coffee rations during World War II. By 1940 the US was importing up to 70 percent of the worlds coffee harvest.

Achilles Gaggia and The Birth Of Modern Espresso The Gaggia story begins with Mrs Rosetta Scorza, the wife of Sr. Cremonese a coffee grinder technician in Milan who patented the idea of a screw piston which forced water through coffee in the 1930s. When Cremonese died leaving Rosetta Scorza with the patent she was largely unsuccessful in interesting manufacturers with the design.

We can assume Gaggia a bar owner was perhaps approached by Rosetta, as we know in 1938 Gaggia lodged a patent application for a piston mechanism doing largely the same thing as the Cremonese patent. Gaggia went on to further develop and patent a screw piston forged from aluminium and brass, the distinct difference this time is that he had connected this system to a boiler. Gaggia experimented with various styles and materials including surprisingly asbestos in an effort regulate temperature. Gaggia’s design did encroach on Rosetta Scorza’s patent and led to Gaggia making a payment in using the design.

Gaggia went on in 1947 to patent a spring operated lever and piston mechanism which was totally different to previous patents, this paved the way for pressurised coffee and the machines we know of today. This new patent allowed for pressurised water pushed through the coffee independently of the pressure in the boiler, it also allowed the temperature to be regulated with a quicker and stronger extraction. Gaggia was now producing coffee unlike any other seen or tasted before, his extraction process was producing a rich golden crema, and perhaps he was a little unsure of it himself, but being the salesman he was, he wasted no time in installing his machines in bars and advertising the product with a sign on the window saying “Caffe crema di caffe natural” – coffee cream from natural coffee.

From there the adoption of the new style coffee gained momentum and soon Gaggia was exporting his machines worldwide aiding in the proliferation of espresso coffee all over the world.

To learn more about coffee and barista skills be sure to visit Barista Training Adelaide Or book your Adelaide Barista Courses at: Barista Courses Adelaide

Coffee is a wonderful gift to give to family and friends anytime of the year. As a Christmas gift, coffee is truly the gift that keeps on giving year-round, sip after sip, freshly brewed cup after cup. The holiday season is a time of joy and reflection. We attend social gatherings more frequently during Christmas which create memories we treasure for years to come. Christmas gift giving can be a great time to reach out to people we know and to meet new people. The holidays promote hospitality among neighbors and strangers. What can be better than sharing a great cup of coffee while planning a shopping trip, “making the list” or hosting a gift wrapping party?

Coffee is a great gift to give to someone if you know their coffee preference for Espresso Coffee, Kona Coffee, Blue Mountain gourmet coffee, Vanilla Hazelnut, Cookies and Cream, Amaretto Royale or other type of coffee. The gift can be ground or whole bean coffee custom ordered online and delivered directly to “that special person.” The coffee lover will appreciate the freshness and home delivery of freshly roasted-to-order bean coffee which has superior taste and is fresher than coffee from some store or coffee shop shelf. Coffee is consumed over time, one cup at a time. As a gift, coffee keeps on giving pleasure to the coffee drinker. The aroma and fragrance make the brewing and sipping experience very special every time.

Coffee can be a one time gift at Christmas or it can be a continuity Coffee club gift. With the continuity gift, the recipient can enjoy different types of coffee throughout the year, making each month a special coffee celebration. Perhaps a one year coffee club membership is something not in your budget or reserved only for very special people in your life such as parents or top customers. Most gourmet coffee clubs offer flexibility in their plans so you could offer a start-up coffee club membership, a wonderful way to celebrate the Christmas holiday and warm up the spirits and the tongue over the winter months.

Coffee ordered directly from a gourmet coffee operation means that select, specialty beans are freshly roasted to perfection, one batch at a time. The implication is that your gift, every time it ships, is freshly roasted following very exact directions, packed and shipped to your gift recipient very quickly. As a gift giver, the greatest joy in gift giving is not so much the gift itself but the anticipation of the pleasure the gift will give the recipient. The fun in gift giving is planning the gift, wrapping it or writing the card about the gift.

For example, on your own, you can write an explanation about the coffee gift that will be delivered directly to the gift recipient. This provides an opportunity for spontaneous writing and a sincere demonstration of personalization in gift giving. The card you would send to the recipient announcing the freshly roasted gift, for example, can include coffee recipes, stories about coffee, a brochure about coffee growing regions, their music and culture. Taking the time to send a physical personal communication is a tangible expression of personalization which can become a cherished reminder for the recipient. Who knows? Your coffee gift may inspire ideas for language, dancing or learning geography. As such, giving coffee can become a lifelong gift!

Coffee lovers who receive coffee as a gift generally are very expressive in their appreciation of the brew. Few other gifts will help start the day as a great cup of coffee does for millions of coffee drinkers. Sip after sip, freshly brewed cup after cup, coffee is really a gift most people appreciate. Gift giving should be selfless and without expectation of a gift in return. The intrinsic reward that is most appreciated by the gift giver is the expression of delight and continued enjoyment from the gift recipient. It is fun and pleasing to see others enjoying the jewelry, the shoes, the clothing or books that they received as a gift. However, coffee offers something that few other gifts offer: the opportunity to share and delight simultaneously with the gift recipient in the coffee gift. Sharing a cup of coffee prepared by the coffee lover to whom you gave coffee as a gift creates an emotional bond and a memorable time to talk, to listen and to remember.

Yes, indeed. Coffee is the gift that keeps on giving year round, freshly brewed sip after sip, cup after cup. So, what are you waiting for? Include coffee in your Christmas list. What about ordering some delicious specialty Mexican Altura Superior gourmet coffee for that “special person” in your list?

Timothy (“Tim”) S. Collins, the author, is called by those who know him “The Gourmet Coffee Guy.” He is an expert in article writing who has done extensive research online and offline in his area of expertise, coffee marketing, as well as in other areas of personal and professional interest.

Come visit the author’s website: http://www.ourgourmetcoffee.com
Also visit: http://www.squidoo.com/coffee-lensography-TheGourmetCoffeeGuy

© Copyright – Timothy S. Collins. All Rights Reserved Worldwide

In all actuality, coffee begins as a fruit that is bright red in appearance. However, you cannot simply make coffee directly from this fruit. As a matter of fact, there are several stages that this fruit goes through before it is transformed into coffee beans. The coffee bean itself gets transported all throughout the world before it actually becomes the drinkable form of coffee that you frequently purchase at your local supermarket. In order for you to be able to drink the coffee, it must first be processed and then roasted in the proper manner.

There are two methods of roasting coffee that are widely used to transform the coffee bean into a drinkable cup of Coffee. Both methods are equal in popularity all over the world; however it is purely up to you which method you choose to use. The first popular method of roasting coffee is known as the stove top method, and the second method is known as the “hot air popcorn maker method”.

When it comes to the stove top method, which is widely referred to as the old method, you will first need to place your frying pan on your stove. You will want to use the medium heat setting on your stove, and then place your beans inside the frying pan. The next thing that you will need to do is to stir the ingredients for roughly 15 minutes.

Once you start to notice that the beans have changed in color and they are either light or dark brown, you will then need to cool them immediately. Next, take the cooled beans and place them into a bowl. Stir them once again for about 7 to 10 minutes maximum. The actual roasting process will release CO2, so you will be required to let your stirred beans remain in the bowl for a minimum of 8-12 hours before you will be able to taste the finished product.

There I also the second method, which is the “hot air popcorn maker method”. Many coffee lovers have grown to appreciate this method. In this case, you will place the popper on your stove and place the desired amount of organic coffee beans inside. Next you will position a kitchen bowl beneath the opening. You will then begin roasting your beans according to your desired taste. Some people like them to be lighter, while others prefer a darker roast.

Once you have finished roasting the coffee beans, you will then apply the same method of stirring them for 7 minutes. Just as with the other method, you will want to leave the beans alone for 8-12 hours in order to allow the CO2 to dissipate.

Contact Coastal Roasters to get the most preferred coffees and related gifts. You will also love their coffee of the month feature!