Tips on How to Make Espresso Coffee

Making a good espresso coffee shot takes is usually just a matter of practice. It is the most basic type of exotic coffee item to make. It involves a step-by-step process and a special machine to brew. During the brewing process, there are number of helpful hints that can give a shot of espresso the best taste possible.

The first and probably most important tip is make sure that all items being used are clean before brewing. The different components of the espresso machine, the shot holder, and the ingredients must all be in perfect condition. Making sure that all these materials are clean helps make the espresso have its own, original taste each time it is brewed.

Once all items are thoroughly cleaned, the coffee and espresso grounds must be fresh and ground to the right level of fineness. Mix both coffee and espresso together to give the shot a kick and the right taste. If the beans are ground too fine or too coarse, the flavor will most definitely be lacking. About 7 grams of finely ground coffee will usually satisfy most taste buds.

Once the machine is cleaned and the coffee materials are taken care of, a good brewer knows exactly how to work their espresso machine. Make certain that it is plugged in before using and that all the required levels of water, coffee, and espresso are being fed to the correct parts of the machine. Once turned on, the espresso shot itself should take only a few seconds to brew.

When trying to make a good shot of espresso, a good brewer takes a certain factors into account. First, they must make sure that all apparatus is clean to maximize flavor. Ground coffee to the correct level of fineness and use the espresso machine correctly. After some practice, it is not unreasonable to expect your espresso to taste just as good as Starbucks!

Best Tasting K-Cups Morning Coffee For Keurig Brewers

Morning Coffee

Morning coffees are a legendary type of American coffee. While European coffees are celebrated for their boisterous bodies and bold, bitter flavors, American coffee traditions introduced breakfast roasts to the world. Breakfast roasts, or New England roasts, are much lighter than your average European roasted coffee bean. The coffee roaster will heat the raw green coffee beans in a roaster. After about 5-7 minutes the coffee beans will suddenly crack. This crack indicates a chemical change in the bean-in an instant the bean will have grown in size and acquired a light cinnamon color, and the first tones of roasted flavor begin to form within the bean. The delicious breakfast roast bean offers light flavors and retain high levels in acidity.

Bright and Light K-Cup Coffee
Some coffee drinkers don't enjoy the boldness of their coffees. Instead of coffee that have structure and presence, some coffee drinkers would like their coffees to dance and jump. Breakfast roast coffees, luckily, offer that quick movement. Thanks to the high levels of acidity, breakfast roasts tend to dance on your tongue. The main component that allows Keurig Breakfast Blend K-Cups to taste so dazzling is caffeic acid. And besides the wonderful taste benefits that caffeic acid offers, this naturally occurring chemical also offers some health benefits.

Health Benefits of Keurig Coffee
Caffeic acid is a known antioxidant. So if you're always searching for the latest antioxidant drink or the best super fruit, you'll be pleased to know that you can get the same health effects from drinking a light roasted coffee. Caffeic acid also helps boost your immune system as well as decrease any inflammation in your body. With all the health benefits of a breakfast roast coffee, you just might forget why you drink coffee in the first place! While most people drink coffee for the energy that caffeine bestows and the delicious flavors that the coffee bean releases, you now have added health benefits that are worth celebrating!

Energetic Flavors of Breakfast Blend Keurig K-Cups
Morning coffees are created to taste lighter and brighter than your average coffee. This means that with one sip of the delicious liquid you'll be experiencing invigorating flavors without the heaviness of bolder, deeper notes. Rich espressos are great for drinking after a full savory meal, but in the morning the bold bitter kicks might prove to be too much. Bright breakfast roasted coffee beans don't venture into the serious territory of mouthfeel, body and presence. Instead they stay in the happy, comfortable arena of lighthearted flavors. For a delicious golden taste that will wake you up in the morning, enjoy a cup of Keurig Breakfast Blend K-Cups coffees.

Spellbinding Dark Keurig K-Cups Coffee - Best Bold Coffee on the Market

Why Bold Coffee is Better

While light coffees tend to coax you into a wakeful state, a bold drink give you the kick in the butt that is often needed in the mornings. And on lazy afternoons, bold drink give your brain something interesting to mull over. In short, light coffees might dance, but bold coffees are the movers and shakers of the coffee world.

How They Make Dark Magic Extra Bold K-Cups
As roasters prepare to roast the coffee bean, they know that every second counts. Each second the coffee bean sits in heat, the bolder the coffee gets and the richer the flavors become. When roasters aim to make a delicious batch of bold roasted coffee beans, they need to mentally prepare. Roasters, when creating bold coffees, need to bring the coffee beans to their very limit. The coffee bean needs to be pulled into their very depths, almost to the point of burning and charring. But the coffee roasters take intense care to pull the coffee bean as far as it can go without creating smoky, charred flavors. The coffee roasters roasts the bean up to the point where full aromas are created and spicy complexity is established. The coffee beans needs to stand on one side of the fine line. And that requires the skill of a great coffee roaster! Luckily Dark Magic Keurig K-Cups are created by Green Mountain coffee one of the strongest coffee roasters in America.

Flavors of Dark Magic K-Cups
Dark Magic Extra Bold K-Cups hits the top of the dark-roasting scale. As a result, the flavors are intense and complex. This Keurig K-Cup boasts a full-bodied mouthfeel, strong classic coffee aromas, and a beautiful finish that lingers on the tongue. The folks at Green Mountain Coffee love it so much they believe that this boldly roasted coffee is actually spellbinding for coffee lovers. Dark Magic casts a charm with its interlacing of rich espresso flavors that hijack your tastebuds, full aromas that make you believe you're in the same room as the roaster, and bold kicks that can jolt anyone into a fascination.

How To Drink Dark Magic Keurig K-Cups
If you love European coffee, be it French bold coffees or rich Italian espressos, you'll probably want to drink this coffee straight. The natural flavors are complex and sweet. So this Keurig K-cup makes a great stand alone coffee. You can even brew a small, intense brew to make your drink more intense, and more like a cup of European espresso. If you're like most, and you want to add a bit of milk and sugar, you'll find that this bold coffee does really well with any added extras! With additional sugary, creamy notes, this Keurig K-Cups is all the more rich and complex. It seems there's no way you could do wrong by this K-Cups treat.

Coffee Cake - A Simple and Delicious Recipe

Even though it is always called coffee cake, not all cakes actually contain coffee as an ingredient. Instead, a coffee cake is usually defined simple as a dessert that is most often served with a cup of coffee and enhances its flavor. Take a look at the following recipe for coffee cake that does not contain any actual coffee.

There is an incredibly wide variety of recipes out there, many of which are made with some type of fruit. Coffee cake can be made creamy and designed to eat with coffee or intensely sweet so that it blends well with the bitterness of coffee.

Coffee Cake Ingredients

The coffee cake that will be outlined here requires these ingredients: 2/3 cup of all purpose flower, 1 cup of packed brown sugar, 1/2 cup of butter, 2 teaspoons of baking powder, 1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1 egg, 1 cup of blueberries, 1/2 cup of milk, 1 cup of white sugar, another 1/2 cup of butter, another 2 cups of all purpose flower, and some confectioner's sugar to be dusted on top.

Coffee Cake: Baking the Mixture

Start the cooking process by spraying cooking spray on a pan. Your oven will need to be preheated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Then you can begin mixing the 2/3 cup of flour together in a bowl with your 1 cup of brown sugar and your cinnamon. Next, you will add a 1/2 cup of butter into what you have mixed together until it starts to get crumbly. This can then be set to the side, since you will use this to top your coffee cake.

The 1/2 cup of butter that is left over now gets beaten to a creamy consistency, after which you can add your white sugar to it and continue beating. Once it gets fluffy, add your egg and vanilla. After you have beaten that for a while, continue by whisking together your salt, baking powder, and 2 cups of flour. Next, add the milk slowly. Do not stop beating the entire mixture. It should get creamy. Once that is ready, you can spread half of the mixture onto your pan. The other half will be saved for later. Now you will spread your blueberries over the batter that you placed in the pan with a spoon and cover that with the rest of your batter.

Let it bake until it has turned golden brown. Next, remove the cake from the oven and let it cool. When it comes time to serve it, sprinkle confectioner's sugar on top and enjoy it with a cup of coffee.

Saving Money by Purchasing Coffee Bean Direct From the Source

If you want a high quality cup of coffee but you need to do that on a budget then there is really only one way to buy coffee bean direct from the supplier. When you choose to purchase directly from the seller you are going to limit the amount of travel time and the amount of people that your coffee pass through. This means that you will have a completely different experience with your coffee than normal.

When you are buying coffee beans direct from the source you are going to be able to save money. You will be able to get these same java beans that you might have purchased in the store but at a greatly discounted price. You can even save more money by buying in bulk because there is less of a need for you to have to have your coffee processed or moved by other people. During hard economic times people often give up unnecessary things but you will not have to if you are saving money.

Some other great advantages include being able to have coffee that is the best tasting possible. The quality of your coffee will actually increase while you are saving money and that is because by buying coffee bean direct you will be getting the freshest beans possible. Plus you can rest assured that your coffee has passed through the least amount of hands possible, ensuring that it is the freshest possible coffee that you can get.

The difference will be quite apparent in the taste of the coffee and you will be able to tell the difference from the first drink that you take. You will have the richest and fullest bodied coffee available so for coffee lovers this means a deeper enjoyment of your daily cup. Remember there are ways to order bulk coffee and not have to throw it out because it has gone bad.

Now that you know all of the facts you will be able to buy coffee bean direct and save money while getting the highest quality cups of coffee. In addition, you can share the love of coffee with your friends, save even more money by ordering more at the same time, and help them to enjoy their coffee even more as well. You will be able to ensure that you can still enjoy your daily cup of coffee when you have learned how to buy coffee bean direct.

How to Buy Good Quality Coffee?

Oh, there is truly nothing more frustrating than buying coffee that is not as good as it seemed. It can definitely ruin your day to take a sip of a cup of Joe that doesn't live up to its reputation, so you do need to make sure that you heed these purchasing tips when buying your coffee for home use.

First of all, find out the roast date. This is something important for you to understand the freshness of the roast of your coffee since coffee should be consumed 10 to 14 days after roasting. As a rule of thumb, it is not a good idea to purchase coffee from a grocery store because it will be stale. Also, if you are someone that drinks decaf coffee, it is best to purchase from a roaster because decaf coffee can sit on the grocery store shelves for up to six months because it is less often purchased. Shocking! As a rule of thumb, it is best to enjoy your coffee a few days after it has been roasted, and make sure to seal it in an opaque, airtight container for maximum freshness.

The next tip is to grind what you will brew. You also must freshly grind your coffee beans every time that you brew because freshly ground coffee beans will go stale within 30 seconds. This is imperative to protect the essential oils within the coffee beans since they will become damaged when they are oxidized and exposed to air. Once the essential oils are damaged, there goes the flavor of your coffee along with it. As soon as you grind the coffee beans, they will start to lose their natural flavors. There are different grind consistencies necessary for various brew methods. As an example, if you are using an automatic coffee maker, the grind consistency should be medium, like granulated sugar. If you are using a French Press, the coffee grounds need to be very coarse. You will need a very fine ground for espresso or Turkish coffee that is similar to a powder.

Lastly, make sure to store your coffee beans with the right method to have a better taste in your brew. Although rumor has led many people to store their coffee beans in their freezer, do not do it! Coffee beans are porous and delicate, and they will absorb the flavors of what is around them. The coffee can begin to taste bad if you have fish or other foods in your freezer, and freezing coffee will also damage the essential oils to completely ruin the natural flavors of the coffee beans. You must store your coffee beans in a dry and cool location in an airtight and opaque container.

So there you have it! These are the best methods for storing your coffee beans so that you can protect their delicate flavors and constantly enjoy a delicious and rich cup of Joe. Even these subtle changes will make a dramatic difference in the coffee that you buy, and you will notice a much fresher flavor in your cup of Joe!

The Best Single Serve Coffee Makers

Single serve coffee makers are my favorite. I can make a cup of coffee whenever I need one and they really only take about 2-3 minutes to make. Now, the downfall with your regular based coffee makers is that you're going to find out that you're going to have to wait 20 minutes and half the time, you're going to have to let the pot go to waste.

You will want to just think about this one for a second. Think of the times when you have wasted, say 6 cups? You could have had 6 cups of coffee in the future. We all know that coffee grounds and filters cost a few bucks, so why think of saving?

They are great for dorm rooms, apartments, and even homes. Sure, if you're going to be feeding the whole office, you're going to have to get a commercial based one, but if not, let me give you the upsides, as well as the downsides.

The Upsides...

• Quick and easy: Most of them are going to make your pot within 5 minutes.
• Very clean: Many use a permanent filter where you don't even have to worry about replacing them. It's going to ease the waste.
• Solo cups: Instead of measuring the grounds and doing things such as that, you're going to find that some come with individual pods, making it super easy to measure out.

The Downsides...

• Not enough cups: If you have a party and people want to drink some coffee, this won't do the trick.
• Not as many features: Some have all the features that you want, but they are going to cost an arm and leg, but many complain that they want more. This is a personal choice though.

Now, onto the top 5. There are many brands that make individual coffee makers. You're going to find some such as Black and Decker, Cuisinart, as well as a few others make great makers that are going to work for you. Check out a few mentioned below, as they may be what you're looking for.

1. Keurig B40 (around $120)
2. Black and Decker DCM18S (around $20)
3. Keurig B70 (around $170)
4. Delonghi Drip Maker (around $50)
5. Brew N' Go by Black and Decker (around $27)

Tips for Making the Perfect Latte

Making a perfect latte is actually really easy, provided you have some basic equipment and know what you're doing. A latte is made up of two ingredients; milk and espresso coffee. For the milk, ideally you will need a steaming wand, something that shoots steam into a pitcher of milk, creating something that is known as microfoam. You can however still achieve almost the same effect using a microwave or saucepan and stovetop, and a small, very low cost foaming wand.

The espresso is critical, so make sure that if you can only afford one piece of kit, you get a decent espresso maker. They take on all different shapes and sizes, ranging from things like the pod based machines offered by almost all of the major manufacturers, to your more traditional coffee shop style portahandle machines where you literally pull your own shot of espresso.

To begin with, froth your milk. Many people often assume that you start with the shot, but you want to be able to add your shot to your drink as quickly as possible, so don't waste time leaving the shot on the side to get cold or stale. You want to literally pour it, add it to the drink and serve, so start with your milk first. You want to heat the milk up to around 65 degrees C and at some point you will want to do a small bit of frothing.

It's worth pointing out the difference between a cappucino and a latte however. A cappucino is one third steamed milk, one third foamy milk and one third coffee. A latte is about one eighth coffee and about six eighth steamed milk, with maybe one eighth foamy milk to top the latte off. Bear this in mind when you are heating up your milk!

Once you have your milk hot and good to go, you want to pour a shot. The way you do this will vary depending on your machine. It might require grinding some beans, tamping them off in the portahandle and pulling a shot the traditional coffee shop way, or it might just involve putting a pod in the machine and pushing a button. Either way, you need to add your espresso to the mix! The ideal brewing time for an espresso is between 18 and 21 seconds. If you let the drink brew for less than that, if will come out watery, if you let it brew for longer than that, the coffee becomes burnt and overly bitter tasting.

Finally, take a tall latte glass, add your hot milk and pour in your shot. Stir to mix up well, and serve!