Coffee Blog and Coffee Bean News

I love Sunday’s with coffee

6/8/2018

its official. I love Sunday’s!

Sunday can only be made better with coffee, sitting in a comfy chair, warm coffee in hand, warming not only my skin, but my soul. It’s the romance of the ritual for me - taking the time to reflect on the week past and the adventure of the week ahead.

In this busy world, it’s a moment of me time.

Italian coffee Espresso bar over 100 years ago in Milan

11/6/2018

The classic Italian Espresso Bar - Milan, over 100 years ago. The typical transaction would have gone something like;

Bar: “buongiorno"
Customer: “un caffe" (at this point put one coin on the counter)
Bar:“grazie!"
Customer: "ciao!"

How to remove sugar from my daily coffee

1/6/2018

How to remove sugar from my daily coffee

How to remove sugar from my daily coffee

If you’re like me you enjoy the sweetness of sugar in your coffee and trying a coffee without sugar is confronting!

It’s just the way you’ve always ordered coffee, “two sugars and milk”. Before coffee became great, it was the only way you could drink coffee, and that’s what everybody ordered.

But times have changed and the quality of coffee for most people has improved dramatically. We now have access to fresh roasted coffee beans and proper coffee machines in almost every suburban cafe and a lot of homes and offices.

One way to enjoy a naturally sweet coffee is with the technique that the italians call Ristretto, that means to cut the coffee extraction process in half which results in the sweetest part of the coffee landing in your cup, and the second half of the coffee is discarded.

The next time you order a coffee give it a try, order a Ristretto if you usually enjoy an espresso, or a flat white made from a Doubleshot Ristretto If you usually enjoy milk based coffees.

Ordering ristretto will halve the amount of coffee in your cup since you are discarding the second half of the extraction, however, that first half of the extraction is the sweetest part of the coffee. So where you may have previously ordered a single shot, now you will be ordering a double shot but with the same volume as a single shot.

If you’d like to reduce the amount of sugar in your daily coffee, try ordering a ristretto with one sugar and then cut down to a ristretto with no sugars.

The benefits of a2 milk when steaming milk for coffee

1/6/2018

The benefits of a2 milk when steaming milk for coffee

The benefits of a2 milk when steaming milk for coffee

The fact is, A2 milk is more expensive than regular milk, and when you compare it to supermarket milk which usually sells for only $1 per litre, the difference becomes even more noticeable.

So, there needs to be a benefit, either in taste, quality, or ethically, to make the premium price worthwhile. In using A2 milk in coffee, the benefit comes from the quality of the feed used to produce the milk - A2 milk dairy cows are not exposed to the Silage Season, where the dairy cows are fed fermented grass - this season which is unpredictable to the consumer, which results in another variable that we need to account for. This can be the reason why one day your steamed milk is velvety smooth and creamy, and the next day, with a new bottle of milk, the results a re a bubbly mess with separation in the foam.

If you are chasing a consistently high quality steamed milk, A2 may be the answer. It is also thought that the higher protein count in A2 milk can improve the results too.

If you don't want to select A2 milk, you can instead reach for regular full cream milk (4% fat) instead of light milk (2% fat) - the light milk will almost always result in a fluffy steamed milk which does not have the same mouth feel or texture of full cream milk, or A2 milk.

These Italian made porcelain coffee cups are the real deal.

29/5/2018

Nuova Point Italian made ceramic espresso cups - made in Italy

Italian made ceramic coffee cups

I scooped up these Italian made porcelain Nuova Point Espresso cups and saucers - unopened, from what could be 1983! These cups have a very thick wall and will have you talking with your hands in no time.

Why pre-heating your cup is important.

19/5/2018

Why pre-heating your cup is important.

Why pre-heating your cup is important.

Coffee really is science done right.

If you take a moment to think about it, we measure out 14grams of precisely ground, expertly roasted coffee beans that have been grown and cared for by farmers and processed based on sometimes generations of experience and knowledge.

We then tamp the grinds to a predetermined pressure, loaded into a precisely engineered portafilter basket that has been pre-heated on the espresso machine, under an exacting 15 bars of water pressure, heated to the perfect temperature of 91 degrees, resulting in 60 mls of deliciously smooth espresso.

So while the extracted coffee has a warm and cosy path through the group head, into the grinds and out the the preheated spout of the poetafilter, if you haven’t preheated your cup, the temperature of the extracted coffee is going to be different once it reaches your lips. That in itself is not such a bad thing, some people enjoy their coffee a little coole, and that’s perfectly fine, however the problem is the coffee liquid exposed to the cool cup drops in temperature faster that the coffee toward the centre of the brew. When these two mix, you end up with a cooler coffee that will affect the flavour, usually by reducing the sweetness.

I store my ceramic coffee cups on top of my espresso machine, but for the times that I forget, I’ll just rinse the cup with some warm or hot water and that will do pretty much the same job.

When is a shot of coffee espresso a bad idea?

12/5/2018

We’ve all heard the stories about caffeine; it’s the perfect pick-me-up but some people have difficulty getting off to sleep if they have coffee late at night.

So, what does science have to contribute?

One research study found that consuming a double espresso shot 3 hours before you go to sleep can delay your natural sleep hormones by upto 40 minutes. I’m lucky in that I am not affected at all by caffeine and sleep.

What about you?

What is one thing you refuse to do until AFTER your morning coffee?

12/5/2018

I asked this question over on the Bay Beans Facebook page this week and the general consensus was all the same - a resounding “nothing”!

That’s right, we just can’t function right. For me, my day hasn’t yet started until after I’ve had a coffee. It’s much less to do with the caffeine and a lot more to do with the routine.

It’s just a simple pleasure I’ve become accustomed to.

What about you?

Espresso coffee and tonic water - you’ve been missing something very special!

12/5/2018

Espresso coffee and tonic water - you’ve been missing something very special!

Espresso coffee and tonic water - you’ve been missing something very special!

If you’ve not yet tried coffee and tonic, you’ve got just one job that needs to be done today, and that is to get on it!

This drink is so easy to prepare, it’s punching well above it’s weight. Grab a glass and extract a single shot of espresso, and set aside while you grab a bottle of tonic water from the fridge. You can add fresh slice of lemon or lime, so cut a wedge and go grab a few cubes of ice from the freezer.

Drop the ice cubes in with the espresso, add the wedge of lemon and top up the glass with Tonic Water.

Grab a comfy chair, sit back and enjoy your moment of sunshine in a glass.

Mother’s Day gift ideas - just add coffee!

10/5/2018

Last minute Mother’s Day gift idea - just add coffee

Last minute Mother’s Day gift idea - just add coffee

Are you a little bit like me in that you usually leave the gift buying until the last minute?

Here is a simple solution, and everything was purchased at my local shops. $35 spent at Aldi because they have bottles of champagne, wine, cheese, crackers, chocolate and fruit all under the one roof.

I then bought a cane basket from the dollar store and a few sheets of butchers paper. Lined the basket with butchers paper, laid out the gifts and topped it all off with black grapes. Paired with a bag of Bay Beans coffee and the problem was solved in under 15 minutes, and it has that personal touch!