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How to boil water

Serious Eats reposted from recently a guide of boiling water. (Step by step, to the smallest detail) explains how to boil water. (For example, step one is, "open your closet or wherever you store your Cookware.") Thanks to accurate level of detail, is a funny post--one that I laugh out loud to the left.

However, as the idea of boiling water is simple, there's a lot of confusion out there about how to prepare your water for coffee and tea. One of the biggest differences between a mediocre (or even terrible) Cup of tea and a big mug of tea is tea brewing temperature. Beer a black tea to too low a temperature that is bland. Tea green Japanese at too high a temperature of beer and is hard, astringent and undrinkable.Similarly, the taste of coffee can be flat if the water temperature is incorrectly used to prepare it.(For coffee, 195 to 205 degrees Fahrenheit is ideal).

There is also a lot of confusion about the water itself. one of the most popular article of this site is a rundown on hard water.A guide to water filters is also very popular, and get a lot of questions about what kind of water is better for the preparation of tea.

Sounds simple. Heat + Water + coffee beans or coffee or tea Tealeaves =. but there's much more to it, and the water is just the beginning ...

Photos (c) Marko Goodwin

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End Roast Profiling... Start Profile Roasting!

When it comes to coffee purchasing, there exists a horrible affliction called Roast Profiling, a mental disease that leads to wrongful assumptions about cup character based on 'roast level'. If your buying decisions have ever been swayed by the words light, dark, or medium, before even learning what the flavor profile of a coffee is... well, then I'm afraid you've been diagnosed positive. We're in this together though, as we have paired our coffees with roast level in such a way, and for so long, that even our own purchasing behavior has been located deeply within its paradigmatic grasp... and we never even knew it. As coffee purveyors we are also educators. In the past we have trained our customers to locate and identify the roast level of a coffee, using it as the determining factor in a purchasing decision. Our longtime retail customers can remember our dichotomy of offerings as Featured Roast and Daily Brew, the darker and the lighter offerings respectively. We have asked you to become experts on the subject, really. Well, there is much more to coffee than its roast level, so it's now our duty to step up and educate beyond the color scheme.Before going any further, let me offer that whether it's a bright acidity or bitter finish that's desirable to you, you are never wrong about what your preferences are. No one is. Taste is one of our most personal senses, as we cannot taste from a distance the way that we see or hear. No, a person is not wrong when it comes to taste, but they can be more informed about what it is that they taste and why they taste it. We're here to educate on this point, so keep this thought in mind as you read on.

A coffee's 'roast level' or 'roast degree' is often thought of as the color tint, how dark or light a coffee is. Color, although it is quantifiable and measured by the reflectance of light of the coffee's surface, is neither universally accepted nor indicative of a coffee's flavor. We often assume that the darker the coffee is, the stronger the brew is. In many cases, this is true, as darker roasted coffee tends to have more solubility and the resulting extraction is more saturated. However, if all coffees are extracted properly, the level of roast of the coffee used in the resulting brew doesn't matter. What does matter are the indicated flavor profile and cup characteristics, and trusting your own taste preferences. Because when it comes down to it, relying on color or roast level hardly provides an informed assessment of coffee flavor.

In reality, there are over 1,000 different aromatic and flavor compounds in roasted coffee, making it possibly the most complex food in your kitchen. Compressing that complexity into 4 or 5 categories of 'roast level' is perhaps the fastest way to dumb down an articulate, quality product to educated consumers. What I want to convey here is this: when it comes to offering properly roasted, high quality coffee, roast levels are arbitrary and have no place in their presentation.

In its most simplistic definition, roasting is the process by which the coffee seed is made edible for consumption. The roasting process is the means to the end, and in the end there should be no premeditated dark or light roasts, but only these 3 possibilities:The coffee is too underdeveloped, flavors taste vegetalThe coffee is properly developed, flavors are revealed and highlightedThe coffee is degraded, nuances masked by improper and over roastingOf course, all of this has little meaning without the context of the quality of the green coffee (coffee seed) itself. If the quality of the green coffee is poor, then all that 'proper development' will do is highlight the intrinsic negative characteristics of the coffee (defects and the off tastes of cellulose). If the green coffee is of high quality and has complexity, uniqueness, balance and sweetness, then it is the roaster's job to develop, reveal and highlight these characteristics.

If you think about it, the road to roast level ideology was paved long ago by the marketing giants at major commercial coffee operations (your basic grocery store coffees) and their products don't taste very good. Why? One reason is that these operations race-to-the-bottom for cheap, commodity grade coffee, with poor flavor, thus necessitating the need to mask the negative characteristics by way of over roasting. So, it is in possibility #3, the degradation and masking for flavors, where all of the big name commercial, and some smaller roasters who follow suit, are constantly and consistently located. This is the main reason why roast levels are so pervasive in our ideas of coffee - the coffee is bad to begin with.In the world of Specialty and boutique coffee, however, there is no place for roast level, only proper development. As pioneer George Howell says, "If the duck is delicious, why smother it in sauce."

At the Gimme roastery, manual Profile Roasting - finding the correct time and temperature curve for a coffee in order to reveal the beautiful aromatics and flavor nuances of a coffee - is what we obsess over day after day. Finding the correct profile for a coffee takes a skilled mind, and achieving that same profile small batch by small batch takes a skilled hand. We roast each batch of coffee manually, using time and temperature, smell, sight, sound and taste as our guides. Whether or not the properly developed roast has a color tint lighter or darker than another is quite beside to the goal. We can roast the same coffee two different ways (two different profiles), but to the same color specification, and we end up having two drastically different results.

So, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that you (yes, you) are 100% above choosing coffees based on roast degrees and color tints alone. Starting October 4th, 2010, in an effort to End Roast Profiling, we will slowly phase out the use of roast level indicators on our product packaging. Instead, we will focus on emphasizing the flavor characteristics of each coffee product. The coffee inside the bag will be the same coffee you've been enjoying, but you'll just know more about what you taste. Go on... trust your preferences, you're never wrong.

To understand more about what you taste and why you taste it, we invite you to attend our weekly free cupping on Saturdays in our State St. store (coming soon to Brooklyn!!).

The Gimme blog is a collaboration that gives voice to people across our company. Opinions expressed by our authors are uncensored, and are not necessarily the opinions of Gimme! Coffee. If you need a company statement, or any other type of response, please contact us.

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Photos - One Of These Things Is Not Like The Others

You all know the game we played in the lab last last month and the song that goes with it: it's the simple act of picking the one item in a group that is different. In the coffee world we call this type of tasting challenge "Triangulation" and there are both national and world wide competitions to determine who can best identify the odd one out.

Photos by Devorah Freudiger, Gimme! Coffee

To run this triangulation cupping we set up nine sets of three bowls, in each set two of the coffees are the same and one is different. Sometimes picking the odd one out is easy: I'm sure that if I put a naturally processed coffee in a group with two washed ones every single one of you reading this (coffee professional or not) would be able to pick it out.

However, asking you to pick out the different one from a pairing of two coffees from the same region, that are the same varietal and processed the same way is where things get difficult. And in our lab difficult means interesting.

During a Cup Tasting Championship cuppers are judged by the number of correct samples identified. If there is a tie between competitors the one who got the most right in the least amount of time is named the winner. We didn't set a timer for our cupping exercise, it was all for fun and to test ourselves.

We also decided to go through the entire cupping process, which means we got to sniff the dry aroma of the coffee. This gave us a heads up on which one was different, although we also used our sense of taste and judged the coffees aftertaste and mouthfeel. The cup that was not identical to the other two was marked on the bottom with black dot. This way we knew when we'd chosen the correct one.

As I said, some of the trios were easy, some were hard. The most interesting thing we found during our cupping was that a few of the samples had the same coffees, but the identical pairs were inverted, and that changed how we perceived them. One cup of Mocha Java was easier to pick out from from two cups of Piccolo Mondo than it was to pick out one cup of Piccolo Mondo from two Mocha Javas.

This was a great exercise for us to reconnect with the coffee we taste every day. We had to pay careful attention to how they smelled, tasted and felt in our mouths.

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DeLonghi EC155 Espresso Maker

DELONGHI EC155 Pump-Driven Espresso Maker Mixes steam, air & milk; 2 separate thermostats control water & steam temperatures; Adjustable steam emission; Stainless steel manual pump espresso & boiler; 1 filter for both ground coffee & coffee pods; Metal control panel ; Self-priming system ; Single selector knob for on/off; Transparent water reservoir ; Removable drip-tray; Black & Silver Pump-Driven Espresso Maker

Price: $140.00

Click here to buy from Amazon

What makes a Good Cafe

Most people will tell you that a good Cafe with a higher sensitivity of coffee. This is the case. How can you call yourself a good Cafe and serve a cup of joe?

A good Cafe is a wide range of brews. Keep in mind that the nursery schools rhyme: "Peas Porridge hot, Peas" chill.Ed Porridge? What is a good Cafe would like. It has a coffee with a hot and cold, that is.Espresso, cappuccino, machiatto should be menu. they are likely to have a special house recipe that is uniquely their own, and your favorite crowd.

Large Cafe is also different beans and Blends. you must select the drinking familiar Arabica or Robusta. You can also select whether you have ever tried to beans: Brazilian, Columbia, maybe even rare Jamaican Blue Mountain.

A good Cafe is not Even nearly coffee. It is also the atmosphere relaxed. good Cafe is to know the. it considers very kind and is a good place to sit and chat. Coffee flavour subtly, deliciously scents into the air, to give everyone the opportunity to relax in.

A good Cafe is busy, but not noisy.Replacement fluid flow of Customers not yet people do not have any future deafened and goes to the sound.People may have a decent conversation, heart to heart or random chat as they feel like it.

And in this day and age really good Cafe is not just a place to have a cup of coffee is also a good idea to work in another office. This usually means to Wi-Fi, because most of the people in need in order to be able to keep in touch with their offices and customers no matter where they are in. WiFi zone Cafe is really a blessing. you have the status of the work, which can be an excellent coffee and meetings in the same time.

Have you found a good coffee shop in your area yet?

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A catalog of Espresso Makers to help you find yours

If you are looking for an espresso maker, you will find a comprehensive catalog espresso makers very useful. You can find such catalog easily go online and simply trying to one. Espresso coffee machines are very popular especially in these days when expressed and coffee play big roles in the community.

Once you have a catalog of espresso, you will find that you have a lot of kinds of espresso machine and various models of each type to choose from.You can get quite confusing, but you can start by weighing the capabilities of espresso machines. here's Some basic information about the different types of products most probably you will find on a catalog of espresso coffee machines to help you find the perfect espresso maker.

Espresso Machines: the big three

There are three types that you can choose from choice should depend on your specific needs. You should also consider your convenience when you choose an espresso maker. These "big three" are manual, semiautomatic and automatic espresso makers.

Manual machines require a greater effort from you when produces espresso, while automatic require the least effort possible. This will, ultimately, the espresso machine type that is best for you. But even if you're going to love the espresso hassle-free make automatic espresso machines method, these machines pricier may not fit within your budget.This means that you must also find a car that wouldn't bite through Pocket.

The low down on Manual Espresso Machines

Manual espresso coffee machines are also what we call machines based on the pump. these machines because they work manually, require effort practically any user step by step in order to function. If you are a lover of coffee and considering the decision-making process practically a ritual of coffee, you'll love the extra effort that can be put when you use the manual espresso maker. These machines are quite old fashioned, by the way that work down to their external appeals.

Their best features include strong foam that can produce in espresso.These machines also will give you a lot of time to fuss over your espresso, and if you have a car manual, you will be taken through the whole process of manufacture of espresso.And if you're an aficionado of coffee true-blue, you'll probably also love the vintage, nostalgic touch machine manuals.

Semi-automatic Makers 101

If you are a housewife and you have less time to spare in prepare espresso for your home, a semiautomatic would be the ideal type of espresso maker for you. There are two advantages that are derived from these semi-automatic espresso machines.As a housewife, you probably need to keep within a budget.Those responsible for semi-automatic espresso combines convenience with a method of production of hassle-free espresso that do not require your attention by-the-minute.As a housewife, not only are on a budget but are also flooded with so much to do. that is why the semi-automatic espresso machines will be the smartest choice.

All about espresso Makers

Among all types that you will find on a catalog of espresso coffee machines, espresso makers are automatic machines faster, more convenient when it comes to making espresso. fully automatic machines are best for offices where is no one specific task to make espresso. machinery can actually do all the work, as long as you choose the right model and brand.

These automatic espresso makers are even more impressive and high technology in terms of appearance and behavior. in fact, often have digital control systems very convenient and features like automatic off and programmable timers. Unfortunately, these are even more expensive than the other two types of espresso maker. But if you aren't careful, these automatic espresso makers can give you good value.

You will find further information about Espresso Makers on our site Best Coffee Makers.

Copyright 2008 coffee-maker-guide.com all rights reserved. reprinted with permission.

Mark is the editor of coffee-maker-guide.com you provides the best coffee reviews and evaluations.