Displaying items by tag: coffee
Turkish Coffee
Turkish coffee is said to be the oldest method to brew coffee. Powder like, very fine ground coffee is slowly heated up with cold water in a Turkish pot, called ibrik, cezve, briki, mbiki or toorka. The ibrik is traditionally made off copper or brass but nowadays you will often see them made from stainless steel. Sugar is most often added to the mixture of coffee and water.
Arabic coffee is similar to Turkish coffee but has an addition of cardamom to the ground coffee. Cardamom has a strong aromatic fragrance and is often used for cooking.
There are many different opinions on how to brew the best Turkish coffee. Some people prefer to boil the mixture, but most like it just off the boiling point. Usually you heat the mixture three times but often people prefer to heat it up only once and others like to heat it up four times. It is important to slowly heat up and to use cold water, this way you extract more flavour. There is really no rule, it is totally up to you.
It's surprisingly easy to do. Your biggest expense is a good grinder - a decent electric burr grinder that can grind extra fine (finer than espresso even) is needed; alternatively, there are "turkish mills" around, including an excellent model by Zassenhaus can be had, sometimes for much less.
Besides the grinder, you need good quality water, good quality, fresh roasted coffee, a stirring spoon made of metal, and a device called an ibrik also called a cezve. This is the brewer. It is usually made of copper, with a long wooden handle, though sometimes it is made out of steel or other metals. The pot has a wide base and a narrow top, with a spout on one or two sides for pouring. Ibriks can be found in a variety of sizes from 2 cup on up to 6 or 8 cups. Note, a "cup" is the size of a large espresso cup - about 3ounces, or 90mls per serving, or less.
And it's important to note the "cup size" of the pot is not matched to how much is brewed if full - in fact, there needs to be a good amount of airspace in the pot while brewing, but not too much. The process involves foaming up the liquid in stages, and if you use a pot that's too big, too much of the foam sticks to the sides and can contribute to many bitters in the cup.
And you need a heat source. For our visuals, we're using a butane powered heating element - very suited for brewing an ibrik, though an electric or gas stove will do fine as well.
When done right, (and it's not hard to do right), the coffee is very intense, but very pleasing to the tongue. It also breaks one of the cardinal rules we usually have for coffee - don't boil (and reboil) the brew.
This is extremely important advice: never take your eye off the process when brewing turkish coffee. Things can happen in a blink of the eye - and you'll create a big mess on your stove if you lose attion. But it is very easy to do.
If you really want to go authentic, or want to tone down the strength and intensity of the brew, adding spices such as cardamom, anise, or a sweetener such as an easily dissolvable sugar can be added. In fact, sugar is almost considered part of the process. 
(1) The basics
You don't need much to brew Turkish coffee - a turkish mill, the ibrik, some demitasse cups, and if desired, sugar or spices. If using cardamom (very authentic!) try getting whole seeds and crush them extra fine, and use sparingly
(2) Turkish mills
Specialized brass mills are found almost anywhere (try Greek or Turkish food stores, or look for the Zassenhaus mill), and while very slow to grind, do an exceptionally fine grind.
(3) The powder
Turkish coffee requires an extremely fine grind - finer than espresso - or almost as fine as baby powder. The finer the better.
(4) Measuring
Normally we add cold fresh water first - use your demitasse cups to measure in your amounts (we didn't in this pic). Then add one heaping teaspoon of coffee per demitasse of water. Adjust to your own taste after brewing a few times.
(5) The Sweet as Love
Sugar is a frequent additive to turkish coffee. Adjust to taste, but typically I add 1 teaspoon for every two teaspoons of coffee. Also very crucial - stir the slurry of cold water, coffee and sugar before you start brewing, until the sugar is disolved.
(6) Getting started
Once your sugar is completely disolved, start brewing over a medium-low heat. Too high a heat will damage the coffee. Do nothing at this point (no more stirring) but watch carefully.
(7) First boil
As soon as the mixture starts to boil, it will froth up, and froth up FAST. Before the froth flows over the top, remove the ibrik from the heat and let the froth settle down.
(8) Second boil
Let the froth build up again (remember, it will build fast once it starts), and remove from the heat again, to let it settle down.
(9) Third boil
Optionally, on the third boil, you can stop the brewing at this point and serve (do not stir). In this variation though, we stirred the slurry after removing the pot from the stove on the third boil. This settles down the grinds in the foam.
(10) Fourth boil
This one is totally optional - in fact, three boil ups are best. But for a cleaner cup, let it boil and froth up one more time, and remove from heat (in this case, we weren't stirring again, but left the stirrer in the pot). 
(11) Serve
Alternate pouring bits into each cup - 15ml here, 15ml there, then back to the first cup for another 15ml. If we hadn't stirred, the coffee would have had lots of froth pouring out as well. In this case, very little sediment is pouring out.
(12) Finished, time to drink!
After the coffee is served, the majority of the grounds are left in the ibrik (it's wide bottom design aids in this). The stirred method provides a fairly clean cup - not as clean as a press, but very nice. Enjoy!
Types of Coffee
There are many different types of coffee available from various parts of the world. There are different types of roasts, cappuccinos, lattes and the best-selling instant. There are a few tips to remember when selecting your coffee.
Caffe Latte
The latte or cafe latte is one of the most popular coffees. It is, just like the cappuccino, an espresso based drink topped with milk. The difference between the cappuccino and the latte is mainly the amount of foam. Sometimes there is a difference in size, the latte is usually a slightly larger drink. The technique used for steaming the milk should be the same however.
An important thing to think about is the size of the cup. To achieve a good balance between milk and espresso you usually need a cup the size of 5 to 6 oz (150 to 180ml), but this is dependent on your espresso base. The best way to find out is to simply try. Usually you use a porcelain cup but some places have lattes in glasses. The porcelain cup keeps the drink warmer and is usually preferred by the consumer. Make sure that you pre-warm the cups, keep them on top of the espresso machine.
The most important ingredient to a perfect Latte is the espresso. Price is an important factor here, good espresso usually cost a bit more. Just make sure that your espresso is fresh and still hot before you pour the milk in to the cup. You will need an espresso that has the right characteristics to ‘break through’ the milk.
Cappuccino
A cappuccino is an Italian coffee drink prepared with espresso, hot milk, and steamed-milk foam.
The name cappuccino comes from the Capuchin friars, possibly referring to the colour of their habits or to the aspect of their tonsured (white) heads, surrounded by a ring of brown hair.
A cappuccino is traditionally served in a porcelain cup, which has far better heat-retention characteristics than glass or paper. The foam on top of the cappuccino acts as an insulator and helps retain the heat of the liquid, allowing it to stay hot longer. The foam may optionally have powder (commonly cocoa, cinnamon or nutmeg) sprinkled on top.
A cappuccino is similar to a caffee latte in that both add frothed milk to espresso, but differs in two respects. Firstly, a cappuccino is traditionally prepared with much less steamed or textured milk than a latte – the latte is claimed to have been invented as simply a cappuccino with more milk. Secondly, cappuccinos feature a distinctive layer of foam on top, which is lesser or absent in lattes. There is some overlap in the usage: a wet cappuccino is virtually the same as a short latte with more foam.
Macchiato
Macchiato means "stained" in Italian. Traditionally it is made with one shot of espresso, and the small amount of added milk was the "stain." However, later the "mark" or "stain" came to refer to the foamed milk that was put on top to indicate the beverage has a little milk in it (usually about a teaspoon).
The Macchiato can be prepared either with steamed hot milk or cold milk. If hot, the espresso's name would become macchiato caldo (marked hot) or macchiato freddo (marked cold). The choice between "caldo" and "freddo" is usually a matter of personal tastes.
The other variant of the term, latte macchiato, conversely means "milk stained/marked (with espresso)", and indicates milk with just a little espresso in it (always less than in a caffee latte). However, in certain preparations (which differ from place to place), latte macchiato has not much difference in milk-to-espresso ratio when compared to the caffee latte; caffee lattes are normally one-third espresso to two-thirds steamed milk.
There is no official rule on what exactly a Macchiato is so it’s a good idea to ask the barista how he/she makes it.
Americano or Filter Coffee
Probably both if you want to please your customers. It all comes down to personal preference. One thing is for sure: an Americano is not the same as a filter coffee.
An Americano is an Espresso diluted with water. You get the best flavour with 1 oz of Espresso and 4 to 5 oz of hot water (not boiling). Start preparing your Americano by filling your cup with hot water. This allow the hot water to cool a little whilst you are preparing the Espresso. Now pour the Espresso on top of the hot water. Pouring the Espresso on top of the water will give you the most crema and you avoid the chance of burning your Espresso. Usually served black, but milk can be added if desirable (hot or cold).
A filter coffee is usually made with a filter brewing machine. Gravity does the work here for you and there is no pressure used unlike with an Espresso. Hot water (not boiling) is running through a filter (filled with ground coffee) into a glass pot or vacuum flask. It is recommend to use about 60 grams of coffee per 1.5 litre of water. Use more or less coffee if you want a stronger or weaker brew. You can use a permanent filter for a different flavour.
The glass pot used for filter coffee is only good for about 20 minutes. Heating the coffee any longer will result in loss of flavours. The filter coffee that has been brewed in a flask is good for about 3 hours making it a much better option for most businesses.
Filter coffee is made from single origin coffees. An Espresso is made from a blend of coffee beans. The reason for this is that the espresso coffee machine extracts more flavours from the coffee and highlights the flavours (about 25% with an espress coffee machine, about 15% with a filter brewing machine). A Kenyan coffee for example will be lovely for a filter coffee, but it would be to acidic for an Espresso so you have to blend it. Filter coffees are therefore great for tasting single origin coffees and it’s great fun to try different coffees everyday.
Filter coffees have more depth and a larger range of flavours than an Americano. An Espresso is not designed to be diluted with a lot of water and the drink is simply an easier version of a filter coffee (convenience). It is possible to produce a filter coffee with an espresso machine. However, the ground coffee has to be a lot coarser than the Espresso grind and the group head needs to be set at the correct temperature for filter coffee.
Latte Art
Latte art is a style of pouring steamed milk into a shot of espresso that creates a pattern or design on the surface of the resulting latte. It can also be created or embellished by simply “drawing” in the top layer of foam. Latte art is particularly difficult to create consistently, due to the demanding conditions required of both the espresso shot and milk.
The milk
You need cold and fresh milk. Most people prefer full fat milk for Latte Art but it is really up to you, if you use a right technique then it doesn’t make too much difference. Just make sure that the milk is fresh and straight out of the fridge. Do not expose it to heat or light before you steam it.
Never use the same milk again when you are working on Latte Art.
The jug
Use a stainless steel jug with a narrow spout. Make sure that the jug is cold and clean before use. Fill up the jug with enough milk for your cup and make sure that you have enough milk so you have time to texture the milk. Too less milk will cause the milk to heat up too quick so a little bit more milk is better. Do not worry about the wastage too much.
Thermometer
Use a thermometer that has a clip to attach to the jug. The thermometer should have a good size so you can easily read it. Make sure that the thermometer is adjusted right, you can do this by putting it in ice water and correcting the dial. Usually you can adjust the dial with a screw in the back. The best way to adjust your thermometer is to compare it with a digital probe. Do not place the thermometer in the dishwasher, the moisture will break your thermometer. It is also possible to judge the temperature of the milk by touch.
Steam Wand
Always make sure that you turn the steam on all the way. Purge the steam wand before use. This will clean it from any condensation. Do not turn the steam wand on before you insert it into the milk. Your steam should have a pressure of around 1 bar, the pressure is related to the temperature of the boiler. The more holes the steam tip has, the more steam power.
Espresso
The espresso is just as important as the milk. Make sure that the espresso is fresh and has a good thick and strong layer of crema. It becomes very difficult to create good Latte Art without good crema on your espresso.
Cup Size
It is probably easiest to use 1 oz of espresso in a 6-8 ounce cup. Use a cup that has a wide surface area to work with, usually a low cup with a large wide diameter.
Steaming Milk
Start with the steam wand inside the milk. Turn on the steam completely. Hold the jug with two hands. Slowly lower the jug until the tip of the steam wand breaches the surface of the milk. You should hear a sh-sh-sh sound (high chirping sound). Do this for only a few seconds, this is when you are forcing the bubbles in to the milk to create foam, it is called foaming or stretching. Be very careful when you lower the jug, you should not see any bubbles being formed. You should hear the foam being created but you should not see it. You only need to foam for a few seconds, do not make the mistake to foam too much. Do not foam over 40 degrees Celsius or 100 Fahrenheit.
Once you have enough foam insert the steam wand deeper into the milk. There is no need to move the jug up and down. You should have a whirlpool inside the jug, you are now texturing the milk. The milk is now twirling inside the jug and any bubbles that might be present will dissolve into the milk. Once you have reached about 60 to 65 degrees Celsius turn off the steam. Then take out the steam wand and clean it with a clean cloth.
Put the jug down with a slight tap on the work top. This will destroy any tiny bubbles that might have been visible on the surface. You should not have any more bubbles visible after this. If you do then you can gently tap the jug a few times on the counter to get rid of them. However, tapping the jug on the counter makes the foam thicker and is not advisable. If you foam and steam the milk with the right technique then you should not have to tap the jug on the counter.
Pour the milk as soon as possible. This is very important because the foam will start separating very quickly. Spin the milk around just before you pour to make sure that all the foam is mixed with the milk.
Pouring The Milk
We suggest that you steam the milk whilst the espresso is being brewed.
Start with the pour a little high. Once the cup is about half full lower the pour close to the crema and the foam should appear. Go from high to low and pour with a steady speed.
You should pour the milk as soon as possible. Hold the cup on it’s ear and slightly at an angle. Start pouring the milk slowly in to the crema. You do not want to pour to slowly, this will leave the foam behind in the jug. You also do not want to pour too quick because this will break the crema apart. Pour slowly in a few spots in the cup to break through the crema.
Start pouring the milk in to the back of the cup once the cup seems just more than half full. Now slowly but very steady move the pitcher from side to side. This is a wrist movement and should be done just slightly. The milk should not swing from side to side in the jug. Keep moving it side to side in one spot in the cup until you see the foam appearing. If you see this happening than you have cracked it! Once you see the foam break through the crema you can start pouring patterns.
Rosetta / Leaf
Move the jug side to side until you see the foam appearing on the surface. Keep moving the jug side to side until you see a pattern appear. Now slowly move the jug backwards whilst still moving it side to side. When you have reached the end of the cup move the jug in a quick straight line through the pattern.
Quick movements from side to side will create a rosetta with lots of leafs. Slow movements from side to side will create less and thick leaves.
Heart
Move the jug side to side in one spot in the cup. Keep doing this until you get a big circle of crema. Slightly move the jug forward just a bit. Then keep pouring the milk on the big spot of foam until the cup is almost full. Finally move the jug in a quick straight line forward to finish of your heart.
Milk Foaming Techniques
Does all milk foam?
Yes, as long as there is protein present in the milk and the milk is fresh. All milk will foam: fully skimmed, semi-skimmed, whole fat, soya, goat milk etc. Steaming, which is forcing air bubbles into the milk, causes the protein to ‘connect’ with the air bubbles. This means that you can create as much foam as you like as long as there is protein left in the milk. It is advisable to use only fresh milk, that has not been steamed before, when you want to create foam.
You will get the most amount of foam from fully skimmed milk, this is because of the low fat percentage (the fat works against the protein). However, you will not get such a rich foam from fully skimmed milk as from whole milk. If your foaming technique is right than you should not really have any problem with any type of milk, as long as the milk is fresh and cold.
Milk foams best when it is below 40 degress Celsius or 100 Fahrenheit. This is simply because the milk is denser.
Why does milk taste sweeter after heating? Milk contains lactose and the solubility of lactose is increased when the temperature is increased which gives the milk more sweetness. Focus on heating up your milk between 60 and 65 degrees Celsius.
Why won’t my milk foam? Usually this is because the milk is too old. Fat will brake down in the milk and the free glycerol is working against the protein in the milk. Try to use your milk within 3 to 4 days.
UHT Milk
UHT milk is heated for 1-2 seconds to a temperature exceeding 135 C. This temperature kills the spores in milk. UHT stands for Ultra-high temperature processing or ultra-heat treatment.
UHT milk is not the only UHT product, UHT processing is also used for creams, yoghurts, wines, soups and fruit juices.
UHT processing gives a different flavour to the milk then fresh milk. The advantage with UHT milk is that the milk will stay fresh for up to 12 months unopened. This means that it’s easy to store, can be stored at ambient temperature. For barista’s and coffee shops this could be good, for it will almost always foam.
Milk Foaming Techniques – basic rules
There is a lot of information on the Internet about foaming milk. Many people have something to say about this and not everybody agrees with certain techniques. However, if you stick to some basic rules then you can have good quality milk for Caffe Latte’s and Cappuccino’s in no time.
The most important thing that you should think about is control. You need control over the jug, so you will need to control the jug with two hands. Do not do other things whilst you are steaming your milk, focus entirely on the milk.
You are looking for milk that is around 60 to 65 degrees Celsius and that has smooth and shiny foam without any visibile bubbles.
Here are some basic rules that you should stick to:
- - use fresh milk, the milk should come straight out of the fridge
- - start with a clean cold jug and use the right size of jug
- - steam only the amount of milk that you need. You can add extra milk if you like so you can texture longer to make the milk even smoother
- - foam the milk only when it is below 40 degress Celsius, foaming above this temperature will create hard bubbles that you don’t want
- - when you stretch the milk to create foam by just breaking the surface with the tip of the steam wand, do it bit by bit. You should hear the foam being created but you should not see any bubbles
- - when you have stretched the milk enough and you are happy with the amount of foam then place the steam wand a little deeper into the milk. Create a whirpool inside the jug, you should see the milk moving around a lot. This will break down any existing bubbles and makes your foam smooth and shiny. There is absolutely no need to move the jug up and down, just keep it still, the angle of the steam from the steam wand does the trick for you.
And don’t forget to turn the steam off before you take the steam wand out of the jug.
Best milk temperature for Caffe Latte or Cappuccino
Different temperatures of steamed milk will give different flavours to a Caffe Latte or Cappuccino. It is therefore very important that we achieve a temperature that, in general, gives the best flavour. A higher temperature will be harder for the tongue to analyze. This is because the tongue is a muscle and reacts to heat. Milk with a temperature well over 70 C can burn the tongue and is not desirable. Milk starts to boil around 80 C.
The best milk temperature for Caffe Latte or Cappuccino is between 60 C and 70 C.
A good way to reach the desired temperature is to use a good calibrated thermometer. There is a little delay with a thermometer which means that the steam should be turned of just a few degrees below the desired temperature. It is possible to judge the temperature by touch and usually the temperature is right when it is not possible to hold the jug for longer than two seconds.
Barista
Many coffee shops officially use the title for their coffee makers.
The role of a barista is to have enough knowledge of the entire process of coffee to effectively contribute to the products intended result which almost always includes caffeine. This knowledge includes the correct operation, maintenance and programming of the machine, grinding and tamping methods, extraction times, water temperature and quality, micro milk frothing, free pouring, latte art, roasting, coffee plant cultivation, drying methods, correct storage, renewable methods of disposal and recycling of the coffee and packaging used.
An espresso bartender who is expert in the art of making espresso and espresso based beverages.
Since approximately 1990, the term barista (the Italian word for bartender – masculine or feminine; plural: baristi (masculine) or bariste (feminine) has been used in English to denote a professional maker of espresso coffee beverages. Prior to that time, the less elegant prevailing term was “espresso puller.” The shift of terminology probably comes, at least in part, from the fact that most espresso machines manufactured since the 1980s no longer require pulling down on a big handle.
Coffee Origins
Looking at a map of the world, if you highlight all of the major coffee producing countries, you will notice that the majority of them lie within the confines of the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. These two imaginary dividing lines lie apart with the equator in between with this entire stretch often called the coffee bean belt.
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