Cafe Jack: Coffee - Lets Meet at the Cafe

Sunday, May 22, 2005

Coffee - Lets Meet at the Cafe

I just finished the "Book of Coffee" by Anne Vantal. It's a good book about the history, cultivation, buying/selling and preparation of coffee.

Some interesting items from the book -

There are two species of coffee, Arabica and Robusta. Arabica originated on the plateaus of Ethiopia and Robusta in the tropical forests of Africa. Robusta, as the name implies, is a more robust variety of coffee. It is also has more caffeine than Arabica and is found in coffee's labeled as "full bodied" meant for morning consumption (or late night for the late night crowd).

Coffee is grown in the equatorial latitudes, between 30 degrees North and 30 degrees South of the equator.

There are many varieties of Arabica and Robusta coffee. Coffee trees are in the same plant family as the gardenia. Coffee trees bloom several times a year, producing up to 20 to 30 thousand white flowers per tree, providing a scent some people say is similar to jasmine. The flower's blooms only last for a few hours.

There are two methods to separate the beans from the pulpy cherry; a water washing process and a sun drying process.

One coffee tree only produces about 1 1/4 lbs (500 to 600 grams) of beans a year.

Coffee beans are contained within the red cherry on the tree's branches. Each cherry contains 2 beans, except for some special cherries on the ends of branches that have a single bean.

The cherries on a given tree ripen at different times making it difficult to pick them at their peak.

A coffee tree can grow to five or six meters, but they are pruned to lower heights on coffee plantations.

The roasting, storing and preparation of coffee is critical in obtaining the desired flavor. Coffee beans can pick up odd flavors if they are improperly stored in the transportation process. Coffee should be kept in airtight containers, preferably refrigerated.

Espresso produces less caffeine than drip coffee because the caffeine is extracted based on the time the coffee is exposed to the hot water.

Caffeine's effects on the nervous system start immediately but peak about an hour after you drink it, that's why you can sometimes drink a cup of coffee before bed and be asleep before the caffeine kicks in.

The country with the largest per-capita consumption of coffee is Finland, followed by the Scandinavian countries (Norway, Sweden, Denmark).

Coffee and Cafes have been historically associated with music, art, conversation, philosophy and friendship.

"Let's Meet At The Cafe"

"Oriental cafes where rendezvous are made more easily than at home, writer's cafes, artist's cafes, Viennese cafes with newspapers on the side, philosopher's cafes, revolutionary cafes, Bohemian cafes in Paris, quiet cafes ideal for a quick breather, subversive cafes where plots and coup d etats are hatched; the cafe is the perfect place to meet."

From "The Book of Coffee" by Anne Vantal

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