Author: nickisosnowski

There is good news for coffee lovers around the world. Fact is, it is easy to make iced coffee at home without the fancy machines found at your local java shop. By following the four easy tips below, you can enjoy your iced coffee drinks in the comfort of home.

Cappuccinos and mocha lattes continue to maintain their posture as popular coffee choices; however, consumers are discovering that their favorite beverage is just as tasty and certainly as refreshing when served cold.

According to the National Coffee Association and Mintel Research, the percentage of Americans who drink iced coffee beverages increased from 20 percent in 2003 to as much as slightly more than 30 percent today.

While enjoying a chilled coffee drink is a natural at your local shop, iced coffee can be as easy to prepare as iced tea at home. Your creativity and a variety of options will allow you to create personalized coffee concoctions that are just as delicious as those served in your favorite cafe. Those creations depend on how you use flavoring syrups, cold milk, chocolate and spices.

Some of the more popular beverages such as iced vanilla mocha, iced rum coffee and iced latte are easy to make at home. Below are four tips for creating those refreshing iced coffee drinks.

1. Pour your flavoring syrup of choice into the cup first. To complete the drink, pour in espresso or your coffee of choice, then the ice and top it off with cold milk.

1. Do not allow your beverage to become watered down. Cool your favorite coffee beverage with ice cubes made from fresh-brewed coffee instead of water.

1. Your at-home coffee machine should be capable of producing a high quality coffee or espresso. Many of the best machines will allow you to grind your coffee beans right before brewing. This feature gives you better control of the strength of your coffee.

1. It’s your creation. Be creative. Experiment with how you personalize your drink. Finishing touches like the addition of whipped cream, chocolate shavings, nutmeg or cinnamon will place your signature on your iced coffee concoction.

As the trend and the numbers continue to grow, more and more coffee lovers will want to duplicate their coffee shop favorites at home. And while it may not be necessary to purchase high-end coffee machines, good old-fashioned know how is a starting place to create the perfect at-home coffee making experience.

Gary Simms is a published author and working freelance writer. He’s published two personal development books as well his recent cookbook, “Coffee Delight” found at http://gmsimms.wix.com/coffeedelight.

As a writer for hire, connect with him at http://iwritestudio.com.

Coffee is a subject that many consumers love but don’t talk much about. As a result, coffee has generated its fair share of myths and trivia.

Let’s look at the some of the facts regarding the myths and trivia.

For Your Information…

COFFEE HOUSES AND SHOPS

Coffee houses and shops are a modern invention, right? Wrong! King Charles II of England initiated a ban on coffee houses in 1675. He feared that his enemies were meeting in these establishments to plot against him.

MOCHA = CHOCOLATE

Wrong. Most people associate mocha with a chocolate-coffee combination but the reality is that “Mocha” is the name of a port in Yemen. Coffee beans from Africa are transported through this port. “Mocha” has more to do with the origin of the beans than whether or not it contains chocolate.

US CITIZENS CONSUME MORE COFFEE THAN ANYONE ELSE

True! US citizens love their coffee and consume some 400 million cups of java every day.

ESPRESSO, CAPPUCCINO AND LATTE

Espresso does not refer to a type of coffee bean. It refers to the way coffee is prepared. Espresso is made by forcing a small amount of hot water through very finely ground beans. This process produces a highly concentrated form of coffee.

Cappuccino and lattes are coffee drinks made with espresso as the base. Cappuccino refers to the frothy, peaked, white topping that resembles the white hood of the Capuchin friar’s habit. On the other hand, latte is made with espresso and steamed milk without the topping.

COFFEE COMES FROM VINES GROWN IN THE GROUND

Wrong! Coffee grows on trees that can live up to 100 years. Each tree yields about one pound of coffee a year once they start producing beans (sometime during their fifth year). It takes approximately 2000 raw coffee beans to make a pound of coffee.

WHERE DID A “CUP OF JOE” COME FROM?

In the early 1900s, Admiral Josephus “Joe” Daniels banned alcohol on all Navy ships. As a result, sailors turned to coffee as their drink of choice. The sailors ultimately coined the term ‘a cup of Joe’ when referring to coffee in remembrance of his restrictions on alcohol.

ONE BEAN OR TWO?

Did you know that coffee berries or raw coffee beans are round and smooth. During the roasting process, they split in half. So the coffee beans you see in a package of un-ground coffee are actually half-beans.

WHAT’S THE CONNECTION BETWEEN OIL AND COFFEE?

Next to oil, coffee is the second largest traded commodity in the world.

COFFEE CAN BOOST MEMORY

Studies indicate that this is not a myth. In 2005, a study indicated that coffee does improve memory. A subsequent study not ony supported the initial results but concluded that the memory enhancing effects could be long-term.

COFFEE IS A DELICIOUS AND EFFECTIVE COOKING SPICE: RIGHT OR WRONG

Surprising as it is, the statement is true. Though considered a new spice, chefs and cooks in the know have used coffee as a spice for some time. Whether used as an ingredient in main dishes, cakes, pies, ice creams or rubs, coffee can create a whole new level of deliciousness in your dishes.

Coffee is surrounded by all kinds of lore. Some of it is myth. Some of it is fact. And some is just plain tasty fun. Enjoy your next cup of Joe!

Gary Simms is a published author and working freelance writer. He’s published two personal development books as well his recent cookbook, “Coffee Delight” found at http://gmsimms.wix.com/coffeedelight.

As a writer for hire, connect with him at http://iwritestudio.com.

The process begins approximately one year before the seed is planted. Men and women walk through the plantations in the heat picking small bags of red ripe fruits from the coffee bushes. Each bag is tagged with the number that identifies the bush. Thousands of these fruits are picked to be dried and later roasted. After grinding each bag of dry, roasted seeds the coffee is made. Then the experts come in, they are called “baristas” they are like wine sommelier but they specialize in coffee. Out of all the bags and lots they chose the most aromatic, strong and better looking coffees. The bushes from where these seeds came are marked and protected with nets to keep the birds away and it is time to wait.

The coffee beans on these plants are not harvested like those in the rest of the plantation; they are allowed to ripen until they fall from the bush when they reach full maturity. The next step is the nursery. A special mix of soil is put into polyethylene bags and two seeds are dropped in each one. They will be given special care under regulated shade for the next year. Usually both seed germinate but only the strongest one, the one with more leaves and thicker trunk will be left, the other will be discarded. They are watered and fertilized every two weeks. They are also inspected closely if any disease shows up on them they are also discarded.

During the year and a half it takes for them to grow enough to be planted on their permanent home men are working take branches of the trees that will protect the new plants from the sun. They dig trenches where the plants will live filling them up with rotten leaves and other organic material. The brush is uprooted and grass is planted instead of it, plastic hose irrigation systems are installed and connected to the plantation can be watered by one or two men at any time. Huge pieces of land are cleared of debris, fallen trees and bushes. From afar the land looks like a majestic stairway going up a mountain in the middle of the early morning fog.

The plants are now ready to move to their new home, there is another round of selection and only the best are transplanted into the ditches where the organic fertilizer was buried. Thousands upon thousands of little plants are tenderly transplanted until the first phase is finally complete. For the next three years they will be fed with organic materials, watered from cold, clear and clean mountain spring water and kept surrounded by a carpet of green luscious grass. Only authorized personnel are allowed into the new area and they wear clothes into which they change before entering the plantation. Disease and dangerous bugs wait to destroy it.

Near the end of the second year the plants flower for the first time, beautiful, delicate white flowers, and the sweet smell of their pollen fills the air and the bees buzz from plant to plant. These flowers are removed as soon as possible. The plants are not ready to produce coffee beans, they need to mature more, grow stronger. Another year goes by and the cycle of life repeats itself, the flowers bloom, the bees come back and this time Nature is allowed to follow its course. Three months later the bushes are filling up with green coffee beans. As the rainy season passes and the dry season starts again the green mountains start to change into shades of yellow, orange and red. Collection begins and only the red beans are hand-picked. For one more month men, women and children walk around the bushes picking the red beans. After one month the remaining green and yellow beans are picked and thrown out.

The beans are then taken to the mills where using water the skin is removed leaving behind the brown seeds. The seeds are then dried under the sun on huge cement floors where they are moved around with wooden rakes so they dry evenly. The drying areas are on the flatlands and can be as big as two or three football fields. The coffee beans are put out in the sand in the early morning and are bagged again while the sun is setting. When the majority of them have reached 40% humidity they are taken to the selection rooms where they are again classified for color and size. This is the coffee that is roasted and ground to perfection. This is the coffee that is bagged and sent all over the world so you can have that special pick-me-up every morning.

My name is Cesar Batres; I am a retired industrial engineer who enjoys writing about any topic I can think about. Writing articles has allowed me to learn about many, many things I did not know about before. Writing is my passion and also my job. The following address allows you to see my references and work I have done, https://www.freelancer.com/u/cesar00.html and at https://ezinearticles.com/expert/Cesar_A_Batres_Mejia/1767345. Thank you for your time and interest.