Coffee

Benefits of a Coffee Franchise

2008-01-29T06:41:00.000-08:00

Building a business from the ground up can be an intimidating, back breaking, and bankrupting process for many would be business owners.

Most businesses fail miserably after the first year and even those that hang on often fail to do much more than break even (if that) during their first three years in existence.

For this reason we are seeing a growing trend among those who are interested in owning a businesses in franchise purchases and ownerships.

Read more from here: Benefits of a Coffee Franchise

Have Dosa with Coffee

2007-11-12T22:10:00.000-08:00

Indian Morning Breakfast Nutritious Dosa With Strong Coffee

Barista Expresso Coffee Machines

2007-06-08T01:49:00.000-07:00

Barista Expresso Coffee Machines are very easy to control. They have excellent easy-to-press buttons and a colored power indicator that’s easy to read. You can tell the machine is on because this indicator button will light up. This is just the beginning when it comes to the fantastic features of Barista Expresso Coffee Machines.

The portafilter on Barista Expresso Coffee Machines works well. It is a pressurized type of portafilter, so you get a 23-25 second brew time for a double shot of fantastic expresso, compared to an inadequate 10-11 second brew time on other lesser models. The portafilter is also easy to load and use. It does offer plenty of loading room for fulfilling espresso coffee shots, and it also holds heat well. This means you’ll have the proper temperature for extracting espresso beans. This can make the difference from a good start in the morning to a great start!

For steaming and foaming milk, Barista Expresso Coffee Machines offer the ordinary wand. It is made from stainless steel, which is much better than plastic, but it only has single hole on the tip. The wand can make foam easily for your lattes, but some users have found it easy to use the wand in a swirling motion to create the really fine foam. This may be a picky feature that only espresso coffee aficionados look for, but if you are one of these aficionados, you will appreciate the difference this feature will make.

One thing all users of Barista Expresso Coffee Machines will appreciate is just how easy it is to move the steaming wand around. The wand is the perfect height and length, unlike other machines with their wands that are too short and low. These inadequate wands then force you to move your machine to the edge of your counter just to get your pitcher of milk in the right position. This can be awkward and dangerous. With the Barista, there is no such issue. You can leave the machine where it is and still fit the pitcher underneath.

Inexperienced users of Barista Expresso Coffee Machines, on the other hand, may have trouble at first using the wand. You might find the wand creating giant bubbles in your milk. This will happen if you put the tip in the wrong position. Of course, with practice, patience and time, you will be able to create those sought after tiny top bubbles for your latte. Then your local coffee house will be out of luck. You won’t need to go there anymore.

About the author:
Lorna Mclaren has an information and resources website at www.alove4coffee.com where you can find out everything you need to know aboutCirculated by Article Emporium

All About Coffee Makers

2007-03-01T04:01:00.000-08:00

Sometimes coffee makers (as nearly everything) get broken for no apparent reason. When everything seems to be ok on the outside, then the problem must be on the inside, so here are some tips to help you identify the most common problems and, if you are lucky, repair your coffee maker yourself.

Problem: The coffee maker does not turn on. Symptoms: Light on the coffee maker does not lit, there are no sounds coming from it, and it never heats up.

Possible causes and solutions: This may be caused by a burnt fuse, a defective power cord or something more important. If your coffee maker has a fuse and it is burnt then replace it, but always do it with the same type and rate of fuse, to avoid the chance of more severe problems. If you find no fuse, plug your coffee maker to a different outlet, just to be sure this is not the cause.

If it still does not work, replace the power cord (you can do it yourself if you are careful and know the basic electrical concepts, but if you don't want to do it yourself you can ask a professional to do it). If, after replacing the cord with a new one, it still does not work, contact a coffee maker repairer.

Problem: The coffee maker is turned on but you are not getting any coffee. Symptoms: The maker is on and heats up, but hot water is not coming out.

Possible causes and solutions: The tubes may be clogged. Sometimes water leaves calcium and other mineral residues on the tubes, clogging them after a while. Try using your coffee maker with vinegar instead of water. If it unclogs, run water through your coffee maker a minimum of three times, in order to wash out the vinegar.

Problem: The coffee maker is turned on but you get only dirty cold water instead of coffee. Symptoms: The maker sucks water and pours it onto the coffee, but this water is cold.

Possible causes and solutions: The heating coil of your coffee maker may be dead or dying. Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do, as replacement coils are extremely difficult to find and install. Consider buying a new coffee maker.

About the author:

Tamara Williams is a writer for Coffeewhich is a site dedicated to providing consumers with information on Coffee Products and brewing.

Written by: Tamara Williams

Your Place or Mine Coffee Cake

2007-03-01T03:36:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

½-cup Shortening

¾-cup Sugar

1-teaspoon Cinnamon extract

1-teaspoon Baking soda

6-tablespoons Butter

2-teaspoons Cinnamon, ground

3-large Eggs

2-cups Flour

1-teaspoon Baking Power

½-pint Sour cream

1-cup Brown sugar

1-cup Walnuts, chopped

Instructions:

Cream thoroughly shortening, sugar, and cinnamon extract; add eggs and beat well; sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and add alternately with sour cream. Blend well. Spread ½ batter in the bottom of a greased and lined with wax paper tube pan. Cream together; butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and walnuts. Mix well and sprinkle ½ over the batter in the pan. Add remaining batter and sprinkle on remaining nut mixture. Bake at 350° for 50 minutes.

Serves 6

Note: This is great with a cream cheese or powdered sugar icing/frosting if you prefer cake with icing/frosting. You can also add a different extract for a little different flavor or even a different nut can change it a little and I have made those changes and they are really good, but this is the best to me family.

Be Sure to visit Cristies Cookin for more recipes, tips, ideas, spices, aprons and even a CIA thriller "11.11.11". Crisite's talents are vast and is always working on new things so check back often for new product, recipes, tips and ideas. Don't forget to submit your favorite recipe to win Cristie's "Gotcha Covered" apron.

Cooking lessons for Cristie began at 8 years old with the best teacher in the world -- her Mom! Later, she cooked for the restaurant the family owned, and her love of the "trade" has grown ever since. Cristie's creative cooking has continued for over 40 years. Her creations can soon be on your kitchen table. Check out Cristie's books at http://www.cristiescookin.com and http://www.tjstokes.com

Written by: Cristie Will

Watch Video: The Art of Coffee

2007-02-25T06:35:00.000-08:00

Once you start watching this "The Art of Coffee" video you cannot stop till the end. I guarantee!

How to Make Restaurant Quality Coffee At Home

2007-02-09T03:04:00.000-08:00

Have you ever wondered how restaurants get their coffee to taste so good?

First of all, restaurants are in the business of pampering you so they devote much more time to the perfection of a good cup of coffee. Sometimes I'll remember a restaurant just because of their excellent coffee.

So what are their secrets and how can you duplicate this recipe at home? It may surprise you to find out that the French Press brewing method could be the secret in achieving that restaurant quality taste.

Most fine restaurants use a press pot, also known as the French Press, which produces an extremely rich cup of coffee.

Press pot coffee is coffee steeped for 3-4 minutes between 195 to 205 degrees F. It produces a thicker and much richer taste than an auto-drip machine can produce.

A disadvantage of the French Press is it may leave trace amounts of coffee sediment. But the rich taste more than makes up for the small amount of sediment at the bottom of your cup.

So first, start off with a quality medium roast coffee, which is what most restaurants use. I can give you a couple of good recommendations.

Seattle's Best Breakfast Blend, Starbucks Breakfast Blend or Starbucks Sulawesi Coffee is 3 excellent choices. These are full-bodied coffees yet very smooth tasting. They are some of our best sellers at PerfectCoffees.com and work well for French Press brewing.

You want to grind the coffee slightly larger than you would for drip coffee. Too fine of a grind will produce a bitter cup of coffee. If your grind is too coarse, the coffee will taste weak. A quality grinder is the best thing you can do to improve the taste of French press coffee.

Remove the plunger from the press pot and put 1 rounded tablespoon of coarse ground coffee per each 6oz. of water into the pot. You can adjust this to your own taste.

Coffee is 99% water so use clean filtered or bottled water free from chlorine and other minerals that affect the taste of coffee.

Boil the water and remove it from the heat for five minutes before you pour it. This will give you the 195 to 205 degree water that is ideal to brew with. Now pour the 195 to 205 degree water over the ground coffee.

Stir the coffee to get total saturation of the grounds then place the plunger on top of the pot and let the coffee steep for 3 to 4 minutes.

Depress the plunger slowly to push the grounds to the bottom of the pot.

Serve all the coffee in the pot after the 3 to 4 minutes of steeping. Otherwise the coffee will keep getting stronger.

If you have any left, you can always transfer it to a clean, preheated air pot or a stainless steel Thermos. This will keep the coffee hot about an hour without hurting the flavor.

The French press brewing method definitely takes more time but gives us the result we are looking for. Restaurant quality coffee in the comfort of your own home.

Copyright © 2004 PerfectCoffees.com. All Rights Reserved.

Gary Gresham is the webmaster for www.perfectcoffees.com where you can purchase quality coffee, tea, cups & mugs, coffee gifts and delicious desserts online. He offers a free monthly coffee newsletter at www.perfectcoffees.com/newsletter.html.

Gary@perfectcoffees.com

Written by: Gary Gresham

Coffee Gifts

2006-12-24T23:42:00.003-08:00

Coffee is consumed by millions of people everyday. It is easy to understand why it makes such a practical gift. You can create quite a unique collection of coffee as a gift. You can combine it with other items as well.

There are several different flavors of coffee on the market today. It is easy to gather an assortment as a gift. It is fun to try new flavors of coffee, but not a luxury most of us afford ourselves. By giving them as a gift, you are going to make someone look forward to that first cup of coffee in the morning even more. A fun alternative is to give them a new coffee every month rather than all at once. The coffee of the month club membership will allow them to have a new coffee delivered to their home each month for a full year.

Creating a gift basket is a great coffee gift. You can fill the basket with their favorite coffee, add a couple of coffee cups, some fancy sugar, a few types of creamer, and you have a great basket of assessable coffee and condiments. You can go online to designyourownbasket.com. There you can select the items you would like to have in your coffee gift basket, and have it shipped as well.

There are gourmet coffee shops that specialize in shipping coffee gifts with special blends for you. Simply let them know what you are looking for and the amount of money you wish to spend. They will create a customized package to meet your specifications.

Some other simple coffee gift ideas include customized coffee cups. I got my mother in law one a few years back with the names of all her grandchildren on it. She uses it all the time. For those who enjoy getting their coffee on the run, a gift card to Starbucks is the perfect coffee gift.

As you can see, coffee comes in so many different varieties and with many accessories. Coffee gifts can be as simple or as unique as you would like them to be. They are a practical gift for that hard to buy for person or a boss you don’t know well, but always see with a full cup of coffee!

Coffee Makers

2006-12-24T23:42:00.001-08:00

Coffee makers date back to the Turks in 575 A.D. It wasn’t until 1818 that the first coffee percolator was made. This coffee pot is also called the cowboy pot because many cowboys began using it. From 1835 to 1850, coffee makers saturated the market. Pressure steamers, glass balloons, grinders, and roasters all became available.

In 1890, the Manning-Bowman Percolator began being distributed in the United States. These percolators were linen with a cloth that had to be washed after each use. A paper filter was introduced in 1912. This made making and cleaning up of coffee much easier, and it increased in popularity. It wasn’t until 1960 that coffee pots with disposable filters began being used commercially.

The coffee maker industry hit it big in 1972, with the Mr. Coffee automatic drip process and disposable filter. Mr. Coffee is still the biggest selling coffee maker in the world. This is because Mr. Coffee has continually updated their product with the needs of the consumer. For example, in 1977 the price of coffee tripled. Mr. Coffee came out with a maker than used less coffee grounds, yet had the same great taste. The design stayed the same until 1979 when a timer was added. Now people could conveniently set their coffee to start brewing at a certain time each day.

Mr. Coffee added additional products to the popular coffee maker. 1989 was the introduction of the maker that only makes 4 cups in a pot. This was at the demand of people who consumed small amounts of coffee, but still wanted it to be fresh. The same year, Mr. Coffee introduced the first ice tea maker. Mrs. Tea followed suite in 1995, similar to Mr. Coffee, only for hot tea.

Coffee continues to be one of the most demanded products in the world. Regardless of how you like your coffee or where you purchase it from, coffee comes in a variety of flavors and with a variety of addings for individual flavor.

Coffee Machines

2006-12-24T23:41:00.001-08:00

Drinking coffee is a pastime of millions of people all over the world. Coffee machines make it possible to meet the demand of all these people. Without coffee machines, it would not be possible.

The first coffee machine was invented in 1818 by Mr. Laurens. The machine was continually modified. New versions of the coffee machine continued to emerge until 1960. This is when the first paper filters for coffee machines were put into place. This simple change created an unbelievable increase in coffee machine sales. People had always wanted the product, but didn’t like the time it took to clean up and prepare with the cloth filters.

Coffee machines have changed in design as well. The early ones were just created to do the job; no one really cared what they looked like. Today’s coffee makers come in all colors and sizes to accessorize nicely in any kitchen. There are also many different brands of coffee machines, as each has their own unique looks to attract consumers.

Mr. Coffee has been the leading coffee machine in the United States for centuries. This is because the company continually changes or adds new products to meet the needs of the consumer. Bunn coffee makers lead the industry in commercial coffee maker sales.

Coffee Grinders

2006-12-24T23:37:00.002-08:00

The earliest method of grinding coffee involved placing it in a bowl and using the blunt end of a stick to crush it along the sides and bottom of the bowl. This process was time consuming and messy. It was also a lot of hard work! Others without much patience simply smashed the coffee with a hammer.

These methods were replaced by a mechanical grinder. This became popular because most people already used a mechanical grinder for their spices. The coffee was placed between two disks. One stationary, the other a moving disc. The moving of the disks resulted in grinding. This process is also known as milling. The milling style coffee grinder is available in many colors with many features. The price varies on the brand and the features you choose. Generally they are between $50 and $200.

Coffee grinders began being used commercially in the 1800’s. This was helpful for events with large groups of people who wanted coffee such as Church gatherings or fairs. Coffee grinders were also used commercially in the coffee houses that seemed to be sprouting up on every corner in town. These grinders were adjustable to make the size of the coffee whatever you wanted. The grinding blades could be brought closer together or further apart by tightening or loosening a screw. The innovation of the wall mount happened around this time to. While is seems like a small thing, the grinder no longer had to be held in your hand while you ground it.

Information was discovered about coffee during this milling process. The more friction that took place while grinding, the hotter the coffee bean would get. This changed the flavor of the coffee. If the ground coffee was uniform in size, brewing was easier. The finder the grind, the more flavor the coffee had. To make all this happen, grinding coffee by hand was replaced by a machine doing the work with the machine controlled by a person. This allowed the distributor to process the coffee it sold the same way every time.

This machine process led to big coffee plants producing large amounts of coffee. It was the beginning of tin cans of coffee being marketed. Ironically, the machines that were invented to make the coffee all taste the same began to change. This is because now the demand began for coffee that tasted different! People wanted a variety to choose from.

Some people still like to grind their own coffee. They know just how to make it to their liking. Most of us prefer to purchase our coffee already ground. There are many grocery stores that offer the choice of purchasing coffee beans, then grinding them in an electric machine right there in the store. No matter which way you enjoy your coffee, it all seems to start with the grinding process.

Coffee

2006-12-24T23:37:00.001-08:00

The history of coffee, while hard to verify to accuracy, legend a sheepherder who realized the effects of coffee while tending his sheep. His sheep became very active when they ate a certain type of berry off a plant. He tried them himself, and felt the same effect. Rumor has it that a monk told him to be careful of the devil’s fruit. However, it is also rumored that the monks used the fruit to stay awake and pray.

Another wide spread legend claims an Arabian was banished to the desert. He boiled and ate an unknown plant. He was able to survive in the desert on the plant. The residents of a town close by felt the survival was a religious sign. The plant was then named Mocha, after that town.

Few people realize the coffee plant originally grew only in Ethiopia. They wrapped it in animal fat to eat while on raids. It was transported to Arabia, it grew, and they controlled the market of it. The Turks then were the first to drink it. They added cinnamon and clove for a sweeter taste.

Coffee founds its way to Europe via the Venetian trade merchants. Rumors of the taste of coffee began to surface all over. The Arab’s keep an even tighter grip on the coffee plants. Christian’s began claiming coffee was the devil’s drink, similar to the monk story above. Pope Vincent III decided to try it. He enjoyed it very much. After that, talk of banishing the drink went away.

Soon after, coffee houses were built all over Europe. They became a popular place to hang out and drink coffee. It was in the 1700’s that coffee traveled to Americas. A French infantry captain took a small plant with him. That plant was cultivated, resulting in over 19 million coffee trees within 50 years. Coffee was declared the national drink of the United States in a protest of the excessive taxes on tea from Britain.

Today, millions of people enjoy their coffee throughout the day. Coffee comes in many brands and many flavors. You can buy ground coffee or coffee beans at most any grocery store. There are also gourmet coffees to choose from Businesses such as Starbuck’s Coffee are million dollar industries, offering you the convenience of coffee any way you want it.