The Roasting Process

During the roasting process the beans pass through different stages. Firstly the water contained in the bean evaporates. Then the bean swells to twice its original volume which causes the silvery coloured skin to break and fall off (this is the chaff that is removed from the roaster at the end of the roasting process). The colour of the bean changes from light green to yellow, to yellow-brown, to light brown and then to dark brown. The coffee aroma develops from a series of chemical reactions as the bean is roasted. In its green form the bean has virtually no aroma.

There are many different roasts of beans available on the market but the following guide lists the main categories and their common names.

Dark Roasts (14 minutes)

The darkest roasts such as Italian Roast are also known as "Heavy Roast", with beans roasted nearly to jet black giving a smoky well roasted taste which masks the natural flavours of the coffee bean.

Medium Dark Roasts (12 to 13 minutes)

Medium dark roast is when the beans are roasted for a long time at a high enough temperature to bring the natural oil of the coffee to the surface.

Some examples of medium dark roasts are:

• French Roast - which is also known as "Dark Roast". French Roast beans are often used to make espresso.
   
• Continental Roast - which is slightly lighter than French Roast but with spicy body.
   
• Viennese Roast - which is roasted a little longer than regular American roast and has rich chocolaty body.
   
• Full City Roast - which is even darker than City roast.

Medium Roasts (9 to 11 minutes)

Medium roasts balance body with flavour.

Some examples of medium roasts are:

• Breakfast Roast - which is a bit sweeter than a light roast.
   
• American Roast - which is not as dark as any of the European roasts but has a good aroma.
   
• City Roast - which is darker than the standard American roast.

Light Roasts (7 minutes)

A light roast gives a very subtle light bodied flavour.

Some examples of light roasts are:

• New England Roast.
   
• Half City Roast.
   
• Cinnamon Roast - where the surface of the bean is dry with no oils present and flavour is light-bodied.

Beans

When grinding your own, the key to good coffee is to buy whole beans and grind them when you are ready to make the coffee - not before. Even with whole beans, coffee doesn't keep long. You want to buy the coffee from a purveyor who has roasted it recently - preferably in the last couple days. Find a coffee company in your area who roasts locally like CuppaChoice International, Higlander Coffee, Spinelli Coffee

There are two kinds of coffee beans available: arabica  and robusta . They come from different species of coffee plant and have slightly different flavors. Robusta beans are easier to grow but aren't as flavorful or complex; they are usually used as a filler in coffee blends, to make inexpensive coffee produces (such as instant coffee  ), or in espresso blends  to promote formation of crema. Arabica coffee, on the other hand, is more difficult to grow (and therefore more expensive) but brews a more flavorful, complex cup. Robusta also has almost twice as much caffeine as arabica.

Where did the term Mocha Originated?

Everyone has heard of mocha but few know the origins of the delicious coffee that connoisseurs treasure. Mocha originates from its name sake port city of Mocha located in the southernmost tip of the Arabian peninsula, now part of Yemen. The port was where coffee and chocolate trading was done. Yemen Mocha is a dark, strong and sweet-tasting coffee that was discovered by the outside world in the 16th century. The fabulously wealthy Ottoman Sultans learned of Yemeni coffee and exported it to their capitol city, Istanbul, in burlap sacks labeled by their point of origin, Mocha. Called qahwah in Arabic, the beverage became known as qahvay in Turkish, and as its popularity mounted around the rest of Europe, terms like café and coffee caught on.

Fair Trade, Shade Grown, and Organic

 You might have noticed that some of the coffee even in your local supermarket is now labeled "Fair Trade Certified". Basically, Fair Trade Certification guarantees that the laborers and farmers receive a fair price for their coffee beans, not an artificially low price due to the glut of cheap robusta coffee on the market. Fair Trade coffee growers have greater stability within their families and Fair Trade practices can benefit and strengthen entire communities.

Another increasingly common label on coffee is "shade grown " or "bird friendly" . Modern coffee farms often clear-cut areas of rainforest to plant coffee bushes. Direct sunshine causes the coffee to ripen more quickly, but the habitat devastation can have a considerable impact on the population of birds, insects and other wildlife. Shade grown coffee is grown the traditional way -under a canopy of trees. This keeps more of the habitat intact, and while the coffee takes longer to ripen, it is often considered to be of superior quality.

You might also see coffee labeled "organic " . Organic coffee may also be free trade or shade-grown, but one does not always imply the other. Organic simply means that the coffee was grown in accordance with organic farming practices; essentially, no artificial chemical fertilizers or pesticides were used on the coffee. Organic farming practices are also beneficial to the environment.

Before You Buy a Home Espresso Machine

Having your own espresso machine at home may seem like a luxury to some people, but it just might be a necessary piece of equipment for someone who truly enjoys an espresso on a regular basis.

What's Your Budget?
How much money do you want to spend on an espresso machine? While the higher-end models do offer more features and possibly better espresso, that doesn't mean a budget model won't suit your needs. Check out each of the price ranges to see the features available.Under $100, between $100 and $500, between $500 and $1,000

What Kind of Machine?
Unlike drip coffee makers, there are actually different kinds of espresso machines. They all extract espresso from coffee grounds under pressure, but how that pressure is created can vary with the style of machine. Know what your options are before deciding.

What Features do You Need?

Now, these are all the tips that you may find on some models of espresso machine. If you've never owned an espresso machine before, you might not even know what features you could be looking for.

What About Making Coffee too?
One particular feature that you might find appealing, is a machine that makes espresso and regular coffee, all in one. These combo machines saves space in the kitchen and are easier on the pocketbook than buying 2 separate machines.

Check Out Models like Delonghi or feel free to email me at simpleking_sham@hotmail.com to enquire more on Delonghi Machines.

Another latte art attempts

Check this Singapore peacock in Chinatown.Hahaha!

Latte Art Attempts pt 1

Syphon Coffee

Syphon, Intelligentsia from Department of the 4th Dimension on Vimeo.
A very cool and interesting video.Singapore do serve syphon coffee, one of them is Cuppachoice Cafe located at No.3 Temple Street.

A Syphon maker brews coffee using two chambers where vapor pressure and vacuum produce coffee which is clean, crisp, rich and smooth compared to other brewing methods. This type of coffee maker is also known as vac pot, siphon or vacuum coffee pot and was invented by Loeff of Berlin in the 1830s. These devices have since been used for more than a century in many parts of the world. Design and composition of the vacuum coffee maker varies. The chamber material is pyrex, metal or plastic, and the filter can either be a glass rod, or a screen from metal, cloth, paper or nylon. The Napier Vacuum Machine, presented in 1840, was an early example of this technique.

While vacuum coffee makers generally were excessively complex for everyday use, they were prized for producing a clear brew, and were quite popular until the middle of the twentieth century. The Bauhaus interpretation of this device can be seen in Gerhard Marcks’ Sintrax coffee maker of 1925.

French Press

The French Press, originally developed in the early 1900’s by Attilio Calimani and later improved by Faliero Bondanini. It is a unique coffee brewing device that has become popular in many households around the world including SIngapore. I had my first encounter with one at Starbucks in 2006. 
While it may be called different names such  as a press pot, coffee press, coffee plunger or сafetière à piston, is a simple coffee brewing device, probably invented in France in the 1850s, but first patented by Italian designer Attilo Calimani in 1929, who made subsequent design improvements over the years, and further refined by another Italian, Faliero Bondanini.

What makes the French Press so unique is its simple structure that not only makes it easy to use, but also a great kitchen accessory. The French Press usually consists of a glass cylinder with a lid and plunger that fits tightly into the glass casing. However it can come in different variations depending on who it is marketed too. My favourite brand is Bodum! You can get one at any Starbucks Outlet or directly at Tang's Singapore.
One of the differences between a French Press and many other coffee makers is the way the coffee grinds must be ground. A French Press needs grinds that are coarser than many other forms of coffee makers take. The reason for this is because finer grinds would seep through the mesh filter that is on the plunger allowing coffee grinds to enter the brewed coffee. If you want your coffee to be stronger, just meddle around with the coarseness of the grinds and the amount of water -Finer than usual and lesser than usual amount of water.
Just ask you nearby baristas to share more!!

How can I improve my shots?

There's a lot of ways you can improve the quality of your espresso shots in the home.

• use fresh beans, or roast you own
• a quality grinder is an absolute must for espresso. Don't skimp.
• grind seconds before brewing.
• experiment with your dosage of grounds
• experiment with your grind fineness control
• experiment with your tamp pressure
• learn when your machine hits its temperature "sweet spot" (this is known as temperature surfing)
• practice
• practice
• practice

What is crema

Crema is that sweet layer of thick effervescent bubbles on the top of a well prepared espresso.The crema consists mainly of carbon dioxide that has been liberated from the coffee bean fibres during the brewing process.

The process of passing hot, pressurised water through ground coffee releases the bubbles not unlike the bubbles released when you pop a bottle of champagne. The presence of a thick layer of richly aromatic, reddish brown crema indicates that all the important factors were met during the preparation shot.

The aroma of espresso lives in the crema so swirl it around. Get your nose right down in there and take the time to smell the flowers. 

Is crema really all that important?

Anyone who tells you that a good shot can be built without crema is fooling themselves. Crema is one of the primary indicators of a good espresso shot. This isn't to say that every shot with crema on it is good. But I am saying that every shot that doesn't have crema on it is a bad shot.




Crema also serves other purposes besides being an indicator. Crema contains a lot of aromatics, which influence how your mouth tastes the espresso. Crema also acts as a partial insulator for the beverage, helping to keep it hot- besides the foam of a cappuccino and it has its own unique taste that adds to the overall shot taste.