by Kenneth Davids; reviews by Kenneth Davids and Ted Stachura
India is a considerably better-known coffee origin in Europe than in the United States. And even in Europe it tends to be a source whose profound coffee originality is hidden inside blends rather than foregrounded in single-origin or trophy coffees. For example, India provides some of the world's most valuable coffee types for espresso blends, yet these same exotic coffee types are seldom offered as single origins. They are simply too intensely odd for American palates accustomed to the high-grown, cleanly bright profiles of classic Latin America. On the other hand, the majestic, deeply forested old India coffee estates do produce quietly distinctive Arabicas capable of pleasing even the most purist of coffee drinkers. And the quest for small lots of coffee that play distinctive variations on the more familiar Arabica profile is beginning to turn up some pleasant surprises in India, as it has elsewhere in the world.
All of these types and trends are represented in this month's reviews, representing a set of ten often wildly different coffees, the best and most interesting from the thirty or so we cupped. Here they are in summary:
1) For coffee adventurers with a taste for low-acid, heavy-bodied, sweetly nutty profiles: The Paradise Roasters Indian CxR Mandarin (89), a coffee from trees of an interspecies cross between an heirloom Indian variety of Robusta and the coffee species Congensis.
2) For coffee adventurers with a taste for low-acid, richly malty profiles with a little twist of fermented fruit: Three different Monsooned Malabars, the unique Indian coffee type created by allowing dry-processed coffees to absorb the salt- and moisture-laden air of monsoon winds in an effort to mimic the flavor of coffees once carried in the holds of wooden ships from India to Europe. The Julian Coffee Roasters Monsooned Malabar (89), the Josuma Coffee Monsoon Medley (88) and the Storehouse India Malabar (87) all represent variations on the musty/malty, sweetly pungent monsooned theme.
3) For I'll-try-anything coffee adventurers, a coffee from trees of the Liberica species. Liberica was first experimented with as a disease-resistant alternative to Arabica, but was pretty much abandoned after the development of Robusta. It is still grown on some farms in India, however, as well as in Malaysia, where it is often a valued component in the pungent, heavily intense blends that Malaysians enjoy buffered by quantities of milk. The Badbeard's India Anokhi Liberica is reviewed here at 87, a basically arbitrary score. There are no criteria I know of by which this coffee could be rated 90, for example, or even 88. On the other hand, we have no business completely trashing a unique coffee type on the basis of standards of judgment developed mainly for fine Arabicas. As Libericas go, this seems like a rather attractive one. Therefore, well, with a mix of confusion and generosity, plus respect for originality, we settled on 87. But pick your own number: 0, 50, 80, 90? If you try it, do it the Malaysian way, brewed strong and taken with a lot of hot milk or warm half-and-half.
4) For the purist, three estate-grown, traditionally wet-processed Arabicas, the top-rated Tony's Coffee & Tea Balmaadi Estate (91), the Zingerman's Elk Hill estate (88) and the rather unusual salty-sweet, floral-toned Badbeard's Kattehollay Estate Peaberry (88).
5) Finally, for those interested in small-lot trophy coffees that reflect experiments with botanical variety and processing method, we have the Kaapi Royale Selection 9 Pulped Natural (91), a coffee from trees of a variety (Selection 9) with Ethiopian heritage, processed by the unorthodox pulped natural method, in which the skins are removed but the sweet fruit pulp is allowed to remain on the beans as they dry. The result here is a subtle, delicate balance of aromatic wood, flowers and dark chocolate notes. The "natural" or dried-in-the-fruit Arabica from Sethuraman Estate (90) is a restrained and elegant version of the fruity style of natural dry-processed coffee.
Nothing this month soared in the ratings, yet the range of coffee expression in the cupping was impressive, even startling in its variety. As relationships between American roasters and Indian producers mature, I expect we will not only continue to experience a continued variety of coffee expression from India, but more refined and precise versions of that expression as well.
November 26, 2009
November 22, 2009
Coffee May reduce cancer risk
A recent study conducted by the researchers of Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri (IRFMN) in Milan, Italy showed that drinking coffee may help reduce the risk of liver cancer. Led by Francesca Bravi, the team combined all published data to find the link between coffee drinking and hepatocellar carcinoma (HCC). HCC is a primary cancer of the liver. Liver cancer is the third largest cause of cancer deaths around the world, just behind lung and stomach cancer. At least 11 studies that were conducted in southern Europe and Japan were the foundation of the IRFMN study.
The IRFMN study was a meta-analysis of published studies on HCC that included how much coffee patients had consumed. Researchers combined all published data to obtain an overall quantitative estimate of the association between coffee consumption and HCC development.
The figures showed that coffee drinkers have at least 41 percent reduction of HCC risk compared to those who never consumed coffee. The beneficial effects of coffee consumption were highly progressive in studies that were done in southern Europe, widely drank, and from Japan, where coffee drinking is less frequent, and in subjects with chronic liver diseases
Animal and laboratory studies have shown that some compounds in coffee may act as blocking agents that work by reacting with enzymes involved in carcinogenic detoxification. Caffeine is a component of coffee that has been shown to give beneficial effects on the liver enzymes and other enzymes of the body. Coffee consumption has also been linked to reduced risks of liver diseases and cirrhosis, both of which can lead to liver cancer.
Separate studies also show that caffeine may aggravate the symptoms of menopause or intensify the effects of certain antibiotics. On the other hand, heavy caffeine consumption may cause miscarriage. Other animal studies show that skin cream added with caffeine may lower the risk of skin cancer in mice.
While the study found a statistically significant relationship between drinking coffee and having less liver cancer, the authors note that it needs to be repeated in other groups. The authors note that despite the consistency of the results of the study, it is difficult to derive causal collaboration based on the observational studies alone. It may be that patients with digestive tract diseases, including liver disorders, naturally reduce their coffee consumption, even though avoidance of coffee is not routinely recommended.
While the study found a statistically significant relationship between drinking coffee and having less liver cancer, the authors note that it needs to be repeated in other groups to be more concrete.
The IRFMN researchers note that the perception of coffee consumption was solely based on patients’ reporting, although the recollection of coffee drinking has been shown to be accurate. Factors like hepatitis B and C, cirrhosis, social class indictors, alcohol use, and smoking suggests that these factors did not influence the results of the studies.
The results from this research may provide some evidence of a link between coffee consumption and liver cancer. However, the interpretation of this research remains unclear because of lack of long-term evaluation of the results of the said study.
Reference : http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070801112146.htm
The IRFMN study was a meta-analysis of published studies on HCC that included how much coffee patients had consumed. Researchers combined all published data to obtain an overall quantitative estimate of the association between coffee consumption and HCC development.
The figures showed that coffee drinkers have at least 41 percent reduction of HCC risk compared to those who never consumed coffee. The beneficial effects of coffee consumption were highly progressive in studies that were done in southern Europe, widely drank, and from Japan, where coffee drinking is less frequent, and in subjects with chronic liver diseases
Animal and laboratory studies have shown that some compounds in coffee may act as blocking agents that work by reacting with enzymes involved in carcinogenic detoxification. Caffeine is a component of coffee that has been shown to give beneficial effects on the liver enzymes and other enzymes of the body. Coffee consumption has also been linked to reduced risks of liver diseases and cirrhosis, both of which can lead to liver cancer.
Separate studies also show that caffeine may aggravate the symptoms of menopause or intensify the effects of certain antibiotics. On the other hand, heavy caffeine consumption may cause miscarriage. Other animal studies show that skin cream added with caffeine may lower the risk of skin cancer in mice.
While the study found a statistically significant relationship between drinking coffee and having less liver cancer, the authors note that it needs to be repeated in other groups. The authors note that despite the consistency of the results of the study, it is difficult to derive causal collaboration based on the observational studies alone. It may be that patients with digestive tract diseases, including liver disorders, naturally reduce their coffee consumption, even though avoidance of coffee is not routinely recommended.
While the study found a statistically significant relationship between drinking coffee and having less liver cancer, the authors note that it needs to be repeated in other groups to be more concrete.
The IRFMN researchers note that the perception of coffee consumption was solely based on patients’ reporting, although the recollection of coffee drinking has been shown to be accurate. Factors like hepatitis B and C, cirrhosis, social class indictors, alcohol use, and smoking suggests that these factors did not influence the results of the studies.
The results from this research may provide some evidence of a link between coffee consumption and liver cancer. However, the interpretation of this research remains unclear because of lack of long-term evaluation of the results of the said study.
Reference : http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070801112146.htm
November 17, 2009
Keeping hot Coffee Hot with a Thermos
When you hit the middle age years, like I have, you start to take things for granted. One of those things happens to be hot coffee. I like my coffee hot, even though I've consumed iced coffee on occasion. In Japan, iced coffee is way more popular than it is in the US, or just about anywhere else. In the US, however, hot coffee is preferred by the average coffee drinker. Keeping coffee hot can be a challenge, depending on what you use to make it and where you intend to drink it.
A thermos is not necessarily a Thermos
The first vacuum flasks were made by the Thermos Company in Germany in 1904. Over the years, the word "thermos" became a generic word to mean any kind of vacuum flask. In fact, the US declared it as a generic trademark in 1963 and now the word can be used alone or as "thermos bottle" and it means the same thing.
I thought it was a just an American thing, like so many things I've become accustomed to since I was a child. For instance, when I was a kid, my siblings called every kind of soft drink a "Coke" because Coca-Cola was the most popular brand at the time. One of my older brothers would send me to the neighborhood market to buy him a Coke and I would have to ask him "What kind of Coke?" because he didn't always mean Coca-Cola.
My in-laws here in the Philippines share the same hot water dispenser, from my mother-in-law's house. Trekking back and forth to her house can be a pain, so they don't do it often. One day, one of my brothers-in-law came out of his house with a hot cup of coffee and I knew he hadn't been to her house in hours. I asked him how he was keeping his water hot and he told me he was keeping it in a thermos. Obviously, thermos has become a generic word in the Philippines as well as the US.
How a thermos is used
Despite what you may think, I'm not talking about how to add and remove beverages from a thermos. I'm talking about how they're used in certain environments, based on what I've seen.
When I was young, I saw my father packing a thermos in his metallic lunch box before heading off to work each day. It was kind of vacuum flask that had a screw-in stopper that was covered by pop-on/pop-off metal cup. The thermos had a metal exterior as well. Nowadays, you can find a thermos made of mostly plastic.
When I was in the military and went to certain functions (where a conference table came into play) as well as after the military and working for various companies, multiple thermos bottles were kept nearby in order for hot coffee to be available at all times and without having a coffee maker in the room as well. Some of these functions took place in rooms where it wouldn't be a good idea to have a coffee maker area set aside. Rooms with computer equipment, for example.
Using a thermos can save you money
I don't have a thermos bottle yet, but I plan to get a large one. A hot water dispenser uses a lot of electricity due to the heating coil involved. Maybe not as much as a hot water heater, but still more than I like to pay. If I just want hot water, it would be so much more economic to boil water or make hot water through a coffee maker than to use a hot water dispenser. A thermos can keep hot water hot or hot coffee hot for up to eight hours, but by the 8-hour mark, it's usually just a little warmer than lukewarm. That's still better than cold, especially in a cold environment.
I wouldn't be storing hot water in a thermos. It makes more sense to store hot coffee in the thermos unless I'm intent on drinking instant coffee and that doesn't work well unless I'm in the house. I sometimes spend a few hours outdoors with relatives, in the early morning hours after daylight appears. Having a thermos nearby would keep me from having to go back and forth from the house for refills because I usually drink two or three cups of coffee during that part of the day.
A thermos is not necessarily a Thermos
The first vacuum flasks were made by the Thermos Company in Germany in 1904. Over the years, the word "thermos" became a generic word to mean any kind of vacuum flask. In fact, the US declared it as a generic trademark in 1963 and now the word can be used alone or as "thermos bottle" and it means the same thing.
I thought it was a just an American thing, like so many things I've become accustomed to since I was a child. For instance, when I was a kid, my siblings called every kind of soft drink a "Coke" because Coca-Cola was the most popular brand at the time. One of my older brothers would send me to the neighborhood market to buy him a Coke and I would have to ask him "What kind of Coke?" because he didn't always mean Coca-Cola.
My in-laws here in the Philippines share the same hot water dispenser, from my mother-in-law's house. Trekking back and forth to her house can be a pain, so they don't do it often. One day, one of my brothers-in-law came out of his house with a hot cup of coffee and I knew he hadn't been to her house in hours. I asked him how he was keeping his water hot and he told me he was keeping it in a thermos. Obviously, thermos has become a generic word in the Philippines as well as the US.
How a thermos is used
Despite what you may think, I'm not talking about how to add and remove beverages from a thermos. I'm talking about how they're used in certain environments, based on what I've seen.
When I was young, I saw my father packing a thermos in his metallic lunch box before heading off to work each day. It was kind of vacuum flask that had a screw-in stopper that was covered by pop-on/pop-off metal cup. The thermos had a metal exterior as well. Nowadays, you can find a thermos made of mostly plastic.
When I was in the military and went to certain functions (where a conference table came into play) as well as after the military and working for various companies, multiple thermos bottles were kept nearby in order for hot coffee to be available at all times and without having a coffee maker in the room as well. Some of these functions took place in rooms where it wouldn't be a good idea to have a coffee maker area set aside. Rooms with computer equipment, for example.
Using a thermos can save you money
I don't have a thermos bottle yet, but I plan to get a large one. A hot water dispenser uses a lot of electricity due to the heating coil involved. Maybe not as much as a hot water heater, but still more than I like to pay. If I just want hot water, it would be so much more economic to boil water or make hot water through a coffee maker than to use a hot water dispenser. A thermos can keep hot water hot or hot coffee hot for up to eight hours, but by the 8-hour mark, it's usually just a little warmer than lukewarm. That's still better than cold, especially in a cold environment.
I wouldn't be storing hot water in a thermos. It makes more sense to store hot coffee in the thermos unless I'm intent on drinking instant coffee and that doesn't work well unless I'm in the house. I sometimes spend a few hours outdoors with relatives, in the early morning hours after daylight appears. Having a thermos nearby would keep me from having to go back and forth from the house for refills because I usually drink two or three cups of coffee during that part of the day.
November 8, 2009
Art of Coffee Barista Training
Art of Coffee is dedicated to providing the best home and commerical barista training in New Zealand. We use only the best quality equipment and materials which ensures that you will be able to achieve the perfect espresso that you have been aiming for. We endeavour to provide courses throughout the year which cover everything that you want to know.
We have recently launched a new coffee course in Christchurch, The Coffee Connoisseur, which focuses on home baristas and providing you with the opportunity to learn more about the entire coffee process. If you're looking to buy an espresso machine or want to learn more about how to use and maintain yours then this is the perfect opportunity for you to pick our tutors brains.
We have recently launched a new coffee course in Christchurch, The Coffee Connoisseur, which focuses on home baristas and providing you with the opportunity to learn more about the entire coffee process. If you're looking to buy an espresso machine or want to learn more about how to use and maintain yours then this is the perfect opportunity for you to pick our tutors brains.
November 6, 2009
Coffee Candy...?
The store where I usually get the Kopiko coffee candy recently ran out of the bags in the size that I normally buy. They have a huge bag available for 300 pesos, but I don't want big bags. When my nieces and nephews see a large bag of candy, they won't stop hounding me until it's gone. Their teeth are bad enough as it is and they don't need MORE candy to make them worse (they already eat candy every single day).
The store is on Magsaysay Drive, near the Olongapo City Mall, and the sign says "Circle J" outside (very similar the Circle K stores in the US). Some of the labels and racks inside the store say "J-Mart", so I can only assume they decided to change their name at some point and didn't change all the references. Anyway, since I wanted coffee candy, I decided to buy another brand.
X.O. Coffee Candy
The X.O. Coffee Candy comes under the brand name of "Jack 'n Jill" for the candy division of the Universal Robina Corporation (URC). URC is one of the largest brand food product companies in the Philippines and they have a ton of candies under the "Jack 'n Jill" brand, including candies that resemble cough drops.
I don't know how much a bag of X.O. Coffee Candy costs. I wasn't paying attention, but it's near to the same price as Kopiko. Kopiko is made in Indonesia whereas the X.O. products are all made in the Philippines.
Ingredients
Like Kopiko, X.O. Coffee Candy isn't the healthiest candy to have around. I'll live with the consequences. The ingredients are sugar, glucose syrup, hydrogenated vegetable fat, skimmed milk powder, coffee powder, soya lecithin and iodized salt.
When I see "hydrogenated" on anything, I tend not to buy it or consume it. I've seen and eaten worse and I want my coffee candy, so I'll live with it.
The Taste Test
While a piece of Kopiko coffee candy is a little dark brown square, a piece of X.O. Coffee Candy is oval-shaped and a little thicker. Kopiko comes in bags of 150 grams (the regular size anyway) and X.O. Coffee Candy comes in bags of 175 grams, which means X.O. provides 25 grams more for about the same price.
To be honest, I can't tell the difference in taste. Kopiko is a little stronger in flavor and that's about it. I think I'll be sticking to X.O. Coffee Candy from now on, unless they run out of it as well. In that case, Kopiko is the backup treat.
The store is on Magsaysay Drive, near the Olongapo City Mall, and the sign says "Circle J" outside (very similar the Circle K stores in the US). Some of the labels and racks inside the store say "J-Mart", so I can only assume they decided to change their name at some point and didn't change all the references. Anyway, since I wanted coffee candy, I decided to buy another brand.
X.O. Coffee Candy
The X.O. Coffee Candy comes under the brand name of "Jack 'n Jill" for the candy division of the Universal Robina Corporation (URC). URC is one of the largest brand food product companies in the Philippines and they have a ton of candies under the "Jack 'n Jill" brand, including candies that resemble cough drops.
I don't know how much a bag of X.O. Coffee Candy costs. I wasn't paying attention, but it's near to the same price as Kopiko. Kopiko is made in Indonesia whereas the X.O. products are all made in the Philippines.
Ingredients
Like Kopiko, X.O. Coffee Candy isn't the healthiest candy to have around. I'll live with the consequences. The ingredients are sugar, glucose syrup, hydrogenated vegetable fat, skimmed milk powder, coffee powder, soya lecithin and iodized salt.
When I see "hydrogenated" on anything, I tend not to buy it or consume it. I've seen and eaten worse and I want my coffee candy, so I'll live with it.
The Taste Test
While a piece of Kopiko coffee candy is a little dark brown square, a piece of X.O. Coffee Candy is oval-shaped and a little thicker. Kopiko comes in bags of 150 grams (the regular size anyway) and X.O. Coffee Candy comes in bags of 175 grams, which means X.O. provides 25 grams more for about the same price.
To be honest, I can't tell the difference in taste. Kopiko is a little stronger in flavor and that's about it. I think I'll be sticking to X.O. Coffee Candy from now on, unless they run out of it as well. In that case, Kopiko is the backup treat.
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November 26, 2009
Something for Everyone: India Coffees 2009
by Kenneth Davids; reviews by Kenneth Davids and Ted Stachura
India is a considerably better-known coffee origin in Europe than in the United States. And even in Europe it tends to be a source whose profound coffee originality is hidden inside blends rather than foregrounded in single-origin or trophy coffees. For example, India provides some of the world's most valuable coffee types for espresso blends, yet these same exotic coffee types are seldom offered as single origins. They are simply too intensely odd for American palates accustomed to the high-grown, cleanly bright profiles of classic Latin America. On the other hand, the majestic, deeply forested old India coffee estates do produce quietly distinctive Arabicas capable of pleasing even the most purist of coffee drinkers. And the quest for small lots of coffee that play distinctive variations on the more familiar Arabica profile is beginning to turn up some pleasant surprises in India, as it has elsewhere in the world.
All of these types and trends are represented in this month's reviews, representing a set of ten often wildly different coffees, the best and most interesting from the thirty or so we cupped. Here they are in summary:
1) For coffee adventurers with a taste for low-acid, heavy-bodied, sweetly nutty profiles: The Paradise Roasters Indian CxR Mandarin (89), a coffee from trees of an interspecies cross between an heirloom Indian variety of Robusta and the coffee species Congensis.
2) For coffee adventurers with a taste for low-acid, richly malty profiles with a little twist of fermented fruit: Three different Monsooned Malabars, the unique Indian coffee type created by allowing dry-processed coffees to absorb the salt- and moisture-laden air of monsoon winds in an effort to mimic the flavor of coffees once carried in the holds of wooden ships from India to Europe. The Julian Coffee Roasters Monsooned Malabar (89), the Josuma Coffee Monsoon Medley (88) and the Storehouse India Malabar (87) all represent variations on the musty/malty, sweetly pungent monsooned theme.
3) For I'll-try-anything coffee adventurers, a coffee from trees of the Liberica species. Liberica was first experimented with as a disease-resistant alternative to Arabica, but was pretty much abandoned after the development of Robusta. It is still grown on some farms in India, however, as well as in Malaysia, where it is often a valued component in the pungent, heavily intense blends that Malaysians enjoy buffered by quantities of milk. The Badbeard's India Anokhi Liberica is reviewed here at 87, a basically arbitrary score. There are no criteria I know of by which this coffee could be rated 90, for example, or even 88. On the other hand, we have no business completely trashing a unique coffee type on the basis of standards of judgment developed mainly for fine Arabicas. As Libericas go, this seems like a rather attractive one. Therefore, well, with a mix of confusion and generosity, plus respect for originality, we settled on 87. But pick your own number: 0, 50, 80, 90? If you try it, do it the Malaysian way, brewed strong and taken with a lot of hot milk or warm half-and-half.
4) For the purist, three estate-grown, traditionally wet-processed Arabicas, the top-rated Tony's Coffee & Tea Balmaadi Estate (91), the Zingerman's Elk Hill estate (88) and the rather unusual salty-sweet, floral-toned Badbeard's Kattehollay Estate Peaberry (88).
5) Finally, for those interested in small-lot trophy coffees that reflect experiments with botanical variety and processing method, we have the Kaapi Royale Selection 9 Pulped Natural (91), a coffee from trees of a variety (Selection 9) with Ethiopian heritage, processed by the unorthodox pulped natural method, in which the skins are removed but the sweet fruit pulp is allowed to remain on the beans as they dry. The result here is a subtle, delicate balance of aromatic wood, flowers and dark chocolate notes. The "natural" or dried-in-the-fruit Arabica from Sethuraman Estate (90) is a restrained and elegant version of the fruity style of natural dry-processed coffee.
Nothing this month soared in the ratings, yet the range of coffee expression in the cupping was impressive, even startling in its variety. As relationships between American roasters and Indian producers mature, I expect we will not only continue to experience a continued variety of coffee expression from India, but more refined and precise versions of that expression as well.
India is a considerably better-known coffee origin in Europe than in the United States. And even in Europe it tends to be a source whose profound coffee originality is hidden inside blends rather than foregrounded in single-origin or trophy coffees. For example, India provides some of the world's most valuable coffee types for espresso blends, yet these same exotic coffee types are seldom offered as single origins. They are simply too intensely odd for American palates accustomed to the high-grown, cleanly bright profiles of classic Latin America. On the other hand, the majestic, deeply forested old India coffee estates do produce quietly distinctive Arabicas capable of pleasing even the most purist of coffee drinkers. And the quest for small lots of coffee that play distinctive variations on the more familiar Arabica profile is beginning to turn up some pleasant surprises in India, as it has elsewhere in the world.
All of these types and trends are represented in this month's reviews, representing a set of ten often wildly different coffees, the best and most interesting from the thirty or so we cupped. Here they are in summary:
1) For coffee adventurers with a taste for low-acid, heavy-bodied, sweetly nutty profiles: The Paradise Roasters Indian CxR Mandarin (89), a coffee from trees of an interspecies cross between an heirloom Indian variety of Robusta and the coffee species Congensis.
2) For coffee adventurers with a taste for low-acid, richly malty profiles with a little twist of fermented fruit: Three different Monsooned Malabars, the unique Indian coffee type created by allowing dry-processed coffees to absorb the salt- and moisture-laden air of monsoon winds in an effort to mimic the flavor of coffees once carried in the holds of wooden ships from India to Europe. The Julian Coffee Roasters Monsooned Malabar (89), the Josuma Coffee Monsoon Medley (88) and the Storehouse India Malabar (87) all represent variations on the musty/malty, sweetly pungent monsooned theme.
3) For I'll-try-anything coffee adventurers, a coffee from trees of the Liberica species. Liberica was first experimented with as a disease-resistant alternative to Arabica, but was pretty much abandoned after the development of Robusta. It is still grown on some farms in India, however, as well as in Malaysia, where it is often a valued component in the pungent, heavily intense blends that Malaysians enjoy buffered by quantities of milk. The Badbeard's India Anokhi Liberica is reviewed here at 87, a basically arbitrary score. There are no criteria I know of by which this coffee could be rated 90, for example, or even 88. On the other hand, we have no business completely trashing a unique coffee type on the basis of standards of judgment developed mainly for fine Arabicas. As Libericas go, this seems like a rather attractive one. Therefore, well, with a mix of confusion and generosity, plus respect for originality, we settled on 87. But pick your own number: 0, 50, 80, 90? If you try it, do it the Malaysian way, brewed strong and taken with a lot of hot milk or warm half-and-half.
4) For the purist, three estate-grown, traditionally wet-processed Arabicas, the top-rated Tony's Coffee & Tea Balmaadi Estate (91), the Zingerman's Elk Hill estate (88) and the rather unusual salty-sweet, floral-toned Badbeard's Kattehollay Estate Peaberry (88).
5) Finally, for those interested in small-lot trophy coffees that reflect experiments with botanical variety and processing method, we have the Kaapi Royale Selection 9 Pulped Natural (91), a coffee from trees of a variety (Selection 9) with Ethiopian heritage, processed by the unorthodox pulped natural method, in which the skins are removed but the sweet fruit pulp is allowed to remain on the beans as they dry. The result here is a subtle, delicate balance of aromatic wood, flowers and dark chocolate notes. The "natural" or dried-in-the-fruit Arabica from Sethuraman Estate (90) is a restrained and elegant version of the fruity style of natural dry-processed coffee.
Nothing this month soared in the ratings, yet the range of coffee expression in the cupping was impressive, even startling in its variety. As relationships between American roasters and Indian producers mature, I expect we will not only continue to experience a continued variety of coffee expression from India, but more refined and precise versions of that expression as well.
November 22, 2009
Coffee May reduce cancer risk
A recent study conducted by the researchers of Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri (IRFMN) in Milan, Italy showed that drinking coffee may help reduce the risk of liver cancer. Led by Francesca Bravi, the team combined all published data to find the link between coffee drinking and hepatocellar carcinoma (HCC). HCC is a primary cancer of the liver. Liver cancer is the third largest cause of cancer deaths around the world, just behind lung and stomach cancer. At least 11 studies that were conducted in southern Europe and Japan were the foundation of the IRFMN study.
The IRFMN study was a meta-analysis of published studies on HCC that included how much coffee patients had consumed. Researchers combined all published data to obtain an overall quantitative estimate of the association between coffee consumption and HCC development.
The figures showed that coffee drinkers have at least 41 percent reduction of HCC risk compared to those who never consumed coffee. The beneficial effects of coffee consumption were highly progressive in studies that were done in southern Europe, widely drank, and from Japan, where coffee drinking is less frequent, and in subjects with chronic liver diseases
Animal and laboratory studies have shown that some compounds in coffee may act as blocking agents that work by reacting with enzymes involved in carcinogenic detoxification. Caffeine is a component of coffee that has been shown to give beneficial effects on the liver enzymes and other enzymes of the body. Coffee consumption has also been linked to reduced risks of liver diseases and cirrhosis, both of which can lead to liver cancer.
Separate studies also show that caffeine may aggravate the symptoms of menopause or intensify the effects of certain antibiotics. On the other hand, heavy caffeine consumption may cause miscarriage. Other animal studies show that skin cream added with caffeine may lower the risk of skin cancer in mice.
While the study found a statistically significant relationship between drinking coffee and having less liver cancer, the authors note that it needs to be repeated in other groups. The authors note that despite the consistency of the results of the study, it is difficult to derive causal collaboration based on the observational studies alone. It may be that patients with digestive tract diseases, including liver disorders, naturally reduce their coffee consumption, even though avoidance of coffee is not routinely recommended.
While the study found a statistically significant relationship between drinking coffee and having less liver cancer, the authors note that it needs to be repeated in other groups to be more concrete.
The IRFMN researchers note that the perception of coffee consumption was solely based on patients’ reporting, although the recollection of coffee drinking has been shown to be accurate. Factors like hepatitis B and C, cirrhosis, social class indictors, alcohol use, and smoking suggests that these factors did not influence the results of the studies.
The results from this research may provide some evidence of a link between coffee consumption and liver cancer. However, the interpretation of this research remains unclear because of lack of long-term evaluation of the results of the said study.
Reference : http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070801112146.htm
The IRFMN study was a meta-analysis of published studies on HCC that included how much coffee patients had consumed. Researchers combined all published data to obtain an overall quantitative estimate of the association between coffee consumption and HCC development.
The figures showed that coffee drinkers have at least 41 percent reduction of HCC risk compared to those who never consumed coffee. The beneficial effects of coffee consumption were highly progressive in studies that were done in southern Europe, widely drank, and from Japan, where coffee drinking is less frequent, and in subjects with chronic liver diseases
Animal and laboratory studies have shown that some compounds in coffee may act as blocking agents that work by reacting with enzymes involved in carcinogenic detoxification. Caffeine is a component of coffee that has been shown to give beneficial effects on the liver enzymes and other enzymes of the body. Coffee consumption has also been linked to reduced risks of liver diseases and cirrhosis, both of which can lead to liver cancer.
Separate studies also show that caffeine may aggravate the symptoms of menopause or intensify the effects of certain antibiotics. On the other hand, heavy caffeine consumption may cause miscarriage. Other animal studies show that skin cream added with caffeine may lower the risk of skin cancer in mice.
While the study found a statistically significant relationship between drinking coffee and having less liver cancer, the authors note that it needs to be repeated in other groups. The authors note that despite the consistency of the results of the study, it is difficult to derive causal collaboration based on the observational studies alone. It may be that patients with digestive tract diseases, including liver disorders, naturally reduce their coffee consumption, even though avoidance of coffee is not routinely recommended.
While the study found a statistically significant relationship between drinking coffee and having less liver cancer, the authors note that it needs to be repeated in other groups to be more concrete.
The IRFMN researchers note that the perception of coffee consumption was solely based on patients’ reporting, although the recollection of coffee drinking has been shown to be accurate. Factors like hepatitis B and C, cirrhosis, social class indictors, alcohol use, and smoking suggests that these factors did not influence the results of the studies.
The results from this research may provide some evidence of a link between coffee consumption and liver cancer. However, the interpretation of this research remains unclear because of lack of long-term evaluation of the results of the said study.
Reference : http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070801112146.htm
November 17, 2009
Keeping hot Coffee Hot with a Thermos
When you hit the middle age years, like I have, you start to take things for granted. One of those things happens to be hot coffee. I like my coffee hot, even though I've consumed iced coffee on occasion. In Japan, iced coffee is way more popular than it is in the US, or just about anywhere else. In the US, however, hot coffee is preferred by the average coffee drinker. Keeping coffee hot can be a challenge, depending on what you use to make it and where you intend to drink it.
A thermos is not necessarily a Thermos
The first vacuum flasks were made by the Thermos Company in Germany in 1904. Over the years, the word "thermos" became a generic word to mean any kind of vacuum flask. In fact, the US declared it as a generic trademark in 1963 and now the word can be used alone or as "thermos bottle" and it means the same thing.
I thought it was a just an American thing, like so many things I've become accustomed to since I was a child. For instance, when I was a kid, my siblings called every kind of soft drink a "Coke" because Coca-Cola was the most popular brand at the time. One of my older brothers would send me to the neighborhood market to buy him a Coke and I would have to ask him "What kind of Coke?" because he didn't always mean Coca-Cola.
My in-laws here in the Philippines share the same hot water dispenser, from my mother-in-law's house. Trekking back and forth to her house can be a pain, so they don't do it often. One day, one of my brothers-in-law came out of his house with a hot cup of coffee and I knew he hadn't been to her house in hours. I asked him how he was keeping his water hot and he told me he was keeping it in a thermos. Obviously, thermos has become a generic word in the Philippines as well as the US.
How a thermos is used
Despite what you may think, I'm not talking about how to add and remove beverages from a thermos. I'm talking about how they're used in certain environments, based on what I've seen.
When I was young, I saw my father packing a thermos in his metallic lunch box before heading off to work each day. It was kind of vacuum flask that had a screw-in stopper that was covered by pop-on/pop-off metal cup. The thermos had a metal exterior as well. Nowadays, you can find a thermos made of mostly plastic.
When I was in the military and went to certain functions (where a conference table came into play) as well as after the military and working for various companies, multiple thermos bottles were kept nearby in order for hot coffee to be available at all times and without having a coffee maker in the room as well. Some of these functions took place in rooms where it wouldn't be a good idea to have a coffee maker area set aside. Rooms with computer equipment, for example.
Using a thermos can save you money
I don't have a thermos bottle yet, but I plan to get a large one. A hot water dispenser uses a lot of electricity due to the heating coil involved. Maybe not as much as a hot water heater, but still more than I like to pay. If I just want hot water, it would be so much more economic to boil water or make hot water through a coffee maker than to use a hot water dispenser. A thermos can keep hot water hot or hot coffee hot for up to eight hours, but by the 8-hour mark, it's usually just a little warmer than lukewarm. That's still better than cold, especially in a cold environment.
I wouldn't be storing hot water in a thermos. It makes more sense to store hot coffee in the thermos unless I'm intent on drinking instant coffee and that doesn't work well unless I'm in the house. I sometimes spend a few hours outdoors with relatives, in the early morning hours after daylight appears. Having a thermos nearby would keep me from having to go back and forth from the house for refills because I usually drink two or three cups of coffee during that part of the day.
A thermos is not necessarily a Thermos
The first vacuum flasks were made by the Thermos Company in Germany in 1904. Over the years, the word "thermos" became a generic word to mean any kind of vacuum flask. In fact, the US declared it as a generic trademark in 1963 and now the word can be used alone or as "thermos bottle" and it means the same thing.
I thought it was a just an American thing, like so many things I've become accustomed to since I was a child. For instance, when I was a kid, my siblings called every kind of soft drink a "Coke" because Coca-Cola was the most popular brand at the time. One of my older brothers would send me to the neighborhood market to buy him a Coke and I would have to ask him "What kind of Coke?" because he didn't always mean Coca-Cola.
My in-laws here in the Philippines share the same hot water dispenser, from my mother-in-law's house. Trekking back and forth to her house can be a pain, so they don't do it often. One day, one of my brothers-in-law came out of his house with a hot cup of coffee and I knew he hadn't been to her house in hours. I asked him how he was keeping his water hot and he told me he was keeping it in a thermos. Obviously, thermos has become a generic word in the Philippines as well as the US.
How a thermos is used
Despite what you may think, I'm not talking about how to add and remove beverages from a thermos. I'm talking about how they're used in certain environments, based on what I've seen.
When I was young, I saw my father packing a thermos in his metallic lunch box before heading off to work each day. It was kind of vacuum flask that had a screw-in stopper that was covered by pop-on/pop-off metal cup. The thermos had a metal exterior as well. Nowadays, you can find a thermos made of mostly plastic.
When I was in the military and went to certain functions (where a conference table came into play) as well as after the military and working for various companies, multiple thermos bottles were kept nearby in order for hot coffee to be available at all times and without having a coffee maker in the room as well. Some of these functions took place in rooms where it wouldn't be a good idea to have a coffee maker area set aside. Rooms with computer equipment, for example.
Using a thermos can save you money
I don't have a thermos bottle yet, but I plan to get a large one. A hot water dispenser uses a lot of electricity due to the heating coil involved. Maybe not as much as a hot water heater, but still more than I like to pay. If I just want hot water, it would be so much more economic to boil water or make hot water through a coffee maker than to use a hot water dispenser. A thermos can keep hot water hot or hot coffee hot for up to eight hours, but by the 8-hour mark, it's usually just a little warmer than lukewarm. That's still better than cold, especially in a cold environment.
I wouldn't be storing hot water in a thermos. It makes more sense to store hot coffee in the thermos unless I'm intent on drinking instant coffee and that doesn't work well unless I'm in the house. I sometimes spend a few hours outdoors with relatives, in the early morning hours after daylight appears. Having a thermos nearby would keep me from having to go back and forth from the house for refills because I usually drink two or three cups of coffee during that part of the day.
November 8, 2009
Art of Coffee Barista Training
Art of Coffee is dedicated to providing the best home and commerical barista training in New Zealand. We use only the best quality equipment and materials which ensures that you will be able to achieve the perfect espresso that you have been aiming for. We endeavour to provide courses throughout the year which cover everything that you want to know.
We have recently launched a new coffee course in Christchurch, The Coffee Connoisseur, which focuses on home baristas and providing you with the opportunity to learn more about the entire coffee process. If you're looking to buy an espresso machine or want to learn more about how to use and maintain yours then this is the perfect opportunity for you to pick our tutors brains.
We have recently launched a new coffee course in Christchurch, The Coffee Connoisseur, which focuses on home baristas and providing you with the opportunity to learn more about the entire coffee process. If you're looking to buy an espresso machine or want to learn more about how to use and maintain yours then this is the perfect opportunity for you to pick our tutors brains.
November 6, 2009
Coffee Candy...?
The store where I usually get the Kopiko coffee candy recently ran out of the bags in the size that I normally buy. They have a huge bag available for 300 pesos, but I don't want big bags. When my nieces and nephews see a large bag of candy, they won't stop hounding me until it's gone. Their teeth are bad enough as it is and they don't need MORE candy to make them worse (they already eat candy every single day).
The store is on Magsaysay Drive, near the Olongapo City Mall, and the sign says "Circle J" outside (very similar the Circle K stores in the US). Some of the labels and racks inside the store say "J-Mart", so I can only assume they decided to change their name at some point and didn't change all the references. Anyway, since I wanted coffee candy, I decided to buy another brand.
X.O. Coffee Candy
The X.O. Coffee Candy comes under the brand name of "Jack 'n Jill" for the candy division of the Universal Robina Corporation (URC). URC is one of the largest brand food product companies in the Philippines and they have a ton of candies under the "Jack 'n Jill" brand, including candies that resemble cough drops.
I don't know how much a bag of X.O. Coffee Candy costs. I wasn't paying attention, but it's near to the same price as Kopiko. Kopiko is made in Indonesia whereas the X.O. products are all made in the Philippines.
Ingredients
Like Kopiko, X.O. Coffee Candy isn't the healthiest candy to have around. I'll live with the consequences. The ingredients are sugar, glucose syrup, hydrogenated vegetable fat, skimmed milk powder, coffee powder, soya lecithin and iodized salt.
When I see "hydrogenated" on anything, I tend not to buy it or consume it. I've seen and eaten worse and I want my coffee candy, so I'll live with it.
The Taste Test
While a piece of Kopiko coffee candy is a little dark brown square, a piece of X.O. Coffee Candy is oval-shaped and a little thicker. Kopiko comes in bags of 150 grams (the regular size anyway) and X.O. Coffee Candy comes in bags of 175 grams, which means X.O. provides 25 grams more for about the same price.
To be honest, I can't tell the difference in taste. Kopiko is a little stronger in flavor and that's about it. I think I'll be sticking to X.O. Coffee Candy from now on, unless they run out of it as well. In that case, Kopiko is the backup treat.
The store is on Magsaysay Drive, near the Olongapo City Mall, and the sign says "Circle J" outside (very similar the Circle K stores in the US). Some of the labels and racks inside the store say "J-Mart", so I can only assume they decided to change their name at some point and didn't change all the references. Anyway, since I wanted coffee candy, I decided to buy another brand.
X.O. Coffee Candy
The X.O. Coffee Candy comes under the brand name of "Jack 'n Jill" for the candy division of the Universal Robina Corporation (URC). URC is one of the largest brand food product companies in the Philippines and they have a ton of candies under the "Jack 'n Jill" brand, including candies that resemble cough drops.
I don't know how much a bag of X.O. Coffee Candy costs. I wasn't paying attention, but it's near to the same price as Kopiko. Kopiko is made in Indonesia whereas the X.O. products are all made in the Philippines.
Ingredients
Like Kopiko, X.O. Coffee Candy isn't the healthiest candy to have around. I'll live with the consequences. The ingredients are sugar, glucose syrup, hydrogenated vegetable fat, skimmed milk powder, coffee powder, soya lecithin and iodized salt.
When I see "hydrogenated" on anything, I tend not to buy it or consume it. I've seen and eaten worse and I want my coffee candy, so I'll live with it.
The Taste Test
While a piece of Kopiko coffee candy is a little dark brown square, a piece of X.O. Coffee Candy is oval-shaped and a little thicker. Kopiko comes in bags of 150 grams (the regular size anyway) and X.O. Coffee Candy comes in bags of 175 grams, which means X.O. provides 25 grams more for about the same price.
To be honest, I can't tell the difference in taste. Kopiko is a little stronger in flavor and that's about it. I think I'll be sticking to X.O. Coffee Candy from now on, unless they run out of it as well. In that case, Kopiko is the backup treat.
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