The Buzz on Coffee By Sandra Gordon
Coffee—oh how we love thee. It’s an eye opener after a sleepless night with the baby, a reason to get together with friends and a comforting ritual. Here’s the brewhaha behind this potent pick-me-up, plus tips on how to perfect your own small batch. First, A History Lesson Coffee goes way back. According to legend, coffee was discovered in ancient Ethiopia when a goat herder noticed that his goats didn’t sleep at night after eating the berries from a certain tree. (Coffee beans are the pit of a red berry; they’re technically a fruit.) The herder reported his findings to a local monastery and soon, word about the energizing berries, and the drink that could be made from them, began to spread. Boston Tea Party Ignites Coffee Craze Flash forward. By the 16th Century, coffee was being grown and traded in Persia (Iran), Egypt, Syria and Turkey. Known as the “wine of Araby,” coffee made its way to New York (then called New Am-
sterdam) in the mid-1600s, when the British brought it over. Tea was more popular until 1773, when the colonists revolted against King George III’s heavy tax on tea—the famous Boston Tea Party. At that point, Americans began preferring coffee, according to the National Coffee Association. Today, 85 percent of Americans consume at least one caffeinated beverage a day; 80 percent of the time, it’s coffee. Hot Property Coffee beans are grown near the equator, between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn in 60 countries. There are two basic types of coffee species: Arabica and Robusta. Arabica coffee beans are grow at 2500 feet above sea level. Only 30 of the coffee-producing countries, such as Brazil, Columbia, northern Sumatra and Mexico, grow coffee at this lofty elevation. Arabica coffee is also grown in Hawaii. Due to a mystical combination of geography, atmospheric conditions and rainfall, “Arabica beans make the best coffee,” Wilson says. “They’re a more flavorful bean.” They’re also some of the most costly coffee in the world. Robusta beans grow at lower altitudes, in countries such as Vietnam and the lowland areas of Southern Sumatra and Java in Indonesia. They’re typically less expensive.
Canned coffee in the supermarket, for example, is likely Robusta unless “Arabica” is on the package. Robusta flavor tends to be less intense, which some consumers prefer. The Dark Period Before roasting, Arabica and Robusta coffee beans are green (think split peas). During the roasting process, however, when over 700 chemical changes take place, they become dark, plump and lightweight because they lose about 20 percent of their water weight. The darker the roast, the less caffeine the bean contains. “It’s the opposite of what most people think,” Wilson says. Caffeine Counts Arabica beans have 50 percent less caffeine than Robusta beans, according to the Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee. The brewing method can also make a difference. Espresso, for example, which uses finely ground beans and an espresso machine to extract coffee at high temperatures, contains 63 milligrams of caffeine per fluid ounce (one shot). Regular brewed coffee, on the other hand, contains 12 milligrams of caffeine per fluid ounce, according to the USDA. But because you typically drink eight ounces of regular coffee at a time, you’ll consume more caffeine in one sitting (95 milligrams) from regular coffee than espresso
or a latte or cappuccino made with a single espresso shot. Tricks to Home Brewing the Perfect Cup 1. Start with fresh whole beans and grind them right before brewing. (Sorry K-Cup fans. Coffee aficionados consider them the fast food of coffee.) “Starting with whole beans is the single most important thing you can do,” says Shawn Steiman, Ph.D, author of “The Little Coffee Know-It-All”. That’s because once whole roasted coffee beans are ground, gasses, such as carbon dioxide, start to escape from the beans, while oxygen gets ushered in, both of which can affect freshness and flavor. 2. Use the grind that’s the best match for your coffee-making method. For a French press, go with coarse grind akin to sea salt, and for a drip coffee maker, such as Mr. Coffee, use medium grind (think sand). For an espresso machine, use finely-ground coffee. 3. Use hot enough water by setting your coffee maker. “Most drip coffee machines, such as Mr. Coffee, are set at 180 degrees, but 200 degrees is optimal because hotter water yields more flavor,” Steiman says. “It’s just chemical extraction.” Coffee continued on page 33
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