Believe it or not, I didn’t have my first cup of coffee until I was 40! Never liked it, never wanted to try it. Then for some reason at work one day – it sounded really good to me and I love it now! Please enjoy some information about flavored coffee beans from today’s guest writer.
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Coffee has always been a popular beverage, but today it has seen a bit of a resurgence with new coffee shops and artisan bean suppliers becoming busy haunts. People are becoming less content with just a simple instant coffee and are opting more and more for a proper flavourful and perfectly crafted cup of delicious coffee made from roasted beans.
Coffee’s heritage
Coffee has a long heritage stretching back as far as the 14th century, when beans from Ethiopia, Sudan and Kenya were cultivated by Arabs. Since then the drink has gone from strength to strength, with the popularity of coffee increasing all the time. Beans are now grown throughout the world, from Latin America to Southeast Asia and many parts of Africa.
With lots of different beans available from different areas, which are grown in slightly different ways and roasted in numerous ways, the flavours available in today’s coffee market are overwhelming.
Latte art
A very popular recent trend in the coffee business is the artisan coffee barista who can produce beautiful flowers, hearts and trees on your morning latte. This trend originated in the United States in Seattle in the 1980s and 1990s, but since then has spread throughout the world. In recent years, Australia has become a real hub for coffee baristas, with prestigious awards and competitions for the best coffee baristas being held. This craze has also arrived in the UK, with London full of coffee shops offering you a leafed pattern on top of your coffee.
Besides the prettiness of this new style, the taste is also particularly important to the coffee barista community. This involves steaming the milk to exactly the right temperature, not overheating the coffee and getting the timing right. With successful patterns depending on the right amount of bubbles being created in the steaming process, your average coffee barista has a lot to think about when making a delicious coffee.
Achieving the perfect coffee at home
Although the ritual of meeting in a coffee shop is part of the delight of this trend, sometimes it is also nice to enjoy a good coffee in your own home. Alongside the trend of new coffee shops opening up, there has been a rise in the popularity of decent at-home coffee makers, ideal for learning and improving your own coffee-making skills. Brands like Delonghi and Breville in particular offer a good range of coffee machines for every budget, providing you with the opportunity to create lovely, delicious coffee in your own home.
Buying a decent bean to use has also become increasingly easy, with many corner shops and supermarkets stocking decent roasts for you to enjoy. There has also been an increase in the number of artisan coffee-bean sellers who can offer you advice on the right bean for your taste buds and who are very knowledgeable about the strength, flavor and appropriate use of each bean type. They provide helpful and friendly advice to customers. Buying beans rather than pre-ground coffee can add an extra layer to the coffee-making experience. You can improve the taste of coffee by grinding it as and when required to keep it as fresh as possible.
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Are you a coffee expert or do you have a favorite coffee at your local coffee shop? At work every morning I make and iced coffee and it is delicious!
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