I’ve been an avid coffee drinker since I was a kid. When I say kid, I mean kid. Around 10 years old I was pouring my self a cup of coffee along with enough sugar to make my stirring straw stand straight up. My tastes have changed since then but my love and enjoyment for coffee still stands strong.
I recently came across this article on Scientific American entitled “How to make really good coffee” written by Summer Ash. I read the thing and finished inspired. I knew I liked coffee but now I feel I have a better understanding of the whole process. I would recommend any coffee lover to set down and read this little article. Either enjoying it with a cup of coffee or wait till your finished and inspired and go make one.
Sample text:
Coffee trees grow primarily in a belt around the equator in remote regions at moderate altitudes with mild climates. The beans themselves are actually the seeds inside the fruit of the coffee tree, known as the “cherry.” Unfortunately, coffee cherries don’t all ripen at the same time between trees or even between branches. They must be individually inspected and hand-picked. The cherries are put then through one of two processes, dry versus wet, to separate the beans from the pulp of the fruit. Once dry, the last protective layer around the bean, the husk, is removed and the beans are sorted, packaged, and shipped to commercial customers around the world. Upon reaching local distributors, the beans are then roasted and delivered to retail clients such as coffee bars and cafes where they are finally transformed into your beverage of choice. Coffee drinks generally take two forms: espresso based or brewed. A shot of espresso is ‘pulled’ by forcing hot water through coffee grounds at 135 pounds per square inch. From beginning to end, water is in contact with the grounds for all of 30 seconds. Contrast this with brewed coffee, which requires upwards of five minutes depending on the number of cups being brewed at a time. The grounds are poured into a filter and the requisite amount of water is added. Then you wait. Drip by drip the water makes its way through the grounds under the force of gravity alone, dissolving the grounds in its path. Cafes tend to brew up to a dozen cups at a time in advance so they add a large amount of water all at once to use the weight of the water to speed the process. However, neither of these methods allow the barista full control over the extraction process.
