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Your Handy Coffee Bean Guide

Coffee is a hugely popular drink, the top choice for a lot of businessmen, students, and everybody else that want the perk and punch the beverage gives any time of day.

More and more people like to grinder the coffee beans themselves and create a fresh cup of coffee with the coffee beans of their taste. Other people like to skip the grinding and just buy a pack of the best coffee beans. The process of making coffee is part of the whole experience and many coffee-lovers have their special way of doing this.

And whether you’re using a french press, single brew coffee maker, espresso machine or drip coffee maker, the most important thing is that can enjoy the perfect cup of coffee!

There are plenty types of coffee beans and in order to provide a good impression of each kind, you need some basic information first. Let us kickstart this article with essential information on coffee beans.

Cappuccino coffee drinkThe Beans

Those varying types of coffee come from the pits of coffee cherries. Coffee cherries are the berry-like fruits yielded by trees belonging in the Coffea genus. These coffee cherries are then picked from those trees then the pits are taken away and processed, which in turn brings forth coffee beans. These beans are soon roasted, minced and brewed.

There are three kinds of coffee beans and they are the following:

  • Coffea Arabica

Coffea Arabica was first discovered growing abundantly in Ethiopia. One of the earliest species to be developed, it remains to be the most common that’s cultivated for profitable purposes. It supplies around 70 percent on the global trade and is also considered as much more superior than other types.

  • Coffea Robusta

Robusta is a species that was first discovered in Zaire. It has been reported that the kind has a high quantity of caffeine but is considered second-rate as compared with Coffea Arabica. It develops in abundance at lower altitudes, yields plenty of fruit and is more impervious to diseases than the Arabica type.

Countries who produce an abundance of Robusta are Brazil, Vietnam and West Africa. It is second to Arabica in terms of being developed and processed and contributes around 30 percent of coffee produced all over the world. Robusta is more affordable than Arabica to treat and is primarily used by a lot of commercial coffee firms in making instant coffee.

  • Coffea Liberica

This is a species native to the Ivory Coast and Liberia. Its most distinguishing features are its flat and jagged beans. Its quality is as good as Robusta but it only contributes a few percentage among the coffees produced in the world. Liberica is cultivated in Malaysia and West Africa, however only a few amounts of it are marketed worldwide.

The flavor of Liberica is lesser measured up against Arabica but it was praised for its ability to resist parasites, is twice bigger than majority of the other beans and is an excellent graft base for growing new species of coffee trees.

coffee beans cherryThe Cultivars

Cultivars are basically a plant variety that has been created through selective breeding. Because coffee is a popular beverage, many botanists and companies took part in producing and developing new coffee varieties for a wider selection of flavors.

The most common coffee beans among cultivars from the Arabica family include the Var. Bourbon and the Var. Typica. Var. Typica is the oldest among the Arabica cultivars and is the source of many other varieties.

It is assumed that the plants that were grown in the southwestern part of Ethiopia’s Great Rift Valley lay the earliest coffee plants. Plenty of these new hybrid species have been bred from those older Arabica varieties in order to multiply resistance to parasite attacks and gather a bigger yield.

  • Bourbon

This is a Coffea Arabica cultivar which was first grown and developed on the island of Bourbon in the eastern part of Madagascar. It’s second to Typica in terms of commercialization and several varieties of Latin-American made coffees came from the Bourbon cultivar. Varieties of Bourbon offer a higher percent of genetic range as compared with Typica.

  • Typica

It is a Coffea Arabica cultivar which is grown in Ethiopia. It is the oldest and the most well-known among coffee varieties and it comprises majority of the world’s coffee manufacture. Like the Bourbon variety, a few of the most celebrated Latin-American coffees came from the Typica source.

It yields lower as compared with other varieties but it compensates excellently enough when it comes to flavor.

Coffee beans and fresh cup of coffeeProof of coffee’s popularity can be seen through the vast number of coffeehouses all over the world and the hundreds of brands available at the moment.

Kopi Luwak is the most expensive coffee retailed and it’s priced as such because of the offbeat manner in which the beans were acquired. The beans are made from coffee beans that have been consumed then defecated by palm civets or civet cats, a cat-like mammal from Indonesia. The civet’s fecal matter are gathered then undergo the required processes to make it into coffee.

It’s assumed that the beans from this variety are topnotch because civets are very particular of the beans they eat, only choosing the ripest among the lot. Also it is believed that the natural enzymes found on the animals’ digestive tract makes the beans less acidic and bitter. Nowadays, Kopi Luwak retails from roughly $300 per pound.

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Most Popular Coffee Drinks

These days, getting a dose of your daily caffeine is pretty easy and almost always available. There’s a plethora of choices as well which may be attributed to the numerous sources of coffee beans all over the world as well as plenty of ways to brew coffee.

For many years, people have been making ways to perfect the art of making and drinking coffee. It has gone far from the simple daily brewed coffee to the modern-day espresso you get to sip every day. These days, the magical coffee bean has become more than just your usual drink it’s an addictive necessity that most people crave for everyday.

Here’s a look of the world’s popular coffee drinks that are available at most coffee houses and can easily be made at home:

  1. Espresso

Two espresso cups under espresso machine.jpgThis type of coffee is said to be the foundation for the different varieties of special coffee drinks. Espresso is that strong black coffee that most people have been used to drinking for years now. It is done through forcing steam to the sweet-smelling coffee beans at high pressure.

This type of coffee is achieved using an espresso machine.

You will know that you have achieved that perfect espresso when you have a thick, golden-brown cream on its surface. If it’s perfectly done the sugar you have poured on it will float on the surface for few seconds before it sinks at the bottom.

Espresso may either be prepared as it is or with bits of sugar. When you want it done “short”, it means that you will have it prepared with less water thereby making it more concentrated while having it “long” means that you will have more water making it less concentrated.

Check out the De’Longhi espresso machines.

  1. Cappuccino

Cappuccino coffee drinkCappuccino’s been a popular drink these days that even the most common coffee shops offer it and even versions of it. To achieve that classic cappuccino, you oly have to combine equal parts of steamed milk, milk froth and of course, espresso. And if you’ve done it properly this drink can be both your dessert and your drink.

Sprinkle your cappuccino with a bit of grated dark chocolate or your favorite unsweetened cocoa powder to make the best out of your drink.

Wanting your cappuccino “scuro” means that you want it with less milk therefore making it more concentrated and darker, “chiaro” on the hand means that you want more milk while a “skinny” cappuccino is prepared with skim or nonfat milk. Cappuccino may also be prepared with ice, making it the perfect drink for summer.

  1. Caffe Latte

Caffe Latte coffee drinkThis type of coffee is done with three parts of steamed milk to one part of espresso and on top a layer of milk foam. To have it taste better, add some sugar to your latte.

Caffe Latte didn’t really exist in Italy but has its origin in America. The better baristas can make fantastic images in the foam. Popular images are ferns and love hearts.

Caffe Latte is best to pair with cakes, cookies and bread giving your snack time a different twist.

  1. Caf au Lait

Caf au Lait coffee drinkCaf au Lait is the French version of the caffe latte. The only thing that differentiates it from Caffe Latte is that it instead of espresso, you use brewed coffee and is mixed in equal parts with steamed milk. Based on how it is prepared, Caf au Lait is actually the lighter and weaker version of the Caffe Latte. Add some sugar to make the best of it.

  1. Americano

Espresso Americano coffee drinkThe name was said to have originated based on how Americans would usually do with their espresso, which is to dilute it first. To prepare for it, you only have to have a single shot of espresso and dilute it with a cup of hot water. Over the years, the Americano type of coffee had been perfected by many coffee houses and had even revolved its preparation to something rich in espresso and creamy.

For most people, Americano is more preferred to be prepared as it is but others find it more tasty and delicious if they decrease the amount of milk so they can taste espresso better.

  1. Caf Mocha or Mochaccino

Cafe Mocha Mochaccino coffee drinkMochaccino is another version of your Cappuccino or Caffe Latte that has been added with a chocolate powder or syrup.

Actually, coffee houses had already made different versions of this type of coffee and if you find their recipe to be appealing to your taste, you can always ask them how they do it.

For an extra twist to your usual Mochaccino, you can also finish it off with a whipped cream.

  1. Cold Brew

Cold brew coffee - iced coffeeAlso known as Cold Press, the Cold Brew type of coffee is done by precipitating coffee out of coffee grounds soaked in water at a cold or room temperature for at least 12 hours and even more. After the long hours of holding period, the grounds are then filtered out of the water through a paper coffee filter or any filtering system. This gives the coffee with a more concentrated result.

The newly filtered cold coffee is then diluted with milk or water and may be served with ice, served as hot or may also mixed up with other ingredients like coffee.

Cold Coffee is said to be sweeter as compared to other types of coffee probably because it’s less acidic.

  1. Decaffeinated Coffee

NespressoIf you want the goodness of a coffee without the caffeine then a Decaffeinated Coffee is the best choice.

During the decaffeination process coffee beans undergo four different methods to extract caffeine, namely ethyl acetate method, water method, carbon dioxide method and the dichloromethane method. All these process are intended to lower the caffeine content of coffee beans.

Decaffeinated coffee became popular during the 20th century because of the people’s clamor to maintain good health without totally avoiding coffee. Decaf coffees are often served as a regular brewed coffee, a mix of regular caffeinated coffee and decaf, instant or espresso.

  1. Frappe

Frappe coffee drinkThis type of coffee is the best choice if you want espresso served in cold. Frappe has been popular in Europe and Latin America especially during summer season.

Preparing for Frappe is pretty easy. You simply have to mix 1-2 teaspoons of instant coffee, water, sugar and ice and there you have it your very own Frappe. It will taste more like a coffee milkshake and is best to pair with some cookies or cakes.