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Gourmet Espresso beans are commonly referred to as oily dark roasted beans however, in reality there is no such thing as espresso beans or espresso roast. Espresso coffee is achieved by blending a variety or beans as well as special roasts with the objective of creating the best possible tasting espresso. As no two blends are exactly the same, achieving this goal can be a challenge.
Depending upon what espresso beverages the blend will be used for the choice will vary. Espresso coffee used in milk based drinks such as cappuccino or lattes will possess different characteristics than a blend of coffee used for a true espresso to be drunk without any additives. The milk based espresso beverages must have an unique aroma that will balance its full flavor and be enjoyed when blended with milk based froth.
Many roasters will have their own signature blends of espresso with strictly guarded formulas. Since individual palates are unique, it is best to sample different espresso gourmet coffee blends until you find one that is suitable to your taste.
Mocha is the name of a port on the southern end of the Red Sea, near Yemen. The port has been of little importance since the late eighteen hundreds. Java is an island off the coast of Indonesia. And Mocha referred to those beans being shipped from the port of Mocha, and Java pertained to those beans grown on Java. Thereby Mocha Java was the first successful marketable blending of two varieties of coffee. During the mid to late 1800”s it was believed that coffee roasters acknowledged that there were certain aspects to the Yemeni bean that when blended with Java beans resulted in a very pleasing taste. Or it may have just been convenient to mix these two well known coffees together.
Regrettably, the uniquely original Mocha-Java blend that was very popular during the 1800’s has been lost forever, since a blight of coffee leaf rust (Hemileia vastatrix) destroyed the old Java coffee tree stock prior to the 19th century. Over time the island’s Java coffee trees were replanted however, coffee aficionados claim the original flavor of the old java coffee trees was never duplicated. Today’s highly skillful roasters try to imitate the Mocha-Java blend flavor, although they often blend beans that are neither Indonesian Java nor Yemen Mocha to accomplish this. Since no one can truly know for certain the flavor of the original Mocha-Java-Blend coffee, using coffee beans from other than Indonesia or Yemen origins is not necessarily inauthentic.
Throughout your travels, you might see a coffee shop or espresso house on every corner. You may be tempted to stop and order your drink, but the cost, the lines, and the inconsistency from location to location can be quite frustrating. There must be a easier and more cost efficient way to get your espresso coffee the way you want it without the hassle. The answer is easier than you may think.
Considering your own espresso maker to brew espresso coffee at home has many advantages for espresso lovers. You can eliminate your daily trip through the drive through or fighting off crowds at your local cafe without giving up delicious, fresh brewed espresso. There are many good reasons for owning your own espresso maker, but when financial times are hard, savings can be substantial and a pretty big incentive.
Stopping at the local cafe or drive thru every day and spending a meer $3 will cost you more than $1000 per year. Should you have an adventurous palate and you order larger or more exotic coffee beverages and you could be spending 4, 5, or even 6 dollars per day. Purchasing your own espresso machine can result in an average cost per cup for as little as 50 cents. Even brewing twice or more a day, you could be saving more than $700 / $800 per year.
If you’re like me, you are happy with the thought of saving money. But, if you don’t have experience brewing your own specialty espresso coffee, you might begin to question whether those savings will leave you with a bad flavored, or weak espresso. Making a onetime investment in a quality espresso maker means you can learn to master brewing your own beans and take pride in providing yourself with delicious gourmet coffee drinks, not to mention your family and friends.
Once you’ve learned the basics of making espresso, you can then focus on the more complex coffee beverages that require somewhat more skill for brewing quality coffee beverages. Brewing specialty coffee at home give you control over the outcome of your beverage. You can customize your coffee drinks in unlimited ways.
You not only control the flavor, you also control the ingredients and their source. Free trade, organic, and local products are important to more and more people today. When you use your own espresso maker to brew at home, you can create a truly gourmet drink while maintaining any dietary or ethical guidelines that are important to you.
Making your own specialty coffee at home and choosing the beans and other quality ingredients means you can educate yourself further on brewing espresso coffee beverages. You have the ability to explore beans from different parts of the world and cultures as well as experiment with a variety of roasts. You’ll be able to brew multiple types and blends of beans and directly compare them without having to spend $15 , $20 or more for cups at a coffee shop.
Another advantage of owning your own espresso maker is sharing your love of gourmet, fresh brewed coffee. With such a low cost per cup, you’ll be able to serve delicious beverages to friends, family, and guests without worrying about breaking the bank. For the same price you previously paid a barista to make one cup of brewed espresso coffee, you can share with your entire dinner party while also showing off your newly acquired knowledge and skill.
Entertaining can be fun, but let’s not forget one of the best parts of owning your own espresso machine. Fresh brewed, hot gourmet coffee in your own home on a lazy weekend morning is now a reality. Enjoy your espresso in your slippers while you relax. You’ll never have to worry about leaving for work early every day to stop for your morning java. Not only will you be saving time and money, but you’ll be enjoying espresso coffee exactly as you like it.
Whether you want to impress your guests or family with fresh,brewed gourmet coffee or treat yourself without leaving the comfort of your home, buying your own espresso machine is a great solution. With a new espresso machine in your kitchen, you can have your espresso and drink it too.
If you are passionate about drinking the very best coffee, give Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee a try.
What is Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee?
Although other Caribbean islands grow coffee, certainly Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee is the best, and the most well-known. The name Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee is a registered trademark of Jamaica’s Coffee Industry Board. Connoisseurs characterize Jamaica Blue Mountain as a perfect combination of acidity, body and aroma. It is rich and flavorful, with no bitterness and a hint of chocolatey sweetness – a very smooth, mild coffee. Some say it is also very low in caffeine.
Blue Mountain is not a brand, but a coffee-growing region. At the Eastern end of Jamaica, the Blue Mountains form the backbone of the island and are among the highest mountains in the Caribbean, rising to 7,402 feet. To be called Jamaica Blue Mountain, the beans must be grown at altitudes between about 3,000 and 5,500 feet in the parishes of Saint Andrew, Saint Mary, Saint Thomas or Portland. Above 5,500 feet, the lushly wooded forest, which is home to over 800 species of plants and more than 200 species of birds, is maintained by the Jamaican Government as a Forest Reserve. (By the way, there are great hiking trails throughout this area.) Beans grown at lower elevations are called Jamaica Low Mountain or Jamaica High Mountain, based on elevation, and, while they may produce fine coffee, they tend to be more acidic and cannot legitimately be called Jamaican Blue Mountain.
There is usually a cool misty cloud cover hanging over the Blue Mountains and the region gets about 200 inches of rain each year. This constant mist gives the mountains a bluish hue, which is where they derive their colorful name. Combined with volcanic soil rich in potash, nitrogen and phosphorus and good drainage, it makes for an ideal coffee-growing region (think about the climatic similarities with the Hawaiian Kona coffee-growing region). This perfect combination of factors causes the beans to mature more slowly (as many as 10 months to harvest), developing more character and producing a larger, harder bean with more intense flavor. This is compared to other regions in the world where the beans mature in 5 or 6 months. Most of the coffee trees are of the Arabica Typica variety which produces delicious coffee.
History
Coffee is not native to Jamaica. The beans were brought to the island in 1728 by the governor at that time, Sir Nicholas Lawes, and coffee growing began as a plantation slave crop. Jamaica was able to produce such high quality beans that the industry grew quickly, resulting in more than 600 coffee plantations by 1814. After slavery was abolished, many former slaves acquired their own land and began to grow their own coffee. This caused a dramatic decline in the industry primarily due to labor shortages and, by 1850, only about 180 coffee plantations remained in operation. Revived in the 1870s, some (mostly white) plantation owners started designating their coffee as Blue Mountain to distinguish it from the beans being produced by the emancipated slaves. These estate owners had access to better processing equipment and benefitted from their connections to merchants in colonial Britain (in power at the time), so their crops could be sold at the highest prices. Their reputation for high quality caused a high demand around the world even though this Blue Mountain coffee was only a small part of Jamaica’s total production.
Jamaica’s coffee production has suffered many hardships caused by unscrupulous dealers, hurricanes and lack of organization. But in the 1950s and 1960s Japan developed a taste for their coffee, forming relationships with growers and processors, and investing in the production of the coffee crop. Today, Japan buys over 80% of the Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee crop under contract, adding to its rarity in world coffee markets.
Regulation
Responding to the various problems, the Jamaican Coffee Industry Board (C.I.B.) was established in 1953 to reorganize and develop the industry, control the quality of the crop and provide assistance to farmers. Quality was once again the number one priority. The Coffee Industry Board carefully examines crops, evaluating bean size and other qualities to determine whether or not the coffee will be certified, and how to grade it. Grade One Jamaica Blue Mountain is the finest coffee. Today, there are many coffee cooperatives consisting mainly of small farmers with plots between ½ to 10 acres. Jamaica’s farmers send all their beans to designated pulperies and are paid per box by CIB. Once certified, the coffee can be sent for roasting to a CIB-licensed roaster who is also the only entity authorized to market Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee in Jamaica and around the world.
In addition to its use for brewed coffee, the beans are the flavor base of Tia Maria coffee liqueur, another delicious Jamaican product.
Because of the restricted geographical range where it’s grown, Jamaica Blue Mountain is available in limited quantities and can sometimes be difficult to find and rather expensive. Its production of about 2,000,000 pounds per year makes Jamaica a small fry in comparison to the large coffee producing countries of the world like Brazil, Columbia, Guatemala and Costa Rica. About 65% of the total production is exported, with about 95% of that going to Japan. That doesn’t leave much for the rest of us and it explains the high prices this great coffee commands!
Its coffee exports earn between $25 and $30 million a year – far less than its other exports like sugar, bauxite and rum. But Jamaica can rightfully say it produces the premier coffee of the world!
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EnzineArticles.com/ expert Theresa Goodell