“After a cup of coffee, everything flares up, thoughts crowd together like battalions of a great army on a battlefield,” said Honore de Balzac. And this is actually true. Coffee invigorates, fills with energy, gives strength, sharpens memory and mental abilities, gives inspiration and joy of life. But coffee is also a very tasty drink that brings many pleasant moments and fills every morning with meaning. However, in order for this drink to have such properties, you need to master the art of a barista and know how to make coffee at home.
Arabica or Robusta? Arabica varieties
Before brewing coffee at home, you need to choose it correctly, otherwise you will quickly be disappointed in the drink. All coffee varieties can be divided into two groups - Arabica and Robusta. Noble Arabica has a softer and more pleasant taste, which harmoniously combines sweetness, slight astringency, as well as subtle sourness and bitterness. Robusta contains twice as much caffeine, so it has a more bitter taste, as they say, not for everyone. Carefully study the labels on the packaging if you prefer 100% Arabica, because Robusta is often added to various coffee blends to increase the strength of the drink.
As for Arabica, its taste depends on the area where it grew. Bolivian Arabica has a creamy taste with light vanilla notes, Brazilian coffee produces a drink with a characteristic nutty-bread aroma, and coffee beans from Nicaragua have floral-smoky notes with a hint of prunes. Ethiopian Arabica is spicy and fruity, Indian Arabica is chocolate, Kenyan is wine-caramel, Dominican is apple-citrus, Tanzanian Arabica is with a light aroma of apricot and brandy. By mixing different types of Arabica, you can get interesting blends and experiment with the flavors of the drink.
Roast level and grinding
The intensity of roasting affects the taste of coffee beans, since when heated, the essential oils located inside the bean come to the surface. It turns out that the more Arabica beans are roasted, the brighter and richer the taste of the drink. The degree of roasting is indicated by numbers from 1 to 5, with 1 being the weakest roasting, in which the coffee beans are distinguished by a beige tint, they give a delicate, soft and slightly creamy taste. The stronger the roast, the more shades of taste and aroma appear, at the same time bitter notes begin to be felt in the coffee drink.
You can buy ground coffee, but true gourmets prefer to grind the coffee beans immediately before use. The degree of grinding is important. For piston coffee makers, French presses and pot brews, a coarse grind is used, which can be achieved in 7 seconds. For drip coffee makers, an average grind of 14 seconds is ideal, and for brewing in a filter coffee maker and Turk, it is better to take very finely ground coffee beans, which is achieved after 20 seconds of operation of the coffee grinder. The brewing time is also important, because the faster the drink infuses, the softer and weaker it is, and the longer the coffee is brewed, the stronger and richer the taste.
Benefits and harms
While in America many people drink cappuccino throughout the day, in Europe they prefer to drink it only in the morning with a croissant.
Despite the beneficial properties described below, doctors advise drinking the drink no more than 2 cups per day:
- The main component of cappuccino is coffee beans, which constrict blood vessels, relieving a person of headaches, migraines, and increasing blood pressure.
- It is a known fact that caffeine is an excellent diuretic.
- Proteins, found in large quantities in milk, are the main nitrogen-containing compound that helps build the cells of a living organism.
- Some of the fats present in the drink become a component of the cells, and the rest is deposited in the cells as a reserve.
- Carbohydrates are an excellent source of energy.
There are also a number of contraindications that you should pay attention to:
- People with hypertension should not drink coffee, despite the fact that cappuccino has a low caffeine content.
- Doctors do not recommend this drink to people with lactose allergies and diabetes.
- May cause attacks with increased stomach acidity.
Elderly people and pregnant women should also drink coffee with caution.
Coffee at home: some tips for making the right choice
Buy coffee in sealed packages made of three-layer foil, which prevents the entry of oxygen inside. It’s good if the packaging has a valve through which carbon dioxide escapes. Removing its excess preserves the freshness of the coffee, its original taste and aroma.
Pay attention to the roasting date and expiration date, since ground coffee fizzles out and loses its freshness very quickly, which affects its taste.
For the same reason, do not buy coffee in bulk - it comes into contact with air for a long time and its taste deteriorates. Some specialized departments sell exclusively fresh coffee beans, which are ground only at the request of customers; this kind of coffee can be considered, perhaps, the highest quality.
Also avoid buying flavored coffee that tastes like chocolate, orange, Irish whiskey or vanilla. All these additives are artificial. It's best to enjoy the natural taste of coffee without synthetic flavors.
Water for coffee should be clean, soft, free of foreign odors and harmful impurities. Ideally, it is better to use bottled, filtered water or melt water from the freezer. Good water perfectly reveals the taste and aroma of coffee.
Coffee tricks and secrets
How to make coffee at home especially tasty and aromatic? Little tricks and secrets from professional coffee makers will help with this.
Do not overheat the water for coffee - it should not boil, and as soon as the first bubbles appear on the surface, you can turn off the fire. This applies to cup and French press recipes.
Burr coffee grinders, compared to bladed coffee brewers, grind the beans more uniformly, so the drink brews evenly, which significantly improves its taste.
Instead of sugar, you can add syrup to your coffee, such as maple, vanilla, pumpkin, cherry or spiced. A small pinch of salt on the tip of the knife enhances the aroma of the coffee and reduces its bitterness and astringency. Aromatic spices also enrich the taste of coffee, so you can experiment with cinnamon, cardamom, anise, nutmeg, cloves and star anise. An orange zest or a slice of tangerine makes the coffee taste fresher, and a top of whipped cream with chopped chocolate on the surface turns it into a delicious delicacy. This drink is called “Viennese coffee”, “Franciscan” or “melange”.
How to make cappuccino at home from instant coffee?
At home, without a Turk or cezve, you can make cappuccino from instant coffee. Of course, coffee lovers believe that the taste of coffee made from natural, freshly ground beans cannot be compared with anything else, but this recipe is also worthy of discussion. I would immediately like to warn those who like cappuccino that is higher in calories, it is better to replace the milk with heavy cream.
Ingredients:
- Instant coffee – 65 ml.
- Sugar – 65 g
- Water – 65 ml.
- Milk - to taste
Instant coffee cappuccino
Preparation :
- Find a tall bowl, add coffee, water, sugar. Beat the contents with an immersion blender or mixer.
- As the coffee increases in volume, you will notice a wonderful aroma. It will be stable.
- To complete the process of making cappuccino from instant coffee, just do the following - immerse the prepared foam (two large spoons) into a cup, and then carefully pour in the milk, and again add coffee foam (2 tablespoons) on top.
IMPORTANT : If you take high-quality coffee, the foam will be perfect in any case. Nescafe and Goldkofee are good for this
You can choose your favorite varieties.
Turkish coffee at home
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The best Turk for making oriental coffee is a copper one with a thick bottom. First, heat it so that the beans “open”, then add ground coffee in the proportion of 1 tsp. per 100 ml of water, although it all depends on your taste preferences. Add sugar and spices, pour cold water over the coffee and heat over low heat until foam appears. Wait for the foam to rise to the maximum, and immediately remove the Turk from the heat without waiting for the coffee to boil - this will hopelessly ruin its taste. Repeat heating several times, then pour the coffee into heated cups. When brewing Turkish coffee, you should absolutely not stir it!
Arabs prepare coffee a little differently. First, they throw sugar into the Turk, melt it over the fire, pour in cold water, bring it to a boil, and only then add ground coffee. Next, the Turk is heated over low heat until foam appears, after which the foam is removed without stirring the coffee and poured into cups. After this, the finished coffee is poured into cups directly onto the foam cap. The French add sugar to the Turk only after foam appears, stir the coffee until the sugar is completely dissolved and remove from the heat a couple of seconds before boiling. Among all the homemade coffee recipes, Turkish coffee is the most invigorating, deep and rich.
Marocino
A simplified variation of bicherin, a coffee and chocolate cocktail.
This type of cappuccino is served in small portions (60-70 ml).
Ingredients: coffee 30 ml, milk 30 ml with fat content 3.2%, cocoa powder 5 grams. Use dark or milk chocolate, placing it in a cup.
Cooking technology:
- Brew coffee and strain. Place cocoa powder at the bottom of the cup, pour in coffee, stirring. Whisk the heated milk. Place the foam on the coffee and sprinkle cocoa on top.
Cappuccino coffee at home
Black coffee with fluffy milk foam can be prepared without a coffee machine. First, brew regular espresso in a Turk, but without sugar and spices. The more often you bring your coffee to foam, the tastier and stronger it will be. Ideally, this should be done 5–7 times. Now beat homemade full fat milk using a mixer, whisk, blender or French press until thick foam forms.
Pour coffee into a heated cup and spoon milk foam on top in a 1:1 ratio. If you want to make cappuccino with milk, then pour it directly into the middle of the coffee in a thin stream, and you can put foam on top. In this case, coffee, milk and foam are added in equal proportions. This is how black cappuccino is prepared. You can make a white drink in a similar way, only you should first pour the milk into the cup and only then the coffee.
Sprinkle the milk foam with sugar, cinnamon, chocolate chips, ground nuts and serve the drink with aromatic pastries or sweets.
What does cappuccino mean?
This wonderful drink was invented by Italian Capuchin monks, because previously Catholics were not allowed to drink black coffee. In those days it was considered the invigorating drink of the devil; getting used to it excited people, they began to depend on it. Therefore, the Catholic Church did not approve of this drink. So, the Capuchins came up with the idea of adding milk to the drink. And all the people began to drink this coffee drink; it did not carry sin or excitement.
This recipe was appreciated, and cappuccino became popular in many countries around the world. They came up with the idea of whipping milk into a thick foam and diversifying the drink with additives. Every year, cappuccino preparation methods and recipes improved. But the idea of adding milk has remained unchanged to this day.
Coffee latte at home
Caffe latte is a layered drink made from espresso, hot milk and milk foam. Sometimes sweet syrups, ice and alcohol are added to it, and served in tall glasses with a thin straw.
Brew regular Turkish coffee in a Turk along with sugar and pour it into a warm cup. Heat the full-fat milk, but not until it is hot, making sure that foam does not form on its surface. Beat the milk with a mixer, blender or whisk, pour it through a container with a narrow spout directly into the center of the coffee. The milk will flow in beautiful streaks, creating spectacular designs and patterns. Remember that to make a latte you need to take three times more milk than espresso.
If you wish, you can add syrup to your coffee, decorate it with grated chocolate and cream. Italian coffee gourmets do not add sugar to lattes at all and enjoy the pure taste of this aristocratic drink.
Iced coffee at home
Iced coffee is made from a cold drink with the addition of ice cream in a 3:1 ratio. You can use Turkish coffee or espresso as a base, and the most suitable ice cream is cream, ice cream or vanilla. Fruit and berry or chocolate notes tend to overwhelm the taste of natural coffee. If you add sugar to the glace, do it before the drink cools so that the grains do not crunch on your teeth. Instead of sugar, you can use a variety of syrups.
Iced coffee is made very simply - you need to brew coffee in a Turkish coffee pot, pour it into a cup and place a scoop of ice cream on top. Decorate the glass with chocolate chips, almond flakes and any topping.
If desired, the recipe can be complicated, for example, prepare a glaze with egg yolks. To do this, grind 2 yolks with 3 tbsp. l. powdered sugar, pour 150 ml of warm coffee into the mixture and place the container in a water bath. Cook the coffee-yolk mixture for about 15 minutes, stirring constantly, until it thickens, and then pour it into a glass and cool. Place a ball of ice cream on top and decorate the drink with caramel-chocolate topping.
Ingredient Selection
To make a delicious cappuccino, you need to choose the right milk. It should not be powdery - only natural. And not any low-fat. Only 3.2% and above. Take 100 – 150 ml per serving.
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Preparing the perfect espresso: barista secrets
To get the right consistency, it's a good idea to use a kitchen thermometer. Since the desired texture can be achieved only at 60 - 65 oC. In this case, lactose is broken down into galactose and glucose, and because of this the milk becomes sweet.
The dishes in which the cappuccino will be served are also important. The cup should have a volume of 140 - 170 ml. A 120 ml version from a home service is also suitable. The cup is wide at the top and tapering towards the bottom.
Important! The cup should maintain the temperature of the drink for a long time, allow the foam not to fall off and not burn your hands. Therefore, the best materials for such dishes are porcelain, ceramics and clay.
There are two rules for pouring cappuccino into a cup:
- Coffee and milk should completely occupy the volume of the dishes.
- The foam from the milk rises at the edges.
Raf coffee - a coffee cocktail with a variety of flavors
According to legend, raff coffee was prepared in one of the Moscow coffee shops, when a foreigner named Rafael was not satisfied with the taste of classic espresso and asked for something tasty. The resourceful bartender mixed espresso with cream, added vanilla sugar and whipped the drink well. Thanks to his light hand, this recipe caught on, however, now the coffee cocktail is made with a variety of additives. Rough coffee gives a lot of scope for gastronomic experiments and culinary discoveries. It is prepared on the basis of espresso and heated cream with the addition of orange juice, honey, sweet syrups, spices, lavender flowers and even halva. The cocktail is well shaken together with all the ingredients until fluffy foam and poured into transparent glasses.
The finished drink should have a delicate and uniform structure, a high head of foam and a pronounced creamy taste with a slight hint of the products that you added for piquancy.
“I got up for a cup of coffee, and then I didn’t notice how the day passed. And so every morning...” - this is what one of the heroes of Rinat Valiullin’s novel said. The same thing happens to most people every day, especially if they make really good coffee. For this you can wake up even before dawn...
