The beverage we know as coffee has a somewhat mysterious origin, but historians know that first the leaves and the coffee fruit were consumed in and around the area now known as Ethiopia, possibly for hundreds of years, before anybody thought to clean and roast the seeds, pulverize them, and mix them with hot water. At some point in the 15th century, spice traders from the Arabian Peninsula, including the area now recognized as Yemen, encountered coffee plants while traveling through Ethiopia in search of trade, spices, and slaves.
A brief history of the world's second most traded commodity--second, after petroleum--in just 17 crisply composed paragraphs, from the first known origins in Africa, to Starbucks and Howard Schultz.
You'd probably be crazy not to read it.
Your Espresso Addiction Stems from an Ancient Ceremony Drink deep from the fascinating history of espresso.
"Who’d have thunk that these little grassy-smelling seeds could transform into something so miraculous with a little heat, elbow grease, and water?"
A lot of people have never even seen a green coffee bean. I was a coffee roasterman in a factory setting for several years, and my appreciation of the changes that occur to coffee beans during the roasting process never diminished. It definitely is "miraculous" how their smell and flavor changes so dramatically upon being roasted.
I mostly have traditional brewed coffee, black and unsweetened. Espresso at times. The more contrived permutations, i.e., cappuccinos and lattes, hardly ever. I have always had an aversion to milk. Straight up and unflavored, my reaction to milk was to gag violently and spit it out, and I doubt that's changed since the last time I did that, many years ago. So that is likely part of the reason for my preferences.
I saw where there's been an effort to market a countertop machine, not much larger than a typical home-sized drip brewer with a 10-cup carafe, that starts with green coffee beans, roasts the beans using a microwave process, and then grinds and brews. Called the "Berlin." But I've seen negative reviews. I don't think I would have been ready to part with the $1000 or so to have one, even if the reviews had been more reassuring.
I feel reassured that my eye for a "quality" read among the endless expanse of Internet-delivered miscellany has not failed in this case.
My albatross is a single-cup drip maker. It takes regular grinds instead of pods, but it's still a fresh cup every time.
I go through 2 1/2-3 big cans of Folgers a month in that thing. Hell, I opened a can on the 29th and it's half done already. I'll probably have a complete breakdown when that machine dies.
And yup, straight up. I've never felt the need to ruin good coffee with cream and sugar.
[This message has been edited by MidEngineManiac (edited 03-08-2020).]
I saw where there's been an effort to market a countertop machine, not much larger than a typical home-sized drip brewer with a 10-cup carafe, that starts with green coffee beans, roasts the beans using a microwave process, and then grinds and brews. Called the "Berlin". But I've seen negative reviews. I don't think I would have been ready to part with the $1000 or so to have one, even if the reviews had been more reassuring.
Wow, I wouldn't even know where to begin with all the potential pitfalls and problems with that unit... even disregarding the $1000 price tag!
[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 03-08-2020).]
A lot of people have never even seen a green coffee bean. I was a coffee rastaman in a factory setting for several years, and my appreciation of the changes that occur to coffee beans during the roasting process never diminished. It definitely is "miraculous" how their smell and flavor changes so dramatically upon being roasted.
malapropism
[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 03-09-2020).]
