Talking Espresso and Great Coffee

For the years before marrying my lovely wife, I would be given Turkish Coffee by her mom when I visited. It has a ‘different’ kind of taste that is more… robust than regular coffee but not the bite of a espresso shot. I can’t believe I didn’t look before, but this morning I took some time to get a better understanding of what makes coffee from coffee beans a Arabic or Turkish Coffee.

When ordering coffee, or when offered coffee, be sure to tell the server or host/hostess if you would like sugar. Sugar is actually added during the preparation, not after the coffee is done. Arabic coffee can be tart and many people like to add some sugar to cut the tartness. There are several variations with sugar in Arabic coffee:

• awha sada: black coffee
• ahwa ariha: lightly sweetened
• ahwa mazboot: medium amount of sugar
• ahwaziyada: very sweet

I found this nice article over on About.com about making your own Arabic/Turkish Coffees. As well, food selections that go well with your coffee.

I’m always keeping my eyes open for fun ‘coffee’ items. A site, ‘Ponoko’, offers a service where they will use their laser cutters to make your fun ideas come true. Searching about people’s creations, I found a few coasters people call coffee coasters… while nice, they will protect your table but they say nothing about being a coffee lover. I did find this one set of 6 coasters that are the individual letters of COFFEE. I’m sure folks could use these for other beverages… but they would be missing the fun of these. They aren’t cheap, they sure will get you some attention from your visitors though.

“A set of six coasters, graphically striking and ideal in 6mm whiteboard, with its practical waterproof and wipeable surface. Each coaster is 11cm square (approx 4.4 inches), so you can actually fit a decent-sized coffee mug on it.”

I was reminded recently that not ‘everything’ is best done from a Web page. Sometimes, the personal touch of a human interaction can get you further. For myself, and perhaps readers of this blog, there are many options to get training in making a better espresso or coffee drink. No one is complaining about my current creations but you can always learn a new trick or more info behind the ‘why’ of a process.

Classes and tools can be great for someone just looking into pulling their own drinks at home. Get a espresso machine for Christmas?

I have added a new page (link in the right column or Click here to jump) to show many offerings for classes. They can be for getting better at home to folks looking to start a new Espresso Spot and want their Baristas trained. There are options to have training at your location, at a school, on a DVD and even for your iPhone. Take a look if your ever thinking about fine turning your skills.

I’ve been practicing my latte and cappuccino art. A little swirl in the foam here and what some might think of as a star the next day. Sometimes people are nice and compliment me. Maybe they say the kind things to get another cup of coffee… my art is more in the taste than the look. If you are playing in the top foam like me, you might be interested in this group of 30 examples of fine Latte Art. Non of mine are here.

Maybe you don’t “NEED” to know these 15+ things. But, they are fun and fun facts always come in handy when your chatting with someone over a great cup of coffee.

The Oatmeal is a site that has a lot of opinions and creative drawings to go with those thoughts. Generally they can be a touch on the rough side, so those easily offended wont want to venture around their site much. The full page of “15(ish) Things Worth Knowing About Coffee” is a great piece of informational comic like art. I wish they offered it as a tall print to hang on the wall. Those with drawing talent can really make art look simple while presenting a message. Fun to take a look at and maybe learn an item or 15.

The desire for this site is to be the search for a great cup of coffee or espresso, with comments along the way on the latest news. But, I am getting a lot of emails about Caffeine and if I knew anything about the quantity of Caffeine in different drinks. This sort of heads down the path of why we drink espresso… for the taste or the buzz. For me, it’s all about the taste.

There are many articles available online about what Caffeine really is, it’s chemical make up and where it comes from. The Slate had some interesting throughs on it being why we will pay more for a great cup of coffee. I wont get into any in depth research quoting here. The folks at the Center for Science in the Public Interest listed Caffeine as a highly used food additive item some folks should avoid. More important from the CSPINET group is their research on a nice long list of currently available drinks and their Caffeine content. It covers the Coffees, Teas, Soft Drinks and even chocolates you will know broken down for quick reference. A few off the top:
Coffee, generic brewed 8 oz. Serving 133 (range: 102-200) (16 oz. = 266) Caffeine (mg)
Starbucks Brewed Coffee (Grande) 16 oz. Serving 320 Caffeine (mg)
Dunkin’ Donuts regular coffee 16 oz. 206 Caffeine (mg)
Einstein Bros. regular coffee 16 oz. Serving 300 Caffeine (mg)
Mountain Dew, regular or diet 12 oz. Serving 54 (20 oz. = 90) Caffeine (mg)
Pepsi One 12 oz. Serving 54 (20 oz. = 90) Caffeine (mg)
Mello Yellow 12 oz. Serving 53 Caffeine (mg)

Hope you find this helpful… now let’s get back to that perfect Espresso search!

In 2009, Starbucks decided on a path forward to better compete with the McDonalds Cafe Coffee offerings. They would lower the price on a basic cup of coffee, and make up for it by charging more for complex or premium drinks. The drinks that have anything extra such as a squirt of flavoring or an extra shot. It amounted to charging the loyal customers 8% to 15% more on their drinks so occasional visitors could be enticed with a cheaper cup of drip. No, I’m not just making this up… the NY Times did interviews and many Restaurant Blogs commented as well. Not outlined is the big price increase in extra shots.

Due to the ease of finding and directing others to the Starbucks locations, I use them daily for quick meetings. Paying Starbucks for a minimum of two cups of coffee a day.

Early in 2009, I paid $25 to Starbucks for a little black and ‘Gold’ card that allowed me to get 10% off my many drink purchases. It didn’t fully offset the price increase but it made the pain less noticeable. Right up to yesterday when the cashier let me know my card was no longer any good at Starbucks. They didn’t cut it up, but they did give me a little flyer outlining their new program. No email, no direct mail piece – Starbucks just decided the discount wouldn’t be honored to those who paid for the right. It would appear that Starbucks has taken a page from the Credit Card companies of late with their many ‘take them or you can leave’ changes.

The cashier was excited to let me know that they would now be giving out a free cup of coffee after a ‘few purchases’. It appeared to me that Starbucks wanted to keep the money in the bank by charging now and giving something away later. That was till I found out that the ‘free’ drink was after 30 coffee purchases.

Quick math shows that at 10% off, you getting 4 free drinks every 30 drink purchases.

With ‘Gold’ Card:

Average ‘complex’ drink $4.50 x 2 drinks a day x 5 days a week = $45 less 10% = $40.50

10 drinks a week for 3 weeks (30 drinks), out of pocket cash $121.50

Now with 1 drink free after 30:

Average ‘complex’ drink $4.50 x 2 drinks a day x 5 days a week = $45

10 drinks a week for 3 weeks (30 drinks), $135 then 1 free drink the next week -4.50. Out of pocket $130.50 if you accept the free drink isn’t actually in the 30 (effects the 31st drink)

Having tried coffees from many different sources. I do agree that the syrups are ‘better’ at a Starbucks. It is interesting that they only see McDonalds drip customers as important to win over. The smaller coffee houses have a chance to really strike and pull in customers to become ‘local loyal’ regulars.