The full guide to coffee: Dark-roasted coffee is roasted until the sugars begin to caramelize and the oils begin to rise to the surface of the bean. Depending on the darkness of the roast, the bean may have a slight sheen or an oily appearance. The flavor of dark-roasted beans is strong, smoky, and sometimes spicy. The original flavor of the bean is overpowered by the roasted flavor and therefore lower quality beans are often used for darker roasts. Although these roasts have low acidity, they are often described as bitter. Roasts that fall within the dark category include French, Viennese, Italian, and Espresso.
Ristretto – This is a strong form of Espresso that is made with the same amount of coffee grounds, but extracted with half the amount of water in same time interval. The grounds here used are extra fine resulting in a concentrated shot. Doppio – It is a double shot extracted via double coffee filter in a portafilter. Now days, Doppio has become a standard drink in place is a normal espresso. Americano – The last major variation of coffee was derived in America were people love strong coffee. The Americano is prepared by adding hot water to a single or double shot of espresso as required. This coffee is famous in America and slightly in nearby areas.
Let’s talk about espresso coffee makers. Gaggia Brera Black Super Automatic Espresso Machine with Frother. Ramping things up on the price front, the Brera is towards the upper end of the legendary Gaggia’s starter range. This means you can get the brand heritage without needing a PhD to operate the machine. With a sleek stainless steel finish, this compact unit is a pleasure to use. Fill the water tank and bean hopper, hit a button and let the machine do its work. Hand frothing of the milk might seem inconvenient but it affords you more control over your drink. All other aspects of your coffee making are fully automatic.
Arabica is the most common (and certainly most heavily marketed) type of coffee in North America. That’s because it actually has a sweeter, more delicate flavor and the coffee itself tends to be less acidic. Arabica beans are farmed in areas with high elevations above sea level, particularly those where rain is plentiful. In fact, Brazil, known for its lush rainforest, is the world’s foremost exporter of Arabica beans. The plants themselves are fairly delicate, requiring a fair amount of pruning and constant attention to environmental factors. The Coffee arabica species is particularly prone to disease so farming in great quantities is a challenge. This drives up the cost of the bean considerably in the global market, but many coffee drinkers around the world are happy to pay the difference because of the softer, sweeter taste. See even more information on Edmond Hui.
Gesha/Geisha: This is an original variety of Arabica. It is named for the Ethiopian village that it originated from and wasn’t actually planted/harvested commercialy until the 1950s. It is resistant to coffee rust and is now primarily grown in Panama.The trees are rather tall with notably long leaves that mimic the shape of the beans. Obviously, these aren’t nearly all of the coffee varieties that are out there, but we figured it might help to get an idea of how they are all interconnected. For further reading, Medium has a helpful “periodic table” to help demonstrate the connections. And the World Coffee Research catalog is a great research if you want to more specifically explore individual Arabica varieties. Now let’s more on to the simultaneously less and more complex world of coffee drinks, shall we? Cold Brew Coffee – A method of brewing that doesn’t use hot water. Instead, cold water and a longer period of time is used to create the finished cold coffee beverage. Filtered or Drip Coffee – A method of brewing where coffee is placed into a paper filter and hot water is poured onto it allowing it to drip into the carafe below.