My Two Beans Worth Coffee Blog

Use Lactose-Free Milk for Espresso-Drink Foam

2012-01-30T18:06:00.000-08:00

If you are having trouble whipping up enough foam for your lattes or cappuccinos, try using lactose-free milk.

I have no idea what it is about lactose-free milk, but for some reason it makes more foam. So give it a shot, especially if you are a cappuccino fan and need lots of froth.

What are your experiences with the various kinds of milk? I know there are a lot of people who like to steam half-and-half. It's not something I've tried. I'd be interested to hear your opinions of what type of milk works for you.

Make your home espresso maker last

2012-01-25T18:19:00.000-08:00

There's one thing you can do that will extend the life of your home espresso machine, and that is always use distilled water.

All tap water contains dissolved lime to a greater or lesser extent. "Hard water" is the term used to describe water on the high end of mineral content. The harder your water, the more lime in the water.

Even "soft water" has some mineral content. When heated, lime solidifies as "scale" on contact surfaces. If you boil water in a kettle at home, you will no doubt have already noticed this buildup on the sides and bottom of the kettle.

This same buildup of scale happens inside the plumbing of your espresso machine. It might be "out of sight", but it won't be "out of mind" for long if you don't take action to either remove it after it's accumulated, or take steps to prevent it happening at all in the first place.

Just think of those narrow plumbing tubes inside your machine as your arteries, and the lime content in the water as bad cholesterol in your blood. Overtime, the arteries of your beloved espresso machine become blocked, its blood pressure rises, and before you know it your machine is in bad shape and setup for a "heart attack".

It is recommended that you regularly "descale" your machine with a product such as Cleancaf. By regularly, that means at minimum once a month, and more depending on how frequently you are using your machine. It's a time-consuming process, and never completely removes all the lime buildup.

An even easier and more effective method is to avoid the buildup of scale in the first place. The only way to do that is to use distilled water. Yes, it adds to your cost, but it will honestly extend the life of your machine by years, and save you valuable time by not having to do the regular descaling. The more expensive your machine, the more using distlilled water makes sense.

You could of course buy distilled water, but a cheaper option is to make your own at home. I personally use one of these Countertop Water Distillers which I have had for about 5 years now, and it's still going strong.

Anyhow, give it some serious consideration. There's nothing like preserving the life of your espresso machine, while at the same time eliminating an extra cleaning duty from your weekend list of chores.

Inexpensive PID Controlled Espresso Machine in the Works

2012-01-23T17:32:00.000-08:00

I wasn't aware of kickstarter.com until I saw an article about a couple of coffee-loving engineering types who are planning to go into production soon with an inexpensive espresso maker for the home with full-on PID. (If you read my review of the Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL the other day, you'll remember that PID controllers are devices that constantly measure a set value for something, and make adjustments up and down to maintain that set value. An easy example to understand is the PID controller in your car that gives you "cruise control". You set the speed, and the PID controller maintains it by constantly making minor adjustments to the speed of the car up an down around the speed you set.

In espresso machines, PID controllers monitor and control both pressure and temperature during the extraction of the espresso shot. Temperature around 200F and pressure of around 9 bars is ideal for making a perfect espresso shot.

Most cheaper domestic espresso machines don't have PID controllers, which start to show up in machines abover $700. Machines without PID controllers can definitely make great espresso shots - I know because all my espresso machines until my recent purchase of the Breville Dual Boiler did not have PID controllers - but it's harder work and requires more skill and attention to detail.

Anyhow, these two geeky, coffee-loving engineering types took their idea to kickstarter.com to raise the funds they needed for their project, and raised a phenominal $US369,569 in support after initially setting their goal as just $20,000! I read that it was the 6th most-successful launch on kickstarter to date. Their intention is to be able to offer their machines at around $400 in the U.S. retail market spring/summer 2012!

Check out the project here and note that they regularly post updates if you wish to keep up with progress.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/zpmespresso/pid-controlled-espresso-machine

Related pages:
How to make espresso at home
How to steam milk for your espresso coffee drinks
How to make a latte
How to make a flat-white

How to Make a Cappuccino

2012-01-22T10:13:00.000-08:00

I like to think of Cappuccino as the Marge Simpson of espresso drinks, with foamy milk piled high on top of the espresso just like a beehive hair-do.

As with all espresso-based drinks, start by turning your espresso machine on and giving it plenty of time to warm up. Place your cup(s) on the warming area on top of the espresso machine, or heat them with hot water just prior to making your drink.

Because of the large volume of milk foam used in making a cappuccino, a large open cup is best.

Cappuccino is made by using mostly the very foamy milk formed when steaming the milk and which floats at the top of the milk in the pitcher (jug).

Immediately after steaming your milk, extract a double shot of espresso directly into your cup.

Start out by pouring milk into the cup from the pitcher until about one third of the space above the espresso has been used, then using a spoon, pull the foamy milk from the top of the pitcher into the cup. Finally, heap on top some of the very light and airy foam from the very top of the milk. Place enough of this fluffy foam on top that it comes up above the sides of the cup.

In many countries, a cappuccino is finished off with a sprnkle on top of either ground cinnamon or chocolate powder. In New Zealand and Australia, a cappuccino is commonly served with a chocolate candy on the saucer, such as a "chocolate fish".

Related pages:
How to make espresso at home
How to steam milk for your espresso coffee drinks
How to make a latte
How to make a flat-white

Espresso Machine Review: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL

2012-01-15T11:58:00.000-08:00

It didn't start out that I was going to buy a Breville "Dual Boiler". I have been happily pumping out espresso shots with a Gaggia Evolution for about the last 5 years (original Gaggia Evolution review here). Five years is a long time to keep a domestic espresso machine running in the home, but something that can be achieved by only ever using distilled water like I have all this time. (I distill my own water using this Water Distiller.) However, it was a matter of either having the Gaggia serviced (I suspect is needed a new gasket around the group head there was a small stream of water coming out of the center of the filter basket as I extracted the espresso. So off I went to Amazon to check out was was up the the Gaggia Evolution these days. Just like what happened a few months ago when I went looking to replace my grinder a couple of months ago, one review led to another and I end up on the page for Breville's new "the Dual Boiler" BES900XL machine. I read all the reviews at Amazon and also searched the web to see what I could find and everything seemed to agree that this was a well-designed machine that would only make my shots better than my old Gaggia machine. And what's more, it had a double boiler which would allow for steaming milk if I so desired.

I've now lived with my new machine for almost 3 weeks and I have not one regret about this purchase.

Here's what's to love about the Breville "Dual Boiler" BES900XL

Most important of all, it turns out the most amazing crema-rich espresso shots I could only imagine getting by being back behind the espresso bar in my old barista days working with a commercial machine, and it turns them out without fail every time
As its branding name suggests, it is a "double boiler" machine. This means it has a tank for storing and heating the water that will be used for making the espresso, and another that will be used for steaming the milk. This is important because the water temperature for making steam for foaming the milk has to be near boiling point, which is way too hot for making espresso. Most domestic-grade espresso makers are single boiler machines, and this is problematic for making both espresso shots and steam, and is the reason why I have always recommended that if you have a single boiler machine, you foam your milk using an Aerolatte whisk. (Read my post about foaming milk - includes a video of using an Aerolatte whisk). The steam coming out of this machine's steam wand is as good as any you'll see on a commercial machine at your local coffee shop. It's awesome!
Pressure used for extraction is generated with a 15 bar Italian pump, but extraction pressure in the group-head is controlled to 9 bars by an over-pressure valve (OPV). A dial on the face of the machine displays the pressure in bars as the extraction takes place
Water temperature for extraction is controlled with PID. PID is a controller that continuously monitors a set value and adjusts up and down to maintain the set value. An example of PID that we can all understand is cruise control in our cars. In the Breville BES900XL, the extraction temperature is set (you can change it yourself within a range) and the PID controller ensures that that temperature is maintained. (I have mine set to 200F/93C). Even the group head itself is heated separately to ensure constant temperature at all points.
Extraction can be done using the pre-set timed single or double shot buttons, or to your own judgement by using the "Manual" button. You can easily set the extraction timings to something different from the factory settings for the single and double shot buttons!
Pre-infusion is part of the deal. Rather than the coffee puck being slammed hard with full pressure at the beginning of the extraction, preinfusion allows water to enter the coffee puck at a controlled lower pressure for a controlled time before the pressure is raised to the full 9 bars of pressure. This allows the coffee grinds to become saturated and for any cracks in the puck that were not removed by tamping the coffee to fill in before applying full pressure. This helps prevent chanelling of the water through cracks in the puck resulting in a poor extraction. Pre-infusion is designed to all but eliminate bad extractions. And I can tell you I have not had even one poor extraction from this machine.

Cool Design Details

Apart from all the excellent technical details listed above, here is a list of the exceptional design features of the machine that I love:

No need to worry about the weight of the machine; when you need to move it, there's a dial under the easily-removed drip tray that lifts the machine onto three wheels, two at the front and one at the back), rendering the machine totally maneuverable on the wheels. By the way, the weight of the machine means there's no sliding of the machine when you lock the portafilter into place.
There's a compartment under the machine that is accessible by removing the drip tray. Here you can store the three of the four filter screens not in use at any one time
The overall design is chique, with a brushed stainless-steel finish, and smart back-lit buttons and read-out displays
Auto-power on: You can set the machine to turn itself on at a predetermined time every day so that your machine is warmed up and ready to go as soon as you are in the morning
Auto-power off: Machine turns off when idle for more than 4 hours. No need to sit at the office worrying if you turn your machine off.
The machine has a hot water dispenser, perfect for making Americanos, or quickly heating a cup.
A back-lit water level indicator viewable from the front of the machine so that you know when it's getting to be time to distill some more water.
The water tank is fillable from the top front of the machine, or from the back of the machine. Who would use the back of the machine option when you have access to fill from the top front?
The steam wand connects to the machine with a ball connector meaning you can move it any which way you like.
There's a nice silicon finger ring attached to the steam wand that allows you to marry your machine, I mean, move it without burning yourself.
The steam lever is variable through a quarter turn, so that you can control the steam pressure as much as you like with ease.
All the settings behind the automatic single and double-shot buttons are able to be customized to values you prefer including: pre-infusion pressure and duration, overall extraction time, and extraction temperature.
There's a large cup-warming surface on top of the machine

The Not-So-Good

I guess no machine is perfect, alough to me this machine is as near to it as I could hope for. This is the only small drawback I have encountered with the Breville "the Double Boiler" BES900XL to date

Something about the filter basket prevents the puck from coming out easily when banged against the dowl of my knock box. If I hit hard at the edge of the portafilter, the filter basket itself falls out, not the puck. I find I have to hit the portafilter very hard against the dowl across the center radius of the portafilter. Sometimes I am even digging it out with a plastic spatula. Perhaps this is happening because there is a ridge line a few millimeters down from the top of the filter basket and this is holding the puck back when trying to knock it out. Anyhow, it's something I'm willing to work around because to me everything else is perfect about this machine.

Two caveats

The machine is reasonably large and tall. You will need more counter space than with many domestic machines, and no less than 15in/38cm of overhead clearance to sit the machine underneath your kitchen cabinets, and note that that doesn't allow for placing cups on the cup warmer.
You'll fall in love with this machine, so be prepared for resulting domestic strife as your spouse, partner, significant-other, cat or dog vies for attention! Also, you might find your friends are dropping in at your place for your latte (how to make a latte) or flat-white (how to make a flat-white) rather than at their favorite but expensive coffee shop. Start charging now!

The down-and-dirty
This is a "prosumer" espresso machine. In other words, you are really stepping up into the role of pro-home-barista with this machine. So it will cost you, and many people just don't have the budget or can't justify the cost which is approximately $US1200 for a new machine at Amazon. (Reconditioned machines are available at under $1000. If this is your passion and you have the budget (did I hear a shout out of "Coffee Snob"?) then don't go past this machine.

If you're a coffee snob and aspiring home-barista but don't have this kind of money to spend at this time, then go for either the Gaggia Evolution or Gaggia Classic. Both served me very well over the last 7 years. Whatever machine you use, stretch your budget by investing in a water distiller and use only distilled water to avoid the build up of lime in the internal plumbing of your machine. Do that, and whatever machine you buy, it will last for many years longer than if you use water straight from the tap or fridge dispenser. This way, over time you will get your money back compared to buying your favorite cup of expensively-priced coffee everyday at wherever. Cheers!

Video: How to Foam Milk with an Aerolatte Whisk

2012-01-11T19:36:00.000-08:00

My post the other day about foaming milk for espresso-based drinks at home using an Aerolatte whisk which was prompted by a readers email finally lead me to take the plunge and make my first video. It's kind of a cringe to see and hear myself "in the movies" but I understand how seeing a demonstration for some people is a lot more useful than reading about what to do. So please go easy on me and don't laugh. Here it is, my first video at Youtube; how to foam milk with an Aerolatte whisk.

Related pages:
How to make espresso at home
How to steam milk for your espresso coffee drinks
How to make a latte
How to make a flat-white

Click to tweet this page: http://clicktotweet.com/4dqcb

Review: CAN AgroEco Nicaragua Coffee Beans

2012-01-10T20:46:00.000-08:00

I was recently sent a sample of Nicaraguan light roast coffee beans from Community Agroecology Network (CAN) at U.C. Santa Cruz.

The beans came in a full 1lb (16oz) vacuum-sealed package, roasted by Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting.

The beans ranged in size from small to quite large. Despite being described as "light roast, the color was at the darker-end of mid-brown. The color of the beans was exceptionally even, with very slight hints of oil on a few of the beans. I would classify the roast as "full-city". The eveness of coloring throughout indicated excellent roasting.

On opening the bag, the aroma of the beans was pleasantly woody with a hint of smokiness.

I ground 12g of the beans in my home using a mid-grind with a Breville smart grinder. I boiled water, allowing it to cool for 30 seconds before pouring it over the coffee grinds, and then left the coffee to steep for 4 minutes. For comparative purposes, I "cupped" (comparatively tasted) against some Guatemalan beans.

After waiting for 4 minutes, I "cracked" the surface of the liquid and inhaled the aroma which was noticably sweet.

I then tasted the coffee. I found the coffee to have balanced acidity. The weight of the coffee in the mouth was average, without any cloying. Flavor was mildly bitter. Aftertaste was lingering mild bitterness.

I then ground 4 tablespoons of the beans using a fine espresso grind. I extracted a double espresso shot into a 4 oz glass espresso demitasse cup using a Breville BES900XL Semi Automatic Espresso Machine. Crema production was excellent, measuring at 7mm depth after 15 seconds of settling. The crema held its own well beyond several minutes.

I then ground an additional 4 tablespoons of the beans using fine espresso grind and extracted a double shot of espresso into a 10oz cup. I added foamed milk to make a flat-white. The crema floated well on the top of the milk and the flavor of the coffee held its own against the sweetness of the milk. Overall, a very satisfying and balanced coffee drink.

I would recommend these beans to all readers as well-roasted, flavorful beans, that will make for satisfying espresso and espresso-based drinks. Not to mention that you can drink your coffee with a clear conscience by supporting the good work of CAN in its program of environmental, social, and economic advancement for the growers of the San Ramon cooperative in Nicaragua.

Readers can purchase the beans at: http://store.communityagroecology.net/

The beans retail for $14.95/lb (includeing shipping), and $14.50/lb for a 3- or 6-month subscription. A monthly subscription reduces the cost futher to $13.95/lb.

Use coupon code: "San Ramon" for all orders of 2 lbs. or more.

(Note: I am not affiliated with CAN nor Santa Cruz Coffee Roasters and will not receive any affiliate compensation from either organization. - John)

About Community Agroecology Network
You can read more about CAN and it's "beyond fair trade coffee" practices at my post CAN Community Agroecology Network

Frothing Milk with an Aeorlatte Whisk - Reader Question

2012-01-08T11:57:00.000-08:00

I got an email yesterday with the following question for a reader, and thought I'd share my thoughts here in case other readers are having the same difficulty frothing their milk with an Aerolatte whisk.

Hi John, I enjoy your blog. I have traveled to Australia a few times, and am looking for ways to re-create the perfect flat white. Although I'm new to espresso machines, I have no trouble pulling great double shots (same Gaggia espresso maker and Breville bean grinder that you have, using Victrola Triborough [beans]), but I'm finding the milk frothing to be difficult using the whisk method. What I'm finding is that I can get the proper 2x volumetric expansion with lots of foam (looks just like the picture of the milk in your glass, how to make milk for espresso drinks), but after I swirl the flask for ~20 seconds and try to fold the foam into the milk with a spoon, and pour off the milk into the cup, the milk from the bottom of the flask seems thin and normal rather than the velvety characteristic of flat whites. The result is something more like a cappuccino or an au lait--the espresso turns to cream-colored coffee rather than velvety throughout. For some reason, the foam doesn't seem to be mixing well with the more liquidity milk on the bottom. Any suggestions on how to make the poured milk more consistently velvety? Thanks, PC

Thanks for your question, PC. I have experienced the same problem myself in the past, and essentially it's because you haven't actually created enough foam, or haven't sufficiently blended the foam on the top into the milk at the bottom. The milk from the bottom that goes into a flat white isn't totally foam-free. Mixing the milk at the bottom into the foam on the top is best done, I find, by using a large teaspoon, rather than swirling the milk. Lift the milk from the bottom up into the foam, and push the foam from the top down into the milk at the bottom in a circular motion. If normal stirring can be considered to be stirring in a horizontal plane, then what I'm trying to describe is like stirring in a vertical plane. Hopefully you get what I mean.

Here are a few tips of things I have discovered over time that have helped me produce plenty of foam in the milk using an Aerolatte. Hopefully these will resolve this issue for you:

Standard AA batteries are rated at 1500 milliamps (mAh) maximum. I discovered long ago that fresh batteries with a higher milliamp rating make a huge difference as the whisk runs faster. I changed to rechargeable batteries with a high 2000 mAh rating some time ago now and now get a lot more wizz for my buck. (I use Sanyo eneloop AA 2000mAh rechargeable, but any rechargeable 2000 mAh batteries you can get for a good price will do you well). Recharge the batteries as soon as you detect any slow down in the speed of the whisk. I find the "eneloops" last for a month or more before detecting any slowdown. The higher amperage also appears not to have done any damage to my Aerolatte as the one I am using currently is already over 2 years old and going strong.
Use no-fat or 1% milk - the lower the fat content, the better for foaming
Another thing that I found is that lactose-free milk, for whatever reason, produces a lot more foam. You could try using that. Personally I find it actually produces too much foam for a flat-white, though. It is perfect milk to use if you're making cappuccinos, however.
When whisking the milk, move the whisk slowly around the mug in the opposite direction of the circular motion of the milk. This adds additional resistance and helps creates more foam.
One other thing to check is that you stop the whisk before you take it out of the milk. If you are lifting it out and turning it off at the same time, you will end up with large air bubbles on top of your milk, which is something you want to avoid.

Hopefully these tips will help you out. In a nutshell, get as much foam as possible, mix it into the milk at the bottom by stirring vertically, pour what should be slightly-foamed milk from the bottom of your mug into your espresso at one side (not the center), holding back the lighter foam at the top with your large teaspoon. All going well you should be able to re-live your "flat white" experience from Downunder. Once again, thanks for your question and for following ECS.

For other readers who want to try foaming their milk for lattes, cappuccinos, or flat-whites, see how to make milk for espresso drinks.

Here are links to the Aerolatte foaming whisk and Sanyo eneloop AA 2000mAh batteries at Amazon.com.

How to Make a Latte

2011-12-19T20:52:00.000-08:00

How to make caffe latte at home
The essential difference between the various espresso-based drinks is the milk that is added to the espresso and the ratio of milk to espresso. So the first steps in making a latte at home are first to learn how to make a good espresso followed by how to froth your milk in preparation for making your latte.

Don't forget my golden rule for perfect espresso, which is to "pull" the espresso shot directly into your cup; do NOT make it in a stainless-steel pitcher and then pour it from there into the cup. (Read why not in my golden rule for perfect espresso).

After frothing your milk either with the steamer wand of your espresso machine or using an Aerolatte milk frother, fold the froth floating on the top of the milk into the rest of the milk to give a nice velvety consistency. Break any large air bubbles by banging the bottom of the milk pitcher onto a folded towel. (Not so hard that milk jumps out of the pitcher and hits you in the face!) Using a spoon, hold back the froth from the top of the milk and pour the milk into the espresso until your cup is almost full. Allow the foam from the top of the milk to flow into the cup for the last 1/4 inch (.6cm). Voila! You've made your own caffe latte at home.

Things to know when making your perfect latte at home
A latte is traditionally made is a smaller cup (10oz / 300ml). If you have 12oz cups, that should be fine, but anything bigger is not a true latte. You aren't meant to drown your espresso in milk.

In some coffee cultures such as Australia and New Zealand, a latte is served in a 10oz glass, so don't be surprised by this if travelling in either of these countries and ordering a latte at one of the many wonderful cafes. If you prefer it in a cup, ask for it when you place your order.

What's the difference between a latte and a cafe au lait?
Other than the fact that "latte" is Italian and "cafe au lait" is French, a cafe au lait (literally coffee with milk) is served in a large bowl with a much greater ratio of milk to espresso and is considered a breakfast drink. If you order a cafe au lait after lunch in France, you will be considered uncouth.

Related pages:
How to make espresso at home
How to steam milk for your espresso coffee drinks
How to make a latte
How to make a flat-white
All "how to" pages

Wikipedia has some interesting tidbits on the history of the latte at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latte.

How to Make a Plum Tart - Video

2011-12-15T19:26:00.000-08:00

I put together a video from the photos of Riichiro making the plum tart for which I posted the recipe the other day. (Plum Tart Recipe) Hopefully this visual of the making of the tart will help you make your own tart more easily so that you can enjoy this delicious fruit pie with your coffee sometime soon.

Share the video with this link:

http://youtu.be/fygaFGdDVvE

Plum Tart Recipe

2011-12-12T21:22:00.000-08:00

Coffee and Tart
What better way to enjoy your hot cup of homemade espresso drink than to pair it with some homemade plum tart?

My partner Riichiro recently baked a plum tart with a whole-wheat pastry crust, that went down really well with an espresso.

Here's the recipe for you to enjoy.

Bon appetite!

Whole-wheat tart with almond and fresh plum filling

Ingredients

Whole-wheat pastry

• Whole wheat flour: 200g (about 1 & 1/2 cup)

• Baking powder: 1/2 teaspoon

• Butter: 100g (4/5 of a stick) butter

• Sugar: 40g (about 1/4 cup)

• Egg: 1 whole

• Vanilla extract: a few drops

• Lemon zest: 1/2 to 1 lemon, to taste

Almond filling

• Butter: 100g (4/5 of stick of butter)
• Sugar: 40g (about ¼ cup)
• Almond meal: 120g (about 1 cup)
• Egg: 1 whole
• Egg Yolk: 1

Plums

• Firm red plums: About 6
• Sugar: 2 teaspoons
• Cinnamon: A pinch

Plum sauce

• End-cuts of fresh plums
• Sugar: 1-2 teaspoons
• Brandy or some liqueur (e.g. Cointreau)

Method:

Whole-wheat pastry

1. At room temperature, cream the butter and sugar until smooth
2. Add egg and beat into mixture
3. Add vanilla extract
4. Mix butter with whole-wheat flour
5. Sift baking powder into the dough and mix
6. Put the dough in a large freezer bag and leave it in the refrigerator for at least an hour or overnight
7. When ready to make the pastry case, roll out the dough while still in the freezer bag to an even thickness
8. Grease a 10" pie dish with butter
9. Line the pie dish with the dough
10. Prick the bottom of the dough with a fork to prevent air bubbles forming below the pasty when cooking and forming a bubble
11. Bake the dough for 20 minutes in a preheated oven (350 degrees F)
12. Allow to cool

Almond filling and Plums

1. Cream butter and sugar at room temperature until smooth
2. Add yolk of 1 egg and mix well into the batter
3. Add 1 whole egg and mix well into the batter
4. Add almond meal and fold into the batter (don't whip the batter)
5. Add lemon zest and mix
6. Place the filling into the cool pasty casing
7. Slice the plums and place the slices in a bowl (put aside the end-cuts from each plum in a separate bowl)
8. Sprinkle sugar on top of the plum slices and stir lightly
9. Arrange the plum slices on the almond filling
10. Sprinkle with cinnamon powder

11. Bake for 30-40 minutes in a preheated oven (350 degrees F) until a toothpick placed into the pie filling comes out cleanly
12. Set the tart aside on a rack to cool

Plum Sauce

1 While the tart is baking, add 1 to 2 teaspoons of sugar to the reserved end-cuts of the plums and any leftover excess plum slices not used in the tart and mix well.
2 Leave for 30 minutes or more while the juices extract
3 Boil in a pot on the top of the stove for 20 minutes, skimming off any scum that forms on the top
4 Add liquor of your choice
5 With a hand-blender, puree the plums
6 Use the puree to glaze the tart once the tart has cooled slightly. Keep some of the puree aside to use as a garnish when serving the tart. Especially tasty with a "flat white".

Notes:

• You can adjust the ratios of sugar and butter to some extent according to taste
• Firm red plums are good because of their texture, tartness, and color
• It’s more difficult to roll whole wheat dough since it has less elasticity, but doing it in a freezer bag makes it easy and saves making a mess
• Since a lot of plums are used in the tart, sugar and butter can be reduced significantly
• Add the sugar to the plums just before baking to avoid the juices extracting and making the mix too wet
• If you aren't planning on making the plum sauce with the end-cuts of the plums, then honey, plum, or apricot jam, can be used instead to glaze the tart

Coffee From a Robot

2011-12-04T20:47:00.001-08:00

Those of us who are old enough to have grown up with the Jetsons will know that they had a robot called "Rosie" who did the housework and prepared the meals. Not sure if Rosie ever made the coffee, but although flying cars have yet to dot the landscape, robots are making coffee in Austin, TX. A company called Briggo has developed software that allows you to customize and order your coffee from a smartphone. The coffee is made by the company's robots.

Briggo CEO, Kevin Nater, states that:

Briggo makes coffee for the mobile way you live. We start with the highest quality ingredients and apply precision and technology to the process, allowing customers to personalize, order, save and share their drinks. We make intelligent robotic baristas that serve espresso and coffee drinks through our network of kiosks, making your specialty coffee perfect every time. We have developed the software and have created the information technology infrastructure that allow you to access your personalized coffee from the cloud and direct your order to the kiosk, knowing when it is ready via text or email, and paying from your Briggo account, all through your smartphone.

For now, most of us will need a Jetson flying car as the only location with the Briggo coffee robots in action is at the University of Texas' Flawn Academic Center on West Campus.

Let us know what you think if you've had the chance to phone in an order.

CAN Community Agroecology Network

2011-11-30T19:40:00.001-08:00

I was recently contacted by CAN (Community Agroecology Network) based at U.C. Santa Cruz, California. CAN evolved out of the research efforts of Ph.D. students working with the San Ramon coffee growers co-operative in Nicaragua. The students' original aim was to research sustainable coffee growing models that would achieve not only greater plant and wildlife diversity, but also result in a robust local economy for the growers, along with ensuring support for local food production and sourcing.

During the mid-2000s when the coffee price collapsed, the CAN researchers broadened their aims to include achieving higher price returns for the growers' coffee beans.

As a result of this, CAN is now extending its sales channels, and asked if I would be willing to taste and review a sample of their coffee. A review is coming soon. (See review here: Review of CAN Light Roast beans)

The relationship between CAN and the coffee growers first started with Ph.D. student researchers in agroecology who were doing their research between 2002 - 2007. Starting in 2005, in the depths of the coffee crisis, the CAN researchers began to look at how Fair Trade helped farmers and their families get through the crisis, and set out to help make improvements to the FT model. One idea was to have the coffee served at U.C. Santa Cruz in the Dining Halls, and through a relationship that one researcher had with the owners of the Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting Co., the students managed to contract an importer to ship the coffee, and SCCR roasted it. The coffee was delivered to the university starting in 2006.

Originally the idea was simply to help the specific farmers who had helped by participating in the studies and research. But then some students started to sell the coffee at the local Santa Cruz Farmers' Market, among other places. Then some started to send some home to their parents, or their parents would want to buy the coffee when they came to visit the campus.

From there the model grew, and after about 5 or 6 years of developing various sales channels, CAN has grown to the extent of distributing 7,500 lbs of coffee a year, and is now hoping to be in a position sometime to purchase the entire production of the San Ramon co-operative at the CAN price. This would be a major jump in income for the farmers who don't always get the FT price for every last pound they have grown, even though they have paid to have their entire co-op FT certified.

CAN's goal is to have a relationship-based model that goes beyond Fair Trade, into relationships and research-backed data that measures the true impacts on the community.

Through a grant received from Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, CAN is currently working with communities that GMCR sources coffee from, including the Union of Cooperatives San Ramon in Nicaragua (where AgroEco Coffee comes from). CAN has moved beyond collecting research data on the farms and the communities, into initiatives that help make real and measurable changes in the coffee-farming communities. These changes are intended to increase resiliency to future coffee crises by diversifying livelihood strategies, maintaining youth in the community by creating a local economy, and maintaining food sovereignty by ensuring a system of local food supply.

I asked the people at CAN if they could help me understand the main differences between Fair Trade coffee and CAN coffee. Marketing Coordinator, Daniel Fuentes, provided the following bullet points for me.

The farmers do not have to pay to be an AgroEco partner
Prices are decided through dialogue, and take into consideration the cost of production, yields, market price, and local cost of living - The AgroEco minimum price is $2.00/lb green bean, and generally we agree to pay 20% over other FT offers the co-op receives
The "certification" process is done by university researchers who then train high-school to college-aged youth to continue data updates
The cooperative is required to be FT certified, but not organic certified - the reason being that organic fertilizers are not available in sufficient volume to meet the needs of the growers
Our emphasis is on agroecology, which means diversifying the coffee shade trees, providing migratory bird habitat, and growing other food crops for household consumption
Farmers are allowed to use fertilizers, but not toxic pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, or miticides
All weeding is done by hand

For a review of CAN light roast beans from the San Juan Cooperative in Nicaragua and how to buy them, see this post: Review of CAN Light Roast beans

CAN Reading Resources:

CAN Receives Two Year Grant
Food Security and Sovereignty Best Practices Guide Published
CAN Nicaragua Scholarship Program sends rural community organizers to school
Nicaragua Food Sovereignty Forum Summary Available
Policy Brief

ECS now on Facebook and Twitter

2011-11-30T19:33:00.001-08:00

Hello followers of EspressoCoffeeSnobs.com. Just thought you'd like to know that I recently setup a page at Facebook and an account at Twitter for those of you who would like to follow along that way. You can Like us on Facebook or follow us at Twitter @ECS44.

Coffee Grinder Recommendation Update

2011-11-06T11:11:00.000-08:00

OMG! I'm in LOVE! But we'll get to that in a minute. First a little preamble.

A few weeks ago the switch on the side of my trusty Solis Maestro coffee grinder that I have been using for many years now dropped off. Nothing that a drop or two of super glue wouldn't fix, I thought, only to realize those old commercials where a drop of super glue suspends an elephant in the air from a crane must have been true all along. I guess it was the several drops, not the recommended one drop that did it, meaning the glue probably oozed far beyond the target point, because when I came back after a few hours to grind some beans, the switch was in place for sure; so much so that I was no longer able to turn it at all. Oops!

For the next few days I had to resort to the old electric blade mill which I use for grinding herbs, and got to prove to myself just how impossible it is to make good espresso with these grinders. If that's what you use, or are looking for, "Go to your room, now!"

Anyhow, back to my new love affair. Since I have been recommending the Solis Maestro conical grinder at this site since 2006 (original recommendation reposted to this blog Coffee Grinder Recommendation) it only seemed right that I would jump straight on to Amazon to order a new one, right? And that's what I did. I discovered they are now called the Baratza G385 Black Maestro Plus Coffee Grinder . Anyhow, one thing lead to another, and in reading the reviews somewhere, somehow, I ended up on the page for the Breville BCG800XL Smart Grinder. At $199, it was $60 more than the "Baratza", but reading the reviews and product description I got the distinct impression that it was a superior product. Being someone who just can't help himself, I decided to lay down essentially 200 bucks for a coffee grinder.

Well, as soon as I took my new Breville out of the box when it arrived promptly and safely from Amazon, I was already starting to be wooed by the the design features. I have to say, this grinder makes me realize the imperfections of my old "Maestro". The consistency of the grind from the Breville is perfect, and having found the sweet spot to set it at for my Gaggia espresso maker, I am enjoying perfect crema-rich espresso shots. It was quite remarkable to discover how much this grinder improved the flavor of the espresso.

Out of the box I set the grind at the "E" in "Espresso" on the backlit display. Too fine for my Gaggia, which has a pretty powerful 55 watt pump; the espresso drip, dripped out rather than flowed out. I was obviously straining the pump, and if I wasn't careful might burn out the motor - something that superglue definitely wouldn't fix. So by trial and error, I have found that two notches to the left of the "E" (moving in the direction of coarser grind) is about right for my espresso maker. This grinder has a remarkable 25 grind setting to chose from, by the way!

So I guess now I have to revise my recommendation for a conical burr grinder, depending on your budget. If you can afford it, definitely get the Breville BCG800XL Smart Grinder. Believe me, you won't regret spending those extra 60 bucks if you have the budget. However, if your budget constrains you, I still recommend the Baratza G385 Black Maestro Plus Coffee Grinder. Mine did faithful duty on a daily basis for something like 5 years, and I never had cause for complaint until I realized that a few more bucks spent on the Breville gets you something even better. The Maestro is still a great grinder. The Breville is just a better grinder if you can afford it. For your convenience, here they are side-by-side for you to compare:

What Makes One Cafe's Coffee Better than Another's?

2011-10-31T18:20:00.000-07:00

For those of us lucky enough to have a "third wave" cafe in our neighborhood, we no doubt have a strong opinions on which cafe's coffee is better than another's. Apart from personal taste and snobbery, it comes down to many variables that all add up to a better or worse cup of coffee.

One of the chief variables is the quality of the beans used and the roasting of those beans.

In this very interesting piece from the East Bay Express, you can read about how one company, Royal Coffee, supplies almost all of the green beans to the individual roasters found throughout the greater San Francisco Bay area, and the differences in individual roasting techniques of each boutique roaster.

The Truth About Your Coffee

How to Make Pumpkin Spice Latte

2011-10-03T18:40:00.000-07:00

It's fall and that's pumpkin season. Several years ago, Starbucks struck pay-dirt with its pumpkin spice lattes, now an annual specialty for this time of the year. With its popularity, many people no doubt would like to make their own cost-saving version at home. Here is a pumpkin spiced latte recipe for you to try:

Ingredients

2 cups milk
2 tablespoons canned pumpkin OR 1 teaspoon of Torani Pumpkin Spice Syrup
2 tablespoons sugar or sugar substitute – you can halve this amount
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1-2 shots espresso (1/2 cup of strong brewed coffee if you don’t have an espresso machine.)

Directions

In a saucepan combine milk, pumpkin and sugar and cook on medium heat, stirring, until steaming.
Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and spice, transfer to a blender and process for 15 seconds until foamy.
Pour into a large mug or two mugs.
Add the espresso on top.

Optional: Top with whipped cream and sprinkle pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, or cinnamon on top.

Recipe from The Kitchn

Caffeine-Drinking Women Slimmer and Less Depressed

2011-09-28T18:01:00.000-07:00

Nation of Change reports that among a large population of women tracked for as long as 18 years each, the women who routinely consumed the highest levels of caffeine were 20 percent less likely than those who drank little to none to become depressed when they were nearing or in their 60s. On the other hand, compared with uncaffeinated women, those who drank the equivalent of four or more cups of coffee a day are more likely to drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes and less likely to volunteer their time in church or community groups. (Are any of these observations really related? Ed.) The study was published Monday in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Read more at Nation of Change: http://www.nationofchange.org/caffeines-buzz-chases-away-womens-depression-study-finds-1317229283

Caffeine Does Not Sober You Up

2011-09-01T05:00:00.000-07:00

I'd be surprised to think there are many people out there anymore who actually believe the urban myth that caffeine sobers you up. Hands up anyone who does actually believe that?

The unfortunate fact of the matter is that caffeine DOES NOT sober you up. Perhaps it may give you a bit of a kick and make you fell a little more alert, but just consider yourself a wide-awake drunk in that case.

So if you lost count of your drinks and don't know if you're over the limit or not, do the responsible thing and get someone who definitely is under the limit to drive, stay over with your friends, or sleep it off in the car even.

Does caffeine help sober you up?

2011-08-30T07:29:00.000-07:00

You've had an enjoyable evening with friends. A nice dinner and one or two drinks. Now it's time to go home. The question arises whether or not you are "over the limit". Someone suggests you have a cup of coffee to sober up before taking the wheel. Will that cup of coffee sober you up or not?

How is Decaffeinated Coffee Made?

2011-08-22T17:11:00.000-07:00

Not sure that there are any readers of this blog who drink decaffeinated coffee. But even so, when I went to breakfast with some friends on Saturday and one of the group ordered decaffeinated coffee it occured to me that how decaffeinated coffee is made would be an interesting topic .

A search of Wikipedia turned up a page devoted to decaffeination and it all sounds like a pretty scary process, replete with powerful chemicals.

The first commercially successful decaffeination process was invented by Ludwig Roselius and Karl Wimmer in 1903. It involved steaming coffee beans with a brine (salt water) solution and then using benzene as a solvent to remove the caffeine. Nothing like a cup of benzene to put a tiger in your tank!

The Swiss Water Process is a method of decaffeinating coffee beans developed by the Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee Company. To decaffeinate the coffee bean by the Swiss Water method, a batch of green (unroasted) beans is soaked in hot water, releasing caffeine. When all the caffeine and coffee solids are released into the water, the beans are discarded. The water then passes through a carbon filter that traps caffeine but lets the coffee solids pass through. The resulting solution, called "green coffee extract (GCE)" by the company, is now available for decaffeinating coffee. New green coffee beans are introduced to the GCE. Since the GCE is coffee solids without caffeine only the caffeine diffuses from the new beans. The GCE passes through proprietary carbon which captures the caffeine. The process repeats, filtering out all the caffeine until the beans are 99.9% caffeine-free. These beans are removed and dried, and thus retain most if not all of their flavor. The Swiss Water Process is not much used anymore.

In the direct method, the coffee beans are first steamed for 30 minutes and then repeatedly rinsed with either dichloromethane or ethyl acetate for about 10 hours. The solvent is then drained away and the beans steamed for an additional 10 hours to remove residual solvent. Sometimes coffees that are decaffeinated using ethyl acetate are referred to as naturally processed because ethyl acetate can be derived from various fruits or vegetables; but, because of the impracticality of gathering natural ethyl acetate, the chemical used for decaffeination is synthetic.

Indirect method

In the indirect method, beans are first soaked in hot water for several hours, in essence, making a strong pot of coffee. Then the beans are removed and either dichloromethane or ethyl acetate is used to extract the caffeine from the water. As in other methods, the caffeine can then be separated from the organic solvent by simple evaporation. The same water is recycled through this two-step process with new batches of beans. An equilibrium is reached after several cycles, where the water and the beans have a similar composition except for the caffeine. After this point, the caffeine is the only material removed from the beans, so no coffee strength or other flavorings are lost. Because water is used in the initial phase of this process, sometimes indirect method decaffeination is referred to as "water-processed" even though chemicals are used.

CO2 process
This process is technically known as supercritical fluid extraction. In the carbon dioxide method, the caffeine is stripped directly from the beans by a highly compressed semi-liquid form of carbon dioxide.[3] Pre-steamed beans are soaked in a bath of supercritical carbon dioxide at a pressure of 73 to 300 atmospheres. After a thorough soaking for around ten hours, the pressure is reduced, allowing the CO2 to evaporate, or the pressurized CO2 is run through either water or charcoal filters to remove the caffeine. The carbon dioxide is then used on another batch of beans.[4] This liquid works better than water because it is kept in supercritical state near the transition from liquid to gas, combining favorable diffusivity properties of the gas with increased density of a liquid. This process has the advantage that it avoids the use of potentially harmful substances.

Triglyceride process
Green coffee beans are soaked in a hot water/coffee solution to draw the caffeine to the surface of the beans. Next, the beans are transferred to another container and immersed in coffee oils that were obtained from spent coffee grounds. After several hours of high temperatures, the triglycerides in the oils remove the caffeine—but not the flavor elements—from the beans. The beans are separated from the oils and dried. The caffeine is removed from the oils, which are reused to decaffeinate another batch of beans. This is a direct-contact method of decaffeination.

Hmm, no wonder I don't drink decaffeinated coffee! It doesn't sound like a health-food to me!

There is hope for those who want all the taste and flavor but not the caffeine and chemicals in the form of coffee plants found in Brazil in 2004 that don't have any caffeine in the beans. "Coffea charrieriana" is an Arabica coffee plant that bears caffeine-free beans that have been trademarked in Brazil as "Decaffito". The plant has a deficient caffeine synthase gene, leading it to accumulate theobromine instead of converting it to caffeine. This trait could either be bred into other coffee plants by crossing them with C. charrieriana, or an equivalent effect could be achieved by knocking out the gene for caffeine synthase in normal coffee plants.

So, there seems to be some hope on the horizon for those looking for caffeine-free beans instead of decaffeinated beans.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decaffeination

Caffeine Increases Anxiety

2011-08-05T13:00:00.000-07:00

Perhaps this was an easy question in our caffeine quiz to get right. I for one would not drink coffee to steady my trembling hands just before an important job interview or speech. Even I have had days when I went just one cup too far in my daily intake and felt that edginess from an overdose of caffeine. You too?

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, anyone suffering from anxiety disorders should avoid caffeine because it can aggravate symptoms, which include exaggerated worry and tension. Source: National Institute of Mental Health How to Get Help for Anxiety Disorders

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, anxiety disorders include:

Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Panic Disorder
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Social Phobia (or Social Anxiety Disorder)

So if you suffer from one of these anxiety disorders and drink caffeine, then I guess you qualify as a caffeine addict, even though we know from one of our earlier questions in the quiz that caffeine is NOT addictive.

Does Drinking Coffee Aggravate Anxiety

2011-08-04T07:10:00.000-07:00

So you're feeling all jittery about something, perhaps an important job interview or a speech you need to make before the board of directors. Caffeine addict that you are, do you reach for the coffee cup or not? Does caffeine aggravate anxiety, or for someone addicted to coffee, is it a no-brainer, and something that will help you sail through your anxious moments?

Men are more sensitive to caffeine than women

2011-07-09T07:34:00.000-07:00

Here's the answer to our caffeine quiz question from the other day which asked if women are more sensitive to caffeine than men.

In fact, the reverse is true, and it is in fact men who are more sensitive to caffeine.

And this difference could help women but harm men as another study* found that caffeine tended to harm the performance of men in collaborative, stressful situations (such as an office environment), whereas it improved the performance of women.

*St. Claire, L., Hayward, R., and Rogers, P. (2010). Interactive Effects of Caffeine Consumption and Stressful Circumstances on Components of Stress: Caffeine Makes Men Less, But Women More Effective as Partners Under Stress. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 40 (12), 3106-3129 DOI (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1559-1816.2010.00693.x/abstract)

Are Women More Sensitive to Caffeine Than Men?

2011-07-07T07:34:00.000-07:00

Time to get back to our caffeine quiz.

Today's question asks if one gender is more sensitive to caffeine than the other, or are the effects the same on both men and women? So let's phrase it this way: Are women more sensitive to caffeine than men?

Check back in a couple of days for the answer.