Already on Saturday, October 1st, the entire coffee industry will celebrate International Coffee Day, established on this day by 49 countries affiliated with the International Coffee Organization (ICO). As always, at Single Origin, you can expect many delights on this occasion!

Poland, as a member of the European Union, also belongs to the ICO (which includes 49 countries, including the entire European Union). Nevertheless, in Polish media, we can still see that Coffee Day is on September 29th - it's not clear to me, but what can you do? The International Coffee Day designated by the ICO falls on October 1st every year - and for me, that settles it.

You can find more information about the ICO here, but it's worth knowing that this organization has existed since 1963 and practically encompasses all coffee exporters and importers worldwide.

International Coffee Day 2023 - the theme

This year's edition of International Coffee Day is themed around safe and healthy work at all stages of the coffee chain.

Here you can see the leaflet for the current edition, and here is the official International Coffee Day website.

Enjoy your coffee - changes are ahead of us!

The past two years, led by the famous frost in Brazil in 2021, have shown how suddenly the coffee market situation can change - its quality and availability depend on many factors. And although humans have influence over almost all of them, it is usually a decidedly negative influence.

Progressive climate change (by the way, when was the last time you remember 28 degrees in October...?), political and geopolitical factors, as well as local (and global) economic conflicts can lead to us being cut off from coffee, and it may become a luxury good.

Therefore, it is all the more worthwhile to enjoy good-quality coffee while it is still readily available and at a normal price.

And during our celebration of International Coffee Days, you can even reduce the purchase price by up to 25%! Such and even more promotions have been prepared for you at Single Origin Roastery (all special offers and the competition is available only on polish website).

We start on Monday, September 25th, and celebrate throughout the week.

May coffee be with you!

I have previously written about green coffee in the context of its alleged weight-loss properties and my opinion on the matter. As you know, I have been and still am a staunch opponent of attributing any health benefits to raw coffee beans that roasted coffee does not possess. Therefore, we have not offered you raw coffee in Single Origin until now.

In recent times, home roasting has become increasingly popular - the art of roasting coffee in the comfort of your own home. But you can't roast coffee if you don't have... green coffee beans.

With this article, I want to announce the retail sale of green coffee in Single Origin and provide you with some insights into the subject that I have been passionate about since 2009. I will also share some tips that will undoubtedly help you avoid many mistakes and disappointments, saving you a lot of nerves and money.

Why shouldn't you roast coffee at home?

I'll start with a somewhat unconventional question to outline all the negative aspects of home roasting from the very beginning. There aren't many, but they can influence your decisions:

1. An ocean of aromas - home roasting releases a plethora of odors throughout your home, which can linger for several days. I personally love this aroma, but as they say, tastes differ. The less professional the roasting process (e.g., using a pan), the more aroma is released.

2. Coffee Chaff - when roasting coffee, the silverskin, a thin membrane, detaches from the beans and tends to float around; it is highly flammable. Professional coffee roasters have special containers for it, but at home, it's likely to float around your kitchen, and you'll need to figure out how to deal with it.

3. Unbearable Odor If You Overroast - the roasting process requires constant monitoring and active participation (stirring). If something distracts you and you overroast the beans, it's challenging to get rid of the horrible smell of burnt coffee in your home. It's truly unpleasant and has nothing to do with the wonderful aromas released during proper roasting.

4. Results May Not Meet Expectations - this is the most common issue I encounter when talking to people who practice home roasting. Don't let this discourage you, but be aware that it's challenging to achieve the same results as professional coffee roasters or the tools we use every day in the roastery.

5. Temperature Risks - coffee roasting is inherently associated with high temperatures (around 200°C) and materials that cool relatively slowly (the beans). This always carries the risk of burns or even fires, so it must be done consciously.

6. Technical Requirements - while a pan doesn't require much, home coffee roasting devices may sometimes need exhaust ventilation and/or 380V three-phase power supply instead of the standard 230V electrical outlets.

So, let's roast! But where can you get green coffee?

Subjectively (but also objectively) - from the Single Origin Roastery, where, as mentioned earlier, we have started selling green coffee, raw, unroasted beans from around the world.

Objectively, buying green coffee online is possible, but most of the time, it is labeled only with generic information like "Arabica from Brazil," without specific details, parameters, or harvest dates. Often, raw beans can have distorted moisture content due to washing or other preparation processes that define them as "for consumption."

They may also be old or improperly stored warehouse leftovers that no roastery wants to buy, and various amateur sellers attempt to market them differently.

On the other hand, reputable European importers and distributors of green beans, from whom we purchase fresh harvests, usually require pallet-sized quantities or at least sacks of 60-70kg.

At Single Origin, you can buy as little as 500g of selected raw beans, ensuring that you receive our quality (because we offer you the exact same beans that we roast for you every day).

What green coffee beans should you choose for Home Roasting?

The answer is simple for beginners - the cheapest ones. Your initial attempts are unlikely to yield excellent results, and there is a high probability that you will use this coffee more as a mosquito repellent than for your espresso. The cheapest option in terms of green beans is Indian robusta (or Brazilian Santos if you want to start with arabica right away - which I suggest, as it has a significantly milder and more pleasant aroma during roasting than robusta).

Once you determine that your roasting skills allow you to produce coffee that you enjoy drinking, you can choose beans more consciously for specific purposes.

The choice of beans based on their aromatic and flavor profile is up to you. You can read about the characteristics of individual beans in the descriptions on SingleOrigin.pl. Below, as a reminder, are some aspects (in a very generalized form with many exceptions) that influence the "natural" properties of beans, independent of their roasting:

1. Terroir - the soil, climate, and surroundings, i.e., the region of origin! African coffees usually have a slightly drier profile, with more citrus acidity, and are often used for lighter roasts. American coffees are more likely to resemble the classic coffee flavor and are easier to roast (more on this below).

2. Processing method - dry-processed (natural) coffees tend to have lower acidity, heavier body, and more fruit notes in the aftertaste, which can be a bit "dirty." Wet-processed (washed) coffees generally have more acidity, but their profile is typically nobler and richer than dry-processed ones.

3. Altitude of cultivation - the higher, the better, starting from 1200 meters above sea level. We begin discussing SHG (Strictly High Grown) when we talk about coffees at these elevations.

In addition to the above, I would add one more criterion, keeping in mind the topic of this article - ease of roasting. How do I understand this?

There are beans that require a lot of attention and are very sensitive to even the slightest temperature anomalies and roasting errors. These beans may have an uneven structure and/or moisture content, resulting in uneven roasting (here, Ethiopian Yirgacheffe and various African naturals are at the forefront).

On the other hand, there are beans on the opposite end of the scale - those that roast easily and pleasantly, do not generate problems, roast evenly, and can forgive mistakes, shortcomings, or equipment deficiencies. These are the beans I recommend for home roasting, as they will provide you with a greater sense of satisfaction when experimenting with beans that are more cooperative. In my opinion, in home conditions, Colombian Supremo, Dominican Ocoa, and Nicaragua Finca el Limoncillo from the Single Origin offer the best results.

Of course, I encourage you to verify this proposition through sensory evaluation and try different beans. However, it's worth keeping in mind not to get discouraged by a series of unsuccessful roasts - there are beans that are challenging to roast correctly even in a professional roastery.

Equipment for Home Roasting - What to Use for Roasting Coffee?

In Vietnam or Africa, coffee is still roasted on plates over an open fire, which makes sense in those settings. However, you probably prefer other methods, so I will briefly describe the potential advantages and disadvantages of each method of home roasting.

I strongly advise against using an oven for roasting coffee for two main reasons:

1. During coffee roasting, you need to regularly and constantly stir the coffee, which will be very challenging in an oven without destabilizing the temperature (which will adversely affect the coffee).

2. During coffee roasting, coffee chaff (the thin, dry skin) detaches from the beans, and it will be challenging to remove it from the oven (it must be removed because it can even catch fire).

A frying pan can be a great option for beginners or for fun experiments with friends, although dealing with the chaff it produces can be problematic - it will definitely float around your kitchen. In this version, your home will undoubtedly smell the most like roasted coffee.

Use thick and heavy pans with high sides for roasting. You need to heat it to about 200°C and position the heat source so that the temperature remains relatively stable throughout the roasting process (a thermometer is highly recommended). Then, spread a thin layer of beans (to avoid creating layers) so that each bean has contact with the bottom of the pan. Stir regularly! After a few minutes, you will start to smell the roasted beans, and after another 2-3 minutes, the beans will start releasing chaff.

Around 15-18 minutes after the start of roasting, you will hear a distinctive cracking sound - the first crack, an internal explosion of the bean caused by the increasing pressure inside generated by the water vapor. During the first crack, the beans significantly increase in volume (sometimes doubling), and magical processes begin that largely define the future flavor in your cup (caramelization of carbohydrates, the formation of aldehydes, simple sugars, melanoids, etc.).

Now is the time for the main part of the experiment because these few moments from the first crack to the end of roasting will determine the flavor of your coffee. There is no set time here - simply observe the color of the beans and decide when you think the color is most suitable, bearing in mind that the beans will continue to roast for several seconds after you remove them from the pan due to accumulated heat, so they will darken slightly.

It's essential to cool the beans to room temperature as quickly as possible after roasting. A stainless steel kitchen colander works well for this purpose, but you must continuously move the beans with it for a few minutes - remember that these beans are around 200°C. That's really hot and can cause burns or even ignite if left uncooled in a pile.

A thicker metal sheet (at least 0.5mm) over an open flame may be a better alternative to a pan, and it certainly has more entertainment potential. It's better because it eliminates the two main problems of strictly home roasting:

1. The odors disperse into the fresh air, not throughout your home.
2. You can easily blow away the chaff that is produced, and it doesn't cause any other cleaning or fire hazards.

The issue with an open flame is the fluctuating temperature, but at the scale we're discussing, you can address it with more frequent and intensive stirring - it's achievable, and the memories of roasting coffee over an open flame will be priceless. It's a good idea to prepare a metal tool to collect the beans from the sheet and a container in which you can cool the beans.

You can certainly use any sheet over an open flame, and your imagination is your only limit.

A popcorn machine may seem like a good idea at first glance, and I've seen videos showing successful coffee roasting at home with such machines. However, I see problems. Firstly, popcorn kernels are much smaller, lighter, and more round than coffee beans, so the thermal efficiency of such machines may not be sufficient. Additionally, they may not handle the mixing of coffee as well as popcorn.

Secondly, the roasting time for popcorn is shorter, and prolonged exposure to high temperatures beyond what the manufacturer intended can, in the best case, damage the machine (and in the worst case, lead to an electrical short or user burns).

Finally, if you have a slightly larger budget for home roasting, you can purchase a dedicated coffee roaster. These devices can be divided into three groups:

1. The cheapest, anonymous devices from China in the range of 300-1000 PLN. I strongly discourage them in every aspect; it's not worth the money, and you risk your health and home electrical installation.

2. Budget roasters from more recognized manufacturers (Hario, IKAWA, Kaffelogic, Behmor, Gene) - they cost around 1500 - 5000 PLN and typically offer basic functionalities such as temperature control, autonomous and continuous stirring of roasted beans, and the removal and collection of chaff, allowing you to roast several hundred grams of coffee at once.

3. Professional micro-scale coffee roasting devices, usually intended for conducting trial roasts and building roasting profiles by professional roasters. Prices for basic electric devices start at a few thousand PLN (e.g., Aillio Bullet), and there's no upper limit. Virtually all recognized coffee roaster manufacturers offer sampler versions (with a capacity below 1kg of beans) for roasting samples, but they usually require technical installations for exhaust ventilation, gas supply, or 3-phase power supply. They also take up more space than the devices described in point 2. However, they provide greater control over the roasting process and its parameters, with the option to connect to a computer and control the roasting process using dedicated roasting software.

Is it worth roasting coffee at home - by yourself?

In my opinion - yes and no.

If you have high standards for your coffee and a discerning palate, it's unlikely that you will be able to roast coffee at home as we do in a professional roastery, especially for lighter roasts or more demanding beans.

On the other hand, home roasting can bring you a lot of joy and be a spectacular addition to family or friends' gatherings. It can also significantly reduce the cost of the coffee you consume if the taste is acceptable.

My advice is to give it a try and form your own opinion. Even if you don't succeed, you will be richer and wiser for the experience! And there's nothing stopping you from regularly purchasing coffee roasted by professionals while treating home roasting as a weekend hobby.

Please remember to prioritize safety - 200°C is no joke, and a moment of distraction can lead to harm and significant damage. Roast responsibly!

I don't think that most of europeans know much about Ethiopia. It's commonly known that it's an African country, it's probably hot and poor. However, it's worth noting, that our thoughts during morning coffee, can turn to this African country. Ethiopia is not only one of the largest coffee producers in the world, but it's also the place where coffee originated from.

All of our coffee knowledge starts from the legend of goatherd Kaldi, who supposedly lived in the 9th century. One day he noticed that his goats were exceptionally agitated. Driven by curiosity, he started carefully observing his goats and noticed that the more agitated ones eat small fruit from a nearby tree. He picked some of the fruit and went to a nearby monastery. There, a monk named Chadely crushed them, then put into the fire and after a short while they could smell a pleasant roasted coffee scent. Thus a new drink was created, it quickly gained the favor of other monks, when they noticed that the drink helped them stay awake during their night prayers.

Did this really happen? Hmm... Italians have a saying: „se non e vero, e ben trovato” - „even if it's not true, it's well said”. Legends have more charm than truth, but we can still assume that there is some truth in it. The undeniable fact is, that coffee trees originated from Ethiopia.

Even today, coffee trees can still be seen in the Ethiopian wild, however most of them are cultivated on plantations. About ¼ of Ethiopians work in coffee industry and coffee is their main exporting product. However, because of low economic development of the country, only 15% of plantations are advanced, professional plantations, other 85% are small, often family farms.

Coffee there is cultivated in the same way from centuries, manually harvested and dry processed (I already wrote about coffee processing methods in one of my previous articles). They don't use any artificial fertilizers or pesticides, there aren't any combine harvesters or any irrigation systems - Ethiopia is too poor to afford any of these things. The good side of this situation is, that their coffee is always 100% natural. In addition with ideal climate conditions, good soils and centuries-old experience result in highest quality coffees.

Coffee cultivated in Ethiopia is mostly arabica. It's mostly distinguished by the region it comes from. It's the same as with wines, wine coming from Bordeaux region is commonly known as „Bordeaux” and wine from Champagne region as „Champagne”. The biggest Ethiopian coffee cultivation region is Sidamo.

Similar to most of high quality African coffees, Ethiopian Sidamo has a deep, a bit spicy flavor and citrus fruit notes. Another great coffee comes from Yirgacheffe region - with clear lemon and orange notes. Personally, I consider it as one of the worlds best coffees. The oldest cultivation region is known as Harrar (this is the region where legendary Kaldi supposedly „discovered” coffee). Coffees from this region are characterized by deep flavor and a little lower acidity.

The most amazing thing is, however, that all these regions still use the same cultivation and processing methods as their ancestors in 10th century. Imagine it! They do it in the same way for over 1000 years.

Even though, Ethiopia is considered a „coffee locomotive” of Africa and coffee beans are its main export product, half of Ethiopian coffee is consumed „on-site”. However, you won't be able to drink classic espresso or latte there. You might be surprised, but coffee in Ethiopia is usually drank with... salt and butter - just like tea in Tibet.

There is a bit more European-friendly version - with honey and some spices. In some cafes you can also find coffee served with milk (in 1930s Ethiopia was occupied by Italy, so some of their traditions can still be found). Coffee with a big amount of milk is known as bunna beletet and with small amount as macchiato.

The most popular coffee is known as bado bunna (which literally means: empty coffee), it's a black coffee server with salt or with honey. Some other interesting fact is bunnakela. Bunnakela are sphare shaped snacks made with grinded coffee, milk, fat and some other additions.

Ethiopian love coffee and drink lots of it. Popular Ethiopian saying which I would like to end this article sounds like: if you are worried - drink a coffee, if you are happy - drink a coffee, if you are tired - drink a coffee.

French press, also known as press pot or coffee press, is one of the simplest devices for home coffee making. If you use high quality, fresh roasted and ground just before brewing coffee beans, you will gain the highest quality black coffee, which you won't have to be ashamed of, even in front of elegant guests.

In my previous articles I wrote about making coffee with classic devices like Bialetti percolator, Chemex, or Aeropress (which is known for roughly 10 years, but it's already considered a classic). The last one remaining is the "French press". This name is most popular in the USA and Canada, in France it's called "cafetière à piston" , in Italy (where it originated from) "caffettiera a stantuffo" and in Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand it's just "coffee plunger".

As I already told, it originated from Italy. It was designed by Attilio Calimani in 1929. At first, it didn't  get much attention. In 1950s another Italian designer, Faliero Bondanini, modified the original device, and found a company which would produce it. It was a French... clarinet factory - Martin SA, which popularized in Europe. The name "French press" comes from the company's origination country.

Later, French press, could be found in other companies offers as well, e.g. English Household Articles and Danish Bodum (which is famous for it's highest quality French presses). The modern French press consists of a narrow cylindrical beaker, usually made of glass or clear plastic, equipped with a metal or plastic lid and plunger that fits tightly in the cylinder and has a fine stainless steel wire or nylon mesh filter. The simplicity of French press is what makes it so popular all over the world.

How to make a coffee using French Press?

Obviously, you need coffee. I always encourage to buy coffee from reliable sources, as coffee loses it's qualities with time. Would you like to eat bread baked 2 weeks ago? Or sweets that have already seen their best moments? The answer is obvious. Why, then would you buy a coffee roasted half a year ago?

I encourage you to read coffee's labels. Even in reputable deli shops, you can find coffees like Illy, Pellini or Lavazza roasted 1 year ago! Although coffee is a long term product and can be storaged for quite a long time (most companies use 2-year expiration period), but there is a gigantic quality gap between coffee roasted 2 or 3 weeks ago and coffee roasted a year ago. Ok, let's assume that you have good quality coffee. Now, you have to grind it. Of course, you can buy ground coffee, but I will again encourage you to buy a grinder and do it yourself. Grinding coffee right before brewing is the easiest method of increasing it's quality even by 50%.

In case of French press, coffee should be coarsely ground, because extraction takes around 4 minutes. For 1 liter of water, you should use around 60-70 g of coffee. You pour it into the press, mix it and wait for 4 minutes. If the grinding level is correct, the time of 4 minutes will result in the best quality coffee. After this time, you should mix it again and put the plunger with lid on the cylinder. Now, it's time for the most enjoyable part: gently press the piston to separate the grounds and hold them at the bottom of the beaker. Try to do it as gently as you can, so you don't scratch the gasket and stop the dregs from getting into the drink.

That's it! Your coffee is ready. You should instantly pour it into mugs/cups and don't leave any amount in the press, as it will get bitter if it keeps in touch with the dregs.

Espresso, cappuccino, latte, americano... Surely most of you know which coffee to choose for yourself. But what are the differences between other coffees?

Espresso - everyone knows. Latte has a higher amount of heated (but not frothed) milk than cappuccino. Americano is a ,,big black coffee". But what to choose when you can see coffees like flat white, Romano or Marochino listed in the menu? Gamble and pick randomly or just take cappuccino that you know very well? This short guide will help solve your problems!

First, short explanation. This article focuses on coffees based on espresso, which means a more or less ,,Italian" coffees. Besides Italy, there is a whole world of different coffees and different methods (I already wrote an article about AeroPress, which is a great coffee making tool). Anyway most of the drinks I'm going to write about are so popular, that you can probably find anywhere, so it's a good idea to give them a closer look. Let's begin!

Espresso – one of Italian symobs, right next to Colosseum or Ferrari. Espresso deserves a separate article, so I will just list some important information: it is 25-30 ml, extraction time (water flowing through ground coffee in coffee machine) about 25 seconds, water temperature 88-92°C. ATTENTION! There is not something like ,,expresso", that you can sometimes hear from customers in cafes. The name ,,espresso" has nothing to do with brewing speed, it comes from Italian adjective espressivo, that means expressive.

Cappuccino – following right behind espresso, that it's based on. Cappuccino uses about 100 ml of milk, which after frothing should volume around 125 ml. According to Italian standards, cappuccino should be around 150 ml. Milk foam on top should be 1-2 cm thick, deprived of air bubbles and have creamy consistency. The name ,,cappuccino" comes from Capuchin friars habit color - brown-white.

Latte – where's cappuccino, there also is latte. Latte has more milk (,,latte" means milk) than cappuccino, should be 200 ml or more and should have a small amount of frothed milk at the top. In Italy, Latte (and cappuccino) is traditionally drank with breakfast.

Flat white – this coffee comes from Australia or New Zealand (there still are disputes about its origination). It's traditionally made of double espresso, which is poured with hot milk (it can be a little frothed, but only a little). As the name suggests, it should be flat at the top.

Americano – espresso poured with hot water. The amount of water can be very different: starting from 25-30 ml (which means 1:1 espresso-water scale, this kind of coffee is called ,,italiano" or ,,short americano" in America) and ending at 470ml. It's believed that americano originated from Italy during World War II. American soldiers asked to pour water into espresso to get a coffee similar to the one they drank at home.

Macchiato – espresso with a little amount of frothed milk. In Italian Macchiato means tainted. We can say then, that this coffee is tainted with a small amount of milk. 

Latte macchiato – it's the reverse of macchiato. Latte macchiato is a hot frothed milk with the addition of one portion of espresso (sometimes two). Everything can be covered with whipped cream, but it's not compulsory. A well made latte macchiato has 3 layers: milk at the bottom, milk mixed with espresso in the middle and milk foam at the top. It's at least 200 ml and is often served in transparent glass, so the layers can be easily seen.

Mocha – a variant of latte. It's an espresso with addition of chocolate (can be powdered or as a syrup) and hot milk with whipped cream at the top.

Mocha breve – a variant of mocha. Milk and whipped cream is replaced with heated mix of milk and cream. This coffee comes from America and isn't that popular in Europe.

Marochino – it's an espresso with addition of cocoa or chocolate syrup and a bit of frothed milk. This coffee comes from Italian Alexandria and it's name comes from its color. In Italian Marochino means the type of light brown skin.

Irish coffee – this time not from Italy, but other side of Europe. Irish coffee is an espresso (or just strong black coffee) with addition of heated whiskey, brown sugar. It's decorated with whipped cream. The trick is to not let the cream mix with coffee and whiskey. It's served in a beer glass, which makes it look like stout beer.

Vienna coffee – as the name suggests, thus coffee comes from Vienna. It's an espresso or strong black coffee brewed in a different way, decorated with whipped cream. Some recipes recommend melting chocolate in a saucepan, then adding the coffee into the chocolate. Then pour it into a cup and decorate with whipped cream.

Romano – it's an espresso served with a lemon peel, sticking out at the top of the coffee. There is also a version with the addition of lemon juice. Some people believe that coffee with lemon helps dealing with hangover, but as I already wrote in the myths of coffee article, it's not true.

Corretto – an espresso with a little addition of alcohol. In Italy, traditionally with the use of grappa, but other alcohols (brandy, cognac, whisky) are also as popular. In some bars, espresso and alcohol are being served separately, so you can experiment with alcohol amount. It can optionally be served with frothed milk.

Freddo – a cold espresso. There are many different recipes for making it, but the most popular one recommends pouring ice cubes with hot espresso and adding (optionally) alcohol (e.g. grappa or brandy). Other version recommends using cooled down espresso and some other recipe tells to replace alcohol with a small amount of frothed milk. 

Lungo – which means ,,extended" espresso. In Italian Lungo means long. It's made just like espresso, but after getting around 25-30 ml of extract, instead of stopping it's continued until 50-60 ml, which makes the coffee more delicate. Lungo shouldn't be confused with americano, which is an espresso with the addition of hot water.

Ristretto – is the opposite of lungo. In Italian Ristretto means limited. It's an espresso with lower amount of water (around 15 ml), which is literally one sip.

Dry cappuccino – it's a cappuccino with a low addition of frothed milk and high addition of milk foam (it's also named cappuccino scurro). Sometimes in America the milk foam is replaced with whipped cream.

Con panna – espresso with a small amount of whipped cream.

With honey – espresso with addition of honey and frothed milk at the top.

As you can see, that's a lot of coffees. The list above thoroughly describes the diffrences between most of espresso based coffees. However, different countries (or even regions of the same country) can change the meaning of some names. For example, in America, espresso con panna and Vienna coffee are practically the same, the same thing goes with americano and lungo. Dry cappuccino is popular in America with the addition of whipped cream and in Europe it may be considered as Vienna coffee. In Australia flat white will be the same as latte in Italy.

I hope that this article helped you understand some mysterious coffee names.
Check Coffees Guru regularly and follow me on my Facebook profile. In just a few days, I will unravel the secrets of espresso!

In my previous article I wrote about different coffees, most based on espresso. This time I would like to focus only on espresso as it's the most important factor, which affects the final result of cappuccino, latte or any other espresso based coffee.

Espresso should have 25 ml volume. It's served in a heated porcelain cup of 70 ml volume. There is a dense nutty-brown foam at the top, the foam gives the coffee a sweet taste. Middle part of the cup is named body, which has a dark brown color. At the bottom, lies the heart, which means the essence of espresso, it's the source of its strength and intensity. Served alongside espresso is a glass of water. It's used for flushing taste buds before drinking coffee. Sometimes I can see people who drink espresso first and water second. Don't do that! A cup of espresso is not vodka! Another important thing is the name. Of course it's espresso, not expresso. The name of this coffee has nothing to do with the speed of its brewing, it refers to Italian adjective espressivo, that means expressive.

Espresso originated from Italy over 100 years ago. In 1901 Luigi Bezzera created a coffee machine based on pressurized water flow, but he couldn't get rid of steam, which worsen the taste of coffee. Roughly 4 years later Desiderio Pavoni bought the patent for machine from Bezzera and slightly modified it. The steam however was still a problem and only after 4 decades in 1947 Achille Gaggia creater a new water heating system, that solved the steam problem. All companies founded by men listed above function till this day. Bezzera, La Pavoni and Gaggia are reputable producers of coffee makers for house use or gastronomy locals.

Espresso gained popularity in Italy alongside progressive urbanization. Espresso bars started to appear, their prices were regulated by local authorities, provided that coffee was served ,,on stand". Coffee is small, so drinking it, took only a while. Till this day many Italians still drink their morning ,,small black coffee" in that way. Considering that espresso in good Roman cafes costs around 1€, it's not a big expense.

Global espresso expansion started in 1950s and has a few reasons. First is the emigration of Italians, mostly to USA. Italian diasporas e.g. famous New Yorks ,,Little Italy" were the hearts of Italian culture, including culinary culture. Second reason of worldwide espresso success was the presence of Allied soldiers in Italy during World War II, who after returning to their countries talked about great Italian coffee and often looked for it in Italian diaspores. Another reason that helped espresso reach the national success was... Hollywood. In 1950s and 1960s the fashion for so called „sword-and-sandal" movies, which means that the action took place in the antiquity (and their characters wore sandals - hence the name). It was during this time when movies like „Cleopatra", „Ben Hur", „Spartacus", „Quo Vadis" and many others were created. Most of these movies weren't shot in Los Angeles, but in Italy. Actors took Brioni suits, Ferrari cars and... great Italian coffee.

Over time espresso became one of Italian symbols. To preserve it and give it an appropriate rank, the National Institute of Italian Espresso (Instituto Nazionale Espresso Italiano) was established. It precisely defined the parameters that are characteristic for ideal espresso.

Making an espresso isn't difficult, but it requires a short training and then a bit of practice. Making an espresso is easy, but making an ideal espresso or at least a good espresso is much harder. I won't write how to use a pressure coffee machine, because it's a topic for entirely different article, but I would like to give you some advices, that are worth remembering while ordering an espresso (or any other coffee). First: barista should grind the coffee in front of you.

He has a grinder not for decoration, but for using. If you can see a big amount of ground coffee in the grinders container, you can already leave the local. Espresso is supposed to be the essence of coffee, so it has to be made out of fresh ground coffee beans, right before brewing. Second: espresso should be around 100 ml volume. It happens that baristas make a slightly bigger ones (e.g. 30-35 ml) and it's still acceptable, but conservative Italian would consider that type of drink a lungo, not espresso.

However, if after ordering espresso, you are being served a cup half full of coffee... then something is not right. Third: at the top of espresso, there should be a crema - a light-brown colored foam. It should cover the entireity of coffee. If it's missing or it's a really small amount, this means that coffee beans used to make your coffee were either roasted a very long time ago or they were ground the wrong way and extraction didn't go as it should have gone. So, always look into your baristas hands and don't let them sell you an espresso that isn't even a real espresso. Visit Coffees GURU to expand your coffee knowledge and follow me on facebook to be updated!

Where does coffee come from? The answe for this question seems easy: from the shop, cafe, roastery... But have you ever wondered where is the beginning? How does coffee look in its natural development stage? If you ever wondered about these question while drinking your coffee, this article is for you.

Coffee is cultivated for over 1000 years. The homeland of coffee is Ethiopia. According to a legend, goatherd Kaldi discovered coffee trees. One day he noticed that his goats were exceptionally agitated. Driven by curiosity, he started carefully observing his goats and noticed that the more agitated ones eat small fruit from a nearby tree. He picked some of the fruit and went to a nearby monastery. There, a monk named Chadely crushed them, then put into the fire and after a short while they could smell a pleasant roasted coffee scent. That's what the legend says.

Regardless of how real the legend is, it's a fact that coffee trees originated from todays Ethiopia, where the trees can be still found in the wild. So - first thing: coffee grows on a tree. In the wild it looks like a cherry tree, but has bigger leaves and bears a lot of fruit. The fruit also look like a cherry, but they are a bit smaller. The coffee fruit pulp is sour and isn't edible. The real treasure are their seeds - which means coffee beans. Coffee trees can be several meters tall, but on plantations, they are being chopped down to 1,5 - 2 meters, so it's easier and faster to harvest their cherries. 

Coffee is being cultivated in so called „coffee bean belt". Coffee trees grow within a defined area between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. It includes countries as: Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda in Africa; Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Guatemala and Costa Rica in South and Central America; India, Indonesia and Vietnam in Asia. Coffee trees require subtropical climate, which means no division into seasons (it's either summer or spring-summer). Thanks to these conditions, coffee trees can bear fruit several times a year. The other important thing is above mean sea level.

Coffee trees can grow only at the level of 900 meters or higher (only regarding Arabica, worse quality Robusta can grow slightly lower). There are attempts to initiate coffee growing on lower levels, but the problem there is the occurrence of a disease called „coffee rust'' , which makes it impossible to develop a plantation. 

As I already mentioned, coffee grows on ~2 meters tall trees, that bear many fruit few times a year. On big plantations, using industrial machines, the fruit are being harvested with combine-harvesters. It's an economic solution, but it results in lower quality coffee. On small plantations, producing „premium" (only these are being offered in my roastery) coffees, coffee fruit are being harvested manually. Farms, which grow high quality coffee are usually small, so farmers aren't walking very long distances.

What happens next? After harvesting, coffee fruit need to be separated from their seeds - coffee beans. There are 2 methods of separating seed from the fruit: dry and washed. First method means that coffee fruit are laid on mats in full sun. This drying process can last even 4 weeks. During this time the pulp and skin become dry and fall off leaving only the seeds.

The cherries must be turned multiple times per day to protect against rot and to be dried even on all sides. Second method, called „washed" is a little more complicated. First, all the fruit are being put in water. Rotten and unripe fruit start floating on the surface, while ripe fruit stay on the bottom. Then, a special mechanism will separate pulp and skin  from the seed. Cherries are being pushed through stone rollers by pressured water, which rip the skin and pulp, but leave the seed intact. The last thing left is to dry the seeds, pack them into sacks and send them to roasteries all over the world.

At the end, I would also like to mention coffee types. There actually are only 2 types of coffee cultivated worldwide: higher quality Arabica (70% of worlds coffee cultivation) and worse quality Robusta (30% of worlds coffee cultivation).

Arabica is more delicate, has a very extensive aroma-flavor set and results in a much better coffee after roasting. The name „Araboca" is historical and doesn't relate to its origination. Arabica is cultivated in Africa, Asia and America and has many different varieties. Arabica cultivated in Africa, e.g. in Ethiopia will have much different taste than Arabica cultivated in America or Asia.

But what exactly are the differences? Which coffee to choose? This will be the topic of my next article. I invite you to read my blog in a few days and regularly visit my Facebook profile.

Most people who drink coffee tend to limit themselves to determining whether it is good or not. In the case of people dealing with coffee professionally, such terms can not say much. Coffee beans are the second most traded commodity on world exchanges (crude oil is the first). The entire industry, from growers over brokers and roasters, to coffee shops and sometimes home coffee drinkers, had to develop some common methods of testing coffee and assessing its quality.

In this article, you can read how to recognize a good quality coffee, what to pay attention to, what deserves recognition, and what is a defect. You will learn what does acidity, bitterness, taste, body or balance really means in coffee. Getting to know these properties of coffee is not difficult at all and even if you do not have the knowledge and skills of professional tasters (and probably not), you will be able to be more aware consumer of the "little black coffee".

As previously mentioned, coffee is a very salable commodity. It flows from plantations in South and Central America, Africa or Southeast Asia to almost every place of earth. Buyers, both large brokerage companies as well as smaller and larger roasteries, must know what beans they are buying and the mere assurances that "you will be satisfied" will certainly not be enough. The coffee industry relies heavily on coffee evaluation forms in this case. Often these are worksheets developed by the Specialty Coffee Association of America or the Cup of Excellence. The big coffee companies (e.g. Tchibo or Lavazza) sometimes rely on their own forms, but these are similar to the earlier ones and the coffee research process is very similar as well.

To the point! The process of evaluating coffee begins well before it is brewed. At the beginning, the grains prepared by growers are assessed in terms of the quality of the green, raw beans - size, number of defects, uniformity or color.

Then, after roasting, the shade of roasting the beans is assessed. Whether they are roasted lightly or strongly will have an impact on other parameters, e.g. acidity or bitterness. Another important issue assessed on a dry sample is the aroma. It is one of the most important things in coffee. It is worth mentioning that raw, green coffee beans have several aromatic and flavor compounds. Coffee has over 800 of them! The essential oils contained in coffee are similar to those of cocoa, hence the smell of coffee sometimes resembles the smell of chocolate. However, experts in their assessments are more accurate. The International Coffee Organization (ICO) lists 18 aromatic shades of roasted coffee:

Some of them are desirable, while others (e.g. rubber) indicate low-quality coffee or serious errors in the roasting process. As an aside, it can be added that roasted coffee is the most aromatic food product.

After analyzing the aroma of dry coffee, it's time to pour hot water over it. All samples are prepared in the same way: 150 ml of water at 92 ° C per 8.25 g of coffee. Brewing takes exactly 4 minutes. After this time, a special spoon "breaks the shell", that is, with a decisive movement, scoops the grounds floating on the surface of the brew. This will allow you to feel the aroma of the brewed coffee (which may be different from the aroma of "dry" coffee).

Next coffee parameters are assessed on the basis of the sample prepared in this way. These are:

Acidity – this is a feature that is controversial among non-specialists. It is commonly believed that this is something undesirable, you can often hear opinions that someone does not like "sour coffee". It must be said, however, that there is a difference between "sour coffee" and coffee having a certain acidity. Without acidity, the coffee would taste bland. The best coffees from Africa, for example the Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, have acidic citrus notes that are noticeable even by laymen, and this is their highly desirable and well-liked feature. The mentioned "sour coffee" is different. This is an undesirable defect that can sometimes result from a wrong production process and resemble vinegar or ferment. In terms of acidity, coffee is somewhat similar to wine: good drinks can have slight citrus notes, while wines that are sour are just bad.

Bitterness - The typical bitter taste of coffee is due to the caffeine it contains. Coffee that is dark roasted has a more noticeable bitterness, which is related to the breakdown of carbohydrates. Roasting too long or roasting at too high temperature makes the coffee too bitter, which is an undesirable effect.

Texture (also named as body or mouthfeel) - The sensations coffee leaves on your tongue. It can be full, which is thick and heavy, or dense (which is a desirable trait) or tart and shallow, which is not very good. The consistency of the coffee is the subjective feeling of stickiness and fullness it leaves on the tongue. If after drinking coffee it feels like a delicate cream on your tongue, it has a "full body". If you feel like a glass of water after drinking it, it is shallow and not very expressive.

Flavor and aftertaste - that is, in fact, the culmination of the aforementioned features. Good coffee has little (to very little) acidity, little to medium bitterness, and a full-bodied texture. The taste is in part the resultant of these features. Coffee has to have some acidity (which doesn't mean it has to be acidic!), There has to be some bitterness in it which comes from the roasting process, and finally it has to be felt on the palate, it cannot flow like water. Good coffee thus oscillates between sweet, bitter and acidic, but not sweet, bitter or sour by itself. For professionals, the so-called "Clean cup", i.e. whether the coffee is free of impurities, "noise", and whether it is free from any sensory errors typical for coffee from a given region (e.g. typical Ethiopia Yirgacheffe should be slightly acidic, with hints of citrus, very little bitterness and medium sweetness, medium to full consistency).

Balance - all the parameters mentioned above and the proportions between them. Coffee may have an intense, desirable aroma and appropriate (usually not too high) acidity, but its other constituent parts may interfere with the perception of the whole (eg bitterness is too high, or the coffee is "flat", ie has not very good "body"). Balance is the point of contact for all the parameters of a good coffee, which is slightly acidic but not sour, has a certain bitterness but not bitter, has a pleasant feeling on the tongue and tastes (and leaves an aftertaste on the palate) just like the coffee in the given the region and the species should be left behind.

I hope that the above article will help you better understand what good coffee should be. Of course, tastes vary, and everyone may like something different.

Getting to know the characteristics of different coffees will certainly facilitate an informed choice. Do you like coffee with a noticeable acidity? Try Arabica from Africa or other continents, but delicately roasted. Would you like to feel nutty and chocolate notes in your coffee?

You will like coffees from America, preferably strongly or at least medium roasted. Or maybe you are interested in "full body" coffees with forest-earthy aromas? Arabica from Indonesia will be perfect for you. The world of coffee, like wine, is quite complex, with lots of varieties and regions of origin, but discovering it is a lot of fun, which I sincerely wish you!

It looks like a chemical laboratory installation element, James Bond makes his coffee in it and Illinois Institute of Technology (USA) considered it as „one of the best designed modern times items”. What is it? It's a Chemex coffee maker!

Glass jug with top widening neck and wooden handle fastened with a leather strap - a very simple, yet so charming and timeless device, that New York city's Musem of Modern Art presents it at the permanent exhibition. Chemex was designed in 1941 by dr Peter Schlumbohm and is produced in a small Chicopee city in state of Massachusetts by Chemex Corporation till this day.

Chemex is a pour-over style coffeemaker - it doesn't use pressure (like Bialetti percolator and AeroPress do). It's so called „drip”, which means a method where water flows through grinded coffee placed in the filter and liquify into the container. Using the appropriately grinded coffee and good paper filter, make the water „collect” only the best properties of the coffee and under the influence of gravity flows down to the container from where it can be poured into cups.

How to use a Chemex coffee maker?

1. Put the paper filter into the top side of Chemex. Boil water and pour it through the filter. This will get rid of papery taste and heat the jug, so the coffee won't cool down by touching with cold glass. Repeal the filter a bit and pour the water out.
2. Grind your coffee! Of course you can use pre-grinded coffee, but I always recommend investing into your own coffee grinder. Using fresh grinded coffee gives the coffee at least +50% quality and taste. Grinding for Chemex shouldn't be either too fine (like for pressure coffee maker) or too coarse (e.g. for French Press). After a few tries, you will find the ideal grinding level.
3. Put the coffee into the filter and pour with water (it shouldn't be scalding, so wait half a minute after the boiling). Pour the water so it barely covers grinded coffee. Wait a moment and slowly add more water. This can take a while, you shouldn'y hurry. 
4. At the end take the filter out and pour the coffee into cups/glasses/mugs. All done!
5. How much coffee? How much water? It's always hard for me to answer these questions. Everyone has their own taste. Coffee from Chemex is quite delicate, so someone who likes stronger „black” coffee should use more coffee and less water.  I think that in the case of coffee/water proportions, everyone should experiment and find what they like best.

Produced since 1970s, Chemex has become an icon in modern books and movies. Ian Fleming, the author of James Bond novels, in his book called „From Russia, with Love” describes agent 007 making a coffee with the use of Chemex. Chemex is also used by Rosemary from Roman Polański's movie „Rosemary's Baby”, Don Draper from popular tv series „Mad Men” and I also noticed that it was used in last years blockbuster „Interstellar” and I can see it everyday in my kitchen and I sincerely recommend you to buy one!

Turkish coffee, a coffee prepared with a specific method, which I describe below, known for over 500 years. It's not that popular and is a bit harder and more time consuming than making a regular coffee, but has an intense and original taste.

Before we get to making Turkish coffee, let's go back in time. First notes describing Turkish coffee come from 15th century from Yemen (by the way, coffee travelling to Yemen was sent through harbor named Mokka, coming from the name of coffee). Over the next few hundred years, coffee spread across the whole Ottoman Empire: Cairo, Mecca, Damascus nad Constantinople. First cafes started to appear and the black drink gained many admirers. The name „Turkish coffee” isn't popular in Turkey, Turks usually refer to it as „coffee”. If you ever visit Turkey, then ordering coffee will most likely result in getting this coffee.

And how is this coffee made? First of all, it's a boiled coffee. Most of you probably use coffee machines. Some of you maybe use alternative brewing methods, e.g. dripper or AeroPress (you can read more about it here). You boil it in a small pot - called cezve. It has to be very finely ground, even more finely than for espresso machine. The beans must be ground to a very fine powder. Most of house grinders can't grind them that finely, that's why it's better to ask a shop or coffee roastery to do it for you.

Cezve should be half filled with water, then you pot coffee in - traditionally 1 spoon for 1 cup. The drink will be strong and aromatic. You can also add (depends on personal preferences) sugar, some spices, like cinnamon or cardamon. Next you have to mix everything together (this is the only moment, that you can mix it, you shouldn't mix it later) and put cezve on small heat. Turkish coffee should be heated slowly, until you can see foam forming on it's surface. Stopping the heating too early results in lack of the foam, which is important for the taste. Heating it for too long results in the foam falling down and the coffee being too bitter.

Turks treat coffee like English treat tea (it's a steretypical comparsion, but it only shows how seriously they treat coffee). They drink coffee when they meet with friends, on buisness meetings and during social rituals. Not that long ago, a fresh married wife could let her in-law parents know, what she thinks of their arranged marriage by making a coffee in a certain way. If the coffee was sweet - she was very pleased, if it was bitter - she was discouraged. Serving a coffee with salt meant insult and objection. French diplomat from the end of 18th and beginning of 19th century, Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand said that coffee should be: "black as the devil, hot as hell and swee as love".