The comprehensive guide to coffee: Proper storage of coffee has a great impact on the flavor of the brewed cup. Enemies to coffee’s flavor include heat, oxygen, light, and moisture. Most commercial coffee today is sold in vacuum-sealed bags with one-way valves to allow gasses to escape while keeping oxygen out. Once the seal on the bag is broken, extra care must be taken to keep the beans fresh. At home, coffee beans should be stored in an airtight container in a cool, dark, and dry place. Although some people advocate keeping coffee beans in either the refrigerator or freezer, this can present issues with exposure to circulating air, excess humidity, and absorption of rogue flavors.
Lungo – Lungo is often confused with Americano, but it’s not at all the same. Lungo is a long shot prepared by extracting double the amount of water with same amount of coffee grounds. In figures, it means, 50 ml of water is extracted with 7 grams of coffee. This results in extraction of more caffeine, but with dissolved off-notes of coffee. It’s a less popular drink but it’s a preferred drink for people who demand more caffeine. Caffe Crema – An extra long espresso drink served in Northern Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. It has different flavor profile than related drinks like Lungo and Americano due to different extraction process. Rough brewing ratios of ristretto, normale, lungo, and caffè crema are 1:2:3:6 and the average water part per shot is 6 oz (180ml). Cafe Zorro – This is a double shot of espresso that is added to water in a 1:1 ratio.
Let’s discuss about coffee percolators. Another De’Longhi creation is the 15 Bar Pump Espresso and Cappuccino Maker. It is a bestseller in the field of semi-automatic espresso machines. What sets De’Longhi’s model EC155 apart is its 15 bar pressure pump. This means optimal brewing pressure is used to make your espresso. It comes with a small built-in tamper and a frothing wand. This model is suitable for those who want to experiment on getting an espresso machine, but are not serious or knowledgeable enough to get a more expensive automatic machine.
More often than not, when we think of how coffee is categorized and marketed, we’re usually thinking of things like roasting profiles or source of origin. This information is certainly helpful in identifying what to expect with a given coffee, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. Let’s take a closer look at what types of coffees are out there and what makes each of them unique. There are four primary types of coffee beans we’ll be discussing here: Arabica (Coffee arabica), Robusta (Coffee caniphora), Liberica (Coffee liberica), and Excelsa (Coffee liberica var. dewevrei). Let’s discover what differences define these various types of coffee. See more info at Coffee Informer.
Next, the other very common type of coffee bean is Robusta. Rather than gaining its popularity through quality and depth of the brew, these plants are popular for for their high caffeine level and hardiness. While they do thrive in hotter climates and varied rainfall, Robusta beans are known for being able to put up with a much wider range of climates and altitudes. Also, they withstand diseases much better than other varieties. That resistance makes them better for growing in large crops. Higher quality robust tends to have a lower acidity and heavy body. These brews stand up better against things like cream and sugar, making them great for something like Vietnamese Coffee. And it works well in blends like Death Wish that are specifically curated for their caffeine kick.