Perhaps you’ve heard of Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee, but what makes it special, why is it so expensive, and what’s it all about? Find out in this short and informative video and maybe you’ll win some FREE coffee too! Visit www.CoffeeNate.com
Perhaps you’ve heard of Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee, but what makes it special, why is it so expensive, and what’s it all about? Find out in this short and informative video and maybe you’ll win some FREE coffee too! Visit www.CoffeeNate.com
In this episode I show you how to brew coffee in the refrigerator. I also do a tasting of Speakeasy Coffee’s Ethiopian Harrar. You will find a couple of my iced coffee recipes on my site, www.CoffeeNate.com
You can brew coffee without electricity or heat! This video shows you how to cold brew coffee with The Toddy. Lower acid and a sweet & smooth flavor are reasons to give this method a shot. See the complete post at www.CoffeeNate.com
In this video, I not only show you how to use a siphon pot, I also explain how the vacuum coffee brewing method works and why. Learn more at www.CoffeeNate.com
This video shows you multiple ways that you can easily enjoy excellent tasting coffee anywhere…even while camping! There is a Moká Pot tutorial as part of this guide. See this and all CoffeeNate videos in HD at www.CoffeeNate.com
If you are a coffee snob then certainly you’ve received a coffee related gift that you were less than thrilled about. Of course it’s the thought that counts, and regular people just don’t know any better, but come on. Who thinks of some of this stuff?
Think you have to have a brewer that costs hundreds of dollars to make a quality cup of java? NO, you can produce a superior cup of coffee with the cheapest method going, they French Press. The underrated brewer is very inexpensive and easy to use.
In this Chinese teacups review I’ll go over a few things I’ve discovered online.
Many Chinese people are meticulous in regards to tea wares, the reason being that tea wares (such as teacups and teapots) play an integral role in the preparation of tea. A proper Chinese tea ceremony would not be truly successful without the use of proper utensils. In fact, it has been said that the true essence of a Chinese tea ceremony could not be experienced if the tea utensils involved were not the right type or of the best standard.
One of key items in the typical Chinese tea set is the Chinese teacup. These days teacups come in different designs and forms, and vary depending on their intended use. This article will detail three of the best-known and most popular Chinese teacups currently available and which can be found online on many websites.
As the name suggests, tea drinkers primarily use a filtering teacup or mug to filter the tea. This kind of Chinese teacup is usually designed and crafted with internal filters:
* Poet Filtering Teacup–a perfect companion for enjoying loose tea leaves, this Chinese teacup is actually a porcelain mug. It comes with an internal porcelain filter and its own lid, allowing room for tea leaves to expand and provide full infusion of the leaves. This variety of Chinese teacup commonly depicts a picture of a Tang dynasty poet inspired by outdoor beauty.
* Yixing Clay Filtering Mug–The Jiangsu province, an area situated 120 miles northwest of Shanghai China, is the home of this teacup. The Yixing wares have enjoyed a reputation as the best vessels for tea for centuries. They were made from purple clay and are said to absorb the flavors and aroma of the tea. This style of Chinese teacup also has the ability to withstand high temperatures and is slow to conduct heat. This allows the handle to remain comfortably cool to the touch even when the cup contains particularly hot tea. And, of course, this Chinese teacup has an internal filter.
* Four-Season Character Teacup — With four-season calligraphy characters on all sides, this is an exquisite porcelain teacup which lives up to its name.
* Small Peony Flower Gaiwan — As implied by its name, a lovely peony flower design adorns this porcelain Gaiwan. Becoming popular during the Chine Dynasty in China, Gaiwan actually originated from Ming Dynasty. While small enough to be held comfortably for drinking, this Chinese teacup is large enough to accommodate tea brewing, as its origins would suggest.
* Black Cast Iron Teacup–Having long been considered as perfect for enjoying tea, this teacup can serve as a great companion for any cast iron teapot. Being a classical teacup, it is made from sturdy iron and has enamel coating on the interior that prevents rusting. Worth noting is that this Chinese teacup now comes in different colors.
I hope this Chinese teacups review helps you form a better understanding of what’s available – and don’t forget – if you have someone in your life who loves tea, one or more of these different types of teacups could make a perfect gift :-)
Whole bean coffee tastes delicious!
Whole bean coffee is really the only way to go if you love your coffee.
If you are a bit of a coffee snob/evangelist like me, then you probably know that already. Whole bean coffee stays fresh much longer, and if you brew it right after grinding it, you get a flavor you simply can’t reproduce from pre-ground coffee that’s been sitting around for a short time. Even only mediocre whole bean coffee brands taste pretty good if brewed straight after grinding.
I’ve been told that you can find some of the best whole bean coffee in Costa Rica. As an area well-known for its coffee, my friend Karen was keen to try some genuine Costa Rican brews during her visit there last year and told me she was in love with it. If you visit Costa Rica you’ll no doubt want to make the experience last as long as possible, so do try to bring back as much coffee as will fit in your suitcase – but don’t forget to check the Customs requirements before you do so. You don’t want to have to leave your bags of coffee at the airport, do you?
Knowing for a fact that the freshness is much better preserved when the beans are yet to be ground, bring back whole bean coffee as it has a much longer shelf-life than ground coffee.. When you get home, put the bags into the freezer, and leave one out for immediate use. When you first grind your newly-purchased whole bean coffee, the aroma will transport you back to Costa Rica, and you’ll be in a coffee-drinkers’ haven for as long as those packets last. If you bring back coffee that’s already been ground, it will have lost a lot of its unique flavor – so only bring back the beans.
While grinding whole bean coffee means that you may need to buy a coffee grinder, you may be thinking it could be a pain to clean, but if you think of it as an essential step to the best cup of coffee you can make, you won’t find it such a big task. Think of it like the Japanese Tea Ceremony – each small step is required to create the ultimate cup of fresh coffee with an aroma to die for.
On the other hand, the majority of coffee drinkers I know don’t even have a coffee grinder; their biggest effort is scooping out coffee powder into a machine and pushing a button – that’s the extent of their coffee making experience, and that’s ok too. It just depends on the experience you want to have for yourself.
Of course, there is something nice about just being able to add some already ground coffee in a machine and having a pot brewed in just a couple of minutes with not much effort. For this reason, I usually keep both whole bean coffee and already ground coffee on hand (in the freezer). Whenever I’m in a rush, I can use the ground coffee, and if I’ve got time to relax I’ll grind up some fresh whole bean coffee to enjoy the whole process and then to savor its taste.
So if you can, grab a bag of whole bean coffee next time you go shopping (or travelling to places like Costa Rica!), you won’t regret it – I promise :-)
Coffee in Paris