Article by Barry Wyse

So there you are, standing still within the aisle of a local superstore faced with shelves and shelves of coffee brewers. Trying to decide about the very best kind of machine for your needs. To make things even worse, perplexing sounding names such as espresso, drip, pod and French press leap across the shelves at you. This further complicates things as what the heck are these items you wonder. Well thankfully, when you conclude reading this post you will have a much better concept of what these terms mean and the function they carry out within the life of a coffee drinker.

Coffee makers have come a long way. From yesterday’s cowboy pots brewing coffee on top of the fire to today’s sleek gourmet brewers, there’s a brewer to suit every taste, every chosen lifestyle, every budget and every counter space. So where do you start finding the coffee maker of your dreams?

Before you proceed in the direction of the appliance aisle at your favorite outlet, perform a little groundwork. Think about what sort of coffee you like, how frequently you drink it, just how much space you’ve got for a coffee maker, and how much you are able to afford to spend for a brewer. These are the problems involved when making a decision whether or not to purchase an espresso or a non-espresso coffee maker.

Selecting a Coffee Brewer Espresso vs Non Espresso

Espresso coffee brewers are elegant. They cost more than other coffee brewers (some cost 1000′s of dollars) plus churn out a range of coffee types including cappuccino and lattes. Espresso brewers often make only a single mug at a time and require cleaning after each cup. The coffee is stronger than that made by other methods.

Genuine coffee aficionados regularly like to make use of the espresso brewer, above all the super automated versions that do the whole lot from grinding the coffee to pouring it into the cup.

Mainstream coffee drinkers who wish to have a carafe on hand at all times and are not interested in lattes or other variations of coffee are likely to prefer non-espresso coffee machines. Non-espresso coffee makers work well for people who like to start the coffee brewing and go on with their typical activities while it brews. They buy coffee already ground and do not bother with beans or grinding.

For coffee drinkers requiring size-able amounts of coffee, non-espresso is the way to go. Big percolator type coffee urns can be used to yield more than a hundred cups at one time.

They also prefer returning to the coffee pot time after time and refilling their coffee mug over making simply a mug at a time. Non-espresso type coffee machines are much cheaper than espresso makers.

Deciding on a Coffee Brewer Non-Espresso

These coffee makers are accessible in drip, French press and combination models. Drip machines often make 6 to ten cups of coffee at once. Intended for those who need a lesser quantity, it’s better to purchase a model that creates 4 individual cups (or less) at a time. Drip coffee machines are cheap and straightforward to make use of.

There are pod coffee machines available which employ single serving pods to prepare coffee. Pod coffee brewers can be low-cost but the coffee itself costs more than standard containers of pre-ground coffee.

French Press coffee makers are terrific for a few cups at once. Combination machines that includes both espresso and non-espresso coffee makers in a single machine are also available. These brewers provide coffee lovers the best of two worlds.

Picking a Coffee Machine Espresso

Espresso coffee brewers appear in semi-automatic, fully automated and super automatic versions. These machines turn out fewer mugs at a time and may require more time and attention than a regular drip coffee machine.

The more automated an espresso coffee maker is, the more options it will offer. A few manage everything from crushing the beans to filling the cup with coffee and ejecting the second-hand grounds.

The great number of features the espresso maker offers, the greater the price tag attached to buy it. These brewers might cost anywhere from hundreds of dollars to 1000′s of dollars.

The first decision to be made in deciding on a coffee maker is the necessity to resolve if an espresso brewer or a non-espresso coffee maker is needed. Coffee preferences, funds and amount to be made are factors that have an effect on the decision making procedure. Once you know the type you want, then you can start narrowing your hunt even more by thinking about the distinctive styles within the wider categories of espresso and non-espresso models.

This is when things can become enjoyable, believe it or not! Armed with your new found information you may now target precise brands of coffee machines within the kind that you prefer, for instance drip coffee machines, manual or automatic, and begin to do some research to establish what customers are saying about exact brand names. Used for this purpose, the World wide web is a great research tool as there are numerous evaluation and testing websites accessible to you using just a easy finger tap of a computer mouse button. Therefore pour yourself a cup of tea and let the search for the best coffee maker begin!

Article by Jason Hart | Mobile Coffee Melbourne

What’s in a cup of coffee? For professional tasters, quite a lot. In fact, one aficionado has actually insured his taste buds for over million USD. While not everyone can do cupping for a living, you can still do your own taste testing at home. Here are some helpful tips for making your coffee cupping as effective as possible:

1. Use the same roasts

Light roasts tend to be the best ones, since the flavour of the beans will more likely be intact. Regardless of which type of roast you choose, choose the same one for all of the coffees. This will help to make the tasting as uniform as possible. You should also include raw and roasted versions of each bean type.

2. Maximize your sense of smell

While your sense of taste will take centre stage during tasting, your sense of smell is also crucial. Make sure to smell the un-roasted and roasted versions of the coffee beans before you steep them. You should also smell it immediately after making it, before you stir it. This is when the strongest aromas are released.

3. Use multiple criteria when coffee cupping

Ultimately, you’ll be determining the overall quality of a cup of coffee. But you should consider several characteristics of it, in order to make that determination. How’s the “body” of the coffee? What’s the acidity level? What’s the aftertaste? It’s important to note that while cupping is somewhat of a science; it’s more of an art. Otherwise, the demand for professionals wouldn’t be as high as it is.

4. Use an extremely controlled environment

This is a crucial step when doing at-home coffee cupping. The temperature range of the room should be 20 to 25 degrees Celsius, and the humidity should be 15%-20%. Keeping your environment within this range will help to optimize your senses of smell and taste. When is the best time of day to do this exercise? Between meals is the best time, so your palate will (literally) have a clean slate. Late mornings and late afternoons tend to be ideal times for coffee cupping.

5. Keep the samples small

Ideally, each sample should be approximately two tablespoons. Regarding the coffee’s texture, it should be somewhere between drip-brew and French press. It’s crucial to get the sample size and texture right, to optimize the effectiveness of your efforts.

6. Don’t forget to enjoy the experience

While this is a serious business in the coffee industry, you can certainly have fun when you do non-professional coffee cupping from your home. You should still take the right steps to ensure that the environment is right, the coffee types are prepared uniformly, and you’re able to make the most objective assessments possible. But most of us likely won’t need to insure our taste buds for millions of dollars. So have some fun while doing your coffee cupping. It can certainly help to boost your appreciation for the different types and grades of coffee beans on the market.