Why Shade Grown Espresso Coffee Are The Best

With coffee's growing popularity, the demand for coffee beans has increased. Most of the coffee consumed worldwide is grown on large farms, otherwise known as plantations, where the land has been cleared for rows and rows of coffee plants. These plants, like other crops, are grown and ripened under the warmth of the sun. However, for those who prefer the bold flavor of espresso and other gourmet coffee drinks, the sun ripened beans are just not suitable. Shade grown espresso coffee beans which take longer to mature seem to be the answer to this problem.

Coffees grown in different parts of the world have different flavors, and there are about 800 different components to coffee that has an effect on the taste of the finished product, plus sun ripened coffee beans or cherries tend to be bitterer than shade ripened cherries. Espresso shade grown coffee has a flavor that is both full and dark but smooth. Also, this type of coffee blends better with other ingredients, making it the perfect base for lattes and cappuccinos.

Not only does shade grown coffee have a better flavor, but it is also a more ecologically sound choice. Since most of the land used for the large coffee growers is tropical forest, clearing these lands takes away a vital component in maintaining earth's perfect atmospheric balance. The tropical forests take in carbon dioxide and produce the oxygen needed to sustain life on this planet. Many argue that by depleting this resource we are contributing to the rise of global warming.

Since there is no need to clear the land when growing shade ripened coffee plants, they become part of the forest. They provide shelter for smaller animals, such as birds and other tiny creatures. Not to mention, since larger plantations do not find this type of coffee crop economically viable, shade grown plants are normally raised on smaller family owned farms. These farmers are able to sell their crops to companies through Fair Trade sources, thus obtaining proper pricing so that they are able to provide proper support for their families. This helps to boost the economy of an underdeveloped area.

Another thing to consider is that shade ripened cherries are organically grown, which means that no chemicals were used during the farming process. This is important because fertilizers and pesticides like DDT, which is banned in the US, are still being used on most of the larger plantations located outside this country. Fertilizer and pesticides like DDT have been linked to cancer, birth defects and other health problems.

So the next time you select coffee for your espresso, or even morning cup of regular Joe, try to remember to look for shade grown espresso coffee beans. You are guaranteed to get a better cup of coffee every time. Also, you are making a healthier choice, one without toxic chemicals that can have lasting effects for years to come.

Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Beach, Florida. Find more about this as well as coffee beverage at http://www.gourmetespressoandcoffee.com

coffee beverage http://www.gourmetespressoandcoffee.com

a la dcouverte du caf

La culture du café est très développée dans de nombreux pays tropicaux, dans des plantations qui cultivent pour les marchés d’exportation.

Le café est l’une des principales denrées d’origine agricole échangées sur les marchés internationaux.

Selon l’espèce et la variété cultivée, selon la provenance et le mode de préparation des grains, les cafés présentent un grand éventail de saveurs. Appréciés pour leur diversité par « les amateurs », les variétés les plus cotées et les plus rares peuvent atteindre des prix très élevés.

Le café est aussi un des produits phare du commerce équitable.

Il fut choisi comme un symbole notamment parce qu’il est le produit le plus exporté après le pétrole et que son prix est fixé par les cours de la bourse des marchés internationaux.

En France des labels de commerce équitable imposent aux acheteurs disposant de ce label, d’acheter le café à un prix minimum, même si les cours mondiaux sont inférieurs à ce seuil. Ajouté à des primes et des financements de récolte, ce prix minimum permet à de nombreux petits producteurs d’améliorer leurs conditions de vie.

Un autre type de production, considérée comme plus éthique est l’agriculture biologique, la seule garantit sans utilisation de pesticides.

Certains produits combinent les standards équitable et biologique.

Récemment, un site de café vendu en ligne a été crée par un jeune entrepreneur : Matthias MONTANGERAND.

www.e-cafetier.fr est un site spécialisé dans la vente de cafés torréfiés de manière artisanale. Venez découvrir avec e-cafetier.fr des cafés rares, bio et pour certains issus du commerce équitable.

www.e-cafetier.fr

history of the coffee bean

And to many of us - it's simply what we need to get us started in the morning. Coffee today is produced in over 50 countries and is the second most valuable export after oil. Whether you call it java, mud or a shot in the arm, an estimated 2 billion cups are consumed every day around the world - making coffee the most popular drink in the world. Shepherds consumed the coffee by grounding the beans and mixing them with animal fat. One legend has it that a goat herder in Ethiopia observed his goats eating coffee berries and he decided to taste them himself - noting the stimulating effect. Coffee is older than most people think - archaeological evidence suggests that humans were enjoying the taste of the coffee berry around a hundred thousand years ago. Arabia controlled the coffee trade for many centuries as they introduced a law that prohibited the exporting of beans that could germinate. By around 600 AD, the coffee bean on plantations - they called their new concoction qahwa meaning "that which prevents sleep". Despite this restriction, the coffee bean somehow found its way throughout the Middle East - to Persia (now Iran), Egypt and parts of Northern Africa. Coffee beans also found their way to the Mysore area of India - where descendants of those original plants flourished until the early 20th century. In many cases, the beans were literally smuggled out of Arabia. At first, coffee was not enjoyed for its taste, but more as a supplement or source of nutrition. When the coffee bean found its way to Turkey, the Turks began to drink it for its flavor - frequently adding such things as cinnamon or anise. The Turks were also the first to roast the beans over fires and boil the crushed beans in water. And what is generally considered to be the world's first coffee shop was opened in Istanbul - known as Constantinople at the time - in the 15th century. The Dutch were the first to transport and cultivate coffee beans on a commercial basis. With coffee beans smuggled out of Arabia, they established plantations in Ceylon and one of their colonies - Java. Today, Indonesia is the world's third largest producer of coffee. The coffee bean was introduced to Europe during the 17th century. At one point, the beverage was more popular than tea in England and was used as an antidote to the widespread alcoholism of the time. Coffee houses sprang up in such places as Vienna, Paris and London, frequented by the wealthy and fashionable. The Austrians are credited with the practice of adding milk and sugar to coffee. In France, Louis XIV built greenhouses to protect his precious coffee beans from frost. And in the New World, coffee was also a popular drink - the newly formed American colonies declared coffee to be the national drink. Not everybody approved; the Catholics declared coffee should be banned - despite the Pope confessing to being an avid coffee drinker. Today, there are actually more than 60 varieties of coffee in the world, although the beans used for coffee are one of two types - Robusta and Arabica. Around 75% of coffee beans produced are Arabica and are cultivated in Brazil and Central America. Robusta beans produce a stronger blend of coffee and are cultivated in parts of Asia and Africa as well as Brazil. Chances are high that your coffee beans come from Brazil, the world's largest producer of coffee. Brazil produces almost 30% of the world's coffee and also has some of the most advanced processing techniques in the world. In 2006, the gross value of coffee production in Brazil was almost 5 billion dollars and the industry employs several million workers. Coffee isn't usually associated with Asia, but several Asian countries have started to cultivate the coffee bean. In recent years, Vietnam has become a large producer and some of the African coffee producing countries still produce excellent coffee - in particular Kenya and Tanzania Some countries have also started to cultivate specialized coffee beans - Kenya produces a fruity coffee and Indonesia produces the Kopi Luwak - a coffee bean that has been passed through the digestive system of a civet. And Ethiopia - where the coffee bean was perhaps first discovered - is home to a bean that produces a coffee flavored with chocolate, ginger and orange. So whether you prefer your coffee beans with milk, with sugar, strong or with no caffeine - take a moment and enjoy a cup of the world's most popular drink.

And to many of us - it's simply what we need to get us started in the morning. Coffee today is produced in over 50 countries and is the second most valuable export after oil. Whether you call it java, mud or a shot in the arm, an estimated 2 billion cups are consumed every day around the world - making coffee the most popular drink in the world.Shepherds consumed the coffee by grounding the beans and mixing them with animal fat. One legend has it that a goat herder in Ethiopia observed his goats eating coffee berries and he decided to taste them himself - noting the stimulating effect. Coffee is older than most people think - archaeological evidence suggests that humans were enjoying the taste of the coffee berry around a hundred thousand years ago.Arabia controlled the coffee trade for many centuries as they introduced a law that prohibited the exporting of beans that could germinate. By around 600 AD, the coffee bean on plantations - they called their new concoction qahwa meaning "that which prevents sleep".So whether you prefer your coffee beans with milk, with sugar, strong or with no caffeine - take a moment and enjoy a cup of the world's most popular drink.

coffeecoffee chronicle

It was once told that the word “Coffee” was called after a name of a town in south-western Ethiopia, Which is the actual birthplace of coffee Amazingly,The initial discoverers of coffee are sheep! Yes, sheep the mammal. And here the story goes …
In approximately A.D. 800, an Ethiopian shepherd boy happened to notice that, his sheep liked to eat red fruits that grow from bushes. And it seemed they were so lively and energetic every time they ate the fruit! Besides, at night, instead of sleeping, they woke up all night. In doubt, the shepherd boy then tried the fruit himself. And the result he got was the same as his sheep! Subsequently, after the rumor has spread, a local priest then tried to use the mysterious fruit to make drinks for his apprentices. Turned out, all of them were able to stay up all night studying and praying without any sign of drowsiness!
After the coincidental discovery, coffee “drink” had become extremely popular in Muslims and Arabians. Since Arabians were the first to cultivate coffee in plantations and called it “Qahwa”, which means “The drowsiness antidote”. In the early 14th century, the coffee trade had begun in Arabian Peninsula, near “Mocca” seaport city of Yemen. Then in the 16th and 17th century, the age of colonization, the Dutch were the first to smuggle coffee out of Arabs. As a result, coffee had been spread all over Europe as drinks for celebrations in communities.
read more http://coffee-forlife.blogspot.com

http://coffee-forlife.blogspot.com

a look at the major difference between arabica and robusta coffee plant

Though generally referred to as a coffee tree due to the huge dimensions it can get to, the coffee plant is an evergreen specific to the warm subtropical areas all over the world. Though there are quite many species varieties, there are only two types of coffee plant that global economy exploits on a large scale: they are Arabica and Robusta, the two coffee kinds on which international commerce depends.

Though these two varieties of the coffee plant are used, Arabica leads beyond any trace of a doubt as it is responsible for 75% of the world coffee production, whereas Robusta only gives 20%. This huge difference comes from the coffee plant specificity of each of these subspecies. The beans produced by Robusta coffee plant are inferior in what the quality is concerned due to the higher level of caffeine that also influences taste.

Thus, Robusta coffee is a little bitter than Arabica and darker too; nevertheless, certain communities also depend on this coffee variety for economic survival. To make harvesting pretty easy or comfortable, the height of the coffee plant is kept under control on plantations, and it doesn't get to grow as high as ten meters as it would normally do, if left wild.

Another major difference between Arabica and Robusta coffee plant lies in pollination specificity: Arabica for instance is self fertilizing whereas Robusta depends on cross pollination. The full development of the coffee fruit, the delicious bean we depend on for our morning coffee, takes about thirty to thirty-five weeks after which it's time to harvest. As for the growth period of the coffee plant until it becomes fertile it ranges between four and five years.

For proper development, the coffee plant depends on a pretty high level of rainfall every year; it is sensitive to cold, however, it will not die because of accidentally cooler weather. The dependence on warm temperature makes it impossible to cultivate the coffee plant in Europe or in other similar parts of the world, where a temperate climate provides incompatible environments.

One great surprise came when a naturally decaffeinated type of coffee plant was discovered in Brazil, with a lot better flavor than the no-caffeine coffee brands manufactured at present. Flavor is usually lost because caffeine is extracted with the help of solvents, while if it be completely absent from the chemical composition of the plant, the flavor would remain untouched. Cultivating this type of coffee plant would mean a true revolution in the business, and things are not far from moving in that direction.