Many people say there’s nothing more American than apple pie. However there is another sweet treat that’s one hundred percent red, white, and blue. From coast to coast, Americans are wild about iced tea. What many don’t realize is that although it’s based on an Asian brew, iced tea is an American innovation. Iced tea’s popularity can be traced to the heat wave of 1904 when tea merchant Richard Blechynden decided to serve tea over ice at an exposition in St. Louis. Americans have since perfected different methods of making iced tea, along with several innovate recipes. Black teas from Ceylon, China and Java are most commonly used to make iced tea. Flavored teas such as lemon green tea, peach black tea, Formosa oolong,... »View More
There is nothing great than sipping a hot cup of coffee in the chilly mornings. It simply feels great having the espresso. Yes, we are talking espresso, which is one of the most famous and preferred coffee types across the globe. Well, since we started talking about espresso, why not take a brief sneak peek into its history and what exactly it is. What do you say? Basically espresso is a flavorful and strong coffee beverage prepared when hot water is forced under a high pressure and made to pass through finely ground coffee beans. The color of the coffee is typically dark brown with brown/red colored foam on the top. Espresso is commonly served in small portions. Unlike other drip-brewed coffees, espresso is identified with its robust flavor... »View More
Perhaps one of the most troubling problems which usually occurs that takes the enjoyment out of having a glass of wine is when even though your glasses are clean, look very foggy. We have all encountered it at one time or another and probably all can agree that there is something detracting about a foggy wine glass. Before you decide to throw out your glasses or invest in a set of inexpensive ones with the thought that fogging is inevitable so you might as well be ready to throw them away when the time comes, there are a few things that you can do to prevent fogging and bring back the glorious sparkle and shine to foggy glasses that you remember from when they were first purchased. I know that some think that it’s perfectly all right to put... »View More
Over the years, espresso coffee has gained considerable ground in popularity. In the United States alone, the consumption of espresso has inspired entrepreneurs to set up coffee carts that specialize in the selling of espresso coffee. You can find these shops in bookstores, supermarkets, cinemas, laundromats, drive throughs, gas stations, hospitals, pratically anywhere, including public parks and of course cafes and restaurants. In Seattle alone, there may be an espresso cart every two blocks. They are almost as prevalent as the hotdog carts in New York. As the name would suggest, espresso coffee is a quick way of brewing the drink. It is different from other types of coffee preparation in that to make an espresso, you have to extract coffee... »View More
There are some enticing reasons to think about adding an espresso coffee machine to your list of kitchen appliances. If you are anything like me you will save loads of money by being able to make your own cup of espresso at home instead of forking out dollars at expensive coffee shops and restaurants. And besides you will be able to make cappuccinos and lattes as well – exactly the way you like them. But before you go off down to your local kitchen accessories shop to buy one, there is a bit of information you might want to consider. The secret to making the best tasting Espresso at home is a bit more complicated than forcing hot water under pressure through finely ground coffee beans. If you don’t do it right, then you may as well... »View More
The second most consumed beverage behind water is tea. Interestingly enough the 3,200,000 tones of tea produced worldwide come from only one plant species, named “camellia sinensis.” But how a plant becomes a beverage? Tea is made by steeping processed leaves, buds, or twigs of the tea bush in hot water for a few minutes, a great variety of tea tastes, aromas and colors can excite even the more skeptical drinker. If you do like tea drinking, but simply never had the opportunity to learn more about it beyond the fact that you enjoy it, you should know that there are thousands of kinds of tea offered on today’s market. Shades in flavor derive from the region of cultivation and the method of processing the tea leaves. It is the... »View More
When a blind taste test is conducted, it suggests that mostly people cannot make a difference between a decaf and a regular cup of espresso coffee if both the varieties are well brewed and processed properly. However, what about those who can make the difference? One of the methods of getting rid of caffeine from the coffee is to treat coffee with hot water, subsequently followed by methylene chloride rinse. You may be totally unaware of the fact that the coffee you get has already been processed with water previously in an espresso maker, on several occasions. Coffee berries after picking are rinsed properly for removal of their outer fruit covering. This softens the outer fruit, which is constantly washed, to purge the residual pulp. Warming... »View More
Chinese herbal teas are also called Tisanes and are not, technically speaking, actually teas. Rather, they are infusions made from herbs instead of tea that is made from the Camelia Sinensis plant. The essence of the herb is extracted when the tea is steeped in hot water. Chinese herbal teas are traditionally used for their healing, medicinal properties. Many varieties are also enjoyed simply for their taste, however. China is known for producing an entire pharmacy of herbs, making the herbal teas from there increasingly popular today. The Beneficial Properties of Chinese Herbal Teas The caffeine-free alternative represented by herbal teas is one of the well-known benefits Chinese herbal tea offers. Additionally, many of them are attributed... »View More
I always cringe when that is the first question from a restaurateur, and my response is always the same – “Is price more important than taste”? Consider the following – restaurants usually sell a cup of coffee for about one dollar. And when they pay $6.00 per pound for coffee, their cost per cup is about ten cents, (which means their profit is ninety cents). So the difference in their profit between $6.00 per pound and $3.00 per pound is the incredible sum of five cents per cup. However, the real difference will be in the taste of the coffee. The taste difference is even greater with coffee brewed in an espresso machine since an espresso machine is an amplifier. It will highlight a really good coffee, but conversely,... »View More