!7: Decaffeinated K Cups Get It Now!: Coffee

Showing posts with label Coffee. Show all posts

Thursday, December 1, 2011

I recently tasted New Orleans Chicory Blend coffee for the first time. I'd read about it in historical fiction books and was always curious about it. So when this opportunity arose, I thought I'd see what it was all about.

My first question was, "What is chicory?"

Chicory is a perennial bushy herb; it is the common name for curly endive. It is part of the dandelion family. While the leaves are used in salads, it is the root of the plant that is mixed with dark roast coffee. The root needs to dried, roasted, and ground. When brewed, it becomes syrupy and bitter and tastes nothing like coffee.

Now my next question is, "Why use it?"

The Germans began using chicory as a coffee substitute in the 18th century to avoid the tax on foreign luxury items. Napoleon had a plan to make Europe self-sufficient; the best substitute the French could find for coffee (because it is not widely grown in Europe, if at all) was chicory. After Napoleon's demise, most French people went back to drinking coffee, but some never lost their taste for chicory. It was the French settlers that brought chicory to the southern United States. Chicory has been used widely in the United States to "stretch" coffee when coffee and money are scarce.

And my third question: "What does it taste like?"

New Orleans Chicory Blend is usually made with a dark roast coffee and chicory. This American coffee has an earthy, sweet aroma. It is full-bodied with a fair amount of acidity. I found the flavor to be a bit bitter. But I suppose the end result would depend on just how much chicory is used. (The standard ratio is 2 parts coffee to 1 part chicory).

Chicory has no caffeine, so if you're watching your caffeine intake, but don't like decaffeinated coffee, adding chicory may be an option for you.

Coffee With Chicory

Toro 12 Electric Trimmer Decide Now

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Coffee Beans

!±8± Coffee Beans

A coffee bean is the seed of the coffee plant, known as the pit. The pit is inside the purple or red fruit, coffee berries or coffee cherries. The fruit most commonly contain two stones with there flat sides together. Endosperm is found inside the coffee bean, the endosperm contains caffeine. Caffeine is the main reason the plant is cultivated. Coffee beans are very important for some countries who export the product.

The coffee plant ( there are ten species of the flowering plant ) are either shrubs or small trees. The plants are native to southern Asia and Africa. The seeds of the coffea plant are the source of a stimulating beverage called coffee. In the trade the seeds are known as "beans". Coffee beans are cultivated on plantations in tropical countries for export and local consumption. Coffee is
the world's second most valuable commodity after oil and is a major export for some countries.

Coffee is a bush or small tree and when grown in the tropics can grow to a height of 10 to 12 feet. The bush or tree cannot survive a winter frost. For the plants to produce many coffee berries they need substantial amounts of water. Many species of plant can be grown for the beans, but one of the best producers is the coffea arabica. The tree produces purple or red fruits, these contain two seeds also know as coffee beans. The coffee tree will produce fruit after 3 to 5 years. Some trees have been known to grow fruits for as long as 100 years, although most trees grow fruits for 50 to 60 years. It is estimated that there are 15 billion coffee trees around the world.