No coffee? No problem!

What if you don't like coffee? That's okay! There are many different options for the non-java junkies out there who want to get their caffeine fix, if you go to a coffee shop or not.

If you aren't going to a coffee shop, there is regular options such as soda, tea, green coffee based drinks, energy drinks, or even semi-sweet chocolate has a little caffeine!

If you are going to a coffee shop, most have both iced and hot teas. Some tea has caffeine, but some do not. (I will address types of tea and caffeine levels in a later post). A very popular coffee shop that has a store everywhere in the world, has a green coffee based drink that tastes like a fruit juice. It has almost as much caffeine as a cup of coffee. Most mocha based syrups have a tiny bit of caffeine in them, so a cup a hot chocolate has a slight zing.

There's also a few options if you want to go out, that don't have any caffeine in them at all. There's lemonade, non-caffeinated tea, apple cider (try caramel apple spice at Starbucks during the fall, it's amazing!), and smoothies. All are great options if you're trying to avoid caffeine or getting a drink for a child.

Creative Ways to Brew

The last post was the common ways to make coffee at home, but what about those cool gadgets at that wonderful home store (you know what it is)? If you would like to impress your friends or feel like a real coffee connoisseur, maybe try one of these three methods.

1. Vacuum Pot - There are two chambers, a lower and upper. Coffee grounds are placed in the upper, and water in the lower. As the water is heated, it's pulled into the grounds on the top, thena s the water cools, it filters out of the grounds back into the lower chamber as coffee.

Vacuum Pot
Credit: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/30/
best-coffee-brewing-method_n_5233438.html

2. Aeropress - A very cool gadget that uses hot water, grounds, and air pressure to make your cup of coffee. Simply place the aeropress onto of your cup, add grounds, hot water and then the 'plunger' and begin to press down. The air pressure forces the first stage of coffee out of the beans without the oils.

How to make that java at home

There are many different ways to brew coffee at home to make it feel like you're having a fancy cup at a cafe. You don't necessarily have to go out to get your fix.  Below are the top 3 most common at home brew methods.

Top 3 brew at home methods for coffee:

1. Standard coffee maker (like a 12 cup Mr. Coffee maker) or a single cup coffee maker (like a Keurig). This is the most common and easiest in the brew methods because the standard coffee makers are so cheap, and the single serve is so easy.

Single serve coffee maker
Credit: http://mr-coffee-espresso-machine.
applianceschoice.com/keurig-k140-coffee-maker-and/

Standard coffee maker
Credit: www.viewpoints.com

2. French Press coffee - While this one is slightly more difficult, it is not so much so that it would be discouraging. Just place coffee grounds and boiling water into the french press device, wait a few minutes, press the filter down and you get a fresh brewed cup of coffee!

What does your java say about you?

I stumbled on a fun post from en.ilovecoffee.jp in which they stated that there was a experiment where 1000 people were tested to see what they drink and related it to that person's personality. Here's ilovecoffee's info-graphic.

According to them, because I enjoy lattes I like to please people and I am indecisive. I suppose that is slightly true. Although there are a few drinks that are missing on here. It's still fun. Is your favorite drink listed? If so, does it fit into your personality?

All Types of Fancy

Now that you should know where the coffee and beans come from, we'll look at the types of drinks you can make. There's a ton of combinations of tasty coffee beverages. A few popular ones are lattes, cappuccinos, and just brewed coffee.

83% of adults drink some type of coffee every single day in the US. Most of those households own their own coffee brewer at home and drink regular brewed coffee. Some add cream, some add sugar, some just like it plain. Brewed coffee is wonderful in its own right. It's the fuel that almost everyone needs. If you have any questions about how to make brewed coffee, please shoot me a message or comment.

The next step up from brewed coffee is getting into fancy drinks made with coffee. A cafe au lait (also known as a misto) is half brewed coffee and half steamed milk of any type, and sometimes a flavored syrup. (One of my favorite versions of this is medium roast coffee, vanilla soy milk, and a bit of cinnamon.)

Next are drinks made with espresso (do make sure to pronounce this right, it is spelled and pronounced with a 'c' and not an 'x'). There are a lot of options in this category.

Credit: annystudio.com

• Espresso - One shot of 30 ml (just over 1 ounce) of espresso.
• Dopio - Two shots (2 ounces or 560 ml) of espresso.
• Latte- Espresso with steamed milk and about a quarter inch of milk foam.
• Cappuccino - Espresso with steamed milk and 1-2 inches of milk foam.
• Mocha - Espresso with steamed milk and chocolate (usually sauce mixed into the drink). 
• Americano - Espresso and hot water (similar to coffee, but stronger taste.)
• Macchiato - One or two shots of espresso topped with a dollop of milk foam.

Any of the above drinks can be mixed with syrup, whipped cream, or spices to make other drinks such as a vanilla latte or dopio campana (two shots of espresso and topped with whipped cream).

Roasty Toasty

Coffee beans have to be cooked before they can be in your morning cup of joe. But did you know that there are different levels of coffee that all taste different? There is actually about 12 different roast levels and each of them come with their own distinct flavors.

I'm going to only focus on the three typical roast levels that are popular.

1. Light/Cinnamon
2. Medium/City
3. Dark/Italian/French

Credit - http://www.roberttimms.com/PurelyCoffee/
FromBeantoCup/tabid/89/Default.aspx

The photo above also includes the first stage that is not roasted, green level beans.

1. Light/Cinnamon roast coffee is the first stage of roasting. The flavor is very light but also very acidic as the acids haven't been cooked out of the beans yet. It also is still very hard, so it has a grain like flavor.

2. Medium/City roast coffee is the singular most popular roast in the US. Most coffee sold in packages in the grocery store. It's also known as a house roast. Still slightly acidic, but not overly so.

3. Dark/Italian/French roast is a darker roast. It is the lowest in acidic flavor and because it's a dark roast, there is a bittersweet taste. This is the second most popular roast in the US. French and Italian roasts are the most famous types of this bean.

Once a bean surpasses the dark level, it moves into espresso which is what you would get in lattes and the Pumpkin Spice Latte.

Where does it all come from?

With so much coffee being consumed from around the world, where do all the pounds of coffee beans come from? The answer is...duh, duh, duh...the coffee belt! No, it's not a fashion accessory but a slice of the world where conditions are just right to grow coffee plants. There are about 65 different countries that are included in this area.

Credit: http://www.quickbrownfox.co.nz/
wp-content/uploads/coffee_belt.jpg

There are two main types of coffee plants: Arabica and Robusta. Some countries grow all Arabica, some only grow Robusta, and some grow both. There are two countries that product more than their share, which is Brazil and Vietnam. There is a distinct flavor difference between the two types although depending on the roast (which I will go over in another post), some people might not be able to tell. 

Arabica coffee is the most popular worldwide because it has such a light and aromatic flavor. It does have less caffeine. Arabica coffee berries are predominately grown in Brazil, which produces 45% of Arabica beans. Arabica beans also have a high acidity to them and can have floral, berry, or sweet notes.

Robusta is the other popular type of coffee plant. This one is not as popular as Arabica for drinking, but does make it's way into cups frequently. Robusta coffee beans are darker in flavor and are usually a little bitter and more grain-like. The main growing region for Robusta is Vietnam, which produces about 39% of Robusta beans.

Credit: http://www.agritech.tnau.ac.in/horticulture/images/
plantation/coffee/coffee/coffee1.jpg

There are dozens of sub-categories of types of beans based on where the bean was grown and the change in flavor profiles. A couple of examples are Ethiopian Arabica or Sumatra Robusta. These sub-categories have a slightly similar taste, but different flavors.