The Coffee Maker Store's Blog

Think Colombian coffee is as fancy as it gets? While the mustachioed farmer in the famous commercial may have influenced your views, you’ll find many real farmers who can assure you that Colombia hasn’t quite cornered the market on coffee. See for yourself—here are just a few of the many popular coffee-themed vacations available.

Antigua, Guatemala sits in the shadow of three volcanoes: Volcán de Agua, Acatenango, and Volcán de Fuego. While volcanoes are typically known for destruction, these peaks remain active on a low level—particularly Volcán de Fuego. Over time, the small daily output of ash has nourished the soil, giving Guatemalan coffee a uniquely robust flavor. Coffee fans with a nose for the exotic are welcomed and pampered at the Filadelfia Coffee Spa and Resort. In addition to all the creature comforts you’d find at a traditional spa—massage services, gym, plush rooms, swimming pool and Jacuzzi—visitors can take the coffee tour. The tour showcases the century-old technique used by R. Dalton Coffee, a family-owned company commissioned to establish Guatemala’s coffee industry in 1874. Coffee beans dry in the sun on an immense terra cotta-tiled patio, arranged in artful patterns. And, depending on how adventurous visitors feel, they can also experience the Filadelfia plantation from the back of a mule, a mountain bike or helicopter. Whatever mode of transportation you choose, your day-long tour will always end with a healthy sampling of fresh, Guatemalan coffee.

Chiriqui, located in Panama’s Boquete mountains is home to a coffee adventure where you can really get your hands dirty. As your Jeep bounces along bumpy roads through the Boquete cloud forest, you’ll
explore two different coffee estates and enjoy the opportunity to purchase some of the rarest coffee beans in the world. Boquete Mountain Safari Tours gives you options:

El Poco (The Little) Coffee Adventure A tour of one high-elevation coffee plantation will introduce you to the processing and taste of a private micro-roast unique to the estate. You’ll easily detect the difference between jasmine, chocolate, citrus or earthy flavors.

Coffee-Roasting Tour

Welcome to Finca de los Jefes. This is more of a do-it-yourself experience, as you participate in the coffee-making process, from berry to cup. Custom-roast your own blend, and enjoy a free pound of it when you finish this 2-3 hour tour!

Ecuador’s coffee tours give you an entire country’s worth of hands-on South American coffee experience. Peter Lauffer of EcuadorTraveler.com organizes the annual ESCoffee Tour. Over nine days, you’ll explore Educador’s natural beauty and appreciate how coffee farming fits into its ecosystem. The

regions of Fundochamba, Quilanga and Changaimina are each known for their unique coffee blends—and you get to try them all in one day! On day 6, you’ll visit the famed pilgrimage site of Virgen el Cisne, known for creating wondrous miracles. And right after that, you can experience one of those miracles when you visit the Olmedo, an award-winning plantation that was deemed the best coffee in the country in 2009, receiving the coveted Taza Dorada. In Olmedo, you’ll even learn how they make that wonderful hybrid: coffee wine. The tour concludes with a chocolate-tasting in Guyaquil before you fly home.

While a coffee connoisseur knows that starkly different coffee experiences exist on every continent, a trip to Latin America involves you in each part of the process. Economically and culturally, coffee remains a pillar of various cultures throughout Central and South America. But luckily, most of these
cultures share a common language. With a knowledge of conversational Spanish, you’ll find yourself able to fire up coffee makers in dozens of countries!

Sarah Russell is a language learning expert, whose company Pimsleur Approach helps people learn a language fast with their audio CDs. Check out their conversational Spanish course.

Coffee was brought to Germany in 1675 to the court at Brandenburg by a Dutch doctor. He was encouraged by Frederick William, the Calvinist ruler. Around this time, coffee houses started opening in other parts of Germany including Hanover, Hambury, and Berlin. It didn’t reach mass appeal at first, and was mainly consumed by aristocrats. It didn’t take root until the end of the 1700’s among common Germans, and even then they mostly drank it at home.

Like most cultural and civil establishments, coffee houses were primarily frequented by men. In response, middle class women set up what were known as Kaffeekranzschen or coffee clubs, which were referred to by their husbands as Kaffeelkatch or coffee gossip. In 1777, Frederick the Great tried to protect German breweries and curb the business of foreign coffee suppliers. He questioned their patriotism by noting how disgusting it was that Germans were drinking coffee instead of beer and even said how many battles were won by German soldiers drinking beer. He even said that he can’t trust soldiers who drink coffee instead of beer because they can’t be “depended upon to endure hardship or to beat his enemies…” It was even prohibited to the working class based on the claim that it caused people to become sterile. All of this merely fueled the black market trade of coffee. The situation was so crazy that coffee was completely banned, and there were even government appointed “coffee sniffers” whose job it was to track down illicit coffee roasting and drinking, even in private residences. For his part though, Frederick the Great would drink up to eight cups in the morning, and a pot in the afternoon. He would make it with champagne and flavor it with a spoonful of mustard. Eventually though, the silly ban on coffee was lifted.

Germany eventually took the lead in coffee consumption, but women still weren’t allowed to go to cafes. They did however had coffee in public parks were there were gazebos and pavilions where families could bring their own coffee grounds. To illustrate how seriously men kept women away from coffee, Bach (yes that Bach) composed the Coffee Cantata in 1734. It was a satire of the attempts of a stern father to keep his daughter from drinking coffee, forcing her to choose between her husband and coffee. She sang “Ah, how sweet coffee tastes – lovelier than a thousand kisses, sweeter far than muscatel wine”

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As one of the primary coffee-trading countries, it is not surprising that the Dutch were free from some of the usual conflict and turmoil surrounding coffee consumption. They began drinking it in the 16th century and by the time the first cafes were opened in the 1660’s, there was “hardly a house of standing where coffee is not drunk every morning” The Dutch loved coffee so much that even the servants became accustomed to it.

The cafes also had their own style. They were opulently decorated, with dark paneled walls and stunlying bright copper pots and utensils. Naturally, they attracted business people, merchants, and government administrators which is probably why they were always in the financial districts. In other Dutch cities cafes were found in elaborate gardens, allowing coffee shop patrons to enjoy their favorite drink under the shade of a tree. Of course, these gardens were especially popular in the spring when the flowers and foliage lit the gardens with color and fragrance.

Contrarily, while Scandanavia holds the current record for coffee consumption, the Finns were slow to take up the drink. Like most other European countries, coffee was brought to Scandanavia in the 1680’s, but it was slow going from there. In fact, in 1746, a royal edict was issued against both coffee and tea. Ten years later it was made completely illegal. The ban was eventually repealed, but there were severe taxes imposed on those who refused to follow the order. It wasn’t until almost 70 years later, in the 1820’s when the government gave up. Unlike other European countries, cafes never caught on in Scandanavia. The few cafes that did exist were Spartan and stripped of the elegance and luxury that adorned other European coffee shops. Proably because of the anti-coffee laws, for the Finns, coffee drinking was a private affair reserved for elaborate private parties.

http://www.TheCoffeeMakerStore.com is on a mission to be the coolest coffee maker store on the planet. Check out our cool coffee fat calculator to see how fat coffee makes you!

Austrians, Viennese in particular, have been drinking coffee since the mid-1600’s. Their love for coffee most likely started when the Ottoman Ambassador visited, taking up residence for months. A true coffee lover, he introduced the drink to his guests, who drank it like crazy. It’s became so popular that people lodged formal complaints with the city treasurer about the amount of fire wood used across the city to make coffee. By the time the ambassadors time in Vienna was up, the coffee drinking habit had firmly rooted itself in Austria and the Austrians started buying beans from an Oriental trading company.

Twenty years, in 1683, the siege of Vienna was underway by the Ottoman Turks. A Polish immigrant by the name of Franz Kolschitzky, who actually passed for being Turkish managed to slip past enemy lines to communicate with a distant relief army that was dispatched to save the besieged city. The Turks were eventually defeated and in the confusion of defeat, they left all of their exotic coffee making paraphernalia. Kolschitzky was a national hero and ended up keeping the coffee beans for himself. The city elders gave him a house which is reported to have been Vienna’s first coffee house.

Much like other European cafes, the Austrian coffee shop quickly became the center of society. It served as a social and political institution, attracting all types of people (it might have been because of the reported 28 different types of coffee). Though Prague, Krakow, and Budapest had their fair share of cafes, Vienna became known as the “mother of coffee houses”. By 1840 the city had a whopping 600!

http://www.TheCoffeeMakerStore.com is on a mission to be the coolest coffee maker store on the planet. Check out our cool coffee fat calculator to see how fat coffee makes you!

History of Coffee in Italy

Coffee is popular throughout the entire world, but in some countries, it’s more than just a drink. Coffee drinking forms the basis for economic and cultural practices and is a pillar of social life. This article series explores the role of coffee in Italy, France, Austria, the Netherlands, Scandanavia, Germany, and Britain.

Italy was one of the first countires to commercially import coffee. The first shipments arrivend in Benice during the 1600’s, not long after the introduction of citrus fruits from the far East. Street vendors would roam the streets selling orangeage, lemonade, and other herbal beverages. Once coffee became readily available, they added it to the menu. This in part led to its rapid adoption throughout Italy. Talk about “takin’ it to the streets”!

Quite naturally, as the drink became popular, so did the coffee houses that served it. The first of which was recorded as early as 1651 in Leghorm (Livorno). By the end of the century, coffee houses had sprung up all across Venice and there were several situated around the Piazza di San Marco. In 1720, one of Europe’s most celebrated coffee houses opened. It was called Florian’s and it attracted the elites of the town who were drawn to the great coffee, music, and customary gossip. It was trafficked by well known artists and writers including Goethe and Rousseau. To add to its legend, Florian’s was the first coffee house ever to allow women. A former lemonade seller opened another famouse café called Pedrocchi’s. Located in Padua, it was known as the most flamboyant and beautifully decorated café ever seen.

Though not all cafes were as elegant as Florian’s and Pedrocchi’s, they were a breeding ground for political, cultural, and creative ideas. An indispensible part of daily life, they were the center of information for the society and patronized by people from all walks of life.

http://www.TheCoffeeMakerStore.com is on a mission to be the coolest coffee makers store on the planet. We write about coffee, coffee makers, and coffee culture. Check out our free coffee fat calculator and see how fat coffee makes you!

Coffee is popular throughout the entire world, but in some countries, it’s more than just a drink. Coffee drinking forms the basis for economic and cultural practices and is a pillar of social life. This article series explores the role of coffee in Italy, France, Austria, the Netherlands, Scandanavia, Germany, and Britain.

It is said that coffee was brought to France in 1644 and that it took nearly 15 years for the drink to gain traction among the French. It finally took root in Marseilles among traders who had grown accustomed to it from traveling in the Middle East. Back in Paris, the Turkish ambassador Selaiman Aga brought coffee to the court of King Louis XIV in 1699. This gave way to the custom of having large parties in opulent castles and mansions with the purpose of celebrating and consuming coffee. While coffee became popular amongst royalty, there were some who found the new drink tasteful. Cafes didn’t become popular in France until 1686 when an enterprising Italian waiter opened Procope’s, marketing it as a lemonade shop. The opulent décor and fragrant aromas attracted a customer base seeking to distance itself from the brutishness of daily life. Even still, coffee was not the most popular drink sold from the beginning. But when it did catch on, some of France’s most distinguished sons frequented it like Rousseau, Voltaire, and even a young Napolean Bonaparte and signaled the start of serious coffee drinking in Paris.

The opening of Procopes paved the way for other cafes, becoming a home away from home for France’s artists, poets, and writers. Cafes were becoming very popular and competition intensified, not just among cafes, but among bars, pubs, and other traditional watering holes that now had to deal with the growing coffee menace.

Coffee truly became a menace to society as the trendy cafes out did each other in style and décor. They often employed singers, poets, musicians, actors and dancers to keep their patrons entertained. Feeling threatened, wine makers cleverly conspired to declare coffee an enemy of France. They recruited the help of doctors who until that point had no opinion on the growing popularity of the strange black drink. At the behest of the wine makers, the doctors argued that coffee is the fruit of a tree fit for animals and goats, that it burned the blood, weakened the spleen, caused impotence, and led to quiverings. Not surprisingly, their warnings fell on deaf ears.

The French were very avant-garde about coffee drinking habits. They served it in large bowls, dipped baguettes in it, and for the first time ever, added milk to it. They were even the first to introduce the habit of drinking coffee after dinner. To sum up the French’s affection for coffee, a 19th century English journalist said “Coffee is to the Frenchman what tea is to the Englishman, beer to the German, eau de vie to the Russsian, opium to the Turk, or chocolate to the Spaniard” and even noted the romantic rituals that enshroud the French and their coffee.

http://www.TheCoffeeMakerStore.com is on a mission to be the coolest coffee makers store on the planet. We write about coffee, coffee makers, and coffee culture. Check out our free coffee fat calculator and see how fat coffee makes you!

I came across this cool find the other day. I didn’t know that coffee grounds have more energy capacity than cordwood when lit on fire. PineMountain’s JavaLog is an ingenious solution to two American trends: a growing concern for the environment and an insatiable appetite for coffee. They use discarded coffee grounds from office buildings, homes, and retail outlets. According to their site, it touts the following benefits:

• Diverts 12 million pounds of coffee grounds from landfills per year
• Emits up to 78% less carbon monoxide and up to 66% less creosote
  than cordwood fires
• Features renewable all natural-based waxes

They’re an innovative idea and come in a variety of sizes. A 5lb bag of six logs costs $22.

Coffee makers all over the world fire up at dessert time. This time-honored tradition has paired our favorite after-dinner drink with the sugary delight of cakes, pies, and just about anything cream-filled and flaky for time immemorial (oh, sweet tiramisu…how I love thee with a frothy cappuccino). Heck, just the fact that coffee cake exists kind of says it all! So what could be better than pairing these two complimentary items into one confectionary taste-a-palooza? You may be asking yourself how you can incorporate coffee into your favorite desserts without adding a grainy texture or making the taste too bitter. Read on to find the tips and tricks that can turn any dessert into pure caffeinated deliciousness.

1. Grind it super fine. While the debate over drip vs. percolator rages on (even though no one has used a percolator since about 1970), most merchants will still grind your beans either way. But which is better for baking? The answer is simple. Coffee ground for the percolator is generally coarser, meaning a grainier texture when added to baked items like cookies, so you definitely want to go with coffee ground for drip. Of course, grinding it yourself is the best option, so you can get it as fine as you want. However, if you’re doing something that has a more liquid batter, like cakes or brownies, you may even want to opt for espresso powder, which has no grainy texture at all. Over time, you can decide the amount that suits your taste, but when you want to experiment with adding ground coffee to your desserts, start with 1-2 tablespoons mixed with the dry ingredients in a standard cookie or cake recipe (one that yields 3-4 dozen 1-inch dough balls for cookies or a 13×9x2 inch sheet cake). I’ve gone as high as four tablespoons in chocolate-chip cookie dough, but that was even a bit much for a stalwart coffee connoisseur such as myself.

2. Add already brewed coffee. This one works great for cakes (especially chocolate). Most cake recipes, whether from a box or made from scratch, call for water. Simply substitute brewed coffee since it is mostly water anyway. Even a weaker cup of coffee will enhance the essence of chocolate and you can go for a stronger brew, gourmet coffee, or even espresso if you really want to heighten the coffee flavor.

3. If you’re just too afraid to alter the taste of your favorite dessert by adding coffee, there is one last option. You can use some chocolate covered coffee beans as a garnish. They look rather nice either piled on top of a frosted cake or skirting the perimeter. This way, anyone who was woefully born with inferior taste-buds, or who strives to live sadly stimulant-free, can avoid the flavor or skip the caffeine (poor souls).

Guest Post by Bob of Diabetes Forum where you can find information on a diabetes diet that is right for you and check out the diabetes blog.

Besides coffee makers, we also like writing about cool coffee-related tips and products. We just found a pretty good blog post showing 11 uniquely creative coffee mugs. The heat-activated coffee mug above is just one of many clever coffee cup designs. The truth is, using disposable paper cups takes a serious toll on the environment. So although these coffee mugs have a very real “cool factor”, they are really quite practical. Not to mention the fact that a coffee mug reduces the chance that you’ll run out to Starbucks for your next cup of coffee!

Who doesn’t like the smell of coffee in the morning? What if there was a way to evoke the same rich smell of coffee without having to actually brew (and drink) a new pot. But HotWicks came out with two coffee scented candles that’ll make your house smell like a fancy coffee joint. At $6 per candle, they’re a good gift for coffee lovers. And if you like candles, check out their other novelty candles including: the Pigskin candle, the Man candle, the Grass candle, and the Fresh Bread Candle!

We’ve written quite a bit about ways to make your coffee habit more eco friendly here at TheCoffeeMakerStore.com (we even created a widget about it) Here’s yet another reason to buy your own coffee maker. Sustainability Is Sexy came out with this aricle a while back showing how many paper cups we waste per day on coffee. It talks about the use of recycled, or post-consumer, paper cups and how they don’t work as well cups made from new paper. There are some pretty staggering stats like this:

cups are laminated with plastic… the plastic also prevents the cup from being recycled… once in a landfill, the paper will begin to decompose… this process releases methane, a greenhouse gas with 23 times the heat-trapping power of carbon dioxide

The good news is that people are taking notice and using recycled and re-usable coffee mugs. It could even save the coffee houses money. One study says that it could save Starbucks over $1million on packing costs per year by using reusable coffee cups. Now that’s sexy…

I just read about an innovative coffee company called Bean & Body. It’s the brain-child (and possibly love-child) of Erik Lukas’s love of coffee and health and vitality. Lukas, co-founder of Bean & Body says its:

“coffee re-imagined for health-conscious consumers”

And boy is he right. Specifically created for Whole Foods junkies, these canned coffees are all-natural, Rainforest Alliance Certified, and tout the health benefits of coffee, which include reducing risk of Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimers, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes. They contain green tea, healthy herbs, and superfruit extracts. They’re beautifully packaged and have catchy names like:

COFFEE MarTEAni – a sophisticated blend of organic coffee and top-grade organic green tea with exotic spices (low caffeine)

COFFEE RESCUE – a rejuvenating blend of organic coffee and ashwagandha root

COFFEE ENERGY – an uplifting rainforest blend of organic coffee and yerba mate

They’re sure to be a hit. Look for them at Whole Foods and see what you think.

I just read this tutorial on Instructables. It shows how to make a garden from used paper coffee cups. It’s fun, easy, and cheap. It’s perfect for kids… no need to buy big clay pots.

If you don’t already have one, you need to buy one. It’s a great way to reduce the toll you take on the environment and an easy way to save money (by carrying coffee with you, it’s a lot easier to resist the temptation of going to Starbucks!) PopularMechanics ran a good test on the durability of coffee mugs where they measured 3 main factors: heat retention, durability, and spill-proofness. They tested the Thermos Stainless King, the Oxo Stainless Steel Travel Mug, and the Contigo Autoseal Stainless-Steel Mug (I personally own two of these) Check it out here.