Three views of instant coffee

The instant coffee has been discovered at the dawn of the last century. According to one version, it was made for need of the American Army – there was not time in trenches to take trouble over the cezve (Turkish coffee pot).
Apparently, the aspirations of military departments have been successfully coincided with wishes of Brazilian government. This Latin-American country has always produced a great number of beans. Coffee is a perishable product – it loses its aroma very quickly, it is not simple in keeping, it should be observed definite temperature and moisture. That is way, a lot of raised and gathered grains got out of order still in the homeland.

The way to protect «Brazilian gold» has been seeking for a long time. The decision was very simple. We can keep for a long period dry product, so coffee should be dried out. In such a way has appeared the first kind of instant coffee – powder. The beans are fried, crumbled up and underwent treatment with a hot water. Per se, they make a very strong coffee. Ready concentrated drink is dried out and turned into the powder. It is the cheapest kind of coffee, but it practically has not any useful substances. At the end they add some aromatizers, so that to make it similar to real coffee even concerning the smell. Or it is also possible to give it coco’s aroma or «Amaretto», vanilla or chocolate. The producers of no scruples may put out coffee from dampen, ill-conditioned grains, and such exterior smells only help to sell low-quality product.

In several years, in 1930s it was discovered another kind of coffee, which now we can meet in any shop – granulated coffee (or agglomerated). At first it has the same preparation like by powdered coffee, but then coffee powder is moistened once more time. The grains are stuck together and form granules.

At last, only half a century ago it has appeared the third kind of coffee – sublimated (or chilled, also «freeze-dried»). In this case the coffee extract get frosted then dried in vacuum. It is considered, that such coffee does not yield to real, because it does not undergo cooking and keeps organoleptic property of fresh product. So if you want to drink a quick beverage, it is better to stop on sublimated. But in the shops customers often pass by such coffee – it is the most expensive.

Instant coffee vs coffee beans

Is it worth to drink instant coffee or to give preference to coffee beans?
There are some tips which help you to compare these two beverages.

• The instant coffee has inestimable advantages. It can be kept for a long time and be prepared quite quickly. Probably that is all.
• After gathering they are assorted. The best grains are sold as a whole, the smallest and the most defective, as well as its husk, go to production of coffee extract, in other words for dissoluble drink.
• In instant coffee they almost do not use precious Arabica beans. Why should they do it, if it is possible to use cheaper sort – Robusta? After all, the delicate flavor of Arabica will be lost in any case!



• Many people find instant coffee more invigorative. First, Robusta contains more caffeine than Arabica. Second, the producers, who aspiring to keep taste and give «invigorating» force to the beverage, add extra caffeine. That is why, having a cup of dissoluble extract, we feel a surge of energy. But how does it affect our heart? Too much water drowned the miller.
• But there is the reverse of the medal. They produce «useful coffee» without caffeine. Why do we need such drink which does not contain any useful substances and which does not give a little bit of vivacity?
• Even if you succeeded in finding your favorite and the most delicious kind of instant coffee, it would be difficult to buy it constantly. This product is frequently counterfeited. Some years ago, by opening airtight tin, it was possible to find out there some rubbish. Last time the falsifiers do not act so impudent. However we still have a risk to buy something of low-grade, instead of high-quality coffee. Nevertheless, consumers may not notice this fact, especially when coffee is «improved» by a fair amount of aromatizers.
• The production of good instant coffee is quite expansive. That is why, according to price, this drink is not cheaper than coffee in beans.
• The producers, aspiring to saving of money, do not always pay attention to the package of cheap instant coffee. Now and then, powder may get the smell of stuffiness, and tins may give coffee unpleasant metallic or paintwork flavor, as well as after-taste.
• Barista (a person, usually a coffeehouse employee, who prepares and serves espresso-based coffee drinks in bars and in restaurants) says that it is impossible to make two equal cups of coffee. In each cup coffee has its own «sounding». Can we say the same about dissoluble drink?

Espresso – it is a very strong coffee. It is served without milk in little cups. Espresso in Italian means «express» or «fast».

Espresso has become a basis of coffee recipes. In spite of the fact that invention of this recipe is a merit of the Italians, the first espresso machine was found in France. This machine was unsuccessful and just the Italians have developed in its basis that one, which we know today. The hot water under the strong pressure is passed through well ground coffee and we get espresso.

The Italians serves this coffee “demitasse” (that means a half of cup). It contains one and a half oz of elegant black coffee with goldish cream.

Making espresso it is also necessary to take into account the sort and quality of used coffee. The dose of coffee which is put into one cup depends on sort of coffee. For example the sorts which contain Robusta are notable for high content of caffeine and typical bitter taste.

The sorts of Arabica have different caffeine amount, but it is in a great measure less than in Robusta.

By choosing, comparing and tasting we recommend tasting coffee without sugar.

Cappuccino

Cappuccino – is a foamy mixture of espresso and boiled milk in equal proportions. At first, cappuccino means that coffee in this drink will be prepared with the aid of espresso method (steam under the pressure). Secondly, for cappuccino we use milk (by the way, certainly whole milk – powdered milk will not be beaten). The milk is frothed with a steam, otherwise it is impossible because it may stay watery. At the same time milk should not be too fatty – optimum alternative 3,2-3,5 %.

Caffe latte

Caffe latte – another coffee drink which includes milk. It is espresso with boiled milk and big portion of whipped milk on the top (it has much more milk than cappuccino).

For caffe latte it is taken one part of coffee, which is made by espresso method (as for cappuccino) and three parts of hot milk with some froth.

Except of main kinds of coffee (espresso, cappuccino and latte), there are a lot of others.

Mocha – one third of espresso, one third of hot chocolate and one third of boiled milk.

Corretto – espresso with alcoholic drinks, for example grappa.

Romano – espresso with a big portion of whipped cream on the top.

Granita de Caffe – it is cold espresso, served with a piece of ice.

Demi-creme – it is coffee with cream or milk in equal proportions.

Cafe con Leche – it is Spanish or Portuguese dark roasted coffee with sugar. It is served with warm milk.

You can taste these wonderful kinds of coffee in good cafes. Nowadays we have a lot of them. Or you can make it yourselves, deriving a great pleasure. So you can show yourself as a gourmet and true connoisseur of coffee.

Theoretically, coffee should be ground on your own just before cooking. If you take coffee beans at home, it begins to lose its quality after a week of storage. The experts advise buying at a time no more than 200g of beans.

The beans should be of a regular shape, velvety to the touch and not too small.

The color may be different, but keep in mind – the higher is the roasting temperature, the darker is a bean.

Then coffee beans are ground in the coffee-grinder. Two tablespoons are put into the porcelain cup and pour with boiling water. In case if in 2-3 minutes you will feel sourish smell, then the coffee is old.

In order to determine conclusively, put silver teaspoon into the cup. The foam on the spoon is a proof of fresh coffee.

Remember that coffee in beans, like ground coffee, is susceptible to foreign smells and should be kept dry.

Sowed by the angel, made by the herder

Coffee is one of the best beverages which are known for our civilization. Perhaps, the flourishing civilization itself is in many respects owed to coffee. This beverage arises one’s thoughts, helps paint pictures and write novels, solves problems at the bargaining table and recovers state of health after last night’s party.

Over the last years the history of the coffee has become surrounded by a lot of legends…

At first the Arabs and Ethiopian made coffee from the whole grains. But just ground coffee has conquered the Arabian Peninsula. Later the flavor of coffee’s fame has reached Cairo. And in 1554 the beverage has appeared in Istanbul, where the Syrian merchants opened the coffee house. To the freshly ground coffee they added ground cloves, anisetree, cardamom seeds. Coffee got Europe about three centuries ago and became an integral part of our life.

Two sisters

There are more then seventy kinds of family coffee plants. But the main are just two – Arabica and Robusta.

Almost 80% of today’s ground coffee is just Arabica. There are a lot of quite different kinds of them. La Minita Tarrazu is grown in Costa Rica, it is strong and sourish. The Central America can boast of chocolate sort and elegant Puerto-Rican Yauco Selecto. There is Blue Mountain in Jamaica, which all harvest is sent to Japan. The African continent is proud of “Kenyan pea berries” which are grown on the Kilimanjaro mountainside.

The expert can distinguish them even with closed eyes. This process closely resembles wine-testing. Arabica has delicate and rich flavor, but its beans contain half caffeine than Robusta.

Wild Robusta – a sibling of Arabica, is less tame sort. The real Robusta – it is strongest coffee, with astringent flavor. It can’t compare with elegant aroma of Arabica. On the whole, Arabica was a beverage of Balzac’s characters, and Robusta was right for Marx’s heroes.

It was a great moment in the coffee history, when people started to mix two sorts of coffee. As a result, it was born a coffee mixture which combined advantages from both sorts. Usually each ground coffee represents the mixture received from grain milling of different sorts. The variations – are thousands upon thousands. The real gourmets ask a seller to grind various grains composing mixture for their money. There is nothing to find in this variety your own coffee. Bitterish Aroma Club, made from real Arabica, or strongest abundant foamy Aroma Point from the mixture of Brazilian coffee with Indonesian Robusta. Perhaps your choice is mild and tender Cream Aroma from African Robusta and Latin-American Arabica?

The Geography of Taste.

In the world people drink to 1,5 milliards cups of coffee every day. The target consumer is Europe. It is surprising, but main European coffee-achievers are not the Italian, but Finns and Norwegians – 10kg of ground coffee per man in a year. The Italians and the French drink coffee twice as little.

As for the sort, its roasting, grinding and making, each country has its own tastes and traditions. French coffee for example is not as strong as famous Italian espresso. The beans are slightly roasted and grade is larger than Italian. In general the Americans are unpretentious, if only the cup would be larger, however and plastic cup will do. As for Japanese, the main thing is a quality. There are special bars in Tokyo, where for 30 Euros you can enjoy a cup of Blue Mountain with unique flavor of Jamaica rum. This sort is very valued for its pronounced aroma and harmonious taste.

Africa has its own traditions of coffee ceremonies. For example, in Ethiopia, the café’s host washes out coffee beans in visitor’s presence. He makes it in special treated water. Then he roasts beans, grins them (manually of course) and boils in «Djeben» – special black clay coffee-pot. As thousand years ago…

By the way
Open vacuum packaging, it is desirable to use it for a week – abroach coffee loses its aroma and taste quite quickly. That is why it is usually packed up into the small, 100-250gr packages.

Irrespective of coffee sort, it is better to keep it in dark and cool place (but not in the fridge), as well as in closed ceramic or glass container. The air is an enemy of this product. That is why it is advisable to leave as few space as possible between coffee surface and vessel head. If you keep coffee in the soft package, try squeeze out air and paste closely with a sticky tape.

Never make coffee repeatedly. However one grandee remembered in his memoirs about Catherine II. In the morning she drank so strong coffee, that valets could make it repeatedly from remaining grind. After them chefs in the kitchen and then parlormaids. And finally lackeys used this grind with a great pleasure.

A cup of coffee from under the press.

Ground coffee is usually sold in vacuum packaging or in the pods (it is a portion of press powder 7g weight, in special filter paper). It is known that roasted beans excrete carbonic acid, that is why vacuum packaging for coffee beans is made with filter – otherwise the package will burst. Ground coffee contacts with air, so it «breathe out» its reserve of carbonic acid for the day, whereupon it is packed into the vacuum.

In order to have really excellent beverage, it should be properly prepared. Each grade has its own way. For example gross coffee, with grains sizes up to 0,5ml. intended for French-press. The powder is poured with boiling water in the special coffee pot. Then it is stirred up and covered with a lid. It should be brew for 3-4 minutes. Then depressing the plunger and trap the coffee grinds at the bottom of the jug. This method is worthy of real experts and tasters – it helps to catch the slightest nuances of the flavour.

The middle grinding is good for coffee-machines. Put ground coffee and pour with cold water. While heating it gathers into the funnel and leaks slowly through the paper filter into the coffee-pot – little by little. Such method of coffee-making allows you to squeeze out of coffee a maximum of caffeine. The middle grinding coffee is also used in espresso machines. By the way, this name doesn’t mean the speed of preparation, but only the fact that coffee is “from under the press.”

Some manufacturers of ground coffee recommend don’t boil it, but brew with a boiling water just in the cup – like instant. As a rule, it refers to fine-ground coffee. However, true connoisseurs still prefer to prepare coffee in the Turkish coffee pot – cezve, preferably – on the hot sand. By heating the coffee foam is raising to the narrow neck – at this moment the Turkish coffee pot is removed from fire in order to give the foam to settle. Then heat again – for three times. It cannot be allowed to boil coffee – the foam will be burst, and taste will be spoiled. If you succeed to avoid it, then you get a real Turkish coffee – “black as the devil, hot as hell, pure as an angel, sweet as love.“

The moment of glory for instant coffee came during The Second World War. The drink, which you can fast make and take, at that don’t leaving the trench, was judged on its merits in the line of fire. The company, where worked inventor, has made coffee supply contracts to American soldiers. Coming back home, former warriors have found out that they couldn’t live without that drink any more.

The first idea of aromatized coffee appeared in the East. The Arabs, who were living on the territory of modern Yemen, added there different spices. They increased the taste and the flavor of the beverage. The supplements were cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, ginger, vanillin, etc.

Different supplements impart certain relish to the beverage – the flavor of liqueur, chocolate, barriers, fruit, nuts, as well as hot and herb spices.

Some people prefer aromatize coffee on their own. At that they put, it would seem, quite incompatible spices, as garlic or pepper. However it’s uncomplicated to put some liqueur, lemon or pepper to the finished beverage. But you should know that just aromatized coffee beans keep aroma for a long time.

The professional coffee flavorings are made with natural ingredients – without dye-stuff and alcohol.

They keep beverage’s aroma by high-temperature without curdling. They do not change its color and do not give side flavors.

Aromatized coffee has its advantages.

Many people prefer to drink such coffee not in itself, but for dessert – as pleasant addition to dinner or supper. At that the same beverage in cold will be taken differently than in hot. And if you add else whipped cream and some fantasy… In other words aromatized coffee – it is a fertile ground for creative searching.

Everyone has its own part in «Coffee cantata». The artistic circle, for example today, like hundred years ago, make no doubts that coffee restorative effect – is auto-suggestion. If coffee houses disappear, what may happen with Bohemia public? Espresso inventors, the Italians, are sure that the main fact to get right coffee is a mano (a hand), in other words, skills and experiences of a person, who makes it. From this point of view, the process of instant coffee making is completely impersonal. However that may be, the sociologists confirm documentarily – this product has become a harbinger of social consumption, which we belong to.

Coffee culture

One of the definite advantage of the «powder»is the fact that it takes half a minute for its completely dilution in a hot water, three minutes – in a cold. In spite of the value, which includes grain handling cost, manufacture and glass packaging, the instant coffee is quite comparable with coffee in beans. Many people appreciate instant coffee for easiness and quickness of preparation.

However, in the middle of the last century, this feature of instant coffee wasn’t among its advantages. The American boycotted fast coffee – they were sure that just poor and lazy mistresses buy it. And only well thought-out advertising campaign – «instant coffee will help you to release time for more necessary and important affairs!» – made them to temper justice with mercy. According to statistics, in 1953 2,57 cups of coffee per day accounted for each American above 10 years of age. Among them 2,31 cups were made from real coffee, and only 0,26 – from instant. Half a century later, from 400 million cups of coffee, which are drunk by Americans per day, more than half accounts for instant.

“Coffee” culture is determined at a ratio of consumption of natural ground and instant coffee. In European countries, for example in Germany, people drink lot more coffee (not to speak of Scandinavia, who are believed to be the main coffee drinkers). The main instant coffee consumers of different brands are Brazilian. However, it would seem, they could admit and real coffee.

Granules

At the beginning of the last century Brazil was the leading coffee producer. There were grown more then 60% of all harvest of coffee beans in the country. But very often gold was changed into the dust. There weren’t any technologies of storage and grain processing, – they were rotting then burnt and sank in the sea. So that coffee will not turn into prohibitive product, someone should invent something. In 1930 in Switzerland appeared «predecessor» of instant coffee, which was the most closely to modern version. By boiling and drying ground coffee particles mixed with sugar the Swiss chemist Max Morgentaller has got the first brown cube.

They told that Mr. Morgentaller took his invention only like experiment, and after workday permitted himself a cup of real espresso, but not the cube dissolved in a hot water. The Swiss scientist could be proud of his
descendants. The sky wasn’t the limit. The technologies have been improved and nowadays there are three main manufacture stages of instant coffee.

The first one – is spray-drying method. Roasted and ground coffee is processed by hot water under pressure. The extract is filtered and sprayed in vessels filled with hot inert gases. The droplets of the extract are coagulated and dry out turning into the powder.

The second stage is granulation. By means of hot steam, coffee finings get lumpy. As a result, instant coffee looks like granules, and not like powder any more.

The third stage is up to now considered to be a unique. The method of sublimation was invented in 1965. The coffee extract is crystallized by means of momentary freezing and then drying in a vacuum. At that, the thermal conditioning is unacceptable. Therefore the product has a greater content of natural ingredients. Made by freeze dry technology coffee may be compared with a freshly brewed coffee, but only in terms of aroma. According to the flavouring substances it is on the top of all kind of instant coffee.

Later it was invented decaffeinated and aromatized coffee, as well as some sorts of paste. Who knows, maybe we have a luck, and will be witnesses of another revolution in the coffee world!

As for Brazil… annually the world produces about 91 million bags of coffee (standard weight – 60 kg). The demand and supply of coffee drinkers are estimating very carefully, that is why each bad harvest is told upon prices. For example, last winter there was a harvest failure on Brazilian plantations, so market price run up to 40%. It also had an effect on instant coffee, but prices rose to 15%, and large manufacturers made long-term contracts.

Beware of counterfeit!

The most famous sort of coffee in the world – is Arabica. It is used for preparation of instant beverage not often: flavored, but not very strong, in “powder”, it practically loses its characteristic taste. The beverage made from Robusta coffee (strong African sort), is more rich then Arabica.

The caffeine, which makes us feel our oats, content in a coffee seed no less than 2-3% of its total weight. However, this volume of caffeine is believed to be exceedingly high for the modern humans who live in a stressful world. That is why they artificially «pull out» caffeine from coffee, leaving 2.3% – the index which is set by international standards. In theory, the caffeine content in instant coffee must not go below the above level. It is believed that less caffeine powder is unacceptable. But some sorts contain only 0.1%!

Actually, the problem of falsification in this area is incredibly badly – coffee is forged much frequently and with greater success than, for example, handbags Louis Vuitton. And forgery is virtually impossible to distinguish.

For ages it was considered that drinking coffee is a tempting but pernicious habit. But according to the latest researches, if we do not abuse it (permissible caffeine dose is 0,3g per day), coffee may be even useful. It stimulates the working of digestive system and brain, as well as increases the effectiveness of antibiotic action. It is also proved that people, who drink 2-3 cups of coffee in a day, have stable mentality and they are less stressful.

The first category is Mild. It consists of the best sorts of Arabica coffee – from rare to widely-used. In order to stress their high quality they call this category like «mild high-grown coffee». High-Grown – is a coffee which had been gathered at a height of no less than 500 meters above-sea level. Frequently, location height of coffee plantations is 1000-1500 meters. At the same time coffee berries should be gathered totally ripe and be carefully cultivated.

This category of most qualitative coffee, contrasts sharply with another one – less qualitative, strong and inelegant taste, cheep grains. It called Brazilian coffee.

Such name of the category is conditioned by the fact, that vast Brazilian plantations, located not in mountains but on the plain, give ample quantity of cheep, sometimes careless gathered and cultivated coffee. At the same time such name does not show reality exactly. Brazil also produces perfect sorts, relating to Mild.

The third category consists of the sort called Robust coffee. It does not yield in taste and aroma to varieties of Arabica coffee. Besides, it is richer in caffeine content (about 30-40 %). Robust coffee has its own values – simplicity in vegetations, disease resistance, and what is more principle, cheapness. That is why takes Robust coffee its valid stand on the market.

In a number of cases unblended coffee has the name of a country in which it is made, for example, Colombian coffee, etc.

Most varieties of unblended coffee have narrower trade name. They can get it from the name of concrete region, state or province, where they have been made. Fairly often coffee is called by the name of the city or region, where it was gathered (Colombian Armenia), or by name of port from which grains shipped for export (Brazilian Santos).

The name of unblended coffee is often connected with its quality. Unfortunately, the grains classification concerning quality, which is determined in many coffee-producing countries, is quite difficult.

In some countries the most important characteristic in names of coffee varieties can be height above sea level, in which grow coffee trees, in others – grain size, processing technique, etc.

As for classification of grains quality depending on their size, this index is used in names of coffee varieties in the following way: the largest of them are marked with one letter A (for example, in India), with two letters A (for example, in Kenya and Tanzania) or even with three letters A (in Peru).

In the world coffee market can be found coffee varieties, which are gathered from the small plot (ownership) and because of its size can not be called plantation. Thus, coffee plot looks like Chateau Bordeaux (“castle”, “estate”). The drawing of an analogy with the French “castle” winemaking is quite significant in order to explain the phenomenon of appearance in the coffee world such terms like “plot”, “possession”. There are not a lot of them, but sell coffee under their own names aspiring not only the owners of these plots, who are interested in large incomes, but also coffee tradesmen, who are interested in high quality of grains.