Perfect Coffees.com :: Perfect_CoffeesCom_Newsletter-newsletter35

Perfect Coffees.Com Newsletter Issue #36

January 1, 2007

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In This Issue
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=> Coffee Tips
=> Feature Article
=> Recipe Of The Month
=> Coffee Trivia
=> Looking For A Coffee Maker?
=> Contact Us

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Coffee Tips
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If you prefer your coffee weaker, make it full strength, then dilute it with hot water or milk. It will taste much better than trying to use less coffee.

Water softeners are great but not for your coffee. Artifically softened water will produce bitter tasting coffee. Since coffee is 98% water it makes sense to use pure and clean water with no artificial ingredients.

The best solution for keeping your coffee fresh and hot is transferring your coffee into a thermos or air pot coffee dispensor. This isolates the coffee from air, slowing down the oxidation process. The coffee will last up to 1 hour before you start losing the good flavor.

A good test for freshness of a coffee bean is to actually bite into the bean. If it has a crisp bite and a strong, full-flavored aftertaste, it is fresh. However, if it is chewy or bitter, it is not.

Freshly ground coffee makes a wonderful potpourri. The smell of coffee will mask the "foulest" of odors. Replace aromatherapy scents with something that a true coffee lover appreciates, that wonderful smell of freshly ground coffee.

When mixing desserts and coffees, the more plain the dessert, the lighter the roast of the coffee you may want to accompany it. Espresso goes well with richer desserts and lighter roasted coffees with less rich desserts.

If you want your coffee to stay hot longer, heat your coffee cup or mug with hot water and remove the water just before pouring in your coffee. This will keep your coffee much hotter a lot longer.

Never store your coffee in its original bag. Transfer your whole beans immediately into a ceramic or glass container with a rubber seal and preferably one that does not allow light through it. Air, light, heat and moisture are enemies of coffee.

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Feature Article
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The Secret To A Great Cup Of Coffee

Want to know the missing link to unlock the secrets of a great cup of coffee? A coffee grinder could be all that's holding you back from experiencing what true coffee flavor is all about.

Buying ground coffee is convenient because it's ready to use in your drip coffee maker. But even though grinding coffee beans requires a little more effort, it could be what's missing to a truly great cup of coffee.

Grinding coffee beans at home is actually very easy, and once you taste the difference in flavor, you'll realize the extra effort is well worth it.
The two most popular kinds of coffee grinders are blade and burr coffee grinders. As with most things in life you get what you pay for, and while burr coffee grinders produce better results, they cost a little more.

If you want to experiment with grinding your own coffee beans, you may want to start with a more inexpensive blade coffee grinder. Not many people ever go back to ground coffee after trying this because it really does make that much of a difference in flavor if you are buying ground coffee now.

If you decide to go with a blade grinder, you need to time how long you grind your coffee beans. Here are the grinding times according to the kind of coffee maker you have.

Course Grind - for electric percolators grind for 5-10 seconds.

Medium Grind - for electric drip or French press 10-15 seconds.

Fine Grind - for espresso machines grind approximately 30 seconds

A good tip for using a blade grinder is push the grinding button in intervals. Grind in quick bursts of 2-5 seconds because that prevents the beans from heating up too much. Experiment with your equipment, grinding time and different coffee blends to achieve the results that please your tastes.

Burr coffee grinders are by far the best method for grinding your gourmet coffee beans. The grind is more consistent and most of the machines have grind settings which means you don't have to time anything.

Some models even have settings for how many cups you want to grind and include a receptacle where your coffee grounds are deposited. That makes it much easier to pour your coffee grounds from the receptacle into your coffee maker.

If you do decide to get a coffee grinder and grind your own coffee, make sure you grind it immediately before brewing a fresh pot. The life of ground coffee is only a few days after grinding because oxygen and moisture in the air quickly deteriorate ground coffee.

Here are a few good coffee grinder buying tips:

One important and often overlooked buying tip is look at how you clean the coffee grinder. Routine cleaning is occasionally required and you don't want it to be difficult. If it's easy to clean you'll keep it cleaner and your coffee will taste as good as it should.

Also, only grind fresh gourmet coffee with your coffee grinder. Don't grind flavored beans because they will leave flavor residue in your coffee grinder that is almost impossible to get out. Several manufacturers suggest that you can grind spices, but if you do, the spice residue can give your coffee a strange flavor.

If you are settling for ground coffee you buy in the store, you may want to consider a good quality grinder and grind your coffee beans just before you brew a fresh pot. It just might be the difference between a good or a great cup of coffee.

coffee grinders

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Recipe Of The Month
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Caramel Filled Chocolate Bars

INGREDIENTS:

1 German Chocolate cake mix
3/4 cup Margarine, melted
14 oz Bag caramels
2/3 cup Evaporated milk, divided
1 cup Chocolate chips
1 cup Walnuts, chopped

INSTRUCTIONS:

Heat oven to 350° F.
Melt caramels and 1/3 cup evaporated milk over hot water or in microwave, stirring every thirty seconds.
Keep warm.
Mix the cake mix, margarine and 1/3 cup evaporated milk and beat well.
Spread 1/2 the batter in a greased 9x13 inch pan.
Bake for 6 minutes at 350 degrees.
Cool about 2 minutes.
Spread caramel mixture over baked layer and sprinkle with chocolate chips.
Stir 1/2 cup nuts into remaining 1/2 of batter and drop by half teaspoonful over top.
Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup nuts.
Return to oven and bake for 18 minutes at 350 degrees.
Cool in pan and cut into 1 1/2 inch squares.

This chocolate caramel bars recipe courtesy of Chocolate Recipes For Chocolate Lovers with more than 600 of the best chocolate lovers recipes from cookies and cakes to candies and truffles, that will satisfy even your deepest chocolate craving.

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Coffee Trivia
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In 1511, coffee was forbidden for its stimulating effect by conservative, Orthodox imams at a theological court in Mecca.

Once fully matured, a coffee plant produces consistently for 15 or 20 years.

Many factors affect the taste of a coffee but the altitude is one of the most important.

It takes more than 400,000 beans to fill a coffee sack.

Liquid coffee concentrate is usually used in large institutional situations where coffee needs to be produced for thousands of people at the same time.

Spent coffee grounds are used as fertilizer in gardens for their high nitrogen content.

Arfé is the use of coffee as a coloring for painting or other visual effects.

The white coffee flower has five petals and a scent resembling that of jasmine and the flowers last only 2-3 days.

Coffee represents 71% of all the United States caffeine consumption followed by soft drinks and tea.

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Looking For
A Coffee Maker?
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Our sister web site to Perfect Coffees.com Best-Coffee-Makers-Online.com allows you to easily shop by brand and compare coffee makers to purchase exactly what you're looking for at great values.

It's time for Christmas shopping again. Coffee makers make perfect gifts so remember the coffee lover on your Christmas list.

If you have comments or questions about our web sites or coffee newsletter we would love to hear from you. Your opinion is more than just important. To us it is everything.

Our contact email is Comments@perfectcoffees.com

Thanks for reading and subscribing to our newsletter. All of us at PerfectCoffees.Com wish you and your family Happy Holidays.

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