How Specialty Coffee and Tea Shops are Affecting our Lives

Sprouting Specialty Coffee and Tea food services companies have been growing all over serving on the go breakfast consumers to professionals who hold meetings out of the office setup. One thing is for sure, the culture of the modern world is evolving and is opening new doors and market niches for people who dream of having special places to drink, enjoy and experience a great serving of specialty coffee and tea. However the massive brands who sell coffee and tea have already saturated the market with thousands of shops and take-out options.

There is still an open and untapped market of coffee drinkers that want only the best brews. They want coffee and tea roasted and brewed to order, not commercially prepared beans and leaves. This is usually done by local coffee aficionados who have turned their passion of coffee into a social oriented business.

There is a big experience when you visit a speciality coffee and tea shop. Preparing good coffee is only half of it. People also go for the atmosphere in the drinking shop. The chairs, tables, ambiance, lights and even the music can make or break your specialty coffee and tea shop. Enterprising coffee and tea shop owners are attracting more customers by offering free services like Wi-Fi which means business men and women can do some work on their lunch hour or students, travellers and journalists can type away whilst enjoying a nice drink.

Specialty coffee and tea drinking is not just for getting a good kick in the morning, but an experience that is shared with friends, colleagues, and the environment.

I have a dotty old uncle who lives alone and drinks his coffee right out of the coffee pot. He doesn’t bother to pour his coffee into a cup…maybe washing a coffee cup just makes more work…who knows?

Most people, however, prefer to drink their coffee out of a coffee cup or a coffee mug. It is the civilized thing to do.

When people buy place settings of fine china of just a set of everyday dishes, the thing that determines their choice is the shape and size of the cup. After all, plates, bread plates, soup or cereal bowls, saucers, and other pieces in a place setting or set of dishes are all pretty much the same. They may come in varying sizes and the patterns are different, but still they are all basically the same design. Only the cups are different. The size and shape of the cup and the handles on the cups is most often the determining factor is the selection of dinner ware.

There are different coffee cups for serving different coffees, as well. Most “regular” coffee cups hold between 6 and 8 ounces of coffee. But there are demitasse cups that only hold between 2 and 4 ounces and big coffee mugs that hold up to 20 ounces. Latte coffee cups must be large enough to hold the frothy milk.

Coffee cups can be purchased separately, or as part of a set of dishes or a piece in a place setting of china. Coffee cups don’t all have handles either. There are double-walled cups without handles that are used to serve espresso or cappuccino.

The thickness of the wall of the coffee cup is the determining factor of how long coffee will stay hot in a coffee cup. Remember those old thick-walled white cups of roadside coffee house fame? Coffee would stay hot in those things all the way through the eating of a meal and beyond. On the other hand, coffee in a delicate fine china cup will only stay hot a very few minutes.

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Caffeine isn’t the problem for these people. The problem is the acid that is naturally present in coffee.

Removing the acid from coffee without removing the taste has been a problem. Either additives have been required that made the coffee taste bad, or an extraction process had to be used that left the coffee tasteless. Today, however, through good research and development, there are low-acid coffees on the market that most people who suffer with ulcers, heartburn, acid reflux, interstitial cystitis, stomach upset, and indigestion can tolerate just fine. Once again, they can enjoy a good cup of coffee without hurting their sensitive tummies. Now, that is good news!

Low-acid coffee is considered a premium or gourmet coffee, however, and the prices are reflective of that status. You aren’t likely to find low-acid coffee on the shelves of your local grocery store or at your local discount store. You will have to purchase low-acid coffee either from a real-world coffee specialty shop or order it online from one of the many distributors.

All of the acids are not removed from low-acid coffees. There are good acids that are left untouched. Low acid coffees are LOW in acid but not acid free. The acids that aid in digestion and the ones that give coffee its unique flavor are left alone.

Low-acid coffee that tastes great and still provides all of the known health benefits of coffee is worth the added cost, however. Once again, those who suffer from stomach-related health problems can enjoy coffee.

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These non-coffee drinkers are most certainly in the minority, however, and even they have a way of getting a morning shot of caffeine. They will either drink a cup of tea, a soft drink, or a glass of chocolate milk — all of which contain caffeine, the active ingredient in coffee.

The caffeine in coffee is a stimulant. It is a natural stimulant without many, if any, side effects. Drinking a lot of coffee can make a person nervous, but even a lot of coffee will not raise blood pressure or increase the heart rate for more than a few minutes. The stimulating effect of coffee lasts a long time, though. A single cup of coffee will relieve boredom, make people perform tedious tasks better, and keep them more alert and well-functioning for several hours.

Coffee is actually a health food. Really! Those who drink coffee regularly are less likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. Coffee has been proven to stave off type-2 diabetes, even in people who are glucose intolerant. Coffee is recognized as a colorectal cancer preventative. Coffee is effective in reducing the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. There are studies in progress of the positive effects coffee drinking can have on a whole host of human maladies, and coffee is loaded with antioxidants.

So start your day with a cup of coffee, and enjoy it. Coffee not only tastes good, it makes you feel better in the moment and it will help you live a full and healthy life. Coffee is health food!

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Caffeine is a natural substance that is found in coffee. Caffeine is also found in tea, soft drinks, and chocolate. Caffeine is what helps to wake us up in the morning as we sip that first cup of coffee. It is what gives us that little added boost in the afternoon when our energy is flagging.

There is research that “proves” that caffeine is bad for us and good for us. It has been determined that caffeine is a stimulant, and some researchers see that as a good thing; while others see it as a bad thing. It is true that caffeine is somewhat addictive and there are those who are deeply opposed to anything and everything that might possibly be addictive in any way.

My point is that the caffeine might be called the “active ingredient” in coffee. So, of course, it can be removed. When the caffeine is removed from coffee, though, most of the taste goes with it. Coffee that has had its caffeine removed is called “decaffeinated,” or “decaf.”

There are at present two basic ways in which caffeine is removed from coffee. The two processes for decaffeination are known as (1) European Process; and (2) Swiss Water Process.

The European Process uses methylene chloride to wash the coffee beans. The chemicals absorb the caffeine. The beans are then washed to remove the chemical, roasted, and ground. The European Process actually leaves more flavor in the coffee beans, but there are those (surprise) who object to the use of chemicals.

The Swiss Water Process for removing caffeine from coffee beans is a multi-step process that only uses water and steam. The Swiss Water Process, however, removes more than just the caffeine from coffee beans. Many of the oils are also lost in the process, and the coffee made from beans that have been decaffeinated using the Swiss Water Process is pretty much tasteless.

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Remember the old movie, “Cheaper by the Dozen”? The point was that quantity cut costs. Well, there are other “points” made in the movie of course, but you get my drift here. The fact is that you can save money by buying almost everything in larger quantities. There is a good reason why this is true. Packaging costs decrease, transportation costs decrease, and handling costs decrease, so larger quantities of almost anything can be sold for a smaller unit cost than smaller quantities of the same item. And coffee is no exception to the rule.

The secret of buying in bulk and making it cost-effective is that you must store bulk coffee in an airtight container. Air is what degrades coffee, whether the coffee is in a whole bean form or has already been ground. You know that smaller quantities of coffee are packaged in vacuum containers. The reason that they are packed like that is for the purpose of preventing the air from degrading the coffee.

Storing coffee in the refrigerator isn’t a good idea either. The best way to store coffee that has been bough in bulk is by using one of the airtight food sealing products that you can buy. There are many brands of this kind of product. The best known brand is called “Seal-a-Meal,” but it isn’t the only one out there.

When you buy coffee in bulk, you should seal it in portion sizes that are the best for you by using one of the airtight food sealing products and then store the packages in a cool, dark place to prevent degradation of the coffee flavor and freshness. After all, if you buy coffee in bulk to save money and then the coffee loses its flavor and freshness before you can use it, you really haven’t saved any money at all.

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A simple cup of coffee is a powerful thing! It can mend fences and save friendships. They say that the pen is mightier than the sword, but it could be that a simple cup of coffee is more powerful than both of them put together.

It had been a tough week in the neighborhood. It was cold, and the kids had been underfoot indoors at one house or the other all week. My neighbor and I had been close friends for several years, but our relationship had gotten seriously strained over this past week. She had called me twice to complain about how my Bobby was tormenting her Shawn. She had sent him home, too, more than twice.

Now, the boys played at my house as often as they played at her house, and I was fully aware of the fact that her Shawn wasn’t the little darling that she thought he was. Our relationship and our friendship were nearing the breaking point; there really wasn’t much doubt about it.

On Thursday morning, I took the boys to the “Mother’s Day Out” program at a nearby local church for the morning. It was my neighbor’s turn to drive, but I offered to run the “taxi” service and she accepted.

When I returned from dropping the boys off, I looked across the street at my neighbor’s house, and it had the deserted look that most homes have during midwinter. In fact, it looked sad. I looked at the pile of laundry that was waiting for my attention. I looked at the as-yet-unmade beds. Then I looked at my coffee maker and made the decision. I picked up the phone and called my neighbor.

I said, “I know we both have a long list of things that we need to do while the little darlings are gone, but how about coming over for a cup of coffee?” She was there almost before I had time to hang up the phone. We drank a cup of coffee, and we talked about how we were both so tired of being cooped up with rowdy kids. We laughed and we cried, and we mended our broken fences and saved our friendship — all over one simple cup of coffee.

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You can find those on both sides of this issue. Is coffee a weight loss help, or a weight loss hindrance? On the one hand, coffee is a stimulant and it is addictive. There are those who even call coffee a drug. These are people who are firmly against the use of anything that could remotely be called addictive or a stimulant. They advocate abstinence from practically everything.

On the other side of this coffee and weight loss issue, you will find those who point out that there are no calories, no carbohydrates, and no fat in a cup of black coffee. Coffee has a satisfying taste that one can enjoy guilt free. These people agree that coffee is a stimulant, but they see that as a good thing. Coffee is recognized by many as a very natural appetite suppressant, which is an extremely desirable quality for those who are trying to lose some unwanted pounds.

Coffee as it comes from the pot is all natural, without any calories, carbohydrates, or fat at all. However, if you start adding “stuff” to it, like sugar, heavy cream, coffee-flavoring syrups, etc., these sterling diet qualities are lost. If you order a double latte at Starbucks, for example, you will blow your diet big time no matter whether you are counting calories, carbohydrates, or fat grams.

If you can drink coffee black or with an artificial no-calorie sweetener, then coffee can actually be a very good aid to your weight loss efforts. You will get a boast of energy and a natural appetite suppressant along with it. If, on the other hand, you insist on adding several spoons of sugar and a big gulp of heavy cream, you should probably scratch coffee off your allowed food and drink list.

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Now, when your feet first touch the floor in the morning and you are groggily making your way to the coffee pot, you probably aren’t thinking about where coffee came from or who discovered the magic stuff. But the origins of coffee are really rather interesting, and after you have finished that first cup, you might like to know how it happened that you have a cup of coffee to get your day started off right. There are several versions of how coffee was discovered.

One story is that a sheep herder from Caffa Ethopia named Kaldi noticed that when his sheep ate red “cherries” from a certain plant, they became very active. The sheep would have been bouncing off the walls, had there been walls. The sheep herder decided to try the “cherries” himself and soon he was as hyper as his herd of sheep. A monk came along and scolded Kaldi for “partaking of the devil’s fruit,” but then the monks discovered that the red “cherries” helped them to stay awake while they were saying prayers.

This isn’t the only story about the origin of coffee, though. There is another story about an Arabian, Omar, who was banished to the desert along with his followers to “die from starvation.” There was nothing to eat in the desert, and Omar and his followers were sure to die. Then, in an act of desperation, Omar ordered his followers to boil the fruit from an unknown plant and eat it. The fruit and the broth saved their lives and it was considered a miracle from God. The residents of the nearest town, Mocha, were awed by the miracle, and the plant and the beverage were named Mocha to honor the event.

Take you pick…both stories are great. Originally the coffee plant grew in Ethiopia (Ethopia), but once it was transplanted to Arabia, it was claimed by them.

Hawaii has strict rules on it’s coffee industry.  To be called by the name “kona” the beans have to be from the specific part of the region where the beans are currently grown.  Some lower cost versions of Kona coffee are mixed with Arabica beans from Columbia and Brazil.  While these Kona coffee blends are still full of flavor, they are not the true variety hat has brought such renown to this delicious bean.

The coffee plant was originally brought to Hawaii by a Brazilian man in the 1800′s.  It never really came of any significance until the coffee market crash of the 1890′s.  During this time, the land owners leased the land to the farmers, who began to grow sugar cane.  Japanese farmers came to the island for work, and began to grow coffee again in the same area.  They refined the process of growing the plant, which led to an amazing improvement in the reliability of the coffee crop.

The Kona blend gets it’s unique flavor from the climate and weather conditions of the Hawaiian Islands.  A combination of sunny mornings, strong, short storms, and mild nights combine for optimum growing conditions.

The cherries that are picked from the plan ts go through a strict process to get to their premium texture.  They are removed from their pulp and placed in a fermentation chamber for 12-24 hours, depending on elevation.  Then, they are placed on a table to dry.  The building that they are in has a retractable roof to cover the beans in case of rain.  After that, they are placed in a parchment to prepare for shipment.  It takes between 7-9 pounds of cherries to get a pound of coffee.

The flavor is of extremely high strength and quality, and the result of the climate is delicious. Full flavored Kona coffee beans are certainly among the finest tasting coffees in the world.