Some Coffee Lovin' Facts

Hope your weekend was a relaxing one and that you're ready to go for the week ahead.  If you didn't catch up on enough sleep, at least you've got your faithful friend, coffee, to fall back on.  Don't worry. You're in good company as coffee drinker numbers are on the rise.

As some of you know, Father Dearest and I did our barista training in Canada.  We try to keep up with what's going on in the world of specialty coffee via news and alerts from our Canadian friends.  Thought I'd share some coffee stats from the 2016 Coffee Drinking Study (2017 results will be available next year).  The results show that there is an increase in people drinking specialty coffee, you now, the kind you can get at Perfect Cup.  Here's a snapshot of the infographic.

For more details you can check out this link.

Have a great week!

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Coffee Thoughts

The morning cup of coffee has an exhilaration about it which the cheering influence of the afternoon or evening cup of tea cannot be expected to reproduce.   

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

This could have been written just for me, it hits the mark.  I wake up every morning with an excitement, determination, incapacitating need to get the kettle going and brew my first cup.  I wouldn't give up the comforts of my afternoon tea, but the sense of anticipation is definitely less!   

How do you feel about your first cup?

Café Cubano

I was preparing a lesson for one of my Latin American Studies classes where the students will be exploring various aspects of Cuban history.  While reviewing my notes, I started thinking about Cuban culture: dominoes, cigars, bongos, rumba and coffee.  You know it had to go back to the coffee!  Anyway, have you ever had a Café Cubano?   Get your Moka Pot out for this one, as that's one of the easiest ways to make this sweetened coffee drink.

A Café Cubano is essentially a sweetened espresso shot.  Set aside a teaspoon to two teaspoons of sugar in a small jar or glass.  Using a darker roast coffee e.g. Italian, load up your Moka Pot and put it to work its magic.  Once the spout of your Moka Pot starts releasing the espresso, use a spoon to siphon out two teaspoonfuls.  Beat the sugar and coffee together.  Beat it hard and don't rush the process.  This step creates the espuma (a creamy foam made of coffee, sugar and air), which is the hallmark of Café Cubano.  Once you've dissolved all the sugar and have created a nice creamy espuma, mix in the remaining espresso from the Moka Pot.  Pour into an espresso cup and drink immediately.

The Espuma (photo courtesy Saveur Magazine)
 

 You can see how to make your own sweet, Cuban espresso in this video from Saveur Magazine.

  Saludos.

Silly Sunday Coffee

Hi Coffee Lovers,

Remember to follow your dreams... coffee can help with that!

Happy Sunday!

The Chorreador Revisited

I've been away from my blog for years but today I had an incredible inspiration.
Almost 5 years ago I posted about the Costa Rican Chorreador (The Chorreador).

Today is my first day of a week long trip to San José, Costa Rica.  A couple of hours ago my hostess served me some fabulous coffee made from her chorreador.  The coffee was perfect! No need for sugar or milk.  It was black coffee perfection.

Then, I got this niggling thought that I had seen this before and that it should come as no surprise to be served coffee from a chorreador in Costa Rica.  After 4 years of being absent from my blog, I looked it up and there it was.  My post talked about the daily use of the chorreador in Costa Rican homes.  Well now I have experienced it in all its perfection.  I can't wait for my morning cup!

It figures I would get inspiration to blog the very same week I'm supposed to be living, breathing, speaking only Spanish!!!

Hasta pronto mis amigos.

And we’re off!

wednesday.5.october.2011

We’ve launched! Friday 30th September was our tasting day! The Pro did make it into the shop on Thursday evening after all. Installation was a fairly painless affair with the steely Dawson at the helm. Taste testing began right away much to the delight of all in close enough proximity to smell the glorious coffee filled air. We fiddled around with the milk trying to find just the right one to best complement our espresso house blend; and our taste testers were more than happy to sample and offer opinions.

Special thanks to all our friends and family who came out on Friday evening to the official coffee tasting and ‘soft launch’ of Perfect Cup Espresso Bar. We spent a very busy but exciting and entertaining evening serving coffee drinks and chatting with everyone. We were actually too busy to even take pictures! Thankfully, our friends at YTP snapped a few pics for us!

I must admit it was quite surreal standing there on Friday looking around at all we had accomplished. Our coffee shop is finally a reality. Thanks to everyone who offered encouragement, support and help over the last year. We greatly appreciate it :o)

We still haven’t decided on a definite opening date. It should, however, be sometime next week. We’ve got to wait for our next shipment of coffee to land and we are still waiting for our signage!!!! Once we’ve got those two biggies out of the way there’ll be no holding us back. In the meanwhile, Father Dearest continues to familiarise himself with the DC Pro and our friends continue to drop by to sample the coffee. I’ve gone back to the world of work, where I try not to spend all day thinking about Coffee Bean or my cosy little shop and all the yummy coffee that lives there. Speaking of which, can someone deliver me a latte… please?????