How To Keep Your Dark Roast Coffee Hot And Tasting Good

The Best Ways To Keep Coffee Hot and Tasting Good

Keeping our coffee fresh and hot is a major item for some of us coffee drinkers. There is nothing worse than a tepid mouthful of stale coffee. How you keep your coffee hot depends a little on where you are and what you're doing. What happens to coffee as we keep it warm? Are there things I should never do to keep my coffee warm? Knowing a little more about coffee will help you understand how to keep it hot and tasting great.

The following set of points should help to insure better tasting coffee:

• Use a thermal cup or mug for commuting or to keep it hot for short periods of time


• Glass and stainless steel thermos style bottles barely effect coffee taste at all


• French Press brewers (like Bodum) are not good for keeping coffee hot. They continue to brew and can produce very bitter coffee


• Try to not use direct heat from an element or hotplate if possible


• A sealed or closed container slows the loss of essential aromas that influence coffee flavor.


• You get the best flavor from coffee that is kept at least 170° F.
  

There are a number of taste related components in a cup of coffee that change or degrade over time. This means that the taste of a cup of coffee will continue to change, for the worse most would say, just because time passes. The best way to manage this problem is to simply brew smaller amounts of coffee more frequently. As we all know, the best cup of coffee is a freshly brewed cup of coffee.

One Starbucks employee said that in a training session they were told to not let the shot sit for more than 15 seconds before mixing it in the milk mixture, and about 20 seconds is the “optimal” brewing time for a shot of espresso.

So as you get your next pot of coffee ready, think about how you are going to consume it. If you plan on having it right away, no problem. But if you are thinking about drinking it over a longer period of time, keep the points we made above in your mind. Plan out how you will keep it hot and tasting fresh. Only then start the brew.

Now That My Espresso Is Made - What To Do With The Milk?

How To Froth Milk For A Cappuccino

I did all of the right things to make espresso at home. I bought myself a good espresso machine. I learned which dark roast espresso beans have the best taste and how to grind them to the correct fineness. I managed to insert the gadget with the grinds, known as a portafilter, into the espresso machine, lock it into place, turn on the machine and let her rip. Great espresso!

But I wanted a cappuccino. Sue wanted a latte. I guess it's time to figure out how to steam the milk.

Image: nuchylee / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Sue is always dieting, so she wants nonfat milk. I found out that low fat and nonfat milk foam really easily. Whole milk takes more practice. Same thing with half and half if you want a breve.

Some espresso machines have a built in steam nozzle and some don't. You may need to buy a separate steamer. I recommend getting an espresso machine with one built in - it saves space.

The first thing to do is to put that stainless steel pitcher and milk into the refrigerator and get it cold. Always start with them cold - this will give you the best results. The next critical success factor is to fill the pitcher about a third to a half full. Milk expands really well when it's steamed. It takes only once for it to foam up, overflow and hit the floor to remember to start with a pitcher no more than half full.

Start by putting the nozzle on the surface of the milk and turning the steam on full. The milk is going to begin to foam, so keep lowering the pitcher so that the nozzle is just under the surface of the milk. About a half inch will do fine. You can turn down the pressure when the foam really begins to rise, or just take the pitcher away. Now the milk is just about at the boiling point.

Now here is another important tip. Don't let the milk boil. This is a sure way to get the milk to overflow the pitcher - or even worse, it will taste burnt - not good.

Your steamed milk should have little bubbles all the way through it, and there should be a light foam on the top. There you are. That's it. Now you go make whatever espresso drink you want. Next up, you can start learning how to make all those fancy designs in the top.

I hope this will help you to make an awesome cappuccino, latte or breve.

As always, May Your Next Cup Be The Best!

Seattle’s Best Henry's Blend - Review

Henry's Blend by Seattle’s Best

I've always enjoyed Henry's Blend from Seattle's Best. Although I have drank this blend for years, this is the first time I have written a blog on it. Henry's Blend has always been one of my favorites. It is a well-rounded coffee that is an excellent dark roast blend. It is rated as a Level 4 coffee. There is more information about the "Level" system HERE.

For this review, I tasted the coffee as an Americano. The unsweetened coffee hits the tip of the tongue with a definite bitterness that you won't forget. The finish of this coffee is very clean – it does not linger long in your mouth.

This coffee has always been one of my favorites from Seattle's best in fact it was one of the first Seattle's Best coffees I have drank.


After sweetening the brew is more like a desert than a coffee I would recommend that if you drink it with sweetener that you don't even bother to eat any sweets or any kind of cake with it because it is an excellent sweet treat all by itself.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I would easily rate this at 9.5 - it is arguably one of the best coffees on the market and I think that it's one that you will find very enjoyable - no matter how picky you are

You should go out and get some Henry's Blend. Just click on the link that follows and get yourself some great coffee.


Click here to get Henry's Blend.

As always, I want to thank you for coming by and may your next cup be your best!