Catering Melbourne Blog

Vittoria, mio core

Les Schirato, the CEO of Cantarella Bros, says it was not easy to introduce strong coffee to Australia. Initially, Schirato was laughed at when he tried to persuade supermarket owners to distribute Cantarella’s products. At that time, it seemed impossible to make Australians drink strong coffee. Schirato persevered and his persistence paid off. Cantarella now controls 43 per cent of the domestic pure coffee market. Schirato, who has been at the helm of the company since 1993, is proud of his achievements. The Australian Financial Review, May 2008

Coffee prices on boil - Favourite beans make for a rich brew

It’s enough to make even hardened coffee drinkers stock up on instant. Rising coffee bean prices could force up the cost of a cup of coffee from your favourite cafe, according to the Australian Coffee Traders Association. Vice-chairman Andrew Mackay said the price of arabica beans had increased almost 25 per cent in the past month because of investors speculating on the wholesale coffee market. “We’re seeing prices at almost 10-year highs in the arabica market and the same with robusta,” he said. The latest annual Cappuccino Price Index, produced by coffee distributor Gilkatho, reveals that the average price of a takeaway cappuccino in Brisbane is $2.85—up 5 in the past year. Wayne Fowler, managing director of Gilkatho, in the Brisbane suburb of Milton, said cafe operators would be under financial hardship unless they raised prices or increased sales. The Sunday Mail (Brisbane), March 2.

For most people, a cup of hot coffee is the only way to start a day. Since 2001, Adelaide has enjoyed the aroma and taste of Bean Bar coffees, with more than 20,000 cups served each week from its six outlets. The growing demand for quality will see another four Bean Bar stores open in the city’s CBD by July next year. Bean Bar master franchisor Ron Basset said the introduction of coffee outlets in service stations is a bonus as it encourages people to ditch the instant cup of coffee in favour of the specialised espresso. ”Consumers are becoming more discriminating in their coffee tastes,” he said. ”Cafes and coffee outlets not meeting this emerging standard are being left behind.” The popular coffee chain will soon launch its new colour, logo and slogan, ”Double or Nothing”, and early next year, will broaden its service with new mobile coffee vans. In the booming coffee market, Bean Bar stays one step ahead by monitoring customer reactions and continually improving its products. Sunday Mail (Adelaide), November 11.

Coffee lovers will tell you that the best coffee comes from beans grounded immediately before the coffee is brewed. Old Time coffee drinkers know this by heart. That’s why no kitchen is complete without a coffee grinder. Waking up in the morning and grinding up a fresh batch of coffee beans and throwing it into the coffee maker and then anticipating that first sip of fresh hot coffee! Now that is the good life!

What Makes a Great Coffee Grinder?

When it comes to coffee grinders, there to basic types. One is called burr grinders and the other is called blade grinders. The difference between these two is basically how the beans are processed. Blade coffee grinders use a spinning blade to grind up the coffee beans. Burr grinders use burrs to grind up coffee beans. Burrs resemble plates with gears on them. One of the burrs is stationary, while the other one spins and grinds up the coffee beans.

When trying to make a great cup of coffee, one has to keep a couple things in mind. The taste of coffee will be affected by heat and uniformity. What this means is, heat is undesirable in a coffee grinder because it damages the coffee beans. The process of grinding coffee is relatively violent, because both blade and burr grinders in produce some heat. And of course, the faster the grinding mechanism runs; the more heat is being generated. Even finer grinds generate heat because of the extra time it takes to grind the coffee beans.

For those who are concerned about the quality of their coffee, one can purchase a low- speed burr grinder. A low speed burr will be more expensive. As well it will take longer to grind the coffee beans. But coffee purists will swear by these coffee grinders as the only way to go for a perfect cup of coffee.

Another very important factor is the uniformity of the grind. With the brewing process, the water spends a certain amount of time passing over the grinds. The uniform grinds are much more efficient at imparting flavor to the water. At first glance, the average coffee drinker may not be able to distinguish coffee that was grinded from a blade grinder vs. a burr grinder. But, to a coffee purist, they will notice the difference. The blade grinder is not very good at creating a uniform grind. However, with burr grinders, they produce an exceptional uniform grind resulting in a much tastier cup of coffee.

Quite frankly, it’s a no brainer when it comes to selecting a coffee grinder. The burr grinder s really the only way to go. However, some of the higher end models can cost several hundred dollars, thus putting them out of reach for some of the coffee lovers. However, this doesn’t mean that a small budget will always get a poor coffee grinder. Best to do a search online for burr coffee grinders. One can pick up a very nice coffee grinder for under hundred dollars. The selection is almost endless. Most coffee lovers consider a coffee grinder to be an investment and not an expense. After all, who can put the dollar value on a fantastic cup of coffee each and every morning? Yes, it is the good life!

Tea is taking the world by storm. With more and more new flavors coming every day, the life of a tea drinker keeps getting better. Maybe it started with the onslaught of green-tea health benefits, such as helping fight cancer and cardiovascular problems, heart disease, and strokes. Its no doubt to the growing number of health releated and organic tea drinkers that antioxidants play a major role in this area. Antioxidants can have a great effect on removing cell-damaging properties and have been reported to even help with neurological diseases!

It remains a fact that tea sales in the United States keep climbing. from just over $1 Billion to over $5 billion over the past 10 years, according to the Tea Council of the USA. And it’s not just traditional black and orange pekoe tea behind that growth - more people are buying green and specialty teas.

Tea is for fun,” said Susan Zuege, co-owner of the Perennial Tea Room, located in Post Alley, near this city’s famous Pike Place Market and the original Starbucks coffee shop. “You should enjoy it. If you don’t, you might as well do coffee.”

If you travel around the U.S.A., hotels throughout will be offering you more and more new flavors of tea to enjoy. Are Americans getting sick of coffee? More and more tea houses can be found, just take a look at CitySearch or another “locator” service and great tea will be all around! Tea’s rising popularity has encouraged entrepreneurs to open tea shops around the country, even in rural communities such as Newton, N.J.; Carefree, Ariz.; and Anoka, Minn., where people sit for a while and enjoy a pot or a cup. And even in coffee-loving Seattle.

Forget about Starbucks, Coke or Sunny Delight — tea is set to be most popular with drinkers in the 21st century. Chinese researchers say it will become quite popular among consumers seeking to keep healthy, stay young and live longer. Tea does not contain salt, fat or any other substance that could produce heat, said Ding Junzhi, honorary chairman of the International Research Institute for Tea Culture and a professor at the South China Agriculture University. Ding said drinking tea fits the lifestyle of modern people who care more about their health. And evidence is already emerging on the global horizon. Survey results released by the United Nations revealed that one of the secrets of longevity is “drinking more tea and smoking less.”

A survey carried out in East China’s Anhui Province shows that more than 30 centenarians in the province love drinking tea.

People nowadays are drinking less cocoa since it can be fattening and may lead to some childhood ailments, and caffeine also produces undesirable side-effects in the human body, according to research.

Coffee comes from two main beans, robusta and arabica. Both are grown in equatorial regions of the world, with the arabica grown at a higher altitude than the robusta. Robusta has the highest yield and largest amount of caffeine, but accounts for only about 30% of the world’s coffee.
With it’s delicate flavour and caramel aftertaste, Arabica is generally considered to be the superior coffee. All coffee blends are made from these two types, with the cheaper blends having a higher proportion of robusta beans. The various flavours are achieved by different roasting times.

American (regular) roast has a moderate flavour due to beans being roasted moderately, while French and dark French roasts are really dark and strong and a dark chocolate colour due to the longer roasting time. Italian is a strong roast used for espresso coffee, while European and Viennese roasts are all made from various blends of slight, medium and dark roasted beans

The instant coffee that we all know is made from freshly brewed coffee that has been heat-dried, while freeze-dried coffee is freshly brewed and frozen into a slush from which the water is evaporated. The flavour is said to be superior.

Decaffeinated coffee is still real coffee. It’s just that the caffeine has been removed from the beans by a chemical process before they are crushed. The chemical disappears during the roasting process so it is quite safe.

“He proudly shows us the branches of the coffee trees, bent under the weight of their crop. He touches them tenderly, as a father would his children . . . his eyes shining with happiness. ‘Do you know, doctor, why these branches curve so toward the earth? They are grateful to the farmer, and bow before God.’” José Corvetti, describing a visit to the farm of Italian immigrant T. Malavasi,Tres Ríos, 1935 Coffee and Costa Rica were meant for each other, and they have grown and prospered together, complementing each other in the pursuit of excellence. Costa Rica repealed the death penalty in 1870 and abolished the army in 1948, and coffee supported those reforms with its high productivity and environmentally friendly disposition. In a country which has enacted laws protecting 21% of its territory in order to preserve the 5% of the world’s biodiversity it shelters, Costa Ricans are encouraged by their environment to love what they do, and to do it well. In its desire to protect the environment, Costa Rica has carefully tended the soils and climate that are best suited to coffee production. As Costa Rica’s soils have been enriched by volcanic ash, they contain a slight degree of tropical acidity. They are also rich in organic matter, which makes for good distribution of the coffee plant’s root system, enabling them to retain humidity and facilitating oxygenation. This combination of factors invigorates the coffee plants and is one of many elements contributing to the quality of Costa Rican coffee. Over 70% of the country’s coffee is produced in the mountains, which vary in altitude from 3,280 to 5,580 feet above sea level. Mountain temperatures range from 63 to 73 degrees Fahrenheit. Sunlight is stable, and precipitation levels are ideal. All this makes for as dependable and high-quality a coffee crop as any produced in a greenhouse. Costa Rica is the only country in the world which has issued an executive order (N°19302-MAG, 4 December 1989) banning the production of any variety of coffee other than Arabica. This standard is made possible by the expertise, experience and favorable physical conditions which converge in this remarkable land. The story of Costa Rica’s coffee is the story of the nation that saw it come to life over two centuries ago. Throughout the years, it has been the yardstick by which the country’s life and economy have been measured. Our grandparents tell us… Coffee was first brought to Costa Rica during the last decade of the eighteenth century. So we are told in a letter sent by Panamanian trader Agustín de Gana to the Governor of Costa Rica, Don José Vásquez y Téllez, announcing that he was sending two pounds of coffee.
The history books tells us that Father Felix Velarde was the first Costa Rican coffee grower; his will, dated 1816, refers to a plot of land on which coffee had been planted. Tradition has it that he bequeathed the seeds to his neighbors, inviting them to plant them. His suggestion must have taken hold, because the first recorded export of Costa Rican coffee, a one-hundred pound shipment to Panama, took place in 1820. By 1832 coffee was also being exported to Chile by Jorge Stiepel, a German businessman living in Costa Rica. In Chile, the coffee was repackaged and sent to England, where it was sold as “Valparaíso Chilean Coffee”. Meanwhile, a group of forward-looking coffee producers, including Mariano Montealegre, who was the main promoter of the crop between 1830 and 1840, decided to take on the task of exporting it directly to England. The first shipment was made in 1843 thanks to the efforts of the captain of an English ship, The Monarch, which transported 5,505 one-hundred-pound sacks to Europe. The first two Heads of State of Costa Rica, Juan Mora Fernández and Braulio Carrillo, strongly supported the coffee trade, as they sensed that it could generate economic growth and enhance Costa Rica’s position on the international market. As coffee production developed further, the country’s economy, society, and culture flourished. But that is another story . . . The story of Costa Rica’s coffee is the story of the nation that saw it come to life over two centuries ago. Throughout the years, it has been the yardstick by which the country’s life and economy have been measured. Coffee bears fruit . . . What does coffee have to do with the theater? What does the tax year have to do with the coffee harvest? In Costa Rica such relationships are essential, and are part of the benefits obtained from the “Golden Grain”, as it is called in Costa Rica. Coffee exports to Europe during the mid-nineteenth century brought many opportunities for Costa Rica, opening a window to the Old World that would eventually bring in railroads, a postal service, printing presses, the country’s first university, and what is perhaps the region’s greatest architectural treasure: the National Theater. Designed as a miniature copy of the Paris Opera House, the National Theater, located in the center of the capital city of San José, became a symbol of coffee-driven prosperity because it was initially financed by coffee taxes. Coffee did not simply transform the Costa Rican economy and its landscape, it also changed consumer behavior and working patterns. The development of a taste for coffee was, perhaps, a reflection of the democratic society that was being forged. In the words of historians Peters and Samper, “Drinking coffee became a ritual of Costa Rican society, a society that was free of economic and social distinctions; everyone drank it, from the simplest farmer or laborer to the most prominent politician.” And, just as Costa Rica lives and breathes democracy and peace, it also lives and breathes coffee. It is no coincidence that per capita consumption of this drink is the highest of all coffee-producing countries in the world. The close relationship between coffee and daily life led Costa Ricans to plan their calendar around the harvesting, processing and sale of coffee, to such an extent that the Costa Rican tax year is based on the coffee trade: it begins in October and ends in September of the following year. For a long time, in fact, even the school year revolved around the coffee harvest. But that did not prevent education in Costa Rica from becoming in 1886, what it still is today: free and mandatory. Textbooks and teachers arriving from Chile during the early years of the coffee trade, and later on, from Europe, became part of a tradition which also included a unique land ownership structure, in which small and medium-sized properties have remained a part of the rural landscape to this day. That landscape has changed over the years. What has not changed is Costa Rica’s continuing love affair with coffee.

Follow the five important steps below to produce fantastic tasting espresso.
Keep things hot

The key thing to remember is that espresso cools quickly as it is a small volume of liquid ? therefore it is essential to maintain everything coming into contact with the coffee at a high temperature. Make sure the machine and group handle (porta-filter) are hot by running a few dummy espressos before making one for real. Cups should be kept on the warming shelf on top of the machine. If you are making the first few espressos of the day before the machine has seen much action, it is an idea to warm the cups with a little hot water before commencing.

Crema is King.

The best indication of good espresso is the crema. It should be a light caramel colour with enough consistency to hold half a teaspoon of sugar on the surface for 3 seconds or more. The appearance of the crema is an excellent indication of the quality of your espresso. If the crema is more white than brown, the coffee is under-extracted and needs either a finer grind and/or firmer tamping. If the crema looks burnt or is very dark in the middle, the coffee is over-extracted; perhaps the grind is too fine, the dose too large, the tamping too hard, or too much water has run through the coffee.

Under Pressure.

Tamping the coffee is the process of compacting 7g of ground coffee in the porta-filter with a tamping device. Use the tamper on the underside of the grinder or a hand held tamp. Apply firm pressure - enough to hold the grind when the porta-filter is turned upside down, but not too firm, otherwise this will lead to a longer extraction time.

All in the Timing.

Perfect espresso takes 18-23 seconds plus 2-3 seconds pre-infusion time - too long means your coffee grind is too fine, the coffee should be the texture of coarse sand. If the coffee is too fine your espresso will be harsh and bitter from over-extraction. Less than 18 seconds means either your coffee grind is too coarse or the tamp pressure is insufficient. An under-extracted coffee will result in a thin bubbly crema and weak espresso.

The Mouse’s Tail.

Look at the flow of the liquid when making an espresso - it should be constant and resemble a mouse’s tail. If the tail is too thick, the coffee grind is too coarse or the tamping is too light. If the tail drips and bubbles, the opposite applies.

Follow the above tips and enjoy delicious tasting espresso every time.

Throughout the world there are only four actual kinds of tea that come from actual tea leaves, and those are; white, green, oolong and red or black. There are numerous variations that individuals throughout the years have created so that there is some variety to the tea menu.
For example, individuals have been known to come up with their own kinds of herbal teas from bush or tree leaves which in reality are not related in any way to the one true tea tree, which is those of the camellia sinensis. One specific variation is known as the cocoa tea, which is further elaborated on here in this article.

Where did Cocoa Tea Actually Come from?

Being a regional delight, cocoa tea came from and was initially made popular in Soufriere St. Lucia, in the West Indies in the Caribbean. Cocoa tea promptly came into existence back in a time when an entire meal may have consisted of a drink accompanied by some extra filling parts.

So the result of this drink was to fit such a need. Citizens of Soufriere St. Lucia, at approximately the time of cocoa tea’s inception, essentially needed to create or find foods which were efficient, economical and which were created to feed all members of their family properly. Cocoa tea was therefore essentially made up as a breakfast delicacy that fit this bill.

What Precisely is Cocoa Tea?

Cocoa tea is in truth not actually a tea at all and in fact does not even incorporate any tea at all. It is cited as a tea nevertheless because a cinnamon stick and bay leaf are steeped in boiling water in a similar way which an individual would steep genuine tea leaves in order to create regular tea.

In addition to the traditionally utilized bay leaves and cinnamon , the conventional cocoa tea recipe likewise includes that of cream or milk, as well as sugar, water, nutmeg, cornstarch vanilla. Today, cocoa tea might be served on a side of bread. In a previous era, however, flour dumplings were boiled inside the drink in order to make it a complete meal.

Thus as you can see, cocoa tea is not actually a tea, not even truly in the loosest sense. Nor is cocoa tea even thought of as a meal in a beverage like the locals people at first claimed it started as. Cocoa tea, while still served as a breakfast meal, may quite easily be treated as a dessert treat or even perhaps a pleasurable snack.

It may likewise be unbelievably filling if served with bread or even in the conventional way with dumplings floating inside. However, for the most part it is just an gratifying, albeit rich and sugary, local delight that a person will run across particularly if voyaging through Soufriere St. Lucia in the Caribbean. Listen to Korbin Newlyn as he shares his insights as an expert author and an avid writer in the field of food and drinks.

Well, let’s see. According to the British Coffee Association, its research shows that drinking three cups of coffee a day can reduce the risk of fatal liver disease by up to 40 percent. But, that is the Coffee Association! Could they be just more than a little biased? In my quest to find out if coffee really is good for you, I discovered some interesting facts.
In 2006 Data gathered on 88,259 women in a Nurses Health Study found that coffee drinkers lowered their risk of type 2 diabetes by 13% if consuming 1 cup per day, 42% for 2-3 cups per day, and 47% for 3 cups per day, compared to non-coffee drinkers. Interestingly, coffee’s beneficial effects were not due to caffeine; these reductions in disease risk were similar for those drinking decaffeinated as well as caffeinated, filtered, and even instant coffee.

As well, research has found that drinking coffee is in no way associated with increasing a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer. Nor is there any conclusive evidence that coffee/caffeine consumption increases the risk of ovarian cancer.

A study in the January 2006 issue of the Journal of Nutrition found that among premenopausal women, consumption of regular (caffeinated) coffee, but not black tea, was associated with linear declines in breast cancer risk. A 40% reduction in risk of breast cancer was seen in premenopausal women drinking at least 4 cups of coffee a day.

Although caffeine can be found in breast milk, it is present in very small quantities, and normal coffee drinking women do not put their infants at risk. In any case, a moderate intake does not constitute any risk. Then I read a thing in “You, The Owner’s Manual” that moderate consumption (2-4 cups per day) appears to have significant benefits, including improved memory, and a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s by 25% and Parkinson’s by 50%!

The National Osteoporosis Society in the UK states that, `We have yet to see any conclusive evidence that moderate coffee consumption is a significant risk factor in the development of osteoporosis.

Note: apparently this does not apply to women receiving hormone replacement therapy (HRT)! Other aspects of the diet and lifestyle, such as stress, smoking habits and obesity, are however, well established risk factors.

Osteoporosis is a condition in which the bones are weakened or demineralised, which in turn can lead to an increased risk of fractures occurring. A two-year study of 92 post-menopausal women by researchers at Pennsylvania State College of Medicine has confirmed that any apparent relationship between caffeine consumption and bone mineral content completely disappears if known risk factors are controlled. You can help reduce that risk by following a healthy diet, exercising regularly, and taking calcium, vitamin D and antioxidant supplements.

In summary, while it might not be great for people with nervous stomachs, irritable bowel syndrome, or acid reflux, some studies have shown that coffee has quite a few health benefits, including lowering the risk of many diseases by 20-25%, including Parkinson’s, type 2 diabetes, liver cirrhosis, and colorectal cancer.

The bottom line is that the coffee bean is the fruit of the coffee plant, which is comprised of antioxidants! Personally I do not believe that it’s the coffee itself, or the caffeine, but the antioxidant qualities!

I do NOT suggest, therefore, that you increase your coffee consumption or even start on a “coffee kick” just because it may have antioxidant benefits! The best and most potent antioxidants are specially formulated, concentrated whole fruits in their own natural juices for optimum consumption and benefits.

At the same time I am happy to reassure the coffee lover that most evidence suggests that regular consumption of coffee has no significant relationship with the risk of cancer at any site.

However, you know your own body best. If you get the jitters every time you so much as look at a cup of coffee, then you know it’s not for you!

As in everything: Moderation and common sense is the key! And remember: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.