How to Make Coffee the Old-Fashioned Way

Written by Lori Thiessen

These days we are used to seeing coffee made almost as if by magic. Domestic coffee makers are push-button efficient and the professional coffee makers are overseen by those conjurers of coffee, the barista.

But coffee wasn’t always such a fast and fun process. In the coffeehouses of the 17^th century, coffee making was a lengthy and skilful process. First the coffee beans were bought in their unroasted state. Have you ever seen an unroasted coffee bean? I know I haven’t.

Then the coffeeman whose job it was to roast the beans to perfection would get the fire started in the grate and pour a handful of beans into the barrel-shaped roaster. Round and round the handle went until the beans were roasted. However, due to the technology, the beans would likely be a mixture of warmed green beans, burnt black beans, and half roasted, half warm beans. The author, Jonathan Swift, had so little trust in the coffeeman’s ability to roast the beans well, he would often do the roasting himself when he wanted a cup of coffee. The landlady of the establishment didn’t take offense apparently. Celebrity has its advantages, even then apparently.

The freshly roasted beans would be put into a grinder and one of the coffee lads would grind away until they were mostly crushed. Water would be on the hob, boiling away in preparation for receiving the beans. The ratio of ground coffee to water was quite varied, but generally speaking it was something like 1 part coffee to 12 parts water. If it was a slow day, the coffee was saved and re-heated over and over again. Freshly brewed coffee was a fairly rare occurrence.

It produced a weak and watery brew that would be quite unrecognizable to any self-respecting modern day coffee drinker. Remember the show “Black Adder”? In the third series, which took place in 18^th England, Blackadder walks into Mrs. Miggins Coffeehouse and orders, “Your best hot water with brown grit in it.” And that’s a pretty fair assessment of what coffee was really like back then.

Q; What is your favourite kind of coffee?

Until Next Time,

May your coffee always be freshly brewed!

What the heck is a macchiato?

Written by Lori Thiessen

In my last entry, I drew up a list of slang words and phrases for coffee. Now, I’m going to try to tackle the tricky arena of coffee variety.

I don’t know about you but I get dizzy just reading the coffee menu when I walk into a coffee shop. Usually, I cop out and order a caffe latte or cappuccino because I have a vague idea what it is. So to help myself out and hopefully you too, I’ve done a little research on the different varieties of coffee.

Cafe Americano – Legend has it that Cafe Americano or Americano was invented as an insult to American soliders in Italy who were too wussie to drink espresso. It is a shot of espresso with lots of water added. Contrary to my belief, this isn’t just a fancy pants way of saying black coffee. Black coffee is brewed coffee so it is much less intense (some may say, bitter) than espresso.

Caffe Latte – A shot of espresso in lots of steamed milk (approximately 3 parts milk to 1 part espresso).

Cafe au Lait – Othewise known as brewed coffee with milk. In England if a server brandishes a coffee pot at you and asks, “Black or white?”, don’t take offense. White coffee is coffee with milk or cream in it.

Cappuccino – A variation on Caffe Latte. Espresso, steamed milk and frothy milk in equal quantities with sprinkles of cinnamon or chocolate on top. By the way, if you order a cappuccino or caffe latte after 11:00 am in Italy, you will get some desparaging looks or the barista will convince himself that he misheard you and give you an espresso. Milky coffee drinks are for breakfast time only.

Dry Cappuccino – A cappuccino with not so much frothy milk or steamed milk.

Espresso – Coffee beans that have been ground to a fine powder, then very hot water under high pressure is sent through the powder producing a coffee with a concentrated flavour and is generally served in a tiny cup.

Espresso Con Panna – Espresso with whipped cream on top.

Frappe – cold espresso with sugar, water and ice. Some places put in milk and top with whipped cream but however it’s made, a frappe is basically cold coffee.

Macchiato – A shot of espresso with LOTS of steamed milk (approximately 4 to 1).

Mocha – a cappuccino or a latte with a squirt of chocolate syrup added.

So there you have it, folks! This is in no way a complete list, but it’s a good primer on more common coffee varieties. So next time you wander into a coffee shop you can order with confidence.

Until next time,

May your coffee always be freshly brewed!

How many ways can you say coffee?

Written by Lori Thiessen

When you go into a coffee shop to order a cup of coffee, what do you call it? Here’s a list of names that coffee has been called:

• Cuppa
• Cuppa Joe
• Java
• Cafe
• Devil’s Drink (17^th century name)
• Black brew
• Hojo
• Mud (as in “here’s mud in your eye!”)
• Black gold
• Picker-upper
• Turks Berry Drink (17^th century name)
• Wine of Islam (17^th century name)
• Mud puddle buzz (Australian slang)
• Everton Toffee (Cockney rhyming slang, usually just referred to as Everton)
• Fully leaded or unleaded (caffeinated or decaffeinated, respectively)
• My caffeine fix

This is just a quick list about just plain old coffee. I’ll tackle the different kinds of coffee on another entry. But let me know if there is anything missing from the list! I’d love to hear about it.

Until next time,

May your coffee (or whatever you call it) always be freshly brewed!

Your Local Coffeehouse, Your Local Command Post

Written by Lori Thiessen

The coffeehouse has served many purposes over its history. It’s been a place to socialize, a place to glean information, to see art, buy books and listen to artists.

But did you ever think of your local coffee shop as your local command post? Well, a group of anti-war soldiers have done just that. Iraq Veterans against the War (IVAW) have established a coffeehouse called The Different Drummer just outside of Fort Drum, NY. They campaign for soldiers’ rights and specifically for the withdrawal of all US military presence from Iraq.

I read about a coffee shop, I think it was a Starbucks, in South America, that has become the safe haven for the super rich against those who would kidnap them or kill them. This coffee shop has a metal detector at the front door and an armed security guard to protect these coffee drinkers from any criminal capers.

The cultural revolutions and political protests of the 1960’s and 1970’s found “command” centres in their local coffeehouses. In fact, the coffee house has been suspected of being a place of political plotting ever since the early 17^th century when King Charles II tried to have coffeehouses shut down on charges of sedition.

A mercurial social venue, the coffeehouse lends itself quite easily to the needs of its patrons perhaps more easily than any other kind of place.

Until next time,

May your coffee always be freshly brewed!