Coffee is one of the worlds most popular and enjoyable drinks. You can enjoy it in a café, with friends, at work or at home. However, there are many terms and ways to drink your coffee and Timothy of Packwood Coffe is here to help you gain a better understanding of coffee, the different ways to drink it and how to make the perfect coffee using whatever method you prefer.
What is Coffee?
Coffee beans are the seeds inside the cherries of an evergreen plant that grows in the humid lands between the tropic of Cancer and the tropic of Capricorn. After the cherries are harvested and processed to remove the outer layers, the green beans travel around the world to the millions of coffee drinkers. Roasted, ground and mixed with hot water, their concentrated, aromatic flavours are released to make one of the most remarkable and celebrated drinks in the world.
The current surge of interest in coffee has developed through a growing awareness at the quality end of the market in freshly roasted beans that have a particular provenance and a distinctive taste. Packwood Coffee has blended some of the best coffee in Australia to give you six options of premium coffee for you to enjoy.
Roasts and Blends
Coffee is exported as green beans and is sent around the world in sacks, the beans are then roasted by specialists to bring out their subtle flavours. As the beans heat up and turn to a glossy brown, the oils develop and these oils are the secret of a coffee blends marvellous flavour.
Roasts vary from light brown to medium and the dark beans that are favoured by the French and Italians. Light roasts such as Packwoods Mediterranean Morning, have a more delicate, medley aromatic taste, while medium roasts like New Guinea Gold is slightly stronger. Packwood’s Parisian Red is roasted into a deep brown and near black bean that produces a coffee that is enticingly bitter and has richly pungent flavours.
The art of blending is to marry different beans together to create a harmonious balance of flavours, acidity and body. It takes skill and constant tasting to create and maintain quality blends and Timothy Alder, Chairman of Packwood Coffee, prides himself on his variations and talent to use his 35 years of experience to create six very special blends.
Buying and Storing
Freshness is the key to good coffee.
As soon as the coffee has been roasted, the aromatic oils start to disappear, so it is best to buy smaller amounts of freshly roasted coffee regularly rather than a large amount of coffee in one go. To have the freshest coffee, buy whole beans and grind them at home, as the oils lose their volatile aroma quicker once they have been ground.
Coffee should be stored in an airtight, dry container and in a dark, cool cupboard rather then the fridge. Store away from high smelling food, as coffee is hygroscopic and will absorb other smells and flavours if not well preserved.
Avoid storing coffee in the freezer.
Ideally the contents of the coffee pack should be used as soon as possible after opening for maximum flavour and aroma.
Milk and Sugar
Milk goes with coffee in many varied and delicious ways. The main principle is that hot milk works better than cold. Full fat content milk will make foam creamier, more dense and richer with flavour. Low fat milks are ideal if watching your weight. Soya Milk is also increasingly becoming another alternative and is ideal if you are lactose intolerant or enjoy the nutty and healthy flavour that it can add to your coffee.
Milk softens and alters flavours, so when trying a new bean, taste the drink first without milk to get a better grasp of its subtleties. You can then add milk to judge how the character can be altered.
Sugar takes away some of coffee’s natural bitterness. Italians add one or two teaspoons of white sugar to their coffee, as it enhances the flavour and quells the bitterness. Some like to add sugar to dark coffee’s such as an espresso, but not to lighter styles such as latte’s.
This great article is courtesy of Timothy Packwood Alder, Chairman of Packwood Coffee