Where in the World is Your Coffee Grown?

When we sip our morning coffees it’s hard to imagine how much effort has gone into growing, producing and transporting the ingredients that go into them.

Coffee is grown in over 70 different countries around the world and is produced most intensively around the equator, where the conditions for growing coffee are most optimum. Nowadays when you walk into your local supermarket or any high street café you’re likely to see a large variety of coffees from Costa Rican to Peruvian and even Parisian, but what’s the difference between the coffees produced in these different countries?

Listed below are some of the most popular and interesting coffee producing areas from around the world and a description of the characteristics of the coffee that they produce.

African Coffee

There are three main coffee producing countries in the African continent; Kenya, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia. Ethiopia produces some of the world’s most unusual coffees and is believed to be where the Arabica coffee tree originated. African coffees are renowned for their rich and full-bodied flavour, which is due to the mildly acidic soils that the trees grow in.

Caribbean and Mexican Coffee

Mexican coffee is one of the most popular coffees in North America as it is renowned for its soft and mellow taste. Costa Rican and Jamaican coffees are known for their variety of coffees produced, all of which are very high quality and increasing in popularity. It is recommended that Costa Rican coffee should be prepared using a filter or cafétiere coffee maker to fully extract the rich flavours.

South American Coffee

Some of the world’s finest coffees are produced in the Andes mountain regions of South America. Brazil is the largest supplier of coffee and the second largest coffee consuming country in the world. The coffee trade in Brazil employs over five million people and supplies 30% of the worlds coffee supply. Columbia is the second largest producing 10% of the world’s coffee. Unfortunately Peru’s share of the coffee trade has dropped considerably due to political and economic issues, which has increased the value of quality Peruvian coffee around the world.

Indonesian Coffee

Vietnam is one of the largest coffee producing country in world, providing 7.5% of the world’s coffee. Vietnam predominantly produces Robusta coffee beans, which are used in some of the worlds most expensive coffees including ’caphe cut chon’, which is made from coffee that has ‘passed through’ the civet cat, which gives the coffee bean an enhanced taste that is desirable by many coffee connoisseurs around the world.

Indian Coffee

Despite India’s association with tea, it is in fact one of the first countries in the world to grow coffee. Indian coffee is not as high quality as Caribbean, African or Indonesian coffee as most of the coffee is grown in the southern states of Karanataka and Tamil Nadu, where the monsoon weather varies the soil acidity seasonally. Monsooned coffee is known for its heavy bodied taste that is often used to add depth to an espresso blend.

Image Credits: Szymon Kochański and INeedCoffee.

How to Make the Perfect Latte

Ever wondered how to create the perfect coffee in your own home? While a coffee machine does help with making consistently good coffee, a certain amount of skill is still required to make the perfect coffee.

The secret is all about preparation and precision.

1 – Preheat your mugs by rinsing them with hot water and fill your metal pitcher with one cup of milk. Preheating your mugs prevents the mug absorbing heat from the coffee.

2 – Place a thermometer in the pitcher and heat the milk until it reaches 160 – 170°F. When heating the milk, place the steam wand just beneath the surface of the milk pointing diagonally and rotate the pitcher to create a cyclone.

3 – Grind some fresh espresso beans, put the desired amount into the portafilter and press the coffee down.

4 – Brew and pull your espresso for about 20 – 23 seconds then pour the shots into your latte glass. Do not leave the espresso to stand for more than ten seconds on its own, as it will begin to go sour and deteriorate the quality of the latte.

5 – Pour the milk into your latte glass in a circular motion and finally stir your masterpiece!

And there you have the perfect latte. Be sure to let us know how you get on with conjuring your morning coffee by following the above directions. Or, if you have your own methods for producing the perfect coffee, share it in the comments below or send us an email. Enjoy.

MSE contributors pick their Top Ten

At Money Saving Expert (MSE) Yorkie1980 has asked his fellow contributors what brands they feel make up the top 10 when it comes to appliances.

“I was hoping some kitchen experts could provide a list of the best (in your opinion of course) kitchen appliances in terms of quality, lifespan and guarantee.”

Both Converse and Clockworks return verdicts with Miele near the top, stating that the brand has a good reputation. Ormus also goes down the same line adding to the thread,

“At the top end the German names are very good.”

Majjie goes all out placing Miele at the top of the list, a list which hasn’t been kept to 10, something which is justified by the similarities between some brands. If you’d like to read the thoughts of the other contributions to the top 10 brands making appliances click through to MSE.

A Miele obsession @Twitter

A quick browse on Twitter today for the forever better files has uncovered a few particularly positive comments about Miele in the last day or two – going someway to prove that vacuuming can be more than just a chore! Hobby or obsession @Rob_Clem says “I am in love with my new Miele vacuum cleaner. I can’t stop vacuuming! Someone help me!”

@sarahcoleman meanwhile says “Family’s house in Reno has a Miele in wall coffee machine. Best thing ever! A perfect cup anytime & most necessary appliance after vacuum.” To whit @taylorhively said “After the [other brand] vacuum died a premature death, splurged for top o’ the line Miele.  So far…worth every penny. Best vacuum ever?”

On Twitter yourself? Follow us at @foreverbetter.

‘Excellent quality coffee’ from Miele

Simon over on http://www.blog.compare-coffee.co.uk has been giving the Miele CVA365OSTSS coffee machine a good once over, and on the whole seems delighted with the results. Commenting that “it is true that they have considered the convenience of the user while designing the gadget with multi-lingual display and self-explanatory navigation system”, he also mentions the range of beverages on offer – “double espresso and coffee in 4 different sizes and has the option of making hot milk, cappuccino, hot water and milk froth” .

He goes onto say that “that the superiority of the drinks prepared by the machine cannot be undermined” – although reports of usability issues have been flagged – although no details of these are included within the review. Go here to read the full review, or if you’ve tried a Miele coffee machine before.