Tiarne

=__**Tiarne**__ = = __**Coffee Art**__ =   = = History of coffe: The Ethiopians were the first to notice the energizing effect of coffee beans. Over many years coffee has becoming increasingly popular with now approximately 2/3 of the population drinking a coffee everyday. Legend has it that a sheep herder named Kaldi noticed that the sheep he was taking care of would become hyperactive after eating red cherries from a plant native to the area. Deciding to see what the effects of these cherries would have on a human, Kaldi noticed that he also became hyperactive. (Ethiopia Encyclopedia, 02/10/2006) 

= Where is coffee grown: = It is grown in more than 50 countries world wide with about 30 of those countries producing more than 5,000,000 tons of coffee each year. For many of these countries their economic success pivots on the success of their coffee crops. Brazil is by far the largest supplier of coffee today. Columbia is second with about 2/3rds of Brazil's production. Hawaii is the only place in the USA where coffee is grown.  All coffee is grown between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. These names represent two imaginary "lines" that circle our globe approximately 23 degrees north and south of the equator. Here in the "middle of the world", the climate is warm and humid - necessary conditions for growing the sensitive coffee plant. (The RHCP Group)

= Coffee Roasting   = Coffee roasting is a chemical process by which [|aromatics], [|acids], and other flavor components are either created, balanced, or altered in a way that should augment the flavor, acidity, [|aftertaste] and [|body] of the coffee as desired by the roaster.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Roasting Coffee Beans
The first stage is endothermic. The green beans are slowly dried to become a yellow color and the beans begin to smell like toast or popcorn. The second step, often called the first crack, occurs at approximately 205 °C (400 °F) in which the bean doubles in size, becomes a light brown color, and experiences a weight loss of approximately 5%. The corresponding Agtron number for this color is between 95-90 ([|Davids, 68-69]). In the next step the temperature rises from 205 °C to approximately 220 °C, the color changes from light brown to medium brown (Agtron # 60-50), and a weight loss of approximately 13% occurs (Davids, 68-69). The resulting chemical process is called pyrolysis and is characterized by a change in the chemical composition of the bean as well as a release of CO2. The second step is followed by a short endothermic period which is followed by another exothermic step called the second crack. This second pyrolysis occurs between 225-230°C, and the roast color is defined as medium-dark brown (Agtron #50-45) (Davids, 68-69). The second pop is much quicker sounding and the beans take on an oily sheen. Espresso potential is maximized in roasting when you maximize the sweetness and aroma of the coffee while minimizing the bitterness and acidity. Most people focus on the latter and therefore roast extremely dark, yet without sweetness and aroma the espresso will never be palatable. This explains the unpopularity of straight espresso and the popularity of espresso based drinks where either milk or other flavors are used to replace the sweetness that was lost by roasting darkly. From 170-200°C the sugars in coffee begin to caramelize. From tasting pure sugar versus its caramelized component it is evident that uncaramelized sugar is much sweeter. The dark color of coffee is directly related to the caramelization of the sucrose in coffee. Therefore, to maximize sweetness you want to minimize the carmelization of sucrose, yet you do not want to roast too lightly or bitter tasting compounds will not thermally degrade. Stop the roast somewhere between the end of the first crack and less than half way through the second crack. Do not roast well into or past the second crack. We recommend a roasting chamber temperature somewhere between 205-215°C. Realizing the danger of the following suggestion we might recommend a color similar to the one below. Note: All monitors, computers, and internet browsers will display the color slightly different. This is only a recommendation to point out that this color is preferable to the almost black color you will frequently observe for espresso. To get a better idea of roasting colors order the Agtron roasting classification kit from the SCAA. =<span style="background-color: #000000; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">Fairtrade coffee campaign = Photo Credit: Timothy Herbert/OxfamAUS They've come a long, long way from the farm, to the cafe, to you – delicious coffee beans, ground and brewed just the way you like it. But what if your daily cup of coffee is fuelling world poverty?

Wake up and smell the injustice
Most of the world’s coffee beans are produced by small-scale farmers in developing countries. They have little bargaining power in an industry dominated by a few large and powerful international coffee companies, so they're forced to put up with low and unstable prices for their beans. During the past decade, prices fell to a 30-year low with as little as three cents from a $3 cup of coffee reaching the farmers who grew the beans. This has affected 25 million small-scale farmers and their families, and resulted in poor nutrition and children being taken out of school. World coffee prices have improved recently which has provided some relief for farmers and coffee workers. But the dynamics of the coffee market have not shifted in ways that guarantee long-term stability for those at the bottom of the supply chain. Watch "The Okapa Connection" - a video following the journey of organic, fair-trade coffee from the growers in the Papua New Guinea, to the coffee shops of Australia. To see a video visit []

Buy fair, feel good
Under the Fairtrade system, producers are paid a minimum price for their goods, with producer cooperatives receiving an extra amount to further their communities’ development. If the market price rises over the Fairtrade minimum, the Fairtrade price also rises. Henri Ame manages Coffee Connections, a Fairtrade coffee distributor and member of the Papua New Guinea Highlands Organic Agriculture Cooperative. “Coffee is the only source of income for our people," he says. "So we’d like to encourage you, the consumers, to switch from other brands to organic Fairtrade, if you do that … you’ll be helping the grower at the origin who is struggling.” Henri's cooperative has used the money it has earned from Fairtrade sales to buy desks and textbooks for local schools, provide mattresses for the wooden beds at the local health centre and fix local roads. Buy Fairtrade coffee and help producers to get a fair deal.

Support the campaign
Australians have embraced the Fairtrade coffee campaign with gusto:
 * Consumers are drinking it: Fairtrade coffee sales in Australia reached an estimated $14 million in 2007–2008, an increase of 75% on the previous year
 * Our supporters are demanding it: they sent more than 1,000 letters and emails to encourage Woolworths/Safeway to stock Fairtrade coffee. Fairtrade coffee now graces their shelves. (Coles, IGA and Ritchie supermarkets all now stock Fairtrade coffee and tea too.)
 * Australian companies are stocking it: companies, big and small, now provide Fairtrade products in their workplaces – yours can too. [|Download our Fairtrade coffee action kit (PDF, 189KB)] and run your own campaign in your workplace, school or community group.

Learn more

 * [|Fairtrade FAQ]
 * [|Feature: When a little goes a long way] – a Ghanese cocoa grower and a Papuan New Guinea coffee farmer talk Fairtrade
 * [|Grounds for change] – five stages of the coffee harvest
 * Read [|reports on Fairtrade], including profiles on coffee and cocoa producers around the world

<span style="background-color: #000000; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">How To Make A Caffé Mocha
For the video just head to: []

<span style="background-color: #000000; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">How To Make A Latte For the video head to: []

<span style="background-color: #000000; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">How To Make A Long Black For the video head to: Short black Cappucino Iced coffee

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