Coffee

Arab traders in Ethiopia brought coffee to the Middle East in the 15th century. By the 17th century, coffee had become a popular drink ; coffee house sprang up and quickly became lively centers of discussion and debate.

Most coffee beans today are the fruit of the evergreen tree Coffee Arabica. To produce the best beans, the tree must be planted in rich, well-drained soil and receive only a few hours of direct sunlight every day. The temperature must remain between 15C (55F) and about 25C (80F); if it falls outside this range, the beans will be damaged. Finally, the trees need just the right amount of rain, about 154 cm a year.

In the wild, coffee trees may reach about 6 meters in height, but on plantations they're pruned to a height of just 1 1/3 meters. The tree bear small white flowers that fall off after only a few days, leaving cluster of 'cherries', or coffee beans. These cherries ripen slowly, turning a rusty red. After picking, the ripe cherries must be husked. This is sometimes done by sun-drying the cherries, then removing the pulpy husked; another method involves soaking the cherries in water to soften the husks, then removing them.

After drying, the green coffee beans are roasted and packaged. If the beans are to be decaffeinated, however, they're subjected to either the solvent or water method of decaffeinated before roasting. In the solvent method the beans are placed in a rotating drum and exposed to a mixture of steam and a solvent to force out the caffeine. The beans are then dried and roasted. In the water method, the beans are soaked in hot water to remove the oils and caffeine. The soaking liquid is separated from the beans, and a solvent is added to it to extract the caffeine. Finally, the caffeine-free liquid is returned to the beans, which re-absorb the oils.

Collections of Coffee Drink Recipes:

1. Coffee Cooler

2. Iced Coffee with Cream

3. Peanut Butter Cafe

4. Berlin Iced Coffee

5. Mazagran

6. Cappuccino I

7. Cappuccino II