Gourmet Coffee

Another great reason to drink up with your favorite cup of gourmet coffee from the newswires. Now it looks like coffee drinkers have more sex!

A survey, commissioned by Dunkin' Donuts, also found that coffee drinkers reported more robust romance, with two-thirds of respondents saying they had sex once a week or more. Only 58 percent of non-coffee drinkers reported as much action, according to the survey, with more than 1,200 respondents. Read the full article.

Another article in today's newswires reports the health benefits of coffee. Coffee is rich in antioxidants that are important for the human body:

Coffee not only helps clear the mind and perk up the energy, it also provides more healthful antioxidants than any other food or beverage in the U.S. diet, according to a study released Sunday.

Of course, too much coffee can make people jittery and even raise cholesterol levels, so food experts stress moderation.

The findings by Joe Vinson, a chemistry professor at the University of Scranton, in Pennsylvania, give a healthy boost to the warming beverage.

"The point is, people are getting the most antioxidants from beverages, as opposed to what you might think,'' Vinson said in a phone interview.

Antioxidants, which are thought to help battle cancer and provide other health benefits, are abundant in grains, tomatoes, and many other fruits and vegetables. Read the full article.

JAKARTA: Indonesian coffee exporters may be scrabbling to fill ships as farmers hold back stocks in the hope that a weakening rupiah will lift domestic prices, a senior industry official said on Friday.

Coffee bean prices in Indonesia, the world’s third-largest producer of robustas after Vietnam and Brazil, have risen by more than a fifth in recent weeks, to about 8,500 rupiah ($0.77) a kg from 7,000, said Rachim Kartabrata, executive secretary at the Association of Indonesian Coffee Exporters. Kartabrata said domestic prices could rise further as the rupiah, which has declined 6 percent this month, hit a fresh 3-1/2-year low of 10,460 to a dollar on Friday. Read full article

According to the National Coffee Association USA, 49 percent of Americans age 18 or older drink some type of coffee beverage daily, and many of them are waiting in lines at specialty coffee retailers to get their fix. The cafe segment of the specialty coffee market -- including cafes, kiosks, carts and coffee bean roaster/retailers -- reached $8.47 billion in 2003 and continues to grow. Read full article.

World coffee production for the coming season is projected to top 113 million bags, down about 6 percent, with production drops in Brazil, Peru, Vietnam and Ethiopia. Since Brazil is the largest coffee producer, swings in Brazil's supplies of coffee account for a large portion of the change in world total supplies of coffee. Total coffee supplies are forecast at 136.3 million bags, down 4 percent. Read full article.

I just started using a coffee press and I really does bring out rich flavor in your gourmet coffee. On Saturday I made a Blue Mountain Coffee and it tasted much better that our regular drip machine. Yes it is more work but for what many people spend on coffee beans, the coffee press gets you the most enjoyment out of it. This is not something that I can do every day due to the extra time required but it is a nice thing to do on a weekend.

A coffee press will yield the most flavor from your coffee beans but there is a risk. Because the coffee press uses a metallic filter instead of paper none of the cholesterol found in coffee is filtered out.

Paper filters out the majority of cholesterol. The best way around this is to run your coffee through a paper filter after you use your coffee press. You can still enjoy great gourmet coffee and stay healthy!

Very sad news for lovers of the champaign of coffee. News released last week from Reuters reports there is a major shortage of Blue Mountain Coffee because of the recent hurricanes.

LONDON, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Coffee connoisseurs may soon struggle to find the famed Jamaican Blue Mountain, one of the world's most expensive coffees, after hurricanes devastated this year's crop on the Caribbean island.
Jamaican Blue Mountain arabica, known as the champagne of coffees, risks becoming dearer still because Hurricane Ivan in September ruined 60 percent of the harvest just as it started.

Hurricane Dennis in July has also taken its toll, plunging the industry into its worst crisis since 1988, when Hurricane Gilbert damaged 70 percent of the island's coffee fields and factories and shut down production for almost two years.

Only about 1,000 tonnes of Blue Mountain beans are produced a year, equivalent to three hours' coffee output in Colombia, and Japan snaps up at least 90 percent of that. The U.S. and Europe split the rest.

"The connoisseur is definitely in trouble. We're not sure as yet what is going to happen but it is going to cause havoc," said Giles Hilton, product director at British tea and coffee retailer Whittard of Chelsea Plc .


For the entire Reuters article click here.

Visit our website for authentic Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee Beans

The great iced coffee recipe is actually very simple to prepare. This refreshing drink has not enjoyed the popularity of its cousin, iced tea, primarily because of poor preparation methods. Iced coffee requires more care than tea because the flavorquickly deteriorates after brewing. You cannot use the morning's left-over.

To get great tasting iced coffee you simply brew it at extra strength then pour while hot over ice cubes. Measure one tablespoon to 4 oz. of water rather than the usual 6 oz. The extra strength is needed to combat the dilution from the ice cubes.

Add sugar or cream and you are done! For an extra treat add whipped cream.

Three weeks ago I ordered an iced coffee from a Seattle's Best ciffee shop at the Orlando airport hoping for a refreshing treat. The manager pulled out refrigerated container of coffee and poured it over ice. To my dismay the flavor was bitter, the same bitterness that you experience from old coffee. My guess is that they recycled the left-overs from the previous day.

If you want to enjoy fresh iced coffee you need to prapare it from the scratch, not use your leftovers.