An espresso coffee maker .just the thing to help you

……get moving quicker and faster in the morning.

Worried that your first cup of coffee for the day is starting to lose its edge?

Then fear no more. These days’ manufacturers are making the espresso machine available to just about anyone who wants one. Creating the perfect cafй style shot of this black aromatic brew first thing in the morning has never been easier.

And these new fangled machines are nothing like your Dad’s old style Coffee Maker either.

The older generation just don’t seem to understand our modern day fascination with drinking a good espresso. The social forces underlying life today are bringing household accessories like espresso machines to the forefront of our collective minds.

Almost daily there seems to be new international influences popping up in the coffee scene and this, coupled with the widespread acceptance of the local specialty coffee shop have all helped people from America, Australia, the UK, Asia and many other countries around the world to totally embrace the idea of owning an espresso machine.

Life today is all about the quick fix – it is our need for instant gratification.

What else is there that provides a quicker fix than the punch delivered by a shot of good steaming espresso?

It makes perfect sense that coffee drinkers want to add an espresso coffee maker to their list of kitchen gadgets all in the name of getting that instant morning heart starter - you can also justify your thoughts by saying that there is the superior flavor too!

Then make mine a double please!

Is that a double shot you mean? Well some mornings – yes!

Now days the espresso coffee maker is available in just about any style or configuration you could possibly imagine. You can start with the small, single-cup models and go right on up to the top end of the range to the more expensive imports better suited to busy coffee shops than a home kitchen. Really it is only a matter of how deep your pockets are and how much spare space you have on your kitchen bench.

Technically espresso machines range from piston operated models that offer a “throw-back” feel of old world coffee houses all the way up to the super dooper automatic models that do everything apart from drink the coffee for you – they are even self cleaning – all at the touch of a button. For our time-starved generation, it’s little wonder that the fastest growing category amongst the espresso coffee maker offerings is the fully automatic machine.

Can you just imagine…..at the touch of a button this machine grinds the beans, tamps them, brews the coffee, dumps the leftover grinds and even froths the milk. All that’s left for you to do is drink it – and enjoy that full fresh flavor!

As far as the espresso coffee maker goes, the super-automatic model is the pinnacle of innovation and is gaining wide acceptance all over the world for its ease of use and product quality. However, this amount of innovation does not come cheaply. To own one of these ‘super’ machines you could have to shell out a few thousand dollars.

But when you think about it, why worry about price when your espresso machine can make so many variations of top quality brew based on espresso - all at the mere touch of a little black button?

Are you convinced yet? In the end I suppose it really depends on how much you love your coffee.

Fortunately you don’t need to go out and mortgage the family home just to own a good quality espresso maker. There’s a good selection of models across the whole spectrum of prices that are more than capable of making a good quality espresso, cappuccino, latte or flat white in the comfort of your own home.

But for the really serious coffee connoisseurs – a good quality espresso maker is the perfect appliance to provide you with many years of coffee brewing pleasure.

Enjoy!

We hate heartburn

Much as we all love eating here at Recipe4Living (and oh how we do), we’ll admit that the culinary arts have their downsides. Collapsing soufflйs, burning kitchens, and course the looming threat of obesity all come to mind. But one in particular irks me the most: a little lifelong curse called “heartburn.”

Heartburn (known scientifically as the much cooler sounding pyrosis) is caused by stomach acid—that highly caustic stuff that breaks down all our food—entering the esophagus. This can happen for a lot of reasons, but the most common one by far is certain foods temporarily loosening the lower esophageal sphincter, which ordinarily keeps anything in the stomach from, well, coming back up. Despite its name, the burning pain you feel—which may strike anywhere from your chest to your arms to your tongue—doesn’t actually involve your heart, but as a lovely side effect many people misinterpret the pain as life-threatening and wind up at the hospital.

So what’s to be done about this gastro-offender? Sufferers of chronic heartburn should look into medication and ask if they have a disorder called Acid Reflux, but those of us who only encounter heartburn occasionally can avoid it by following these rules.

Avoid overeating.

Nothing stirs up stomach acid like an evening spent gorging at the trough. Anyone who loves a meal that leaves you three belt sizes larger, be ready to chow down on antacids or drink plenty of water. But don’t be surprised if you find yourself whimpering and clutching your chest.

Everything good is bad for you.

Fans of chocolate, citrus, caffeine (particularly coffee), beef, soda, and tomatoes: we’re sorry to say it, but you’re putting your esophaguses at risk. Well, not really at risk, but by consuming too many inflammatory foods—say, eating Beef, Bean and Cheese casserole for dinner and a Sundae Pizza for dessert—you virtually guarantee a weakened LES and a burning throat. That’s not to say you need to drop any of these things entirely, but as in most things, moderation is the key to pleasant living. Oh, and bad news for Weekly Libation fans: alcohol’s on this list, too.

Obesity is still our enemy.

Heartburn is increasingly likely as you get increasingly heavy. Yet another reason to keep your weight at a healthy level by moderating your food intake and complementing it with plenty of exercise! Of course, that leads into..

Don’t strain yourself.

At least, not immediately after eating a heavy meal! Though you should never exercise on an empty stomach, it’s not a good idea to go for a jog following a Mardi Gras party, either. Straining your body can loosen your LES and stir up your stomach acids, particularly if they’ve just dealt with a lot of food.

Be gentle with your stomach.

Any position or effort which puts strain on your stomach may force some acid back up. Exercising, of course, plays a part, but so does lying down or bending over. Avoid going to bed for at least three hours following your dinner; from a dietary standpoint, you should be doing that anyway!

Eat low-risk foods.

These include apples; vegetables like broccoli and carrots; fish, skinless chicken breasts, and lean beef; eggs; water; low-fat desserts, and most grains. Remember, it’s not that you can’t eat the troublemakers, but you should balance your gastronomic expeditions between those and the safer foods.

If heartburn does strike—and let’s face it, it probably will at some point—be sure to take some antacids. If you don’t happen to have any Tums on hand, drink plenty of water, do not lie down, and try to avoid unnecessary physical activities. And if nothing seems to help, reflect on the fact that at least you had a delicious meal!

Here are some heartburn-safe recipes for you to enjoy:

Chicken Breasts with Pears and Zinfandel (minus the shallots)

Baked Apple Delight

German Soft Pretzels

Honey-Ginger London Broil (minus the onions)

Sources:

heartburn. about. com/cs/dietfood/a/heartburnfoods1.htm

emedicinehealth. com/heartburn/article_em. htm

mayoclinic. com/health/heartburn-gerd/DS00095/DSECTION=4

The care and use of fresh ricotta cheese

Among cheeses, ricotta cheese is unique in that it is made from whey instead of milk. Usually made using the whey that is a by-product in the creation of mozzarella or provolone cheeses, it takes a lot of this liquid to make a little ricotta cheese. To create it, the whey is boiled so that the remaining proteins curdle, and then the resulting solids are removed. The process is simple enough that ricotta cheese can be made at home.

Storing the Cheese

Ricotta cheese is what is known as a fresh cheese, meaning that it is not salted, smoked, or has any other processes applied to it in order lengthen its shelf life. In fact, if you notice any bit of mold on your cheese, do not try to remove it and use the rest of the container. While this may work in some cases, by the time mold shows up on ricotta cheese, it has gone bad. This cheese freezes very well, so if you have bought or made a lot, storing some in the freezer will extend its shelf life.

Cooking with Ricotta

Ricotta cheese has a very mild, even sweet flavor, which makes it a perfect choice for desserts. You can use ricotta cheese as an ingredient in cheesecake, and ricotta cheese that's been beaten smooth and mixed with sugar and other ingredients creates the filling for a cannoli. In an Italian dessert called a cassata, ricotta is put in between layers of cake, like frosting for a layered cake in the United States.

Though ricotta cheese is good for desserts, it's also great in savory dishes as well. Some lasagna recipes call for the use of ricotta, adding its mild flavor to the mix. Its flavor and its softness also have made it an ideal choice for many stuffed pastas, from ravioli to variations like manicotti and stuffed shells.

Variations

Though ricotta is a fresh cheese, there are ways to prepare it that gives it a longer shelf life. Salted and pressed like a regular cheese, it becomes a hard cheese that's best suited for grating or shaving slices off of. You can also bake ricotta cheese, which gives it a brown crust, sometimes going all the way through the cheese. Another similar method uses smoking instead of baking in order to give ricotta a flavorful crust that aids in storage. But whether you use it fresh or try one of the preserved variants, ricotta cheese is a great food to use in your cooking.

Add flavored syrups to your coffee machines

With the explosion in coffee house culture across the US, and technical developments in coffeemakers, a huge range of possibilities in different types of coffee has evolved. Whereas previously you could have chosen regular or decaf from basic coffee machines, you can now opt for a plethora of flavors and weird and wonderful names like frappaccino or mocha latte from your local coffee house. A large number of the varieties available are down to the use of flavored syrups, which are becoming popular worldwide.

So you just had a raspberry nutmeg latte? Now this might sound like a kind of dessert that would play havoc with your diet but don’t panic, this is actually a relatively low fat way to enjoy these delicious flavors.

Syrups are available in a number of varieties from vanilla, toffee, gingerbread and hazelnut, to a number of fruity types. Although it may seem that these flavored syrups have only just arrived with the advent of coffee shop franchises such as Starbucks, they have actually been used in high end coffee establishments for years.

The best brands of syrup are made using high quality natural ingredients. They are made by taking the base ingredient, be it a spice, nut or fruit, and heating them vigorously with water and sugar to make a concentrated syrup. They do not contain any fat or cholesterol, other than that found naturally in the base ingredient, and so are not going to affect your diet. The sugar might not be so good for your teeth however, so if you become a flavored coffee addict you will want to clean them frequently. Check the bottle of syrup at your local coffee house to be sure that the flavor you choose uses only natural and high quality ingredients.

With the recent emphasis on low-carb and sugar free diets, suppliers have begun to introduce sugar free syrups to mix with your skinny latte. By using sugar free sweeteners, many of the old favorite flavors will still be available in sugar free, with no reduction in the taste. Vanilla, Irish cream, amaretto, chocolate and raspberry are available without the extra sugar. As well as a response to low sugar diets, these syrups are also a result of the increasing incidence of diabetes in our society caused by excess sugar intake.

So with the varieties available and the numerous sugar free options, you can have fun experimenting with a different coffee flavor for every day of the week.

The kitchen and expresso machines - coffees worldwide

Interestingly enough most people picture expresso machines steaming away next to coffee makers either in the comfort of a kitchen or at the local coffeehouse. Ethiopia gave birth to the coffee craze that has flooded across worldwide borders. It still produces coffee from wild treed forests its sub-tropical environment. Coffee can only be grown in that environment or in the world's tropical regions, where they get plenty of sun and needed rain.

Coffee growth is restricted to a narrow ring from 23° North to 25° South A Turkish proverb describes it as ‘… black as hell, strong as death, sweet as love…' In fact coffee is a commodity that is 2nd only to the oil industry in dollar for volume production. Over 70 countries now supply it.

The largest coffee production is found in Brazil – 28% of the world total. Columbia produces only 16%. Indonesia provides only 7%, and Mexico follows closely with 4%.

The best beans are grown in higher altitudes, but many varieties have acclimatized to other regions. Brazilian coffee plantations cover huge areas. Hundreds of laborers are employed to tend the young plants. Columbia is more mountainous, but it is restricted to mule or Jeep transportation to get it to major centers.

In Hawaii, coffee plantations benefit from Mauna Loa's volcanic soil. Volcanic ash is combined with volcanic rocks. However the sunshine is strong and the area gets its ample share of tropical rains.

In the former Dutch colony of Indonesia, coffee has been produced on its 1000's of islands since the 1600's. However, despite all the best technology being used worldwide, the best coffee climates are the damp and warm ones found around the hundreds of small farms on Sumatra, Sulawesi and Java. They provide at least a third of the world's coffee.

The famous Altura beans of the higher altitudes of Mexico can be found growing in Chiapas, Veracruz and Oaxaca. The rest of the country is dotted with 100's of thousands of these tiny farming plantations.

Over the past years Vietnam has been resurrecting its Tonkin region after a long time of misuse and is now rivaling Indonesia for third place. French missionaries planted the famous aribica coffee trees in the middle of the 1800's. It is now home to the robusta plant.

The African countries of the Ivory Coast and Kenya have become renowned for their darkish big beans that produce a mild and fruity flavored coffee. Their production is relatively small in comparison the other producers, but the coffee that is grown at the foot of Mount Kenya and the expresso beans from the Ivory Coast, the world's largest robusta expresso producers are becoming more well known now in North America, despite their popularity in Europe for many years.

Coffee continues to rival tea for dedicated and devout fans worldwide. The array of varieties is seemingly endless, even coming from as far away as Indian or Tanzanian, or as close to home as Costa Rica.

What is tea cupping and why is tea cupping important

What is Tea Cupping?

Tea cupping is a process of tasting and evaluating the quality of loose leaf tea. Tea cupping is a process that includes a number steps and is a vitally important method because tea quality varies widely. Tea cupping is a combination of art and science that is used by tea lovers throughout the world to maintain tea quality and tea drinking satisfaction.

Even tea from the same shipment, tea garden and processing batch can differ in taste and tea cupping is an ideal way to ensure quality control. In addition, for many tea drinkers, the knowledge that a tea supplier properly cups its tea adds to the tea drinking experience.

The benefits of tea cupping enable the tea drinker to choose the best tea for their taste and wise tea drinkers buy tea from suppliers who cup each and every imported chest of tea.

Sample Steps of Tea Cupping - A Black Tea Example

The term cupping is used to describe the examination and tasting of different teas to determine quality, taste, aroma, briskness, body and color.

Cupping similar teas and comparing them against each other enables one to determine best value when making a purchase. Cupping a tea by itself will help you understand the characteristics of that particular tea.

Professional tasters use similar methods in cupping teas. Consistency is the most important part of cupping. If one begins to develop a certain way of cupping teas, it is important to maintain that method for all teas.

Before the tea is tasted however, a physical inspection of the leaves is performed and attention to the bouquet of the sample is also part of the process. In essence, proper cupping is based upon an understanding of the total presentation of the tea leaf.

Appearance and Smell of the Dried Leaf

First, examine the dried leaf. Black tea for example, should be dark (blackish-brown) and well twisted, which indicates good withering. An open, flat leaf infuses quickly; a closely twisted leaf takes longer to infuse and will give a better second cup. In general, the leaf should be small, hard, well rolled, and uniform in appearance.

The dry leaves can be squeezed to test the resilience of the leaf, which is an indication of young tea. This method of judging the quality of tea is only used for black teas. The appearance and smell of the dried leaf are not determining factors of quality in green and oolong teas.

Following the preliminary cupping steps, the tea is ready for the tasting part of the process. This involves steeping the tea.

Generally speaking, the same care involved with the examination of the unsteeped tea leaves must be maintained during the steeping process.

Pure Water is Required

Purified, oxygenated water is best when preparing your tea for tasting. Use water that has all minerals and other contaminants removed and oxygen added to ensure a fresh clean taste. Remove contaminants because even fresh, clean water contains minerals that affect the taste of tea.. Fill a tea kettle with water and bring to a boil.

Use the Proper Amount of Tea

Tea is measured per cup by weight not volume. Depending on the size of the tea and the extent the tea is processed teas of equal weight may vary in their volumes. To prepare your tea for cupping, pour two grams (approximately the same weight as a U. S. dime) into a six to eight ounce cup and pour the fresh boiling water directly onto the leaves.

Observe Steeping Time Limits – Don’t Over Steep

The steeping process which releases the flavor from the tea leaves has a certain time limit. After five minutes of steeping, the acids in the leaf begin to steep into the cup creating a bitter taste.

Next, examine a weak infusion of tea. If black or oolong tea has not been fermented long enough, the infusion will be conspicuously bright in color and the leaf will have a green tint. A dark green infusion indicates insufficient withering and over-fermentation.

An infused tea with a green-yellow tint indicates pungency and a rich golden leaf signifies quality; a reddish leaf indicates full rich liquor, while a dark leaf will produce a low-grade common tea.

Perfect black tea will be full, rich, and thick looking in the cup, rich in color with a bright, sparkling appearance immediately after pouring. Oolong teas will turn cloudy or "cream down" as the tea cools.

A green tea that has a clear green-yellow of green-golden color in a weak infusion is a young, early picked leaf. A dull, lifeless dark yellow color denotes old or low-grade tea. The lighter the liquor, the younger the leaf and the better the tea is. Smell the weak infusion to get some indication of the character of the tea and to detect possible burning during firing.

Please note that some teas require a longer steeping time (seven minutes for Oolongs) and some teas require a shorter steeping time (three to four minutes for green teas and Darjeelings). At the end of the prescribed time, pour off the tea from the leaves to halt the steeping.

Specific Requirements for Different Types of Tea

As with any rule, there are exceptions. The instructions listed above will be used for nearly every black tea you taste. However, some teas require a different process to bring out the true flavor of the leaf.

Green and White Teas: Green and white teas do not require you to fully boil the water. Pour the water from the kettle just before the water comes to a rolling boil (175° to 185° F). Also these teas usually take less time to steep. Three to four minutes is sufficient.

Oolong Teas: Finer oolongs have a very large, unbroken leaf. As a result, they usually need more time in the hot water to fully release the flavonols or catechins, which give the tea its flavor.

One of the great things about tea is its ability to be something different to every one who tries it.

These suggestions for cupping teas are broad guidelines... No one way will ever be considered the only way to taste and cup teas. Experiment, with other types of teas with different amounts and different steeping times. The most important part of cupping teas is consistency. If there is one thing that is certain, it is that teas will change flavor when you change the brewing method and times.

Flavor Characteristics of the Drinking Infusion

The final step is to taste the flavor of the tea infusion. Cupped tea is described in three main ways. The first is the briskness, the second is the body, and the third is the aroma.

Briskness: Does your mouth pucker?

Body: Does the tea fill your mouth?

Aroma: Does the tea have a robust aroma?

Answering these questions will give an indication of the quality of the tea.

After cupping a number of tea samples you will learn a great deal about tea and tea quality. Cupping is an ongoing process that pays dividends if you enjoy high quality tea.

Always try to purchase tea from a supplier that cups every shipment of tea. Thos will ensure that you receive the highest quality product with the greatest amount of tea enjoyment.

Tea what are good white tea blends

One of the most recent trends in Western tea drinking is white tea. Though white tea has been around for centuries, it has only recently become popular outside of the Asian world. And, even in China and Japan, where most white tea is grown, it was traditionally reserved for special occasions because of its rarity. Today, however, tea drinkers all over the world are enjoying white tea more and more.

White tea comes from the same plant as other teas, the camellia sinensis. But, it is harvested before the leaves are fully open and while the buds are still covered with fine white hair. This makes the tea leaves much mellower, resulting in a much milder tea than black and green teas. In addition to being harvested at a different time than other teas white tea undergoes very little processing, and is not fermented.

The leaves are simply steamed and then dried. Sometimes the leaves are even steamed and dried right in the tea fields and dried in the sun to protect the delicate flavor.

White tea’s flavor is much milder than black or green tea and it has a very delicate aroma as well. It brews to a very pale color and has a hint of sweetness. This mild flavor and aroma appeals to tea drinkers who might find black tea too heavy or green tea to have a bit of a grassy flavor.

Because of this, white tea has opened tea drinking to a whole new group of drinkers who may not have enjoyed tea before.

In addition to being delicious to drink, white tea is also very healthy. In fact, while few studies have been performed on white tea, it is believed to be even healthier than green tea. In the past, many studies have been done on green tea and its ability to slow the aging process and prevent serious diseases like cancer and heart disease.

The reason that green tea has been shown to prevent disease and slow down aging is because of its powerful anti-oxidant levels. Anti-oxidants are present in high levels in natural tea leaves, but the fermentation process changes these anti-oxidants, reducing their effectiveness.

Because green tea, like white, is not fermented it retains more of its natural anti-oxidants.

Therefore, if green tea is a disease preventer, white tea should be just as effective; perhaps even more effective.

In addition, some studies that have been performed on white tea indicate that it is extremely effective in improving the immune system. In particular, white tea seems to have the ability fight off bacteria and viruses. And, white tea is high in fluoride, so that it prevents tooth decay and inhibits the formation of plaque.

If you’ve never tried white tea, you should certainly purchase some for yourself and see if it appeals to you. White tea is much rarer than black or green; far fewer gardens grow it, and typically just one crop is grown each year.

However, particularly if you shop online, you can find very high quality white tea. Sample some Silver Needles or White Peony to get a good idea of what unadulterated white tea tastes like. It’s likely that you’ll find it a very refreshing beverage both cold and hot.

But, for even more variety, scope out the white tea blends. These teas offer a bit more flavor than a plain white tea because additional flavors are added to the tea. The addition of these flavors through the use of natural herbs can also make white tea even healthier. Consider these varieties:

Ginger White Tea – This tea combines rare white tea with the spicy flavor of ginger. White tea provides an incredible boost to the immune system, and ginger has long been heralded for its ability to calm the stomach. Ginger is effective for easing the nausea of morning sickness, motion sickness and the nausea that can be a side effect of chemotherapy.

The combination of immune boosting properties and nausea relief makes this a great gift for a friend who is pregnant or under chemotherapy for cancer.

White Licorice Tea – Another delicious white tea blend, this combination also offers the immune boosting quality of white tea with licorice, which is renowned for its ability to soothe coughs and act as an expectorant. Licorice also is soothing to the stomach. Licorice flavor is a wonderful complement to the delicate flavor of the white tea. When choosing white licorice tea, it’s important to choose a tea that has whole pieces of star anise to ensure the best and boldest licorice flavor.

White Persian melon Tea – This is one of the most refreshing white tea blends. The melon flavor makes the flavor of the tea a bit bolder and fruitier and complements the natural sweetness of the white tea. This is one of the best white tea blends for making iced tea.

As you shop around, you may find other delicious blends of white tea to further broaden your white tea experience. Be certain to choose only the highest quality teas with flavorful herbs to ensure that you get the best flavor in each and every cup.