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Espresso Coffee 101: What you need to know

Espresso coffee begins with the almighty bean. Espresso coffee beans are usually a happy little blend of flavorful coffee beans that want nothing more than to put a smile on your face and a gleam in your eye. Coffee bean blends are found in corner coffee shops around the globe as ground or whole beans and also in most grocery stores’ coffee sections. They have a tendency to group themselves together by their brand names: Starbuck’s, Seattle’s Best, and Tully’s to name a few. How do you know which bean is right for you?

You can’t take just any espresso coffee bean home. What will the neighbors say! Rest assured that there’s a right bean for every coffee drinker. You’ll find yours. The search for the right bean begins by visiting different coffee shops and sampling the wares. When you’ve struck java gold, you’ll know it, and you may even shout "Eureka, I’ve found it!" Look around for racks of coffee beans sitting there in neat, little rows, displaying their logos proudly, declaring whole beans or ground, and waiting to be discovered. “Pick me, pick me,” they say. Now the choice is yours. Once you’ve found that perfect blend, there are a few simple things you need to know when bringing home the beans.

Caring For Your Espresso Beans

Once you have selected your choice of espresso coffee beans, take them home and remember to treat them right. These shiny little beans are robust in flavor and need your care to stay that way. As a proud espresso coffee bean owner, you must first, find a nice, dry, airtight container and seal them in right away. Warning: Do not succumb to the urban myth that refrigerating your beans retains flavor. This is bean abuse and can rob your beans of their flavor. Love your beans, and they will love you back!

Preparing a Fine Grind

Preparing your grind is a matter of style. Some espresso coffee connoisseurs like to grind as they go which is to say that they like the absolute freshest espresso possible while others are content to grind at the store or in bulk at home. You’ll find your center of gravity soon enough and develop your own espresso coffee style. If you prefer to grind at home, think small, inexpensive grinders that can also double as a spice or nut grinder. A word on grinding: if you are grinding your own coffee beans, think sugar. You’ll want to grind your espresso coffee beans to a fine, powdery consistency that flows like sugar. The fine grind will set the flavor free when it meets hot water.

Releasing Your Inner Espresso

Espresso coffee is a modern marvel that brings the coffee bean to life. If you are enjoying espresso coffee at a local coffee shop, enjoy! The work is done for you. But what if you’re at home and want to release your inner espresso? No problem, it’s actually fun and therapeutic. Extracting the essence of the bean for home consumption couldn’t be easier. You’ll need an espresso coffee machine for starters, and there are several different types to choose from. Some have a milk foamer built in and are electric while some are non-electric, hold the coffee grinds while hot water is poured over the top, and then pressed through the coffee grinds. However you choose to enjoy espresso, the process is very similar to making regular coffee. Water passes through the filter, meets fine ground espresso coffee, and there it is, ambrosia.

Celebrating Your Espresso

There are so many ways to celebrate your shots of espresso coffee, and the recipe choices just keep growing. The simplest of espresso coffee drinks is the Caffe Macchiato which is a shot of espresso topped with a plop of steamed milk. Use cream instead of steamed milk and now you have Caffe Creme. Add enough steamed milk to fill the cup instead of a plop, and you have another drink, a cappuccino. Then there’s the drink that started it all, the latte. The latte begins with a single or double shot of espresso, a shot of a flavoring or two, chocolate syrup perhaps, and then filled to the rim with steamed milk. The variations on the latte are amazingly creative and oh so delicious! You’ll soon find your favorite combinations, begin inventing your own, and maybe even start your own espresso coffee recipe book. Share the love and invite friends over or meet them at your favorite coffee shop. Bring your book and enjoy some leisurely reading time. When you see me, stop by and say hello. I’ll be the one with the laptop, smiling curiously, and writing about something with an Americana at my side.

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