Breakfast Advertisement
 /

Free Breakfast Recipes

World Breakfasts

UK Bed and Breakfast Links

Recommended Places for Breakfast & Brunch

Breakfast Links

Web development and hosting by ASWeb

Recipes > Morning Drinks:

The Perfect Cup of Coffee

Today coffee is a fashion accessory, and every self respecting follower of fashion should have their own Gaggia - or similar espresso machine as part of their home design.

Coffee is an integral part of breakfast - it has replaced beer as the staple breakfast drink and the very sight of a coffee pot with its heady aroma of freshly brewed coffee makes the statement of good hospitality - enjoy.
Vegetarian
Soul Food

Ingredients

There are a number of coffees to impress your breakfast guests.
CAPPUCCINO - 1/3 strong coffee, 1/3 steamed milk, 1/3 frothy milk.
Cappuccino is so named as it resembles the colour of the hooded robes of the Cappuccine monks in Italy.
ESPRESSO - small cup of very strong coffee.
CAFFE LATTE- double espresso topped up with steamed milk in a glass.
CAFÉ CON PANNA -double espresso topped with a swirl of whipped cream.
CAFÉ MOCHA -strong black coffee mixed with rich chocolate syrup, steamed milk topped with whipped cream & dusted with cocoa powder.
note - Coffee picked in Mocha in the Yemen is rich and dark with a hint of chocolate in it's taste - hence 'mocha.'
CAFÉ FRAPPE- (iced coffee) - chilled double espresso, whizzed with equal amounts of cold milk and two scoops of good coffee ice cream.
A good tip is to make ice cubes out of the left over coffee. They will chill the drink without diluting it.
DECAFFEINATED coffee is made from normal beans that are so soaked as to remove about 97% of the caffeine with only a little loss to the flavour.
INSTANT COFFEE-Better to drink this than no coffee at all - but it's rather like settling for the house wine in a good restaurant rather than savouring the delights of the fine wine list.

With Cafebars now a fashion item in the High Street, they have developed their own slang :
'dry' - extra foam
'harmless' - skinny and no fun
'wet' - extra steamed milk
'with wings' - take away
'skinny' - fat free milk
'wild' - whipped cream
'no fun' - decaffeinated
'no whip' - no whipped cream

Recipe

Start by visiting your coffee specialist store. Explain just how you like your coffee, mild, strong, rich, toasted, full bodied, (you see it really is as exciting as choosing that special bottle of wine). Then explain by what method you make the coffee. These are important facts. For example breakfast is best served by a blend of the strong rich coffees from Africa blended with the milder but fuller bodied coffee from central America or try a good cinnamon roasted coffee for breakfast.

Now with the coffee at home, only grind enough beans for immediate use. Ground beans can be helped by keeping in the refrigerator in an air tight container to prevent the oil and volatile gases escaping. Try to use pure water. Bottled or purified in a Britta jug is best. For white coffee you should use a little cream or full fat milk. Semi- skimmed only dilutes the coffee. Never use UHT or synthetic 'creamer' - just try it on it's own !

If you wish to sweeten the brew, use raw or rough brown sugar, white sugar will spoil some of the flavour. Try to drink coffee without sugar rather than add sweeteners.

There are three main ways to make coffee. Firstly the basic jug or cafetiere where you add the water ((just off the boil) to a jug of freshly ground coffee. The second is the filter or drip method where the hot water filters and drips through a funnel filled with ground coffee. The third is the well known percolater.

Body Talk

Choose another recipe | Choose another category

Register
For the latest news and updates by email:
To de-register:
Kids
Breakfast made easier with Morphy Richards
Caterer and Hotelkeeper
Visit the Bensons Website