“Arabica” refers to the region in which a coffee was grown as well as the people who originally grew it (Arabs). Arabica coffees are known for being some of the most flavorful in to the world. Interestingly, they also tend to have a relatively low caffeine content.
Countries that grow Arabica coffees are located in Africa and Asia around the equator, especially Kenya and Yemen. One of the challenges to growing marketable quantities of Arabica beans is the fragility of the coffee plants, which require high altitude and mild, tropical conditions.
From a marketing standpoint, it seems to me that the word “Arabica” tends to be used too liberally in the retail coffee scene. I have heard it attached to what seems like every coffee-related product under the sun. Maybe this is legitimate, but I suspect that companies refer to their “Arabica” coffees hoping that no one will actually double-check on them, the same way that “powertrain warranties” are used to sell cars (what’s a powertrain anyway?).
After finding out how standard drip coffee machines work, I am not surprised that some models in the not to distant past have been recalled for posing a fire hazard. Typical coffee makers are 95% plastic, yet there is a hot plate and a super hot aluminum apparatus that heats the water from cool to boiling in a few seconds. This is a pretty nifty trick if you ask me.
Another interesting aspect of this super-hot, super-fast heating mechanism is: There’s really no mechanism at all. The boiling water itself and gravity are the only forces that move the water through the machine onto the coffee grounds.
Also, there is a one-way valve that allows the water to pass through the aluminum heating coil, thus preventing super heated water backwash.
When the water heats to boiling, this pushes the water up and out until it is “dripping” onto the coffee grounds. As the heated water pushes itself up and out, this creates a vacuum that draws more cool water in from the reservoir, thus continuing the cycle until all the water in the reservoir is gone.
As the water comes in contact with coffee grounds, gravity pushes the water through at just the right speed to create a perfect, balanced pot of joe. As long as the coffee grounds aren’t too fine or coarse then the water will cycle through at the right pace to saturate the coffee and extract the desirable elements (flavor, caffeine, etc.). This is the “drip” method is ideal — the beans should only be in contact with hot water long enough to be “spent” but not boiled into oblivion.
I’ve been posting a lot about Kahlua lately (a coffee-based liquor) but I figured one more couldn’t hurt (talking about posts, not drinking of course).
I discovered from Kahlua’s website (kahlua.com) that they also offer Kahlua Coffee Cream, which is based on their original recipe of sugar, alcohol and Arabica coffee, only now with a cream element.
Their website claims that it’s “natural cream,” so maybe it is made from real cream, but it would make a lot of sense if it was non-dairy.
It also has the usual Mexican coffee zing to it, which reminds me of another question — is brand-name Kahlua made from brewed coffee, coffee extract or instant coffee? It probably wouldn’t make a difference if it was made from instant coffee, but this would not be good for their image as most people prefer brewed coffee over instant. Maybe I can tour their factory in Mexico someday to find out for myself.
In any case, this new Kahlua Coffee Cream sounds good, similar to Bailey’s Irish Cream is my first thought — probably good on the rocks.
Below is a video showing how to put together a mini portable camping stove, heat up coffee in a modified beer can (by boiling it) and then sift the grounds using a bandana (cloth). This is probably how Macgyver would have made coffee if he was ever trapped out in the wilderness and he got a hankerin’ for a cup of joe:
I was also surprised to discover that Kahlua is literally made with coffee (as opposed to most other liquors that you can add to coffee, but contain no coffee automatically). Also, it’s quite sweet by itself, probably one of the sweetest mixable liquors I’ve ever tasted.
My first thought was that Kahlua must be made from fermented, sweetened coffee, it turns out that it’s just a mixture of corn syrup, sugar, vanilla and vodka (or Everclear).
You can find a variety of different recipes for making Kahlua, including one here by WikiHow.com. There’s even one that calls for chocolate milk mix (which does not sound good).
All or most of the recipes I found have a few things in common:
Boiling a ton of sugar with water.
Instant coffee
Vanilla
A high-alcohol content liquor such as vodka or Everclear.
