Gourmet Coffee

Many people search the internet looking for gourmet coffee. The best way to get great tasting coffee at home is to buy gourmet beans online. When you find a good online retailer, your beans will be roasted to order.

To find out more about gourmet coffee, check out the new gourmet coffee article at Coffee Makers Cafe: Gourmet Coffee Article

Iced Coffee Recipes for Enjoying Chilled Espresso, Thai Iced Coffee And Many More Variations

By Nicholas Webb

There are many refreshing iced coffee recipes available, and we have selected some of the most interesting for you. However, my favorite of all it the traditional Italian iced coffee recipe which uses freshly made espresso, a cocktail shaker and ice cubes. In fact, if you ask for an iced coffee in Italy this is the only recipe they will serve. Poured into a cocktail glass, the chilled Italian espresso is second to none.

When the heat is on try this traditional Italian iced coffee recipe ...

So, how is the Italian iced coffee recipe actually made? Simple, like all good things. Use your espresso machine, if you have one, to make a normal shot for one, two or more servings. Pour the freshly made espresso coffee into the cocktail shaker, add ice cubes (the ice doesn't get poured into the glasses with the coffee, so the flavor isn't diluted), close the shaker and shake like crazy! Pour into cocktail glasses and enjoy. Surprisingly, the iced coffee will not be a dark espresso brown color, but a creamy beige .

Here are a few more iced coffee recipes for you to try Bermuda Iced Coffee

For this recipe, you'll need coffee, cream, sugar and coffee flavor ice-cream. Pour the coffee, cream, sugar and 1 or 2 scoops of ice-cream into a blender. Blend, and serve cold in glasses or mugs. Tastes great, but if you're on a diet beware.

Fresh Lemon Cafe

Here you'll need 1/4 cup of coffee to which you add 2 oz of lemon sherbet, 1/2 tsp of lemon juice, 1 tsp of grated lemon rind and 1 tsp of sugar. Place the contents to your blender and blend until smooth. Serve in chilled glasses.

Cinnamon Caramel

This recipe has an interesting taste. You'll need about 6 tsp of ground coffee, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 cup caramel syrup. Prepare a pot of coffee in the usual way, but add the cinnamon to the ground coffee. Add the syrup to the hot coffee and stir until dissolved. Chill the coffee and serve over ice with milk, cream or sugar. For an interesting variation, you could also use this coffee, but chill it in the way of the traditional Italian iced coffee recipe above.

Thai Iced Coffee

Here's another interesting variation. You'll need strong ground coffee for brewing 4 cups, 4 tsp sugar, 4 tsp heavy cream, 2 tsp ground cardamom, 1 tsp almond flavoring, crushed ice. Add the cardamom to the ground coffee and brew, when ready add the sugar and almond flavoring, mix well and leave to cool or chill in fridge. Fill four glasses half way with the crushed ice, then add the coffee leaving about an inch or a little more from the rim of the glass. Hold a spoon over the coffee and gently pour the cream over the spoon so that the cream floats on the top of your iced coffee.

Well, that's it. These are just a few of the many iced coffee recipes that are available today. Part of the fun is also experimenting. Enjoy.

This article was prepared by Nicholas Webb who writes for http://www.Allabout-Coffee-Beans.com Coffee is more than just a passion. For many articles from coffee beans to coffee making machines, click over to this site.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

Shopping Online for Coffee & Coffee Makers

Just a note to let you know that coffee-makers-cafe.com has added an online shopping page to help you find coffee, coffee machines & espresso machines at the best prices.

We've selected some online stores for the U.S. and will be adding international stores soon.

Please note: if you would like us to find the best store for your country and add it here, please click here to use our feedback form to tell us which country you are in.

Coffee Cupping

Coffee tasting the professional way...

The best way to learn and understand the different characteristics (acidity, aroma, body and flavor) of coffee beans is to experience them. The best way to experience them is to participate in a professional coffee cupping, or coffee tasting. This is a great party idea when you have a few friends over on a rainy night. For your own coffee cupping experience at home, follow the steps… click here to continue this article.

Freshness and Storage

The freshness of coffee beans is extremely important to the taste of your coffee. In fact, as coffee loses it's freshness and becomes stale, even the finest, most expensive estate coffee in the world will begin to taste like any other stale coffee. Stale coffees tend to all taste alike - no matter what the region.



1. Freshness Indicators

There are four indicators that will let you know you are buying fresh coffee. The beans should appear shiny, taste rich and full, have a wonderful aroma and produce a froth, called bloom, when brewed. For tips on how to be sure you are buying fresh beans and how to keep them fresh, see our bean freshness & storage article and take the freshness test.

If you are looking to buy coffee beans online, Peet's delivers fresh coffee that is roasted to order. Try Peet's Coffee & Tea. Deep-roasted, delivered fresh, since 1966.

2. Storage Tips

The way you store your beans can slow the deterioration process. Since the main enemies of fresh beans are oxygen, moisture, heat and light, you should store your beans in an air-tight container (preferably vacuumed) in a cool-dark place. For more storage tips and details on nitrogen-flushed valve packaging see our bean freshness & storage article.

Bean Buying Options

- About Coffee Maker Pods, Preground Beans and more…

Another flavor-factor that affects coffee bean is the way they are packaged. The flavor-factors we have mentioned above – species, region, roast, blend and flavorings – apply no matter how your coffee is packaged; but the packaging will either maintain or worsen the flavor.

1. Whole Beans - this is the best way to buy your beans in order to maximise the flavor of both the bean and the roast. Being whole, you get to grind them at home. About the only time you might not want to buy beans whole is if you are buying flavored coffee. This is because the flavoring can taint your grinder – but, as long as you clean the grinder properly immediately after grinding the flavored beans, this shouldn't be too much of a problem. You can buy whole coffee beans here.

2. Coffee Maker Pods - today's pod coffee machines make use of pods (small, usually round packages) of pre-ground coffee beans. If you have a pod coffee machine, then you are restricted to buying your coffee in pod form. You can also use coffee maker pods in a mug of hot water, as you would a tea bag, though you won't get as good a flavor as you would from the machine. Although coffee pods are not as flavorfull as whole beans, you benefit from the fact that they are specially packaged to retain flavor and aroma. They are also properly measured and ground to the correct size for the machine – meaning you get a great cup of coffee. You can get coffee pods here.



3. Preground Coffee - if you don't have a grinder, or prefer not to bother with one, then you will have to settle for pre-ground coffee. Here are some tips to make sure you get the best flavor from your pre-ground coffee:

1. DO find whole beans from a coffee market and ask them to grind them just before you buy.


2. DO make sure the beans are packaged in one-way bags (via a valve or special paper) that allow carbon dioxide and coffee-gasses to escape, whilst keeping air out.


3. DO check the use-buy date and packing date if available.


4. DON'T buy supermarket preground coffee that has not been vacuum sealed. A soft bag may indicate the vacuum sealed bag has been pierced.


5. DON'T use the grinding machine in the supermarket. These machines have likely never been cleaned and will be tainted with rancid coffee oils.

Our favorite preground coffee at Coffee Makers Cafe is made by Lavazza. You can get Lavazza coffee beans here.