I moved to my own place when I was eighteen and since then if I wanted my morning coffee, I had to drag myself out of bed and put it up! Although it isn’t as pleasurable as when it is made and served hot to you, it is something so irresistible that I quite enjoy the ritual of brewing my own caffeine fix. Ah, the sheer bliss of sipping your first coffee of the day!

I have to keep peppering my day with frequent mugs of hot coffee if I am to be even marginally successful in my work! I am fortunate in that I work at a big corporate set up, which has a mobile coffee van parked outside throughout the day and night that churns out some really good Espresso coffee and Café Latte. Staying back late at work or being asked to work nights is so much more bearable with the assurance of coffee on call! Seeing how those guys operate the van and the kind of business they are generating, I am sorely tempted to quit my job and get myself a mobile coffee franchise. What could possibly be better than working with coffee!

Anyway, wishful thinking aside, the mobile coffee vending cart concept got me wondering about what started the coffee craze. I was really curious about when and how it all started. I found quite a bit of interesting information on the different types of coffee beans and the various coffees from all over the world. Do you know that there is a really exotic coffee called Kopi Luwak from Indonesia? This is the most expensive coffee in the world and sells at a whopping US $700 a kilogram! What makes it special is that it is treated with the intestinal juices of the Asian Palm Civet, also known as the Toddy Cat. The civet feasts on coffee berries and swallows the seed (the coffee bean). This passes through the civet’s digestive tract and the bean is passed out undigested in the faeces! These beans are then collected and washed thoroughly and dried in the sun. Once the beans are completely clean and dry, they are roasted and ground to give us the best civet coffee in the world! You may be going ‘Yuck’ but no other coffee can beat the aroma or flavour of the Kopi Luwak.

I also retrieved several interesting articles on other aspects of coffee, which I thought I could share through this website. I had been under the impression that coffee had been around for several centuries but I recently discovered that I was way off the mark. Coffee cultivation in Australia started only in the last century! And, although Australia produces up to 600 tonnes of coffee a year, it does not even figure in the international coffee organization. Half of Australia’s coffee is also exported. Coffee consumption in Australia generates approximately $1.5 billion a year.

Although mobile coffee vans look like regular vans from the outside, once the doors are thrown open you can actually see that they are well equipped and look like mini coffee bars. The one at my office has a couple of coffee machines and even a large refrigerator. It also comes with a generator for power back up when on the move. They claim that the roasted coffee beans are just a day old to preserve the flavour and aroma. I have to admit that their coffee does smell and taste good. These vans are usually hired for family or corporate events and can easily provide enough hot coffee for a big crowd.

It was interesting to find out that ‘instant coffee’ which I had been thinking of as just another coffee, is not considered ‘real coffee’! Instant coffee is made from the Robusta coffee bean which is the inferior coffee variety. While ‘real coffee’ is made from the Arabica bean.

Mobile Coffee Vans Melbourne

is an attempt to research and put together all you would like to know about coffee: its history, cultivation, production, the different types of beans and coffees, information on the mushrooming coffee shop culture, mobile coffee vans and carts, the health benefits of moderate coffee intake, and the adverse effects of excessive indulgence, etc. So, what you will get in Mobile Coffee Vans Melbourne is an unbeatable coffee experience.

The History of Coffee

By Hilda Maria Sigurdardottir

Coffee – THE Drink of Choice

Did you know coffee is the most consumed beverage in the world. How did coffee get this ranking? What country first figured out coffee was safe for consumption? When was the first drink of coffee prepared? Where did the first coffee shop come in being?
There are many questions about the starting point of drinking coffee. It has been so long ago no one really knows all the facts. But, one thing is for sure, coffee is the most consumed beverage on the planet.

The Beginning of Coffee

It looks as if the first trace came out of Abyssinia and was also sporadically in the vicinity of the Red Sea around seven hundred AD. Along with these people, other Africans of the same period also have a history of using the coffee berry pulp for more than one occasion like rituals and even for health.

Coffee began to get more attention when the Arabs began cultivating it in their peninsulas around eleven hundred AD. It is speculated that trade ships brought the coffee their way. The Arabs started making a drink that became quite popular called gahwa— meaning to prevent sleep. Roasting and boiling the bean was how they made this drink. It became so popular among the Arabs that they made it their signature Arabian wine and it was used a lot during rituals.

After the coffee bean was found to be a great wine and a medicine, someone discovered in Arabia that you could also make a different dark, delicious drink out of the beans, this happened somewhere around twelve hundred AD. After that it didn’t take long and everyone in Arabia was drinking coffee. Everywhere these people traveled the coffee went with them. It made its way around to India, North Africa, the eastern Mediterranean, and was then cultivated to a great extent in Yemen around fourteen hundred AD.

Other countries would have gladly welcomed these beans if only the Arabs had let them. The Arabs killed the seed-germ making sure no one else could grow the coffee if taken elsewhere. Heavily guarding their plants, Yemen is where the main source of coffee stayed for several hundred years. Even with their efforts, the beans were eventually smuggled out by pilgrims and travelers.

Coffee Shops Appear

Around 1475 the first coffee shop opens in Constantinople called Kiv Han two years after coffee was introduced to Turkey, in 1554 two coffee houses open there. People came pouring in to socialize, listen to music, play games and of course drink coffee. Some often called these places in Turkey the “school of the wise”, because you could learn so much by just visiting the coffee house and listening to conversations.
In the sixteen hundreds coffee enters Europe through the port of Venice. The Turkish warriors also brought the drink to Balkans, Spain, and North Africa. Not too much later the first coffee house opens in Italy.

There were plenty of people also trying to ban coffee. Such as Khair Beg a governor of Mecca who was executed and Grand Vizir of the Ottoman Empire who successfully closed down many coffee houses in Turkey. Thankfully not everyone thought this way.

Coffee Tips Arrive

In the early sixteen hundreds coffee is presented to the New World by man named John Smith. Later in that century, the first coffee house opens in England. Coffee houses or “penny universities” charged a penny for admission and for a cup of coffee. The word “TIPS” (for service) has it’s origin from an English coffee house.

Early in the 17th century, Edward Lloyd’s coffee house opens in England. The Dutch became the first to commercially transport coffee. The first Parisian café opens in 1713 and King Louis XIV is presented with a lovely coffee tree. Sugar is first used as an addition to coffee in his court.

The America’s Have Coffee

Coffee plants were introduced in the Americas for development. By close to the end of the seventeen hundreds, 1,920 million plants are grown on the island.

Evidently the eighteen hundreds were spent trying to find better methods to make coffee.

The Coffee “Brew” in the 20th Century

New methods to help brewing coffee start popping up everywhere. The first commercial espresso machine is developed in Italy. Melitta Bentz makes a filter using blotting paper. Dr. Ernest Lily manufactures the first automatic espresso machine. The Nestle Company invents Nescafe instant coffee. Achilles Gaggia perfects the espresso machine.
Hills Bros. begins packing roasted coffee in vacuum tins eventually ending local roasting shops and coffee mills. A Japanese-American chemist named Satori Kato from Chicago invents the first soluble “instant” coffee.

German coffee importer Ludwig Roselius turns some ruined coffee beans over to researchers, who perfected the process of removing caffeine from the beans without destroying the flavor. He sells it under the name Sanka. Sanka is introduced in the United States in 1923.

George Constant Washington an English chemist living in Guatemala, is interested in a powdery condensation forming on the spout of his silver coffee flask. After checking into it, he creates the first mass-produced instant coffee which is his brand name called Red E Coffee.

Prohibition goes into effect in United States. Coffee sales suddenly increase.
Brazil asked Nestle to help find a solution to their coffee surpluses so the Nestle Company comes up with freeze-dried coffee. Nestle also made Nescafe and introduced it to Switzerland.

Other Interesting Coffee Tidbits

Today the US imports 70 percent of the world’s coffee crop.
During W.W.II, American soldiers were issued instant Maxwell House coffee in their ration kits.

In Italy, Achilles Gaggia perfects his espresso machine. The name Cappuccino comes from the resemblance of its color to the robes of the monks of the Capuchin order.

One week before Woodstock, the Manson family murders coffee heiress Abigail Folger as she visits with her friend Sharon Tate in the home of filmmaker Roman Polanski.

Starbuck’s Hits the Coffee World

Starbucks opens its first store in Seattle’s Pike Place public market in 1971. This creates madness over fresh-roasted whole bean coffee.
Coffee finally becomes the world’s most popular beverage. More than 450 billion cups are sold each year by 1995.

The Current Coffee Trends

Now in the 21st century we have many different styles, grinds, and flavors of coffee. We have really come a long way even with our coffee making machines. There’s no sign of coffee consumption decreasing. Researchers are even finding many health benefits to drinking coffee. Drink and enjoy!

Hilda Maria is the mother of five great children. She understands the need for a great cup of coffee [http://www.ic-coffee-makers.com/index.html] in a flash and enjoys using a coffee maker [http://www.ic-coffee-makers.com/coffee_makers.html] and fresh green coffee beans [http://www.ic-coffee-makers.com/coffee_beans.html] to get it.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Hilda_Maria_Sigurdardottir

Boquete is located in the Province of Chiriqui, Panama’s southwestern most distant province next to Costa Rica’s southern border. The District of Boquete includes 6 counties or townships: Alto Boquete, Bajo Boquete, Boquete, Caldera, Los Naranjos and Palmira. The capital of the Chiriqui Province is David, located at 4,000 feet altitude. The region is affectionately called “…the land of the eternal rainbow…” because, very often, several rainbows are present at the same time over the valley. A truly beautiful sight.

Panama’s geographic conditions are very interesting and help one understand some unique characteristics of this country and its great coffee.

* Panama’s geographical orientation is east to west, not north to south.
* The Atlantic or Caribbean ocean is on the north and the Pacific ocean is to the south.
* The sun rises and sets over the Pacific, not over the Atlantic.
* The “dry season” (“Winter”) runs from December through March.
* The “cooler wet season” (“Summer”) runs from April through November.
* Temperatures change according to the elevation, the cloud cover and the amount of rainfall.
* It is a good idea to be prepared for unexpected weather changes of up to 20 degrees Fahrenheit and very cold nights in mountainous areas.

The Boquete region is in a valley on the eastern side of an extinct volcano (over 500 years so far) called Volcán Barú which is National Park (over 35,000 acres of land) rising to over 12,000 feet above sea level. Barú features 6 life zone eco-areas which offer a great natural habitat to abundant and unique flora and fauna, especially birds. For example, there are over 250 bird species in the park area. Animals include jaguar, tapir, puma, deer, coati (a relative of the raccoon), armadillo, rabbit, 2 and 3-toed sloths, many kinds of monkeys, and even the famous and strikingly colorful Quetzal bird!

Boquete’s economy depends on agriculture, eco-tourism and coffee. Boquete coffee is considered among the best in the world.

* The cool humid mountain air of the area helps produce exceptional coffee cherries and supports organic, shade coffee growing practices.
* Panama has the smallest production of coffee in Central America.
* However, Panama coffee growers are committed to quality over quantity and have established a solid reputation for excellence that consistently ranks their beans at the top.
* Sustainable coffee growing is Panama’s trademark, synonymous with best in class in the specialty gourmet coffee market.
* In addition, Boquete’s farming practices benefit from the unique human appeal and charm of indigenous people hand picking coffee while clad in colorful native attire amidst a true festive environment.
* What makes coffee picking so appealing in Panama is that what you observe is genuine and part of the daily life. Colorfully attired Indian families come from different parts of the province to harvest the coffee cherries from October through February.
* Coffee is primarily picked by groups such as the Guamy, the Ngobe Bugle, and the Cuna or Kuna Indians.

Often, Panama Boquete Coffee is compared to wine. This is so true: this coffee is truly as delicious and special as the great wines from the French region of Bordeaux. Panama Boquete Coffee has earned its reputation among the best in the world for several years based on results from recognized international coffee cupping competitions and buyer demand. Panama Boquete Coffee is complex and distinctive, featuring hints of uncultivated flowers such as jasmine, mandarin, berries or other. Why is that?

The Boquete Region has some of the most beautiful and stunning flower gardens in the world!

* The verdant and colorful natural production of Boquete rivals that of the great European Mediterranean gardens of Monaco, Italy or those of California and South Africa.
* Bromeliads of all sizes and colors cover the shade trees in the coffee fincas. There are several subfamilies of bromeliads: pineapples and Spanish moss are both kinds of bromeliads.
* In coffee plantations, bromeliads are epiphytic (“parasitic”) plants that grow naturally in Panama’s tropical environment.
* Orchids, another epiphytic species found in coffee habitats, also grow naturally in the Boquete region. Draping moss covering trees and vegetation is everywhere. In a way, the “coffee forests” look magical and surreal.
* Coffee plantations are also noisy areas with bird calls constantly echoing from one end to another.
* Flowerbeds of jasmine flowers, mostly white but also some species of yellow flowers, are a recurrent sight with a permeating unique fragrance.
* The Boquete region is also famous for very sweet and delicious oranges and mandarins. These are shade trees that grow, side by side, with coffee bushes.
* The list of other wild flowers, fruit trees and natural plants present where coffee grows is very long but explains the unique hints of flower fragrances, taste and aroma in Panama Boquete Coffee.

So, ready to enjoy a cup of delicious Panama Boquete Gourmet Specialty Coffee?

Timothy (“Tim”) S. Collins, the author, is called by those who know him “The Gourmet Coffee Guy.”
He is an expert in article writing who has done extensive research online and offline in his area of expertise, coffee marketing, as well as in other areas of personal and professional interest.

Come visit the author’s website: http://www.ourgourmetcoffee.com
Also visit: http://www.squidoo.com/coffee-lensography-TheGourmetCoffeeGuy

© Copyright – Timothy S. Collins. All Rights Reserved Worldwide

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Timothy_S._Collins

According to the 2008 Coffee Statistics Report, coffee is the most common beverage worldwide. The U.S. imports more than $4 billion worth of coffee annually and Americans consume 400 million cups of coffee per day. Nearly 52% of Americans over the age of 18 drink coffee daily. Coffee represents 75% of all the caffeine consumed in the U.S., the rest comes from soft drinks, tea, cocoa, and many prescription and over-the-counter medications.

Although coffee is one of the most heavily researched commodities with studies spanning decades, there is still much controversy surrounding its effects on health. Many studies show conflicting results and there is always a new study to discount the last one.

Science Of Caffeine

Caffeine is the most prevalently used legal stimulant in the world. It stimulates you, gives you energy or a “lift”, and it makes you more alert. To understand how caffeine affects your body, we have to look at the science of caffeine. When you take in caffeine, it triggers the secretion of stress hormones, similar to a fight-or-flight response when you have to deal with sudden danger. The following is how the body responses to an elevation of stress hormones:

* Pupils dilate to increase visual acuity.
* Bronchial airways dilate to increase availability of oxygen.
* Liver releases sugars and fats into the blood to fuel the survival effort.
* Muscle fibers contract, ready for sudden movement.
* Heart rate and blood pressure increase to supply fuel to muscles.
* Circulation reduced in digestive system to make more blood available to muscles.
* Small blood vessels in the extremities constrict to make more blood available to muscles.

In caveman days, such fight-or-flight response was designed for episodic stress events. In modern times, however, stress tends to be chronic, and most people typically consume caffeine at regular intervals during the day. When your body is in a constant state of “emergency alert”, the results can be devastating.

Harmful Effects Of Caffeine

* Caffeine can generate wild swings in blood sugar, causing hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). Symptoms include weakness, nervousness, sweating, heart palpitations, and jitters.
* Caffeine can raise blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
* Caffeine can alter the production of hydrochloric acid in the stomach, leading to impaired digestion. It is associated with increased risk for ulcer, acid reflux, and irritable bowel syndrome.
* Caffeine can lead to skin irritations.
* Caffeine can have a detrimental effect on the body’s calcium-phosphorus balance, which is associated with rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis (porous bones).
* Caffeine can aggravate your PMS (premenstrual syndrome) and menopause symptoms.
* Caffeine can affect the quality of your sleep. The fact that you have built up a high tolerance for caffeine does not mean that your sleep quality has not been compromised. Caffeine can also worsen symptoms of insomnia, panic attacks, and anxiety disorders.
* Caffeine can increase the risk of miscarriage, birth defects such as cleft palate, and low birth weight among babies. Pregnant women should always avoid caffeine. Caffeine is a stimulant drug that easily passes through the placenta to the developing fetus and is also transferred through breast milk.
* Last but not least, if you regularly take in more than 100 mg of caffeine (about half a cup of brewed coffee) a day, you are probably addicted to caffeine and are likely to experience some withdrawal symptoms such as headache, fatigue, irritability, difficulty concentrating, and muscle stiffness.

Other Health Issues Associated With Coffee

* Coffee is usually a heavily sprayed crop, so every cup of non-organic coffee exposes you to a dose of toxic pesticides. Worse, many chemicals banned in the U.S. for their ultra toxicity are exported to South American countries. Some of these chemicals are known to be used in coffee plantations which export their coffee back to the U.S.
* If you are a Protein Metabolic Type, you won’t do well with caffeine. You should only consume decaffeinated coffee in small quantities.
* If you are going to drink decaffeinated coffee, make sure that it uses a non-chemical based method of decaffeination, such as the “Swiss Water Process”. Most coffee is chemically decaffeinated, even if it says “naturally decaffeinated” on the label.
* If you use a “drip” coffee maker, use non-bleached filters. The bright white ones are chlorine bleached and some of the chlorine will be extracted from the filter during the brewing process.

Health Benefits Of Coffee
Although coffee is associated with many health risks, research suggests that it also offers a number of health benefits, provided you drink at least two cups per day. Evidence indicates that coffee provides protective effects for the following diseases:

* Alcohol cirrhosis of the liver
* Alzheimer’s disease
* Asthma
* Colon cancer
* Type 2 diabetes
* Gallstones
* Some types of headaches
* Parkinson’s disease
* Strokes

However, when you are drinking two cups of coffee daily, your body is already hooked to the regular stimulation of caffeine. It is after all, a personal choice to weigh the benefits of drinking coffee against its many negative health effects.

The Bottom Line

* Despite the many health claims, caffeine is still a stimulant drug. Regular dependence on caffeine to enhance performance stresses the body, the same way all other life stressors do.
* Tea is a good alternative as it has lower caffeine content. Tea also contains antioxidants (polyphenols) that help prevent cancer, heart disease, and stroke. White tea is the least processed and contains the most antioxidants, followed by green tea, and black tea. To cut down on the caffeine in black tea, steep it for less time or switch to green or white tea.
* Coffee is clearly not the healthiest liquid to drink (best choice is pure water) but if you do choose to drink coffee, buy the organic version as the crop is heavily sprayed with pesticides.
* The best decaffeination method is the “Swiss Water Process” which is completely chemical free.
* Only use non-bleached filters for brewing coffee.
* If you are pregnant, breast feeding, or have the following conditions, you should avoid caffeine altogether – digestive and bowel problems, chronic fatigue syndrome, gallstones, ulcers, anxiety or panic attacks, heart problems, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, hypoglycemia, insomnia, PMS, menopause, osteoporosis, and skin irritations.

Carol Chuang is a Certified Nutrition Specialist and a Metabolic Typing Advisor. She has a Masters degree in Nutrition and is the founder of CC Health Counseling, LLC. Her passion in life is to stay healthy and to help others become healthy. She believes that a key ingredient to optimal health is to eat a diet that is right for one’s specific body type. Eating organic or eating healthy is not enough to guarantee good health. The truth is that there is no one diet that is right for everyone. Our metabolisms are different, so should our diets. Carol specializes in Metabolic Typing, helping her clients find the right diet for their Metabolic Type. To learn more about Metabolic Typing, her nutrition counseling practice, and how to get a complimentary phone consultation, please go to http://cchealthcounseling.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Carol_Chuang

Check out this vid on how to make great coffee.