Simple Syrup made with Raw Sugar
We first used our simple syrup when we made this Shaken Iced Latte.
Coffee flavoring syrups come in several varieties and here is one you can make yourself, in five minutes at a minimal cost. If you love espresso and you enjoy experimenting with new ideas and recipes you will certainly enjoy this natural flavoring syrup. It is made with one part raw sugar and one part water. Simply add equal parts of raw sugar and water to a sauce pan and heat until a gentle boil. Once the mixture has reached boiling it is completely dissolved. Let it cool then funnel it into a serving bottle that you can cover tightly and refrigerate. Raw sugar simple syrup should be made in small batches and should be kept refrigerated since there are no added preservatives.
Add one ounce of Raw Sugar Simple Syrup to your espresso and espresso milk beverages for a special 100% naturally sweet treat. My favorite recipe for this Raw Sugar Simple Syrup is the Shaken Iced Latte.
Popularity: 7% [?]
How to Make a Latte with Saeco Vienna Plus Super Automatic Espresso Machine
One of my favorite espresso drinks to begin the day is a hot latte. To accompany the video, here are the steps on how to use the Vienna Plus for this specific drink:
Instructions:
1. Turn the machine on with the power button. Power button is furthest left button on machine.
2. Steam and froth milk using wand. After machine has warmed up and is ready for use, press the right button on machine to activate the steam wand. When steam is warm and ready to use (green light will stop blinking and become solid) place steaming wand in cup with milk and begin to steam. (To begin steaming: twist knob on side of machine toward you.)
3. Press the steam button so that coffee and steam operational lights are both blinking. While the two lights blink, purge water from the steam wand (using the knob on the right hand side of the machine). After sufficient water has been purged, machine is ready to brew; both green lights will have stopped blinking and there will be a solid green light near coffee (middle) button.
Note: machine will not brew after steaming until water has been purged from steam wand.
4. Adjust the dial for espresso.
5. Press coffee (middle) button to begin brewing espresso.
Note: press coffee button two times in a row for a double shot of espresso, three for a triple, etc. if a stronger latte drink is desired.
6. Add steamed milk to espresso and enjoy your latte!
You can use the dial located on the front of the machine to adjust the strength and volume to meet your specific taste.
Popularity: 8% [?]
Shaken Iced Latte Coffee Recipe
We love this recipe because it’s super simple and brings a great specialty coffee drink into your home. A standout for this recipe is that it uses simple syrup, which is just an equal parts raw sugar and water mixture. It adds that slight sweetness without taking away from the coffee and is an all natural ingredient. We will post another video to show how we make our simple syrup.
Popularity: 8% [?]
How To Brew Coffee Using A French Press
I recently just made my first YouTube video demonstrating my morning coffee ritual. The first thing I do when I wake up every morning is make coffee with my french press. I’ll list the tools I use to make my coffee as well as the instructions I use for my specific technique.
Popularity: 8% [?]
How to clean Jura X9 using Jura tablets and Urnex wipes
Popularity: 4% [?]
How Decaffeinated Coffee is Made
Direct Process
There are several different processes that companies use to decaffeinate coffee beans. First of all coffee beans are decaffeinated when they are still green, before they are roasted. The most common process is called the direct process. In the direct process they use chemicals like methylene chloride and ethyl acetate. These chemicals are also used in paint stripper, nail polish remover, and glue. The first step of the direct process is to steam the green coffee beans for 30 minutes to bring the caffeine to the surface of the bean, and then the coffee beans are rinsed with these chemicals. If you are looking for decaffeinated coffee, I would suggest that you buy coffee beans that have not been decaffeinated by this process because of the chemicals used. At the end of the chemical wash process the beans are steamed for 10 hours to remove any remaining chemicals solvents.
CO2 Method
Another method that is used is the CO2 method. The beans are immersed into a CO2 solution that is under such immense pressure that the CO2 gas has turned into a liquid. The CO2 acts as
a solvent and washes away any of the caffeine at the surface of the bean. After this initial process is complete the pressure is released and the CO2 turns back into a gas form and evaporates and leaves behind the beans.
Swiss Water Process
The best process is the Swiss Water Process. In this process the beans are soaked for 10 hours in a green coffee extract. Coffee beans are soaked for a long time to remove the flavor and the caffeine. After about 10 hours when all the flavor and the caffeine have dissolved in the water the beans are removed and what is left is a concentrate of flavor and caffeine. The caffeine is then filtered out of this solution only leaving the flavor solids. With the next batch of beans that is soaked in this green coffee extract solution, only the caffeine dissolves in the water because of the high concentration levels of soluble flavor components that are already present in the solution. This method removes 99.9% of the caffeine present in the green coffee bean. This is the best and most natural method for decaffeinating coffee. Posh Portage Fresh Roast Coffee only roasts decaffeinated coffee using the Swiss Water Process.
I don’t suggest that you try and emulate these processes at home since the cost and amount of time it would take would not be efficient.
This is a video explaining and promoting the Swiss Water Process.
Popularity: 20% [?]
How Important is Fresh Roasted Coffee To You?
For me freshness of roasted coffee is more important to me than any brand names, so to share my perspective I will explain the roasting process, and why I believe fresh roasted is the best way to go. FYI this will be a general overview; I will save a more detailed article and video for a later post.
Coffee is mostly sold in its roasted state, but very few people know about this roasting process.
The roasting process starts when we open the gate at the bottom of the hopper right above the roasting drum. The beans slide into the drum which is heated from below via gas burners. The roasting drum is a horizontally spinning drum that roasts the beans evenly with a current of hot air.
At 392°F: Roasting Process Begins: Heat breaks down starches in the coffee bean resulting in caramelization. Caramelization in coffee beans is the oxidation of complex starches turning them into simple sugars; an example of this would be sucrose in green coffee beans being broken down into the monosaccharides fructose and glucose. This process results in a nutty flavor and the browning of the coffee bean.
During roasting, oils, acids, and caffeine are altered by the extreme heat, changing the flavor
At periodic times during the process the roastmaster will check on the progress of the beans by looking at samples from a scoop, called a tryer.
At 401°F: Additional oils start developing at this temperature, again altering the flavor of the coffee bean. Caffeol is created at 392°F and is largely responsible for coffee’s distinct flavors and aromas.
When the right moment comes the roast master opens the chamber door, dumping the beans onto the cooling tray. The beans are stirred on the cooling tray as air is drawn down through them to cool them as fast as possible so that the beans cease roasting as fast as possible.
The packaging of the freshly roasted coffee is also part of the roasting process and can be just as important as roasting. In order to preserve that fresh roast taste for as long as possible the packaging must protect the beans from light, oxygen and moisture. Fresh roasted coffee is packaged within just minutes of cooling, and because coffee beans will continue to leak CO2, Carbon Dioxide, after roasting, a proper package will have a pressure relief valve to let the CO2 escape the package.
This valve will also serve to push out any oxygen that was in the bag at the time it was heat sealed. These coffee bags are also made out of foil which block out light.
Yet, even with these bare minimum requirements for fresh roast, coffee still loses 25% of its flavor within two weeks of roasting. Freshness is paramount to coffee, and coffee is a perishable product, which most people do not realize. The majority of people are drinking stale coffee, be different and taste the difference of freshly roasted coffee beans.
Wondering where to start? Our Posh Portage Coffee, look for the black coffee bag, is guaranteed fresh and will be delivered just days after roasting. Click here to view our selection.
Popularity: 19% [?]
How To Use Coffee Grounds in the Garden
Everyday tons of coffee grounds are thrown into the trash instead of being recycled and that is a shame because coffee grounds can be used in a multitude of different ways around your 
garden to help fertilize your plants. Rather than throwing your coffee grounds in the trash and having it turn into harmful greenhouse gases, you should start using coffee grounds in your garden.
Follow these simple tips to get started:
- Sprinkle used grounds around plants before rain or watering, for a slow-release nitrogen.
- Add to compost piles to increase nitrogen balance. Coffee filters and tea bags break down rapidly during composting.
- Dilute with water for a gentle, fast-acting liquid fertilizer. Use about a half-pound can of wet grounds in a five-gallon bucket of water; let sit outdoors to achieve ambient temperature.
- Mix into soil for houseplants or new vegetable beds.
- Encircle the base of the plant with a coffee and eggshell barrier to repel pests.
- If you are into vermi-posting, feed a little bit to your worms
Popularity: 11% [?]
How to Perform a Coffee Cupping
The key to creating a great coffee cupping experience is making sure that whenever you are tasting coffee you have a set process for analyzing what you are tasting. Consistency of each cup of coffee is the key. Watch the video to see a cupping in action.
Popularity: 7% [?]
