Source: http://www.diagolo.com/espresso-machines/the-benefits-of-drinking-organic-coffeeorganic-coffee-for-a-healthier-brew

Organic coffee can be a bit more expensive than coffee that uses beans that are grown other ways.

So what benefits is there that justify the additional cost of organically-grown coffee?

First of all, the flavour. Free of synthetic pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers, untouched by noxious chemical additives and preservatives, organic beans are grown using strictly organic farming methods. It stands to reason that organic beans are generally a rich, full and robust natural flavor since no artificial chemicals are allowed to interfere.

There’s another big benefit to drinking organically grown beans. Because it lacks all those chemicals, the coffee is generally considered to be healthier than traditionally grown coffee. Organic coffee is rich with natural antioxidants and enzymes, providing significant health benefits to those who drink it. Organically grown beans are also more environmentally responsible than coffee that is grown using all those toxic chemical additives.

Before coffee may be sold as organic, it must be certified as meeting the following requirements: it must be grown on land without using chemical pesticides and other artificial substances for at least three years; a sufficient buffer zone must exist between the organic beans, and the closest traditionally-grown crop; and the coffee farmer must rotate crops to control pests, prevent soil erosion and prevent soil nutrient depletion.

These practices protect and preserve the environment far better than traditional growing methods that use artificial chemicals.

You either love coffee or you don’t! Simple, If you love it, then trying different beans for strenght as well as types, are allways high on coffee lovers list’s, so we find the perfect brew for our taste buds!

So treat yourself to some fine organic coffee beans. With its rich, intense flavour and its benefits for your health, you’ll be doing yourself a favour. But you’ll also be helping to save our precious environment.

Classical latte art, which originated in Italy, is based on the use of special techniques of pouring frothed milk in a cup when preparing cappuccino and latte. The frothed milk, mixed with the coffee, forms various patterns and silhouettes on a surface.

The way the patterns end up depend on:

-The movement trajectory of the pitcher when you pour the frothed milk,

-The height of the pitcher compared to the cup,

-The resonance of fluctuation in the shaken up pitcher,

-Where exactly in the cup you pour the milk,

-And how fast you pour the milk.

Some advice about latte-art:

Firstly, espresso should be poured in a cup. The espresso should be dense, with good, thick cremá. Then the frothed milk is poured in a cup. It’s easier to manipulate it with the pitcher, if you make the movements by hand.

In order to make a more distinct pattern, you can first pour some cocoa powder on the surface of the espresso.

When you pour milk into the espresso, try to imagine the nose of the pitcher as a pen.

Latte art demands extensive practice and a good spirit; even skilled baristas can’t always reproduce a drawing exactly.

Basic Figures in Classical Latte-Art:

Latte art has some basic figures, like flowers, hearts, and apples. Other patterns can be considered derived from basic shapes.

Modern Art:

Modern latte art, as opposed to Classical Style, is the drawing of patterns on the milk’s surface with multi-colored syrups, hot chocolate, cinnamon, or cocoa-powder.

In modern latte art various techniques are used:

1. Stroking a toothpick or a thin stick on the milk’s surface, instead of using “dyes” (See below). The dark points on the surface remain after pouring the espresso in the cup.

2. Creation of special stencils that allow you to reproduce silhouettes from cocoa-powder on the milk’s surface.

3. Painting on the milk’s surface with syrups or food dyes. Usually you can’t use regular syrups from bars and coffee houses, because they’re much too dense and sink in the milk. Latte art experts usually prepare special syrups that have a small amount of starch added.

The best espresso is characterized by foam (crema) of a light brown color (with a reddish shade), with light stripes evenly distributed in the foam.

Espresso foam can be very dense, homogeneous, and steady, with very few bubbles. The foam should have neither big bubbles or white spots (allocation of fractions of heavy caffeine), and should not have ruptures in the surface of the foam through which the coffee underneath can be seen.

A gray shade means that more Robusta beans than recommended have been used. A white shade, on the other hand, signifies an insufficient extraction during the brewing (quantity of coffee ground less than 6 grams, coarse grinding, insufficient pressure in the device, a water temperature less than 88 C °, water pressure below 9 atmospheres, time of extraction less than 20 seconds)

Black tops in crema and white bubbles breaking the foam signify too much extraction during the brewing (The quantity of coffee being more than 12 grams, fine grinding, high pressure in the device, water temperature more than 92 Degrees Celsius, water pressure above 9 atmospheres, extraction time more than 28 seconds). If the extraction is either insufficient or excessive, you’ll end up with practically no crema, due to the use of blends with limited quantities of oils and high-molecular glucids, or old ground coffee. The same also holds true for crema that disappears quickly.