Espresso machines can produce impressive lattes, americanos, and macchiatos, but as a luxury appliance they require special attention. Proper maintenance and care is key to producing years of satisfactory, reliable espresso drinks. The very first maintenance task to perform on an espresso machine is to prime it. New espresso machines have no water in their boilers, and they will need to be primed before use so that the heating element does not suffer damage. Espresso machines may also need to be primed after steaming milk or after a period of disuse.

Source: http://www.pjstar.com/mysource/food/x89698147/Green-beans-Decrease-the-environmental-effect-of-your-daily-cuppa

By Allecia Vermillion

Think your morning cup of coffee is too small to make a difference? Most Americans (56 percent) drink coffee every day, according to the National Coffee Association of USA. This volume is what makes coffee beans the world’s most-traded commodity after petroleum. It’s not difficult to green your daily jolt of caffeine, whether you brew your own or hit up your neighborhood coffee shop.

The beans

Organic, fair-trade coffee beans are widely available at grocery stores, specialty shops and coffee houses. Since coffee is a major cash crop in many developing countries, the “fair trade” certification means the farmers growing the coffee beans get paid a living wage. These products must also meet certain environmental standards.

Some coffee harvesters rely on chemical pesticides and harvesting practices that involve removing overhanging tree canopies. Stripping away these leafy habitats for migratory birds wreaks havoc on the region’s biodiversity. Coffee labeled “shade-grown” or “bird-friendly” avoids these practices.

If coffee isn’t your thing, look for organic and fair-trade tea and cocoa as well.

The equipment

While at-home coffee makers are becoming increasingly high-tech, many purists are rediscovering the allure of the French press. In addition to delivering a more flavorful drink, this simple hand-pulled brewing device doesn’t need to be plugged in. In fact, it requires no energy at all — besides a bit of arm muscle.

Commercial coffee shops now have more ways to green their operations. Like traditional cleaning supplies, cleaning agents for professional-grade espresso machines are now available in greener formats. The Full Circle brand offers washes and cleansing tablets made from naturally derived ingredients.

The gear

Much like a reusable shopping bag, a washable coffee cup is a small concession that can add up to major waste reduction — and savings — over time. A plethora of travel versions exist, many made from sustainable materials.

Unbleached or washable coffee filters can also cut down on waste for at-home brewers.

Can’t kick the coffee shop habit? Bring your own coffee cup cozy and avoid the single-use cardboard sleeves. You can knit your own, or hit up craft fairs or sites like www.etsy.com to find a stylish handmade version.

Recycling tips

Can you recycle disposable coffee cups?

The short answer: It depends on the city. And the cup. A few advanced municipal recycling programs are able to handle the cups with their slick inside coating. Some coffee shops offer recyclable and even compostable take-away cups for patrons, although these are more expensive. Ask your local coffee shop about recycling options. Better yet, bring your own cup. Many places offer a modest discount (usually about 10 cents) for patrons who BYOC.

Descale your espresso machine is easy, and effective use, if you type products machine tailored to your particular. It took a long time that vinegar is a chemical cleaning desired coffee and espresso. Recently our coffee machines have become sophisticated and efficient, requiring descaling would remove the mineral buildup on the boiler and water tank, whileProtects against unwanted odors and corrosive chemicals. It is also important to provide a product that is safe to use and non-toxic for human consumption.

Various espresso requires different techniques and products that jobs would be scaling. You can find decalcifing agents in liquid, tablet, powder and shapes. Different manufacturers recommend another form of decalcifying, but essentially the goal is the same. To remove,scale with a chemical to the water tank is placed in hot water so it can be assumed and the pot of boiling water tubes, which are necessary. Given that absorbs chemicals inside the machine, it cleans the build.

With all the espresso machines, the goal is to pool the softener in the right concentration of the water and run the product on all tanks and pipes. If using tablets, you must first dissolve the tablets beforeCycle time scaling. It only takes a few minutes and is really fun to watch. If the tablet with water, you will watch an entertaining show by fuzzing, bubbles and water “dance” mixes, as I would like to call it.

My favorites are Jura descaling tablets tablets. Jura-coated tablets are powerful, safe and recommended for machines Jura. Dezcal is made by an inexpensive all-Powder Urnex decalcifing good. My advice to all DezcalCommercial espresso machines. Dezcal is also quite acceptable to machines at home to fifty percent of the concentration of machines for the commercial sector.

If you use liquid, it is generally concentrated and easy to mix with water in the tank and you’re ready to go to Espresso. Durgol Swiss brand is a wonderful, easy to use this product in the liquid is widespread. It is sold in reusable bottles, two to a box. There is, Non-toxic and very effective. Durgol states that their product is. For all high-end “espresso machines safely Let’s face it, espresso machines are all high quality, maintenance translates to” huge investment “which promotes a regular basis.

Remember, you want to soak the solution in the middle of a brewing cycle so it is exposed to all possible components that accumulate scale. This cycle of repeated exposure of the inner tank and pipes for the chemical industryThis is what dissolves and cleans the engine of undesirable residues. Soak After ten minutes, the brewing process continues, on and off, until you have all the solution emptied the tank. deleted the next step is to process the water is clear, then surely infuse resolve.

Remember, the results follow the recommendation of the manufacturer of your machine for the better. You do not want to delay the necessary maintenance of your espresso. Bites machine machine stopped working and require costly repairs. Maintenance is easy and inexpensive, so remember, the hand holding the additional maintenance for the shipments at any time. This is not funny to wake up one day not coffee.

By EMILY FREDRIX (AP) – Aug 11, 2010

NEW YORK — For an extra jolt to its finances, Green Mountain Coffee Rosters Inc. is selling a 7 percent stake to Lavazza, Italy’s best-selling espresso brand, for $250 million.

Together, the companies plan to develop new single-serving espresso machines and espresso capsules that will complement Green Mountain’s popular Keurig coffee makers, which brew single cups of tea or coffee.

The deal is expected to close in September and advances both company’s strategies, they said late Tuesday.

Green Mountain wants to expand its successful single-serve K-Cup lines, and Lavazza has been buying companies in India, Brazil and Argentina to fuel its growth. This is Lavazza’s biggest foreign acquisition.

Lavazza, based in Turin, has agreed to buy newly issued shares at 10 cents par value common stock at a price equal to the 60-day volume weighted average price at closing, less 7.5 percent. The deal includes the possibility of buying additional shares up to 15 percent of Green Mountain.

The deal must be approved by U.S. antitrust regulators.

The companies’ new single-serve products aren’t expected to reach the market until at least 2013.

The Keurig system’s success has been fueling growth for Green Mountain, which is based in Waterbury, Vt.

As shoppers cut spending at cafes during the recession, the systems presented a less-expensive alternative. Rival Starbucks Corp. jumped into the market in September with its Via instant coffee line.

Last month Keurig said its third-quarter revenue rose 64 percent to $311.5 million, thanks largely to rising sales of Keurig machines and accessories, which accounted for about half of the company’s revenue. It expects shipments for K-Cup packs to rise as much as 76 percent this fiscal year.

Green Mountain’s $300 million acquisition of Diedrich Coffee Inc. — one of four roasters licensed to produce K-Cups — closed in May.

The Lavazza investment will let Green Mountain make more purchases, Janney Capital Markets analyst Mitchell Pinheiro told clients in a note Wednesday. It also brings Lavazza’s brand value and expertise to Keurig products and could help with launching Keurig in Europe, he said.

He reiterated his “Buy” rating on the stock and $40 price target.

Shares of Green Mountain fell 47 cents, or 1.5 percent, to close at $30.99 Wednesday.

MILAN — Italian coffee maker Lavazza said on Wednesday it would buy seven percent of US company Green Mountain Coffee Roasters for 250-million-dollars (191 million euros).

The two companies will also work together to build and market espresso machines and single-serve espresso capsules designed by the Italian company, Lavazza said in a statement.

The investment is expected to be approved in September by US authorities.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters sells more than a hundred specialty coffee brands in the United States and Canada and is one of the leader in the sale of espresso machines in North America.

It closed 2009 with revenues of 803 million dollars.

Family-owned Lavazza said the deal was the biggest it had ever made abroad and part of its recent aggressive push in international markets.

Over the past four years the company has made acquisitions in India, Brasil and Argentina.

Lavazza operates in 90 countries and in 2009 posted a turnover of more than 1 billion euros.

By John Gilchrist

Back in the days before triple-grande caramel frappuccinos, before minivans with mega-cupholders, before Phil and Sebastian were even a twinkle in their parents’ eyes, Vince Izzo was at the forefront of the Calgary coffee scene. Arriving here from Pietramelara, Italy in 1968, Izzo knew he’d need a good cup of coffee. So he brought along an espresso maker and began sourcing beans from Italian roasters in Toronto and Vancouver.

When Izzo shared his coffee with friends, they liked what they tasted and asked him to bring in some beans for them, too. Then a few restaurants wanted espresso machines so they called on Izzo. Soon, Vince Izzo Imports was born.

Izzo fed and caffeinated the Calgary Italian community with the creation of the Napoli Sports Club (1974) and then broadened his reach with La Dolce Vita (1978). By the early 1980s his burgeoning import business (he’d changed the name to Cappuccino King) consumed all his time so he sold his restaurant interests. Huge art nouveau brass-and-copper Elektra espresso machines– the ones that look like R2D2–were his signature item. They held pride of place in long-lost joints like Mancini’s, Cafe Le Chat, and the original Divino.

Cappuccino King has reigned over a caffeine kingdom for more than three decades. And now, with King Vince retired to sunnier climes in Penticton, the throne has been passed to son Peter. Some call him the Cappuccino Prince, if only because, as Peter says, “It’s too expensive to organize a palace coup.”

Peter Izzo grew up around the coffee business. He tasted his first espresso at about the age of 12 but pulled his first years before that. “As soon as I was tall enough to reach the handle on the old pull-style machines,” he says. But he decided that coffee wasn’t his calling, so he traded in his espresso-pulling skills for a teenage job pumping gas. Then he worked on the railroad for a while. But eventually, the coffee business drew him back in. He began servicing the many machines that his father had sold to local restaurants and cafes. And just as he had with the coffee itself, he became hooked on the business.

Izzo now oversees all aspects of the business: handling sales, servicing new high-tech coffee machines, and providing the products to go along with them: tampers, Italian syrups, home-roasting kits, the new “red” rooibos espresso. And beans. Continuing the blend Vince developed with a Montreal roaster back in the 1970s, Peter now has it roasted locally at Kienna Coffee.

Izzo and Cappuccino King also support the local coffee industry and the many people who work in it. Three years ago, he helped create the Prairies Regional Barista Competition, which feeds into national and global contests. This year’s event goes tomorrow (Saturday, Aug. 7) at Fratello Coffee Roasters (4021 9th St. S.E.). The top ten baristas in the prairie provinces will compete to see who pulls the best shots and who makes the best espresso-based drinks. (The event kicks off at 8:30 a.m.; admission is $5.) The top three will move on to the national championships in Toronto later this year.

Izzo sees the coffee business as always changing, always improving, always broadening its consumer base. “Good espresso is mainstream now,” he says. It’s taken over 40 years, but these days the Izzos can have a good cup of coffee almost anywhere. And they don’t have to bring their own espresso machine anymore.

Cappuccino King is located at 410 23rd Ave. N.E., 403-277-5169.

Can Coffee be a Health Drink?

A few years ago, there were studies saying that coffee may be related to cancer. This prompted people to avoid drinking the caffeinated drink. A couple of years after that study, researches have recounted the study quoting that the investigation is flawed. Current research have indicated that coffee can give the body a lot of benefits.

Harvard researchers are saying that coffee, when drank regularly, may be a remedy for diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, and colon cancer. It might even improve your mood and treat daily headache problems. It could even be drank to lower risk of cavities.

Studies show that regular coffee drinkers are 80 percent scarcer to have Parkinson’s disease. While 2-cups-a-day drinkers can lessen the risk of cancer of the colon by 25 percent and 80 percent in liver cirrhosis risk. It can also slash the risk of gallstones by half. There are even studies showing that individuals who smoke and drink heavily, have less heart and liver damage as a result of their coffee intake.

So, what causes these benefits? It is the anti-oxidants, and surprisingly from the caffeine also. Currently, drugs for curing Parkinson’s disease are being developed. These drugs have a derivative of caffeine as their component. Coffee also has chlorogenic acid and tocophenols which are antioxidants. These mineral components can improve insulin sensitivity. When we speak about insulin sensitivity, it is the body’s response to insulin.

There were studies conducted in Europe citing that the trigonelline, the compound that is why coffee smells good and has bitter taste, also has advantages. It may be both antibacterial and anti-adhesive. These stop the formation of dental cavities.

But can everybody drink coffee?

Regrettably, not everybody is in a position to drink coffee. Individuals with bladder and kidney problems, existing diabetes, gallstones, heart problems, high cholesterol levels, hypoglycemia and generalized panic and /or anxiety attacks should avoid coffee drinking altogether. Averting coffee drinking is also advised to expectant women and those with high risk of brittle bones.

For pregnant women, if coffee cannot be ignored, then it is recommended just to drink 1 or 2 cups a day. Infertility, miscarriages and low birth weight among babies are the primary rationality why pregnant women are recommended against drinking coffee.

Excessive caffeine intake can also result in nervousness, anxiety and rapid heartbeat. The caffeine overstimulates the nervous system, making the adrenal glands work over the top. Brittle bones patients are likewise advised not to coffee. Coffee reduces the capability of bones to absorb the necessary minerals, making the bones weak and in risk of brittle bones. But the effects may be reduced if milk is combined with coffee.

For some individuals, coffee can likewise be addictive. Individuals who have stopped drinking coffee experience withdrawal signs. They would get headaches, less energy and alertness, trouble in being focused, get aggravated easily and occasionally even get depressed.

Over caffeine ingestion can also have a sway onto the skin, since it adds to the chance of developing stretch marks. Caffeine can also play a role in weight gain. Although, it is mentioned that coffee drinkers may lose weight in the short-run, but in a longer time of time, coffee can result in gain in weight.

Coffee both has good and bad effects. Similar to other beverages and food, when it is accepted at big amounts, then it is likely that they could have undesirable effects to your body. Whether coffee can be thought to be a health drink, it is your decision to make the choice.

Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/coffee-articles/nothing-less-than-a-pump-espresso-machine-will-do-2897103.html

If you would like to begin producing espresso drinks at home, and you’re just learning about the various kinds of espresso machines, then you definitely have to understand the difference between a steam driven espresso machine, a lever and piston espresso machine, and a pump espresso machine.

The electric steam driven machine is the first one we’ll discuss. These are at the low end of espresso machines and cost the least. Steam pressure is what makes these machines function. Water in an airtight chamber is heated to boiling and then quickly forced through the ground espresso using steam pressure, and then right into a cup. The steam pressure produced by these type of machines reaches about 1 bar, far below the benchmark pressure needed to brew real espresso. These machines generally have a steam wand allowing you to froth milk to make a latte or cappuccino. In my opinion these kinds of machines should really not be regarded as espresso machines because the very best they can do is create a strong cup of coffee.

The second kind of machine we’ll discuss is the manual lever and piston espresso machine. Rather than utilizing pressure generated by steam, the pressure used in a manual lever machine to brew espresso is created by a piston which is attached to the lever, which, when pulled, forces the heated water through the ground coffee. This type of espresso device gives you complete control over the entire brewing procedure such as dosing, tamping, pulling the manual lever to pressure the water through the espresso grounds, and timing each of these operations. Moving the lever up moves the piston up which then brings pre-heated water to the brew group. When the lever is subsequently pulled down it forces the hot water, under pressure, through the ground coffee. The phrase “pulling a shot” refers to this type of device, since you really have to “pull” a shot. The manual lever and pistion machine are engineered to produce sufficient pressure, within the 8-9 bar range, to properly extract a proper espresso drink.

An experienced barista can make an excellent espresso using this kind of machine. But there’s definitely a learning curve connected with this kind of machine, but with practice you can produce a very high quality and delicious espresso drink utilizing a lever and piston device. Personally, I’d choose a mchine that was a little easier to use.

The final type of device that we’ll look at is the electric pump espresso machine. Previously we’ve looked at machines that used steam pressure and piston pressure to create an espresso. This machine, as the name implies, utilizes an electric pump to force water through the system. The pump pulls water from a reservoir and returns it into a tank that heats the water. After the boiler heats the water to brewing temperature the pump will first push water through ground coffee within the brew group. You have the ability to control the temperature of the water before the pump pushes the water through the system. There are three types of electric pump espresso devices: The semi-automatic, the automatic, and also the super-automatic espresso machine.

Some individuals think that a genuine espresso shot can only be made by “pulling” a shot with a lever and piston machine. But for those people who just want a easy, quick, and delicious espresso, the automatic pump espresso machine can do a darn great job of producing an exceptional, consistent cup of coffee.