Decalcification of a Coffee Machine

When looking for a coffee machine, make sure that it has a decalcification process that:

1. Notifies you that it needs to be run, based on the level of water hardness you are adding to the tank (for those in South Africa normally a hardness of about 6 degrees is a good rule of thumb)
   
2. Runs an automated process to de-scale or decalcify the machine.
   

Even with these in place I would suggest that you run a decalcification process on your machine at least once ever 1,000 cups of coffee, and if you are using filtered water at least once every 7,500 cup. Why I here you ask? Well since this cleans the internal plumbing making sure it is free of any calcium and scale. Which in turn helps with the heating process and ensures the machine lasts a lot longer than a machine whose owner avoids running this process

This is one of the reasons why I originally loved the Jura Coffee Machine range, I still do by the way. They were early pioneers in tracking the number of cup of coffee made, the actual quantity of water used (eith oz or ml), and automatically recommending descale and cleaning processes based on the number they had found gave the best results. Other machines have since followed suit like lambs to the flock. The funny thing is that you still get so called experts in the field ignoring these programs, and even disabling them, they should be drawn a quartered.

Decalcifying a coffee machine in most manuals can seem a little confusing. You need to have specific tablets or liquid to do the job and you also need to start a process. For those machines where it is not automatic or they do not recommend it. A guide is to use about 500ml of warm water (about 1 ½ cups), make sure that if you are using tablets they are fully dissolved, then run that liquid through the machine as if making coffee. Once that is done, run at least 1.5 times that amount through to clear the cleaning fluid out and then the machine should be good to go.

Get a Grinder NOW!

Of all the things that surprise me, the one that always blows my mind is people who say they love coffee, and they do not own a grinder or a machine that grinds for them. What does grinder give you:

• Freshness of grind. If you are passionate about coffee then you probably already know how important freshness of coffee bean is, so you are checking that you coffee is roasted fresh, but do you know that 50% of you aroma is gone within the first 3 hours of grinding you coffee. If you purchase packaged coffee and they have added a gas or a valve then that pushes it to a few days, but still it is stale. And the worst part about that is you pay the same money for stale product
  
• Fineness of grind, matching grind fineness to the method of brew is one of the important steps toward the perfect brew. Only a French press or Boduim is compatible with the blade grinder, since consistency is not that critical
  
• Choice of coffee, when you can grind your own coffee you can select your own coffee, and better still get away from blends that mash the unique flavours knowing most coffee drinkers are purchasing pre ground so that coffee produces and drop the quality of the coffee they place in their blends
  
• Storage of the coffee beans, since you are now only using coffee beans, you can store them for longer. And we have found no side effects from taking well roasted coffee out of the freezer and adding it direct to the grinder. Since a well roasted coffee bean has the flavours still in tact and contained in the bean, and the roasting method essentially removes all traces of water, freezing preserves rather than destroys.
  

So if you consider your self a connoisseur and you do not own a grinder what are you waiting for get one now. And make sure it is a burr grinder, which produces consistent grind.

Avoiding disappointing purchases

Now what you drink

I have met a couple of people who talk about the bad experience they have had purchasing, before you buy. Before committing to you latest coffee gadget, decide what you want it for. We all tend to make quick purchases without thinking, those you cannot avoid. The most important thing is research the product before committing. Look at the following before you purchase:

• What is you preferred brew, espresso, Americano or mug off coffee
• How much milk do you add, hot or frothed
• Do you add sugar
• What types of cups do you use

Look for features

Once armed with the answers look for some answers, does the coffee maker heat the cups, if yu like hot coffee, if it does how long does it take. All the Jura coffee machines come with a hot water spout that you can heat your cups with, just fill with 30mls of hot water and the temperature of the cup will mean that even if you have a mug of coffee the temperature will be great.


For other machines like filter machines or the Aeropress which the people in the know say only brew at a shade over 80 degrees make sure the cup is well warmed, adding some boiling water into the cup while you prepare the Aeropress is a good way to do that.

If looking at coffee grinders, make sure you match the the coffee you like, aero press, filter, plunger etc to the type of grind the grinder can produce. A blade grinder will save money, but is only really applicable to plunger base coffee.

And for a home coffee roaster, make sure you match the quantity you drink to the amount that can be roasted, remember that you loose 20% on average in weight on the coffee.

Budge and advice

Try not to over extend yourself. Coffee goodies can save you money in the long run, but you do not need to sacrifice the food on your table in order to save a buck.

Always ask for advice so many people in the industry are there to help, fire the same question to a few people, and soon a common thread will appear, and stick to that, then you cannot go wrong.

Interesting Coffee Titbits

Sent to me by David Banks, thanks man, with some editing by me

Odor eater

Freshen smelly fridges with unused coffee grounds (I would use the spent ground, the affect is the same). They'll neutralize air by sucking up stinky moisture, while giving off their own great java scent, says Sara Snow, green-lifestyle expert, TV host, and author of Sara Snow's Fresh Living. Just place a small bowl of grounds in the back of your fridge or freezer, or hang a cheesecloth pouch filled with grounds in the cabinet where you keep your garbage. Discard after a few months.

Brain food

A mug of joe a day could help you stay sharp. A study from the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences found that a daily dose of caffeine may block the disruptive effects of high cholesterol that scientists have linked to Alzheimer's disease. Read more on this Coffee health facts page.

Stress buster

We associate coffee with the jitters, but inhaling the scent of roasted coffee beans might actually help you de-stress. The mere aroma of roasted beans triggers a relaxation response, helping to ease stress, according to a study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Body refresher

Did you know that coffee is an all-natural exfoliant? We love this rejuvenating skin smoother from The Spa at Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz, New York.

And here is how to do it:

• Mix together 1 cup cooled used coffee grounds,
  
• 1/2 cup sugar (also a dry-skin reliever), and
  
• 1/2 tablespoon jojoba oil (which hydrates skin without leaving it greasy);
  
• gently rub mixture all over your body in a circular motion, then rinse and pat dry.
  

ICO report shows the real coffee lovers

Worldwide Coffee Consumption

The international report by the International Coffee Organization is reproduced in a far easier format via wiki here:


List of countries by coffee consumption per capita - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The first African Country is Algeria, in 38th place, followed by Ethiopia in 69th place. The Italians are beaten by their neighbours Austria and Switzerland easily. In fact most of middle and Western Europe consume way more than Italy, since it is in only 15th place.


South Africa is not even in the top 100, sis

The dominance of Dutch culture is apparent, all countries linked to them love coffee, with the Swiss being major producers of automatic machines, you would expect them to be as high up as they are.

Exciting Times 4 Coffee in South Africa

We live in exciting times for the coffee industry here in South Africa. In the over 4 years since I tasted my first brew of specialty grade coffee; things have progressed at a slow but steady rate. With more and more people becoming aware that we can find good coffee and now over 4 years later there are about 20 specialty coffee micro roasters, roasting coffee to order. Not all f them are in pursuit of the highest grade, and have become price and profit based, but I am happy to say that there are a few purists that still hold quality at a premium.

The other good news is that it you can find fresh roasted specialty grade coffee at reasonable prices. If you consider that in green bean (unroasted form) specialty grade coffee is 50-100% more that expensive than the traditional coffee market, the fact that you can find specialty grade pure Arabica, at about 25-35% higher than the going rate for the budget coffees, it makes you realize that this is good value. Even more so when you realize that imported coffees in the South African market are much more expensive and paying over R200 per kilogram is a possibility, when the winner of the Specialty Coffee Associations coffee costs R240.00 per kilogram, it is highway robbery that lower quality coffees that are in most cases not even pure Arabica, can get away with charging these over inflated prices just because they are branded. That is the cost of marketing.

With the increase in the number of people purchasing higher quality brewing equipment in South Africa, we believe that we are seeing more South Africans take to heart the quality of the product that they invite into their mouth to tantalize the senses.

Over the next few blogs entries I will go through some of the required knowledge that more and more coffee lovers are requesting.

Although some of this information is available on the site by Quaffee, some will be in more detail.