Index – Culture – Dark as Night



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Author: Victoria Azari-Varga

Many of us start the day with a cup of steaming “black”, drawing strength and energy from coffee. We drink mainly because caffeine stimulates us, but the taste experience doesn’t matter either. Coffee is part of our daily life, but we do well if we only consume it in moderation. “Overdose” this can pose health risks. Numerous studies have been published on the harmful or even beneficial effects of coffee on health. In fact, the extent to which the body tolerates caffeine varies from one individual to another.

Studies have looked at the negative effects of coffee, such as strokes, high blood pressure, heart attacks, rheumatic inflammation, or simply osteoporosis. It has also been shown that not all people have the enzyme that can break down caffeine, so it stays around longer, keeps blood pressure high, and can cause chronic disease. And an American study looked at nearly 1,000 postmenopausal women who drank two or more cups of coffee a day. In their case, they had a higher chance of osteoporosis due to the diuretic effect of caffeine, which removed calcium from their bodies more quickly.

At the same time, the antioxidants in coffee have a particularly good effect on our body.

In the case of Finns, famous for their high consumption of coffee (3-4 cups a day), one study found that both women and men had a nearly 30 percent reduced risk of developing diabetes. Coffee consumed daily is also effective in preventing liver cancer and colon cancer, and even reduces the chances of contracting Parkinson’s disease by half. And the diuretic effect of caffeine can not only have negative consequences, since it does not allow stones to form in the bile.

Good coffee turns to blood

The coffee-making artists are the baristas, who, in addition to routine movements, also make sure that there is an imprint of their personality on each cup.

“The perfect coffee for me depends on my mood, but if I want to reward myself, I’ll give it my way and make my long black coffee using the paper filter method. The secret to perfect paper filter coffee is the right time for grinding and brewing. With this method we get a clean, tasty and perfumed coffee. My personal favorites are African coffees, especially Rwanda, which are a great highlight of the lively acidity of the drink. “

– says Dominika Szabó, Starbucks coffee teacher and 2018 Starbucks Hungarian barista champion.

According to the coffee master, the brewing method is also of utmost importance because the taste of coffee is influenced by many factors. Like the hardness of the water, the correct ratio of coffee and water, the tools used for cooking, the taste of the drink, but even the look, just think of the latte art. He sees that one of the most common misunderstandings is the relationship between the amount of coffee and caffeine, that is, the principle of “the more, the stronger”.

This relationship is not exclusively due to the air, but the water-coffee relationship significantly affects the quality of the finished drink. In addition, the bitter taste and the darkness of the roast do not match the caffeine content of the coffee, in fact, in lightly roasted coffees, even minimally, there is more caffeine. This is why it is a good idea to always follow the instructions that come with your coffee and strive to drink freshly ground coffee.

The Italian coffee culture has a great influence on Hungarian consumption. The short is black, that is Presso coffee it is the basis of almost all coffee specialties. The most popular among Hungarians is clearly the latte, followed by macchiatowhich is nothing more than an espresso with a little milk foam. And in recent years, the audience has grown cold beer types of coffee too: cold “brewed” coffee is based on good quality lightly roasted coffee and filtered water, and the result is a rich, smooth, less acidic and bitter beverage.

Preparing cold brew at Nitro Banks

Preparing cold brew at Nitro Banks

Photo: Rukawajung / Shutterstock

“The flavor of espresso is highly dependent on the size of the beans in the ground (a mixture of robusta and arabica), which must cook perfectly in the preheated cup in 20 seconds, with a rich golden cream on top. The cream layer helps to keep the flavors in the coffee as long as possible. Really good espresso is silky, creamy, bubble-free, and has a pleasantly sweet but bitter taste. It is important that the espresso is served immediately after it is made, ”explained Sándor Both, regional manager for Costa Coffee, who also stood at the counter and worked as a barista.

Luxury drink or unique jewelry from coffee beans.

The most expensive coffee in the world is Kopi Luwak, also known as civet coffee, for which you can order more than twenty thousand florins per cup. The Asian specialty is made with a very unique “process”:

the Indonesian palm civet cat eats the coffee bean, which then goes with its feces.

The coffee beans are selected from it, the special flavor is provided by the cat’s special oil-producing glands.

However, according to some coffee experts, a civetreserve army Ivory black he had long since overthrown him. The new luxury coffee “grows” in Thailand, the only elephant sanctuary in the world.

Coffee beans “run” through the digestive system of elephants,

where they lose their bitter taste due to stomach acid and are also enriched with fruit aromas thanks to sugar cane, bananas and other plants. It costs $ 1,100 a kilogram and, unlike civet coffee, it can be easily produced in large quantities.

However, coffee fans not only love to drink, but also to use their favorite. Jewelry is made with glass beads that imitate coffee beans, and collections are even made from coffee capsules, whether they are earrings, necklaces or bracelets. Of course, a real coffee bean can also decorate our necklace, the pendant is made of 15mm coffee beans, and together with the chain, the price is close to ten thousand florins. The necklace made with coffee beans from the Amazon rainforest is also a true specialty, the wedge is dried orange peel.

(Top image: Woman picking coffee beans at Banaran Coffee Village in Java, Indonesia. Image: em faies / Shutterstock)



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