The story of the rich dark liquor made from the grounds of mother earth; the sacred drink of the modern days.
Coffee is a sensation; it is a feeling in the heart and bones. A well brewed plain black coffee tastes fresh, and robust with flavor, there is a hint of fruitiness in the aftertaste and an earthy profile to it. Good coffee is when you feel the depth in character that the bean has to offer, and really, it resonates the environment the coffee beans are grown in. There is so much that contributes to the end flavor that it tastes different in every region of the world you go in.
To religiously understand the holiness of this beverage, we must go to the history of its origins.
The origins
Our story of coffee starts in the ancient days of Ethiopia, with the nomadic tribe of the Oroma/Galla people. The popular belief is that once Kaldi; a goat herder, found that his goats acted rather strange lately, more energized and highly active. The root seemed to be the berries from a specific plant, so he tried them himself and felt the same way as well. Kaldi brought the fruit to a monk, but he didn’t believe him right away and tossed the berries into the fire. And that’s when the story of our baked beans really began. The berries now roasting in the fireplace gave off a sweet, earthy aroma of the seeds in contact with the flame. Charred by the intense heat the seeds had turned into bits and pieces, now regretting his decision the monk placed the remains into a jar of hot water to preserve it. The monk drank the holy concoction and realized it would help him stay awake all night chanting prayers and nightly devotions. And so, that’s how the origins of coffee came to be.
The Big Bean
Most coffee today is made from mainly two species of coffee beans; Coffea Arabica, and Coffea Robusta.
The Arabica is the most widely produced coffee beans, contributing to up to 70% of the world’s total production, which happens in its homeland, Ethiopia. Now, Arabica beans have a sweet and mild caffeine level, this gives the coffee a much fruitier hint of aftertaste. While being the most produced coffee, the Arabica trees are also highly priced for their flavor and quality.
The latter makes up about only 30% of the world’s coffee production, but since Robusta trees are much heartier and disease resistant than Arabica, they are a cheaper and better crop to grow for most coffee growers out there. But it’s not just the resilient quality it is the higher caffeine levels in the bean that make it the best options for instant coffee.
Instant Coffee
Instant coffee is one of the most versatile of coffees out there due to its dissolvable nature, strong taste and higher caffeine levels. But there’s a slight downside to it, you see, since the instant coffee is a freeze dried brew of a concoction there’s no telling what quality of beans it’s made with, unless the label on the package says so.
While there are much cheaper brands out there of instant coffee, not every brand tastes just as good.
Flavor profile depends upon the roast of the beans, and the preparation. Darker roasts give off a bitter taste, while the medium to lighter roasts have a much complex, fruitier and sweeter taste to them. Now that’s not to say that a dark roast is bad or anything, but higher temperatures and keeping them too long makes it lose most of its fresh flavor and compounds. This quality recognition is not always seen on the labelling of most instant coffee bottles and packs which makes it just harder to trust the brand for most coffee lovers out there. And that’s one of the reasons why some people prefer to the get the beans themselves to make their daily morning cup.
In some parts of the world coffee comes with several different blends and compositions, the most common one being, Chicory root powder. It is popularly also known as ‘filter coffee’. That’s because it’s meant to be consume with a special coffee equipment that slowly filters the beverage from the grounds through steam. It’s the most widely popular type of coffee blend used in Southern India, often drank in the morning with a typical breakfast of idli-dosa-palya and sambaar. Well, who can complain when it complements the tastes and preferences of the people.
Now, chicory can mimic the aroma and taste of coffee a bit but it makes the taste slightly more bitter, and that puts off to most people. While this blend is not particularly good to make espresso and other types of coffee from the fresh grounds itself, there’s one brand of instant coffee that says otherwise; and that is Continental Coffee Limited. Continental instant coffee with the chicory blend gives the right level of acidity and earthiness that you are looking for, though it may not be the best coffee in the world but it definitely tastes good. This composition comprises of 53% coffee grounds and 47% chicory root powder, and the concoction is extra strong which makes a great freeze dried ready to drink beverage.
In a taste test comparison, Continental instant coffee proves to be better tasting than Nescafe. And to reason that let’s look at the character profile of both the brands.
Nescafe vs. Continental Chicory blend
Here’s a comparison between two brands of instant coffees that I use.
Nescafe Original is a freeze dried 100% pure coffee, made with Robusta beans to achieve high caffeine levels, and the texture of the powder is soft and crumbly. The first taste is often bitter, a lot earthier with a strong intensity that’s best for using in cakes mostly.
Continental Chicory blend is 53% coffee and 47% chicory root powder, and also has the similar texture like Nescafe except that the granules are smaller in size. Now, the catch here is that I find this brand much better both in taste and intensity. That’s because I believe it’s a ‘blend’ of coffee rather than in its 100% pure form. Instant coffee in this way is a lot more versatile in nature because you can freeze dry almost any liquid into a granule, and its still enjoyable as a beverage.
Instant Coffee Vs. Whole Coffee Beans
So, what’s this hype about instant coffee and fresh coffee? Well, the answer lies in the procurement and manufacture process.
Fresh coffee beans are often sold directly from the farm ensuring quality and sustainable practices, whereas, instant coffee doesn’t require beans that come from the same place of production. Most instant coffee manufacturers procure their coffee beans from various sources, this results in compromise of exclusivity in flavor which kind of ruins the whole taste profile. The perception behind this idea is that coffee, when it is processed into a powder form, loses its freshness along with its delicate flavor compounds that come when its originally made.
Well, take an Italian espresso for instance. There is a plentiful that goes into making the perfect cup of espresso, it requires the coffee beans to be ground in an evenly course powder.so that the water seeps through all the particles, a fine ground prevents water molecules from flowing completely as it becomes too compact inside the portafilter. It is also important to mist the grounds a little to dampen it so that coffee doesn’t burn on first contact with the hot water. The real fun thing happens when the steaming liquid slowly makes its way through the grounds, gradually forming a crema, the thicker and creamier foam is evidence that the coffee has brewed well.
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