How to Enjoy Coffee the Right Way

I am a huge coffee lover and I used drink a lot throughout the day. But that has changed. Since I am together with my boyfriend I have changed my coffee drinking habits drastically. I am lucky, because my boyfriend shares the same passion for coffee, but with one big difference: Instead of quantity he prefers quality. That means, instead of drinking a ton of coffee (like I did), he drinks just 2 to 3 cups throughout the day. He is from Colombia, which is one of the leading countries in producing high quality coffee. Through him I have learned so much about the production process and the countries unique conditions growing coffee. This are reasons why Colombian coffee is so special and tasty.

Recently went to Colombia for the first time. One of the things I wanted to do was to visit a coffee plantation. For me it has been a enormous rewuest of mine to see all the process on the an actual plantation. My boyfriend lives in the to the so-called Coffee Triangle (Eje Cafetero). So there were plenty of options. We went to a plantation named Recuca (Recorrido de la Cultura Cafetera) which gives you a tour through the whole production process on a traditional farm. After the tour we booked a coffee tasting session. This was especially exciting for us.

At the tasting we have learned about flavors, odors and the right preparation. The first thing we needed to do, was to distinguish different flavors. Professionals can distinguish up to 48!!! different flavors. Amazing!!! The most common flavors you can find in coffee are vanilla, almond, apricot, lemon, apple and rose flavor. Let me tell you: although they were just six flavors it was pretty hard. The next step included the flavor differentiation in fresh brewed coffee just by smelling. This was even more challeging. Then we actually tasted the different coffees. I couldn´t mention so much flavors in detail, but what there are two things that you should taste when you have a high quality coffee in front of you. A coffee of good quality should taste sweet or a bit sour, never EVER bitter. Not even a tiny bit.

The last step included instructios on how to prepare a coffee correctly to get the besst out of it. For every 100 ml water you should use about 7 to 8 gr. of coffee. The best way to prepare it is to do it maually. Mine is a manual coffeemaker from the German brand Bodum like you see in the picture above. It comes with a permanent filter. Before you start the actual brewing process, make sure you to heat the coffeemaker and the cups up before. That prevents the coffee to suffer a thermal shock. Next heat up your measured water. When you pour the water over the powder make sure that it isn´t boilng anymore.Pour the water slowly and evenly over the coffee powder. Don´t let the powder rise in the filter, because if you do so the coffe can get bitter. Wait until all the water dripped through the filter and enjoy simple delicecy. One last thing I want to mention. Try and buy whole coffee beans and grind just the amount you need, right before you prepare the coffee. It makes a significant difference.

To be fair, we don´t do the whole process everyday and especially not on weekday mornings, but on some afternoons and on the weekends we take the time and dedication for this ritual. Now I would like to know if you are also a person with a passion for coffee. If so, let me know about your coffee habits.