5 Ways to Brew the Perfect Cup of Coffee

Ah, coffee—that beautiful brew absolutely necessary for a great day.

Coffee is consumed by people all over the globe and has become a necessity in most people’s lives. But like everything else, people do things differently in different parts of the world.

Here’s a look at 5 of the most popular methods of brewing this amazing beverage that we’ve all come to love.

1. Instant Coffee
 

Although shunned by coffee enthusiasts and connoisseurs everywhere, this remains one of the most popular means of brewing coffee worldwide.

Instant coffee is easy to make, doesn’t require the use of expensive machines and is available at almost every convenience store. All you need is coffee powder, some hot or cold water or milk, and sugar to taste. Voila! Enjoy your hot cup of coffee!

The reason this is looked down upon by connoisseurs is because it technically isn’t actual coffee, just extract that has been freeze- or spray-dried and powdered before being packaged. It’s still good enough to satisfy your caffeine craving in a pinch.

2. The Standard Drip Coffee Machine
 

This is the traditional method; it’s fast, easy, and convenient.

It involves pouring water through ground coffee beans in a coffee machine. The coffee brewed using this method is also among the healthiest, since the filter in the machine keeps out cholesterol-rich oils in coffee beans.

Apart from the fact that you have to spend money on a machine, one common gripe is that the filter also removes oils that contain flavonoids. Flavonoids are those magical substance that gives coffee its distinct aroma and taste.

A recent variant of this machine is the single serve coffee maker, which uses pre-ground and pre-measured ‘pods’ of coffee instead of ground beans. These Nespresso compatible pods are the closest you can get to freshly brewed coffee if you’re looking for the real coffee experience.

3. The Chemex Way
 

This approach to making coffee, originally used in the 1940s, is now making a steady comeback due to its superior texture and flavour. The Chemex Coffeemaker is an hourglass-shaped borosilicate glass vessel with a simple wooden collar and tie at its center. The main attraction on this piece is a filter that takes 3 times longer; giving you a highly concentrated liquid rich in caffeine without some of the harmful oils found in traditionally brewed coffee.

4. Using A French Press
 

For this technique, you’ll need a French press pot and a timer in addition to the usual ground coffee beans and water. To brew, you place the grounds in the pitcher, add heated water, and let it steep for five minutes. Then you push the in-built strainer downwards and you get a steaming cup of freshly brewed coffee.

This method gives you a coffee that is high in caffeine content; just what you need to jolt yourself awake. However, this extra caffeine means higher amounts of Cafestol, the molecule that causes your cholesterol to shoot up.

This became quite evident from the results of a study published by the European Journal of Clinical Medicine, which demonstrated that regular drinkers of French Press coffee had raised cholesterol levels.

5. The Aeropress
 

This is a new favourite among the coffee aficionados. With slick looks and the ability to produce a solution with a high concentration of caffeine. It’s quite easy to use too, just add hot water to the ground coffee and pour this mixture into the chamber. Then you press-down slowly using a plunger to get a highly concentrated solution of strong coffee that you can use in any way you wish.

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Health in a Cuppa—Coffee’s Healthy Side-Effects

Wherever you’re from, you’ve probably experienced the sensational rush that is drinking a cup of coffee. This drink, brewed from roasted coffee seeds, has an almost religious following worldwide. And for good reasons, Coffee is such an integral part of culture everywhere, that it comes as a surprise that it was initially only found in Africa.

The findings regarding coffee’s effect on health had been contradictory, until a 2012 study by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) USA. This settled any lingering doubt, showing that people who drink coffee actually outlive non-drinkers.

Many discoveries have since been made regarding the advantages of drinking coffee; let’s take a look at some of these.

Coffee Can Help You Fight Depression Coffee has been proven to fight depression and suicidal tendencies.
 

Depression is a psychological condition that affects well-being and keeps sufferers feeling low, anxious, and sad. One study by Harvard in 2011 showed that women who drank 4 or more cups of coffee a day were 20% less likely to get depressed.

Perhaps even more remarkably, another study involving more than 200,000 people showed that drinking more than 4 cups of this seemingly magical brew helped reduce suicidal tendencies by about 53%.

Talk about taking those blues away! It helps lower your risk of Type-II Diabetes
 

Type-II Diabetes is a grave health risk, afflicting more than 300 million of the world’s population. This disease is a lifelong condition that causes complications involving blood sugar, and elevates one’s chances of heart disease.

A study by the American Chemical Society showed that your chances of getting this deadly disease are reduced greatly if you drink 4 or more cups of coffee on a daily basis.

Your liver is safer
 

Coffee appears to have a significant protective effect on this vital part of your body. Various common disorders of the body can affect the liver, such as hepatitis, chronic alcohol abuse, and liver fatty disease. These cause the majority of the liver to be replaced by scar tissue, a condition called cirrhosis of the liver.

Various studies have shown that coffee can reduce your risk of liver cirrhosis by up to 80%, which is pretty remarkable. Coffee can be instrumental in keeping your liver safe from cirrhosis.

These are just some of the more common health benefits of drinking this popular beverage. Whether you’re a purist that brews your own special recipe, or someone that uses one of the more convenient alternatives like Nespresso compatible coffee pods, you’re reaping myriad medical benefits in addition to the oh-so-stimulating aroma and taste!

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From Italy, Brewed With Love

Tired of drinking commercially available coffee and tea with sub-par flavour? Try Caffe Ottavo gourmet coffee and tea pods.

Caffe Ottavo is an Italian retailer of high-quality coffee and tea products. Known for their Nespresso compatible coffee capsules, tea pods, and a line of pod-based espresso machines called Espressina, Caffe Ottavo products are crafted from the world’s best coffee beans and tea leaves. Their ingredients are sourced right out of locations like Brazil, Ethiopia, and Columbia.

Considering that Italians consume 5 or more cups of coffee on average, we can safely assume that no one knows coffee like the Italians do. Café Ottavo was established ten years ago by a bunch of childhood friends in Fano. Their passion for fine espresso led to them trying their hand at roasting small batches of coffee beans and creating a signature blend which came to be known as Gran Gusto. Today, Gran Gusto has become one of the most popular brews in coffee shops and restaurants all over Italy.

Caffe Ottavo also makes nespresso compatible tea pods and single-serve machines that can be used to make both tea and coffee that is unique, great-tasting, and always highly in-demand across the world.

When it comes to taste and quality, the brand’s popularity speaks for itself. Both the gourmet coffee pods and fine tea pods can be used to brew aromatic and tasteful coffee or tea in seconds.

With exotic flavours and a wide range of variants, the Caffe Ottavo collection has been made for those who take their brew seriously. From classic flavours to signature blends, Caffe Ottavo coffee and tea is everything connoisseurs want.

From a small household operation run by a few friends, Caffe Ottavo has grown into an international brand, with a sizeable presence in UK and Australia. Check out the Caffe Ottavo website now and order high-quality coffee and tea online from the comfort of your home.

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Coffee Pods are the choice of the Enlightened

As a coffee enthusiast, you already know that it’s is the best stimulant, and that moderate amounts of it can give your immunity a boost. Additionally, this delectable beverage improves your heart health and your fitness, and also helps prevent type-2 diabetes.

Ever since Espresso announced itself to the world, coffee lovers have been smitten by its impeccable blend of taste, flavour, and aroma. Subsequently, the technology associated with this enticing concoction has seen significant advancement.

The coffee pod is a result of this technological revolution; this convenient method of making coffee provides you with the ability to create a consistently good cup, every single time. All you need to do is place your pod in a compatible machine and add water; the machine takes care of the proportions and gives you just what you need—you’re steaming cup of joy.

If you choose not to pay the premium price that Nestlé-branded pods command, you have a great alternative in compatible Nespresso pods. Ever since Nestlé stopped pushing for complete monopolisation of the market, other companies have stepped up and created their own pods that fit right into your Nespresso machine.

Now that you’re aware of what these pods are, here are a few compelling arguments as to why you should be using them.

Perfect Espressos Every Single Time
 

The traditional espresso involves a rather complicated recipe that’s notoriously hard to get right, especially if one isn’t a seasoned brewer. For the perfect brew, you’d need to get elements like dosing, grinding the beans, and tamping the ground beans just right. All this before you even get the espresso machine up and running! Coffee pods, however, come already ground, measured, and tamped for ideal extraction, and make for great espressos even if you’re using them for the first time.

A Relatively Longer Shelf Life
 

Coffee pods are packed with freshly ground beans and then hermetically sealed; this is great for their durability and shelf life.

With traditional methods, unless coffee is consumed as soon as it is ground, it deteriorates. With the pod, however, the flavour and distinctive aroma of freshly ground beans remains intact right till it’s used. This means that you can buy multipacks of these without having to worry about their longevity.

No More Messy Clean-Ups
 

Right from when you buy them to when you drink your coffee, the grounds never leave the sealed pod. This means that there is absolutely no risk of spillage when dosing and tamping, which tends to happen during the traditional coffee-making process.

The coffee pod is here to stay, and you’d do well to take advantage of this convenient alternative to painstakingly-hard methods of brewing coffee. While some purists may argue that espressos can be made better through careful measurement and brewing, the pod is the pragmatic, modern answer.

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