Add a Little Spice to Your Coffee

There are lots of ways to improve on basic cup of coffee. A few cloves, a pinch of cinnamon or even some whole fennel seeds can really create a whole new cup of coffee. Adding whole spices before you brew is a good way to do this.

Here are a few recipes for spiced coffee. These are all for coffee served hot... mmmmm!

Fragrant Spiced Coffee

3 cups brewed coffee
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Blend together brown sugar, cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon (use ground spices, not whole). Mix coffee and cream together with the spice mixture. Serve hot. Serves 4.

Mediterranean Coffee

3 tbs ground coffee (coarse)
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cocoa powder
1 tsp anise seed (whole)
Pinch of dried orange peel pieces

Combine all the ingredients, and brew by your favorite method. Using a french press or a plunger pot is the traditional brewing style for this particular coffee recipe. Makes 1-2 cups of coffee.

Sweet Fennel Coffee

3 tbs ground coffee
2 cinnamon sticks, broken
6 whole fennel seeds, crushed
1 tbs brown sugar

Mix coffee and spices, and brew by your preferred method. Add the sugar to your finished cup for that sweet touch. Also makes 1-2 cups.

Enjoy!!!

Brew Perfect Coffee Every Time

Getting a great cup o' joe doesn't have to mean paying a bundle at your local coffee spot. The best coffee you've ever tasted is just a few easy steps away, right in your own home!

1. Start with freshly roasted whole bean coffee and grind it as you use it.

2. Use good water. Remember, coffee is 98-99% water.

3. Measure your coffee. Two Tablespoons of coffee to every 8oz cup of water.

4. Brew by an Auto-Drip coffee maker or French Press. When using an Auto-Drip coffee maker, DO NOT leave the brewed coffee on the burner!!! It will continue to cook and will become bitter in a few minutes. Transfer the brewed coffee to a good thermos for flavor's sake.

5. Grinding Coffee Beans- for brewing good coffee is the way to go! Grinding your own coffee beans just before brewing helps ensure the freshest, best tasting coffee.

6. Storing Your Coffee. Coffee beans tend to lose their flavor rather quickly and even faster after being ground. It is best to keep your coffee whole bean until used. Always keep your coffee in a sealed container that prevents the coffee from being exposed to the open air. Coffee can be kept fresh in a sealed container in a cupboard for a couple of weeks.If you need to keep your coffee longer than two weeks, keep it in a sealed container in your freezer. When keeping coffee in the freezer, take out only the amount you are going to use and put the remainder back into the freezer immediatly. Coffee kept in the freezer will last a month or more.

7. After brewing coffee should be served immediatly. To keep coffee hot for a longer period of time, use a vacuum pitcher, an airpot or an insulated travel mug. This is the only way true coffee flavor can be maintained. Keeping coffee on a warmer destroys the flavor after as little as twenty minutes, resulting in a bitter tasting cup of coffee.

Did You Know?

If you are a coffee/tea lover, there is perhaps nothing better than one of these delicious beverages sometime during the day. For those who are avid coffee/tea lovers, these types of drinks don't even have to be consumed during the morning hours as coffee/tea beverages are good all day long.

Here is some helpful information that all lovers of coffee and tea should be aware of. Some of this information will already be known by those who appreciate the bean or the tea leaf whereas other information might be new insight.

Keep the Coffee Tea Products Fresh
One of the best tips to keep in mind when it comes to coffee/tea items is to keep the beans and tea bags/leaves as fresh as possible. In order to promote the freshest condition, coffee tea items should be stored in airtight containers. Contrary to popular belief, it is not a wise idea to store your coffee tea ingredients in the refrigerator. By keeping your coffee tea items fresh, you will find that the end result will be the highest quality of coffee tea drinks possible.

Buy Beans Whole & Grind Them
It is also a wise idea for coffee drinkers to buy whole coffee beans and then grind the beans right before brewing coffee. This will keep the flavor inside the bean intact as long as possible and make the final product an extremely tasty cup of coffee simply bursting with flavor. Although ground coffee beans are good as well, the freshest coffee comes from newly ground beans.

Green Tea Has Wonderful Health Qualities
Some may already know about the wonderful health qualities associated with green tea. The main healthy quality pertains to the antioxidants present within the tea leaves. Although black tea contains such antioxidants as well, green tea tends to have a higher concentration of these healthy items. Therefore, when you are sipping on your hot cup of green tea or green tea latte, it is good to know that you are getting health-related benefits to boot.

The Type of Coffee Bean May Dictate How Good the Coffee Is
Like wine and beer, coffee also comes in a large variety of styles and flavors. Coffee beans come in many different styles whereas some are stronger than others may be. If you are a frequent coffee drinker and you like to sample different types of coffee beans, you may already know which variety you prefer. As coffee beans have distinct tastes, some cups of coffee may yield different results with regard to favoritism. Therefore, what type of bean you choose may dictate how good the coffee is to you.

Coffee & Tea Offer a Wide Array of Beverages
If you drank coffee in the past and were not crazy about it, don't give up completely on the coffee bean. There are many different beverages which coffee beans can be turned into… espresso, cappuccino, lattes, breves, ice coffee and even more. A coffee/tea lover doesn't necessarily prefer every type of coffee/tea beverage as there are some lovers of coffee and tea who like lattes and cappuccino yet do not like espresso or hot coffee. Therefore, if you have tried different types of coffee/tea options in the past and not been successful in choosing one you like, you might want to try some of the other types. You may just find one you really love.