Archive for February, 2010
What Happened to Coffee in America?
In the 1970s, coffee grinders become novelty items and are now cookie jars that look like vintage coffee grinders and other items. With all the “new” conveniences of freeze-dried and decaffeinated coffee, along with coffee available in vacuum cans or sealed jars, grinders become a thing of the past for many homes.
Italian Luigi Goglio now invents a one-way valve to let coffee de-gas without contact with oxygen in the latest espresso machine. Two years later, the “Mini” slim style Gaggia manual lever espresso machine, designed by André Ricard, was introduced. A short time later Ernesto Illy further simplified the Gaggia coffee machine of 1945 and introduced the coffee espresso system. This system added two layers of filter paper, made it simpler, cheaper and some say idiot proof.
At the same time Mr. Coffee introduces the first automatic drip coffee maker. The Bunn Company followed with its coffee maker innovation and introduced the first commercial quality automatic drip coffee maker, which was also intended as a household coffee maker. Next, those involved with coffee get together.
Bunn Commercial Coffee Brewer
What Happened to Coffee in America?
The Faema Company introduces a very revolutionary machine, the E61 – the first heat exchanger, rotary pump driven espresso machine in 1960. This was the first of many ‘firsts’ that are still commonly found in updating most espresso machines today; but, more about that later.
The Mellitta Bentz Company, in 1960, began creating subsidiaries in Europe, Canada and in Cherry Hill, PA in 1963. This company developed paper coffee filters in 1936 and began selling their patented conical fast-drip filters in the U.S. for pubs and restaurants. Since the company was in Germany, filter paper production was suspended until 1947. Testing later proved that their filters did and still do create a healthier cup of coffee; since then modifications have continued to improved the filters even more. The Raparlier coffee maker featured a filter made of hemp. This style of Hydropneumatic coffee maker was used as late as the 1960′s. Founded in 1957, Bunn-O-Matic Corporation introduced the first paper coffee filter made in America and in 1963 they introduced the first ‘pourover’ coffee maker for commercial purposes. Next week? You guessed it; more about coffee and coffee makers in the 1970s.
What Happened to Coffee in America?
At the end of the Second World War, the Italians returned to perfecting coffee makers and espresso machines. In 1946, Achilles Gaggia perfects his espresso machine. Then, Ernest Valente creates an electric rotating pump in 1950. The pump allowed a continuous, even flow of water through the coffee machine. It is believed that the Cappuccinos they served were named for the resemblance of its color to the robes of the monks of the Capuchin order. All these inventions were made so that coffee could be served faster; this led to the better ones being considered as commercial espresso machines.
1950 is the same year that a small coffee and donut store with a few tables and chairs (coffeehouse) named Dunkin Donuts opened in Quincy, Massachusetts. It is the first modern coffeehouse that has another advertised special item to go with different blends of coffee. By the 1960s, a youth culture evolved of non-Italians who consciously copied the Italian coffeehouses. Another item is added to the making of coffee in the 1960s. Learn about it tomorrow.
What Happened to Coffee in America?
Illy coffee was founded by Francesco Illy in 1933. There single blend of 100% Arabica beans from different growing conditions and a mixture of flavors gives Illy a unique taste. Its best when made as an espresso. In 1935, Illy created the first automatic espresso machine coffeemaker.
During World War II, American soldiers are issued instant Maxwell House coffee in their ration kits. Back home widespread hoarding causes the government to ration coffee sales. Another outcome during the Second World War was the revival in popularity of glass and Pyrex globes, since aluminum, chrome, and other metals used in traditional coffee makers had become restricted in availability.
Cappuccino was traditionally a taste largely appreciated in Europe and in America. As cappuccino drinks grew in popularity, large espresso machines in cafés and restaurants were improved in Italy and the U.S. during and after World War II. What happens after Wolrld War II?
What Happened to Coffee in America?
In 1920s, prohibition goes into effect in the United States and coffee sales “skyrocketed.” By 1940 the U.S. was importing 70 percent of the world coffee crop. Despite this, Brazil is producing more coffee than ever and has a surplus. The Nestle Company invents freeze-dried coffee and names it Nescafe. They introduce it in Switzerland. Not much later Nescafe is introduced to the U.S.
Vacuum coffee makers were introduced around the 1920s. They use steam both to brew coffee and to keep it out of the water chamber. These machines make sure that the coffee doesn’t get too hot as it brews, meaning bitterness is reduced. At the end of the brewing process, the glass globe on top of the machine was removed so the coffee could be served. Today, most of these pots are available as stovetop models; however, a few electric versions are still around. The first espresso machine reached the USA in 1927; it was installed in Regio’s Restaurant in New York City. Different than the very early inventions, espresso had never been brewed directly with steam. Steam pressure was used merely as the vehicle to pass the heated water through packed finely ground coffee at a high pressure to extract the beverage.
In 1930, Farberware introduces a first, the Farberware electric percolator. Both of these methods produced strong coffee, yet each created a different taste of coffee. What happens next to coffee? You’ll see that tomorrow.
What Happened to Coffee in America?
In 1903, Ludwig Reselius had researchers find a way to remove the caffeine from the coffee beans without destroying the flavor. He marketed this coffee under the brand name “Sanka.” Sanka was widely marketed in central and South America, but wasn’t sold in the U.S. until 1923. The drip brewer was yet another kind of coffee brewing machine that evolved in the early part of the nineteenth century along with other kinds of coffee makers and coffee machines.
In 1901, Lugia Bezzer invents the first espresso machine in Italy. Desidero Pavoni bought the patent in 1905 and developed a piston pump to force water through a tube and into the coffee. During this time in America, coffeehouses were becoming immigrant and youth social gathering places in the larger cities. Next week, more changes during the 1920s to coffee and the progression of coffee makers and coffee machines.
What Happened to Coffee in America?
The following year, 1901, the first soluble “instant” coffee, invented by a Japanese-American chemist Satori Kato in Chicago, was introduced to the American public, but it was not received well. Five years later, George Constant Washington, an English chemist, noticed a powdery substance on this silver coffee carafe. He then created and marketed a mass-produced “instant coffee” he called Red E Coffee. He marketed it in England and the U.S. Now that instant coffee is readily available you didn’t need a coffee maker. Today, all you need is an electric tea kettle full of hot water. Another kind of change was made to coffee; Monday you will learn what that was.
1913 Electric Percolator
What Happened to Coffee in America?
The year after the first electric coffee percolator came to market and the early vacuum glass pots were being sold, Joel Cheek, a former wholesale grocer, started blending coffee beans. He named his favorite blend “Maxwell House” after the hotel in Nashville, Tennessee where it was first served. This blended coffee and others were often infused with vanilla, cinnamon and hazelnut. Folgers coffee, founded in 1850 in San Francisco when it began selling coffee in tins there, bacame the J.A. Folger & Co.in 1872. In Italy, Luigi Lavazza began combining coffee beans from many different origins to create signature coffee blends. No other coffee producer had ever done this before, and it changed the face of coffee forever. Today, the blended beans of Lavazza Coffee are sold in eighty countries around the world. This is one of the most favorite coffees of espresso and French press drinkers.
The Hills brothers were also selling coffee. In 1900, they began packing their roast coffee in vacuum tins. Coffee was now being sold in sealed jars and vacuum tins. This brought about the end of local roasting shops and coffee mill shops where coffee had been ground to a desired size. More changes on what happened to coffee tomorrow.
There are a myriad of factors that contribute to the quality of a cup of coffee, and one of the most important is obviously the coffee beans themselves. The bean is actually the seed of the coffee plant and is contained inside of the fruit that the plant produces. While many people think that coffee cultivation is a relatively recent trend, people have actually been utilizing the bean for over a thousand years.
When preparing a cup of Joe in your Toastess coffee maker, be sure to select premium quality coffee beans. Dehydrated grounds may be more cost effective, but the taste difference is palpable. It is also advisable to use bottled or purified water, as they will provide a more clean flavor and reduce the risk of calcium deposits in your machine.
For almost five years now I have been what some would call a “tea fanatic.” At first I would just have a cup in the morning, but now I can’t enjoy a meal unless I end it with a cup of tea. As my tea drinking has increased, I have developed an appreciation for premium varieties and the craftsmanship that is inherent in the perfect cup of tea.
Two of the most important aspects in brewing quality tea are the temperature of the water and the brewing time. If you over seep the tea, it will likely burn and taste acidic, while under-brewing will lead to a watered down product. The easiest way to take the guessing out of the equation is with an electric tea kettle. An electric tea will heat the water up to the boiling point and then automatically turn off. If you wait one minute the water will be 190 degrees, which is the perfect tea brewing temperature that always gives you a high-quality cup of tea.