March 6, 2019
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December 5, 2018
March 11, 2020
Anywhere between 1 to 3% of the American population is vegan. While that may not seem like much, keep in mind there are over 327 million people in this country. So that means there may be up to 10 million vegans here!
Whether you’re already a vegan, becoming one, or are just interested in vegan meals, there’s plenty of tasty recipes out there that’ll please your taste buds.
November 13, 2019
In the US alone, there are over 150 million daily coffee drinkers. This equates to more than half of the population!
If you’re someone who drinks coffee on a regular basis, then you probably know exactly how you like to take it. Perhaps you’re among the 35 percent of people who take their coffee black. Maybe you like to add some sugar or milk to your coffee. Or, maybe you prefer to drink a latte or a cappuccino.
But, even if you know the go-to coffee order of all your close friends and relatives, there’s a good chance that if someone were to ask you what to pair with coffee, you’d have no idea.
November 4, 2019
Making coffee at home can be even better than buying it from a local coffee shop but there are a few tips you should know about brewing coffee at home.
Just about anyone can make the perfect cup of coffee so keep reading for 8 secrets to make an amazing cup.
When it comes to brewing your coffee at home you’re going to want to buy fresh and whole beans. Coffee beans are just the start of making your coffee delicious. So if you’re buying bags of already ground coffee, then you’re doing it wrong.
Coffee is the best when the beans have just been roasted which is why most bagged coffees do not tell you the date they were roasted. When it comes to buying your coffee beans look for fresh roasters like at a local coffee shop. You should be careful about buying beans from a supermarket because they may have sat in bins for a long time before getting purchased.
Once you do buy your fresh and whole coffee beans, then you need to find the best way to keep them fresh. Fresh beans will help you make the perfect cup of coffee every morning or whenever you need it. You should only buy about 5-7 days worth of coffee beans at a time.
Make sure to store your coffee beans in an airtight container for optimal freshness. Mason jars or storage containers with a rubber gasket seal are good choices for keeping your coffee fresh. You should also never refrigerate or freeze your coffee because they easily absorb moisture and other food odors.
You only have about 30 minutes after the coffee beans are ground to use them before they start losing their flavor. This is because the more time the beans are exposed to oxygen the quicker they begin to break down. So every time you want a delicious cup of coffee you should be grinding your beans right then.
You have many different options when it comes to grinding your beans and they’re all at different price points. Some people like a fancier automatic burr grinder which will cost you a pretty penny but a manual hand mill can get you the same effect. The finer you grind your coffee, then the more flavor you will get.
When it comes to brewing your coffee you should take a lot at the type of water your using. Tap water can change the taste of your coffee because of the chlorine or other flavors. Using softened or distilled water can also make your coffee taste bad because a good cup of coffee needs minerals found in other sources of water.
You should opt for using bottled spring water or a filter on your tap water. Filtered and spring water help to make the best cup of coffee because they contain essential minerals. So when it comes to making the perfect cup of coffee you should be aware of the kind of water you are using.
When you use an automatic coffee maker you’re skipping the vital step of making your coffee at the right temperature. You should aim to make your drip brew coffee at 195 to 205 degrees Fahrenheit. High end and pricier coffeemakers usually have a way to adjust the temperature but less high tech ones do not.
You can see how hot your coffee gets by doing a test. Run only water through your machine and use a thermometer to see how hot the water gets during the brewing process. Some machines don’t make it to 195 degrees Fahrenheit so you may want to try pre-boiling the water before running it through the coffee maker.
When you make coffee you will want to use the same amount of coffee per unit of water every single time you brew. Measure your coffee by weight instead of volume. You can use a digital scale for the best results on comparing coffee and water each time.
Figuring out the right way to make your coffee may take a lot of trial and error. Generally, to make a fairly strong cup of coffee you can use the ratio of 1:20 which is one part coffee to 20 units of water. It is up to you to decide how you want to make the perfect cup of coffee.
According to the experts, cheap coffee filters produce cheap tasting coffee so you want to invest a little bit when it comes to buying your coffee filters. Oxygen-bleached or dioxin-free paper filters are the ones you will want to look for and yield the best effects. Good tasting coffee comes from being specific about every step of the process.
To get the best and freshest tasting coffee you need to make sure that all of your equipment is clean. At least once a month you should run a strong solution of vinegar or speciality equipment cleaner through your coffee machine. This will help to get rid of any build-up of minerals in the machine that could create a different taste.
You will also want to keep your grinder and storage bins clean as well. Make sure to empty them every so often so you can really clean them out. Oils can build up and ruin your beans making a not so tasty cup of coffee.
While there are many tips and tricks to brewing the perfect cup of coffee, brewing coffee can still be fun. There are many different ways to brew coffee and make it taste great. You have to figure out what works for you.
If you’re in the Evanston area and are looking for a delicious cup of coffee or a bite to eat, then come check out Cupitol.
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