Coffee is a cooked beverages made from roasted seeds, commonly called coffee beans, of the coffee plant. They are seeds of “coffee cherries” which grow on trees in over 70 countries. Coffee can have a stimulating effect in humans due to its caffeine content. Drinking right amount of coffee can not only promote the efficiency both mentally and physically but also relieve tiredness and inspire the spirit. Coffee is one of the most popular beverage around the world today.

■Types of Coffee

Depending on how to prepare coffee beverage, the following types of coffee can be considered:

Espresso: One kind of coffee (black coffee) made under pressure through an espresso machine, after having pulverized roasted coffee beans with a grinder. Because espresso preparation is done at higher temperature and more pressure, it differs from the coffee produced by the coffee drip method. In fact, what we do is to pass a jet of hot water vapor through a filter full of coffee. All the aroma and taste of coffee beans which are transferred to the infusion are removed by the jet of pressurized steam removes. Then a type of very tasty and frothy coffee is produced. Sometimes espresso is mixed with milk to give different blends, such as cappuccino, white coffee, coffee chocolate, American coffee.

Drip coffee: One type of coffee cooked by pouring water over roasted, ground coffee beans contained in a filter. Water passes through the coffee, absorbing its oils and essences, solely under gravity, then seeps through the bottom of the filter. The used coffee grounds are kept in the filter with the liquid falling (dripping) into a collecting vessel such as a pot or carafe.

Brewed pot coffee: The traditional coffee brewed at home without the aid of any machine, and with the aid of a pot and a strainer. Because it consists on a natural way of obtaining the coffee properties by methods of the decoction mean in which coffee beans are directly cooked in water, it is the most natural form of preparing this beverage.

According to where coffee is produced we have the following types of coffee:

◇American types of coffee: Mainly come from the Caribbean and Brazil. Some of them, such as Colombian coffee, Costa Rica coffee, Brazilian coffee, Jamaican coffee, Mexican coffee, etc., are very well-known.

◇Arabic types of coffee: Cafe Mocha tasted like fruit is the most important one among them. Cafe Mocha only produced in Yemen is a high quality coffee, expensive and highly prized.

◇African types of coffee: Produced in the eastern tropical Africa, such as Kenyan coffee, Tanzanian coffee, and Ethiopian coffee.

◇Asian types of coffee: In Asia, the most famous coffees are Java coffee, Indian coffee, and Sumatran coffee.

◇Oceanian types of coffee: Hawaiian coffee produced in Kona region on the island of Hawaii is the most typical one. This coffee is a complex one with an intense aroma and quite acidic.

■Coffee Etiquette

Coffee has become such a large part of our everyday lives.Nevertheless, not everyone knows much about how to drink coffee. We should follow proper coffee etiquette.

◇Coffee after dinner is often served in small cups with small handles. Don’t put your finger through the cup handles. Nevertheless, even with bigger cups, you can’t put your fingers through it. To pinch the coffee cup with your thumb and forefinger is the right way.

◇Use coffee spoon to stir the coffee. When you are drinking the coffee, take it out and put it on the tray. Don’t use the spoon to mash the cubic sugar or to drink the coffee. If the coffee is too hot, use the coffee spoon to stir and cool down it, or just let it cool down by itself. To try to make it cool by blow it with mouth is very rude.

◇The coffee cups and trays should be put on the right side or in front of the drinker with the cup handle pointing to the right. When drinking the coffee, you should use the right hand to hold the cup by pinching the cup handle and the left hand to hold the tray, move it close to the month slowly and taste the coffee. Do not make noise when drinking the coffee. Do not hold the whole cup with your hands and swig the coffee. Do not hold up the cup, when adding coffee to the cup.

◇Normally have snack when drinking coffee but do not hold the coffee cup with one hand and snack the other. When you are drinking the coffee, put down the snack and do not hold the cup when you are eating the snack.