Assignment 2A Ruby Davis-Jacenko 100153467

1. Daily dose: The art of coffee!
Image: http://hdwallpapersly.com/thoughts-owl-coffee-beans-cup-creative-and-wallpaper-images/

2. Get your shot!
• Now most of us get our kick-start in the mornings from
our cup of coffee. Oh coffee… That aromatic
bittersweet blend that awakens our senses, clears the
mind and energises our body.
• While we sit sipping our daily shot of liquid energiser,
spare a thought for the specially selected coffee beans
that contribute to the flavour in your cup, the barista
who makes your coffee like an art in itself (and ensures
it tastes good!) and the health benefits of your caffeine
hit.

3. Who’s bean here, then?
• The flavours in your coffee cup are created by a specially
selected type, or blend of coffee beans. While there are
numerous types of beans hailing from around the world,
each with their own distinctive characteristics, these can
generally be divided into two of the most popular species
of coffee bean: Arabica and Robusta.
• Robusta offers a full, bitter taste and it is rare to see a
coffee blend that is 100% Robusta due to this fact. While
100% Arabica blends are available, coffee roasters often opt
to create an Arabica/Robusta blend to artfully balancing
Robusta’s bitterness with Arabica’s acidity (International
Coffee Organisation: http://www.ico.org/botanical.asp).

4. Arabica versus Robusta
Image: http://www.theroasterie.com/blog/whats-the-difference-between-robusta-and-arabica-coffee/

5. How does your barista make the
perfect cup?
• There’s a reason baristas attend ‘Coffee School’ to learn how to make the perfect
cup of coffee, there’s a lot more to it than meets the eye!
• Numerous times a day they must check the grind, and adjust it accordingly.
Without the perfect grind, coffee can either taste burnt or too watery.
• Next, consider the steps in just making that perfect shot pour into your coffee cup,
as described by Gwilym Davies, World Barista Champion 2009
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-l_F2CBELo) :
1) Clean the group handle bucket.
2) Flush out the machine’s pour head.
3) Freshly grind the correct amount to coffee for a single shot, to avoid waste.
4) Tamp the ground coffee, firmly but delicately without over-packing or under-packing
the bucket.
5) Insert the group handle into the machine and press the ‘Pour’ button.
6) Ensure that the coffee is extracting properly, not too fast and not too slow.

6. So… is coffee good for me?
• If you enjoy your daily dose of caffeine, fear not that you are
harming your health. In Renee Jacques list of “11 Reasons Why You
Should Drink Coffee Every Day” (Huffington Post, 17 October 2013.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/17/coffee-health-benefits_
n_4102133.html) some of the health benefits of coffee
include:
- It’s full of antioxidants.
- Simply the smell of coffee could make you less stressed.
- It could possibly lessen the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.
- It can increase happiness.
- It can assist with burning fat if you drink it before a workout.

7. And in conclusion…