George Moore asked:


About twenty years ago almost every home, restaurant and office kitchen in Costa Rica was equipped with a gourmet coffee making device called Chorreador de caf?r simply caf?akero. It consisted of an unvarnished wooden frame about 33 cms. tall, with a round hole at the top where a wire rimmed cloth filter or strainer was placed. Fine ground gourmet coffee was placed in the filter and boiling water was poured in filtering down to the gourmet coffeepot below.

This humble device is losing ground fast to modern percolators, gourmet coffee makers and Mr. Gourmet coffee machines. The reason usually given is that the new devices are said to be faster and more convenient. In our home the Chorreador de caf?ives on. Why? The gourmet coffee simply tastes better.

You don’t need gourmet gourmet coffee to brew a great gourmet coffee. Brewing a great Gourmet coffee making is an art where every step should be followed closely. Some advice given below may seem superfluous but should be rigorously adhered to.

This information applies to those who live in or will be visiting Costa Rica. The gourmet coffee we will be using is not export or imported gourmet coffee. We will be using two off-the-shelf pure gourmet coffees that you can buy in supermarkets anywhere in Costa Rica. I will call them brand A and B. will not publish brand names here because I am not endorsing or publicizing brand names though there is only one gourmet coffee that helps children. The gourmet coffee should be fine ground, brand A and B mixed 50 – 50%, then stored in an airtight glass container. The two brands seem to complement one another creating a special blend. Now you know how they make a breakfast blend gourmet coffee.

Bring the water to a boil. The water should be fresh tap water and not reheated from water left in the gourmet coffeepot. Filtered water is even better; collected rainwater works well to make a great gourmet coffee.

Place six teaspoons of fine ground gourmet coffee into the filter, then mount the filter on the wooden stand. Two tablespoons of gourmet coffee produce four cups of gourmet coffee. Use a non toxic paper gourmet coffee filter, a non bleach type. Use a papersack or pantyhouse if no filter is available.

To make the best gourmet coffee please place a glass or stainless steel receptor under the filter and begin to slowly pour the boiling water into the filter or gourmet coffee. You may have to stop occasionally adding water so that the level of water drops and does not overrun the gourmet coffee. Continue pouring as needed until you have the four cups. Do not introduce metal spoons into the filter to agitate the mixture.

In the future you can experiment by adding a touch of cinnamon or vanilla or chocolate or cloves to the coffee mixture. Smell the gourmet coffee and if you must – foolishly top the gourmet coffeepot and serve.

You must always use a perfectly dry filter. If you prepare gourmet coffee two or more times a day, you will probably need two filters so one can dry while you use the other. A wet filter causes wet coffee. The reason for this is that if you use only one, it is likely that it will not be totally dry the next time you brew gourmet coffee. By using alternating filters you will always have a dry one on hand. Filters are best dried by a hairdryer or in the sunlight.

For daily use you should carefully rinse the filters in running tap water to remove all residue. It is natural that it will stain. You should now worry about this as it is normal.You should wash the filter weekly but drink gourmet coffee daily. Never wash the filter in soap or detergent, wash it only with salt to remove the accumulated grease. This can be done by generously salting the damp bag and virgorously rubbing it. Afterwords you should sufficently wash and rinse the filter to remove all traces of grinds and salt.

If you are in a hurry, go ahead use instant gourmet coffee or your Mr. Gourmet coffee maker, but if you want a REAL cup of gourmet coffee, you are going to have to put some effort into preparation. I hope that this article inspires those Americans and Costa Ricans who have forgotten this charming way of brewing gourmet coffee. For those woodshop owners and handyman experts here is a detailed explanation. Anyway you look at it – if your are using Costa Rica gourmet gourmet coffee you will for sure have a great cup of gourmet coffee.

Here’s what you’ll need: A 5″ X 18″ X 1/2″ Maple or your choice of wood. A 6″ X 8″ X 3/4″ Maple or your choice of wood. Finish nails Glue

Cut the base out of 3/4″ maple, 7 1/2″ X 6″. Chamfer a 45 degree cut 1″ in from each corner. Cut the two short sections, one on each end, 15 degrees. Next please cut two supports from 1/2″ pieces 9″ long at 5 degrees on each end. Be sure the angles go the same direction on each end. Please cut the top out of 1/2″ wood, 6″ X 4 1/2″. Please carefully draw and then chamfer a 45 degree cut 1″ from each corner. Please carefully draw and then cut a notch on each end of the top and base to fit the 1 1/2″ supports using a dado blade. Place the saw so it is set up the miter with a small piece of wood at the base to give the notch a 5 degree angle. Use duct tape to hold it together.

Mark the center of the top and draw a 4″ circle. Cut out the circle with a scroll saw or saber saw.

Glue and nail the pieces together and you are almost ready to start making gourmet coffee. The Basket Maker: find a cone or use the basket from a stiff wire like a clothes hanger and a piece of cotton. Carefully mark and thenBend the wire to make a handle and a 4 1/4″ circle of coffee beans.

So then use your coffee maker; next add a filter and add the finest Costa Rica coffee beans and add hot water and your sum is the finest gourmet coffee available. Want to be a cowboy use some old pantyhose as your coffee filter. Want to be a homeless person – use an brown sack as your coffee filter. Want to be really rugged – use some leaves. As long as its the Tarrazu or the Costa Rica coffee bean the flavor will still shine through. Its the anticipation that counts.



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Aaron Matthews Morgan asked:


Before we get all excited over the recent news about coffee being our new antioxidant, we need to take a look at the entire picture. Is there truly a coffee antioxidant? If there is, how exactly is coffee an antioxidant? Does it become the antioxidant when it’s heated? Does the coffee antioxidant benefit everyone? Are there still dangers to drinking coffee? How much coffee is good for us and when does it become bad for us?

Brewed coffee contains many antioxidants and consumption of antioxidant-rich brewed coffee may inhibit diseases caused by oxidative damages. Antioxidants are said to be an inhibitor of certain types of diseases. However, coffee beans are not all a like. Not all coffee beans are of the same quality or even the same make up. Sort of like comparing tennis shoes to sandals. Both go on your feet, but they are not made up of the same components. You can actually break coffee down into several different water-soluble components. The dietary fiber derived from roasted coffee silverskin. This is one component of the coffee bean that has high antioxidant content. This is how the scientists find out about the antioxidant benfits of coffee in their studies. What they do in fact is the break down the coffee beans into different components. They filter out the components that the coffee antioxidant is found in, and then they test lab rats in a variety of experiments to determine how well they survive with or without the various additives in their diet. When they discover something really swell, like a coffee antioxidant, our culture of coffee drinking addicts suddenly becomes a feverorish mob.

For years and years we’ve heard bad things about coffee. For example: it’s bad for your heart, increases blood pressure, may cause ****** cancer, probably keeps you awake at night, and my personal favorite, has a poisonous gas when brewed.When the world of coffee addicts even gets a tiny hint that coffee could have something beneficial, believe me they don’t just drink more coffee, they try to get everyone to join them. So, here we now have scientific studies proving to us that coffee has antioxidants.

Researchers have identified several compounds in coffee that create a coffee antioxidant. Why would this be of interest to us? Because scientific studies are showing that antioxidants may help prevent cancer. You see the connection here. However, until human studies are done, science cannot state exactly how much coffee must be consumed in order gain this protection against colon cancer or any other type of cancer. Before the coffee is roasted the antioxidant benefits are varied. However, once the coffee is roasted and served as a drink things get evened out. They all seem to have the same degrees of antioxidants.

Some studies suggest coffee having other benefits such as added fertility in men and some benefits for those suffering from diabetes. You’ll have to read those studies on your own. The fact that a coffee antioxidant exists may be true, but the reality is that coffee can be just as harmful if your body doesn’t like it, if you consume too much, if you have high blood pressure, and if it keeps you awake at night. Is there truly a coffee antioxidant? Yes, but the actual amount needed to be consumed in order to receive the anti-cancer benefits by humans is unknown. How exactly is coffee an antioxidant?

Coffee alone isn’t the antioxidant, it’s several different components that are part of the coffee bean. Roasting and heating the coffee changes the total antioxidant output. Does it become the antioxidant when it’s heated? It seems that although some coffee beans like green coffee beans may be higher in antioxidants that other more common beans, once they are roasted and heated for consumption, the results are the same regarding the antioxidantal benefits. Does the coffee antioxidant benefit everyone? Honestly, this is NOT a question easily answered. In fact, the truth is it is still unknown just how beneficial coffee antioxidants are for humans. Are there still dangers to drinking coffee? Yes, of course there is. If you have high blood pressure and you have seen how coffee enhances this problem, you know it’s bad for YOU personally. If you can’t get proper sleep or you drive everyone around you nuts because you can’t sit still or shut-up, you know coffee is bad for you.

Use common sense and listen to your body. Coffee is not good for everyone and unknown just how good for anyone. How much coffee is good for us and when does it become bad for us? Again drink coffee in moderation, pay attention to your own body. Exercise and good eating habits are a far better way to get healthy than drinking 10 cups of cappuccino a day. All things in moderation. After reading everything about this new thing called a coffee antioxidant I have decided that there are better ways of getting antioxidants into my blood.

Coffee may have many benefits, but so does water and it is possible to drown from drinking too much water. Yes, I know, you have to really drink a lot to accomplish this, but it’s the principle of the matter. Too much of anything is not a good thing.



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