Some more fun facts about coffee...

Did you know....

• In December 2001 Brazil produced a scented postage stamp to promote its coffee - the smell was made to last for between three and five years

• When shopping for perfume, beauty experts advise you to take some coffee beans with you in your bag and have a good sniff in between smelling each perfume to refresh your nose!

• Sprinkle spent coffee grounds around the base of your garden plants and it is said to stop snails and slugs from eating them

• Two of the world’s most powerful businesses, Lloyds of London and the New York Stock Exchange, started life as coffee houses

• Cappuccino is so named because of the drink's peak of foam which resembles the cowl of a Capuchin friar's habit

• Coffee was first known in Europe as Arabian Wine

• The heavy tax on tea imposed in 1773 on the colonies which led to the ‘Boston Tea Party’, resulted in America switching from mainly drinking tea to coffee. To drink coffee was an expression of freedom

• Normally, Italians do not drink coffee during meals. It is considered to be a separate event and is given its own time

• In Greece and Turkey it is tradition that the oldest person is almost always served their coffee first

• In the ancient Arab world, coffee became such a staple part of family life that one of the causes allowed by law for marital separation was a husband's refusal to produce coffee for his wife

Source: British Coffee Association

Columbian Coffee - Wet and Wild

If you're a coffee drinker you have heard of, and probably tried, a cup of Columbian. Bland, sometimes adequate, and sold everywhere. But that's predominately coffee shop or grocery store coffee. Would you criticize the fine food of a four star restaurant by comparing it to a cheap diner before you've tasted both?

Like any major producer, Columbia does generate a lot of average beans. If you're willing to look a little deeper within that huge output you will find some great gems.

By contrast to Brazil, which dry-processes most of its coffee berries, almost all Columbian coffee is washed, which helps carry away impurities. Done properly, it can still produce a flavorful, robust cup.

Soaked in cold water for 24 hours, the soaking initiates fermentation, which aids in producing a great aroma. The beans are then washed in order to remove twigs, dirt and an outer layer of unpleasant material.

During the process, unacceptable beans are selected and discarded. The beans are then dried on large open-air terraces and rotated frequently to provide even drying. The result is a lower acid, smoother cup.

This has been going on since the early 1800s when coffee was first introduced into the country. Today, Columbia is one of the largest producers in the world, providing 12% of the total. The central region, along with Bogota and Bucaramanga in the eastern mountains produce almost the entire amount.

While much of that is simply ordinary, grocery store quality, the finest blends are the equal of any coffee anywhere. The product from Buraramanga is heavy bodied, while coffee from Bogota is rich and low in acid.

Supremo from the state of Narino is another fine example of Columbian. Providing an excellent cup when lightly roasted, it's perfect for a late afternoon drink when you want a rich cup, but don't want to be overwhelmed with acid and caffeine.

A line of 'Triple Seal' organic coffees from Columbia are becoming ever more popular. Shaded Santos from eastern Columbia, gives a smooth, mellow cup of coffee. Open a bag and you instantly smell a rich coffee aroma.

Though the actor who has portrayed 'Juan Valdez' for years in countless commercials is retiring, you can rest assured that Columbian coffee will still be offering some of the finest coffees anywhere.

If you're looking for the best Columbian coffee around, then pop on down to the Juice and Java Lounge where you'll find a smooth, low acid Columbian coffee roasted from the highest graded arabica beans. This coffee is our biggest seller, and customers are seldom wrong!

Thursday at the Juice and Java Lounge is coffee bean day, and any customers buying beans on this day will be rewarded with a $1 off every 250gram bag. This coffee special (held every Thursday), is for all beans (not just Columbian). So what are you waiting for?

If you need your beans ground, we do this for no extra cost.

Source: ezinearticles.com

Green Teas - 6 different types

Green teas have undergone less processing than black teas, and have a mu ch lighter flavour. The health benefits of green tea are seemingly endless. Since the leaves are not fermented, the taste is pleasantly fresh and herbal. You should never brew green teas in fully boiling water.

1) Sencha

Sencha is the most popular of Japan's green teas. It has a lightly astringent taste along with a slight sweetness. Lesser quality sencha tea is called bancha.

2) Dragon Well

Dragon Well tea (also called Lung Ching) is the ultimate green tea. The name comes from a legendary well in the West Lake region of China where the tea is produced. The colour is bright green and the flavour is quite brisk. Be prepared to pay more than usual for this quality tea.

3) Macha

Macha is the kind of tea used in tradtional Japanese tea ceremony. It's ground up very fine, and the tea is whisked when prepared. The flavour is light and sweet. Macha works well added to desserts too.

4) Gunpowder

These tea leaves are rolled into tight, little balls that apparently resemble old-style gunpowder. Because of the rolled form, Gunpowder tea stays fresher longer than most other green teas. The taste is fresh and a little grassy.

5) Jasmine

Jasmine isn't exactly a kind of green tea, but is a blended tea with green tea leaves and jasmine flowers. The blossoms give the tea a very refreshing taste, and fragrant aroma.

6) Genmaicha

Like the jasmine tea, genmaicha isn't a kind of tea but a blend. This time, sencha green tea is mixed with toasted brown rice. Sounds odd, but the tea has a distinctive toasty flavour.

You can purchase these and other specialty teas from our website. We specialise in high quality teas and coffees.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil - Secrets to finding the best

In Mediterranean countries, olive groves grow on nearly every countryside property, and families meet in collectives to press and bottle the combined fruits of their labor. As with wine, the characteristics of olive oil depend on the soil and climate where the trees are grown, the type of olives pressed and the method of pressing.

The Australian olive industry, on the other hand, is in its infancy, but that doesn't mean you can't get gourmet quality extra virgin olive oil - you just need to know where to look, and more importantly what to look for...

First and foremost, don't even think about looking in the supermarket - great quality olive oil doesn't live there. It's almost impossible to find Australian oil there, although there are one or two brands.

Step One
Look at the color. Green oils, made from early-harvested olives, are fruity, peppery and ripe. Yellow-gold oils taste buttery and smooth. You'll benefit from the increased polyphenols and other antioxidants in green oil, but it's mostly a matter of preference.
Step Two
Taste olive oils at a gourmet grocery store or specialty shop's tasting station to find a flavor you like. Or ask us if you'd like to taste ours.
Step Three
Buy locally pressed oils soon after bottling for the freshest and most flavorful products.
Step Four
Choose extra-virgin olive oil for most of your cooking needs.
Step Five
Find a filtered olive oil for saute'ing and roasting, and an unfiltered olive oil for salad dressings and to drizzle on soups or pastas.
Step Six
Cruise the Web. Check out eBay.com.au or our website. You can also buy our oil from our Surry Hills outlet.
Step Seven
Store oils in a cool, dark place. Olive oils are a fresh food and can go rancid. Life span can be as little as three months for an unfiltered, late-harvest olive oil bottled in clear glass, to four years for an early-harvest, filtered oil packaged in a well-sealed tin or dark bottle and properly stored.

Source: ehow.com