This a few tips to make a Good Cup of Coffee :

Use Only Fresh and Pure Water

Good coffee starts with good water. You can use water from your tap but it should be filtered toEnjoying Gourmet Coffee take out the chlorine and other tastes. Run your faucet for a few seconds to clear out some of the water that has been sitting in the pipes before filling your coffee maker.

Only Use Whole Beans

Whole beans maintain the flavor and richness of coffee longer. Forget about ground coffee. Coffee Gourmet Coffee Beansbegins to deteriorate from the moment coffee is ground. Coffee on grocery and retailer shelves are often stale and lacking flavor but still rate fresh according to their standards. Premium coffee from gourmet coffee retailers like Volcanica Coffee only ship coffee that is freshly roasted.

Store Beans Properly

Always store your premium coffee in an airtight opaque container such as Tupperware, away from heat, moisture and light. If you don’t have an airtight container the next best thing is to seal it in an airtight zip lock bag in the freezer.

Grind to Perfection

Only grind what you will be using immediately. If you use a blade-type grinder, while grinding hold the lid down with one hand and shake it upBurr Coffee Bean Grinder and down. This will yield a more even grind and reduce the amount of powdery grounds which can make coffee bitter. Better yet, invest in a good quality burr-type grinder, available at better kitchenware stores. Gaining in popularity are the new coffee makers that grind your beans automatically then brews your coffee. You'll taste the difference. Visit our this link for more information on grinding coffee beans.

Keep it fresh

Remember, glass carafes and other containers should never be left on the burner for more than 10 minutes. An airtight thermos-type container is the preferred hot storage container and will keep hot coffee fresh considerably longer.

Best Way to Serve Coffee

Everyone has their preference but we have found the best way to enjoy exotic coffee, if you do not enjoy it black, is by adding half & half and raw sugar. If you are watching your calories use Splenda. Sweet & Low and Equal add bitterness which takes away from the rich Volcanica flavor. In place of half & half you may also lighten it up with steamed or warmed whole milk which will add a distinct natural sweetness.

today in my nice weekend i try to make myself busy by reading very good book about the history of indonesia especially java coffee. The book was " A Cup of Java Gabriella written by Teggia and Mark Hanusz ".

For an increasing part of the world, coffee has become a potion of infinite delight.

But while modern coffee shops are mushrooming in the cities of the world, one tends to ignore the origins of coffee. There is of course ""Turkish coffee"" or ""Irish coffee"", but these terms refer to the way of coffee serving rather than to the roots of the coffee bean. ""Java coffee"", however, has a long history, and one that links politics with economic windfalls and social conditions.

A Cup of Java, a book of 142 pages and numerous pictures, is told by Hanusz, author of the noted Kretek, and Teggia, one of the founding partners of the Losari Coffee Plantation.

Divided into four chapters, the book describes how a coffee seedling smuggled out of the Arab port of Mocha made the Dutch the first to transport and cultivate coffee commercially, in Ceylon and in their East Indies colony -- Java.

The cultivation of coffee had such an important impact on the coffers of the Dutch it led to its inclusion in the notorious cultuurstelsel, by which peasants in the East Indies were forced to plant cash crops.

While the system caused the intense suffering of the people, its legacy turned out to be on the brighter side, as evident from the over 100 private and government plantations that are scattered along the slopes of the volcanoes over the entire length of Java.

Taking a close look at some of the most venerable plantations, the authors elaborately highlight the Losari Coffee Plantation in the highlands of Central Java, 900 meters above sea level.

This should not be surprising as Teggia has, since 1990, been one of the owners of the renovated estate that was formerly named Karangredjo Coffee Plantation.

Part of the plantation, which is surrounded by eight volcanoes, is a resort where traditional structures and techniques have resurrected the traditional joglo and limas housing style as added value to tourists trying to escape current realities in the nostalgic atmosphere of the ""good old days"".

Particularly interesting is the chapter on Java's coffee roasters, which describes Tek Sun Ho as a brand established in 1878 (later renamed Warung Tinggi, or ""WARTIN""), whetting the tastebuds the same way Douwe Egberts does for a Dutchman, Lavazza for an Italian or Maxwell House for an American.

In 2001 the family enterprise split into two brands, one of which retains the Wartin name, and the other operating under the name of Bakoel Koffie. Kapal Api coffee, which regularly appears on TV ads, may have evoked the impression of being a new brand, but in fact it goes back to 1927.

Highlighting the role of coffee in Javanese culture and society, the authors have surveyed coffee as it is used as offerings for protection at the sacred tombs of warriors, or in trance dances where a dancer will eat coffee leaves to ""facilitate"" the trance, or to dye one's hair, to paint designs on cigarettes, the Java coffee scrub in massages, or to produce a certain batik pattern.

While the book does not match the famous epic of the Kretek, it testifies to solid research of the subject, comes in a small, handy format and is certainly more affordable.