The lowdown on latte
Until recently, multitudes of weary European travelers on holiday in the U.S. found little solace in the wicked brew Americans called coffee. In those days, a “cuppa joe” meant one of two things: it was either a concentrated evil sludge so acidic it would eat your spoon for lunch and feast on your insides for dessert, or a repulsive, brownish, bottomless cup of watery liquid with just enough “coffee essence” to satisfy the masses in their desperate search for a quick caffeine fix. Although fine for truckers, fact-cramming college students or Juan Valdez and his mule, European java-lovers were not getting anything remotely “good to the last drop” by their standards. For those spoiled by the legendary coffeehouses of Vienna and Italian espresso bars, America was a barren and flavorless wasteland. Then, in the 1990s, a miraculous interest in specialty cuisine swept the States. High yields on Wall Street, a surge in multicultural interests and a booming economy led to a renaissance of culinary culture. Today, every major city in the U.S. boasts a microbrewery, a cigar bar, a host of “gourmet” produce markets and, of course, a Starbucks — a chain that admits to being “the McDonald’s of coffee” — on every street corner. Undoubtedly the most significant and visible change in the urban and culinary landscape of 90’s America has been the dynamic rise of a new coffee culture. The first concrete knowledge of coffee dates back to the ancient lands of Abyssinia, now called Ethiopia. Here people first cultivated coffee trees and harvested the cherries to make wine and ultimately roasted coffee as we know it. Coffee was spread to the Arabian Peninsula in the 6th century when the Ethiopians invaded and ruled Yemen for some fifty years. At first the Sufi monks adopted coffee as an especially religious beverage which granted them greater awareness and focus during prayer (according to legend, Mohammed proclaimed that under the influence of coffee he could “unhorse forty men and possess forty women”). Soon, however, coffee became a drink of the masses and the first coffee houses were built. today the heavyweight of the coffee world is Brazil. The South American country produces roughly one and a half million tons of coffee per year. None of this would have been possible were it not for one brave man. In 1727, Colonel Francisco de Melo Palheta was dispatched to French Guiana to “mediate a border dispute.” His true ambition, of course, was not unlike yours each morning: to capture the coffee and take some home. The coffee plants were heavily guarded, making them impossible to take by force. So the good colonel had an affair with the governor’s wife, and she gave him a special present upon his departure: a bouquet spiked with coffee seedlings! Thus the greatest coffee empire was born. By 1763, there were more than 200 coffee bars in Venice alone. Throughout the late 1800s coffee continued to spread from Brazil to Jamaica, Guatemala, Mexico, Hawaii and, finally, Kenya. Coffee, as a global commodity, is second only to petroleum in terms of dollars traded. The coffee industry employs approximately 20 million people globally to produce what will become 400 billion cups consumed per year. In the United States, coffee is a billion dollar industry. According to the Specialty Coffee Association of America, the purchase of canned coffee in the states has dropped off by over 40% in the past three decades. Consumption of specialty gourmet varieties, by contrast, has quadrupled. You can’t go anywhere now and respectably order a cup of Folgers without someone looking at you like a visitor from Mars. After wallowing in the coffee abyss for centuries, it seems Americans have, in the age of cheap air travel, embraced the best aspects of the European coffee culture, brought the tradition back home and added their usual twists. Americans in search of a “tall iced half-caf skinny vanilla mocha with whipped cream,” for instance, have a real quest on their hands when traveling abroad. But, mocha madness has finally caught on internationally, with “Ami-style” coffee bars popping up all over Munich. For those who have been living in Bavaria’s capital for the duration of the latte explosion, a few lessons in new coffee etiquette are in order. TO GO Damn it! As a New Yorker and a fairly recently arrived resident of this beautiful “little village,” nothing irked me more than having to sit impatiently for hours just to enjoy a cup of motor oil in a glass when I had places to go. People on the move need coffee that keeps up with them, and nothing fits the bill like a good old paper cup (biodegradable, of course). Just try getting that from your local old-world café. Your waiter will look at you as if you just poured a can of Old Milwaukee into his favorite beer stein. If you really want to push for some authentic American java culture, demand a sip lid. Not one of those wannabe peel-back versions either. I am talking about the handy dome with a precut hole — completely disposable, absolutely practical, 100% American. Coffee Talk & Java Jive! When life was much simpler, coffee was just coffee (milk and sugar being optional) and a bar was a bar (you know, where they serve liquor). Now that establishments known as coffee bars have spawned a caffe latte following, you are supposed to know about the various kinds of coffee concoctions, what to call them, and how to order them. For instance, you don’t just walk into your neighborhood coffee bar and ask for a “regular.” That’s like asking a bartender for gin and vermouth with an olive served in a funny-shaped glass. One must have the proper terminology at hand. The mere mention of the word “regular” has been known to throw American baristas into fits of rage, because “regular” means “black” in Chicago, “with milk” in Boston, “with milk and sugar” in Rhode Island and anything you can imagine in New York. Do you want a coffee or an espresso-based drink? This is a critical decision and once it’s been made there’s no turning back. When the customer of an American-style coffee bar chooses the former, many choices unfold. The best cafés offer coffee in much the same way as a distinguished sommelier might introduce fine wines. “Would you like to try some of our Guatemala Antigua Chacate Estate, ‘99? It features a lively acidity coupled with a spicy, slightly smoky sweetness and medium body.” Unlike the unsavory swill served in the States for years, these exceptional brews prove to be most delicious when ordered black. Though the standard cup of java is making a comeback, steamed milk and espresso shots are the basic components of most coffee-bar concoctions. In increasing order of milk content, they are named espresso, cappuccino and latte. Here in Munich, the perennial favorite seems to be Milchkaffee. Of course, the coffee-savvy traveler knows, this is really just the German version of a latte (the drink that has taken the States by storm). Latte is an Americanization of caffe latte, which means “coffee with milk” in Italian. If you order a “latte” in an Italian bar, the barista will probably give you a very strange look and hand you a tall glass of steamed milk. Cup sizes, caffeine amounts, milk-fat content and other variables enable you to fine-tune your “cuppa joe.” A single grande latte, for example, is one shot of espresso diluted with a generous amount of milk and a small foam cap, producing a tame but soothing beverage. A triple short cappuccino, on the other hand, consists of three shots of espresso in a small cup with the leftover volume filled by roughly equal parts of foam and milk, making it a powerful punch of caffeine. When confusions occur, they usually involve a question of foam. Ordering a cappuccino with no foam is a valid request, but when you ask for a cappuccino with no foam or milk, you’re working too hard at getting an espresso. In Search of the Perfect Cup When in the market for coffee beans, check out the would-be source of your daily brew. What kinds of coffee are available? The two varieties sold commercially are coffea arabica, and coffea robusta. Robusta coffee is much easier for farmers to grow as the plant flourishes at low elevations and possesses a high resistance against parasites and disease. With double the caffeine of arabica coffee, robusta coffees might wake you up, but don’t expect your taste buds to recover any time soon! arabica coffees, by contrast, are the fruits of extremely fickle plants. Requiring extraordinarily balanced climactic conditions high in the mountains (typically over 1,000 m above sea level), intense care and handling and yielding less than half their robusta counterparts, these plants prove to be the ultimate challenge to the coffee farmers of the world. However, when these factors are achieved, the reward reveals itself in every cup. But when java vendors brag about their 100% arabica blends, don’t jump up and down for joy prematurely. There are extremely elaborate grading systems for coffee that few people fully understand. Each coffee-producing region has its own specifications and language used when describing bean quality. Many of the best coffee purveyors can tell you exactly what plantation their coffees hail from and will share more than you ever really wanted to know. Of course, what you taste in the cup is what counts! Coffee suppliers and roasters often engage in a lengthy tasting process when selecting a coffee for themselves. This process, called “cupping,” is quite similar to wine tasting. To “cup” like the experts, you must be able to discern the following six attributes: fragrance (of ground coffee before brewing), aroma (after brewing, before tasting), flavor, body, acidity and finish. Try to associate the rich smells and tastes with other things familiar to your pallet. Analysis of body can be tough at first, like comparing skim to low-fat milk. Acidity is not, as you might expect, linked to pH (in fact, coffee has less acidity than most fruit drinks, soft drinks or tea), but is a positive term used to describe a certain sour taste and a lively quality of coffee grown at particularly high altitudes. Luckily, Mother Nature has set some general taste profiles for you. Coffees from Central or South America tend to be a bit lighter in body, have a moderate to high level of acidity and possess a profile that most people affiliate with “classic” coffee. Coffees from Africa, in contrast, tend to be heavier, sturdier and extremely intense, with highly acidic and wine-like qualities. Coffees from Indonesia and the Pacific tend to be very smooth, heavy and soft in acidity, while the flavors are very deep, rich and complex. When people discover “gourmet” coffees, they are best served by starting with the “classic” coffees and then trying more exotic varieties as they learn. When looking for excellence in coffee, the critical element is love. You laugh, but I can tell you with all joking aside, the people responsible for creating your daily dose of ambrosia MUST be passionate for the product. A roastmaster uses scientific analysis, personal experience and style to bring out the particular elements inherent to a given coffee. A great barista works with pressure, grinders, tampers, extractions and flair to bring out the beauty in your morning brew. If you’re looking for all this and desire a dose of Americana, take a stroll to your local American-style coffee bar. Don’t worry, if there isn’t one within walking distance now, there will be soon. <<<