Arabic coffee (Arabian coffee) is according to some specialists the second coffee making method after the invention of coffee making in Ethiopia. The green coffee beans get dark roasted, and then they get ground with the addition of cardamom. Other spices like coriander are also used sometimes.

Cardamom is a quite expensive spice, used in Arabic coffee, with a rather strong aromatic fragrance. It is used for cooking, coffee and also in traditional medicine!
Arabic coffee is prepared with the exact same way as Turkish coffee. You will need ground Arabic coffee, a Turkish coffee pot  (ibrik), water and a heating source. Ibriks are made in different sizes and usually from 1-cup size to 5-cup size. You can find traditional copper or brass ibriks, or the newer stainless-steel ones.First fill the ibrik with 3oz of water. After adding the water, add sugar to taste (if you like your coffee that way) and top it with a heaping teaspoon of finely ground coffee. Stir the coffee a bit. The coffee seals the narrow top creating an oven-like effect.

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Ending a delicious meal with delicious coffee is a tradition in North America. But even if you don’t drink it yourself, don’t worry. Just follow a few guidelines and you can satisfy your java-drinking guests without any worries.

* First, because you are entertaining in the evening, be prepared to offer regular or decaffeinated.
* Remember that you are not a restaurant. There is no need to offer specialty choices like the ones you get at Starbucks or other coffee houses.
* A “safe” ratio of grounds to water is about one to one and a half tablespoons for every cup.
* Always wash pots after each use because oils can leave a rancid film.
* Prepare your brew as close to serving time as possible
* Use fresh cold water
* Avoid using instant types since they doesn’t seem to deliver the same robust good taste.

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Iced coffee refreshes and invigorates. Try this version with cinnamon and caramel, put it in a thermos and bring it along on a picnic. You won't be sorry.
Cinnamon caramel iced coffee
Enough ground coffee to brew one pot
½ tsp cinnamon
½ cup caramel sundae sauce
half and half (optional)
Mix the cinnamon with your coffee grounds. Brew the coffee. Add the caramel sauce, stirring until dissolved. Chill thoroughly. Serve over ice. Add half and half if desired.
Fun trick: Cream swirls beautifully into the coffee when poured, but if you’d like to float the cream on top as a separate layer, lay a spoon on top and very slowly pour the cream onto the spoon.
Ice Alternative: If you like iced coffee undiluted by ice, make coffee ice cubes out of leftover coffee ahead of time.

The making of espresso is both a science and an art. Over the years they have found that precision is required to make a great espresso. There are four factors that affect the making of a great shot. They are also called the four M’s.
The first factor is Macinazione or the proper grinding of the beans.� Great baristas in fact will only grind beans for an espresso right before using them. 30 seconds after they have been ground, the beans are already too stale for a good espresso. The proper grind is between fine and powdery. The grind has to be uniform in order to insure the best taste. Instant powder will definitely make an awful espresso.

The second factor is Miscela or the coffee blend. Good beans means better tasting coffee. Perfectly logical, right?

The third factor is the Macchina or the espresso machine. Thanks to many inventors, you� now have eay to use tools to help you make your espresso. But it will not magically make perfect espresso if you don’t know how to use it properly. The Rancilio Silva is considered the best by most espresso lovers but feel free to shop around til you find the machine that you are comfortable with.

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Researchers believe coffee could help keep bad breath at bay.

A study has found the beans contain compounds which prevent bacteria from releasing the gases behind halitosis.

Pinpointing the key chemicals involved in this process could see the development of coffee 'mints' to combat the problem.

Scientists at Israel's Tel Aviv University showed that while coffee can often bring on a case of bad breath in its own right, it has quite the opposite effect in the test tube.The Daily Telegraph reports that adding black coffee to 'soups' of bacteria-filled saliva blocked the release of gases that cause breath to smell. In some cases, the amount of gas was cut by up to 90 per cent.

A coffee extract can inhibit the growth of bacteria that leads to bad breath, according to a new research from Tel Aviv University.New laboratory tests have shown that the extract prevents malodorous bacteria from making their presence felt — or smelt.

“Everybody thinks that coffee causes bad breath and it’’s often true, because coffee, which has a dehydrating effect in the mouth, becomes potent when mixed with milk, and can ferment into smelly substances,” says breath specialist Prof. Mel Rosenberg of TAU’’s Sackler Faculty of Medicine.

But that is not always true. “Contrary to our expectations, we found some components in coffee that actually inhibit bad breath,” Rosenberg added.In the laboratory, the researchers monitored the bacterial odour production of coffee in saliva.

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Until recently, coffee was deemed a health risk. It was too high in caffeine, stained your teeth, and even stunted your growth. More recently however, the coffee bean is celebrated for its healing properties.
     Coffee has two key ingredients that make it so beneficial. The first is an abundance of antioxidants. The antioxidants in coffee beans intensify as the beans are roasted which makes them even more potent. A recent study published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology found that these antioxidants reduce the risk of skin cancer. Another study conducted at Harvard University found that out of 126,000 participants, those who drank one to three cups of coffee per day cut their risk of type 2 diabetes in half. Researchers also believe that coffee can reduce the risk of colon cancer and alleviate symptoms of depression, but more research is needed to validate these claims.
     Coffee’s second beneficial ingredient is caffeine. At one time, caffeine contributed to coffee’s bad reputation. Now we know that in addition to a jolt of energy, caffeine also cures headaches and lessens asthma symptoms. While this is not widely advertised, many pain relievers such as Excedrin contain as much caffeine as the average cup of coffee (85 to 120 mg). Coffee’s ability to lower the risk of Parkinson’s disease is also attributed to caffeine. Of course, you could consume caffeine from soft drinks, but you would have to drink more, miss out on the antioxidants, and risk gaining weight from all of the empty calories. Skip the afternoon cola and reach for a cup of Joe instead!

The headlines earlier this spring were dire: Starbucks' profits were down. Way down. A whopping 77 percent decline in the second quarter.

Clearly the public was cutting back on its daily venti skinny half-caf caramel macchiatos. Maybe the average Joe was forgoing his morning joe altogether, or cranking up the old Krups at home again. On the other hand, it was the perfect opportunity for other big players to move in, leaving Starbucks only the dregs. Thus brewed the great Coffee War of 2009.It's been percolating for a while.

McDonald's started tinkering and tast-testing its coffee in 2005, and in 2007 Consumer Reports declared McDonald's premium roast "cheapest and best." But it was in May that the golden-arched giant launched a $100 million ad campaign touting its new McCafé espresso-drink concept. Meanwhile, Dunkin' Donuts started some "mud" slinging of its own, staging free iced coffee promotions in a bid to corner some of the specialty coffee market.Starbucks responded to the high-octane hubbub by announcing that it would drop the price of iced coffees. Even 7-Eleven, the first retailer to offer fresh-brewed coffee in to-go cups, started working its mo-joe, offering new premium blends and budget-priced iced coffee drinks and launching a slightly salacious marketing campaign about cup sizes.

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Dunkin’ Donuts launched an iPhone app and a website today to facilitate interactive group coffee runs- beating out coffee competitors to embrace the social media market.

Overlooking the fact that lots of us want to sneak out as quietly as possible to avoid getting coffee and donuts for everyone who conveniently forgets how to count change coming up to coffee runs, the Dunkin’ Run app and website is pretty cool. When you notify your co-workers of an impending coffee run, the process goes like this:

To add some variety and interest to your coffee-drinking routine, why not try some exotic coffees? In the coffee world, “exotic” refers to a coffee’s unpredictability. In other words, coffee farming is like the growing of any crop – reliant on the whims of mother nature. In regions where rainfall and drought are somewhat variable, the beans yield different characteristics from one harvest to the next.
Starbucks is one store that carries different exotics on a seasonal basis, and it’s a great way to treat yourself to some wonderful single-origin and blended coffees that don’t come around very often. I recently had the pleasure of sampling a special roast offered by Starbucks --- a seasonal coffee from Yemen, the Arabian Mocha Sanani. A cup of Sanani has the zing of bramble fruit, a bit of spice, and smooth cocoa undertones. Serve it with raspberry chocolate cheese cake, or my favorite, just some good dark chocolate.

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