Coffee, both hot as well as cold, is perhaps one of the most universally consumed beverages. The number of variations you can make with the drink are truly amazing, especially as you move on to the various parts of the world, where each region adds its own exotic touch to give the drink a new taste altogether. In this section, we take a quick look at the different modes of preparation of this wonderful drink and the methods followed across different countries and cultures.

Across the world

Well, to begin with, the Caribbean style is one of the most unusual and almost challenging to prepare. You have to begin by baking a coconut for 30 minutes approximately, at a temperature of about 134C. Once done, remove it and let it cool for some time. Following this, break open the shell and take out the flesh and grate. Now mix together the meat, coconut milk as well as half a cup of cow’s milk in a pan. Keep the heat on until the mixture thickens. After straining to remove the present granules, mix the entire mixture with a cup of coffee.

On the other hand, the Mexican mocha brings together the wonderful flavors of coffee along with chocolate. Mix a teaspoon of chocolate syrup, a quarter teaspoon of cinnamon and the same quantity of nutmeg together. Add in one cup of coffee along with white or organic sugar. Now, lets move on to Grog, which also happens to be the traditional treat for an English holiday.

Now, lets move on to Grog, which also happens to be the traditional treat for an English holiday. To prepare this, foremost carefully peel a large orange and lemon and slice them properly. Add a peel of moderate size into the bottom of the cup. To this, further add in 1/3rd tablespoon of butter, 1 tablespoon brown sugar and a small pinch of nutmeg, ground cloves ad cinnamon. At last, add half a cup of coffee. Stir until it is well blended and add cream to taste.

Other Flavours

The other internationally flavored styles include the Viennese, Turkish and famous for its iced drink, the Vietnamese. In the Viennese style, 1/8th cup of dark chocolate is put into a sauce pan along with 1 tablespoon of light cream. After adding in half a cup of coffee , you will be required to whip it to make it frothy, thereafter allowing it to settle. On the other hand, the Turkish coffee is very strong, usually made in a special “dezva” pot. Meanwhile, the iced coffee of Vietnam is also a specialty in its own.

Was your mom wrong? A Plethora of new medical studies shows Coffee may be a miracle drink.

Did your mom tell you Coffee would stunt your growth? Mine did. I’m 6′ 5″ now. Maybe I didn’t drink enough.

Generations of doctors and supposed health experts have been warning us of the evils of coffee. Coffee has been accused of slowing children’s growth, causing cancer, and other maladies.

But a new series of medical findings has turned the tables on the myth of coffee being bad for our health. Distinguished medical organizations like JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association, have shown coffee is not only innocent of causing the maladies long associated with it, but is greatly beneficial.

Among the findings:

Multiple Sclerosis, a nerve disorder that numbers more than 300,000 people in the United States alone, can possibly be prevented by an intake of caffeine, equivalent to six to eight cups of coffee drank each day.

* Drinking coffee every day helps to lower the risk of type 2 diabetes.

* Men who drink coffee lower their risk of Gallstone disease.

* Drinking more coffee has been associated with a significantly lower incidence of Parkinson’s Disease

* Abstinence from coffee leads to “a compression of mortality rather than an increase in lifespan.” I.e., if you don’t drink coffee you’re likely to die sooner!

Is coffee bad for your health? Drinking a lot of coffee can be bad for you, but, drinking a lot of soda or fruit juice can be bad for you too. Coffee is acidic, and drinking too much can hurt your teeth. But, it’s slightly more acidic than water, and not as acidic as fruit juice or milk. People who are pregnant, or have some specific medical problems may be advised to abstain from coffee, but for most people, a reasonable amount of approximately 300 mg, about 6 cups of coffee, is perfectly fine.

A long time ago, in a forgotten era, the world hand only one way to make coffee: the percolator. In those days, housewives in pearls and pumps would sit and gaze as the water heated, until the rising pressure forced it through a narrow tube which filtered the water over the coffee grounds. There was no fancy way to brew coffee back.

It really was a fascinating process, though, but the problem was that it did not make very good coffee. Boiling the coffee, and then running liquid over grounds multiple times can produce an unappetizing batch of coffee.

Thankfully, conditions improved by the end of the 1970s. The drip method of coffee production was introduced to the world. This little machine was cheap, fast and made better-tasting coffee. As one could imagine, it caught on quickly. Just pour some grounds into the coffee filter, wait a couple minutes as the heated water filters through and then enjoy a delicious pot of coffee.

Eventually, coffee “pods” made their way onto the market, which made coffee even easier. Improvements in many coffeemaker components gave the average brewer more control over the result. Internal spouts were developed to filter the water evenly through the grounds, and so quality became more consistent.

Espresso makers took off in the 1990s as Americans decided to adopt European culture. American engineering lowered the expense of the machines without sacrificing flavor. Hot water pressured through aromatic grounds produces a delicate drink for connoisseurs.

Slap on a dollop of frothed milk, and suddenly you have discovered a cappuccino. Espresso makers allow the average consumer to experiment with his or her own ideas to make up a new and exciting drink, depending on his tastes.

The French press is another European technology that Americans happily adopted. A metal rod runs through the center of a cylindrical glass container with a handle on top. At the other end of this rod is the filter, fits perfectly around the inside perimeter of the glass.

Simply dump in quality grounds and fill the rest with boiling water. In this method, the grounds float around in the water until you push down on the rod and force the filter through, pressing the grounds into the bottom of the container. Then, simply pour and enjoy.

None of these methods is really an innovation. Rather, they are new to us here in America. However, the methods described in this article were invented hundreds and hundreds of years ago. One Turkish invention may be one of the oldest. Water gets heated in copper receptacle that features a long handle and a curved tongue for pouring. The grounds get put directly into the heated water. From there, they are poured into your cup, unfiltered. The result is famously strong.

When it comes to preparing your cup of coffee, experiment with these options from around the world!