Coffee, in moderation, has proven to have some health benefits including:
- Coffee seems to protect men from Parkinson's disease
- Coffee drinkers may be half as likely to develop Diabetes
- Coffee might have anti-cancer attributes
- Coffee may not increase blood pressure as previously thought
(Source: Harvard Health Letter)
Regardless of health benefits most folks enjoy coffee because of 1., caffeine energy jolt 2., taste and 3. ritual.
I like to prepare my morning coffee in a traditional French press pot - Bodum makes a high quality pot (I've had the 4-cup model for about 5 years and it's worked great).
Grinding your own beans is also essential. Burr grinders are ideal (they grind beans in uniform size) but to be honest I just use a $20.00 Braun grinder with the standard chopping blade (I grind the beans for about 5-8 seconds and only grind enough for the current batch). I use the following bean to hot water ratio:
- Two tablespoons of coffee for every six ounces water.
Once your water has finished boiling (I use the Krups Electric Water Kettle and it boils water in record time, plus it's an energy saver versus using your gas or electric stove!), poor the water directly over the ground beans. Place the lid on the French pot but do not plunge the filter mechanism down. Let the water and beans sit for about 4 minutes. 4 minutes is perfect for extracting all of the good flavors out of the bean. Once the time is up you can gently plunge the lid and enjoy your first cup!
Italian
