coffee and america

Like their counterparts in Mother England, America’s colonial cafe’s quickly developed a reputation for brewing bad coffee and big business. Boston’s Merchant Coffeehouse was the scene of the first public stock auction, while Wall St.’s Tontine Coffeehouse became the New York Stock Exchange.
-from stewart lee allen’s the devil’s cup

jules michelet
For this sparkling outburst of creative thought [the Enlightenment] there is no doubt that the honor should be ascribed in part to the great event which created new customs and even changed the human temperament- the advent of coffee.

what happened to all of those olde english coffee houses?
Essentially, England, […] had failed to acquire any significant coffee-growing plantations. […] This meant that every cup of java downed by British subjects put money in the pockets of European competitors. […] So the Brits began trading Indian opium for Chinese tea. […] and Europe’s first great cafe society became an historical footnote.

But first!…

The women of London found these scenarios of withered and flaccid manhood [supposedly from coffee] particularly alarming. By the 1670s their city; was overrun with coffeehouses. When the medical reports became common knowledge, a group of females petitioned the mayor to band the “hell-brew” coffee in order to preserve their sex lives. Their 7-page petition gives some compelling reasons. British gentlemen it said, were the “ablest performers in Chrisndom…with lusty lads of eight hundred years fathering Sons and Daughters.” These amazing feats of sexual prowess, however, came to an end when that”abominable, heathenish liquor called COFFEE…dried up thier Radical Moisture…leaving them with nothing but their snotty noses, and nothing stiff but their joints.”
But a fuller extract is in order.

The Humble Petition and Address of Several Thousand of Buxome Good-Women, Languishing in Extremity of Want…”
SHEWETH
That since ‘tis Reckon’d amongst the Glories of our native Country To be A paradise for women, it is too our unspeakable Grief we find of late that our gallants are become mere Cock-sparrows, fluttering things that come on with a world of Fury but in the very first Charge fall down Flat before us…all these qualities we can Attribute to nothing more than excessive use of the most pernicious Coffee, where Nature is Enfeebled and our men left with Ammunition Wanting; peradventure they Present but cannot give Fire…Certainly our Countrymen’s pallettes are become as Fanatical as their Brains. How else is it possible that they should run a Whoreing to spend the money and time on a little base, black thick, nasty, Bitter, Stinking, Nauseous, Puddle-water (also known as Ninny’s Broth and Turkish Gruel) so that those that have scarce twopence to buy their children bread must spend a penny each evening in this insilpid stuff…Wherefore we pray that drinking COFFEE be forbidden to all Persons under the Age of Threescore and that Lusty Nappy Beer and Cock Ale be recommended to General Use…so that our Husbands may (in time) give us some other Testimonies of the being Men, besides their Beards, and that they no more shall run the hazard of being Cuckol’d by Dildos.

In Hopes of a Glorious Reformation
London, 1674

-from stewart lee allen’s the devil’s cup

coffee helped midwife modern democracy

Aside from sobering up the workplace, coffeehouses gave Brits an alternative to taverns in which to meet and talk. Taverns were not the safest place to discuss politics or religion. Everybody was armed or drunk, usually both, and proprietors sensibly discouraged heated discussions. Coffeehouses, on the other hand, encouraged political debate, which was precisely why Charles 2 banned them in 1675 (he withdrew the ban in 11 days).

Coffee, however, was more than a mere substitute for beer. It is a stimulant, both physical and mental, and its usurpation of a depressant like alcohol caused changes.

This democratic inclination manifested itself most forcefully in london’s famous Turk’s Head Coffeehouse, where the ballot box [!!], the foundation of modern democracy, first appeared so customers could safely voice their opinion on controversial political topics. This innovation occured after the repressions of Oliver the Great and ensured that the government spies who plagued the cafe could not identify “traitors”.

Coffee’s ability to swell our wealth was manifested most noticeably in Britain, where coffeehouses became headquarters for some of the world’s most powerful businesses, including Lloyd’s of London (Lloyd’s Coffeehouse) and the London Shipping Exchange (Baltic Coffeehouse) and East India Company (Jerusalem Cafe) .
-from stewart lee allen’s the devil’s cup

the joffe coffee theory of expansionism

“Bad coffee equals expansionism, imperialism, and war; good coffee drips with civility and pacifism and lassitude. I prove it. Quick, who makes the best coffee in the world?”

“The Italians?”

“And when was the last time the Italians won a war?”

“Hmm, -what, AD 300?”

“And when did you Americans finally learn to make coffee?”

“Oh, I guess in the 60s sometime.”

“And when was the Vietnam war?”

“I see. Am I to understand that you’re saying, for instance, that the current round of Chinese expansionism is the result of their inability to brew a decent cup of coffee?”

“Absolutely. If we really wanted to end Chinese aggresion today we would bomb them with Gaggia coffeemakers.”

“Perhaps the UN peacemakers should carry Melita drips and Ethiopian Sidamo.”

“Instead of machine guns? Precisely.”

“What’s the coffee like at the UN, do you know?”

He shook his head sadly. “It’s not a pretty thought.”
the devil’s cup, by stewart lee allen

Ginger-Cilantro Margaritas

serves 4 

I love cilantro in this margarita, but if you’re not one for cilantro (which is an absurd thought for me) you can use Thai basil (preferably) or regular basil. As well, I use a generous amount of ginger both in the syrup and the cocktail itself here. If you want it a touch less kicky, forgo adding the grated ginger into the cocktail. 

Ginger Simple Syrup
1/4 cup fresh ginger, cut into thin rounds
1/4 cup sugar, less if you prefer it tart
1 cup water

In a small sauce pot, add the three ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, pour into heatproof jar and cool. 

6 sprigs cilantro plus extra leaves for garnish
2 tbsp fresh ginger, grated fine
juice from 3 whole limes
4 oz white tequila
2 oz triple sec, optional
1 1/2 oz ginger syrup
2 cups still or sparkling water
ice cubes

In a cocktail shaker, add the cilantro and ginger and muddle a bit to bruise the cilantro leaves. Add the lime juice, tequila, triple sec (if using) 6 ice cubes and water. Taste and adjust any ingredients if needed (more syrup if it’s too tart, more lime if it’s too sweet) Shake and divide into glasses filled with ice and garnished with cilantro leaves. 

Suspended Coffee

This is such a cool idea.

The tradition with the suspended coffees started in Naples, but it has spread all over the world and in some places you can order not only a suspended coffee, but also a sandwitch or a whole meal.

Forever Thanks to Spite Classic for this guy's site, you rule!

From Cooking For Assholes

The Drink of Northern Aggression

Jamie Oliver's Date Shake

method

This milk shake is a shout-out to all the date producers in California. It's delicious and dead simple.

Just chuck 20 pitted dates into a liquidizer with a cup of milk and blitz until smooth. Add a small handful of ice cubes and a pinch of ground cinnamon and whiz again.

Nutella Hot Chocolate

3 tablespoons nutella
1 1/3 cups milk

Directions:

Put Nutella and 1/3 cup milk in small saucepan over medium heat.

Whisk until blended.

Add remaining milk, increase heat to medium-high, and whisk until hot and frothy.

Pinolillo (Nicaraguan, Costa Rican cocoa-cornmeal beverage)

Shipwreck

We wouldn’t mind being marooned with one of these cocktails in hand.

1 oz. bourbon
1 oz. aged rum
3/4 oz. fresh lime juice

1/2 oz. simple syrup (1:1)
5 fresh mint leaves
Tools: shaker, strainer, fine strainer
Glass: mini highball, fizz or julep
Garnish: fresh mint sprig and 3–4 dashes Angostura bitters

Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice cubes and shake until chilled, then double-strain into a highball glass over crushed ice and garnish.

Jamal Hassan, Ox, Portland, Oregon

Sea of Cortez

This crème de cassis stunner offers an updated take on the classic El Diablo cocktail.

1 1/2 oz. blanco tequila
1 oz. lime juice
3/4 oz. crème de cassis
1/4 oz. Cointreau
Tools: shaker, strainer
Glass: coupe
Garnish: lime wheel

Combine all ingredients and shake with ice cubes. Strain into a chilled coupe and garnish.

Jeff "Beachbum" Berry

Prey of Thieves

Peaty Scotch, chicory coffee tincture and tawny port make for one sultry sipper. 

1 1/2 oz. Scotch whisky
3/4 oz. tawny Port
1/4 oz. Bénédictine
3 dashes chicory coffee tincture
Tools: mixing glass, barspoon
Glass: cordial or coupe
Garnish: orange twist

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass and stir with ice cubes. Strain into a chilled glass and garnish. 

For the Chicory Coffee Tincture: In a 1-liter jar combine 1 cup of coarsely ground coffee beans, 1 cup of dry roasted chicory and 2 cups of high-proof bourbon or rye whiskey. Let sit for one week, shaking daily. Fine-strain through coffee filters into a clean glass jar and keep in a cool, dark cupboard for up to 1 year. 

Tim Zohn, AQ, San Francisco

DUCHY COCKTAIL

Red and fresh and tangy and bitter-sweet, this is a marvelous warm-weather drink. It's not too alcoholic, and is very refreshing. The amounts are adjustable, according to your taste. Do make it at the last minute, though, so it will keep its freshness and fizz.

INGREDIENTS:

--1 (750 ml) bottle of Lemon Refresher (see Note)

-- 2/3 cup gin

-- 1/2 cup Campari

--1 basket of strawberries, hulled and lightly mashed so there are lots of pieces and lots of juice

--Lots of ice

--Sprigs of mint

INSTRUCTIONS: Pour the Lemon Refresher into a pitcher then pour in the gin and Campari.

Next, add the strawberries, which will fizz a surprisingly large amount then subside. Add the ice to the pitcher and garnish with mint. Drink right away. Serves 4 to 6. Note: Lemon Refresher, the Royals' favorite drink, is marketed by Duchy Originals, and is available at Andronico's, Whole Foods, Wild Oats and Berkeley Bowl. If you can't find it, use any not too sweet, very lemony carbonated drink.

Smoothies

Another easy idea (notice a trend?).

You can do this in bulk like so: buy 2 or 3 bunches of bananas, take 'em home and peel 'em all at once (remember to compost, ahem) and cut half of them in half.

Take 1 anna half bananas for each smoothie and wrap in plastic wrap. Do this to them all and pop in the freezer. Freezing makes a great texture when you're ready to make a smoothie.

To make one, take out a portion and chop them up and put in blender w/ 1 anna half cups of apple juice (or experiment w/ other juices. Put in a glob of peanut butter if ya want (spices like cinnamon, milk, whatever strikes yer fancy) and whiz.

Should make just over 1 pint glass (works for all of us, right?) of smoothie.

Orange Ice Tea

Ingredients

Syrup:

1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup sugar

Tea:

2 cups water
7 black tea bags (recommended: Red Rose)
3 cups sparkling water, chilled
1/2 small orange, thinly sliced
Ice
Fresh mint or basil sprigs, to garnish

Directions

Special equipment: a 60-ounce (7 1/2 cups) pitcher

For the syrup: In a small saucepan, bring the orange juice and sugar to a boil over medium-high heat. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool for 20 minutes.

For the tea: In a small saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Add the tea bags and remove the pan from the heat. Allow the tea to steep and cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes. Remove the tea bags and discard. Pour the tea and syrup into a pitcher and refrigerate until ready to serve.

To serve: Pour the sparkling water into the pitcher and add the orange slices. Pour the tea into 4 ice-filled glasses. Garnish with fresh mint, or basil, and serve.

Ingredients:

4 hibiscus tea bags (found in health food and some specialty stores) or 4 -6 tablespoons loose edible fresh hibiscus flowers (found in health food and some specialty stores)
4 -6 sprigs washed bruised fresh mint leaves or 4 mint-flavored herbal tea bags
1 gallon water

Directions:

1
Place teabags or loose tea and mint in the water in a sun tea jar. Let steep in the sun (or refrigerator) for several hours until the tea is a clear ruby color.
2
If you have used the hibiscus buds and fresh mint, strain before storage and serving.
3
Serve over ice with a sprig of fresh mint. May add sugar and lemon, if desired.

Chai recipe

Ingredients

2 cups water
4 black tea bags
1/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cinnamon stick
5 whole cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 pinch ground nutmeg
2 cups milk

Directions

In a saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add tea, honey and vanilla. Season with cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, ginger and nutmeg. Simmer for 5 minutes. Pour in milk, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, and strain through a fine sieve.

Genmai-cha Tea Recipe

Ingredients

2 tablespoons brown rice
4 cups water
4 teaspoons green tea leaves

Directions

Put the rice in a small skillet and toast over medium-low heat until it turns dark in spots. Move to a small saucepan. Pour in the water and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 1 minute. Remove from heat and allow to steep 3 minutes more. Add the tea and let it steep another 3 minutes. Strain and discard the rice and tea leaves from the liquid. Serve the tea hot.

Honey Milk Tea

Ingredients

2 orange pekoe tea bags
1 cup boiling water
5 ice cubes
4 teaspoons sweetened condensed milk
3 teaspoons honey

Directions

Steep the tea bags in hot water until the color turns dark red, about 3 to 5 minutes. Discard the tea bags and let the tea cool.
Combine the ice cubes, sweetened condensed milk, and honey in a glass or cocktail shaker. Pour in the tea and mix well. (If the tea is still warm, the ice may melt; add more ice if desired.) A strong, flavorful milk tea is ready for you to enjoy.

Cook's Note
A good strong-flavored tea is the key to making good milk tea. Add more honey to taste if you like a sweeter tea. If you have a martini shaker, you may use it to mix the milk tea.

Sour Plum Drink

Ingredients
(makes 1 glass 250ml)
- 6 preserved sour plums
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 small lime (calamansi)
- hot water
- water
- ice cubes

Directions
1. Add sour plums and sugar in a mug. Add just enough hot water to cover the sour plums. Stir to dissolve the sugar, and let it sit for a few minutes until the sour plums are softened.
2. Cut the lime in half, squeeze in the lime juice and discard the seeds.
3. Transfer the sour plum mixture and squeezed lime into a serving glass. Add water and ice cubes. Serve cold.

These recipes are from this site.

Mayan Hot Chocolate

 Have you seen the movie, Chocolat? This is like the hot chocolate that was served in the movie.

2 cups boiling water
1 chile pepper, cut in half, seeds removed (with gloves)
5 cups light cream or whole or nonfat milk
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1 to 2 cinnamon sticks
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate or
3 tablets Mexican Chocolate, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
2 tablespoons granulated sugar or honey, or to taste
l tablespoon almonds or hazelnuts, ground extra fine
Whipped cream

In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, add chile pepper to boiling water. Cook until liquid is reduced to 1 cup. Remove chile pepper; strain water and set aside.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine cream or milk, vanilla bean and cinnamon stick until bubbles appear around the edge. Reduce heat to low; add chocolate and sugar or honey; whisk occasionally until chocolate is melted and sugar dissolves. Turn off heat; remove vanilla bean and cinnamon stick. Add chile-infused water, a little at a time, tasting to make sure the flavor isn't too strong. If chocolate is too thick, thin with a little more milk.

Serve in small cups and offer ground almonds or hazelnuts and whipped cream.

[And I can't find it now, but I've seen a recipe adding a few kernels of cooked corn, for a diff. kind of sweetness.

Yerba Mate  {YURbuh MAHtay}(South American Tea-like Beverage)

FAQ, pretty science-y!

Yerba Mate Recipes

I've seen packages of, I think, Tres Cruzes in grocery stores that have international aisles.

Avocado Shake Recipe (Sinh to Bo)

Indonesians, who may add coffee or chocolate syrup, know it as es apokat. Filipinos prepare it as well, though they make avocado ice cream too. Avocado shakes are also popular in Brazil.

Recipe

Here's another version

Ingredients:
1 cup ice
1 avocado, peeled and pitted
1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
large tapioca pearls

Directions:
In a medium pan bring about 4 cups of water to a boil. Add the amount of tapioca pearls you would want for one large drink. Continue to boil until the pearls float to the top and are soft, about 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat and cover. Allow to sit for 5 minutes. Meanwhile pulse the avocado, ice and sweetened condensed milk in a blender until smooth. Pour the pearls into your glass and top with avocado drink. Drink with a extra large straw for best effect.

Chinese Iced tea

Blog

HORCHATA! (Mexican sweet rice drink)

{God, this stuff is so good, I can drink gallons of it!}

Ingredients

1 cup long grain rice, rinsed
2 quarts water
1 cinnamon stick, broken into pieces
1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)
1/2 cup white sugar

Directions

In a large saucepan, combine rice, water and cinnamon stick. Set aside for 3 hours.
After 3 hours, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. Allow to cool.
Puree rice mixture in a blender until smooth. Strain through cheesecloth or a fine sieve. Flavor with vanilla and sugar to taste. Chill, and serve over ice.

Among New Orleans’ many food secrets is cold-brew coffee. It’s as low-tech as you can get: no coffee maker, French press or special equipment is needed. Heck, you don’t even need electricity. Just combine coffee grounds and cool water in a bowl. After 12 hours, strain the solids out, and iced coffee is at your call — no extra chilling required. Yes, you need the long soak, but prep it before you go to bed, and coffee will be waiting for you in the morning. Once you try it, you’ll see how backwards it is to brew coffee with hot water and then wait for it to cool down.

“Heat brewing releases acids and oils, and as the coffee sits in the refrigerator, the bitterness intensifies,” according to a NY Times Magazine article. Cold-brew coffee is 67% less acidic, making it smooth, rich and naturally “sweeter.”

Cold-brew coffee concentrate
Cold-brew is so common in New Orleans that you can buy syrupy coffee concentrate at neighborhood supermarkets, as well as Whole Foods.

For better or worse, I can now enjoy coffee! For the longest time, regular cups would dehydrate me like crazy. I switched to decaf, and still no dice. The culprit, as I found out, wasn’t caffeine. It was the acid. I also would take my coffee unsweetened, since sugar somehow made it sour (the exception: coffee from Dunkin Donuts and Oaxaca, Mexico). Again, the culprit was the acid.

For an authentic experience, try a coffee-chicory blend from Cafe du Monde, French Market or Blue Bottle Coffee company. During their civil war, the French ran short on coffee, so they used chicory as an extender. Chicory is the root of the endive plant. It tastes chocolatey, is caffeine free, cleanses the blood and improves your liver’s health.

Cold-Brew Iced Coffee Recipe

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 12 hours

Yield: 1 1/2 cups coffee concentrate

Serving Size: 1 cup

Ingredients
1/5 pound dark roast coffee and chicory, medium ground (about 1 cup)
2 cups cold water
Ice
Milk

Instructions

Put coffee in a nonreactive container, like a stainless-steel bowl. Add 1/4 cup water, stirring gently to wet the grounds, then add remaining water, agitating the grounds as little as possible. Cover and let steep at room temperature for 12 hours.

Strain coffee concentrate through a medium sieve, then again through a fine-mesh sieve.

[As I've seen it made, most people use a reuseable mesh bag, ultra-fine, you can probably find it in decent grocery stores, def. at gourmet shops/restaurant supply shops]

To make iced coffee, fill a glass with ice, add 1/4 cup coffee concentrate and 3/4 to 1 cup milk, then stir. To make café au lait, warm 3/4 to 1 cup milk in a saucepan or microwave, then pour into a mug and add 1/4 cup coffee concentrate. (Concentrate will keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.)