1 Fun Thing
Blue Lake (Rotomairewhenua in Maori) in Nelson Lakes National Park, New Zealand, is said to have the clearest recorded natural freshwater in the world, with underwater visibility ranging to 80 metres! The clarity is comparable to that of distilled water.
3 Facts
Broadly, there are 3 types of espresso machines — a) Single boiler which has one boiler for both steam and brewing and is the simplest and least expensive; b) Dual boiler has separate boilers for steam and brewing and is the most complex and expensive; c) Heat exchanger which also has only one boiler for steam, but with a large metal tube that runs though it to flash-heat cool water to the right brew temperature.
Astringency is a sensation of dryness in the mouth that’s cause by organic compounds called polyphenols. These larger molecules are harder to extract and usually show up in the cup when over-extraction due to channelling occurs. Astringency, while desirable in drinks like wine, tends to mute and overpower flavours in coffee.
Cascara is the dried skin of coffee cherries and can be brewed like loose tea. Interestingly, the caffeine content has been found to be quite low —even at the strongest, longest brew, the caffeine content is ~111.4 mg/L, compared to the range of 400-800 mg/L in brewed coffee.