Know your cup of coffee

India has the world’s largest tea cultures, but it’s no stranger to coffee bean. There are plenty of coffee bean suppliers in India. Kaapi or filter coffee is the bedrock of South Indian breakfast. However, the coffee culture did not take root until the 1890s. It was the British who ensured the spread of coffee plantations throughout South India. Consequently, sweet milky coffee became etched in the Southern psyche. Still, many parts of India didn’t take the beverage seriously, until recently, with the flowering of the café scene.

As you go around the world, you’ll find different types of coffee blends. Most of these are based on espresso, which is made when boiling water is forced, under pressure, through coffee beans.

Some of the most popular coffee variations around the world are as follows:

v Americano: This is just a shot of espresso with hot water.

v Latte: This is an espresso with steamed milk and a thick layer of foam floating on the top.

v Café mocha: It is a latte with chocolate flavouring, chocolate syrup and ad cloud of whipped cream.

v Cappuccino: This is similar to the filter coffee available down south. It is an espresso with a thick layer of steamed milk.

v Frappe: A cold coffee that has been beaten thoroughly to create froth.

v Macchiato: This is a layered coffee rather than a fully blending one. It is a sort of latte, but on the more milky side.

The coffee blends available around the world are brewed from two species of coffee shrubs – the Robusta, which has a bitter taste and the Arabica, which is gentle in flavour. Single origin coffees are grown in one region, and thus have distinct flavour profiles.

Coffee blends are a mixture of various types of beans. Most of the commercially available coffee is pre-ground beans that are blends. Coffee connoisseurs are increasingly experimenting with their own mixes. From chocolate characteristics to fruity flavours, there is no dearth.

There are plenty of foreign companies today that are sourcing their coffee from coffee powder manufacturers in India.

Mr.M.K.C. Sreenivasa Murthy (Manager) of Mkc Food Products, Bangalore. Manufacturers, Suppliers & Exporters of fine quality coffee beans and coffee powders of different blends.