Edited & Curated by: Cameron Mitchell
Edited & Curated by: Cameron Mitchell
This concept book is about the culture and lifestyle behind coffee. The images you see are a visual explanation as to what types of coffee their is, how it’s made, and the style of which modern coffee drinkers have. NONE of the photography used is original.
THE COFFEE TA BLE:
A BOOK ABOUT COFFEE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Coffee Brewing in the Great Outdoors
Home Brewing Methods
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THE COFFEE SHOP
Latte: Art in Coffee
A Cup of Coffee
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Home Brewing Methods ALTHOUGH THEY’RE BASED ACROSS THE WORLD IN AUSTRALIA, Market Lane Coffee is no stranger to us—we’ve featured their baristas in our Perfect Cup series, and the internationally renowned café and roastery makes some of the best coffee in Melbourne. We asked a few of their talented baristas to share their recipes for three home brewing methods: Chemex, Pour Over and French Press. We recommend using a burr grinder and scale for all brew methods. 9
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The Chemex 1. Grind coffee – the ground coffee should be about as coarse as kosher salt. 2. Place the filter inside the Chemex, lining up the multiple folds with the spout. 3. Discard the rinse water and add your ground coffee. 4. Pour water evenly in a spiral over the coffee bed and slowly fill to the top of the brewer. 5. Lift the filter out and quickly move the filter to your sink where it will drain completely.
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Materials Coffee: 42 grams Water: 700 grams Brew time: 4 minutes
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The Pour Over 1. Rinse the paper filter with hot water to get rid of any paper taste. 2. Pour just a little bit of water to saturate the grounds, then wait 30 to 60 seconds while the coffee “blooms,� or inflates. 3. Pour the rest of the water in circles in small increments, avoiding the edges of the cone and keeping the coffee bed quite low in the cone.
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Materials
Coffee: 17 grams Water: 265 grams Brew time: 2.5 minutes
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The French Press 1. Pour the water in, covering all grounds (which should be coarse). 2. Let sit for 3 minutes, then stir well. 3. At 4 minutes, plunge (If its hard to plunge, grind the coffee coarser). 4. Decant the coffee right away to prevent over-brewing.
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A BOOK ABOUT COFFEE
Materials Coffee: 45 grams Water: 710 grams Brew time: 4 minutes
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The Moka Pot 1. Preheat the water and the stove top to medium. 2. Set your grinder to medium-fine to medium using a burr grinder. (Then fill as shown) 3. Screw top on and place on stovetop. 4. When water boils, coffee will rise to the top of the pot. When done, place brewer in cold water.
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Materials Stovetop Coffee Maker Clean Filter Grinder Cup
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The Espresso Machine 1. Steam your brewing cup. 2. Set your grinder to fine. (Grind directly into the filter if possible) 3. Tap and level the grounds. (Attach filter to head of machine) 4. Keep an eye on it, 25 seconds and taste it. If it is your desired taste, Drink up!
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Materials Espresso Machine Brewing Cup Tamper Grinder Drinking Mug
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Coffee Brewing in the Great Outdoors
Wille Yli-Luoma is no stranger to the great outdoors. As a former professional snowboarder, the owner of Portland’s Heart Roasters has spent plenty of time in the mountains, and he can be found most weekends exploring the wild—the Oregon woods, the Columbia River Gorge and the Finnish Archipelago are his top spots. We asked Wille to share his favorite way to brew coffee while hiking, camping or picnicking. The slim mini Porlox hand grinder fits perfectly inside the AeroPress, making it ideal and portable brewing gear for any outdoor adventure. 21
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Method 1. Boil water and pour it through the paper filter to rinse out any paper flavors. 2. Weigh out and grind 18 grams of coffee beans, then pour grinds into the press over the filter. Start timer and pour 270 grams of boiling water into the press, then and attach the plunger at the top to create suction to prevent coffee from dripping through the filter. 3. Wait 60 seconds, stir the coffee and put the top of the press back on for another 30 to 45 seconds. 4. Remove the top, give it a good stir and then insert the plunger and press. *If you don’t have a scale, simply use the filter holder as a scoop to measure out the beans—this should hold more or less 18 grams. The recipe is designed to get as much coffee as possible out of one brew, so the AeroPress, when filled all the way, should equal approximately 270 grams.
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Tools AeroPress Mini Porlex grinder Propane extension Filtered water Paper filter 18 grams of coffee Scale Timer Coffee mug Portable water boiler
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Coffee and a View
Whether you drink your coffee in a to-go cup, a mug, a glass, or any other liquid holding device it still has a chance to give you a different view on things. Coffee is one of those things that inspires and helps you focus on the task at hand. Sometimes where you drink your coffee can be a factor on how much it will influence your persception. The word viewpoint is defined in multiple ways but one way says: as the mental attitude that determines a person’s opinions or judgments. This idea can change the way you see things obviously. This section of the book is bigger than the culture behind coffee.
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This is about perception and how one sees something, won’t always be the same as another. Letting go of the fact that no one will 100% understand what you see in something is one of the hardest things to do. Letting go of things that are unanswerable is what makes you realistic. Being able to realize the impossible cannot be possible. That sayings like nothing is impossible are jokes, are lies we tell ourselves, and figures of speech we all must understand are aloof. We give ourselves comfort in times of need with irrational thoughts, when sometimes all we need is an understanding of another person’s view.
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Coffee Shops Can Boost Creativity PULLING UP A SEAT AT YOUR FAVORITE COFFEE SHOP MAY BE THE MOST EFFICIENT way to write a paper or finish a work project. But now a new Web site lets you bring the coffee shop to your cubicle. The site, called Coffitivity, was inspired by recent research showing that the whoosh of espresso machines and caffeinated chatter typical of most coffee shops creates just the right level of background noise to stimulate creativity. The Web site, which is free, plays an ambient coffee shop soundtrack that, according to researchers, helps people concentrate. In a series of experiments that looked at the effects of noise on creative thinking, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign had participants brainstorm ideas for new products while they were exposed to varying levels of background noise. Their results, published in The Journal of Consumer Research, found that a level of ambient noise typical of a bustling coffee shop or a televeision 27
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playing in a living room, about 70 decibels, enhanced performance compared with the relative quiet of 50 decibels. A higher level of noise, however, about 85 decibels, roughly the noise level generated by a blender or a garbage disposal, was too distracting, the researchers found. Ravi Mehta, an assistant professor of business administration at the university who led the research, said that extreme quiet tends to sharpen your focus, which can prevent you from thinking in the abstract. “This is why if you’re too focused on a problem and you’re not able to solve it,” Dr. Mehta said, “you leave it for some time and then come back to it and you get the solution.” But moderate levels can distract people just enough so that they think more broadly. “It helps you think outside the box,” he said. The benefits of moderate noise, however, apply only to creative tasks. Projects that require paying close attention to detail, like proofreading a paper or doing your taxes, Dr. Mehta said, are performed better in quiet environments.
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In other studies, he and his colleagues have found that exposure to certain colors can play a role as well. Switching the color of your computer’s background screen to blue enhances performance on creative tasks, for example, while making it red helps with detail-oriented tasks. Large, open rooms with high ceilings may also promote creative thinking, they found. The creators of the Coffitivity site struck upon their idea after brainstorming on an unrelated start-up in the Richmond, Va., area. “We had been in and out of coffee shops, and we were getting really good work done,” said ACe Callwood, a founder of the site and the coordinator for entrepreneurship at the Virginia Commonwealth University business school. One member of the team, Justin Kauszler, noticed that when he returned to his regular work space, in a subdued and sterile office, his productivity took a nose-dive. When Mr. Kauszler’s boss shot down his request to leave the office and work from a coffee shop, he and his colleagues decided that they would bring their favorite coffeehouses to their computers. With some borrowed audio equipment in hand, they eventually hit on a spot with the ideal noise level, a place called Harrison Street Cafe. “It had just the right mix of everything,” Mr. Callwood said. “You could get the coffee machine, and you had people talking and eating. It has two levels, and we got the vibe upstairs and downstairs.” Coffitivity started on March 4, and that day it got about 120 page views. “I think our moms looked at it a hundred times,” Mr. Callwood joked. Since then, traffic has “exploded,” he said. “Seoul, Korea, is our top user city. New York City is second, followed by London, L.A. and Chicago.” Mr. Callwood and his colleagues at Coffitivity say they are now in the process of creating an app and adding new coffee shop soundtracks tailored to specific countries. “Australians apparently hate American accents,” he said. “We have Australians asking us for different audio sounds. “We had a rabbi reach out and say, ‘Hey, there’s a Jewish learning center that has this very distinctive sound in Hebrew,’ and he asked if we could put that kind of audio on the site. We told him that if he could get us the audio, we’ll use it.”
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A Cup of Coffee I BELIEVE IN A CUP OF COFFEE. PERHAPS IT IS THE SWEET AROMA, THE FEEL OF THE COFFEE beans, or even just the sheer joy of the dark liquid filling your body with a pleasant warmth. I love that in the morning I can always look forward to starting off my day happily with a nice hot cup of coffee placed in my favorite beach-themed mug. I love that even if everything in my day is going wrong, the coffee is somehow the one thing that goes completely right. And although I could go on and on about my appreciation for the drink itself, what I love most is that I can invite friends and loved ones to share in a coffee experience with me. Cafés and coffee—two of the best things in life! I always seem to say to friends “we should meet up for coffee.” Now, sometimes that happens the next day and sometimes two months later, but nonetheless sipping coffee together in a café is always perfect. After ordering, you just sit, enjoy, and feel quite sophisticated with your cup of coffee. I’d like to note that there is something to be said when people just sit down and talk—around a cup of coffee of course. There are no cell phones or distractions, just the simple enjoyment of each other’s company and conversation. 31
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I believe that in this day and age it is hard to draw people out. I mean really draw people out. To sit down and ask the hard questions of life, to really feel like you are getting to talk beyond the surfacey things of life, to dive deeper into who people truly are, to know them and be known, to pause life. Some of the best conversations I have ever had with friends and family are over coffee. I have learned about their ambitions, struggles, fears, joys, the ridiculous and crazy sides I never knew existed, and their beliefs. It’s something beyond what you would find out beyond just your five minute Reader’s Digest answers. You see people for whom they are, you appreciate who they are, and in turn, they do the same for you.
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Perhaps greater than just coffee itself, I believe in something known as fellowship. Fellowship is where two or more people meet together as joyful companions. I believe that fellowship is what I need and what you need. It is somethintg we yearn for as people. We need to be encouraged by one another, to be supported, loved, prayed over, and cared for. I believe that as wonderful as coffee is, it is always better shared. I encourage you to take a minute, invite someone out to a cafĂŠ, enjoy your hot cup of coffee, and may you both be blessed by the fellowship formed during your time together. This I believe.
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Letter to the Coffee Shop Culture THIS ARTICLE IS A HYPOTHETICAL CONCEPT WRITTEN BY SOMEONE THAT IS TRYING to portray a conversation from the coffee shop to the person in the coffee shop. It gives us a unique insight on how a lot of us feel in these certain situations. The coffee shop culture is a peculiar one and really is a life style in itself. It brings people together. Their is trust with fellow coffee drinkers. Each coffee shop is like a home. Dear Miriam, What do you do when you are by yourself in a coffee shop, you have to use the bathroom and there is nobody immediately around to ask to watch your stuff? On one hand, I trust that there is a culture of respect within the coffee shop community and that nobody would take anything (and I feel guilty taking my stuff because it looks like I don’t trust people). However, it hardly seems smart to leave wallet and computer unattended. And what if someone else who is not part of the culture comes in? Thoughts Experiences? Signed, Coffee Shop Culture 35
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Dear Coffee, One time, a guy in a café asked me to watch his stuff. Of course I said yes, and when he came back, he offered to buy me a coffee. Shocked, I turned down the offer, wondering if he’d just arrived from a planet with no Starbucks. If, like him, you don’t spend a lot of time in coffee shops, allow me to fill you in: You need to go to the bathroom, you ask the person next to you to keep an eye on your stuff, s/he says yes, you come back from the bathroom and say thank you, then an hour later s/he asks you to reciprocate the favor. For people who camp out in coffee shops with laptops, this really is the culture. If there’s only one other person in the whole place but she’s all the way across the room, I would still ask her to keep an eye out. Since the shop is nearly empty, she’ll probably notice if someone new comes in and tries to steal your stuff. If there are literally no other customers, you could ask the staff since, with no other customers, it’s not a huge imposition. Do leave something in the tip jar, though.
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The other option, as you mention, is to pack up your bag. That’s a huge pain, and one that I try to avoid. Sometimes I’ll just bring my wallet and phone with me to the bathroom, in part because my laptop is old and not that attractive, so I don’t really expect someone to want to take it. Also, if my laptop is plugged in, I feel like that’s one more deterrent to someone being able to just pick it up and walk out. If your concern about packing up is potentially offending people, you don’t need to worry since you’d only really need to do this when there’s no one else around, hence, no one around to be offended. The bigger issue to me is potentially forfeiting a choice table, maybe near an outlet or window. Your stuff holds your table, and in a busy café, a good table is your ticket to being able to get anything done. The more time you spend camped out in coffee shops with your computer, the better you’ll get at navigating this culture, and, probably the more cavalier you’ll get, for better or worse, about leaving your belongings unattended. Signed, Miriam
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Latte: Art in Coffee IT GOES BY MANY NAMES: COFFEE ART, BARISTA ART AND COFFEE DESIGNS. BUT WHAT is latte art? The short answer -- it’s steamed milk passed through espresso in order to make patterns. But the long answer is much more interesting as latte art is the only drink in which creativity can be consumed. Literally. How else can you drink a heart, tulip or a dragon if not on coffee art? It would be difficult to say the least, and definitely not as tasty! If free pour art requires technical skills, etching requires true artistic talent. Etching is the practise of literally drawing on a coffee with a thin rod, such as a toothpick, in order to create images in the coffee. Baristas skilled in etching can create anything from faces, portraits to anime characters. I’ve even seen some crazy 3D Pikachu art floating around the Internet! Just have a look and the patterns below. Now that’s real art.
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Five Reasons Why Coffee Is Good For You COFFEE ISN’T JUST WARM AND ENERGIZING, IT MAY ALSO BE EXTREMELY GOOD FOR YOU. IN RECENT YEARS AND decades, scientists have studied the effects of coffee on various aspects of health and their results have been nothing short of amazing. Here are 5 reasons why coffee may actually be one of the healthiest beverages on the planet. 1. Coffee Can Make You Smarter. Coffee doesn’t just keep you awake, it may literally make you smarter as well. The active ingredient in coffee is caffeine, which is a stimulant and the most commonly consumed psychoactive substance in the world. Caffeine’s primary mechanism in the brain is blocking the effects of an inhibitory neurotransmitter called Adenosine. By blocking the inhibitory effects of Adenosine, caffeine actually increases neuronal firing in the brain and the release of other neurotransmitters like dopamine and norepinephrine (1, 2). Many controlled trials have examined the effects of caffeine on the brain, demonstrating that caffeine can improve mood, reaction time, memory, vigilance and general cognitive function (3) Bottom Line: Caffeine potently blocks an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain, leading to a net stimulant effect. Controlled trials show that caffeine improves both mood and brain function.
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2. Coffee Can Help You Burn Fat and Improves Physical Performance There’s a good reason why you will find caffeine in most commercial fat burning supplements. Caffeine, partly due to its stimulant effect on the central nervous system, both raises metabolism and increases the oxidation of fatty acids (4, 5, 6). Caffeine can also improve athletic performance by several mechanisms, including by mobilizing fatty acids from the fat tissues (7, 8). In two separate meta-analyses, caffeine was found to increase exercise performance by 11-12% on average (9, 10). Bottom Line: Caffeine raises the metabolic rate and helps to mobilize fatty acids from the fat tissues. It can also enhance physical performance. 3. Coffee May Drastically Lower Your Risk of Type II Diabetes Type II diabetes is a lifestyle-related disease that has reached epidemic proportions, having increased 10-fold in a few decades and now afflicting about 300 million people. This disease is characterized by high blood glucose levels due to insulin resistance or an inability to produce insulin. In observational studies, coffee has been repeatedly associated with a lower risk of diabetes. The reduction in risk ranges from 23% all the way up to 67% (11, 12, 13, 14). A massive review article looked at 18 studies with a total of 457.922 participants. Each additional cup of coffee per day lowered the risk of diabetes by 7%. The more coffee people drank, the lower their risk (15). Bottom Line: Drinking coffee is associated with a drastically reduced risk of type II diabetes. People who drink several cups per day are the least likely to become diabetic.
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4. Coffee May be Extremely Good For Your Liver The liver is a remarkable organ that carries out hundreds of vital functions in the body. It is very vulnerable to modern insults such as excess consumption of alcohol and fructose. Cirrhosis is the end stage of liver damage caused by diseases like alcoholism and hepatitis, where liver tissue has been largely replaced by scar tissue. Multiple studies have shown that coffee can lower the risk of cirrhosis by as much as 80%, the strongest effect for those who drank 4 or more cups per day (23, 24, 25). Coffee may also lower the risk of liver cancer by around 40% (26, 27). Bottom Line: Coffee appears to be protective against certain liver disorders, lowering the risk of liver cancer by 40% and cirrhosis by as much as 80%. 5. Coffee May Decrease Your Risk of Dying Many people still seem to think that coffee is unhealthy. This isn’t surprising though, since it is very common for conventional wisdom to be at exact odds with what the actual studies say. In two very large prospective epidemiological studies, drinking coffee was associated with a lower risk of death by all causes (28). This effect is particularly profound in type II diabetics, one study showing that coffee drinkers had a 30% lower risk of death during a 20 year period (29). Bottom Line: Coffee consumption has been associated with a lower risk of death in prospective epidemiological studies, especially in type II diabetics.
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THANK YOU My name is Cameron Mitchell and I am a graphic design student at Pacific Union College. Thank you so much picking up this book on coffee. The culture needs some more recognition. This book was created for a publication design class during the year 2015. This book was meant to give an idea on what the coffee shop culture is all about, as well as describing numerous ways of making coffee. “Coffee is a language in itself.“
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RECOGNITION OF CONTENT This books content was curated by me from various tumblr accounts, Flickr for some images, and Google images. The content was taken from online articles from Kinfolk Magazine, PopularScience.com, The Chicago Tribune, and some of it was written by me. This book was intended to give insight to what the coffee shop culture was about, not exactly the creation of the drinks themselves. Words and coffee go together seamlessly.
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“Ever wanted to know more about coffee? This is the book for you.”