by Fern Shaw | Feb 18, 2013 | Water Boilers
More about Coffee (English), Koffie (Dutch), Kahve (Turkish), Aahwa (Arabic)
Historical
A French doctor in the 1600’s suggested Café Au Laits for patients, inspiring people to begin adding milk to coffee. Largely through the efforts of the British East India Company and the Dutch East India Company, coffee became available in England no later than the 16th century.
By 1675, there were more than 3 000 coffeehouses throughout England. In 1822 the French were the first to innovate a crude espresso machine. The Italians then perfected this machine and became the first to manufacture it.
Factual
The first webcam was invented at The University of Cambridge to let people know if the coffee pot was full or not.
Coffee beans are actually the pit of a berry, which makes them a fruit.
Coffee beans are graded in various ways. Examples? Kenyan coffees are graded as A, B and C. AA is the best coffee. In Costa Rica, coffees are graded as Strictly Hard Bean, Good Hard Bean, Hard Bean, Medium Hard Bean, High Grown Atlantic, Medium Grown Atlantic, and Low Grown Atlantic. Those coffee beans from Colombia are labelled as ‘Supremo’, ‘Excelso’, ‘Extra’ and the lowest grade, ‘Pasilla’.
Over half of the espresso consumed in the UK is drunk in the South East of the country.
The Italian government regulates espresso because it is considered an essential part of daily life.
Mythical
The ‘Cowboy Coffee’ legend said that cowboys made their coffee by putting ground coffee into a clean sock and immersing it in water heated over a campfire. When ready, they would pour the coffee into tin cups and drink it.
An ancient meme tells of King Solomon entering a town whose inhabitants were all ill. The angel Gabriel appeared and told him to brew up a pot of coffee and distribute it amongst the afflicted citizens who symptoms inexplicably disappeared.
At the treaty of Utrecht in 1713, Louis XIV acquired a Dutch coffee sapling, in exchange for some French lawn sod, that he took home and planted in his Orangery. Myth further says that the next Louis, the XV, personally tended the cuttings by harvesting, roasting and brewing coffee with his own hands for his courtiers.
A Brazilian diplomat, Francisco de Mello Palheta, was to mediate a border issue between French and Dutch Guiana. Myth says Poncho tried to obtain some seeds from the French governor but his request denied so, using another tack, he had an affair with the governor’s wife who placed some of the forbidden cherries and cuttings in a farewell bouquet she gave her lover. Upon his return, myth tells us that Poncho started the Brazilian coffee industry but in reality, Jose Mariano da Conceicao Veloso planted coffee in 1774 using seeds, obtained from a Dutch trader named Hauptman, in the garden of St Anthony’s monastery built in 1608 in what is now Brasília the modern capital.
by Fern Shaw | Dec 12, 2012 | Water Boilers
Coffee is one of those substances that have both good and bad stories written up about it all the time.
What’s the Good skinny? (No, not a skinny, latte, mocha, silly story).
- Coffee does contain antioxidants. But better to not rely on this as your only source of antioxidants. Antioxidants can be found in other yummy sources like blueberries, cherries, & pomegranates as well as a variety of legumes.
- It may have some protective qualities against a variety of cancers and Alzheimer’s disease.
- The caffeine in it is stimulating and releases dopamine (your body’s ‘happy’ enzyme) … which is the main reason why people drink it.
- Boosts your short term memory.
What’s the Bad skinny?
- Mainly because of its stimulating effects, it has been found to aggravate stress and anxiety.
- Other psychological and physical problems including rapid heart rate, higher pulse and blood pressure, and inability to sleep.
- It is also mildly addictive and withdrawal – depending of course, on how many cups you drink in 12 hours or so, can lead to painful headaches.
What one needs to keep in mind when it comes to consumption of any liquids and foodstuffs, is the age old maxim, ‘Everything in Moderation’.
So, whereas a cup o’ Java to kick start your day (hopefully after you’ve eaten something solid) is a good thing; roaring through your day bolstered up on cream or full milk laden coffees or lattés will completely counteract the wonderful effects of coffee and just turn you into a blob. Remember to always counter your cups of coffee with a glass of water as keeping hydrated is vastly important.
by Fern Shaw | Nov 1, 2012 | Water Boilers
The days of having to boil your water over a fire is long gone, but the need for warm water is still as important as it was hundreds of years ago. Fortunately, for us water boilers have evolved with the times, and we are now able to get hot water anywhere and at any time, instantly.
The most popular water boilers in our homes are kettles and geysers. Every modern home has these and they are essential tools for cooking, cleaning and personal hygiene. In the industrial industry, water boilers are vital for thousands of different uses, but the most important must be for the production of electricity.
For most modern shops and restaurants, the need for rapid water boiling is important to ensure that they can provide and deliver their goods and foods to their clientele on time. Coffee shops have mastered the need for coffee and the need for hot water into Espresso and coffee machines that combine the two needs into one easy to use machine.
Water boilers for office, residential and personal use, are available in hundreds of different shapes and sizes, depending in their usage, location and the quantity of the water that needs to be boiled. No matter what your hot water needs might be there will be a water boiler perfectly suited to meet your demands and budget. Many home and office water boilers offer instant hot water, not relying on a tank of stored hot water that is continuously heated. Instant boilers use a very effective heating system that use normal tap water and brings it to a boil in a few short seconds. The advantages with instant boilers are that they never run out of hot water and they are more environmentally friendly as they do not waste any electricity while not being used. Geysers and large industrial boilers require large storage tanks to keep the hot water in and these storage tanks need constant heating, using large quantities of electricity.
by Fern Shaw | Jul 24, 2012 | Water Boilers
As the most consumed drink on the planet, coffee is something that many people depend on each day to survive. But where exactly did it come from?
According to legend, a young Ethiopian goat herder discovered coffee in the 9th Century when he found his goats eating the fruit of a strange plant. The goats were all very lively and jumping around all day after eating the fruit. The boy tried the bright red berries and found himself vitalised and wide awake. He decided to take the fruit to a local Muslim holy man, who disapproved of the fruit and their effects. He threw the beans in a fire, where it started to roast and gave off a very delightful and enticing aroma that attracted other holy men to investigate. The beans were raked from the fire and boiled in water, producing the world’s first cup of coffee. The coffee beans spread to Egypt and neighbouring countries where the mystics used it to increase concentration and vitality.
The word coffee made its way into English via the Dutch word koffie, taken from the Turkish and Arabic word kahve. The meaning of the Arabic word is quit aptly the “wine of the bean”, a very accurate and effective description. In the modern times that we now find ourselves, there are literary thousands of different combinations and uses for coffee, from the actual drinking of it in hundreds of different flavours, styles and roasts, to coffee flavoured chocolate, sweets and cosmetic products.
The first coffee house in England was allegedly opened in St. Micheal’s Alley in Cornhill in the early 1650 and by 1675 there were over 3’000 coffee houses throughout England. The popularity of coffee quickly spread world-wide as the captains of all the large trading ships took coffee plants with them around the globe, establishing large coffee plantations in the West Indies, Brazil and Colombia. Today coffee is grown on all the major continents, even Australia has seven Arabica producers, making the supply and distribution of coffee world-wide.
In 1922, 2.2 million kilograms of coffee left the ports of Ethiopia, in less than fifteen years, that total more than tripled, and the demand is still on the increase today.
by Fern Shaw | Jul 24, 2012 | Water Boilers
With the need to be more environmentally friend and energy conscious, the water boilers offers the perfect solution. They are compact, space saving and eco-friendly, offering every office the perfect solution to all their hot water needs. Whether you are looking for a small wall mounted water boiler, or a larger water boiler for a busy office, AquAid has all the options you will need.
Water boilers save time, money and natural resources by not being on the boil for extended periods of time and only providing boiling water when it is needed. This provides a considerable decrease in the electricity used to heat your water. Furthermore, with the water being available instantly, there is no need for your or your staff to stand around while the kettle is boiling away, wasting time and steam. The wall mounted water boilers are perfect for smaller office or for large office buildings with multiple kitchens. It is easy to mount and can be positioned out of the way to ensure your canteen or kitchen space is not wasted.
If you are looking for the perfect office water boiler and chiller combination, then AquAid has the perfect solution for you. Their compact and very stylish unit will provide you with all the hot water you need, or with all the chilled cold water, making it the perfect choice. The unit is finished in a very appealing stainless steel and it will look good in any boardroom, conference centre or kitchen. Your staff, customers or clients will be able to assists themselves without any hassles. With the easy installation and mains fed power, you will not need to rewire your entire kitchen to fit a water boiler.
With all the different shapes, sizes and needs available, you can rest assured that the perfect water boiling solution is only a call away. A water boiler is the perfect addition to your office, conference room or kitchen.
