Coffee Around the World Part 1

Humans are the top species on the planet not because we have the strongest bite, the biggest muscles, or the ability to shoot electricity out from our bodies. We owe our success as a species to our minds, the capacity to think about how we can make things easier for us, to come up with new ways for turning a cow into a steak, a fish into a taco, and some beans into the most addictive drink on the planet.

We tackled last time about how some goats or birds led humans to discover the magic of coffee, and how it spread throughout the world as a go-to drink for a much-needed energy boost. Now we’ll talk about how different groups of people put their own twist on how they consume coffee.

In America, the Cafe Americano is a more minimalist approach to coffee. While the other examples above from Vietnam and Italy introduced a dairy component to their drinks, the Americans took a more minimalist approach to their coffee making and diluted their espresso shots in more hot water, thus creating the Americano.

Moving over to slightly fancier coffees, the Vietnamese have come up with a minor addition to coffee that truly makes it a thousand times better for people with a sweet tooth. After preparing their coffee grounds, with the beans being roasted with salt, rice wine, and butter; hot water is run through them into a glass that contains condensed milk, thus introducing a different texture that’s slightly thicker (depending on how much condensed milk is in the glass) than your usual coffee along with a different kind of sweetness that you can’t just get from adding normal sugar.

In Italy, the macchiato can trace its origins to the attempts of baristas to show waiters what an espresso shot looks like versus an espresso shot with some milk. Macchiato actually means “marked” or “stained” because the espresso is marked or stained by the milk that’s added to it. 

In certain countries like the Philippines, instant coffee can be bought ANYWHERE. Whether it’s the neighborhood store, the mall, or even some guy with a plastic rack filled with all sorts of sachets, you’re bound to run into a source of cheap and accessible coffee. Flavors range from normal coffee, to “instant” lattes, chocolate mocha, extra milky, and more. While it sort of takes away the drinkers’ capability to have their own specific mix for coffee, it’s a cheap and quick way to get a caffeine fix.

No matter what type of coffee you’re craving, you don’t need to book a flight to another country just to have a macchiato or a cappuccino. We, at Equipoise are here to help you make the perfect home brew with our products. Make your own iced coffees, macchiatos, cappuccinos, lattes, and whatever else kind of coffee that you want from the comfort of your own home. We have a wide selection of beans to suit your tastes. These include Colombian Supremo, Ethiopian Virgafetti, and Mexican La Laja. Drop by our site, get a bag of beans, get a few groceries, and make your own special coffee drinks.