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Is there really a good low calorie chocolate chip muffins recipe? Here’s one with the added benefit of fragrant orange.

Chocolate Chip Orange Muffins - Low Fat

An old-fashioned recipe, slightly modified. 331 calories, 6 grams of fat, 1 mg of cholesterol…and good!!

1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons finely shredded orange rind
2 egg whites
2/3 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup chocolate chips

6 servings

30 minutes 10 mins prep

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Spray 6 large, 3″ muffin cups with no-stick spray and set aside.
3. In large bowl mix all dry ingrediants, including orange peel.
4. In small bowl, beat egg whites until foamy. Stire in the buttermilk and applesauce.
5. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture and stir just until moistened.
6. Fold in chocolate chips.
7. Spoon batter into cups.
8. Bake 20 to 22 minutes.
9. Cool in cups 5 minutes, then remove and cool on a wire rack.
10. To make standard sized muffins, spray 12 2 1/2″ muffin cups with no-stick spray and bake for 15 to 17 minutes. 166 calories, 3 grams of fat, o mg of cholesterol.

Pumped up pumpkin chocolate chip muffin recipes

Some pumpkin chocolate chip muffin recipes are almost too good to wait for, like these from the famous Carriage Inn Bed & Breakfast.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins presented by The Carriage Inn Bed & Breakfast

4 eggs
3 cups flour 2 cup sugar
1 cup canola oil
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 small can pumpkin, about 15 oz.
1 12-oz. package semi-sweet chocolate chips, mini-size preferred Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat eggs and sugar. Mix in rest of the ingredients. Spray muffin pans with non-stick cooking spray. Fill each section 3/4 full. Bake in pre heated oven approximately 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Makes about 24 medium muffins.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins:

12 Regular or 48 miniature
muffins
Make one or two days ahead
for best flavor.
1/2 c (1 1/4 ounces) sliced,unblanched
Almonds
1 2/3 c All-purpose flour
1 c Granulated sugar
1 tb Pumpkin pie spice
1 ts baking soda
1/4 ts baking powder
1/4 ts salt
2 lg Eggs
1 c Plain pumpkin (half of a
1 lb Can)
1/2 c (1 stick) butter, melted
1 c (6 ounces) chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350 F. Put almonds on a baking sheet pie pan and bake about 5 minutes, just until lightly browned; watch carefully so almonds don’t burn. (You can also toast them in a toaster oven.) Slide almonds off the baking sheet so they cool quickly.

Grease muffin cups, or use foil or paper baking cups.

Thoroughly mix flour, sugar, pie spice, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.

Break eggs into another bowl. Add pumpkin and butter, and whisk until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips and almonds. Pour over dry ingredients and fold in with a rubber spatula just until dry ingredients are moistened.

Scoop batter evenly into muffin cups. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until puffed and springy to the touch in the center. Turn out onto a rack to cool. Wrap in a plastic bag and keep for 1 or 2 days. Reheat before serving.

Chocolate Pudding:

Reserve one gill of milk from a quart, and put the remainder on the fire in a double-boiler. Mix three tablespoonfuls of cornstarch with the cold milk.

Beat two eggs with half a cupful of powdered sugar and half a teaspoonful of salt. Add this to the cornstarch and milk, and stir into the boiling milk, beating well for a minute. Shave fine two ounces of Walter Baker & Co.’s Premium No. 1 Chocolate, and put it into a small pan with four tablespoonfuls of sugar and two of boiling water.

Stir over a hot fire until smooth and glossy; then beat into the hot pudding. Cook the pudding in all ten minutes, counting from the time the eggs and cornstarch are added. Serve cold with powdered sugar and cream.

This pudding can be poured while hot into little cups which have been rinsed in cold water. At serving time turn out on a flat dish, making a circle, and fill the center of the dish with whipped cream flavored with sugar and vanilla.

The eggs may be omitted, in which case use one more tablespoonful of cornstarch.
William Smith the author provides many more delicious chocolate recipes for you free at Low Calorie Chocolate Chip Muffins (All is Free)

What is sold in a tea shop? The logical and most straightforward answer would be, plainly speaking, tea. While this in fact true, the tea shop is not limited to just the retail sale of tea.

With the recent boom of the Internet, numerous web sites have opened, acting as tea sellers over the Web. Some call themselves tea shops, and some tea sellers. All however carry tea as a main retail product.

In countries such as England and Scotland, where tea is a national beverage, a tea shop is often synonymous with a tea room. In these usually elegant and muted salons, tea is brewed and served from teapots at the table with an assortment of light cakes such as Victorian sponge, or with scones served with clotted cream or jam.

Both of the above descriptions for tea shops fit the definition of the term. Yet, what exactly does a tea shop name entail?

Such a shop usually carries shelves and shelves of the various kinds of varieties and brands of teas available. Sorted and classified by variety, or by label, shops sell the range of tea available on the market. Along with the tea itself, a wide variety of other collateral products is sold. Thus, tea sets are offered, such as assorted tea pots and cups and saucers. Whether in ceramic or porcelain, these sets run from cheap to expensive. Other more expensive, fine-bone china sets are also sold. It has to be remembered that the tea shop is a profoundly British notion, and as such, since tea is almost a formal ceremony in the country’s traditions, a high dose of class and elegance is associated with the serving of the beverage and its presentation in fine china.

Tea shops also sell utensils needed to make tea. Strainers, spoons, cutlery, and infusion balls are thus found, as well as electric kettles. Everything that revolves around tea is supposed to be available at the tea shop. Food is also present, as in the British food usually associated with tea. Biscuits, scones, clotted cream, jam, and cakes, are thus sold by tea shops. Books that have to do with the history of tea, or capture the stories of how tea figures into local culture are often among the items for sale.

Many a tea shop also offers gift baskets and other gift sets which are sure to please the tea lover. Should you not see a basket that has what you like, most shops are more than happy to prepare customized gift sets that will include exactly what you have in mind.
Mayoor Patel is the writer for the website http://organic-tea.tea-universe.com. Please visit for information on all things concerned with Tea Shop

Have you realized how much time you spend shopping at the grocery store? Are you sick and tired of having to waste this precious time, when you could be spending it with your family instead? If so then you need to start looking into food deliver services in your area. These services are catching on like wildfire and more and more communities are cashing in on these great deals and wonderful time savers.

There is a darn fine chance that your community has a food service that you can use. These are easy to find online, just do a quick search on your favorite browser and you are set. You will have to sign up or register with these sites and then you can begin your shopping right away, They are easy and fun and so convenient that you will find yourself with almost too much time on your hands!

You can buy all of your favorite groceries and more at these food services. You will find a vast selection of fruits and vegetables, both organic, locally grown and imported. You will find exotic fruits and vegetables as well as the old staples like potatoes and carrots. No matter what you need you can get it from these great food services.

You will also find a huge selection of dried and canned goods that you can have delivered right to your door any day of the week. Canned soup and dried pasta are just a few of the great items you can have delivered to you each week. Most of these services even have goodies like cookies and even some cakes!

You will get a choice of delivery. You may choose to have your food delivered after work or while you are at work. Many people choose to have their groceries dropped off while they are at work so that they are there when they get home. You can even ask that the goods be left in the backyard to that they do not get stolen.

Food delivery services are flexible and convenient and they are something that every one can benefit from.
S. Stammberger is editor of The Gourmet Blog. The Gourmet Blog offers gourmet food recipes, gourmet gift ideas and other gourmet tips.

This delicious recipe makes a gourmet quality pizza that is much better than any you will find in a restaurant - even the most expensive restaurants. This delightful, flavorful pizza is not hard to prepare, and is a sure hit for any meal or special gathering.

Be sure to use fresh ingredients, and do not skimp on quality. Use the best you can find - the taste is definitely worth it!

1 package pizza crust mix
1/2 teaspoon coarsely crushed peppercorns
12 ounces boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 cup chopped red onion
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons chicken soup base mix
1 1/2 teaspoon coarsely crushed garlic peppercorn blend
1 teaspoon garlic liquid spice
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon water
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup chopped green pepper
2 tablespoons sliced almonds

Make the pizza crust according to package directions. Add the 1/2 teaspoon of crushed peppercorns to the dry mix. Form and place in pizza pan to rise.

While the pizza crust is rising, combine the chicken and 1/4 cup of the chopped red onion along with the white wine vinegar, water, chicken soup base mix, crushed garlic peppercorn blend, and garlic liquid spice. Mix well to coat the chicken evenly. Let stand about ten minutes.

Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet, and add the coated chicken pieces. Cook and stir until done, about three minutes.

Mix the cornstarch and water together and stir into the chicken mixture. Heat and stir until thickened and bubbly. Spoon this mixture evenly on top of the pizza crust. Sprinkle the top with mozzarella cheese, chopped green pepper, and the remaining 1/4 cup of chopped red onions.

Bake the pizza at 400 F for about twelve minutes. Sprinkle the sliced almonds on top, and bake about two minutes longer until the crust is golden brown.

Makes eight servings.

Nutritional Information, Per Serving:

190 calories
18 grams protein
13 grams carbohydrate
8 grams fat
3 grams saturated fat
36 mg cholesterol
220 mg sodium
0 grams dietary fiber

Preparation tips:

The crust will rise well in an oven with the door propped open slightly, so that the oven light is on. This provides just enough warmth to get a good result.

For the coarsely crushed peppercorns (second ingredient) - choose a blend of black, white, and green peppercorns for a delicious treat. While some folks may not be able to tell a difference in the flavor of different color peppercorns, there are subtle differences that will enhance the taste of the finished pizza.

The garlic liquid spice is usually available in gourmet food stores or online from gourmet food ingredient catalogs.

If you can find one, get an “air bake” type pizza pan. These do a great job browning the crust, and minimize the chance of the crust burning.
Eldon Beard is a Manager with Watkins Products. Enjoy the finest gourmet cooking extracts, spices, pepper blends, soup bases, and dessert mixes. Visit our Watkins Gourmet Foods

The use of animal derived products in alcohol production is considerably more widespread than most would imagine. Anti-foaming agents, colourants and clarifying processes all make use of animal products in some way or another.

It is not as if there are no real alternatives because there are. The problem lies in the poor information available to consumers and so no demand for a change is well established. One of the main reasons for this quite simply is a clause in the 1984 UK Food Labelling Regulations, which does not require any beverages with an alcoholic content higher than 1.2 percent to display its ingredients on the packaging.

Fining is the process by which certain impurities held in suspension, such as excess yeast, are removed from ale and other alcohols. To remove these impurities something must be added to the liquid to cause unwanted particles to precipitate.

Alternative non-animal additives used in the fining process are bentonite, kaolin, kieselguhr and silica gel. Modern methods such as centrifuging and filtering are also becoming more common.

A large number of breweries employ a substance called isinglass during the fining processes of virtually all cask ales. Isinglass is a kind of gelatin obtained from the swim bladders of certain fish, especially the Chinese sturgeon.

If cloudy particles show up in a pint of real ale when held up to the light, it is a sure sign that it had been recently disturbed, was brewed in a cask and more likely than not contains isinglass.

Occasionally the additive glyceryl monostearate is used instead of 900 dimethylpolysiloxane as anti-foaming an agent in the production of beers produced in kegs. Sometimes glyceryl monostearate is derived from animals

Most of the main cider brands are fined in a similar fashion but use gelatine instead of isinglass.

Wine is fined using a variety of different animal derivatives, isinglass, gelatin, egg albumen, modified casein and chitin (which comes from crab or lobster shells). Some manufacturers even use ox blood though that is generally considered an antiquated technique nowadays.

Fortified wines like ports and sherries should be treated similarly to wine. Port also uses gelatin during its fining process.

In addition to using isinglass in its production, red wine also contains E120. The red colourant, E120 is produced from the pregnant body of the cochineal insect (Dactilopius Coccus). Campari and some soft drinks also use the cochineal insect for red colouring.

Most malt whiskies, blended whiskies and Spanish brandies are conditioned in casks, which previously held sherry, which in turn may have been treated with animal derived finings.

Some imported vodkas may have been passed through a bone charcoal filter.

A number of these animal products leave only tiny amounts in the final product and a few of them do use other non-animal alternatives, but the fact remains that without a change in the UK Food Labelling Regulations, vegetarians and anybody else who cares to know the contents of what they are consuming are largely kept in the dark.
Colin Didcott is a life long vegetarian and collector of authentic vegetarian recipes from around the world. Visit Vegetarian Recipes Realm to see his collection of low calorie vegetarian recipes and join in the friendly vegetarian community.

Ever opened your fridge in search of that chunk of beef or steak only to find out that it’s not going to be enough to
take care of a group of six? Don’t run out to the grocer yet. There’s a solution: cut the beef thinnly.

There are numerous advantages to having a roast sliced sparingly. When you shave meat like this, additional guests or family can be served when using a smaller cut. For example, if you cut one large piece of smoked turkey twice as thin as you usually would slice it, you wind up having
twice the amount of sandwiches. In general, people usually use two or three slices of deli turkey for a sandwich, no matter how thin the slices.

WEll shaved pork is also an easy way to cut costs for a large group of people. And if you’re creating an appetizer plate or sandwich
table, smaller slices give it a better look. It looks crisper, fresher and all around more appealing if the meat being used for trays is sliced thin.

Yet an additional benefit of slicing meat thin is shorter grilling times. Slice a side of ham one third as thin as usual, array the meat slices on the pan and the meat’s cooking requirements will at least be cut in half. For the out of time mom, this technique results in quicker dinner preparation. If you are in a hurry, you can be sure that your meat will still cook completely, but also in a shorter amount of time.

In a deli environment, the cook will usually be able to slice your meat at no additional cost to you. but, if you have meat at home that you are slicing , be sure to take extra precautions. A very well sharpened knife and a many-pronged dividing fork should be used . If you are slicing raw meat,
be sure to clean the cutting board and carving tools with an antibacterial soap. Also, make sure to properly get rid of the materials used.
Eric Seminara loves a good Barbecue and cooking meat for friends is a great passtime. You can find an entire compendium of barbecue information at SmokersAndGrillsOnline.com

Down here in the south it’s a given that every red blooded male escapes the womb knowing how to make great barbeque. Give him a match and a bag of charcoal and he can make even the most sensitive of noses quiver with the aroma of a pork shoulder smoking over a pile of briquettes.

Unfortunately, the act of playing with fire often brings out the idiotic side of more than a few backyard chefs! It’s good to note that there is a distinction between outdoor cooks; city dwellers and country boys. City folks can’t really be expected to know a lot of things that their country cousins take for granted, such as what to do with your coals and ashes once you’ve finished using them.

It would seem that the removal of the ashes is a no-brainer, but the Fire Marshall in our town tells me otherwise. Some folks just do not like to get their grill wet and messy from dousing the coals with water. Firefighters I talked with had a few expletives to share with me about their latest call to a barbeque genius in our town.

By all indications, this hearty fellow would be classified as a southern gentleman and should have known better. In our part of North Alabama, it has been a dry year. It’s only the middle of April and we are already 12 inches below our normal amount or rainfall. Everything is parchment dry and susceptible to the tiniest spark! This is no place to leave charcoal on the grill and allow it to burn itself out.

We’ll call this fellow Billy Earl, (not his real name). After letting the charcoal burn until all the coals were cold, he shoveled the ashes into an old paper grocery bag and threw it into a large outdoor trash can. After the clean up from the party, the can was filled to over flowing with paper plates, napkins and an assortment of other paper material. Billy Earl keeps the trash can in his garage next to his automobiles.

Everyone went to bed that evening with the satisfaction of knowing that another outdoor cookout was a success and plans for the next one were already percolating in their dreams. About 3:00 a.m. the smoke alarm rudely interrupted those dreams. Smoke had engulfed most of the house by this time, but they could see no fire; only an eerie glow from the garage.

Sirens could be heard in the distance. Friends next door had seen the flames in the garage and called the fire department. Soon there was a small crowd of neighbors huddled together across the street from Billy Earl’s house, cringing at small explosions that occurred periodically. Paint thinner and gasoline cans had been stored under his work bench. Not anymore! Fortunately the fire was contained to the garage and the kitchen. All that was lost was the kitchen, a ‘78 Camaro and a new SUV.

The fire started in the bottom of the overfilled trash can by charcoal briquettes that were not completely out. This, I discovered was not an uncommon call to the fire department. Our local fire fighters are called out several times a year to put out fires that have been started by “cold ashes”.

While there are few restrictions regarding barbeque fires in residential areas of the city, there are definitely some that apply to apartment dwellers. For multifamily units you can’t grill on the porch or deck, balcony or breeze ways of the building. In addition, the barbeque grill has to be at least 10 feet away from the building. Our Fire Marshall told me that these rules are basically the same everywhere, with the space between grill and building varying depending upon the city.

No matter where you live, the idiocy factor comes into play. Nation wide, 45-50 people die each year from barbeque related fires, while a few thousand more are injured. If you plan on having a cook-out on a hot, dry Saturday afternoon on your deck, make sure you have some kind of covering on the deck and not expose the wood to sparks form the grill. Better still, move the grill away from the house so there’s no chance anything can catch on fire!

It’s sad, but most states now have barbeque safety tips. This implies that there are a lot of folks out there who do not know their way around a barbeque grill. That’s a sad commentary on our society!
Bob Alexander is well experienced in outdoor cooking, fishing and leisure living. Bob is also the author and owner of this article. Visit his sites at: http://www.redfishbob.com http://www.bluemarlinbob.com

Down here in the south it’s a given that every red blooded male escapes the womb knowing how to make great barbeque. Give him a match and a bag of charcoal and he can make even the most sensitive of noses quiver with the aroma of a pork shoulder smoking over a pile of briquettes.

Unfortunately, the act of playing with fire often brings out the idiotic side of more than a few backyard chefs! It’s good to note that there is a distinction between outdoor cooks; city dwellers and country boys. City folks can’t really be expected to know a lot of things that their country cousins take for granted, such as what to do with your coals and ashes once you’ve finished using them.

It would seem that the removal of the ashes is a no-brainer, but the Fire Marshall in our town tells me otherwise. Some folks just do not like to get their grill wet and messy from dousing the coals with water. Firefighters I talked with had a few expletives to share with me about their latest call to a barbeque genius in our town.

By all indications, this hearty fellow would be classified as a southern gentleman and should have known better. In our part of North Alabama, it has been a dry year. It’s only the middle of April and we are already 12 inches below our normal amount or rainfall. Everything is parchment dry and susceptible to the tiniest spark! This is no place to leave charcoal on the grill and allow it to burn itself out.

We’ll call this fellow Billy Earl, (not his real name). After letting the charcoal burn until all the coals were cold, he shoveled the ashes into an old paper grocery bag and threw it into a large outdoor trash can. After the clean up from the party, the can was filled to over flowing with paper plates, napkins and an assortment of other paper material. Billy Earl keeps the trash can in his garage next to his automobiles.

Everyone went to bed that evening with the satisfaction of knowing that another outdoor cookout was a success and plans for the next one were already percolating in their dreams. About 3:00 a.m. the smoke alarm rudely interrupted those dreams. Smoke had engulfed most of the house by this time, but they could see no fire; only an eerie glow from the garage.

Sirens could be heard in the distance. Friends next door had seen the flames in the garage and called the fire department. Soon there was a small crowd of neighbors huddled together across the street from Billy Earl’s house, cringing at small explosions that occurred periodically. Paint thinner and gasoline cans had been stored under his work bench. Not anymore! Fortunately the fire was contained to the garage and the kitchen. All that was lost was the kitchen, a ‘78 Camaro and a new SUV.

The fire started in the bottom of the overfilled trash can by charcoal briquettes that were not completely out. This, I discovered was not an uncommon call to the fire department. Our local fire fighters are called out several times a year to put out fires that have been started by “cold ashes”.

While there are few restrictions regarding barbeque fires in residential areas of the city, there are definitely some that apply to apartment dwellers. For multifamily units you can’t grill on the porch or deck, balcony or breeze ways of the building. In addition, the barbeque grill has to be at least 10 feet away from the building. Our Fire Marshall told me that these rules are basically the same everywhere, with the space between grill and building varying depending upon the city.

No matter where you live, the idiocy factor comes into play. Nation wide, 45-50 people die each year from barbeque related fires, while a few thousand more are injured. If you plan on having a cook-out on a hot, dry Saturday afternoon on your deck, make sure you have some kind of covering on the deck and not expose the wood to sparks form the grill. Better still, move the grill away from the house so there’s no chance anything can catch on fire!

It’s sad, but most states now have barbeque safety tips. This implies that there are a lot of folks out there who do not know their way around a barbeque grill. That’s a sad commentary on our society!
Bob Alexander is well experienced in outdoor cooking, fishing and leisure living. Bob is also the author and owner of this article. Visit his sites at: http://www.redfishbob.com http://www.bluemarlinbob.com

Down here in the south it’s a given that every red blooded male escapes the womb knowing how to make great barbeque. Give him a match and a bag of charcoal and he can make even the most sensitive of noses quiver with the aroma of a pork shoulder smoking over a pile of briquettes.

Unfortunately, the act of playing with fire often brings out the idiotic side of more than a few backyard chefs! It’s good to note that there is a distinction between outdoor cooks; city dwellers and country boys. City folks can’t really be expected to know a lot of things that their country cousins take for granted, such as what to do with your coals and ashes once you’ve finished using them.

It would seem that the removal of the ashes is a no-brainer, but the Fire Marshall in our town tells me otherwise. Some folks just do not like to get their grill wet and messy from dousing the coals with water. Firefighters I talked with had a few expletives to share with me about their latest call to a barbeque genius in our town.

By all indications, this hearty fellow would be classified as a southern gentleman and should have known better. In our part of North Alabama, it has been a dry year. It’s only the middle of April and we are already 12 inches below our normal amount or rainfall. Everything is parchment dry and susceptible to the tiniest spark! This is no place to leave charcoal on the grill and allow it to burn itself out.

We’ll call this fellow Billy Earl, (not his real name). After letting the charcoal burn until all the coals were cold, he shoveled the ashes into an old paper grocery bag and threw it into a large outdoor trash can. After the clean up from the party, the can was filled to over flowing with paper plates, napkins and an assortment of other paper material. Billy Earl keeps the trash can in his garage next to his automobiles.

Everyone went to bed that evening with the satisfaction of knowing that another outdoor cookout was a success and plans for the next one were already percolating in their dreams. About 3:00 a.m. the smoke alarm rudely interrupted those dreams. Smoke had engulfed most of the house by this time, but they could see no fire; only an eerie glow from the garage.

Sirens could be heard in the distance. Friends next door had seen the flames in the garage and called the fire department. Soon there was a small crowd of neighbors huddled together across the street from Billy Earl’s house, cringing at small explosions that occurred periodically. Paint thinner and gasoline cans had been stored under his work bench. Not anymore! Fortunately the fire was contained to the garage and the kitchen. All that was lost was the kitchen, a ‘78 Camaro and a new SUV.

The fire started in the bottom of the overfilled trash can by charcoal briquettes that were not completely out. This, I discovered was not an uncommon call to the fire department. Our local fire fighters are called out several times a year to put out fires that have been started by “cold ashes”.

While there are few restrictions regarding barbeque fires in residential areas of the city, there are definitely some that apply to apartment dwellers. For multifamily units you can’t grill on the porch or deck, balcony or breeze ways of the building. In addition, the barbeque grill has to be at least 10 feet away from the building. Our Fire Marshall told me that these rules are basically the same everywhere, with the space between grill and building varying depending upon the city.

No matter where you live, the idiocy factor comes into play. Nation wide, 45-50 people die each year from barbeque related fires, while a few thousand more are injured. If you plan on having a cook-out on a hot, dry Saturday afternoon on your deck, make sure you have some kind of covering on the deck and not expose the wood to sparks form the grill. Better still, move the grill away from the house so there’s no chance anything can catch on fire!

It’s sad, but most states now have barbeque safety tips. This implies that there are a lot of folks out there who do not know their way around a barbeque grill. That’s a sad commentary on our society!
Bob Alexander is well experienced in outdoor cooking, fishing and leisure living. Bob is also the author and owner of this article. Visit his sites at: http://www.redfishbob.com http://www.bluemarlinbob.com

Whatever be the reason as to why people drink coffee, it is undoubtedly the most famous drink consumed today.

As far as Americans are concerned, coffee is a merely three hundred years old. In other places and cultures it has been a widespread phenomena for a much longer time. There are records indicating the use of coffee as early as 800 B. C. In fact, Homer speaks of a bitter black beverage that has powers of stimulation and for all we know Homer might have been speaking of coffee.

In the year 1000 A.D., coffee was mostly used for medicinal purposes. It has been reported than in 1400 a Yemeni goat herder saw his flock eating some reddish berries and consequently becoming excited and restless. When this goat herder told a monk about this they gathered the berries together and boiled them in water. They found that the resulting beverage could get rid of sleep and weariness.

The first coffee plant was started in Africa, in the Ethiopian region known as Kaffa. It then spread to Egypt, Yemen, and Arabia, and by this time had become part of everyday life.

By the late 1500s coffee was already being sold in Europe as any other commodity. But the shipping taxes were too high and the demand for coffee was also rising. This resulting in many people experimenting with the cultivation of coffee in other countries. Somewhere around 1727 coffee was grown for the first time in Brazil.

In 1903, Ludwig Roselius, a German coffee importer delivered a batch of damaged coffee beans to researchers. The researchers in turn discovered how to take the caffeine out of the beans without losing any flavor. Thus, decaffeinated coffee found its way into the market and was so distributed in the 1920s.

Instant coffee is basically soluble coffee powder that does not require the long preparation process involved with whole grain coffee. It was mass produced using the invention of George Constant Washington. He was an English chemist who was living in Guatemala at the time. One day, he was waiting for his wife to join him when he saw that there was a find powder deposited on the spout of his silver coffee urn. He presumed that this was condensation from coffee vapor and experimentation led to the invention of instant coffee.

In 1906 Washington started experiments that led to the introduction of his Red ECoffee in 1909.

In 1938, Nestle created freeze-dried coffee in order to help Brazil with a surplus in coffee production.

Nescafe was first introduced into Switzerland and by 1956 coffee was everywhere.

Every year, 400 billion cups of coffee are consumed in the United States. Coffee has become one of the largest commodities and is second only to oil.
For more info on coffee, coffee beans and espresso, please visit our website. Gourmet Coffee