The country of origin where coffee was supposed to have been birthed is Ethiopia, and the story behind it is that there was a goat herder who noticed that his goats were pretty hyper after eating wild Ethiopian berries. What’s that about? He then decided to brew those berries into a drink, and coffee was born! It is a lot more complex than that though, because it took until the 1600s for coffee to be imported into Venice and affect all of Europe, and we in the US didn’t see the delicious bean until 1607 when John Smith brought it over into Jamestown.

There is much more to learn about the decadent history of coffee, but that is a little bit of fun history for you to use as anecdotes to impress your friends.

This may seem too good to be true, but I assure you, it is not. There was a small study showing that when a group of men cycled after having a few cups of coffee beforehand, then their results of pain and soreness were dramatically reduced.

Researchers had 25 subjects engage in two bouts of high intensity cycling. Before each session, they gave every subject a pill. One time, the pill contained the equivalent of two or three cups of coffee. The other time it was just a placebo. The participants all said they felt less pain in their leg muscles during the caffeine-assisted workout than they did with the sugar pill. And it even worked for subjects who already chug a couple thermoses of joe a day.

The simple reason behind this is that the caffeine in coffee blocks some of the chemicals your body makes when it is inflamed from exercise and soreness, so therefore, you are getting the benefit of the workout, without the nasty “workout hangover” afterward where you feel you can barely move from soreness and stiff muscles. So, the barista can help your biking. Java can boost your jogging. And, of course, enjoy those lattes before your Pilates.

Coffee filter make the liquid drop slowly into the glass and leaving the ground in filter’s container resulting a clean look and yet you can still feel the boldness of it. It’s quite simple method compare to espresso machine and great way to enjoy coffee in the street of Ho Chi Minh with friendly people there. Drinking coffee on the side walks caffee using the small table and seats is an ordinary view in Vietnam. I think they still treasure their coffee culture apart from modern coffee shops that threaten their local custom rooted from French colonial.

OK, let’s try our tools as I’d like to share the technique of making Vietnam coffee to you. You may add ice or milk as Vietnamese do for their coffee, but I like it hot, very hot.

First step : This is the tool (no1, not picture no.2) for making coffee I explained before, a container with a filter. Use coarse coffee like espresso ground, as such it will not drip to the glass and of course you will need boiled water.

Step 1, 2

Well, I think the pictures tell enough, get the coffee about 1 table spoon (1 shot), pour into the filter, and put on the glass. Ready to roll ?

Step 3, 4, 5

Our black gold is now dripping slowly and yes we will have nirvana sensation (mmm that’s only me exaggerating, you know I’m a coffee addict). Our hot devil is now ready to enjoy, taste slowly in you mouth, feel it on your tongue, and the devil has become an angel. Am I crazy or what ?

Step 6, 7, 8

Happy drinking from me.

Javanese Ginger Coffee

Ingredients:
1.5 tsp coffee powder (non instant)
¼ tsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp ginger powder
1.5 – 2 tsp brown sugar
Tool: Classic Coffee Drip

Direction:
1. Pour ginger powder and brown sugar into the cup.
2. Make Regular Shot coffee using Classic Coffee Drip.
3. After all the coffee drip, add a little Cinnamon Powder
4. stir it for a moment
5. Enjoy Java Coffee Rempah.