Cupcake Success Is All About The Ingredients

Cupcake Success Is All About The Ingredients
Cupcakes are made many different ways. Among us we find
that many people have an ancestor, great grandmother,
friend or other such person who knows someone who knows
someone who knows how to create the best cupcake you will
ever have in your life. How are these cupcakes deemed more
superior than the lesser less exalted cupcakes in our
midst? The differential factors lie in choosing extra
special ingredients.

A cupcakes final outcome is truly dependent on the care and
quality of the ingredients that are put into it. Some may
think a cupcake is a cupcake. But they will not argue that
there is a huge difference between homemade hamburgers
versus McDonald 99 cent burgers.

Some boutique bakeries will go the extra mile and spend
about eighty dollars on a bottle of vanilla essence whereas
the average corner store mom n' pop bakery shop will spend
ninety-five cents and wonder why their cupcakes don't have
that extra special quality taste. The fine ingredients are
created differently, grown with extra care, refined in a
special manner. It is the difference between drinking a one
hundred dollar bottle of champagne versus the five dollar
liquor store special. Again, these perfecting touches just
create a different palatable effect. These champagnes can
be priced higher because alcohol connoisseurs can taste the
difference. Such is the case for a finely crafted cupcake.
I say "crafted" because with the extra special care that
goes into these dessert treats, they become an art piece.
They become someone's hard invested masterpiece.

The special ingredients do not stop with such finds as
bottles of perfected vanilla essence. Every ingredient is a
perfected, addition, something that has been created and
cultivated with the greatest care. For example, there are
different quality levels of chocolate, frosting, sugars,
eggs, and other such ingredients that make up the ultimate
cupcake mixture. Even the actual cooking, stirring and
process of making these special cupcakes can be learned in
a manner that will bring out the greatest qualities in the
treat.

These ingredients might in the overall end result make the
price tag of a cupcake well over the typical cupcake price,
but that is why they are special. Most people on average do
not buy a celebratory bottle of champagne everyday, much
less every week. But, when the occasion affords it, many
people will treat themselves because they know they are
paying for quality. Such can be the same for these
extraordinary cupcakes. Maybe one's son or daughter loves
cupcakes and they just graduated from college with honors,
why not opt for a cupcake delicacy instead of a cake to
surprise and congratulate them?

For the affluent population, this can be the perfect
dessert treat they have been looking for. Their wine
cellars are already stocked with the best bottles of
champagne and wine. Their garages filled with the latest
vehicles of their dreams, why not top off their success
with an extraordinary dessert treat!

----------------------------------------------------
For the best cupcake recipes in the history of the world,
visit http://www.cupcake-recipes.com

Giving the Gift of Gourmet Food

Giving the Gift of Gourmet Food
Gourmet food items are a wonderful gift that can be given
to an individual, a family, or even a group. They are
popular, and these have a tendency to bring out the
"armchair gourmet chef" in everyone and are always a fun
choice. They're thoughtful, fancy, always appreciated and
will never clutter the kitchen area since they generally
will go straight to the stomach.

Eating gourmet does not have to be an experience you can
only enjoy in restaurants -- you can do it yourself at
home. Gourmet home cooking is a growing new trend. There is
an amazing assortment of products on the market today to
take a meal from homecooked to gourmet with ease.

While gourmet or specialty food stores are an excellent way
to shop for your favorite ingredients and foods, most can
be accessed through online gourmet food websites. If you
know eactly what product you ar looking for this is a more
convenient alternative to driving to the store. The money
you save on gas will help pay for the usually higher priced
items.

While gourmet does sends the mesage of expensive and elite,
that is not always the case. The discerning shopper on a
budget can find great value if they take the time and know
what they are looking for.

Gourmet foods can be healthy for you too, more so than the
alternatives. A majority of ingredients found in gourmet
foods are naturally wholesome, additive free, vegetarian
(you can always add meat if you like) and low fat.

Some of the finer foods and ingredients you will find are
wild steelehead roe, remarkable in the clarity of flavor,
incredible texture and unparalleled freshness, flavored
infuse maple syrup that adds a special dimension to any
sauce or dessert, barrel aged double solera vinegars and
elixers, flavor infused fleur de sel, exotic spice
combinations for seasoning and rubs, and troll-caught
albacore tune, which is naturally low in mercury, to name a
few.

Gourmet food items are usually fresher and more flavorful
for your mouth watering taste buds and are probably one of
the most talked about food items during the course of a
meal.

They are foods that people most likely would only eat on
special occasions. But you can, with little effort, take
your home cooking to a new level with high quality, gourmet
ingredients.

Don't think that your weekday meal has to be a bland rerun
of last week. With the right products and some "armchair
gourmet chef " creativity, you can impress your family and
frieds with a dish that they are sure to remember.

----------------------------------------------------
Chef Steven Stallard was professionally trained at the CIA,
Greenbrier Hotel & Tailevent Restaurant of Paris. He spent
nearly 20 years advancing his vision of truly American
Cuisine based on naturally sourced ingredients. Chef Steve
in President and owner of BLiS, Llc, - Handcrafterd Gourmet
and Natural Food products. BLiS products are now available
through the company's web site http://www.BLiSgourmet.com

Cookies, anyone?

Cookies, anyone?
Arlene of our staff shared the following delightful story
with me the other day:

"I answered the quiet knock at my door, wondering who could
be there. As an American attending a Spanish language
school in Guadalajara, Mexico, I was very new to my
neighborhood. A shy smile greeted me, and a 5-year-old
little boy said softly, "My mother sent this over for you.
She wanted you to try some special Mexican food." The
plate he thrust into my hands contained what I recognized
as chiles rellenos, mild chilies stuffed with cheese and
fried in a foamy egg batter. They're delicious! Instead
of simply acknowledging my appreciation for his mother's
kind gesture, I followed the local custom of saying, "Thank
you, I'll return the plate later." I had learned that the
one who receives the food should return the plate filled
with a similar gift. Inwardly, I congratulated myself on
how well I was learning about the culture.

Now, which was good practice for today's MyHATT
responsibilities, I wondered what would be the best food to
return to my neighbors. It should be something the whole
family could enjoy, and it would be nice to give them
something typically American as a special treat. As my
brain ran through a list of possibilities, it stopped on
chocolate chip cookies. What could be better? They would
make an especially nice gift because at that time chocolate
chips weren't available in the stores in our area of the
city. I had just driven up to the border the week prior to
renew my visa and shopped for some staples in a large
grocery store while there, so I was well stocked with
baking supplies.

As I mixed the dough, I decided to add some nuts and
raisins. Okay, so they wouldn't be typical chocolate chip
cookies after all, but my neighbors would enjoy the taste.
I had read in a magazine that adding some instant coffee to
cookie dough bumps up the flavor, so included a teaspoon of
that too.

My sparsely furnished home didn't have a stove with an
oven, but that wasn't going to ruin my plan. I knew that
some cookies could be baked in an electric skillet, so
decided to give it a try. I plugged in the skillet and
placed a coffee can lid in the center to serve as a trivet.
While it heated I looked for a pan that would fit in the
limited space the skillet provided. The only one I could
find that wasn't too large was a 9-inch cake pan. That'll
work, I thought. There was just one little
problem—the cake pan could only accommodate four
cookies at a time. I wasn't about to give up now. It
would just take more batches to use up all of the sweet,
spicy dough. When I started my little cooking operation I
had no idea that each batch took more than 30 minutes to
cook due to the reduced heat. The old electric skillet I
had at the time just didn't match a nice hot oven.
Finally, after working in the kitchen for some three hours,
all of the cookies were baked and I was feeling quite
satisfied with my ingenuity.

The next day when I saw my neighbor boy playing in his
yard, I called him over and handed off the plate of cookies
to give to his mother. She came over later that afternoon
and told me how good the cookies were and that her family
enjoyed them very much. "I ate so many of them," she
commented, "and they were delicious. What secret
ingredient did you use to make them so tasty?"

I thought about the ingredients the cookies contained, and
the only unusual one was the instant coffee. Since I was
just learning Spanish, it was a challenge to carry on more
than just a very simple conversation. I wanted to explain
about the "secret ingredient," the instant coffee, so I
quickly formulated the sentence in my mind before
verbalizing it. In English when we combine chocolate and
coffee we call the flavor mocha, but how would I say that
in Spanish? To tell my neighbor the cookies were mocha
flavored I would need to use the phrase savor de moca, but
we had just learned in language school that the noun (savor
in this case) needed to match the adjective (moca), so I
thought the last letter of moca should probably be changed
from an "a" to an "o" to make it grammatically correct. Oh
well, I thought, what's one little letter? So I told her
my secret ingredient was savor de moco. As soon as the
words left my mouth I saw the pleasant expression on her
face turn to one of shock. My first thought was that my
accent wasn't good enough and she had misunderstood me, so
I repeated the phrase, slowly and more carefully. When her
reaction remained the same I knew I had somehow blown it
badly. Moco, moco, I thought, where had I heard that word
before? And then I remembered—the only time that
word had been used in my presence was when my neighbor's
children had very runny noses from a cold! As I fumbled in
Spanish, trying to explain what I really meant, the poor
woman was probably wondering what kind of a crazy "Gringo"
she had living next door. Needless to say, she didn't send
over any more gifts of Mexican food for me to sample.

Oh, sure, I was really understanding the culture and
learning the language—right!

My friends have heard the story over the years, and all I
have to ask when they come to my home is, "cookies,
anyone?" and everyone has a good laugh as they remember my
"secret ingredient." They love to say, running the last
two words together slightly, "You may think it's a cookie,
but it's not.""

----------------------------------------------------
Jeff Gustafson and MyHATT, An international dinner club
concept where people get to know people one bite at a
time...thank you to Arlene Hawkinson and my entire MyHATT
contributing staff for the educational content for world
culture, the history, world traditions, the international
menus for this wondeful family activity website...
http://www.myhatt.com

French Toast Strata for Diabetics and Dieters

French Toast Strata for Diabetics and Dieters
Tired of the same old breakfast day in and day out? To me
one of the most difficult things about my diabetic diet is
boring old breakfast foods. And I am not much of a morning
person. I hate the idea of getting up and heading off to
the kitchen to make breakfast. And don't we all like
something different once in awhile? How about a French
toast dish? One that requires minimal morning effort!
What a deal. You prepare this dish the night before and
refrigerate overnight. The next morning, while you are
preparing your coffee, or hot tea in my case; pop the dish
in the oven. It's that simple. Now I'm not sure French
Toast would be considered a dieter's dish in most
circumstances. However, if you are concerned about the
sugar in your diet, this is a recipe for you. And I do
know we diabetics like to enjoy the foods we "used" to eat
and still watch our carbs and sugar intake. This is a
recipe I worked on to make it more diabetic friendly. It
works in the diabetic's diet because it has a good
carb/protein ratio. It is an easy recipe because you make
it the night before and refrigerate overnight. Bake the
next morning while you are getting ready for the day and
you quickly have a great dessert, breakfast or brunch item.
Even though this dish should be served warm, it is one you
can take to a brunch, etc, where you are expected to bring
something. Pop in the microwave for a few seconds and
serve. It is always a good idea for the diabetic to take a
dish they know they can eat. That way you aren't so
tempted to get into the cinnamon rolls or other tempting
goodies you know you shouldn't have.

If you like French toast, give this recipe a try:

FRENCH TOAST STRATA

1/3 cup granulated sugar substitute (I use Splenda), 1 cup
egg substitute, 2/3 cup skim milk, 3/4 tsp vanilla extract,
1 tsp maple-flavored extract, 8 slices cinnamon-raisin
bread, 2 cups apples, peeled, cored, sliced thin; 1/4 cup
low-fat cream cheese, 1 tbsp granulated sugar substitute
(for this I use Equal Sugar-Lite), 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Spray an 8-inch square baking pan with non-stick cooking
spray.

In a medium mixing bowl, blend together 1/3 cup granulated
sugar substitute, egg substitute, milk and extracts. Tear
bread into small pieces and toss into egg mixture. Add
apples. Coat the bread evenly with mixture and pour into
prepared pan. Cut cream cheese into 8 pieces and place
strategically over the top of mixture. Blend cinnamon with
1 tablespoon of sugar substitute and sprinkle over the
strata. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Next morning preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove strata
from fridge and bake 40-50 minutes or until lightly browned
and set. Serve immediately while hot. ENJOY!

Carbs 20g, Protein 7 g in each 1/8 of strata serving.

Diabetics should try to maintain a carb/protein ratio of at
least 1/3 as many protein grams as carb grams per meal.
This recipe fits nicely into that ratio. You are also
getting grains, dairy products and fruit all in one dish.

----------------------------------------------------
For more delicious and easy diabetic recipes, go to
http://www.diabeticenjoyingfood.squarespace.com

Why Are You Addicted to Cheese?

Why Are You Addicted to Cheese?
Cheese is a part of the American culture. Americans enjoy
eating cheese, and some are even addicted to it.

Is there such a thing as cheese addiction? Is it an
overstatement that you could, in fact, be addicted to
cheese?

In the 1980s, scientists already discovered a trace of
morphine in milk and dairy products, in particular, cheese.

Morphine, which is an addictive opiate, was found to be
present in cow. Specifically, casein, a milk protein,
releases opiates upon digestion. Cheese contains more
casein than is found in milk from either cows or humans,
because cheese is concentrated protein with water and
lactose sugar extracted. Accordingly, eating too much
cheese may result in cheese addiction.

Is cheese addiction bad for your health? Well, once you
stop your cheese addiction, you may reap substantial health
benefits.

Cheese is concentrated protein: a 2-oz serving has about 15
grams of fat, most of which is saturated, giving you bad
cholesterol and blocking your arteries. Stop eating cheese
may help reduce your bad cholesterol level.

Too much cheese may give you arthritis and migraine
attacks. Research showed that cheese triggers migraines in
many patients, and that cheese is also implicated in 50
percent of rheumatoid arthritis due to its high fat content.

Research also showed that cheese increases insulin-like
growth factor-I (IGF-I), which is an aggressive promoter of
cancer and abnormal cell growth.

Milk products may play havoc with your absorption of
vitamin D, which is derived mainly from exposure to
sunlight and which has to be activated by the liver and the
kidneys. However, too much calcium from dairy products may
suppress instead of activating the vitamin D in your body.
Insufficient vitamin D increases the risk of prostate
cancer.

In addition, cheese, which is rich in animal fat, increases
the production of testosterone, which is linked to prostate
cancer.

Cheese has much more casein (a protein that breaks down
during digestion to form opiates - addictive substances)
than is found in milk, ice cream, butter or other dairy
products. Therefore, cheese, which has 70 percent of its
calories from fat, is not only addictive due to the
presence of opiates, but also fattening. Yes, cheese makes
you fat!

Cheese addiction may lead to high blood pressure. A 2-oz
serving of cheddar cheese has about 350 milligrams of
sodium, and a cup of low-fat cottage cheese has over 900
milligrams of sodium - and sodium is a critical
contributing factor in high blood pressure.

The dairy industry has colluded with fast food restaurants
to add more cheese to their foods to trigger your cheese
craving. A case in point, SUBWAY signed a contract with the
industry in 1996 to include cheese in some of the
sandwiches.

The cheese industry may be promoting all the health
benefits of cheese because it wants you to be hooked on to
cheese.

Stop your cheese craving and break your cheese addiction!

Eat a healthy breakfast every morning with no animal
products, such as milk, eggs, bacon, ham or meat sausages,
and, of course, cheese. Only time will and can change your
taste buds (it takes no more than a few weeks).

Eat a fiber-rich diet, such as grains, fruits, and
vegetables. A high-fiber diet controls and regulates your
blood sugar level to stop your cheese craving.

Boost your appetite-controlling hormone (leptin) through
eating enough calories (in other words, no dieting to
reduce caloric intake), a low-fat diet, and exercising.

Learn to cope with stress to reduce the propensity to use
cheese eating as a solution to your emotional problems.

Motivate yourself to get out of cheese addiction with daily
affirmations of the health benefits of not eating cheese,
such as lower blood pressure, a healthier heart, and
stronger bones, among others.

Too much cheese is not good for you!

----------------------------------------------------
Stephen Lau is a researcher, writing medical research for
doctors and scientists. His publications include "NO
MIRACLE CURES" a book on healing and wellness. He has also
created several websites on health and healing, including
the following:
http://www.longevityforyou.com
http://www.rethinkyourdepression.com

Sugar and Other Sweeteners

Sugar and Other Sweeteners
To start with, the artificial sweeteners should be avoided
like the plague. They are many times sweeter than sugar and
have had very bad effects on people including making people
fatter. They are not foods and are more like drugs. Now the
sugar cane is not really bad for health. It is what they do
to it.

This is similar to what they do with wheat and rice. They
take the nutritious part of the sugar cane out. It is a
thick black liquid called blackstrap molasses. It is sweet
and sold in the health food store. It is very nutritious
with lots of iron and chromium. The part that is left is
called sugar and has calories but no nutrition.

They advertise for people to buy chromium supplements since
it is needed to metabolize sugar. The sugar robs your body
of the chromium and other things. If blackstrap molasses is
sold in the health food store, where is the sugar sold? It
is sold in the fat and sick food store.

Health food stores now have Succanat or dried cane juice.
This is the sugar cane without taking out the good stuff.
It is the ingredient in some health foods. It is not brown
sugar. Brown sugar is regular sugar with a little molasses
added. It is not healthy. The big manufacturers use the
cheapest ingredients to save money regardless of what it
does to you. So they like using artificial (chemical)
sweeteners and corn syrup which is slightly worse than
sugar.

There are healthy alternatives that health food stores have
and they are ingredients in some health foods. Some have
the ingredients called sugar cane and invert sugar cane.
The former is regular even if it says organic sugar cane.
The latter is just like corn syrup.

The healthy sweeteners are raw honey, pure maple syrup,
agave (from a cactus), barley malt, stevia ( a healthy herb
that is sweeter than sugar) and rice syrup. The dried cane
juice may not be the healthiest sweetener but it is fine as
an ingredient in something. The blackstrap molasses is
healthy.

The sugar that is already in foods, like in fruit, are the
healthiest sweet things. This information is for
ingredients when making something or buying something and
reading the ingredients. It is much healthier to eat sweet
fruit on an empty stomach like watermelon, strawberries,
blueberries, kiwi fruit, mango, pineapple, apples, oranges,
pears and grapes. Try to get organically grown fruit when
it is possible.

----------------------------------------------------
The author, Chuck Bluestein, is a bodybuilder, nutritionist
and herbalist. His website has information on natural
remedies for high blood pressure, fasting, losing weight,
natural cure for depression, natural cures, master cleanse,
back and neck pain and how to be happier.
http://www.phifoundation.org/angina.html

Baking With Love - Classic Cookies

Baking With Love - Classic Cookies
I firmly believe that baking is an expression of love. Of
giving love in the purest sense. Giving of your time,
talents and energies to create joy and happiness for
others. Giving of a piece of yourself. Give some love this
week. Bake one of these tasty cookie recipes. Then sit down
with a glass of milk with someone you love. Share that
baked treat and a piece of yourself. You might just be
surprised by how far a plate full of cookies and an honest
conversation can take you.

Gum Drop Oatmeal Cookies
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons milk
1 1/2 cups oatmeal
3/4 cup gum drops, cut up

In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt.
Mix well and set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the
shortening, brown sugar and white sugar. Add in the egg,
vanilla extract and milk and mix well. Then add the dry
ingredient mixture to this mixture. Add in the oatmeal and
gum drops. Drop by teaspoons onto a baking sheet. Bake in a
350 degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes.

M&M Cookies
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon water
1 egg
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup M&M candies

In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and
salt. Set this mixture aside. In a large bowl, cream
together the shortening, brown sugar and white sugar. Mix
in the vanilla extract, egg and water. Add the dry
ingredient mixture to the wet ingredient mixture. Add in
the M&M's. Drop by teaspoons onto a baking sheet. Bake in a
375 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes.

Peanut Butter Cookies
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cup bread flour
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream together the butter, white sugar and brown sugar. Add
in the egg, peanut butter, salt and baking soda and mix
well. Sift in the flour. Add the vanilla extract. Roll the
dough into balls. Put on a baking sheet and flatten with a
fork. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes.

----------------------------------------------------
Jill Seader is passionate about baking and about helping
people tell their stories. Visit her website at
http://www.YourBakingStory.com to hear her baking stories
and to tell one of your own. Get free baking recipes and
find the perfect recipe scrapbooking supplies.

Costa Rica Coffee: The History of the worlds Finest Gourmet Coffee

Costa Rica Coffee: The History of the worlds Finest Gourmet Coffee
Costa Rica is home to some of the finest gourmet coffee in
the world. Gourmet coffee farming has become a huge
industry for them and they export the finest gourmet coffee
all over the world. It developed its coffee industry very
early - thanks to one man. It also has a strong protestant
religious church - thanks to one man. The man who made all
his money from coffee used it to start many churches in
Costa Rica.

William Le Lacheur, an Englishman was born on 15 October
1802 and was very early baptized with the name Guillaume Le
Lacheur (using the French version of the forename) in the
parish church of the Forest, Guernsey on 31 October by his
parents Jean Le Lacheur and Marie Suzanne (née
Allez). He was named after his grandfather, Guillaume
Allez, who was also one of his godparents. Amazing how the
French can mess up a good thing.

William is widely credited in Costa Rica as having
transformed the economy of this Central American country by
establishing a direct regular trade route for Costa Rican
coffee growers to the European market, thereby helping to
establish the Costa Rican coffee trade and development of
gourmet coffee in Costa Rica. He set up the market and the
trade routes that allowed the coffee business to bloom and
flourish. William grew up rather quietly in England but did
grow a love for ships and shipping. After trade school he
married Rachel de Jersey (1798-1882) in a church wedding on
19 May 1828.No coffee was served and in time they had five
children: Rachel, Emma, Amelia, John and Louisa.

The Start of Costa Rica gourmet coffee and coffee trade To
support his family he bought a ship from his inheritance
and started sailing. The year was 1829.After sailing for 3
years and building a good shipping route and building up
some capital to expand his shipping business he decided to
expand his business. He traded up and got a bigger ship
called the Minerva. By 1836, he had formed a company Le
Lacheur & Co, which owned two ships: Minerva & Dart. He
entered the fruit trade which required faster ships; faster
routes and more money. Over the following years, he
continued to add to his fleet, and seek out new markets. In
1841, Le Lacheur took delivery of the baroque Monarch. The
Monarch was a much larger vessel capable of journeys
furthers a field. With longer journeys he was able to
expand his trade and his routes. During a stop at the port
of Mazatlan, on the Pacific coast of Mexico, he learnt from
the British Consul of the difficulty that the Costa Rican
gourmet coffee growers were having in finding a market for
their produce. He decided to investigate.

Since their independence in 1839, Costa Rica found no
regular trade routes for their fruit or coffee in the
European markets. This was compounded by transportation
problems within the country. The farms were too far from
the coast or too close to the Pacific Coast {remember no
Panama Canal at this time). The coffee-growing areas were
located in the central part of the country, and it was
impossible, because of the mountains and the rainy forest,
to send the coffee to the Caribbean Sea and therefore to
the Atlantic. It was a lot easier to ship the coffee to a
Pacific port, Puntarenas, and to sail around Cape Horn to
the Atlantic Ocean and onward to Europe. Further hampering
them was Costa Rica had no internal railroad system.

William saw a huge business opportunity - as he had fallen
in love with the Costa Rica coffee and knew it would sale
well in Europe. He agreed with Costa Rican coffee growers
to establish a regular service to carry their coffee to
London. In 1843, the Monarch arrived in the Costa Rican
port of Puntarenas, and loaded the first cargo of nearly
5,000 bags of coffee. The venture was a success, and he
began increasing the size of his fleet to accommodate the
increasing demand for coffee in London. During the rest of
the 1840s, he diverted his other ships from the fruit trade
to the coffee trade. Then starting in 1850 he commissioned
the construction of five ships designed especially for the
coffee trade. During the 1860s, a further seven ships were
added to the fleet. In addition to his contribution to the
Costa Rican economy through establishing trade routes, Le
Lacheur made a significant impact on the development of a
number of other aspects of Costa Rica.

Church coffee Le Lacheur, a devout Christian, was appalled
by what he described "the lowest form of the Roman faith"
being practiced where superstition took precedence over
true religion. Through the British and Foreign Bible
Society, he obtained and distributed Spanish Language
bibles, thereby introducing Protestant faith into Costa
Rica. As a result he distributed 3,500 bibles in Costa
Rica, and was presented with an inscribed Imperial Quarto
Bible by the Bible Society in recognition of his
achievements. In 1864, the year after Le Lacheur's death,
it was resolved to build the first Protestant church in
Costa Rica. It was made of pre-fabricated iron, was carried
to Costa Rica by Le Lacheur's son John and was assembled in
San José as the Church of the Good Shepherd. It
became unofficially known as the 'Iron Church'. When it was
rebuilt in 1937 with more traditional materials, a memorial
plaque was erected to Le Lacheur with an inscription which
includes the phrase ' by whose exertions public Protestant
worship was established in this Republic '. Once Le Lacheur
had established a fleet of ships that were regularly making
journeys between Costa Rica and London, he arranged with
several Costa Rican families to take their sons to England
for their education. This has been cited as a contributing
factor to Costa Rica's economic success.

This arrangement was also responsible for the introduction
of the game of football to Costa Rica. Through this Le
Lacheur has also been credited with contributing to Costa
Rica national team qualifying for the 2002 FIFA World Cup
[1]. Army and Defense of Costa Rican When William Walker,
an American filibuster, attempted to invade Costa Rica in
1856, the Costa Rican government declared war. However, the
march from the Costa Rican military base in San José
to the northern border was an arduous one. Le Lacheur put
his ships at the disposal of the Costa Rican military
commanders to transport the army up the coast to the border
so that they would arrive fit and ready to fight. As a
result, they successfully repelled the filibusters.[2] He
is buried in Highgate Cemetery in London. There is a
Memorial to Captain William Le Lacheur of Guernsey in the
Church of the Good Shepherd, San José, Costa Rica.
Postage stamps have been issued commemorating his
achievements by both his native Guernsey (1997) and Costa
Rica (1963). Costa Rica Coffee: Captain William Le Lacheur
of Guernsey started the farming of gourmet coffee in Costa
Rica. With over 100 years of practice they now produce the
finest gourmet coffee in the world. Costa Rica - the finest
gourmet coffee.

----------------------------------------------------
Mission Grounds Gourmet Coffee was founded by George Moore
is an IT Sales engineer by trade.The non profit gourmet
coffee called Mission Grounds Gourmet Coffee -
http://www.missiongrounds.com It donates all its profits to
helping orphans and impoverished children. THE Costa Rica
Coffee and the best gourmet coffee in the world -surely the
most satisfying cup of coffee in the world.

How To Conduct a Gourmet Coffee Tasting

How To Conduct a Gourmet Coffee Tasting
The Basics of Gourmet Coffee Tasting: Experienced tasters
follow a very strict routine ritual when tasting a new
gourmet coffee for the first time: much like the wine
advocate tasting a new port.

They deliberately slurp the gourmet coffee and swirl it all
around the surface of the tongue and mouth. They want to
obtain the full experience of the taste, the unique
combination of sensations in the nose and on the tongue.
Note to Readers: The taste profiles and characteristics
discussed in this article apply to drip gourmet coffee.
Flavor characteristics and descriptions will change with
alternate brewing processes.

For all intents and purposes, our sense of smell and sense
of taste are inseparable. Without our sense of smell, our
taste sensations are limited. The tongue detects 4 basic
sensations: sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. Most of what we
experience as taste depends upon our sense of smell.

The tasting experience begins before you brew - with the
grinding. When you smell ground gourmet coffee, you
experience the first impression of its flavor - its
Fragrance. Aroma refers to your first encounter with a
gourmet coffee when it's brewed - literally, the first
contact of water and gourmet coffee. Lastly, there's a
gourmet coffee's Nose. Take a sip of gourmet coffee. As
soon as it reaches your tongue, it stimulates taste and
simultaneously releases aromas inside the mouth.

Follow the lead of the experts: allow your sense of taste
and smell to mingle. Enjoy the tactile feel of the gourmet
coffee on your tongue.

Now that you've taken a good whiff and your first sip, it's
time to let your tongue do the talking. Of all the facets
of gourmet coffee, Taste is the most complex to discuss.
Most experts concentrate on three elements Body, Acidity, &
Balance. Body: A gourmet coffee's lipid or "oily" quality
creates the tactile sensation of Body or "mouth feel."

Acidity: Naturally occurring acids in the beans combine
with natural sugars that produce a sweetness that gives
certain gourmet coffees a sharp pleasing tang or piquancy.

Balance: Think of Balance as a harmony of the many
sensations yielded by a fine gourmet coffee. A "balanced"
gourmet coffee is one whose flavor characteristics are all
at the proper level for that variety. A quick note on
Acidity: Don't let the term scare you. Acidity does NOT
refer to pH levels discussed in high school chemistry
class. It is not like hydrochloric acid or stomach acid.
Instead, it is a basic taste sensation in gourmet coffee,
especially those gourmet coffees grown in higher altitudes.
You'll notice a gourmet coffee's acidity at every facet of
tasting, but especially in a tingling sensation on your
tongue. Acidity produces some of the pleasurable and
distinctive sensations we enjoy when tasting gourmet coffee.

Now, back to our brew! After a sip is swallowed, the mouth
and tongue retain a minute residue of gourmet coffee. This
sensation produces the Aftertaste, the sensation that
lingers on the palate. It is similar to the concept of
"finish" in wine tasting. Aftertaste can vary considerably
according to the gourmet coffee's body we mentioned Body as
a primary characteristic. You appreciate a gourmet coffee's
Body on the tongue and the roof of your mouth. It is a
distinctly tactile sensation, and is sometimes called
simply "mouth feel." Another comparison to wine is helpful.
Burgundies are sometimes said to be "heavier" than most
other reds and whites. The difference is not weight.
Rather, Body is the texture and consistency, the thickness
or slipperiness of the gourmet coffee.

A good cup of gourmet coffee represents the collaboration
of many highly trained artisans - growers, professional
tasters and roasters all working together to create a fine
product. So, let all your senses work together to enjoy the
fruits of their collaboration!

One good turn: about the gourmet coffee wheel. Much as wine
tasters have created a wine tasting wheel to use an agreed
upon terminology, professional gourmet coffee tasters use
the Gourmet coffee Taster's Flavor Wheel to grade gourmet
coffees. This flavor wheel is designed for the trained
pallet of a professional. Professional "cuppers" use this
guide when buying gourmet coffee and for creating "taste
characteristic profiles" of the gourmet coffees. Most of us
are much better off using our "Flavor Characteristics"
chart. The Flavor Characteristics chart is for use by the
average "Joe". It is a simplified method of charting your
favorite java's characteristics. The flavor descriptions
that are most commonly used are defined below.

Know thyself: what flavors appeal to you? Here are some
specific desirable flavor characteristics of gourmet coffee
and the types of gourmet coffee that are associated with
those characteristics.

Bright, Dry, Sharp, or Snappy - typical of Costa Rican,
Guatemalan, Kenyan.

Caramels - candy like or syrupy, typical of Colombian
Supreme.

Chocolaty - an aftertaste similar to unsweetened chocolate
or vanilla. Typical of Costa Rican, Colombian Supreme and
the House Blend.

Delicate - a subtle flavor perceived on the tip of the
tongue.

Earthy - a soil characteristic, typical of Sumatran.

Fragrant - an aromatic characteristic ranging from floral
to spicy, typical of Costa Rican, Sumatra Modeling and
Kenyan.

Fruity - an aromatic characteristic reminiscent of berries
or citrus.

Mellow - a round, smooth taste, typically lacks acid,
typical of Colombian, Sumatra Modeling, Whole Latti Java
and Organic Mexican.

Nutty - an aftertaste similar to roasted nuts, typical of
Colombian and Organic Mexican.

Spicy - a flavor and aroma reminiscent of spices typical of
Guatemala Huehuetenango.

Syrupy - strong, and rich, typical of Sumatran.

Sweet - free of harshness, typical of Colombian.

Wildness - an unusual, gamey flavor, typical of Sumatran.

Church coffee - harsh without much flavor

Winery - an aftertaste reminiscent of well-matured wine,
typical of Kenyan, Guatemalan.

You will soon realize that Costa Rica has the best gourmet
coffee - the perfect balance of flavor and smoothness -
lots of flavor without the bitterness found in gourmet
coffee. The Columbia gourmet coffee and the Brazil gourmet
coffee are a close second as they deliver more flavor they
tend to get slightly bitter and can lave an aftertaste of
the gourmet coffee. The Africa gourmet coffee is harsh and
the Asian gourmet coffee is sour, while the other Latin
America gourmet coffee lacks full body and taste.

But have fun discovering for yourself as you sample and
taste gourmet coffee from around the world. Now if we could
only get our church coffee to sample some good gourmet
coffee and learn how bad church coffee is. Once you have
set values and methods you can better define which gourmet
coffee you like but more importantly why you like the
gourmet coffee.

And we hope a more educated gourmet coffee will understand
better why Mission Grounds Gourmet Coffee is the best
gourmet coffee in Costa Rica and the best gourmet coffee
served in America. Mission Grounds: Gourmet coffee for
gourmet coffee drinkers and gourmet coffee experts.

----------------------------------------------------
George Moore is an IT Sales engineer by trade and founded a
non profit coffee company called Mission Grounds Gourmet
Coffee, church coffee, Costa Rica coffee, and a great
monthly gourmet coffee club. It donates all its profits to
helping orphans and impoverished children. Let's make the
world better Mission Grounds Gourmet Coffee:
http://www.missiongrounds.com

Gourmet Coffee - The Most Satisfying Cup of Coffee is

Gourmet Coffee - The Most Satisfying Cup of Coffee is
So you are standing in the coffee aisle at your local
grocery store and your wife in-laws are coming to visit
later and you want to serve them that special cup of
coffee.... And there are just too many choices. Fair Trade
or shade grown or is it shade grown Fair trade and which
one protects the rain forest and helps the birds the most?
And then you have to choose the right country and blends
and roast and there must be 200 coffees to chose from.

So how do you pick the best coffee, the coffee that will
touch their heart and soul with its exquisite taste? And
how do you make sure that once you have chosen the right
gourmet coffee bean that you brew iit so that you capture
all the taste?

Here are the basics to brewing the perfect cup of coffee:
You take some fresh Arabica gourmet coffee beans from a
coffee plant grown in Latin America - preferably from
Columbia or Costa Rica or even Brazil. Make sure the
gourmet coffee is shade grown and grown at the top of the
mountain. Make sure they are a dark Roast - to maximize the
flavior - and not an esspresso or French roast ( You don't
want burnt coffee); be sure the roast is as desired and no
more than 45 minutes or you start losing flavor. Again use
only Rain Forest shade grown top of the mountain beans.
Grind them a lot or a little - the more you grind the more
flavor you get. Add hot water, preferably bottled water or
filtered water ideally around 195 - 200 degrees F. Wait
maybe 5 to 7 minutes. Either filter to remove the grounds
or leave them to settle to the bottom. Drink it black and
straight or optionally add spices, milk product, chocolate,
sugar, fat free lactose milk creamer; then SIP; Drink.
Smile . Wasn't that easy? You just made the perfect cup of
coffee.

Now you need it to be the most satisfying cup of coffee.
Now how do you turn the perfect cup of coffee into the most
satisfying cup of coffee? You use Mission Grounds Gourmet
Coffee beans to brew your coffee of course. The gourmet
coffee that donates all its profits to helping impoverished
children. With every purchase of Mission Grounds coffee
beans you are directly helping a homeless child or orphan.
As you sip your perfect cup of coffee think about all the
homeless children in Atlanta you are helping; or the new
school in Jinming China you are helping to build; or all
the orphans in Venezuela who will be in their new casa de
ninos soon that you are helping to build; or think about
all the orphans in Russia or Kenya you are helping with
food or diapers or other supplies.

The cup is becoming more and more satisfying. Think about
the orphanage in South Africa you are helping with books
and all the homeless children in Atlanta you help provide
book bags and books and school supplies. So isn't it the
most satisfying cup of coffee knowing about all the
impoverished children you are helping as you sip the coffee
made from the finest shade grown Tarrazu coffee bean grown
in Costa Rica.

Most customers claim it's the best coffee they ever made
but they are confusing satisfying with perfection - or are
they? Kick back and picture the smiley children you are
helping - amazing how contagious those smiles can be.

----------------------------------------------------
Mission Grounds Gourmet Coffee was founded by George Boake
Moore is an IT Sales engineer by trade.The non profit
gourmet coffee called Mission Grounds Gourmet Coffee -
http://www.missiongrounds.com It donates all its profits to
helping orphans and impoverished children. THE Costa Rica
Coffee and the best gourmet coffee in the world -surely the
most satisfying cup of coffee in the world.
http://www.missiongrounds.com/ourcoffee

Questioning The Truth About Fair Trade Coffee:

Questioning The Truth About Fair Trade Coffee:
Some Interesting Facts and questions about Fair trade
gourmet coffee:

1. The targeted gourmet coffee farmer who needs fair trade
owns a farm less than 10 acres; his family runs and works
the farm, they live in a third world country or remotely up
in the mountains of a central America country like Brazil.
They get about $.65 cents per pound without fair trade and
make less than $10,000 annually. They desperately need fair
trade to get out of their poverty.

2. Without phones, newspapers, television, telephones, cell
phones, and in most cases running water and electricity -
how does this farmer even know about " Fair Trade" in the
first place?

3. With no savings; no banks; no loans; and no finances how
does this farmer pay the fees to get certified fair trade?

4. How much advertising does Fair Trade do out side the US?
Zero! If they did where and which media would they use?

5. Interesting most of the Fair Trade Coffee Companies in
foreign lands are owned by Americans or large co-ops
partially owned and funded by Americans.

6. Fair Trade doubles the price of coffee the farmer
recieves but does nothing to ensure the laborers who work
the farm receive any more money. Hence all the large farms
owned by Americans but worked by locals help the Americans
get much richer but do nothing for the local coffee workers.

7. Fair Trade does not do anything to ensure the coffee is
any better or better quality - it only ensures that the
price is higher.

8. Fair Trade is not recognized in China or Russia or Japan
or any of the coffee countries.

9. Fair Trade has helped many Americans feel much better
about themselves.

10. It has done very little to help the farmers who need it
the most.

In summary Fair Trade makes us Americans feel good about
ourselves; helps us pay higher prices for poorer coffee;
helps the big and rich farmers get richer. It does nothing
to help the pheasant farmer we dream it is helping. And it
gives us a false marketing ploy that Fair Trade is actually
a better quality coffee i=when in fact it only means its a
more expensive gourmet coffee. And really it gives us a
false sense of self worth and that we are helping poor
farmers when we are not.It causes us to pay too much for
bad coffee and to think Fair Trade has anything to do with
"quality" when it doesn't. It doesn't do anything to help
the labor pool who work on the coffee farms nor stop
children from working on coffee farms. But it has raised up
the price of coffee and our awareness. Only if it could be
more truthful and helpful

----------------------------------------------------
Mission Grounds Gourmet Coffee was founded by Boake Moore
is an IT Sales engineer by trade.The non profit gourmet
coffee called Mission Grounds Gourmet Coffee -
http://www.missiongrounds.com

It donates all its profits
to helping orphans and impoverished children. THE Costa
Rica Coffee and the best gourmet coffee in the world
-surely the most satisfying cup of coffee in the world.