COFFEE ETIQUETTE

Hello, I'm Jamila Moussaiema, an international social etiquette consultant and author of the book Etiquette, The Least You Need To Know. Today, as was suggested by one of my video subscribers, I'm going to be doing a video on coffee. In this video, I'm going to be telling about history, some facts about coffee, how to brew it, two methods, and also going to show you how to serve coffee and how to drink it. So make sure you stay tuned until the end of this video and don't forget to subscribe. So there are two stories about the origin of coffee beans, how they were discovered. One story tells that they were discovered by goats in Ethiopia. So while grazing, the goats ate those cherries, got very, very energized. The second story is that they were discovered by a sheikh called Omar in Yemen, who was believed to have healing powers, was rejected by society, went to live in a cave, and while there, he was eating those cherries in order to make himself feel full for the day. Whatever story you choose to believe in, the truth is that coffee is a very energizing drink and also it does suppress your appetite for a while. In fact, Sufis used to drink coffee in order to keep themselves awake during night prayers and meditation. Despite of its popularity, coffee was still considered a pagan drink by Christians, so it took some time for Europeans to actually start liking coffee. And in 16th century, Dutch opened their first coffee plantation in Sri Lanka. Over time, more and more coffee houses were opened in Europe, where intellectuals would gather to share their grand visions and talk about smart ideas. For this particular reason, coffee houses in Britain were referred to as penny universities. Penny because that was the cost of coffee, and universities because this was a place where intellectuals would come together and share their grand ideas. The truth remains, today coffee is the second most consumed beverage after water, and it's the second most traded commodity after petroleum. So coffee itself is actually a cherry, and the coffee bean inside is a pit inside that cherry. There are two places where coffees are grown, lowlands and highlands. An example of lowlands is, say, Indonesia. This is where there's a lot of amount of oxygen, and so when the crops grow here, the taste of coffee tends to be more bitter but less acidic. Starbucks actually grows a lot of its coffee on lowlands. An example of coffee grown on highlands is, say, in Ethiopia or in Kenya. On highlands, usually there's less amount of oxygen, so when crops grow here, they need more energy in order to grow. This is why the coffee beans here tend to have more acidic taste, but they are less bitter, and they have a more natural taste of coffee, so they're more fruity in their taste. After the coffee is grown, it now needs to be processed. There are two methods of processing, the washed method and the natural method. The washed method, as the word itself implies, is when these beans are actually washed with water. First they're depulped, so the cherry is taken out, and then they're washed. This method is deemed to be more expensive, and in this method, the taste of the coffee bean is more preserved. The natural taste is preserved. The other method that is called the natural method is when the coffee, the cherries, are actually left to ferment. So they ferment together with the cherries. In that way, the coffee has a more creamy texture, and it's less intense in its taste, and it's closer, actually, to the cherry taste. You can distinguish the beans by looking at them to see if they were washed or were they naturally processed. If you take a look at these beans, you can see that the ones that are washed, they have the veins running through them, and the ones that are natural, they don't have those veins. So if you want to go for a more natural, more original taste of coffee, choose the washed ones. Once the coffee is processed, it's now taken to another stage, which is roasting. And there's a degree of roasting, the low, medium, and dark. The rule is that the lighter the roast, the more original is the taste of the bean, so it's closer to its initial form and taste. Here you're going to see two brewing methods. The first one is called V60 or pour-over method. Brew is the pre-wet filter paper. Then he adds freshly grinded coffee beans, then some hot water to let the coffee beans soak or bloom. And then after a while, he's going to add some more water in order to prepare a fresh cup of coffee. The second brewing method is called delta coffee press. It's a rather new brewing method, and the good thing about it, it's just easy to take it wherever you go. I'll just let you watch the video to see how to brew using this method. So in which cup to serve coffee? That depends on a couple of reasons. First, on the type of a drink. Second, on the occasion or the formality of the event. And third, on the time of the day. So let's start with the least formal one, and that is a mug. As you can see here, it has a thick handle. It doesn't have a saucer and usually comes in a very big size. You might expect to get a filtered coffee or Americano in the morning in a hotel served in a mug. Or this could be your way of enjoying your coffee at home. The more formal serving of coffee is in a regular coffee cup that looks like this. The difference between a regular coffee cup and a teacup is in its shape and form. So if you were to look at these two, you can tell that a coffee cup has a more narrow and straight shape. Whereas a teacup has a smaller, narrower bottom and a wider rim. So it sort of flares up like a flower. You can expect to get your coffee in a regular coffee cup. Say at dinner at a restaurant, at the end of the meal. You might get a filtered coffee or Americano. Or it depends on the drink that you like. So this would be reserved for that. So this cup is used to serve Turkish coffee. Though you might expect to get Turkish coffee in Demitasse as well. The cup has a more wide bottom and it sort of narrows towards the top of the cup. And it looks like this. This is the final cup I'm going to show you and it's called the Demitasse. Which in French actually means half cup. So if you were to compare the size of Demitasse and say a regular coffee cup. It's much smaller, almost in half smaller than a regular coffee cup. You might expect to get your Turkish coffee or espresso or anything strong in this small Demitasse cup. This cup is usually reserved for more formal events. And you might expect to get your drink at the end of the meal. Say at a wedding party or a more formal gathering. So I'm going to show you two different sizes of spoon. One is a teaspoon that looks like this. It can often be served as a coffee spoon as well when you're given a regular size coffee cup. The other teaspoon is called the Demitasse spoon which matches the size of the Demitasse cup. So as you can tell it's almost half in size. It's much smaller and it's served with a Demitasse cup. For cold coffee drinks like this you would expect to be served in a tall glass. And you will be given a special long spoon in order to stir your coffee. For some specialty drinks, say like cappuccino, the form and design of the cup would be different. So if you look at this cup, the ceramic of this cup is much thicker and the shape of the cup is more like a bowl. In order to ensure that the milky drink can be retained in it and can be enjoyed for a longer time. Now that you know in which cup to serve coffee, let's talk about some etiquette rules. So several things to keep in mind. Rule number one, when drinking coffee never put your pinkie out. Tuck it in and keep it inside. Rule number two, do not rotate your coffee cup like you would a wine glass. Just keep it straight. Rule number three, do not lick your coffee spoon. And never ever leave your coffee spoon inside the cup when you're drinking coffee. Because that way it can penetrate your eye when drinking. When you're done stirring, leave your coffee spoon behind on a saucer like this. Rule number four, if you're served a coffee drink together with a glass of water. This water is intended to be consumed before the coffee drink. In order to clear your palate and prepare it for tasting the beautiful notes of coffee. If you however did not like the coffee drink. It's okay to drink the water afterwards in order to clear the aftertaste of coffee. Rule number five, do not dunk your biscottis or your cookies into the coffee. It's just simply bad manners. The only exception to this rule is dunking your croissant into café au lait early in the morning for breakfast. Rule number six, if you're in Italy you can order cappuccino only for breakfast, never afterwards. Also if you want to enjoy espresso you should do so at the bar and drink it like a shot. Never order it to go. Rule number seven, do not enjoy your coffee and dessert simultaneously like this. Make sure that you first eat your dessert and then you pick up your cup and you drink your coffee. Rule number eight, when pouring coffee make sure that you lift the pot and pour the coffee while the cup remains on the saucer. Never ever lift your cup up in order to pour your coffee. Rule number nine, lift the cup towards you, do not lean towards the cup. And the last etiquette rule for today is do not pour your coffee in the saucer and do not drink it from there. It's simply bad manners. Just wait for your coffee to cool and enjoy it afterwards. Thank you so much guys for having the patience to watch this video until the end and I hope you enjoyed it. As I told in the beginning of this video, this video was suggested by one of my subscribers. So please don't forget to comment and give me feedback on what would you like to hear more about. And I'll be more than happy to film it. Thank you again and don't forget to subscribe and hit the like button. Bye!