What does the use of a coffee valve for your product

08 Sep 2019

When was my first time realising that the coffee culture exist differently in various regions?

I think it would go back to when I travelled in Italy two years ago, the boss of a restaurant asked us if we would like a free cup of coffee after meal. In fact, I have found that there were lots of bars and coffee shops when I walked past the street, also, people with coffee were more common than that in the UK. Then I ask…

- ‘What kind of coffee does people in your country always have?’

- ‘We usually take espresso, in the morning, at noon, at the afternoon, at any moments! Haha! This is part of our culture. Welcome to Italy!’

The coffee culture in Italy is worthwhile to mention. Espresso brewing method comes from Italy, Italian usually only take latte, cappuccino or macchiato, any kinds of milky coffee in the morning. Then, Espresso is for after-meal drink. They don’t like Frappuccino or any other new coffee, also, Italian don’t use word like ‘espresso’, instead, ‘un caffè’ use more commonly in daily life. In Italy, people don’t sit down for the coffee, like when people drink beer in the UK, Italian prefer standing beside the bar or high table to enjoy coffee. Coffee shop in Italy will never stay silent- coffee chat, and people usually spend short time on the coffee, then they will go back to work or study. I would say, coffee for Italian is similar to that tea for Chinese.

In France, people love to have bread with coffee, Café au lait (coffee with milk) and Café (black coffee) are two big types. I would say the coffee shop in France looks more casual. When I visited Paris, I searched a few coffee shops and added them in my travel plan. As I remembered, those coffee shops in Paris looked a bit smaller, however, the amount of them were more than that in Milan. Dessert is another important product in France, I would recommend you buy some desserts and enjoy them with your coffee- although culture in France is to drink espresso without food except for breakfast. The same as Italian, French person only drink milky coffee in the morning. In France, people get used to drink coffee ‘sur place’, meaning that French person doesn`t drink coffee in a paper cup. The only exception is at the airport or train station where selling coffee to go.

In Amsterdam, you can find yourself submerging by Dutch coffee culture. The Dutch connects closely with the worldwide coffee trade from long time ago. Through the Dutch East India Company (VOC), the Dutch was able to obtain certain volume of coffee from local farmer in Indonesia. Well, let`s come back to the modern city, coffee also becomes a necessity in people`s life. The first thing I noticed before I went to Amsterdam was the meaning of ‘coffeeshop’ here. You cannot find coffee in the coffeeshop, instead, if you want to get high, coffeeshop is the right place. So, remember to search café or coffee house for a cup of coffee when you visit in Netherlands. When the Dutch brew coffee at home, they usually use a big glass pot so it will be enough for as many people as possible. Different from Italian, the Dutch don’t ask many from the brewing method, they aim to make the coffee more convenient and simpler. They even develop a coffee machine called ‘Senseo coffee maker’ (also refers to pad coffee machine)-- people make the coffee into coffee pad and put into the machine.

In Turkey, you will find the time needed for coffee making process is far slower than that in other places. In my opinion, Turkish coffee is famous for its divination. You need to prepare the coffee pot and heating source to complete the process, which is similar to the way that Ethiopian boils the coffee. The Turkish do not filter coffee powder, and they will drink it with coffee. The same as they think about the divination, the drinking experience may be worse without filtering the coffee powder, but it makes the coffee tastes better. Thus, the existence of divination is not absolutely good, neither bad. Below are some examples for the meaning of shape in divination:

- circle: marriage/new relationship

- square: happiness in marriage or family

- door: good opportunity

- bird: good thing

- full moon: love

- flower: happiness

- dog: friendship

- gun: complain...

It has three main types of coffee in Greece: espresso, cappuccino and fredo (iced milky coffee). Similar to Turkey, Greece people use a pot to boil coffee, but it is called briki. People there can have a long chat with such a small cup of expresso, interestingly, the expresso in Greece contains nearly half of foam in a cup. A traditional café in Greece is quite simple, only decorated with cheap wooden chairs, marble tables and a TV that never turns off. Here are some standard flavours of coffee in Greece:

- Sketos: coffee contains no sugar, very bitter

- Metrios: coffee contains one teaspoon of sugar, bitter plus sweet

- Glikos: coffee contains two teaspoons of sugar, not bitter

- Variglikos: it contains one to two teaspoons of coffee and three teaspoons of sugar

How do you feel? Are you able to have a basic understanding of various coffee culture in Europe? I find it very interesting among those coffee culture, and coffee is In different countries, people may prefer using ground coffee, or keep whole coffee bean before serving customer. To ensure an ideal coffee flavour, an excellent quality of coffee valve will be necessary for the product. Otherwise, the effect of outside air will have an impact on brewing method and final taste from the very beginning.

Tag: coffee valve

Originally published 08 Sep 2019, updated 08 Sep 2019.