Coffee culture in Cuba
Unlike anywhere else in the world, a place where coffee commonly known as a vehicle for socialisation.

Coffee culture in Vietnam
Renowned for its beautiful scenery and cultural heritage, as well as its bitterly sharp and strong flavoured coffee.

Coffee culture in Australia
With a strong coffee culture, Australia is home to some of the greatest coffee in the world.

Coffee culture in Ethiopia
A land of diverse landscape, history and world-renowned coffee, Ethiopia is where the coffee bean originated.

In the Middle East, Arabia and North Africa, coffee (Qahwa) has been widely used to settle marriages, contracts, and blood feuds, sometimes even seen as an offering of peace to end mutiny. In certain parts of the Middle East, Arabian coffee is used to greet visitors. It is said that if someone refuses an offering of coffee when entering one’s home, then they are about to ask you for something very close to their heart, such as forgiveness or permission. If this is accepted, then Qahwa coffee is enjoyed in celebration.

In many Arabic cultures, drinking coffee is a reason to get together and discuss news and mutual interests. In most traditional homes, the head of the household will take the first sip of Qahwa coffee to make sure that it is satisfactory for the rest of the family to drink too. There is a term used for Qahwa that does not taste satisfactory, and therefore may tarnish the reputation of the head of the family, if served to others. This is known as “Finjan al hail”. To this day, Arabic coffee continues to inspire the people of Arabia, the Middle East, and North Africa to create music, poetry and art.

The history of Arabian Coffee
Coffee was, according to apocryphal legend, discovered in Yemen a thousand years ago. The story begins with a goat herder named Ali, who thought that after his goats ate the fruit of a certain shrub, their energy levels increased. He took the shrub to a monastery and used the berries to keep himself awake during the long hours of meditation. The other monks considered the shrub to be a sedative and thus threw the shrub into the fire to burn. VERYIFY ALI.

Coffee was first brought to America in 1733 by what was known as the Boston Party in 1773. The revolt against King George II generated a noticeable switch from tea to coffee amongst the colonists, resulting in the expansion of American coffee.

By the early 18th century, coffee had become one of the world’s largest profitable commodities. The consumption of American coffee grew to become especially prevalent during the Civil War, ultimately attracting the interest of savvy businessmen who understood coffee’s potential.

Among some of the most famous American coffee sellers are the Pittsburgh-born brothers known as John and Charles Arbuckle. The brothers began selling pre-roasted American coffee to cowboys in the west. Another American coffee seller at the time was James Folger, selling American coffee to gold miners in California. Other large coffee house brands such as Maxwell House and Hills Brothers were also among America’s early successful coffee sellers. The success of coffee during the post-Civil War era was the advance America needed to introduce coffee crops and coffee culture that has been sustained for centuries.

Today, American coffee culture is still going strong. A popular movement with independently owned coffee shops turning coffee into something of an art form. These small local coffee shops use specially selected and locally roasted beans. American coffee culture is just as much about the flavour of the coffee, as it is about how it’s grown, where it’s roasted and how it’s brewed.

Cold brew coffee is made by slowly steeping coarsely ground coffee beans in room temperature water for at least six hours. It can be as long as 24 hours with many choosing to do it overnight, but it depends on how strong you want your cold brew it to be. When the beans are steeped like this it creates a strong coffee concentrate that just needs to be mixed with water and milk to taste.

As the grounds aren’t exposed to hot temperatures, cold brew coffee has a more flavourful, sweeter, less bitter and acidic taste. In a recent study, cold brew coffee was found to be between 50 – 67% less acidic than the average cup of coffee. It’s a common misconception that cold brew has to be cold. It can in fact be served piping hot too! If you want it cold, simply add cold water, ice and milk to taste. If you prefer it hot, you just need to add hot water or hot milk (some will even pop it in the microwave if they’re in a rush).

One of the key things that sets craft coffee apart from the rest is the roasting process. Coffee beans are only roasted in small batches, giving roasters more control over how the beans turn out, as roasting on a larger scale can over or under roast the beans, possibly resulting in less consistent flavour.

Single sourced
One of the reasons craft coffee is considered so popular is because most beans used in this process are single origin and can be traced back to a single farm or location. This traceability allows consumers to understand exactly where their coffee is coming from and also ensures higher quality beans with more consistent flavour profiles, as the beans possess characteristics which are unique to that particular region.

What is NESCAFÉ Craft coffee?
At NESCAFÉ, we partnered with Grindsmith, a speciality coffee roaster based in Manchester, to create the UK and Ireland’s first craft coffee in an instant format. Our NESCAFÉ AZERA Grindsmith Craft Coffee is a one-of-a-kind coffee experience that’s been created with carefully selected 100% Arabica coffee beans and the rare Quindio bean from Colombia. What’s more, this blend scored 82/100 on the Specialty Coffee Association Scale, making it the only known instant coffee able to claim the craft accolade.

Besides the reduced caffeine content, there is usually only a very slight difference in the taste and the smell. But if you are purchasing quality coffee such as our wonderful NESCAFÉ decaf range, you won’t have to compromise on taste or quality.

Now that you know what decaf coffee is, find out what a flat white is next.