A “good” cup of coffee

By Gurneev Panesar

aving grown weary of the bitter
H:= and poor flavour quality

offered by many of the cheaper
coffee varieties in the grocery stores, we
fail to appreciate — let alone acknowledge
— the full potential of the coffee bean.
Personally, being so particular about the
exquisite taste of my coffee and being
an expert on how to brew coffee in the
“Kenyan Style,” I find the blends of
coffee available in Canada to be poor and
unsatisfying.

Coffee is the world’s second most
traded commodity, after oil, and is made
from coffee beans, which are the seeds from
the coffee cherry. The coffee bush, which
produces the cherries, grows around the
world in a narrow subtropical belt between

the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of produces approximately 1-2 Ibs of roasted
Capricorn at elevations varying between coffee per year; therefore, it takes a young

2,200 and 6,000 feet above sea level. The
coffee bush is a tropical evergreen and can
naturally grow up to 20-30 feet tall. Each
coffee cherry produces. two green beans;

it takes approximately 2,000 cherries

(i.e. 4,000 beans) to produce one pound coffee bush 4-5 years to produce its first crop.
The concentration of major retail

of coffee. Each coffee bush on average

   

“A good cup of coffee should be smooth and complex, without any excessive
bitterness or off-flavours (such as woody, grainy, or papery).”

degree of competition for shelf space, but
not the actual flavour of this exquisite bean.

chains has continued to be a challenge to the
coffee industry and has resulted in a higher

Bato

§ How many of us actually like the coffee we
drink when we wake up in the morning?
I’m sure few of us do; we just drink it back
for the heck of it and cherish the caffeine
jumpstart in our blood stream. A good cup
of coffee should be smooth and complex,
without any excessive bitterness or off-
flavours (such as woody, grainy, or papery).
Coffee manufactured for retail and
food service markets has been an important
component of food and beverage processing
in the country for many years. Although
Canada does not have the appropriate
climate for growing coffee, Canadian-
based firms are able to.import the raw
materials for processing and resale into
domestic and export markets. But why
does the government waste millions of
dollars importing coffee when it just tastes
appalling? Sixteen per cent of Canada’s
imports are coffee beans, so why aren’t
we getting what we pay for? Colombian
coffee is among the best in the world; rich,
full-bodied, and perfectly balanced. South
America, not being too far from Canada,
should be considered one of our main coffee
bean sources in order to provide Canadians
with a great alternative to the rubbish that
we buy off the shelves.

 

Visser’s Voyages

.

 

England: Money, football, beer, and the Queen

By Matthew Visser

hat is it about traveling? Is it the

thrill of seeing places and people

that you might have never seen
before? Could it be the sheer need to get
away from it all and experience something
new? For the entirety of the fall semester

~ I will be away from books, papers, and
- exams in favour of backpacking through
_ Europe.

My friend came up with the idea while
we were drinking one night; after having
one too many drinks, I decided I was game.

knew the decision would piss off my mom
and drive me into the poor house, but who
cared? When would I get an opportunity
like this again?

My goal is to see the countries we are
visiting from the eyes of the people who
live’ there. Tourist attractions seem like
little more than cash grabs, even if they
are natural landmarks. These places may

“aa be important and patriotic, but, at the end

of the day, they’re not what I want to see. I
feel the best way to see a country and truly
understand it is from a local’s perspective.
We started our European odyssey
by landing in London, England. I have
two friends in London who I knew would
house us for two days each — more than
enough time to see what London is all
about. After getting picked up from the
airport, we drove into London making
small talk and witnessed for the first time

cars being driven on the other side of the road.
For the entire duration of our trip, we found this
especially nerve-racking and decided to never
drive on the roads of London ourselves.

We left London after four days and headed
north to the city of Manchester. We went to
Manchester for two reasons: one, I wanted to see
Old Trafford, the soccer stadium of my boyhood
soccer team, Manchester United, and two, to
watch a soccer game with hooligan locals. The
last one.didn’t get to actually happen, but we
did watch the England vs. Wales game at a pub,
which was an experience in itself. Manchester
is a town divided by soccer, sort of like how
Alberta is with hockey. Whenever I was asked
which football team I supported I was careful to
note who the inquirer supported themselves and
then said I supported them as well.

One thing I can say about both of these
cities is that they each have a vibrant nightlife.

In Manchester, we went out with the idea of
meeting some locals and asking them where was
the place to have a good time — but we ended

up getting lost in the rain. Luckily, a group of
girls happened to be passing by and offered to
take us clubbing with them. We ended up having
a blast and got to see a completely different side .
of the city.

‘Waking up with our first European hangover
and having to carry our heavy backpacks with us,
we were anxiously counting down the hours until
we had to catch our bus to Holyhead, Wales. I
kind of feel like we cheated England a bit and
didn’t really get to see what makes England what
it is, but I suppose there’s always next time!

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