LITERATURE

Walt Whitman wrote of the Brooklyn waterfront in his classic poem Crossing Brooklyn Ferry. Harlem Renaissance playwright Eulalie Spence taught at Eastern District High School in Brooklyn from 1927 to 1938, a time during which she wrote her critically acclaimed plays Fool’s Errand, and Her.

In 1930, poet Hart Crane published the epic poem The Bridge, using the Brooklyn Bridge as central symbol and poetic starting point. The novels of Henry Miller include reflections on several of the ethnic German and Jewish neighborhoods of Brooklyn during the 1890s and early 20th century; his novels Tropic of Capricorn and The Rosy Crucifixion include long tracts describing his childhood and young adulthood spent in the borough.

Betty Smith’s 1943 book A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, and the 1945 film based on it, are among the best-known early works about life in Brooklyn. The tree in the title is the Tree of Heaven.

FILM

Brooklyn has played a key role in multiple films of various genres, from the 1917 Fatty Arbuckle comedy Coney Island to the 1974 Henry Winkler drama The Lords of Flatbush to the 2011 coming-out film Pariah.

One iconic Brooklyn film is 1945’s A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, based on Betty Smith’s novel of the same name. It was the first film directed by Greek-American director Elia Kazan, starring James Dunn (who won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor), Dorothy McGuire, Joan Blondell, and Peggy Ann Garner (who won the Academy Juvenile Award). Around that time other Hollywood films also depicted Brooklyn of that era and milieu, like the dark comedy Arsenic and Old Lace.

Saturday Night Fever starring John Travolta, a movie which defined the Disco era in the United States, was set in Bay Ridge, an Italian neighborhood in southern Brooklyn. Working class Jewish communities were depicted in films like 1977’s Annie Hall and 1986’s Brighton Beach Memoirs.

TELEVISION

Brooklyn has been the setting for a variety of television shows, including the 1950s era Honeymooners starring Jackie Gleason, and the 1970s sitcom, Welcome Back Kotter, starring Gabe Kaplan. In the 1980s, The Cosby Show was set in a Brooklyn Heights brownstone. In the 1990s, Brooklyn Bridge (about a Jewish American family living in Brooklyn in the middle 1950s) starring Marion Ross aired on CBS.

There are a number of currently airing shows set in Brooklyn that focus on young, primarily white people in gentrified areas like Williamsburg, including Girls on HBO and 2 Broke Girls on CBS.

Additionally, many shows are filmed in Brooklyn even if they are not set there, such as The Good Wife and Boardwalk Empire.

ABOUT

It consists of a rolled sheet of yeast-leavened dough onto which a cinnamon and sugar mixture (and raisins or other ingredients in some cases) is sprinkled over a thin coat of butter.

The dough is then rolled, cut into individual portions, and baked or deep fried. In North America, cinnamon rolls are frequently topped with icing (usually confectioners’ sugar-based) or a glaze. In Northern Europe, nib sugar is usually used with a glaze instead of icing. Commonly in North America, these rolls are fried, glazed, and served as a variation of a raised donut.

VARIETIES

The size of a cinnamon roll varies from place to place, but many vendors supply a smaller size about 2.0 inches in diameter and a larger size about 4 inches.

HONEY BUN

A honey bun is a sweet roll similar to the cinnamon bun that is popular in the southeast United States, but not the same. “A honey bun is a fried yeast pastry that contains honey and a swirl of cinnamon in the dough and is glazed with icing. According to legend, Howard Griffin of Griffin Pie Co. in Greensboro, North Carolina, developed the first honey bun in 1954.

SWEET ROLL

A sweet roll or sweet bun refers to any of a number of sweet, baked, yeast-leavened breakfast or dessert foods. They may contain spices, nuts, candied fruits, etc., and are often glazed or topped with icing. Compared to regular bread dough, sweet roll dough generally has higher levels of sugar, fat, eggs, and yeast.

BATH BUN

The Bath bun is a sweet roll made from a milk-based yeast dough with crushed sugar sprinkled on top after baking. Variations in ingredients include enclosing a lump of sugar in the bun or adding candied fruit peel, currants, raisins or sultanas.

The name comes from the Capuchin friars, referring to the colour of their habits, and in this context referring to the colour of the beverage when milk is added in small portion to dark, brewed coffee.

The word ‘Cappuccino’ in its Italian form is not known in Italian writings until the 20th centuryWIKIPEDIA

Cappuccino is a coffee drink that today is composed of espresso and hot milk, with the surface topped with foamed milk. Cappuccinos are most often prepared with an espresso machine. The espresso is poured into the bottom of the cup, followed by a similar amount of hot milk, which is prepared by heating the milk using the espresso machine steam wand. The top third of the drink consists of milk foam.

The Viennese bestowed the name “Kapuziner” possibly in the 18th century on a version that included whipped cream and spices of unknown origin. The Italian cappuccino was unknown until the 1930s, and seems to be born out of Viennese-style cafés in Trieste and other cities in the former Austria in the first decades of the 20th century.

ETYMOLOGY

Cappuccino comes from Latin Caputium, later borrowed from German/Austrian and modified into ‘kapuziner’. It is the diminutive form of cappuccio in Italian, meaning ‘hood’ or something that covers the head, thus ‘cappuccino’ reads ‘small capuchin’.

HISTORY AND EVOLUTION

The consumption of coffee in Europe was initially based on the traditional Ottoman preparation of the drink, by bringing to boil the mixture of coffee and water together, sometimes adding sugar. The British seem to have started filtering and steeping coffee already in the second part of the 18th century[6] and France and continental Europe followed suit. By the 19th century, coffee was brewed in different devices designed for both home and public cafés.

DESIGN

The Chemex Coffeemaker consists of an hourglass-shaped glass flask with a conical funnel-like neck (rather than the cylindrical neck of an Erlenmeyer flask) and uses proprietary filters, made of bonded paper (thicker-gauge paper than the standard paper filters for a drip-method coffeemaker)that removes most of the coffee oils, brewing coffee with a taste that is different than coffee brewed in other coffee-making systems; also, the thicker paper of the Chemex coffee filters may assist in removing cafestol, a cholesterol-containing compound found in coffee oils.

The most visually distinctive feature of the Chemex is the heatproof wooden collar around the neck, allowing it to be handled and poured when full of hot water. This is turned, then split in two to allow it to fit around the glass neck. The two pieces are held loosely in place by a tied leather thong.The pieces are not tied tightly and can still move slightly, retained by the shape of the conical glass. For a design piece that became popular post-war at a time of Modernism and precision manufacture, this juxtaposition of natural wood and the organic nature of a hand-tied knot with the laboratory nature of glassware was a distinctive feature of its appearance.

The pieces are not tied tightly and can still move slightly, retained by the shape of the conical glass. For a design piece that became popular post-war at a time of Modernism and precision manufacture, this juxtaposition of natural wood and the organic nature of a hand-tied knot with the laboratory nature of glassware was a distinctive feature of its appearance.

BREWING COFFEE

Coffee is brewed by first placing the paper filter and the ground coffee in the neck of the flask, while heating water to 180-200°F in a separate vessel; then “blooming” (moistening) the ground coffee by pouring some hot water onto the dry coffee, and finally, by pouring the desired quantity of water (number of cups) over the ground coffee, and awaiting it to percolate down, through the coffee and the paper filter, into the flask.

This produces coffee of equal flavor yet uses less ground coffee. A blade grinder does not cause frictional heat buildup in the ground coffee unless used to grind very large amounts as in a commercial operation. A fine grind allows the most efficient extraction but coffee ground too finely will slow down filtration or screening.

BURR-GRINDING

Burr mills use two revolving abrasive elements, such as wheels or conical grinding elements, between which the coffee beans are crushed or “torn” with little frictional heating. The process of squeezing and crushing of the beans releases the coffee’s oils, which are then more easily extracted during the infusion process with hot water, making the coffee taste richer and smoother.

Both manually and electrically powered mills are available. These mills grind the coffee to a fairly uniform size determined by the separation of the two abrasive surfaces between which the coffee is ground; the uniform grind produces a more even extraction when brewed, without excessively fine particles that clog filters.

These mills offer a wide range of grind settings, making them suitable to grind coffee for various brewing systems such as espresso, drip, percolators, French press, and others. Many burr grinders, including almost all domestic versions, are unable to achieve the extremely fine grind required for the preparation of Turkish coffee; traditional Turkish hand grinders are an exception.

CHOPPING

Coffee beans can be chopped by using blades rotating at high speed, either in a blade grinder designed specifically for coffee and spices, or in a general use home blender. Devices of this sort are cheaper than burr grinders, but the grind is not uniform and will produce particles of widely varying sizes, while ideally, all particles should have the same size, appropriate for the method of brewing.

Moreover, the particles get smaller and smaller during the grinding process, which makes it difficult to achieve a consistent grind from batch to batch. The ground coffee is also warmed by friction, although it is debatable whether this heating effect has any detectable effect on the flavor of the coffee.

Moreover, the particles get smaller and smaller during the grinding process, which makes it difficult to achieve a consistent grind from batch to batch. The ground coffee is also warmed by friction, although it is debatable whether this heating effect has any detectable effect on the flavor of the coffee.

Blade grinders create “coffee dust” that can clog up sieves in espresso machines and French presses, and are best suited for drip coffee makers. They are not recommended for grinding coffee for use with pump espresso machines.

POUNDING

Arabic coffee and Turkish coffee require that the grounds be almost powdery in fineness, finer than can be achieved by most burr grinders. Pounding the beans with a mortar and pestle can pulverize the coffee finely enough.

ROLLER GRINDING

In a roller grinder, the beans are ground between pairs of corrugated rollers. A roller grinder produces a more even grind size distribution and heats the ground coffee less than other grinding methods. However, due to their size and cost, roller grinders are used exclusively by commercial and industrial scale coffee producers.

Water-cooled roller grinders are used for high production rates as well as for fine grinds such as Turkish and espresso.

BASE FOR OTHER DRINKS

Espresso is also the base for other drinks such as a caffè latte, cappuccino, caffè macchiato, caffè mocha, flat white, or caffè Americano. Espresso has more caffeine per unit volume than most coffee beverages, but because the usual serving size is much smaller, the total caffeine content is less than a mug of standard brewed coffee, contrary to a common belief.

ESPRESSO BREWING

There is no universal standard defining the process of extracting espresso, but there are several published definitions which attempt to place constraints on the amount and type of ground coffee used, the temperature and pressure of the water, and the rate of extraction. Generally, one uses an espresso machine to make espresso.

The act of producing a shot of espresso is often termed “pulling” a shot, originating from lever espresso machines, which require pulling down a handle attached to a spring-loaded piston, forcing hot water through the coffee at high pressure. Today, however, it is more common for the pressure to be generated by an electric pump.

ORIGIN

The coffee break originated in the late 19th century in Stoughton, Wisconsin, with the wives of Norwegian immigrants. The city celebrates this every year with the Stoughton Coffee Break Festival. In 1951, Time noted that since the war, the coffee break has been written into union contracts. The term subsequently became popular through a Pan-American Coffee Bureau ad campaign of 1952 which urged consumers, Give yourself a Coffee-Break – and Get What Coffee Gives to You. John B. Watson, a behavioral psychologist who worked with Maxwell House later in his career, helped to popularize coffee breaks within the American culture.

DURATION

Coffee breaks usually last from 10 to 20 minutes and frequently occur at the end of the first third of the work shift. In some companies and some civil service, the coffee break may be observed formally at a set hour. In some places, a “cart” with hot and cold beverages and cakes, breads and pastries arrives at the same time morning and afternoon, an employer may contract with an outside caterer for daily service, or coffee breaks may take place away from the actual work area in a designated cafeteria or tea room. More generally, the phrase “coffee break” has also come to denote any break from work, not necessarily with coffee.

The first machine for making espresso was built and patented in 1884 by Angelo Moriondo of Turin, Italy. An improved design was patented in 1901, which was bought by the founder of the La Pavoni company which from 1905 produced espresso machines commercially on a small scale in Milan.

Multiple machine designs have been created to produce espresso. Several machines share some common elements, such as a grouphead and a portafilter. An espresso machine may also have a steam wand which is used to steam and froth liquids, to include milk, for coffee drinks such as cappuccino and caffe latte.

Moka pots, also known as stove top espresso makers, are similar to espresso machines in that they brew under pressure and the resulting brew shares some similarities, but in other respects differ. As such, their characterization as espresso machines is at times contentious, but due to their use of pressure and steam for brewing, comparable to all espresso prior to the 1948 Gaggia, they are accepted within broader uses of the term but distinguished from standard modern espresso machines.

DRIVE MECHANISM

Multiple machine designs have been created to produce espresso. Several machines share some common elements. Varying the fineness of the grind, the amount of pressure used to tamp the grinds can be used to vary the taste of the espresso. Some baristas pull espresso shots directly into a pre-heated demitasse cup or shot glass, to maintain a higher temperature of the espresso.

1. STEAM-DRIVEN

A steam-driven unit operates by forcing water through the coffee by using steam or steam pressure. The first espresso machines were steam types, produced when a common boiler was piped to four group heads so that multiple types of coffee could be made at the same time. This design is still used today in low-cost consumer machines, as it does not need to contain moving parts.

2. PISTON-DRIVEN

The piston, or lever, driven machine was developed in Italy in 1945 by Achille Gaggia, founder of espresso machine manufacturer Gaggia. The design generically uses a lever, pumped by the operator, to pressurize hot water and send it through the coffee grinds. The act of producing a shot of espresso is colloquially termed pulling a shot, because these lever-style espresso machines required pulling a long handle to produce a shot.

There are two types of lever machines; manual piston and spring piston design. With the manual piston, the operator directly pushes the water through the grounds. In the spring piston design, the operator works to tension a spring, which then delivers the pressure for the espresso usually 8 to 10.

3. PUMP-DRIVEN

A refinement of the piston machine is the pump-driven machine, which was introduced in the Faema E61 in 1961, and has become the most popular design in commercial espresso bars. Instead of using manual force, a motor-driven pump provides the force necessary for espresso brewing.Espresso machines are made to accept water directly from a cold water line supply, common in commercial installations, or from a separate tank that must be filled with water by hand. The latter is more common with lower-volume commercial installations and domestic espresso machines. Due to the required high pumping pressure and precision flow control needed, the particular type of electric pumps typically used are known as ‘solenoid-piston’ pumps.

Espresso machines are made to accept water directly from a cold water line supply, common in commercial installations, or from a separate tank that must be filled with water by hand. The latter is more common with lower-volume commercial installations and domestic espresso machines. Due to the required high pumping pressure and precision flow control needed, the particular type of electric pumps typically used are known as ‘solenoid-piston’ pumps. These pumps are classified as a positive displacement type (general category) of pump.

4. AIR-PUMP-DRIVEN

In recent years air-pump driven espresso machines have emerged. These machines use compressed air to force the hot water through the coffee grounds. The hot water is typically added from a kettle or a thermo flask. The compressed air comes from either a hand-pump, N2 or CO2 cartridges or an electric compressor.One of the advantages of the air-pump driven machines is that they are much smaller and lighter than electric machines. They are often handheld and portable. The first air-pump-driven

One of the advantages of the air-pump driven machines is that they are much smaller and lighter than electric machines. They are often handheld and portable. The first air-pump-driven machine was the AeroPress, which was invented by Alan Adler, an American inventor, and introduced in 2005. Handpresso Wild, invented by Nielsen Innovation SARL, a French innovation house, was introduced in 2007.

MACHINE PARTS

A grouphead (or group head) is the receiver for the removable portafilter (or group handle). A typical consumer espresso machine normally has only one grouphead, while popular professional machines, such as those used at commercial coffee shops, can contain anywhere from one to seven. During the process of extracting a shot of espresso, hot water is forced through the grouphead under pressure. The grouphead contains many holes (the shower) that attempt to distribute the pressurized water evenly over the surface of the grinds in the portafilter basket and thereby achieve an even cross sectional flow.

A portafilter (or group handle) attaches to the grouphead of semi-automatic and piston-driven espresso machines, and carries a tamped puck of coffee grounds within its basket. It is usually made of brass for better heat retention, and is attached by a plastic or wooden handle. The portafilter forms a seal with the espresso machine’s gasket, and directs high-pressure hot water through the coffee puck. After-market retailers also sell bottomless portafilters that minimize the espresso’s contact with any metal.

A bottomless portafilter is one tool baristas use to analyze the quality of the coffee grind and the evenness of the extraction and allows for a visual check of  channeling or the condition in which water is able to pierce a hole in the espresso puck during the brew process leading to poor extraction. Often, baristas use knockboxes to store their spent espresso grounds after they have pulled a shot.

GREEN COFFEE

After the cherries are put through the pulper and the seeds have been soaked, they are set out to sun-dry for a period of one week. The beans are periodically raked to ensure even drying. Once dried, the beans will form a thin, paper-like shell called parchment. Once formed, the parchment will increase the beans’ storage life considerably. When the beans are ready, the parchment is removed, and the beans are graded and sorted according size, weight, and defects. The sorted beans are then stored in 60 or 70 kg sacks called sisal bags that help the beans retain moisture for a longer period of time. The storage time cannot exceed one year for the beans to be considered a current crop. If the green coffee remains in storage for longer than a year, it is considered old crop and is less valuable because of its drier state.

ROAST COFFEE

Once a coffee bean is roasted, it is either packaged immediately for sale, or ground and then packaged for sale. Packages used are typically either an airtight plastic container or vacuum-sealed wrapping, or a folded-over bag with a pressure relief valve. Each type of package has its own advantages. The airtight containers allow maximum freshness of the bean and prolong its shelf life, whilst the valve allows excess carbon dioxide, and other gases to escape. The carbon dioxide, as much as 10 L/kg of coffee for dark-roasted coffee, is not released because it is harmful to the flavour—quite the contrary, it protects the beans against oxidation, but excess pressure could damage the container. Reported experience is that a few days of carbon dioxide release is needed between roasting and brewing for best results. There is also informed opinion that storage of freshly roasted beans in a can pressurized with nitrogen gas, with excess pressure buildup vented via a relief valve, provides optimal storage for extended periods, while promoting a beneficial aging effect related to distribution of natural oils by the pressure.

HOME STORAGE

Once bought, the method of storage used depends on the type coffee purchased. Green beans store the best in cooled airtight containers, and can easily last in this state for a year without losing flavor. Roasted whole beans are best stored in airtight containers out of the light. The best material choices for the container are ceramic, or opaque glass. Plastic and metal may alter the flavor of the coffee bean. In addition, for the first week of storage, containers should be opened or vented by a relief valve to release the carbon dioxide gas that will be produced by the roasted beans to prevent the gas from changing the quality of the coffee. Whole bean roasted coffee stored in this manner will last for about two weeks. The advisability of freezing roasted beans is controversial. Those advocating freezing believe that the flavour can then last for one to two months. If beans are frozen, leaving them frozen until brewing best preserves the flavour of the coffee. Frozen beans will grind the same as unfrozen beans, but refreezing beans alters the quality of the coffee. Coffee grounds are stored in airtight ceramic or glass containers, like roasted beans. Due to increased total surface area of coffee grounds, the grounds go stale in days, rather than weeks. In addition, freezing has no effect in increasing the storage life of coffee grounds.