Cameron Hall: (unofficial) Coffee Connoisseur

On a college campus, it's quite easy to find people who love coffee, but I was looking for someone a little more specific. Someone who could defend the cause of coffee for a higher reason than caffeine addiction. Someone who appreciated the nuances of coffee like I appreciate the nuances of tea.

So let me introduce you to Cameron Hall, a senior business major here at my university. He started drinking coffee for the caffeine his sophomore year of college. During finals week, he was really tired and decided to start drinking coffee. "There were peppermint mochas, so that's what I got started on," he said.

However, it was when I asked Cameron to describe drinking a cup of coffee that I knew I was talking not to a coffee drinker, but a coffee connoisseur (like my dad.) How did I know? He didn't answer with one description, but instead said the experience varies based on what type of coffee he's drinking at the time. By types of coffee, he meant origins--or where the coffee is from--and roasts. (Here's a comprehensive list of different roasts.)

Taking a sip: first the body, which is the the feel of the coffee, hits your tongue. And depending on the origin or roast, the body is always different . Then you dissect the different notes or flavors that come from the beans. Some coffees are more acidic, others have chocolate or fruity or spicy notes.

To savor the full effect, Cameron drinks his coffee in small sips so he can taste each one of the notes that particular cup of coffee has.

But why does Cameron prefer coffee over tea? Simpy because he prefers the flavor of coffee better. "I don't like the plant notes you get out of tea. And also, tea has a lot lighter flavor to me than coffee," he said.

He also just enjoys the learning process. "There are different things you can experience (with coffee), and the ways you can be hands on with your coffee are almost endless." Like different kinds of brewing methods for instance. He said it's pretty easy even to start roasting your own coffee beans. "It's just fun to experiment with it. Plus, you don't have to pay four bucks to go buy a cup at Starbucks once you've gotten good at making coffee."

Can't top that argument!

Drink More Coffee!

So I thought about proving how coffee is better than tea health-wise or something, but apparently, they're about equally beneficial.

If you're looking to add to your list of reasons to drink coffee, this guy gives some other possible benefits of coffee, like providing antioxidants, making you smarter, helping you burn fat, decrease your risk of liver problems, diabetes, and Alzheimer's. (I have to disagree with his "lower your risk of death" point since I'm pretty sure that there isn't anything humanly we can do to lower our risk of dying.)

So instead, I thought it'd be fun to just pick several of the coffee "types," tell a little bit about each, and Starbucks gives some nutrition facts and fun facts under each category.

1) Espresso is the base for all other coffee drinks. It's a higher concentration of coffee and has more caffeine per unit volume, so it's served in a smaller "shot-glass" sized coffee mug.

2) Caffè macchiato is just one step up from espresso because it just adds a little bit of milk and foam on top. The name literally means "espresso stained/marked with milk." Try a Caramel or Hazelnut Macchiato (hot or cold.)

3) Lattes or caffellatte (in Italian) which means "milk coffee" because it's a mixture of coffee and steamed milk. The first thing that comes to mind when I think of lattes is, of course, Starbucks' Pumpkin Spice Latte. Need I say more? Lattes are probably my favorite coffee drink, especially when "over-ice" or chilled (crushed up ice). Oh, and since Starbucks is about to move on to other holiday drinks, here's a way to keep that pumpkin spice going year-round. aka-diy! (Let me know if it's any good.)

Week 6: Coffee vs. Tea

8 weeks into this semester. Week 6 of this blog. Many, if not all college students (including myself), are tired. And I think most people, even outside the university sphere, are very ready for the holidays. A break. Whatever.

So I figured, why not do a fun topic--Coffee vs. Tea. It's very applicable because who doesn't need/want a caffeine boost when they reach the level of fatigue college and careers bring?

I know this topic isn't exactly "controversial." I suppose it's more along the preference side, but some people do get pretty defensive about their choice of caffeinated beverage.

For the most part, Americans made their choice back 1773. I mean, they kind of had to find an alternative beverage after they decided to brew all their tea in the Boston Harbor. So today, we associate tea with the sophisticated British or Europeans in general, and coffee with the rough and tough, hardworking American spirit.

Now I realize those are broad (probably inaccurate) generalizations, and I should probably clarify my statement about the whole Boston Tea thing as a joke and not factual history, but I personally tend to fall on the whole tea side of things. I grew up drinking tea. I absolutely love it. My dad is the coffee connoisseur considering he actually buys the beans green and roasts his own coffee. Apparently, the gene didn't rub off on me though. I can count the number of cups of coffee I drank my freshman year (year, not semester) on one hand.

So this week, I'll take the position of coffee.

And just for the fun of it, here are a couple quotes about coffee...

"A morning without coffee is like sleep." ~Anonymous

or

"Sleep is a symptom of caffeine deprivation." ~Anonymous

and

"To me, the smell of fresh-made coffee is one of the greatest inventions." ~Hugh Jackman

Feel free to add other quotes!