Love Affairs in Melbourne-Chapter 134 - 131 Coffee Culture

"Remembering someone and forgetting someone are both natural things. Don’t force yourself to remember, and don’t force yourself to forget. Just leave it to time," Yan Yan tried to comfort Bao Bao.

It was a good thing that Bao Bao was willing to start talking about Shen Xi.

"It should be left to time, mainly because her mother was in the way and, in the end, there was no way to properly say goodbye." This was the part that Bao Bao found most regrettable.

"But you were with her the whole time she was sick," Yan Yan felt that Bao Bao had already done enough.

"Didn’t you ask me to tell you about coffee? What do you want to know?" Bao Bao still thought it might be better to change the subject.

"Uh, when you ask like that, I really don’t know how to answer..." Yan Yan picked up the topic Bao Bao dropped and began thinking.

Yan Yan searched her mind for what she most wanted to know, but was truly clueless for a moment.

Living in Melbourne, she couldn’t possibly have avoided being influenced by the coffee culture.

But if she really had to say what she knew and didn’t know about coffee, Yan Yan really couldn’t answer.

"So do you know about the different types of coffee?" Bao Bao asked Yan Yan.

"Types, huh? There are so many: Blue Mountain, latte, cappuccino, Mocha—it would be really hard to list them all," Yan Yan couldn’t answer Bao Bao’s seemingly simple question.

"What you mentioned are not the types of coffee. There are only three types of coffee in the world, categorized by the altitude at which the beans grow.

The more common types are lowland coffee, Robusta Coffee, which grows below 600 meters, and highland coffee, Arabica Coffee, usually growing above 1000 meters. The last type, not very mainstream, mainly used for specialty coffees, is Liberica Coffee.

Robusta has a higher caffeine content than Arabica and is usually used to make instant coffee.

Arabica is generally considered a higher quality coffee bean, and most well-known coffees are Arabica.

Usually, the coffee beans used in coffee shops are also primarily Arabica.

If you’ve noticed, McDonald’s beverage cups also have Arabica printed on them to emphasize that they use quality beans," Bao Bao simplified the explanation about coffee types.

"Really? You said Robusta has a higher caffeine content?

Then how is Arabica of better quality?

Does that mean instant coffee is more effective than what they serve in coffee shops?" Yan Yan felt that Bao Bao’s explanation was a bit contradictory.

"If by effective you mean its ability to keep you awake, then that’s indeed the case.

If you want to stay up all night working on a design, drinking instant coffee is definitely more effective than drinking the same amount of Arabica coffee," Bao Bao wasn’t actually contradicting himself.

"This is honestly the first time I’m hearing this; I always thought the coffee sold in shops would be better than instant," Yan Yan felt she was ignorant.

"So you judge the quality of a coffee by its caffeine content?" Bao Bao was suddenly speechless.

"What else? Isn’t the main point of drinking coffee to stay awake? Can coffee without caffeine be good coffee?" Yan Yan felt her reasoning was logically sound.

"If that’s your logic, then why do the same varieties of coffee beans sell decaf at a higher price than regular ones?" Bao Bao asked helplessly.

"Well, that. After making the coffee, they extract the caffeine, just being busy for no reason," Yan Yan thought it was completely redundant.

"Who told you decaf is made by extracting caffeine after the coffee is made?

Honestly, I’m starting to regret admitting that we’re ’living together’ now," Bao Bao marveled at how he had never realized before that Yan Yan was a coffee novice.

"Not coming isn’t exactly true, my dear landlord," Yan Yan said, looking at Bao Bao with a serious gaze, genuinely unsure of how decaffeinated coffee is produced.

"Previously, decaffeinated coffee was made, before roasting the beans, by chemically or physically removing over 97% of the caffeine.

That’s still how most decaffeinated coffee is made today.

It primarily uses the chemical method with Methylenechloride, also known as the European Process, and the physical Swiss Water Process.

However, the first method clearly involves chemical additives, and the second method damages the coffee’s flavor.

Although these are the types of decaffeinated coffee beans mostly available on the market,

they are not the ideal types of decaffeinated coffee. fгeewebnovёl.com

My decaffeinated coffee beans are a brand new Decaffito.

In 2004, scientists discovered a naturally caffeine-free and rare coffee plant species in Cameroon, West Africa, called Coffea Charrieriana.

It’s purely natural, and cultivation began on this scarce variety.

The Decaffito trademark was registered in Brazil ten years ago.

Despite years of breeding, the coffee produced is still extremely scarce.

There are many coffee farms in Ethiopia that are also trying to introduce this valuable ’defect’ gene into other coffee plant species," Bao Bao explained passionately about the coffee world.

"I think you should come to Italy with me," Yan Yan concluded.

"What would I do in Italy?" Bao Bao found Yan Yan’s conclusion a bit odd.

"You’re here making these complex Italian coffees all day, shouldn’t you visit their place of origin?" Yan Yan reasoned.

"That’s true, if you go to Italy, I’ll come to visit you if I have time," Bao Bao considered Yan Yan’s reason quite sufficient.

"Then it’s settled, in Italy, I’ll wait to see whether Bao Ka’s Italian coffee tastes better or the Italians’ Italian coffee," Yan Yan said, giving him a slightly challenging look.

"If you really want to understand the quality of coffee itself, you should learn to drink black coffee. Adding milk and sugar ruins the natural taste of the coffee," Bao Bao shared his opinion.

"Black coffee? No way, if I wanted to taste something bitter, I’d rather drink traditional medicine," Yan Yan’s thought was somewhat exaggerated.

"Black coffee isn’t necessarily bitter; it depends on its origin and variety.

Arabica coffee originates from Ethiopia.

In my opinion, it’s still the best coffee-producing area, with my favorite being the wild coffee.

That’s the coffee from wild coffee trees growing at altitudes above 1500 meters.

Ethiopia’s most famous coffee-producing area is Sidamo.

A sun-dried Sidamo is sweet and grand, capable of making one forget all worries.

Sidamo is a relatively large area; within it, there’s a subregion called Yirgacheffe.

The locals use a washed process for Yirgacheffe, which made it overnight more famous than Sidamo.

A cup of washed Yirgacheffe, when brewed, has no trace of bitterness, and is like drinking a cup of floral tea but much more complex and intense in flavor.

The delicate floral and rich fruity aromas perfectly blend in a small cup of Yirgacheffe. It must be the world’s most maidenly coffee," Bao Bao espoused his admiration for Yirgacheffe coffee.