Pu’er Coffee

 Coffee has long been one of the most important threads running through European history. But what many people don’t realize is that coffee also has its own “dark history.” When coffee first arrived in Europe in the late 16th century, it immediately raised alarm within the Christian church. This black beverage from the “infidel” Muslim world was once condemned as “the devil’s drink.” By the 18th century, this suspicion was still very much alive in Sweden. King Gustav III firmly believed that coffee was harmful to the human body and regarded it as a kind of poison. In order to prove coffee’s dangers, he organized what would later become one of the most infamous human experiments in coffee history. Although the scientific validity of this experiment is highly questionable by modern standards, it nevertheless revealed something remarkable: as early as the 18th century, humans had already discovered that coffee was, in fact, non-toxic. To understand this story, we first need some histo...

 The world of coffee never lacks innovation. We’re constantly seeing new and creative combinations made from familiar ingredients. Take coffee and coconut, for instance — this pairing alone can produce countless variations: coconut water + espresso becomes a refreshing coconut Americano ; thick coconut milk + espresso makes a creamy coconut latte ; and coconut + cold brew creates a tropical iced drink. All of these drinks take simple ingredients and layer them into something new and interesting. But just yesterday, I stumbled upon another “experimental” crossover — brewing coffee with coconut water . And no, I don’t mean adding coconut water to already brewed coffee, nor using it to mix with instant or freeze-dried coffee. I mean replacing regular brewing water entirely with coconut water when making pour-over coffee. At first, I frowned at the idea — it sounded a little crazy. But then I thought, if we can boil chicken in coconut water for soup, why not brew coffee with it? Plus...