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Espresso
is an elixir like chocolate or cognac," avers Andrea Illy,
CEO, Illycaffe. Illy, 40, should know a thing or two about coffee.
Not only is he the grandson of the man who invented the steam
espresso machine, but his thesis at the University of Trieste
was on "Quality of Espresso from a Chemical Perspective".
And 10 years ago, Illy, whose family-owned firm is present in
78 countries across the world, published a book entitled "Espresso
Coffee: The Chemistry of Quality".
So what does Illy have to say about the perfect
cup of espresso? According to him, the after taste of a good espresso
should last up to one hour of drinking it. Always, but always
ask for half-a-cup of espresso because a full cup means more water
passed through the same amount of coffee, resulting in bitter
dregs. A half-cup ensures that you get the best part of the brew.
"Espresso is the perfect marriage of chemistry and physics
that allows the coffee to reach its maximum intensity of taste
and consistency," says Illy, who joined the family business
in 1990 as a quality inspector and became its CEO in 1994. His
father Ernesto Illy, aka Pappa Bean, is the chairman.
Science does play a crucial role in making
that perfect cup of espresso (see the sidebar alongside). First
of all, even before you get close to the coffee machine (yes,
an espresso cannot be made without a machine), you must make sure
you have 100 per cent fine-ground Arabica. For two reasons: One,
the Arabica has less caffeine (between 1.1 and 1.7 per cent caffeine,
compared to Robusta, which has between 2 and 4.5 per cent). Two,
finely ground coffee powder increases the surface contact area
for the high-pressure water. When this jet of hot water comes
into contact with the coffee powder, the latter releases soluble
substances that provide flavour and insoluble ones like oils and
colloids, which increase its body and aroma. Finally, two more
words of advice from Illy: Always get your espresso made to order
(in fact, that's what the word espresso means, and not coffee
as it is now popularly understood), and a good half-cup of espresso
should be sweet at the tip of your tongue, sour on the sides and
bitter at the back. (For the uninitiated, though, it may taste
bitter all over, including the teeth). Now, hopefully, no one
can fool you at the coffee pub.
-Amanpreet Singh
How
to Make that Perfect Cup of Espresso
It's a pity that
most people don't take their cup of coffee as seriously as they
do their glass of wine. For, a perfectly made cup of espresso
can be as divine as a first-growth cabernet sauvignon. But before
we tell you all about the recipe for that perfect cup of espresso,
let us first dispel a few myths about espresso. For one, says
Illy, it has less caffeine than, say, filter coffee because the
water passes through the coffee powder faster, gathering less
of the water-soluble caffeine. Two, bigger is not better when
it comes to espresso. Not only does a bigger cup mean more water,
but it also dissipates heat faster. Thick and one-ounce china
cups are ideal. Now the how of it: Water at temperatures from
88-90 degree Celsius must be passed through 6-7 grams of espresso
blend at pressure of 9 atmospheres for 30 seconds at 1 cubic centimetre
per second to produce espresso with 2-5 mm of foam that ideally
should last for 2 minutes. All this is probably complicated, which
brings us to our final point: When you buy an espresso machine,
make sure it's a good one.
TREADMILL
An Even-handed Solution
 For
the past few days, I've been trying to use my left arm to do a
lot of stuff that I normally use my right arm to do. In the process,
I have nicked myself while shaving, made a mess of my shoelaces
while putting on my shoes, dropped a very heavy shopping bag on
my toes, gone all over the place on my laptop screen while using
the touch pad, almost twisted my wrist trying to wear my fly-button
jeans and, well, a whole host of other things that I'd rather
not mention. Have I finally lost it? Maybe, but the idea behind
doing these apparently irrational things with my left arm and
hand arose when I realised that my right arm was more muscular
and stronger than my left. I'm right-handed like the majority
of people so that arm is dominant in most of my physical activities.
As a result, while weight training I noticed
that I can lift more weight with my right arm than my left and
that my left arm's biceps, triceps and fore-arm muscles were less
developed than the right arm's. It's normal for that to happen,
I know, but sometimes vanity prevails and like most wannabe body
sculptors, I want to be as perfect and symmetrical as I can get!
But more seriously, what do you do to build
strength in your non-dominant arm? The goofy way of evening out
the inequity between the two limbs is to do what I have been trying
to do: using my left arm to do a lot of stuff that the right normally
does. But that's not a lasting solution because a.) you'll make
a fool of yourself (I got shaving gel up my nostrils) and b.)
willy-nilly you'll eventually instinctively use your dominant
arm to get things done without a mess. If you want to build more
strength in your left arm (or your right if you're a southpaw),
you can do it with a few gym tricks. Here are a couple:
Asymmetric weights. Grab unequal weights-use
a slightly heavier dumb-bell in your left (or weaker) hand-for
biceps curls. It may seem a bit odd at first but doing a set or
two of curls using asymmetric weights may help strengthen your
weaker arm. Try doing these sets after you finish your regular
(using equal weights) dumb-bell curls.
Additional sets. You could also try doing
extra sets of dumb-bell curls for the biceps or single-arm dumb-bell
raises for the triceps of your weaker arm. After you finish your
normal arm exercise routine, grab a light dumb-bell and do a couple
of extra sets of curls or raises with your weaker arm.
-Muscles
Mani
write to musclesmani@intoday.com
Caveat: The physical exercises described
in Treadmill are not recommendations. Readers should exercise
caution and consult a physician before attempting to follow any
of these.
ODOUR
ORDER
Executives
may be sweating a lot to reach ever higher corporate goals, but
are they becoming a nightmare to colleagues for all the wrong
reasons? Well, they may, if enough attention is not paid to body
odour.
What it is: A common condition in
which excessive odour, usually an unpleasant one, emanates from
the skin especially during summers. Body odour may be chronic
if an individual is suffering from various metabolic disorders-liver
ailment, diabetes or even Parkinson's disease, says Dr S.K. Bose,
Senior Consultant, Dermatology, Indraprastha Apollo Hospital,
Delhi.
What causes it: Sweat is odourless,
but if sweat is left on the skin, it allows both bacteria and
fungus to flourish. This process releases chemicals giving it
an unpleasant smell. Some areas of the skin, such as armpits,
are more likely to produce body odour because the sweat glands
in these areas are slightly different. These glands produce proteins
and oily substances that bacteria feed on. The smell of body odour
may also be influenced by diet. Certain foodstuff may contain
chemicals that are excreted in the skin (such as curry, garlic
and strong spices).
Who's affected: At puberty, sweat
glands develop under the stimulation of hormones and protein,
and oil production by the skin in armpits and genitals increases.
Body odour may then become a problem, especially if hygiene is
poor.
How to get rid of it: As far as treatment
goes, an anti-fungal or an anti-bacterial soap is prescribed in
most cases, according to Dr Bose. Regular baths and using an antiperspirant
or a deodorant to reduce sweat (in fact, some of them may even
inhibit bacterial growth) may also help. One must try and wear
fresh clothes every day. Feet should be washed regularly, dried
thoroughly and treated with anti-fungal (anti-athlete's foot)
powders, if necessary. One must also avoid closed sweaty shoes
such as trainers and wear fresh cotton socks.
-Roopali Joshi
PRINTED
CIRCUIT
Phone Future
Nokia 888 concept phone
 Not
too far in the future, you'll be able to wear your phone around
your wrist like a bracelet and yet expect it to deliver all the
features that this generation of handsets does. And trying to
make that possible for you is the Finnish phone giant, Nokia,
which recently showed off such a concept phone at the Benelux
design contest. Besides its flexible form, the Nokia 888 sports
flexible touch screens and speech recognition. Lest you get your
hopes up, Constant Reader, this is a concept and some engineers
are sceptical whether such a phone can be commercially produced.
Still, if this is the future of mobile communication, the wait
will be worth it.
 Go
Bananas
Bang & Olufsen BeoCom 2
If
you are wondering what this strange-looking object alongside is,
let us tell you that it's a new cordless phone from Bang & Olufsen.
It's called the BeoCom2 and, as you can make out, is shaped like
a banana. Why? Well, why not? Crafted out of a single piece of
aluminium (minimalist design based on aluminium is, after all,
the hallmark of the Struer, Denmark-based company), the BeoCom2
can be used to make and receive external calls, besides which
it can double up as an intercom. It has a phonebook that can store
up to 200 numbers, and keep a record of 16 incoming and outgoing
calls for easy reference. Incredibly, that's not all. The banana
stick, which can be wall mounted, will also serve you as a remote
control for your television. The only hitch: It's got to be a
B&O TV. Price: Rs 43,000.
When It Counts
Roswell calculator
 When
was the last time you actually used a calculator? Unless you are
an engineer who still swears by his TI scientific calculator,
chances are it was a long, long time ago. Heck, even diehard bean
counters have moved on to the spreadsheet. But here's a calculator
that may move you enough to turn the clock back. The Roswell Calculator
by Lexon Design is unlike any counting machine humankind has ever
seen. It has an all-aluminium body with round keypads, and a transparent
LCD screen that can display up to two lines. In fact, the calculator
looks so good that you may want one on your table top, even if
show-off is all that you'll do with it. Better still, the Roswell
Calculator doesn't cost the earth, and can be shipped to you as
long as you are somewhere on this planet. The price, including
shipping: About $50 (Rs 2,200).
 Let
There Be Light
Philips LED light bulbs
At Philips' recent
design summit in Paris, it wasn't a hi-tech gadget, but a futuristic
light bulb, that stole the thunder. This was no ordinary bulb.
Part of Philips' newly developed led range, the new bulbs offer
a host of features. They consume less power, are cool to touch,
and can last for 10 or 20 years. Besides, they can be made to
change colour and intensity with a twist and one variety, the
Chameleon, can mimic the colour of the object placed in front
of it. The coolest? The Memento, which is a glass orb that can
play back small video clips and pictures. It may not be too long
before they hit the market.
-Compiled by Kushan Mitra
and Alokesh Bhattacharyya
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