Coffee leads men to trifle away their time, scald their chops, and spend their money, all for a little base, black, thick, nasty, bitter, stinking nauseous puddle water.
– The Women’s Petition against Coffee, 1674
Cowboy Coffee… There is absolutely no simpler way to make coffee. Heat water and coffee together in a suitable container, then pour and drink. You might want to find a way to filter the grinds from the liquid prior to drinking, or you might just not care. Everything from egg shells to a sock can be used. Coarse to medium grind is best suited for this hearty brew. Visions of an enameled coffee pot over an open fire with a chuck wagon in the background come to mind when I think about this method of making coffee. Preferably made by some crusty old-timer named Cookie. Coyotes yapping in the chaparral…
Closely related to Cowboy Coffee is this old world version called Turkish Coffee. The coffee and water are heated together to just before the boil in a small pot called an Ibrik or Cezve that holds one or two cups and is also the serving container. The sediments are left to settle to the bottom and typically are not meant to be consumed. Common practice includes adding a good dose of sugar. An extremely find grind known appropriately as a Turkish Grind is used for this.
Also pretty darn close to Cowboy Coffee is the civilized version known as French Press. The hot water is mixed into the coffee and allowed to sit or steep for some length of time. This time is variable to some degree and depends upon the coffee, but I usually figure on about six minutes more or less. The French Press itself has a plunger with a steel mesh. Once the coffee has steeped, the plunger is depressed, thus separating the grinds from the liquid; and voila there you have it the perfect cup of coffee. You will want a coarse grind for this process. This is my favoured method when I have the luxury of time.
Next in line comes percolated coffee. This too uses a coarse grind. The operation of the good old percolator is a delight to the senses, offering tantalizing aromas and great sound effects. It is a throwback to a different time. The shortcoming however is that it’s very principle of operation requires the water to be boiling which can destroy the flavoured oils; which of course is where that oh so tantalizing aroma comes from; but then again, that aroma is just flavour leaving the coffee.
Undoubtedly the most common method of making coffee in most households and restaurants and even most coffee houses is the Drip and Filter method. Quick, easy, and convenient; if you are into those sorts of things. They can make a passable cup of mud if you do it right however. The biggest issues we face with this type of process are water temperature and filters. First, regarding water temperature; 90 – 93°C is the sweet spot as you know. Inexpensive automatic machines may either boil the water, or perhaps not get it hot enough. More expensive units will have better temperature control which can be a good option. Simple manual drip carafes allow one to heat their water separately in a kettle to the correct temperature and add it to the coffee manually, which covers the temperature aspect quite nicely. This is also known as the pour over method. A favourite of my good buddy KK, and an increasingly common method among the hipster coffee crowd worldwide. Check out Thump in Denver.
The other drawback to drip coffee is the filters used. The most widely used filters are paper filters, and environmental reasons notwithstanding, there are some inherent functional deficiencies to this method. Paper filters are just too slow and can not only contribute to bitterness, but can also make the coffee too cold to be properly savoured. In addition to this paper filters may contribute various undesirable flavours to the beverage. Some machines have gold plated metal filter baskets which effectively eliminate the negative aspects of the paper filters. Use a medium grind if you have flat bottom paper filters or a metal filter. If you have cone filters then use a fine grind.
The real aficionados (or nerds) will use a gram scale for brewing their pour over coffee. This way you can get a pretty dead nuts accurate and consistent amount of both coffee and water (by weight). Most fancy schmancy coffee houses will use scales for their pour over.
Espresso…. Ah yes the very essence of coffee concentrated in a nice little cup. Not to mention the basis for all of those frou frou drinks. Espresso is made by forcing vaporized hot water under pressure through the tightly packed grinds. Extra fine grind is used which aids in getting the coffee compacted allowing for the best distribution of the water. The pressure should be around 9 to 10 bars. Espresso Vivache in Seattle makes a very passable cup.
Vacuum coffee machines have been around for many years and date back to the mid 1800’s and they were in vogue for quite some time. They are known for making a very clear beverage and this method has had a small resurgence in some more eclectic coffee houses. The brewer typically has an upper and lower chamber. The water is heated in the lower vessel and eventually through siphon action via vapour pressure makes its way to the upper chamber where the coffee grounds are housed. Once brewed the coffee releases back down into the lower chamber through the effects of gravity and the change in pressures between the two vessels. The coffee is now ready to be decanted into a cup to be enjoyed. I guess it’s good, but it seems overly complex to a fellow like me. Try Intellegensia in Chicago or Kaffe Craft in St Petersburg if you want a nice cup of vacuum distilled coffee.
There are some other esoteric methods such as cold brewing but I will cover those (perhaps) in a later post. In the meanwhile, pick a method and start brewing.