Making Coffee… Again

So there is one more post on this great blog, that is about coffee. For the relative new readers, I had a view (three to be precise) posts in the past. That ‘s actually one of the main reason for starting up the blog. People did not know how to make coffee properly. My last posts were:

And now I am preparing coffee with the most efficient, classic and romantic way. Well not romantic. I save another method for the tittle of the most romantic way. So let ‘s get started with he ingredients. However, the coffee press is a natural way of making coffee, where the only elements involved are the water and t coffee grounds in comparison to the other methods where the water is flowing or forced through the coffee grounds in the coffee press the are free to move around in the water, maximizing, that way, the contact of water and coffee grounds and optimizing the extraction of coffee. Although the process is simple, the optimal brewing requires some extra work and some unorthodox methodologies.

IMG_0670

We will need for software:

  • Coffee
  • Water

Hardware:

  • •A kettle
  • •Fine mesh sieve
  • •A french press or (coffee press)
  • •Coffee grinder
  • •And iPhone.

Hahahaaa… gotcha! No the truth is that you don t need an iPhone, but I have it for only a little over a week, and I love it.
IMG_0672

Seriously now the ingredients are for software:

  • Coffee
  • Water

Hardware:

  • A kettle
  • Fine mesh sieve
  • A french press or (coffee press)
  • Coffee grinder
  • Coffee cups preferably ceramic. Here I have the collection of the Starbucks Architecture mug (San Francisco, Jacksonville, Miami, Atlanta).

IMG_0675

Start with good quality coffee, that you buy whole from a store that moves a lot of coffee.

IMG_0680

Add it in the coffee grinder, and take it for  a spin.

shapeimage_2

You need a relatively large grind size, so the coffee grounds do not slip through the coffee press mesh.

IMG_0687

If you are using a blade grinder, it is almost sure that you will create some dust particles, that will just go through the mesh and result in a bitter and astringent coffee. So I put the in the sieve and shake them over the sing to get read of the dust.

IMG_0690

I take it one step more and I rinse them in cold water to remove the last dust particles completely. This will also bloom the coffee, meaning will open the pores and start the coffee going.

shapeimage_3

This process will take place in the carafe, one of the two main components of the press. Leave it in there while you are preparing the water for brewing.

IMG_0693

Measure the water with  the cup you will actually drink so you boil the right amount. I always use about  1.5 more than I will drink. There will be evaporation, some will stay behind in the carafe after the brewing, and you will need some to dilute the coffee if you find it too strong.

IMG_0695

In a few minutes the kettle will whistle (you can see the steam right?). You have to move fast so you don ‘t loose any heat from the water.

IMG_0697
Pour the water in the cup, to measure it, and…

IMG_0698

From there, to the carafe, quickly.

IMG_0699

Stir it with a wooden stick. And then wait. Ok you can use a spoon, but the metal will suck even more more heat and it is crucial to keep as much heat as possible. We cannot reheat the mix at this point. But any way, you have been warned. Wait now.

IMG_0703

I wait for 3 minutes, but you can go as low as 1 and as high as 5. If you want stronger coffee add more grounds. The caffeine is going to be extracted in only a few seconds,  the good flavors, will come out in the next 2-4 min, and all the nasty flavors, that make the coffee bitter, form 0-10 minutes, with peak extraction after the 5 minutes.

shapeimage_4

Plunge down the plunger. This will emulsify the oils and separate the coffee grounds. Since we did not use any paper filters all the flavorful oils will stay in the coffee. One more reason why the coffee press is better choice.

IMG_0707

And now poor yourself that cup of Joe you so much worth.

IMG_0708

One of the major issues of a coffee press is the cleaning. So although, I am not so well known about my cleaning methods I will show you here some tricks I developed to clean easier and more effective.

IMG_0710

So to get rid of the grinds, pour in the carafe water…

IMG_0711

and strain them.

IMG_0689

Now you can toss the away.

IMG_0713

Take apart the rest of the carafe, and let it dry throughly before you put it back together.

IMG_0715

A last word: As you can see there is some oil at the top of the coffee. This is all the flavor of the coffee that was not adsorbed by the paper filter. Oil adsorbs on the paper but not on metal, that ‘s why the best coffee pots have metal  filters.

« »

Tags:  ,

Leave a Reply

Last modified: June 30, 2013 by Georgios Pyrgiotakis