So I've recently been reading up on Sen no Rikyu and his tea ceremony, and it got me thinking about my own, albeit less spiritual, routine for brewing coffee. I'm interested in how you Hubskiers prefer to brew your beverages; be they coffee, tea, beer, or anything else! Please give a brief explanation of your techniques and how you came about brewing the way you do!
Cheers! :)
I put boiling water into a mocha pot, then set it on a medium to low heat. I then collect the first two teaspoons of espresso and mix it with two teaspoons of sugar. I then whisk the mixture into a nice froth. By now the mocha pot should be done, I make sure to remove from heat before balding (when the beans are burnt, the colouration of the coffee is off). Then I mix the two, let the foam rise to the top, and serve in an demitasse
That sounds delicious. I've personally always had a problem brewing in a moka pot (I always burn it :P), but I've heard it can make some great espresso! I'll have to try this out.
It's called cuban coffee if you want to look more into it. Yeah they can be tricky little shits. My advice is to keep it on a slightly hotter than medium heat, just enough to boil but not boil hard. Then keep the lid off and watch it like a hawk. The moment the coffee comes out clearish remove from heat. Never let it grumble. Also whenever I'm too lazy for that I just brew two cups of coffee and mix in two shots of espresso. I hate myself a little.
I'm currently brewing something similar to press pot or French press. Fresh beans are ground to a coarse/medium grind. Boiling water is added to them in a pyrex measuring cup. I aim for 30 g of coffee to about 500 mL of water. Steep for 3 min. Pour off coffee through a fine (very fine) mesh strainer. My yield is about 400 mL. I find the coffee to be a bit cleaner than press pot but still full flavoured. Also saves me from having to get a press pot.
Your parameters are very similar to my own. I do actual French press, with a water:coffee ratio of approximately 100:6 (by weight) ground course; I usually do 36g coffee with 550-600mL water. I find that water at 195F for 4.5 min yields a pot at my ideal level of extraction.
I buy Guatemalan beans at a coffee shop that will roast them for you. I get a light roast if I'm making hot coffee, but most of the time I get a medium roast for cold brew. I got a cold brew coffee tower and it's pretty great. If you're unfamiliar, A reservoir of cold water slowly drips into finely ground coffee and slowly seeps through to collect in a container. Adjusting the drip speed will alter the flavor slightly and brewing can take between 3 and 12 hours. I use 5 parts water to 1 part coffee by weight. The result is a less bitter slightly concentrated ice coffee. You can mix it with a little hot water for a nice cup, but I mostly drink it cold with only a bit of cream added.
That's the main way I cold brew. What tower do you use? I got the 1 liter one from Hario.
I'm not sure of the brand, it's a simple three sided wooden frame and all the glass is Gator Glass. It was the greatest coffee investment I've ever made!
That sounds really cool! Do you have a picture of it?
Here it is. I also saw some similar ones on Amazon for $200
My favorite thing right now is Japanese Iced Coffee. While I am bringing some water to a boil, I weigh out 25 grams of coffee, and grind it to a medium-fine grind (using a Hario Skerton hand burr grinder). Then I weigh out 150 grams of ice cubes in a metal cup. I use a Hario v60 pour over to brew directly into the cup of ice. I slowly pour 50 grams of water over the coffee grounds in a small circular motion starting in the center and working my way out. I stir it, then let it sit for 30 seconds. I then pour 50 more grams using the same circular motion, and at 1 minute, I pour another 100 grams. The water finishes draining by about two minutes, I dispose of the grounds and the filter, swirl the final product around a bit, pour it into a cup with some more ice, and enjoy. It's so delicious and refreshing on a hot summer morning in Texas.
Plus brewing completely manually has a sort of ritualistic or ceremonial aspect that is really satisfying to me. Almost as much as the final product itself.
I totally agree with you about the ritualistic aspects of manual brewing. Just making coffee is a surefire way to calm down. I'm also in Texas, so I'll definitely give this one a try!
If you're ever in Austin or Dallas, you should go to Houndstooth Coffee. They make the best Japanese Iced Coffee I've had so far.
And if you ever find yourself near Chicago, make a trip down to Julius Meinl. It's some of my favorite coffee.
Yeah! I have a friend who goes to UTD! And another friend going to UTA (Arlington). I live in Houston (actually just north of it in a suburb), but I'm heading up to Ohio in a month for college.
I don't know if they're in NSM, but that'd be ridiculous if they were! And I'm studying physics. You?
Hahaha! Don't worry, dude, that's exactly how I feel about bio! I feel like there are so many cool concepts in bio, but I can't grasp the basic stuff enough to fully enjoy them.