Cold Brewed Coffee

I made my first batch of cold brewed coffee today.  It was good but to be honest I want to play with the ratio more and use a different coffee so that I have something to compare it with - stay tuned.

I used my 8 cup French Press coffee maker and filled it with 1-Cup of coffee grounds.  Then I filled the rest with room temp filtered water and let soak for 24 hours.  I stirred it once at 12 hours because the grounds made a sort of crust on the top and I wanted to make sure that all the grounds were being steeped by the water.  After I stirred the grounds they did not form a crust again but rather sank to the bottom and steeped fully for the last 12.

I used an initial 1 to 3 concentrate to hot water ratio to make the coffee but then I landed on a 2 to 3 ratio.  It was good coffee.  There was no bitter and the acidity seemed non-existent.  In the morning I am going to try a 1 to 1 ratio and see how that works out - I am expecting great things.  I liked that the coffee was immediately drinkable as the hot water mixed with the cool concentrate made it nice.  i suspect that tomorrow's 1 to 1 ratio will make the coffee too cold as the concentrate is in the fridge tonight so it will be cold rather than room temp and the 1 to 1 ratio will make there be more cold in comparison to the hot.  If I like the flavor better using a 1 to 1 ratio then I will have to make a more dense concentrate and go from there.  Again, stay tuned.

Coffee Like a Great Lake - Improve Your Coffee Part 3

I remember a television show when I was a kid called "That's Incredible" where a guy said that he could identify each of Michigan's Great Lakes by the flavor of the water.  The man claimed that each of the Great Lakes were notable because of the impurities in their water.  And when he was given samples in a blind taste test - sure enough he identified them - 5 for 5.

I say all that to point out that the water that we make coffee with should be filtered-water.  I first learned this lesson when my brother-in-law made coffee using filtered water and I noticed a significant difference in the taste.  Then I really noticed a difference when I used water gathered in a snow storm in my Michigan Snow Coffee trial - it was not good.  It was because of both of these experiences that I can honestly say that you can improve the taste of your coffee by improving the quality of the water that you use.  If you doubt me just make your coffee with

Funeral for a Friend

I'm just heart broken, I have been using this 3cup French Press for a couple of years now.  I have made many hundreds if not thousands of cups of coffee with it.  And last night while washing it I whacked it on the faucet and shattered it.  It's silly to be so fond of a dumb $10 Meijer item but trying to replace it seems to be problematic.


Just the other day I found and purchased a 3cup coffee maker on eBay because the dumb things are sort of rare - and thus expensive.  So it came in and it looked decent enough but I chose to just keep my old one and sell the new one as part of my business.  Low and behold not a week later I destroy this one but luckily I had the new one on hand so I broke it out and used it.  Yikes!  It is terrible.  The glass beaker is about 5mm larger in diameter and so it the screen.  This caused the screen to buckle in a spot rather than seal and thus I have grounds in my coffee.  I actually got it work with the parts from my old friend so I guess a part of it is still with me.


On the bright side.  It was good that I actually used the new one and learned that it is poorly engineered.  I was planning to buy 10 more and sell them at my demonstrations but now - no way!  I don't want to get into the customer service and returns business.

An Experience Experiment - Pt. 1

The next couple of posts come about because of a reader's request. Van (the reader) wanted to know what happened to the flavor of coffee based upon the brewing method. So, I put my 7th. grade science class thinking cap on and devised the following science experiment. (I hope you are reading Mr. Kawalski)

• HYPOTHESIS: The same exact coffee brewed by different brewing methods produces differing results. (Mr. Kawalski should be proud)

THE STANDARD METRIC:

1. COFFEE: Bolivean - CIAPEC (100% Organic)
2. ROASTED: Full-City+
3. WATER/COFFEE RATIO: 5 oz. (liquid) : 1 Tbsp. (ground)
4. WATER: Filtered by Brita

TOOLS:

• Green Beans
• Popcorn Air-Popper (coffee roaster)
• Coffee Grinder
  
• Weight Scale
• Pyrex Liquid Measure
  
• 1/2 Cup Measuring Cup
• 1 Tbsp. Teaspoon
  
• Knife
• Sauce Pan
• French Coffee Press
• Drip Coffee Maker
• Percolator Coffee Maker
• 4 - Coffee Cups
• Filtered Water
  

Tomorrow I will begin to describe the variables of the experiment. Stay Tuned...

Colorado Coffee

I have heard people tell me that the best coffee that they have ever had was coffee that they had on hiking trips in Colorado along the Colorado River. I was thinking about that and decided to give my cousin a call who was the Trail Cook for one such excursion company. I asked her what she did to make the coffee along the trail. Here's what she told me.

"Get ICE-COLD water from the river and filter/purify it. Fill a big coffee pot with the water, through some grounds in it, and boil for 5 minutes. After boiling and just before serving, pour a cup of ice cold water on top (this causes the grounds to fall to the bottom of the pot). At this point serve Colorado Coffee."

I live on the St. Clair River and have been considering getting some water from it and making some "St. Clair Coffee" but my wife is aghast at the notion. She doesn't think I could filter or purify it enough to make it safe. I am leaning on her side of the discussion. I am thinking that I will just wait for a good snow fall and make some "Snow Coffee" instead. ;-)

This coffee press makes a single regular sized cup of coffee. It was $9.99 on sale at Meijer. It works and cleans pretty well but because I have nothing to compare it to my assessment might be skewed.

I have been using it to make a cup of Maxwell House when I don't have a pot of my own roast brewed. For the most part the flavor has not been enjoyable and quite bitter. But I have discovered that this is because of user error. I have been making the coffee in the press with water from the tap. I know the importance of using filtered water when making coffee but for some reason I have been too lazy to get water from the fridge when using the press.

Yesterday I made a cup of Maxwell House using the press and I used filtered water. What a difference in the flavor. While I find Maxwell House to be a boring/common coffee it is a stable blend and the basis from which I compare all coffees. Using the filtered water the flavor is not bitter and pretty much without quality flaw. The flavor is still common and unimpressive but it is not bad. The press is a nice way to make a quick cup of coffee but filtered water is still a necessity.

The Necessity of Filtered Water

I spent a weekend at my in-laws and I finally bought a coffee maker for their home. For 10 years I have been going to the local McDonalds for my morning coffee whenever I spend the weekend. So me and my brother-in-law have been enjoying brewing our own pots of Maxwell House. Since I have been roasting my own coffee beans, Maxwell House has been anathema to me but since I was at the in-laws it would have to do.

I made the first pot and it was pretty blah and when I made the second I used more grounds and it was stronger but still not very tasty. However, my brother-in-law made a third pot and he used the filtered water from the Brita pitcher. I have to admit that it was actually quite flavorful. I have never used filtered water to make coffee before and now I am convinced that it is a necessity. I have read that distilled water is not good for making coffee but rather that filtered water was the suggested method. Of course, I am too lazy to wait for water to drip though the filter and so I have never used the suggested method. But from now on I will wait.

So, if you enjoy good tasting coffee it is a necessity to use filtered water, for filtered water makes even Maxwell House taste good.