~IrishInsanity

I've decided to keep a copy of my other blog here, that's usually found at [link].

See the whole thing there, complete with pics and videos and the like! And without further adieu, here is my latest entry.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2008

Coffee, and my recent obsession
Last week I was fairly sparse around the "on-line" areas of the world, I know. This week, I'll be digging into a few things I wanted to write about while I was sick, and never got around to. Might as well do coffee first, since I'd love some right now!

(Look for the line starting with ~~~~~ if you don't want to read what I have to say about coffee history and preparation, and get right to how I make it)

On Coffee: It's an American way. No, it didn't start here, nor is it even reliably grown here, so that's not what I meant. What I did mean can be spelled out in 9 letters. S-T-A-R-B-U-C-K-S. Or throw a city's name in there, and you've got "Seattle's Best" coffee. Or you can go to Mozart's down by the river here in Austin, and by some fair trade coffee there, and I don't remember if it's a specific brand. (Perhaps Rain-Forest Alliance has something to do with the brand, but I do know it's all organic and fairly traded)
However you spill the beans, it's coffee, and it's; "The best part of waking up..." according to Folgers Coffee. Maxwell house claims theirs is even "Good to the last drop", likely presuming you don't end up pouring grounds in your cup at any rate. Then it's just crunchy. "Bring on the day" with a cup of Starbucks, or stop and take a moment to ask yourself; "What is, the essence of coffee." as Yuban suggests.

For now, I think I'll take Yuban's route, and surmise my thoughts on coffee. First, let me get you some facts about me, so you know where I'm coming from with this.

2 scoops of sugar, and cream in mine, thanks. On ice? Even better.
I've made coffee from the pot, and I've made "Aeropress" coffee. I've had french pressed, instant, and slow drip coffee. I've been to coffee tastings at Starbucks, and I've had coffee that cost more than the burger I had at lunch. Light, dark, medium, rich, bold, and smooth. After all that, can I claim I know the difference between a lot of those by tasting them? Not a chance.

I do, however, know what I like. McDonald's coffee straight from the pot, I won't touch. I'd almost as soon drain my truck's oil with a straw. The odd Denny's, or IHOP, I can usually stomach but do not truly enjoy. Sit me down with a neverending cup at Mozarts to choose from their different flavored blends though, and I'll be there all night. That may be due to a number of different factors, least of all being my own personal pickiness and taste. When it comes to coffee, there seem to be a lot of factors contributing to how it tastes.

Coffee by nature is a seed, or bean, and has to be roasted and crushed to make the drink we've named after it. Depending on how you roast them, you can get different flavors out of the beans. There are even two different kinds of beans, Arabica and Robusta. There are others, but these are the most widely traded and cultivated. Their main difference is that, Robusta has about 50% more caffeine and is more bitter, while Arabica is more flavorful and considered better for drinking.

There are two taste variations right there, but not two I particularly care about. My main concern in the flavor of my coffee lies in the way it is prepared. There's your standard drip coffee maker which drips hot water onto coffee grinds held by a filter, which is fine and workable. We also have french-presses and my favorite, the Aeropress, which both let water go through coffee held by a screen or filter, like the drip method, but fully saturate all the grounds and then the water is pushed through. In the case of the aero-press, it's done with a bubble of air, depressed by a plunger with a rubber seal. I prefer the Aeropress by far.

~~~Now, onto my latest fixation, Coldbrewed coffee!
One of my pals, Shawn, clued me into this. The idea behind this is to let coffee steep in cold water for about 12-24 hours. The lack of heat to it is supposed to get the flavor out of the bean, without making it as oily. I've noticed that I personally can drink quite a lot more of this that I can hot-brew coffee, so I think there's some verity to that statement. The catch here, is that you end up with a jar/bucket/whatever implement you put the coffee/water mix in that resembles mud. I don't recommend drinking it at this stage. That brings to mind I should likely start with some steps on HOW to do this, and explain as I go along.

Step 1: Get your coffee.
If you're a coffee drinker, you might know what kind of coffee you like. If not, ask a friend who always gets a specific type of coffee, or likes to experiment with different ones, and ask them. Once you've found a coffee you like, make sure it's ground and go to step 2.

Step 2: "Just add water" Yes, I'm sure you've heard this before. Maybe as a child you had one of those toys that when you leave it in water it grows to "GIGANTIC PROPORTIONS!" ... cue the pictures of amazed children being dwarfed by an adult sized toy in a bucket, a small disclaimer in the corner reading; "Not actual size". This, I assure you, is more legit.

The combination I was informed of, and therefore tried, was a mix of 1 cup of coffee per 2 cups of water. It seems like a lot of coffee, and it is, but I'll get to that soon. I used three cups of coffee, and 6 cups of water, and let it sit in a pitcher after mixing it up thoroughly to ensure complete saturation of all the grounds. Stir a couple of times during the 12-24 hours you let it sit.

Step 3: Filter. Remember what I said about not recommending to drink the "Mud"? Keep that in mind as we proceed, no matter how excited you are to try it. Instead, go grab something to filter this with. This is thick stuff, so a coffee filter is certainly not going to cut it here, not even those removable basket types that last a while. I used a sifter, something anyone with a kitchen should have. Two or three layers of metal screening getting progressively smaller will do a fine job straining all but the finest of coffee grinds out of your drink. My sifter worked wonders!

Pour your "Mud" through one of these, and if you have a sturdy enough device, make sure to scoop the remnants at the bottom of your first jar as well, then press down with whatever you have handy (The bottom of a cup works great!) to extract as much of the precious liquid as you can. Strain this into a secondary container, not the one you'll have your final mix in, if you have another handy, as it'll help with the next step.

Step 4: The final strain. Unless you're using a super finely ground coffee, most of the muck should be out of your coffee at this point. This will be a good time to grab that coffee filter or cheesecloth you were going to use before. I used a replaceable basket filter ($3 at the local supermarket) for this stage. Pour slowly into the container you will be storing this in, and let the liquid filter through as slowly as it needs to. You will get some more grind here, so pouring slowly gives you a moment to stop, clean out your filter, and resume pouring.

Proceed until all of your coffee has been strained, and check out how thick it looks. If it looks thick, black, and evil, you probably did it right. If it looks crunchy, filter again. I put my final strain into one of those iced tea containers with the push-button pour spout thing near the bottom, and I just open the fridge and push a button to get to mine. I highly recommend it!

Step 5: Completion, so ENJOY! What you now have is a coffee "Concentrate", loosely known as expresso. I say loosely, because folks with expresso machines and other techniques which have been perfected for years and studied as a science, might not appreciate my cold-brew coffee stuff using the name of their exalted beverage. Hence, coffee concentrate. Want a plain ole cup'o'joe after all your hard work? Fill a mug with hot water, and leave some room for your mix in the cup. Pour some in, and not much until you get an idea of how you like it, and try it without milk or sugar first. You'll likely find it less bitter, and less acidic than the coffee you may be used to. If you find it too strong, feel free to throw it out and try again, or add more water. You probably used up about 3 tablespoons worth of the mix in that one mug, so it's no big loss.
Oh, and remember to refrigerate your mix. I don't know how long it keeps.


I made about 6 cups of the mix, which means I've got lots and lots of coffee to drink, especially to make lattes and the likes, as well. Here's my favorite mix so far.

3/4 glass of milk or milk substitute (Rice or soy milk as desired)
Sugar
Coffee-Concentrate
Ice

Fill your glass with the milk (Or like product), and sweeten to taste. One regular spoonful of sugar makes it sweet, 2 makes it dessert. Stir it in really well, and add roughly two to three tablespoons of your coffee, then stir well. Taste it from there, and see if you need more/less coffee or sugar. Once you seem to have it right, add your ice, and enjoy!

There's what I've been drinking a bit of lately, and sharing with my friends, including Erik Kuykendall from [link] , who loved it as well. (With soy) That being said, it's your turn, let me know how it goes!

P.S. - I use coffee with chicory, which has less caffeine and tastes awesome. You know the flavor if you've ever had vietnamese coffee before.
POSTED BY CHRIS O'RILEY