Coffee Homeground

I recently quit sugar, down from three sugars to nothing. All of a sudden my favourite beverage became hollow and bitter. Of course, being bitter was not the suprise part, coffee is bitter, but I realised how much the sugar and milk were integral to the experience.

At what point, I wondered, would it stop tasting like 'the bitter tears of sadness and regret' and start tasting like 'a damn fine cup of joe' once more? I thought maybe a week, two weeks? It will be much longer than that and in the meantime I have to relearn what coffee is and how to appreciate it for its true taste.

To that end I bought a stove top coffee brewing pot and a milk frother. So far this works but there is a learning curve to the whole thing and a pathway that seemingly goes on forever into coffee brewing perfection. Obviously I can't afford a top of the range machine but the stovetop pot does a pretty fine job.

Here is what I have learned from the home brew experience, although far more in site could be drawn fom www.coffeegeek.com I have been through my own trial and error process.

If the pot says it's a 3 cup size then it means three tiny espresso shots, this equates to one shot of espresso volume as used in a cafe. I bought the six cup and it fills up a normal mug with a double-shot of coffee, which may be too strong for many but I kind of like it. It would also work for a strong brew that is used for two mugs, topped up with boiling water. This method would also avoid the 'kick in the face' coffee hit but I would rather replace with hot milk as the dilution can be tasted.

The lower chamber is filled to just below the steam vent.

The coffee grounds are placed in the container and tamped down. First I thought I could adjust the strength by adjusting the amount I placed in but it does not work that way. It needs to be full. This full amount plus the degree to which it is tramped down effects how the brew and flavour is extracted from the grounds. The denser the grounds are tamped, the more pressure builds through during percolation and the stronger the taste. The more level the grounds are tamped the more evenly the flavours are extracted. When you open the pot back up afterwards to clean you can see the degree to which it has worked; an even distribution of filter holes is best, any sign of caving or large holes will show where the water has rushed through the weakest part of the coffee grounds in order to escape. The sites I have gone to for information recommend 30lb of pressure and to practice on a kitchen scale to get the right amount of force.

Using hot water to fill the reservoir first does speed up the process but also makes the pot very hot and difficult to hold.

Do not tighten using the handle as it could break under a lot of use and isn't designed for that kind of torsion.

Brew until just after the bubbles start coming through, essentially the water has now been drawn through the coffee under pressure and it is ready.

The milk frother is essential to the experience but could use a lot of milk in order to get the volume. Though I only use enough for one milky coffee any less would make it difficult to do anything more than make big fat bubbles. As long as the plunger can submerge in the milk and be agitated, it can generate a kind of meringue like microfoam replacement. Frothing the milk looks rediculous and sounds silly but needs to be vigorous. The froth will disappear eventually so get it straight into the drink.

Pour out the coffee, then add the milk. Use a spoon to hold back the large foam then allow more foam to enter the cup. Finally spoon on the thick foam from the surface of what's left. This process of foaming does increase volume, so it seems like some is wasted at the end but eventually this amount returns to a normal consistancy. In theory the jug of milk can be frothed, used, left, frothed, used, etc.

Stir and then the coffee is ready to drink. One of the major factors that is essential to this experience is the type of coffee bean used. Locally, fresh ground selections will always be better than superstore packaged brands. Our local store, Guntons does small selection bags for around a quid but I am trying Lavazzo decaffeinated.

Then there are all the other factors that I haven't begun to touch. The heat of the milk, the pressure of the brewing, the fineness of the grind, the freshness of the bean after roasting. What I find fascinating is that each aspect can be detected, they are subtle changes but every part of the process has an effect on the final taste. This is what compels me to return to the next cup with a fresh excitement.