and also something something bed depth, refractometer readings blah blah
November 19, 2015 8:29 AM Subscribe
The Cool Way to Brew Good Coffee (Matt Buchanan, The Awl)
Someone who is a little more than obsessed with coffee. I need to read everything.
/recovering barista
I am actually a coffee agnostic: however you like to make your coffee, go for it! I know what I like (I like the muddy thick flavour you get with a French Press) and I'll treat myself to high quality, single origin coffee (because the favours are so interesting!). And I've had batched brewed that tastes fine.
But nice ironic twist: that particular batch brewed coffee was terrible. Turns out that it takes skill to make good coffee. Too bad that coffee shop owners don't want to pay for skill.
posted by jb at 8:38 AM on November 19, 2015 [2 favorites]
/recovering barista
I am actually a coffee agnostic: however you like to make your coffee, go for it! I know what I like (I like the muddy thick flavour you get with a French Press) and I'll treat myself to high quality, single origin coffee (because the favours are so interesting!). And I've had batched brewed that tastes fine.
But nice ironic twist: that particular batch brewed coffee was terrible. Turns out that it takes skill to make good coffee. Too bad that coffee shop owners don't want to pay for skill.
posted by jb at 8:38 AM on November 19, 2015 [2 favorites]
One of the nicest coffees I've ever had was the Turkish coffee from a falafel place, which didn't make very nice falafel wraps.
It's gone now. The coffee was too secret, and the falafel was too mediocre.
posted by jb at 8:43 AM on November 19, 2015 [2 favorites]
It's gone now. The coffee was too secret, and the falafel was too mediocre.
posted by jb at 8:43 AM on November 19, 2015 [2 favorites]
Hahaha what a punchline! Thanks for sharing this, made my morning. My husband has a very fussy Chemex routine with a timer and little beakers so I guess I am the target audience for this sort of piece.
posted by town of cats at 8:47 AM on November 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by town of cats at 8:47 AM on November 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
Based in part on recommendations here, I recently bought (on sale, because otherwise Not In My Price Range) a Bonavita coffee maker. It makes perfectly drinkable coffee out of cheap grocery store pre-ground coffee, and very nice coffee out of the expensive locally roasted stuff. My favorite thing about it is that it has exactly one button and nothing to fuss with or adjust.
Watching what goes in and out of style with coffee is fun, and as the article notes what is in fashion is no guarantee of tasting good. And there is definitely a tension between being successful at the business of coffee and of cafes, and of actually providing stuff that is good to drink. We all know that ultra fussy person with their coffee rituals; in previous centuries they would probably have joined a monastery and lived a life of happy 24/7 ritual and rules.
posted by Dip Flash at 8:51 AM on November 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
Watching what goes in and out of style with coffee is fun, and as the article notes what is in fashion is no guarantee of tasting good. And there is definitely a tension between being successful at the business of coffee and of cafes, and of actually providing stuff that is good to drink. We all know that ultra fussy person with their coffee rituals; in previous centuries they would probably have joined a monastery and lived a life of happy 24/7 ritual and rules.
posted by Dip Flash at 8:51 AM on November 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
I should not have to have several cups of coffee in order to be cogent enough to make my morning coffee :(
posted by AGameOfMoans at 8:55 AM on November 19, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by AGameOfMoans at 8:55 AM on November 19, 2015 [2 favorites]
Don't miss the article's tags, at the bottom.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:55 AM on November 19, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:55 AM on November 19, 2015 [6 favorites]
I'll drink whatever but for a while my Chemex was my only real friend.
I'm "fussy" and I've been attracted to monasteries since I was a kid for the same reasons that I hate mass culture and capitalism and TV, maybe some kind of precious high sensitivity syndrome combined with A Confederacy of Dunces-style nostalgia for an invented beautiful past.
I order specialty oolong from the best vendor I've found in all of Europe. (Amanda at Formocha based in Amsterdam, if you're curious. Her store in the Jordaan is amazing. Not many customers, so she often has time to talk and drink tea for hours. She's a pu-erh expert too.)
I like stuff that tastes good and interesting and I think the general state of coffee and tea is like actually depressing on a grand cultural level.
I am happy about how young people are enjoying high quality stuff and investigating new ways of doing things.
I suffer from meta-meta-meta irony fatigue.
I have also found that with good beans you can just dump a metric bunch into a pot of boiling water and wait for a little metric while.
posted by mbrock at 9:07 AM on November 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
I'm "fussy" and I've been attracted to monasteries since I was a kid for the same reasons that I hate mass culture and capitalism and TV, maybe some kind of precious high sensitivity syndrome combined with A Confederacy of Dunces-style nostalgia for an invented beautiful past.
I order specialty oolong from the best vendor I've found in all of Europe. (Amanda at Formocha based in Amsterdam, if you're curious. Her store in the Jordaan is amazing. Not many customers, so she often has time to talk and drink tea for hours. She's a pu-erh expert too.)
I like stuff that tastes good and interesting and I think the general state of coffee and tea is like actually depressing on a grand cultural level.
I am happy about how young people are enjoying high quality stuff and investigating new ways of doing things.
I suffer from meta-meta-meta irony fatigue.
I have also found that with good beans you can just dump a metric bunch into a pot of boiling water and wait for a little metric while.
posted by mbrock at 9:07 AM on November 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
Anything that can be made can be made in a much more complicated fashion. Which, if I understand the Internet like I think I do, is wrong.
posted by tommasz at 9:14 AM on November 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by tommasz at 9:14 AM on November 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
I put three tablespoons or so into a quart-size Ball jar, fill it with cold water, shake it, and put it on the counter overnight. In the morning I filter it through a drip filter and nuke each cup for a minute. Perfect every time.
posted by Camofrog at 9:24 AM on November 19, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by Camofrog at 9:24 AM on November 19, 2015 [3 favorites]
You have a Ball jar? I have to cup the mixture in my hands and sleep upright.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 9:29 AM on November 19, 2015 [17 favorites]
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 9:29 AM on November 19, 2015 [17 favorites]
I've been grinding my own beans and drinking from the same French press Bodum™ for the past 7+ years. 4 minutes of waiting and I'm a happy man.
To each their own.
posted by Fizz at 9:36 AM on November 19, 2015 [3 favorites]
To each their own.
posted by Fizz at 9:36 AM on November 19, 2015 [3 favorites]
I don't drink coffee, but I do drink tea and I'm glad that my city is still uncool enough to not have a giant load of Good Coffee Shops that don't serve anything but coffee. I walked into one of our few Good Coffee Shops on my way to work last summer and made the mistake of asking for an iced tea. It was a total needle-off-the-record moment. They did locate and dust off a tea bag for me, though and made me a cup. And then I asked for sugar and cream and I thought the baristas were going to plotz. They handed me over a carton of half-and-half from under the counter, holding it at arm's length like it was going to contaminate them.
I just want my builders' tea made from floor sweepings and sadness.
posted by soren_lorensen at 9:37 AM on November 19, 2015 [9 favorites]
I just want my builders' tea made from floor sweepings and sadness.
posted by soren_lorensen at 9:37 AM on November 19, 2015 [9 favorites]
I source my coffee beans the same way my great-great-great grandfather did:
When replenishing stores of herbs and beneficial plants, the wise man knows to keep their eyes keen for opportunity. If when you are in the forest and the light grows dim and sounds do mute as if cold silk has been draped over your head, you have trod into the very Heart of the Wood. Though the first impulse may be to flee, hold fast. The Heart is seldom found for it moves as if a cloud on the wind, drifting through bark and leaf according to powers unmapped. When in the Heart, keep attentive to those around you. To lose sight of them is to lose them for hours or days.
Draw your knife with vigor and purpose. Those who dwelt within the Heart may seek to protect their homes with fervor and form not normally seen. Even docile animals may pose dire threat. Speak words of strength and constancy to promise that you mean the creatures no harm. Move quickly and with confidence to obtain the prizes the Heart may contain.
The foremost of these prizes is the Eye of the Dweller, also called Demon Seed or the Clip-le-toth, and it should be your priority to obtain before the Heart moves on or its occupants give chase. Locate the Eye by dowse or blood, listening with patient ears through the press of the Heart. It should lay beneath the forest floor covered by leaves and earth that should be scraped aside quickly as they will promptly attempt to hide the Eye.
When you locate the Eye, do not tarry. Make haste to the edge of the Heart for even the trees may find insult in your action. Keep your hand clutched tightly about the Eye for it will attempt to roll and spill back to its earthen bed. Only when you are free from the Heart and have crossed a stream and a glade should you stop to examine its quality.
The ideal Eye of the Dweller should appear to be a healthy tree nut (Fig. 1). There should be no cracks or sign of rot upon it. Around the cap or base of the nut there is a crowned ridge. If your hand has been cut, take care to clean the wound and dress it with a rooted poultice. Clean the Eye in a running stream and examine the surface of the nut closely for the mark. The most useful mark is akin to a serpent or eel winding its way from the tip. If the mark is crooked like a bolt of lightning seen through closed eyes, destroy it. Smash it with vigor between two stones. It is corrupted and aberrant and will not be reliable.
If the mark is in the shape of letters, take caution. These Eyes are born with a Purpose and for you to intrude is dire indeed. If the letters spell out your own initials, simply fall to your knees and await what is to come.
Should you return to your home with the Eye, take care to keep it from earth and water and blood that is not your own. Do not store it in leather or hair or bone. Hide it from light and do not speak of it to another you do not trust. An Eye of the Dweller has value, even one that has already tasted of a man’s blood. You may reveal it under the light of a full moon to hear its song, but beneath the dark of a new moon, it should be stolen by unseen winged predators.
A little more effort, but it's worth it.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 9:38 AM on November 19, 2015 [24 favorites]
When replenishing stores of herbs and beneficial plants, the wise man knows to keep their eyes keen for opportunity. If when you are in the forest and the light grows dim and sounds do mute as if cold silk has been draped over your head, you have trod into the very Heart of the Wood. Though the first impulse may be to flee, hold fast. The Heart is seldom found for it moves as if a cloud on the wind, drifting through bark and leaf according to powers unmapped. When in the Heart, keep attentive to those around you. To lose sight of them is to lose them for hours or days.
Draw your knife with vigor and purpose. Those who dwelt within the Heart may seek to protect their homes with fervor and form not normally seen. Even docile animals may pose dire threat. Speak words of strength and constancy to promise that you mean the creatures no harm. Move quickly and with confidence to obtain the prizes the Heart may contain.
The foremost of these prizes is the Eye of the Dweller, also called Demon Seed or the Clip-le-toth, and it should be your priority to obtain before the Heart moves on or its occupants give chase. Locate the Eye by dowse or blood, listening with patient ears through the press of the Heart. It should lay beneath the forest floor covered by leaves and earth that should be scraped aside quickly as they will promptly attempt to hide the Eye.
When you locate the Eye, do not tarry. Make haste to the edge of the Heart for even the trees may find insult in your action. Keep your hand clutched tightly about the Eye for it will attempt to roll and spill back to its earthen bed. Only when you are free from the Heart and have crossed a stream and a glade should you stop to examine its quality.
The ideal Eye of the Dweller should appear to be a healthy tree nut (Fig. 1). There should be no cracks or sign of rot upon it. Around the cap or base of the nut there is a crowned ridge. If your hand has been cut, take care to clean the wound and dress it with a rooted poultice. Clean the Eye in a running stream and examine the surface of the nut closely for the mark. The most useful mark is akin to a serpent or eel winding its way from the tip. If the mark is crooked like a bolt of lightning seen through closed eyes, destroy it. Smash it with vigor between two stones. It is corrupted and aberrant and will not be reliable.
If the mark is in the shape of letters, take caution. These Eyes are born with a Purpose and for you to intrude is dire indeed. If the letters spell out your own initials, simply fall to your knees and await what is to come.
Should you return to your home with the Eye, take care to keep it from earth and water and blood that is not your own. Do not store it in leather or hair or bone. Hide it from light and do not speak of it to another you do not trust. An Eye of the Dweller has value, even one that has already tasted of a man’s blood. You may reveal it under the light of a full moon to hear its song, but beneath the dark of a new moon, it should be stolen by unseen winged predators.
A little more effort, but it's worth it.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 9:38 AM on November 19, 2015 [24 favorites]
robocop, where the heck did you find that?!
posted by wenestvedt at 9:55 AM on November 19, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by wenestvedt at 9:55 AM on November 19, 2015 [2 favorites]
You know how every few years another experiment comes out where they make wine experts do blind taste tests of different wines? And the experts always fail spectacularly and sometimes they can't even tell the difference between red and white?
Has anyone does this for coffee snobs yet?
Don't get me wrong, I love alchemical processes and mysticism as much as the next guy, but we all know this is at least 50% bullshit right?
posted by malphigian at 10:02 AM on November 19, 2015 [6 favorites]
Has anyone does this for coffee snobs yet?
Don't get me wrong, I love alchemical processes and mysticism as much as the next guy, but we all know this is at least 50% bullshit right?
posted by malphigian at 10:02 AM on November 19, 2015 [6 favorites]
This is a hard balance to keep as I get older: not immediately hating the anoraks and their obsessions over some subject, and reveling in their, well, awesome obsessions and how that does or does not intersect with my own.
While recognizing that I am a violent moderate in all things; someone who has turned the law of diminishing returns and the maxim of good, fast, or cheap (choose any two) into the best way to not overbuy shiny crap.
e.g.: Drip coffee done well enough by paying attention to the grind, water quality and temperature is Good Enough. Records with modest equipment are Good Enough. But CDs and MP3s are Good Enough when you just want the convenience of CDs or MP3s. At some point it makes no sense to continue refining, except for joy of refining.
Perhaps I distrust maximal obsession in myself and others, and dampening that is a natural response. This may have led to me staying away from any dialogue about Given Subject. Online forums dedicated to hi-fi or coffee or bicycles or computers are to be avoided at all costs, I think, because it feels like no matter how obsessive we get about our tools and techniques, there is no such thing as perfection, and attempting it is a fools errand that doesn't actually yield predictable or provable results.
Because at the end of the day, the criteria seems to reduce to "well, it worked for me, and I like the results."
So, yeah. I'm practicing supporting and enjoying it when other people enjoy their obsessions in my presence. I just can't think too hard about the mechanics of the obsessions or I turn into a hater. I'd rather just like people, you know?
posted by clvrmnky at 10:09 AM on November 19, 2015 [4 favorites]
While recognizing that I am a violent moderate in all things; someone who has turned the law of diminishing returns and the maxim of good, fast, or cheap (choose any two) into the best way to not overbuy shiny crap.
e.g.: Drip coffee done well enough by paying attention to the grind, water quality and temperature is Good Enough. Records with modest equipment are Good Enough. But CDs and MP3s are Good Enough when you just want the convenience of CDs or MP3s. At some point it makes no sense to continue refining, except for joy of refining.
Perhaps I distrust maximal obsession in myself and others, and dampening that is a natural response. This may have led to me staying away from any dialogue about Given Subject. Online forums dedicated to hi-fi or coffee or bicycles or computers are to be avoided at all costs, I think, because it feels like no matter how obsessive we get about our tools and techniques, there is no such thing as perfection, and attempting it is a fools errand that doesn't actually yield predictable or provable results.
Because at the end of the day, the criteria seems to reduce to "well, it worked for me, and I like the results."
So, yeah. I'm practicing supporting and enjoying it when other people enjoy their obsessions in my presence. I just can't think too hard about the mechanics of the obsessions or I turn into a hater. I'd rather just like people, you know?
posted by clvrmnky at 10:09 AM on November 19, 2015 [4 favorites]
Don't miss the article's tags, at the bottom.
Yeah the tags are like another four paragraphs' worth of article.
posted by kenko at 10:11 AM on November 19, 2015
Yeah the tags are like another four paragraphs' worth of article.
posted by kenko at 10:11 AM on November 19, 2015
malphigian, no doubt there is a certain amount of woo in all of this, and I suspect we are about ready for a blind test equivalent of the hi-fi "I replaced your $10000 interconnects with clothes hanger wire in an A/B test, and you told me it sounded best" correction in the coffee snobbery biz.
posted by clvrmnky at 10:13 AM on November 19, 2015
posted by clvrmnky at 10:13 AM on November 19, 2015
You know how every few years another experiment comes out where they make wine experts do blind taste tests of different wines? And the experts always fail spectacularly and sometimes they can't even tell the difference between red and white?Yes.
Has anyone does this for coffee snobs yet?
posted by mbrubeck at 10:14 AM on November 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
You know how every few years another experiment comes out where they make wine experts do blind taste tests of different wines? And the experts always fail spectacularly and sometimes they can't even tell the difference between red and white?
Has anyone does this for coffee snobs yet?
I have - I used to put my coworker to the test. Both of us did very well when we knew what the two coffees were (but not which cup); we did less well completely blind (it could be one of 10-20 varieties), but I could usually get the type (roast, maybe region) right.
posted by jb at 10:15 AM on November 19, 2015
Has anyone does this for coffee snobs yet?
I have - I used to put my coworker to the test. Both of us did very well when we knew what the two coffees were (but not which cup); we did less well completely blind (it could be one of 10-20 varieties), but I could usually get the type (roast, maybe region) right.
posted by jb at 10:15 AM on November 19, 2015
There’s also this more extensive set of blind taste test experiments, though the subjects were not specifically “coffee snobs.”
posted by mbrubeck at 10:16 AM on November 19, 2015
posted by mbrubeck at 10:16 AM on November 19, 2015
I am very, very snobby about my espresso, which I fuss over every morning. But beyond that, while I enjoy a good cup of coffee I can't usually be bothered. I'll drink any kind of coffee as long as it is black and strong. French press or stove-top percolator is what we usually use at home. Whatever has been stewing in the drip pot at work.
posted by fimbulvetr at 10:21 AM on November 19, 2015
posted by fimbulvetr at 10:21 AM on November 19, 2015
Anthropologically speaking, hot drinks are also a thing we often share publicly, or with peers. I guess all food is a bit like that. But this means that ot drink perfection has a social aspect, too, I suppose.
This is the reason that I probably like strong instant coffee (well, really, Nescafé) served sweet, hot, and milky, West African style over French press coffee.
I am such a snob that I will refuse French press, which I think tastes like ass, in favour of African egg lady style coffee drink.
I'm a snobby anti-snob snob!
posted by clvrmnky at 10:27 AM on November 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
This is the reason that I probably like strong instant coffee (well, really, Nescafé) served sweet, hot, and milky, West African style over French press coffee.
I am such a snob that I will refuse French press, which I think tastes like ass, in favour of African egg lady style coffee drink.
I'm a snobby anti-snob snob!
posted by clvrmnky at 10:27 AM on November 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
You know how every few years another experiment comes out where they make wine experts do blind taste tests of different wines? And the experts always fail spectacularly and sometimes they can't even tell the difference between red and white?
Has anyone does this for coffee snobs yet?
Don't get me wrong, I love alchemical processes and mysticism as much as the next guy, but we all know this is at least 50% bullshit right?
Except that faulting wine experts for failing a blind taste test would be like faulting them for failing a taste test after burning off their taste buds. Visual cues play a large role in determining taste sensations. Similarly, you could say the same for the process people go through in preparing coffee. Expectations actually change the way that you taste things, so when you subject people to a blind taste test they actually do taste it differently than they would if they knew how it was prepared. Does that make it bullshit?
posted by ultraviolet catastrophe at 10:32 AM on November 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
Has anyone does this for coffee snobs yet?
Don't get me wrong, I love alchemical processes and mysticism as much as the next guy, but we all know this is at least 50% bullshit right?
Except that faulting wine experts for failing a blind taste test would be like faulting them for failing a taste test after burning off their taste buds. Visual cues play a large role in determining taste sensations. Similarly, you could say the same for the process people go through in preparing coffee. Expectations actually change the way that you taste things, so when you subject people to a blind taste test they actually do taste it differently than they would if they knew how it was prepared. Does that make it bullshit?
posted by ultraviolet catastrophe at 10:32 AM on November 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
Perfection isn't in the cup that comes out 99.9999% of the time.
Its in the art of finding that 0.0001% experience. And that isn't in the bean, the roast, the flavor, the pour, the machine, the barista, the ambiance, or the timing or what have you. The greatest cup of coffee is the one that somehow threads the needle and encompasses all of those things... which means you can have a great cup of coffee from the poorest quality beans if the revelry and companionship is right. The greatest cup of coffee served by an ass isn't perfection - its a soured experience, and may become only a good cup of coffee.
I also resent the implication that the author thinks coffee only became great in the 00's... This is a beverage that has been brewed for millennia - great coffee has always existed, the author likely just needed to get out of their diapers to enjoy it.
posted by Nanukthedog at 10:37 AM on November 19, 2015 [2 favorites]
Its in the art of finding that 0.0001% experience. And that isn't in the bean, the roast, the flavor, the pour, the machine, the barista, the ambiance, or the timing or what have you. The greatest cup of coffee is the one that somehow threads the needle and encompasses all of those things... which means you can have a great cup of coffee from the poorest quality beans if the revelry and companionship is right. The greatest cup of coffee served by an ass isn't perfection - its a soured experience, and may become only a good cup of coffee.
I also resent the implication that the author thinks coffee only became great in the 00's... This is a beverage that has been brewed for millennia - great coffee has always existed, the author likely just needed to get out of their diapers to enjoy it.
posted by Nanukthedog at 10:37 AM on November 19, 2015 [2 favorites]
The typical wine tastings that are done to test your knowledge of varietals and years and so on present the wine in identical glasses suitable for the red or white (only one of these at a session, usually) served from identical bottles with white labels.
Because, yes, sugar content swirling, colour, particulate, etc. are an important part of the knowledge and tasting.
posted by clvrmnky at 10:38 AM on November 19, 2015
Because, yes, sugar content swirling, colour, particulate, etc. are an important part of the knowledge and tasting.
posted by clvrmnky at 10:38 AM on November 19, 2015
I also resent the implication that the author thinks coffee only became great in the 00's... This is a beverage that has been brewed for millennia
And yet the cultural prominence of a discourse of "good coffee" in the USA, which is clearly the actual subject of the article, has not been around for quite so long.
posted by kenko at 10:40 AM on November 19, 2015 [3 favorites]
And yet the cultural prominence of a discourse of "good coffee" in the USA, which is clearly the actual subject of the article, has not been around for quite so long.
posted by kenko at 10:40 AM on November 19, 2015 [3 favorites]
robocop, where the heck did you find that?!
I transcribed it. Not sure who wrote it but they won't let me sleep.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 11:02 AM on November 19, 2015 [11 favorites]
I transcribed it. Not sure who wrote it but they won't let me sleep.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 11:02 AM on November 19, 2015 [11 favorites]
I also resent the implication that the author thinks coffee only became great in the 00's... This is a beverage that has been brewed for millennia
Good coffee has always been obtainable. One of the best cups I've ever had was made by an old porter on a train in 1989 to Budapest using an ibrik and a small coal firepot. It was served on a beaten brass tray, in brass cups smaller than a shot glass. It was muddy, dark and sweet.
People have always cared about food and drink, but it's tied to place and preference as much as any technique. It's about being in the right mood as much as anything. I think many of the rituals of coffee preparation are primarily important because they invoke that mood, prepare the mind for the experience to come. The anticipation of that first sniff of the cup is important. Some new rituals have been invented in the last generation, through the 90s growth of specialty coffee shops in North America, but our parents and theirs had their ways too. And you can still find them if you look.
posted by bonehead at 11:07 AM on November 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
Good coffee has always been obtainable. One of the best cups I've ever had was made by an old porter on a train in 1989 to Budapest using an ibrik and a small coal firepot. It was served on a beaten brass tray, in brass cups smaller than a shot glass. It was muddy, dark and sweet.
People have always cared about food and drink, but it's tied to place and preference as much as any technique. It's about being in the right mood as much as anything. I think many of the rituals of coffee preparation are primarily important because they invoke that mood, prepare the mind for the experience to come. The anticipation of that first sniff of the cup is important. Some new rituals have been invented in the last generation, through the 90s growth of specialty coffee shops in North America, but our parents and theirs had their ways too. And you can still find them if you look.
posted by bonehead at 11:07 AM on November 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
The anticipation of that first sniff of the cup is important.
Some might say the best park of waking up.
posted by entropicamericana at 11:11 AM on November 19, 2015 [2 favorites]
Some might say the best park of waking up.
posted by entropicamericana at 11:11 AM on November 19, 2015 [2 favorites]
this was a very good article. I am constantly baffled by what the heck coffee snobs are talking about, while simultaneously know much much more about coffee than most the people around me.
posted by rebent at 11:12 AM on November 19, 2015
posted by rebent at 11:12 AM on November 19, 2015
I thought the tags at the bottom were Film Critic Hulk trying out a new gig.
posted by Hactar at 11:19 AM on November 19, 2015
posted by Hactar at 11:19 AM on November 19, 2015
And yet the cultural prominence of a discourse of "good coffee" in the USA, which is clearly the actual subject of the article, has not been around for quite so long.
It makes sense that parts of human history have been compressed. After all, they only invented sex back in the 1960s.
posted by happyroach at 11:32 AM on November 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
It makes sense that parts of human history have been compressed. After all, they only invented sex back in the 1960s.
posted by happyroach at 11:32 AM on November 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
Yeah, this is some ersatz K-Hole trend divination. Brew method is further down the list of what's critical for a good cup of coffee than commonly assumed. It almost doesn't matter. Not to mention that what produces consistently good results in a commercial environment isn't what's comfortable and friendly at home.
You can get good or terrible results with a Fetco (or Bunn) just like you can with a Chemex/Wave/Hario, but don't even come to the table discussing those variables unless your beans are fresh and your grinder is clean and adjusted.
/ex-barista rant
posted by a halcyon day at 11:46 AM on November 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
You can get good or terrible results with a Fetco (or Bunn) just like you can with a Chemex/Wave/Hario, but don't even come to the table discussing those variables unless your beans are fresh and your grinder is clean and adjusted.
/ex-barista rant
posted by a halcyon day at 11:46 AM on November 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
I'm a former competitive barista. I've used the $11,000 Clover, $50,000 custom LaMarzocco espresso machines, and my idea of a good time used to be modding grinders with 555 timer circuits.
My favorite, most consistent coffee? Nescafe. I drink it every morning, out of a glass boot.
I've been fantasizing about an instant coffee cafe. I want to try Medaglia d'Oro alongside Bustelo. I think.
But I also want to get a freeze-dryer and experiment with making my own. Can you imagine a microlot Kenyan instant? Dear gods
posted by special agent conrad uno at 11:49 AM on November 19, 2015 [9 favorites]
My favorite, most consistent coffee? Nescafe. I drink it every morning, out of a glass boot.
I've been fantasizing about an instant coffee cafe. I want to try Medaglia d'Oro alongside Bustelo. I think.
But I also want to get a freeze-dryer and experiment with making my own. Can you imagine a microlot Kenyan instant? Dear gods
posted by special agent conrad uno at 11:49 AM on November 19, 2015 [9 favorites]
Heh. This was fun. I'm surprised Matt isn't a mefite, actually. Matt, are you there?
For another data point, I hand grind my coffee every morning (not through snobbery, but because it's fun and requires no power, so camping, storms etc) in a Porlex (get the big one, not the mini) and brew it in a Kalita Wave dripper, which is great but I also used a dollar store ceramic one for years and it was also delicious.
When I want to treat myself, it's a Bialetti stovetop. All my years going to Good Coffee places and enjoying many methods and roasts and origins (and gas station coffee too, all things have their right time and place).... and the best coffee I've ever had came out of that well-seasoned Bialetti, when everything came together — which, admittedly, was about 1/5 of the time, with another 1/5 failing and the remainder being merely good.
I recommend "drinking coffee."
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 11:54 AM on November 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
For another data point, I hand grind my coffee every morning (not through snobbery, but because it's fun and requires no power, so camping, storms etc) in a Porlex (get the big one, not the mini) and brew it in a Kalita Wave dripper, which is great but I also used a dollar store ceramic one for years and it was also delicious.
When I want to treat myself, it's a Bialetti stovetop. All my years going to Good Coffee places and enjoying many methods and roasts and origins (and gas station coffee too, all things have their right time and place).... and the best coffee I've ever had came out of that well-seasoned Bialetti, when everything came together — which, admittedly, was about 1/5 of the time, with another 1/5 failing and the remainder being merely good.
I recommend "drinking coffee."
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 11:54 AM on November 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
a halcyon day: " ersatz K-Hole trend divination"
What have those bastards at Keurig done now?
posted by boo_radley at 11:56 AM on November 19, 2015 [4 favorites]
What have those bastards at Keurig done now?
posted by boo_radley at 11:56 AM on November 19, 2015 [4 favorites]
I remain fascinated by the swift rise and fall of the Clover machine. I liked the coffee it made at Intelligentsia. I later tried a cup at Starbucks out of curiosity and hey guess what, the beans really do matter!
I don't see them anywhere anymore and it always felt like pour-over mania was a direct reaction to Starbucks buying the Clover.
posted by mandymanwasregistered at 12:01 PM on November 19, 2015
I don't see them anywhere anymore and it always felt like pour-over mania was a direct reaction to Starbucks buying the Clover.
posted by mandymanwasregistered at 12:01 PM on November 19, 2015
The Aeropress is one of humanity's greatest achievements. I take that motherfucker camping and cackle with glee as I plunge joy into my mug while the other scouts' parents are sadly dunking Folger's coffeebags in theirs.
I know they think I'm ridiculous. And I don't care. Because I am.
posted by middleclasstool at 12:01 PM on November 19, 2015 [5 favorites]
I know they think I'm ridiculous. And I don't care. Because I am.
posted by middleclasstool at 12:01 PM on November 19, 2015 [5 favorites]
hot tap water in a french press
leave beside bed
alarm goes off
plunge
chug
sleep another 30 minutes until your next alarm goes off
posted by [expletive deleted] at 12:04 PM on November 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
leave beside bed
alarm goes off
plunge
chug
sleep another 30 minutes until your next alarm goes off
posted by [expletive deleted] at 12:04 PM on November 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
And yet the cultural prominence of a discourse of "good coffee" in the USA, which is clearly the actual subject of the article, has not been around for quite so long.
I can remember going with my parents to buy freshly roasted coffee at a local roastery in the 1970s and loving the smell. Then we moved, and the next time we lived in a place with a roastery was probably 1990 or maybe later. Sometimes the local grocery store would sell whole beans, sometimes not. By now I am sure most of the places we lived have a local roaster, and if not you can order great coffee online from a gazillion places. But like getting great local beer, easily available good coffee is a new thing in most of the US, and is hard to separate from the espresso places on every corner, many of which sell very bad coffee.
posted by Dip Flash at 1:12 PM on November 19, 2015
I can remember going with my parents to buy freshly roasted coffee at a local roastery in the 1970s and loving the smell. Then we moved, and the next time we lived in a place with a roastery was probably 1990 or maybe later. Sometimes the local grocery store would sell whole beans, sometimes not. By now I am sure most of the places we lived have a local roaster, and if not you can order great coffee online from a gazillion places. But like getting great local beer, easily available good coffee is a new thing in most of the US, and is hard to separate from the espresso places on every corner, many of which sell very bad coffee.
posted by Dip Flash at 1:12 PM on November 19, 2015
middleclasstool: "cackle with glee as I plunge joy into my mug while the other scouts' parents are sadly dunking Folger's coffeebags"
I haven't taken my Aeropress camping with the Scouts yet, but I brought it up north and made my aunt a cup. She laughed at me for bringing it, and the ceramic burr grinder, when we had a drip machine sitting there for all to use. Then she took a sip, and said "Oh. That's a damn good cup of coffee."
(What keeps me from bringing it on Scout outings is the water. With kids this young we generally have tepid water, not boiling, and just keeping up with the little monsters doesn't leave much time to grind the beans. Plus, I brew inverted, so the odds of it getting knocked over and burning someone are high.)
posted by caution live frogs at 3:19 PM on November 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
I haven't taken my Aeropress camping with the Scouts yet, but I brought it up north and made my aunt a cup. She laughed at me for bringing it, and the ceramic burr grinder, when we had a drip machine sitting there for all to use. Then she took a sip, and said "Oh. That's a damn good cup of coffee."
(What keeps me from bringing it on Scout outings is the water. With kids this young we generally have tepid water, not boiling, and just keeping up with the little monsters doesn't leave much time to grind the beans. Plus, I brew inverted, so the odds of it getting knocked over and burning someone are high.)
posted by caution live frogs at 3:19 PM on November 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
caution live frogs: "I brew inverted, so the odds of it getting knocked over and burning someone are high."
How many scouts have you denied first aid badges, CLF?
posted by boo_radley at 3:38 PM on November 19, 2015 [2 favorites]
How many scouts have you denied first aid badges, CLF?
posted by boo_radley at 3:38 PM on November 19, 2015 [2 favorites]
I pretty much drink whatever fair trade instant I get at home and whatever instant they provide at work.
There's a mcdonalds by my bus stop, so sometimes I'll get a cup there for the road.
I was quite keen on a stovetop moka pot for a while, but now I don't have a stove.
I just got given a nice new Chemex which I'll take to work and try tomorrow.
I expect I'll use it for a week or two before getting bored and never using it again.
I'm not very good at being fancy.
I've taken to ordering "cheapest, reddest wine" at any restaurant or pub where I might be drinking wine.
It's generally pretty good wine.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 4:35 PM on November 19, 2015
There's a mcdonalds by my bus stop, so sometimes I'll get a cup there for the road.
I was quite keen on a stovetop moka pot for a while, but now I don't have a stove.
I just got given a nice new Chemex which I'll take to work and try tomorrow.
I expect I'll use it for a week or two before getting bored and never using it again.
I'm not very good at being fancy.
I've taken to ordering "cheapest, reddest wine" at any restaurant or pub where I might be drinking wine.
It's generally pretty good wine.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 4:35 PM on November 19, 2015
Coffee quality in the United States is somewhat interesting: it used to be the same as most other countries until 1953, when a bad frost caused a supply crunch and one company cleverly started mixing in an increasing percentage of low-quality beans slowly enough to make the contrast less obvious. When the harvest recovered, they chose higher profit margins over restored quality.
posted by adamsc at 5:41 PM on November 19, 2015 [6 favorites]
People assume that great-tasting coffee is a recent phenomenon in the United States. Nothing could be further from the truth. In the 1950s, you could get a great-tasting cup of joe anywhere in the country for a nickel. America was a nation hooked on coffee. But just at the moment when demand for coffee was booming, its supply fell into disarray. In late June 1953, a killer frost wiped out almost the entire Brazilian coffee crop, sending wholesale prices soaring. After what came to be known as The Fourth of July Frost, the price of a cup of coffee shot up to a dime and even higher as American coffee roasters like Maxwell House, Folgers and Hills Bros. scrambled to keep up with demand.Maxwell House destroys coffee
It’s never a good idea to get in between a committed coffee drinker and his daily cup. The higher prices infuriated Americans. Consumers staged protests in diners and wrote angry letters to coffee company executives. Politicians and newspapers accused Latin American governments of artificially limiting exports to exploit the U.S. market. The supply problems that American coffee companies faced had turned into a public relations disaster. Coffee companies became convinced that they needed to cut their expenses drastically or face the very real possibility that the American love affair with coffee was about to come to an end. In desperation, they did the unthinkable: They played the Robusta card.
Of the many sub-varieties of coffee beans, two major categories predominate, Arabica and Robusta. Arabica is a gently bitter, temptingly smooth, and nutty variety that carries within it all the flavors we look forward to when we order a cup of coffee. But as American coffee companies had discovered, Arabica trees are also expensive to raise and highly vulnerable to bad weather and parasites. One year might yield a bumper crop. The next could be a bust. After the frost of 1953, it became clear that Arabica was far too fragile a plant for coffee companies to base their long-term futures on. They needed to find a more reliable coffee bean. Enter Robusta beans, which are cheap, impervious to the elements, and plentiful. They also produce coffee that’s nearly undrinkable. For decades, major American coffee-makers had resisted using Robusta beans in any of their products. Now faced with dwindling Arabica supplies, managers at Maxwell House started to reconsider that decision. Perhaps, they speculated, it would be possible to add just a few Robusta beans to Maxwell House’s blend without noticeably ruining the taste. If successful, the overall blend would be much cheaper than pure Arabica.
The Robusta content would have to be negligible – it was important that no one notice the unwelcome addition. To ensure that Maxwell House wouldn’t lose any customers through this cost-cutting measure, the company ran sensory tests in which people tasted coffee made with Robusta right alongside the traditional Maxwell House blend. Almost no one could tell the difference. The company decided to launch the new blend. By supplementing its blend with Robusta, Maxwell House was able to keep costs lower while its competitors were forced to raise prices. The company’s gamble on Robusta paid off immediately. Most consumers didn’t notice any difference, and Robusta helped keep coffee prices low. Other coffee companies quickly followed suit. No one complained.
posted by adamsc at 5:41 PM on November 19, 2015 [6 favorites]
I drink a lot of coffee - and some pretty bad coffee - but how does anyone stomach instant? It always tastes like some coffee flavoured perfume or something.
posted by jb at 9:16 PM on November 19, 2015
posted by jb at 9:16 PM on November 19, 2015
I'm with you; Starbucks' Via is the only instant I can stomach.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 9:45 PM on November 19, 2015
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 9:45 PM on November 19, 2015
So this mornings chemex experiment. I have succeeded in making one cup of fairly terrible tasting coffee.
Also the filter broke so I have a pile of coffee grounds in a very odd wierdly shaped glass thing.
I kinda think the nescafe was better.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 3:05 AM on November 20, 2015
Also the filter broke so I have a pile of coffee grounds in a very odd wierdly shaped glass thing.
I kinda think the nescafe was better.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 3:05 AM on November 20, 2015
(What keeps me from bringing it on Scout outings is the water. With kids this young we generally have tepid water, not boiling, and just keeping up with the little monsters doesn't leave much time to grind the beans. Plus, I brew inverted, so the odds of it getting knocked over and burning someone are high.)
I've never done the inverted method, so I can't speak to that, but as far as tumping stuff over, yeah, I stand by the table and throw things at children who get too close. Our cub pack generally shows up with about 47 camp stoves for cooking/boiling, so I don't lack for hot water. As to grinding, I usually do the unthinkable and pre-grind, only because it takes forever getting everyone else situated before I can get my coffee, and hey, we're supposed to be roughing it to some degree.
posted by middleclasstool at 7:44 AM on November 20, 2015
I've never done the inverted method, so I can't speak to that, but as far as tumping stuff over, yeah, I stand by the table and throw things at children who get too close. Our cub pack generally shows up with about 47 camp stoves for cooking/boiling, so I don't lack for hot water. As to grinding, I usually do the unthinkable and pre-grind, only because it takes forever getting everyone else situated before I can get my coffee, and hey, we're supposed to be roughing it to some degree.
posted by middleclasstool at 7:44 AM on November 20, 2015
boo_radley: "How many scouts have you denied first aid badges, CLF?"
None because Cub Scouts!
MCT - Yeah, I'd do that if I could. Most outings we are cabin camping, so there's one cooking area rather than stand-alone stoves. But Spring Camp (which I missed last year) we tent camp with the rugrats, so perhaps that is my chance to give it a go.
Also, inverted is great because you don't have to worry about the coffee leaking out while it brews. But definitely use the funnel thingy over the top when you flip it to squeeze out the coffee, it keeps it from dripping all over the place.
posted by caution live frogs at 11:51 AM on November 20, 2015 [1 favorite]
None because Cub Scouts!
MCT - Yeah, I'd do that if I could. Most outings we are cabin camping, so there's one cooking area rather than stand-alone stoves. But Spring Camp (which I missed last year) we tent camp with the rugrats, so perhaps that is my chance to give it a go.
Also, inverted is great because you don't have to worry about the coffee leaking out while it brews. But definitely use the funnel thingy over the top when you flip it to squeeze out the coffee, it keeps it from dripping all over the place.
posted by caution live frogs at 11:51 AM on November 20, 2015 [1 favorite]
But I also want to get a freeze-dryer and experiment with making my own. Can you imagine a microlot Kenyan instant? Dear gods
Talk to some high-end bakers in a kitchen that warrants a full patisier. Those folks do all kinds of stuff with freeze drying coffee to imbue it into all kinds of things (one gal I worked with used to do a Costa Rican crème anglaise that was off the charts).
posted by Nanukthedog at 9:43 AM on November 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
Talk to some high-end bakers in a kitchen that warrants a full patisier. Those folks do all kinds of stuff with freeze drying coffee to imbue it into all kinds of things (one gal I worked with used to do a Costa Rican crème anglaise that was off the charts).
posted by Nanukthedog at 9:43 AM on November 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
« Older a very real punk news site that you should not... | “Everyone here will always reach for the knife in... Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:35 AM on November 19, 2015 [1 favorite]