Clever Coffee Dripper

[sleepy]

I've heard numerous interviews with Tom Owens (aka Sweet Maria's talking head), and he universally says that the best brew system (barring a GOOD espresso maker) is a filter cone and a kettle of hot water. He also, somewhat abashed, has said, yes, we sell fancier, higher tech and more expensive systems, but the gains are in convenience.

I agree. My long neck filter cone that I use to fill an old fashioned thermos when camping may actually make better coffee than my $160 Capresso - then again, it may just be where I'm sipping that coffee.

[Hassouni]

I tend to agree. The best conventional coffee I've had is very carefully made pourover filter cone coffee, followed closely by well made French press, but I don't care for the sediment.

Drinking some Ethiopian Kaffa single origin stuff now, made in my Hario setup, and this dispels the belief that filter coffee is weak-bodied. This stuff is RICH.

[NCyankee]

Maybe it's just my synapses, but after multiple re-reads I can't seem to come to any interpretation other than Maria is recommending weighing the coffee and water separately before brewing - particularly noting both their video and written instructions. In any case there is negligible difference between measuring volume and weight. If this were a true science wouldn't we see a range expressed, eg 700g of water +/- 5 grams, nicht vahr?

I don't see anything in the directions to indicate weighing the water before or after, I was just going by the video I had watched. On the other hand, I think you're reading too much into it assuming they meant more accurate in terms of temperature variation. They probably just meant it is easier to allow a scale to measure the water to within a gram rather than try to accurately measure it yourself to the nearest 1/30 of an ounce using a pyrex beaker. In any event, any such accuracy is thrown out the window if you don't allow for water absorbed by the grounds. I am not terribly anal about it, I use about 26 ounces of water to make 24 ounces of coffee. Next time, just for fun, I am going to weigh the grounds before and after. (Edit - within the limitations of my not-very-accurate plastic food scale, I weighed a 1 1/2 oz gain on a 4 cup pot using a rounded 1/4 cup of grounds.)

Also as far as pouring the water from the middle outward - perhaps it makes sense in terms of not leaving a hole in the middle that would allow water to sneak through with minimal extraction. Pouring from the middle would tend to push the grinds down from the edges. My Krups maker (which I got for free from Gavalia 20 yrs ago) has a single nozzle and leaves a huge divot right down the middle when it is done. My girlfriends Hamilton beach has a 5 or 6 nozzle spray head which does a better job of saturating the grounds evenly. I have taken to pulling the brew basket out a little and stirring the grounds just after brewing starts.

As far as clockwise vs counterclockwise - no idea there, just sounds OCD

[bearmark]

As far as clockwise vs counterclockwise - no idea there, just sounds OCD

The idea must be to counteract the Coriolis effect, so it would be clockwise in the northern hemisphere and counterclockwise in the southern hemisphere.

[NCyankee]

As far as clockwise vs counterclockwise - no idea there, just sounds OCD

The idea must be to counteract the Coriolis effect, so it would be clockwise in the northern hemisphere and counterclockwise in the southern hemisphere.

That's exactly what I was thinking

[NCyankee]

I read about the "Eva Cafe Solo" tonight, which is basically an immersion system in a neoprene insulating jacket and pour-through mesh filtration - the idea being to make French-press style coffee with minimal heat loss.

This gave me an idea. I recently "borrowed" my girlfriend's reuseable basket filter. It is of the type that has mesh on the bottom and a 3/4" plastic rim around the base. I found that it fits nicely on top of a coffee mug and the rim allows it to be used as a pour-through without spilling over the sides if you don't rush.

I have a stainless Contigo mug which has been used for coffee for a long time and has a permanent coffee smell. I used this to mix 12 oz of 200 degree water and an appropriate amount of medium grind coffee. Stirred it up, put on the top, set a timer for 4 minutes and agitated it a couple times while extracting for good measure.

I have to say it turned out quite good, very rich with no bitterness and hotter than when I use a press. It was a little muddy, need to use a slightly coarser grind next time but the basket allows a lot finer grind than a press. It came out plenty hot but next time I will preheat the Contigo.

[The Black Tot]

I read somewhere that one of the great tasters of coffee (George Howell, I think was his name?) actually recommends that coffee be allow to cool to lukewarm before tasting.

He said many people drink their coffee too hot, preventing a lot of the flavors from being accurately tasted. Something to that effect.

So heat preservation may not be a productive goal, if it comes at the price of other possibly more important brewing characteristics.

I believe holding the temperature at the ideal during the brew phase is probably going to result in a better extraction. I think that figure is 190 degrees? My kettle recommends 200 for French Press I think, but maybe that is because if you start at 200, it falls gently through 190 through the brew phase, or else the beans themselves and surrounding glass take 200 degree water down to 190 upon being mixed.

I normally use a yama 8 cup siphon for brewing coffee at home, but when I'm at sea I use the Bodum "Young Press" French Press. The only difference is that it has a plastic outer sheath, which is doubly useful, firstly against the inner beaker glass breakage if a big wave knocks it off the table, and secondly, to act as an insulator such that too much heat is not lost during the brew phase. Much like the unit you mentioned above.

[sleepy]

Outstanding point BT! Although, with good coffees, I find that they give up their brighter, more aromatic tastes early, then move to the richer, more fruity flavors later. My ideal is a cup that makes me smile across that full range of temperature.

That's not to say that I'll throw out a good Sulawesi that is boring to start, then kicks your ass later!

[The Black Tot]

In practice I agree.

I find it nearly impossible to stare at a freshly brewed cup until lukewarm.

Watched pots may never boil, but waiting for cooling is like never, squared!

After reading that I do leave my cups for a minute or two though, and I do find I get more out of them.