Old Dogs and New Tricks - Part 2
Coffee
I currently own 8 coffee makers. Go ahead, laugh. Two Saeco automatic espresso machines, two drip coffee makers (a Bonavita and a Bunn), two pod machines (a Keurig and a Bosch), a surprisingly good Oster manual espresso maker with built in milk frother, and a Cuisinart percolator. In my defence, they are at two locations, the cottage and our house, so only four per location :) My wife Nancy suggests that I have become a coffee fanatic, but of course that isn’t true. Aficionado is the word I would use. I bought most of these in the last year as I have explored the strange world of coffee.
Most of us drink it and most of us know very little about it. After oil, it is the second most sought after commodity in the world, ahead of things like sugar and corn. The world consumes over 500 billion cups a year.
So, there must be hundreds of kinds of coffee right? Well, it is grown in different regions all over the world that impart different flavours, but in fact there are two kinds - robusto and arabica. Robusto is stronger, cheaper, has more caffeine and is often what is in things like Maxwell House instant coffee. Arabica is generally considered superior to robusto, has less caffeine and is what 70% of coffee growers grow.
And making a cup of coffee? Please, have a seat - how long have you got? The basics are simple - add water to coffee grounds or coffee grounds to water, and drink the liquid that results from this. As if it could be so easy.
Let’s try to do a few general categories;
Pressure. Brew the coffee under pressure i.e. push the water/steam through the grounds with pressure. Most would immediately think espresso machines and they would be right. The steam and pressure of espresso machines mean two things; they make a fast cup of coffee (it was invented by an Italian that wanted his workers to have shorter coffee breaks) and they have crema, that lovely foamy stuff sitting on top. But Moka Pots and Keurig (and similar) pod machines also use pressure, just less of it. Espresso is a subject all on it’s own - however I will mention Tim’s Americano that I make with the Oster manual machine; make a double espresso as per normal, then make another double espresso with the same grounds in place. It makes a surprisingly good cup of coffee. So does Keurig (and Nespresso and the like) - you would be foolish to dismiss them. With the new completely compostable pods, they are quick, easy and make pretty good coffee with tons of variety. Exotic vacuum coffee makers are sort of a weird combination of pressure and drip.
Drip. Most people in North America make drip coffee - think Mr. Coffee and you’ve got it. However, the rules for good drip are the same as for most every kind of coffee there is; the water must get very hot (195-200 degrees), and go through the grinds fairly quickly - the best for drip coffee is 5 minutes of less. Mr. Coffee, and 99.9% of the cheap drip machines out there, do neither. So if you invest in anything, invest in a $125-150 drip coffee maker (Bonavita makes a very good one) and see the difference for yourself. It is night and day. Drip machines are also one of the few methods that can keep coffee hot for you after it’s made.
Pour over. As the name says, you pour the water over the grounds and it drips into a pot below. Sort of a manual drip? Lots of fancy stuff lives here and many swear by their Chemex and the like. And they are good. Rules are simple - hot water, good pour, don’t take too long (5 minutes or so for the pour and drip through? You guessed it.) For me, they are a fair bit of work and they don’t keep the coffee warm. But as I said, many swear by them.
Coffee right smack in the water. Cowboy campfire style but also French press and Turkish coffee. Most everyone likes French press coffee. Again, the water should be poured very shortly after boiling and the coarse grounds should soak for no more than 5 minutes.
Perc. Is percolator coffee it’s own category? Maybe, because it recirculates the brewed coffee back up and through the grounds again. It is certainly the most misunderstood. It was invented by a guy named Count Rumford in the early 1800’s (who also invented the Rumford fireplace that I have at my cottage and swear by. Coffee makers and fireplaces - my kind of guy). Many dismiss the percolator because they claim it boils the water, but in fact electric percs (and properly tended stove top percs) don’t. (That said, if boiling the water is a problem, what about espresso? It’s made with steam for crying out loud.) And there is nothing I can think of inherently wrong with resending the brewed coffee back over the grounds, as long as it all happens in under five minutes. One real plus is that on many perc machines every part is stainless steel. I’m not sure why they can do this on a perc and not on even more expensive drip machines.
Test #1 - Drip vs. Perc
My go to affordable pre-ground blend is McCafe. I just got my Cuisinart percolator the other day and decided to do a face off with my reliable Bonavita drip. The results? Surprising. Very surprising.
I used the same brown paper filter in both (you just push it over - i.e. puncture it - the projecting tube in the perc basket), added 9 rounded scoops of coffee and 6 cups of cold water from the tap to both within seconds of each other. Nancy plugged in the perc and I turned on the Bonavita at the same moment.
A quick word on the Bonavita. I love its simplicity - push a button and walk away. It’s one of maybe 10 drip machines to get a gold rating from SCAA - Specialty Coffee Association of America - for getting the temperature and time of brew right. It makes consistently excellent coffee. I got it on sale for about $125. And the Cuisinart percolator got my attention for two reasons - the coffee contact parts are all stainless steel, and it lifts off the heating pad to pour, a very convenient thing. It was $99. on line.
Back to the test. And yes, I used exactly the same grind on both machines. The perc and the drip both started making noises quite quickly, less than a minute in. They both, in getting going, sort of automatically pre-soaked the grounds. They both were going at full steam in about three minutes and finished at around five minutes. The perc was actually done 20 seconds sooner, which I didn’t expect at all.
I tasted each gingerly. The Bonavita was strong and full tasting and very good. The perc was also strong but a little cleaner tasting. In fact, as I sipped along, I realized that I actually slightly preferred the perc - it was a little less muddy tasting and the more subtle and complex notes of the coffee came through. Both were excellent though and surprisingly different.
Wow. All those crazy percophiles might be right after all. Percolated coffee certainly went skyrocketing up in my estimation. Count Rumford rocks!
Results: drip - 4.5 out of 5 perc - 4.52 out of 5
I’ll do some more tests as time goes on.
P.S. What kind of coffee to buy? Arabica, and then you’re on your own. Try and try and try. If $8/lb Dunkin Donuts pre-ground does it for you, go for it. Jamaican Blue Mountain and Hawaiian Kona will cost considerably more money. Like wine, everyone will find their own price/quality trade-off point.