Give Yourself the Gift of Good Coffee

Maybe you got some cool coffee gadget for Christmas. That's cool. I hope you find it useful.

But maybe you didn't. Maybe you had your eye on some fancy electric gizmo or whatever and you didn't get it. You're thinking that you're stuck drinking shitty coffee for another year because you're broke from buying everyone else great gifts and they only got you a CD from some shitty twee hipster garbage band and god maybe some other crap too but you can't even remember.

Well, no. Good coffee doesn't require fancy equipment, nor does it require a lot of money. Skip laundry for a couple weeks because who really cares just febreeze your pants and use that money plus the change sitting on your desk to buy this stuff:

1) A plastic Melitta cone. Sure it's plastic and you wouldn't decorate with it like you could a Chemex but you just want to make good coffee remember? It costs like $3 at a grocery store and it's stupid easy to use. Pour water of grounds. DONE. Yeah the technique can get fancy and complicated but most of that is needless posturing.

2) A tea kettle. I found one for free in my parents' basement but maybe you aren't that lucky and have to buy one. That's ok since a decent kettle only costs about $15 and holy shit that's a lot more than couch change right? Well whatever it's a lot cheaper than an electric water heater or specifically designed pour over kettle with a skinny long neck that stops the water from coming out too fast because OH MY GOD I can't pour water without having my hand held. If you're still too broke for this option just boil water in any pot or even just microwave it in a cup.

3) A grinder. Ok this actually gets pretty expensive as a decent burr grinder will run you $80+ and that's a lot of money but actually totally worth the investment if you can afford it. If you can't get a blade grinder which yeah kinda sucks but is still better than having pre ground coffee even if you do have the barista do it for you at the shop where you really should be buying your coffee.

4) So yeah, get good coffee. Probably go to a shop you like so you know the coffee isn't shitty and if the shop is good they'll have roast dates and even grind it for you if you need them too just make sure to get it ground for that Melitta you totally already bought which is a slightly finer grind than they probably use at the shop. Also don't buy a ton because then it's gets all stale and musty and you like to visit your local shop all the time anyway right? And yeah this costs money too but whatever it's the COFFEE  part of making good coffee a.k.a. is pretty fucking important.

TOPICAL POST.

Lessons on Life From a Plastic Cone

I try, when possible, to relate things to other things. Life is not so much about isolated incidents as collected experiences, so this makes sense to me. I often see things and think of them in terms of coffee, or in a similar context. 

My oatmeal today, for instance, was better than it's been in ages, for no other reason than I did it right. Which is not to say that there is one specific right way, of course, but there is a certain attentiveness that helps. Simply, doing it right means doing it as best you can; it means paying attention; it means trying; mostly, it means caring. 

Were it not for my Melitta revelation - or perhaps it would be more accurate to call it my Melitta rediscovery - this oatmeal would likely have been the usual slop. It would have been palatable, maybe even something I would call good, but not satisfying. It would not have been as good as it was, if I had used quicker oats, a microwave, skipped the salt or hurried the cooking. 

Instead, I used thick, rolled oats, dosed the salt ambitiously, and set to a rolling boil, before dropping to low and letting it sit until congealed. The result was fantastic, even before I added the peanut butter, sweet in that grainy sort of way, hearty and dense too.

Valuing your time does not mean filling it with as much activity as will fit; it means using it well. If you have an hour in the morning, why not take that extra few minutes to enjoy your coffee, to prepare it right? It's all to easy to be seduced by ease, by lack of effort, to fall in to that lazy trap. If you have less time - what might even seem like not enough - then perhaps sacrifices in quality need to be made. But do schedule accordingly. 

That is the lesson to be learned from an unassuming little plastic cone: Effort and attentiveness are rewarded, and needn't be complicated.

Morning Melitta

Simplicity. There is something to be said for it, when you're still mired in your morning malaise. Your alarm clock blaring, half awake, you roll about and tug on covers, but the offending noise does not stop. So you rouse yourself, and with some effort, do not return to bed. There are things to do, probably.

Among those, coffee needs brewing. It will not make itself; though we are getting ever closer to that. So you dose the grounds, fill the tank of your automatic brewer, and flip the switch. It gurgles, spits, and pops, and in about four minutes, produces something which might be called coffee.

This is the norm, I think. The appeal is not in the artistry of the process, nor the flavor of the product, but rather the simplicity. Early mornings make that already attractive idea downright seductive. I've not completely ignored its siren song.

Full disclosure: I own, and indeed use, an $11 Mr. Coffee automatic drip machine. I have pre-ground coffee that I use for it. If my credibility among the coffee elite is diminished or altogether lost - if indeed I had any to lose - then so be it. There are mornings where I am not awake, and the simple act of preparing coffee with a melitta seems not so simple.

And though I say it, I know it isn't true. Pour over brewing needn't be as complex as it's sometimes made out to be; it needn't be as complex, even, as I've made it out to be. One must set a given amount of water to boil, dose beans, grind, place the grounds in the filter, in the melitta, and on the mug. Then the pour.

There is anxiety over what constitutes optimal pour over technique. Perhaps it is better to pre-wet the filter, to pour with methodical, zen like concentration, to wet the grounds like a gentle spring rain. In my experience, however, all that leads to a cup which is indistinguishable from one where the grounds are evenly and completely wetted. Provided you don't douse thing whole thing, and give the bloom a chance to settle a touch, I don't know that the technique matters too much.

Simplicity is pushing a button, but it is also relying on simple methods, old methods, that produce a better cup. Caffeine is a priority in the morning, no doubt, but not so much as enjoying the coffee.

Sweating the Technique, Again

I've written before that my cheap little plastic Melitta cone makes a good cup of coffee. Better, I think, than many more expensive methods. There is also something to be said for the satisfaction one derives from taking a more hands on approach.

I've also covered what I think is the optimal method for brewing the perfect cup, using a Melitta cone.

1. Place your cone on your mug, and insert filter (paper or metal) in to cone. I've found that it helps to pre-wet the filter. It helps it stick to the cone, thus optimizing the flow of water once the brewing process begins.

2. Bring water to a boil.

3. While that gets going, grind your coffee, and make it fine. Not quite espresso fine, but fairly close. The amount of coffee you use is up to you, but I think the standard 2 tbs coffee/6 0z water ratio works fine. 

4. When the water comes to a boil, pull it. As soon as it stops bubbling, pour it over the grounds. Go too fast, and some water will subvert the grounds or simply go out the side. But there's no need to go at a tortoise's pace either. Your pour should be steady, and the cone should fill.

5. Stir the slurry. This ensures optimal distribution of the grounds, and thus a fuller cup.

6. Finally, stir the finished cup. This is another important step that's often omitted, but is necessary to ensure even taste.

7. Enjoy.

I stand by most of this. However, there is a minor change I'd like to highlight. Rather than pouring the water in the center, and then stirring the mixture, I now think it's better to pour down the sides. Doing this washes the grounds in to the center, which, I think, lends to better extraction.

This may sounds like a trivial detail; and perhaps it is just that. But the small things make big differences, when it comes to things you enjoy. Obviously, I like my coffee. As such, any way I can find to make a more consistently good cup is something I'm going to highlight.

Now of course, I reserve the right to change my mind again. Manual drip technique seems to vary quite a bit, based on other "how-to's" I've found online. But this, as of right now, is how I'm choosing to do things.

Do sweat the technique

I love my little Melitta. Sure, she's made of plastic, and her price point doesn't inspire jealousy. But you know, appearances can be deceiving. I challenge any of the new one-cup coffee makers to produce a more consistently great cup of coffee. 

Any takers? There shouldn't be, frankly, unless they'd also like to be losers. 

That's because, if you're making one cup of coffee, the cone is the best means of production.

Even better than the french press. Blasphemy? Perhaps, but also true. If you want the more syrupy body of coffee produced in a press, simply use a metal filter in your cone. Or don't. I'm not here to inspire a coffee making holy war -- just to celebrate what, in my humble opinion, is the best means of making a cup of coffee. 

If you know how to use it; which, unfortunately, many don't seem to. 

With that in mind, I present a reasonably concise list of steps that, if followed, should yield a great cup each and every time.

1. Place your cone on your mug, and insert filter (paper or metal) in to cone. I've found that it helps to pre-wet the filter. It helps it stick to the cone, thus optimizing the flow of water once the brewing process begins.

2. Bring water to a boil.

3. While that gets going, grind your coffee, and make it fine. Not quite espresso fine, but fairly close. The amount of coffee you use is up to you, but I think the standard 2 tbs coffee/6 0z water ratio works fine. 

4. When the water comes to a boil, pull it. As soon as it stops bubbling, pour it over the grounds. Go too fast, and some water will subvert the grounds or simply go out the side. But there's no need to go at a tortoise's pace either. Your pour should be steady, and the cone should fill.

5. Stir the slurry. This ensures optimal distribution of the grounds, and thus a fuller cup.

6. Finally, stir the finished cup. This is another important step that's often omitted, but is necessary to ensure even taste.

7. Enjoy.

If that sounds a little more involved than pushing a button, that's because it is. But the added effort is most certainly worth it.