Craft Coffee
Page 21
5.Discard the coffee grounds, clean up, and enjoy!
BREWING TIPS
The manufacturer’s website states that one level AeroPress scoop is equal to “11.5 grams of coffee,” so that is the measurement Andreas and I used for testing. However, during our tests (with more than five different kinds of coffee), we found that one level scoop of whole coffee usually weighed between 15 and 16 grams, while one level scoop of ground coffee usually weighed between 12 and 13 grams. If you’re not using a scale, you may want to measure ground coffee instead of whole to get closer to the 11.5-gram mark.
Some professionals say that an AeroPress should be bone-dry in order to work properly. It can be very difficult to depress the plunger of a dry AeroPress, which will mess up your timing. I like to wet the pieces of my AeroPress before I brew, to make plunging easier.
Inverted AeroPress Method
This method is based on the method Andreas uses at work. The classic and inverted AeroPress methods essentially work the same way, but in the inverted method, you are measuring everything with the device upside down. This prevents water from dripping through the cap before you’re finished pouring, which allows for more accuracy. Obviously, you’ll want to be careful as you flip the device upside down. If you are not using a scale, I’ve found that filling the AeroPress cap with whole beans so that they are level, but not heaping, gets you close to the 16 grams this method calls for.
BASE SPECS
Grind: fine (6 on the Baratza Virtuoso)
Brew ratio: ~1:14
Water temp: off boil
Total brewing time: 1 minute and 50 seconds
INGREDIENTS
Makes 220 grams (7.4 fluid ounces)
16 grams (2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons), or 1 AeroPress scoop fresh whole coffee
220 grams (7.4 fluid ounces) water, plus more as needed
METHOD
1.Pour the water into a kettle and set it over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil.
2.While the water heats, place the cap of the AeroPress on a mug (if the mug is the correct size for the device, it should hang there) and add an AeroPress filter. Prepare the device by inserting the plunger into the brewing chamber so that the width of the rubber bottom just fits inside (it should be right by the top of the first circle, the number 4), and set it aside. Grind the coffee to a fine size and set it aside.
3.When the water just starts to boil, remove the kettle from the heat. Thoroughly wet the filter (50 to 60 grams of water), discard the rinse water, and set the mug aside. Set the prepared AeroPress upside down (flared side up) on a kitchen scale, if using. Using the AeroPress funnel, carefully add the grounds to the device and gently shake to level the bed. Remove the funnel and zero the scale. By now, the water temperature should be about right.
4.To bloom the coffee, start a stopwatch and add water until the scale reads 50 grams, or until the water level reaches the midpoint of the number 3 on the brewing chamber. With the AeroPress paddle, swish one time in the pattern of a plus sign (down and up, then left to right and back again) and once around the walls of the device (I find two half-circle motions works best). Make sure you are inserting the paddle as far as it will go.
5.Immediately after agitating, add the water until the scale reads 220 grams, or until the water level reaches the bottom edge of where the brewing chamber starts to flare. Twist the cap on, remove the device from the scale, and remove the air pocket by gently pushing down the sides of the brewing chamber until liquid (usually a foam) just starts to bubble up through the cap. With one hand on the brewing chamber and one on the plunger, flip it, quickly (and carefully) enough not to spill, onto the mug. At this point, the stopwatch should read 0:50.
6.Let the coffee brew until the stopwatch reads 1:20. Then, with one hand placed where the mug and device meet and the other on the plunger, slowly and gently depress the plunger until the stopwatch reads 1:50, about 30 seconds. Be sure to keep one hand on the mug to prevent sliding.
7.Discard the coffee grounds, clean up, and enjoy!
BREWING TIP
It might take a couple of tries to get the timing of this method down. Steps 4 through 6 must happen quickly, so you may feel a bit rushed at first, but it doesn’t take too much practice to get it right!
THE ABID CLEVER
The Clever Dripper Method
During our home tests of this method, in a couple of instances the brew stopped draining completely because of the Clever’s tendency to clog when used with finer grind sizes. On the other hand, Andreas and I don’t feel like long, French-press style brewing times (and the requisite very coarse grounds) work all that well with the Clever either. This is partially because it seems like the longer the hot water is in contact with the paper filter, the more likely that a papery taste will leach into the brew. We settled on a three-minute brewing time here, which we feel delivers a well-balanced cup.
BASE SPECS
Grind: medium fine (14 on Baratza Virtuoso)
Brew ratio: ~1:15
Water temp: off boil
Total brewing time: 4 minutes
INGREDIENTS
Makes 400 grams (13.5 fluid ounces)
26.5 grams (¼ cup + 1 teaspoon) fresh whole coffee
400 grams (13.5 fluid ounces) water, plus more as needed
METHOD
1.Pour the water into a kettle and set it over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil.
2.While the water heats, grind the coffee to a medium-fine size and it set aside. Then, set up your rig: filter and device.
3.When the water just starts to boil, remove the kettle from the heat. Thoroughly wet the filter (50 to 60 grams of water), discard the rinse water, and set the rig on a kitchen scale. Add the grounds, gently shake the rig to level the bed, and zero the scale.
4.To bloom the coffee, start a stopwatch and slowly pour 50 grams of water evenly in concentric circles, making sure to thoroughly saturate the grounds. When the stopwatch reads 0:30, continue to step 5.
5.Continue adding water, in half-dollar-sized circles in the center of the bed, until the scale reads 400 grams. Cover the Clever and let the coffee brew until the stopwatch reads 3:00.
6.Decant the Clever by placing it on top of a brewing vessel. The coffee should take about 1 minute to draw down; the stopwatch should read 4:00. Remove and discard the filter and rinse the device with any extra hot water. Enjoy!
BREWING TIP
You may notice a pocket between the bottom of the filter and the bottom of the Clever. It’s along the sides, where the shape changes from the wedge to the neck. During the beginning of the brew, coffee gets trapped in the neck, and the filter blocks it from the rest of the slurry. If your bloom is too heavy, you end up with pockets of underextracted coffee. That’s why this bloom weight is lower than in other methods.
The Clever Dripper Cold Brew Method
The Clever seems perfectly designed for cold brew: it’s a self-contained vessel with a filter and a lid! The only downside is that it doesn’t hold as much coffee as other devices do. The 400 grams tested here pretty much maxes it out.
BASE SPECS
Grind: medium coarse (25 on Baratza Virtuoso)
Brew ratio: ~1:7
Water temp: cold (from fridge or from tap)
Total brewing time: 15 hours
INGREDIENTS
Makes 400 grams (13.5 fluid ounces) of concentrate
58 grams (½ cup + 2 tablespoons) fresh whole coffee
400 grams (13.5 fluid ounces) cold water
METHOD
1.Insert a filter into the Clever, thoroughly wet the filter, and discard the rinse water. Grind the coffee to a medium-coarse size, add it to the Clever, and gently shake to level the bed. Add the water.
2.Cover the Clever with the lid and transfer it to the refrigerator. Make sure you place it on the bottom shelf or set it on a flat surface, or else it will drain into the refrigerator. Let the coffee brew for 15 hours.
3.Remove from the refrigerator and decant the cold brew
concentrate into a separate lidded container. To enjoy, use fresh, cold water to dilute the concentrate using a 1:5 ratio, or to taste. Refrigerate in an airtight container for 1 to 2 weeks.
THE SIPHON
(Vacuum Pot)
Three-Cup Siphon Method
This method was adapted from the siphon method used by Blue Bottle, a coffee company based in San Francisco. Being able to measure temperature is important in this method, so you will need a thermometer. To help you visualize the key parts of the process, I have included a panel on page 231.
BASE SPECS
Grind: medium fine (15 on Baratza Virtuoso)
Brew ratio: ~1:14
Water temp: 202°F
Total brewing time: 1 minute and 55 seconds
INGREDIENTS
Makes 300 grams (10 fluid ounces)
22 grams (3 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons) fresh whole coffee
300 grams (10.1 fluid ounces) water, plus more as needed
METHOD
1.If using a new filter, boil it for 5 minutes. If using a filter you’ve been storing in water in the refrigerator, soak it in warm water for about 5 minutes. While the filter preps, grind the coffee to a medium-fine size and set it aside. Set the siphon stand (with bulb) on a kitchen scale, zero it out, and add the water to the bulb until the scale reads 300 grams. At this point, you will no longer need the scale.
2.Add the prepared filter to the hopper by gently lowering it so that the ball chain hangs through the stem. Pull down on the ball chain and attach the hook to the side of the stem. Loosely attach the hopper to the bulb. It should be leaning slightly to the side; do not seal it yet (PANEL A).
3.Turn on the heat source. When the water starts to boil, adjust the hopper so that it’s upright and firmly sealed. Wait until the water works its way up through the filter and into the hopper; the stem doesn’t reach to the bottom of the bulb, so some water will remain (PANEL B).
4.Turn down the heat source (if using a butane burner, it should be on the lowest possible setting). When an instant-read thermometer placed in the water registers 202°F, add the coffee grounds and start a stopwatch (PANEL C). Quickly push the dry grounds down into the slurry with a butter knife. When the stopwatch reads 0:30, stir the slurry three times with the butter knife.
5.When the stopwatch reads 1:20, turn off the heat source and stir the slurry 10 times as the water drains from the hopper into the bulb below (PANEL D); the water level in the bulb will stop and there will be bubbles. All the coffee should drain by the time the stopwatch reads 1:55.
6.Carefully remove the hopper from the device. To do this, you may need to hold the bulb steady, as it can spin. It will be hot, so use a kitchen towel to hold it steady as you gently twist off the hopper. Set it aside to cool (if your device comes with a lid, it usually doubles as a hopper stand). Serve the coffee directly from the bulb. Enjoy!
BREWING TIPS
This method is quicker if you boil the water before pouring it into the bulb. Your heat source will boil it eventually, but it takes much longer, and you’ll need to actively watch it. When you use hot water, the active time you spend with the device is much shorter.
When you serve the coffee, it will be hotter than normal because the bulb was over direct heat. Let the coffee cool longer than you normally would before enjoying it.
THE MELITTA
Single-Cup Melitta Pulse Method
We tested this method on the Ready Set Joe model, but you can scale up these specs for larger models and yields.
BASE SPECS
Grind: medium (20 on Baratza Virtuoso)
Brew ratio: 1:17
Water temp: off boil
Total brewing time: 3 minutes and 30 seconds
INGREDIENTS
Makes 400 grams (13.5 fluid ounces)
23.5 grams (¼ cup) fresh whole coffee
400 grams (13.5 fluid ounces) water, plus more as needed
METHOD
1.Pour the water into a kettle and set it over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil.
2.While the water heats, grind the coffee to a medium size and set it aside. Then, set up your rig: filter, device, and brewing vessel.
3.When the water just starts to boil, remove the kettle from the heat. Thoroughly wet the filter (50 to 60 grams of water), discard the rinse water, and set the rig on a kitchen scale. Add the grounds, gently shake the brewing vessel to level the bed, and zero the scale.
4.To bloom the coffee, start a stopwatch and slowly pour 50 grams of water evenly in concentric circles, making sure to thoroughly saturate the grounds. When the stopwatch reads 0:45, continue to step 5.
5.Start your first pulse by adding 50 grams of water, beginning in the middle and pouring in slow, concentric circles over the next 10 seconds. By this point, the scale should read 100 grams and the stopwatch should read 0:55. Wait 15 seconds, then pulse about three more times, in 100-gram increments, until the scale reads 400 grams and the stopwatch reads 2:40 (see Brewing Tip).
6.Let the coffee draw down; it should take about 50 seconds and the stopwatch should read 3:30. Remove and discard the filter, rinse the device with any extra hot water, and enjoy!
BREWING TIP
Want a better handle on your pulse timing? Here are some guidelines:
0:45 to 0:55: end at 100 grams
1:10 to 1:30: end at 200 grams
1:45 to 2:05: end at 300 grams
2:20 to 2:40: end at 400 grams
THE BEEHOUSE
The Large BeeHouse Pulse Method
The design of the BeeHouse restricts water flow quite a bit, so I think the pulse method is the easiest way to go. Your pouring pattern doesn’t really matter that much, as long as you are evenly applying the water. Andreas prefers concentric circles, while I am better at keeping a figure-eight pattern. If you notice grounds clinging to the sides of the filter as the bed height reduces, take a quick, gentle lap around the perimeter to push those puppies back into the brew water.
BASE SPECS
Grind: medium fine (14 on Baratza Virtuoso)
Brew ratio: 1:16
Water temp: off boil
Total brewing time: 3 minutes and 30 seconds
INGREDIENTS
Makes 400 grams (13.5 fluid ounces)
25 grams (¼ cup + ½ teaspoon) fresh whole coffee
400 grams (13.5 fluid ounces) water, plus more as needed
METHOD
1.Pour the water into a kettle and set it over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil.
2.While the water heats, grind the coffee to a medium-fine size and set it aside. Then, set up your rig: filter, device, and brewing vessel.
3.When the water just starts to boil, remove the kettle from the heat. Thoroughly wet the filter (50 to 60 grams of water), discard the rinse water, and set the rig on a kitchen scale. Add the grounds, gently shake the rig to level the bed, and zero the scale.
4.To bloom the coffee, start a stopwatch and slowly pour 50 grams of water evenly in concentric circles, making sure to thoroughly saturate the grounds. When the stopwatch reads 0:45, continue to step 5.
5.Start your first pulse by adding 50 grams of water, beginning in the middle and pouring in slow, concentric circles over the next 10 seconds. By this point, the scale should read 100 grams and the stopwatch should read 0:55. Wait 15 seconds, then pulse about three more times, in 100-gram increments, until the scale reads 400 grams and the stopwatch reads 2:40 (see Brewing Tip).
6.Let the coffee draw down; it should take about 50 seconds and the stopwatch should read 3:30. Remove and discard the filter, rinse the device with any extra hot water, and enjoy!
BREWING TIP
Want a better handle on your pulse timing? Here are some guidelines:
0:45 to 0:55: end at 100 grams
1:10 to 1:30: end at 200 grams
1:45 to 2:05: end at 300 grams
2:20 to 2:40: end at 400 grams
THE WALKÜRE
Medium Walküre Method
While the pour for this metho
d doesn’t require much technique beyond aiming for the center of the dispersion plate, the Walküre does, like many methods, benefit from a slow, controlled pour. Its brewing chamber is quite small, and it’s easily overwhelmed with water. I’ve also discovered that it’s important to pour the bloom weight quickly, as it seems to affect how the grounds settle in the brewing chamber. When I’ve poured slowly, my drawdown time has been out of control. Because the Walküre is made of porcelain, it retains heat very well. This thing can get hot as hell, so be careful when decanting!