Coffee
"Coffee - the favorite drink of the civilized world." - Thomas Jefferson
The History of Coffee
No one knows exactly how or when coffee was discovered, though there are many legends about its origin.
Before I click that, let me share my understanding.
Juan Valdez, goat farmer, noticed his goats acting strangely and wandering off regularly. Eventually he realized they were going to a small bush, eating the berries, and acting crazy. He made a tea from those berries, now known as coffee beans.
Guess what I did yesterday...
Bought a drip coffee maker haha...
Understanding Coffee Extraction & Other Key Brewing Concepts
https://www.perfectdailygrind.com/2017/06/coffee-extraction-brewing-concepts/
We switch off, but today's cup is organic dark roast, brewed in a basic/ drip coffeemaker, coconut oil, and whole milk. I'd use heavy cream if it were convenient, as I'm an avid consumer of fats.
When we add more stuff, we have been adding:
*coconut oil
*cocoa powder
*nutmeg
*cayenne pepper
*cinnamon
in the future, we're planning to add some turmeric as well.
What's in your cup, smAsh forUm viewers?
How Long Do Coffee Beans Last?
Freshness ------ NOT VERY LONG!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VUOCYVWKyw&feature=emb_logo
https://www.seattlecoffeegear.com/blog/2016/06/26/long-coffee-beans-last/
I'm totally down with keeping this coffee thread alive. ps. Juan Valdez was an NPC. Not a real person. He was made up by the Coffee Federation of Colombia in the 50s.
I like my coffee prepared all kinds of ways depending on my mood, but I mostly will use the pour over method using a Kalita Wave. Sometimes, if I splurge, I will use my aeropress. My favorite coffees are the varieties in Central America currently. Mostly Bourbons, lightly roasted, of course. My favorite roaster is JBC, a local family. My second favorite is Kickapoo, another local, but they changed their name recently and I'm still in denial so I can't remember their new name. My favorite "famous roaster" is LaColombe and Todd Carmichael has a cool travel show (Dangerous Grounds). Did you know he holds the world record of solo journey to the south pole? I'll look it up and post it here
I use bottled spring water to make my coffee. Again, local. Your coffee is only as good as the water. The water in my region is very thick with tds....way too thick, it leaves crust on everything and clogs up the pipes if water softener isn't used. Limestone. I live out in the country and have well water and it is about 300ppm tds. Coffee should be made with water that has 75-150 tds.
Today I had a JBC Kenyan pour over with local heavy cream (Sassy Cow).
If something interesting is happening in coffee, I'll post it here.
COFFEE FILTERS: Bleached Paper vs Natural Paper
The debate continues.
The secret to making a great cup of coffee is this-
KNOW YOUR VARIABLES
and there are many of them.
the choice of coffee filter is just one
Most coffee professionals agree that on a taste basis, an oxygen bleached coffee filter produces a better cup of coffee over an unbleached filter. However, if you rinse the heck out of the natural filter with hot water prior to brewing, the difference is greatly diminished. For me, it is not practical to waste my brewing water to thoroughly prerinse my filters. I purchase my coffee brewing water because my locally sourced water is too high in total dissolved solids to produce a good cup of coffee. Good bleached coffee filters use an oxygen method, not chlorine, which is better for the environment. Melitta is a good brand, for example. There are many others.
Don't take my word for it. Do a side by side experiment. Pour hot brewing water (slightly below boiling, 205F) through an unrinsed bleached filter and an unrinsed natural filter. Taste the difference for yourself.
A really cool coffee enthusiast I think you will all like, is Astrophysicist Jonathan Gagné. He has a super sciency coffee blog and is popular with coffee professionals. He did an insane in depth analysis of coffee filters which I totally enjoyed.
https://coffeeadastra.com/2019/08/04/an-in-depth-analysis-of-coffee-filters-2/
Instagram @jgagneastrocoffee
In his analysis, he found unbleached coffee filters to be more predictable a variable for flow rate vs clogging index. He also found you have to rinse the unbleached filter far more to remove unwanted filter material that affects taste.
In any case, the choice of filter is up to you. Just know your variables. Peace!
I'm totally down with bojay about this thread rolling on. Solar weather and coffee are how I start Every day.
I'm losing the store bought and reaching for organic advice. Love that sugar and cream, too. Little vanilla, sometimes. Now I want a cup.
