by Mary Vard
THE WATER
Okay. You’ve cleaned that coffee maker and purchased a really delightful coffee. What next? Well, since coffee is a blend of a little ground coffee and a lot of water, do you like the taste of your tap water? If you have off-tasting tap water, then you will have off-tasting coffee. You can remedy this by purchasing bottled spring water that is lively and oxygenated, ideally from a local spring. If you purchase bottled water, be sure NOT to purchase distilled water. It has no oxygen. Bottled spring water, on the other hand, will have bubbles rising to the surface, and this water will retain its oxygen even through refrigeration. One caution: distilled water comes in jugs similar to spring water jugs.
my five-year-old granddaughter, Melanie, was playing in the warm water at the kitchen sink the other day. She took a drink of the warm water and said, “Yuck.” This was a reminder to me that cold water flavor is better than warm water flavor. Cold water has more oxygen in it and with that a more lively taste. So, if you like the taste of your tap water, let it run for a minute or two until it is as cold as it will get. Your coffee will have a better flavor. Also, the thermostat on most electric coffee makers is regulated to handle cold water, and the mechanics of the coffee maker work perfectly when the water is cold.
Should you store your water in the refrigerator? I don’t recommend storing tap water in the refrigerator. The reason is that when water is stored, you’ll see little bubbles escaping to the top of the container. These bubbles are oxygen. Again, for maximum oxygen, just let your tap water run for a minute, then measure cold water into your brewing system.
now, let’s say you’ve cleaned up the old coffee maker, you’ve purchased some great ground coffee, and you have brewed that coffee with cold, fresh water. Your coffee is still mediocre … what’s the problem?
THE EQUIPMENT
possibly, that old electric equipment is not heating the water hot enough. Perhaps, the thermostat is not working properly. Maybe it’s just worn out!
DRIP COFFEE MAKERS
at present, many Americans who drink coffee brew it in a drip coffee maker. In a drip coffee maker, ground coffee is placed in the upper filter and hot water is poured over it. The brewed coffee trickles through the filter and into the lower compartment or carafe. The electric drip coffee maker will heat the water, brew the coffee, then cut back the temperature for storage. The proper brew temperature for coffee is right around two hundred degrees. At two hundred degrees, the right coffee flavors are extracted. A temperature lower than 180 or 190 degrees, results in a “muddy” taste to the coffee, and the temperatures higher than two hundred degrees result in a bitter flavor to the coffee.
If you use an electric drip coffee maker, you can measure the temperature of the brewing water. Here’s how: take a clean oven thermometer and immerse it into your coffee carafe. When the coffee is brewed into the carafe, make sure the stream of water pours over the oven thermometer. After six to seven minutes, the coffee temperature will be at its peak, so look at the thermometer. You’ll have a fairly accurate reading of the heat of your brew water.
If you use an inexpensive, non-electric glass drip coffee maker, water temperature is very important. Make sure the water poured over those grounds is just below boiling.
as important as the temperature of the coffee is the amount of time the hot water will be in contact with the coffee grounds. Many electric coffee makers, both drip and percolator, are known to take twelve to fifteen or even twenty minutes to brew coffee. By coffee purists standards, that’s just too long for the water to be in contact with the coffee grounds. Coffee should be in contact with the very hot water for no longer than eight to ten minutes. After that, bitter flavors develop.
much has been written about the coffee makers with cone filter. In this type filter, hot water sprays over the grounds and is forced through one or more openings at the bottom of the cone…sort of a gravity pull system. Therefore, the grounds are penetrated more evenly by the hot water than a filter with a flat bottom. Most drip coffee filters utilize filter papers and require fine grind coffee. Although finely ground coffee offers better yield per pound of coffee, coffee purists would argue that paper filters absorb some of coffees’ rich flavor. One of my coffee makers has a fine mesh filter, and though the clean-up is more difficult, this filter does make very good coffee.
Incidentally, if you are looking for the origin of a particular coffee maker, just check the product packaging. It will say, in large print, where the product was manufactured. It will also tell whether the product was approved by Underwriter’s Laboratories (UL). UL specifies product guidelines for coffee makers. These specifications include a burn-proof exterior as well as interior electrical specifications. Do not purchase a coffee maker that is not UL approved.
new models of the electric drip coffee makers include a variety of features. Some have conveniences such as a drip stop which allows you to pour a cup of coffee during a brew cycle. Most manufacturers feature a one or two cup coffee maker which brews one or two cups of coffee in under five minutes. Several manufacturers feature coffee makers that store the coffee in a thermos. When purchasing a coffee maker, the first question to your sales person should be, “Which of these coffee makers has the hottest brew cycle … up to two hundred degrees?” and “How long does it take to brew a pot of coffee?” Sales personnel have been trained with this information. Let them guide and explain convenience features.
If you are purchasing a new coffee maker, I’d strongly suggest that you check it for comfort. The scientific name for the engineering study of comfort is “ergonomics.” Check out the ergonomics of the unit. You’ll want to practice lifting the carafe to test the feel of the handle. Is it a sturdy carafe handle? Is the handle attached well to the appliance? Will it pour? Remember, in a year’s time, a carafe may be lifted as many as 8 times a day or 56 times a week, or 2,912 times a year! You want to make sure that it is easy and comfortable to lift.
THE PERCOLATOR
percolators, invented in 1829, bring to mind images of coffee perking over the campfire or on the electric range. Who can forget the classic Maxwell House Coffee commercial with the jingle…“good to the last drop.”
To Perk or Not to Perk:
Is That the Question?
The author enjoys an occasional cup of perked coffee. And today’s percolators are a vast improvement over older models. They perk the coffee at a hot temperature with a brew time as short as four minutes. Properly perked coffee has a robust, well-developed flavor which is preferred by many people.
PHOTO CREDITS
Six-cup percolator courtesy of Farberware; cut glass jelly jar and Fostoria, Early American, crystal from Mary Ward; breakfast tray from Tuesday Morning; cup and saucer is Ansley (English) c.1940.
RECIPE CREDIT
Chocolate Chip Loaf, page 176
prepared in the following way: spray 12 muffin tins with non-stick cooking spray. Prepare Chocolate Chip according to recipe directions. Divide among muffin tins. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 18 minutes or until muffins are just cooked inside. Muffins shown here are not glazed.
In a drip coffee maker, hot water is sprayed over the grounds. A percolator utilizes a pressurized brewing environment which acts like a piston in constantly circulating the water.
In the preparation for perking top-of-the-stove coffee, the water is oftentimes boiled, burning the coffee and resulting in a bitter brew. The first electric percolators, in the 1930s, were not much of an improvement as the brew temperature was too hot or too cool and lasted much too long (as long as 20 minutes).
Today’s electric percolators are a vast improvement over the outdated models, perking at a temperature of 193 degrees with a brew time as short as four minutes. Properly perked coffee has a robust, well-developed flavor which is preferred by many Americans. Other advantages: percolators do not require paper filters.
OPEN-POT-BREWING
If you like a coffee which is richer and heavier, a top-of-the-stove, open-pot coff
ee maker may be for you. In open-pot brewing, coffee grounds are steeped in a pot of hot water, strained and served.
One popular type of open-pot brewing is the French Press, or plunger pot. The system utilizes a pot which is a narrow glass cylinder. Coffee and near-boiling water are put into this cylinder. Then, a tight-fitting, meshed screen plunger is inserted. After the coffee has steeped for three minutes, the plunger is pushed through the coffee, clarifying it and forcing the grinds to the bottom. Coffee is served directly from the cylinder. Although expensive, the French Press makes a rich, heavy-bodied cup of coffee. The advantages are clear: it is portable and easy. Full-bodied coffee may be prepared table side.
There are many more kinds of coffee brewing systems available from the functional Neapolitan flip drip to elegant Cona vacuum systems to the table-side Italian servers. It’s a good idea to shop at department stores, gourmet shops, specialty coffee stores as well as mass merchants to find the coffee system that’s best for your lifestyle.
STORAGE OF COFFEE
So, you’ve brewed that perfect cup of coffee. It is hot, fresh tasting, and memorable. How can you preserve that delicious coffee flavor?
coffee is very temperature sensitive. Once brewed, it starts to rapidly deteriorate. Most electric coffee makers hold coffee at 160 to 170 degrees. However, even at this temperature, coffee will start to taste noticeably bitter in twenty minutes. In an hour, the coffee is very bitter. What to do?
first, brew only what will be consumed in an hour. If that’s half a pot, then brew half a pot. You may want to invest in a quality thermos or in a coffee making system that brews into a thermos. One caution in using the thermos: make sure the thermos is glass lined. Plastic or other composition material thermos will impart off flavors. And with a glass-lined thermos, you are able to thoroughly clean the thermos with a solution of baking soda and water.
The design of the thermos is also important. The tall, slender thermos is designed to hold and seal in the heat from coffee, keeping it hot and fresh tasting for six to eight hours. The “roly poly” thermos shape exposes more coffee surface to air; coffee will cool more quickly in such a thermos.
But let’s say you have coffee in your glass carafe, it was brewed one hour ago, and you’ve turned off the.heat. Should you reheat the coffee in the microwave? Again, that’s a personal taste. Cooled, reheated coffee doesn’t taste very good. However, it does have all the caffeine; and if you’re after that quick bit of caffeine, reheated coffee will give you that. Because coffee brewing is important to me, I want to make “every cup of coffee count.” Rather than reheat old coffee, I use a two-cup coffee maker…one cup in two minutes, forty seconds…faster than my microwave would heat a cup of water.
PRESENTATION / SERVING
have you ever been invited to have a cup of coffee, then given a cup that looks like it was used for 250 years because it was so stained and dirty? Do you like the taste of your coffee in Styrofoam or paper cups? How about the plastic cups for the top of the car dashboard? The serving and presentation of coffee is every bit as important as the other elements in brewing.
first, coffee cups must be very clean. The coffee purists will wash coffee cups by hand, scrubbing out the coffee ring with baking soda and water. Allow cups to drain to sparkling dry. If you serve guests from a ceramic or silver coffee set, make sure the interiors are scrubbed well with baking soda and water. I’ve found that the dishwasher doesn’t always clean coffee stains from coffee cups. For that perfect cup of coffee, scrub the cups with baking soda and water and rinse thoroughly.
for people who add accoutrements to their coffee, the perfect creamer is warmed whole milk or half and half. If you use powdered creamer, you’ll have off-tasting coffee. For sweetening, I’d suggest simple syrup: a boiled mixture of 50 percent sugar, 50 percent water. For those who want a more continental flavor, stir with a cinnamon stick.
If you must drink your coffee in Styrofoam cups, make sure you rinse them first with hot water to remove any particles that could cause off-tasting coffee. If you have a decision between waxed cardboard coffee cups or Styrofoam coffee cups, the Styrofoam will deliver more true coffee flavor. Oftentimes, the wax from the cardboard cup will melt into the coffee.
my favorite material for coffee cups is earthenware. Earthenware washes well and really holds the heat.
a good coffee cup should keep coffee hot for fifteen minutes. Glass, ceramic, and plastic coffee cups and mugs do not hold heat very long. Dainty china demitasse cups and delicate bone china tea cups make lovely receptacles for coffee, but the coffee will simply not stay hot very long.
If you are using glass or other delicate materials, one good idea is to heat the cup before you pour the coffee. Simply pour hot water in the cup and allow to stand for five minutes. This will help the glass or china cup to retain the heat of the hot coffee.
another elegant presentation is the wine or Irish whiskey glass. I like to use wide-lipped wine glasses for after dinner coffees. They are easy to drink from and make a nice presentation. If you plan to do this, pretest the wine glass to make sure it will handle the heat of the hot coffee.
When you are buying demitasse cups, coffee cups, coffee mugs, or delicate tea cups, it’s a good idea to test them before purchase. Some of the most beautiful sets are nearly impossible to drink from and to handle. If you test them, you’ll know which ones work.
So, serve yourselves and your guests perfectly brewed coffee from sparkling clean, hot coffee mugs and you’ll serve the best coffee in the area. Guaranteed!
a few years ago, my reputation was on the line. I was going through the brew steps for WABC’s Live! with Regis Philbin and Kathie Lee Gifford. We were having a coffee taste test: Mary’s coffee vs. Sy’s coffee. Now, Sy was the WABC propman, and I had tasted his coffee. It was a hot, heavy-bodied cup made in a large percolator-style coffee maker. I was using a European-styled coffee maker with A & P’s One Hundred Percent Colombian Whole Bean Coffee (inexpensive at $3.98 per pound). Sy, incidentally, used Maxwell House Vacuum Coffee at $7.98 for a two-pound can. The coffee taste tester was a coffee lover from Queens. Her name was Barbara, and she looked like a real coffee drinker. I had brewed a perfect cup of coffee, so when Regis said, “Is the best coffee number one or number two?” I was only a bit apprehensive. Barbara selected number one, my coffee. Barbara felt Sy’s coffee had a “burned” taste. Sy’s coffee, incidentally, was brewed at six in the morning for this nine o’clock morning show. Mine was brewed at eight-thirty. All personal preferences aside, I won that taste test because my coffee was fresher.
THE BREW CYCLE
for the brew cycle, measure good-tasting, cold, fresh water into your scrupulously clean coffee maker. Consider how much coffee you plan to drink in the next hour. Now, measure one tablespoon (or less) freshly ground coffee per five ounce cup of water. Turn on the coffee maker. The coffee should take no longer than one minute per cup to brew…for an eight cup pot, that’s eight minutes. When the coffee is finished brewing, store on heat for one hour or pour into a thermos. When serving, pour into clean, hot earthenware or ceramic mugs. Serve with half and half or whole milk and simple syrup.
as to the correct amount of coffee, manufacturers generally recommend one scoop (just under one tablespoon) per five or six ounce cup of water. For many Americans, that’s just too strong. In coffee taste tests, I find that seven scoops for a ten-cup coffee maker, or eight scoops for a twelve-cup coffee maker suits nearly ever taste. Incidentally, for my own taste, I use one scoop per five ounce cup of water. If you are measuring the fresh beans into a grinder, use a rounded scoop to compensate for a settling out of the ground coffee.
Get brewing but remember, every time you brew coffee, you will be performing your own coffee taste test! Make every Cup of Coffee Count!
Turkish Coffee
This makes a fine, afternoon coffee.
PHOTO CREDITS
Ibrik courtesy of Barney Taxel’s Prop Room; spiced fruits and nuts from Athen’s Pa
stries and Imported Foods, Cleveland, Ohio; tapestry from Picadilly’s in the Galleria, Cleveland, Ohio; candle from Wicks and Sticks, Cleveland, Ohio; candle holder, coffee cups, serving dishes from Antiques in the Bank, Cleveland, Ohio; brass coffee grinder from Arabica Coffee House, Cleveland, Ohio.
RECIPE CREDITS
Turkish Coffee, Page 77
HOT COFFEES
how many ways can you serve hot coffee? An infinite number, but here we have a collection of over forty-five favorite hot coffees. Any of these recipes may be made with your favorite ground coffees. Whether the coffee is decaffeinated, caffeinated, or flavored, all recipes will “work!”
from basic Scandinavian Egg Coffee and the rich tasting Mochas, to the aristocratic Italian favorites, you’re going to find ways to brew hot coffees for your next Kaffee Klatch, for your next dinner party, and for those moments of relaxation with “a cup!”
as we start with this section, you will notice that almost all of the recipes contain a nutrient analysis. Many individuals today like to know nutrients in their foods so that they may tabulate their daily totals. The data for this nutrient analysis comes from NUTRITIONIST III, a software program from First Data Bank, San Bruno, California.