Brewing with Domestic Machines

There is a few factors that affect the quality of a good cup of coffee. It's not just the top-of-the-range espresso machine, or semi-commercial coffee grinder. It's down to the simple things.

Beans

Nothing but the best quality Arabica beans should be used to make a great cup of coffee. Nothing beats coffee that's been roasted to order, because it ensures that it's fresh and at its peak flavour. Be careful with coffee that's been sitting on the shelf. Check the roasted on date, not the expiry date, as arguably coffee can be stored for a year on the shelf and still within expiry!!

Once a sealed bag of coffee has been opened, it only takes 7-10 days for the coffee to lose its aroma and flavours. Coffee's 4 biggest enemies are as below:

1. Heat
2. Light
3. Moisture
4. Oxygen

Ground coffee would deteriorate much faster than whole beans due to greater surface area exposed to the elements. Therefore it is worth it to invest in a grinder, and grind the coffee as needed.

Water

If there is high chlorine, iron or other minerals in your water, try to use quality bottled or filtered water. Distilled water should not be used because it will affect the flavour of the coffee and some domestic machines might not be able to detect the water at all.

For perfect water temperature, bring the water to a boil and let it cool for a few seconds. This would let the water cool down to 90oC - 95oC, which is termed "off the boil". Water any cooler will not get the optimum flavour out of your coffee. Boiling or reheating coffee will literally boil away the flavours and oils in your coffee.

Grind

The type of grind depends on which coffee maker you are using. If the water is in contact with the coffee for a long period of time, e.g. when using a plunger, the grind should be coarse.

If the coffee is to be in contact with the water for a short period of time, e.g. when using a drip filter, then the grind should be fine.

Turkish

Turkey was the first country to adopt coffee as a drink, often adding spices such as cloves, cinnamon, cardamom and anise to the brew. Sometimes referred to as Lebanese, Greek, Egyptian or Yugoslav Coffee depending to whom you're talking, it would be one of the strongest coffees you could have.

You will need a Turkish pot or an "Ibrik" to make Turkish coffee.

You will also need coffee that's been "pulverised" to the finest possible size. Just set your grinder to the finest possible grind or ask your coffee shop to grind the coffee for you for Turkish.

The pot should be no more than half full of water, or it will spill over during brewing. Sometimes the Ibrik will have a number on the underside. This tells you how many 60mL (demitasse) cups you can brew. The steps in the process are:

1. Measure cold water into the pot using a demitasse.
2. For each demitasse of water, use 4g (1 heaped teaspoon) of coffee and 3 - 4g of sugar.
3. Stir coffee into the water in the demitasse (a quick stir is sufficient) and place on a low heat.
4. Watch carefully. As the mixture starts to boil it will foam up. Remove from the heat immediately.
5. Return to the heat until it starts to foam, then remove. Repeat a third time.
6. Pour immediately into the waiting demitasses, ensuring some of the foam is added to each cup.
7. Allow 3 to 4 minutes to settle and cool before drinking. Do not drain the cup, just sip until the sediment gets too thick for your taste.
8. Add sugar or honey if desired.

Because this style of coffee is often served with mind-numbingly sweet pastries or confectionary, all the sugar tends to mute any bitterness caused by boiling the coffee.

Courtesy www.coffeeco.com.au

Drip Filter

Paper filter, drip filter and/or permanent filters are the most non-fuss, non-mess coffee makers to use. There are 2 types of drip filters: manual and automatic.

Stovetop Espresso

Stovetop coffee makers work on the same principle as espresso machines. A chamber with water is heated, and as it reaches boiling point, the pressure forces the water through the basket of coffee, extracting the flavour as it goes. Pressure is limited and is always below the standard 8-9bar, therefore it is not a true espresso coffee, but still very strong.

The Top. Screw it on to the base firmly before brewing. The steam formed when you heat the water in the base pushes the coffee up through the tube, and it collects in the top.

The rubber washer holds the filter screen in place. Take it out for cleaning after you brew.

The Basket sits in the base. Fill it with coffee, level but do not tamp.

The Valve. Never cover it with water!

The Base. Fill it with water up to the bottom of the valve.

Coffee for the Espresso pot should be coarser than espresso grind but finer than for filter grind, although at a pinch a decent filter grind is O.K. The basic steps for brewing can be broken down as follows:

1. Fill the base with water to just under valve.
2. Fill the basket with coffee and level it off, so it's reasonably firmly packed. DO NOT TAMP. Hit the bottom of the basket against the counter so the coffee sits tighter. Add more coffee on top and level the coffee with a clean implement (or your finger).
3. Coffee will pass through too quickly if there is insufficient coffee in the basket, therefore you will not get the full extraction of flavours out your coffee.
4. Insert basket in base.
5. Screw the top onto the base, tightly enough to get a good seal with the rubber ring.
6. Place on medium heat source and watch while it brews. DO NOT wander away.
7. When coffee begins to flow steadily into the top or "percs" out of the spout, turn off the heat, but leave the pot on the stove.
8. The residual heat should be sufficient to complete the brewing. Do not wait until all the coffee is brewed to turn off the heat, because this will give you a bitter, over-extracted coffee. Remember that a single "tasse" is 30mL.
9. Wait until cool, disassemble and clean.

When using a stovetop always fill the coffee receptacle to the maximum level and firm down (not tamped). This is because if there is insufficient coffee, or it is not packed, the water will pass through the coffee too quickly and not extract all the flavours.

Plunger (French press)

Plunger or the French Press is one of the best methods to make a great cup of coffee. You can use a range of coffee from light roast to dark roast and get a full-flavoured, full-textured cup of coffee. Use coarsely ground coffee for a plunger.

1. Preheat the plunger with hot water, and throw out the water.
2. Use 1 tablespoon of coffee per 170mL water into the glass cylinder
3. Use water that is just off the boil (90-95°C), and slowly pour the water into the plunger
4. Place the plunger top on, but do not plunge. This will hold the heat in. Wait for the coffee to steep for 2-4 minutes depending on how strong you'd like your coffee.
5. Press the plunger down slowly. Allow sediments to settle for 30 seconds before serving.

French Syphon (vacuum coffee maker)

The beauty of this process is that the coffee is brewed by extended contact with water at exactly the right brewing temperature, the temperature is maintained throughout the process, and then the coffee is immediately separated from the grinds avoiding any bitterness.

That's not it - when you see a vacuum syphon working, you'll be amazed at the process. Water is boiled in the bottom pot in the vacuum area. As the water is boiled and steam is formed, the pressure builds up, forcing the water to go up the funnel, into the coffee in the pot above. The pot is left on the heat source for 2 minutes to allow the coffee to steep. When the pot is removed from the heat source, the pressure disappears and the coffee will come back down to the bottom pot.

1. Put 1 tablespoon of coffee per 170mL/6oz of water.
2. Place filtered water (cold, room temperature) in the bottom pot.
3. Place top siphon with the filter onto the bottom pot, making it vacuum.
4. Place the whole pot onto a medium heat source.
5. When water is being forced up to the top, give it a stir and let it steep for 2 minutes and then remove from heat source.
6. Serve immediately.

Espresso

Making the perfect espresso is an art. There is a lot of variables that can affect your coffee. From weather, to equipment, to the coffee you're using, to the grinder, and YOU.

There is a few types of domestic machines:

1. Manual
   This uses a lever that the coffee maker uses to force the water through the ground coffee. The coffee maker "pulls" the shot/espresso with his/her own strength creating the pressure instead of an electric pump. The strength of the coffee maker directly affects the extraction of the coffee, therefore it's very hard to perfect.
2. Semi-automatic
   This is very popular in homes. It is affordable, and great fun to use because of the level of control you get when making a coffee. The coffee maker packs the coffee into the portafilter (or basket), and manually switches on, and turns off the brewing cycle. This allows great control of the time of extraction and therefore the quality of the shots.
3. Automatic
   This automatically starts and stops the brewing cycle. It has preset programmed buttons, which lets you make a normal shot (30-35mL), or ristretto (15-20mL). You still have to froth your own milk.
4. Super-automatic
   This does everything for you. All you have to do is put the beans in and it grinds, packs and pulls the shots for you. Some of them even froth the milk for you.