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Loving Coffee Without Being a Drip - NYTimes.com

The inimitable Frank Bruni, food writer for the New York Times, on the wonders of a less artisanal way of brewing coffee:

let’s pause and imagine something just as magical.

You stumble out of bed, struggling toward consciousness, in urgent need of caffeine. You drag yourself into the kitchen. And there, ready and waiting, are 10 cups of coffee, brewed automatically, just five minutes earlier, as a consequence of a few simple steps and some alarm clock-style programming the night before.

This isn’t cutting-edge technology. This is Mr. Coffee, many decades ago. The current generation of automatic drip machines preserves the tradition while improving, I’m told, on the product. Gastronomic guilt be damned, I just may put one on my Christmas list.

How would Mr. Bruni respond to a similar paragraph:

Let’s pause and imagine something magical: You stumble out of bed, struggling towards consciousness, and feel a growl in your stomach. You remember that you went to bed hungry, and now feel as if you may fairly collapse right back into bed. But then - a dinging noise! Grasping on walls for support, you make your way to the kitchen, where your microwave reveals a steaming Hot Pocket! The wonders of technology!

I genuinely love Mr. Bruni’s writing, and I think it’s important to continually evaluate whether a love for the artisanal veers toward the vane or pedantic. But let’s give coffee its due: it’s the result of long effort and hard working from a country much poorer than ours, roasted and delivered to our cup. Let’s not waste it!

Some Coffee Thoughts

A couple recent coffee posts which have been of particular interest:

First, James Hoffman writes an extremely timely article about improving on french press brewing methods. Hoffman, a former World Barista Champion who now devotes his time to London’s amazing Square Mile Coffee Roasters, writes a fantastic (if occasionally controversial) blog about the ins-and-outs of the coffee business. I write “timely” as I have recently been tiring of my french press home brewing: despite its ease of use when I’m half-asleep in the morning, I found it to be “blowing out” the flavor and body of coffees which tasted delicate and beautiful when individually cupped. Be sure to read Hoffman’s thoughts, as well as the comments, but I’ve adopted the following changes to my french press method:

  • Brewing at 195 as opposed to 200 degrees F. The lower temperature at the start is yielding an improved flavor profile.
  • After pouring into the press, I place the plunger on TOP of the press, but do not immerse it. I find this method keeps the temperature fairly constant through brew time.
  • At four minutes, I stir and also remove some of the crema
  • After an additional two minutes, I plunge and pour

I’ll be making further experiments to this method, but so far far I’m finding this approach creates a much more balanced drink, with a FAR lighter body.

Meanwhile, Liz Clayton at Serious Eats-NY writes about her introduction of improved brewing methods (and better beans) to the Serious Eats office. Liz compared an aeropress, a french press, a Chemex, and a pour-over method of brewing, and gathered tasting notes and observations from her coworkers on each. The Chemex ended up being the preferred brewing method, with the pour-over as a backup: “When office need is high, a Chemex can serve several—when one’s fixing their own cup, a Clever brew can be shared, or just as easily hogged to oneself.” It’s great to see an office taking their coffee seriously. I’m stranded on the Midtown / Upper East Side border most days, where coffee options are beyond limited, and I’ve almost reached the point of bringing an aeropress and hand grinder to work. I’ve held off as I’m still a little concerned that such actions will earn me the label of office lunatic.

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My favorite coffee is like a duvet that completely covers you.
Brief, great interview of Kevin Drew, lead singer for Broken Social Scene, by Oliver Strand over at the NYTimes