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| When we raised bunnies, we were given bunnies all the time. Now I get coffee graphics, which I love, and lots of good books to share. |
There are various ways to make coffee:
- The aluminum percolator was once the norm. Given the quality of coffee, that was sufficient.
- Mr. Coffee came up with a drip maker that cooked the coffee, making it undrinkable in short order. But it was a roaring success.
- French Press is a great way to make a small amount of very good coffee, but the victim has to get that impacted set of grounds out of the end of the press. Breaking a French Press glass tube is very easy.
- My mother had the vacuum pot method, which all the kids loved to watch.
But now there is a simple, low-tech way to make wonderful coffee and enjoy the experience, with easy clean-up. This is all we do now, because our Black and Decker drip coffee maker was very old. I tossed it to remove any temptation. Yes, I know they make drills, etc, but it was a pretty good coffee maker.
Pour-Over Coffee
This requires a goose-neck water heater and a pour-over contraption, coffee filters, a bean grinder, and freshly roasted beans. Perfectionist also use a scale to weigh the beans. The better grinders are burr grinders.
Mrs. Ichabod got a little pour-over contraption at the store, and that works fine. I bought some cone paper filters. We get freshly roasted beans, which are hard to find at most grocery stores.
I am still learning some fine points, but these are the major considerations:
- Coffee begins to degrade as soon as the beans are ground, so everyone should start with grinding just before brewing. If freshly roasted beans can be obtained, then that is an important step up.
- The water really matters too. I use private label water, better known as Walmart water. Sam's Club water bottles are the perfect amount for us to get two mugs from the pour-over.
- Using a filter in a pour-over means the grounds can be tossed into the garden with the paper diaper. Coffee grounds are very good for the soil, and that does add up over time. One reader gets hundreds of pounds of grounds from Starbucks. Some coffee shops are glad to share them. Earthworms adore coffee grounds.
We Have Learned -
Any coffee made from a pour-over will be far better than the product of a typical coffee brewer.
Coffee should be enjoyed immediately after the pour-over, but if some remains and reaches room temperature, the flavor can be enjoyed all over again. Luke-warm is not good. Cold or hot - very good.
Company enjoys watching the pour-over and learning about how it works. The bloom is fun, with various details open for discussion on the Internet.
I did not obtain a scale because we found a good measuring place on our grinder. That has worked well.
Roasts in typical coffees are nothing like freshly roasted and ground pour-over coffee. I never liked commerical dark roast coffee. Now I enjoy the variations in roasts. Dark roast can be excellent.
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| Teacher's lounge coffee in the past - now they have Mr. Coffee doing the same thing. |
