Coffeesseur

If you’re like me, you’ve ordered hot coffee and spent the next 30 minutes letting it sit there to cool. Agreed that is an annoying aspect of drinking coffee, but it’s necessary. The water required to brew coffee correctly reaches between 197 F to 204 F. The water must be this hot extract the full flavor of the coffee, if you were to try and brew at 100 F or even 150 F, the chemicals in the bean responsible for the flavor of the smell would be warmly diluted and the flavor would be gone. Anything above 204 F would burn the ground beans and the flavor would be equally disappointing. Hundreds of years of coffee making have given us the magical 7 degree window for making coffee at the perfect temperature, it’s a small inconvenience to pay for good coffee.   

The mocha offers a remedy to those who wish the Latte was a bit sweeter, and had more body. The mocha is a Latte, with chocolate, in either syrup or cocoa powder form mixed in. The mocha gets its name from the ultra rich coffee beans from the town of Mocha, Yemen. 

As with almost every other coffee drink, there is an order in mixing the ingredients. The mocha’s order comes in first adding the chocolate syrup or powder, then the single shot of espresso stirred heavily, followed by the steamed milk, and topped with frothed milk, or whipped cream. Adding the chocolate, and then the espresso is to give the espresso the dark chocolate flavor before it’s diluted with milk. 

The biggest variance in the mocha is what kind of chocolate to use. Most modern coffeehouses will use a syrup comprised of cocoa powder, sugar, and a gum chemical. The syrup is thick and has the texture of yogurt almost, while cocoa powder on its own has a very bitter taste and very fine. To find a place that uses pure cocoa powder is rare, although you could probably request it at more high end coffeehouses. Besides a pre-made syrup, and cocoa powder, there is a massive list of other provisions you can use to get the chocolate taste from melting down chocolate bars to Nesquik powder. 

The latte is the simplest of all espresso based drinks. Latte translates to milk in Italian, which is subsequently the base of this drink. The Latte combines a single shot of espresso (1.25 - 1.75 oz) with 10 oz of steamed milk. Milk is steamed to 140 degrees, and is added to the cup/glass of espresso. The importance of the order actually does matter, to perform this in the opposite order, by pouring the espresso into the milk is a Latte Macchiato. 

The latte carries its popularity on the simpleness of the drink, and the sweet, creamy flavor it has versus normal coffee. Yet compared to drinks such as the mocha or a cappuccino it has a very thin body due to the steamed, rather than frothed milk, which is much thicker. 

More of a recent phenomenon has been the wonderful art creations made by steamed milk known as “Latte Art”. All of the work happens underneath the surface, as the milk is thicker than the espresso, it is easy to pour the milk, while keeping it separated from the espresso. As the milk is poured, it then comes up to the surface, and creates an image if done correctly. Latte Art ranges from simple flowers and hearts, to faces and abstract images.  

The French Press is one of the easiest, and quickest ways to brew coffee. It’s known for the robust flavor it produces and the hands on experience it requires to brew. The French Press works in that medium coarse ground coffee and boiling water are left to brew, and then filtered. The standard French Press comes in 32 oz. which equates to 6 tablespoons of medium coarse ground coffee. It must be coarse ground, fine ground will seep through the filter. The “plunger” has a filter that equals the circumference of the press and pushes the coffee grounds to the bottom, leaving the fresh coffee on top. The process of allowing the ground coffee and water to brew for so long brings out the oils in the grounds and produces an intense flavor.

Step by Step on How to Use a French Press:

• Put a small kettle of water on the stove and bring to a boil.
• Add 6 tablespoons of medium coarse ground coffee to the French Press.
• Once water boils, let it sit for two minutes to cool and then pour water into the French Press.
• Let the coffee and water brew for four minutes, then slowly press the plunger down all the way to the bottom. This filters the coffee from the grounds and presses them to the bottom. Do not press down too fast, if the plunger gets stuck, pull it up a bit and press down again. 

Coffee, like anything, varies region by region. While 99% of the coffee is grown in the “Coffee Belt”, 20 degrees either side of the equator, there is still a tremendous amount of variance between regions. 

Here is a quick breakdown for the rule of thumbs, region by region:

South America

• Body: Medium to Full
• Acidity: Medium
• Flavor: Sweet, chocolate, nutty, dry
• Roast: Dark

East Africa

• Body: Medium
• Acidity: High 
• Flavor: Spicy, Intense, Blackcurrant 
• Roast: Medium - Dark

Sumatra

• Body: High
• Acidity: Medium
• Flavor: Earthy, Roasty, Musty, Exotic
• Roast: Dark

In case these categories are foreign to you, here’s a quick helpful guide: “Body” is how thick the coffee feels. Does it feel watered down, or not. “Acidity”, most people when they think “acid levels” feel comfortable staying low, this is not necessarily the case for coffee. The acidity of the coffee produces the bright and dry taste, and comes with lighter roasts. The “roast” of a coffee tells you how darkly the coffee bean has been roasted.  Light roasts are rare, and produce light brown and dry coffees. Medium roasts will have higher bodies, none of the grain taste of lightly roasted beans, and balanced acidity. The dark roasts dominate the bean, leaving a bittersweet, smoky taste. 

Coffee, in it’s plainest form, is the brewed result of roasted then ground coffee bean in hot water. There is an ever growing assortment of plants being grown in traditional and new places, resulting in thousands of variants of the bean. Almost all of the world’s coffee is grown in Latin America, mainly Columbia and Brazil, East Africa, in places such as Uganda and Ethiopia, and Sumatra, the islands of the Philippines.

The primary species of the coffee plant is the coffea arabica. The coffee tree is in fact a flowering plant, and what is harvested to begin the process from tree to cup is a cherry. The cherry will eventually have its fruit removed, bean dried, roasted, and ground into the black powder we mostly think of when we think of coffee. 

In the coming articles we will explore the many different types of beans in existence today, including some of our favorite coffee drinks, espresso drinks, coffee flavors, and new-age ways to brew a historical beverage!