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e. gwozdz a coffee guide

 nescafe
no es cafe

instant coffee is not coffee

-mexican saying
it begins with a bean
There is something inexplicable about our
relationship with coffee. It percolates through our
day from the moment we wake, enlivening our
senses and galvanizing us into action. Its an affair
thats been going on for over 500 years, since the
first cafs set up tables in the Middle East. And its
now gathering steam as quality-obsessed kiosks add
conviviality and connoisseurship to the psychoactive
substance for Americas chronic ally sleep - deprived
hordes, more used to medicinally gulping down a cup
on the go than stopping to savor the experience.
The new, more appreciative approach to the
coffee bean and its handling-fresh-roasting, on-site
grinding, custom-brewing, and sipping at communal
tables-comes just as a whole new array of scientific
findings turn coffee, especially in its darkest, most
aromatic roasts, into something of a health food.
Once demonized for its stimulant powers, coffee has
also long been appreciated for its ability to improve
alertness, enhance concentration, and ameliorate
the effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive
performance. But stopping to savor the brew and
transform it into a social tool was left to the kaveh
kanes of Arabia and, starting in the 17th century,
Europe.
Fanning out from the West Coast, the new
reverence for coffee bears a striking resemblance to
appreciation of wine and cheese. And, as with wine
connoisseurship, it starts with terroir, the land the
coffee is grown on. Specialty coffee purveyors-
as distinguished from mass-marketed brands using
beans of unspecified provenance and age-pride
themselves on an artisanal approach and seek out
small, sometimes family-run, farms where each
hand that plucks a raw coffee berry could belong to
a relative or community member. With their small
crops, such farms can maintain a high standard of
quality control-and provide a coffee story about
the cultivation and craftsmanship that goes into the
beans.
But unlike wine or cheese, java does not improve
with age. Once the ripe, red, grape-size coffee
cherry is plucked from the bush-like tree, the skin
and pulp removed, and the inner bean soaked,
dried, rested-yes, rested!-shipped, and roasted,
decomposition begins. James Freeman, owner of San
Franciscos noted Blue Bottle (named for Central
Europes first coffeehouse), prints the roast date on
each bag so consumers can avoid beans gone stale by
oxidation.
Grown in 50 countries, coffee is the second
most traded commodity in the world, after oil. And
although specialty coffee makes up only 10 percent
of java consumed, its still an $8 billion business.
Depending on the country, coffee is harvested once
or twice a year, although in countries like Kenya,
straddling the equator, growers harvest coffee
year-round. Farms cultivate either the Arabica
or Robusta species of bean. Most specialty coffee
utilizes the finer Arabica, while mass-produced
brands favor the slightly bitter Robusta, which is
less selective about its habitat and can be harvested
large-scale. It also has more caffeine.
Part science, part art, coffee roasting takes the
green coffee beans and caramelizes them to varying
degrees, releasing their natural oils and aroma.
And then they are ground and ready for brewing. A
pressurized brewing process like espresso (the basis
for cappucino and latte, as well) concentrates the
flavors and extracts all the beneficial compounds in
coffee. It has more caffeine per ounce than any other
beverage, but it takes a doppio-a double shot, to you,
 3

grazie--to supply you with as much caffeine as a cup Only black coffee had an effect, not coffee with milk.
of drip-brewed coffee. Coffee inhibits iron absorption, and body iron stores
Its no secret that caffeine boosts mental are known to increase the risk of diabetes, but, the
performance. It keeps attention focused and researchers found, the inhibition of iron absorption
elevates mood. Studies conducted by the military occurs only when coffee and the iron source are
show that it improves reaction time, vigilance, consumed at the same time, as at lunch or dinner.
and logical reasoning, especially when youre Having coffee at dinner does not have an additional
tired. Neuroscientists attribute caffeines effect on benefit beyond that provided by sipping at lunch.
alertness to its ability to bind to adenosine receptors But coffee delivers at least a one-two punch against
and to stimulate dopamine release. diabetes. While the polyphenol antioxidants in coffee
But theres much more to coffee than caffeine. block iron absorption, researchers found that other
Researchers have found that coffee boosts a sense of antioxidants in coffee-like chlorogenic acid-slow the
well-being independent of its caffeine content, and release of glucose into the bloodstream after a meal.
that there are many other pharmacologically active So sit back, relax, chat with the other folks
substances in the brew. nearby, and down that coffee with impunity. Just
Coffee is the number one source of cell- skip the latte.
protecting antioxidants in the U.S. diet. Green
coffee beans contain about a thousand antioxidants;
roasting adds some 300 more, most of them unique
to coffee. Many of the compounds have biological
effects, from minimizing inflammation to favorably
affecting glucose metabolism. The health effects of
antioxidants cover a broad range, as oxidation is a
major factor in brain aging, cardiovascular disease,
cancer, and many other diseases. Coffee compounds
also deter Parkinsons disease and offset Alzheimers
disease.
In a recent study of nearly 70,000 French
women-conducted by scientists at the University
of Sao Paulo in Brazil-researchers probed the
ability of coffee to deter diabetes. They looked
at the impact of coffee on insulin metabolism in
relation to the amount of coffee and the time of day
it was consumed. Consumption of both regular and
decaffeinated coffee with meals, and especially with
lunch, was inversely related to diabetes incidence.
before you brew

A burr or mill grinder is preferable

because all of the coffee is ground to
a consistent size. A blade grinder is
less preferable because some coffee
will be ground more finely than the
rest. If you normally grind your
coffee at home with a blade grinder,
try having it ground at the store with

The ideal water temperature is 195-

205 f, since water is a better solvent
at near-boiling temperature. Also,
use fresh, clean water. If your water
does not taste good, your coffee
wont either.
 5

To prevent under- or over-

extracting the flavor from the
beans, you must match the right
particle size (grind) with the
right brewing time. In general,
longer brewing times should be
paired with larger particles and
shorter brewing times with smaller
particles.

Often brewing mechanisms require

filters. Pre-rinse your paper filter
to remove any loose paper fibers
that can end up in your brew and
make your coffee taste papery.
the french press
Using a Press Pot (aka French Press) is the easiest
and best way to get truly excellent coffee at home.
The keys to getting good results are: using high
quality, fresh beans; grinding the coffee correctly;
using clean equipment and filtered water; timing the
process.
Youll need a Press Pot, coffee, a grinder,
a spoon, a time and cups (thermal carafe if
preparing more than fits in the cups).
It is important that the coffee be ground
coarse and that it be ground with a quality burr
(rather than blade) grinder. By grinding the coffee
coarse, youre allowing for a slower and more
even extraction, which results in a fuller bodied
and more nuanced cup. Blade grinders chop the
coffee rather than grinding it, resulting in uneven
and unpredictable particle size. This leads to an
uneven extraction, creating increased bitterness.
In addition, the lack of consistency in particle size
results in inconsistent and unpredictable results
from pot to pot.
Youll need one tablespoon (7 grams) of coffee for
every 4 oz of water. in other words, if you have a 34
oz (8 cup) Press Pot, youll want to use 8 tablespoons
of coffee. Feel free to adjust this amount based on
your own personal tastes. Make sure the pot is clean
and dry.
You should bring the water just to a boil (electric
kettles are great at this). Pour it aggressively into
the pot so that it saturates the grounds. The key is to
saturate all the grounds evenly. You should move the
stream around as you pour to facilitate this. Do not
fill the pot entirely.
7
With many fresh coffees you will see significant
expansion of the coffee in a sort of foam at the top
of the liquid once you add water. This is known as
bloom and is the result of the off-gassing of CO2 from
the coffee. Adding too much water can result in a
very messy countertop.
Youre going to want to have a timer that counts
down from 4 minutes and has an alarm at 4 minutes.
Its very important that you use a timer to guarantee
high quality coffee.
After 1 minute, you should stir the grounds in
the pot. If you need to add water to top off the pot,
make sure it is right below boiling. Stirring the pot
guarantees even and optimal extraction of all the
coffee. In addition, it breaks down the bloom and
allows you to combine the correct amount of water
and coffee without spilling all over the place.
Make sure you line up the spout and the
corresponding opening in the lid.
At exactly 4 minutes, you should push the press
(slowly) into the pot to force all grounds to the
bottom. You might have to press and then release
and repeat to do this. Do not crush it with all your
might use some finesse.
You need to do this as soon as youve pressed the
pot. If youre making more coffee than you can fit
into a cup and want to hold some for later, pour the
coffee into a thermal carafe. Do not simply leave the
coffee in the Press Pot it will get nasty quickly. If
you want to avoid any stray grounds and sediment,
you can pour the coffee through a mesh basket filter.
the chemex 9

Using a Chemex is an easy and convenient way to for the three pours. First, pour just enough into the
brew excellent coffee at home. The keys to getting cone so that it saturates the grounds and very little
good results are: using high quality, fresh beans; is dripping into the brewer. The key is to saturate all
grinding the coffee correctly; using clean equipment; the grounds evenly by moving the stream around as
pouring correctly; using the right amount and you pour.
temperature of water. After about 30 seconds it is time to pour more
water. Pour at an even rate in a spiral and/or back-
Youll need a Chemex brewer, coffee, a and-forth pattern in order to break down the bloom
Chemex filter, a grinder, and a mug for your and saturate all grounds evenly. Raise the water level
coffee. up to about a 1/4 inch below the rim of the brewer.
The color of the surface should be even with as few
It is important that the coffee be ground medium- dark or blond spots as possible.
course with a quality burr (rather than blade)
Once you can see about an inch of dry coffee, it
grinder. By grinding the coffee this way, you are
is time to pour more water. Pour first around the rim
allowing for a more even extraction resulting in a
to re-submerge the dry grounds, then continue at an
fuller bodied and more nuanced cup. Blade grinders
chop the coffee rather than grinding it, resulting in even rate in a spiral and/or back-and-forth pattern.
uneven and unpredictable particle size. This results Raise the water level up to the rim of the brewer. The
in uneven extraction, leading to coffee with increased color of the surface should still be even with as few
bitterness which is less true to the flavor profile of dark or blond spots as possible.
the coffee. In addition, the lack of uniformity in Once you have 20 oz. of brewed coffee in the
particle size results in inconsistent results from cup vessel, quickly move the filter to your sink where it
to cup. will drain completely.
Place the folded chemex filter inside the cone
with the multiple folds toward the spout. Run hot
water through the filter to rinse out any residual
paper flavor and preheat the brewer. Allow the water
to drain out completely before pouring it out of the
brewer using the pouring channel. Do your best to
keep the filter sealed against the walls of the brewer.
We recommend 42 grams (1.5 oz or about six
rounded tablespoons) of fresh ground coffee to make
20 oz of coffee.
You should bring the water just to a boil (electric
kettles are great at this). For 20 oz. of brewed coffee
you will want to use quite a bit more hot water total
the vacuum pot 11

Vacuum Pots are an old and established method Allow this to continue till vapor starts to escape
of preparing great coffee. In the opinion of many the bottom vessel and the brewer begins to gurgle.
aficionados they are, in fact, the best possible way to Add your coffee and stir until there are no dry
brew a cup of coffee. The keys to getting good coffee grounds. This step should take approximately 10
from a Vacuum Pot are: using high quality, fresh seconds. Allow the coffee to brew for 30 seconds then
coffee; using the correct grind and grinding with a gently re-submerge the grounds.
high quality burr grinder; paying close attention Remove the brewer from the heat source and
to the brewing process (i.e. not walking away); and turn off (or extinguish) the source. This should
keeping the equipment clean. Vacuum Pots are not be about 50 seconds to a minute after you initially
entirely simple to use and tend to be fragile, but if added the coffee. Be careful and use hot pads.
youre careful and enjoy tinkering, the results can You will see coffee begin to extract back through
be stunning. the filter into the bottom globe as the brewer cools.
After the draw-down begins, give the coffee one
Youll need a vacuum pot, coffee, a grinder, a gentle stir to create a whirlpool in the brewer. Once
spoon, hot pads, and a heat source. the water stops pulling back through the coffee and
the filter, remove the top globe and pour the coffee
You need to grind the coffee with a quality into cups. Again be careful and use hot pads.
burr grinder. The grind should be reasonably fine. Pour into cups and enjoy.
How fine? This is different with each Vacuum Pot.
Youll need to experiment. Start by grinding as you
would for auto-drip. If the water rushes through the
coffee and the coffee is thin and weak, grind finer.
If the coffee clogs the brewer, grind coarser. We
recommend 8 grams (0.28 oz or about one rounded
tablespoon) coffee per 4 oz of water.
If youre using an alcohol burner (or the like)
you should preheat the water in an electric kettle (or
something similar) to decrease boiling time. If you do
this, be very careful when handling the brewer as it
will become very hot quite quickly.
When the water starts to near a boil (forming
small bubbles) put the top globe onto the bottom
globe. Fairly quickly after you have sealed the
brewer, water should start making its way to the top
vessel.
the stovetop espresso maker
A Moka Pot (sometimes called a stovetop espresso
maker) can be an excellent way to prepare coffee
(though it actually does not, in fact, make espresso).
Keys to good coffee using a Moka Pot are: using high
quality, fresh coffee; pre-heating the water; removing
the pot from the heat at the right moment; proper
grind of coffee; and using clean equipment.
Youll need a Moka Pot, an electric kettle
or other device to boil water in, coffee, a good
quality burr grinder, a heat source (electric or gas
stove), and hot pads.
Youll want to bring water to a boil and then
either stop it or remove it from the heat. It is
incredibly important to pre-heat the water. If you
dont do this, the entire moka pot will get very hot
and two bad things will happen. First you will
cook the coffee, which results in a bitter and thin
brew. Second your coffee will develop a harsh
and noticeable metallic note. If youre going to be
using an electric stove or hotplate for the moka pot,
you should start it at this time to allow it to get to
temperature in time.
You should grind coarser than you would for
espresso about what you would for drip coffee in
fact. Over time you can experiment and find the ideal
grind for your tastes. Youll need enough coffee to fill
the filter basket.
Fill to the indicator line inside the brewer
bottom. Insert the filter basket into the brewer
bottom.
You should fill the basket, slightly mounded, and
then level the surface off using your finger. Apply
downwards pressure with your finger while doing
this. Some people like to tap the filter basket down
13
a few times to settle the grounds this is optional.
Make sure you brush away any loose grounds on the
top edge of the filter basket.
You should use moderate heat, and make sure
that (if youre using a gas stove) the handle is not
being subjected to heat or it will be damaged. Leave
the top lid open for now.
You should see some coffee begin to emerge and
then suddenly should see a cough (or perhaps sneeze)
of coffee with a puffing sound that goes along with
it. Soon after this, coffee will begin to come out in
a stream. The stream should begin as a rich red-
brown and progressively get lighter in color. Once
the stream has become the color of yellow honey the
brewer should be removed from the heat source and
the lid closed. Use hot pads to avoid getting burned!
Wrap the bottom of the pot in a chilled bar
towel or run it under cold tap water. This will stop
extraction, resulting in coffee that is sweeter and
more full bodied. It will also decrease the odds of the
coffee developing a metallic taste. The idea is to get
a relatively small amount of coffee which has very
concentrated and rich flavors.
14
the pleasures + pains of coffee
Coffee is a great power in my life; I have observed
its effects on an epic scale. Coffee roasts your
insides. Many people claim coffee inspires them,
but, as everybody knows, coffee only makes boring
people even more boring. Think about it: although
more grocery stores in Paris are staying open until
midnight, few writers are actually becoming more
spiritual.
But as Brillat-Savarin has correctly observed,
coffee sets the blood in motion and stimulates the
muscles; it accelerates the digestive processes, chases
away sleep, and gives us the capacity to engage
a little longer in the exercise of our intellects. It
is on this last point, in particular, that I want to
add my personal experience to Brillat-Savarins
observations.
Coffee affects the diaphragm and the plexus of
the stomach, from which it reaches the brain by
barely perceptible radiations that escape complete
analysis; that aside, we may surmise that our
primary nervous flux conducts an electricity emitted
by coffee when we drink it. Coffees power changes
over time. [Italian composer Gioacchino] Rossini
has personally experienced some of these effects as,
of course, have I. Coffee, Rossini told me, is an
affair of fifteen or twenty days; just the right amount
of time, fortunately, to write an opera. This is true.
But the length of time during which one can enjoy
the benefits of coffee can be extended.
For a while - for a week or two at most - you can
obtain the right amount of stimulation with one, then
two cups of coffee brewed from beans that have been
crushed with gradually increasing force and infused
with hot water.
For another week, by decreasing the amount
of water used, by pulverizing the coffee even more
finely, and by infusing the grounds with cold water,
you can continue to obtain the same cerebral power.
When you have produced the finest grind with
the least water possible, you double the dose by
drinking two cups at a time; particularly vigorous
constitutions can tolerate three cups. In this manner
one can continue working for several more days.
Finally, I have discovered a horrible, rather
brutal method that I recommend only to men of
excessive vigor, men with thick black hair and skin
covered with liver spots, men with big square hands
and legs shaped like bowling pins. It is a question
of using finely pulverized, dense coffee, cold and
anhydrous, consumed on an empty stomach. This
coffee falls into your stomach, a sack whose velvety
interior is lined with tapestries of suckers and
papillae. The coffee finds nothing else in the sack,
and so it attacks these delicate and voluptuous
linings; it acts like a food and demands digestive
juices; it wrings and twists the stomach for these
juices, appealing as a pythoness appeals to her god; it
brutalizes these beautiful stomach linings as a wagon
master abuses ponies; the plexus becomes inflamed;
sparks shoot all the way up to the brain. From that
moment on, everything becomes agitated. Ideas
quick-march into motion like battalions of a grand
army to its legendary fighting ground, and the battle
rages. Memories charge in, bright flags on high;
the cavalry of metaphor deploys with a magnificent
gallop; the artillery of logic rushes up with clattering
wagons and cartridges; on imaginations orders,
sharpshooters sight and fire; forms and shapes and
characters rear up; the paper is spread with ink -
for the nightly labor begins and ends with torrents
of this black water, as a battle opens and concludes
with black powder.
I recommended this way of drinking coffee to
a friend of mine, who absolutely wanted to finish a
job promised for the next day: he thoughthed been
poisoned and took to his bed, which he guarded
like a married man. He was tall, blond, slender and
had thinning hair; he apparently had a stomach of
papier-mache. There has been, on my part, a failure
of observation.
15
When you have reached the point of consuming
this kind of coffee, then become exhausted and
decide that you really must have more, even though
you make it of the finest ingredients and take it
perfectly fresh, you will fall into horrible sweats,
suffer feebleness of the nerves, and undergo episodes
of severe drowsiness. I dont know what would
happen if you kept at it then: a sensible nature
counseled me to stop at this point, seeing that
immediate death was not otherwise my fate. To be
restored, one must begin with recipes made with
milk and chicken and other white meats: finally the
tension on the harp strings eases, and one returns
to the relaxed, meandering, simple-minded, and
cryptogamous life of the retired bourgeoisie.
The state coffee puts one in when it is drunk on
an empty stomach under these magisterial conditions
produces a kind of animation that looks like anger:
ones voice rises, ones gestures suggest unhealthy
impatience: one wants everything to proceed with the
speed of ideas; one becomes brusque, ill-tempered
about nothing. One actually becomes that fickle
character, The Poet, condemned by grocers and
their like. One assumes that everyone is equally
lucid. A man of spirit must therefore avoid going out
in public. I discovered this singular state through
a series of accidents that made me lose, without
any effort, the ecstasy I had been feeling. Some
friends, with whom I had gone out to the country,
witnessed me arguing about everything, haranguing
with monumental bad faith. The following day I
recognized my wrongdoing and we searched the
cause. My friends were wise men of the first rank,
and we found the problem soon enough: coffee
wanted its victim.
honore de balzac
16

& bibliography

Parliment, Thomas H., and Howard D. Stahl. "What Makes That Coffee Smell So Good?."
Chemtech 25.8 (1995): 38. Academic Search Premier. Web. 16 Dec. 2012.
special thanks

Brew Guides. Stumptown Coffee. Web. 5 Dec. 2012.

The Pleasures and Pains of Coffee. Blissbat. Honore de Balzac. Web. 18 Nov. 2012
Uncommonmuse. Brilliant. Photograph. Flickr. Web. 11 Dec. 2012.
Emil Trolklint. Coffee cupping spoon. Photograph. Flickr. Web. 16 Dec. 2012.
Photo/graphic. Hangover. Photograph. Flickr. Web. 13 Dec. 2012.
Unplugged SRB. Untitled. Photograph. Flickr. Web. 16 Dec. 2012.

Thanks to coffee for keeping me awake during this process.