A morning coffee has become part of my daily routine, whether I am at home, at work, or on the train to university. Recently, I’ve started building up my own coffee making set, and learnt some of the tricks of the trade to making a decent cup of joe.
Coffee Preparation
There are three common ways of preparing coffee:
Espessso – steam is pumped through the coffee under pressure.
Brewing – coffee is brewed in hot water
Instant – coffee is dry prepared and dissolves into hot water.
Instant coffee, no matter what the Kenco man says, is not as good as fresh coffee. Granted it is cheap, convient and great for everyday use if you’re a regular drinker; but it lacks the flavour, aroma, and drug effect you get from brewing or espresso coffee.
I know only one thing about brewing coffee, and that is that I don’t like it as much as espresso! In my view, brewing coffee is like the proper method to make instant coffee. For sure it’s nice, and you can make a lot of it at once so it’s great for dinner parties; it just doesn’t have that specialness that espresso seems to have.
Espresso is a very strong and condensed flavour. If it’s done properly, you get the full richness of the coffee. Espresso is the coffee I’ll be talking about in this post.
Equipment
Grinder
It suprised me when I was first told that the most important element in coffee making is the grinding of the coffee bean. Buying a decent grinder is something that so many people don’t do, including me! It’s the one thing you have control over when you’re making an espresso.
Having a grinder allows you to grind your coffee closer to when you drink it. Once coffee is ground, it starts to deteriorate fast. I’ve heard a golden rule that you don’t want your coffee exposed to oxygen for longer than:
12 months – green beans,
12 days – roast beans,
12 minutes – ground beans
A coarse grind makes a more dilluted coffee. This makes it ideal for cafetieres and drip brews, where the coffee is exposed to the hot water for longer.
A finer grind is best used in espresso machines. More of the bean is exposed to the water/steam giving a fuller flavour. If you put finely ground coffee into a cafetiere, you’ll end up with a bitter taste.
£100 – Iberital MC2
£50 – Dualit burr grinder
£50 – Zassenhaus hand grinders
I have an old blade grinder that I swiped from my Gran. She’s got a Zassenhaus now which I’ve used a couple of times. It takes a while to hand grind coffee, usually 10 minutes, but the results are just as good as the more pricy eletric ones. Don’t waste your money on a blade grinder; you’re better off buying small amounts of pre-ground coffee.
Espresso machine
I don’t know much about the technicalities of espresso machines. Water pressure, ease of use, and being able to clean the thing easily are all important. Based upon reviews from the internet, these four seem like a good bet depending on your budget:
£200 – Gaggia Classic
£125 – Gaggia Cubika
£100 – Krups XP4020
£65 – De’Longhi Bar 14
Other bits and bobs
An airtight jar to keep your coffee in.
A coffee tamper if you haven’t already got one, to push the coffee firmly into the portafilter
Choosing your coffee
All down to preference, but don’t buy the beans pre-ground. As already mentioned, pre-ground coffee will have been exposed to the elements, and will already be going stale before you open it.
Try some different flavours from the HasBean store. My personal favourite so far (only tried 4 types) is the Columbian Agua Azol – because it tastes nice!
Best to keep your coffee in the fridge in an airtight container.
Making the espresso
Take the portafilter off the espresso machine
Preheat the espresso machine.
Grind your coffee while you’re waiting for the machine to heat up
Put the ground coffee into the portafilter and scrape any excess off so you have a nice flat top
Force or “tamp” the coffee down as hard as you can using your tamper
Start up your machine. You want the coffee to pour in about 25 secs/30ml. If it takes longer than that to come through then your grind is too fine; if it takes less your grind is too coarse.
You now have an espresso which is ready to drink!
Arthur awoke to the sound of knocking at his door, already he knew who it was and why they were here. Putting on his brown jacket and tweed cap he headed to the front door, opening it to see his good friend Nigel.
‘What have we got’ Arthur asked without hesitation.
‘Brick through the bus shelter window’ replied Nigel.
‘That’s the third one this week’ Arthur said as he slammed his front door behind him and marched down the garden path.
‘I’m making this our top priority case.’
On the outside Arthur Butterworth was your typical pensioner, 82 years old with more hair in his ears then on his head, clothes bought before the invention of colour and enough loose skin for a spare birthday suit. But don’t let this fool you, Arthur is the leader of the most sophisticated, well funded community watch scheme in the country and thanks to his military background it is run like a well oiled machine.
Arthur and Nigel walked with purpose down the street until they reached number 42. Arthur knocked on the door and was greeted by a little old lady wearing a pink cardigan and a long floral skirt.
Brewing a great cup of coffee is not hard as long as you pay attention to a number of factors such as the bean quality, water quality, the type of brewing, and the grind of the coffee. Bean and water quality can be easily taken care of. Just use quality beans and pure water. However getting the right match of coffee grind and brewing type can be a little more complicated. We all know that we make coffee by passing hot water over ground coffee beans. However for a great cup of coffee we need to understand just how long the water should be passing over the beans. This depends on the grind of coffee and type of brewing.
Usually the brewing time relates directly to how coarse the coffee is ground. This means that finer grinds need less time in water, and coarser grinds need longer. Espresso is only exposed to water for 20-40 seconds and is made using very a fine grind. French press can take as much as 4 minutes and uses extremely coarse grind. If coffee is left in water too long for its grind size, unwanted extracts enter the coffee and make it bitter. Of course if the grind is too large and the water passes too quickly the coffee will have very little flavor or caffeine.
Filters also play an important role in the balance between over and under brewing. Not only do they keep the grind out of the end product, but also control how fast the water flows through the grinds. The most common filters are made of paper but metal variants also exist. Although paper filters are good they can have downsides such as absorbing some of the flavor and some people can taste the paper in the coffee. Metal filters are normally made out of stainless steal or gold plate. They have a very fine weave allowing the grains to be filtered out without altering the coffee or absorbing the flavor.
Be sure to buy decent quality filters as cheap filters often clog and spoil the brewing. A decent quality metal filter will last years.
Brewing a cup of coffee is not hard and neither is brewing a great cup of coffee, all it takes is a little more understanding. Start with fresh beans, clean water and then match your brewing style to the grind and then mess around with the exact proportions until you find the coffee just right for you.
Arthur sat in the passenger seat of Frank’s car with binoculars in hand, half paying attention to the bus shelter, half wondering how Frank still had his licence.
‘Told you I’d get us here sharpish’ Said Frank sounding chuffed with himself.
‘I think I’m going to be sick’ Blurted Nigel from the back seat.
‘Man up you wimp, back in WWII we would do twice that speed upside down with jerry on our tail’ Said Arthur.
‘Save that crap for the youngsters, we all know you signed up in 1946’ said Frank.
‘Shut up and pay attention, we have a job to do’ Said Arthur in a huff.
A dark figure holding a Tesco bag came round the corner, eyes fixed on the bus shelter he increased his pace.
‘This is it lads’ Said Arthur in a commanding tone.
‘On my go.’
The figure came closer and closer.
‘GO GO GO.’
3 elderly men jumped out of the Jag with the speed and agility of men one quarter their age. Arthur headed full pelt towards the figure and before the unsuspecting youth could react, Arthur had stamped on his kneecap and slammed him face first into the pavement.
Frank and Nigel stopped in their tracks.
‘Arthur really hates vandals doesn’t he’ said Nigel sheepishly.
‘You shoulda been here when some kids trampled his flowerbed.’
By this time Arthur was dragging the youth to the side of the path and propping him up against the railings.
‘So kid here’s the deal, we know where you live and if we see another broken bus shelter window, I’m going to go prison camp on you’
The 3 men got back into the car and sat in silence for a few minutes.
‘Sooo… you think he will do it again’ Said Nigel breaking the silence.
‘Let’s just say I have a very low re-offender record’ said Arthur.
‘Let’s go.’
‘Morning Dot’ Arthur said as he took off his cap and held it to his chest.
Dot greeted them both with a kiss on the cheek as she showed them in and closed the door behind her.
‘There has been another bus shelter incident, we need to search for patterns and pre-empt the next strike’ said Arthur in a tone that reminded everyone why he was in charge.
‘Ok let’s take a look’ said Dot as she led the men down the hall,
Dot opened the door to a room filled with computers. The walls were covered with LCD monitors. In the centre of the room was a large computer desk with multiple keyboards and mice. Dot walked into the room, sat down on the computer chair, span around a couple of times and then preceded to type with incredible speed.
A big player in the invention of the Internet, Dorothy Cox was the original silver surfer. There is little that happens online that she does not know about. When Arthur and his team need to know something Dot is the one they turn too. Widowed for many years Dot spends most of her time at home but thanks to frequent visits from Arthur and the rest of the team, she rarely feels lonely.
After a matter of minutes Dot spins back round on her chair and switches on the wall projector with a remote control.
‘This is a map of Stanworth with the last 10 bus shelter attacks circled.’
‘As you can see they are all along the SW2 route and branch out from the initial incident at Walder Street.’
Arthur stroked his chin while examining the map and then let loose his conclusion.
‘He’s growing in confidence, going further afield to get his dirty little thrill. We need to set up surveillance at the next two stops in either direction on the SW2 line as well as the area around Walder Street.’
‘We are going to need cameras, lots of cameras.’
‘I’m on it’ replied Nigel as he made his way for the front door.
Nigel Flint was the guy who could get you anything, a retired auction house owner from London. He had moved up to Stanworth 5 years ago to enjoy the quite life but that soon grew dull and Nigel began to crave a little excitement. When he signed up for the community watch scheme he had no idea just how much excitement he was letting himself in for.
It was just past mid day; Arthur was standing alone in the Sainsbury’s car park examining his watch. At that moment a maroon Jaguar pulls up in front of him, out steps Nigel from the passenger door and from the driver door Frank appears.
Nigel moves towards the boot of the car and opens it to reveal 10 state of the art miniature surveillance cameras.
‘I remember when these weighed more than you’re Jag’ Nigel joked, although as usual nobody laughed.
‘Well let’s get them set up’ Said Arthur as he hurried the two men back into the car.
With the slamming of doors and screeching of tires they were off.
Frank Taylor was the teams transportation officer, a former F1 driver and retired mechanic, there was nothing he didn’t know about driving and maintaining cars. When not helping Arthur he would spend his days tinkering on his beloved mint condition 1964 Jaguar E-Type. Even Arthur, his friend of 40 years was never allowed to sit in this particular car.
The sun was hovering on the horizon as Nigel finished placing the last of the Cameras. He took a walkie-talkie from his pocket and held it to his mouth.
‘All set Dot, how’s it looking your end.’
‘Take the lens cap off and I’ll let you know.’
‘It’s been a long day’ Responds Nigel while trying not to turn red, despite being alone.
‘Try now.’
‘Much better, now get over here, Arthur just put the kettle on.’
Arthur was carrying the tea tray into the living room as Nigel came through the front door.
‘Hobnob anyone?’ Asked Arthur politely.
Everyone shook their heads and the sound of nattering filled the room. The team was all there apart from Bob.
Bob, or The Chameleon as he is also known, is a very unusual chap even by the team’s standards. Suspected of previously working for one or more secretive government agencies, he is a very secretive man. Bob is average looking, which contrary to popular belief is a very rare thing indeed. The benefit of this is he is the guy no one notices. Taking every advantage of this genetic perk Bob has become a master of disguise and infiltration. Bob is rarely around unless the team needs his particular brand of skills, the rest of the time he could be anywhere or anyone.
Tonight anywhere was his living room sofa and anyone was just plain old Bob, as it was most nights. His days of fast cars, loose women and parachute dives onto foreign embassies were well and truly past him. Nowadays all Bob wanted was a bit of company and a Hobnob or two, but proud and stubborn asking was not something he found easy.
They had just finished tea and Arthur was taking the empty cups into the kitchen.
‘Right let’s see if we have any action’ Said Dot while rubbing her hands together.
She pressed a button under her armrest and the centre of the coffee table span round to reveal a computer monitor. On it was each of the surveillance camera feeds showing parts of the town, except one, which appeared to be a close-up of a dog cocking its leg.
Dot burst out laughing almost swallowing her dentures.
‘What’s so funny’ said Arthur making his way back from the kitchen.
Upon entering the room Arthur caught a glimpse of the monitor.
‘Oh grow up’ Arthur blurted out while trying to keep a straight face, the slight twinge in the corner of his mouth betraying him.
1 hour had passed. The boys had taken to playing cards while Dot kept one eye on the monitor and another on her knitting.
‘You know this could take days’ Said Nigel breaking the silence.
‘Or not’ said Dot as she waved them over.
They all looked at camera 2, showing the entrance to Walder Street. On it could be seen a tall youth with a black hoodie and a Tesco bag, which was stretched out as if holding something rather heavy and rectangular.