FlyerEC

Had iced lemon latte ( in-house made lemon syrup ) , possibly my first and last in 2020

Enjoying slowly and thoroughly



Iced lemon latte and iced alkaline water

Some other options

USA_flyer

I ordered a bodum pour over flask, due tomorrow from Amazon. I also bought some filters as I dont trust the re-usable filter to be re-usable for long.

USA_flyer

Bodum pour over flask has arrived and been tested with some lower grade coffees. It produces a nice cup of coffee for sure but there is no crema and I dont see how there can be one in the cup since the froth seems to stay in the filter.

I think I will do both espresso and pour over filter to see which one produces the tastier cup of coffee.

quirrow

Pour over using filters are unlikely to produce crema in the cup. Making espresso also uses high-temp and high pressure, as opposed to lower than boiling and normal pressure in pour over with filters, if I am to compare it to cooking it would be like searing vs braising, and they tend to produce different effects and taste.

I would say if you want to have more body in the coffee, espresso is the way to go. But if you want to differentiate the flavours that makes a Colombian bean different from an Ethiopian bean or an Indonesian bean, then pour over will do that better. The coffee importers tend to use a pour over brew method to judge a bean's quality and differentiate beans from their country of origin.

However I would again say no one method is superior, it just depends on how you like your coffee.

yyznomad

Very helpful, thanks.

I've been enjoying my bodum French Press since the start of covid. I find the flavors to be quite bold regardless of the grinds I use.

One thing I have yet to try is grinding my own beans.

Eventually I will try the pour over method.

YVR Cockroach

Water temperature and technique are said to make a difference. Never mastered the french press, or FWIW, moka pot (and I have 7 non-unused Bialettis).

yyznomad

I did read about temperature and began using water a few degrees below boiling and did notice over time a smoother taste (but still bold, if that makes any sense)...

As for technique... I have no idea what I'd need to do... like slowly push the filter down? I can't imagine a special technique I could do.

YVR Cockroach

How you add water, letting the grounds "bloom" before stirring, steep time before pressing/pouring etc. Never made it consistently (and, using the same coffee consistently) enough to discern the differences.

USA_flyer

I like grinding my own beans, i can have the grinds for a day or two's worth of coffee as they spoil quicker than the beans do. I keep them in airtight containers to help keep them as fresh as possible.

I just made another order today for 4x 1/2lb bags of beans from a different local roastery. Much as I like the beans from our usual roastery, I want to try other coffees and roasting styles.

yyznomad

Interesting... how I add water... like a slow pour into the carafe vs. fast pour? Never considered such things!

YVR Cockroach

Lots of techniques, some even with theories. One was to pour gently, let the grounds bloom for ~30-60 seconds, stir, let sit before pressing.

These days I just use one of these (acquired direct from the manufacturer at an excellent discount). Nothing beats push of a button.

gaobest

In March it’ll be 5 years since I got the donated (discarded) cuisinart coffee maker from a listserv of a local parents group! I still prefer to buy coffee based on roast date, but I overall enjoy making coffee at home and saving time (and some money) by not buying coffee outside the house. Sadly my first grinder died within 5 years so let’s see how long the current grinder can last :-)

quirrow

For those living in the tropics or when its summer, a creative way to enjoy coffee is to make ice cubes out of your brewed coffee. This is especially good if you have some older ground coffee so you can freeze the brewed version and enjoy them in a deconstructed iced latte, and I have been having this the past week. I adopted this method from the various coffee shops in Indonesia. Of course this works when you drink your coffee with milk. I am not sure if it works by brewing a concentrated coffee or espresso and then dissolving the ice cubes with water to dilute it as an iced Americano.

yyznomad

Ooohhh... I love Miele...

I guess I have lots of learning to do. Exciting!

Kgmm77

I went down the rabbit hole of pour over, extraction times, “blooming” etc. And whilst it produced a very smooth cup of coffee, it was a lot of faff and the coffee was never hot enough for my liking. So I’ve reverted back to espresso and bought a super automatic just before COVID hit, which was fortuitous in the extreme. It’s definitely not as rounded, but it’s quicker and hotter. Which probably makes me a failed coffee snob