What is the best method of brewing coffee? This question seems to be more important than ever, as the latest studies show that even if Americans are clinging to their coffee during this recession, more and more are making that fine java at home. In discussions with coffee experts, we found general agreement on the four best ways of brewing it. None of them includes America’s most popular method, the automatic drip machine.
Vacuum brewer or siphon pot method
Proponent: Vincent Iatesta, owner of Caffe Pronto Coffee Roastery in Annapolis, Md. “I personally love it, and it’s what I use at home every day,” he said. “It produces a rich, complex, sweet cup of coffee, and there are never any bitter or sour notes that you can get from a traditional brewing process. And it looks cool.”
How it works: Invented in France in the 1840s, this method was favored in early 20th Century America but got muscled out by automatic drip. With the renewed interest in fine coffee brewing, the vacuum has made a comeback. The device consists of a glass coffeepot and an upper glass chamber connected by a siphon tube. Water is placed in the lower coffeepot while ground coffee goes in the top chamber, fitted with a cloth filter. When the water heats to a boil on a stove, it travels up through the tube into the top chamber to mix with the coffee grounds. When the device is removed from the heat source, coffee is pulled back down through the filter into the pot, finishing with a gurgly flourish. It creates not just a complex pot of java but also a fun show. Good for those who want to retain richness from coffee oils, have the patience to carefully monitor their coffeepot, and enjoy a good spectacle.
Price: The Bodum Santos Vacuum Pot costs $70 at clivecoffee.com.
Eva Solo CafeSolo
Proponent: Doug Zell, CEO of Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea, Chicago “I like this because you get a little more viscosity, akin to a French press, but still a nice sweetness. You get a lot of the positive traits you get with a French press without any of the negatives, like sandiness.”
How it works: Put grounds in the glass flask, pour hot water over them, stir them for 10 seconds. Then place a filter funnel and a tip-up lid in the mouth of the flask, wait four minutes, and pour. Good for those who go for a rich mouth feel but don’t want any sediment. Also great for table pouring because it comes with a felt or neoprene zip-up jacket for the carafe.
Price: Eva Solo CafeSolo makers range from $98 to $111 on amazon.com. Also $118 at intelligentsiacoffee.com.
French press or plunger pot
Proponent: Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks “I use a coarsely ground Sumatra, and I make it in a French press with water right off the boil,” Schultz said. The Starbucks chief likes the “rich mouth feel” of French press coffee but acknowledges that “it isn’t for everyone.”
How it works: The French press, or plunger pot, has a cylindrical glass carafe that holds the grounds. Hot water is poured to fill the carafe; after about four minutes you push down a plunger with a stainless-steel mesh filter to the base of the pot, thus straining and pressing the coffee grounds to the bottom. Good for those who will drink their java very soon after plunging and who like a full, rich body to their coffee.
Price: Bodum French press pots range from $20 to $50 at target.com and other stores.
Pour-over carafes such as Chemex or Melitta
Proponent: Tony Dreyfuss, co-owner of Metropolis Coffee Co., Chicago “I like all four methods, but Chemex or even the Melittastyle cone cost [very little], and they are just fine. It’s very simple, but it requires attention to the coffee. It gives a nice, clean flavor. But the thing to remember is that the coffee requires 2 tablespoons per 6 ounces of water, and the water should be 30 seconds off the rolling boil.”
How it works: Place ground coffee in a paper-filter-lined cone on top of the carafe; pour some just-boiled water to moisten the grounds and let it bloom. Then pour the rest of the water and let it drip through to the pot. Good for people on a budget who like a bright, clean coffee flavor.
Price: Chemex brewer costs $40 at intelligentsiacoffee.com. The Melitta brewing system costs $17 on kitchendance.com.
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Pick your roast
American roast: A very light to medium roast that some think can preserve the subtle characteristics of fine coffees.
Vienna roast: A medium to dark roast that some believe brings out maximum flavor without burning.
French or Italian roast: A dark roast that can mask flaws in a coffee but also brings out oils and caramelized notes that some prefer.
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Coffee pairings: Savory choices
The French — and many Europeans — frown on serving coffee with dessert. But Americans love this combination that balances bitter with sweet and can often enhance the caramel, nut and chocolate notes found both in the cup and on the plate.
But coffee pairings have recently gone beyond dessert. Earlier this spring Graham Elliot restaurant hosted a coffee pairing dinner that matched Ethiopian Yirgacheffe with tuna sashimi, Mexican Terruno Nayarita with coffee-poached scallops, and a Colombian San Rafael with beef and potato pancake to tantalizing effect. We asked a few coffee experts for their favorite pairings and found some surprises.
Daniel Young, author of “Coffee Love: 50 Ways to Drink Your Java”: “A blueberry muffin with Ethiopian Sidamo coffee that possesses its own blueberry notes.”
Doug Zell, of Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea: “The Ethiopian Yirgacheffe can have a strong bergamot note that will pair nicely with something like a lemon tart.”
Tony Dreyfuss of Metropolis Coffee Co.: “I would serve something like stew that is really beefy with a coffee that has more body and earthy tones like a Sumatra or a Colombian San Rafael. If you were serving something nutty, something with sesame or walnuts, I would recommend a Brazilian like the FAF (Fazenda Ambiental and Fortaleza).”
Vincent Iatesta, owner of Caffe Pronto Coffee Roastery: “We did a coffee and cheese tasting here recently and the best pairing we found was a Piave Stravecchio Italian cheese with a Guatemalan San Jose Ocana.”
— M.E.
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Coffee ice cream soda
Prep: 5 minutes
Makes: 1 serving
Author Daniel Young includes this recipe in “Coffee Love.” “Ice cream sodas taste better when milk is added to the syrup-flavored soda,” he writes. “Using melted vanilla ice cream instead of milk multiplies that milky-creamy effect tenfold.”
3 tablespoons coffee syrup, see recipe
1/4 cup vanilla ice cream, melted
1/2 cup soda or seltzer water
1 large scoop coffee ice cream
Pour the syrup into a tall glass. Add the vanilla ice cream; stir. Pour in the soda water, stirring, to within 2 inches of the top of the glass. Add a large scoop of the coffee ice cream.
Nutrition information
Per serving: 374 calories, 41% of calories from fat, 17 g fat, 10 g saturated fat, 52 mg cholesterol, 54 g carbohydrates, 6 g protein, 105 mg sodium, 0 g fiber
Cold-brewed coffee syrup
Prep: 10 minutes
Stand: 6 hours
Cook: 15-20 minutes
Makes: 1 1/2 cups
Use this syrup in ice cream sodas and sundaes or over coffee or vanilla yogurt. Adapted from “Coffee Love,” by Daniel Young.
1 1/4 cups cold water
1/3 cup coarsely ground coffee
1 cup sugar
1. Combine the water and coffee in a large jar or glass container. Let sit at room temperature at least 6 hours and up to 12 hours.
2. Pour the coffee mixture twice through a paper coffee filter or a sieve lined with cheesecloth. Combine the coffee and sugar in a saucepan; heat over medium-high heat, whisking, to just below the boiling point. Lower the heat to medium-low; simmer, stirring, until the mixture begins to thicken and it reduces by about a quarter for a thinner syrup or by a third for a thick syrup, 7-10 minutes. Let cool. Cover tightly; store in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks.
Nutrition information
Per tablespoon: 33 calories, 0% of calories from fat, 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 9 g carbohydrates, 0 g protein, 0 mg sodium, 0 g fiber
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meng@tribune.com
