Rules Of Coffee Preparation

Most of these rules are obvious, but the one most commonly disregarded is cleaning the equipment. Nothing but nothing makes good coffee taste bad like a dirty brewer or thermos. Plastic brewers are really bad. The plastic is porus and can hold many elements which can and do make the coffee taste bad. At best, taste bitter and rancid. Not to mention possible disease. Clean the equipment regularly.

PREPARATION OF COFFEE

Coffee is very versatile. Coffee stands on its own, can act as a food, and is commonly used as flavoring.

Coffee recipes presented here have a fundamental variant which directly affects the recipe. It is the degree of roast. For every recipe stated here, to change the taste, simply change the degree of roast. When a roast style is stated, it is just considered common and by no means absolute. In fact, we suggest you try these recipes with different roasts.

Filtered Coffee, Most Common Coffee Drink

Most the world is poor and can not afford the fancy machines citizens in developed countries can. And, many people in the developed countries are poor too. This method is extremely common but most the people with Internet web may not believe it. It is a home style of making coffee. Pour the brew through a sock. A filter for the purpose of filtering coffee will work better, but a cotton sock will work.

Using medium size grind, put the grind in a basket type filter and put the filter in a pot, bowl, or large glass, pour in hot water, or boil the water in the pot. Remove the filter with the grounds and wa-la, you are ready to drink the brew.

For best results, wash the pot at regularly and clean the filter regularly. Once a week or at least once a month, boil a pot of vinegar in the pot and through out; then boil a pot of baking soda in the pot and through out; wash thoroughly. There are special cleaners for this purpose too. Warning: do not use general metal cleaners, only use those which are made for this purpose. Believe this or not, you can use an old sock. Be sure to wash the sock before use. It should be white and not furry. Cotton works well.

If you are boiling the water in a pot with the grinds, be sure not to over boil. Many of the compounds will begin to break down and the taste will get very bitter.

This process works well on a stove top, in a microwave oven, and over a camp fire.

Drip

The worlds next most common method of making coffee is with a drip system. They are found in commercial use in most restaurants. They are also very common in households.

The process is put the ground coffee in a container on top of the machine. If the machine does not have a hot water maker associated with it which usually pumps the water to the grinds, poor the hot water into the top container which holds the grinds. The water then saturates the coffee grinds and drips out into another container.

These come in many different styles. Two distinct differences are those which heat the water in the machine and those which hot water is pored into them. Another distinct variant are those which keep the brewed coffee hot by a hot plate where the brew container is and those that do not. Some use just a metal filter and others use a paper filter. Additionally, they can be made of metal or plastic. These are fairly simple and cheap. But, not a cheap as an old sock.

Be sure to use the right size grind for the device's filter. Typically, metal filters require a larger grind size, and paper filters use a smaller grind size.

For best results, wash the ground container regularly and clean the filter if metal regularly. If metal, once a week or at least once a month, put a pot of vinegar water through the system; then pot of baking soda and water through the system; wash thoroughly. There are special cleaners for this purpose too. Warning: do not use general metal cleaners, only use those which are made for this purpose. Plastic is porus and becomes contaminated quickly. Cheap cleaning methods do not work on plastic and can wreck the plastic. It's best to replace the plastic device regularly.

Percolator

The next most common device for brewing coffee is the percolator. It is also considered the poorest form of brewing coffee because it reboils the brew constantly which tends to make the brew bitter. The device is very common in households but not common in commercial establishments.

Generally these machines are self contained and electric. However, there are devices using this method which utilize an external heating source.

The device works by putting grinds in a container on top of the system. A special heat concentrator and collector at the bottom of the device allows water to boil on the bottom of the system and a tub funnels the bubbling water to the top where it is dispersed over the grinds. The hot water soaks down through the grinds and drips back into the main container. The system circulates the water regularly through the grinds until done.

Generally, these devices are metal but there are those made of glass.

For best results, wash the pot at regularly and clean the filter regularly. Once a week or at least once a month, boil a pot of vinegar in the pot and through out; then boil a pot of baking soda in the pot and through out; wash thoroughly.
There are special cleaners for this purpose too. Warning: do not use general metal cleaners, only use those which are made for this purpose. Unfortunately, the percolator grind holder does not get very clean with this method so an added soaking step should be used. After each boiling cleaning step, pull out the peculator stem and allow the filter holder to sit at the bottom of the device and soak, then go to the next step.