Recommendations for making good black coffee

dpandey said:
Not really. Let the coffee and water sit in a cup or a carafe for 4-6 minutes. Then strain like you would strain tea.

I use an old broken cup (a 300 cup whose handle broke) for infusion :) Once the time is up, pour everything through a strainer into another cup and drink it.

You are prob thinking of pourover? Wait for some time before trying out advanced techniques. Learn the basics of brewing before trying out specialized equipment.
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Oh so one just takes hot water and grinded coffee, let them sit together for 4-6 minutes, then pour it in a strainer and then drink the solution(or add more water?). I hope I got it somewhat right.
 
DrkLord said:
Oh so one just takes hot water and grinded coffee, let them sit together for 4-6 minutes, then pour it in a strainer and then drink the solution(or add more water?). I hope I got it somewhat right.
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Yup.

You shouldn't be adding water after straining. Get the coffee/water ratio right the first time. I use a ratio of 1:14. 1:15 seems to be more popular. You will eventually settle for something around that.
 
dpandey said:
Yup.

You shouldn't be adding water after straining. Get the coffee/water ratio right the first time. I use a ratio of 1:14. 1:15 seems to be more popular. You will eventually settle for something around that.
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Can i grind using normal mortar and pestle available or do I have to get a grinder to get a good grind?
Also, which beans do you recommend?
There was another thread on techenclave on coffee and someone recommended blue tokai.
 
DrkLord said:
Can i grind using normal mortar and pestle available or do I have to get a grinder to get a good grind?
Also, which beans do you recommend?
There was another thread on techenclave on coffee and someone recommended blue tokai.
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You can try grinding in the spice grinder of a mixer. Mortar/pestle will not work.

Grind size/consistency affects the taste. Fine grind -> bitter (most of the coffee you get in shops). Coarse grind -> weak/acidic. Learning to brew is finding the balance. You can only learn by experimenting. A good grinder will let you control the size and make a consistent grind.

Bluetokai is good. Get a 250 gm pack of silver oak to start with.
 
dpandey said:
You can try grinding in the spice grinder of a mixer. Mortar/pestle will not work.

Grind size/consistency affects the taste. Fine grind -> bitter (most of the coffee you get in shops). Coarse grind -> weak/acidic. Learning to brew is finding the balance. You can only learn by experimenting. A good grinder will let you control the size and make a consistent grind.

Bluetokai is good. Get a 250 gm pack of silver oak to start with.
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Should i get the "channi" style one: https://www.amazon.in/Blue-Tokai-Co...1638980469&sprefix=blue+tokai+,aps,349&sr=8-2
 
DrkLord said:
Oh ok, will the french press ground work directly with strainer or will I have to grind it first in mixer?
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Simple recipe.
1. Boil water. Pour 200 ml in a china cup.
2. Weight 14 gms of ground coffee and put it in the cup. Cover with a plate.
3. Wait for 5 minutes.
4. Pour through the strainer and enjoy your coffee.

Play around with coffee/water ratio and brewing time.

Do not forget that people have been drinking coffee for almost a thousand years. Long before there were espresso machine and temperature controlled kettles. Brewing is simple :)
 
dpandey said:
Simple recipe.
1. Boil water. Pour 200 ml in a china cup.
2. Weight 14 gms of ground coffee and put it in the cup. Cover with a plate.
3. Wait for 5 minutes.
4. Pour through the strainer and enjoy your coffee.

Play around with coffee/water ratio and brewing time.

Do not forget that people have been drinking coffee for almost a thousand years. Long before there were espresso machine and temperature controlled kettles. Brewing is simple :)
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Thanks! I will try this soon, as soon as the coffee arrives.
 
I've had a problem with instant coffee ever since I saw how energy intensive it is to produce it. They basically do the complete brewing process and then instantly freeze it into big thin sheets and later grind down those sheets. That cooling process uses humongous amounts of energy which is not required if one can brew the coffee at home. But I still do use it for the few cups of cold coffee I drink in an year. Have tried cold brewing with powder from 'Indian Coffee House' and it was a very mellow but nice experience. Couldn't continue because it required 12hrs of pre-planning at least with cold-brewing and I don't drink that often to continue doing so.
 
rdst_1 said:
I've had a problem with instant coffee ever since I saw how energy intensive it is to produce it. They basically do the complete brewing process and then instantly freeze it into big thin sheets and later grind down those sheets. That cooling process uses humongous amounts of energy which is not required if one can brew the coffee at home.
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This piqued my curiosity. I wasn't aware of how instant coffee was manufactured. But then I came across this. Apparently instant has a lower environmental impact.
 
I was in Chennai for the longest time and you get some really good coffee there. Narasu tastes just like that. I was in the US before that, and all these well reviewed US brands.... They all taste bitter and harsh. Even Nescafe. I found us coffee vs South Indian filter coffee to be like imfl vs good foreign booze. The latter is smooth and mellow, while the former is harsh and tastes like they added some chemical stuff.

I like instant because as a bachelor you really don't want to spend time washing, and with instant there is no residue etc. Add to hot milk, add to cold milk, had a full set of Starbucks syrups and Bailey's Irish Cream to mix into the cold stuff.

Can't have coffee these days because of my hypertension. Miss it :(
 
ibose said:
This piqued my curiosity. I wasn't aware of how instant coffee was manufactured. But then I came across this. Apparently instant has a lower environmental impact.
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The only point that he has made in favor of instant coffee is that they have an extraction percentage of 70% while a normal cup of pourover coffee will have 20%. I read his full post on extraction as well and he didn't tell how and why instant coffee people get 70% extraction and why can't normal people brewing coffee at home do the same.
 
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rdst_1 said:
The only point that he has made in favor of instant coffee is that they have an extraction percentage of 70% while a normal cup of pourover coffee will have 20%. I read his full post on extraction as well and he didn't tell how and why instant coffee people get 70% extraction and why can't normal people brewing coffee at home do the same.
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Efficiency in manufacture ?
Energy consumption due to the mass scale production is lower per cup than what you spend to make at home. Also instant has much lower carbon footprint based on the quoted studies. Anyways we are digressing.
 
greenhorn said:
I was in Chennai for the longest time and you get some really good coffee there. Narasu tastes just like that. I was in the US before that, and all these well reviewed US brands.... They all taste bitter and harsh. Even Nescafe. I found us coffee vs South Indian filter coffee to be like imfl vs good foreign booze. The latter is smooth and mellow, while the former is harsh and tastes like they added some chemical stuff.

I like instant because as a bachelor you really don't want to spend time washing, and with instant there is no residue etc. Add to hot milk, add to cold milk, had a full set of Starbucks syrups and Bailey's Irish Cream to mix into the cold stuff.

Can't have coffee these days because of my hypertension. Miss it :(
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I find bitterness to be good. Initially didn't like black coffee then became accustomed to its taste.
You can try decaffeinated coffee if caffeine causes problems.
 
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