Let’s talk about coffee, Part 2.
When things become challenging in my life, I tend to find a subject to hyperfocus on. As mentioned in my previous post, I’ve had some severe medication issues (thanks brain) resulting in my becoming rather ill. In this time I re-discovered the YouTube channel of James Hoffman.
To quote his Wikipedia page:
“James Alexander Hoffmann (born 1979/1980) is an English barista, YouTuber, entrepreneur, coffee consultant, and author. Hoffmann first came to prominence after winning the World Barista Championship in 2007 and has since been credited as a pioneer of Britain’s third-wave coffee movement.”
As an authority in the coffee world, I’m sure he would absolutely cringe at the things I’ve written here, but his videos inspired me to try and get back on the horse. After several hours of watching his videos, I felt more knowledgeable about coffee, brewing methodology and most importantly I felt I finally understood my own coffee preferences better than I ever had.
So, first I had to lay down some ground rules.
Rule 1: Keep the costs down
Specifically, that meant no more buying of equipment, I had to find a method that worked with the equipment I had.
Rule 2: Give myself the best chance possible
Specifically, that meant finding the right coffee for me. Now, whilst freshly ground would make the best cup, I do not (currently) have the option to grind at home, so pre-ground coffee would have to do. But, this time I was going into it 1) knowing my preferences and 2) able to jargon-bust the coffee packet descriptors. For those interested, the specific video that helped me with this can be found here.
So, I was looking for a Medium roast coffee with low to no acidity (I suffer from rather bad acid reflux/heartburn) and absolutely no funky fermented flavours. Therefor, I was looking for a supermarket strength of 4-5 with at most “cooked fruit” descriptors but preferably leaning towards nutty, caramel descriptors, with no reference to “tropical fruit” or “dry” or “natural” processes.
And what I found was this: “Taylors of Harrogate – After Dark, Ground Coffee.” It seemed to fit the bill.
Rule 3: Use a good, repeatable method
I felt it was only right that since this journey started with the cafetiere, it should end with the cafetiere. So, I watched Mr. Hoffman’s ultimate French press guide, which can be found here, and followed along with the following instructions:
- Add 20g of coffee to the French press. This was a little higher than what was recommended but I took a gamble.
- Add 250g of freshly boiled water to the French press, making sure to cover all the coffee grounds.
- Let it sit for 4 minutes
- Stir the crust with a tablespoon, the grounds will fall out of suspension
- Skim off any residual foam or floating grounds.
- Let it sit for a further 5 minutes minimum.
- Add the lid and plunger to the cafetiere, resting the plunger lightly on the surface of the coffee.
- Gently pour the coffee into a cup. Enjoy?
The result. Oh. Oh lord. I did it. I made a phenomenal cup of coffee! No acidity, nicely roasted, little bitterness, not too weak, not too strong just… good coffee. I nearly burst into tears.
Sometimes, a simple thing done well can be the most satisfying. And the best part? I have been able to replicate this method for the past 4 mornings.
I wonder if I know anyone who wants a Moka pot…