[FRIAM] Fwd: Re: Wimsical silly question re: coffee making

Thu Sep 21 13:55:02 EDT 2017

Mmm Kona Koffe and Kava Coffe are indeed gloriusly awsome

On Thu, Sep 21, 2017 at 11:34 AM, Steven A Smith <sasmyth at swcp.com> wrote:

>
>
> Mr. Coffee Gil -
>
> I usually make my coffee with folded filter paper in a beaker, pouring
> through water just at the boiling point.  I'm not terribly picky about my
> coffee but I do enjoy the details of such a ritual and try to stay close to
> some optimum.  I think the common brand is "Chemex" (speaking of Glen's
> utility of beakers vs Popper's 3 worlds".
>
> I find the two biggest variables beyond the choice of bean/roast is the
> grind and the temperature of the water.
>
> Being sometimes impatient, I am tempted to pour my water before it is at
> full temperature, or at least to "wet the grounds" with hot water in
> anticipation of the full event.
>
> My subjective experience is that wetting the grounds (or starting with
> water not quite up to boiling) yields less-good results.  It could be a
> subjective judgement I have about "doing it right".  I seem to remember
> that English Tea is presumed to be best made by letting the kettle settle
> for a moment after it boils... that being too close too boiling is somehow
> a bad thing?  But you can't be sure it is "just below boiling" until it
> hits that point first?
>
> I also find that the grind matters.  I recently recovered my coffee
> grinder so am no longer dependent on the grinds I get from the grocery.
> For my method a finer, almost espresso-fine grind is preferred.
>
> I just recovered a French Press maker which is a good alternative to the
> pour through, especially for just enough coffee for myself.   I think it is
> a 24 ounce vessel, so minus the grinds I probably get about 22 ounces of
> coffee... two good solid mugs.  More than that and I start compulsively
> posting nonsense to Friam!   This prefers a coarser ground to avoid that
> fine powdered coffee residue in the bottom of the cup.
>
> This summer I tried making "cold brew" which is pretty simple.. rather
> than dropping the dirty sock filled with grounds into boiling water you put
> it in cold water and let it sit for 12-18 hours.  Despite my crude
> ideations about making coffee with dirty socks, I actually use a fancy
> carafe with a fine metal mesh filter for this...  it is much more civilized
> and doesn't require finding a sock without a hole.  Since I was *mostly*
> drinking iced coffee anyway, I decided to give it a whirl... it is supposed
> to (according to my PaleoDaughter) be healthier for you and according to
> (some) afficianados of coffee to be less bitter.   I liked it (esp for iced
> coffee), but also enjoy my coffee "brew" ritual enough that I'm very glad
> to have the temperatures dropping again so that I don't mind dumping a few
> extra BTUs into the house.   I'm very much looking forward to being able to
> have at least a small fire in my wood cookstove in the morning, which
> allows my beaker of coffee to sit and stay hot for much longer...    right
> now my weekly Junk-mail burn isn't quite enough to keep my coffee warm.
>
> As for coffee sources, I have to admit to not really having good
> discrimination there.  I am *almost* as whimsical about that as about
> wine... I don't quite buy it (just) for the label (or the name of the
> source) but it *IS* a temptation.   I've a good friend from the highlands
> of Ethiopia so I often buy coffee from the region she came from just out of
> some weird loyalty.  After a long visit to Hawaii I found myself often
> enjoying Kona coffee.    I prefer a darker roast in general.  Oh yeh, and
> it almost exclusively involves some kind of Colonial Exploitation and a fat
> Carbon Footprint to haul it halfway around the world to me.  If I continue
> on my social-conscious arc, I may be reduced to dunking burned toast in a
> cup of hot water...
>
> What do you add to your coffee?  I've always been a "I prefer my coffee
> dark and bitter like my women" kinda guy, but on a keto diet I'm learning
> to use a variety of fats to modify it.   The Keto/Paleo people suggest full
> on heavy creme (pure fat, no lactose) but I find it too weird (oily).   The
> hardcore Paleos who also endorse cold-brew describe "bulletproof" coffee
> with a dollop of butter, ghee, or coconut oil.   As much as I like butter,
> I don't like it much in coffee.  I'm looking forward to Pinon harvest
> because I grew up with the tradition of tossing a dozen pinon nuts (shell
> and all) into the grinder with the beans.   The nuts' fat DOES cut the
> harsher overtones and add an interesting aroma as well as a mild flavor.
> But you kinda have to like "oily coffee" for any of these.
>
> As for your "Fred Burns what was that?" style... I grew up on what most
> people would call "Diner Coffee" and have to admit that I can drink a
> half-dozen cups of that a truck stop with a traditional "Trucker's
> Breakfast" and be very happy.   Especially if the waitress (always named
> Flo) flirts with me a lot.  But it is not hardly the same as what I prefer
> to make in my beaker at home.
>
> 'nuff for now
>
>  - Steve
>
>
>
> On 9/21/17 10:44 AM, Gillian Densmore wrote:
>
> So I repeated Nicks experiment on the Densmore Coffe Effect (the one where
> some silly imp has some not the: run around the block or get inspired to do
> fun things.)
>
> I think Nich and steve are both right on this one. ^_^
>
> Hmm so does adding water discourage sprites and dwarfs from creating a
> quatum tunnel to socks where the coffe goes?
> Or is it as Merdle and you suspect adding water to coffe grounds gets
> water into the dry beans and also help the machine work? ^_^
>
> As a follow up question: Being the good Norse+Iriish person I am I prefer
> blends of Arabica+Esspresso+Robusto. Rubusto is weirdly hard to find but
> doesn't taste like Freds Burnt What was that.?
> Adding water to the grounds somehow gives Trader Joes Smooth Morning blend
> a nice smooth flavor. Any guesses to Why?  I joke their's some Quantom
> effect going on. :P
>
> Might it  have to do with steam (in the basket?) and or the basket having
> a extra cup or so somehow rounds out the flavors?
>
> On Wed, Sep 20, 2017 at 1:52 PM, Nick Thompson <nickthompson at earthlink.net
> > wrote:
>
>> Ok, so, I did the experiment.
>>
>>
>>
>> In a ten cup coffee maker I took a cup of water and pre soaked the
>> grounds, taking off what dribbled through and pouring it back through until
>> I had saturated the grounds.  The the grounds required a little short of a
>> cup to saturate.  Then I put ten cups of water in the coffeemaker and let
>> it rip.  I got ten cups of coffee out of it. The Densmore effect is due to
>> the grounds.  Qed.
>>
>>
>>
>> N
>>
>>
>>
>> Nicholas S. Thompson
>>
>> Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology
>>
>> Clark University
>>
>> http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/
>>
>>
>>
>> *From:* Friam [mailto:friam-bounces at redfish.com] *On Behalf Of *Gillian
>> Densmore
>> *Sent:* Tuesday, September 19, 2017 10:22 PM
>> *To:* The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <
>> friam at redfish.com>
>> *Subject:* Re: [FRIAM] Wimsical silly question re: coffee making
>>
>>
>>
>> Hmmmm... well fortunatly Iike fun colorful socks... now if they show up
>> full coffee been...
>>
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Sep 19, 2017 at 7:57 PM, Steven A Smith <sasmyth at swcp.com> wrote:
>>
>> Ooops... the "reply-to" on the list reflector seems not to be the list by
>> default, so this just went to Merle the first time!
>>
>> Gil -
>>
>> I don't use an automated coffee maker often, but when I do (e.g. motel or
>> visiting a friend) I forget that the filling system is measured in 8 oz
>> cups but my expectations are closer to a 12 ounce mugfull, so 4 cups of
>> water in yields something closer to 2.5 mugs out and of course if I"m on
>> the west coast, the mugs are 16 ouncers which REALLY aggravates the
>> situation!
>>
>>  - Steve
>>
>> PS.  a more whimsical answer is that you can probably expect to find the
>> extra coffee in your laundry from time to time and some mismatched socks in
>> your coffeemaker somewhere down the line!
>>
>>
>>
>> On 9/19/17 3:50 PM, Merle Lefkoff wrote:
>>
>> Gillian, all of the initial water is boiled, so some of the steam escapes
>> from the coffeemaker, and some of the rest is in the wet grounds in the
>> filter basket.  There may well be something else happening, but this
>> accounts for some of it.
>>
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Sep 19, 2017 at 9:55 AM, Gillian Densmore <gil.densmore at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>> What on earth happens to some of the coffe when I make it drop style? I
>> prepare 6-8 cups so as if someone stops by they can have a bit as well.
>>
>> But then it only gives a bit over 4-5 cups.
>>
>>
>>
>> Does some invisible dwarf drink a bit of it before it gets to the
>> Kareff(sp)? oO
>>
>>
>>
>> I am genuinly perplexed by this.^_^
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> Merle Lefkoff, Ph.D.
>> President, Center for Emergent Diplomacy
>> emergentdiplomacy.org
>>
>> Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
>>
>> Visiting Professor in Integrative Peacebuilding
>>
>> Saint Paul University
>>
>> Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
>>
>>
>>
>> merlelefkoff at gmail.com <merlelefoff at gmail.com>
>> mobile:  (303) 859-5609 <%28303%29%20859-5609>
>> skype:  merle.lelfkoff2
>>
>> twitter: @Merle_Lefkoff
>>
>>
>>
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>> Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
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>
>
>
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> Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
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