Month: September 2015

Coffee Shop Road Trip

/ Boxer Brew Coffee co / 1 Comment

For my daughter Suzanne’s pre-birthday treat we decided to hit some coffee shops – most of which we have never been to before.  Armed with the South African’s Coffee-Lover’s Bible we set off for a caffeine trip.

First stop: Munch

I have to say, having a coffee shop as a nursery did not promise great things.  How wrong we were!  Staff was friendly, the food was generous, tasty and well presented.  Best of all, we had close to the best cappuccino’s of the day right there!  The WTF shirts (Where’s my food) was great.

Munch's comfy seating

Munch’s comfy seating

French Toast

French Toast

Outside seating area

Outside seating area

Great Cappucchinos

Great cappuccinos

Fun with your cuppa

Fun with your cuppa

Just chillin

Just chillin

Stop two: Motherland Coffee

When we eventually found parking, we found a cosy, packed coffee shop.  I tried something new with their Dictator – a large shot glass with condensed milk, double espresso, whipped cream and choc shavings.  Suzanne tried an iced coffee while Mariana stuck with the cappuccino.  Though the other drinks was fun, the cappuccino was probably rated as nr 5 for the day.  Friendly staff.

The Dictator

The Dictator

Friendly Barista

Friendly Barista

Frozen

Frozen

Stop three: Doubleshot

Off to Braamfontein and a interactive visit at Doubleshot.  One of the owners Alain was roasting on their “antique” 1916 Novo Cito roaster and we had a nice chat.  He explained that roast profiles are relative and many factors have to be considered.  Factors like the temperature where roast would be stopped.  This differs from roaster to roaster, but the temperature your first crack happens, can be used as a baseline of sorts.  The coffee was great and the Finca El Morito they use in their blend played its role in the smoothness of the cappuccino.  There was a nice neighbourhood vibe in the shop.

Roasting discussion

Roasting discussion

Friendly Baristas

Friendly Baristas

Inside looking out

Inside looking out

Birthday girl

Birthday girl

Fourth stop: Father Coffee

This was probably our favourite.  Mariana had another cappuccino and rated it top of the day.  I had an espresso and enjoyed the fruity acidity which shone through without overpowering the drink.  The crema held together well when tested.  We loved the vibe and wooden paneling.  We will be sure to return.

Barista of the day in action

Baristas of the day in action – Freddy and Felix

Great espresso

Great espresso

Great ambiance

Great ambiance

Fifth stop: Vintage coffee

This is where we had our alternative brewing course and I had a nice chat with joint owner Kevin.  I had the cold brew and as consistent as always, Mariana had her fifth cappuccino.  The cold brew is awesome and the cappuccino joint top cuppa with Father coffee.

Vintage coffee banner

Vintage coffee banner

Kevin in action

Kevin in action

Cold brewed coffee

Cold brewed coffee

Buzz complete

Buzz complete

I can recommend visiting as many different coffee shops as you can.  We will do this again soon.

Happy tasting!

So you bought your self an Aeropress?

/ Boxer Brew Coffee co / Leave a comment

I heard a comment last week: “I can not make coffee in the Aeropress without everything leaking out”, and wondered how many people struggle with this?  Now there are two methods of using the Aeropress and the foolproof way which I will describe is what is known as the inverted method.

13365585734_df31b37d2c_b

Some of the wonderful things about the Aeropress is it’s portability for camping and travel as well as the large number of different “recipes” you can get, so the world is your oyster!  There are companion apps like Aeropress Timer from Apple Store or Mr Barista which will assist with advice, recipes and a built in timer.  It is makes such good clean coffee and offer so many variations that there are even world championships!

13365230665_35a0ef8486_b

Before describing the inverted method, here is a video from the guys at StumpTown on the traditional, little trickier method.

The inverted method – 2015 world champion Lukas Zahradnik’s winning recipe:

What you need

WhatYouNeed

  1. An Aeropress.  There is only one Aeropress and a good price is below R500 ($29.95 on Amazon)
  2. Coffee beans. Ideally, you should grind it yourself, but if you do not have a grinder, purchase an appropriate grind for the recipe you want to make.  General rule of thumb is a medium coarse grind.
  3. A grinder.  A decent burr grinder will do, but not the whirly blade type grinder please.  If not, see point two.
  4. Water.  Filtered water since anything else could affect the taste.
  5. Timer or app.  This just makes things easier and consistent.
  6. Scale.  Since every recipe uses a different quantity of coffee it is quite important.
  7. Filters.  Startup stack and a neat holder is included with your Aeropress,
  8. Stirrer.  Included with your Aeropress and designed not to disturb your filter if you use the traditional way.

Method

Hand drawing a black process diagam

  1. Place your plunger about one centimeter into the body and set upside down with the filter to be fitted to the top later.
  2. Grind and measure your coffee beforehand according to your chosen method, typically 20 grams and as is the case for this recipe, make it medium fine.
  3. Place coffee into the opening where filter will be fitted later using handy funnel included.  No water ratio required since there are marks on the Aeropress and most recipes fill to mark four or close to the top.
  4. Get your filter seated in the filter holder and set  aside.
  5. Get your water boiling.  Boil more water than is needed as you want to warm up your equipment.  Start your timer as boil ends. but most recipes will have you wait a minute or until water has cooled down to 80 degrees Celsius.  This recipe is for 79 degrees.
  6. Use the boiled water to “wash” the filter.  Be careful not to spill water and burn yourself as I did the first time!
  7. At one minute, start your first pour.  Recipe calls for 8 second pour since you only pour a little.  This is to let the coffee bloom, by wetting the all the coffee to the consistency of wet mud.
  8. During the next 15 seconds while bloom is allowed to happen, pick up the Aeropress and gently swirl it.  If you use an app, you will not need to count up the seconds!
  9. During the next 10 seconds, fill the Aeropress to just below the top.
  10. You can use the next 5 seconds to twist on your filter cap, place your preheated mug upside down on the Aeropress and flipping the whole lot over.
  11. This recipe calls for a long gentle plunge so try and time it for 45 seconds.  When you hear a hiss from escaping air, you should stop, but ideally, just a second before you reach that point.
  12. You are at 2:26 including cool down time, all done – enjoy!  Cleaning the Aeropress is super easy – just remove cap and discard filter and coffee by plunging down over a bin and rise.

Don’ts

Donts

The biggest mistakes you can make are the following:

  1. Using boiling water. This will guarantee over extraction and the harsh bitter coffee that goes with it.  Waiting a minute for water to cool down is a good rule of thumb.
  2. Incorrect grind.  Use appropriate grind as per your recipe.
  3. Store your Aeropress assembled.  Don’t store Aeropress assembled since plunger seal will compress over time.

Also try:  Make a cold brew recipe from the app or alternatively do what I tried:

Place one cup course ground medium roast coffee in a can fruit jar and pour three cups of ice water over the grounds.  Stir for about  30 seconds and seal.  Store in fridge for twelve to twenty four hours.  Scoop out most of the grounds and then filter using the Aeropress for a super smooth, almost sweet brew.  I like it over ice, one third ice brew since it is concentrated and two thirds milk.

At first glance it seems complicated, but once you follow these easy steps, it should be simple enough that you do not even have to think about it.  If you use the app, it will be foolproof!

As always: Remember, life is to short for bad coffee!

An evening brewing black

/ Boxer Brew Coffee co / Leave a comment

Last week my wife and I attended an alternative brewing course at Vintage coffee.

Brewing0

It was a real eye opener for me who is mostly a cappuccino / sometimes espresso drinker.  Firstly all coffees are tasted black and secondly, coffees are tasted and allowed to cool down as you repeatedly taste them.

The evening started off with a quick informative talk on the history of coffee as well as the process from bean to cup.  I believe it is good to steep yourself in all things related to coffee.  Your appreciation and knowledge will help you enjoy your coffee more and more.

Brewing1

After the initial talk, we divided into three groups, each discussing and practicing a popular brewing method – French press, V60 pour over and the Aeropress.

First up was the V60 Pour over

Brewing2

At this demo, some principals were highlighted like the importance of weighing coffee and water, the correct water temperature, the correct grind and the timing of your brew.  Even though each method has its own special method, these principals remain the most important.  The pour-over probably produced the cleanest crisp coffee full of fruity notes backed up by a firm but not overpowering acidity.  It reminded me of a fruit juice in some respects.

Next up was the French press.

Brewing5

Since it filters through a metal and not a paper filter, it was more of a full bodied experience.  The difference to the taste and the way I used to make French press coffee before I knew the correct way, was very different.  I used to over-extract my coffee, with the guidelines in the French press blog, this should not happen.  See https://boxerbrew.com/2015/09/12/french-press/

Lastly, and perhaps my favourite, was the Aero Press

Brewing4

What made me enjoy this station most was the different ways one can make Aero press coffee, each with it’s distinct characteristics.  The use of an app to guide you through the process was awesome.  Unfortunately, the demonstrated app is only available in Apple’s store, but I found a close second in the android space named MisterBarista at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.henleyb.aeropressbrewer&hl=en.  Although all the baristas was passionate about their method, I found the barista at this station particularly passionate and some interesting discussions was the result!

Brewing3

I can recommend this experience to anyone in the Pretoria, Johannesburg area and wish more coffee shops start to do this type of informal training.

Happy brewing and experimenting everyone!

Chemex – The sexy one

/ Boxer Brew Coffee co / Leave a comment

The Chemex is one of the most iconic, classic brewing methods.  When I first saw one I thought , “what a weird name” and “this looks like nothing”!  It grew on me though and now it is one of the brewing methods I would like to pursue.  You just have to look at the elegant lines of the Chemex and the wooden grip to fall in love with it.   I am crazy about the design having the filter holder as part of the eventual decanter.   I read somewhere that it is part of the MOMA permanent design collection.  Not sure what it is, but sound impressive!

kaboompics.com_Fresh morning coffee in the Chemex filter

The Chemex is a method in the pour-over category, unlike the French Press from last week which in the steeping category.  It will produce a very clean crisp coffee due to the thickness of the filter.  It maintains body and balanced floral notes in your coffee.  Her follows one method with one of Stumptown’s famous videos with their take at the end.

What you need

WhatYouNeed

  1. A eight cup Chemex and filter.  You can buy one for around R630-R900 ( $41.32  on Amazon)
  2. Coffee beans. Ideally, you should grind it yourself, but if you do not have a grinder, purchase a coarse ground to the texture of Kosher salt.
  3. A grinder.  A decent burr grinder will do, but not the whirly blade type grinder please.  If not, see point two.
  4. Water.  Filtered water since anything else could affect the taste.
  5. Timer.  I know I am walking a thin line here with the hard core coffee crowd, but since it’s not a science class, I am sure after timing things once or twice you won’t need it any more.
  6. Scale.  As with the timer, I believe that this is an aid for getting your brew right and not the rule, but with the Chemex it is quite important.
  7. Stirrer

Method

Hand drawing a black process diagam

  1. Grind and measure your coffee beforehand.  You can experiment and see recipes on internet, but start with 24 grams to 430 grams of water (1:17) and increase depending on required volume up to 700 grams.
  2. Get your water boiling.  Boil more water than is needed as you want to warm up your equipment.  Start your timer as boil ends.
  3. During first minute, place your filter in the Chemex with multiple folds to the spout.
  4. Use the boiled water to heat your Chemex and to “wash” your filter.  Drain this water.
  5. Add coffee into the filter.  With practice you should be ready for the next steps by the time you hit one minute
  6. At one minute, start your first pour.  This is to let the coffee bloom, by wetting the all the coffee without letting much coffee filter through – around double+ the weight of your coffee.  Stir gently to ensure there is no dry coffee.
  7. Wait 45 seconds, which should put you at around 1:45 from the boil of your kettle (45 seconds brew time).  It seems up to now that 45 second bloom time is fairly universal for all brewing methods apart from the obvious exceptions like Espresso..
  8. At 1:45 start a slow pour.  Aim for the dry spots and use this to gently agitate the grounds.  Fill up to around ten times the weight of your coffee – 240 grams in our case.
  9. A minute later at 2:45 start filling again.  Pour to the top and add water us coffee filters through.  Your aim is to reach 454 grams (Coffee weight included) just before your clock hits five minutes.
  10. At five minutes remove and discard filter, irrespective of how much water is in the filter.  You are aiming for pour time over volume.  Allowing all remaining coffee to filter through will lead to over extraction.

Don’ts

Donts

The biggest mistakes you can make are the following:

  1. Using boiling water. This will guarantee over extraction and the harsh bitter coffee that goes with it.  Waiting a minute for water to cool down is a good rule of thumb.
  2. Incorrect grind.  To fine will cause over extraction and possibly lower filter speed.
  3. Waiting for all coffee to filter through before removing filter will also lead to over extraction.

At first glance it seems complicated, but once you follow these easy steps, it should be simple enough that you do not even have to think about it.  If you use water off the boil and do a short pour and allow coffee to bloom for 45 seconds and pour remaining water and stop the brew at an appropriate time, you are just about there already!

As always: Remember, life is to short for bad coffee!

Here is an awesome video from the guys at Stumptown Coffee Roasters:

 

The Cafetière aka The French Press

/ Boxer Brew Coffee co / 2 Comments

French Press?  Sounds like the paparazzi, but it is probably one of the most accessible brewing methods.  In it’s simplest form it is a tubular container with a removable metal filter used to press down on the coffee.  This is the first in the series of blogs about alternative brewing methods from the steeping group.  This is the brewing methods that is the Jacuzzi group where coffee  chills in the water for a while.

It has had a bad rap, as producing harsh, murky or bitter coffee.  Here is a guideline to making good French press coffee. I searched wide and far on the wild, wild web and have distilled the best advice I could find. Following this guideline, should produce a full-bodied, robust coffee with intense flavors.

What you need

WhatYouNeed

  1. A French Press.  Any french press will do, but the best value for money is most likely a Bodum.
  2. Coffee beans. Ideally, you should grind it yourself, but if you do not have a grinder, purchase the coarsest coffee grind you can find.
  3. A grinder.  A decent burr grinder will do, but not the whirly blade type grinder please.  If not, see point two.
  4. Water.  Filtered water since anything else could affect the taste.
  5. Timer.  I know I am walking a thin line here with the hard core coffee crowd, but since it’s not a science class, I am sure after timing things once or twice you won’t need it any more.
  6. Scale.  As with the timer, I believe that this is an aid for getting your brew right and not the rule.

Method

Hand drawing a black process diagam

  1. Get your water boiling.  Boil more water than is needed as you want to warm up your press.
  2. Fill your French press.  This is to heat your press.
  3. Set your timer.  You have a relaxed one minute to prepare your coffee while your water is cooling slightly.
  4. Weigh (for starters) your coffee.  This is where you experiment, but start off on 1:10 ratio on weight between coffee and water.  This works out around a teaspoon (+) per cup.
  5. Grind your coffee.  Use a coarse grind setting. When you finish by pressing down on the filter, too little resistance will indicate too coarse grind and too much resistance will indicate too fine a grind.
  6. Empty the press.  At a minute, your boiled water would have cooled down a tad and will not lead to over extraction.
  7. Add the ground coffee to your French press.
  8. Pour water.  If you are using a scale, set to zero and pour ten times as much water by weight as the ground coffee you added.
  9. Stir.  At about forty five seconds from the time water was added, give a firm, but not over vigorous stir.  We don’t want to damage our press now, so use clean wooden or bamboo spoon.  This will release the trapped carbon dioxide from the coffee crust and most of the coffee should drop to the bottom.
  10. Press down to filter.  At about four minutes from the time water was added, press down slowly on the coffee.  Some people suggest breaking the crust and scooping it off before pressing down.
  11. Enjoy.  Use the coffee straight away or decant since over extraction may take place otherwise.

Don’ts

Donts

The biggest mistakes you can make are the following:

  1. Using boiling water. This will guarantee over extraction and the harsh bitter coffee that goes with it.
  2. Too fine grind. Once again, over extraction as well as a murkiness in the coffee.
  3. Too long time before pressing down on the coffee. At the risk of sounding like a broken record… over extraction.
  4. Not using the coffee straight away. I refuse to say it again, so I will only add that your coffee will cool down too much.

Hope this was not too much like school, but once you follow these easy steps, it should be simple enough that you do not even have to think about it.  Remember, life is to short for bad coffee!

Here is a cool video on the French Press from Stumptown Roasters.  Happy brewing!

Brewing Methods

/ Boxer Brew Coffee co / Leave a comment

How do I love thee?  Let me count the ways.  William Shakespeare

I was sent a post about alternative brewing methods by my daughter and that got me thinking….  I have seen a few alternative methods and have even seen videos on making your own.

So what methods are there?  What characteristics does each present?

Here is an informing layout I found on Pop Chart Lab’s site:

Confused much?  Let me start demystifying by briefly describing the method categories and how they relate to well-known methods.  In posts following this one, we will focus on the lesser known or alternative methods in more detail.  I am leaving out one category from the top since it is a combination of others.

Steeping

For this method, you will have a coarse ground coffee which will be steeped or soaked if you like in cold or hot water.  For cold water it could be for up to twelve hours.  No quick fix here.  Afterwards it is filtered and enjoyed in a number of ways.  Note: Cold brewed coffee will be sweeter due to its lower acidity but has higher levels of caffeine compared to some other brewing methods.  Most common example is the French press, but the Aeropress is gaining popularity.French press

Drip or pour over

Pour over coffee also starts with coarse ground coffee wich is placed in a filter, and a filter holder or ‘pour over dripper.’  Hot water is poured over the grounds and coffee filters through.  Best known example would be the filter machine.  Other manual examples are Chemex and V60.  For the Chemex and V60, the use of a gooseneck kettle is a must in order to have control over your pour.Filter machine

Pressure or vacuum

These are the same since vacuum is just reverse pressure.  For this method, hot water, is pushed through finely ground coffee under pressure.  The result will be a smaller volume, full-bodied coffee with firm acidity.  Best known example are the Espresso machine and the trusty Mokka pot, but vacume coffee makers are becoming more accessible. Espresso machine

In the coming weeks, we will go deeper down the rabbit hole.

Happy brewing

Baby steps

/ Boxer Brew Coffee co / Leave a comment

Why coffee?  Is it because coffee smells like freshly ground heaven?  Perhaps it is what coffee does to us, to our bones, to our soul.  It is not about the much published rush, but rather, the opposite – it’s the feeling of “ahhhh” when you take your first sip on a cold morning or sitting down after a hard day at work.  The joining of friends around a cup.  It offers us an excuse to stop and watch the world go by.

This is all true, but what makes this moment is based on steam, gears, motors, pumps and science.  I am a novice on all things coffee, but would like all lovers of coffee to join me on a journey of discovery.  It may be short or long, but a journey of discovery non the less.

I recently purchased my first bag of green Guatemalan Finca El Morito.  The plan is to buy, roast, sell and repeat.  This opened a Pandora’s box which lead to a colleague proposing that I blog about this journey and in the words of captain Jean Luc Picard’s famous words, I decided to “make it so”.