Coffee Thread

[Anonymous No.6750858]

What's the optimal proportions for brewing coffee?

Since the definition of "cup" differs between manufacturers and even coffee brands, I've been using 4 scoops (10 tbsp) of grounds for every 2 US cups of water, which apparently is supposed to be 4 coffee cups?
I always brewed it with hot, but not quite boiling water. It leaves a nice foamy crema and the coffee comes out really strong, almost too strong. It's almost impossible to reach a perfect balance of sugar and cream, it's either not enough or too sweet. This is the way I've been making coffee since I switched from instant.

Today I found out you're not supposed to use that much ground, so I used 2 scoops (4 tbsp) and 2 US cups of near-boiling water from a kettle.
The coffee didn't leave a crema at all, and the coffee itself tasted like absolute dogshit.

How do you people do it?

[Anonymous No.6750871]

OP, are we to assume that you're using a French Press?

[Anonymous No.6750873]

>>6750871
yes

[Anonymous No.6750887]

>>6750873
OK, then I can't help you because I use a moka pot and an espresso machine but I'm sure someone will be along soon to offer assistance.

I just thought it was important for you to clarify which brew method you're using.

[Poorfag McGee No.6750901]

Ok, here's a question. What is the point of having so many damn coffee machines, drip, press, (i guess turkish isn't a machine, but it's a separate method) etc. What are the benefits of one over another?
What's the best?
Oh btw, espresso master race.

[Anonymous No.6750940]

>>6750901
I like my moka pot because it's simple and fast and makes an excellent cup of coffee.

I really, really like my espresso machine because it makes an incredibly delicious cup of coffee and there's more of an art to completing a perfect extraction which can feel rewarding. It can also extract more flavours out of the grind, compared to the moka pot where the difference between blends isn't so apparent. With the espresso I can really taste the difference between blends and how the beans were prepared. Like the difference between fruity beans and nutty beans.

The disadvantages to espresso is that it takes a while to warm up and its very easy to fail an extraction (read: make a horrible cup of coffee). Plus it requires much more maintenance than the moka pot.
But it's worth the extra effort, imo.

[Anonymous No.6750959]

>>6750858
> How do you people do it?

Unfortunately, I can no longer drink coffee as it fucks up by digestion but when I was working 60-hours per week and was drinking coffee all day long, I used 3 heaping table spoons of Maxwell House or Folgers for 12 cups of water in an automatic drip coffee maker.

[Anonymous No.6751129]

>>6750858
It depends on the beans (roast and natural characteristics), grind (finer grind = less beans - not a direct ratio and co-dependent on beans and how strong I want my coffee).
In general, though, I like a very strong cup, and use a lot of coffee with a finer grind than most prefer to use with a press. The recommendation of using a course grind with a press annoys me.
I like lighter roasts overall, but especially in a press, because the bitter flavor compounds are not as pronounced, allowing a slightly longer brew period.
So, typically, I go for light roast (which can vary greatly depending on who is telling you it is light), fine grind (finer than drip, not as fine as espresso), and I eyeball the amount I put in the press because grind and humidity can affect volume, which probably averages out to 2-3 tbsp fine dry grind per cup of water, which is typically 195-200 degrees, quick stir after slow pour, press, then into carafe if I'm being all fancy for someone or I end up chewing a bit on the sludge at the bottom of my cup when I get there, which I find somewhat satisfying. If variables lead to bitterness or too much acid for my taste, I adjust with cream or milk and sugar accordingly.
I see press coffee as being akin to wine and some aspects of tea. You never really know what you're going to get with each new brew or bottle, but you can estimate based on identifiable variables.
If you stick to one kind of bean from one roaster, it will reduce your variables a lot. From there, play with the grind and different aspects of the brew time.

[Anonymous No.6751149]

I drink iced coffee mostly because I grew up in places with palm trees and shit.

I'm a bit... shall we say... exacting... with my coffee preparation yet use an automatic drip nowadays.
Odd, right?
Anyway, I use a scale and measure out 150g (about 5¼ oz) of coffee and use it to brew 900ml (about 1 US quart) of water over a quarter-full pot of ice cubes. When all is said and done, it brews about 1200ml of iced coffee.
Standard brewing ratio is 7g coffee per 100ml water, an increase in the coffee:water ratio of about 78%.
I like it this way, so I've not half a fuck to give about what the proper ratio is supposed to be.

Now, IINM, 4 US coffee scoops equals 14g × 4 = 56g. 2 US cups equals 237ml × 2 = 474ml, so yours has an increase of coffee:water of about 68%.

In short, since you like your increased coffee:water ratio brew, don't worry about how much coffee you're "supposed" to use, especially if you've tried and don't care for the recommended ratio.
Keep. Doing. You.

[Anonymous No.6751281]

>>6750901
it's not that one is better than the other it's about variety.

[Anonymous No.6751286]

>>6750858
get a scale and weigh your coffee and water. if you wanna find the perfect amount of cream and sugar and be able to repeat it easily weigh that too.

[Anonymous No.6751365]

Start off with 50g of coffee per litre of water, adjust as necessary.

[Anonymous No.6751401]

Dunkin donuts coffee best coffe

[Anonymous No.6751534]

I use a single serving french press (AKA cafetiere), it only makes one cup at a time so I don't know how this will translate to a larger press. I dunno about all your US measurements either, but I use a heaped tablespoon of ground coffee in the cafetiere, add about 120% of a mug of hot water (well off the boil). This means after stirring and covering, brewing (3-4 minutes), plunging and (carefully) pouring there's still a fifth of a mug of coffee in the cafetiere. I pour that leftover liquid down the sink because it's too full of grounds, and then the remaining grounds go in the food recycling bin.

I think my knackered old press has a shitty filter though, there's always tons of grounds in the mug, so I'm asking for help here:

1. Should I use less coffee grounds? After typing that up it occurred to me that I might be using too much.

2. Could I add a coffee filter like pic related to my french press to make the filtering more effective and get less grounds in my coffee?

3. I heard using pic related makes the best coffee if you just use that and a cup, pouring water over the filter full of grounds and letting them brew before removing the filter and grounds or something. Any info on that? Google is no help.

Black, 1 sugar btw.

[Anonymous No.6751544]

bump

[Anonymous No.6751548]

>>6750959
That's coffee-flavored water at that point

[Anonymous No.6751551]

I came here to ask the same question.

I was going to brew a pot with 2 1/4 cups water and 6 tablespoons of coffee grounds. I'm gonna put that all in my travel mug and drink it on the train. Does that sound OK?

[Anonymous No.6751559]

>>6750858
I use 27g of grounds for 600g of water in my french press

[Anonymous No.6751602]

>>6751551
That is the ratio I use, roughly. I'm told that my coffee is "strong" but that is probably by plebs.

[Anonymous No.6751603]

anyone who uses a ~french press~ over a good ol fashion American coffee machine is a fuckin fag

[Anonymous No.6751607]

Just do it by eye. Nothing like this should be rocket science.

[Anonymous No.6752183]

>>6751603
I have a drip machine, I just never use it.
Setting it up and plugging it in was a pain in the ass, so i would only drink coffee occasionally.
Plus, I would forget to clean it and let it dry, so it would smell like mold every time I dug it out to make coffee.

I've been drinking coffee every day since i got a an $8 ikea french press, since I actually feel like washing it after use.
I also had a bodum press, but the carafe literally broke after the 3rd wash, they're shit.

[Anonymous No.6752225]

>>6751603
Here in America we call it a Freedom Press.

[Anonymous No.6752268]

I want to star making my own coffee at home but I know noting about making coffee.

Should I get a coffee machine or French press? How do I decide which beans I should get?

[Anonymous No.6752515]

>>6751603
>ol fashion
The press was around before the drip.
Also, my press skills make the poon drip.

[Anonymous No.6752523]

Anyone a fan of Greek frappés?

[Anonymous No.6752527]

Does /ck/ like donuts with coffee?

>>6752523
Never heard of it. Is it anything special?

[Anonymous No.6752541]

>>6751534
>Black, 1 sugar btw.
That's not black you mongaloid.

[Anonymous No.6752546]

>>6752541
yes it is you mongoloid

[Anonymous No.6752548]

>>6752527
not particularly I don't think. Just a cheap, quick frozen coffee drink.

[Anonymous No.6752554]

>>6752546
No, it's a coffee + one sugar. Black is black, nothing added, you horse's ass

[Anonymous No.6752749]

>>6752548
It's not a frozen coffee drink. Italians, particularly Neapolitans, have a drink similar to frapés called sciaccherato/shakerato which may or may not be frozen and may or may not be made with instant coffee while frapés is never frozen and never made with anything but instant coffee. Details below.

>>6752527
Get some instant coffee and some sugar and put it into a shaker bottle with just barely enough water for the stuff to swim.
Cap the bottle tightly and shake the ever-loving piss out of it. The proteins in the instant coffee and the sugar with create a foam when agitated with water in this way.
Pour off the foam into serving glass/es and top off with water and/or milk (and/or cola if you're a filthy Bulgarian).

Sciaccherato can be made from fresh coffee or identically to frapés.
As a fresh coffee drink, two double-strength shots of espresso are pulled over ice in a cocktail shaker, then shaken with sugar to make the foam which is then strained into a martini glass. It is never milked.
As a frozen coffee drink, whole ice cubes, instant coffee, sugar or sugar syrup and milk are added to a blender and blitzed together to make a coffee slushy.

>>6752523
I enjoy it from time to time, but I'm not crazy about it.

[Anonymous No.6752764]

>>6752527
I actually like to dip certain kinds of cookies into coffee from time to time. It does awful things to my coffee, but the cookies taste incredible infused with it.

[Anonymous No.6752868]

>>6752749
a greek frappé is specifically made with ice cubes you ding dong.

[Anonymous No.6752884]

>>6752868
No. It's not specifically made with ice cubes. And even if it were, that doesn't make it a frozen coffee drink unless you want to say that fountain sodas are frozen drinks, too. Do you?

[Anonymous No.6753425]

>>6752268
>Should I get a coffee machine or French press?

Depends on if you just want coffee and don't really care how it tastes, or if you want to pursue the world of coffee (which can be like wine, cheese, whisky, insofar as people have started to appreciate the flavors of specific brewing methods, growing regions, and local/home roasting of single origin or blends). It's not for everyone, and doing it to look sophisticated is the wrong reason to do it.

I personally use a french press, but I like the oils from the beans and I prefer making 4 cups at a time. Aeropress is similar, but you have less oils in the final product, and you can really only make one cup at a time. Pour over is also a popular method on /ck/, however I don't know much about it. Those are the three most common methods for brewing you'll see on here. If you just want a cup of joe in the morning (or two or three), you can get a coffee machine from where ever and just make a pot.

>How do I decide which beans I should get?

Again depends on what you want out of a cup. If you want to start with something other than foldgers/maxwell house, I recommend looking at what your local stores offer for in-store grind. I also recommend a medium roast over a french roast, as I think most french roasts taste burnt (but they're popular because they're extremely consistent(ly burnt).

[Anonymous No.6753449]

>>6750959

Three Tablespoons per Twelve Cups of water? That's pretty much just water. It must have tasted terrible.

[Anonymous No.6753452]

>>6752554
No. Black coffee is no cream, sugar, milk or anything else.

[Anonymous No.6753482]

>>6753425
>French press
>Aeropress
>Pour over
>Those are the three most common methods for brewing you'll see on here.
Does your mind just glaze over when your eyes see the words "moka" and "pot" in the same sentence?
I'd say that french press and moka pot on par with each other on /ck/ with a few poor souls who have fallen for the aero-gimmick and one or two very vocal pour over enthusiasts. Plus the espresso gods, of course.

[Anonymous No.6753572]

>>6753482
I actually just forgot about the moka pot because the look like percolator and I can't shake the association I made long ago and I like to forget that percolators ever existed.

Making espresso at home is something you can do, but not something worth mentioning to the guy I responded to.

[Anonymous No.6754494]

>>6753572
fair enough. sometimes when i'm having sex i forget that women have feelings too but then i remember that i'm masturbating and it doesn't matter what women want. just like it doesn't really matter what i just said because i only wanted to bump the thread and steal about ten seconds of your life.

mission complete.

[Anonymous No.6755369]

>>6753452
Exactly what I said, nothing added.

[Anonymous No.6755380]

>>6752884
jesus christ.

[Anonymous No.6755396]

>>6754494
Ebin.

[Anonymous No.6755686]

>>6752764
Biscoff crackers are made to go with coffee, give em a try.

[Anonymous No.6755697]

For pour over I use 28g coffee for 350ml of water.