Blogroll: Coffee Culture

Written by one of the co-founders of Starbucks, This blog, (part of The Atlantic's food channel) is dedicated to the appreciation and enjoyment of coffee. From the most recent post:

When people ask how to make better coffee at home, my first question is "How much coffee is in your coffee?" One of the common problems we professionals encounter away from our own brewing is weak coffee. And there is nothing that can be done to salvage weak coffee.
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On countless occasions I've served our coffee to people for the first time. On first sip, they say, "This is strong." By the third or fourth sip, they say, "This is good." The main surprise, I think, is that most coffee is weak and that's what people are expecting. But as soon as they actually taste the full flavor of fresh, freshly ground, full strength coffee, they have a coffee epiphany.

Many national brands recommend one tablespoon per cup. Abraham Lincoln delivered the final verdict on this one many years ago: "Waiter, if this is tea, please bring me some coffee; if this is coffee, please bring me tea." If you can see through the coffee to the bottom of the cup, you're in trouble.

We recommend at least a full coffee measure (two tablespoons) per six fluid ounces of water for all brewing methods except espresso. For my morning press pot, I use two heaping American coffee scoops (about 4.5 tablespoons) of beans (20-22 grams) for 12 fluid ounces of hot water. I always grind my coffee just before brewing -- so that aromatics go into my cup, and not the air.

After going on a couple of mini-rants about America's use of volume measures in cooking (he prefers weight) and our failure to fully adopt metric units (good point) he ends with the following piece of advice:

Don't be afraid of strong coffee. You can always add hot water to dilute it. Brew your coffee to your own taste, of course -- unless I'm coming over. If you brew it weak, you won't really be enjoying the great flavors, and there is nothing you can do to make stronger when I come to your house for a tasty cup.

Preach on, brother. Preach on.