coffee (pour over) – Books and Coffee

December 25, 2024December 25, 2024

Coffee: Hire Wire’s Conscientious Objector

Image of the crema-like froth of the coffee while brewing; image of the pour-over device filled with dark, rich, brewed coffee — If you told me I would adore a medium roast made pour-over style THIS MUCH, I might not have believed you.

I have an almost religious identity as a French Press coffee person: I love the flavor that emerges from coffee when it has time to steep in boiling water without having a paper filter come between me and the oils. Our local roasters are so good that I also have a dark-roast-as-choice-not-to-hide-poor-bean-quality set of beliefs and tastes: gently dark-roasted coffee can taste RICH without bitterness. I have had over-roasted beans, and dislike those flavors; but a skilled roaster doesn’t go so far. In addition to my press, I have a single-cup pour-over device from a local fancy place, and use it for small servings, but am dissatisfied with the off-brand filters I’ve been using with it. I periodically have medium or (rarely) light roasts that I enjoy, especially when Ethiopian coffee has that almost blueberry aftertaste, but that can go too far for me, and I revert back to dark roasts in my daily habits.

And yet two things happened last week: my friend New K gifted me a bag of Oakland-roasted medium roast beans from Hire Wire, and I won a knockoff Chemex-style, paperless pour-over brewing kit at the gift exchange at work.

Oh. My. Goodness.

Conscientious Objector is at about the 70% mark on High Wire’s “roast intensity” scale. The beans are medium-light brown, but oh do they make a gloriously inky, opaque pot of pour-over.

This coffee, which High Wire notes will change seasonally and from crop to crop, is smooth, fragrant, flavorful, and delicious. I prepared it in my beloved French Press and enjoyed it hot (to most accurately compare it to my usual beans); I chilled some of the French Press, and enjoyed it iced; and finally, I broke out the new pour-over device, and ran sub-boiling water through the grinds while they got all creamy during stirring.

So GOOD.

I am eager for a cup every morning (and am on vacation from work, so I have a chance to make it at a civilized pace!). I brewed some during my mother’s visit and made her a sweetened version with almond milk; she gave up coffee decades ago, and claims she doesn’t even like coffee now, but loved it so much I made a multi-serving jar for her to take home with her!

Friends with great taste in coffee are great friends.

June 25, 2024June 26, 2024

Periodical: Drift Magazine Volume 13

Drift (Berlin – volume 13)
published by Digital Ventures, LLC (NY)
2023

I finally caved and bought this gorgeous magazine, because I’ve resisted long enough.

This magazine is one of the best examples of book / magazine design I have enjoyed. It combines black and white fine art photography (most of architecture and urban landscapes), color photographs centering on one topic (coffee enjoyment) which are laid out with plenty of white space, and concisely written passion articles about coffee.

It’s… perfect, really.

I have purchased books purely for their design in the past (because: of course I did), but this magazine is consistently gorgeous. Lots of blank space. Good contrast. Uncluttered. Consistent in its themes. I struggle to think of it as a coffee culture magazine alone, because its design is so lovely and the photography sells it for me. It’s so well designed that I fear I would have bought it even if it wasn’t about a city I adore and a drink I adore EVEN MORE.

I recommend it if you like: black and white photography of cities with saturated black and fine midtones (WHAT A PRINTER THEY HAVE!), and casual conversation about the coffee culture of wonderful cities.

“You must REALLY like coffee,” said the gentle bookseller. Yes, yes, I do, and we also talked about how much coffee I like because so much of it is good around here, how fabulous fancy espresso drinks are, plus the Bay Area’s Jazz Station (which we both love: I broadcast this by wearing their jacket).

May 22, 2022May 20, 2022

Coffee: Ethiopian Fancy from Peet’s as a Pour Over

Coffee fans fall into camps, and I’m both an espresso drinker (a special fan of almond milk lattes) and a French press coffee devotee.

I rarely drink pour-over coffee. I’ve had it in various places, and… just haven’t been impressed. It was okay, but it reinforced my fondness for the additional flavor that soaking in a French press brings out in the beans.

My friend C brought me the gift of Peet’s Ethiopian Fancy (peets.com) recently, which is a favorite of mine – but he brought it over ground. FINELY ground. It was automatic: he makes Italian Roast as pour-over, and this is his usual grind, though it is too fine for my French press. I made it in the French press anyway, and it was good, but also different, and I didn’t like having sediment in my cup afterward.

So, I caved and bought a pour-over device from another local coffee place, plus filters to fit, so I wouldn’t have to waste any of this finely ground coffee.

And… my first attempts at pour over were really GOOD. Yes, the coffee is different from my French press version with these same beans (though ground more coarsely, and with the oils still in the brew rather than on a paper filter). But still richly flavorful. And fast to make!

I’m not giving up the French press, but I like this additional option – and I LOVE Ethiopian Fancy this way.