Reblog – Pressing Matters: Tips For Using the Aerobie Aeropress

Aeropress, ,

I’m a huge fan of the Aerobie Aeropress. I haven’t come across a more simple machine that makes anywhere close to the quality of espresso that my Aeropress delivers. A simple Google search reveals that I’m not alone in my praise of the Aeropress.

I came across the blog “We Hunt & Gather” through the writer’s twitter page after he followed me. The title of his most recent post sold me the minute I read it. I asked him if I could reblog it, and he gave me permission. Below you’ll find the entire post, and a link to the original. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

The Coffee Guy

PRESSING MATTERS: TIPS FOR USING THE AEROBIE AEROPRESS

For a month now I’ve been the proud owner of an Aerobie Aeropress, that strange, over-sized syringe like coffee brewer. I had been weighing up buying one ever since the coffee shop I worked in started stocking them, but I couldn’t bring myself to purchase such an ugly piece of plastic. I don’t think it helped that every time I had to demonstrate how they worked to a customer, the penis-enlarger scene from Austin Powers replayed through my mind.

Finally I gave in and with the Aeropress in one hand and a bag of freshly roasted coffee beans in the other I headed home to brew my first cup. Despite the internet being awash with good reviews for the product, and there even being a World Aeropress Championship, I was still surprised at just how good the results were. In fact I think you’d really struggle to brew a bad cup.

I’m not going to give any specific recipes or instructions here, as there are plenty out there, (nods to the internet’s horizon line) and to be honest I change my method pretty much weekly. Besides, being able to experiment with how you brew is half the fun of the Aeropress.

Instead I thought I’d share a few tips that I’ve picked up.

Invert It Brewing with the Aeropress upside down with the plunger in and the filter cap off means that you can have more control over the brew time. You dictate when the coffee starts to drip through the filter, letting you brew for longer.

Brew with Water First Brewing a cup without putting any coffee in heats up the Aeropress, rinses the filter of chemically tastes and heats the mug up – the perfect preparation.

Get the grind right Despite the box saying repeatedly that it makes espresso style coffee, you shouldn’t use coffee ground for an espresso machine. Instead use a grind slightly coarser than filter. A finer grind will result in a stronger brew whilst coarser will give you a weaker one.

Re-use the Filter Each filter can be used several times, just rinse off, place back into the Aeropress and push the plunger down on top, keeping it flat whilst it dries. When you come to use it next you won’t even need to rinse it again.

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View the original post here.

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Slowing things down: Kohana Coffee

Texas, ,

Right now, if I wanted, I could watch a movie on my phone. If I wanted to own the new Coldplay CD, I could in a matter of minutes. If I wanted to see my dad, he’s only one Skype call away. The truth is, most everything is instant these days – or darn near. But is that necessarily the best way to go about everything? Are there benefits to slowing down? Kohana Coffee out of Austin, TX seems to think so.

When it comes to roasting, the majority of the world’s coffee is roasted at a high temperature for just a few minutes. The problem is, one roast does not fit all beans.

At Kohana, we recognize, even revere, the fact that each type of bean has its own flavor characteristics. Using a technique developed in Hawaii, each Kohana bean is slow roasted based on these characteristics.

That’s great, but does Kohana’s tendency to “go against the grind” of coffee society pay off? (See what I did there…?)

I first got in contact with the folks from Kohana on Twitter. We’d talk from time to time, tossing back and forth quips and coffee lingo. As time went on and I began doing more reviews for coffee shops outside of Boise, Kohana Coffee would often cross my mind as a brand that I would love to review. For some reason I never got around to it – until a few weeks ago.

The folks from Kohana Coffee were more than friendly, sending me a bag of their Antigua Belle Carmona – a medium roast. Here’s the description of the coffee I received, from Kohana’s website:

One of Guatemala’s premium Antiguan coffees from Hacienda Carmona, a small estate located between the Agua and Acatenango volcanoes. With a rich full body and bright medium acidity, it is mildly sweet with flavors of caramel and cacao. Nicely aromatic fruit fragrance and a clean finish make this a special coffee you will enjoy….

One difficult aspect to reviewing coffee  is that there is not any objective way to tell someone what coffee is good and what coffee is bad. Often, I’ve found that certain coffees taste great in a mocha, while others are best when consumed as straight espresso. When I’m trying new coffee I like to put it into as many different types of drinks as I can. Not only does this give me an overall sense of the diversity of the coffee, but it allows me to find the way to enjoy that specific coffee the best.

After putting Kohana Coffee’s Antigua Bella Carmona through my “varied drink” test, I found that there was one cup that I simply couldn’t get enough of. Creating an Americano out of the Antigua and enjoying it with a little cream, as simple as that sounds, was absolutely heavenly. On one particular day I drank three cups of the Antigua this way. The more I had it, the more I loved it.

The coffee itself is a solid medium roast – definitely not one that will leave you wanting. Strong fruity notes reverberate throughout the entire process of crafting a cup of coffee from the Antigua, the strongest stage being grinding. Every time I would grind a batch the entire room would fill with the savory scent. These smells transfer nicely into the finished product, giving the coffee a lighthearted and carefree taste. Don’t be confused though, this is not a “light” coffee in the truest sense of the word. Strong notes ring through as well, giving the brew a rich undertone that will jar one to reality if consumed in the morning. It’s safe to say that the Antigua Bella Carmona is a versatile coffee. Its deliciousness can be enjoyed morning, noon, or night. I would strongly suggest Kohana’s Antigua Bella Carmona to both the coffee connoisseur and the casual consumer alike. Buy it here.

One other aspect of Kohana Coffee that’s well worth pointing out is their great website and social media outlets. Their website is more than just a store – it actually has a surprising wealth of information regarding their coffee, and coffee in general. For instance, check out their brewing tips here. Check them out on Facebook and Twitter as well.

I can’t wait to try more coffee from Kohana Coffee! If slow roasting is wrong, I don’t want to be right.

The Coffee Guy

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The Coffee Experience: Music

The Coffee Experience,

Thanks for checking out this post! I’ve since updated my coffee playlist. Check it out here.

More and more I find myself admitting that the coffee experience has less to do with the coffee, and more to do with the experience. Now don’t get me wrong – there is most definitely a difference between good coffee and bad coffee. However, if you’re like me, you’ve probably had a delicious cup of Joe nearly ruined by terrible customer service or other extraneous factors unrelated to the actual taste of the coffee.

The coffee experience is nearly as complicated as coffee itself. A great cup of coffee has the perfect balance of depth, warmth, richness, and taste. On the other hand, a great coffee experience could be a mixture of having a friendly barista, timely service, great pastries on the side, or even just the atmosphere of the coffee shop as a whole.

It could even have to do with music.

Music permeates the very fabric of our society today: movies wouldn’t be the same without the rich scores that accompany them, couples make and re-live memories through “their song,” and social media has brought the chance to be a self-made musician to the garage of every man, woman, and child.

I’ve found that music plays heavily into my coffee experience. Often, I drink coffee while attempting to accomplish some other task: whether that task is homework, work, or just goofing around online. I tend to listen to music while I do those same things, and because of this simple fact I end up listening to music and drinking coffee at the same time fairly often.

A couple of weeks ago I began to notice that I tend to move towards listening to certain genres of music while participating in this “task-coffee-music” ritual.

After a few days of processing this realization I put together a relatively short playlist which I aptly titled  “Coffee” in iTunes (link at the bottom of this post).

Bands on this playlist include:

  • Oasis
  • Mae
  • Jason Mraz
  • Jack Johnson
  • Mumford & Sons
  • Sherwood
  • Shawn McDonald
  • Coldplay
  • The Beatles
  • Ingrid Michaelson

It’s a super chill playlist filled with popular songs, virtually-underground songs, alternative artists, and, overall, a very relaxing tone.

This music has proven to be incredibly beneficial in creating a great coffee experience for me – it highlights each delicious note that the brew in my mug gives off.

Do you find that you listen to certain types of music while drinking coffee? Share your favorite artists and songs in the comments!

The Coffee Guy

[iTunes link to my playlist here]

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