A few notes on coffee making

So I’ve been making fancy coffee for a little more than a year two years (?!) now, here are some quick tips and tricks I’ve learned.

Quick note: These are my experiences and are what I enjoy, written more opinionated than I actually am. Please do ignore me if your experience does not match up! If someone tells you they know how things are and you are doing things wrong – they are likely wrong and probably not fun to be around!

Timing is everything!

• have a recipe, follow that

• time things, gives me guidance and a nice sequence to fall back on if confused

  • especially for espresso, go by time first, then taste (if beginner/having trouble with tasting for what you want/like)
  • for flair signature: 15s preinfusion (after first drops), pull shot at 6-7bar and aim for ~30s shot time (without the preinfusion)

  • for v60: 17g coffee + 250ml, heat filter, add grounds, preinfuse (60g water, 45s), slowly pour until 250ml; aim for 4:30min total time (timing less important here than with espresso)

  • consult James for details + other weights

  • for aeropress: no idea yet!

Timing! After months, this one really helps me.

Sod the snobs

Some things I am doing:

• add sugar!
• have it with cream!
• always have it with mjölk

Over time I’ve discovered that when I make espresso + mjölk things I usually don’t need sugar. With filter (+ mjölk) I usually want sugar, but sometimes less.

• ignore that it has to taste of a wistful feeling at sundown, just try to find out what you like
  • i have trouble identifying what coffee tastes like, but I still have fun with it and discover things over time
  • don’t require yourself to taste what it says on the label (I can’t in most cases)

Keep at it

• there might be fun jumps in knowledge/experience over time
  • e.g. I got much better at latte art after a few months, kind of from one day to the next

Have fun

That’s what makes it enjoyable for me, and keeps me making elaborate coffee things. Having these odd coffees with friends is also really fun for me, because they tell me fun things about what the coffee tastes like, often much more interesting things than I can taste.

For more, see the other things I have written about coffee-related topics.