Coffee

[waterbear]

No matter how closely she follows my steps, my wife INSISTS that the coffee is always better when I make it!

Either I make great coffee, OR I'M BEING HAD!

Trust me, you are being had! I use the same trick to get the significant other to brew the java even though I make a better pot! (Especially on Sunday morining when I want to read the paper and sip the brew!)

[NWMNMom]

...and just as important is WHEN you drink your coffee in relation to when it is brewed AND if it is kept on a warmer or not. Our factory chemist came in one day recently while I was enjoying a very particularly good cup (I brew my own expresso in my office so I don't drink from the community Bunn machine like the rest of the hoards) and told me that after X amount of time of being brewed the chemical content in coffee becomes something else all together at the molecular level and this does not take into account the different types of water being used etc. My eyes must have begun to glaze over so he moved on to the next office to ruin their coffee experience too. Does every large corporation have one of these guys or is it the same one, moving from place to place???

[CarlD]

Oh, I KNOW I've been had--but I still make better coffee (but I LOVE hers--it means I didn't have to make it! )

That chemist is full of it. Besides, he can say anything he wants. If my tongue is happy with the coffee, I'm happy!

Two things happen when coffee sits just after it's brewed (on a plate that isn't hot enough to boil it off)
1) the convection currents even it out. you can (should) stir it if you don't have time.
2) there's a slight smoothing of the flavor as some oils evaporate.

Of course, if the warmer is too hot, the coffee gets burnt tasting, so if you like it blistering hot, wave it, or drink it fast.

[KurtV]

Two things happen when coffee sits just after it's brewed (on a plate that isn't hot enough to boil it off)
1) the convection currents even it out. you can (should) stir it if you don't have time.
2) there's a slight smoothing of the flavor as some oils evaporate.
...

You lost me there Carl. External heating after brewing always makes coffee worse and it only takes a few minutes to degrade the taste noticeably. That's the reason you'll never see coffee on a warmer in a decent coffee house; they transfer it immediately to an airpot.

[waterbear]

Hmmm, I'm wondering if this thread would be more suitable for the "China Shop"! It's starting to get into the theoretical aspects of coffe brewing and drinking!

[NWMNMom]

Oh yah, coffee is a religion unto itself...lol. Maybe you should move it. Apparently, there are three things we should never discuss in polite company because you never know who you will offend or send off on a tangent - politics, religion and COFFEE!!

[KurtV]

NWMNMom,
You could add cigars and single malt whiskey to that list.

[CarlD]

You lost me there Carl. External heating after brewing always makes coffee worse and it only takes a few minutes to degrade the taste noticeably. That's the reason you'll never see coffee on a warmer in a decent coffee house; they transfer it immediately to an airpot.

Uh-huh. That's why I'm known as an iconoclast. 25 years of my own home brewing has shown me that this last is only partially true. The right coffee sitting at the right temperature, can actually get smoother and more flavorful. The wrong coffee (especially strong mud) gets acidic and burnt tasting. So, at home, if our coffee sits a while it gets better.

But in the office, if THAT coffee sits, it turns into battery acid after more than 30-45 minutes. But it starts off tasting at best mediocre.

Cigars? Never touch em! Only thing they are good for is warding off mosquitoes.

Single Malt? Not me. I lost a battle with a bottle Dewar's White Label when I was 16 and just the smell of Scotch turns me green. Even single malt Irish has no appeal, and more than a little bit starts tasting like....Scotch

Now a fine, old Martiniquan Rum, or Clef De Duc Armagnac, or even certain high end tequillas and I'm happy!

[NWMNMom]

But who can beat a nice refreshing rum drink poolside? And a good wine with dinner. This winter, we started making our own wine from our wild plums and the 4 types of grapes growing in our yard or woods nearby - so far, thumbs up for my wines, they all taste like they should (not vinegar and not rubbing alcohol)

[CarlD]

But who can beat a nice refreshing rum drink poolside? And a good wine with dinner. This winter, we started making our own wine from our wild plums and the 4 types of grapes growing in our yard or woods nearby - so far, thumbs up for my wines, they all taste like they should (not vinegar and not rubbing alcohol)

Sounds good! But Old Rum is like Old Cognac--you put it in a glass or snifter. You don't mix it. Hard to get REALLY good rum in the USA.