What is the background of brewing coffee with eggs? I hope the question isn't too broad or fuzzy. But quite a while ago, I stumbled across coffee that was prepared with eggs. The basic recipe involved mixing ground coffee with raw eggs (I think even with their shells), then cooking that mix with water and filtering it afterwards. The end result of that was in consistence and taste not much different from classic (drip, so to say) coffee, but had a notable and interesting by-taste of egg.

This was quite bit unusual to me and I didn't ever encounter this recipe again (yet am not an expert on the topic either). So I would first and foremost like to know if that preparation method is some kind of established or regional variation of coffee and how that actually developed or what the reasons/advantages for this somehow unusual combination are, be they nutritional, historical or just because it tastes good.

So I did a bit of research, and found a number of regional claims to 'egg coffee', including  Swedish, Norwegian, Vietnamese and the American Mid-West. Of course I also found an article on Putting Weird Things In Coffee, which should be taken with a pinch of salt1.
There seem to be a variety of approaches, but they seem to fall into three main camps:

Add just the white and the shell
Add just the yolk and the shell
Add the whole egg, including the shell

Across the different techniques, adding the shell was the only real unifying theme! It's said to reduce bitterness (I imagine because the shell is essentially calcium-carbonate, which is basic). The technique is to just crush up the shell, mix it and the egg contents with the coffee and pour over boiling water.
The grounds will bind with the egg protein and sink in the cup. They can then be strained off.
The only other recipe I found is specifically for Vietnamese egg coffee, which I found here:

Ingredients

1 egg
3 teaspoons of Vietnamese coffee powder
2 teaspoons of sweetened condensed milk
Boiling water

Directions
Brew a small cup of Vietnamese coffee. Crack
an egg and discard the whites. Put the yolk and the sweetened
condensed milk in a small, deep bowl and whisk vigorously until you
end up with a frothy, fluffy mixture like the one above. Add a
tablespoon of the brewed coffee and whisk it in. In a clear coffee cup
(we’re going for aesthetics here), pour in your brewed coffee, then
add the fluffy egg mixture on top. Presto. Egg coffee.

1: No, not like that.

No It originated from people who boiled egges in the shell in water.  Then used that hot water to brew coffee


Does hydration level change the effect of caffeine? Apologies if this question does not belong here, it may be suit for the chemistry site, but it pertains to the consumption of coffee directly -> so here it is.

Does your prior level of hydration have any affect at all on how much of a "buzz" the caffeine from coffee gives you? I spoke to someone who thinks it's the case that having drunk a glass of water before coffee sustains the effect versus it being the first liquid introduced into your system and the rationale behind that was since your body is not in need of any liquid the effect of the caffeine is somehow prolonged.

The other side is that if there's nothing in your system and only the coffee, is it the case that its effect would be stronger since it would not be diluted with other things (e.g., water) in your system?

Has anyone experimented with this?
Is there any difference at all?
What are some resources for explaining the biochemistry behind this?

Definitely. This is why you get caffeine jitters when you drink coffee on an empty stomach. Caffeine is a diuretic so it makes you more dehydrated. It is recommended to drink water before drinking caffeine, because caffeine also increases stomach acid and can cause stomach pain.


Ground coffee or beans I have just recently started drinking coffee, and have got myself a small counter top espresso machine.

Some people in work have suggested that instead of buying ground coffee (I have been using Lavazza ground coffee) I should buy beans and grind it myself. I have asked why, but no one has been able to give a better answer than "it just is better", so I am hoping someone here can help me find a better answer to this question. Or is it just personal preferences?

Also, as a newcomer to this, I know that the coffee someone uses is down to personal tastes and what have you, but I am just wondering if there are any coffee manufacturers who are very good when it comes to espresso (I mostly drink espresso).

Ground beans have a much larger surface area by weight than whole beans. When the surface of the bean is exposed to air chemical reactions take place. I doubt that these reactions have been completely characterized but at a minimum they include some loss of aromatic oils. In other words, the processes that lead to a judgment that coffee is "old" happen faster in ground coffee.

You can do the experiment easily and cheaply by comparing the results of coffee made with freshly-ground and pre-ground versions of same brand/date coffee. You can always borrow a grinder.

The experiment might not work if both samples of coffee are old (or poor quality). Otherwise I think you would notice a difference. Whether the difference is worth paying for is a different question; but the only costs are a grinder and time to grind the beans.

A short answer to the question about brands might be: good, fresh Arabica beans are similar in many ways, up to roasting. Some people prefer a light roast, others medium or dark. Once you decide, find a brand that does what you like consistently.

Beans are more expensive and I think it is because in ground coffee they can add other ingredients too. I prefer beans!


Tea vs. coffee paper filters: are they interchangeable? I consider using paper bags for tea as a substitute for paper coffee filters and I wonder: do they filter out as much solid material as coffee filters? The matter of fact is that not all paper filters for coffee are identical: some have smaller pores, others have larger ones. Larger pores allow more oils to leak into a cup, it makes a beverage of richer flavor, but does it not make it cloudy as well? And if all paper tea filters are identical, do I have to expect cloudy coffee strained through them?
P. S. What I was going to do with tea bags is either fill them with ground beans and submerge in water or filter brewed coffee through them leaving the grounds on the bottom of the vessel used for brewing. I wasn't going to use tea bags with a pour-over device.

They will function ok for your intended use. Some fines may get through and produce a bit of sludge in your cup.
Your bigger problem is that you won't be able to fit enough coffee into a standard size teabag to get good dosing. French press dosing is between 1:10 and 1:16 coffee to water ratio, which is 16-25g per 235mL or freedom 8oz cup. For the same size cup, you only need about 2g of tea. Teabags are sized for the latter. You may have to use up to ten per cuppa to fit the desired amount of coffee.


What benefits does a Moccamaster offer compared to a generic coffee maker? I am currently using a moka pot and a Hario hand grinder to make my morning brew. I try to buy freshly roasted ground beans but sometimes I still end up buying some bags from the supermarket. I drink about 2-3 cups of coffee a day at most, my partner drinks probably 5-6 but some of that is instant coffee. I truly hate the flavour of instant coffee but using the moka pot multiple times a day is hassle so I end up drinking some instant during the day.
I was thinking of upgrading to a coffee machine and an electric burr grinder. I'd like to buy something like a Moccamaster which could brew a few cups of coffee at a time, which we could drink throughout the day. I was just wondering if anyone who has ever used it would recommend it for a non-expert coffee drinker or should I just stick to a manual pot? Is the difference noticeable between a Moccamaster and a generic cheap coffee maker and does it truly last longer?

A Moccamaster is like any other electric drip brewer. It takes water and ground coffee and it brews a pot of coffee.

Is the difference noticeable between a Moccamaster and a generic cheap coffee maker and does it truly last longer?

From what I've read online, the Moccamaster is a decent brewer. As far as electric brewers go, I think that mostly refers to consistency. All the machine does is adding hot water to the grounds, so consistency means:

The water is added to the grounds at the same temperature regardless of the temperature of the cold water you're adding in the reservoir.

The water is dispersed somewhat equally over the coffee in the filter.

Based on the good reviews (and no personal experience) I'm sure that it will do the job as good as any other generic brewer. As for build quality, I think it's a decent design (premium materials even compared to the mostly plastic machines in lower price segments) that won't disappoint.
Looking at current retail prices though (about €200 in Europe or $300+ in the US), I can't help but mention that it's a steep price for adding hot water to grounds consistently.
Are there other machines which do a comparable job at a lower price? Definitely. The easiest way to find such a machine at a lower price is to look at a price comparison website for your own locale that includes customer reviews. Simply look for for drip brewers between $/€40-120 and sort them by rating. Then, to make sure that there are no hidden flaws (poor build quality, inconsistent brewing) you search for reviews of the candidate machine(s) online.
The reason I mention looking in your own locale is that some machines are priced reasonably well in one locale, but they're more expensive in another. I think the Moccamaster is a good example of that.
As an aside, I've seen some genuine recommendations for Moccamasters as well though in a slightly different context. The Moccamaster has been around since the sixties and it's produced by a Dutch company. As such, there are a lot of used machines out there and I've seen people recommend those used machines on Dutch coffee sites. Obviously, you wouldn't pay full retail price for a used machine.
At around $/€100, I think a used but good quality Moccamaster could be an alternative to a new brewer at that same price. For that price, you get a slightly sturdier build quality (copper coil for heating the water and a metal body). At the retail price, you are paying for the brand an the nostalgic factor as well.

From the pictures I’ve seen and the articles I’ve read they make good coffee but the best thing is they come in lots of funky colours and look pretty damn cool!


Remedy for a coffee hangover? Did you ever drink too much coffee during the week, and then on your day off you have this really tired feeling with a headache?  I call it a coffee-hangover.  It has nothing to do with alcohol just too much coffee.  I'm looking for a remedy to this, but not a remedy involving coffee; I'd prefer to save that for the week.

It's probably a caffeine "withdrawal" symptom.
According to WebMD

If you stop taking caffeine abruptly, you may have symptoms for a day
or more, especially if you consume two or more cups of coffee a day.
Symptoms of withdrawal from caffeine include:
headache
fatigue
anxiety
irritability
depressed mood
difficulty concentrating

It might be best to either reduce the coffee you drink during the week, or have coffee on the weekend too.
To avoid my headaches, I choose to have coffee on the weekend too.

I have experienced such symptoms, I overcome them by drinking fresh orange juice in warm water.


Found around 10kg of 18 year old vacuum sealed coffee beans. Safe to consume? Was cleaning in my office and found around 10kg vacuum sealed roasted coffee beans in the store room. Probably packed around 18 years ago. Dad had a cafe business with some friends around that time and I guess was kept until today. They are packed per 500g in a metallic-ish bag and vacuum sealed. Heard the hiss sound when I opened one. Though I did find some very fine lint type things inside. If you ask me it looks like the ends of a dandelion. Brand is UCC from Japan. Baked some at 180C for 4mins. Made a cup, doesnt have any wierd taste. Should I keep drinking it?

18 years might be pushing it, and that is impressive!
As a side thing, I would honestly love to try some.

I am not saying that it will definitely be bad, or definitely be good before a certain amount of time, and that is subjective as well..."good" and "bad" being if they still have flavor or taste rancid.  The question is about "safe to consume", with the side topic of being "good flavor".

Normally, Coffee has a shelf-life about 3-9 months, depending on if its ground, whole, flavored, and how and where its stored.
That may spark some arguments though, but the question is about "safe to consume" not flavor.
At a store, they would not have a bag of coffee on the shelf for more than 1 month from roasting, regardless of how its sealed.
Looking at food vacuum seal places, they say that coffee sealed will last up to 3 years vacuum sealed.
Link 1 to vacuum bag shelf-life
Link 2 to vacuum bag shelf-life

I found this article specifically about coffee and has a chart and table for that.
This is right in line with the other articles and what I mentioned above.

Those are all recommendations, and there is good reason.  Usually with any vacuum seal there is some oxygen that gets into the product and that will cause it to degrade over time.  The oxygen is part of the air, which may also contain some moisture.  The moisture will also degrade the product over time, creating an environment for bacteria to grow in.  Bacteria needs oxygen and moisture to grow, and the reduced oxygen slows down the process of spoilage and creates an environment to limit the growth, while also limiting the evaporation of any moisture in the food (thus it retaining its flavor).
Also, the vacuum seal can and will degrade over time itself eventually letting in some oxygen and moisture.  This is different depending on the packaging and type of seal.  This is based on the manufacturer of the vacuum seal as well, though some are better than other, often the manufacturer will put a date/time on the seal knowing it will last longer than that but that is the less than minimum, so that way its not an issue when the seal does give.

Typically, when coffee goes bad there could be some mold IF its exposed to moisture for a long period of time, but usually it would just lose its flavor and possibly some of the caffeine.  You can tell if its gone bad by the smell when you open it.  If when you opened it, and it smells of mildew or mold, then its definable bad, and that would be bad to drink.  If its just odorless and bland smell, then it is probably still good to drink, but probably won't have any flavor.  Coffee like that, will not be harmful to you, just not be "good" to taste (but also probably not "bad to taste either).

  Though I did find some very fine lint type things inside. If you ask me it looks like the ends of a dandelion.

That could have been some of the beans breaking down, or just a bean that got crunched in the packaging a while ago.  Depends on the coloration and smell and such.  Personally, I would try that at all.

If you already brewed it and didn't find any bad taste, smell or feeling from drinking it, then its probably good.  Additionally, you could also blend this coffee with other fresh coffee, assuming its still "good" based on the above.

Found this article and this gives more details on it going "bad".

I would certainly use it. Coffee is dry and that in itself preserves if even if not vacuum sealed. The taste may suffer a bit but maybe not.


Does an inconsistent roast affect espresso extraction? If so, how? I'm not really asking about flavour, I understand that an inconsistent roast causes  inconsistent flavour.

My question is how it affects the extraction itself. Does an uneven roast lead to an uneven extraction? Or does it not really matter?

We can assume other variables are consistent, i.e. a good tamp and a consistent brew temperature within the ideal range for espresso extraction.

That's a tricky one.
It depends on what do you mean by 'extraction'.

"Coffee extraction is the process of dissolving soluble flavors from coffee grounds in water" - from Wikipedia.
"Extraction is everything that the water takes from the coffee" - from BaristaHustle.
"To remove or take out something" - from Cambridge dictionary.

Therefore, the extraction process considers dissolving the flavors. An uneven roast will affect directly the flavours on the final beverage. Thus, even the perfect extraction will not be able to extract all the flavours it could if the beans weren't correctly roasted.


Is a Keurig K-Cafe "shot" really an espresso shot? I've been trying a Keurig K-Cafe, which includes a "Shot" feature that slowly produces what looks like a shot of espresso from a regular ("coffee") K-cup.  What is the machine doing to produce that, and is the resulting liquid comparable to "real" espresso?

(I'm not enough of a connoisseur to tell the difference between straight espresso and these K-Cafe Shots.  I understand that "real" espresso is made by passing water through the grounds under high pressure.  I can't see that the K-Cafe has a mechanism to accomplish that.)

No, sadly it's absolutely not an espresso shot.

To get a real espresso shot the ideal settings are to have freshly ground coffee into a portefilter basket leveled and compressed using about 15kgf of force. The amount of coffee should be around 14g-18g (for a double shot) as an input, the output should be like 28-36g (we are talking about a tradtional espresso with a 1/2 ratio). All of this should be done under around 9 bar pressure. A Keurig simply doesn't respect any of theses parameters.

No, it is filter coffee. Espresso is made with high pressure but filter coffee is made by just filtering. Keurig just filters k-pods without pressure.


Will I be addicted to caffeine? If I drink coffee everyday, will I be addicted to it, or is it just a myth?

Is there any risk to my own health due to caffeine?

According to this review published in Psychopharmacology, it is very much not a myth.

  The caffeine-withdrawal syndrome has been well characterized and there
  is sufficient empirical evidence to warrant inclusion of caffeine
  withdrawal as a disorder in the DSM and revision of diagnostic
  criteria in the ICD.

More explicitly (emphasis my own):

  Of 49 symptom categories identified, the following 10 fulfilled
  validity criteria: headache, fatigue, decreased energy/activeness,
  decreased alertness, drowsiness, decreased contentedness, depressed
  mood, difficulty concentrating, irritability, and foggy/not
  clearheaded. In addition, flu-like symptoms, nausea/vomiting, and
  muscle pain/stiffness were judged likely to represent valid symptom
  categories. In experimental studies, the incidence of headache was 50%
  and the incidence of clinically significant distress or functional
  impairment was 13%. Typically, onset of symptoms occurred 12–24 h
  after abstinence, with peak intensity at 20–51 h, and for a duration
  of 2–9 days. In general, the incidence or severity of symptoms
  increased with increases in daily dose; abstinence from doses as low
  as 100 mg/day produced symptoms. Research is reviewed indicating that
  expectancies are not a prime determinant of caffeine withdrawal and
  that avoidance of withdrawal symptoms plays a central role in habitual
  caffeine consumption.

As for health risks, beyond the symptoms of withdrawal, caffeine has been linked to a number of conditions, such as:

Aortic stiffness among hypertensions patients.
Incontinence among women
Insomnia
Cardiac Arrest

So to summarize: Yes, you can be addicted to caffeine. No, it is not a myth. And it seems like you need as little as 100mg a day to be addicted, that is the equivalent of 1.5 espresso shots, according to this link.. Prolonged caffeine use can be harmful, moderation is recommended.

To cut out the scientific explanation, basically the caffeine addiction also strongly depends if you like coffee or not.

If you really like it, there is a chance that you suddenly feel like drinking coffee without a sudden reason or at any hour.

Can't live through a day without coffee is also highly possible.

But all these only provided that you really love coffee.

Otherwise, if you are drinking coffee frequently but you don't really like it, you won't have problem with addiction and you can get rid of it easily.


Most moka pots don't work on my induction stove. How can I still use them? Most moka pots don't work on my induction stove. How can I still use them?
I use a camping stove temporarily, but it requires me to buy gas refills every now and then. Is there an easier way?

Yes, you just need to get a pot that's made of the right stuff. Induction hobs only work with magnetic metals. If you can stick a magnet to your coffee pot, it will work. Traditional moka pots are made of aluminium, which is why they don't.

I have one that looks like this:

A quick search on Amazon should find you what you want, or enquire at your nearest big cookware store - the advisors there should be able to show you which ones will work (most will have indicators on the box in any case).

The magnet trick works, the bottom of the percolator says "induction", the hob is brand-new, but it doesn't work.

Would placing it in a pot work? Or would the pot explode and/or the bottom burn?

Desperate to have the smell of Italian coffee fill my apartment again...


How to make coffee concentrate I searched around a bit and found a few recipes for coffee concentrates, but most of them read more like high test cold brew recipes.

Where I work we have a few "coffee"  (note the quotation marks) machines that use the stuff. The "coffee" from these machines is really awful and I was wondering if there are alternative methods for making it.

My first thought was to take drip coffee and cook it down and reduce it into a concentrate, has anyone tried this?

Am I way off track? Is there a better way?

Just make cold brew! It's called "cold brew", but you can still make good hot coffee out of it.

Cold brew is essentially hyperconcentrated, but slow-brewed, coffee. It's very popular in the United States in the summer, because it's very easy to make excellent iced coffee with a cold brew concentrate. (Just add water and ice.) But you can also make a cup of hot coffee out of cold brew concentrate: just add hot water instead of cold water and ice.

Here's a recipe, but I'll summarize it.

You need:

~12 oz coarsely ground coffee
~6 cups water

Pour water over coffee in a large bowl or pitcher and stir. Cover with a tea towel and let sit on the counter (or fridge) for 24 hours. You can vary the coffee:water ratio and brewing time depending on your preferences. Strain thoroughly. Reserve the delicious liquid and discard the grounds. The concentrate will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week.

To make a cup of hot coffee, add about 2 parts hot water to 1 part cold brew (depending on your taste). Add the hot water slowly until it's tasty to you. Dilute with a similar amount of cold water for iced coffee - then add ice. Add milk, sugar, and other fixings as desired. (If you're drinking it iced, you'll want to use simple syrup to sweeten, since plain sugar won't dissolve well in cold liquid.)

Bon appetit!

First, open the box which contains the bag of the liquid concentrate. Then, you cut open the bag and pour it into a squeeze bottle or container and then leave it in the fridge. When you are ready to use it, take a table spoon of the liquid and mix it in a 8-10 oz. mug or cup of hot water. From there you mix and taste; you may have to adjust to the taste you like by adding more liquid concentrate, or if the table spoon is too much, restart the process with less liquid concentrate. The best ratio that most machines are set to is 32 parts water/1 part liquid


Best practices for reheating coffee By the time I come home from work in the morning, a pot of coffee that was brewed by others in my house (and is still quite full) is slightly too cold by the time I am able to drink it. I don’t want to waste the resources or time brewing a fresh pot, but the coffee always tastes “off” when I microwave it. The flavor is also much worse if it is reheated after cream is in it, but even black coffee leaves much to be desired. What are the best practices for reheating coffee?

Cold-brewed coffee heats well. Hot-brewed coffee that is old (whether on the warmer for hours or allowed to cool) will have pronounced flavors that most drinkers find unpleasant.

If you are concerned about wasting grounds, either brew smaller batches of hot-brewed coffee, or look into cold-brewed coffee. Most groceries carry pre-made cold brew or cold brew concentrate (read the labels to see if added water or milk is recommended), or consider getting a brewing container to make at home in the fridge. It stays good for 7-10 days once brewed so you can purchase or make a week's worth at a time.

Heating it up on the stove top on low temperature. This doesn’t require any special spoons or pots, (though there are some available for purchase), simply use any pot in your kitchen cabinet.

If you are sure to keep it on low temperature, you don’t have to hover over it and constantly stir it with a spoon. This way, you can enjoy your coffee without literally frying away all of the flavor. But please, be patient! If you try to heat it up at a high temperature, it may burn the pot or taste like burnt liquid. Make sure you keep the temperature on low and don’t rush the process, because the only thing that taste worse than cold coffee is burnt coffee.

(Ideal Temperature to Drink Coffee help you test more flavors. )


Moka pot induction heater I was wondering whether there was such a thing as a small induction heater/hob for moka pots? I have a small moka pot which I loath using on my electric hob. I think it is a waste of energy given that the smallest hot plate is significantly larger than my little moka pot. It would be great if I can get a small induction hob that I can just keep in the dining room to use when I fancy a post-dinner tipple. Another benefit for an induction hob is that it shouldn't get significantly hot, making it ideal for the dining room.

Regards.

You can actually get all-in-one moka pots that plug directly into the mains, e.g.:

http://www.amazon.com/Delonghi-EMK6-Alicia-Electric-Espresso/dp/B00009W5F0

I've used one similar to this before, the results aren't bad!

Though it will get hot, a small stand-alone laboratory or kitchen hot plate is still a good alternative to induction. They can be small and inexpensive; here's one example from Amazon that has about a 15cm/6in element.


new machine - need advice I just bought this Barista express from Breville. How long is the extraction time for singe shot, 9 gramme coffee?
Also i did a double shot, setting is at 7 and grind amount in the middle... how do I determine the grind amount?
I understand the basics for double - 19gramme of coffee and around 25mp extraction time... it see,s this 7 and middle works.
How about the single shot?

In general, aim for 2 to 2.5 times the amount of beverage in your cup to the used coffee. If you use 9g of coffee in, aim for 18-23g out. The brew time stays the same. If you compare a single basket to a regular double basket you can see that it's narrower at the bottom, this is intended to restrict flow so you have approximately the same brew time using the same grind size but less coffee.
A brew time of 25-30 seconds is what you should aim for but it's not something you absolutely have to follow. It very well may be that your coffee tastes great at 36 or 23 seconds, it's just a ballpark.
From your question it seems that you're somewhat familiar with brewing espresso but still a beginner. There are a lot of good YouTube videos on this, made by people far more competent and eloquent than me. I think this video series on understanding each variable in brewing espresso is a good start if you're interested.

Halve the dose and the brew time to halve the output volume. If you're pulling 19g doubles with 25s extraction, start with 9.5g singles with 12.5s extraction time. Don't change grind setting or anything else. That should put you close to your double shots. Adjust from there if necessary.


Is it safe to use paper towel as a filter when brewing? Are there any chemicals or dyes in most common paper towels that would be harmful if I brewed my coffee using the towel as a filter?

If it is safe, will it affect the taste of the coffee at all?

Coffee filters are subject to food grade standards. They aren't just convenient shapes and stronger than paper towels, they have substantially less toxins i.e. bleach byproducts such dioxins (strong carcinogen). As well many paper towels have various purfumes, inks and other chemicals only GRAS (generally recognized as safe) for external use on your skin. Not as a filter medium for an ingested beverage.

And as for white being devoid of dyes and chemicals.. natural wood pulp which is what filters and paper towels are made of is a murky brownish grey colour at it's lightest. If it's white it's been bleached. And in most cases with a more potent bleaching agent if the intended use is for paper towels than filter media.

Sure you can use paper towels. Most brands won't burst suddenly and it won't kill you on the spot anymore than BPA in older water bottles or lead in drinking water. But is this where you want to save a few pennies - by using something that is going to bring unnecessary amounts of known carcinogens into your diet?

I'll stick to coffee filters myself. And unbleached (brown) ones at that.

I wouldn't recommend you using a paper towel for a filter. It will spoil the coffee and might as well spoil the coffee maker too.
You can read the article on my blog to brew a perfect cup of coffee.


Coffee consuming amount What's the amount of coffee per day do we need to drink? I study whole day so I feel coffee addicted while studying so can any one answer me?

Prevailing wisdom is that it is generally safe to drink up to 4 cups of coffee per day. Caffeine is the world's most widely consumed psychoactive drug (stimulant) and typical consumption is alleged to have a number of positive health benefits.

The U.S. 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee recommended a similar limit. Lower limits are recommended for pregnant women, adolescents & children.

Lethal caffeine overdoses are rare and estimates of a lethal amount of caffeine in a healthy adult range from 10,000 - 20,000 mg.

I am a coffee addict. I drink 10 cups per day. I think you just have to set the time alone. And do not forget to drink water for balance.


Ideal brewing time for 3-cup Chemex? I'm not very good with judging grind sizes, so one method I read about was, instead of focusing so much on grind size pay attention to the brew time. If the brew takes too long, the coffee grounds are too fine, but if the brew time is too short then the coffee is too coarse.
I really like this method, and the estimated ranges I've come across for pour over is 2:30 mins to 4 mins (i.e., it should be no faster than 2:30min, but take no longer than 4 mins)
So far, I feel like around 3 mins is the sweet spot for my usual choice of coffee and a 3-cup Chemex.
Is there just one ideal brewing time (or time window) or does that differ depending on the roast or other factors? How would I recognize a too long or too short brewing time in the finished product?

Ideal brewing time varies based on grind. Finer grinds need shorter brew times. Coarser grinds need longer brew times. This is because fine grinds expose more surface area of the beans, which lets solutes diffuse quickly into the water. Coarse grinds need more time for solutes to be drawn out.
As for roast level, that's totally up to you. Different roast levels expose different flavor profiles, so you might like them all brewed for the same amount of time or you might prefer to brew darker or lighter roasts for longer or shorter times. There's not really an ideal here unless you align with the preferences of the person offering you the ideal.
You'll know that your brew time is too long if your coffee tastes bitter. Coffee brewed perfectly should taste very smooth if you're using medium or lighter roasts. Very dark coffees might taste bitter in a burnt sort of way even with perfect brewing. Conversely, too short brew time will result in weak tasting coffee. Note that weak coffee can also be caused by too high of a water to grounds ratio or poor contact between water and grinds (channeling during the pour). Bloom to help mitigate channeling.
Hope this info helps!


What is an optimal coffee to water ratio for pour-overs? Does anyone have any good recommendations for an optimal coffee to water ratio for pour-overs? I am not interested in cold brews and I use a Chemex carafe with Chemex filters.
I generally prefer light to medium-dark roasts, but I am open to trying other roasts that tend towards the darker side.
I would guess that dark roasts may require a lower coffee to water ratio than lighter roasts.

This is going to be unpopular but my routine doesn't really involve measuring much.  I want get the brewing over with ASAP so I can drink my coffee.

Prime the filter with hot water and pour out water
Put in ground coffee, I just use 6 TBSP for the 8 cup classic
Prime grounds by pouring just enough in to stir them up and get wet
Wait for gas to release (should have a nice cone of grounds)
Pour water into the center of the grinds and then circulate as water rises
Wait until brewed coffee gets to the belly button of the chemex
Pour more water in until it is about 1/4 inch to the top
Let drain out and enjoy

I just go a bit bigger with my scoops if I'm looking for more of dark brew.  My goal here is to control the output so that when finished I have enough coffee for about two pint glasses.  Thy key is that belly button which I'm guessing is the half-way mark.


How can I improve this latte? I have this Delonghi espresso machine. After much trial and error, I have got to the point where my I am able to make cappuccinos and lattes with a milk texture which is pleasing to taste.

In order to make the textured milk/microfoam appropriate for a latte, rather than a foamy cappuccino, I had to remove the metal sleeve on the steam wand as this was preventing me from directing the wand precisely enough to swirl it into a microfoam.

However, I have the following issues:

I still can't get a fine enough foam to produce latte art.
My espresso and its crema do not seem dark enough to produce the contrast in colours you find in good latte art from a cafe.
I cannot seem to get the coffee and the milk to as hot a temperature as you get in a cafe - even if I pre-heat my cup. Could this because many cafes serve their coffee too hot?

Is it possible that the machine itself is simply not good enough, or do I need to improve my technique?

Here is my latte:

And here is the sort of result I'd like to be able to achieve:

EDIT: Here is the type of milk pitcher I am using:

I own this machine and have since moved on from it for the exact reasons you stated.

It is possible to create microfoam that is good enough for making clearly defined latte art on the Delonghi Dedica but it requires practice (as would doing the same on any machine). You did the right thing by removing the metal sleeve but the main problem is that the steam power is relatively weak and so it makes it harder to create the vortex required to properly incorporate the aerated milk. Focus on trying to create a spinning vortex/whirlpool type effect in your milk as this is the most important step in ensuring you end up with silky milk.

Aerate the milk by keeping the tip of the steam wand near the surface of the milk. You should hear spitting noises. This will introduce air into the milk.
Once you have aerated enough, dip the tip of the steam wand below the surface and try to form a vortex/whirlpool.
Spin the milk as in step 2 until the milk is at the right temperature.

For good latte milk, you should not over-aerate. A good starting point is simply raising the height of the milk in your pitcher by about a centimetre. Once again, however, it will require practice and even then it may not be perfect due to the lack of steaming power this machine has.

The Delonghi Dedica also uses a pressurised portafilter basket which means that the crema you find in your cup is a result of artificial pressures produced inside the basket (similar to how Nespresso machines make their 'crema'). You can attempt to create darker crema by making the pressurised basket not the limiting factor of extraction by grinding finer (but not so fine as to choke the machine).

Temperature-wise, you want to ensure that your portafilter is heated by running empty shots through it as it will cool down the shot as it moves through the portafilter. The steam is also not as hot as commercial machines as they have dedicated boilers for the steaming rather than interchanging between functions within a few seconds like the Delonghi.

In conclusion, if you enjoy your coffee the way you make it, stick with the Delonghi Dedica but if you put a lot of value in the quality of the crema and being able to pour latte art then you might want to consider an upgrade or investing more time into practicing milk steaming.

I'm finally able to steam milk to perfection and make acceptable latte art with this machine. You have to remove the panarello of course. Here is a sample picture.


I have some coarse ground Espresso and a Bodum French press Is it possible to make espresso in a Bodum French press coffee machine?
Unfortunately, the Espresso beans were ground coarse instead of fine.

No
There is no way of brewing espresso with a french press.
Espresso is brewed under pressure, typically 9-10 bars.
You cannot achieve this level of pressure no matter which brand your french press has.
Additionally, the TDS (total dissolved solids) of espresso is around 8-12 while for french press coffee it's 1.4-1.7.
However, you can get a cup of coffee which has more texture and a fuller body than filter coffee by grinding finer and increasing your dose. It won't come anywhere near espresso but it's not as "watery" as filter coffee. Being able to adjust your recipe for taste like this is one of the many advantages of buying your coffee in beans and grinding them before use.

It sounds as though you've accidentally happened upon the materials for a perfect cup of coffee.  'Espresso beans', as noted above, refers mainly to the roast (a longer, darker one that yields a fuller flavour, more body, low acidity, and slighty less caffeine, which is degraded by the extra heat), though an 'espresso blend' may also be heavier on robusta and lighter on arabica, as the latter's acids and aromas are also sensitive to longer thermal exposure.  Coarse grinds are actually the most appropriate for French presses.  An 'espresso grind' (super-fine, second only to Turkish) would clog the mesh and make a muddy confection that is, well, not what the designers of French presses had in mind.  So you've got nice, user-friendly tech, the right grind for it, and a tasty roast.  Espresso is made with espresso machines, but great coffee has no limits on the sorts of equipment from which it is willing to emerge.


Drip Coffee Maker. Slow and then extremely fast Let me preface by saying I clean my machine every day. I only use filtered water.
Machine: Morphy Richards Fresco (Standard drip-coffee)
I use coffee grounds (medium roast). I don't know the grind. I buy the grounds from a local coffee shop.
When I make four cups (max capacity). basically filling the grind in the metal filer to "4-cups" mark (max).
, 3/4 of the way: The coffee pours at a reasonable rate till it becomes extremely slow. Only drops are coming out. Then finally like a pressure cooker, the coffee pours out a rapid rate. It has a sort-of burned smell to it. The coffee still tastes good.
The same does not happen when I fill the filter for 3 cups.
I find the 3-cup brew slightly less bitter, it has greater natural sweetness.
I can not tell why.
UPDATE: I found that this was much more prominent in my coffee which had chicory.

Not sure if you'll be able to get a definitive answer on this one, but to me it sounds like filter/coffee choking, and then somehow un-choking. This is something I've experienced with pour-over brews. I've used my Fellow Stagg [X] Dripper before, and at 15g of coffee it's perfect, however at 24g the weight of the coffee is too great and it presses the filter and coffee directly against the holes on the bottom of the dripper.

Throughout the process I'll give the coffee a few stirs with a stir-stick, and it will immediately start flowing faster. It makes sense that you'd get a sweeter more balanced cup when the coffee doesn't choke. To me it also makes sense that you have a greater chance of it choking with more beans. Not sure how it could un-choke by itself, one theory is that once enough water pressure is present it creates a low-resistance channel where water flows through very quickly (and this water doesn't extract much coffee, rather would mostly dilute in this case).

this may be a feature, not a flaw. some coffee makers these days hold the water until sufficient pressure builds to allow the coffee to brew before draining (some call this "dwelltime" afaik). just a thought; no idea how your particular maker works.

moreover, it's common when making coffee by hand to pre-infuse your grinds with water to allow the CO2 in the beans to off-gas. this is done by wetting the grinds just enough for them to get wet, without actually draining through to the urn. your maker might have a pre-infusion system built in as well. some fancier espresso machines a have automatic pre-infusion presets.

if it's neither of these, it could be the coffee naturally blooming in the filter. especially fresh coffee takes on a lot of water before it starts to brew, which would create a hysteresis effect, but probably not as noticeable as you're describing.

edit: sorry i misread your post and see now that the slow-down happens 3/4ths of the way through. i'm afraid my answers don't account for that but i'll leave it up in case anyone happens to find it useful/interesting. to me this sounds more like a clog that gets pushed through when enough water pressure builds up.


Large scale cold brewing - Mesh bag technique - What size mesh is best? I'm looking to upscale our production of cold brew to batches with a 1000L yield, using a ratio of 1:12.5 to make a ready-to-drink coffee for bottling. Currently we run batches of ~40L through a large stainless 40-micron mesh conical filter with good results, however this won't scale so easily as the mesh is really expensive. I'm thinking that making large batches by steeping coffee in big mesh tea bags will be the easiest upgrade. I'm also assuming that a secondary filtration will be necessary, but that's a separate question.

What sort of mesh sizes and materials are best for balancing yield with how fine the filtration is?
Thanks!

I have had bags made up in China. 30cm x 30cm 100 micron is best for stepping. Put 5kgs of coffee in each bag and filter it a second time straight out of the tap.

Ohhhh and never squeeze the bags.

You may want to check this one out. It's stainless steel, uses sanitary fittings and single use compostable filters. No cleaning filters required and they drain much better than the stainless mesh options in my experience.


Percolation vs Osmotic brewing method: is it the same thing? I have just learned a pour-over brewing method called "Osmotic Flow" as in the link below:
https://cafec-jp.com/brewing-guide/
The article said it used osmotic pressure to extract coffee essence from grounded coffee, as opposed to "full immersion" method.
To me, the osmotic method looks pretty much like a normal pour-over method (except pouring only at the center) in which we usually called it percolation method.
Can you please help explain how percolation and Osmotic are different? or it is just the same thing?
thanks.

What's strange is that the post you link to describes full immersion as falling under the category of 'pour-over techniques'. Typically it's more common to think of two categories, percolation and immersion. Percolation covers everything involving water being pushed through a bed of coffee - so low-pressure percolation would be something like a Chemex or V60 pour-over, and a high-pressure percolation could be something like espresso. Meanwhile, immersion brewing covers French presses, cold brew, cupping preparation, Turkish coffee etc. where the coffee grounds sit in some water for a while, and then we use some method - the mesh in a French press or the steady hand of someone preparing Turkish coffee - to separate the grounds after. Some brewing methods blur the line between these two categories, like the Aeropress or the Clever dripper, which immerse coffee grounds in water for a period of time, and then use some mechanism to percolate the water through the grounds. Given all this, describing a 'full immersion' brew as a type of pour-over method is... weird.
It seems like what the linked post describes as a 'full immersion' pour-over is essentially a bad or failed pour-over. In a pour-over, what we want to do is have a steady flow of water through the bed of coffee, and we use things like water temperature, brew time, grind size, grind dose, etc. to control the level of extraction in our brew. Too little extraction means a dull, boring cup of coffee; too much extraction can produce lots of bitterness or acidity or nasty flavours in the cup.
Sometimes in a pour-over brew, for whatever reason - perhaps the grinds were too fine and clogged the filter paper, or perhaps the filter stuck to the brewing vessel and created a vacuum - the brew will stall and fail to draw down like it normally would. This increases our brew time and can lead to over-extraction with lots of bitter notes - which the post describes as 'unpleasant taste components'. It seems like this 'Osmotic Flow' is basically a bunch of tips for avoiding a stalled pour-over brew: try not to disturb the bed of coffee too much with rapid or heavy pouring, use a bloom phase, pour in batches instead of all at once, and so on. All good tips - but certainly not a new brewing method.
In short, then: percolation is one of the two main families of brew methods, alongside immersion brewing. A sub-category of percolation are pour-over methods - things like the V60, Chemex, etc. This 'Osmotic Flow' method doesn't seem to be a method at all; instead, it's a set of tips for how to have a good pour-over and avoid the common problem of a stalled brew. Helpful - but not a new method!

Osmotic brewing is so named because the process attempts to create a semipermeable membrane between coffee grounds and water via the pour pattern. That membrane is what facilitates osmosis.
A percolator, on the other hand, relies on immersion to brew. Water is heated in the sealed lower chamber and converted to steam. Pressure builds until enough pressure is reached to push steam up into the brew basket at top. There, the steam mixes with coffee and condenses, and brewing occurs. When enough water reaches the upper chamber, coffee brew drips back down to the lower chamber, where the water content can be converted back to steam to support indefinite brewing.
So, nutshell, osmotic pressure brewing tries to use osmosis for its extraction mechanism, while percolation uses immersion and heat.


How does Caffeine-free coffee affect your body? Is it caffeine or chlorogenic acid the ingredients of coffee stimulating the stomach?

If it's chlorogenic acid, do you have coffee without chlorogenic acid? Or how to choose coffee with less chlorogenic acid?

In short, love the taste of coffee, but wouldn't the reaction on the body, that is, no diarrhea, frequent urination nor excitement.

I personally couldn't taste any difference between decaf and regular coffee but depends on the brand. According to some resources is decaf the biggest source of antioxidants in the western diet and it has positive impact on health if you drink 2-3 cups per day. From my personal experience, you can drink probably as much decaf as you want since it doesn't have any negative side effects, regarding regular coffee you might get breath problems and high blood pressure if you drink too much. There are lot of good brands of decaf where you don't taste any difference between it and regular coffee.

sources:

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/decaf-coffee-good-or-bad

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/325502.php

https://greatist.com/eat/is-drinking-decaf-coffee-better-for-you

Decaf coffee may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. It may also reduce the risk of premature death.Decaf coffee may protect against age-related mental decline. It may also reduce the risk of diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.Decaf coffee causes significantly less acid re flux than regular coffee. Drinking more than two cups a day may also reduce the risk of rectal cancer.


How is Nescafé made? How is Nescafé (or any other instant coffee) made? Do they brew coffee and then dehydrate it (like they do it with instant soups)? Or is it done another way? What ingredients do they use to produce it?

A quick Google search led me to this.
It's a very detailed site that explains everything you need.


What water temperature and pour speed are best for pour-over method? I had a recent discussion with a friend of mine, which is the right method to brew the coffee for pour-over.

I read that it's best to pour in hot (but not boiling) water into the filter and moisten the coffee powder. After that I should pour in the water until it is round about 1 cm over the coffee powder. After that I should let it flow out and fill the water up until it's reached the 1 cm mark over the powder.

His method is a bit different. He just pours the hot (even if it's still boiling) water into the filter. He briefly moistens the coffee and then lets the rest of the water pour into the filter until his water can is empty. He only pauses from pouring if it reaches the top of the filter.

I said that his method isn't good, as the water will flow faster through the filter and the coffee won't be as aromatic as it would be with my method.

The brewing process I'm using is using the hand-filter with the Hario V60.

Which method is better? Does it matter how fast to pour the water in? Does it matter if the water is just hot or still boiling?

You're highlighting two differences between the two methods:

temperature of the water, and
rate of pouring the water (equivalently, how "full of water" is the cone).

Short story: Use water just off the boil (about 96°C / 205°F). I prefer your "slower" pour method over your friend's... read on for why.

Longer story:
Keeping all other factors identical, here's my take on each. I aggregate information from my own experience and from several other sites (including Blue Bottle and Stumptown and Serious Eats and Coffee Geek).

Temperature. Most agree that water for pour-over should be just off the boil, but exact temperature is both difficult to measure and to maintain. Exact recommendations differ, but most (including the 4 above) are approximately in the range of 93-97°C / 200-207°F. At this temperature, you extract the best balance of the "right stuff" from the beans. Much hotter or colder than this and it will have an "off" taste, such as more bitter. For example, try brewing coffee at 80°C / 175°F and see how it tastes compared to coffee brewed with 96°C / 205°F water.

With my technique and equipment, anyway, it would be essentially impossible for me to measure or maintain a temperature this accurately. Removed from the heat, the kettle itself will immediately start to cool; the water will cool between the pour spout and when it hits the grounds in the cone; the water will cool more when sitting on the grounds. For this reason, I take water from a boiling kettle and begin to pour at my leisure. It might be a few degrees too hot at first, but it will probably finish a few degrees too cool.

Rate of pouring the water. This seems to have more debate, e.g., on the 4 sites I listed above. Some pour only enough water at a time to have water just covering the grounds (like you and Blue Bottle), and some pour all the way up to the top of the cone (like your friend and Stumptown) -- however, a disadvantage of this all-at-once method is that some of the coffee will get pinned to the side of the cone for the final "drainage" and will not spend as much time in contact with the water; therefore some of your friend's coffee grounds will be underextracted. I do something of a hybrid: pour at such a rate as to keep the output at a steady rate. The dripping rate will decrease as the filter gets somewhat clogged with grounds, so I keep very slowly raising the water level in the cone (just exceeding the rate of output); I find this produces the best result. Other ideas are to stir (as Coffee Geek suggests) or pour in batches (as Serious Eats suggests).

All that said, other factors (e.g., the quality and freshness of beans) are overwhelmingly more significant than the manner of pouring.

You may also want to consider rinsing your filter, and see more about wetting the grounds for coffee bloom.

Perfect Pour over coffee? Most people mistakenly think that the key to coffee flavor is grinding your own beans. I am not sure how this thought populated people's heads but many other folks tend to re-enforce this notion, which somehow keeps perpetuating this false notion.  Coffee flavor comes from the oils in the coffee beans, and like all oil, coffee bean oil also goes rancid, and at rate much faster than many people realize. If coffee beans are not stored in a vacuum, air will turn coffee rancid after about five days, and actually you can begin to both taste and smell the difference three days after it is roasted. This is true (Listen up!) whether or not the coffee is ground or not.  Coffee is at it's peak flavor and at its most complex between 18 to 24 hours after it is roasted, and much of the CO2 has been given off. After three days, it starts to flatten out, and at five days, it has lost a good deal of unique flovors.

You can do an experiment if you like, by simply smelling the roasted beans after 18 hours, and comparing it to the smell of the beans at five days. Try also scooping up a handful of the same beans and smelling the same newly roasted coffee to the (same variety) of beans that were roasted ten days earlier but stored in the open air.  You will be amazed at how rancid the coffee smells. Unless you have experienced this test with your own nose, it will hard for you to understand why some higher end coffee shops have the ability to brew coffee with intense and complex delicate flavors. There is little mystery here. Your 5-10 day old roast may be freshly ground, but the grounds that result from that effort, are long past their prime.

Storing your coffee in the jar in your Fridge or in your freezer won't really preserve your coffee's freshness. You need to keep it in a vacuum (no air please).  You can order a container that comes with a hand pump, and pump out the oxygen.  Simply place he lid on the container, but the rubber stop on (similar to the one used on wine bottles, and using the hand pump, pump out the air.  This will extend the life of your freshly roasted coffee well past the five day maximum, and keep it close to the freshness that it had at day one.

For years, I failed to understand that water temperature was also important. Having the water too hot or not hot enough will spoil your result.  No reason to guess any longer. There are number of pour over kettles that either come with a gauge or can be outfitted with one. I used to boil the water and then estimate how long to wait before pouring. That is not a recipe for success. Buy the bloody gauge! It's important, and that way, you can learn for yourself how temperature affects flavor.

Use a quality paper filter if you don't have a gold filter. Note that the gold filter has to fit the shape of the metal or ceramic holder it goes into perfectly. Otherwise the flow rate is most often going to be incorrect. One of the most famous brands of filters no longer makes a gold insert that fits their famous long standing ceramic cone holder. Corporate blunder. Too bad.  You might find one third party.

I think I can taste the fact that bleached paper has somewhat less of a paper taste, but I do wet the paper before hand pouring hot water through it.  I also do the same if I am using a natural non-bleached paper or bamboo paper. There does seem to be less paper taste if I do. If you want to taste all of the complex additional flavors that come with fresh beans, you might also find that wetting the paper before putting the grounds in, and actually pouring some water through first does help. Why not experiment?

How long to let the coffee bloom before slowly pouring the rest your water through the grounds.  Why not experiment with each variety of bean. The fineness of the grind is a factor to how long you should increase or decrease the bloom time. Generally speaking the courser your grind, the more time you will need to let it bloom. This is really the domain of experiementation. I don't increase the grind to get the shortest bloom time. I know some coffee shops do that. But I suggest experimentation. One to two minutes of bloom depending on your grind. But experiment, please.

The bottom line is the freshness of your bean. Good coffee roasters cost a lot of money. Air roasters start at about $200 these days, and good drum roaster that roasts 1/2 pound to 2 pounds can cost as much as $1500.  That's a lot of money folks Does it make a huge difference in the flavor. Yes it does. It makes a huge difference to have fresh beans. In fact, it makes THE MOST difference provided you can store what you don't use that first day in a proper container.  You can get your brew method completely right, but if your coffee is not fresh, it may be smooth tasting but it will always be missing the unique and complex flavor it could otherwise have. In short, smooth but flat as a pancake no matter what your technique, water temperature, or equipment.


Aeropress: does filling it full with water increase the caffeine content of my cup? How does the amount of water I pour into an Aeroporess impact the caffeine content of my cup of coffee?

If I make two cups, for cup A I use just enough water so that the 1 is covered on the Aeropress, and for cup B  I use enough water so that the whole tube is filled, then what will be the ratio of caffeine in the two cups? Of course, I assume that the same amount of coffee is used for both cups.

Of course, I assume that the same amount of coffee is used for both cups.

In that case:
No
Caffeine dissolves very readily in water. The caffeine content in your cup is mainly and almost solely determined by the amount of coffee you use. The impact of any other factors such as amount of water, water temperature, and pressure are negligible.
To get a rough estimate of the amount of caffeine in your cup do this: multiply the amount of coffee in grams by 10, that's roughly the amount of caffeine in milligrams.

I would say yes. If you would increase the grounds : water then more caffeine would dissolve in the water. Caffeine is an extremely soluble compound; however, more caffeine does not mean a "better" test. It could become unpleasantly bitter. Cup A will have more caffeine than B. let's say you use 1/2 the water in Cup A compared to Cup B, theoretically Cup B will have close to double the caffeine saturation than A; however, the sum total caffeine will remain the same, . This is given all other factors are constant such as the temp, rate of extraction etc. I could go on and on. Shivers in Chemistry Labs.

A simplistic way of thinking of this is:

Let's say you were making a instant cuppa (not to scale. Please don't use this ratio). Moreover, you can also decrease the water what matters here is the ratio.

cup w/ 1 tbsp coffee --> slightly weak in Taste and caffeine

cup w/ 2 tbsp coffee --> Perfect in Taste and More Caffeine

cup w/ 3 tbsp coffee --> Bitter as Hell and **Too much caffeine*

if you like it at this level then seek help and have your cardiologist on speed dial


COVID-19 screening test using coffee beans Loss of taste or smell is one of the strongest signals for COVID-19. Though not every COVID-19 case has this symptom, it's a very specific symptom that doesn't commonly have other causes. This question is about the suitability of coffee beans as a low cost testing tool for COVID-19. I'm interested in exploring this as I lead development of the WHO COVID-19 app.
The Odds Ratio for a person reporting loss of taste or smell was reported as 6.7 through the COVID Symptom Study in their Nature research paper: Real-time tracking of self-reported symptoms to predict potential COVID-19. Overall AUC reported as 0.75 for all user symptoms. It's not accurate enough to be a diagnosis but it can be combined with other symptoms, cough recording and COVID exposure information to improve accuracy to do screening for further tests. The question is whether adding a specific daily smell test using coffee beans would be worthwhile?
The general thought is to have a cup of coffee beans that you smell on a daily basis. Then report in the app if you had a loss of smell. The ideal test is fast, cheap and easy. To be fast, the container may need to be open so you don't have the daily irritation of having to remove a sealed lid. I considered a coffee bean as I thought they'd be cheap and available around the world.
If you'll excuse multiple questions, I have some specific areas I was looking for feedback on....

How to get consistency in smell? Smell decay curve for coffee beans. How quickly does open coffee beans lose their smell? How does an open / closed container impact this? How often might you need to replace the beans due to smell decay, mold or other reasons?

Cost of coffee beans. How widely available and affordable are they in some of the poorest communities in the world?

Any other product that you think that could be more effective. It needs to be an existing widely available low cost product.

Please share any other thoughts or feedback you might have.

Fresh coffee is neither widely available nor inexpensive in all places. Coffee in Japan is relatively expensive because demand is relatively (extremely) low compared to western nations. I think I remember my coworkers also telling me that fresh coffee in India is almost never used because most Indians so drink coffee prefer instant. I wouldn't trust availability of coffee for this kind of test, but it also can't hurt to include it in the app as an option for people who can get fresh coffee.
I say fresh coffee because instant coffee in my experience doesn't have a strong smell in the first place.
About smell decay, that depends on a wide range of factors such as time since roasting at time of sale, quality of beans, conditions of storage, and qualities of packaging. My experience with cheap coffees is that they tend to be sold preground (which will lose scents faster than whole bean), though this will not be true in all countries or even all regions within a country.
Does it even matter though? My interpretation of the "loss of smell" symptom of COVID, having not experienced it myself, is literally a complete loss of smell. It would be far more reliable to advise acquiring a new bag of coffee and seeing if you can smell it.
Then again, there are loads of more economical options. Basically every spice under the sun (onion powder, garlic powder, curry powder, chili powder, cumin, paprika, oregano, thyme, rosemary, etc.), aromatic vegetables like onions and garlic, vinegar, fish or fish oil, and other aromatic foods might be more widely available at lower prices than coffee in most places.


Why do coffee packs have an aroma hole if it is recommended to store coffee in an air tight container If it's recommended that coffee should be stored in an air tight container then why do coffee bags have an aroma hole.
Apart from being able to smell the coffee is there another purpose to this? I would've thought that it would be better to not have a hole at all and that it should be air tight.

It seems the hole at the bottom is probably for degassing but I have seen on some packages that they call this an aroma hole.

It's actually a one-way valve & it's critical to the shelf life of the coffee and the preservation of the bag itself.
When coffee is fresh roasted, it releases carbon dioxide. It's basically a by-product of the roasting process. When the coffee is ground, carbon dioxide is released expeditiously. If you simply place fresh roasted coffee in a completely sealed bag, the bag will expand and in most cases rupture.

http://beanfruit.com/blogs/news/15152773-whats-that-thing-on-my-coffee-bag

If I can smell coffee coming from the pack I don't buy it, the packs on the shelf in the shop often look badly handled or even crushed. From experience I find these have lost flavour when I get them home. For a while now I've been buying Lavazza ground coffee which is vacuum packed and providing that the pack is hard like a brick, it never fails to keep fresh. I don't understand why all ground coffee can't be sold this way.


Is an Americano the same as drip coffee? I'm curious about the difference between an Americano (espresso + water) and drip coffee (grounds + water).

Does an Americano taste the same as black drip coffee? Whats the difference in caffeine levels? Process?

Differences

Crema: an espresso has crema whereas drip brew coffee doesn't. The reason for this is that an espresso is pulled under pressure.
Paper filtered: drip brew tends to be filtered by paper of cloth, filtering out oily components. From Comparison of nine common coffee extraction methods: instrumental and sensory analysis (where the French press is similar to espresso in that it isn't paper filtered):

  The most efficient extraction of fatty acids was performed with French Press extraction. Brewing with a paper filter resulted in coffee with the lowest fatty acid content, which is consistent with the findings of Peters.

Of course, this doesn't apply to all drip brews, metal filters don't filter out oily components.

(Possible) similarities

Strength: since an Americano is a diluted  espresso, you can make it the same strength as a drip brew coffee by adding an appropriate amount of water. The opposite isn't true, you cannot make a drip coffee that has espresso-strength.
Ingredients: both are made using roasted coffee and water only.

I use a French press a home, I used to have a domestic machine that would be able to make Americarno’s, I my opinion an Americarno made by a proper machine is a stronger better tasting coffee


Aeropress metal filters, are they worth it? I was wondering (other than the long term saving of not having to buy paper filters), what are the advantages of using a metal filter such as this?

In the copy is states:

  Fuller body cup of coffee

But is this something the average Joe would notice or is it marketing spiel?

My main thought would be you would get less of a papery taste, but after rinsing the filter, I can;t say that I've ever noticed the taste of paper from a filter (maybe if I had did an A/B test between the 2 I would?).

Would like to hear any thoughts from people that have one?

I have used both the paper filters and the "Able" brand metal AeroPress disk that you linked. They are a bit different, and I use both the metal disk and paper filter based on my mood. To my taste, the metal disk does produce a "fuller" bodied cup (because more "stuff" comes through the filter -- oils and macro-particles or whatever). I believe that "an average user" (by my definition) would be able to tell the difference in a side-by-side test, and probably enough to determine preference.

That said, I prefer the paper for a few reasons.

First, the simple convenience is better for me. After brewing, I plunge the filter and spent grounds directly into my compost container. After a quick rinse of the unit, it's clean enough for me.

As for my (personal) taste and preferences, I think the paper produces a better quality and more enjoyable cup. Since the perforations are larger, there is more grit in the output when using the metal disk, so you end up with a (small amount) of "sludge" in the bottom of your cup, and it will turn bitter more quickly because of longer contact with the grounds after brewing.

As an aside, I also prefer it for the marginal (and debatable) "health" reasons. Paper filters remove some compounds (such as cafestol) that have purported cholesterol-affecting properties. For more of "my opinion" on that, see this question about general comparison between paper and re-usable filters and my answer about the topic in general.

I actually use the metal disk along with x2 paper filters to achieve a smoother brew. Less powder at the bottom of the cup at the end too.


Pouring espresso into hot water versus hot water into espresso struggling to find an answer to this (if there is one), perhaps because nature of the question doesn't work so well with search engines.

Essentially, I've noticed (and so have others I've spoken to about this), that if I make espresso in a moka and want an Americano style coffee (i.e. hot water mixed with espresso -- please don't crucify me if this isn't the correct definition of Americano) then it affects the taste significantly if I make it in these two ways:

Boil water in kettle, pour water into mug, pour moka espresso into hot water in mug -- the two mix -- then drink.

v

Boil water in kettle, pour moka espresso into mug, add hot water into espresso in mug -- the two mix -- then drink.

I've noticed the first method produces a nice, smooth Americano that's nice to drink... whereas the second method (coffee in first, add water) produces a relatively less pleasant, sometimes unpleasant, bitter (perhaps?) and very inferior drink.

How is this possible? My only guess is perhaps it's a chemistry thing to do with some kind of oil in the coffee? Or it just mixes better the other way? I have no idea but I swear this difference is real and so do some of my friends, but none of us know why.

Thanks...

I would suspect that a few centigrades make all the difference here. With coffee, too high temperatures will negatively affect your flavor. Rule of thumb: Hot is good, boiling isn’t.

If you put the water in your mug first, you’ll lose just a bit of temperature as the water warms the mug and/or stands for a bit until you add the coffee.

If you reverse the order, you are effectively scalding (some of) the coffee with the boiling water, losing volatile aromatic compounds and degrading others.

It's the crema. The crema will naturally flow to the top when the espresso is poured in hot water, while it will be totally dissolved if you add the hot water to the espresso.


What are my options for approximating espresso at work? Lately I have developed a taste for espresso during the day, when I'm at work. There are several problems:

There is no espresso machine at work.
There is no stove at work, so a stovetop moka pot is not an option.
There's no time to leave the office to get a coffee.
There is no chance of putting an espresso machine in the office (not even Nespresso): I would be the only user.

I've thought of two solutions, neither of which is very appealing:

40-60 mL of really strong instant coffee: ugh.
Aeropress coffee: a lot of setup and fiddling for something that doesn't really scratch the itch.

I do have an Aeropress, so that'll be the solution if necessary, but does anyone have a better idea?

I don't want to provide any specific product links here since they may change in the future and I also don't want to advertise specific stores.

However there are some options I can think of. There are electric Moka pots that have the stove already built into them. Bialetti is the go to brand for Moka pots. I'm certain that they will fit in your office, even on your desk if need be. Alternatively you can get a small electric stove for the Moka pot you already have. It will also fit on your desk.

Another option would be portable espresso makers. Handpresso Wild Hybrid and Wacaco are the only ones I know of. I've heard good things about the Handpresso, but can't attest to them since I haven't tried one yet. They work with pressure, which the Moka pots don't do, so they should come closer to Espresso from a machine.

However I personally would stick with the AeroPress. In my opinion it makes by far better, more complex coffee than the other options.There are also some tweaks, like using two filter papers, using a metal filter, very fine grind size, tamping the coffee, high coffee to water ratio and tweaks/constructions to apply more pressure, that make a more espresso like drink. Note however that the AeroPress is not built to withstand several bars of pressure and constructions like the one in the video are neither practical, nor safe. The other tweaks mentioned however can safely increase pressure to a point where you get pretty neat, espresso like results.

take from home.  use double walled glass container. keeps hot for hours.


How Much Should I Spend When Investing In An At-Home Espresso Machine? I remember discussing the merits of different espresso machines a while back at my local coffee shop with a seasoned barista. His advice was that anything priced below $1000 would produce sub-par espresso.

Is this a good rule of thumb? In other words...

What is the minimum amount of money one should spend when investing in a at-home espresso machine?

For the purposes of this question, I'm interested in semi-automatic espresso machines. It would be used to make straight espresso and espresso beverages.

It's important to note that you should be thinking of your entire espresso budget (i.e. Machine, Grinder, and Accessories) when trying to find the "right" price. If you were to buy a $1000 machine, you'd want to spend minimally $300 on an espresso grinder. If you're looking at spending a $1000 total and go with something that requires a little more technique, maybe the popular Rancilio Silvia / Rocky combination is right for you. Also, some say that the grinder is actually the most important component to consider when trying to make amazing coffee on a budget. It might be worth shorting yourself a bit on the machine to afford yourself a better grinder in the long run. I'd recommend the Baratza Vario as a starting point. It's pricier, but it does a fantastic job for both drip and espresso. Also, Baratza has amazing support/service and a history of quality. That can be worth quite a bit in the long run.

Breville has some pretty affordable equipment that can make good espresso. The Breville Dual-Boiler, in particular, has received positive feedback from David Schomer himself.


Whats the purpose of preheating a coffee roaster? I own a Gene Cafe and was wondering why many across the internet recommend that the roaster is preheated before the roasting takes place, in comparison to the manufacture which claims that one should just add the beans and start the roasting straight away while everything is cold.

Preheating your Gene Cafe lets you choose between life cycle of the roaster and roasting consistency.  By preheating your roaster, you should be able to get more consistent roast times.  In my case my garage is sometimes 50F and sometimes 80F, so a preheat cycle would certainly probably help.  I don't do it though.  Any machine has a finite number of cycles, and you are shorting that window by preheating your machine.

I roast one and a half pounds a week (a half pound for work, and one pound for home).  The half pound is always done by itself from a cold start.  When I do the pound for home, I do two half pound batches, the first is from a cold start and the second is done immediately following on a "preheated" machine.  I try to aim for the same roast level on each of the batches and the second one consistently needs less time to reach the same level.  I generally set a timer and come back 14 minutes after the start.  This allows me to fine tune the last portion of the batch, on cold batches I generally add a bit of time, and on the preheated ones I end up subtracting a bit (to get the same roast).  I am fine with this as it saves me a cycle and will prolong the life of my roaster.  However, I can see that some folks would want the roast length of two such batches to be much closer to the same at the cost of that extra cycle.  For them it may make sense.

To keep the temperature consistent probably.

Some energy would be spent on preheating the roaster, and temperature will raise at the beginning from room temperature to roasting temperature. If you preheat the roaster it will be consistent all the time. I'm not sure it will affect the result much though.


Keeping milk frother in shape We recently got new Milk Frother and I do not intend to it have residue which burns up as described in this question. What are ways to keep it clean after a day of use. I heard everytime you use it, wash it, if that is true just rinse will do or proper wash with fairy and sponge (which sound hectic) given In office.

For someone who works with high commercial grade espresso machines, I clean my shop's machine once a day before closing. There really isn't enough downtime in the day to deep clean the machine. For someone like yourself who might use it once or twice a day, just make sure that you always wipe it down with a damp rag and purge it a time or two for a couple seconds. If you really are concerned about it always being clean, buy some Cafiza. It'll keep your frother super clean.

Hope this helps!

https://www.webstaurantstore.com/urnex-12-esp12-20-20-oz-cafiza-espresso-machine-cleaning-powder/588ESP1220.html?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=GoogleShopping&gclid=CjwKCAiAy-_iBRAaEiwAYhSlA89ztllMujcfFKnhSgahUDlT2wpWRh9g7gS37eHBVaF_3zyMx3GfJhoCvjIQAvD_BwE


Least Expensive Way to Make Decent Espresso-based Milk Drinks? I want to know the cheapest machines to make decent espresso for my situation.
Needs:

I need steam for milk drinks
I need the proper brewing pressure
I need to use fresh ground coffee, no pods nonsense.
No super-automatics that deal with the milk, I like that myself.

Wants:

I want a good temperature control, but I also don't really drink straight espresso, so 212F made espresso will not be that different to me than 200F made espresso.
Guages would be great, especially in lever machines.
Semi-automatic (by which I mean make a puck in the portafilter, turn water on/off, turn steam on/off) would be great.

Non-Issues

I don't care how fussy or slow it is. I can and will spend time to learn the machine and will wait for it to be ready.
I am not super into tasting espresso like one does wine or whiskey, I really just want to be able to make a decent latte without hoofing it to a cafe.
I live alone, I don't need to make more than a double shot at a time.

If only after Latte, Bialetti Brikka will get you 9/10. Also the grinder will be a bit less demanding.
Add an induction milk frother (stainless cup) and you're set at a fraction of the cost and maintenance needs of a portafilter machine.


How can I minimize the amount of grounds at the bottom of my French press coffee? Whenever I brew coffee with a French press, I tend to get a significant amount of grind left near the bottom of the cup, making the last bit of coffee far less enjoyable - mostly regardless, it seems, of how finely I grind the beans. Is there any method or tool I can use to minimize the amount of grind left at the bottom of the cup?

I have the same problem, and these things definitely reduce it:

Grind more coarsely. Blade grinders are incapable of really doing this—they give you boulders and powder. But I've never been satisfied with the taste when I use coarse grounds— it's weak and lacks body.
Make sure the screen fits well and no grounds are squirting along the sides
Press gently, don't force it down with a lot of pressure
After pressing, wait a minute before decanting
Don't drink the dregs remaining at the bottom of the cup... unless you're like a friend of mine who relishes them.

Finally, if none of that works for you, try a different brew method. Paper filters are very good at keeping grounds out of your cup.

I have a cheap French press made by mr. Coffee and it stands about 7 in tall. Coffee grinder is from KitchenAid and it has the blade to grind the coffee. That's just what I have and I did not buy anything special for this answer.

Take a 1 lb cottage cheese carton without the lid then turn it upside
down on top of a paper drip coffee filter.
Use scissors to cut the circle out of the paper coffee filter.
Now fold the filter in 1/2 so it looks like a half moon.
Fold the filter in half again so it looks as close to a triangle as
you can get.
Take the scissors and cut the point off of the triangle.
Unfold it and now you have a circle with a hole in the middle.
Don't cut too much off for the hole will be too big.
Take the filter and place it underneath the screen of the French
press. There will be a tit that you place the paper filter over that
the stem for the plunger screws into.
Fill the French Press with the amount of water desired.
Level off the coffee.
Take the plunger and put it into the French press.

Notice how the
paper filter you cut out comes in contact with the glass water
container instead of the screen touching the glass.

Gently press down on the Press until you see water on top of
your filtration mechanism then set the Press some place and do not
disturb it so the coffee grounds do not sink to the bottom. This will
act as a pre-filter before the coffee goes through the paper filter
when you go to press the coffee.

Shazam no grounds in your cup. Now you can pour the coffee off into another container or leave it in the pot nine days old.


What's this ring around the inside of my moka pot? I just bought a Bialetti moka stainless steel pot and when I went to wash it for the first time (before any use) I noticed this rust-looking ring around the inner bottom portion of the top pot where the coffee brews out. I've had aluminum moka pots before but this is my first stainless steel one, so I'm not sure if this is normal from the welding or if I should return the pot for a new one. If anyone has advice I'd greatly appreciate it!

It looks like the seam from when the pot was manufactured and the brown stains will be coffee not rust. If you soak it in some diluted bleach over night, the stain will disappear.
Thanks,
Simon


Why does my moka pot sputter? I have an old 6-cup moka pot (bialetti) that I recently replaced the filter and the rubber gasket (bialetti brand), however the extraction time seems a bit long, bubbles to soon(almost immediately) and sputters out- resulting in that bitter over-extracted taste.  Strangely, it did work fine just a few times after I replaced the gasket but soon after the sputtering started. Thinking that maybe the rubber gasket was faulty, I replaced it again, but still the same problem. In the past, this moka pot has produced good brews with a nice uniform flow.

Could it be something is off with the safety valve i.e. not sealing enough and allowing pressure to escape?

By the way, I also have a 3-cup moka pot one that I have tested with the same process (pre-heating water, grind level, grind amount, medium heat) and the results are consistently good.

Folks - please be aware that there are at least two different thicknesses (not talking diameter) for Moka pots. I know that Bialetti makes gaskets in at least 2 different thicknesses.  If your Moka pot design needs a thicker one and the replacement is the thinner one, the seal will never be what it needs to be and the flow of coffee will be affected. Hope this helps.

I had the same issue with my 12 cups Moka Express. I've done some experiments and observed that the edge of the funnel wasn't properly sealing the pot, even with a good gasket or tightening the upper part the hardest I could. So what I've done was simply wrapping the edge of the funnel with a piece of PTFE tape, so that it could seal between the pot and the funnel. After that, bang: my Moka Pot was working perfectly and stopped sputtering!


Generating crema with a moka pot? I have a stove top percolator for making espresso.  It does not generate any crema.  it possible to do so with a stove top percolator?

Moka pots (or stove top percolators) usually produce a pressure of around 1.5 bar, while most coffees require a pressure of at least around 6 bar for a crema to appear. However, there are some Moka pots with a special valve (called Cremator) which helps creating more pressures and thus produce a crema.

By the way, a real Espresso has to be brewed with a pressure of 9 bar ± 1, according to the Italian National Espresso Institute, so it can't be brewed with a Moka pot.

i read that the coffee bean type makes the difference. 100% arabica beans make no creama, while robusta beans do, however arabica tastes better, so mixing the 2 types will make a good tasting coffee and crema. problem is mixing. lavazza sells already mixed in one bag w/ different combinations of each bean. other important variables are grind size and water temp. the more u read about it the more u will realize that espresso is an elusive and difficult drink to make at home. the espresso gurus say the type of pot/machine is not as important as type of grind and grinder. ck out
https://prima-coffee.com/learn/article/making-espresso
if u want crema and no guess work, try out a nespresso machine and coffees. expensive but worth it if espresso and coffee are your drinks of choice.


Is it more economical to use cold or hot water? I have an electric kettle to boil water for tea/coffee that switches off automatically when water boils.
I can either pour cold or warn water from a sink. Warm water is not hot enough, so it will need to be boiled anyway, but for shorter time (smaller difference to a boiling temperature) and thus lower electricity.
Assuming, that I am not in a hurry (so time difference is not important), I am wondering what will be cheaper for me:

to pour cold water (that is cheaper) and boil it longer (using more electricity), or
to pour warm water (that is more expensive) and boil it shorter (less electricity)?

Cold water costs me 9,85 PLN/m3 and warm water costs me (9,85 + 25,88 =) 35,73 PLN/m3.
Electricity costs 0,3195 PLN/kWh.
Unfortunately, I do not know how much electricity does my kettle consume.
Am I able to calculate how should I boil water for my tea/coffee?

From a physics point of view, over 85%  of the energy of heating 20 C or 50 C water and boiling it at 100 C goes into actually boiling it. In fact, comparing the heat required  for equal amounts (say, 1/2 liter) of water starting at 20 C vs 50 C, the energy difference is 62 kJ or 0.017 kWh, thermal.  Electric kettles are very efficient, so figure 0.020 kWh electrical difference.
Don't waste the water.

An exact calculation would depend of the temperatures of your cold and warm tap water, and the amount of water you need to let out until it runs warm.
Generally, warm tap water is cheaper than electrically heating it, assuming your water is actually heated by a diffeeent method (gas, central heating, district heating, etc.)
But to get warm water from the tap, you generally need to let it flow for a while, and this means you loose a large amount of hot water in the drains and pipes. This is of course grossly inefficient.
So it depends on your exact situation; if you've just used warm water so it flows warm immediately, i'd fill the kettle from the warm tap, otherwise from the cold one.


Looking for a good pod coffee maker I'm an occasional avid coffee drinker. That is, I don't drink much (at most 1 cup a day, sometimes a few days with 0 cups) but when I do I want it to be (really) good.
I just want a good cup of regular coffee, and possibly a latte every now and then. I don't care too much for an espresso.
Up until now I've used the freeze dried stuff and sometimes one of those glass wait-and-then-press things. Both of them with mediocre results that leaves me wanting (most likely because I'm in a hurry and don't do it properly).
So, I want to get better coffee, without breaking the bank and without needing to count seconds or measure precise amounts of anything (both are things I suck at early in the morning). To me the capsule coffee makers seem like the perfect solution. But which one should I get?
There are so many of them. Went to a Nespresso store today and they let me taste a coffee from Nespresso Vertuo Next which in all honestly was good (better than what I usually drink) although I kind of expected even better, and when I read reviews about it they were.. mixed (things like the first cup being cold). So I'm back to square one and not knowing what I need.
Maybe you guys have some tips? I'm hoping to stay within or under 230 USD.
Update 1. Was asked to define a (to me) good cup of coffee. This is hard and I doubt I know the correct terms for what you are asking me to describe.. But I'll give it a stab. I like a well rounded cup, that's not too bitter (I usually stay away from the really dark roast) but I also want a distinct strong coffee taste (not watered down). In my opinion, a good cup of coffee does not need milk or sugar (although I do add milk sometimes, and I do enjoy a latte every now and then). I also want a good crema on the cup. Oh, and it needs to be hot. I hate cold coffee, I want it above 90 degrees celcius.
On a vacation to Teneriffa a few years ago I realized that every single little mom and pop shop had this machine (or very similar) and were all extremely good at making a good cup of joe. I have since then not tasted as good coffee as I had during that week again. Just thinking about it makes me want to go back just for the damn coffee.

This may be heresy: An espresso machine plus a grinder is overkill for a one cup a day person. Try Nespresso Vertuo. Their coffee is excellent and comes in a wide selection of tastes. In my opinion, much better than anything from Kuerig. I own two Vertuo machines, one for office, one for home. I'm not in any way connected to Nespresso except as a satisfied customer.


How should I clean a stainless coffee carafe? At the office, we have a coffee maker with a stainless steel vacuum carafe similar to this one. It has accumulated coffee residue in it from 5+ years of hard service, whilst receiving in return what I shall politely call "inadequate cleansing."

It's a double-wall vacuum container. There is no heating element, so I'm not exactly sure what causes this buildup in the first place. The manufacturer user manual suggests to clean using dish soap / mild detergent, or the top rack of a dishwasher; I've tried both, neither worked. I have also tried scrubbing with non-abrasive brush, sponge, and dish detergents; improved, still lots of residue. I soaked in two batches of near-boiling water and bicarb (baking soda) for about an hour. The first rinse looked almost like brewed coffee; this was shocking. After all that, the situation was improved but there's still lots of residue.

There are myriad suggestions for removing coffee stains from stainless steel, like this set of eight (8) from Wikihow. It suggests exposing the inside to various household chemicals: vinegar, baking soda / bicarb, bleach (!?), salt, ice cubes, etc. This other article suggests using a dishwasher detergent tablet but it uses anonymous tablets. It does give a nod to using dishwasher detergent powder (as I did with this other device), but I'd prefer to know what is the actual cleansing chemical at work.

So before I either abandon this (decidedly serviceable) carafe for a new one, or begin indexing my pantry for candidate chemicals: How should I clean this stainless carafe? Surely someone must have had and solved this problem.

In addition: I'd also like to ensure that I don't make this worse in the process; e.g., scratching or etching the inside of the carafe. Are these carafes predisposed to buildup? What's causing it? Besides regular cleaning, is there anything else that will keep this thing cleaner for a longer period of time?

Tannin is a chemical contained in coffee and this is what normally stains your coffee making / drinking equipment.

When using an espresso machine it is advised to 'backflush' your machine with cleaning powder which cleans away a build up of 'tannin' from inside the machine. I expect a similar thing has happened to your carafe. With an espresso machine you're advised to do it weekly with heavy use - so I can imagine an "inadequate cleansed" carafe would probably be heavily tannin stained.

You can purchase tannin cleaning powder from any coffee supplier, such as Happy Donkey.

Even though it is designed for Espresso Machines - it is perfectly safe to dissolve the powder in water and use it to clean other tannin stained equipment.

Others will disagree, and perhaps rightfully so, but I pour just enough bleach to cover the bottom. Wait 1 minute and then slowly and carefully hold the carafe sideways and slowly twirl the carafe so that bleach eventually touches all if the inside. Then carefully fill with water and pour it out. Rinse, rinse, rinse!
I often see not to use bleach on SS, but I’ve had no trouble.


freddo espresso pods vs espresso pods I'd like to consider myself a newbie at...coffee...consumption and I wanted to buy an espresso machine for myself and right now I'm between, a nespresso machine and a dolce gusto machine and the only thing that is holding me back is that, I can find freddo espresso pods for the dolce gusto machine but not for the nespresso one.
Now, I know that freddo means cold, but I don't know if there is a point in having different pods for freddo espresso and "normal" espresso.
That being said, does anyone know, in they're experience, if there is a difference between the two types of pods?

One is coffee de-oiled and re-mixed, the other is instant coffee with added sugar, however only plastic pods instead of aluminum + plastic.


Why do espresso grains have to be finely ground and French press grains coursely ground? Why do espresso grains have to be finely ground?
(I've seen some moka pot instructions say medium is good, too.)
I thought espresso machines extracted the most out of the grains, so it would seem they wouldn't need to be finely ground—that fine-ground would be suited for French press (lower temps & pressure, no?) and course ground for espresso (the exact opposite of what's recommended!).

Coffee brewing is simple physics and chemistry. In short, soluble compounds and oils migrate from the beans to the water. The extraction will depend on temperature, pressure and contact area between beans and water. There’s also a balance between desired and less desired flavor compounds (e.g. acidic and bitter) that a specific brewing method needs to manage, so you tweak the given parameters.
If you have a coarse grind, the total surface area is smaller, so to get a comparable extraction you need more time (minutes for hot water as in French press, hours for cold water as in cold brew). For finer and fine grinds, you brew shorter (pour over) and probably increase the pressure (espresso).
Of course you can also look at the problem in reverse, like in the question (“how much can method X extract”), and match the grind size to hit the optimum. However, there your assumption that e.g. an espresso machine can extract more is incorrect. The very short time plus the compact grounds means that comparatively little coffee flavor is extracted - but some would say that it’s the best parts ;-)

Key to understanding this is the flow rate of the hot water: Fine grains = slow flow rate; coarse grains = fast flow rate.
Grain size determines how quickly the hot water flows, and thus how much time it is contact with the grains. Faster flow means the water has less time to be in contact with the grains and thus less time the water can extract the oils and other nutrients. (Certainly, surface area factors in, too; cf. Stephie's answer.)
Methods where the grains are soaked (cold-brew, French press, pour-over) don't require fine grains. One could use fine grains in such methods (as in the Turkish method), but it's not necessary, and they would be harder to filter out.
Methods where water quickly flows by the grains also extract more quickly, because of higher temperature and pressure.

Grain Size     Flow Rate     Extraction Time     Methods
⬤             •             ⬤                  Cold brew, French press, etc.
•              ⬤            •                   Espresso, moka, etc.

Kingston's How to Make Coffee: The Science Behind the Bean:

When grinding for espresso at home, as a rule of thumb if the coffee is coming out too fast, use a finer grind to slow down the extraction; or, if the coffee is coming out too slowly, make the grind coarser.If your coffee tastes a little sour, this is often due to underextraction. With methods of brewing other than espresso, using a finer grind will allow more coffee to be extracted during the brewing time. The same is true of bitter coffee—this could be due to your beans, equipment, or brewing method, but it may also be caused by overextraction. Make the grounds a little coarser and to slow down the extraction rate.