I started drinking coffee many years ago, and I absolutely love it. Drip or French press served black with just a hint of the natural oil floating on the surface. Espresso Romano with that strip of fresh lemon peel. Dry cappucino with froth like meringue. Macchiato—espresso “marked” with a spoon of frothed milk.
Many (including me) would consider me a bit of a coffee snob. I don’t think it’s a bad thing. I just know what I like. And I will say in contrast, that sometimes what I like is, in fact, a bottomless cup at a greasy spoon that I have to put ice in because it’s too hot to drink. Cheap (if not free) and plentiful.
Two travel anecdotes:
A few weeks ago I was on a business trip. I was having breakfast with some colleagues at the hotel, and one guy noticed that we were drinking what the hotel called coffee. In his defense, it wasn’t good. He ordered French press coffee even though it wasn’t on the menu, and they brought out the nice small pot of blacker-than-the-blackest-black liquor with the mesh and plunger. Needless to say I was a bit jealous, and my “coffee” tasted even worse after that. Travel tip: ask for French press even if it’s not listed; you might be pleasantly surprised.
On the same trip I had to go through Concourse A of the Detroit airport, and it reminded me of a previous time I was there. I didn’t have long to catch my flight, and I knew if I just ordered my usual (medium black) from the kiosk, it would be too hot to finish drinking before boarding. No problem. “Can you put a bit of ice in the bottom of the cup?” I ask. She nods, turns, turns back and utters possibly the most baffling question I have ever fielded:
“Would you like the ice at the top or the bottom of the cup?”
I honestly didn’t know what to say, and I don’t remember what I actually said. Basically, though, if she can make the ice stay at the bottom, she should win a Nobel prize.
Two recent coffee links from blogs I follow: Gizmodo. Art of Manliness.
Oh, my coffee machines? I have a Bodum Chambord French press and a Breville 800ESXL espresso machine.
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Ah – I see where she may have been coming from. I ask for ice in my coffee quite a lot – on the basis I don’t want to wait until it cools down, I want to drink it now!
If you put the ice in first and then pour the coffee – it cools it faster than if you float the ice on the top afer pouring! (It also makes the coffee taste less watery as well this way – if it floats on the top after pouring, you can get a mouhful of more water than coffee!)
Now, yes, i know the ice will float to the surface as it’s poured – but it’s the agitation as they pour that works so well! No, I’m not a scientist – I just know the word ‘agitation’!
Now where did i put my mug of coffee!
That was a really great write up. It’s true, in fact I bet most people don’t realize you can order a coffee press at Starbucks of all places.
They really do make coffee that is above and beyond any drip coffee that exists.
We just launched a site that has a step by step guide to making French Press Coffee and would love to hear what you think about it!
Thanks,
FrenchPressHowTo.com
I like your site. This has some really good information to help people have a better cup of coffee at home. I guess I only have one suggestion. Perhaps you can post a few pictures comparing espresso, drip, and press grinds. This will give readers a better idea of what to look for when grinding their beans for press coffee. As you know, of course, if the grind is too coarse, the flavor will be lacking, and if the grind is too fine, the flavor can become very bitter and the screen will be difficult to clean. The bitter flavor can also arise from using too little coffee for a given amount of water.
@samanthawebb I see your point. There’s more surface contact of the coffee flowing over the ice as you pour it in. I hadn’t thought about the mouthful of water at the top, but I suppose that could be a problem too. The other reason to add the ice to the cup first, of course, is to avoid splashing hot coffee all over your hands.
At the same time, I do want to avoid giving this particular barista (term used loosely) too much credit if you know what I mean.
Perhaps she has a stash of D2O ice in her freezer. Has some interesting properties, including sinking in “normal” water. But at $100/g there is probably an up-charge.
I feel strangely compelled to add: the reason that coffee with ice added at the end of the preparation (top) is so different from having the ice at the beginning, is the extraordinarily high viscosity of water compared to its thermal conductivity. In a quiescent system, water can support a huge thermal gradient for a long time, even with a density inversion. Check out the phenomenon of thermal inversion in limnology if you want more interesting brain food.
@Rob: So the idea is that adding the ice at the end constitutes a quiescent system, and ice stays ice longer in this system due to it’s ability to support a large thermal gradient. Here, the gradient is approximated by a step discontinuity from 0°C in the ice to say 90°C in the coffee. Yes?
Also, you may be on to something with the D2O. Along with the list of add-ins like a depth charge or caramel syrup was listed “extra neutrons”.
Right, in addition, by modulating your flow rate (cup angle) you can somewhat effectively modulate the temperature of the incoming fluid. If you wanted to model it, a step function would be ok, but messy, right? Better to use something reasonable (and tractable) like 10^7 C/m.