Growing up in eastern Germany in the 80s, I was not living in a society of abundance and extraordinary wealth. Life was safe, my parents were loving parents, I had my grandparents around, it was totally fine for 5 year old me to walk to kindergarten alone. We just didn’t have bananas readily available (among a few other things)
One of my early childhood memories is the ritualistic consumption of coffee. No morning would start without a cup for anybody over the age of 16, at least so it seemed to me. Then there would be another, almost hard-coded break around 3PM for an afternoon caffeine boost.
The typical method of creating that cup was pouring some ready-ground coffee powder of unknown origin into a filter coffee machine, add water - et voilà. A few seconds after switching it on, I'd hear the familiar gurgling of water being magically moved through some sort of heating device and bubble right on top of the waiting ground.
I can vividly recall the smell, it was magical and would almost serve as a sensory reminder that it's morning, well or 3PM.
Fast forward 30 years ☕
Now during adulthood, I have done my fair share of experiments when it comes to coffee. While living in Australia, I have almost exclusive fuelled my caffeine addiction with flat whites. The Google office in Sydney sports a bunch of really expensive, barista level of complexity, espresso machines. Whether you want it or not, you will learn how to make a great cup of espresso and probably also how to froth all sorts of milk to perfection.
This was a humongous step up from Singapore, where instant coffee rules the island and tea is actually the real deal. Later in the US, things went a little more into direction of everyday filter coffee with the occasional espresso.
Now having moved back to Germany, I have found what is for me and my family the perfect setup. The key to great coffee (by my standard) has actually not been the equipment, but the beans.
Nowadays, I have 2-3 cups in the morning and usually another 1-2 in the afternoon during an average day. They are exclusively filter coffee, the trick is though to always grind the beans fresh just before brewing.
Coffee, like many other materials on this planet reacts with oxygen and if you use pre-ground coffee, even if stored in an airtight container, it will degrade really quick and end up tasting bitter, flavorless and maybe just like black water. This can be easily avoided by purchasing beans and then grinding them fresh just before the brew.
None of this has to be expensive either. There are a variety of grinders on the market, burr grinders, herb grinders, hand grinders, coffee mills etc, I have found that a cheap herb blender (€10 at Lidl) did the trick.
I'd recommend a little experimentation with:
One of my early childhood memories is the ritualistic consumption of coffee. No morning would start without a cup for anybody over the age of 16, at least so it seemed to me. Then there would be another, almost hard-coded break around 3PM for an afternoon caffeine boost.
The typical method of creating that cup was pouring some ready-ground coffee powder of unknown origin into a filter coffee machine, add water - et voilà. A few seconds after switching it on, I'd hear the familiar gurgling of water being magically moved through some sort of heating device and bubble right on top of the waiting ground.
I can vividly recall the smell, it was magical and would almost serve as a sensory reminder that it's morning, well or 3PM.
Fast forward 30 years ☕
Now during adulthood, I have done my fair share of experiments when it comes to coffee. While living in Australia, I have almost exclusive fuelled my caffeine addiction with flat whites. The Google office in Sydney sports a bunch of really expensive, barista level of complexity, espresso machines. Whether you want it or not, you will learn how to make a great cup of espresso and probably also how to froth all sorts of milk to perfection.
This was a humongous step up from Singapore, where instant coffee rules the island and tea is actually the real deal. Later in the US, things went a little more into direction of everyday filter coffee with the occasional espresso.
Now having moved back to Germany, I have found what is for me and my family the perfect setup. The key to great coffee (by my standard) has actually not been the equipment, but the beans.
Nowadays, I have 2-3 cups in the morning and usually another 1-2 in the afternoon during an average day. They are exclusively filter coffee, the trick is though to always grind the beans fresh just before brewing.
Coffee, like many other materials on this planet reacts with oxygen and if you use pre-ground coffee, even if stored in an airtight container, it will degrade really quick and end up tasting bitter, flavorless and maybe just like black water. This can be easily avoided by purchasing beans and then grinding them fresh just before the brew.
None of this has to be expensive either. There are a variety of grinders on the market, burr grinders, herb grinders, hand grinders, coffee mills etc, I have found that a cheap herb blender (€10 at Lidl) did the trick.
I'd recommend a little experimentation with:
- which beans you use, I prefer standard Dallmayr arabica supermarket beans (€5 for 500g)
- how much ground works perfectly for you per cup of coffee
- how finely you grind the beans
How do I know it works? Apart from my own satisfaction with the end product, we also frequently get positive remarks from friends and family "Your coffee tastes amazing, what machine do you use?" Nope, it's all about the beans.
Last year we did splurge on a really nice dutch filter machine though and I don't think I'll ever go back.
Moccamaster:
