The Shallow End

Brief thoughts on the news we all expected

5by5kevin:

• I do not share the pessimism that most everyone on my feed seems to have.
• I think David Karp closing his official blog statement with “Fuck yeah, David” was sophomoric.
• I think Yahoo’s statement about not wanting to screw things up was adorable.
• I trust Marissa Mayer.
• If it is in your nature to complain, I think you should wait until actual changes get made before doing so.

Yes, to all of these things.

While I agree David’s statement ending in “Fuck Yeah” was sophomoric, I think it was his way of saying tumblr is still tumblr. Both his and Marrissa’s statements communicated an understanding of the inherent tumblrness (tumblarity?) of the community that were reassuring in their own ways.

Making Pretty Good Coffee

There are a lot of places to find out where to make great coffee, but those tend to involve precise measurements, scales, expensive machinery, math, and dark magic.

I love great coffee, but I also love pretty good coffee. And to my taste buds, the difference between a lot fuss and a little bit of fuss isn’t very big. A little bit of fuss goes a hell of a long way from Folgers in your Krups drip machine, though. If you want to really taste your coffee and the wonderful nuance of its flavor without that astringent, bitter, want-to-go-brush-your-tongue-after-a-cup feeling, read on…

Pretty good coffee requires only these basic things:

Water

If this is a problem, I can’t help you. I do recommend starting with filtered water if it’s available, though, just because this is about the coffee. It’s also better for your brewing equipment.

Coffee Beans

This post is mainly advice for the uninitiated, so I’m not going to tell you that you need to get tonx right away or anything. You are probably used to some Colombian dark roast in a drip coffee maker or a Donut Shop k-cup, so the subtleties of excellent beans are going to be lost on you. Instead, go to your favorite grocery store and pick something with a pretty package. Whole bean, light or medium roast. Bonus points if it’s locally roasted because real people are awesome. Or you can just get yourself a free sample of tonx because gosh darnit, you’re worth it. I’d also look awesome in one of those shirts with the french bulldog, so you’d be doing us both a favor.

an Aerobie Aeropress or equivalent brewer

No self-serving plug here (full disclosure: I totally would, but I’m in NC where we can’t be Amazon Affiliates). The Aeropress is just a very good, inexpensive brewer that’s easy to use, easy to clean, and portable. The drawback is that it only brews a single cup at a time. If that’s no good for you, try to apply this pragmatic approach to your brewing method of choice. Just note that times, measurements, and quality will vary with different brewing methods and you should probably read one of those Great Coffee recipes to know where to start.

a grinder

Effortless, consistent, inexpensive. Pick 2. I chose consistent and inexpensive and went with the Haro MSS-1B. It’s fine for the job I need it to do, which is basically to grind enough for a cup of coffee while my water heats up. How sophisticated your grinding setup needs to be is totally up to you. Even a blade grinder is better than buying pre-ground.

a vessel capable of boiling and pouring water

I started brewing in my aeropress using a 2-cup Pyrex measuring cup heated in the microwave until boiling and then just letting it cool a few seconds before pouring. It took like 4 minutes to boil and wasn’t easy to pour accurately, so I have since moved to a sweet little kettle. It’s quick to boil (about 1 minute for a cup), easy to pour, and passed my wife’s aesthetic requirements for anything that resides on our kitchen counter. Triple win.

a timer of sorts

99% chance your phone has a stopwatch. You could also use your microwave’s timer, counting in your head, or training your dog to bark at 30 second intervals. No clue what you cat people would do.

Instructions

1. Assemble your Aeropress “inverted”: Plunger piece on the bottom, rubber side up. Slip the other bit on top with the filter side up. You want the seal to be at the ④ mark.
2. Grind 1 Aeropress scoop (about 14 grams) of beans to about the size of table salt (hat tip to Scott at Tonx for the practical grind size unit of measurement) and pour them into the Aeropress.
3. Rinse an Aeropress filter and put it in the cap. Some say this affects the flavor. I just think it’s easier to put the cap on when you brew inverted because the filter clings to the cap.
4. Bring water to a boil and then give it a few seconds to cool. If you have a kettle with temperature control, shoot for 205. Get your timer or stopwatch ready.
5. Pour enough water over the grounds to completely soak them and start your timer.
6. Stir the grounds to break up any clumps. I stir for about 10 seconds with the Aeropress paddle, being sure to get grounds off the seal and sidewalls.
7. Fill the chamber with water to around the ① mark. Doesn’t have to be exact. Just leave enough room for bloom and stirring.
8. At around the 1 minute mark, give it another quick stir just to move the grounds around and then add a little more water if you want. Or not. I don’t care, it’s your coffee. Put the filter cap on.
9. At 1:30, it’s time to spin the whole thing over onto your mug and start plungin’. The size of your grind will dictate how hard you have to push, but I always shoot for being done at 2:20-2:30.
10. You can dilute it with some of your leftover water if you want a weaker or fuller cup, but I like it best just like it is. Drink your delicious coffee.