I love myself a cup of joe on a daily basis. The aroma of coffee makes me gravitate to the coffee machine. I bet you can relate to it, whether you drink it or not, the smell of coffee can be mesmerizing. I equate that delicious aroma with getting my afternoon fix when my mind starts to wander and I need a little boost to put my mind back on track, and for many others it’s the wake-up ritual every morning. Personally I limit myself to one cup a day during the week since I don’t want to get hooked on caffeine. But Sunday I make an exception and I give in to more warming deliciousness throughout the day. We even make it a destination of sorts before doing family things. I’m certainly not talking about the Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts on every other corner. The places I’m talking about sometimes have lines out the door, astoundingly, and at times a stretched wait. I guess I’m not the only one who appreciates a really good cup of coffee.
(cup of Joe)
Some of the places I like to visit in NY are Stumptown coffee roasters in the Ace hotel, Café Grumpy on 20th street and Ninth Street coffee roasters in the Chelsea Market (which use Stumptown coffee).
Golden Elixir
We know that coffee has different flavor nuances and can be described as earthy, fresh, nutty, citrusy, chocolatey, spicey, floral on so on. Beyond these flavors, in a while I experience that moment of coffee perfection which to me is like golden elixir and it is mesmerizing and memorable. Then this coffee thing -- cultish coffee followers, brewers with attitudes, people who sit with a cup at the upper right hand corner of their desk or table all the time, and this whole purist craze – it all starts to make sense. In an ideal espresso the aroma, body and richness is in balance with a perfect crema floating on top which is that distinctive heavenly foam on top of espresso which appears to be a layer of cream but no cream has touched this perfect espresso.
Making Coffee.
At home we make coffee in a Mocca brewer/percolator and a French press which is very simple and it does a fine job. We’re not set up at home for espresso making so I’m going to explain a few basic steps what we do in the restaurant all that you can apply at home to make a good shoot. First we make sure the spout of the espresso/coffee machine is clean (wiped with a cloth and/or flushed with clear water). For the coffee itself I recommend buying coffee packed in individual coffee package portions since coffee beans or ground coffee exposed to air degrades rather quickly. In my experience within a week or so natural coffee bean oils become stale and hence subtle aroma nuances are lost. I have two employees destined in the restaurant to check on supply and demand in this way we never overbuy coffee products since freshness is one of the main factors of a good cup of joe. My guy’s in the restaurant certainly make a good cup of coffee I think they have passion and pride and the knowhow how to handle/clean the coffee/espresso machine. Of course good quality coffee beans and a careful bean roast is a must.
Coffee Cuisine
I incorporate coffee into several recipes to raise certain flavor profiles some examples are:
Vanilla cream gets a sprinkle of espresso in the mixture which rounds out the vanilla flavor.
A beef burger made with all natural Brandt Beef from a Farm in California gets a small amount of ground coffee which enhances the natural flavor of the beef even more.
Chocolate brownies benefit from a shoot of espresso in the recipe which form a perfect flavor symposium between coffee and chocolate.
