Saturday, October 18, 2008

Choose a Brew From Coffee's Ancient Tradition

By Robert Carlton

A long time ago, in a forgotten era, the world hand only one way to make coffee: the percolator. In those days, housewives in pearls and pumps would sit and gaze as the water heated, until the rising pressure forced it through a narrow tube which filtered the water over the coffee grounds. There was no fancy way to brew coffee back.

It really was a fascinating process, though, but the problem was that it did not make very good coffee. Boiling the coffee, and then running liquid over grounds multiple times can produce an unappetizing batch of coffee.

Thankfully, conditions improved by the end of the 1970s. The drip method of coffee production was introduced to the world. This little machine was cheap, fast and made better-tasting coffee. As one could imagine, it caught on quickly. Just pour some grounds into the coffee filter, wait a couple minutes as the heated water filters through and then enjoy a delicious pot of coffee.

Eventually, coffee "pods" made their way onto the market, which made coffee even easier. Improvements in many coffeemaker components gave the average brewer more control over the result. Internal spouts were developed to filter the water evenly through the grounds, and so quality became more consistent.

Espresso makers took off in the 1990s as Americans decided to adopt European culture. American engineering lowered the expense of the machines without sacrificing flavor. Hot water pressured through aromatic grounds produces a delicate drink for connoisseurs.

Slap on a dollop of frothed milk, and suddenly you have discovered a cappuccino. Espresso makers allow the average consumer to experiment with his or her own ideas to make up a new and exciting drink, depending on his tastes.

The French press is another European technology that Americans happily adopted. A metal rod runs through the center of a cylindrical glass container with a handle on top. At the other end of this rod is the filter, fits perfectly around the inside perimeter of the glass.

Simply dump in quality grounds and fill the rest with boiling water. In this method, the grounds float around in the water until you push down on the rod and force the filter through, pressing the grounds into the bottom of the container. Then, simply pour and enjoy.

None of these methods is really an innovation. Rather, they are new to us here in America. However, the methods described in this article were invented hundreds and hundreds of years ago. One Turkish invention may be one of the oldest. Water gets heated in copper receptacle that features a long handle and a curved tongue for pouring. The grounds get put directly into the heated water. From there, they are poured into your cup, unfiltered. The result is famously strong.

When it comes to preparing your cup of coffee, experiment with these options from around the world!

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