An Ode to Coffee
Coffee. This elixir that the majority of people consume to get that burst of energy early in the morning to get through the first half of our day. This black liquid can change into multiple shades of brown with a touch of milk or creamer. The flavors can be altered to hazelnut, vanilla, honey, caramel, or anything of your choice. Fruit flavors I highly do not recommend. However, besides the amazingness of this, it’s got quite a colorful and painful history for everyone to have the privilege to drink such liquid gold. The beans themselves can bring the toughest person down just as a cup of this liquid gold can bring a fluff like me to my knees if made correctly. Can you tell I might be a wee bit picky?
Coffee can be made in multiple ways and I’m open to trying all options offered anytime. When my parents immigrated to this country, forty-some years ago, they were taught that the machine was the way to go. A simple procedure of making sure to get the beans ground, placing them in a paper filter, adding water into the side compartment of the machine, and press start. Bam! Fast hot dripping coffee with a mini heating plate to keep the coffee warm as long as the machine was on. However, when I was younger, we would take frequent trips to Taiwan to visit my family. One of my cousins, Joanne, opened a coffee shop in Taiwan with her husband. Now their process was always fascinating because they did a pour-over drip coffee. It was super fancy with the glassware and the tools. Talk about some decked-out bougie coffee. I was all over it, I wanted to be upfront and center to pour the piping hot water and just watch the grinds sink and flush to the side as the water somewhat slowly sinks through all the oils and luscious deliciousness.
Another great coffee source for me that fuels my fluff head is the infamous Vietnamese coffee. If it’s not in the mini strainer and poured over ice with condensed milk, we’re going to have some words. Hahaha just joking! Another favorite is Hong Kong dirty milk tea. Now I know we’re talking about an ode to coffee, but let me explain. Hong Kong dirty milk tea is coffee and strong black tea with some milk. Wooo if you need a rush, you got it!
However, moving forward I learned from my hubby’s sister and his family about Greek coffee and how she personally uses a French press. Umm whoa amazingness! Now don’t get me wrong, with so many different types of coffee, I can’t forget the small guy that throws a major punch, Espresso. I look forward to owning a Nespresso one day, but that’s in the far future. Trust me when I say that espresso was a favorite, especially during finals in my college days. But there’s something about the French press. Similar to how my cousin would make coffee in her shop, I think it’s the oil that comes out of the beans when piping hot water hits the coarse beans. The oils make the overall experience creamy. Plus adding whatever flavoring to sweeten it…delicious. Ever since experiencing this, I haven’t looked back.
This Fluff’s way of making coffee is as follows:
Equipment needed:
- French press
- Coarse ground coffee beans of your choice
- Coffee grinder if grinding it yourself
- Water kettle
- Wooden Chopstik of stick or a long spoon
Ingredients:
2-3 c boiled water (better to have more than none)
6-8 tbsp coarse grounds
1-2 tbsp creamer of your choice
Instructions:
- Boil Water in an electric kettle or over the stovetop
- In the meantime grind your beans or if they are already ground, then scoop 6-8 scoops of coarse grounds at the bottom of the French press
- Once the water boils, pour hot water into the French press until the pour line.
- Take a wooden chopstick or stirrer clockwise until the beans are floating in a clockwise direction then switch it up and stir counter-clockwise. Once the beans float in a counter clockwise directions, stop.
- Place the lid in place with the pour grate at the pour spout.
- Let that steep for 20 minutes. The longer you steep the stronger it gets.
Just writing this, makes me want to make myself a cup. I will say the next types of coffee I’m super intrigued and next on my list is making coffee with the Italian Bialetti and experiencing Turkish coffee. There are so many ways of making coffee and I can’t wait to travel and experience as much as I can in this one life of mine.
That’s all for now, until next time tell me what’s your favorite way to make or ingest coffee? Are there specific ways to make coffee in connection to a different culture? I’m so curious!
Drink Coffee and Be Safe!