solstice Senior Member Joined: 20 Oct 2005 Posts: 3 Location: San Diego, CA Expertise: Just starting
Posted Thu Oct 20, 2005, 11:03am Subject: European Style Coffee
Hi all,
I'm a complete coffee noob and had a quick question.
My girlfriend and I recently went to a new dessert restaurant and ordered some cake and coffee. We tasted the coffee and both thought "Wow, that tastes just like the coffee we had in France." I remember the coffee throughout Europe having a richer flavor and loved it, but I don't know how it was made.
Does anybody know what I'm talking about? Is it made with a French press or a pressure brewer or....? What do I need to do to brew coffee like that at home?
Posted Thu Oct 20, 2005, 7:51pm Subject: Re: European Style Coffee
Most home brewers don't get the water hot enough to make good coffee which is one of the biggest problems to making good coffee at home. A moka pot or vac pot are fairly inexpensive ways to produce good coffee, but they are not as convenient as a drip brewer. There are 2-3 drip brewers which get the water hot enough, do a search on this site for more info. The average run of the mill Mr. Coffee, Bunn, Krups, Kitchenaid, all make pretty nasty coffee.
Many of the coffee houses that I have seen in europe use an expresso machine to make cafe americano which is one or two expresso shots added to hot water to make a cup of coffee. My guess is that you had that in france.
Posted Fri Oct 21, 2005, 12:03am Subject: Re: European Style Coffee
solstice Said:
Does anybody know what I'm talking about? Is it made with a French press or a pressure brewer or....? What do I need to do to brew coffee like that at home?
Check out the Krups Moka Brew. There's several good consumer reviews on this site as well as a great Quick Shot review Click Here (www.coffeegeek.com)
I have purchased 3 of these since May. One for our home, one to carry with us and another for my sister and brother-in-law. My daughter will be getting one soon. Everyone loves the coffee it brews. We went to Germany in June and had coffee similar to this, but of course without home roasted beans.
Posted Sat Oct 22, 2005, 6:40pm Subject: Re: European Style Coffee
Yes, I think I know what you mean.
A while back I was visiting relatives in Vienna and just around the corner from my aunt was a kaffee haus that served the most amazing coffee. It was what I think was an expresso shot of a dark roast coffee. They call the shot a Brauner. Delicious! Smooth crema. My first time I must have had about three in a row and the flavour never lost its character. I didn't find anywhere else that served a Brauner as good so I think the combination of machine and man were well integrated at this paticular coffee house.
There's a lot of info out there about what makes a good coffee. Fresh roasted beans, a good grinder, good water, proper temperature, good steep time and method seem to be the essentials. Bring all those together and it looks like you'll have the makings of an exceptional cup of coffee.
The french press method affords great control of all coffee making parameters.
solstice Senior Member Joined: 20 Oct 2005 Posts: 3 Location: San Diego, CA Expertise: Just starting
Posted Mon Oct 24, 2005, 10:34am Subject: Re: European Style Coffee
Thanks for the replies all!
I was thinking that it must've been some magical brewing mechanism that made the coffee is brilliant as it was, but it sounds like it's a combination of the coffee itself, a decent coffee maker (press, Moka Brew, etc.) and the grind as opposed to some ingenious method of brewing that just isn't popular in the states. I'd read reviews of the Moka Brew prior to this posting, but wasn't convinced that it was what I needed to yield the results I was looking for, but I think I'll give it a shot!
Pete Senior Member Joined: 6 Oct 2005 Posts: 121 Location: Sweet Home Connecticut
Posted Mon Oct 24, 2005, 11:41am Subject: Re: European Style Coffee
Solstice, just an fyi, a Krups Moka Brew despite the name, is not the same thing as the moka pots which are common in Italian homes. I don't know anything about the Krups product, other than reading about it on Coffeegeek, so no opinion either way on it.
Posted Mon Oct 24, 2005, 5:17pm Subject: Re: European Style Coffee
Hi Solstice,
I just got into home roasting and read a lot already about making good coffee, which I've been able to put into practice.
It turns out to be a kind of like 'if I knew then what I know now ' deal but so far I've found that you really don't need a fancy machine to make really good coffee. Actually, depending how a machine handles essential coffee parameters, it may never make as good a cup of coffee as you could make by hand.
I got myself a Bodum e Santos (electric vacuum pot) and I thought it was the bomb compared to my tired old drip maker. The coffee tasted way better; richer and with more body. I didn't know how to use the french press that well at the time so the coffee tasted even better than press.
Still reading, still experimenting, I decided to take the plunge into home roasting. I got a nifty i Roast 2 which makes the roasting process fairly easy. After a few good roasts, wow, the coffee improved again.
Reading on I found some really good tips on brewing coffee. Not only that, time and again I came across how vital a good grinder is to the coffee making process. Slowly, the french press became my friend and just recently I got a Zassenhaus manual grinder and wow, the coffee's improved by a giant leap right now.
Bottom line, if I had known how to properly use my french press, had really fresh roasted beans and a superlative grinder I probably wouldn't have put my faith in a machine. I don't regret at all getting the e Santos but I find I have to fiddle with it more because if it's quirks and deficiencies to get a good brew than just brewing with a french press. Some machines I don't think you can even fiddle with.
Boiling a kettle, getting the proper water temp myself, grinding the beans super fresh and steeping for the time I want (not what the coffee maker defaults to) is so much easier and gets such better results I'm finding and ironically is a much less expensive brewing equipment wise.
Posted Tue Oct 25, 2005, 10:27am Subject: Re: European Style Coffee
Solstice, The truth is, it's nearly impossible to pin down why that cup of coffee was so good. There are just too many possibilities.
The best cup of coffee I've ever had was in a local (read: non-touristy) bar/inn in a small "bath" town outside Frankfurt. I struggled communicating with the owner to find out how he brewed it, what beans, etc. I still struggle to match it, and that was 4 1/2 years ago. I've come close - very close - with some of my fresh roasted blends.
I realize you can't call France, but is there any way you can call the dessert restaurant you mentioned and ask them? They may surprise you and be forthcoming. Ask them how they brew it and where they get their coffee? That will get you closer.
You've gotten great advice though, if you want to improve your coffee making. The 2 single biggest improvements I made were 1) roasting my own, and 2) learning that 99% of drip makers don't get hot enough. A mere 10 degree Fahrenheit difference in a coffeemaker can make all the diff in the world.
Good luck! Aurelio
EDIT: Oh, and I don't think anyone, yet, has recommended the Presto Scandinavian drip. One of the few that brews hot enough and at $40, it's virtually a steal. Available at CostCo, Amazon, etc.
EDIT #2: Gosh darnit... another important point that must be voiced... probably the 3rd most important thing I learned, specifically to drip, is to grind as fine as possible w/o stalling the drip. A big improvement...but, this goes back to the need for a quality grinder. use a whirleyblade and you're doomed to frustration. Okay, now I'm really done. ;-)
Symbols: = New Posts since your last visit = No New Posts since last visit = Newest post
Forum Rules: No profanity, illegal acts or personal attacks will be tolerated in these discussion boards. No commercial posting of any nature will be tolerated; only private sales by private individuals, in the "Buy and Sell" forum. No cross posting allowed - do not post your topic to more than one forum, nor repost a topic to the same forum. Who Can Read The Forum? Anyone can read posts in these discussion boards. Who Can Post New Topics? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post new topics. Who Can Post Replies? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post replies. Can Photos be posted? Anyone can post photos in their new topics or replies. Who can change or delete posts? Any CoffeeGeek member can edit their own posts. Only moderators can delete posts. Probationary Period: If you are a new signup for CoffeeGeek, you cannot promote, endorse, criticise or otherwise post an unsolicited endorsement for any company, product or service in your first five postings.
= No New Posts since last visit 