June 7, 2005
On coffee beans
The only posts that seem to generate less interest than art posts are coffee geek posts. So, if your eyes glaze over, don't say I didn't warn you.
I am starting to think that robusta beans are essential to the making of the very best espresso.
OK. I will let that sink in. I also believe that Budweiser is the best drink to serve with fine caviar. You already know that, though.
Robusta. Yes, the "junk" beans that the French burn to charcoal to make the universally horrid coffee served throughout France (and, no, I am not picking on the French, although they really do tend to make wretched coffee). The cheap "junk" beans that Nestle and their ilk fill their blends with to save money.
I normally buy 100% Aribica beans, little aromatic flavor bombs that perfume the air when I grind them. I normally make a very good espresso, too.
However, this last week they had a special on Italian espresso beans: $9.99 for a Kilo. The bag said it was a blend of aribica and robusta, so I figured that at that price it was going to be a pretty hefty percentage of robusta, and it was. No problem, since I know that most Italian blends (not Illy, though), use some robusta, and I know that it is about as difficult to find a bad espresso in Italy as it is to find a good one in the United States, so no big deal.
So, with a Kilo of beans to experiment with, I went to it. If they are really bad, I am only out ten bucks, and there is very little espresso so bad that it cannot be used in tiramisu, granita di caffe, chocolate souffle, etc.
The first thing to note is the aroma of the freshly ground beans. It is here that you immediately understand the prejudice against the robusta. There is a slight smell of burnt grapefruit that comes from the beans. OK. Strike one. But they grind fine, and pack fine in the gruppa, so I went on to brew an espresso.
The first one was a bit overtamped, so it dripped slowly. I decided to taste it before tossing it in the granita. Pretty good. In fact, much better than if I had subjected my normal blend to such shoddy coffee making. Downright drinkable, in fact. Not perfect, but not bad.
The second one was much better, as I had tamped it properly. Now, it was also less than perfect, but it had the best body of any espresso I had ever made. The burnt grapefruit notes were still there, but in the brewing had been transformed into more of an earthiness. What was missing were the winey and floral notes that come from a good 100% aribica blend.
Naturally I put two and two together, and added a scoop of Illy beans (not my normal brand, as they cost too much, but they were on sale, so I bought some). The result was the best espresso I have ever made. Perfect body, rich aroma, fruit and floral notes held against mineral and earthy tones, rich crema, and a perfect balance of acidity without a hint of excess bitterness.
The drawback to using robusta is the higher caffeine content, because the espresso is so good I want to drink more of it, but the higher caffeine makes it more important to pace myself. 6 to 10 shots of espresso a day is probably enough anyway (which sounds like a lot, but you must remember that I drink mine molto ristretto, so a shot is short of an ounce of delicious espresso syrup).
Posted by erik at June 7, 2005 10:33 AM | TrackBackTony,
French press does make a good cup, but I use water that is 90 seconds off the boil and very coursely ground beans.
I generally like to make my espresso with beans that are a little less oily (and hence a little lighter roasted), as the heat that brings out the oil destroys a lot of those winey and fruity notes. I am thinking about adding some Ethiopian Harrar to my aribica/robusta blend. They tend to be winey and gamey, which might just make the perfect espresso when combined with the earthy body of the aribica/robusta stuff.
As for coffee in bags: I agree with you and don't touch the stuff. First, once the coffee is ground and put in bags, you have no way of inspecting what they put in there. I am suspicious enough to assume that that means they are putting up ground tires in the bags. Also, preground coffee has far too much surface area for its own good. Hello, Mr. Oxygen (and water)!
I am using a Krupps currently. It is the top of the line Krupps, which means that it is the bottom of the line for pump-driven machines (around $90 if you shop around). I had to change out the gruppa for one from my old steam driven machine, because the one that came with it was outlandishly small (appropriate for about half a shot). Fortunately the old one fit, because otherwise I would have had to fabricate one, and by the time I put the effort and money into that, I might as well have gone out and bought a La Pavoni or a Gaggia or some other good Italian machine.
Posted by: Erik Keilholtz at June 9, 2005 9:49 AMI haven't delved that far into the esoteric rites of coffee bean blending.
I do hold firmly to these beliefs:
I think the French press makes a damn good cuppa cawfee. I think the secret is the boiling water (and fresh ground beans)
The Senseo coffee maker puts a nicer froth on a cup than my old cheap-o Krupp. But I wouldn't buy one because I don't want my coffee oxidizing in little bags.
Once I went to Polcari's in Boston's Italian North End. I asked the guy behind the counter what kind of coffee I should buy to make espresso. He looked at me like I sprouted horns and said, "Italian Roast!". (The beans were so oily that it looked like I had a grilled cheese sandwich in the bag.)
Posted by: tony c at June 9, 2005 8:51 AM