Percolation vs Osmotic brewing method: is it the same thing?

What's strange is that the post you link to describes full immersion as falling under the category of 'pour-over techniques'. Typically it's more common to think of two categories, percolation and immersion. Percolation covers everything involving water being pushed through a bed of coffee - so low-pressure percolation would be something like a Chemex or V60 pour-over, and a high-pressure percolation could be something like espresso. Meanwhile, immersion brewing covers French presses, cold brew, cupping preparation, Turkish coffee etc. where the coffee grounds sit in some water for a while, and then we use some method - the mesh in a French press or the steady hand of someone preparing Turkish coffee - to separate the grounds after. Some brewing methods blur the line between these two categories, like the Aeropress or the Clever dripper, which immerse coffee grounds in water for a period of time, and then use some mechanism to percolate the water through the grounds. Given all this, describing a 'full immersion' brew as a type of pour-over method is... weird.
It seems like what the linked post describes as a 'full immersion' pour-over is essentially a bad or failed pour-over. In a pour-over, what we want to do is have a steady flow of water through the bed of coffee, and we use things like water temperature, brew time, grind size, grind dose, etc. to control the level of extraction in our brew. Too little extraction means a dull, boring cup of coffee; too much extraction can produce lots of bitterness or acidity or nasty flavours in the cup.
Sometimes in a pour-over brew, for whatever reason - perhaps the grinds were too fine and clogged the filter paper, or perhaps the filter stuck to the brewing vessel and created a vacuum - the brew will stall and fail to draw down like it normally would. This increases our brew time and can lead to over-extraction with lots of bitter notes - which the post describes as 'unpleasant taste components'. It seems like this 'Osmotic Flow' is basically a bunch of tips for avoiding a stalled pour-over brew: try not to disturb the bed of coffee too much with rapid or heavy pouring, use a bloom phase, pour in batches instead of all at once, and so on. All good tips - but certainly not a new brewing method.
In short, then: percolation is one of the two main families of brew methods, alongside immersion brewing. A sub-category of percolation are pour-over methods - things like the V60, Chemex, etc. This 'Osmotic Flow' method doesn't seem to be a method at all; instead, it's a set of tips for how to have a good pour-over and avoid the common problem of a stalled brew. Helpful - but not a new method!


My home machine is broke. The single basket works but the double basket doesn't. Can baskets be broken/worn out?

It's basically impossible for us to know what exactly causes the problem, but it does seem to me as if the basket is clogged with something. Probably built up residues of the coffee and fiber that's stuck in the small holes. It could of course be the pump, but then water would definitely flow out if you run it empty and the single basket should be affected as well.

If it's clogged filter you can try soaking it in hot water with an espresso machine cleaning detergent over night. But since you already soaked it in vinegar I don't think that would be fruitful.

You can also, carefully, put the porta filter over a gas stove to burn the residue. Hold it over the flame for a bit until it gets hot enough to burn it, then tap it against your kitchen table or some other heat resistant surface. That should do the trick. Afterwards you can clean it again normally and it should work again.

Lastly you can of course push through the holes with a very thin needle, but that is quite tedious work and would take a long time.


How much leverage pressure is it needed to compress coffee for an espresso?

Based on your comment on the question, you are referring to compacting ground coffee in the portafilter. This process is referred to as tamping when making espresso.

The widely-accepted amount of downward force to use when tamping a standard double shot of espresso is 30 lbs. You can view a source here but if you simply do a google search for "espresso tamping pressure" you will see 30 lbs mentioned ubiquitously.

If you are using a tamper directly on the coffee grinds, it is easy to practice putting down 30 lbs of force by practicing on a scale. If you are indeed using a lever to do the tamping, I suggest reading the instructions that came with your machine.

30 lbs of force on the lever may not result in 30 lbs of force on the espresso, depending on the setup of your machine. The lever may even be engineered specifically to stop tamping at 30 lbs. Tamping espresso with a lever setup can be a bit of controversial thing in the coffee world.

Whatever your setup, you want 30 lbs of downward force to result from whatever it is that contacts with the ground coffee and tamps it down.

Putting too much force on the ground coffee is called over-tamping. The coffee grinds can become over-compacted which can slow down extraction (lead to over-extraction) of the espresso, lead to channeling (where water finds inconsistencies in the grind and channels through in small spots, leading to unequal extraction in the espresso puck), or even block it completely.

If you used 1 ton of downward force when tamping, I suggest that you will likely break your portafilter and its basket, along with whatever is beneath it.


Why the small hole on coffee packaging? Why not?

The existence of the de-gassing vent was answered here:

What is the clear plastic sticker on New England Coffee bags for?

If the manufacturer does not feel that the coffee (usually whole beans) will need C02 venting, there will be ho holes or vents. That will be the case if the coffee is packaged a week or so after roasting.

more:  https://www.coffeecrossroads.com/coffee-101/how-to-store-coffee-to-keep-it-fresh

some boutique coffee packages have an aroma vent - for you to squeeze the bag and smell the coffee.


Are there any recipes for coffee+whisky?

Irish Coffe is a very famous one.

1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 jigger Irish whiskey (1 1/2 ounces or 3 tablespoons)
Heavy cream, slightly whipped

Read more at: Original Irish Coffee from Food Network.


Found around 10kg of 18 year old vacuum sealed coffee beans. Safe to consume?

18 years might be pushing it, and that is impressive!
As a side thing, I would honestly love to try some.

I am not saying that it will definitely be bad, or definitely be good before a certain amount of time, and that is subjective as well..."good" and "bad" being if they still have flavor or taste rancid.  The question is about "safe to consume", with the side topic of being "good flavor".

Normally, Coffee has a shelf-life about 3-9 months, depending on if its ground, whole, flavored, and how and where its stored.
That may spark some arguments though, but the question is about "safe to consume" not flavor.
At a store, they would not have a bag of coffee on the shelf for more than 1 month from roasting, regardless of how its sealed.
Looking at food vacuum seal places, they say that coffee sealed will last up to 3 years vacuum sealed.
Link 1 to vacuum bag shelf-life
Link 2 to vacuum bag shelf-life

I found this article specifically about coffee and has a chart and table for that.
This is right in line with the other articles and what I mentioned above.

Those are all recommendations, and there is good reason.  Usually with any vacuum seal there is some oxygen that gets into the product and that will cause it to degrade over time.  The oxygen is part of the air, which may also contain some moisture.  The moisture will also degrade the product over time, creating an environment for bacteria to grow in.  Bacteria needs oxygen and moisture to grow, and the reduced oxygen slows down the process of spoilage and creates an environment to limit the growth, while also limiting the evaporation of any moisture in the food (thus it retaining its flavor).
Also, the vacuum seal can and will degrade over time itself eventually letting in some oxygen and moisture.  This is different depending on the packaging and type of seal.  This is based on the manufacturer of the vacuum seal as well, though some are better than other, often the manufacturer will put a date/time on the seal knowing it will last longer than that but that is the less than minimum, so that way its not an issue when the seal does give.

Typically, when coffee goes bad there could be some mold IF its exposed to moisture for a long period of time, but usually it would just lose its flavor and possibly some of the caffeine.  You can tell if its gone bad by the smell when you open it.  If when you opened it, and it smells of mildew or mold, then its definable bad, and that would be bad to drink.  If its just odorless and bland smell, then it is probably still good to drink, but probably won't have any flavor.  Coffee like that, will not be harmful to you, just not be "good" to taste (but also probably not "bad to taste either).

  Though I did find some very fine lint type things inside. If you ask me it looks like the ends of a dandelion.

That could have been some of the beans breaking down, or just a bean that got crunched in the packaging a while ago.  Depends on the coloration and smell and such.  Personally, I would try that at all.

If you already brewed it and didn't find any bad taste, smell or feeling from drinking it, then its probably good.  Additionally, you could also blend this coffee with other fresh coffee, assuming its still "good" based on the above.

Found this article and this gives more details on it going "bad".


How can I solve the filling problems of my Keurig?

You need to descale the entire path of the water takes.

Our office Keurig suffers the same symptoms occasionally.  When they occur, we use the Keurig descaling solution and the instructions located on the Keurig Website.

You may be able to use vinegar and water if the instruction for your model state that it's OK.


Pouring espresso into hot water versus hot water into espresso

I would suspect that a few centigrades make all the difference here. With coffee, too high temperatures will negatively affect your flavor. Rule of thumb: Hot is good, boiling isn’t.

If you put the water in your mug first, you’ll lose just a bit of temperature as the water warms the mug and/or stands for a bit until you add the coffee.

If you reverse the order, you are effectively scalding (some of) the coffee with the boiling water, losing volatile aromatic compounds and degrading others.


Simulated Vietnamese coffee in Bobba bars

A bubble tea (or in this case, coffee) drink consists of roughly these parts:

a liquid (in this case, coffee or espresso)
sugar and / or a flavoring ingredient
tapioca pearls
ice to dilute and chill it

In your case, the use of sweetened condensed milk make it “Vietnamese coffee”.

If you want to get some additional flavor into the drink, use the coffee shop staple flavor syrup - the same product that is used to flavor other espresso-based drinks. They should be readily available in your local supermarket (Monin being a well-known brand for example), online at the usual retailers, or your nearest coffee chain may be selling their own product. If you are so inclined, a websearch will also lead to lots of home-made recipes, especially for flavors like caramel or vanilla.

So how would a substitution work?
In short, you can either

use the syrup in addition to the sweetened condensed milk (will be extra sweet as you have two sugar sources)
use it instead of the sweetened condensed milk (if you are not interested in the milky component)
use it with unsweetened milk, condensed or regular, or coffee cream for the creamier mouthfeel.

For a large drink, a splash of syrup should be intense enough, although it depends a bit on the chosen brand. Start with a teaspoon or two, add more to your liking.


What is this brewing equipment and how it is used?

It looks like an old syphon or vacuum coffee brewer.  The coil on the bottom vessel heats the water to boiling and is forced up thru the center to the top vessel where the ground coffee is placed.  Two interesting things are what looks like a plug to seal the pour spout in the center ring to hold in the pressure and something I haven't seen is a sealed top vessel that has what looks like a whistle to the right of the lid.  I guess that is to let the person know when the water is completely in the upper chamber and the coffee has started to steep and to turn off the heat so the bottom vessel can cool drawing the brewed coffee into the bottom vessel.  Clever idea if it worked.


Bialeti Brikka with Silver vs Black Bottom

This is more a question for consumer advice rather than a coffee q&a. From what i can see you have 2 options :

1 - Keep the model they have sent and ask for a refund for the difference in price
2 - Return the model they have sent and wait for them to send the correct model

The links you provided are pretty vague but they appear to be the exact same just a variation in colour, with the black being sold as a limited edition, I'm not sure why the limited edition would be cheaper though, normally words like that are marketed to increase price.


This is a typical moka pot.
The confusion may stem from the fact that the principle of a moka pot is somewhat similar to a percolator, just without a back flow (sort of a “one way percolator”), and in some descriptions, including the German Wikipedia article on moka pots, the expression “percolator” is used.


Waiting a few minutes or adding a little cold water immediately, do they make different tastes for instant coffee?

It is my understanding that the bitterness comes from coffee grinds in hot water for longer period of time or in really hot water above like 160f. The longer they are in hot water the more bitter it becomes.

So I would assume that leaving them in the hot water til it cools would have a more bitter taste, however I'm not clear on instant coffee, or how long it needs to steep. In fact it may be designed to work the way you use it.


The beverage you make by diluting vending machine "espresso" with hot water is called "poor imitation of Americano". It is hard to say how much caffeine it contains because it's not clear what this particular vending machine is filled with. It would also be wrong to speculate on its health effects without this knowledge and without knowing whether in general coffee is good for you. Unfortunately, there're many people around who drink such poor substitute of a good espresso made by a professional barista with a real espresso machine from good and fresh roasted beans.


Should I use the airtight container, or the opaque container?

I value sealed over opaque. Go for the sealed glass. Opaque is not really the goal, but rather in the dark. Keeping the stuff in a dark location, even in a clear container, will be fine.

As far as priorities for storage in general, according to the USA National Coffee Association (and others including Blue Bottle and a lengthy missive from The Atlantic), there are four things that are most important for coffee freshness; that is, minimizing exposure to the following:

air
moisture
heat
light

... in that order, according to NCAUSA (first link above). That is, keep it sealed (minimizing airflow and humidity, most important), cool (but not cold/refrigerated), and in the dark (somewhat less important). The best place to do this is in an airtight container in a dark, cool pantry. If kept in a dark place, you don't even need to make the container opaque. Lastly, the "light" factor is the lowest in priority, so "mostly dark" is probably good enough.

I tend to re-use coffee containers for this purpose (I have a bunch of illy cans such as these that work well, are a good size, and have a one-way valve on the bottom). Once you buy the coffee, the tins are "free"!


One method is to use submerge your grounded beans in water for 24 hours and use a traditional cone filter.  Place the filter in a pour over cylinder if you have one and that will remove the grounds while leaving you the sweet, sweet cold brew nectar.  If you don't have  cylinder, you can definitely use a filter in your desired cup, just be careful with how you place it.


Frother got burn in base and won’t heat properly

As far as I see from the photo, the Teflon coating has been swelled. If this is the case, it is an indicator that your frother have over-heated and stay in that state for a very long time.

I assume, the heater coil switched on and off to keep the temperature stable for long. Finally, the coil burnt out itself. I don't think you can do much. Even if you change the coil, the swelled Teflon is not very healthy. I wouldn't use it anymore.

Also, I think you're lucky that this did not cause any serious damage.


How could you feel the caffeine effect most quickly?

If you want the effects of the caffeine to be felt the most quickly, you probably should buy caffeine powder or pills, be careful though that you could easily overdose yourself to death with the caffeine powder or if you took more pills than recommended.
Though, if you don't want to buy the isolated caffeine, drinking it would probably be quicker, since otherwise you'd lose the effect of the absorption by the mouth (which is faster because it goes straight into the bloodstream), and you'd still have to digest the powder to get to the caffeine.


Generally,
it's helpful when considering "resaerch" - to consider the source rather than the newspaper report of a resaerch paper.

More times than not - with coffee as with just about any other topic from science explained in the media - the news is taking a high level single take away from what may be a complex study.

For example: if something says "coffee is bad" what's under the headline? Bad for rats when forcefed caffeine for a week and kept awake?

Likewise for coffee, one of the best things to do if interested in the science is look for REVIEW articles, that have been carried out over the past couple years so the latest work is included - and see where the consensus is at -

That's one.

The other is to look at those reviews in terms of areas - so coffee consumption over X mg may be completely bad - for a particular effect - but completely fine in another.

Right now it's difficult to find where coffee at normal levels (a few cups a day) has any real problems. and may have benefits

For instance - this is a quote from a 2017 big review of studies on coffee

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5696634/

  Conclusion Coffee consumption seems generally safe within usual levels of intake, with summary estimates indicating largest risk reduction for various health outcomes at three to four cups a day, and more likely to benefit health than harm. Robust randomised controlled trials are needed to understand whether the observed associations are causal. Importantly, outside of pregnancy, existing evidence suggests that coffee could be tested as an intervention without significant risk of causing harm. Women at increased risk of fracture should possibly be excluded.

Another review from 2017 - looking at impacts on health generally writes
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28675917

  For adults consuming moderate amounts of coffee (3 - 4 cups/d providing 300 - 400 mg/d of caffeine), there is little evidence of health risks and some evidence of health benefits. This review provides up-to-date information about coffee on health. Topics addressed include the cardiovascular system, liver diseases, and diabetes as well as gastrointestinal disorders.

In both cases, you can see the consensus, when looking at a variety of areas that are related to "health" suggest coffee is pretty ok.

Now if you want you can look into specific correlations like coffee and different types of cancer (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/?term=coffee+cancer) - where intriguingly even here some work shows cancer cells in for instance collorectal cancer (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5386640/) are inhibited by coffee - but that's if you get really intrigued with the topic.

Hope that helps empower your coffee journey

Main take away: if you see an ineresting news article making a claim about science - try to follow back to the original article being referenced and check out at least the abstract, and if you can the full article - in particular the conclusion.

All the best
-m.c.


Does making Bali Coffee change the amount of caffeine compared to filter coffee?

The amount of caffeine in your cup will depend, as with any method, on the extraction time. It also depends on everything else, e.g. the grind, temperature of the water, but I can't find any information on what these typically are for Balinese coffee, so I'm going to assume they're the same.

Assuming you're using the same coffee with each method, the main thing that will vary is the extraction time. With pour-over methods, this will depend on the size and shape of the funnel, the porousness of the filter paper and the grind itself.

For Balinese coffee, there is no control. If you mix the coffee and water directly, the only thing limiting the extraction time is how long you wait before drinking it.

However, having said that, caffeine is actually extracted rather quickly. This study finds that routine percolation removes almost all soluble caffeine. However, the extended extraction time for Balinese coffee is likely to make a bitter brew.

In conclusion, no, you won't get more caffeine in Balinese coffee compared to filter. Both methods will remove almost all caffeine from the coffee.


Difference between cold brew and iced coffee?

Iced coffee is simply hot brewed coffee or espresso that has been poured over ice, and possibly mixed with contaminants like milk and sugar ;)
Cold brew is coffee that has been brewed with cold water over a long period of time, usually 12-24 hours. The process eliminates a lot of the acidity in coffee, and produces a sweet, flavorful coffee when done properly. Some people like cold brew more than hot coffee, it's all just personal preference.


Is there a difference in taste between bleached, unbleached and natural fibre filters?

This could depend on the brand of filters and the brewing method so it's worthwhile (and fun) to do the experiment. I'd love to see results from more experimenters.
Bamboo vs. Paper Filters:
I did this experiment. We only had three tasters but the results were statistically significant at the 5% standard -- all three of us could taste the difference. The bamboo filter made sharper coffee (analogous to sharp cheese) while the paper filter made smoother coffee. We did not all have the same preference between those two batches.
Filtering out Diterpenes:
According to the AeroPress FAQ question "DO YOU RECOMMEND USING A METAL FILTER IN THE AEROPRESS?":

We were originally planning to include a metal filter with each AeroPress but when we conducted blind taste tests comparing paper filtered AeroPress brewed coffee with metal filtered AeroPress brewed coffee, the paper filtered coffee always won.
We also learned using a paper filter is healthier because it removes diterpenes from coffee and diterpenes are potent agents that raise your bad cholesterol.

Q. Does anyone know if bamboo filters similarly remove the diterpenes from coffee? Are bamboo filters made from a combination of paper and bamboo fibers?


What grind setting should I use for french press using a Capresso Infinity conical burr grinder?

I would recommend looking for which coarse setting seems to produce the most even grind. Really, the only potential danger you have is grinding so fine that you can't push the screen down.

The reason I recommend this is, like you mentioned, because everything else can be altered to your coffee's grind - the water temperature and extraction time. So you'll want to dial in a grind that's going to be evenly extracted. If your most coarse setting gives you big chunks and a lot of fine particles as well, then you're either going to over extract the fine and under extract the coarse, or vice versa depending on your brew time.

I hesitate to give you a dogmatic answer because I don't want to mislead you, but I also understand that it takes time to recognize even grinding and the grind size that is appropriate for the brew method. So I'll say that somewhere around medium to medium-coarse is going to be better. With smaller burr grinders, the coarsest setting has pretty uneven results.

Also, try playing with the extraction time. Start with two minutes, then try 3, on up to 5. If you keep everything consistent, you should be able to find exactly what works/tastes best for your situation.


There are studies that have shown a marked increase in performance compared to a placebo in athletes who drank coffee before a workout. Both strength and endurance exercises saw improvement. As to the diruretc and constructive effects, it would seem that staying hydrated (which you should do anyway when exercising) is an effective way to combat the nominal downsides.
Below are the studies in question.

al., G.M.S.e., Effect of caffeine on sport-specific endurance performance: A systematic review. . Journal Strength and Conditioning Research, 2009. 23(1): p. 315-24.

Astorino, T.A., R.L. Rohmann, and K. Firth, Effect of caffeine ingestion on one-repetition maximum muscular strength. Eur J Appl Physiol, 2008. 102(2): p. 127-32.


What's the history and content of Coffee Cantata from Johann Sebastian Bach?

Coffee Cantata is also known as "Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht (Be still, stop chattering) or BWV 211.

It is composed around 1732-1735 by Bach in Leipzig.

It is known as a cantata, but actually it has a story and looks like a mini opera. In the opera, the father tries to stop her daughter from drinking coffee. However, the daughter loves coffee and sings nice lyrical praises to coffee. A well-known sentence is this: "If I couldn't, three times a day, be allowed to drink my little cup of coffee, in my anguish I will turn into a shriveled-up roast goat".

More info on history of the cantata can be found on its Wikipedia page.

You may listen the Coffee Cantata from Youtube.


Can you make Peanut butter flavoured coffee?

Peanut butter coffee

Inspired by your question I did some experimentation. Peanut butter itself did not work well for me, I could not get it to mix well. I happened to have a powdered penut butter, this worked much better.

I added it like it was powdered cream and sure enough it tasted like peanut butter coffee! The perfect ratio for me seemed to be 2 tbsp per 6 oz cup. It was much better with a little sugar, even though I typically don't add sugar to my coffee. It tasted good, smells great, was more filling then a normal cup of coffee. But the taste was not great, so i won't be drinking it again unless I find a way to improve the taste. The bottom of the cup was very bad because it did not mix fully. So i would recommend blending for anyone who wishes to recreate the coffee treat.

Coffee Peanut Butter

While disapointed with PB coffee. Coffee flavor peanut butter is awesome. Specifically Chocolate Coffee Peanut Butter. As its probable inventor it shall now be called Mocha-PB!  Same ingredients as above except use a chocolate flavored powdered Peanut Butter and change the ratios. Use the instructions on the back of the powdered peanut butter but use hot coffee instead of water. Tastes great on a salty cracker or toast.


Hario V60 Plastic Dripper vs Ceramic Dripper: Is there any difference in brew quality?

The main difference between the ceramic and plastic V60 is heat retention. The ceramic will retain heat and can be pre-warmed, creating a stable temperature. Depending on who you are this may not make a huge difference but I prefer the ceramic as I feel the plastic sucks some heat out of the water/coffee.

The other reason I prefer ceramic is for cleaning purposes. The ceramic is nonporous and I've used mine for 6 months with no residue or stains whatsoever. The plastic can form build ups from minerals in water or coffee and start to appear visually unappealing (not sure if it will affect flavor of coffee)

The plastic V60 is obviously more durable and resistant to bumps and minor drops, so it can be a portable solution for coffee. However the ceramic V60 is the most visually appealing of the V60's (in my opinion) and it stays at my home on the counter so I prefer it. I believe the grooves inside the brewer and the size of everything is identical, so you can't go wrong with any of them.


Boiler water level has a significant effect on steam capacity and temperature stability. It may also impact steam quality.

There are three steam characteristics to look at: the amount of steam available, steam power, which is pressure but it's easier to visualize this as velocity and quality. High quality steam should be dry and saturated, not wet. Within the safe (design) operating range of water level for your boiler, a lower water level means that there is more headspace or space for the steam. This means that you will have a larger supply of steam, higher quality (drier) steam and better temperature stability because it's easier to heat a volume of steam than the same physical volume of water.

A higher water level will reduce the effective amount of steam available and tend to create wet steam as more water gets entrained into the steam. Conversely if your machine sees heavy use for espresso but not steam, you may benefit from a somewhat higher water level which favours water temperature stability.

The intended water level serves several masters as a espresso machine requires water and steam and of course safety, cost, stability and steam quality in an usable balance. On a single boiler machine you can't really increase the boiler pressure to increase steam power because it would make the machine run too hot for quality espresso extraction. In general, it is desirable to operate single boiler machines on the lower end of the safe water level range for better steaming ability.

However if you have a consumer machine with an inadequately small boiler you may find that lower water levels produce an apparently anemic steam jet. The proper fix for this would be a larger, more capable boiler but pragmatically a higher water level will then produce a more usable steam flow because the entrained water in wet steam has more inertia or force at the expense of less steam capacity and lower quality steam. Or to put it another way in a machine that has too small of a boiler you may need to keep the water level higher to get enough steam power but it will also degrade the steam quality and will make texturing milk more challenging.


Pannarello wand on Delonghi Dedica EC685 for latte art

I have the exact same machine and the inner rubber wand is tightly attached. It doesn't come off even if I pull it firmly. If yours is falling off that easily it could be that either it is clogged (so the steam pressure is shooting it off), or it is lose (which you should be able to push it back in place) or it is defective (or missing a part).


There are two options.

Get yourself some grinder cleaner (Grindz, Urnex and probably other brands), that you just grind through. You can buy it online. It cleans the burrs, removes oils and other residues. Afterwards you need to grind some beans so that you don't have the cleaner in your cup of joe. This is a rather convenient way to clean your grinder, however definitely more costly and wasteful than the second option.
Disassemble your grinder according to the instructions provided by Hario and use any kind of brush (toothbrush, pipe cleaner, as long as the bristles are reasonably rigid anything works) to clean the burrs. All the other parts you could also wash with a mild detergent.

That's it, it's easy and should be done once every other month in my opinion. I suggest brushing the burrs and rinsing the rest. It's easy, quick and clean enough.


What's the volume of Brikka 2 cup water chamber?

MT San' answer is not correct. He gives a link for Moka Express measurement. Brikka is different. 2 cup version should be filled with 60-70 ml of water in the bottom chamber.

Check the upper chamber, if you have new version of Brikke (Brikka Elite) there should be a measuremnt mark like on this photo (look for "H20" mark): http://101coffeemachines.info/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/bialetti-brikka-valve.jpg


How long does sealed ground coffee retain its flavors?

To answer your question properly it is necessary to explain what coffee beans actually consist of. Around 50% of the coffee bean are carbohydrates, some of them soluble (like sucrose), but most of them are not (they add to body and mouthfeel though as non soluble substances in your cup). Other important parts are acids, such as chlorogenic acid, fatty acids, caffein obviously, proteins and other volatile flavor compounds. There are around 1000 of these volatile flavor compounds.

When the beans are roasted CO2 gas is developed and stored inside the bean. It's a natural oxidation inhibitor as it prevents oxygen from reaching the bean. When you are grinding the beans almost immediately most of the CO2 gas is exhausted. Simultaneously the surface area of the bean is exponentially increased. That means that oxygen has a much larger surface area to "attack" plus the gas protecting these volatile flavor compounds vanishes almost instantly.

Oxidation starts and in 15min. around 60% of these the volatile flavor compounds are evaporated. That is why most pre ground coffee beans smell almost identical when you open the packages, independently of the bean origin. What remains as flavorful compounds are the proteins, that have mostly undergone Maillard reactions, making them rather bitter, the sucrose, caffein and some acids like chlorogenic acid. All beans (Arabica) contain those in more or less the same quantities. The flavor compounds that contribute to origin specific flavors are mostly gone by the time you open up a package of preground coffee.

Thus to answer your question, coffee goes stale almost immediately after grinding. The coffee in the packages you buy in the supermarket is pretty much already stale when they pack it in the factories. Hence you can probably keep an unopened package for about a year before you will note further significant impacts on the flavor, it will just keep getting more bitter as oxidation continues.

Some sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee_bean
https://coffeeconfidential.org/grinding/ground-coffee/
Severini, C., Derossi, A., Ricci, I., Fiore, A. G., & Caporizzi, R. (2017). How much caffeine in coffee cup? Effects of processing operations, extraction methods and variables. In The Question of Caffeine. InTech. URL: https://www.intechopen.com/books/the-question-of-caffeine/how-much-caffeine-in-coffee-cup-effects-of-processing-operations-extraction-methods-and-variables


What's the big deal about pour-over coffee?

Pour over systems give you the ability to control the water flow through the coffee grounds with a high level of precision whereas a drip brewer does not.

I will admit, this is a bit of a trend, but there are very real differences in the taste of a pour over versus a drip brewed cup of coffee.

Blooming -- Gets rid of trapped Co2.  Easy to do in a pour over, whereas in a drip brewer, I don't believe the grounds are allowed to bloom.  If you don't let the Co2 offgas, you get metallic flavors in the cup.  Typically not really a problem since the majority of the gas is gone inside 12-24 hours anyways, but pour over allows you to completely optimize this.
Cleanliness of cup -- pour overs are known for producing a very clean cup of coffee, that allows you to highlight the top notes in a coffee like florals or fruit flavors.  This is the polar opposite from French Press, and drip brewers either use paper filters that aren't pre-soaked so may relay a papery flavor to the coffee, or use a metal filter which will allow quite a bit more coffee oil through the filter and thus muddy the cup (slightly).
Grounds saturation -- Typically drip brewers don't have a very good spray head in the drip brewer, so many times you can get a filter of grounds where the center is indented after brewing and the outer grounds may not even be wet in some cases.  Obviously, grounds not wet is a bad thing.  The indentation is also a bad thing.  It basically means that more water is being passed through the center of the filter than elsewhere which means you don't get even extraction.
Timing -- You don't want to pass water through the grounds too fast, nor too slow.  The reasoning for this is variable solubility rates of different compounds in the coffee.  Case in point, if you grind really coarse and 'brew' your coffee in 1 minute, what's going to happen is the citric and malic acids in the coffee grounds will extract very easily and the other more complex flavor compounds will stay in the ground.  This is going to produce a sour cup of coffee.  Pour over allows you to make minute adjustments to ground saturation timing that can produce some wild flavors in a cup of coffee.

All this being said.. I still use a drip brewer for my morning cup of coffee because I'm usually running out the front door trying to get to work.  Does my drip brewer produce a good cup of coffee?  Absolutely.  Can I get a better cup of coffee with a pour over?  Probably.  It's simply a quality / time trade off.


I'm perplexed on coffee types. What is filter ground coffee?

Filter ground coffee stands for roasted, then cracked to smaller pieces to be brewed easily coffee beans. The question is, how small and consistent you should crack them to pieces. This is important as it affects the extraction of the coffee, so your cup. You should crack all the coffee beans at the same desired size for a good cup of coffee.

Here's a previous discussion on a similar topic, but on espresso machines:

What is the right coffee ground size for an espresso coffee machine?

And, what about the right size? It should be about 400 microns for a drip machine that uses filter size grounds. But, don't worry. Coffee shops know about these. All you need to do is just ask for it or read the labels. Here is a quick chart for all coffee brewing methods and ground sizes:


Will Cafetto cleaning tablets work with Sage Dual Boiler machine?

Yes, I use aftermarket cleaning tablets on my Infuser and Profitec. I haven't used the Cafetto branded ones but they're all essentially the same for backflushing.

Just follow the normal backflush regiment and use these tablets instead of the breville ones and you'll be fine. Personally I use Urnex Cafiza tablets, but again, they're essentially the same thing.


What are coffee flavorings found around the globe?

I prefer my coffee flavored just with water. However, it is common for people to flavor their coffee with many other ingredients with respect to their personal preference. As personal preference is closely related to culture, yes, you may enlist some location-based flavoring ingredients for coffee.

In Turkey, generally, coffee does not have any ingredients except sugar. In the west part, mastic is sometimes added for flavor. This is a common tradition with Greeks, I assume. In the Southeast part, cardamom is rarely added. This is a common tradition with Syrians, I assume. I never heard of cloves around here.

Sugar and its close relatives: I think this is the most common one, independent from the geography.

Milk may be the second most common one. Mostly used in the Italian-influenced Western coffee.

Chocolate is only common in the Austrian-influenced coffee recipes, I assume.

From now on, I think we may say not very common flavorings.

Cinnamon is common both on Austrian-influenced coffees and old-style coffees.

Mastic is common around Aegean Sea with Turkish brewing method.

Cardamom is common around Syria with Turkish brewing method.

Cloves is common around Arabian Peninsula with Saudi brewing method (say, a brewing method close to Turkish).

Chicory is common in Vietnam, South India and in New Orleans/Southern Louisiana of USA.

Butter is common in East Africa, Himalayas and very recently in North America under the fancy name of "bulletproof".

Coconut and Marjoram are my recent encounters in some old Turkish recipes together with Cardamom. Especially, when the beans are ground in dibek, an ancient Turkish coffee mortar.


Coffee Grinder vs. Spice Grinder - What's the difference?

(Note: With a general perspective, you may classify coffee as a spice.)

I imagine you mention the hand grinders. In that case, the main difference is the size of the canals of the grinders. E.g. in a black pepper grinder, the average diameter of the canals are a bit wider than the average diameter of black peppers.

However, this diameter is far narrower for coffee beans. So, you cannot grind coffee in a pepper grinder effectively as the beans cannot fit in the canals.

Summary: proper grinder for proper spice.

After Burhan added the image, I think I should make an edition to this answer.

This grinders are called blade grinders. The main disadvantage of these is the grounds are not homogenously grinded after the process. As the blades randomly cut the beans, some of them may stay intact on the sides.

Burr grinders doesn't have this possibility. All grinded pieces have a maximum volume after the process.

Otherwise, I can't think of a difference. However, you shouldn't use the same grinder for both. You don't want the aroma of your coffee to be mixed with spices and herbs. :)


How much water should I pour in for blooming process for a french press technique?

Disclaimer: I think this question have a few facets. Also, I think all of them have been discussed before. So, before answering, I advise the users to search for the relevant tag, french-press in this case, in the future before asking questions.

Having a plunger or not: This has been discussed before. Whether it is strictly required to have the French-press equipment. In theory, no. In practice, it is quite useful. You can see the previous discussion below:

French press vs simple filter, is French press equipment really necessary?

How you can prepare a French-press? This has been answered a few times before. There are several answers for different tastes. A quick recipe can be found below:

What is the recommended coffee bean to water ratio for drip brewing?

There are detailed explanations here:

how to make French Press coffee the right way?

Finally, about the blooming and the French-press technique: Please see the answers in this discussion. Especially, @tsturzl explains the reasons behind blooming neatly.

Does the bloom matter in French Press?


It's a combination of scale (mineral deposits left behind by water left in the pot evaporating), oxidized aluminum (caused by exposure of aluminum to oxygen), and coffee deposits (coffee oils and solids left behind by evaporating brew / wet grounds).
I've seen this with several aluminum pots when they get to be years old. Also steel if you don't keep up with the cleaning. You can remove scale with a coffee machine descaler product (recommend DEZCAL by Urnex), oxidized aluminum with a diluted solution of vinegar, and coffee deposits with a mix of vinegar and baking soda (mixed in the pot with your cleaning tool on standby because they will start reacting immediately).
Just one bit of advice. Use a rotary tool (like Dremel, if you have one) with a buffing pad. You're going to have one tough time cleaning inside those grooves using a scrubbing pad. A rotary tool with a soft attachment like for polishing or buffing will make the job much easier. Electric toothbrushes work wonderfully too in places they can actually fit/reach.


Does adding milk to coffee reduce its antioxidant properties

I found that generally, scientific studies do show a negative impact on phytochemicals like antioxidants, one such example stating:

  An immediate decrease in the total antioxidant activity (23%) and total phenolic content (14%) was observed after addition of strawberry preparations to yoghurt. The total anthocyanin content did not change immediately, but decreased 24% throughout the yoghurt shelf-life. The individual compounds, (+)-catechin (60%), (-)-epicatechin (60%), kaempferol (33%) and quercetin-3-rutinoside (29%) decreased after 24h in the yoghurt made with the strawberry preparation. During the remaining period of storage these compounds increased by 47%, 6%, 4% and 18%, respectively. Pelargonidin-3-glucoside decreased 49% after 28 d. Immediately after the addition of the strawberry preparation to yoghurt, β-lactoglobulin decreased to values lower than the limit of detection and α-lactalbumin by approximately 34%, and was reduced further slowly throughout yoghurt self-life. An immediate interaction between the carrageenan present in the strawberry preparation and β-LG was observed. The variations of both polyphenols and protein in the presence of carrageenan and the potential interactions were discussed

As noted above, some phytochecmicals are available to the consumer longer than others in the presence of dairy. To be fair to the American Institute of Nutrition study referred to in the Nestle press release, they do not indicate for how long the antioxidants are still available after the introduction of dairy they only notate that after consumption they found coffee phenolics in the plasma of their test subjects:

  Chlorogenic acids (CGA) are antioxidants found in coffee. They are becoming of interest for their health-promoting effects, but bioavailability in humans is not well understood. We hypothesized that adding whole milk or sugar and nondairy creamer to instant coffee might modulate the bioavailability of coffee phenolics. Nine healthy participants were asked to randomly drink, in a crossover design, instant coffee (Coffee); instant coffee and 10% whole milk (Milk); or instant coffee, sugar, and nondairy creamer already premixed (Sugar/NDC). All 3 treatments provided the same amount of total CGA (332 mg). Blood was collected for 12 h after ingestion and plasma samples treated using a liquid-liquid extraction method that included a full enzymatic cleavage to hydrolyze all CGA and conjugates into phenolic acid equivalents. Hence, we focused our liquid chromatography-Electrospray ionization-tandem MS detection and quantification on caffeic acid (CA), ferulic acid (FA), and isoferulic acid (iFA) equivalents. Compared with a regular black instant coffee, the addition of milk did not significantly alter the area under the curve (AUC), maximum plasma concentration (Cmax), or the time needed to reach Cmax (Tmax). The Cmax of CA and iFA were significantly lower and the Tmax of FA and iFA significantly longer for the Sugar/NDC group than for the Coffee group. However, the AUC did not significantly differ. As a conclusion, adding whole milk did not alter the overall bioavailability of coffee phenolic acids, whereas sugar and nondairy creamer affected the Tmax and Cmax but not the appearance of coffee phenolics in plasma.

Nestle press release found at www.nestle.com/media/newsandfeatures/good-news-milk-cream-coffee

Whichever line of research you choose to follow, it may not really impact your health over much anyway. The National Center for Complimentary and Integrated Health summarizes antioxidant research saying:

  Several decades of dietary research findings suggested that consuming greater amounts of antioxidant-rich foods might help to protect against diseases. Because of these results, there has been a lot of research on antioxidant supplements. Rigorous trials of antioxidant supplements in large numbers of people have not found that high doses of antioxidant supplements prevent disease.

The NIH walks you through a lot of the findings at https://nccih.nih.gov/health/antioxidants/introduction.htm.


For how long coffee may stay in thermoses; meeting ECBC/SCAE/SCAA requirements, what does it mean?

ECBC , SCAE and SCAA are organizations that are specialized in Coffee. They organize many events like contests. Sometimes these contests are held for people sometimes for equipment. They also produce many reports on Coffee; from taste of a cup to cultivation politics. So, these organizations also have a certification procedure for coffee brewing machines.

From the question, I understand that you want to keep the brewed filtered coffee in the carafe for a while and you are asking for the maximum allowed time for that.

The answer is; the machine will try to keep the coffee intact as long as it can; however, at that temperature the water will eventually vaporize and the rest of your coffee will turn into a bitter, dark, burnt coffee.

Simply, your coffee will eventually die as living beings and your high-quality gadget may just slow this, but cannot stop.

Solution: Just taste it. Fresh filtered coffee always tastes better. According to my experience, first half hour is the tasty period.

(1) European Coffee Brewing Center (kaffe.no)

(2) Specialty Coffee Association of Europe (scae.com)

(3) Specialty Coffee Association of America (scaa.org)


The Following Abstract from this paper suggested that coffee has antibacterial properties

  ABSTRACT The present study was carried out with water soluble portion
  and pure solvent of the acetone, ethanol, methanol, acetonit rile,
  water) extracts of leaves and leaf buds of Camellia sinensis (green
  tea), and beans of Coffea arabica (coffee) . Caffeine (3,7
  - dihydr o
  - 1, 3,7
  - trimethyl
  - 1H
  - purine
  - 2,6
  - dione) was isolated from both plants using a liquid
  - liquid extraction method, detected on thin layer chromatography (TLC) plates in comparison with standard caffeine, which served as a
  positive control. After performing the gross behavioral study, the
  Antibacterial activity was evaluated against Gram
  - negative bacteria included; Escherichia coli , Proteus mirabilis , Klebsiella pneumonia and Pseudomonas aeruginosa Both compounds at a
  concentration of 2 mg/ml showed similar anti bacterial activities
  against all tested bacteria, except for P. mirabilis , and the highest
  inhibitory effect was observed against P. aeruginosa using a modified
  agar diffusion method. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of
  caffeine was determined us ing a broth microdilution method in 96
  multi
  - well microtitre plates. MIC values ranged from 65.5 to
  250.0 μ g/ml for the caffeine isolated from coffee and 65.5 to 500.0 μ g/ml for green tea caffeine. Combination results showed additive
  effects against most p athogenic bacteria especially for P.
  aeruginosa, using both antibacterial assays. Key Words: Caffeine, MIC
  values, Antibacterial activity , Coffea arabica .


Does an inconsistent roast affect espresso extraction? If so, how?

That's a tricky one.
It depends on what do you mean by 'extraction'.

"Coffee extraction is the process of dissolving soluble flavors from coffee grounds in water" - from Wikipedia.
"Extraction is everything that the water takes from the coffee" - from BaristaHustle.
"To remove or take out something" - from Cambridge dictionary.

Therefore, the extraction process considers dissolving the flavors. An uneven roast will affect directly the flavours on the final beverage. Thus, even the perfect extraction will not be able to extract all the flavours it could if the beans weren't correctly roasted.


How to keep the time before coffee get out of the machine?

Together with the first drop

That 25 seconds we curved in our brains is mostly related to the speed of the extraction. Mostly, under normal circumstances, with a single spout portafilter for a single shot espresso, we expect to see 1 ml per second extracted coffee. At the end, you collect 25 ml's of coffee in your cup.

So, I suggest you to count the time after you see the first drop.


What types of coffee make you stay awake?

The short answer is pretty obvious. Any coffee, as long as it's not decaffeinated, keeps you awake. While that is true, it is also true that some coffees have more caffein than others, some preparation methods contain more caffein than others and the ability of any coffee to keep you awake has obviously also limitations. If you are close to passing out from fatigue, than coffee also won't help that much anymore. I'm gonna break it all down quickly.

Coffee type

There are two commercially important types of coffee beans. Arabica and Robusta. Arabica plants produce higher quality coffee with better and more complex flavors. However in terms of caffein content Robusta coffee is much higher with roughly twice the caffein in the brewed cup.

Coffee preparation

Generally speaking you could divide coffee preparation into two different groups. Espresso and everything else. Everything else has many sub groups that I'm not gonna get into too much now. The common understanding is that espresso is "stronger" with which is meant that it has more caffein than other coffee drinks. That is true when you measure per ml. However due to the small servings of espresso the caffein content of one shot of espresso is lower than that of a typical cup of filter coffee. An espresso shot contains roughly 53mg of caffein while a cup of drip coffee has more than twice to three times as much (115mg to 175mg) due to the bigger serving size. Turkish coffee has even higher contents.

Recommendation

So based on this information I would recommend you to slowly drink several cups of brewed or filtered Arabica coffee during your night shifts. That should keep you caffeinated and awake more effectively than espresso plus you get to drink delicious coffee all night long. The maximum caffein content you would get with a turkish style preparation, in my opinion the best trade off between caffein and flavor would be drip coffee though. It's lighter in taste so you can drink more as well. I would recommend Arabica for the better taste and possible health benefits as compared to Robusta. You don't have to be afraid of negative health effects. Coffee is largely redeemed and is today even considered a healthy beverage with possible positive effects on cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, some forms of cancer, degenerative diseases of the nervous system such as Alzheimers and many more.


Coffee Expired before its mentioned date?

I am afraid that there are two misconceptions

One, what you have in the jar are not coffee beans, it’s freeze-dried prepared coffee. Think of it as the coffee equivalent of bullion cubes.

Two, the date on the container is almost certainly not an “expiry date” (Microbes don’t use calendars), but a “best before” date, which is fundamentally different.

Some foods have a “use by” date, after which the food is no longer “safe”’by food safety standards. Minced meat (aka hamburger) is a classic example.
Instant coffee doesn’t fall into the same category of very easily spoiling food, hence the “best before”, which is a recommendation given by the manufacturer to ensure that the product is in optimal condition. After that, the quality may be somewhat decreased, but the product is usually not “unsafe”. Other examples are pasta (keeps for years if stored properly) or beans (may take longer to soften after some time, but are perfectly fine to use still).

The lumps you see in your jar are caused by moisture, which made some of the granules sticky. Maybe you left it open or used a damp spoon to scoop out some instant coffee? Try to break it up gently. If there’s only very little humidity, this should be fairly easy and could already solve the issue. If not, just use the lump(s) as you would the finer granules, they will dissolve in hot water without a problem. I suggest you are a bit more careful about keeping your powder dry when handling the jar in the future.


Did people actually drink coffee off the saucer?

In fact, it seems that people would drink both from the cup and from the saucer: After being served a hot beverage (e.g., coffee or tea) in a cup on top of a saucer, some would pour a small amount of the beverage onto the saucer, and then drink from the saucer. There's evidence that this was reasonably common into the 20th century, and evidence that some still do, for a variety of possible reasons! Though I've never seen this practice in person, the following is what I have aggregated from a bit of online searching.

A blog post contains some good links about the topic. I find the most compelling of them to be an article that discusses the use of deep saucers for this practice; the saucer is larger and deeper like a shallow bowl, alleviating some of the awkward logistical aspects of drinking from a flat or shallow saucer. Another anecdote, according to US government legend, George Washington (in a discussion with Thomas Jefferson) used the literal practice (cooling-off beverages in a saucer) as a metaphor for the cooling-off that occurs in the upper house of a bicameral legislature. Even if this exact exchange is embellished, it still suggests that the practice was common enough to be in the vernacular.

Fundamentally, pouring part of a hot beverage into a saucer would help cool it down faster. Many anecdotal sources have that as an assumed motivation; if you're in a hurry to start drinking your beverage (and are a bit careful about the pouring and the saucer-sipping) it's a practical way of doing so. Some other anecdotes suggest that it was fashionable or polite (maybe even fun?) -- perhaps like eating peas off the back of one's fork. Cooling a portion in the saucer would alleviate the need for potentially-impolite-seeming slurping or blowing across the beverage to cool it, substituting instead acrobatic-prowess-demonstrating yet possibly-more-polite sipping off of a saucer.  Other discussion forums (one example) contain some additional anecdotes and pictures.


Coffee ground too finely - how to deal with it?

In this case, my usual pre-coffee tiredness solved the problem:

I had planned to mix the espresso grind with my usual grind to minimize the total amount of grounds in the cup. The idea was

1/2 too-fine grounds -> 1/2 the amount of dregs in the coffee.

Being tired, I only remembered this when I had already filled the moka more than half-way with the too-fine grind, so I just topped it up with the other kind and coooked my coffee.

But lo and behold: There were no coarse grounds in my pot - just some super-fine ones that weren't noticeable. I have since repeated the experiment a few times and can confirm that a top layer of "just right" grounds seems to be able to hold back most of the too-fine crumbs, especially those responsible for the "gritty" mouthfeel.

A top layer of 1/4th to 1/3rd of the correct grind proved sufficient as "filter" in my experiments.

Also, there is no excess clogging of the moka, causing the valve to trigger or hot steam/water escaping round the gasket. The pot works just as usual. Of course one may not compact the coffee grounds in the brewing chamber, but that's standard procedure.


Vessels for frothing and pouring the milk

I have had a similar experience, and the difference seems to be due to the age of the milk. The fresher the milk, the better micro-foam I can create. Once it gets within of week of expiration, I start getting less foam.

The pitcher also makes a difference. Other people recommended the Espro toroid pitcher to me. I liked it so much, I bought two sizes: http://espro.ca/toroid/


How will "cold brewed" coffee differ from traditional hot-water extraction methods?

Cold Brew Coffee - A Brief look at Flavor Profiles

My company builds flavor profiling and quality control tools for the craft beverage industry, using machine learning, data science, and analytical chemistry - let's use some of our 20,000+ coffee reviews to answer this question with data.

It has been claimed for some time that cold brew as a method of extracting coffee only exists to minimize the amount of acidity in the flavor profile. This is only a third of the story, and may not be true for the coffee you brew or consume!

So what is the full story? Read on!

Acidity in Cold Brewed vs Hot Brewed Coffee

These two beautiful graphs show the difference in sour & acidity in cold Vs hot brewed coffee. The graphs show that hot brewed coffee has a much larger range in the perception of acidity - and is on average more acidic than its cold brewed counter part.

Differences in Average Flavor Profile

But what about the rest of the flavor profile? Are people really planning to cold brew for hours in advance just for marginally less sour acids in the brew?

No. Higher-end cafes and roasters are producing cold brew coffee to target consumers who want a different flavor profile- optimized for consumption at a different temperature.

For this section of the analysis, I will be using the Gastrograph to communicate complex flavor profiles consistently and simply. On the Gastrograph, the intensity is shown ranging from 0, the center of the graph, to 5 (the outer most point).

Let's look at the difference in flavor profiles below:

Full Immersion Cold Brew Coffee

This is the Gastrograph of the average Cold Brew Full Immersion Coffee.

Full Immersion Hot Brew Coffee

This is the Gastrograph of the average Hot Brew Full Immersion Coffee.

As you can see, these coffees differ on a much greater number of axis than simply sour and
acidity - the goal is to make a different product with its own unique flavor profile, not to simply reduce acidity.

Differences in Flavor Profile by Brewing Method

Finally, Cold Brew is actually an entire class of production methods that involve infusing coffee into cold water. There are 2 primary types:

(Reminder: Coffee brewed with hot water, and then iced is not Cold Brew coffee.)

Full Immersion Cold Brew

Fresh
CO2 Draft
Nitrogen Draft
Bottled

Ice Drip

Let's look at the 2 most interesting types of cold brews from the list above:

Stumptown Draft Cold Brew

 This coffee is served from a beer keg and pressurized with CO2.

Stumptown Nitro Cold Brew

This coffee is served from a beer keg and pressurized with nitrogen; the effect is a much smoother and fuller coffee, with a very thick and present mouth feel.

The cold brew coffee you make at home will be much closer to the average cold brew shown in the previous section, as I suspect few of the readers here will be making batches large enough to keg!

Update: Very Short Chemical Analysis

How do the concentration of compounds salicylic acid, phenolic acids, and amino acids differ between cold brew and hot brewed coffee?

It is not so much concentration that matters - it's perception. For example, phenolic acids are mostly volatile; in hot coffee more are evaporating, thus you can more easily perceive them. The same is true for salicylic acid (a precursor to aspirin, which is acetylsalicylic acid).

Also, These acids are more readily soluble and easier to extract in hotter environments. In cold brew not only do you extract fewer molecules of the acid, but the ones that you do extract will trigger a less potent olfactory response.

Amino acids are a trickier issue. The chemical nature of amino acids greatly varies (like in polarity and size, functional groups, etc). Most free amino groups will be consumed during roasting via Maillard non-enzymatic browning. On average, the cold brew would extract more, simply because it would have more time to come out of the coffee (during the average 6-hour steep time).

This article is helpful: Coffee Brewing Chemistry: Hot Brew vs. Cold Brew.


Terpenes are the lipids (oils) that give the main flavor to your cup. Therefore, you don't want to reduce them normally. However, if you really want to reduce them, best choice is, as stated thick filtered drip machines. (One can be seen in this post: Coffee in Breaking Bad )

Another brewing methodology that may be used is Turkish coffee. As coffee is heated from room temperature to near boiling points, you have (somehow) control over which lipids will evaporate during the process. You may modify the triple heating cycle of the Turkish coffee brewing to a single heating near or a bit over boiling point. (See this answer: Triple heating of the Turkish coffee )


Can a cup of coffee explode if heated in microwave?

As others have stated, superheating can happen in a microwave, especially when using a smooth vessel, e.g. a new, unscratched cup. It is more likely in pure water, but not unheard of from other liquids.

But you need a hack:
The key to prevent superheating and a subsequent flash of steam when the cup is moved or so is to supply nucleation sites, or, simply put, some rough surfaces or gas bubbles where the water can turn to vapour.

Many recommend using a teaspoon in your cup, but at least in some microwave models that can lead to "fireworks" of electric sparks. So questionable at best.
If you can get your hand at some lab equipment, get one of those glass sticks with a hollow lower end or a little porous ceramic stone.
But probably the simplest way is floating a toothpick in the mug.
Or use an old, scratched mug, provided it is microwave-safe.


Can making iced coffee (with cola) on my Coffee Press harm the Press?

Interesting, I have never heard of this brewing method before!

What kind of press do you own...an Aeropress/French Press? Can you post a link to the model? I wouldn't think this would hurt the press. However, it is best that you clean it more over than you would with just normal coffee - Cola tends to have a lot of added sugar/high-fructose corn syrup that could dirty the glass/plastic and quite possibly attract bugs like ants.

Soda also contains different acids like Citric and Phosphoric. As we've seen on the popular show Mythbusters (and the internet alike) the acids can be used to polish chrome and remove rust.
As long as you don't have a cheap metallic press, I wouldn't worry too much about soda affecting the integrity of the metal (especially since most metal presses are made from Stainless steel).


Lavazza A Modo Mio espresso drips out very slowly

It sounds like your machine needs to be descaled.

I pulled this from the documentation on their website.

  Your machine will need descaling on a regular basis (approximately every 3 months) to
  ensure it is working efficiently and to prevent any major technical faults developing. This is a simple process and will have immediate results.

The good news is if you can get water through it you can get it going again. The descaled works by desolving the calcium deposits in the machine and letting the water flow freely again.


What's the difference between a percolator and a moka pot?

A moka pot is what some call a stovetop espresso maker; I find this to be a bit of a misnomer, because the result is rather different than proper espresso. Water is put into a bottom vessel; coffee grounds are placed on a perforated platform with attached cone, which is placed on/in the water vessel; a top holding tank with rubber gasket is screwed on top of the apparatus. The device is placed over a heat source, boiling the water;  the boiling water creates steam and pressure, which forces water through the grounds into the upper storage vessel.  The two chambers are separate, so the water is forced through the grounds once (upward). Somewhat similar to espresso, a moka pot develops some small amount of pressure to force (nearly boiling) water through grounds, though the pressure is much less than espresso (see also this answer). I don't think the grounds are meant to be tamped like espresso, either.

A percolator boils water and drips it over grounds continuously.  There is no separate storage vessel for the coffee once brewed; water (at first) or (partially-brewed) coffee is continuously boiled (passing up to the top of the chamber through a funnel/straw) and dripped over the grounds (which are instead at the top of the chamber, rather than in the middle as in the moka pot).  The brewed coffee ends up in the same place the plain water was at the beginning of the brew. Percolators often have a clever little clear cap in the middle of the top, so you can see when the brewing is occurring, and color of the brewed coffee.

I have both devices, and use them differently; e.g., a coarser grind for percolator.  I find the outcome of percolated coffee to be more like French press or perhaps drip; moka is more like Turkish coffee or espresso. Though similar in concept (stovetop coffee production devices), they're (to me) totally different in outcome.

I suspect, but I don't know, if there are regional differences in these terms.

Full disclosure: this meta question and my answer prompted this adaptation as a clarification question.


Would 2 small V60 brews (1 cup each) be less bitter than 1x large (2 cup) brew?

You'll definitely get a less bitter and possibly sour (underextracted) brew when dividing up one 40g dose between two V60s if you don't adjust the grind.

As you point out, the lower contact time of the 20g of grinds will lead to less extraction, and thus less bitterness, and possibly under extraction. This is just a characteristic of pour-over brews (as opposed to immersion brews) - grind size (and uniformity) is directly related to contact time and thus extraction, so the two variables can't be independently manipulated.


Which books do you recommend to read for people who are interested in coffee?

I also agree that "The World Atlas of Coffee" by James Hoffman is a good book.
It covers a lot of things including the history of coffee, growing and production as well as roasting and brewing. A big section of the book is indeed an atlas, showing various countries and where the coffees are grown. Nice maps and plenty of good photo's too.

If you are already very knowledgeable about coffee and have read many other books on the subject , you probably won't get too much extra out of this but it's certainly more than a quick introduction. I think it would be of great interest for somebody who has become interested in coffee and wants to find out more about the whole process from shrub to cup.

Added another one:
"Coffee - A Celebration of Diversity" by Fulvio Eccardi and Vincenzo Sandali. This was originally published in Italian in 2000 and the English translation became available in 2002, so it's not the most up to date book and I'm not sure whether it's still available but  it is definitely worth grabbing if you can get hold of it. It has beautiful photographs (including some lovely satellite views of coffee growing areas) but is also rich in information. In many ways it overlaps with The World Atlas of Coffee above although it focuses more on the cultivation and production and doesn't have as much on the roasting and brewing. But it's worth getting for the pictures alone.


Caffeine is almost always created as a byproduct of the decaffeination process.

It IS possible to synthesize caffeine. The most popular lab synthesis (1,3-dimethylurea and ethyl 2-cyanoacetate) requires multiple steps, and generally more steps means more expensive.

Luckily, there is a huge demand for decaffeinated coffee. The bonus is exactly as you expected; these processes generate both decaf coffee and caffeine as a by-product, that can then be repackaged or sold in other products.
Historically, decaffeination was done with organic solvent extraction (chloroform and dichloromethane being really common), but today is is usually done with the swiss water process (I suspect this is what ends up in pills and added caffeine consumer goods) or supercritical fluid extraction (which is more energy intensive, but can lead to a higher quality product that is often purchased by laboratories and scientific researchers who use it as part of their experiments).


Your basket has a size that suits a certain amount of coffee. This can range anywhere between 8-10g to 22g. Check if there are any indicators of this. Failing that, overfill the basket and then sweep your finger across the excess over the top and see how much coffee that is, that's a ballpark figure for how much the basket can comfortably take.

You didn't mention if your machine uses a pressurised portafilter (the handle) or not. You can usually tell as it has a single hole at the bottom and is a little deeper than a standard portafilter. These tend to be more forgiving to mistakes in dosing and pressure.

Learn to tamp your coffee evenly and consistently. There are plenty of videos online on how to do this.

Try to figure out a recipe that works, using the weight of the coffee you put in, how much coffee comes out, and how long it takes for that coffee to come out. The standard recipe that is currently in trend is 18g in, 36g out (we use grams instead of ml for simplicity) in about 28 seconds. This is presuming a basket size of 18g though.


How to make a thick coffee with an AeroPress? I end up with a watery drink and an over-brewed aftertaste

The easiest way to make the texture of your coffee thicker would be to increase your brew ratio - use more coffee and less water while brewing.
Also don't be scared to use higher temperature water, even if the inventor recommends ~80°C water, this is also going to increase extraction, leading to a higher percentage of dissolved coffee in your cup.
You might also want to look at this "Coffee Compass" from Barista Hustle, which shows you what adjustments to make based on the taste of the coffee:


Where can I get Koiwai coffee milk delivered to Europe?

You can buy them from Rakuten. They ship internationally, with the exception of some countries, due to them not sufficing to the standards.

I don't believe there to be such a limit in Europe though, so you should be fine.

It costs ¥ 3,369 which comes down to roughly $27. And no account is required to order.


I have a few different varieties of green beans that I have stored in freezer style plastic bags for going on 1+ year now and there is no mold present.  I keep them stored at room temperate with as much air as possible removed from the bag.  I roast a few batches a year and always get the same results out of my beans regardless of how long they have been stored.


What causes the stains around the cup when coffee is prepared with cafetiere (French press)?

I could think of two possibilities. First one is more common, I assume.

In time, the cup calcifies. So, some irregularities causes an unpolished surface. This surface catches color easier than polished ceramic/porcelain. You may try to clean the cup with vinegar. Maybe then with some bleach to get rid of such calcification and organic irregularities. Give it a try.
If the grounds you use includes finer grounds that can pass through the filter, you may end up with a muddier-than-normal French press cup. Those fine grounds may swim on top of the water and leave some trace. If this is the case, make sure about your grind size and consistency.


Yes, over- and underextracted are quite different from weak or strong coffee. The strength is determined by the amount of grounds, more grounds = stronger coffee. But that’s not what your recipe is talking about.

Preparing coffee is a physical and chemical process (although some aficionados will claim that it’s an art) where soluble compounds (“flavors”) are dissolved in water. The coffee bean contains various compounds that dissolve at different speeds, with acidic flavors being quickest and bitter notes, e.g. tannins slowest.

Without going into the details:

An under-extracted coffee will be acidic, and missing the “fullness” from the coffee oils.
In a just right extraction, acidity will be a side note to a full body of coffee oils and sugars with a bit of bitterness for balance.
An over-extracted coffee will be unpleasantly bitter, masking the desired flavors, and sometimes even with an astringent mouthfeel.

The beans, roast, grind size and brewing method are all parameters that influence the ratio of aromatic compounds and/or rate of extraction, but the principle described above remains. clive Coffee has a neat blogpost on the topic and there’s even a Wikipedia article on coffee extraction.


What are the best single shot filter baskets

Welcome to coffeeSE!

I'm not ready to invest in a more expensive grinder, should I even bother with a precision filter basket/differently engineered basket?

No, do not bother with precision filter baskets. The Baratza Encore is definitely not a grinder for espresso, it is meant for brewing methods which use coarser grinds like filter coffee or French press. It cannot grind fine enough properly - you get an inconsistent grind. Baratza offers the Sette series which grinds fine enough and consistent enough to get good espresso. I really wouldn't recommend buying a high end basket until you have a proper grinder, maybe look for used grinders. I got mine super cheap because it was used and after a proper clean it was almost as good as new.
One rule of thumb when getting into espresso is to spend at least as much on your grinder as you spend on your machine.

If so, what are the aspects to look for? What are the models to consider?

If you really do want to experiment with a high precision basket, just look for one which fits your portafilter (shouldn't be too hard since you have a standard 58mm one), is big enough for your desired dose, and is from a somewhat reputable brand (and is ideally used by professionals).


The Aeropress is the best choice for travel. I would get the Porlex Mini with it as it will fit inside the Aeropress.

I think the Hario V60 is also a great choice for starting out, but this is a bit more bulky and not as good for travel.

Note that although the Aeropress is durable, it can break if pressure is applied in the wrong direction. I had the plastic crack once after putting it in my checked bag. You might want to get a case for it or at least put it in your carry-on bag.


How many milligrams of caffeine are in a fresh coffee bean?

There are about 6 mg of caffeine in one coffee bean. Darker roasts may have 10-15% less.

  ...dark roasts have a stronger taste, but the roasting procedure they experience decreases their caffeine content by 10 to 15 percent. If you prefer dark roasted beans, congratulations! They basically contain 15% to 20% less caffeine than the lightly roasted ones.

In the answers to this Question there is plenty of information about this subject.


How would the ratios of iced coffee differ from regular coffee?

Recipes vary according to taste, but if you want a similar concentration ("strength") of coffee, you'll probably want to use a stronger brew of coffee (basically amounts to using more grounds). This is because you're diluting the coffee when you add the ice (which melts), even more so if you're trying to start with freshly brewed and very hot coffee (melting more ice). Here's a suggestion from Chow and a discussion from Serious Eats that discuss the methods.

Personally, though, I prefer the result of cold-brewed coffee. Rather than brewed-hot and served-cold, it's both brewed and served cold. I think the cold-brew extraction is a better complement to the cold service. Furthermore, less ice might be needed to cool the beverage to a similar temperature, which is an added bonus. See the myriad questions with cold-brew for more on that subject.

As for milk/cream and/or sugar/sweetener, this seems to be entirely personal preference. I take mine black, so I'll let others comment on that.


Is it possible to make instant coffee of varying roasts?

There is no reason why instant coffee couldn't be roasted differently. It's made from real coffee beans after they have been roasted and ground. Instant coffee is just dehydrated coffee basically.

I think the reason you have never seen different roasts types is because instant coffee is made more for convenience. It's supposed to be quick, easy coffee. It's made for the "Amateur coffee drinker"(If there is such a thing). For that reason those purchasing the coffee probably don't care much about how it will taste and therefor care very little about the roast type.


How long should I steep in French press before decanting?

I follow the steps in the Stumptown Roasters guide, which actually features a Bodum French Press. The answer is 4 minutes, but it includes a mixing step after the 1 minute mark. From the site:

"...pour hot water (30 seconds off the boil or about 205 degrees F) into the French press, saturating all of your grounds, and pouring to the halfway mark. Start your timer for 4 minutes.
After 1 minute, stir the “bloom” (or top layer) and pour the rest of the water evenly to the top and affix the press pot lid.
After the 4 minute timer goes off, plunge and serve.


What Type of Coffee Pot is Shown in Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire"?

This is a vacuum coffee maker or siphon.

The invention is nearly 200 years old and uses the physical principles of vapor pressure and vacuum. When placed on a heat source, boiling water creates steam and thus pressure in the bottom compartment. Hot water from the lower pot is pushed through a (glass) tube into the upper part, where it meets the ground coffee. After the required brewing time, the pot is removed from the stove and the resulting partial vacuum and the atmospheric pressure push the coffee back into the lower vessel. The grounds are held back by a filter mechanism (various types used).
Here’s a video, that shows the Bodum type in action, without distracting talk.

A related type of coffee maker is Bialetti’s moka pot, which pushes the water through the grounds by the same principle, but collects it in the upper part - no flow-back mechanism in this case.


The moka pot is by design unsuitable for a cold brew. In a moka pot, the water in the lower compartment is brought to a boil and the resulting steam pushes the hot water through the grounds in the middle basket into the upper part of the pot. So no steam, no pressure, no "espresso".

A cold brew works by playing with another factor of the main parameters of chemical coffee extraction (concentration/surface area, temperature, duration), namely the significantly extended extraction time. But changing the parameters will also alter the ratio of the compounds in your final brew, also known as flavour profile. Cold extractions are famous for their lighter, more floral nuances - which in an espresso roast will be overpowered by the darker roast, hence lighter roasts are typically preferred for cold brews. Also, the grind for espresso/moka is a lot finer than for cold brew.

The conclusion:

If you want to try cold brew, find a suitable roast, grind it accordingly and follow a "recipe", at least in the beginning, until  you gain some experience. You can also search this site for Q/As tagged "cold-brew".
If the moka taste in a cold version is what you are after, you could simply prepare a serving, store it in a suitable container (think mini jam jar or similar) until the next morning. Decide whether the flavour, which will change somewhat overnight, is to your liking. And our taste buds react differently to hot or cold food.- But apparently you ran that experiment already.
If both versions are not really "your thing", you can save at least a bit of time by preparing the moka pot before you go to bed. Then, see if you can alter your morning routine so that you are using the n minutes it takes for the moka to sputter for some other task.


Whats the main difference between the coffees named "Kopi O Kosong", "Kopi" and "Kopi Peng"?

Hi kopi o kosong is just black coffee without sugar, kopi is coffee with condensed milk and kopi peng is just kopi with ice


What is the recommended coffee bean to water ratio for drip brewing?

The very basics of French press brewing is: 10-12 grams of coffee for 200-250 ml of 90-95 °Celsius water for 2-4 minutes.

You may simply note that as 1:20 coffee to water ratio.


Short answer is, yes.

This topic has been discussed a few times and mostly related to caffeine. Please see this previous question:

Can decaf coffee be addictive?

And, about being low after quitting coffee after a while... This is mostly relevant to caffeine withdrawal and discussed on this question:

Why do I feel lousy, low, out of energy after the high coffee gives?


What is "mırra", the over-brewed Turkish coffee?

Mırra is a specialty Turkish coffee brewing variety that's known to be very bitter.

The beans are roasted very dark to prepare the bitter possible coffee flavor.

Furthermore, during Turkish brewing process, the grounds are boiled* for minutes (and legendarily up to hours) to produce a bitter flavored coffee.

The end result is a very dark and intense beverage which can be consumed in very small amounts in small cups.

Mırra is not very common and mostly can be found in the southeastern part of Turkey and in some nearby Arab countries like Syria or Lebanon.

(*) On the contrary of the standard Turkish brewing method


What is the caffeine content in Lavazza brand coffee

It is more or less impossible to be precise about this.  The factors involved with dictating caffeine levels of any given coffee bean are numerous, and impossible to define for a single bag of roasted coffee.  Here is Lavazza's answer to your question:

Espresso or mocha coffee 40-80 mg per cup. American coffee 115-120 mg per cup. Instant coffee 65-100 mg per cup. Decaffeinated coffee < 5 mg per cup.

Lavazza Coffee Welness


Help me to identify the name of this part

Looks like a plastic compression fitting


How do brown and white paper filters compare?

There are many difference between the two filters. In this website. it states that:

  Today, most white paper filters are whitened with oxygen. Oxygen whitening is much more friendly to the environment, and imparts no taste to the filter. Brown filters are simply unwhitened. Your choice, but oxygen whitened filters are usually less expensive.

Brown filters are just plain without any improvements. Surprisingly, they are more expensive yet yields the same flavor as a white filter here. Trying to save money, get a white one.

Speaking of Performance...

In this website,it states that:

  Natural brown : In its natural form, all paper is brown colored, so brown filters are completely unprocessed. Other than aesthetics and processing, there are no other differences in color.
  White : White paper filters are processed to get that clean, white shade. Chlorine bleaching or natural oxygen bleaching are common methods for whitening paper. Generally, better quality paper ones do not use chlorine bleach.

Avoid white coffee filters that have been whitened with cholrine bleaching. These types of filters have a lower quality than natural brown or white ones using natural oxygen methods. Performance may vary though. Look online like in Amazon for high quality paper filters and look at the reviews.

Taste

Yep, some brown paper filters will add some extra taste to your coffee, sometimes not that good:

  Melitta 'whites' are best. I use them, as they are oxygenated, not bleached. I don't care for any of the brown filters. I have used the Filtropa/Aroma (browns) and the Chemex and didn't care for them. Many brown filters introduce a wet cardboard taste into the brew. Hario is an exception but they are pricey.

Brown paper filters add a wet cardboard taste to your coffee. That just makes your coffee less enjoyable. As said in the performance section, white filters are probably better (if only implied with natural oxygen methods to get the white). Hario is a brown paper filter that acts like a white paper filter, adding no extra, disgusting flavor into your coffee. It is rather expensive though. Here is the website where all the information of this section came from.

Environmental Impacts

Well here is a paragraph about a study by Harvard about paper filters and such:

  According to Harvard Health Publications, paper filters are more effective at eliminating diterpenes than permanent or cloth filters. Paper filters are also easier to clean up -- you dispose of them after one use. Cloth and permanent filters must be cleaned after every use. Paper filters are not as environmentally friendly as the other types of filters, but since they’re made of natural fibers, they are biodegradable. To make paper filters more “green,” compost them along with your coffee grounds. For composting, natural brown filters are better than bleached white filters.

Paper filters aren't as eco-friendly as others but can are biodegradeable, unlike plastic which takes forever and metal, which probably takes even longer. Paper filters can even be used as compost with your coffee grounds. It will make good fertilizer with the rest of your compost. Using normal brown paper filters is preferred over bleached white filters. Production is nearly the same. A white paper filter is really a brown paper filter that is bleached or has added oxygen. Here is the website that provided the paragraph.

Conclusion

Not a lot of differences that are outright clear, but there are minor differences between the two. I hope this helps you!


Fine-grind French Press - Sacrilege? Better method?

I just want to preface by saying that while product recommendations are frowned upon here in general, there is a certain necessity in a stack like this where brew methods are often tightly related to brands.

There are a couple options here, the first being modifying your french press a bit and the second being a different brewer that may be easier for attaining your goal.

As B540Glenn mentioned, you can try cutting our a paper filter into a circle and putting it next to the mesh filter in your french press. This will get rid of a lot of the grittiness and a little bit of the oiliness but will keep your big body.

The second option is to try out a Clever Dripper. It combines what you seem to like about immersion brewing and combines it with a paper filter that drains into your mug when you're ready. It's a simpler and faster way of achieving what probably is a similar result to the french press with paper filter method.

Hope this helps!


In home roasting, does the time spent roasting matter, or only the final temperature?

It does matter for a couple of reasons.

Drawing out the roast generally produces more even results.

Slower roasts mean that you have a better chance of stopping the roast at the target level and not over or under roasting.

You can search the online forums for some of the home roasting sites, but many people run their roasters at a higher setting, then turn down the heat once the roasting process is rolling.  Some of the more expensive machines even have "roast profiles" preprogrammed to modulate the temperature up and down for desired results.

Personally I think there is a point of diminishing returns between the time dinkering with the roaster and the difference in the taste.  Most of my roasting lands in the 15 to 16 minute range and comes out even enough that I feel good about it.  I recommend drawing the time out just enough that the results are even enough for you and you are comfortably hitting your target roast level the vast majority of the time.


Is there a list of all Ethiopian coffee-growing regions?

There is a list in "The World Atlas of Coffee" by James Hoffmann: Sidama, Limu, Jima, Ghimbi/Lekempti, Harrar, Yirgacheffe. All have similar altitude (1400 - 2200 m range) and coffee varieties (heirloom). Also all regions are harvesting around October-February, except Ghimbi (February-April).


What's the most effective way of generating crema from an Aeropress?

Here's a quick rundown of the Aeropress method I use every morning. I end up with a relatively crema-y shot. You'd never mistake it for one from an espresso machine, but there's a good layer all across the top.
This is completely unscientific and I can't identify which steps here are the relevant ones for the good results, but maybe if you experiment with some of these adjustments you can identify what works and what doesn't.
The Equipment

Aeropress
Scoop that came with the Aeropress
Ultra fine mesh filter

The Coffee
The beans I use vary; I generally grab a light or medium roast off the shelves at Trader Joes and grind it one click down from the finest setting on the in-store grinder. (The finest setting purports to be for Turkish coffee; the one I use is labeled 'espresso'.)
I store the ground coffee in its can in the fridge for up to a week or a week and a half, depending on how long it takes me to drink it all. Today I'm using Trader Joe's Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee, a delightful medium roast. (I just now learned that Serious Eats says it's the best bet for Trader Joe's coffee.)
The Water
Melted snow from the Wasatch Mountains, filtered through whatever the county of Salt Lake does before it gets to my kitchen tap, and heated on the stove until just before the boil. There are tiny bubbles forming on the bottom of the kettle, but few of them are rising to the surface of the water.
The Method
I'm pretty loosey-goosey about my brewing method, but the results are very consistent. This leads me to believe it's the equipment and the beans that are generating the great results, not anything I'm doing right.

Set up the Aeropress for inverted brewing.
For one shot, use a generous scoop of ground coffee. Tap the assembly on the counter so the mound of coffee flattens out.
Slowly add your just-off-the-boil water. (I use a gooseneck kettle for easy, controlled pouring.) Rotate the Aeropress as you pour and do so until you can no longer see any dry grounds. (The chamber should be about 2/3 full when this is complete.)
Stir slowly until you get that lovely uniform light brown color on the top of the mixture. I use the handle of the scoop for stirring.
Place the cap and filter on top of the assembly and wait 15-60 seconds. (My own brewing time varies wildly, depending on what distracts me during that time.)
Press. With this fine grind and filter, you'll have to press a little harder than with the coarser grind. As you press you'll see foamy buildup gather on top of the grounds. You'll have to press extra hard at the end to squeeze all of that through, but it will drip down onto your shot at the end and form that delightful crema.

Edit:
As I pay more attention each morning, I've noticed a couple more things:

My results vary significantly. I think the contributing factors are the grind and how hard I press at the end.
I never use soap on my Aeropress equipment. I rinse it with tap water after each use, but never run it through the dishwasher. There may be buildup of coffee oils on the surfaces that helps (or hinders??) the foam making process.

Edit Redux:
For the past few weeks I've been casually experimenting with my morning coffee and coming up with very inconclusive results. (As I mentioned below, all I've come up with are a bunch of totally surefire ways to absolutely demolish the crema, and no methods of preserving it.)
This half-butted casual science ends now! I just bought a hand grinder and an app full of AeroPress recipes; thusly armed, I'm going to experiment more formally. Well, a little more formally. I'll track the results here and update this answer when and if I come up with a reliable way to generate and preserve the foam on my AeroPress shots.
Edit The Third:
The results are in: I've figured out how to stop killing my crema. It turns out that the combination of freshly ground beans and the mesh metal filter is somehow stopping the crema from getting through to the cup. Eight attempts with hand-ground beans failed miserably, and my first attempt after reverting to store-ground beans (with the 'somewhat loosey-goosey' method above) generated a nice layer of foam in the cup.
However, the plot thickens. My colleague Robert asserts:

Never had a problem getting crema with aeropress. Lots of fresh coffee ground to a powder, very little very hot water. Makes my ubercoffee syrup shots I talked about a year or more ago... with plenty o crema. Dilute to taste (which I never did < jitter >).
...and I'm not entirely sure, but if memory serves, switching to the fine metal mesh filter meant bye-bye to crema. It's been a bit too long to remember for certain. I just reused the same paper filter over and over for months (actually, I used two to keep them from blowing out).

So it would seem that:

Freshly, very finely ground coffee + paper filter + not much water = crema city
Coffee ground fine in the store + metal filter + water = crema town

I'd be interested to see others' results from experiments like these.


Is it true that drinking coffee can reduce your height?

You're going to shrink if, for no other reason, than the disks between your vertebrae compress. If you're worried about Osteoporosis then start lifting weights and make certain you have enough calcium, vitamin D and other bone healthy nutrients.

I've never seen anything correlating caffeine and height except for children (which is disputed).

Don't forget to cut out tea, colas, and chocolate as well.


Brewing Coffee with instant hot water tap

Is it, by any chance, demineralised/distilled water, with no minerals added back in?

Aside from temperature (which you should check - it's OK if it's cooler, but too cool is no good, and knowing the temperature will help you modify other parameters), it's important to have high quality, odour-free water that is free from impurities and that has the correct mineral content. The SCAA actually specifies water standards (see here). In many developed parts of the world, tap water is fine. However, demineralised water is NOT fine. It will underextract.

One solution*: Buy bottled mineral water (like Evian or a cheaper alternative), which usually has too HIGH a mineral content, and blend it with the filtered water from the dispenser. This may seem hard core, but it'd be good as an experiment to see if it cures your woes.

Joke only intended after the fact


What actually happens with the ground coffee that lost its flavour?

As far as I know the aroma is gone first, the oils begin to dry out and the taste goes down as well. I don't know how long it takes the caffeine to go away. I have drunk coffee over a year old and there still was caffeine. (I go camping and there was a bag left over from the previous year.)

On a different note - as a lifelong NYer I don't see how living in a small space precludes having a grinder. Even - gasp - a cheap krup kitchen grinder is better than buying bags of store ground coffee. (IMHO) Although I would buy a hand grinder instead.


Why is drinking Espresso in the afternoon fine, while milk coffee is not?

It is a cultural issue, not a health one.

Traditionally, rich, big coffee drinks like a cappuccino are drunk in the morning in Italy with breakfast whereas espresso is what is drunk in the afternoon. The reasoning for this is that you can take your time and savor a cappuccino in the morning because presumably you are not at work yet, but in the afternoon you are just in and out for a quick energy infusion on a 15 minute break and you don't have the time to drink anything but a shot or two of espresso.

In America people tend to do just the opposite or just drink what they want, when they want which can lead to some judgement when visiting Italy.