What is the background of brewing coffee with eggs?

So I did a bit of research, and found a number of regional claims to 'egg coffee', including  Swedish, Norwegian, Vietnamese and the American Mid-West. Of course I also found an article on Putting Weird Things In Coffee, which should be taken with a pinch of salt1.
There seem to be a variety of approaches, but they seem to fall into three main camps:

Add just the white and the shell
Add just the yolk and the shell
Add the whole egg, including the shell

Across the different techniques, adding the shell was the only real unifying theme! It's said to reduce bitterness (I imagine because the shell is essentially calcium-carbonate, which is basic). The technique is to just crush up the shell, mix it and the egg contents with the coffee and pour over boiling water.
The grounds will bind with the egg protein and sink in the cup. They can then be strained off.
The only other recipe I found is specifically for Vietnamese egg coffee, which I found here:

Ingredients

1 egg
3 teaspoons of Vietnamese coffee powder
2 teaspoons of sweetened condensed milk
Boiling water

Directions
Brew a small cup of Vietnamese coffee. Crack
an egg and discard the whites. Put the yolk and the sweetened
condensed milk in a small, deep bowl and whisk vigorously until you
end up with a frothy, fluffy mixture like the one above. Add a
tablespoon of the brewed coffee and whisk it in. In a clear coffee cup
(we’re going for aesthetics here), pour in your brewed coffee, then
add the fluffy egg mixture on top. Presto. Egg coffee.

1: No, not like that.


What is the limit to the amount of coffee one can consume?

Let's look at this from the worst case:

The LD50 for caffeine is around 150-200mg/kg body weight for a healthy adult or 10g1. The caffeine content of a "cup of coffee" (however you define it) varies with beans, roast and preparation method, but according to Wikipedia, (50-)75-100 cups of drip coffee get you in the lethal ballpark. (More caffeine math on this site.) This is an amount of fluid that you can't ingest without other severe complications, but deaths by pure caffeine, e.g. in tablets can happen.

If you don't kill yourself, the next serious outcome is caffeine intoxication, caused by single doses of about half the LD50 or 400-500mg:

  The symptoms of caffeine intoxication are comparable to the symptoms of overdoses of other stimulants: they may include restlessness, fidgeting, anxiety, excitement, insomnia, flushing of the face, increased urination, gastrointestinal disturbance, muscle twitching, a rambling flow of thought and speech, irritability, irregular or rapid heart beat, and psychomotor agitation.[95] In cases of much larger overdoses, mania, depression, lapses in judgment, disorientation, disinhibition, delusions, hallucinations, or psychosis may occur, and rhabdomyolysis (breakdown of skeletal muscle tissue) can be provoked.[99][100]
  (Source)

Everything else is a question of your metabolism and caffeine tolerance vs. desired and undesirable effects. For example: coffee is a stimulant that counters fatigue and drowsiness - and thus can keep you awake if it's not metabolized when you want to sleep.

There is no general "safety threshold", but if you look at the recommendation of both the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the UK Food Standards Agency for pregnant women, the 200mg caffeine per day deemed safe for them2 should be more than safe for every other healthy adult.

1 Sources vary between 5-30g, but LD50 rates for humans aren't exactly a field of much experimentation.

2 Pregnant women show a decreased caffeine metabolism (up to 15 hours vs. 3-4 hours in non-pregnant women) and there is a large safety margin to protect the unborn child.


I can read Arabic and also I prepare Arabian coffee as you want, so here comes the recipe

1- you have to get a very fine ground, light roasted plain coffee 1 tps / 80 ml water

2- ground cardamom 1/8 tps

3- saffron

4- 1:2 cloves / 80 ml

5- rose water 1/2 tps / 80 ml

A lot of Arabs drink it plain. Instead of sugar they eat dates along with it but you can add sugar if you wish; set your pot on a very very low heat, let it boil.

Turn the heat off and transfer it to another pot, wait until the grounds settle down the pot and pour, have fun.


Many factors are at play here.
I assume we are talking about morning coffee and not about something that helps to pull you through the night of studying.
So, the easiest (minimal amount of work in the morning) would be a drip coffee.  Definitely an upgrade from instant.  Many of machines allow you to preset the wake up time, so that you prepare everything at night, and then you wake in the morning to a ready cup (or two) of coffee waiting for you.

If you actually care about taste and want something that won't just give you a kick in the head, but actually be a pleasurable experience - buy real whole bean coffee, and grind it yourself.

As to a way to make coffee - that is a purely opinion based question. Some people love espresso. I like my french press.  Some love their morning cappuccino, etc.  You have to experiment and find your drink of choice.
But the first best thing you can do, is to buy a whole bean coffee and grind it yourself.  The taste difference (specially after an instant coffee) will be enormous!

Good Luck in your coffee adventure!


You've got colonies (of bacteria, and perhaps algae.)

I'd be looking for something a bit stronger than vinegar or citric acid in the sanitizing line, though either of those might be a good place to start, just to clear out any calcium deposits that other things might be using as a growth substrate (attaching to.)

Depending on your preferences, and/or any information you can find about what is recommended for your machine, this might be bleach and water, or one of several choices from the (beer) brewing products such as PBW (powdered brewery wash), Star-san, or Idophor. Star-san (at least) will also attack calcium deposits (it's mostly phosphoric acid.)

Rinse well, many times, when done.


According this source, a study by Dionex, a part of Thermo Fisher Scientific, found that decaf coffee is less acidic than regular coffee.

That being said, all coffee causes the stomach to produce acid and the scientific results of the effect of both types of coffee on this are inconclusive. Some studies have found that patients drinking decaf have less stomach acid issues and vice versa.

According to this source, the nature of the beans used to make decaf coffee are higher in acidity in any case, because these beans are used due to their ability to retain flavor after treatment.

All in all, decaffeinated coffee beans have less acid in them than their counterparts, but because the choice beans for decaffeination are already high in acid, this may make most decaf coffees have a higher acidic content in general when compared to other coffees.


Can I use filters other than the original Hario filters on my Hario V60?

Yes. Well, if the shape matches. I have never found alternatives for paper filters (patent restriction?), but there are clothes and stainless steel versions available.


What happens to Colombian beans that do not make Supremo or Extra?

They get sold for less money as "standard export" grade coffee.  Because of NFC's marketing campaign, ANY sort of Colombian coffee ends up with higher brand recollection than most other coffee.  There is a slightly slanted view of the matter here.  The writers are coffee aficionados who prize distinctive origin flavors in their coffee, which is rarely present in NFC graded coffee since they are more often than not mixed batches of beans from different growers.  That isn't to say that the NFC's work doesn't ensure high standards for Colombian exports, but it isn't favorable to some sectors of the coffee market who prize distinct coffee from a single origin.


What reasonable diet substitutes for coffee cream are there?

I can relate to this. I often home roast, and always do pourovers, so I am used to great coffee. Pretty much the only time I put creamer/etc into coffee is bad coffee.

I've had good success with adding hot chocolate mix into bad coffee. You can get fake sugar versions of this, which are zero calorie (and come in convenient little packets), and they will make bad coffee considerably better.

Not sure about Poland, but I suspect you can find something similar there.


Is dalgona coffee without sugar still "fluffy"?

I have just made one batch with Xylitol:

Other websites also recommend Erythritol - which isn’t surprising, considering that both are sugar alcohols. (Note that both can have a laxative effect, individual tolerance varies.)
Apparently the (non-)sugar granules aren’t even required, I have seen (albeit not tested myself) recipes that use liquid sweeteners, e.g. this one with maple syrup, but I have also read posts that claim that they whip well, but that the stability of the foam is not the best.


Can my tamping method damage the basket or portafilter?

In general, by the majority of baristas, the recommended method to tamp is this:

safely hold the basket (with the portafilter)
fill and tamp the grounds using appropriate force (5–20 kgf)
make a circular movement (180–360°) with the tamper to smooth the surface

Regarding your question, any kind of shock may be harmful for your gadgets in the long run.


What are the traits of a well made Cappuccino?

My take on this is to focus on the mechanics and preparation, which I think is an important part (though perhaps not all) of a cappuccino being properly made.

Fundamentally, a cappuccino consists of espresso and steamed milk (see distinction from a latte). The World Barista Championship specifies the proper construction in their beverage definitions (.PDF) in §2.2.2. It consists of a single-shot of espresso (25 mL / ~0.8 fl. oz.), textured (steamed) milk, and at least 1 cm of foam (other places suggest 2 cm). Total volume is 150-180 mL / 5-6 fl. oz.  To the extent that you subscribe to the WBC being a benchmark, the components, volume, and amount of foam define physical properties of a properly made cappuccino. It also states that the components should be in "harmonious balance."

The WBC states that aspects of the service are also crucial, such as

visual appearance, such as that the beverage should fill the cup;
served with accoutrements, such as "spoon, napkin and unflavoured water";
logistical aspects of drinking, such as temperature and holding the cup.

Beyond that, there's a lot of variability that might lean closer to personal preference. Some other topics mentioned at WBC and Wikipedia include being "wet" (referring to the foam, versus "dry"), and "traditional" (solid central circle of white foam, versus having latte art).

Other recipes for cappuccino at home vary greatly:

Folgers suggests to use equal parts of coffee (French press or drip), steamed milk, and foam. You'll get a rather different outcome from using coffee instead of espresso.
illy suggests quantities for a more traditional preparation, using espresso and steamed/foamed milk.


Which produce more crema Arabica or Robusta?

There are some really amazing Robustas that give body and crema to espresso shots. Kaapi Royale is probably the best Robusta you can get, here's a fact sheet.


It's not really about consistency but more about getting the right extraction time for the coffee/water ratio.

The rule of thumb is to get a shot in approximately 25 seconds, with a 1:2 ratio of coffee/water. So you'd have 16g of coffee in your portafilter, to get a 32g expresso shot.

That's the baseline. When you achieve that, you can start experimenting with different ratios and times.

How are you grinding your beans? If you don't have a grinder you only have the dosage to play with, and it's gonna be really difficult to get to that baseline.


Char - smell and taste. Excessive oil coating the surface of the beans. The extracted coffee will have a flat taste. Hard to describe, but the taste will be predominately "charred" and nothing else.

Cracking a bean open may help, I don't think it should be black through and through, but I don't have any experience with that.

Can you actually return beans?


TL;DR Yes, they are edible and non-toxic to humans.

Coffee cherries, as they are properly called, are a thin papery skin and attached mucilage (what we think of as the flesh of the fruit). Coffee cherries are consumed as a drink, cascara, by coffee farmers in Latin America.

Coffee cherries contain more caffeine than coffee, on average, as they do not go though a roasting process. Depending on the green processing / pulping / milling process the coffee went through, coffee cherries often have a bitter and gamy flavor.


If you could be more specific with your question it would be easier to answer.  For example was your previous "pot" a percolator or automatic coffee maker or what?  By the same token, what is your current set up?  By a process of elimination you should be able to isolate the factor that's causing your coffee to taste sh***ty.  Basically those are:

The coffee itself - is it from the same source, being stored the same, same age, etc.
Same water - you said you'd tried different water sources.  Bottled water should yield good coffee.
The method of brewing, which would include water temperature, coarseness of grind, how long it extracts (steeps), cleanliness of the equipment, etc.

If all the factors except the method of brewing are accounted for, then the problem is in the brewing method, which would include the coffee maker.  If you know it's clean and it still tastes bad, you need a different brewing method.  Depending on how much coffee you drink, there are lots of options that will yield good coffee.  I have found that the simpler methods (i.e., French press, AeroPress, pour over) are the easiest to control and therefore give you the best chance of getting a good result.  They are also cheaper and easier to keep clean.  Brewing good coffee is actually pretty straightforward so don't give up!


Difference between steam wand and aeroccino frother

Another difference is that the Aerocinno tends to produce firmer and longer-lasting froth compared to a wand. It's designed to provide a one-size-fits-all solution for consumers accustomed to automatic machines, whereas a milk wand requires more skill to use but allows for a lot more customization. Think of it like an automatic vs manual transmission.

Note that the type of milk you use can also make a difference. Keep this in mind when comparing the two.


I've had this on the farm where it was harvested, and was able to verify for myself that wild, happy civets were left to their own selection process and merely followed around by farmers eager to find the drops.
It's not unlike any other Arabica bean. What I had was single-source, but that's rarer - farms doing it correctly don't produce a lot, so packagers and marketers will usually buy from dozens. That brings me to the first thing that determines the taste of it:
The Roast
Some farmers roast themselves, others just sell the beans. Many sell directly to people and to packagers, so unless you get it single-source, you're probably going to have a bag of beans roasted anywhere from blonde to nearly dark. If you're serious about tasting it, find a place that offers single-source, or roasts their own. You want it just at the second 'crack'. A comparable color is a Starbucks 'blonde' roast, or the usual color of illy in the red can.
The Brew
I've had it two ways, as espresso and in a press. I prefer to have it in a press, despite not getting nearly as much crema. A coarse grind, hot clean water and about 4 minutes to brew. Drink it immediately with a clean palette. Make sure you're not thirsty, make sure you're not hungry, and make sure there's nothing going on with your taste buds other than the coffee. You want to sip slow and enjoy it. Don't let it get cold, but slow down.
The Taste
While debates are quite hot regarding whether or not the civet's digestion of the bean adds anything to flavor, I'm quite confident that the selection process does. Good Arabica coffee is known for the subtle nutty / caramel hints, and you know it when you drink this. I couldn't detect any difference in acidity, but the flavors that the bean is known are definitely more present than usual. This makes a lot of sense given the selection process, civets are very picky cats.
But, that's not to say that a very discriminating and trained picker couldn't get you something close. In fact, illy (red) comes very close to the same quality and presence of flavor undertones that I've experienced with alamid (kopi luwak).
Conclusion
Don't raise your expectations too high, it's not really that much better than any other very high quality Arabica. You're paying for the process (make sure you're dealing with an 'honest' source) as much as you are the quality of bean, novelty and experience.
It tastes very good, but so do the illy beans I grind every day.


I have some coarse ground Espresso and a Bodum French press

No
There is no way of brewing espresso with a french press.
Espresso is brewed under pressure, typically 9-10 bars.
You cannot achieve this level of pressure no matter which brand your french press has.
Additionally, the TDS (total dissolved solids) of espresso is around 8-12 while for french press coffee it's 1.4-1.7.
However, you can get a cup of coffee which has more texture and a fuller body than filter coffee by grinding finer and increasing your dose. It won't come anywhere near espresso but it's not as "watery" as filter coffee. Being able to adjust your recipe for taste like this is one of the many advantages of buying your coffee in beans and grinding them before use.


How long does it take to reset caffeine tolerance

If you are looking at cycling your caffeine naivety with an eye for fitness  benefit (caffeine increases exercise tolerance), I think you should first look into whether there is any true benefit to the cycling.  You are talking about purposefully inducing a cycle of addiction/dependence and withdrawal, however, I am not sure I have ever heard that the exercise tolerance from caffeine decreases as caffeine tolerance increases.

In cycling (a sport I am familiar with) most pros maintain some level of caffeine tolerance.  I've the routine before the day's workout is an espresso or two.  I've never heard of cycling that caffeine intake.  With a doping and performance maximization such a ever present in cycling, it seems like if there was really benefit to cycling, it would be happening.

This article suggests that the exercise tolerance is the same or similar regardless of the level of caffeine dependence. (actual study here) The most I could find online for cycling was some bodybuilding forums talking about cycling their pre-workout stimulants.  Not really any specific information about what is contained in the mess of supplements they are taking.

Based on that study and the lack of information for cycling caffeine tolerance, I'd suggest that the withdrawal symptoms and side effects of caffeine consumption on naive individuals are not worth the purported but undocumented benefit of cycling your caffeine consumption.  I think while it's true that some of the mental stimulation and other effects of caffeine may taper off with tolerance, the exercise tolerance benefit does not.  However, individuals ignorant of this, or seeking mainly the mental stimulant part of caffeine effects, may resort to cycling their caffeine intake.

TL;DR The bottom line is for physical performance, there is not a reason to cycle.  For mental performance there is a build up of tolerance and off periods would provide a benefit at the cost of symptoms encountered during the withdrawal period.


What are the guidelines for 'specialty' coffees?

There are not any firm guidelines established for what constitutes a specialty coffee.  Theoretically no one would consider anything made by Folgers to be a specialty coffee, and anything produced by a small local roaster should probably be considered specialty, but there is a lot of gray area in between.  For instance, some people may consider the bagged beans Starbucks sells to be specialty coffee, others (myself included) would not. Specialty is largely a marketing term like "Cloud" is for computing.  "Cloud" is used ambiguously for private, public, small, large, closed and open platforms.

Generally I would define specialty coffee as something not produced and sold on a national scale.  Most specialty coffees are not "branded" by a company because they are bought in lots and sold sort of "as is".  That is, the roaster bought X amount and when they sell through it, it is gone.  This is opposed to a larger company that will always have "Sumatra Special" available for sale.

When you start talking about roasting with other things, or adding flavors, you have moved to "flavored" coffee, which I personally would never consider specialty coffee.  Oils and additional flavorings may be well liked by many people, but they can also be used to mask the shortcomings of less expensive beans and are generally used to produce a consistent tasting product.

Lastly when you start talking about growing conditions, it can vary, and doesn't necessarily mean anything.  You can have beans that come from the same lot differ widely even in processing.  There is no "perfect area" to grow coffee and good coffee can be grown in a fairly well defined, but still variable conditions.  Advertising that coffee was grown in a specific place doesn't mean it was properly grown, harvested, processed or roasted well.


Maxwell house instant coffee powder aroma

Instant coffee is not generally considered to be the epitome of great tasting, or smelling coffee. It's almost the antithesis of artisanal whole bean arabica coffee.

The iconic and appealing smell of freshly roasted or brewing coffee is due to arabica coffee. Instant coffee though is mostly, and often completely, made from lower cost robusta beans. Robusta beans have a distinctly different taste and aroma profile.

And while industrial roasters have gotten very good at coaxing arabica-like flavours from instant coffee, the underlying qualities are still there and still noticed in the aroma. So the short answer is that your brand of instant coffee smells a lot more like typical robusta beans than the more desirable arabica beans.

Aroma is somewhat subjective and can be easily influenced by suggestion. I can understand your perception of soya sauce, although that characterization might be a bit off the mark. Soy sauce covers a large range but is something of an earthy umami aroma usually having malty seasoning, cooked potato, caramel, alcoholic, smoky or honey notes.

Myself I would describe the MH instant coffee aroma as bittersweet like the artificial sweetener, Sweet n low, sweet and bitter/metallic/alcohol aroma over a predominantly peanut and wet paper flavours.


Delonghi Magnifica - pump stops after 10 seconds with fault lights

Given that this fault showed with hot water from the steam nozzle, I was guessing a pump or flow sensor fault. It turned out to be the flow sensor.

To repair:

Unplug the coffee machine from the mains
Remove the back panel, see here for instructions
Locate the flow sensor:

Unplug the electrical connection
Disconnect the two tubes (noting which goes where)
Remove the flow sensor
Carefully twist the top and bottom to open it
Rinse to remove any particles - mine had some coffee grounds in it which were probably jamming the mechanism
Carefully reassemble the sensor and reattach it
Replace the covers


What is the difference between a long (luongo) and a short (ristretto) shot of espresso?

A long (luongo) and a short (ristretto) shot have two key differences.

The amount of coffee used virtually stays the same although it can increase slightly with a ristretto shot, as the grind is finer.

The key similarity between these two shots and a normal shot is that the extraction time stays the same. The grind is altered to achieve this - coarser for a long shot and finer for a ristretto shot.  This, ideally, alters the volume of water which can pass through the coffee.

For a long shot, the volume should be twice that of a standard espresso shot and for a ristretto shot, the volume should be half that of a standard espresso shot.

The temperature of the water remains the same.


What are the basic parameters that affect the flavor?

After some time has passed and no one answered, yet. Maybe I can come up with an answer. The question is not clear and if I understood correctly, the answer is too broad. Therefore, I will try to elaborate my answer by summarizing factors that effects the tag of the question.

Note: Please leave comments as this is a quite broad answer.

The species

When we say coffee, we mention two different species of Coffea Genus. Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora (aka robusta). They have many differences. Shortly, Arabica grows in the mountains, more expensive and has more oil (so flavor), less caffeine. Robusta grows in the seaside, less expensive and has less oil (so flavor), more caffeine. More detailed discussion can be followed under this question.

The origin

You grow this plant in different places. Location and cultivation affects the taste. So, the origin has effects on the flavor. You may hear "Ethiopian arabica" or "Indonesian robusta" quite often.

The blend

So, it comes the blend. After the harvest, the fruits are collected, dried and the beans are picked. When you collect different beans from all over the world, you blend them. Sometimes, single origin beans are used to taste the flavor as it is. Sometimes, they are blended to mix the effect of a variety of beans. Blends may be all arabica, all robusta or mixed.

The Roast

After the blend is prepared, roasting starts. During roasting normally up to 15% of the beans weight is dried out. This process is one of the main decisions based on personal preference, blend structure and the targeted drink. A list of coffee roast varieties can be found here. Note that there are also unlisted very very light roasts as in green coffee.

The grind

Grinding is also closely related to the targeted drink. For example, the coffee must be as fine as powder for preparing Turkish coffee. On the other hand, such fine grinding is so unpractical in French press as the grains could easily travel through the filter.

The Brew

Choose a brewing method. As a subtitle, use proper equipment for that method. Master your brewing method. Needless to say, there are (probably) hundreds of them. I could enlist three main methods as: pressurized extraction, thermal extraction, and cold-brew methods.

The service

According to a questionnaire, baristas in Italy state that even pouring the espresso may affect the flavor. Apart from that, it is a known fact that the espresso cups must be pre-heated for a better experience. So, even serving the coffee is important.

The freshness

As a bonus article to the aforementioned ones, freshness. One should take car of the freshness of the coffee at each step. The beans themselves must not wait for years. After roasting, they should be degassed for two to three days before grinding. However, they should be consumed right after the grinding. There is a famous expression on that: the customer not the espresso must wait. In one experiment it is shown that, if one day old ground coffee is used, the foam volume of espresso is 35% less than the one prepared by freshly ground coffee.


This, or similar questions have been answered a few times. Each time, they are phrased a bit differently with new perspectives, so I would like to answer these, also add the previous discussions.

Starting in the reverse order, drinking coffee in alternating seasons should not matter. Actually, this boils down how much water your metabolism consume in summer or in winter time. As well as, how much water you consumed: plain or in coffee form -which is more common. In Coffee SE, we have discussed caffeine related dehydration a few times, where the following two discussions has extended answers:

Does coffee cause dehydration?
Will I get dehydrated from drinking coffee?

Then, as the second part of your question whether there exists a limit for coffee consumption? Yes, there is. Actually, the limit for caffeine intake is so high that under normal conditions even the water you consumed together with your coffee become deadly at that point. Still, if you want to see the answer it is here:

What is the limit to the amount of coffee one can consume?

And, finally, you may wonder whether is there a suggested amount. Yes, there is:

How many cups of coffee is it safe to consume per day?


Is there a "standard" ratio of espresso to milk in a latte?

It varies by shop and order.  For instance, order a latte at Starbucks, you have a selection of sizes, and then variance in the number of shots (or espresso) you order in the drink.  Since the sizes are not doubled (12, 16, 20 ounces, not 12, 24, 36) and half shots are not a thing, the ratio will vary at the order level.


What coarseness of grind works best for cold brew?

Two guides do have specific (though differing!) recommendations on coarseness of grind for cold brew.

Blue Bottle recommends a grind a bit finer than paper-filtered drip coffee (they compare it to the same grind as for AeroPress); they're using an immersion setup with a wool filter.
Kicking Horse recommends a medium-coarse grind, nearly like that of French press; they are using a similar setup but claim that a finer grind extracts more bitter compounds.

Personally, I use the latter because I find the filtering goes more easily with a coarser grind; see also this question about making cold brew easier to filter.

This question also discusses the grind. See also related questions with the tag cold-brew.


Should I rinse paper coffee filters before use?

Do you have maker with a removable filter basket? (Like the photo I attached below.) If so, then you might try what I've done:

removing the basket
placing the filter
then running water through it

The support of the basket protects against failures. And while you won't be able to rinse the reverse side easily, you will be able to get enough water into it to saturate through the paper. (Those flakes you mention will be trapped between the reverse of the filter and the basket.)

Hot versus Cold? I'd use warm. Some things you're removing may be more soluble at higher temperatures. I wouldn't go to the trouble of heating pre-filtered water. there is something to be said for water temperature affecting the filtering qualities of the paper by expanding the fibers, and in turn spaces between fibers. But without testing we'll have to assume it's a minor. If you only have cold filtered water, I suggest you use that.

Why not hot water? First, a quick rinse of hot water isn't going to neutralize significantly more micro organisms that cold. You need boiling or much higher for a length of time to do that. Second, hot water will make the filter more prone to breaking.

  I have brewed simultaneous batches with rinsed and non-rinsed; I taste exactly no difference

This leads me to think that soaking is worth a try. If it works for rice to remove excess starch, it might work similarly with paper

A slightly different angle on this:

Try to find the filters that don't need rinsing. When I filter I'm doing so to reduce the cholesterol raising impact of coffee. I prefer the taste of unfiltered coffee, but the evidence convinces me that filtered coffee is better for my cholesterol.

The study linked below, amongst others, shows that paper filters remove much of the cholesterol-raising compounds, as much as "80% of the lipid-solublue substance that was present..." Pre-wetting the paper --pre-loading the fibers with water, really-- seem as though it would reduce this absorbent property, although I can't back that up.

The hypercholesterolaemic factor in boiled coffee is retained by a paper filter


What makes Brazilian coffee unique compared to coffee from other countries?

Brazil is unique in that it is the largest producer of coffee, but it is also unique in that it produces a huge volume of dry processed coffee.  Dry processing is not unheard of, but is much rarer in other countries.

Dry processing produces a coffee that IS different than most other processing methods. The coffee tends to roast differently and also produces much more chaff when roasting.  It also tends to have a different flavor profile than the same coffee processed differently.

Many countries or regions will espouse the benefits of their method of processing, but there are other factors that greatly affect the reasons for choosing a particular method.  High humidity or rainfall areas will generally have a hard time dry processing coffee.  More labor intensive methods may be unfavorable in areas where labor is not had cheaply.  Water intensive methods will be undesirable in frequent drought areas or areas where water is expensive.

Brazil is somewhat synonymous with dry processing.  My roaster has a line on it for "Brazil" coffee.  What it really means is dry processed coffee.  Filling the roaster with dry processed beans past the line will overload the unit's ability to get rid of chaff as fast as it is produced and ruin the roast.  But even in the equipment manufacturers world, the two mean the same thing.


How does Nel Drip compare to paper filtered Pour Over?

Lets answer this question with some data! My company uses machine learning, data science, and sensory science to build flavor profiling and quality control tools for the craft beverage industry.

Lets use some of our 9,000+ full sensory reviews to examine the difference between Paper Filter Pour-over coffees and the Nel.

TL;DR: Nel takes a ton of work to do properly and consistently - but produces a distinct and interesting flavor profile difficult if not impossible to achieve through other brewing methods.

The Data

  Data

  7,371 Reviews of Central American Washed Coffees brewed in Chemex, Beehouse, kalita wave, or  V60 with a paper filter

  Average of 7 day old coffee with a SD of 5 days, the data is evenly dichotomously split between a ratio of 40:600 and 35:400 (up-dose) grams of water : grams of coffee

  2,143 Reviews of Central American Washed Coffees brewed in Nel;

  Average of 30 day old coffee with a SD of 10 days, brewed at approx 50g coffee to 180 ml water

Differences in the Beans - before preparation

Proper Nel uses old beans, usually a month past roast - often considered stale! This is a historical antecedent - fresh coffee was hard to come by when the dutch we're the only trading partner (for some time, and the only one shipping coffee) for Japan.

Pour-Over Methods produce the best flavor profile using fresh coffee (less than 14 days from roast, on average).

Differences in Preparation

Nel: Very high coffee to water ratio, hovering around ~50g coffee to ~200g water. Very slow pour. It should take at least 6 min to pour the water through the grinds.

Pour-over: More standard coffee to water ration, often around ~40g coffee to ~600g water. Standard pour rate, with total brew time around 4 min.

Differences in Flavor Profile

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 of Central American Coffees below:

Pour-over methods using paper filters:

And we can compare to:

Want further analysis? Just leave a comment!


My moka pot brew exploded. What did I do wrong?

While the grind could have been too fine, I suspect what happened is you overfilled the bottom chamber, and the water level was covering the safety valve.

You really don't want the water level to go higher than the red line in the image below.


How much does the shape of the drinking vessel change the flavor?

According to my "Lavazza Barista Guide" the shape of the cup affects the foam of the espresso and indirectly affects the taste.

It is explained as; the foam helps to protect the valuable ingredients to not to be evaporated easily. Also, the foam keeps you espresso warm while you are not drinking it.

In the guide, it is stated that the thickness and the vertical angle of the lavazza cups are specially designed for best coffee experience. So that, at each sip you drink some of the coffee and a bit of the foam and the remaining part of the coffee and foam fits to the now norrower part of the cup.

This sounds like a bit advertisement and a bit reality in a manual prepared by a commercial company. Quite expected in my opinion.


Does using an Aeropress keep more of the coffee oil (crema)?

The aeropress does not produce crema. There is no where near enough pressure using the aeropress to produce crema. Crema doesn't make coffee better, its typically a sign of good espresso, but isn't found in any other form of brewing nor is it what make the coffee actually taste better. French presses don't create crema either, and its a misleading yet common belief that they do.

The aeropress likely has about the same amount of oils as a pour-over cup of coffee if you're using the paper filters. The aeropress get it's richness from its style of brewing known as "immersion brewing". Longer contact with the grounds extracts compounds usually left behind by pour-over/drip methods. Combine with pressure, the aeropress, in short, just extracts more flavor by having a longer brew time and an environment which increases solubility with pressure.

Clarification:

The AeroPress has a short "brew time", however what I was meaning to say is that the aeropress and other immersion brewers have a longer contact time of the bean and the water. Therefore you have more extraction. The aeropress, unlike any other immersion method uses pressure to increase solubility. It's known that if you increase pressure that you extract quicker, and your solvent(water in this case) is able to achieve higher saturation.


How to determine level of scale build up

If you cannot see the inside of your machine (alternatively, the hardness of the water source, together with the exact temperature and volume of the water as well as time it stays in the boiler) you can only guess whether you need it or not.

I have o domestic type machine at home and I descale it after every 100 or 200 shots.

I'm pretty sure that your industrial boiler also needs descaling in these days. Even if you use filtered water, it is better to be sure.


How to prevent Bonavita 1900 TS drip-brewer from producing bitter flavored coffee?

I recently purchased the Bonavita as well. After years of using basic automatic drip coffee makers this was an adjustment. I still haven't perfected the art of the cup using the Bonavita. The problem is that the Bonavita brews at the correct temperature, so I think you really need to be a little more precise when brewing (at least that's what I discovered).
First of all, the Bonavita brews only 8 cups--and each cup is only 5 oz. I use a scale to get as close as I can to the correct water-coffee ratio. I no longer use a scoop: a scale is the way to go.
I have found that with the Bonavita a medium course grind is best. I also found that lighter roasts are less likely to produce the bitter flavor you are experiencing.
I usually brew at a water ratio of 1:14. So that means that I use about 84 grams of coffee for a full pot. I know, seems like a lot of coffee. i never used that much with my Mr. Coffee.  But, once you figure out the correct grind and amount, the Bonavita produces a great cup of coffee.
Go to https://baristahustle.com/the-coffee-compass/ and read the article. The "Coffee Compass" really helped me out in trying to get that great cup. Just the other day, I ground up some coffee at a slightly higher setting and the coffee was weak. So now, using that setting, I had to up the amount of coffee by a couple of grams and it was perfect. And that was thanks to the Coffee Compass.
It is so trial and error, I have to say.
Here are the basic ratios to use with the Bonavita. I have found that the 1:14 produces the better cup in my opinion. Also, lighter roasts tend to not be as bitter as the darker roasts.

Bonavita cup = 5 oz. (147.87 grams = 1 Bonavita cup or 29.574 grams an
ounce) Each cup = 5.215 ounces
4 Bonavita Cups = 20 oz = 591.47 g   (Ratios:  1:14=42 g; 1:15=39 g;
1:16=37 g) Note: Finer grind
5 Bonavita Cups = 25 oz = 739.33 g (Ratios:  1:14=53 g; 1:15=49 g; 1:16=46 g)
6 Bonavita Cups = 30 oz = 887.20 g   (Ratios:  1:14=63 g; 1:15=59 g; 1:16=55.45 g) Note: Medium grind
8 Bonavita Cups = 40 oz =1182.94 g  (Ratios:  1:14=84.5 g; 1:15=79 g; 1:16=74 g) Note: Courser grind

Hope this helps. Happy brewing.


How can I prepare an espresso machine for long-term storage

If you live in a hard water area then clean using a citric acid solution and make sure that the pumps are then empty of water.

You could if it's easy remove the gasket seal (if there is one) which sits on the metal fine filter where the coffee is pumped through, this is to avoid any residue drying and gunk/mould forming on the seals.

It may depend on your model how easy access some of this. If you have a bean to cup then you'll need to clean the waste bin and empty the bean hopper.

Finally store it in the original box, somewhere that isn't humid and you should be fine.

When you fire it up again, you'll need to pump water fully through (again you could use a citric acid solution) and restore the gasket seals. I can't think of anything else you could do.


Can you practice latte art with UHT milk?

Back then when i got my first espresso machine i was recommended a method using a pinch of dishwashing soap in a pitcher with water. This way i was able to practice and enhance my frothing skills.

Be sure to find the correct dose of soap and be aware that soap residue can stick to the steamwand, so remember to clean it by purging the same way as you would froth milk.

I find this method much more suitable than wasting a lot milk if you intend to do it a couple of times a day for practicing.


I made a mistake ordering ground coffee - will Expresso ground coffee work for a French Press?

Ideally from a business setting
Order new coffee and give the grounds away to someone who can make espresso from it. You could offer it as a gift to guests or others.
If you do end up using it for the guests, make sure you indicate the problem. If possible, try one of the methods below yourself first.
On actually using the coffee
I wouldn't be too worried about the grounds coming through the mesh, they almost certainly will. This is easily solved by pouring your coffee through a paper filter. I know don't normally do that for French press, but in this case it seems sensible to do so.
I'd be more worried about extraction time and taste. When I make French press, I grind as fine as possible without it becoming to bitter, with a consistent time the particles are still larger than holes in the mesh.
Since the coffee is already ground, you can play with two factors: time and dose. You probably want to use less time then you're used to. The dose is difficult, if you use too little coffee, you won't get a full body. If you use too much, it will taste very bitter.
Alternatively, you can try to make turkish-coffee in a pan. The espresso grounds will be alright, but a bit on the big size for that.


The short answer is yes you can stir pour overs and it can be useful but generally not recommended.

The primary use for stirring pour overs that I have seen is a very light stir to jostle grounds that have stuck to the brewing methods walls. The slight stir at the maximum volume of water in the filter makes sure that as fluid drains grounds stay in the slurry of water and are evenly extracted.


Where can I buy ground coffee in Beijing?

Use online buying like jd.com, taobao.com.
Some coffee house will sell ground coffee.


What is the ideal method/temp of brewing Turkish coffee in a Cezve?

You should heat your coffee upto about 70 degrees Celcius so it builds a foam or froth but do not let it boil! You need to keep it at this stage for as long as you can, and if the coffee starts to get to hot and appears to rise then move it off the heat and repeat at most 2 times.

A few important things are

use fresh coffee or it will not foam as well
pre-heat the water in the pot first, without the coffee, just until it starts to heat up
do not stir until the coffee sinks itself
allow the coffee to heat slowly, not on a high heat (I don't directly place the pot on the heat ring - slightly off of it)

Here's a link to a useful page on Turkish coffee world website with a method for making Turkish coffee.
http://www.turkishcoffeeworld.com/How-to-make-Turkish-Coffee-s/54.htm


If you mean the coffee bean farmer by 'end-producer',
Fair Trade guarantees a relative increase of the contract that the farmer can negotiate.

Say, for example a farmer gets USD 20,- for his entire crop usually, then

He might get USD 140,- for the same amount of beans when selling to a Fair Trade contracter.
Also see: How much do the farmers get about prices in Ethiopia.


Prevailing wisdom is that it is generally safe to drink up to 4 cups of coffee per day. Caffeine is the world's most widely consumed psychoactive drug (stimulant) and typical consumption is alleged to have a number of positive health benefits.

The U.S. 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee recommended a similar limit. Lower limits are recommended for pregnant women, adolescents & children.

Lethal caffeine overdoses are rare and estimates of a lethal amount of caffeine in a healthy adult range from 10,000 - 20,000 mg.


Does french press plunger speed affect the taste?

Speed of the plunger does not affect the flavor.

When coffee is brewed in a french press, the main parameters are (apart from the coffee itself)

the temperature of the water
the duration of brewing
the water quality

However, speed of plunger may be important in this case: if you push the plunger rapidly, the flow of water push the grounds from the sides of the filter. Thus, the grounds will probably mix with the final cup of coffee. Even worse, the hot water may splash in your hand or face.


What is the optimal brewing technique for extracting caffeine?

I think the answer to your question is generally going to be espresso.

Brewing process all comes down to pressure, temperature, extraction time (water contact time), possibly agitation and filtering. I may be missing a variable, but all the methods of brewing are just mixing of those variables. If you fix all but one variable, you'd have an answer for any given equation.

All of these things are ultimately affecting the solubility of the caffeine in the coffee.  Since espresso is one of the few brewing methods to affect pressure (and generally uses the greatest pressure) it's going to be the winner.  Increased pressure means increased caffeine solubility.

From wikipedia you'll note the two major factors affecting solubility are temperature and pressure.  You'll also note that dissolution doesn't always happen instantly; rates may vary based on conditions.  By increasing pressure during brewing my guess is that the rate of caffeine dissolution is increased.  making it more efficient for short brewing times.


Why do coffee packs have an aroma hole if it is recommended to store coffee in an air tight container

It's actually a one-way valve & it's critical to the shelf life of the coffee and the preservation of the bag itself.
When coffee is fresh roasted, it releases carbon dioxide. It's basically a by-product of the roasting process. When the coffee is ground, carbon dioxide is released expeditiously. If you simply place fresh roasted coffee in a completely sealed bag, the bag will expand and in most cases rupture.

http://beanfruit.com/blogs/news/15152773-whats-that-thing-on-my-coffee-bag


Wet grind with cold water to maximize yield?

Given that I commonly cold brew overnight, I find the idea that cold water would not absorb the flavor somewhat far-fetched. I also find your absorbtion crazy-high unless you are using a huge mount of ground coffee to yield 2.5 cups liquid. I've been french-pressing for months now, but I doubt I lost a cup in making 12 cups (about 8 measuring cups) when I was using my drip machine.

What it would do is to alter (favorably or unfavorably, only you can say, after you try it) the effective temperature of the extraction by supplying some cold water as well as the hot water (and if you are boiling off any significant amount of the 4 cups you start with, it's almost certainly too hot.)


Quick Homemade Great Tasting Coffee vs Price?

I can make a few assumptions based on your story. First, I clearly understand that you are also short on time. Second, as you mentioned barista style you tend to drink espresso varieties and don't check the options for disposable single-use filters, etc., which are easier to clean.

500$ budget is more than enough for a reasonable home setup. You have two options. First one is a bit more time consuming, second one is more automated. Either (1) you could buy a grinder and an home espresso machine or (2) you could buy a bean-to-cup machine.

As you are short on time, I specifically mention what these cost in units of time.

Option 1: If you have a separate grinder and espresso machine, you require periodic cleaning (by cleaning tablets, I assume monthly?) and decalcifying (by tablets or liquids again, I assume monthly, bi-monthly?) for your espresso machine. The portafilter must be rinsed after each use and from time to time cleaned thoroughly. If you have a milk frother, it requires extra care after each use. Grinder also requires periodic cleaning (monthly, bi-monthly?).
Option 2: If you have a bean-to-cup machine, you should require to physically clean it thoroughly in periodic intervals. This may require you to take down a few parts (don't worry, they are designed for this) and assamble afterwards. Then, of course clean and decalcify as in regular espresso machines. This option may require a bit more care, but at the end, it is way faster in daily use.

And, what about the brands? I think you can just read reviews anywhere. I'm happy with my bean-to-cup machine for daily coffee. Still, I know it is not preparing the best shot.


Why do some people sneer at Starbucks coffee?

In order to maintain consistency, Starbucks roasts their coffee a tad bit longer than many might prefer. The espresso you get in New York is going to taste exactly like the one you got in Hong Kong, or New Delhi - that's actually kind of impressive. Still, if you're someone that likes their beans just past the second 'crack' - you might find their espresso a bit too dark, a bit too bitter and a bit too expensive to be accepting of a disappointment.

Now, the coffee that they sell in bags gives you plenty of options - you can still get a nice blonde-roasted bag of single source Arabica at many locations. If you're there to order something with milk in it, then you're probably not going to notice just how dark the beans really taste - you'll probably just enjoy your coffee.

However, if you tend to take espresso straight, or a drink that is basically espresso cut with water or very little milk, you might thumb your nose in the air a bit. Then again, I'd take a bitter-ish espresso over a cup of bland-ish drip any day.

People love to complain if given the opportunity. If you like their espresso, enjoy it - if not, well, drink other espresso :)


What's The Difference Between Paper and Long-Lasting Filters

tl;dr: Permanent filters win on cost over time. Paper filters win on performance, clean-up, and health. Flavour is personal preference. Composting paper filters and spent grounds alleviates most of the environmental benefit of permanent filter.  My conclusion: paper filters, discarded into a compost pile, win hands down.

Use of permanent versus one-time-use filters is a perennial question, with both concrete and personal-preference arguments. In addition to the link in the original post, there are a few other online articles with comparisons, such as:

[1] pretty good pro/con overview from air-n-water (obscure?);
[2] from World of Caffeine;
[3] from LiveStrong, which advocates permanent filters (but has other statements with which I disagree);
[4] from Melitta, but this may need a grain of salt, because they're in the business of making paper filters :)

From those and my personal experience, I extracted an overview and conclusions, below. Unfortunately I've written a lot of text here, but there's a lot of facets. I've focused basically on paper versus metal mesh, as the most common types; I maintain the conclusions are similar regardless of material.

Material. There are several materials used for permanent filters, including the following:

metal mesh (stainless steel or "gold tone");
nylon (or other plastic) mesh;
perforated metal (thin metal sheet with holes);
fabric (e.g., flannel, muslin, hemp).

All of these surely have different properties, but properties that I focus on here are common to most.

One-time-use filters are predominantly paper, but could also be bamboo, natural fibre, or other material. See also this question for a comparison of brown versus white paper filters.

Performance. Paper filters are a finer filter; a permanent filter will permit some larger particles through to the cup. I find that a pot brewed with a permanent mesh filter will have a fine silt of coffee grounds at the bottom. For this same reason, some recommend to use a coarser grind for permanent filters.

Paper filters are also claimed to filter out some compounds (e.g., diterpenes such as cafestol, which may increase blood cholesterol levels). Coffee brewed by other (non-paper-filter) methods have a higher concentration of cafestol in the resulting beverage.  See article [2] for more health claims of paper filters. On the other hand [3] says that paper filters filter out some good things, such as antioxidants, but I haven't seen that claim anywhere else.

Flavour. Link number [4] claims better taste on paper filter than permanent filter (I happen to agree).  Permanent filters should also allow more oils to pass through, which will certainly have an impact on flavour; this is probably personal preference. The grit that passes through will also have a bittering effect over time, but probably not significant if you're drinking right away. Some (e.g., [1]) say nylon/plastic mesh will retain off-flavours over time.

Cost. Varies greatly, but one can find permanent filters that are said to last for "years" for a few quid ($/€/£) up to 20-30 quid. Though dependent on usage and other factors, you'll have reasonable expectation of saving money over time by using a permanent filter.

Clean-up. Clearly, the spent grounds from re-usable filters must be cleaned out; paper filters and their spent grounds can be pitched wholesale.  See another question about how often and how much to clean a permanent filter. On the other hand, [3] claims that permanent filters are cleaner, but I don't agree.

Waste / environmental issues. I couldn't find any data on how much energy is used to produce a paper filter versus a reusable filter, but many uses would certainly be necessary to break even! As far as waste volume though, you'll make up the difference with paper filters pretty quickly (but composting the paper instead alleviates this!). Cleaning permanent filters additionally requires water and detergent. Though, you may wish to rinse your paper filters, so water use is debatable. Ultimately, reusable filters will eventually wear out and need to be replaced.

My Conclusion. For my money, personally, I prefer the paper filter:

Better flavour and texture (less bitter, less grit);
Convenience (easier to use and keep clean);
I compost the whole thing (paper filter, grounds and all), so the environmental impact is basically on the production end, which I'm okay with.
Marginal health concerns (cafestol/cholesterol; avoiding plastic whenever possible).


How does drinking coffee after a heavy meal counteract the drowsiness?

I am by no means a biochemist/physiologist, but I will give this my best scientific go.

The main reason people get sleepy after eating large meals, "get the 'itis" as many call it, simply has to do with homeostasis. The average person's diet usually consists mostly of carbohydrates. Carbs, especially when eaten in large quantities, causes a large spike in our blood sugar. In order for your body to bring the sugar levels back down to normal, the body releases insulin.

  This stimulates movement of tryptophan (an amino acid in the brain), which then leads to the increased production of serotonin, a neurotransmitter responsible for sleep. And this increased level of serotonin triggers sleepiness after a meal. - See more at: http://blog.zocdoc.com/get-sleepy-meal-weird-science-daily-life/#sthash.fseXW9aA.dpuf

Dangerously enough, constant spiking and falling of the blood sugar levels in the human body can lead to T2 Diabetes (most associated with processed sugars).

Tryphtophan is the same amino that is found abundantly in turkey may be why some people take snoozes after large Thanksgiving day meals!

Now, this brings us to the coffee portion. Coffee has caffeine which is a CNS stimulant. It increases blood pressure, metabolism, causes natriuresis (increase in saline secretion), but most obviously, may cause jitteriness, mild anxiety and alertness.

This is because when caffeine is consumed, it antagonizes adenosine receptors; in other words, caffeine prevents adenosine from activating the receptor by blocking the location on the receptor where adenosine binds to it. As a result, caffeine temporarily prevents or relieves drowsiness, and thus maintains or restores alertness.

It is not the blood in your body that affects sleepiness/alertness, rather the neurotransmitters and their chemical synapses

TL;DR: After eating, your body is naturally producing neurotransmitters to bring your body to a state of homeostasis. When you ingest coffee, which contains caffeine, it counteracts this and keeps you awake and alert.


Should I use weight or volume when measuring doses?

In cooking in general weighting dry ingredients would be much more precise and give you greater control over your variables.


Can I use an espresso blend with an aeropress?

The answer is quite simply: It's up to your personal preference.

Lots of things make a good cup of espresso; some people like (or think they like) single origin expensive marketing-buzzword-infused coffees, and others have found other roasts / blends that work just as well for them. You can use whatever you want in your aeropress to make a cup of joe that suits you.

As this question on Seasoned Advise suggests, there are some objective measures we might look at. Since and Aeropress (disclaimer, I don't have one, but I have used them while backpacking quite a lot) tends to extract a lot of flavor, a medium roast will probably prevent your coffee from being too dark, and still provide a lot of flavor. You'll also want a nice fine grind, which is generally what you want for any espresso machine.


Absolutely not!

The Nescafé is not coffee in the sense of coffee beans, ground, ready for brewing. It’s instant coffee, which means coffee was brewed and then freeze-dried. The resulting granules can then be put in hot water to create a coffee drink (although some fundamentalist would dispute the claim that the result qualifies as “coffee”, but I digress). Think of it as the coffee-equivalent of a bullion cube. If you put that in your machine, you would - at best - get a weird result and possibly damage it.

What you need for the Moka (the kind of stovetop espresso maker you got) are real coffee beans. Either you get whole beans plus a grinder or you buy pre-ground beans. Some will frown upon the latter, but if you are totally new, it should be ok as a start and I recommend it. Read the labels, because ground coffee comes in different grind sizes, but mainstream Italian coffee brands like Lavazza, Illy, Segafredo and the other usual suspects will for example put a little symbol on the packs showing a Moka like yours, indicating a suitable grind.

Apart from that, follow the instructions that (hopefully) came with your coffee maker, e.g. fill the bottom chamber to the fill line (or just under the valve if not line is given), fill the coffee grounds chamber (the funnel-thingy) flush, but don’t compress, remove from the heat when it starts making gargling noises...

The Nescafé is the same as the one-serving sachets you mentioned before, so if you are ok with that, you can still use it up when you don’t want to pull out the Moka. Although I suspect once you have come to appreciate a good coffee from fresh beans, you won’t want to go back to instant.


How do I bloom coffee in a large percolator hopper?

You would bloom a large percolator the same way you would bloom in a pour over. Of course, there are different ideas about how to bloom for pour over.
From the website Hand Ground:

Use a 1:1 coffee-to-water ratio for the bloom
"Bloom the heck out of the coffee" with a 2:1 ratio
Stir the bloom
DON’T stir the bloom

To bloom coffee in your percolator go through your normal routine except you will be adding less water. If you are using a 1:1 bloom subtract the mass of the coffee from the water you add to the reservoir. If you are using a 2:1 bloom, subtract twice the mass. Once you've added the coffee you will bloom it by pouring hot water evenly over the grounds. Because a percolator won't fit nicely on many scales, measure out your hot water first; this is probably easiest achieved by pouring into a pitcher on a scale until you've attained the equivalent mass of the coffee (or double). After pouring into the grounds, wait a minute. If you want to stir, stir. This might be a good idea because you are working with much more coffee than a standard pour over.


Coffee as a factor in rapid scientific progress?

What to keep in mind is, that during the middle ages, alcoholic drinks were pretty much the main beverage.

  Before public sanitation, cholera and other water-transmitted diseases
  were a significant cause of death. Because the process of brewing any
  beer from malt involves mashing and boiling which effectively
  pasteurizes the wort, and the fermentation and hops protect against
  infection, drinking small beer instead of water was one way to escape
  infection. It was not uncommon for workers (including sailors) who
  engaged in heavy physical labor to drink more than 10 Imperial pints
  (5.7 liters) of small beer during a workday to slake their thirst.

(Wikipedia on "Small Beer", a lightly alcoholic beverage)

To quote from an article by Malcom Gladwell

  What this flood of caffeine did, according to Weinberg and Bealer, was to abet the process of industrialization–to help “large numbers of people to coordinate their work schedules by giving them the energy to start work at a given time and continue it as long as necessary.” Until the eighteenth century, it must be remembered, many Westerners drank beer almost continuously, even beginning their day with something called “beer soup.” (Bealer and Weinberg helpfully provide the following eighteenth-century German recipe: “Heat the beer in a saucepan; in a separate small pot beat a couple of eggs. Add a chunk of butter to the hot beer. Stir in some cool beer to cool it, then pour over the eggs. Add a bit of salt, and finally mix all the ingredients together, whisking it well to keep it from curdling.”) Now they began each day with a strong cup of coffee. One way to explain the industrial revolution is as the inevitable consequence of a world where people suddenly preferred being jittery to being drunk. In the modern world, there was no other way to keep up. That’s what Edison meant when he said that genius was ninety-nine per cent perspiration and one per cent inspiration. In the old paradigm, working with your mind had been associated with leisure. It was only the poor who worked hard. (The quintessential pre-industrial narrative of inspiration belonged to Archimedes, who made his discovery, let’s not forget, while taking a bath.) But Edison was saying that the old class distinctions no longer held true–that in the industrialized world there was as much toil associated with the life of the mind as there had once been with the travails of the body.


Is there actually any taste (especially flavor) difference between Dalgona method and normal method of making instant cofffee?

My first instinct was to answer “no way, that’s instant coffee, where there’s no complex flavor to start with, we can stir the heck out of it and get no change”. On the other side, preparation can make a huge difference sometimes, so just dismissing the method shouldn’t be done either. Of course there’s only one way to tell, which is by doing a side-by-side comparison. And that’s what I did.
Setup:

Two identical cups with one teaspoon instant coffee (Nestlé Gold decaf) and white sugar each. I used a measuring spoon to make sure that each cup had the same amount of product in it.
To one I added one teaspoon of milk and one teaspoon of water, both hot, then manually whisked until a thick and somewhat stable foam formed.

On previous occasions I used an immersion blender with a whipping disc and could make a stiffer foam. But with the comparatively small amount, that wasn’t an option. Plus the linked video also whisks by hand.
I then poured hot milk and hot water into both cups, using a kitchen scale to ensure that both cups held the same amount and the same ratio.
Initially the whipped cup had a foamy layer that looked good and gave a slightly different mouthfeel. (First taste test.)

However, the foam started collapsing almost immediately, and about two minutes later, there wasn’t much left. I gently pushed it to one side to show the thickness of the layer.

I enlisted the help of a family member and did a blind taste test.
And here are the results:
Without the foam, there’s no taste difference whatsoever between the two methods.
Frankly, for a plain cup of instant coffee, I wouldn’t bother with all that stirring and whipping.


Is there a universal label for the sustainability impact of a specific coffee product?

There is no universal label though there are various labels for coffee sustainability.

You can't really have an universal label as each of the labels have their own standards which have to be met and various coffee farms and producers follow certain ones. For example, in the Huffington Post, it mentions some of these labels:

USADA (or simply USDA): This is basically the United States' label for organic for various products (i.e meat and fruits) that is not limited to only coffee. It is quite strict (has certification agencies, checks for criterion not only during production but also distribution and packaging) as it

  Aims to promote and enhance natural soil activity and cycling of resources, which helps to create a rich and fertile substrate for the crop and maintain ecological balance by prohibiting use of artificially produced (synthetic) agrochemicals.

As mentioned by @avacado1, there is an European equivalent to the USDA, which is the EU Organic Program (note that the EU doesn't cover all of Europe). Source
Some companies like Starbucks have their own labels that guarantee their standards for their coffee:

  C.A.F.E. (which stands for Coffee and Farmer Equity) evaluates the economic, social, and environmental aspects of coffee production in order to ensure that Starbucks’s sources of coffee are sustainably grown. Starbucks collaborated with Scientific Certification Systems (SCS), a third-party evaluation and certification firm, to develop the guidelines for the program.

Rainforest Alliance Program: This is a more "natural" certification since:

  With this program, coffee is grown on farms where forests, rivers, soils, and wildlife are conserved and workers are treated with respect, paid decent wages, have proper and safe equipment, and are given access to education and medical care.

Bird Friendly Conversation: This label ensures that the coffee farms support the native and migratory birds that come over for a visit:

  The Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center (SMBC) gives this certification to farmers in order to promote shade-grown organic coffee plantations that can play a key role in the conservation of our global environment and of migratory birds that find sanctuary in these forest-like plantations.

So as you can see here, the various labels not only have various standards and goals but have their own area jurisdiction as well, each trying to gain support based on what they are.


Does it make a difference whether the moka lid is open or not?

So what I've been taught is that you should keep the lid open while brewing. This is so you can watch the progress of the extraction, and cut the heat at the appropriate time. It gives you much more control over your brew this way - for example, I cut the heat (and run the base under the cold tap for larger pots) as soon as I see the coffee running from the spout turn lighter, rather than waiting for the gurgle.

However, as for lid open/closed during brewing, I don't imagine this has any effect on the extraction. The amount of heat lost will be tiny in comparison to other variables.


In order to be Kombucha, you would need to have a starter, unless (somehow) enough bacteria was present in the coffee / sugar / cup (highly unlikely). It would also be extremely unlikely that even if a culture was unwittingly introduced, that it would bloom in cold water. It's not Kombucha unless it's actually fermented, and for that, you need a live, active thriving culture (you must have a starter).

What you've probably got at the bottom of the cup is a combination of settled sugars and residual grounds. While I doubt that tasting it would be harmful, I wouldn't quite recommend it :)


Is a Keurig K-Cafe "shot" really an espresso shot?

No, sadly it's absolutely not an espresso shot.

To get a real espresso shot the ideal settings are to have freshly ground coffee into a portefilter basket leveled and compressed using about 15kgf of force. The amount of coffee should be around 14g-18g (for a double shot) as an input, the output should be like 28-36g (we are talking about a tradtional espresso with a 1/2 ratio). All of this should be done under around 9 bar pressure. A Keurig simply doesn't respect any of theses parameters.


Do Flavored Instant coffee have added sugar content

Check the ingredients and nutrition facts on the package. Particularly carbohydrates. Coffee and artificial sweeteners have no carbs, so if you see carbs, it's probably all sugar. Generally the answer is yes, they have added sugar. That's how they make flavors like those you mention taste so sweet.


What are the differences in perceived quality of Robusta vs Arabica bean blends?

Robusta is often used to "cut" blended coffee because it is most often cheaper to purchase than Arabica beans.  Since it generally has a higher level of caffeine than Arabica, it may also be used to up the "kick" of blended coffee.

Robusta is generally though to have an inferior flavor to Arabica, partially because the extra caffeine imparts some bitterness, but also perhaps because of it's growing conditions.  While some very few places out there may strive to produce superior Robusta beans, they are working against a market that generally considers it an inferior product and will not pay as much for it.  Therefore less care is often given to Robusta plants and processing since the return on investment is lower.


Can flavoured coffees alter the shelf life of the coffee?

You are quite right - the flavouring does indeed change the shelf life in a certain way. It is necessary to look at this from two perspectives.

Shelf Life by Safe Consumption:

The flavouring compounds used to flavour coffees last longer without degrading. This means that they ARE NOT the limiting factor when it comes to the shelf life of a coffee. Therefore, shelf life is not changed by flavouring the coffee as these compounds degrade (or go bad) after the coffee itself.

Shelf Life by Taste:

Because the coffee has been treated with flavouring compounds, it will hide certain aspects of degradation of the coffee due to aging, decaffeination, and oxidation.

  In addition, these flavors help extend the shelf life of coffee by
  disguising changes in flavor due to decaffeination, oxidation, or
  aging processes.

  Source: How Products are Made

Therefore, shelf life by taste is changed, as the flavouring compounds mask the degradation and therefore the bad tastes of the aging coffee.


A lungo is an espresso that is pulled for longer and thus more water flows through the grounds. Plainly speaking it's just a bad way to dilute espresso, because you are extracting more of the bitter compounds that you don't actually want to have in the coffee.

If you want to fill two cups at the same time, you'll have to use a double basket (with two spouts), which means that you will also pull a double shot automatically. Using the double basket means that you also need double the amount of coffee as compared to a single basket (with one spout).

So pulling with a double basket will give you two separate lungo shots, one in each cup. If you put a large cup under both spouts you will get a double lungo.

The better way to dilute espresso is to fill the cup with water (to your taste and strength preference) and pull a regular shot in the cup with water already in it in order to make an americano.


When we werekeeping our caffeine consumption low, we used to brew a 50:50 mix of normal and decaf.  Both were at the good end of what the supermarket sells ground, and were a nominally similar roast.  The overall efect was like slightly less good normal.

You could probably progress to something like 25% normal in decaf, especially if the normal was a slightly richer flavour than the decaf.

You could of course step all of this up a level by buying beans to grind yourself or buying small quantities of freshly-ground.

We used Cafe Direct decaf for this.  I've since given up on that idea and have my last coffee of the day just after lunch, so this was a few years ago.


The gases themselves are largely composed of CO2 and moisture trapped in the grinds. My understanding is that releasing the gases ahead of time prevent the gasses from interfering with an even extraction throughout the brewing process.

As when brewing coffee, we're trying to expose the grounds evenly to the hot water, the release of gas fights against this, causing channeling or uneven extraction. This can affect your flavor profile by overextracting some of the coffee, and not extracting enough from the rest.

From my own experience, fresher, better-quality coffees tend to produce more gasses. I would imagine this being because the gasses escape on their own over time from the coffee when it's just sitting around.


Are there any well known coffee experts who have given any kopi luwak a positive review?

I like my coffee, have tried a lot of different varieties and roast my own, but I won't claim to be a coffee expert.

I have had the opportunity to taste several (about 6) variations of kopi luwak from various sources in Indonesia and Bali. The quality differences in these are as big as with any other type of coffee.

The factors that affect kopi luwak quality are the same as those that affect any other coffee. Namely, the quality of the coffee bean being grown, the processing of the beans, the roast and the storage conditions. Preparation is also important.

The samples of kopi luwak I tried ranged from OK to horrid, but none of them would have been in the "excellent" category. All kopi luwak would perform very badly on the $/kg test - there's just no way that those coffees are so good that they can justify the cost based purely on flavour.

So, to answer your question, this probably lines up with your research. Kopi luwak is special because of the story behind it, not because it is a fantastic beverage.


What gives "diner" coffee its distinctive taste?

I think it is a combination of old stale grounds sitting on a burner for long hours. The places you mention are generally open 24/7 or something close to it and have people ordering coffee at all times of day, so it's all made ahead of time and kept warm all day.

The cheapest coffee suppliers usually mix beans from all over the place and they all store them way past any freshness date. Diners run on small budgets and generally buy the cheapest stuff, thus they all have the same "flavor".

That combination is not just a diner thing, I would also say it is the same as cheap gas station coffee in the US.

I would knock it more if it didn't keep me awake behind the wheel more than a few times.


I am South Indian and a coffee fanatic; and each time I order an espresso, the coffee shop staff member will be sure to say,

  there is no milk in it.

They don't say 'no sugar' in my town because it's probably assumed that we will add sugar separately anyway.

This happened again recently in a new coffee shop in the neighborhood, so I asked the employee why they always say like this -- and he had some free time and was kind enough to explain why:

  Not every client knows what is an espresso or Americano. They may order it as a fresh experiment. Now, the famous South Indian Filter Coffee  and even a generic cup of coffee that you order in your typical Indian tea/coffee shop or download from the coffee machine in a hospital or railway station always has milk and sugar in it. So customers might expect it here and get a bad surprise for a high price: it has actually happened in the early days of our old shop and we were scolded for not warning them it is a black coffee! It's to avoid such confusion we routinely tell clients that the espresso/ Americano contains no milk, and that sugar will be served separately.

Note: I have seen this more often in smaller cafés. For example, in outlets of a major coffee company like Café Coffee Day,  employees in this city will not usually tell a customer that their espresso/ Americano doesn't have milk or sugar (unless you specifically ask for a description), because it's generally assumed that if you order an espresso or an Americano in a specialist place like Café Coffee Day, you definitely know what you are asking for!


How does freezing affect vacuum packed coffee beans?

Freezing will not affect the coffee beans chemically. Thawing may affect them though.

When you thaw the beans, small amounts of water (that were frozen as small amounts of air humidity) will melt and it may collect together and cause some very small extractions in the bean. This is probably quite minimal due to the fact that you have vacuum packed the beans though. This is generally undesirable but it is up to you whether or not you want to do this.

If you do indeed freeze them, make sure that you let them thaw completely before opening the package. Do not open the package until they are back to room temperature. This is so that the humidity can stabilize inside. If you open the package earlier, moisture from the air may condense onto the beans, causing a small amount of extraction.

In terms of how long they will last in the freezer? I am unsure of this as I have never frozen my beans as it is not recommended.


What variables influence yield for a stovetop/moka pot?

Yield and the quality of the brew depends on how water is pushed through the grounds. Some things to consider:

grind size: the finer the grind, the more pressure is needed to push water through. If you need to build more pressure, it may take longer to get to the same yield.
grind consistency: this is related to grind size. If you have larger and smaller pieces in your ground coffee, you may get channelling. To get an idea of what happens, the smaller pieces may be lumped together needing relatively much pressure to push water through whereas the water can easily be pushed along the larger pieces. As such, an inconsistent grind can easily lead to an inconsistent brew (including yield).
tamp pressure: do you tamp the grind (or do you level it out and push it with your fingers)? The more packed your grounds are, the more pressure is needed to push water through.
Heat, how big you set your flame and how far you set your moka pot compared to the flame will influence how pressure builds. A very large flame with the moka pot directly above it will heat quickly and build pressure faster. This might result in a faster brew. You want to watch out though, you might end up heating the upper chamber too much making the first part of your brew burn making the whole thing needlessly bitter.


Espresso - Dose affecting extraction time disproportionately

I would not exceed 20 grams on a twenty gram basket. Weird things start to happen.

I would make your grind finer - and simply stop your shot quicker. If it tastes overextracted, then stop your shot even quicker the next time. Adjust accordingly until you get the sweetest shot you possibly can.

Your general espresso recipe for a well roasted coffee should be somewhere around:

20 grams of coffee in
extracted for 26 seconds
A yield of around 30 grams of espresso

I hope this helps and good luck!


How do you descale a Breville grind brew machine?

Citric acid isn't very effective, it's even weaker than vinegar. Sage (Breville's trade mark in the UK) advertises with a descaling powder containing sulfamic acid (see someone who figured this out on a forum), which is a much stronger acid.

The weaker acids may be fine when they sit longer, for example when you're descaling the bottom of a kettle where the solution is in contact with the bottom for the duration of the descaling process. In more complicated espresso machines, you have tubes (metal or plastic) which may also have some deposits. Depending on the descaling process, the solution doesn't stay in those tubes very long, so you need to have a stronger solution that can clean the deposits there in that limited time window.

There are also aftermarket products that contain this acid (in power or liquid form). On my local Amazon, the powder goes for about 10US$ per kg (2.2 lbs). You need to make sure your machine can handle these, I think the ones with a stainless steel boiler can (at least the more expensive Breville machines are stainless steel, not sure about the cheaper ones).

Once you've settled on using this acid, you need to figure out dosage. I'd recommend following the dosage of the aftermarket solution or Breville's own powder and following the descaling instructions that came with your machine (or by looking up the manual online).


How should I manage settings for single shot / double shot

After careful configuration, your settings should work for both occasions.

The reason to have a thin pellet (cake) when you fill your double basket with a single shot amount of grounds is, the area of the double basket is set to hold twice as much grounds of a single shot basket.

The reason behind that is the Darcy equation which defines the filtering properties based on

area (constant in both baskets),
viscosity (constant for water),
filtration velocity (constant, if we assume you have constant pressure),
filtration permeability (we'll come to that later),
and the thickness of the pellet (we'll come to that later).

So, non-constants in this equation are the thickness of your pellet and the filtration permeability. Let's consider permeability first. Kozeny&Carman equation defines this for porous medium. I can say, in short, reliable grind size defines this. Therefore, if you are ensured that you have homogeneously ground coffee and tamp them with equal force (say 15 kg-f), you can safely assume permeability as constant, too.

Now, the last one: thickness of the pellet. Please see the below photograph I have taken, first.

As you see, the single spout portafilter has less space and the water flows from a narrower set of holes to keep the thickness constant. When you fill the double spout portafilter, the water flows uniformly and the thickness will still be the same.

So, all you need to do is setting your grinder to single shot amount (7-9 grams). Then, using single or double portafilter according to your needs. When you need a single shot, fill your portafilter with a single shot amount of coffee. Filling your double portafilter with double the amount ends up a doppio or two espressos in two cups.

Enjoy!


Easiest way to brew an espresso in the office?

Probably closest to an espresso is an AeroPress, which is similar to a French press, but uses manual pressure to extract more aromatic componds while being lower on bitter and sour notes than most other methods.

And of course all the "hand filter" varieties of the drip-family can be an option, if it's simply coffee, not exactly espresso you are after.

In any case you'll need a source of freshly boiled water, e.g. an electric kettle and - important for some offices - the permit to use it.

Of course a good cleaning of the office machine, adjusting it properly and filling it with good beans might be also a step in the right direction... (And have you checked - many machines do have a little hidden "door" or similar where you can use your own (ground) coffee.)


I wonder if you are using the correct filter for your particular Chemex.  On their website that there are basically three styles; halfmoon, circle and square.
https://www.chemexcoffeemaker.com/filters.html
One of these looks to be very narrow and if used in the classic style brewer may cause what you are experiencing.


What is the most environmentally friendly type of coffee filter?

My choice is the Melitta “All natural bamboo filter”.
Manufacturer claims “made with 40% bamboo” and “recycled paperboard” and “100% compostable filter paper”.
I grind my beans using the Turkish setting for a super fine grind and use a hand poured one cup filter system which gives me a really super full rich taste.
Michael Gamble


There are a pantload of recommendations on tamping, but the one recommendation common to all is... practice! And... The most optimal way of tamping depends on every individual pull: the beans (freshness and grind), your skill, machine, etc. at that moment.

Ultimately, the goal (and most important part, in my belief) is to pack the grounds uniformly. Any non-uniformity in your puck will allow water to flow more through certain areas than others, giving you non-uniform extraction across your grounds (some over- and some under-extracted). For example, if your tamper isn't level, you'll end up with a "slanted" puck; if your grounds are packed more loosely in some places than others... these can yield un-even pucks.

That said, here's a few other common recommendations, some of which you mentioned in the question:

Add the grounds uniformly and smooth before tamping. This gives you an even bed of grounds so you can tamp evenly.
15 kg / 30 lb. of pressure. A bath scale could help until one gets this "by feel".
Use a heavy tamper. This helps you control all of the other parameters.
Aim for sinking the tamp approximately as far as the bevel (a general rule).
Twisting is not necessary (some do at the end of the compression for "polishing", but not necessary).

Then there's some controversial bits:

"Knocking" is something I totally don't understand. The idea is to tap the portafilter so as to somehow redistribute the grounds after tamping. I feel like it would just mess up a good puck, but some recommend it either to ensure uniformity of compression of the bottom and top of the puck, or to get grounds off of the side of the portafilter. More discussion at link [4].
On the "North, South, West, East" topic: this illustrates tamping at four points around the portafilter. Since the tamp is slightly smaller than the portafilter, the theory is that tamping at points around the sides helps to prevent grounds from creeping up around the tamp (up the side of the portafilter). It seems to me that an appropriate sized tamp will alleviate most of this, but it seems like a reasonable recommendation. Some guides (e.g., below) recommend this, others don't. More at [1].

A few articles on different takes on tamping:

Virtual Coffee
I Need Coffee
Coffee Research
CoffeeGeek


Yes, you should be able to make only the amount you need - the markings on the glass carafe are only for water measurement - there's no "minimum" water amount! Carefully measure out 2 cups of water (I use a pyrex measuring cup) and add the appropriate amount of grounds (however strong/weak you like your coffee) and you should have 2 fresh cups of coffee within minutes. In the hotter months, I usually make more than I need and put the remainder into a container in the fridge for iced coffee later :)


What are the effects of caffein olfaction?

From Time Magazine's You Can Now Inhale Caffeine Instead of Drinking It article:

  Forget coffee and energy drinks—now you can inhale your caffeine. ...
     Each inhaler boasts a pretty small amount of caffeine, which the
     company says comes from natural sources like guarana, taurine, and
     ginseng (stimulants that are also common among energy drinks).

Since it can be absorbed into your body (nasal, oral mucosa and lungs), there would be a neurological response, hopefully positive.


How to follow Aeropress instructions when water filters through too quickly

It sounds as though the pre-ground coffee you are using is not ground fine enough. Generally the more coarse the grind, the faster water will filter through.   You may try throwing some additional grind on your coffee, or buy pre-ground coffee that is more finely ground (although a snob such as myself would never actually advise buying pre-ground coffee).


Consumers (and marketers) are expanding their vocabulary for describing coffee. And at the same time coffee producers are improving and refining their methods. Both of these I think contribute to what you're seeing.

The term "natural" process can be ambiguous. You might try to search on a more specific, technical term "Dry Process," usually a synonym for natural process. Here's some dry process green offerings from Sweet Maria for example.

As for processing, dry process is going out of style in favor of the (technologically speaking) superior wet processing techniques. Wet process allows better removal of defects (bad seeds) and other benefits for making higher quality and more consistent product. As you note processing has impact on flavor. Wikipedia has a good overview of different aspects of coffee production, and roaster web sites like Blue Bottle have overviews with their philosophy.

Ethiopia and Northern Africa tend to use dry process more often than other regions, due to the dry environment conditions well suited for the dry process. You might focus your search on beans sourced from that region.


Typically aluminum packaging is actually a three (or more) layered packaging with aluminum not being in direct contact with the beans.  Aluminum is a superb barrier to air, and it is typically used as an internal layer to prevent air transferring into the bag, without being in direct contact with the beans.

Keys to optimal packaging:

Prevent light from reaching beans.  Light will help to speed oxidation of coffee oils.

Prevent air from reaching beans but don't restrict air from escaping beans!  This is where the 1 way degassing valve comes in.  Coffee will offgas carbon dioxide if it is fresh.  High CO2 levels contribute to oxidation, so you want the ability for that gas to escape without constantly recirculating air in your container (which would also contribute to oxidation).

I think ceramic or dark glass would both be excellent storage solutions provided they have a way to degas the coffee.  These materials (provided they have good methods of sealing the container) would prevent air transfer into the coffee, and would sufficiently block light to prevent oxidation.

An example of an aluminum coffee bag I snagged from the internet has a PET internal liner, Aluminum barrier layer, and an LDPE external layer. So.. basically aluminum sandwiched between foodsafe plastic and something that looks good on a shelf =p


Though I don't have any articles on the matter, I can certainly say I've found cups of coffee that I had forgotten that are only maybe a week old with mold growing in them. I'd assume it gets contaminated so quickly, because of its sugar content. It might just be a coincidence, but it seems to happen more readily with coffee that I brew over ice. I press my areopress directly over ice, I've heard this reduces the acidity. Which would make sense, as acidity usually wards off mold. I leave all of my coffee black and unsweetened, so it is not dairy or added sugars that are causing this.

Perhaps try variating your brewing process. I'd be especially keen on the pH. Maybe there are some spores which will not grow in environments below a certain pH.


Roughly how much caffeine am I ingesting when I eat chocolate coffee beans?

This seems to suggest that there is approximately 7mg of caffeine per coated bean.  I've no idea how much those weight per piece, or how many are in a bag, but the math should be fairly easy if you have access to such things.

I found another manufacturer of a similar product which claims 40g for 28 pieces. Extrapolating that for your 150g bags gives roughly 700mg of caffeine, which sounds like way too much.  This could very greatly of course between manufacturers depending on chocolate thickness/weight.


Does coffee really need to be stored in an air-tight container?

How to store coffee beans is a much opiniated area. Degassing CO2 from coffee beans is most important right after the coffee has been roasted, since it would release a lot there and then gradually release less and less over days and weeks.
If then beans can't release the CO2, then there will be a buildup and since CO2 tastes sour, then it will affect the coffees taste.

Coffee should in general not be stored for too long after it's been roasted, since that will also negatively affect the taste. Storing it dark, dry and airtight will potentially keep it fresh a bit longer, but the best is in my opinion 1 week after roast and before 4 weeks after roast.


Actually, I will change the direction to ground coffee. A few months ago, I have seen a nice solution for campers. I took a photo of it for reference at that time. It seems quite useful to me. However, I mostly prepare my 'tasty' coffee at home and drink 'crap' coffee in the office. So it didn't fit me.

Still, here is the invention. A camping style brewer pack. You will need just the hot water in the office. Each pack is single use only. It was just a bit more than regular price. But it was still affordable. Still, you may not like to use this in daily routine.


Stronger: No. Subltle differences: Yes.

For people who tolerate caffeine, want the longevity benefits, and looking for something gentler on your stomach with slightly less caffeine, cold brew is your cup of joe.

Hot brewed coffee has more anti-oxidants and a lower pH.  Cold-brewed has less acid and thus for many palates is 'milder'.  The caffeine content of the 2 is basically the same.

In summary:

'Hot brewed coffee could be better for you than cold, since heating it could increase the availability of antioxidants in your cup — but more research is needed to determine if the benefits are significant enough to warrant making the switch.' The individual's palate so for should be the final arbiter.

https://coach.nine.com.au/2017/09/20/09/51/cold-brew-coffee-health-benefits
https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/is-cold-brew-coffee-better-for-you-than-regular-coffee


How does pressure affect the flavor of espresso?

Working on a Synesso (prototype), I was lucky enough to be able to play with controlled pre-infusion. They state that their pre-infusion has a pressure of 3-4 bars and " bring[s] an extra textural element to your brew in the form of a greater volume of crema. It can also lead to a more syrupy mouth-feel overall." I find this to be mostly true if the pre-infusion was used for about 5 seconds.

What I found through personal experience was that, if I kept the pressure consistent, not switching to the full 9 bars, the shot pulled at the same extraction rate, finishing at my desired time. So Keeping dose, time, and extraction the same, the only variable was pressure. I found that the most notable change was a reduction in brightness. The more pronounced acidity and citric flavors were dulled. There was however a silver-lining that gave the pre-infusion a redeeming quality: Because of the reduction in brightness, I found that when using really fresh coffee ( < 4 days old), the pre-infusions reduction in brightness took away from the character metallic taste found with fresh coffee. For that reason, when I am dealing with fresh coffee, I may increase the pre-infusion time (from 5 to 9 seconds for example) and this helps make the espresso palatable.


Downsides of brewing espresso with high pressure?

A higher pressure is fine, as long as it is a controlled variable. You may have to tamp harder or start with a finer grind in order to accommodate the higher pressure. The increase in pressure otherwise would cause a faster brewing time and ergo underextraction of the coffee puck.

What's important is that you keep your pressure consistent. An occasional or erratic bout of high pressure makes your yield unpredictable.


Is there any coffee candy that actually has a similar effect to drinking coffee?

There are chocolate covered coffee bean candies.

They look something like that:

We may build an equation such as: one cup of espresso includes around 7 grams of coffee, 7 grams of coffee could be grounded around 50 mid-sized beans. So, if you eat 50 of these drops, it will be roughly equal to a cup of coffee.

(Plus fibers, potassium and many others that I cannot list now without checking a paper.)


How should I clean a stainless coffee carafe?

Tannin is a chemical contained in coffee and this is what normally stains your coffee making / drinking equipment.

When using an espresso machine it is advised to 'backflush' your machine with cleaning powder which cleans away a build up of 'tannin' from inside the machine. I expect a similar thing has happened to your carafe. With an espresso machine you're advised to do it weekly with heavy use - so I can imagine an "inadequate cleansed" carafe would probably be heavily tannin stained.

You can purchase tannin cleaning powder from any coffee supplier, such as Happy Donkey.

Even though it is designed for Espresso Machines - it is perfectly safe to dissolve the powder in water and use it to clean other tannin stained equipment.


My Jura coffee machine doesn't pour espresso

Probably the grinder or the brew group are clogged. You might want to open up the machine and clean the burrs and the brew group. Afterwards, grind coarser and make sure not to use oily beans.