Doktor Dough

One of the first things I learned in restaurants was the importance of two things: Good bread and good coffee. In a dining experience the first impression you make on a consumer is with the bread served before the meal, it has to be good since it serves as a preview for the rest of the meal. Similarly with the coffee, it provides the final impression of the dining experience. Even if the service was awful and the food mediocre; a consumer will leave with the taste of a good coffee in his mind. I’m not advocating ignoring other aspects of food service but rather that an operator strive to provide an excellent cup of coffee.

How do I prepare an excellent cup of coffee?

The ingredients for a cup of coffee are quite simple; filtered fresh water and ground coffee beans. At no part in this article will I mention the term ‘gourmet’ in reference to coffee. I feel that the use of that term clouds the issue and is in fact a meaningless adjective. We have all enjoyed coffee, but a really good cup may be eluding many consumers. So on with the show!

I start with a piece of equipment called the press pot, or French press. This is a glass carafe, with a stainless steel plunger ( figure 1). A measured amount of freshly ground coffee in placed in the carafe; I recommend 2 tablespoons per 6 oz. cup. Freshly heated water; preferably filtered , is thenspring water, heated to boiling and allowed to cool to 190 introduced into the grounds. Fill the pot halfway, stir the grounds , and continue to fill the presspot to about 2 inches below the rim. Insert the plunger and submerge the ground coffee below the waterline. After 3 minutes, depress the plunger to the bottom of the carafe. Decant the coffee into serving sizes and enjoy.

The first thing you will notice about this method of brewing is the cloudiness and ‘texture’ of the brew. This is intentional and increases the flavor of the coffee by introducing oils that paper filters absorb. It may be a stronger flavor than most consumers normally enjoy, but not an unpleasant or bitter taste. If it is ‘too strong’ add hot water to the cup (not the presspot), by this method one can dilute the beverage and not over-extract the ground coffee. There will be finely ground sediment at the bottom the cup when you have quaffed the brew. The sediment can be eliminated by decanting into a pitcher the fresh brew , allowing the ‘fines’ to settle and then pouring into the serving cup.

In my experience the simplest recipes are often the most difficult. The precautions are as follow: 1) use ‘clean’ equipment, free of oils and residue from washing or previous use, 2) fresh, ‘good tasting’ water, preferably filtered, not just tap water. 3) use high quality coffee, freshly ground and of a texture that ensures complete extraction of the flavor. The first two are easy to monitor through simple quality control in an average restaurant setting. The third requires some explanation.. Freshness is the most important in my mind, a fresh grind will foam when water is added to the grounds. No foam or bubbling and the coffee is stale, it’s that simple. A properly ground sample will allow full extraction of the coffee, without any ‘bitterness’. In this method the grind is coarser than drip coffee. The grind also allows a minimum of sediment in the cup, no-one really wants a cup of ‘mud’.

With all this in mind, continue to taste as many samples of coffee as you can and choose the one you enjoy. Both your customers and your employees will appreciate the time spent. If you don’t like coffee, hire a consultant or ask another staff member to be in charge of the selection. A good cup of coffee is as much a matter of taste as good glass of wine, and one’s palate must be accustomed to the flavors. Purchase the beans from a reputable source, and take the time educate yourself about coffee.