From newstand.syr.edu!galileo.cc.rochester.edu!rochester!udel!gatech!newsxfer.itd.umich.edu!zip.eecs.umich.edu!yeshua.marcam.com!uunet!microsoft!wingnut!roberth Tue Oct 18 23:52:55 1994
Newsgroups: rec.food.drink.coffee
Path: newstand.syr.edu!galileo.cc.rochester.edu!rochester!udel!gatech!newsxfer.itd.umich.edu!zip.eecs.umich.edu!yeshua.marcam.com!uunet!microsoft!wingnut!roberth
From: roberth@microsoft.com (Robert Hess)
Subject: Re: A certain FAQ--how much coffee?
Message-ID: <CxtM9x.Lv9@microsoft.com>
Organization: Microsoft Corp.
Date: Mon, 17 Oct 1994 14:15:33 GMT
Distribution: usa
References: <37mnqg$ecc@gareth.cs.purdue.edu> <94282.120134SXM20@psuvm.psu.edu> <Rq0Wp9L.tbj@delphi.com>
Lines: 99
| Charlotte I. Tubis (tubis@cs.purdue.edu) asks:
|-----------------------------------------------
| How much coffee for a 25 cup percolator?
This mail prompts me to respond to three different issues:
1. The 'recipe' for coffee:
The correct recipe for coffee is 1 part grounds to 6 parts water.
In other words, if you are making coffee with 6 oz. of water, then
you use 1 oz. of freshly ground coffee, or 2 Tbs. This will produce
about 5 oz. of brewed coffee.
I know I've gone into far to great a depth on this issue in other
postings, so I'll just leave it at that here ;->
2. The measures on coffee pots:
If a coffee pot claims to make '25 cups' it probably actually only
makes a little more then 15 'true' cups. This is because a standard
measure for a 'cup' when you are talking about either coffee or tea
is directly related to those small little cups that come with your
china sets (that never have a large enough finger hole for me :-).
And which only hold 5 oz of coffee comfortably, leaving a little
room for milk, sugar, and stiring. Now maybe there is a little more
history for a '5 oz. cup', but the point here, is that a 'cup' is
not necessarily a Cup, and just because you make a "6 Cup Pot Of
Coffee", doesn't mean you will get 6 'Mugs' (which normally hold a
full cup) of coffee from it...
3. Can you really make good coffee in a percolator pot? :
A true percolator pot is 'almost' the worst way to make coffee that has
yet been invented. Actually, it is number two on the list. Hobo Coffee
comes in first :->
There are two cardinal rules of making good coffee that percolators
break:
1. Once coffee is brewed, never let it boil.
This causes bitter coffee.
The very backbone of a percolator pot, is that it 'boils' the water in
the bottom of the pot to push it up the spout and over top of the grounds
in the upper container. While it is possible to get this temperature to
be just slightly under the boiling point and still perform its function,
it is rare to find a percolator that is this highly tuned. And even so,
this temperature is still too high to keep coffee at for more then 5
minutes or so.
2. Never brew coffee 'with' brewed coffee.
This 'over extracts' coffee, and increases the bitterness.
Again, the very definition of percolators is that it pushes the 'brewing'
coffee up and over the grounds time, and time again.
So, if you have a choice, never, ever buy or use a percolator pot for
brewing coffee. If you do, it would probably be best to not even bother
trying to use a gourmet coffee, there is no way the quality of the
coffee would be apparent in the final results.
If you 'must' use a percolator pot, and you want to try to make a
decent cup of coffee. Here are some pointers:
- Make sure the brew basket and pot is well cleaned and rinsed.
- Always start out with fresh cold water.
- Carefully measure the coffee grounds. Using 2 Tbs of grounds for every
6 oz. of water that you are using.
- If you have any control over the 'temperature' that is used for brewing,
experiment a little with only water in the pot. You want the water to
come to a temperature of 200'F. A minimum of 195 and a maximum of 205.
- Make sure that the water level in the pot doesn't touch the underside
of the brew basket.
- Once the pot starts percolating, start timing. It must brew for at
least 6 minutes, and never longer then 8. I would recommend that
you turn it off at 7.
- Once the brewing process is finished. Promptly remove the brew basket
and stem.
- If at all possible drain all the coffee from the pot promptly. Use
pre-heated thermal carafes if necessary.
-Robert
__________________________________________________________________________
##### ####### | Robert B. Hess Microsoft Corp.
###### ####### |-----------------------------------------------------
####### ####### | >internet:roberth@microsoft.com
#### ##### #### | One Microsoft Way; Redmond WA 98052-6399
#### ### #### |_____________________________________________________
"...my opinions are strictly my own, and not those of my employer..."