Coffee any way you like it
July 7, 2005 8:11 AM Subscribe
Coffee hacking: See self-heating coffee cans and cold-brewed coffee. [via MAKE: blog, which is shaping up nicely]
If you want cold-brewed coffee: use a Toddy Coffee Maker.
It's not rocket science. It's just the best.
posted by mooncrow at 9:13 AM on July 7, 2005
It's not rocket science. It's just the best.
posted by mooncrow at 9:13 AM on July 7, 2005
buzzman, that's one of the questions i have (i'm the fellow who took the can apart). if they do become popular there needs to be another recycling method. i'm going to contact the company to see what and if that's possible. the calcium oxide could be removed and the cans reoutfitted, but that isn't happening yet.
posted by ptorrone at 9:28 AM on July 7, 2005
posted by ptorrone at 9:28 AM on July 7, 2005
There's a similar article here about Nescafe Hot. I was excited about the self-heating cans when Nescafe released them in the UK, but I don't think we ever got Nescafe Hot in the states. Pretty much exactly the same method of heating, but it looks to me like the Nescafe cans are a lot smaller than the Wolfgang Puck cans (which seem enormous to me).
I got a few of the Wolfgang Puck cans a little over a week ago when I spotted them at the local supermarket. It was a neat trick to have hot coffee at my desk, but the overly milky-sweet coffee kind of killed the fun after awhile.
posted by PantsOfSCIENCE at 9:43 AM on July 7, 2005
I got a few of the Wolfgang Puck cans a little over a week ago when I spotted them at the local supermarket. It was a neat trick to have hot coffee at my desk, but the overly milky-sweet coffee kind of killed the fun after awhile.
posted by PantsOfSCIENCE at 9:43 AM on July 7, 2005
Cold processsed coffee is the best. Unless you crave that bitter acid hit- then you will be dissappointed.
A cleaner high.
posted by pointilist at 10:16 AM on July 7, 2005
A cleaner high.
posted by pointilist at 10:16 AM on July 7, 2005
My wife and I have been using cold-pressed coffee for almost 2 years now. She brings little containers of the concentrate to work rather than drink that stuff her office brews, or resorting to the expensive and highly-caloric (with requisite pastry) alternative of $tarbuck$. On the weekend, I make her mochas with lowfat milk and a really great hot cocoa mix. (12 oz milk, 3 T cocoa mix, and 4 oz of the coffee, plus marshmallows.)
At first, we were buying our fresh ground coffee from $tarbuck$, but at $12 a pound, we found a cheaper alternative at our grocery store -- where you grind it fresh yourself, at around $8 a pound. We found that more normal grocery store brands (like Maxwell House) just didn't seem to pack enough punch.
posted by crunchland at 10:49 AM on July 7, 2005
At first, we were buying our fresh ground coffee from $tarbuck$, but at $12 a pound, we found a cheaper alternative at our grocery store -- where you grind it fresh yourself, at around $8 a pound. We found that more normal grocery store brands (like Maxwell House) just didn't seem to pack enough punch.
posted by crunchland at 10:49 AM on July 7, 2005
Unless my chemistry's gone all to pot, when you react calcium oxide (quicklime) with water, you get builder's lime (calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2) which you can use to make whitewash. If you leave that standing around in the air, it absorbs carbon dioxide and converts to garden lime (a mixture of calcium carbonate, CaCO3 and calcium bicarbonate, Ca(HCO3)2) which will do good things for your lawn and vegie patch; all fairly environmentally benign.
Given that way, way more lime is quarried for use in agriculture in than is ever going to be used in self-heating cans, it's probably not worth recycling that. The plastics and aluminium should recycle as easily as any other recyclable container.
Also, ISTM that the energy required to heat a cup of coffee is going to be roughly the same whether you save it up in a bag of quicklime on the way or not. I haven't actually done the maths, but I'd be surprised if the average electric coffee machine doesn't use at least as much energy per cup as these things do.
posted by flabdablet at 11:33 AM on July 7, 2005
Given that way, way more lime is quarried for use in agriculture in than is ever going to be used in self-heating cans, it's probably not worth recycling that. The plastics and aluminium should recycle as easily as any other recyclable container.
Also, ISTM that the energy required to heat a cup of coffee is going to be roughly the same whether you save it up in a bag of quicklime on the way or not. I haven't actually done the maths, but I'd be surprised if the average electric coffee machine doesn't use at least as much energy per cup as these things do.
posted by flabdablet at 11:33 AM on July 7, 2005
Plus most of us, myself included, leave the pot sitting on the built-in hotplate, using even more power. Another point against this practice is that the continued application of direct heat in this manner degrades the flavor of brewed coffee. Immediate transfer to a thermal carafe is recommended by those in the know.
posted by Songdog at 12:28 PM on July 7, 2005
posted by Songdog at 12:28 PM on July 7, 2005
It's not rocket science. It's just the best.
Better than a french press, for anyone who's tried both?
posted by advil at 2:45 PM on July 7, 2005
Better than a french press, for anyone who's tried both?
posted by advil at 2:45 PM on July 7, 2005
I've tried both. The toddy is the best for cold coffee. I've never tried heating it up though. I don't care for french presses as they don't keep coffee warm. I've never thought of using them for cold coffee as I'm stuck on the toddy.
I can't believe that Wolfgang Puck spent 24M coming up with self heating coffee. It took me five minutes to figure out how to make hot coffee in the field using basically the same resources. Necessity truly is the mother of invention.
posted by Juicylicious at 5:24 PM on July 7, 2005
I can't believe that Wolfgang Puck spent 24M coming up with self heating coffee. It took me five minutes to figure out how to make hot coffee in the field using basically the same resources. Necessity truly is the mother of invention.
posted by Juicylicious at 5:24 PM on July 7, 2005
The product of cold-brewed coffee (the Toddy cold brew system is a popular cold-brewer, and "toddy coffee" has become nearly synonymous with the method, much as "Xeroxing" is to photo-copying) is wholly different from a French press. Both methods offer high water-to-grounds contact (a good thing) but the similarities pretty much end there.
A press will extract quite a lot of a coffee's aromatic oils into the final brew -- oils that virtually all filter methods leave behind, usually trapped in a paper filter. Cold-brewing extracts few of these oils, which are soluble only with heat, and as a result has diminished aromatics. (Don't forget that you "taste" a lot with your nose.)
Because a coffee press does extract more oils and lipids into the cup, if you're susceptible to a sour stomach from coffee, you're most likely to experience it with pressed coffee... it's these oils and lipids that stimulate the production of stomach acids. Conversely, cold-brewed coffee doesn't, because it doesn't extract these oils.
Coffee made with a press has a *lot* of body as there are fine coffee solids suspended in the brew (and there's most always sediment at the bottom of the cup -- even if you've ground the coffee with a high-quality burr grinder). Cold-brewed coffee -- like most filtered coffee -- is virtually sediment-free, but at some sacrifice to the brewed cup's body.
Pressed coffee is always best served immediately... since you're simply "pressing" the coffee grounds to the bottom of the pot, you really can't fully stop the brewing process. Cold-brewed coffee can be stored in your fridge for a week or two, and used to brew a cup at a time.
Finally, a note about the "acidity" thing. When a coffee hound refers to a coffee's acidity, he/she is speaking of the liveliness, or brightness of the coffee -- the tingly, tangy experience on the tongue. This acidity is a *good* quality (in most coffees) and has nothing at all to do with PH levels, or gut-wrenching effects.
posted by deCadmus at 6:59 AM on July 8, 2005
A press will extract quite a lot of a coffee's aromatic oils into the final brew -- oils that virtually all filter methods leave behind, usually trapped in a paper filter. Cold-brewing extracts few of these oils, which are soluble only with heat, and as a result has diminished aromatics. (Don't forget that you "taste" a lot with your nose.)
Because a coffee press does extract more oils and lipids into the cup, if you're susceptible to a sour stomach from coffee, you're most likely to experience it with pressed coffee... it's these oils and lipids that stimulate the production of stomach acids. Conversely, cold-brewed coffee doesn't, because it doesn't extract these oils.
Coffee made with a press has a *lot* of body as there are fine coffee solids suspended in the brew (and there's most always sediment at the bottom of the cup -- even if you've ground the coffee with a high-quality burr grinder). Cold-brewed coffee -- like most filtered coffee -- is virtually sediment-free, but at some sacrifice to the brewed cup's body.
Pressed coffee is always best served immediately... since you're simply "pressing" the coffee grounds to the bottom of the pot, you really can't fully stop the brewing process. Cold-brewed coffee can be stored in your fridge for a week or two, and used to brew a cup at a time.
Finally, a note about the "acidity" thing. When a coffee hound refers to a coffee's acidity, he/she is speaking of the liveliness, or brightness of the coffee -- the tingly, tangy experience on the tongue. This acidity is a *good* quality (in most coffees) and has nothing at all to do with PH levels, or gut-wrenching effects.
posted by deCadmus at 6:59 AM on July 8, 2005
I've tried both. The toddy is the best for cold coffee. I've never tried heating it up though. I don't care for french presses as they don't keep coffee warm. I've never thought of using them for cold coffee as I'm stuck on the toddy.
I never have either - I think I misinterpreted the "it's the best" quote to mean that cold coffee is the best. I was wondering how cold coffee compares to e.g. french press coffee, since a lot of people were suggesting that it's better than drip. (but I think deCadmus may have answered both questions)
posted by advil at 2:40 PM on July 8, 2005
I never have either - I think I misinterpreted the "it's the best" quote to mean that cold coffee is the best. I was wondering how cold coffee compares to e.g. french press coffee, since a lot of people were suggesting that it's better than drip. (but I think deCadmus may have answered both questions)
posted by advil at 2:40 PM on July 8, 2005
Do you really need a fancy thing to make the cold coffee? Can't you just use a stainless steel pan and a filter you pour the coffee through?
posted by OmieWise at 2:43 PM on July 9, 2005
posted by OmieWise at 2:43 PM on July 9, 2005
I've had coffee brewed about a million different ways. I love a good french press, especially after a fine meal with friends, but cold brewed coffee is fantastic. It comes out as a coffee concentrate. If you want iced coffee just add cold water and ice, for hot coffee add hot water.
posted by caffeineslinger at 2:40 PM on July 10, 2005
posted by caffeineslinger at 2:40 PM on July 10, 2005
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posted by buzzman at 9:12 AM on July 7, 2005