First off, TQFTGC = The Quest for Tastes Good Coffee. With that acronym definition complete, it’s worth mentioning that I’ll be devoting the next few (??) blog entries to the subject of my quest for “tastes good” coffee.
So my awesome folks took it upon themselves to hook me up with not only the Maestro Plus coffee grinder but also the Technivorm Moccamaster for my Christmas present this year… What can I say, I’m spoiled rotten and I know it!! But at least I can serve good coffee when you come over, so don’t feel like you’re not getting something out of this too.
Due to a minor delay on the behalf of our friends at UPS, the three day shipping for the Technivorm that was intended for delivery on Christmas Eve ended up taking nearly a week. So the Technivorm didn’t arrive till this evening and I’ve not used it yet… though I’m more than just a little bit excited over tomorrow’s test run.
However, I have been able to start enjoying the Maestro Plus grinder. As object lesson in the importance of a good grinder, the Maestro Plus finally enabled my old Mr. Coffee Accel to make mediocre tasting coffee. This was a big step up from the sour, stale cardboard taste to which I’d grown so accustomed over all these years. The grind truly does make a HUGE difference, one which I had absolutely no concept of until recently.
But of course, settling for mediocre isn’t really my style when it comes to my obsessions (and I hope it isn’t with yours, either), so using the #4 permanent gold filter I found in my stocking, I started experimenting with manual pour-over brewing.
Pour-over brewing is about as back-to-basics as it gets and totally appeals to my inner simpleton (please allow me the conceit of believing I keep it hidden fairly well). You simply insert gold filter into your coffee mug, fill it with freshly ground coffee, and pour nearly boiling water over it. Within about a minute you have a cup of some of the tastiest coffee imaginable… awesome.
This is about the easiest (in terms of equipment requirements) way to make coffee ever, and somehow I’ve totally been out of the loop about it until recently. Man, I sure wish I knew about it all those times I went camping in Baja and ended up settling for crappy instant coffee… would’ve been just as easy (if not easier) to have made an awesome cup of pour over instead. Live and learn!
Anyways, the pour over experience was great, so on my afternoon break today I picked up a Melitta single serving pour over brewer (see image at the top of this post). These things cost about $4 at your local drugstore / hardware store / etc and enable easy and delicious coffee anywhere. You have your choice of using paper or permanent filter, which allows you further control over the taste of the end result. And it’ll be a lot less messy than going commando with a permanent filter stuck in a mug alone. I can’t wait to compare it head-to-head against the Technivorm, should be interesting to see which I like better.
In sum, it’s amazing how much closer I feel I’ve come to “tastes good” coffee in such a short time. Just over a week ago I was lamenting yet another cup of stale cardboard crap. Tomorrow, I’ll have my choice of tasty pour-over or tasty Technivorm drip. Stoked!