Single Serve Coffee Website

I recently found this website devoted to all things that coffee drinkers who own single serve makers would enjoy. It bills itself as "the one cup cofee lovers website" and has reviews of all coffees, teas and cocoas that come in single serve containers. We own a Keurig but my uncle owns a Nespresso which takes their own unique pods. Singleservecoffee.com reviews K cups and pods for the leading coffee makers and actually rates coffee based on aroms, acidity, body, flavor and mouth feel. For example, a new K Cup by VanHoutte Coffee, Raspberry Chocolate Truffle scored quite well in those mentioned areas. It scored 10 in aroma, 9 in acidity, 10 in body, 10 in flavor, and a 9 in mouth feel, totalling a 98. This would be a highly recommended K Cup for those who like flavored coffee. I found this site to be well written, informative and very visual. It is a treasure trove for those who own or perhaps use at work single serve coffee makers. Its url is : http://singleservecoffee.com/

 Photo of stacked K-Cup Boxes by Kyle Karlin

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Posted in: Coffee,Kyle

Uniformed Grinding

I will be extending the information regarding the art of coffee in the technique of grinding. This technique, to put it bluntly, is not for those who are not willing to invest a good amount of money for a great cup of coffee. Why? The usual, homestyle method of grinding uses a multiple purpose grinder that utilizes blades. As the blades rotate, the coffee beans are cut apart. But this results in uneven grinding with large to fine particles. Furthermore, the longer the grinding process takes, the more heat that's generated which may result in burned beans. 

As an alternative, we have burr grinders. Instead of blades, beans are crushed by a wheel against a nonmoving surface. The spacing and position dictates how the beans are crushed which leads to a much more controlled grinding process with much less heat generated. Furthermore, there are two different types of burr grinders. One utilizes a wheel and is the less expensive of the two. The wheel burr grinder spins at a fast rate which sometimes result in a mess. Conical burr grinders tend to clog less, spin at a moderate speed, and produce less mess -- this is optimal for oily beans. 

Either way, you will be expected to pay from $100+ for a quality burr grinder.

Photo provided by Michellocafe.nazwa.pl

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Posted in: Coffee,Food,Ken

Vacuum Brewing

Photograph by Kadluba

I'll be taking a different route and instead of introducing you to the method(s) of coffee grinding, I will be introducing another method of coffee brewing. What you see here is a vacuum brewer and takes the infusion process to a different, and very much unique level. Through this method, you may experience the cleanest, purest cup of coffee and I'll show you how through the steps required to utilize it.

Primarily, we have to know how it works. Vacuum brewers utilizes a process of suction -- the result of expanding/ contracting gases and in this case, the gas is water vapor. With it comes four parts, two glass containers, a tube that connects the two, and a filter that allows water/ gases through but keeps sediments, in this case, coffee out. Those two containers sit on top of one another, connected b that tube, and there's a filter in between. Of course, all of it is set on top of a stove or other heat source.

Step 1 requires the actual assembly. Step 2 follows by filling the bottom container with water and the upper container with coffee grinds.  Through the process of heating water, water vapor is formed and water vapor requires relief somewhere and the only relief is through the tube. So as the water heats up and vaporizes at the bottom, liquid from the surface is pushed up through tube and into the second container. At this point, the coffee grinds are undergoing their infusion process. 

Within 1-3 minutes, the process of vaporizing, expanding, transporting of liquids, infusing is over. Remove the entire assembly off from its heat source. At this point, the cooling temperatures affect the vapors and actually contracts the gas, bringing the liquids from the top back to the bottom -- through the tube and ultimately leaving all coffee grinds at the top and pure, clean coffee at the bottom. 

There you go! Though people used to the French press might find it weak since there's more filtration going on, they're always allowed to adjust the amount of coffee grinds.

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Posted in: Coffee,Coffeemaker,Ken,Vacuum Brewer

A Coffee Fieldtrip

On the main counter top of my kitchen sits a Keurig coffee machine and an accompanying coffee carousel. My mother's mission seems to be to keep the carousel full of coffee, tea, hot cocoa and now iced tea "Kcups". For a while it looked like the only places to purchase K cups were online distributors, Keurig  and eBay. I was always finding packages of K cups on my deck and I became a K cup taste tester. Recently, my mother was given a place to actually test and buy Kcups. It's called Filterfresh Distributors and is located a few blocks from Farmingdale State on Smith Street.

We decided to take a field trip to see this place and actually buy some of the harder to find coffees and teas. The building is inconspicuously placed between other industrial buildings and has a few parking stalls. We actually missed it on our first go around but when we arrived we were intrigued. The main entryway had various size  Keurigs and every K cup listed on the obligatory order form that you take upon entry to the building. The people who greeted us were extremely helpful, very knowledgeable about their products and VERY patient. The prices for Kcups were very competitive with online, supermarkets, and big box stores. One could drink several cups of coffee, tea, hot cider and cocoa as long as you want. It was literally a Keurig paradise. We ordered 16 boxes of coffee and tea, established an ongoing account and actually had an employee load the car. It was an interesting experience and well worth the trip.

Picture by Kyle Karlin

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Posted in: Coffee,Coffeemaker,Keurig,Kyle

The French Press

Photograph By mhaithaca

Now here's a fine method of brewing if you insist on or are curious about the taste of bolder and much more flavorful coffee. In short, you'll find out that it's similar to the process in brewing tea. So what is it? A french press has a container, a metal filter attached to a rod that protrudes past the container's lid, and the lid itself. So now the entire brewing method starts with the grinding, the steeping, and the careful observation of time.


In this method, grinds must be slightly coarser than coffee grounds bought from the supermarket. This is due to the pores of the filter being significantly larger than that of regular paper filters*. But depending on the brand and make of the press, you may be able to use a french press with pregrinds as long as you don't mind the occasional bump with coffee grit.

Afterward. you'll have to measure out how much coffee you'll be required to use. In my opinion, a tablespoon per cup of water is suitable. Now boil x amount of water and as you're waiting, pour the measured amount of coffee into the container. When ready, pour the water into the container while stirring -- make sure to not overfill the container so that it can accommodate the added mass of the filter + rod. Now you'll place the lid, filter, rod (which is all essentially connected to one another on top). The rod will be protruding out of the lid at its maximum length indicating that the filter is still at the top of the container.

Now depending on how strong you wish to make your coffee, you'll have to wait a few minutes. A 2-4 cup press shouldn't take any longer than 2-3 minutes to steep. Afterward, you'll press down on the rod gently, pushing the grinds down. At this point, your coffee is ready and you're required to pour it all unto another container to avoid extra steeping time that may make your coffee bitter.

*There will be a detailed entry regarding the process of grinding at a later date.

- - Ken

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Posted in: Coffee,French Press,Ken

Coffee and its intricacy

Photograph by Jon Sullivan:

We are all aware of how coffee is usually brewed in your average household. There's either the instant mix method or the drip style method. Either way, people tend to only be familiar with these two when in reality, there is much more to it than what the majority know and can appreciate. In short, coffee is an art and it can not be explained in such short time, therefor I will be covering the topic of coffee throughout several posts.

Initially, its intricacy starts with what type of coffee beans are used. There are two main types: Arabica and Robusta. Arabica offers a much more flavorful experience, a fuller taste to it, and is seen as the complete opposite of Robusta; the much more economically preferred type within the mass producing coffee industry.

At first, it seems irrelevant. How should we be concerned with the differences? Considering the concept that we're used to either a 100% Robusta coffee and/ or a mix of Arabica and Robusta, we are missing out on what could be great coffee. Coffee that doesn't require creamers, loads of sugar, and whatever else must mask that bitter taste associated with Robusta beans. So I end this thought by asking you all...When was the last time you tried coffee black and enjoyed it?


- - Ken

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Posted in: Coffee,Ken