Written by Lisa Zancanella.
While our in-house coffee shops are temporarily closed, Lisa from our partners SO Coffee Roasters shares a few tips to brewing your own coffee using three different methods: French press, cappuccino, and moka pot.
Measures for a French Press
We use it often for a coffee to share, since it’s very easy to prepare and flexible in its high mouthfeel and lower acidity taste.
Grind 21gr of coffee in a coarse size of table salt.
Start the timer when infusing the coffee with 350gr of water at around 92ºC degrees. If you don’t own a kettle with temperature control, you can simply boil the water and let it rest a couple of minutes.
Let the coffee rest and at 3’ stirr aggressively with a spoon, this way you will release all the aromas trapped in the crust that’s forming in the surface.
Put the lid and press it until the bottom of the french press.
Make the most of your Moka Pot
Fill up your moka with about 200gr of cold water, then add your coffee until the border line gently levelling the surface with a finger.
Put your moka with the lid open on the stove maintaining a medium/low heat level in order to avoid burning the coffee and instead slowly extracting all its aromas.
When the coffee starts raising, lower the flame.
When the level reaches the middle of the moka, switch off the flame and remove it from the stove waiting until it fills up.
By heating the moka pot slowly and with a lower heat, you will avoid an intense puffing sound of the moka and consequently the burning and metallic tastes in your cup.
Make the most of your Moka Pot
Fill up your moka with about 200gr of cold water, then add your coffee until the border line gently levelling the surface with a finger.
Put your moka with the lid open on the stove manteining a medium/low heat level in order to avoid burning the coffee and instead slowly extracting all its aromas.
When the coffee starts raising, lower the flame.
When the level reaches the middle of the moka, switch off the flame and remove it from the stove waiting until it fills up.
By heating the moka pot slowly and with a lower heat, you will avoid an intense puffing sound of the moka and consequently the burning and metallic tastes in your cup.
French Press... for a foamy Cappuccino
You can make your own foamy cappuccino at home using a French press… not for the coffee but for milk this time!
Pour the warm milk (not too hot otherwise you won’t be able to create creamy bubbles) into the French Press, pull the lid up and down very quickly for about 10 seconds.
Once you get the cream you wanted, add it to your coffee, made either with the moka pot or with capsules machine (preferably compostable).
Choose the right water
What to look at when buying water for coffee at the supermarket?
Read the voice on the label "total mineral content at 180C" looking for the brand indicating a level between 90mg and 180mg. This indicates how many minerals are dissolved in the water bottle: if the level is too high the coffee will taste heavy and cloudy, although if the level is too low the coffee will be very acidic and unbalanced.
Play by simply sip different water brands feeling the different taste in the mouth.
Choose the right water
What to look at when buying water for coffee at the supermarket?
Read the voice on the label "total mineral content at 180C" looking for the brand indicating a level between 90mg and 180mg.This indicates how many minerals are dissolved in the water bottle: if the level is too high the coffee will taste heavy and cloudy, although if the level is too low the coffee will be very acidic and unbalanced.
Play by simply sip different water brands feeling the different taste in the mouth.
Follow @socoffeeroasters on Instagram for more tips on specialty coffee.
At SO Coffee Roasters in Porto, Lisa Zancanella is more than a coffee expert: she is also our everyday reminder that nobody does pizza like Italians. She grew up in Verona, and her kind-of-romantic roots led her to fall in love with dancing, reading and travelling. She previously lived in Barcelona, and later came to Porto, where her infatuation with Futebol Clube do Porto's mascot Draco has made sure she can never leave. Hardworking, she is a true believer in "practise makes perfect" but she goes beyond method: simply ask her about coffee to see she pours her heart into every cup she brews.
Photo (c) @specialty_pal via Instagram