Fruddled Gruntbugglies

Day: August 23, 2023

  • Cold Brew Redux

    Written on

    in

    I made some cold brew at dinnertime today, with the same recipe I’ve been using for most of the summer, and decided to measure the quantity of water used so that I can double the recipe more easily and accurately. Here’s the latest recipe. Note that a “scoop” refers to the scoop that comes with the AeroPress.

    1. Set AeroPress up in inverted orientation and add 1 heaping scoop of drip-grind coffee
    2. Add 200 to 220 grams room-temperature water (enough to fill AeroPress to about 1cm of the top)
    3. Stir vigorously for 1 minute
    4. Flip and press into a glass tumbler (30 seconds)
    5. Add 2-3 ice cubes and a few drops of stevia to taste
    6. Stir and serve

    Doubled recipe:

    1. Set AeroPress up in inverted orientation and add 2 heaping scoops of drip-grind coffee
    2. Fill AeroPress with room-temperature water to 1cm from top and note how much was added by weight
    3. Stir vigorously for 1 minute
    4. Flip and press into a tall glass, small pitcher, or carafe
    5. Top up to a total of 400-440 grams of water
    6. Add several drops of stevia to taste
    7. Stir, pour into tumblers, add ice, and serve

    I’m still using Wellsley Farms Breakfast Blend pre-ground coffee to make this, but I’m almost out of it. Once it’s gone, I’ll try it with some Maxwell House Original Roast that we have in the cabinet.

  • Morning Notes

    Written on

    in

    ,

    After alluding to it yesterday, I brewed a cup of pourover coffee this morning using this recipe, with the same beans and a slightly finer grind. I went back and forth over whether to try it coarser or finer, eventually settling on finer just because of how my earlier pourover cups have tasted. I used a setting of 18 on the JX grind chart, which is two rotations minus 6 clicks (54 total clicks). I think this was the right call. The cup had a little bit more fruitiness than the cup I brewed with the AeroPress, with more body to balance out the fruity acidity than my previous pourover cups. Now I’m wondering how fine I can go before it starts to taste bitter.

    The weather was quite pleasant this morning, and the past several days have been dry, so I hit the trails and commuted to work through PVSP on my mountain bike. It was my third bike ride in 4 days. On the HoCo side of the river, I rode Belmont Trail to Morning Choice to Lewis and Clark to Garrett’s Pass, which is a route I take frequently. It was a great ride, except something stung me on my arm at one point. I am wondering if maybe I ran over an underground hornet’s nest, and one of them got me. If that’s the case, I’m glad I was moving fast (and I’m not allergic)!! We’re still in heavy summer growth season, but with a few exceptions, the trails I rode were not overgrown. Upper Soapstone Trail, which is on my route home, may be another story, so I’ll see how that is doing later this afternoon.